Hi Guys, I am writing this as a continuation from the episode 'fall on me' because I loved the happy ending but I thought it was probably a bad idea for Ethan to be playing basketball with a limp. Just a bit of shameless fluff between the brothers really.
All characters belong to the BBC ofc.
The Basketball match was a welcome distraction to Cal and Ethan after all the turmoil of the past week, losing each other in the crash, Ethan being injured, Cal almost being killed and the Alicia thing. Cal had already scored 3 nets, giving the Doctors an early lead despite them losing a man when Dylan escaped back to the ED. Ethan hung back, trying to stop the other side from passing to some of their more athletic players such as Jacob and Max. Ethan knew he should probably not be playing such a highly active sport on his bad leg but he was enjoying spending time with his friends in such a relaxed environment, and it was getting him out of the fast and the furious.
Feeling a twinge in his leg, Ethan was briefly distracted, running his hand down it, and not looking at what was happening around him but when he looked up he was shocked to see noel running right towards him, ball in hand, with no chance of getting out of his way before they collided. Falling down onto the ambulance bay floor, Ethan felt a painful and damaging pull in his knee and he had to bite his lip to stop a cry of pain from coming out.
Cal was the other side of the makeshift court when it happened, marking Max close to the net, and the play suddenly stopped as the ball rolled underneath an ambulance. Everyone looked over at the pile of their two colleagues, and Cal walked over, keeping his pace slow despite wanting to run to his little brother's aid, and helped Noel off him. Noel apologised multiple times, promising he had tried to warn him. Ethan sat up, trying to get his bearings and looking around to find his glasses, which were found a few feet away with a crack down one of the lenses. Typical he thought to himself they survive scaffolding falling on me but not a simple basketball match. Cal offered his brother a hand and he received it gratefully, getting up on his right foot. When he tried to put weight on his other leg, however, he felt an intense pain and he would have fallen had Cal's hands not had a firm grip on his elbow.
Cal put Ethan's arm around his neck and carried him to a chair which had been hastily pulled up by Louise. Once he was sat down Ethan noticed the whole team looking at him worriedly as Cal started to probe at his knee. Ethan felt a slight flush of embarrassment rise as he realised his silly decision to play on a bad knee had ruined their fun. This thought was pushed aside as Cal squeezed a bad spot making Ethan groan out in pain. "Ethan, you know when Dylan looked at your knee and told you try to rest and not do any strenuous exercise or you could cause more damage to the muscle?" Cal asked, slightly sarcastically. Ethan knowing where this was going. "Well I think you have caused more damage to the muscle."
Elle told Max to go and get a wheelchair and, thanks to Cal's insistence, the brothers wheeled out of the ambulance bay alone. They could hear the basketball match being started up again and Ethan was glad he hadn't cased too much inconvenience to the staff's fun. "I am sorry Cal." Ethan said from the wheelchair. "I know you wanted to play, once I get to the ED I will be fine, you can go back to the match."
Cal smiled at how typical Ethan was being, and said "Sorry Nibbles, I am in for the long haul."
Once they arrived through the temporary entrance to the ED they were greeted with a worried looking Charlie and Lily. "What have you done now?" Lily asked. "Surprisingly, Ethan is a bad patient, as we would probably all be." Cal answered. They were brought through to the cubical and Dylan, who was sitting alone with coffee and a newspaper in the staffroom, was sent for so he could have another look at Ethan's leg.
After a few hours in the ED which consisted of a severe telling off by Dylan, an x-ray to be sure and a few other tests the brothers were both sat on the edge of a bed waiting for Dylan to return with his verdict. Cal had been to the shop a couple of times to get coffee for them both but had spent most of his time keeping his brother company. Suddenly Dylan appeared through the curtain, carrying a pair of crutches, which made Ethan cringe. "Ok, you have managed to sprain your knee on top of the damage you had already sustained from the dislocation. You will need to use these for the time being and I have written you a referral to the physio department and a prescription for some stronger pain relief." Ethan smiled and reached out for the crutches, wanting to get out of there but Dylan moved them out of his reach and added "Make sure you listen to my advice this time. Rest and no strenuous exercise, like basketball." With that he handed Cal his brother's crutches and prescription and left.
Walking, or hopping, out of the hospital the brothers made their way towards Ethan's Car. Thankfully Cal had been put on Ethan's insurance, now they had settled into living together and driving to work together with their relationship at an all-time high. Cal tried to match his pace to Ethan's hopping with the crutches, which made him slower than usual, and said to him "How about we get you that curry now and the f…" he was cut off as Ethan stopped and stated "If you say the fast and the furious I will beat you over the head with my crutch," sounding serious even though he was smiling. "Ok, you can choose." Cal agreed as they both laughed and continued walking together smiling.
Thank you for reading!