Who: Ty and Jared When: early morning, Friday, Dec 29th Where: hospital, Ty's apartment Status: complete
It was Reagan who’d noticed that the fog was fading first. Which made sense, since Ty hadn’t been extremely conscious for a lot of hours. He’d been fading in and out anyway, but after the power had gone off, the cold had made the drowsiness worse. He and Reagan had huddled for warmth, but that only went so far. He knew she was miserable and he’d tried to stay awake, but it was a losing battle. His body wanted to rest so it could heal.
Early in the morning she’d nudged him awake, the room suddenly lit up again as the power came back on. Ty thought that had to be a good sign, and he was intensely grateful for the house’s heating system kicking back into gear. Even more exciting, Reagan pointed out that they could see the streetlights outside again. They were still hazy, but they were definitely there. It meant the fog was finally lifting, and hopefully this fucking nightmare was over.
Ty realized all in a rush that if the fog was letting up then maybe his radio worked, and he weakly scrambled to pull it out from under the blanket draped over him and push the button. “Jared? Jared, you copy?”
Jared might not have been able to see that the fog was lifting but he was roused out of his restless slumber by the electricity kicking back in and people around him giving relieved little gasps. He sat up, his body stiff from sitting too long in the cold but he still managed a little smile at Carson. If the electricity stayed on, they'd be okay. It was at least one little hopeful thing in a series of shitty events. There was a frantic feeling inside of him insisting that this was temporary so they needed to make the most of it and get moving but his body didn't fully agree. He felt sluggish still, the cold just made him tired and he was beginning to really understand better how people could just lie down and die when they were defeated by the elements.
His radio crackling to life seemed to break through all of that, especially when he heard Ty's voice. He fumbled for it, his body jolting and sending him scrambling to his knees. "Ty!" he almost yelled as he managed to press the button. "Copy. Are you okay? Where are you?" God, it was so unprofessional but hearing Ty's voice made him want to start bawling with relief.
He let out a weird half-laugh half-sob sound of relief the second he heard Jared’s response. Ty scrubbed a hand over his face as relief flooded through him, strong like a drug. “Yeah, I’m okay,” he answered, grinning as he pushed the blanket off of him. “I mean, I’m injured, but I’ll be okay. I’m on Pleasant Brook Road, in a house. Where are you? Are you hurt?” Ty hoped to God not; Jared had been through so much already, he didn’t need to add having an up close and personal encounter with one of those monsters to the mix.
Injured. It took all of Jared's willpower not to latch onto that and lose his head. Ty was talking and it was hard to gauge how he sounded through the radio but he was talking and that had to count for something. "I'm at the gym," he replied. "There's four other people here. How badly hurt are you?" He got to his feet, ignoring the way his muscles protested the movement. He needed to see if the fog was letting up, needed to find his bag and charge his phone in case the power went out again. Needed to reach the station and hopefully get some goddamn help out here.
Ty should’ve expected the question, it was a reasonable one, but it still made him wince. He moved his free hand to press gingerly against one of his sides. It still hurt like a bitch, but he was pretty sure it hadn’t gotten any worse, so that was something. Ty wasn’t sure if he ought to tell Jared the extent of his injuries over the radio however, not before they were together again. “I’ve got one with me, Reagan Kelly,” he said, glancing at her briefly. “I got a bit scratched up, think I broke a rib. My car’s fucked. Soon as we figure out how to get out of here and it’s safe, we’re going to the hospital.”
Jared made his way out of the small office and out into the larger gym area, closing the door behind him so as to not let what little warmth they had get out - just in case. "My car is totalled," he told him. "I don't think it's safe out there yet. There's something out there big enough to flip a cruiser." It sounded like Ty had experienced it first hand too but who knew. "My phone seems to be working, do you have yours with you? It'll be easier to talk." The radio wasn't private and he kept feeling like he might accidentally cut Ty off.
Something big enough to flip a cruiser and pick him up with one hand like he weighed nothing and leave deep scratches in both of his sides ... yeah, Ty had experienced it first hand. He was pretty sure he would never stop dreaming about it. “I’ve got it, but it’s dead,” he answered ruefully. “But I’ll plug it in now that the power’s back on.” He started to get up, but his body was more stiff and sore than he anticipated, so Ty fell back onto his ass with a little grunt. Fuck, that hurt. “I’ll call you as soon as I can, okay? We all prob’ly ought to stay put for now, make sure it gets better and those assholes are gone.”
"At least the radio works again," Jared said and hesitated only for a beat before he decided he didn't care if every deputy in the county heard them. "It's so good to hear your voice." He took his finger off the button and stared out into the night. At least he could see the lights out there now. At least there were lights out there now and he could even see the beam from the lighthouse in the distance. Maybe it was over. He didn't quite dare to hope so but maybe. "See if dispatch can send another cruiser to your location if you need the hospital," he added. "If those things are still out there shotguns might do the trick, our sidearms won't."
The radio was far better than nothing, and Ty could give a shit less who overheard them at that moment. The brief sentiment made his throat feel thick with emotion, and he had to swallow before he answered. “I’ll check with them,” Ty said, nodding a bit. He had the feeling that it was going to be chaos for a while today, if the fog actually cleared. God only knew what it was like out there, who still needed help. “Yeah, I know ... mine didn’t make it in with me.” Ty wouldn’t be surprised if Jared bitched at him for dodging all of this over the radio, but at the moment even being bitched out in person would be heaven. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” he added.
There were no doubt a lot of people hurting or dead after tonight but Jared still felt selfishly calmer just knowing Ty was alive. He might be hurt but he was going to be okay and that was all that mattered. "Stay inside until we know more. Charge your phone while you can. We're gonna get through this one." It certainly wasn't the first time they had to deal with something awful, Jared just wished they could face it together. One of the worst things about all of this was not knowing where Ty was or how he was doing. "I love you," he added and if people couldn't respect that the circumstances allowed for sentimental shit, then they clearly hadn't been through the same amount of terror Jared had.
“I’ll call you as soon as I can,” Ty confirmed, then smiled faintly. “I love you too.” Maybe it would be awkward for anybody who happened to be tuned in at the moment, but Ty didn’t care. It wasn’t like it was a secret anymore, and they’d just been through some unbelievable shit. “Give me a holler if you learn anything new. Out for now.” He let go of the button and sat back, giving Reagan a wan little smile. He was still exhausted and in pain, but it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. Now they just had to wait and hope the fog lifted all the way.
The next couple of hours were a lot easier to get through now that the fog was lifting and they had power back. Jared spent a great deal of time watching for those creatures but there was nothing out there but cars. At some point he saw a car drive by and that made it hard to stay indoors and if he was being honest about it, it made him feel a little useless for a cop. Ty was heading to the hospital so once they sorted out who wanted to go where, Carson gave Jared a ride there before going out to find Rylee. It was a cautious trip and Jared stopped by his flipped over cruiser to get his shotgun just in case but he didn't end up needing it. Whatever those creatures in the fog had been, they had crawled into hiding somehow. Jared couldn't help but wonder if they were from the depths of the ocean, none of those made any sense and they were too big to hide out in the woods. It was yet another annoying Point Pleasant mystery and it would do him no good to think too hard about it. Right now he just wanted to go find his man and see for himself that he wasn't too badly hurt.
He thanked Carson profusely outside the hospital and swore to check in with him again before getting out of the car and jogging up toward the entrance. There were a lot of people already there and it was honestly a bit of chaos. It was a little cheeky but a badge could get a guy in anywhere it seemed so Jared didn't need to wait long. Ty was in the emergency room so that's where he headed, his chest tight with worry and hope even if he'd talked to him on the phone just minutes earlier.
The harried nurses had gotten Ty a bed in the ER, but he hadn’t been seen yet. He was sure part of it was because of his job, everybody knew him as a cop and here he was injured in the line of crazy-ass duty. The gruff woman handling triage had declared that he wasn’t in immediate danger of dying, but he was bad off enough to be able to skip the waiting room. His scratches still hurt, his ribcage ached, but nothing seemed to be infected, which was good. Reagan had done a decent job with the stitches, too. The hospital was understandably overwhelmed so he couldn’t get a room to himself, and he thought about offering to free up the bed for someone who needed it more, but Ty selfishly wanted to make sure he hadn’t punctured anything important with his broken rib, and get the doctor’s opinion on the gashes in his sides.
He had gotten up long enough to open up the curtain surrounding his bed so he could watch for Jared, thankful that someone was bringing his man to the hospital. Reagan and Caius D’Onofrio had been generous enough to drop him off, and he’d managed to bite his tongue on begging them to swing by Waterfront so he could get Jared. Ty just had to wait. But not for too long, thank God. Ty spotted Jared striding with purpose down the aisle way between rows of beds and couldn’t help but smile a bit to himself. “Hey,” he called to get his attention, sitting up on the bed with a little wince. “Over here, big guy.”
Jared came to a near screeching halt and all the relief and love he felt in that moment were clearly visible on his face as he hurried to Ty's side. There was an impossibly powerful urge to scoop him up in his arms and hug him with all his might and the only thing that stopped him was the fact that Ty was injured. The urge was so strong it made his muscles ache more than they already did and he didn't really know what to do with himself. "Goddamn it," he whispered with a sappy smile, then reached for Ty's hand. That at least didn't look like it was hurt. "It's so good to see your face. What's the situation here?" he gestured at Ty's body with his free hand, wanting all the details.
Ty felt a little melty at the look on Jared’s face, and he had the similar urge to stand up and hug the shit out of him, but he knew that if just breathing too deeply hurt, a bear hug would be agony. Plus, he hadn’t quite been completely forthcoming about how badly he was injured. Ty squeezed his hand tightly though, and reached for the front of Jared’s shirt with his free fingers. “The situation is you’d better fuckin’ kiss me right now,” he muttered as he pulled Jared down to do just that. It was brief but fierce, and Ty sighed a bit as he relaxed back once it was over. “I haven’t seen the doc yet, but ... one of those things got me pretty good.” The nurse had made him take his upper clothes off and put on a hospital gown, so it was easy to pull it up and show Jared the patchwork of bandages stuck to either side of his torso. They had vaguely straight lines of reddish bleed-through where the scratches were, three on his right side, one on the left, stretching from under his nipples to his mid-back. “It dropped me, and I think I broke a rib too,” he added in a murmur, eyes on Jared’s face.
The kiss was perfect and Jared wanted to keep doing just that but he also wanted to know what was going on with his man so he looked him over, his heart lurching in his chest again. "Jesus Christ, babe," he whispered and that mental image was too clear in his head, that thing he'd seen picking up his boyfriend and then dropping him like it was no big deal, a full grown man... He was going to have nightmares about that unless he got really lucky. "How are you alive?" he murmured in amazement and there were too many feelings all mixing up together, making his head spin. Gratitude, concern, the realization he could have lost Ty, how close he'd come, the fear that followed that realization. He had a feeling that he was going to start bawling right here and now and it was going to be embarrassing for both of them so he did his best to pull himself together. "Do you know why it dropped you?"
In spite of the emotion on his man’s face, Ty had to smile a bit. “I had an axe, I got it in the, uh ... finger, I guess,” he answered, pulling his gown back down. He didn’t want Jared to have to stare at it, even with the bandages over it. It hadn’t escaped Ty that Sadie had been killed by some kind of huge monster, and Ty had almost just done the same. “Don’t think I cut it all the way off, but I sure hurt the motherfucker.” That part felt good in hindsight, now that the immediate danger seemed to have passed. The danger that came thanks to his idiocy, which was the other piece to the story he wasn’t eager to spill to Jared. “The scratches aren’t that deep, so that helps. I dunno why, I just got really lucky, I guess.”
"You had a fucking axe," Jared echoed, scrubbing his free hand over his face as he laughed and tried not to cry. Maybe that was something they should always do now, carry an axe wherever they went. How had his life become so insane? "You're a goddamn hero, Ty," he said and drew a deep breath through his nose to try to clear that build-up of a lump in his throat. "I saw one of those things when it flipped my car over. I did not expect to experience that kind of Jurassic Park crap in real life, I can tell you that." He moved to sit down at the edge of Ty's bed when what he really wanted to do was stretch out there and curl up against him to hold him until someone showed up to take care of his wounds. For now holding his hand had to be enough because Ty was hurt.
Ty snorted and shook his head a bit at the suggestion he was a hero. “Me either,” he murmured. Especially not so up close and personal. His brow furrowed as he rubbed his thumb against Jared’s hand. Everything seemed to hurt less now that they were together again; brains were so weird sometimes. “It flipped Reagan’s car too, that’s how I found her. Her alarm was going nuts. Are you okay though?” Jared looked like he was okay, besides the emotions that were stretched to their limit, but if he’d had his car wrecked with him inside of it ... “Do you need to get checked out too?” Neck injuries could be tricky things and concussions and brain injuries could sneak up on you, they both knew that.
"I'm okay," Jared promised him. "I had my seatbelt on, bruised my arm a little when I crawled out of there. Mostly just scared the shit out of me." He didn't really want to talk about his own experiences, more focused on what Ty had been through but he understood that Ty would want to know. "Were you somewhere warm at least?" he asked. "It got so damn cold last night." With how cold he'd been and his constant worrying about Ty he'd really felt like he'd gotten the sense of what eternity felt like. It was over for now and it felt unreal to be in the clear, to be here with Ty and not have to wonder if he was alive or dead.
Ty still thought he should get checked out, but he could harass him about it later. It wasn’t like anything was getting done anytime soon anyway. The staff had their hands full. “I was in a house with Reagan Kelly ... didn’t have a fireplace, but we did all right with blankets and body heat,” he said. “I was kind of in and out, I slept a lot.” He was sure Jared would understand the need to huddle together, there had been nothing affectionate or flirtatious about it. Ty knew Reagan was just as glad to get out of there as he had been. “Did the gym have heat? No frostbite or anything?” Ty gave him a wan smile and brought Jared’s hand up to kiss lightly.
"No heat," Jared muttered, turning his hand so he could brush a finger along Ty's jaw. "We all huddled up in the smallest room, sealed it as good as we could and pretty much sulked until the electricity came back on." He frowned, considered keeping certain things to himself but then realized he was kidding himself, he always wanted to talk to Ty about everything, no matter how hard or stupid it was. "We heard an ice cream truck out there in the fog. I thought it was just my brain being weird, like it was related to the train sounds but Carson heard it too. It was driving too fast to be real, it would have crashed into something." He huffed and gave Ty a wry little smile. "Why is everything so damn weird all the time?"
“An ice cream truck? Damn,” Ty muttered, frowning vaguely. That was creepy as fuck. But was it really that surprising? He didn’t feel like he would be shocked about anything anymore, not after being plucked off his feet by a fucking fog dinosaur or whatever those goddamn things were. He thought maybe he ought to be freaking out more, but he was just so tired. “I dunno babe, but this was ... somethin’ else.” Ty sighed softly and closed his eyes for a moment. “I’m just glad you’re okay.” It was on the tip of his tongue to ask Jared to promise not to leave him if he turned into anything weird because of the scratches, but that seemed far too possible now to even joke about.
This just made Jared want to always be partnered up with Ty on the job, he didn't want to leave his side ever and as unhealthy as that might be it made sense to him in the moment. He'd been so scared, it had been exhausting and that urge to curl up against Ty consumed him again. "It's so good to see you," he whispered. "I was going insane, not knowing where you were, if you were okay. Turns out you weren't all that okay but you're alive and that's all I can ask for." He turned Ty's hand in his grip, used his free hand to stroke his wrist and the back of his hand slowly. "I love you so much, I hope you know that."
It had driven Ty crazy too, at least until most of his world turned into bearing the pain and trying not to be conscious too much. That shit could be distracting. But getting in contact with Jared again, making sure he was alive was what had driven him back out into the fog in the first place. “I do,” he said softly back, giving Jared a warmer smile. The petting was cute, and he too wished that Jared could stretch out on the hospital bed with him. They were too big and his sides hurt too much for that. “I was trying to get back to the car radio,” he added. “The shotgun too, but ... mostly the radio. It worked better in the car and I needed to hear your voice. It was stupid to try, but I had to.”
"That was my plan too," Jared said softly. "If the fog didn't clear up by morning I knew I had to get those people out of there somehow so I was going to try to find the cruiser again, get to the radio and the shotgun. It wasn't stupid." They were men of action and it wasn't a bad plan, it just would have been better to execute it later. "Do you need anything now? I don't think we're getting any help anytime soon but I can get you something, water or painkillers..." He knew that in some areas cops never went on patrol without a partner. It wasn't the same in a small town like this one but after this ordeal he really wished they could change that.
Ty still thought that Jared was more brave than he was. He’d had multiple people to take care of, after all, and was thinking of them more than just Ty or himself. Ty had wanted to warn him too, but it had still been a foolhardy thing to rush into. He’d reckoned the monster had moved on and been wrong. But at least it hadn’t killed him. Luckily he’d been stranded with someone who could keep their shit together -- he owed Reagan Kelly a gift basket or something as thanks. Ty hummed softly and nodded. “Some water would be good. I dunno when they’re going to get to me ... have you talked to Grady yet? Do we have a game plan for today?” He knew it was going to be chaos for a while, all hands on deck, but he wasn’t sure how much he could do yet.
"Your game plan is to stay put and heal," Jared told him firmly but he knew he probably would go back out there to help deal with the aftermath. It might be an all hands on deck sort of situation but Ty was exempt because of his injuries. Jared leaned in to kiss him again as he got up. He could do water, maybe score some painkillers. He understood why they had Ty waiting but that didn't make him okay with it. "Wish I'd taken EMT training too," he sighed. "I'd take care of you myself." He ran his hand gently over Ty's cropped hair before turning around to get some water. There was a sink near by as well as some antiseptic gel so that's where he headed. Go figure the antiseptic tube was empty and there were no tissues in the container, a testimony to how crazy things were in there today. Thankfully there were a few plastic cups left so Jared grabbed one and filled it with water.
“Unless you got an X-Ray in your pocket, you’re no good to me,” Ty teased him lightly. “Reagan already stitched me up pretty well, I just need to check on the rest.” And hopefully not die from some weird alien infection or whatever. He accepted the cup of water when Jared came back and took a gulp or two of it. It was nice and cold. He shifted a bit further toward the edge of the hospital bed to make more room for Jared to sit with him, wanting him close. “I don’t wanna be stuck in a bed for days,” he sighed, reaching for his man’s hand again. “Even if it’s light duty, I wanna help somehow. Do interviews or something once we get to that point. Take phone calls.” He knew lying around while his town was staggering from this kind of bizarre, horrible occurrence would drive him nuts.
"Just knowing you're alive helps a lot," Jared told him as he gingerly sat down next to him and shifted around until he was stretched out on his side next to him. He was very careful not to touch more of him than just his arm, not wanting to put pressure on what he could only assume were painful gashes. He hadn't seen the wounds themselves but the bandages told him a lot. He found Ty's free hand and tangled their fingers together. "Knowing you're okay will help me stay focused. I felt like I couldn't think, couldn't operate, not knowing where you were or if you were okay."
It was kind of amazing that they fit, and it wasn’t the most comfortable thing, but Ty didn’t care. Having Jared laid out next to him was well worth it. He gave him a faint smile as he let his head relax and gazed at him. “I know the feeling,” he murmured. “I mean, I was kind of preoccupied with being in a lot of pain and hoping I wasn’t being poisoned and didn’t know it, but ... when I could think, all I thought about was you.” He thought that was a pretty natural reaction to have when someone you loved could’ve been in danger and you couldn’t get in touch with them, but Grady would probably say that was why they shouldn’t be partners. Being together would’ve been so much better though. “I think that’s the longest we’ve not talked since we started,” he murmured.
"You're right," Jared said and he didn't need to think about it for long. He didn't like spending his nights alone so it was mostly work that kept them apart. Their honeymoon phase was still in high swing so he was addicted and he knew it, it hadn't become a problem so he didn't care. "I missed you," he whispered. "I hate that you're hurt. I wish I could have been there." He wouldn't have been able to stop a creature that probably weighed thousands of pounds if he compared the size to a grizzly but maybe if they'd been together things would have gone differently. "I wouldn't have let that damn thing near you. I'd have told it to back the fuck away from my man." He was being silly now but maybe that was what they needed. Everything had been so heavy and cold, warmth and light jokes could take over for a little while.
Ty was honestly glad Jared hadn’t been there to see him get his ass handed to him by a monster, but if Jared had been there he probably wouldn’t have gone back outside. He laughed softly at the joke, which hurt his ribs but felt really good at the same time. “It would’ve done it, too, you can be scary,” he murmured, feeling emotion prickle at the back of his eyes. “I wish you’d been there too. You’re a lot nicer to cuddle with than Reagan Kelly.” Ty was sure if he’d been straight, it would’ve been a treat, but she definitely wasn’t his type. Nor was she as big and warm as Jared tended to be.
"Yeah I am," Jared said with a grin and it made him want to hold Ty all the more. His boyfriend wasn't small and fragile but knowing there were injuries made Jared reluctant to touch him, afraid he'd hurt him more. For now holding his hand had to be enough, even if his whole body seemed to ache for more. "Ms. Kelly is pretty small." He nodded knowingly and grinned at Ty although there was a lot of other emotions behind it than just amusement and he made another desperate attempt at pushing back against that weird urge to cry. Or maybe it wasn't so weird, they'd been through a lot and he was right to feel emotional, he just didn't want to get all weepy in the middle of the ER.
Ty was feeling the same need to cling tight and be squeezed, but he knew it would end up painful and while he thought he could bear it, he didn’t want Jared to feel bad about hurting him. They would have to save those hugs. So he just squeezed Jared’s hand some more. He could read his boyfriend well enough by now to see that he was holding back emotion -- he looked close to tears, probably a mix of happy and sad and stressed and relieved tears. Ty understood all those jumbled emotions, for sure. He also understood the desire to suppress them in public. Somehow Jared being wibbly always made him feel calmer, so it was easy to give him a gentle smile and lean in for another brief kiss. “I’ll be all right, babe,” he murmured. “Back to doin’ dumb hero shit in no time. I just hope you think scars are sexy.” Ty grinned a tiny bit.
Jared wanted to reassure him that yes, scars were very sexy but he wasn't sure right now. He'd never minded things like scars or cellulite on bodies but were they sexy? It was hard to think of anything sexy about those gashes in Ty's sides. He smelled like blood and disinfectant and he was in pain. Sexy was far from Jared's mind. He leaned his head against Ty's head and closed his eyes, clinging to his hand. He'd go out and play hero soon but he felt justified in taking some downtime for now. "You'll always be sexy to me," he mumbled and after that... well, he didn't mean to actually fall asleep and he hadn't expected to either. The position he was in wasn't comfortable and he was holding himself still too tightly somehow, scared of jostling Ty. He did drift off though, probably only for a few minutes. It was soothing to be with Ty, to know he was safe and be able to touch him. Sometimes a few minutes was all it took and when he opened his eyes he felt better, even as he blinked dumbly at Ty.
Ty had meant it as a joke anyway, but it was probably a lame one to make at the time. He’d put a lot of work into his body and knowing it would be marred now was a bit distressing whenever he thought about it too long. He didn’t want Jared to feel sad or worried or anything every time he looked at Ty shirtless. But they would cross that bridge later, Ty just wanted to stay in the ‘grateful to be alive’ stage and leave it at that. He nudged his head against Jared’s and watched as those pretty brown eyes closed and his man dozed. Ty didn’t sleep, but it was beyond nice to be close to Jared while he did, however briefly. Ty gave him a faint smile when he came back around and was about to say something when a nurse with a wheelchair stopped at the foot of his bed. “Ty Solomon? Radiology is ready for you,” she said brusquely.
Jared inhaled sharply through his nose as if to reset himself. "Let's go check out your ribs," he murmured and aside from those few seconds it took him to orient himself, he felt sharper than he had before he dozed. He snuck a little kiss on Ty's nose - not caring what the nurse thought about that - and sat up to get off the bed. "You need any help getting in that chair?" he asked Ty, lightly touching his arm because he felt like he needed to be touching him all the damn time right now to reassure himself Ty was really there.
Ty didn’t mind the touching at all, it was reassuring to him too. He thought the nurse looked kind of annoyed that Jared was assuming he was invited too, but she was smart enough not to say anything. She knew they were cops, that much was obvious from the uniforms -- half-uniform on Ty -- and they were blatantly a couple. “Nah, I got it,” Ty murmured. He only winced a little as he pushed himself up to sitting and climbed off the bed. It hurt and the scratches still stung a bit, but it was all tolerable now. He shuffled to the wheelchair and gingerly sat in it and pulled his socked feet up on the rests. “Ready when you are,” he told the nurse.
It turned out to be a couple of fractured ribs and Ty's organs were safe and sound, as they should be. No splinters stabbing through anything vital and as such there was no need for him to stay in the hospital. His wounds were checked and rebandaged, he got some painkillers and then he was released because Mercy was sort of at capacity at the moment. Jared was going to be joining in on the clean-up efforts but that could wait until he was ready and he was far from ready at the moment. "Where do you want to go?" he asked Ty gently as he walked along the wheelchair he was being wheeled out in. He'd arranged for them to get a ride with one of the other deputies and was somewhat cursing himself for not having Carson drive him to the station first so he could get his own car. For that matter he had no idea if his own car was even okay. Whatever had attacked them had done a number on a lot of cars around town, he'd seen some of the aftermath on his way to the hospital. "My place or yours?" He suspected Ty wanted to go to Haven Park, he'd probably be more at ease in his own home but Jared didn't really care either way, he'd be staying with him wherever they went.
Ty had been kind of thankful that they rushed him through it because he wanted to get out of there. The hospital was crowded and overwhelmed and noisy, and he really just wanted some damn peace and his own bed and a fucking shower. He wasn’t sure how he was going to get that part done yet, considering his wounds, but they would figure something out. Maybe he could talk Jared into a sponge bath. “Let’s go to my place,” he answered, glancing up at Jared. He felt like he could’ve walked, but hospital policy, blah blah. “I’ve got more of my clothes there.” He also had a bigger bathtub than Jared, and he thought that might come in handy today.
The ride to the station and getting in and out of cars was kind of painful, but Ty managed it all right. He was tempted to go into the station while they were there to talk to Grady, but his exhaustion was really catching up to him, so he opted to just let Jared drive him home. Both of their cars were intact, thankfully, but Ty would have to pick his own up the next day. He didn’t completely trust himself to drive. He looked around more as they headed to his apartment, taking in all the damage he could see on the way. “Shit, they really did a number on us, huh,” he murmured softly, his forehead leaned against the cool window.
"Yeah," Jared said just as quietly. "They're not going to be able to blame this one on toxins in the air." He drove slowly because some of the streets were a mess and he didn't want to take any unnecessary risks. It looked like their volunteer firefighters had been keeping busy, clearing the streets where needed, at least they got home okay. So many cars had been flipped over, some completely destroyed, it was surreal and unnerving to drive past them. Jared thought of his own cruiser. It had been stripped of all the important things by now so he didn't need to worry about it and yet he did. "I'm fixin' to stay with you for a few hours but then I think I have to go back to work," he muttered apologetically. "The town's a damn mess."
“Yeah, they’re probably gonna try though,” Ty muttered, still staring out at everything. He would be glad to close the curtains on it, for a little while anyway. A few hours didn’t sound like enough, but he understood why Jared couldn’t stay for too long. It was a damn mess. “It’s okay, I’ll probably be sleepin’ anyway,” he said, looking over at his boyfriend. Ty put his hand on Jared’s thigh and gave it a little squeeze. “Wish I could be going out there with you. This shit better heal quick.” He was going to go stir-crazy otherwise. They pulled into the apartment parking lot and Ty unbuckled his seatbelt. He couldn’t wait to get into some hot water and then between clean sheets.
"I'm tempted to take you with me," Jared admitted. "But you would never stay in the damn car so I'm leaving you at home." He hated the idea but he also couldn't stay at home and do nothing when he wasn't hurt. There was too much chaos and his conscience would never allow him to bow out. He had a feeling Ty would go stir crazy before long so maybe he could be useful on the phone or something. They'd sort that out later. He got out of the car and jogged around before Ty could get out. Sure, Ty could walk on his own but that didn't mean Jared wasn't fretting over him. He was acutely aware of his gun in his holster, even if it was useless against those things, not fully trusting it really was over but he couldn't see anything around and that thing was too big to be hiding inside the apartment.
Ty chuckled -- Jared was probably right about that. He wasn’t sure he could just ride around without doing his duty and pitching in. Sleeping and letting his body heal would be better for him in the long run. He let Jared open his door with a faintly amused smile, then took his arm to use his help getting out of the car. It hurt to move around a lot, but it was mostly from the cracked ribs. The scratches still burned a bit and he felt like he could pop a stitch if he moved the wrong way, but they weren’t intolerable. They got up to Ty’s door and he let them in, glad to still have his keys and wallet and everything. He let out a sigh of relief as soon as they walked through the door, starting to shed his coat. “Gimme a hand with the boots? Hurts to bend over,” he murmured.
"Of course, baby," Jared murmured as he shrugged off his own jacket. As soon as Ty was ready he knelt down to untie the shoelaces, glancing up at him with a soft smile. They were home and they were alive, he couldn't ask for anything more. He pulled the boots off and didn't let the snow and dirt bother him. He was definitely going to shower very soon and find a way to get Ty cleaned up a little too. "Where do you want to start? Shower? Food? Sleep?"
It made him feel a bit like a little kid, having somebody help him get his shoes off, but Jared was sweet about it, and it was always a nice view to have him on his knees. Ty passed an affectionate hand over his hair as he settled on his socked feet with a sigh of relief. He’d been wearing those boots for two straight days, it felt so good to get them off. “Shower, definitely,” he answered. He and Reagan had foraged in the house for food -- mostly Reagan, of course, but she’d kept him fed -- so he wasn’t starving. “Or ... I’m not supposed to get the bandages wet, so ... it might be a pain in the ass kind of bath.” Ty winced a little and looked apologetic -- he was going to need help and he hated that, but he felt disgusting and really wanted to get clean.
Jared was honestly relieved that was Ty's first choice too. He felt disgusting, especially now that he had gotten those protective outer layers off. Jared loved being clean and while he didn't mind the sweat of honest work or being a little muddy or dusty after doing something productive it was only tolerable for a few hours before he needed to get clean again. Two days of fear sweat was pretty much his nightmare, even if it didn't hold a candle to the kind of nightmare those two days had been. "We'll figure it out," he said gently. "I'll take a quick shower then we'll get you in the tub and I'll help you out with a washcloth, how's that sound?" Ty could sit in shallow water which would help some even if it would never feel as good as a proper bath.
Ty just wanted to take a real shower and scrub the past couple days off of him as hard as he could. But more than that, he didn’t want to mess up his wounds or his stitches or whatever and make his situation worse. So some gentle bathing by his boyfriend would have to do. He just hoped the fucking scratches healed fast. “Sounds all right,” he murmured, wondering if he was going to have to start taping a trash bag around himself or something. Ty headed for the master bedroom and its bathroom, stopping at the hamper to carefully strip the rest of his clothes off and toss them in. While Jared showered, he could at least be more comfortable.
Jared felt even more sorry for Ty once he got in the shower. It was heavenly to get under that hot water and scrub some soap over his body. He felt like a new man in a matter of minutes and wished Ty could experience the same thing. He wanted to stay in there for a long time but he hurried for Ty's sake and came back out minutes later with a towel wrapped around his waist. "Let's see what we're working with," he murmured, eyeing the fresh bandages on Ty's sides with a small frown. "I can get some cling film, just to be safe, if you think you can stand it." He didn't know how badly those ribs hurt, it wasn't an injury he had ever sustained himself and even if he had, bodies were different.
Ty was glad that Jared didn’t linger, even if he couldn’t have blamed him for it. He at least didn’t have long to sit and stew in good-natured jealousy. He wanted to be scrubbing and exfoliating so badly at the moment. Then just get lathered up in lotion and have incredible passionate sex with his man and then sleep for fourteen hours. None of which was probably possible. Ty sat on the edge of the bed and waited, then smiled faintly at Jared as he emerged, looking fresh and delicious in just a towel. Ty hated that he was going to have to leave again, too soon. “Yeah that might work,” he said. He remembered very well how bad it had hurt when Reagan cleaned his wounds, he didn’t want an accidental repeat of that shit. “I think I’ll be fine.”
Jared gave him a little smile before hurrying to the kitchen to find cling film. When he returned he started by kissing Ty gently on the lips, not lingering because he wanted to get him clean but he really couldn't not kiss him right now. "I'll keep it as loose as possible," he promised as he knelt in front of him and started finding the end of the film. "Too bad it's not your arm or leg, you could just stick it out of the tub and let me do all the work." He huffed softly and glanced up at Ty. "I mean, I wish you weren't hurt at all, duh. Makes me wanna go out there and punch a monster in the face. Good thing it seems to have fucked off already." He wondered where it had gone. Back to the ocean, maybe. Into the woods? If a creature that size was roaming the county someone was bound to see it - more people might get hurt.
Ty kissed Jared back, then lifted his arms to give him room to wrap his torso, hands on the back of his head like he was being frisked. The undamaged skin underneath the plastic wrap would have to be washed separately, his stomach and back, but they could do that carefully with a sponge or something. The cartoonish image he got of Jared socking some big godzilla-shaped monster in the face made him chuckle. “Yeah, let’s hope it stays fucked off,” he murmured. Ty didn’t know what they would do if the fog suddenly descended again, or if the monsters just came back without it. He really didn’t want to consider that option at all at the moment. Ty winced a bit while Jared wrapped him and softly added, “A little tighter than that.”
"You sure?" Jared asked uncertainly but he did as told once he got the go ahead. Ty wasn't a fragile creature and treating him as such wouldn't do either of them any good but there was still that part of Jared that wanted to coddle him and make sure everything was easy. "When we buy a house, we're getting one with a basement," he muttered as he worked. "And we're stocking up on canned goods and gas heaters." If something like this happened again, they might not be home to use it but still, it was good to plan ahead. He straightened up once he was done. "And you're all set."
The tighter bind actually made his wounds feel better, weirdly enough, and Ty nodded as he let his arms down. “Sounds smart to me,” he said. Jared might have just been bullshitting, but he honestly thought it was a good idea. As well as packing some bug-out bags and keeping them in their cars. Point Pleasant had always been weird for as long as he’d lived there, but this was just beyond anything Ty could even imagine. He was trying not to let the gravity of it all hit him at once, but either of them could’ve easily died out there. Who knew if he still might get sick from the scratches ... wasn’t there some disease where you felt ten times better the day right before you died? Ty tried to shake those thoughts off and stood up to shuffle into the bathroom, giving Jared a tired little smile. “You’re the hottest nurse I’ve ever had, at least. Always an upside,” he offered, patting Jared’s butt through the towel before he moved to turn the water on to fill up the tub.
"Hey," Jared admonished him. "I'm supposed to be pampering you, will you just stand still and let me?" Too late now, the water was already running so he pulled his towel off and went to grab some washcloths. He felt calm right now, probably because he had a task at hand, but he knew this would all hit him and add to the nightmares he was already having. For the time being he just wanted to focus on the fact that they were alive and together again. Everything looked so normal inside Ty's apartment, it was easy to block out the outside world for a bit. "Hold onto me," he said then, holding his arm out for Ty. "Last thing we need is for you to slip and fall, tearing your stitches while getting in the tub."
Ty gave a wordless grumble as he put his hand on Jared’s arm. He hated feeling like an invalid, and he already did. He was going to be the most crotchety old man at the nursing home, he could already tell. But Jared was right, he had to be careful with himself now. He’d put his body through a lot and it needed to heal. So he used the help to get into the tub and sit down. The hot water already felt good, he just wished he could lie back and soak in it. At least Jared was naked too, it gave him something nice to look at and made him feel less like a four year old getting bathed.
The bandages looked so wrong on Ty's body and knowing what was underneath them made Jared's heart hurt. He considered how to do this for a moment, then clambered into the tub behind Ty, carefully maneuvering around him until he felt settled. "Let's get you cleaned up," he murmured, wishing he could wrap his arms around him and squeeze him tightly to his own body but it would be a long time until he could do that. Instead he wet the washcloth in his hand and got to work, though at the start it was less about cleaning Ty and more about just stroking his skin where he wasn't injured. Comfort was good too and warm water could be healing in its own right.
Ty was glad he had a roomy tub, neither of them were small men. It was more than nice to have Jared’s bulk behind him, even if they couldn’t get as comfortably cozy as they wanted to. Ty shifted around to make sure Jared had enough room, then rested his arms on Jared’s knees and let his head fall forward a bit. The hot water and washcloth did feel good with Jared’s big hands behind them, and Ty felt himself gradually starting to relax. He didn’t especially like that he couldn’t wash himself, but the act of being washed was nice. “I feel like I haven’t been in a bed in like, two years instead of two days,” Ty murmured.
Jared snuck a little kiss on Ty's shoulder every now and then, at one point even resting his head against his shoulderblade for a few good seconds. He wanted to be even closer to him physically, so relieved to have him home and safe he couldn't put it into words. It was hard not to put his arms around him but the cling film and bandages were a stark reminder that kept that urge at bay. He touched him more than he strictly needed to though, running his hand down over the curve of his biceps, nuzzling his nose into his shortly cropped hair. When Ty spoke he smiled faintly. "I know what you mean. I would have killed for a couch and a space heater."
He might’ve felt guilty for having access to a couch when Jared had been stuck at a gym, but he’d also been clawed by a giant shadow-fog monster, so Ty didn’t feel bad about it. “I had a couch at least,” he said with a sigh. “And a kitchen with food in it. But fuck man ... it got cold. I never thought I would be snuggled up to Reagan Kelly of all people.” The extra touching and soft kisses were nice, and once it felt like Jared had washed the parts of his back that were exposed, Ty leaned back against him. It wasn’t too uncomfortable, and if they couldn’t hug tight to one another, they could at least get close in some way. “I missed you like crazy. I was so worried,” he murmured.
"Me too," Jared said softly and since he couldn't really touch much of Ty's torso, he stuck to his arms and shoulders, occasionally letting his hand roam to his chest and neck. "You know this was some supernatural shit when even the radio doesn't work." It was weird to say it so flippantly, it hadn't been very long since he didn't believe in anything out of the ordinary but Point Pleasant had a way of changing that. "If I could have just talked to you it would have been more tolerable. Even the cold." He was warm now at least, warm and content with his love in his arms.
Ty hadn’t been solid on what he did or didn’t believe. He’d seen enough strange things in his career at the PPPD to question the reality he’d always been taught, but he’d never been slapped hard in the face with that level of evidence. It was literally etched into his skin now. Ty felt like if he thought about it too hard, his sanity would start to slip. But maybe it already had. One had to be a little crazy to accept an insane world, right? “The thing I saw ... there’s no rational explanation,” he said quietly to Jared, letting his fingers trail through the surface of the water. “It definitely ... wasn’t natural.”
"I know," Jared said and it almost wasn't loud enough to be heard over light stream of water still running. What he'd seen at the Rogan house, the train he kept hearing, the damn ice cream van - all those things could be chalked up to something logical if he strained himself. A gigantic dinosaur looking motherfucker flipping his car over? He didn't know how to explain that one. "That was no bear or wolf," he muttered with a wry smile and a little huff. "Not a gator either. I don't know, Ty. I don't know what to make of any of it." So he focused on cleaning Ty instead, nudging him to raise his arms. "I keep wondering where it went when the fog lifted."
Ty obediently lifted his arms for Jared without even thinking about it. At some point in his life, he probably would have blamed the terrifying chaos on Satan sending demons after them for some transgression. He was sure that was his mother’s explanation, though they hadn’t gotten into it when they’d been on the phone earlier. These days ... Ty didn’t know. He couldn’t wrap his mind around it all, even with the evidence burned into his sides. The sleep he’d gotten since it happened had been full of monstrous nightmares, and he got the feeling that effect was just settling into his psyche. Like the real freakout was still in the future. “Back where they came from, I guess,” he muttered after a moment’s pause. “Did you ... did you see the teeth?”
"Yeah," Jared replied quietly as he rinsed off the washcloth again. "I wish I hadn't." The mental image of that thing picking Ty up was horrifying and all the things that could have happened kept flashing in his mind against his will. He was so grateful Ty had that axe on him because otherwise... No, he really didn't need that image of Ty getting eaten in his head. "The ocean is the only thing that makes any sense," he added. "But I'm not sure logic is... really involved here at all. Either way I'm never going out on a boat again."
Ty had pictured his own death quite a few times in the past ... however long it had been since he’d narrowly escaped it. He’d always had it in his head that he could get shot in the line of duty, attacked in an even more violent way, die in a car crash, get cancer, all the usual things. But that was different than having a visceral, immediate brush with being eaten, like some kind of rabbit in the forest. He’d wondered how having chunks of his body torn away by sharp teeth would feel, how fast he would actually die ... he kept seeing the rolling, terrified eyes of wildebeest being eaten alive by lions on the nature channels. It was a lot to wrap his head around, and now that he was back home and would soon be alone, Ty had a feeling his imagination was going to run wild. It made him want to beg Jared not to go, but he knew that wasn’t possible today. Maybe he would just stay until Ty was asleep. Jared’s comment about a boat drew a bark of a laugh out of him and he shook his head a bit. “I dunno, man,” was all he could mumble, words genuinely starting to fail him.
"Do you think you can sleep?" Jared asked quietly, picking up on the exhaustion and relating to it, both the mental and physical kind. He wanted to sleep for a bit before he went back to work, even if it was just a couple of hours and he felt entitled to that. He wouldn't be good for anyone else if he was too tired. At the same time he was a little scared to try, worried it would be filled with nightmares or that his brain would simply refuse to let him drift off. Adrenaline was a good thing in need but it could be a pain in the ass when the danger had passed.
He was well and truly exhausted, so Ty wanted to say yes, but who knew what kind of torture his mind would put him through when he tried. He would have to power through it, because his body desperately needed the rest. “Yeah,” he answered, stirring a little. “Lemme just ... finish up here.” It had been a bath more to get clean than relax, there was still plenty of Ty that needed a scrubbing with soap. “You gonna ... catch a nap before you go back out?” Ty asked, turning his head to peek just a bit back at Jared.
"Yeah I'm gonna try," Jared replied. "I really need it." He couldn't help but smile faintly as he studied Ty's profile, his heart full with love for the man and he wasn't going to get over the thought of almost losing him any time soon. He couldn't stop touching him either, cautious little pettings here and there. "I wish I could sleep for the next twenty four hours by your side."
Ty relieved Jared of the washcloth and got some fresh soap on it to wash the lower half of his body. It took some reaching and leaning, but he managed to do it without too much pain. “You and me both,” he murmured. He wished they could just shut their phones off and hide for a full damn week after all that shit, but even a day would be good. For Jared anyway, Ty was going to be homebound and unhappy about it. Once he was done washing and rinsing, he made some room for Jared to get out, then muttered, “A’ight, get me outta this thing.”
Jared pushed himself up and out of the tub, then patiently helped Ty get up too. It took some finesse and caution but soon he had him upright and now mostly clean. "I'm gonna brush my teeth," he murmured. "I've missed my toothbrush too. Then? I'm going to kiss the hell out of you if that's alright with you." He grinned, then took a deep breath as emotions almost overcame him all over again. "I missed you so goddamn much." He inhaled sharply through his nose and moved quickly to get a towel for Ty, trying to shake off that onset of feelings. He wanted to relax and be happy, not weepy and awkward.
It hurt to get up, Ty hadn’t realized just how much core muscles were involved in getting out of a bathtub, but they managed it together. God, he hoped he healed fast, he already couldn’t stand all this needing help. He would be the worst invalid ever. He smiled faintly at Jared and murmured, “I need to do that too, then it sounds perfect.” It was subtle, but he could hear the sudden emotion in Jared’s voice, and it made his chest ache a bit in a good way. “I missed you too, c’mere,” he said softly when Jared got close again with a towel. Ty took it, but he wrapped his arms around Jared’s torso instead of starting to dry off. If Jared hugged him high, they could get a good squeeze for a moment. “I love you,” Ty whispered to him. “You’re all I thought about.”
It was exactly what Jared needed. He might not be able to squeeze Ty's body but Ty could squeeze him a little and that helped more than he'd ever know. Jared hugged him back, cupping the back of his head with one hand to make up for how he couldn't really hold all of him tightly against his own body. "Same," he whispered. "I love you, it would have been easier if I could have talked to you, checked in with you." It had felt so unfair every time he thought Ty might be dead out there somewhere. He and Sadie hadn't been together when she died but it was still such a big loss for him, losing Ty too would have made him think he was cursed, doomed to celibacy lest he get people killed every time he let himself feel something. But no, Ty was safe, hurt but safe.
That would have made it all easier, which was why he’d been so desperate to get to the car’s radio, but Ty suspected if Jared knew he’d been hurt, he would’ve done something stupid. Stupid like try to get to him. Which on one hand would’ve been great if he’d made it, but too dangerous to risk. It just made Ty love the big Texan even more. He hummed his agreement and squeezed Jared tighter for a moment. It made his sides hurt, but he couldn’t give a shit. Eventually Ty had to let go though, as his wet skin was getting cold and they still had teeth-brushing to do. Plus his middle section was starting to feel like a soggy wrapped sandwich. He pulled back to give his man a faint smile. “But we’re here now, so let’s relax as long as we can,” he offered, and started to dry off.
Jared smiled at him and grabbed a towel for himself, then leaned in to kiss Ty's forehead. Ty was right; the longer they lingered in the bathroom, the less time they'd have to nap. He dried himself off quickly, then helped Ty with the cling film, well aware that moving was painful and tasks that would normally be easy were made hard when something in the body was out of order. Brushing his teeth was amazing. It was one of those things that could be a total chore but if he didn't get to do it for a day - let alone two days - he acutely felt how necessary it was. "I feel like a new man," he sighed happily when they were ready to go to the bedroom at last and he reached out to take Ty's hand.
Ty used some of the wet wipes he kept on hand to clean the unbandaged parts of his stomach off while Jared brushed his teeth, then did the same. It did feel great to finally be clean. He just wished his whole body worked right. Ty took Jared’s hand and smiled faintly as they went to the bedroom. Crawling into bed had never felt so good. He couldn’t lie on his sides, so he stretched out on his back with a low groan, stretching his tired muscles here and there. “I don’t wanna get up ever again,” he mumbled while Jared got settled.
"You say that now," Jared murmured as he stretched out next to him, pulling the blankets up and over their bodies. "Then you'll get sick of lying here." He rested his head on his arm, idly stroking Ty's arm with his knuckles. "You're going to go stir crazy, I just wish there was something I could do to make you heal faster." If there was supernatural badness in the world it was only fair if there were forces of good too and Jared wished he could bring them into his life, get someone powerful to heal his man and get him back on his feet. There was a small part of him that was relieved Ty would be staying home for a bit but he recognized how unfair it was.
That was a good point of course -- as soon as he was caught up on sleep, Ty would have cabin fever. He hoped Grady let him work the phones or something for a while, because he couldn’t stand to be alone in the house for weeks or whatever. In the past he could’ve relied on his mom and his auntie to come and keep him company, but nowadays he wasn’t so sure. Ty wanted to work, the town needed help. But God was he tired at that moment. “I know,” he murmured, turning his head to look at Jared and smile softly. “Me too. But I’ll get through it and just hope nothing else insane happens in the meantime.” He lifted his hand to stroke the knuckles against Jared’s chest.
"Maybe we can use you for something," Jared teased him. "There's going to be so much paperwork." He groaned at the thought, both of having to fill out and file all those reports and also having to talk to people. What the hell did he say? He'd seen this thing himself but at this point he wouldn't be surprised if some higher up demanded they play it cool, like happened in the movies. The last time there was fog, they'd said it was a chemical in the air and Jared didn't really buy that, not after everything. If orders came down, could he lie to people's faces? He wasn't so sure, he didn't think Grady could do that easily either but their relationship was strictly work related so how well did he really know him? Thoughts like this swirled in his head, interjected by an image of all the files he'd have to take care of - the stacks growing to comical heights. Yeah - he was very tired.
Ty was not looking forward to the paperwork either, but it was probably better than sitting around at home. At least then he would be at the station, he could see Jared come and go and he could hear the news, if any came down the line. Maybe Grady would take him back after a day or two of rest. “I can type shit up, at least,” he agreed with a faint smile. “Give JC a break.” Sometimes he wondered if their constantly-understaffed situation was purposeful, like the county or the state didn’t want to give them enough guys to truly handle crazy shit like this. Maybe it made it easier on them to lie about events -- the fewer cops there were and the more stretched and overworked they were, the less likely they were to buck the system and fight back. Or maybe his brain was just worn out and paranoid. Jared looked about as sleepy as he felt, and Ty moved his fingers to snag a bit of beard and gently pull him in closer for a kiss. “Ready to sleep?” he murmured.
Jared nodded and smiled. It was so much easier to smile now that Ty was there and he was getting kisses from him. "Your bed is so comfortable," he whispered. "Did I ever mention that before? I don't think I ever truly appreciated it." He knew he had, they'd had long shifts where falling into bed was the best thing that had ever happened to Jared and yet now it felt so much more amazing. He'd never been trapped away from home for this long and camping didn't count because that was voluntary and far more comfortable. "I'm so ready to sleep," he said with a little laugh but he still felt reluctant to close his tired eyes, watching Ty felt more important.
Ty gave a faint grin at the compliment about his bed -- he’d spent a lot of time hunting for the perfect mattress. He already knew it was going to be the one they stuck with whenever they moved in together. That move was inevitable now, and recent events just made Ty want to do it tomorrow, but they could talk about it later. He shifted his body in closer, keeping his arm between his damaged side and Jared’s body, the pressure from it giving him a bit of relief. His ribs were hurt on the other side, so they could cuddle that much at least. “You waitin’ on a lullaby or something?” he teased softly before he kissed Jared’s chin. He nuzzled in close and shut his eyes, Jared’s warm presence making him feel like he might actually sleep without nightmares. “Don’t wake me up when you go, I don’t wanna know you’re not here,” Ty mumbled.
The words squeezed Jared's heart and he wanted to gather Ty in his arms and hold him tightly, reassuring him he'd never go away again. It would be a lie but it would be a beautiful one at least. "You won't know I'm gone and I'll come by all the time," he promised and that one wasn't a lie. "Check up on you, give you a kiss." He kissed Ty's temple for emphasis, then settled down too, taking comfort in what little physical contact he could get with him. He'd keep his shotgun up front too when he wasn't at the station but that wasn't something he was going to say out loud. He wanted to focus on the good things now, try to keep nightmares at bay. "Gonna take you on vacation in spring, when we sell the houses. Somewhere nice, somewhere with a beach. I think we deserve to frolic in a warm ocean in speedos for a bit."
“You’d better.” Ty selfishly hoped Jared would just keep sleeping with him, that he would ignore his phone for the next twenty-four hours and just be. But he knew better. They were better cops than that. Ty would’ve been going back out with him if he’d been in shape to do so. He was just tired and pouty and needed to sleep himself. Ty gave a soft hum as that lovely visual filled his mind -- both of them on a beach, hot sand between their toes, the smell of salt water in the air, endless frozen drinks. Maybe he could even talk Jared into doing a quick workout to get all sweaty and sexy. He tried to hold onto that image as he started to drift, wanting to dream about it much more than an alien monster in a freezing fog, biting off chunks of him. “I’m down,” he murmured fuzzily. “Love you.”
"I love you too," Jared whispered and he hoped Ty drifted off to a caribbean fantasy that was nothing like their current situation. He watched him for a moment longer, studying his face and hoping that would be what he dreamed of after he closed his eyes. Ty, happy and safe, splashing around in warm water. If the dream got sexy, all the better. As long as it wasn't a nightmare.