Who: Rowan, Orin, and Adam What: Chitchat Where: Hospital When: Saturday afternoon Warnings: Family bonding and squishy feelings oh noes
Since Daryl was finally sleeping, with the help of a sedative and Adam needed to get something to drink, he slipped out of her room. Sam seemed competent enough a nurse, and his family was probably going to show up soon, if they weren’t already there.
He shuffled down the hall to the vending machine, and after a long minute spent regarding it and weighing his options, he got water. He wanted a glass of whiskey. But a hospital wouldn’t give him whiskey, and he supposed it was better to be sober than drunk to deal with this. Sucking in a haggard breath, he grabbed the water bottle and stepped away from the vending machine, making his way to the floor’s reception area to see if Rowan and Orin were there. They were, and that was a relief. He needed his family.
“Thanks for coming,” he said softly as he approached, taking a quick drink of water before capping the bottle and setting it on the nearest coffee table. He swallowed hard, closing his eyes for a minute to choke back the emotion threatening to overwhelm him. Relief, gratitude. Love. Love was becoming a very bothersome emotion.
Orin didn’t rush forward to give hugs; he knew Rowan would have that covered, and so he just crossed his arms over his chest and watched Adam try to keep it together. He knew enough of what had happened not to minimize the situation, and he assumed this meant his cousin was going to back in his relationship with his complicated virgin. But right then, he didn’t feel like giving him shit about it or questioning it. Losing people was hard, and even though Adam hadn’t actually lost Daryl, he’d come close, and the fear was the same thing, regardless of outcome. “Thank us again for being family, and I’ll ruin that pretty smile of yours, cous,” he said. “How’s she holding up?” He hadn’t actually met Daryl yet, and he didn’t remember her as anything more than an eager, brown-haired girl (the bookish type he generally tried to avoid), but she was an extension of Adam in that moment, and that made her priority one.
True to form, Rowan did rush in for a hug, running as best as her heels would allow, which was a quick walk at best. Her arms pulled him in tight for a hug and when she heard Orrie’s threat she didn’t bother to hide her eyeroll, though there was a hint of smile to say she agreed to the sentiment. She looked up at her brother and gave him a quick, reassuring nod. “We can go over to her room if you like? Outside, if she’s not allowed visitors.” They could catch up and rehash but she knew her brother wouldn’t want to be far from Daryl, and this might take a while. Whatever they could do to ease his mind, they would do.
Adam returned the hug with a fierce one of his own, holding his sister to him as though she was the only rock in a turbulent ocean. When he released her and stepped back, he gave Orin a petulant look and then rolled his eyes in an expression that mirrored Rowan’s. “She’s doing better. They did a blood test, figured out what paralytics and snake venom got into her. They’ve started her on an IV.” He managed a quirky sort of grin, but it wasn’t real, and he knew both his family members would see through it in a heartbeat. “She’s doing fine now. Resting.” He dropped into the nearest chair, shaking his head before threading his fingers through his hair. “Staying here is fine. I just need to sit for a while.”
He dragged a hand over his mouth and propped his head on his hands, his elbows on his knees. Closing his eyes, he took a few minutes to take some calming breaths. None of them worked; whoever had decided breathing was somehow therapeutic was an imbecile. He was as calm as he was going to get. Deep breathing exercises weren’t going to help him.
Orin gave Adam time to sit down, time to catch his breath and regain his calm, an arm on Rowan’s hand holding her back a moment to let Adam collect himself. When Adam seemed as calm as he was going to manage, Orin let go of Rowan’s arm and moved forward himself. He grabbed a chair, turned and straddled it, sparing just a moment to wink at a nurse that walked by. He turned his attention back to Adam quickly, the distraction so customary that it barely registered in his own mind, and he folded his arms over the back of the chair. “Snakes? How about you tell us what happened. From the beginning, A,” he said, getting the feeling that Adam might be involved in things that were more complicated than he’d previously thought his cousin would ever get involved in.
Unlike either of the other two, Ro sat slipped into her chair quietly, gracefully, feet crossing over at the ankles as she listened to what Adam had to say.
Adam took a deep breath, running over everything in his head. “Daryl has a friend,” he began slowly, choosing his words carefully. He wanted to be unbiased in this explanation, to be perfectly aloof and objective. It wouldn’t happen, but if he didn’t at least try for that, he would turn into a raving lunatic. Then no one would let him back into Daryl’s room. “Apparently, he was being blackmailed by someone. I don’t even know his name. I don’t care. Daryl managed to find out about the blackmail.” He bit down on his lip and took a steadying breath. Not telling Daryl something like that was asking for trouble. Had she been told, this entire situation could have been avoided. Easily.
“She decided to do something about that and went to the blackmailer’s home in Hamartia. Once there, she was likely bitten by one of his many, many snakes.” Adam pulled a face. He had never particularly minded snakes, but after this he would never go near one again. Not willingly. “Blood work shows she was injected with antivenin and then localized paralytics to keep her arms and legs from working.” He choked a bit there, rage and anger making his throat constrict. It showed on his face; he didn’t bother hiding it, but the anger paled in comparison to what he’d been like earlier.
“The bastard used Daryl’s phone to call Tim and arrange an exchange. Tim called me to tell me what was happening. Earlier today, the exchange was made. I don’t know if Tim and the girl being exchanged survived. I don’t, frankly, care.” Now his anger was showing again, in the heat of his voice and in the tension in his body. “I went in last, got Daryl, and brought her here. Why we did this without a professional extraction team, I will not know, but there were snipers all around that building, and they had eyes on that asshole until I got Daryl out. That was their concern. After that, honestly, I didn’t care.” He gave Orin and Rowan a frigid smile. “And if it turns out he’s alive, I will find him and I will destroy him.”
Orin listened to all of this with a rapt expression that didn’t give away the fact that he gave a damn about the crime in this city, his city. “You don’t know if the snipers closed in after?” he asked, wondering how noticeable it would be if he got on his comm to Oracle or on his cell to Rescue. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust law enforcement to do their job - but, well, he didn’t trust law enforcement to do their job.
Rowan’s mind was turning, though her thoughts were moving through distinctly more legal territory. Every applicable law, every statute, every way this could play out flashed through her mind although her only indication was a slight, thoughtful frown. They would know the look though there was little any of them could do about anything now, there at the hospital. “Let’s focus on what’s important here. How are Daryl’s doctors? Do we need to call anyone in? Or move her somewhere better when she’s able?” No frown or eyeroll when she said Daryl’s name, no hesitation at all when talking about getting her the best care their money could buy. Whatever bad blood had been between them had taken a back seat.
At the moment, Adam loved his family. The serious expression mixed with anger melted a bit, and he relaxed, the tense tremors in his hands abating. “No, I don’t know about the snipers. To be honest, they were there for me and for Daryl, not for anyone else. I don’t particularly care if the others survived or died.” Being a cold-hearted bastard had its advantages.
He reached out, touching Ro’s arm as he gave her a smile. The smile eased some of the anger a little more. “They’re fine, thanks. She has a good nurse, so I think she’s fine here.” He took a deep breath, as if he were about to add something, and then seemed to reconsider with the tiniest shake of his head and slightly drawn brows. Both Orin and Ro would likely notice, they knew him too well not to notice on some level, but he hoped they wouldn’t comment. A discussion for another time. “And thank you, again, for coming. Both of you.” He rubbed the side of his neck before dropping his hands into his lap.
Adam was so serious that Orin had a moment where he wasn’t sure he was in the right place. His relationship with cousin, since he’d gone to live with the Morgensterns when he was eight, had always been more cutting up and joking than serious conversation. When Adam had ended up in trouble with the law, it had been all claps on the back and laughing after. And when he, Orin, had ended up stranded on an island and thought dead for a year, it had been more of the same when he returned. Rowan was more prone to moments of serious maturity, and it was strange to see that maturity in Adam. Damn, he did love this woman of his. He hoped Rowan didn’t try to hook him up with a bridesmaid at the nuptials he was now certain would be coming eventually.
Orin clapped his hand on Adam’s shoulder, and he grinned, intentionally lightening the mood. “You want me to kick your ass, obviously, if you keep doing that thanking.” And then, more seriously. “You let us know if you need anything from us, both of you. I’ll make Ro take care of anything you need.”
Rowan noticed everything and her brother’s reluctance to continue made her frown deepen more, though she rolled her eyes good naturedly at Orrie’s antics. “And I’ll make sure Orrie doesn’t sleep with the entire staff so there’s always someone around to take care of Daryl.” She reached over and gently reached over and pet his arm and up to his shoulders reassuringly. “The staff here is very good. I’m sure her nurse is wonderful.” She hoped she was reading his earlier frown correctly, and easing his worries about it.
Grinning back at his cousin, Adam closed his hand over Orin’s forearm for a second before releasing him. “You try to kick my ass and see how it goes,” he said lightly, teasing. He knew how it would go. Orin would sever his ass from his body and hand it back to him without the courtesy of wrapping it. “I need a vacation, honestly.” He laughed quietly, turning his attention to Ro. “They are, they’re excellent.” He bit back another thank you as they exchanged goodbyes, and when they left, he went back to Daryl’s room.
He stood in the doorway for a minute, watching her. She was sleeping, laying still, the snake bites on her skin standing out vividly. His lips turned up ever so slightly; she was safe. That’s all that mattered. Satisfied with that, he slid into the room, setting his water bottle on her bedside table. Then, very carefully, he climbed into the bed beside her. She woke for a moment, but once settled, fell back asleep quickly. After a few moments, he, too, began to doze.