Oliver didn’t do waiting well. He’d spent far too much time waiting in hospitals for injured friends and loved ones and sitting still wasn’t easy for him. Especially when a lot of the time he’d been either directly or indirectly responsible for the injury. Not this time though, this time he’d been utterly helpless and that was the worst feeling of all. There wasn’t a damn thing he could do other than wait while his team and his girlfriend were somewhere being held captive and tortured by COS. When he’d gotten word the day before that Clarke, Alicia and Wanda had all been taken to Medical immediately after the rescue, he’d practically stormed the place, demanding to see them but Dr. McCoy had not so patiently told him to get the hell out until he said they could have visitors. He had slightly better luck with Christine who at least gave him a cup of coffee before she’d told him to get the hell out.
Finally he’d been allowed in and he hadn’t left Clarke’s side since. Her bed was close enough to Alicia’s so that he could keep an eye on them both but most of his attention was on Clarke who hadn’t woken up yet. Christine told him that it was normal with her injures and that she’d be fine and he knew that Lissa had also visited her. That still didn’t make waiting any easier but at least Oliver had recovered his manners and kept to the little corner of Medical where he’d been sitting.
It was sometime the next morning when Clarke stirred and he eyes opened. “Hey you,” he said moving so that she could see him. “No fair taking a nap when I can’t have one.”
Clarke felt like she was swimming in cotton as she slowly drifted back to consciousness. Gradually sensations and sounds came back to her, but her brain felt fuzzy and her body felt heavy. She also felt kind of like a mummy, with her arms and various other parts of her wrapped up in thick bandages. She wasn’t in a lot of pain and she was pretty sure that meant they were pumping her full of some good drugs. She’d been in medical enough times to recognize that feeling.
Hey, she tried to say, only it came out as a hoarse whisper before he handed her a cup of ice chips. Sucking on one helped and she tried again, offering him a week smile. “Did everyone make it out?” As glad as she was to see Oliver, her first thought was for all the people who’d been trapped there with her. “Is Tony? [...] he looked bad.” Not just him, she knew. None of them had looked great by the time the rescue team found them, but Tony had been one of the worst that she’d noticed.
“Yes, everybody made it out,” he assured her. “I’m not sure how everyone is doing but I know that everyone is safe. Alicia is just right over there, when you can sit up more you can actually look at her. Wanda was here but I think they released her, I’m not sure. There have been a lot of people in and out checking on people and some of the ones who weren’t hurt too badly have been helping.” Oliver touched Clarke’s fingers, not wanting to dislodge any bandages. “They’ve only had to kick me out once you’ll be happy to know but now that you’re awake, I might actually be able to relax.”
Clarke’s sigh of relief as he reassured her that everyone was safe now was audible. It was slightly ridiculous, but she was half expecting more COS agents to jump out at any moment. She was expecting a list of people who hadn’t made it, even though she could dimly recall Wanda kicking some major ass once she’d gotten her power back. She hadn’t been the only one, but she could still remember her sense of relief and maybe a little smug satisfaction at the sight of Wanda sending those agents flying. The darker part of her thought they got off easier than they deserved.
Managing a smile that was more teasing, she looked over at Oliver’s fingers gently brushing hers. “Don’t tell me you were worried about me,” she teased lightly. She could tell he had been. It was written all over his face.
“Maybe I was a little bit worried. Just a little,” he teased. He’d been frantic and it had been all he could do to keep from going off on a mission of his own trying to find them. “They took my team, they took you, I know they weren’t targeting me but it felt that way. And who knew that they had a base of operations right under our noses? Well they don’t anymore, I understand it’s ours now. And before you ask, I don’t know what happened to the COS agents but they’ll get what’s coming to them.” Even if he had to do it himself but he didn’t tell her that.
“Some of them ran,” Clarke offered. “The ones who stayed and fought got pretty banged up, at least some of them. They had a bunch of pissed off magic users and fighters once we were free enough to fight them.” Even in their weakened states, many of the kidnapped had put up a really good fight. Clarke didn’t have any sympathy for the fate of the agents who had held and tortured them for days. She was quiet for a moment as she thought about what had happened. Clarke’s arms bore the evidence of some of it. Deep cuts lined both of them. She’d be surprised if there was a single patch of unmarked skin left on either arm.
“I’m glad you were only a little worried,” she teased back. After everything she’d just been through, something as simple as teasing her boyfriend felt amazing. She wouldn’t admit it, but she was also glad he was here. She felt somehow safer knowing he was watching over her.
“That was a pretty tough group, I wouldn’t want to piss them off,” he said. Oliver didn’t have any sympathy for the agents either, they had gotten what they deserved, probably not as much as they deserved if he was really thinking about it. “I knew you could take care of yourself, I wasn’t too worried.” He was lying and he knew Clarke knew it. He had been nearly insane with worry but he’d managed to keep from going off on his own but it hadn’t been easy.
“Sure you weren’t.” That was bullshit and and they both knew it. No matter how well either of them could handle themselves, they weren’t invulnerable. She wouldn’t be lying here now if she was.
“Okay you’re right. I was worried. More than worried if that’s possible,” Oliver glanced in Alicia’s direction. “You, both members of my team were taken. I wanted to do something but there wasn’t a damn thing I could do and that made matters worse. But you’re all back safely and the physical wounds will heal and I’ll be there to help you with everything else.’ He knew there would be some lingering after effects from the trauma but he would support all three of them as best he could.
Movement was awkward with the bandages, but Clarke slowly reached until she could grab his hand and give it a weak squeeze. There weren’t really good words to reassure him. Saying they were okay would be a lie. They’d all been tortured, beaten, belittled, tied up for days. They’d been helpless, unable to do anything but wait for a rescue that they could never be sure was coming. Clarke had done her best to hold onto hope and Wanda and Alicia’s magic had blasted them out of there in the end once they’d gotten their powers back, but it had been a harsh ordeal for all of them. They’d probably been lucky to get out of there alive.
“I would have felt the same way if it was you,” she admitted, managing to ship in her bed so she was facing him a little better. She could imagine how much not being able to help would have driven him crazy.
“I know you would have. That was the worst part. Feeling helpless. I hate that.” which got him into trouble sometimes since he often forgot to look before he leapt. “But no more worries, you’re home now and you’re going to concentrate on getting better. I promise not to hover too much. You can kick me out whenever you’re sick of me. Although I hope that takes a while because I don’t really want to leave.”
“I guess you can stay for now,” she teased. Truthfully, she was glad he was here. Oliver’s presence was something she’d grown used to in Atlantis, one she would miss if he wasn’t around. Having him here now was a comfort after what she’d just been through.
“I am going to step out for a minute though and get some coffee. Do you want anything?” He’d get whatever she asked for, no matter how hard it was to find. He liked seeing her smile and he wanted to keep it on her face as much as possible.
“Some food sounds really good, actually,” she admitted. She doubted they’d let her have much when she’d just woken up, but after everything, it would be nice to actually have some real food.
“What do you want to eat? I guess you can have regular food. What sounds good to you?” Hospital food wasn’t good to begin with and he was happy to get her whatever she liked. “I might grab myself something too. I’m not sure when I ate last.”
As much as she would kill for a cheeseburger, she had the medical training to know she needed to take it slow. She’d been unconscious for at least several hours, she hadn’t been able to eat normally, even if they’d been given enough to keep them alive for over a week. “I can’t go too crazy. My stomach needs to get used to real food again. Maybe some soup or some noodles?” she suggested.
“Noodles sounds good. I pick some up from Simp Hop. They’ve got good Lo Mein and I can get you the kind that’s not spicy.” He stood up and leaned down to kiss her forehead. “I’ll be back in a bit and I promise you that as soon as it’s allowed I will get you the best cheeseburger ever.”
Clarke smiled back at him. “That sounds great,” she said before he left the room.