A Start of Something Sweet
Who: Coby and Edie Where: Hospital When: June 10th (way backdated folks) Warnings: EXTREME CUTENESS, PLEASE HAVE YOUR INSULIN READY
It was another day at the Normalville hospital.
The white sneakers Edie Williams traded in for her usual set of cowboy boots on her days as a nurse lightly squeaked against the linoleum floor as she finished her rounds. The girl had been working non-stop and the fatigue was finally catching up with her. She promised herself she would leave for the day after she made one last visit. She quietly stepped into the room now occupied by a young man.
He had come stumbling into the hospital a few days ago. They barely got his name before the more tangible effects of radiation poisoning presented itself... all over the waiting room floor. Even if Edie was not well-versed in vomit, she still would not have shied away from the young man. He reminded her of her youngest brother Wayne in the most painful way.
Since then she had been hovering around him, always checking in to see if he was okay. Every time he had been asleep. But she would quietly record the readings and gently brush his cheeks with her fingers, willing him better.
As she entered the room she expected him to be asleep as he was like every other time.
Coby had taken great pains to bunch his pillows the way he liked, and was now laying against them, panting, but comfortable. He saw white in the doorway and squinted, his head splitting with the strain of his focusing eyes. "Hi," he said, unsure of who this woman was, aside from a nurse. "Do you have any drugs?"
Edie perked up, caught off guard by the sound of his voice. After the initial shock, however, she couldn't help but smile. "You're awake," she beamed. The blonde in her light blue scrubs hurried over to the side of his bed. Not hearing his request, she asked anxiously, "How are you feeling?" She waited maybe a bit too eagerly for the answer. Coby might have been shocked to see that the complete stranger didn't seem to treat him like a stranger at all.
Smiling, or at least trying to, Coby replied, "Like I need drugs of the prescriptive variety. I hate to rain on your very sunshiney parade, but I think there's...ugh." He held his stomach and rolled over on his side, his closed mouth searching desperately for the trash can. His torso lunged for it and he puked over the side of his bed, a neat waterfall of stomach acid and tube feedings spilling in a straight line. "I think there's something wrong with me," he finished. wiping his mouth while his stomach gurgled.
Edie's dark eyebrows pulled toward themselves as she watched Coby start to crumple in pain. After he vomited (Edie, in her own personal panic and very unprofessionally, couldn't find any bins fast enough), she rested a cool hand on the young man's sweaty forehead. "You'll be okay," she said, deliberately avoiding the conversation she dreaded with each patient. Radiation poisoning was still so unpredictable and it's influence and severity was always changing based on the amount and duration of exposure.
"I don't feel like I'm gonna be okay," he said, and wiped the tears from his watering eyes. The delicate flesh around his pupils, in his sinuses, covering his lungs, all burned like the Devil had set up shop. "Please. I don't care if it's a gun in my mouth, just give me something."
The blonde's features stayed neutral and she nodded. "Okay, sugar, I'll be right back." Edie hurried out of the room and came back not even a minute later with a bag of clear liquid. With her expert hands, she quickly hung the bag up on a silver pole next to the bed and attached the small tube feeding that lead out of it to a needle that she inserted, with hardly even a slight pinch in pain, into the vein in the crease of Coby's arm. "You should be feeling it real soon," she commented after she was finished.
He stared momentarily at the bag. It looked like she had hung a ziplock of water over his head, but he didn't care, the placebo effect was already kicking in. "Thank you," he said. "I'm Coby." He stuck out the hand with the I.V. in it.
"Edie," the girl smiled, gently taking his hand and giving it a small shake. "Nice to meet you, or at least see you awake and talking."
"How long have I been out for?" he asked, then laughed a little. "Wow, I never thought I'd say that."
Edie let a small laugh escape her lips before answering, "Only a couple of days. No big deal. Actually, better than a lot of the others." She had seen radiation poisoning do much much worse. The young man should be grateful he was only out for two days and could speak to her now. Hopefully, he would continue showing signs of improvement.
"Did I miss anything?" he joked.
"Ha! Hardly," Edie replied. Satisfied that the morphine was starting to kick in, she traveled to the other side of the bed and grabbed the vomit-filled trashcan and headed for the small bathroom within the room. "Ah, you know what, you did miss that last of carton of Cookies 'n Cream icecream. Sorry, I'll make it up to you," she yelled over the sound of running water.
"Ugh," he called out, albeit a little softly. "Don't. Mention. Ice cream." His stomach twisted again, and the nurse emerged with the clean trash can. He motioned her to come over to his bedside, and pointed to the clear fluid. "Seriously. Thank you." It began to feel like there were lead balls at the ends of his eyelashes. "So what's my diagnosis?"
The smile given to Coby, first as a response to the thanks, stuttered sadly at the mention of his condition. After setting the trashcan down, Edie made a spot for herself on his bed, carefully maneuvering herself around his body underneath the blankets. It was casual, friendly, and without the sterility of a nurse informing her patient of the diagnosis; like a sister comforting a family member. "Well, sugar, you are lucky to be alive. Gave me a scare, you did, coming in and spewing all over everything," She didn't mention how many others had not be as fortunate, "But you are doing much better and that's a relief." The girl paused thoughtfully and then sighed as she quickly went to fidget with the blankets.
"You have radiation sickness." She purposely called it the other name it was referred to as; 'poisoning' made it sound so... lethal. "Being outside exposed you to the radiation left over from the bombs, causing damage to organ tissue. I know it sounds serious but the way you are improving you should be ready to get out of here in a few weeks." Lifting her head up from her temporary concentration of the blankets, she offered a reassuring smile. Her fingers brushed a stray piece of hair from his forehead.
Coby found something very comforting and easy about the way she moved, acted, smiled, talked, and he could feel himself taking to her already. It was like having an older sister, something he'd always wanted and never had. Plus, she was a savior with the painkillers. He moved his legs over to give her more room, and smiled when she placed her hand along his forehead to brush his hair back. "I think I can deal with radiation sickness. I lived through eating bad shellfish my whole life in Indiana. This feels relatively less horrific."
Edie let out a full throaty laugh. "Then that settles it. You're going to be fine. Sorry you have to stay in here for another few weeks, though. There anything I can sneak you to make it more bearable?" She grinned, maybe a tad bit wickedly, at Coby.
"Got any rice krispie treats?" he asked, giggling.
"Well of course, sugar," Edie said, tossing her hand in the air. "Wait, though," she paused and looked at him in mock-seriousness, "If I get one for you are you just going to - " she pantomimed fierce vomiting, " - again?" A smile punctuated the question.
A laugh went through his gut instead. "Probably. Thanks for looking out for me on that one." He wiped some sweat off his forehead and tried to punch the pillows again.
"Can't say I haven't vomited myself for a tiny bit of pleasure," Edie commented, referring to her drinking habits. She leaned over, helping him with the pillows. "I could try and find you some better pillows, though. How about that?"
"What about vomiting is pleasurable?" he asked, slightly confused. He stole a peek down her shirt for fun. "I love pillows. Oh my God. Pillows would be great."
"Then pillows it will be for you," the blonde nodded. She laughed, slightly embarrassed by Coby's confused look. "I tend to go a little overboard when it comes to drinking," she admitted. Edie thought that maybe she should not be talking to patients about such things as her drinking habits, but it felt so natural with the young man.
"Ooooh," Coby sighed. "That's okay. I love drinking almost as much as I love pillows."
"Good," Edie laughed. "When you're out of here, you'll come drinking with me. Promise?" She held out her pinky for Coby.
"Promise." Coby hooked his pinky around hers. "Is there a good place to go in this town?"
"Ha!" Edie barked out. "A cute little bar, sure. But only if you want to be buttered up by the gorgeous man who runs it and then embarrassingly denied." The girl sighed thinking about just how good Mac looked with his shirt off.
Coby raised an eyebrow, laughing. "I wouldn't mind being buttered up by a gorgeous man. Sounds like every other night I go drinking. But this guy sounds like a total moron if he's denying you." Pausing, he closed his eyes to rest them. "How gorgeous are we talking?"
The blonde should have been surprised by Coby's comments considering she never had known any gay men during her time in Kentucky, but she really wasn't. She let her eyes widen a little but it was joined with an equally as wide smile as she answered him. "Pretty damn gorgeous, sugar. Sculpted like a Greek God, he was." She quickly added, "You're right, he definitely was a moron. I shouldn't be so hard on myself."
Despite that look he knew rather well, he took no offense. This girl seemed genuinely sweet, and he patted her hand and said, "There's a reason a lot of Greek gods were kicked off Mount Olympus. Because they were stupid, hot body or no not body." In the back of his head he thought, Whatever I need to meet this guy.
Edie laughed and after a few seconds later she asked, very self-consciously, "So you're gay?" She didn't know if she should have said 'homosexual' instead, but gay was the first word to pop into her head. It was asked without any intended offense, Coby might see the genuine curiosity coming from the girl.
Coby grinned. "Guilty as charged." Trying not to make her uncomfortable, he cracked, "You're not gonna replace my drip bag with cyanide, are you?"
The comment made Edie think she offended him; her jaw dropped and her eyes widen. "No, no! It's just that... I just..." Her cheeks burned red. "I've never met anyone who was..." Again, should she say homosexual? Gay? "Like you," she decided, embarrassed.
This woman wasn't the first adorable bumbling bumpkin he'd ever come across, and he appreciated her attempt to be open-minded about the fact that he loved cock probably more than she did. He put a hand up to her red cheek to feel its burn. "It's okay," he said, and let his hand drop again. "I'm not offended. I promise. What's your name, doll?"
The girl felt herself instantly relax as Coby's hand touched her skin. She offered him her full appreciative smile. "I'm Edie," she said.
"Have I mentioned my name? I'm kind of out of it." His head lolled to the side, but he didn't take his eyes from hers.
She smiled softly. "Not recently," she said. "When you came in you told us. Coby, right?"
"Yeah. I'm Coby." For some reason it sounded strange to his medicated head. All of a sudden his skin felt hot from head to toe. "Are you sure I'm gonna be okay?"
"I promise."
It wasn't exactly the truth and wasn't exactly a lie. The truth - Edie did not know how bad the radiation poisoning was, nor could she predict its apparent erratic progression. However, whatever drew her to the boy, be it his resemblance to her youngest brother Wayne or his natural charisma, she would give what little she had left to protect him. The promise was real to the girl. There was no doubt in her mind that he would get better.
Coby rubbed at his heavy eyes. "So, Edie, tell me a story."
"A story?" Edie said, noticing the young man's fatigue. "I'm not sure what you would want to hear," she admitted.
"Tell me how you got that accent," he said.
Edie smiled, glad to share something about her hometown. "I'm from Kentucky," she started. "Near Louisville, if you know the city. Sometimes I'm afraid I'm a walking stereotype, but I guess I never really knew it until I got here. See, I had never left Kentucky since I was born. Not even on vacation or a day trip. Then one day, I said to myself, 'I'm fed up with this. I need to see the world.' I wasn't in love with my boyfriend anymore, my job was becoming tedious... so I decided I was going to move to New York City. Packed up my truck and left. I'm here because my car broke down." After she said the last, she felt guilty, like she should have died in the bombings.
The girl glanced at Coby to see if he was still awake.
"So basically your life up till recently has consisted of hog-tying and vinegar-based barbecue sauce?" He laughed, albeit weakly, at his own horrible joke. "I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. I mean if it makes you feel any better, I'm originally from Indiana. And it's a really good thing you didn't make it all the way to the city, because I don't know how anyone survived." His stomach gave a violent turn, and he leaned over looking for the can again.
"Cow-tipping and bourbon," Edie corrected, laughing. Coby's comment about New York City scared her, but seeing sickness rise to the young man's face she quickly grabbed the trashcan and raised it near his mouth.
For a moment it seemed like the bile floating around his gullet was going to be patient and wait to come out, but then his stomach jerked violently and he let it all out. unidentifiable liquids splattered everywhere, but he couldn't stop for a good four or five heaves. He coughed and choked it out, and just as fast as the wave had come, it passed and he felt better again. "Sor...ry," he choked.
"Don't you apologize, sugar," Edie said, taking off her hand that had been soothingly rubbing his back as he vomited. "It shouldn't be too much more of this." She got off the bed totting the trashcan back to the bathroom. She came out a few seconds later, holding a wet papertowel. "Here," she said, placing the cool material against his forehead.
"Are you a real nurse?" he asked, holding the wet paper towel to his throbbing skull. "Because you're almost too nice to be a genuine professional."
Edie chuckled, thinking about her school days in nursing school. "I am, passed the exam with flying colors. But to tell you a secret, my teachers always thought I invested too much emotion with my patients." She paused and dabbed the papertowel against Coby's reddening cheeks. "You remind me of my brother," she admitted.
"Your teachers are fuckers," he said, putting his hand over hers the way a little kid would selfishly grab at his mother's at bedtime. "Really. Is he as cute as me?"
The gesture was recognized by the girl and selfishly coveted. "Yes," she smiled, thinking about Wayne. "You both are too handsome for you're own good. You get in as much trouble as he did with - " She couldn't say girls so she opted for something less gender-specific, "conquests?"
"Oh, he's cute? Sign me up." Coby giggled, and then said, "Sorry. Sometimes I forget not every male on the planet is gay. I think I know too many gay guys for my own good." He took a deep breath, studying Edie's beautiful face for a moment before saying, "I haven't gotten into the bad kind of trouble since I was a nineteen year old kid."
Edie smiled sadly at the mention of her brother in present tense. He had been cute. His smile curled up the same way Coby's did and the sudden need to see Wayne made the girl turn her head away from the young man on the bed. She cleared her throat and asked, "What kind of trouble, sugar?"
Aloof to her pained expression, he said "Oh the usual. Busted condoms, hard liquor, discount drugs."
Coby's candidness was surprising and, actually, refreshing for Edie. She herself had not been a perfect teenager (though she couldn't say she was horrible just maybe a little reckless) and it was comfortable for her to hear his list. She turned around to face him with a gentle smile. "I know of two those first hand," she said, shaking her head. "Not much fun after the fact, is it?"
She looked pleased, not shocked, and Coby smiled a little. He always appreciated those who appreciated his honesty. "Not much fun at all. If you don't mind me asking, which two?"
"Hard liquor and busted condoms," she answered, ending it with a small sigh. She rested her elbow on her knee and plopped her chin down onto her palm. "Hard liquor, of course, still makes an appearance here and there." Condoms might too if the men here weren't so repulsed by her.
Inadvertently his eyes fell to her abdomen. It wasn't swollen. But she seemed distraught. "Is there something on your mind that hard liquor could coax out of that pretty mouth?"
Edie caught his glance and clarified, "It was only a false alarm." But that was all she would say on the subject and she quickly and thankfully rushed onto Coby's question. "My problem, sugar, is that my mouth could a lot more with a little bit of hard liquor in me." Edie didn't blush but she smiled nervously and put her forehead in her palm as she shook her head. "I'm sorry, this really isn't appropriate conversation between a nurse and her charge."
Coby raised an eyebrow. It would've probably sounded more like a come on if he hadn't just told her he shared her love of cock. But he laughed and reached up to take her hand. "Thank you for sitting with me," he said.
And it could have been a come on in another context, but for Coby it was only honesty brought on by the girl's immediate trust in the young man. It felt good to share something as personal as that with a practical stranger, connecting her past with her inevitable future in Normalville.
She took Coby's hand and wrapped her fingers tightly around his. "Thank you for sitting with me," she smiled. "Now get some rest," she commanded gently, her thumb stroking the skin of his hand.
He gave her one last illustrious smile and closed his eyes, the stroke of her thumb easing him into a comfortable sleep.