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haunted-by-catholic-guilt · 4 years

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hey moon, please forget to fall down

*shows up after a month of nothing with starbucks* look its bad but its been in my WIP since august

Tim woke up to a dull ache in his stomach.

He groaned, it was annoying but not so bad that it would affect his daily working, so he rolled himself out of bed, pausing only momentarily at the nausea he felt.

He ignored it, got up, and continued on his morning, eating only toast and drinking coffee, before getting dressed, which he found to be more painful than necessary, and left his apartment.

The commute to work was fine, maybe the lights were a little brighter then they had the right to be, and even the noises he heard were painful, somehow sharp and dull.

He got off at his stop, and made his way into the institute, putting on a fake smile and winking at Rosie as he walked to the Archives, before moving as fast as he could without causing the ache that has yet to subside to get any worse.

Jon was in, always was by the time he showed, but today Martin and Sasha were in too, must’ve been later than he thought.

He shrugged it off, and sat at his desk, not feeling well enough to even try to have a conversation, not that it would go well, the pain was distracting and lip-reading was never completely successful anyway.

A little while later, after he exchanged a quick and quiet greeting, Martin tapped him lightly on the shoulder and signed to him.

“Are you okay?”

Tim smiled, he knew he could tell Martin, but he didn’t want to worry anyone over something he knew was nothing, so he signed back

“Tired, I’m alright”

Martin didn’t look convinced but smiled softly at him.

“Ok, let me know if you need anything.”

Tim smiled and nodded back, and Martin shuffled back over to his desk, sharing a glance with Sasha Tim was pretty sure he wasn’t supposed to see.

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Martin was worried, Sasha would say he was always worried, but it was different today.

Tim was quiet, his face was lined with pain, and his eyes weren’t quite as vibrant.

It was a little while later when Jon emerged from his office, his hair done in a bun at the base of his head, his cane tapping on the floor, Martin quickly and quietly grabbed his phone and sent a quick text to Tim, hoping he’d get it before Jon made his way to their desks.

He didn’t, and before he knew it Jon was leaning against the door frame, observing them, they mostly pretended to work.

“Goodmorning, Jon! How’re you today”

Martin was trying to distract from Tim a little bit, hoping he’d be able to hear him enough to snap him into focus on Jon, but Tim seemed like he was in another world.

“Better if you were working.”

And with that Jon left, Sasha rolled her eyes and gave Martin a small smile, but he was more concerned about Tim.

He walked over to his desk and tapped him lightly again, it took a second but he came to and looked at Martin, his eyes were glassy and his face was pale.

“What’s wrong?”

Tim looked tired, and he sighed.

“Not feelin the best, nothin to worry about.”

Martin scanned over the other man's frame, before lightly pressing the back of his hand to Tim’s cheek, moving it to his forehead, before removing it and signing again.

“You’re burning up, what’s going on?”

Tim was pretty sure he whined at that point, if he admitted he was sick he’d need to go home and he would be alone.

He didn’t want to be alone.

Whenever he had fevers he would get emotional, he knew this, so when Martin brushed his finger on his cheek, he didn’t even know he was crying, and that only made him start crying harder.

He felt someone else touch his arm, and looked up to see Sasha, with a bottle of water in her hand, he shook his head, the nausea from earlier coming back in full force.

He took a breath, he wouldn’t be sick, couldn’t be.

“I’m fine, I can work, I’m fine.”

Martin frowned, but wasn’t backing down, signing again, this time more demanding, but somehow still soft.

“Go lay down, at least, for a little while.”

Tim knew this wasn’t a fight he could win, and Sasha already had grabbed onto his arm and began to pull him up, steadying him when he starting to fall, and Martin vanished off outside of the office.

Sasha laid him down on the old couch, and he curled as small as he could into a ball, and he opened his eyes enough to see Sasha squint at him with concern in her eyes.

Martin was there the next time he opened his eyes, he had a blanket on him now, and Martin was holding a thermometer, Tim opened his mouth and let Martin take his temperature, he didn’t hear what it was, and he last saw Martin sign rest before drifting off to sleep.

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Martin sighed, and sat back at his desk, Tim set up across the room with a blanket on a couch, a bucket next to his head, burning with fever.

It wasn’t hospital bad, but he also didn’t feel comfortable leaving Tim alone, and from Tim’s reaction, he didn’t want to be alone either.

Sasha had mentioned he looked like he was curling around his stomach, but stomach pain and fever could’ve been a number of things, and he thought it best not to worry about the what if’s.

“Martin, why is Tim sleeping on the couch.”

Jon was something he did need to worry about.

“He- uh- he wasn’t feeling well, and I didn’t feel comfortable leaving him alone or him taking the tube, and I didn’t think he wanted to be alone either, so he’s sleeping on the couch until after work”

Jon didn’t seem happy with this.

“If he is that ill he needs to be home, not infecting the whole staff.”

Martin was sure he was about to make more complaints and arguments but was cut off by Tim, whining quietly and stirring on the couch.

Martin got up and walked over, running a hand through Tim’s sweat-soaked hair as he tried to curl deeper into himself.

Sasha walked over to stand next to Jon, watching Martin in his natural habitat of caretaking, as Tim had called it.

“He can stay, just don’t get sick, and if he gets worse take him home, you better work overtime next week.”

And with that, Jon left.

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It was around two hours later that Tim started to get worse.

Martin was working quietly at his desk, finishing up notes on some statements, and tracking people down for research when he heard Tim start to cry.

He quickly made his way over to Tim, just as he did Tim heaved and weakly gripped the bin in front of him.

After he was done being sick, Martin lifted a water bottle to his lips, not wanting him to dehydrate further, and went to move back to work, but Tim grabbed onto his arm, with surprising strength for how sick he was.

Martin sighed, he needed to work, but he also knew that being sick was bad enough at home, let alone on an old couch at work.

He adjusted Tim and sat behind him on the couch, the other man immediately curled around Martin, still trying to make himself smaller, and he winced as he moved.

Martin frowned and grabbed his phone, not able to sign with Tim basically on his lap, and not thinking Tim would be willing to sign back at all, so he quickly opened his notes and started to type.

‘What’s wrong?’

Tim looked offended by the light in his eyes when martin showed him the message, but ultimately grabbed the phone weakly and typed back.

‘Stomach hurts bad’

Martin frowned, but set his phone down and started to run his hand through Tim’s hair.

Jon walked in a little while, and crept over to stand next to the old couch, his cane tapping gently, he quickly reached out and brushed his hand awkwardly on Tim’s forehead, and sighed.

“Take him home, and keep me updated on him.”

Martin was surprised by this, Jon had always tried to remain professional and distant, but he didn’t want to question or argue with him.

He stood up, Tim groaned at the movement, but after a little while of getting ready to go, they made their way slowly to Martin‘s car, where Tim immediately curled into his passenger seat.

He drove him to his flat, not planning on leaving him alone for a while, and when he got to his place, he gently shook Tim awake, and they slowly made their way up to the flat.

After he unlocked the door, he settled Tim onto the couch, and switched out his bedsheets, and carefully ushered Tim into the bedroom.

Tim settled into the bed with little prompting, and Martin tucked a fuzzy blanket around his shoulders, and he left the room to get a cloth and cold water.

He was returning to the bedroom when he saw Tim curled up into a ball, sobbing, he was biting his lip so hard martin thought it was drawing blood, he quickly set the water on the side table and immediately sat next to Tim on the bed.

He knew that getting Tim to watch him sign or read whatever he typed would not work and that Tim probably wouldn’t be able to process what he was saying, so he hoped his movements were clear enough.

Martin suspected he knew what this was, so after he had moved Tim so he was laying out, flat on his back despite the obvious pain this caused, Martin lifted the shorter man’s shirt and pressed his hand on to the lower right side of Tim’s stomach.

At that, Tim let out a cry of pain, and immediately curled back around himself, and Martin knew what the next step was- the hospital.

First, he decided, he needed to tell Sasha and Jon, both had been worried, and they should know what was going on

Archival Gayng

Milk Kartin Blackwood- hey just so you two know im taking tim to AnE

Braincell Holder- What? Is everything okay? Do you need me to meet you there?

Bossman- Why does he need to go to AnE?

Martin Kartin Blackwood- i think he may have appendicitis but im not sure

Braincell Holder- Shit

Braincell Holder- I’ll meet you there

Boseman- Doesn’t appendicitis mean he will need surgery?

Martin Kartin Blackwood- yeah, i know that is more time off, but jon he is sick i don’t really care rn

Bossman- I don’t care about that right now.

Bossman- I care that my friend and employee might need surgery.

Bossman- Sasha, you’re still at the institute right? Can I come with you?

Braincell Holder- Of course, Jon, meet me outside in five. Martin, bring Tim to the hospital.

Martin Kartin Blackwood- ok

Martin sighed, and carefully maneuvered Tim in his arms so his head was tucked into the other’s neck and carefully grabbed the blanket that was around Tim and repositioned it over him again.

He quickly slipped on his shoes and grabbed the keys, and carried Tim out to his car where he once again curled into the passenger seat, his hands clutching his stomach.

Martin bit his lip as he got into the driver’s seat and started the drive to the hospital, it didn’t take long and when he got their, Sasha and Jon were standing in front of her car, Jon fidgeting with his hands and Sasha typing rapidly on her phone.

When he pulled in and was spotted, they immediately rushed over to where he parked and approached Martin anxiously as he got Tim out of his car, and immediately began to flutter around, trying to help.

By the time they had gotten Tim into the waiting room, Sasha and Martin began answering the questions on the sheet, and Jon sat quietly next to Tim and rubbed slightly awkward circles on his back when he curled over in pain.

When Tim was ushered into an exam room, Martin went with him, the others in the waiting room, and after some time, the doctor shared his suspicion, and he was taken away to a CT scan to get a confirmation.

After some time, the suspicion was confirmed and he was taken to surgery, and Martin was walked back out to the waiting area, left to explain the situation to Jon and Sasha.

Jon started to pace ten minutes after Tim had been taken back, and after another five of pacing, Sasha finally spoke up.

“Jon, are you alright?”

Jon stopped pacing and sighed.

“I’m just worried about Tim…”

Martin set his large hand on Jon’s shoulder, and the smaller man seemed to lean into it.

“It’ll be okay Jon, Tim is healthy, and appendicitis isn’t normally deadly if caught on time.”

Jon sank down on a squeaky hospital chair next to Sasha, and put his head in his hands, running a shaking hand through his hair.

“I know, I know, I just..”

He groaned, again, and Martin had to take a second to take it all in, Jon looked so incredibly.. different?

So far from the normal painfully professional and emotionless self he showed at the office, and Martin was then reminded that he was the odd one out here, he didn’t work in research with Tim, Sasha, or Jon.

He sighed and tried to push down the cold feeling that crept up his spine, and ignored the fact that he swore he could see fog seeping into the room from a closed door.

He sat on the chair next to Jon, and they all sat silently and waited.

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When Tim woke up, all he was aware of was the pain in his side.

He groaned and quickly moved his hand to cover it, but was stopped by the feeling of a tug in his arm, and a hand on his shoulder.

He pried open his eyes to see a worried Sasha looking down at him, but with the worry managed to be relief as well, and that was when the last twenty-four hours came back to him.

He sighed and pushed himself carefully into a sitting position, Sasha worriedly helping him, and he looked over and saw Martin asleep against the wall, and Jon leaning into him.

He was still tired and hurt, but he knew he would be taken care of, so he let himself fall asleep to Sasha helping him lay back down and running her hands through his hair.

#tma #tma sickfic #sickfics #sickfic #vomiting cw #jon sims has a cane #Jon sims #hoh tim stoker #tim stoker #martin blackwood #sasha james

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the-accidentals · 4 years

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Chapter 1

Laura walked in through the door of her shoddy apartment, the lights flickering on as she slumped down on her stained sofa, she wanted to order takeaway but knew she didn't have the money, life was way to expensive and this week had been a pile of horse shit if any one had been, her car was in the garage after it broke down a couple days ago, the bill was so high she would need to not eat for a month. Before getting off shift today she had seen a family of five burn, only 2 getting out alive, a baby and the father. She tried to not let her job get to her but fighting fires was the easiest part, watching the families as they realise that not everyone made it is the worst, you can feel the guilt in the air. We are trained to move on, you can't take every death personally or it kills you from the inside but whenever i see a family torn apart so abruptly the worry stays on my heart, seeing happy families destroyed was definitely the worst part of her job but laura still loved the job and everyone struggles with it so she just tries to leave the worry at work,but today it followed her home, there was just something about today, the fire had started in the oldests room, probably faulty electrics, she was barely out of primary school, just starting to think she was a grown up, it had already killed the middle kid by the time anyone realised and the mother just breathed in to much smoke, it was come and go for a bit but in the end she didn't even make it to the hospital. A happy family reduced to two, a morning father and a 2 month old girl, how she survived I don't know. All that innocence and such young lives torn away so quickly.

Laura stood up shaking her head, it's not good to stay focused on the bad things, noodles and beer and an early night and she can sort everything else out in the morning.She has parents she can beg for money,they won't be happy but they wont let her starve,she just wishes she didn't have to call. For tonight she resigned herself to the sofa with a bottle of cheap beer and some veg noodles, strolling through the internet. Eventually the sun was long gone and the shame came creeping back, she was sitting here running from her responsibilities with beer, noodles and a blanket around her, just trying to hide away on the internet, she was a grown woman, an adult. She closed down reddit and opened her emails, this was an adult thing, she could clear her inbox. Ad,ad,ad,scam,ad,ad, important thing she should of replied too, she was trying to be grown up but that was slightly too grown up, ad, bank statement, don't want to look at that, oh nice easy one, the unit chief is trying to set up a quiz night, he needs to know when i'm free, i can do that. After a couple minutes of checking her calendar, which was embarrassingly empty she had formed an adult but chill response. There! She had been an adult, she had written an email and deleted a few more. She scanned over the rest hoping they could wait a few more days until a quiet moment at work, one caught her eye, an email from a trial company, she did a couple of studies a few years back to get some extra cash and extra cash was just what she needed, she looked into it, it was a medical study looking into a mental health drug, they needed people with diagnosed mental illness so she knew she would fit right in. Drug trials were not her thing but the pay was pretty good, two injections a week, £50 each, it lasted 12 months but you could leave whenever, just under £5,000 for the whole year, she probably wouldn't hang on that long but long enough that she could fix her beat up honda and still eat. Honestly how could she resist? The testing facility was a 15 minute walk away from the fire station as well. Fuck me if was perefect, no nagging from anyone about “being an adult” and “looking after your finances”. Laura finally went to bed that night, slightly tipsy, exhausted but slightly less stressed.

Laura had 2 days until she got paid and she had her first appointment for the trial today, it was a rolling study so there was no set start date. She had promised steve, the mechanic down the road, that he would get paid the bill as soon as she got paid so that he would carry on working with no money upfront, to be honest he totally owned lorna one, she had set him up with an ex of hers about a year back and she had never seen him happier. She walked up to a little privately owned clinic that she had never noticed before, it was smart but felt way to clinical, the lights were so bright it burnt and like all of these places the smell of cleaner was so strong you could taste it, she popped her phone into the pocket of her oversized jacket as she came to the front desk, the lady at the desk looked he up and down, I suppose she didn't really look like she belonged, it didn't look like a cheap sort of place.” hi i'm here for the trial, umm laura burmwell” laura muttered into the ground,she hated reception staff, they always seemed super judgy and this lady was no different, she tapped away at her screen for a few very awkward moments and sighed, pointing me to a section of chairs near the back. Pulling her earphones out she landed in a seat.

“Dont worry she wasn't very nice to me either” a voice chucked next to her, a small grinning woman sat there tapping on her phone, laura smiled back, she was gorgeous, long black hair down to her waist, out shining laura’s dirty blonde mess any day.

“ I’m glad she doesn't just hate me” Lorna joked, internally panicking. Why is such a cute woman actually talking to me? She suddenly felt amazingly underdressed, she was sat next to a stunning women who was clearly ready to go to work in a nice yellow dress and a jacket and she is there look like a gay hobo, hair up in yesterdays bun and a t shirt that has dinosaurs on it, at she is wearing smartish jeans. “I’m laura, are you here for the study?” she smiled.

“Preet, yeah, i'm hoping they can cure the fuckery going on in my head before the end of it” she chuckled but I could see the blush forming over her skin as she processed what she had said, Laura just snorted, tapping her leg on the linoleum floor, trying to think of something to say, her mind in overdrive.

“ nervous?” Preet questioned.

“i just haven't been in a drug trial for years, what if I grow four heads or something?” She joked, Preet actually burst out laughing, tears starting to form in her eyes, which got Laura laughing too, they just sat there trying to hide there laughter from the rest of the very serious looking members of the waiting room, finally after about 5 minutes they both calmed down enough to speak, laughter still glistening in their eyes.

“ but seriously these drugs will of been tested for years before it gets to these sorts of tests, its perfectly safe, they are just proving it and checking out side effects, im sure you wont grow any more heads.” At that moment Preets name was called over the speaker system, Secretly both of them were hoping they had been forgotten about so they could sit here and chat all day but neither of them said it.

“See you later Laura” Preet called as she picked up her stuff and started to follow the now waiting nurse.

Lorna went back to her music, trying to pull a stupid grin off her face.

1941- September 5th

I walked into surgery, on the bench was the patient, a young soldier, barley 19. He was burning up. Nurse Weber was standing there, trying to cool him down while setting up. He had a gun wound that was starting to get infected and the bullet had yet been removed. We set to work, removing infected tissue and finding bits of the shattered bullet but further we got the more futile it became, he kept losing blood and nothing we could do would keep his temperature down, he was pretty much dead in front of us. The nurse looked up, exhaustion in every wrinkle in her face, defeat in her eyes, im sure she had been on duty when he came on, over 10 hours earlier. With an air of defect I started sawing him up, giving him a dose of penicillin and covering the wound with gauze. I doubt he would make the night but we had tried. I removed my bloodied gloves and left. Hoping to be able to rest now. My eyes started over at the dying children and men who fill the halls. when will the war end, when will the suffering stop, have not enough died for the righteous cause? I started towards the boards, I was still on duty for another few days before I could head home. As i passed through the corridors i passed a officer asking about his son, every has someone fighting in this war to end all wars, he came to a halt in front of me desperately asking for his sons conduction, i had treated him when he first got brought in, he was going to make it but he no longer had a left leg, a bomb had hit near trench and had impaled his leg. As he quickly dismissed me, relief clear on his face, you could clearly see the shine on his Swastika pin. “Heil Hitler” I murmured as he marched away into the chaos

This is the first part of a longer story and my first time doing any serious writing, any advice welcome! I know it isn't perfect but I tried so I hope you enjoy it xx

#Story #Oc #Superpower #author #Writing #Part 1 #The accidentals

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mamabearcat · 5 years

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The Importance of Ramen Ch.8

I think I lied when I said this was only gonna be ten chapters long. I just love writing them so much, I don’t want to let them go. Hope you enjoy this chapter, and if you need to get back to earlier chapters, they’re all here on my Master List, and also here on fanfiction.net where I go by Dasiy73.

Mama had hardly sat down on her own chair in the waiting room when Kagome’s name was called by an orderly approaching them with a wheelchair.

“Your chariot awaits, Miss”, he smiled at Kagome. Inuyasha held her to him a bit tighter, his chin jutting out defiantly. He felt unsure of himself without the Tessaiga, and the smell of this place, illness and blood laced with pain and fear, made him want to run out the door and take Kagome with him. He took a deep breath, trying to keep a tight rein on his emotions. He figured they might not like swords in hospitals, but they’d like a rampaging red eyed demon even less.

“Kagome don’t need a chariot”, he said gruffly. “I can carry her wherever she needs to go.”

“I’m afraid it’s hospital policy sir.”

“Inuyasha dear, I know you’re worried, I am too, but everyone here just wants to help Kagome. It’s just the way things are done. I’m sure we can come with her, isn’t that right?”

The orderly nodded cheerfully. Rumbling his annoyance under his breath, Inuyasha carefully placed Kagome into the seat with wheels, thinking how ridiculous it was when she would probably be much more comfortable in his arms. He bit back an impulse to growl and pick her up again when she winced as her swollen thigh touched the cold hard metal of the arm rest.

“Let’s get this show on the road, shall we?” asked the cheerful orderly, and they were buzzed through a glass sliding door to the examination cubicles on the other side. The orderly led them to a curtained cubicle with an empty bed, and when he moved to assist Kagome out of the wheelchair, Inuyasha swooped forwards and picked her up himself with a defiant glint in his eye. An embarrassed Kagome swatted him on the shoulder with her good arm, and the smiling orderly disappeared with the wheel chair. An overly cheerful nurse appeared, asking Kagome questions and taking her temperature and measuring her heart rate. Then they were told to wait for the doctor.

Inuyasha snorted, pacing around the bed in an irritated fashion. “This place is weird. Why do they have all these different people when one person would be enough? If I’d taken you straight to Kaede’s there wouldn’t have been half this fuss.”

Mama turned a serious face towards Inuyasha. “I am very glad that you brought her back here. If left untreated, an infection like this can spread across the body and into the bloodstream; it is possible to die from something like this.”

Inuyasha stopped his pacing, his ears drooping under the cap. “Yeah, that’s what Sango said”, he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. “She said she’d seen people die from it and wanted me to bring her straight back. Miroku insisted too.”

“Then they have my thanks. Should you go back through the well once we get home and let them know that you and Kagome arrived safely?”

“Nah, they probably won’t be there yet. Kirara needs to take breaks when she’s carrying more than one person, and I’m not sure if they’d go over Mount Mitsumine like I did.”

Inuyasha had rarely ever seen Mama surprised. Even the first time he had met her, when he’d burst into Kagome’s home, demanding she come straight back through the well, she hadn’t screamed about a demon in her house, but had immediately rubbed his fuzzy ears instead. He had to admit, that had thrown him a bit. But now, after he mentioned Mount Mitsumine, her jaw had dropped open, eyes wide in a silent expression of surprise.

“But… that’s over one hundred kilometres away! You were carrying her on your back! Didn’t you say you left this morning?”

Misunderstanding the reason for her surprise, Inuyasha apologised. “I’m sorry I didn’t get Kagome here faster. I just didn’t want to jostle her by going at my top speed. I didn’t want her leg hurt any worse than it already was.”

He was totally unprepared for the hug that Mama suddenly launched at him, her arms clasped tight across his back. “Thank you”, she whispered.

Even though Kagome still felt woozy and ill, she couldn’t help but giggle a little at the blush that escalated in Inuyasha’s cheeks.

“It’s no big deal”, Inuyasha blustered. Both of them were smiling at him, and he felt an unaccountable desire to run away. Fighting the impulse, he plonked himself down on one of the hard plastic seats near Kagome’s bed, jamming his hands into his sleeves and tapping his foot impatiently on the cold linoleum floor. “How long have we gotta wait for this healer anyway?”

Mama sighed, sadly well acquainted with how modern hospitals worked after her husband’s accident. “As long as it takes Inuyasha, as long as it takes.”

xXxXxXx

Inuyasha growled. The doctor had finally come, and he had been asked to wait outside the curtained cubicle. He could hear Kagome’s swallowed whimpers and smell the scent of infection as the doctor removed the bandage on her leg. He hated this place. He hated the way it smelt. He hated that everything was shiny. He hated that Kagome looked so small in the bed on wheels, face so pale her features almost disappeared into the starched white pillowcase, apart from the contrast of her dark eyes and blue-black curls. He hated that he felt so powerless. And he hated that Mama seemed to be wilting; her usual cheerful demeanour had been replaced with sadness, covered badly by a pasted-on smile.

He heard a high-pitched yelp come from behind the curtain. The vibrating rumble in his chest increased. That was it, he didn’t care that Kagome and Mama had asked him to behave; Kagome needed him and there was no way he was staying out here any longer. He thrust his way belligerently through the curtain, just in time to see the doctor patting Kagome on the shoulder reassuringly.

“I’m sorry if that hurt Miss Higurashi, but I needed to examine your injury carefully to decide if we needed to debride the infected tissue in the wound.” She removed her stained latex gloves, tossing them into a nearby bin. “You’re lucky. I think an intensive course of intravenous antibiotics should do the trick; you’ll probably be on your way home in three days.”

“Three days! I can’t stay here for three days!” Kagome bit her lip, her eyes welling up.

The doctor smiled at her. “Just think of it as a holiday from school. I’m sure your teachers won’t hold it against you when they’re informed of the seriousness of your injury. I’m happy to write a medical certificate excusing you from school for the next week.”

“At least you’ll be home in time for Obon Kagome”, said Mama softly.

Kagome turned her tear-filled eyes towards Inuyasha. What would he think? Here she was, slowing them down again. She hoped he wouldn’t be too angry. The gentle look in his amber eyes surprised her.

“Hey, Kagome, don’t worry. Three days is nothin’ right? I’ll let our friends know you’re okay, and we’ll all be there to help you when we leave to… um, study. Yeah.”

Kagome pouted, bottom lip trembling slightly. “I suppose I’ve got no choice, huh. Guess I’d better make the best of it.” She managed a small smile. “At least I’ll get breakfast in bed, right?”

“That’s my girl”, smiled Inuyasha toothily, then felt the heat rising in his cheeks as soon as the words left his mouth, watching a matching blush struggling to rise in Kagome’s pale cheeks. He failed to see the small smile on Mama’s face, or the wink sent his way by the Doctor.

“Well, I’ll go organise your admittance Miss Higurashi; someone will be along to take you to your room shortly; the pain medication I injected should be taking effect by now.” The doctor left them behind in the small curtained cubicle, bustling over to the patient admin desk in an efficient manner.

“Maybe you should go back to Kaede’s Inuyasha”, said Kagome despondently. “It’s going to be very boring for you here.

“Nuh uh”, grinned Inuyasha. “I’m stayin’ around to make sure you do what you’re told. You might be good at dishin’ medicine out, but don’t seem to be too good at takin’ it.” He looked towards Mama as an afterthought. “That’s okay ain’t it?”

Mama smiled at him. “Souta will be delighted. And I’m sure I can find jobs for you to help with when you’re not visiting Kagome. Grandpa was talking about dusting in the storage shed again.”

Inuyasha whined a little, then sighed. “Alright. But tell ‘im that he’s not allowed to try an’ purify me with those weak ass ofudas of his. It’s annoying.”

Mama grinned. “I promise that he’ll behave. He does actually like you, you know.”

Inuyasha snorted derisively. “Could a fooled me.” He glanced at Kagome, who was laying back against the pillow, her head drooping. “You ‘kay ‘Gome?”

Kagome yawned. “Sleepy”, she muttered blearily. “Prob’ly the medicine…” Her eyes fluttered closed.

The orderly arrived, ready to transfer Kagome to the ward. Mama and Inuyasha followed behind as the bed was wheeled down the maze of corridors to the room where Kagome would spend the next three days.

xXxXxXx

Inuyasha sneezed. The dust in the storage room was getting up his nose and into his eyes, but he only had two more boxes to carry back before he was released from duty. It was nearly visiting hours at the hospital, and he hoped that Kagome would be feeling better today. He grimaced. Yesterday had not been a fun visit. The doctor had warned them that Kagome would probably seem worse for a day while her body continued to fight the infection until the antibiotics gradually took effect, and he and Mama had sat silently next to her bed after Grandpa and Souta left, while she slipped in and out of a doze.

After they’d left the hospital and gone back to the shrine, he’d slipped down the well and gone to Kaede’s to leave a message for the others. Kaede was most interested to hear how they were treating Kagome, but Inuyasha struggled to describe it, finally concluding exasperatedly that Kaede would just have to get Kagome to explain when she returned.

He’d spent a grumpy evening back at the shrine, teasing Buyo the cat, and sitting morosely in the Goshinbuko after dinner. When everyone was asleep, he’d let himself into Kagome’s bedroom window, but her usually comforting scent didn’t make him feel any better, and he dozed fitfully, sitting up against her bedroom wall with the Tessaiga balanced on his shoulder.

Breakfast this morning had cheered him up a little. Bacon always made him feel cheerful. He’d wondered aloud if bacon flavoured ramen was a possibility and was cheered even more when Mama said that she could make that happen for him, if he wanted.

Souta had run off to school, and Inuyasha was stuck with Grandpa Higurashi while Mama tidied up indoors. Helping the old man with his ‘treasures’ was annoying, but at least he didn’t try to throw any ofudas at him this time. Irritating old bastard. He straightened up after carrying the last box into the storeroom, while Kagome’s grandfather fluttered around in the background, prattling on about how valuable his crap was, and how he was going to meet up with possible collectors at Obon in a few days. Keh! At least he was done now. He stomped back over to the house, to see when they could leave to go see Kagome.

After Inuyasha washed most of the dust off, they drove the short way to the hospital. Souta had decided that the novelty of visiting his sister in hospital had worn off, especially when she wasn’t doing anything exciting, so had opted to go straight to a friend’s house after school. Grandpa was hosting visitors to the shrine that afternoon and said he might visit Kagome tomorrow. So it was just the two of them making their way through the maze of corridors, a baseball cap perched on top of Inuyasha’s fuzzy ears.

When they first arrived, Kagome didn’t seem to have changed much. She was still asleep, although Inuyasha was happy that the smell of infection coming from the bandaged leg hidden under the white sheets was much harder to detect. She had been changed into a pale blue hospital gown and smelt like soap, so she must have washed. Her arm was still attached to the beepy machine that Kagome’s mother had called a ‘drip’; she had explained yesterday that this type of medicine worked better if it went straight into Kagome’s blood, rather than her stomach. Whatever. As long as it made Kagome better, he didn’t care how they did it. Ignoring Mama’s pointed look, he took off the annoying baseball cap and scratched. Stupid thing always made his ears feel sweaty.

When Mama had left to go to the bathroom, he took a chance to hold Kagome’s hand for a moment. Trying to sleep last night in Kagome’s bedroom, being constantly exposed to her lingering fragrance but not being able to touch her or see her had made him feel lonely, even more lonely than when he was five hundred years away.

He gently ran the pads of his fingers over the roughened callouses on the inside of her hand, built up over time from using her bow. Her hands were so much paler than his, her tapered fingers more delicate. His fingers traced the lines on her palm, softly pressing against the tender flesh on the heel of her hand; he drew circles on the blue lines patterning her wrist, feeling the pulse of her heart against his fingertips. He wove their fingers together, smiling a little at how their hands fit, at how comfortable and right it felt.

“So, Inuyasha, how long have you been in love with my daughter?”

Inuyasha froze, his eyes still directed to his and Kagome’s clasped hands. He had been so engrossed that he did not hear or see Mama return to her seat on the other side of Kagome. Fuck! He didn’t know what to do. What was he meant to say? ‘Maybe, probably, yes, I think so, please don’t hate me’ didn’t seem right, and probably wouldn’t be taken very well. What if he was forbidden to see Kagome again? He knew he could easily overpower anyone and take her back to his time, but would Kagome choose him over her family? He didn’t want to make her choose.

“Inuyasha?”

Taking a deep breath, still holding Kagome’s hand to boost his courage, he looked up. Mama was smiling at him, her eyes warm. A small whine of relief escaped him before he could hold it back.

“It’s very plain to me how much you care for my daughter, and that she cares very much for you in return”, said Mama gently. “I truly believe that my daughter’s destiny is intertwined with yours. Do you two have any plans for a future together, after your quest is completed?”

Inuyasha made a small sound, somewhere between a whine and a growl. Dammit, why was he the one getting asked to answer these questions that he’d barely even dared to think about, especially with Kikyo still out there somewhere, while his wench slumbered away oblivious between them.

“We haven’t… that is… I want to…”, he coughed, and then sighed. “It’s… complicated.”

“Love is usually a lot less complicated than people think”, Mama smiled, a little sadly. “I’m sorry if my question made you feel uncomfortable Inuyasha. I’m not exactly feeling like myself at the moment. I haven’t been back to this hospital since my husband died, and being here, and worrying about Kagome has rattled me a little.”

She turned her head and looked out the window, directing her gaze towards the heat haze reflecting off the tall buildings in the distance, her hands twisting in her lap. Even though she was older, and her hair was shorter, her distressed expression and clenched hands reminded Inuyasha so much of Kagome when she was sad that he had to say something. Knowing him it would probably be the wrong thing, but he would try.

“I’m not very good at talking about feelings and crap like that”, began Inuyasha hesitantly, “but Kagome said once that I was a good listener when I wanted to be. I’ve got the ears for it, you see.” He waggled them a little bit for Mama’s benefit, guessing from the way that she’d grabbed them when they first met that she liked them almost as much as Kagome did.

Mama chuckled, wiping away the single tear that had escaped and slid down her cheek. “That you do, Inuyasha. Tell me, has Kagome ever told you much about her father?”

“Not very much. I think she was worried she’d make me feel bad, because I never met my father; he died before I was born.”

Mama smiled sadly at him. “I see.” She looked down at the golden ring on her left hand. “I first met Kagome’s father through some other friends, at Obon. We all danced together; it was so much fun. He bought me shaved ice, and he looked so handsome in his indigo yukata. By the end of the evening, I was a little in love with him already. It was a shame I was already going out with someone else at the time.”

“Going out?”, questioned Inuyasha.

“Hmm, would the phrase ‘courting’ make more sense to you?” When Inuyasha nodded, she continued.

“Yes, I was being courted by someone else, a much older man. At first, I thought I was very much in love with him; I was so grateful that he’d noticed me in the first place, that I didn’t pay much attention to the way he treated me. He told me I was pretty, but he never wanted to know what I thought, or how I felt; he expected me to change and fit in with what he wanted and needed.” She sighed, twisting the ring on her finger.

“Then the older man moved away for work; we were still courting, but I didn’t see him as often, and I spent more time with my other friends, including Kagome’s father, Toshinori.”

She smiled at Inuyasha. “Toshi was studying to be a kannushi, ready to take over the Higurashi Shrine from his father. He embraced life, and always looked for the best in people. He valued my opinions and feelings, did his best to make me laugh, and even though we argued sometimes, usually over very stupid things, when I was with him, I felt more alive and… more myself, than I did with anyone else. It was then that I realised that I could never spend my life with someone who didn’t want me as I truly was.”

Mama chuckled. “I met with the other man and told him that I had decided I didn’t want to see him anymore. My mother was furious; it was a very good match, according to her, he was quite wealthy. But I had made up my mind. Two months later, I was married to Kagome’s father.”

She grinned at Inuyasha. “It turned out, we’d both been hiding our feelings of love. I hid them because I felt a weird sense of loyalty to the first man who had asked me out – it didn’t seem fair to abandon him when he wasn’t there to defend himself, even though I knew I loved Kagome’s father. Toshinori had kept quiet about his feelings for me because he didn’t want to put me in the awkward position of having to choose between us. He respected my feelings and had decided he would never tell me how much he loved me.”

Mama looked down at the golden ring again. “I was so angry with him when I found out. We had a huge argument under the Goshinboku, and then he asked me to marry him. Once we both knew how the other felt, there seemed to be very little point in waiting.”

She sighed again, twisting the ring on her finger. “We had ten wonderful years together as husband and wife before he was killed. Kagome was nearly eight years old when he died; I was pregnant with Souta, so like you, he never got to meet his father. I still miss him, every day.”

Inuyasha watched the tears gathering on her dark eyelashes, dripping down onto the fingers that twisted the golden ring. “Was… was it worth it?”, he asked softly.

Mama looked up into the anxious golden eyes of the half-demon sitting across from her, still holding tightly to her daughter’s hand. Her heart clenched at the expressions of fear and hope warring in his expression, and she was reminded that even though Kagome had told him he had lived much longer than any human, he was comparatively still a young man around Kagome’s age, who had not had the love and support of a family like her daughter had. She smiled gently.

“Was falling in love worth it? Yes, Inuyasha. If I could go back in time, knowing that I would only have ten years with Kagome’s father and of the heartbreak there was to come, I would still choose to be with him. I would still love him. I always will.” Her eyes shifted from Inuyasha’s to the pale face of her daughter, still sleeping. “Love is always worth it, in the end.”

Suddenly Kagome snorted loudly in her sleep, causing Mama Higurashi to giggle through her tears, and Inuyasha to let out a bark of laughter. The sudden noise woke Kagome up.

“Huh, what’d I miss?”, she asked blinking her eyes.

Still giggling slightly, Mama smiled at her. “Nothing dear. Inuyasha and I were just chatting, getting to know each other better.”

“Okay.” Kagome went to rub her eyes with both hands, then realised that one was clasped within Inuyasha’s. She blushed, and although she looked away from him towards her mother, she squeezed his hand a little and rubbed her thumb lightly across his. “Have you guys been here long?”

“Actually, it’s time for me to go”, said Mama, kissing her daughter on her cheek. “Your dinner should be here any moment, and I need to go pick up Souta from his friend’s house. Inuyasha, you can make your own way back to the shrine, can’t you?” She pointed to the baseball cap sitting on the bed in front of him. “Just don’t forget to wear that.”

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. “Fine”, he sighed, “I’ll wear it.”

Mama tweaked one of his ears playfully as she walked past. “Don’t be late for dinner, Inuyasha. I’m cooking steak.” She blew a kiss to Kagome as she walked out the door.

“Ugh, I wish she hadn’t mentioned dinner”, sighed Kagome, rubbing her stomach fretfully. “The food here is nowhere as good as Mama’s cooking.”

“Do you think they’ll let you come home tomorrow?” asked Inuyasha.

“Why, do you miss me that much?”, teased Kagome, playfully pulling on one the silver locks of his hair with her other hand. “If you’re bored, you can go back and annoy the others, I’m sure they’d be back to Kaede’s by now.”

“It’s not the same without you there”, said Inuyasha softly. He coughed, clearing his throat, sitting up straighter in his chair. “Kagome, can you explain to me what obon is? Your grandfather mentioned it this morning, and your mother did today too.”

Kagome looked at him with a puzzled expression. “Um, sure. It was originally a Buddhist festival, but everyone celebrates it now. It’s all about going back home to your family; you visit and clean your ancestors’ graves. You wear a summer yukata, and there’s always dancing at night, and carnival rides and games and lots of food. It’s actually lots of fun.”

Inuyasha looked down at their clasped hands. “Kagome, if you’re feeling better…” He coughed and then started again. “Would you… if you’re feeling well enough that is, would you like to go to the festival with me?” Inuyasha said the last part of the sentence so quickly that it took Kagome a few moments to work out what he had said.

“You’d like to take me to the festival?”, Kagome asked, wanting to make sure she’d heard correctly.

“Forget it, it was a stupid idea”. He went to pull his hand out of Kagome’s but was stopped by her firm grip.

“I would very much like to go to Obon with you Inuyasha. I will make sure I’m feeling well enough to go, because I really, really want to.”

“You’ll go with me?”

“Yes, I’ll go with you”, she smiled.

Inuyasha smiled back at her. His heart was still beating too fast. He couldn’t believe she’d said yes. Crap, she’d said yes! He didn’t know the first thing about what people did at this thing. He was gonna embarrass her. What should he do now? He couldn’t ask Sango or Miroku, because he was pretty sure they didn’t have this festival in the past. And there was dancing. He’d never danced at a festival before. What if he was bad at it? What if he made a fool of himself in front of Kagome? Dammit. Wait, Mama had mentioned the dancing, so she should know how to do it right?

Kagome was still smiling at him, when he leaned forward and placed a lightning fast kiss on her cheek. “Gotta go Kagome, see you tomorrow!” He snatched up the hat from the bed and launched himself out the door before Kagome could say a word.

xXxXxXx

Mama was wiping her hands on her apron after checking the rice when Inuyasha barrelled into the kitchen, knocking over a chair.

“Wow Inuyasha”, Mama chuckled, “I know you liked the steak last time we had it, but this is… what’s wrong?” She took in the stricken look on his face, and his slumped posture as he picked up the chair and plonked himself down in it.

“I asked Kagome to the Obon Festival”, Inuyasha whispered, staring wide-eyed at her.

“Have you ever asked a girl to a festival before Inuyasha?” He shook his head vehemently. “Is this something you would like my help with?” He nodded frantically. “Okay, don’t worry, this isn’t a problem dear. I’m sure it will all turn out just fine.” He nearly bowled her over with a sudden hug, then let her go just as suddenly. She took in his suddenly puzzled expression. “Inuyasha?”

“I don’t know what to call you”, he said quietly, a blush suddenly rising to his cheeks.

She giggled, then seeing his expression, hid her smile behind her hand. “Well, what do you call me in your head when you think of me?”

Inuyasha looked down at the table. “When I first met you, it was just, Kagome’s mother. Then after a while, it was Mama Higurashi. But these last few days, in my head I’ve been calling you”, he looked up into her face anxiously, “just… Mama”.

Mama’s eyes filled with sudden tears. “Inuyasha, I don’t have a problem with you calling me Mama at all.”

#inuyasha fanfiction #The Importance of Ramen #inuyasha x kagome

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