Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author's Note: Thanks as always to Mandi for being an awesome, awesome, AWESOME beta.
Also, I forgot to mention this when it actually happened the first time but I'll mention it now. This story is going to span quite a few years so there will be some larger jumps in time. The first one was the all phone convo chapter. The birthday Tommy celebrated a few chapters back was his 23rd b-day, k?
Chapter 13
"Yes. Are you Tommy's doctor?" Thomas asked, eager for more information about his son. "How is he? What's wrong with him?"
"Yes, I'm Dr. Fluder and I'm in charge of your son's case. There isn't too much to worry about. He's a very fortunate young man. I can't understand these race car drivers," the doctor told them bluntly. "He is lucky more damage wasn't done. He was in surgery for a short time because we were very concerned he was bleeding internally, his left side is quite bruised, but we found he was not. His left leg is broken, he has a concussion and he has some superficial bruising and scrapes but nothing to really worry about."
Thomas swallowed hard. "Oh thank God."
"He will need some physical therapy after the cast comes off," Dr. Fluder replied.
"May we see him?" Sarah asked, her voice hoarse.
"Yes. He is in the ICU. We will be keeping him there for another day, the anaesthesia has not quite worn off yet. He is still unconscious, but that is nothing to worry about. You are allowed 10 minutes each per hour of visiting time until he is moved out of the ICU," Dr. Fluder answered disinterestedly, glancing at his watch.
"Thank you," Sarah replied, her tone somewhat chilled. She stood, pulling Jason to his feet with her, intending to start towards the ICU.
"Only family are allowed into the ICU area," The doctor told them, with a hint of disgust in his tone.
Sarah immediately looked at Jason, expecting an outburst. Jason just looked dazed. His eyes were slightly glazed and he had a confused, grief struck expression on his pale face. She knew he had been there since they brought Tommy in but she hadn't realized just how long that time had been for the young man to sit there worried and alone and without a clue as to what was happening to his lover.
He wasn't legally family, though he and Tommy had been living together for the past five years. The hospital staff did not have to release any information to him if they chose not to do so. The doctors could ignore his presence and they had. The bewildered, hurting young man had simply been pushed aside.
Sarah's blood boiled at the thought. Jason had seen everything. He had watched his lover's car crash into the wall, had been with him in the ambulance because of John's intervention, and had known that the injuries were serious. He should have been checked over and possibly been treated for shock but instead he was sitting alone in the waiting room! He still looked too pale and shaky.
"He is family, Goddamnit!" Sarah began with a roar, turning on the surprised doctor with a biting tone.
Thomas was as livid as his wife was and would have had a few choice words for the doctor is she had not beaten him to it. Instead, he looked at his son's boyfriend and put a steadying hand on his shoulder. Jason was not really registering what had just happened or he would have been outraged about it as well. All Jason had managed to get out of the comment was that he still could not get to Tommy. He was too tired and worried to think of anything but getting to his lover's side.
"I don't get to see him?" Jason asked his voice soft and slightly hoarse with strain. Sarah and the doctor did not notice their voices had risen to too high a volume.
"We're working on that," Thomas assured him. "If there's a way to get you in we'll find it."
Before the situation became so volatile that a punch was thrown or Sarah was ejected from the hospital they were saved by a page. The doctor was being called down to the ER. He looked like he was about to call security to have at least Sarah escorted off the premises when a nurse, who had watched the scene unfold, stepped forward.
"I'll take care of this for you, Dr. Fluder," She offered.
"Very well," He responded as he aimed a scowl and a glare in Sarah's direction. He turned with a cape like flourish of his lab coat and stalked off.
Sarah's eyes narrowed at the middle-aged nurse, if they thought she was just going to back down about this then they had another thing...
"Come with me please," the nurse requested quietly.
Sarah folded her arms across her chest. "We're not going anywhere until we all get to see Tommy!"
The nurse smiled faintly. "It will be hard to see him when you're in the waiting room and he's in the ICU. Follow me, please."
Sarah and Thomas exchanged looks, then followed the nurse, Sarah clasping Jason's hand, Thomas' hand on his back. Sarah just looked at the nurse, daring her to protest.
"You can find the ICU by following the red dots on the floor," was all she said, pointing out the system the hospital had to help visitors figure out where they were going.
The ICU waiting room was just outside the double doors that led to the quiet ward. Sarah and Thomas went in to see their son first, as the nurse made discreet inquires to the other stuff before letting Jason in as well. Sarah gave him a quick hug, before she and Thomas went to keep a look out for Dr. Fluder, not knowing the nurse has already set up for the nurses at the front desk to call to the ICU if he was coming.
The nurse, Sally, kept half an eye out the door and half an eye on the reason she was bending the rules. The ICU nurses would not make a peep of protest, that she was sure of. They knew love and devotion when they saw it and all those who had seen Jason sitting in the waiting room had quickly warmed to him. Anyone who had not seen him there could have no doubts watching him now.
He stood awkwardly at Tommy's bedside, nearly scared to touch him lest he hurt his lover. Knowing that his time was limited, he took the limp hand gently, almost reverently, and stroked the dry skin with his thumb. He closed his eyes against the onslaught of tears, keeping enough composure that only a few managed to slip down his pale face and leaned close, whispering something in Tommy's ear that was inaudible even in the din of the room.
Sally hated having to tell him when it was time for him to go. She could not let him stay any longer. If Dr. Fluder found him there would be hell to pay. She touched his arm softly to let him know the time was up.
He nodded once to her before turning back to Tommy for a moment more. She watched his trembling fingers ghost over a few strands of the long hair before he leaned down and touched his lips tenderly to Tommy's forehead.
Sally delivered him straight into the hands of the Olivers, who were waiting for him. She fixed them with her stern gaze, enough to make even Sarah know she meant business, and ordered, "You get some food and a good rest in him before I see him back here. You take care of him so he can take care of the one in there. We'll see about getting him in again later but I can't make any promises."
She looked at Jason, who seemed to be winning his battle against breaking down. She squeezed his hand once. "You can't help him if you're a mess. We'll take good care of him while you look after yourself, I promise."
Jason only nodded. Tommy was okay, at least kind of. He would be okay. He looked awful but he would be okay. He would be okay.
Sarah noticed Jason had gone beyond processing reality first. She hooked her arm through his and steered him to the parking lot where their rental car waited. Thomas quickly made arrangements with the nurses before following them. They could not help their son in any other way than making sure his lover didn't simply collapse while waiting to see him again.
Jason quickly showed just how utterly exhausted he was. He fell asleep leaning against the car door. Thomas had to gently shake him awake when they reached the hotel to get him inside.
Jason collapsed into bed, taking off nothing more than his shoes out of habit. He curled up on his side, vaguely noticing that someone was putting a blanket over him and affectionately brushing back his mussed hair. He barely realized he had gotten back to the hotel. There was a deep unsettled feeling in his stomach, an aching he knew he would not be able to get rid of until he could look into those soft brown eyes again.
He had to ignore it long enough to sleep. Both his mind and body were clamouring for rest. The day, days, had been too hectic, too long, too emotionally charged for him to keep going any longer.
Thomas woke him up only a few hours later, a deli sandwich and a coffee in hand. Sarah and Thomas would have insisted he slept for much longer than that but they had had a phone call from the hospital to inform them Tommy was showing signs of waking. If Jason was not there for that neither their son nor his lover would be in good shape.
Jason had not realized how hungry he was until he took the first bite of that sandwich at Thomas' urging. He wolfed it down on the way to the hospital, glad when Thomas silently passed him another one from a bag in the front seat. By the time, they arrived at the hospital he looked and felt better than when he had left, even if he needed more sleep soon.
When they got to the ICU they found Dr. Fluder outside the doors, yelling red-faced at a nurse about calming "that new patient" down. From what Jason could understand, which wasn't much, he was still a bit foggy, was that Tommy was panicking, almost to the point of making himself sick, because no one would tell him where Jason was.
"What the hell is going on?!" Thomas boomed.
Dr. Fluder quickly turned his attention to Sarah and Thomas, who were both extremely angry, having overheard and understood even more than Jason had. Tommy was distraught, was not letting the nurses get near him, was going to make himself sick...
"Your son," Dr. Fluder began, his red face twisted in a scowl, "is not being co-operative. He won't let anyone near him and keeps demanding to know where 'Jason' is."
"Oh god, I have to see him," Jason whispered, his voice too quiet to be noticed in the battle going on around him.
"Jason is right here," Thomas thundered, "and he is going to see him."
Dr. Fluder's face twitched. "Only family are..."
"Hang only family are allowed in!" Sarah told him. "The easiest way to get him to calm down is to let Jason see him. Otherwise, you'll have to sedate him and put excess drugs unnecessarily into his system. It's better for him if he calms down on his own. And if you don't allow that to happen you are not looking out for your patient, you're harming him and will be in violation of your Hippocratic Oath!"
Dr. Fluder looked stunned as Sarah went on. "And if you think I'm going to let you get away with that you've got another thing coming. If you don't let this happen and stay out of Jason's way and hopefully transfer Tommy to another doctor's care then you better believe I will call you up on every charge I can. And don't you dare try to patronize me, I'm a nurse, I know how these things work!"
As Dr. Fluder sputtered, trying to find a retort, Sally marched through the doors, grabbed Jason by the hand and pulled him into the ICU. Dr. Fluder did not follow; he still had his hands full with Sarah and Thomas.
Tommy had managed, Jason wasn't sure how, to get himself half off the bed. His leg, encased in a bulky cast, was still on the bed, the rest of him was in the chair beside it. Most of the monitors that had been attached to his skin were gone, dangling from their machines. A nurse had unplugged them, just to stop the beeping from disturbing the other patients. He had also managed to remove one of his IVs.
Jason didn't think, he just went to him. Tommy attempted to lash out at him, not seeing who it was at first, but Jason avoided the blow, grabbing him gently and holding him still. Tommy nearly freaked out but looked up before he did, his eyes slightly wild, and saw who it was.
"Jase..." Tommy's voice was choked and he quickly buried his head in Jason's shirt.
"Shh... I'm here, its okay." Jason held Tommy as gently as possible, knowing he had got to be hurting. "Calm down... Calm down..."
"No one would tell me where you were, just that there had been an accident. I don't remember what happened and no one would tell me they just told me to be quiet and rest I'd be okay but no one would tell me if you were okay. I can't remember anything past last night, I thought you were hurt and they weren't telling me or... or worse! But you're okay... you're okay..." Tommy rambled, clinging to his lover.
"Shh. I'm fine. I wasn't there. Your car spun out of control on the track. No one else was hurt, it's okay," Jason told him, looking up to see Sally and two other nurses approaching cautiously.
"Jase... it hurts..." Tommy whispered, starting to sag against him. He had been running on adrenaline before and all the movement was catching up to him.
"I know, you need to get back into bed. Are you going to let the nurses help?" Jason asked gently.
"Yeah... Oh fuck, what did I do..." Tommy murmured, hissing in pain as he was eased back onto the bed.
"Tore your stitches, among other things, that's what!" One of the nurses scolded, deftly inspecting his side. "A doctor is on the way; you just lay still and cooperate now!"
Sally looked up at Jason. "You're going to have to leave while we reinsert the IV, fix his stitches and get the monitors hooked back up. I don't think you want to see it."
Jason nodded, he already felt a bit light-headed from the whole experience. "Are you going to be okay if I step outside for a little bit?"
Tommy nodded, wincing in pain. "You'll come back soon?"
"As soon as they let me," Jason promised, brushing back his hair gently. He leaned in to kiss his sweaty forehead. "You've got to let the nurses take care of you though."
"I will," Tommy murmured.
Jason squeezed Tommy's hand then quickly stepped aside, letting the nurses fuss over Tommy. He slipped through the double doors, wanting to get out of the way, and found Sarah talking rapidly to a short blonde woman in what looked almost like a business suit. Thomas spotted him and drew him away from the two, pushing him gently into a plastic chair and handing him a cup of something warm.
Jason sipped it cautiously. He wasn't sure he wanted more coffee and Sarah was always trying to get him to drink tea even though he hated it. She said it was good for him and gave it to him anyway. But the warm liquid in the cup was rich and chocolately. Cocoa, that he would drink. He took a bigger sip, trying to blank his mind and calm down before anyone noticed his hands were shaking.
"You got him to calm down?" Thomas asked.
Jason nodded, "Yeah. He didn't know what happened, he doesn't remember the accident or anything before it for awhile so he assumed I was in the accident with him..."
"Ah," Thomas nodded his head, understanding.
"Yeah, he calmed down when he realized I was there," Jason said.
"Good." Thomas pointed to where Sarah was still talking. A young black woman in a white lab coat and blue scrubs had joined them. "Sarah gave Dr. Fluder hell. He stormed off and that woman came down to talk to her. I think the other one is the doctor who will now be in charge of his case."
A few moments later the doctor proceeded down the hall and through the double doors. The blonde woman departed down the other end of the hall and Sarah came to join them not looking entirely happy.
"They're filing our complaint and transferring Tommy to Dr. Gooding, the woman who just went in," Sarah sighed. "It is hospital policy to not allow anyone but immediate family into the ICU but there are exceptions, if there's no immediate family or in certain cases if the family makes allowances, which we did."
"So what's happening?" Thomas asked.
"Dr. Fluder will be reprimanded for overstepping his bounds and Jason is allowed to visit Tommy," Sarah shook her head. "Past that? Nothing."
Thomas sighed and looked at Jason. The younger man looked too lost in his own thoughts to really listen to them after he heard the conversation wasn't about Tommy. He touched Jason's arm gently, bringing his attention back to them. Jason's eyes focussed on him, so much worry in them Thomas felt like hugging him, and knew he was looking at his son-in-law in everyway except legally.
"When we get home, if you two want to, we'll draw up some papers that will make you two each other's next of kin and give you power of attorney over the other. I know you probably haven't thought of that, and understand you probably don't want to, but in situations like this having that legally done will help," Thomas offered, trying to be gentle about it.
Jason paled slightly but nodded, his voice not quite steady when he spoke, "Thank you."
"You're a good man, Jason," Sarah told him. "You make our son happy and we love you for more than that. We trust you with him and you're part of our family, no matter what anyone else says."
Twenty minutes later, Dr. Gooding came back into the waiting room. She made her way directly to where they sat and promptly introduced herself, "I'm Dr. Stacey Gooding, I'll be looking after Tommy now, in case Sarah didn't tell you."
"You must be Thomas," she shook his hand before turning to Jason and shaking his, "and Jason. I apologize for all the confusion."
"As long as it's solved now," Thomas answered warily.
"It is I assure you," Dr. Gooding said. "Tommy didn't do himself any favours by getting out of bed so soon. He tore his stitches, which I've repaired, and there will be bruising where he tore out his IVs. When he calmed down, he became aware of those things. He was given a shot for the pain before I fixed his stitches and we have him on a Demerol drip. Until we decrease the dosage, which will most likely be tomorrow, he'll be a bit out of it. Most of this he will probably remember only vaguely."
"Can we see him?" Jason asked quietly.
"Of course," Dr. Gooding replied, "but he does need his rest and the pain medication we've given him will help him sleep so it would probably be best if you didn't stay too long. He'll be more alert tomorrow."
"Okay," Jason sighed softly, letting out the breath he didn't even realize he was holding in relief.
He felt Sarah rub his back gently for a moment, "Why don't you go see him first, Jason? Just in case he falls asleep soon. There a few questions I'd like to ask Dr. Gooding."
Jason nodded and slipped through the double doors. Sally was checking some readings when he entered but she finished quickly and smiled at him before excusing herself.
"Hey," Jason said softly, not sure whether Tommy was awake or sleeping.
Tommy's eyes opened part way and looked at him sluggishly. He smiled slightly when he saw who it was and reached out clumsily for Jason's hand. Jason grasped it gently, leaning over the bed. "You feeling better now?"
"Yeah," Tommy whispered, leaning into Jason's touch as his lover stroked his cheek gently.
"Good," Jason said quietly, watching as Tommy's eyes drifted shut. "You rest, okay? Concentrate on getting better, I'll take care of everything."
"Mmm," Tommy mumbled, "love you."
"I love you too, Tom." Jason forcefully kept his tears in check as he leaned down to brush his lips against Tommy's forehead. "Everything is okay now..."
*****
"I'm losing control!"
Jason felt his heart stop as he watched, helpless to do anything, as Tommy swerved again and tried to break.
"Jason! Help me!" Tommy cried as his car spun out of control.
Jason felt his heart skip a beat as the car crashed into the wall and the radio went dead. He started running, needing to get to Tommy. Oh God, he needed to get to him.
He was nearly there, he could see Tommy's pale face, see the stream of bloody running down his forehead and the trickle that fell from the corner of his mouth, when someone grabbed him and held him back. Jason fought against whoever it was, finally breaking free just as the car exploded...
Jason screamed.
He looked around, tears stinging his eyes and saw… his hotel room? Before he could process this new reality he was stumbling into the bathroom, bending over the toilet as the food Thomas and Sarah had all but forced into him for dinner emptied out of his stomach.
Slowly, he sank back down, leaning against the tub, his hands pressed against his eyes. He was shaking, the bathtub cool against his overheated skin. It was just a dream...
Jason sobbed once, bringing his knees up to his chest and resting his forehead against them, his hands still pressing against his face.
It was just a dream...
Author's Note: Thanks as always to Mandi for being an awesome, awesome, AWESOME beta.
Also, I forgot to mention this when it actually happened the first time but I'll mention it now. This story is going to span quite a few years so there will be some larger jumps in time. The first one was the all phone convo chapter. The birthday Tommy celebrated a few chapters back was his 23rd b-day, k?
Chapter 13
"Yes. Are you Tommy's doctor?" Thomas asked, eager for more information about his son. "How is he? What's wrong with him?"
"Yes, I'm Dr. Fluder and I'm in charge of your son's case. There isn't too much to worry about. He's a very fortunate young man. I can't understand these race car drivers," the doctor told them bluntly. "He is lucky more damage wasn't done. He was in surgery for a short time because we were very concerned he was bleeding internally, his left side is quite bruised, but we found he was not. His left leg is broken, he has a concussion and he has some superficial bruising and scrapes but nothing to really worry about."
Thomas swallowed hard. "Oh thank God."
"He will need some physical therapy after the cast comes off," Dr. Fluder replied.
"May we see him?" Sarah asked, her voice hoarse.
"Yes. He is in the ICU. We will be keeping him there for another day, the anaesthesia has not quite worn off yet. He is still unconscious, but that is nothing to worry about. You are allowed 10 minutes each per hour of visiting time until he is moved out of the ICU," Dr. Fluder answered disinterestedly, glancing at his watch.
"Thank you," Sarah replied, her tone somewhat chilled. She stood, pulling Jason to his feet with her, intending to start towards the ICU.
"Only family are allowed into the ICU area," The doctor told them, with a hint of disgust in his tone.
Sarah immediately looked at Jason, expecting an outburst. Jason just looked dazed. His eyes were slightly glazed and he had a confused, grief struck expression on his pale face. She knew he had been there since they brought Tommy in but she hadn't realized just how long that time had been for the young man to sit there worried and alone and without a clue as to what was happening to his lover.
He wasn't legally family, though he and Tommy had been living together for the past five years. The hospital staff did not have to release any information to him if they chose not to do so. The doctors could ignore his presence and they had. The bewildered, hurting young man had simply been pushed aside.
Sarah's blood boiled at the thought. Jason had seen everything. He had watched his lover's car crash into the wall, had been with him in the ambulance because of John's intervention, and had known that the injuries were serious. He should have been checked over and possibly been treated for shock but instead he was sitting alone in the waiting room! He still looked too pale and shaky.
"He is family, Goddamnit!" Sarah began with a roar, turning on the surprised doctor with a biting tone.
Thomas was as livid as his wife was and would have had a few choice words for the doctor is she had not beaten him to it. Instead, he looked at his son's boyfriend and put a steadying hand on his shoulder. Jason was not really registering what had just happened or he would have been outraged about it as well. All Jason had managed to get out of the comment was that he still could not get to Tommy. He was too tired and worried to think of anything but getting to his lover's side.
"I don't get to see him?" Jason asked his voice soft and slightly hoarse with strain. Sarah and the doctor did not notice their voices had risen to too high a volume.
"We're working on that," Thomas assured him. "If there's a way to get you in we'll find it."
Before the situation became so volatile that a punch was thrown or Sarah was ejected from the hospital they were saved by a page. The doctor was being called down to the ER. He looked like he was about to call security to have at least Sarah escorted off the premises when a nurse, who had watched the scene unfold, stepped forward.
"I'll take care of this for you, Dr. Fluder," She offered.
"Very well," He responded as he aimed a scowl and a glare in Sarah's direction. He turned with a cape like flourish of his lab coat and stalked off.
Sarah's eyes narrowed at the middle-aged nurse, if they thought she was just going to back down about this then they had another thing...
"Come with me please," the nurse requested quietly.
Sarah folded her arms across her chest. "We're not going anywhere until we all get to see Tommy!"
The nurse smiled faintly. "It will be hard to see him when you're in the waiting room and he's in the ICU. Follow me, please."
Sarah and Thomas exchanged looks, then followed the nurse, Sarah clasping Jason's hand, Thomas' hand on his back. Sarah just looked at the nurse, daring her to protest.
"You can find the ICU by following the red dots on the floor," was all she said, pointing out the system the hospital had to help visitors figure out where they were going.
The ICU waiting room was just outside the double doors that led to the quiet ward. Sarah and Thomas went in to see their son first, as the nurse made discreet inquires to the other stuff before letting Jason in as well. Sarah gave him a quick hug, before she and Thomas went to keep a look out for Dr. Fluder, not knowing the nurse has already set up for the nurses at the front desk to call to the ICU if he was coming.
The nurse, Sally, kept half an eye out the door and half an eye on the reason she was bending the rules. The ICU nurses would not make a peep of protest, that she was sure of. They knew love and devotion when they saw it and all those who had seen Jason sitting in the waiting room had quickly warmed to him. Anyone who had not seen him there could have no doubts watching him now.
He stood awkwardly at Tommy's bedside, nearly scared to touch him lest he hurt his lover. Knowing that his time was limited, he took the limp hand gently, almost reverently, and stroked the dry skin with his thumb. He closed his eyes against the onslaught of tears, keeping enough composure that only a few managed to slip down his pale face and leaned close, whispering something in Tommy's ear that was inaudible even in the din of the room.
Sally hated having to tell him when it was time for him to go. She could not let him stay any longer. If Dr. Fluder found him there would be hell to pay. She touched his arm softly to let him know the time was up.
He nodded once to her before turning back to Tommy for a moment more. She watched his trembling fingers ghost over a few strands of the long hair before he leaned down and touched his lips tenderly to Tommy's forehead.
Sally delivered him straight into the hands of the Olivers, who were waiting for him. She fixed them with her stern gaze, enough to make even Sarah know she meant business, and ordered, "You get some food and a good rest in him before I see him back here. You take care of him so he can take care of the one in there. We'll see about getting him in again later but I can't make any promises."
She looked at Jason, who seemed to be winning his battle against breaking down. She squeezed his hand once. "You can't help him if you're a mess. We'll take good care of him while you look after yourself, I promise."
Jason only nodded. Tommy was okay, at least kind of. He would be okay. He looked awful but he would be okay. He would be okay.
Sarah noticed Jason had gone beyond processing reality first. She hooked her arm through his and steered him to the parking lot where their rental car waited. Thomas quickly made arrangements with the nurses before following them. They could not help their son in any other way than making sure his lover didn't simply collapse while waiting to see him again.
Jason quickly showed just how utterly exhausted he was. He fell asleep leaning against the car door. Thomas had to gently shake him awake when they reached the hotel to get him inside.
Jason collapsed into bed, taking off nothing more than his shoes out of habit. He curled up on his side, vaguely noticing that someone was putting a blanket over him and affectionately brushing back his mussed hair. He barely realized he had gotten back to the hotel. There was a deep unsettled feeling in his stomach, an aching he knew he would not be able to get rid of until he could look into those soft brown eyes again.
He had to ignore it long enough to sleep. Both his mind and body were clamouring for rest. The day, days, had been too hectic, too long, too emotionally charged for him to keep going any longer.
Thomas woke him up only a few hours later, a deli sandwich and a coffee in hand. Sarah and Thomas would have insisted he slept for much longer than that but they had had a phone call from the hospital to inform them Tommy was showing signs of waking. If Jason was not there for that neither their son nor his lover would be in good shape.
Jason had not realized how hungry he was until he took the first bite of that sandwich at Thomas' urging. He wolfed it down on the way to the hospital, glad when Thomas silently passed him another one from a bag in the front seat. By the time, they arrived at the hospital he looked and felt better than when he had left, even if he needed more sleep soon.
When they got to the ICU they found Dr. Fluder outside the doors, yelling red-faced at a nurse about calming "that new patient" down. From what Jason could understand, which wasn't much, he was still a bit foggy, was that Tommy was panicking, almost to the point of making himself sick, because no one would tell him where Jason was.
"What the hell is going on?!" Thomas boomed.
Dr. Fluder quickly turned his attention to Sarah and Thomas, who were both extremely angry, having overheard and understood even more than Jason had. Tommy was distraught, was not letting the nurses get near him, was going to make himself sick...
"Your son," Dr. Fluder began, his red face twisted in a scowl, "is not being co-operative. He won't let anyone near him and keeps demanding to know where 'Jason' is."
"Oh god, I have to see him," Jason whispered, his voice too quiet to be noticed in the battle going on around him.
"Jason is right here," Thomas thundered, "and he is going to see him."
Dr. Fluder's face twitched. "Only family are..."
"Hang only family are allowed in!" Sarah told him. "The easiest way to get him to calm down is to let Jason see him. Otherwise, you'll have to sedate him and put excess drugs unnecessarily into his system. It's better for him if he calms down on his own. And if you don't allow that to happen you are not looking out for your patient, you're harming him and will be in violation of your Hippocratic Oath!"
Dr. Fluder looked stunned as Sarah went on. "And if you think I'm going to let you get away with that you've got another thing coming. If you don't let this happen and stay out of Jason's way and hopefully transfer Tommy to another doctor's care then you better believe I will call you up on every charge I can. And don't you dare try to patronize me, I'm a nurse, I know how these things work!"
As Dr. Fluder sputtered, trying to find a retort, Sally marched through the doors, grabbed Jason by the hand and pulled him into the ICU. Dr. Fluder did not follow; he still had his hands full with Sarah and Thomas.
Tommy had managed, Jason wasn't sure how, to get himself half off the bed. His leg, encased in a bulky cast, was still on the bed, the rest of him was in the chair beside it. Most of the monitors that had been attached to his skin were gone, dangling from their machines. A nurse had unplugged them, just to stop the beeping from disturbing the other patients. He had also managed to remove one of his IVs.
Jason didn't think, he just went to him. Tommy attempted to lash out at him, not seeing who it was at first, but Jason avoided the blow, grabbing him gently and holding him still. Tommy nearly freaked out but looked up before he did, his eyes slightly wild, and saw who it was.
"Jase..." Tommy's voice was choked and he quickly buried his head in Jason's shirt.
"Shh... I'm here, its okay." Jason held Tommy as gently as possible, knowing he had got to be hurting. "Calm down... Calm down..."
"No one would tell me where you were, just that there had been an accident. I don't remember what happened and no one would tell me they just told me to be quiet and rest I'd be okay but no one would tell me if you were okay. I can't remember anything past last night, I thought you were hurt and they weren't telling me or... or worse! But you're okay... you're okay..." Tommy rambled, clinging to his lover.
"Shh. I'm fine. I wasn't there. Your car spun out of control on the track. No one else was hurt, it's okay," Jason told him, looking up to see Sally and two other nurses approaching cautiously.
"Jase... it hurts..." Tommy whispered, starting to sag against him. He had been running on adrenaline before and all the movement was catching up to him.
"I know, you need to get back into bed. Are you going to let the nurses help?" Jason asked gently.
"Yeah... Oh fuck, what did I do..." Tommy murmured, hissing in pain as he was eased back onto the bed.
"Tore your stitches, among other things, that's what!" One of the nurses scolded, deftly inspecting his side. "A doctor is on the way; you just lay still and cooperate now!"
Sally looked up at Jason. "You're going to have to leave while we reinsert the IV, fix his stitches and get the monitors hooked back up. I don't think you want to see it."
Jason nodded, he already felt a bit light-headed from the whole experience. "Are you going to be okay if I step outside for a little bit?"
Tommy nodded, wincing in pain. "You'll come back soon?"
"As soon as they let me," Jason promised, brushing back his hair gently. He leaned in to kiss his sweaty forehead. "You've got to let the nurses take care of you though."
"I will," Tommy murmured.
Jason squeezed Tommy's hand then quickly stepped aside, letting the nurses fuss over Tommy. He slipped through the double doors, wanting to get out of the way, and found Sarah talking rapidly to a short blonde woman in what looked almost like a business suit. Thomas spotted him and drew him away from the two, pushing him gently into a plastic chair and handing him a cup of something warm.
Jason sipped it cautiously. He wasn't sure he wanted more coffee and Sarah was always trying to get him to drink tea even though he hated it. She said it was good for him and gave it to him anyway. But the warm liquid in the cup was rich and chocolately. Cocoa, that he would drink. He took a bigger sip, trying to blank his mind and calm down before anyone noticed his hands were shaking.
"You got him to calm down?" Thomas asked.
Jason nodded, "Yeah. He didn't know what happened, he doesn't remember the accident or anything before it for awhile so he assumed I was in the accident with him..."
"Ah," Thomas nodded his head, understanding.
"Yeah, he calmed down when he realized I was there," Jason said.
"Good." Thomas pointed to where Sarah was still talking. A young black woman in a white lab coat and blue scrubs had joined them. "Sarah gave Dr. Fluder hell. He stormed off and that woman came down to talk to her. I think the other one is the doctor who will now be in charge of his case."
A few moments later the doctor proceeded down the hall and through the double doors. The blonde woman departed down the other end of the hall and Sarah came to join them not looking entirely happy.
"They're filing our complaint and transferring Tommy to Dr. Gooding, the woman who just went in," Sarah sighed. "It is hospital policy to not allow anyone but immediate family into the ICU but there are exceptions, if there's no immediate family or in certain cases if the family makes allowances, which we did."
"So what's happening?" Thomas asked.
"Dr. Fluder will be reprimanded for overstepping his bounds and Jason is allowed to visit Tommy," Sarah shook her head. "Past that? Nothing."
Thomas sighed and looked at Jason. The younger man looked too lost in his own thoughts to really listen to them after he heard the conversation wasn't about Tommy. He touched Jason's arm gently, bringing his attention back to them. Jason's eyes focussed on him, so much worry in them Thomas felt like hugging him, and knew he was looking at his son-in-law in everyway except legally.
"When we get home, if you two want to, we'll draw up some papers that will make you two each other's next of kin and give you power of attorney over the other. I know you probably haven't thought of that, and understand you probably don't want to, but in situations like this having that legally done will help," Thomas offered, trying to be gentle about it.
Jason paled slightly but nodded, his voice not quite steady when he spoke, "Thank you."
"You're a good man, Jason," Sarah told him. "You make our son happy and we love you for more than that. We trust you with him and you're part of our family, no matter what anyone else says."
Twenty minutes later, Dr. Gooding came back into the waiting room. She made her way directly to where they sat and promptly introduced herself, "I'm Dr. Stacey Gooding, I'll be looking after Tommy now, in case Sarah didn't tell you."
"You must be Thomas," she shook his hand before turning to Jason and shaking his, "and Jason. I apologize for all the confusion."
"As long as it's solved now," Thomas answered warily.
"It is I assure you," Dr. Gooding said. "Tommy didn't do himself any favours by getting out of bed so soon. He tore his stitches, which I've repaired, and there will be bruising where he tore out his IVs. When he calmed down, he became aware of those things. He was given a shot for the pain before I fixed his stitches and we have him on a Demerol drip. Until we decrease the dosage, which will most likely be tomorrow, he'll be a bit out of it. Most of this he will probably remember only vaguely."
"Can we see him?" Jason asked quietly.
"Of course," Dr. Gooding replied, "but he does need his rest and the pain medication we've given him will help him sleep so it would probably be best if you didn't stay too long. He'll be more alert tomorrow."
"Okay," Jason sighed softly, letting out the breath he didn't even realize he was holding in relief.
He felt Sarah rub his back gently for a moment, "Why don't you go see him first, Jason? Just in case he falls asleep soon. There a few questions I'd like to ask Dr. Gooding."
Jason nodded and slipped through the double doors. Sally was checking some readings when he entered but she finished quickly and smiled at him before excusing herself.
"Hey," Jason said softly, not sure whether Tommy was awake or sleeping.
Tommy's eyes opened part way and looked at him sluggishly. He smiled slightly when he saw who it was and reached out clumsily for Jason's hand. Jason grasped it gently, leaning over the bed. "You feeling better now?"
"Yeah," Tommy whispered, leaning into Jason's touch as his lover stroked his cheek gently.
"Good," Jason said quietly, watching as Tommy's eyes drifted shut. "You rest, okay? Concentrate on getting better, I'll take care of everything."
"Mmm," Tommy mumbled, "love you."
"I love you too, Tom." Jason forcefully kept his tears in check as he leaned down to brush his lips against Tommy's forehead. "Everything is okay now..."
*****
"I'm losing control!"
Jason felt his heart stop as he watched, helpless to do anything, as Tommy swerved again and tried to break.
"Jason! Help me!" Tommy cried as his car spun out of control.
Jason felt his heart skip a beat as the car crashed into the wall and the radio went dead. He started running, needing to get to Tommy. Oh God, he needed to get to him.
He was nearly there, he could see Tommy's pale face, see the stream of bloody running down his forehead and the trickle that fell from the corner of his mouth, when someone grabbed him and held him back. Jason fought against whoever it was, finally breaking free just as the car exploded...
Jason screamed.
He looked around, tears stinging his eyes and saw… his hotel room? Before he could process this new reality he was stumbling into the bathroom, bending over the toilet as the food Thomas and Sarah had all but forced into him for dinner emptied out of his stomach.
Slowly, he sank back down, leaning against the tub, his hands pressed against his eyes. He was shaking, the bathtub cool against his overheated skin. It was just a dream...
Jason sobbed once, bringing his knees up to his chest and resting his forehead against them, his hands still pressing against his face.
It was just a dream...