Who: Izumi, Noriko, and Randall What: Rand is a stubborn ox and doesn’t want to go stay with his daughter When: Sunday Morning Where: Hospital Warning: Language, description of injuries
Rand groaned and reached up to rub the sore spot on his head again. Which was a mistake. Since he hadn’t lost consciousness a second time in the seven hours he’d been here and none of his injuries were life threatening, he was being released. Thank God for small favors. He hated hospitals, they always reminded him of the time around Debbie’s death and how much both of them had wasted their lives. So he was even less pleasant mood when the staff informed him they’d called Izumi to pick him up and take him home. Great. Settling back in against the cot, he knew it was just going to get worse. When he’d asked about clothes, since the ones he’d been wearing were splattered with blood and ripped up, the nurse had said they’d asked his daughter to bring him some. Even less things he wanted to deal with, let alone tonight.
Izumi wasn't sure if she was more worried or angry by the time she and her mother reached the hospital. The call she'd gotten had nearly sent her into fits at the thought of something being horribly wrong with her father. They'd told her it wasn't life threatening, but he was wounded and that was bad enough. Leaving the baby with Rupert and Jayne, she'd called her mother and picked the woman up because she knew just how stubborn her father was and she'd be damned if she let him go off on his own which he likely would want to do. Stopping only once, at the address she'd been given by the hospital workers, she discovered that Rand had been staying at a hotel the whole time he'd been in the city. Well that just wasn't going to work, no matter how much he argued. There were other options besides a sleazy motel for the man and she was appalled that he had been living out of a suitcase practically.
Retrieving the clothes, she and her mother got to the hospital without much more conversation, but she was fired up when the walked in and she got quick direction to where Rand was. She was a woman on a mission as she handed her father his change of clothes. "A hotel? Really?" she questioned. Might as well get that out off the way first. "You're coming home with me."
Noriko honestly wasn’t sure who was more worked up, Izumi or her. They’d started arguing in the car, which hadn’t helped matters at all. She’d been horrified when Izumi had phoned her, her hands shaking as she’d put her coat on, waited on the street for her daughter to pick her up. She was near tears again when she caught sight of him, bruised and weary.
“Izumi!” She stopped staring long enough to look at her daughter, arms folded. “You have to work, I told you it makes no sense. I have a spare room, and I have nothing urgent to work on.” She turned back to Randall, chin set firmly. “You’re not going back to a hotel room. We’ll pick up your things, and you can come home with me.”
Because his head wasn’t already hurting enough. Rand took his clothes with a muttered ‘thanks’ and then listened to them not only berate him, but argue for him about where he was staying like he was Noah and didn’t have any say in it. Right. “There’s nothing wrong with my room,” he defended. “I just haven’t had any time to look for a better place.” Okay, that point was probably moot. But he felt it needed saying. “I am not going home with either of you. I’ll be fine.” To prove his point, Rand tried to sit up and put his shirt on at least. He didn’t get as far as the sitting up completely before the room spun. Crap, he hated that. Now they would get worse.
Izumi was torn between whether or not Rand staying with her mother would end in death and destruction or they'd finally give up the ghost and just sleep with one another and get it over with. She didn't argue the point with her mother again, figuring that maybe him staying with her would be the better option after all. "No," she told him, hand against his chest as she gently guided him to lie back again. "You can't be by yourself if you can hardly sit up," she argued. "Stay with mom. Please?"
Noriko took a step forward as Randall swayed, clearly too dizzy to even sit up and put his shirt on. She felt awkward about helping though, hanging back as Izumi moved to his side.
“You’re not fine,” she said, making an effort to keep her voice gentle. She was still frowning, though, clearly worried. “You’ll stay long enough to get back on your feet.” She glanced at Izumi, smiling just a little. “Besides, now Izumi has Rupert, I have no one to fuss over.” She knew she was overbearing, knew that Izumi probably longed for peace from her sometimes. But she couldn’t change the way she was. She needed someone to look after, someone to cook for and worry about. Though her feelings for Randall were still in turmoil, she couldn’t help but worry and fret. And if Randall wasn’t staying with her, that worry would only be worse.
This just kept getting worse. “I am not putting your mother out like that,” he told Izumi even as he lay back. This was not fair and they were ganging up on him and it was hard enough to stay awake to argue with them, let alone come up with a decent defense.
Noriko wasn’t helping. She was the last person he deserved help from, even though the idea she cared enough to fuss over him was something that felt better than he wanted to admit. “I’ve had concussions and broken ribs before. Been beaten up worse than this. I’ll live.” God, this was a mess. “Izumi still needs you, even with Rupert around. Don’t try to guilt trip me, Nori. It won’t work.” Okay, so it was working. But he didn’t have to admit that yet.
Izumi all but glared at her father. "It's not putting her out. You have no choice in the matter, you're hurt and you're not staying alone, so either you're staying with me or you're staying with her or one of us is staying at your hotel. So pick one, because there's no other option, Daddy. I'm sorry if you think I'm being mean or unreasonable, but you're hurt, you're in pain and you're not being left alone because I'll be damned if something happens to you because I didn't stand up for what I think is right." Decided, she nodded a little as if to prove her point, her eyes flicking to her mother. "Tell him that he doesn't get to choose."
“You don’t get to choose,” Noriko repeated, glaring stubbornly at Randall. He knew what she was like when she’d made her mind up about something; she’d like to see him try and change their minds.
“You may have been hurt worse before, but you didn’t have a family - a daughter - to worry about you.” She’d hated this part of his job when they’d been together, had worried and fretted every time he’d come home with so much as a hair out of place. “You’ll come home with me. Noah’s spending tomorrow with me anyway, I’ll be staying in the house. You can sleep if you want, or spend some time with your grandson if you’re feeling up to it.” Cute grandson; the ace up Noriko’s sleeve. If guilt over worrying her and Izumi didn’t work, she’d bet that the lure of Noah would.
Yes, because he wanted to spend weeks completely dependent on the woman he’d walked out on twenty-five years ago? He had another couple of options, which neither of them would like any more than him being alone but he was in enough pain he was just about to blurt one or two of them when Nori cut him off. Still trying to guilt trip him. Great. Rand let out a long suffering sigh. He didn’t have the energy to keep this fight up, especially since all he really wanted to do was go try and sleep. In a couple of hours, he’d have been awake for a whole day, except for the brief time he’d been knocked out and been poked and prodded and interrogated for the last seven hours. Not that he’d been much help to the police. He’d waded out trying to save a patron who’d ran the wrong direction, gotten hit in the head and woke up when a paramedic put too much pressure on his cracked rib. He hadn’t been much of any help to anyone that night really.
“Fine,” he said. “Now get out of here so I can get dressed.” He knew he should be more grateful, but now he had a worse headache and the guilt was already eating at him. So he was just getting more short tempered, on top of the pain he was feeling from the near all over bruises. He was lucky he hadn’t gotten anything else broken in that mess.
Izumi was satisfied that he'd agreed, even if it wasn't something he wanted. She led her mother out of the room so he could dress himself and let out a long sigh. "Promise me that you two won't devour each other before this is all over," she commented to her mother once she was out of earshot of Rand. "I know this isn't easy for you, Mama, but thank you for being willing to take care of him. He's so damn stubborn."
Noriko sighed, leaning against the wall beside his closed door.
“I promise,” she murmured. “There’s no satisfaction in yelling at him when he looks like a kicked puppy.” She managed a shadow of a smile, though she was still obviously worried, her eyes tight. This was bringing back far too many memories, of all the nights he’d come back from work hurt, of her getting out the first aid kit and patching him up before they crawled into bed. It hadn’t been all bad - he’d usually been more affectionate, more willing to let her fuss and snuggle into him in bed. And thinking about that really wasn’t helping her right now.
“You know, if there was a window in his room, I think he’d be trying to climb out of it by now,” she remarked, her smile a little firmer, a little lighter as she looked at her daughter.
Rand was grateful for ending the argument and that they left him alone. It only took two more tries to swing his legs over the edge of the cot and sit up. Then he needed a break to take a deep breath, which was a bad idea because of the cracked and bruised ribs. Yeah, God hated him today, that’s all there was to it. He couldn’t even reach back to untie the stupid hospital gown. Dammit. Fine, he was buzzing for the nurse before he’d ask either one of them to come back and help him get dressed. The whole situation was bad enough as it was.
Izumi saw the nurse head towards Rand's door and she sighed. Likely he was being stubborn again and not wanting their help. Men. "He's likely ready to tell us both where to go," she agreed, nodding towards the room and the nurse who was going in. "Calling a nurse instead of asking us? Stubborn old brat."
Noriko snorted. “Does he think I’ve forgotten what he looks like naked? Ridiculous man...” She watched the nurse stepping inside the room, shaking her head as she started to pace. She hated hospitals, always had. The sooner they were out of there, the better. “Shall we stop by his hotel to pick up his things on the way?” She asked her daughter, not sure of the best way of doing things. “Either that, or you can stay with him, and I’ll go out and pick up his clothes, and some food.” She had some in the house of course, but there were a few things she could do with buying more of.
He certainly hoped Nori hadn’t, because he’d never forgotten that about her. But that was the last thing on his mind right now. The nurse overheard them while she was coming in and took matters into her own hands. They were still busy, they needed the room and he had help. “I’ll get your wife and daughter since you’re ready to get dressed, Mr. Blackhawk,” she said before he could protest. Then she stopped by the two Asian women. “Can you ladies help the silly man get himself dressed? We’re still packed the walls here. I’ll have the resident in with his discharge papers as soon as I can.” Yeah, the nurses were all enjoying this more than they had any right to. But in their job, you took your laughs when you could get them.
The nurse didn’t even give him a chance to protest or correct her assumptions. Yeah, God hated him. This was apparently his punishment for wasting his life. Great. Rand took as deep of a breath as he could manage and waited for round two.
Izumi didn't correct the woman in her assumption that her mother was married to her father. She didn't think at that moment that it really mattered. She also didn't think she wanted to see her father in any state of undress if she could help it, so she touched her mother's arm and nodded in the direction of Rand's room. "You go. Like you said, not something you haven't seen before. I'd like to keep myself from adding images that don't need to be there," she laughed.
Oh boy. Now they’d done it. Taking a deep breath, she patted Izumi’s hand gently. “Yes, because you aren’t incontrovertible proof that your mother had a sexlife once,” she pointed out wryly, arching an eyebrow at her. She was stalling now, relishing going into Randall’s room probably even less than she was. Making fun of him for being prudish was fine - having to actually deal with helping him dress was another thing entirely.
She pushed open the door to his room, just a crack, slipping inside as soon as it was open wide enough, shutting it behind her. “The nurse said you needed help,” she murmured, walking over to the bed, her fingers already moving to the ties on his hospital gown.
Rand wasn’t surprised when Nori came in, and he was a little relieved. It would have been much more embarrassing for everyone involved if Izumi had to help him get dressed. At least it wasn’t anything Noriko hadn’t seen. Granted, the last twenty-five years hadn’t been incredibly kind. Mostly because of his self-destructive addictions. While Nori didn’t look anywhere near her age, Rand looked older than he was. He was still in good shape, but the lines and scars were there. Still, she wasn’t making a huge deal out of it, which he was grateful for. “Just like old times, huh?” he muttered in a pained tone. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.” Yeah, pain and the concussion had pretty much wiped out his filter. “Thank you.”
Noriko’s fingers stilled for a moment, and she tossed a quick, hurt look at the back of his head, not caring that he couldn’t see it. She let out a slow breath, going back to untying the knots in his gown, carefully pulling the sides apart, not wanting to jog his ribs anymore than he had already by moving.
“You’re welcome,” she said, sounding rather stilted. She walked around the bed, very careful to keep her eyes on his feet as she knelt down, and not anywhere higher. She grabbed his pants off the bed, bunching up the legs so that she could easily slide them over his feet, allowing herself a little grin. It was just like dressing Noah, really. If Noah was over six feet all and built like a tank. Pulling his pants up a bit, she stood, her gaze flicking up to his face, again not stopping anywhere near his waist.
Yeah, this was uncomfortable as hell. Rand made the mistake of looking down at Nori kneeling on the floor putting on his pants...oh Lord, he was in too much pain and too damned old to react like this. He yanked his gaze up and concentrated on shifting off the damned gown, in hopes the pain of moving and breathing would take care of the problem that had just sprung up. For God’s sake. This just couldn’t get worse.
Gown off, he leaned down as much as his ribs would allow and grabbed the waistband with one hand. The other he needed so he could brace on the cot and stand up without falling over on Nori. The grunt of pain that followed shifting off the gurney was pretty obvious, but he could damned well put on his own jeans. Her putting her hands or eyes anywhere near that part of his anatomy right now was just bad.
Noriko reached out on reflex, her hand pressing gently against the centre of his chest to steady him, worry making her frown as he grunted in pain, clearly struggling.
“Stubborn idiot,” she muttered, reaching down to grab the waistband of his jeans with her free hand, keeping her eyes very carefully above his neck. She tugged his jeans up, holding them in place at his hip. “Can you zip up? Or do I need to help with that, too?” She asked him, arching an eyebrow. Thank God Izumi had brought a button-down shirt. It would be far easier to get that on him than a tshirt, he wouldn’t have to lift his arms up too far.
Of course she did that. Because he didn’t want her hands - okay, so he did and that was kind of the problem- near his waist right now. “I am forty-six years old,” he reminded her as he zipped up his jeans while looking her dead in the face and straightening up as much as he could. “I can zip my own pants, thank you.” Thank God he was as dark skinned as he was or else the embarrassment would be obvious.
“Of course you can. Just like you can dress yourself,” Noriko pointed out drily, her hand still against his chest. And trying very hard to not think about how firm his muscles were, how he was even more built than he had been back when they’d been together. Realising she didn’t actually need to be touching him, she pulled her hand away, cheeks flushing just a little. She grabbed his shirt off the bed, shaking it out.
“Can you put your arms back at all?” She asked him, trying to work out the best way of putting this on. The bed was at his back, helping him stay steady, and she wasn’t about to ask him to turn...gritting her teeth, she stepped closer, bringing his shirt round behind him, holding it in position for him to slide his hands into the sleeves so she could pull it up his arms.
This was some kind of new and unpleasant torture. This was her punishment for being angry at Izumi, she just knew it. She focused on getting his shirt over his hands, and not how it felt to be pressed this close against him. And then the penny dropped, as she realised just how much of him was pressing against her in turn. And which specific parts were involved. She blushed more deeply, saying nothing as she pulled his shirt up his arms, stepping back as soon as the fabric slid over his shoulders, his collar turned half inside-out.
“I don’t think-,” and of course, Nori didn’t even wait for him to answer before trying to bully his shirt on. Rand stiffened painfully (and well, that did help his other stiff problem a bit) as she pressed against him. His cheeks visibly darkened and he took way too deep of a breath. Ow. Okay, problem solved and now he needed to sit down. Pushing Nori away when he did that wasn’t an option, since he just dropped on his ass on the gurney without warning, rasping for breath in pain. “I forgot-” he began. “How much -” Another breath. “-it sucks to breathe with cracked ribs.” Talking wasn’t great either.
Of course, all embarrassment fled as Rand fell back onto the bed, breathing roughly.
“Stop talking then,” she snapped, more worried than angry. “Slow, shallow breaths.” She fixed his collar for lack of anything else to do, knowing that she couldn’t help make it hurt less, and hating that. She rested her hand against his neck for a moment once she’d done that, a soothing touch before she pulled away. She focused on doing up his buttons instead, her cheeks still a little pink with embarrassment. It didn’t mean Izumi was right, of course. He’d been naked, with a woman he’d been attracted to kneeling at his feet. Perfectly reasonable reaction, and one she was probably to blame for.
It didn’t make any difference to the way things stood between them, she told herself sternly. She finished fastening his shirt, stepping away from him a little. “Do you need the nurse?” She asked him softly.
Rand felt completely ridiculous. The situation had just devolved into a new level of absurd. Maybe it was the overwhelming pain and the concussion but he just couldn’t help but think about how stupid they were being. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Okay, no I’m not. I am sorry I made you uncomfortable. Even if it wasn’t my doing.” Yeah, it was not a good idea to be talking about it. But God, they weren’t teenagers. “God, are we always going to be like this?”
Yeah, pain and concussion were making him loopy. “No, I just need my discharge papers and stuff,” he said, getting off the table slowly and carefully. “Script for whatever painkillers they want me to take. They are not happy about the fact I can’t have opiate painkillers. You sure you want to deal with me like this?”
“Don’t apologise,” Noriko murmured, looking him in the eye. “It’s flattering.” And it was, even if it did make things ten times more awkward between them. She was determinedly Not Thinking About Things, just as she had been since he’d walked back into her life.
“And no, I’m not sure. But I’d rather feel awkward than know you’re sitting in a hotel room by yourself, hurting, with no one to look after you.” It was probably the most honest she’d been since she’d walked through the door. “Whatever there is between us, you’re still Izumi’s father. You’re part of this family. And you’re not going to suffer alone out of some misplaced sense of guilt.” He’d clearly done far too much of that over the years.
“Come on. We’ll get your script on the way out.” She headed for the door, looking round the room to check that he hadn’t left anything.
At least she wasn’t insulted. Rand would have let out a breath of relief, but that would be a bad idea now that he was standing again. Her words made him want to protest. “Misplaced guilt?” he shot back. “I walked out on you and our baby and never came back. I was too messed up and scared to even contact you to apologize or I don’t know, offer support or something. By the time I got myself straightened out, I couldn’t even find you without hiring a lawyer to track Izumi down by her social security number. And even then, I couldn’t face you. My guilt is not misplaced.” Okay, this wasn’t the time or the place or the mindset, but so help him God, if people didn’t stop minimizing this shit for the sake of peace, he was going to lose it completely and go crawl into a damned bottle. Or something.
Noriko’s hand tightened on the doorhandle, and she forced herself to count to ten before trusting herself to reply. She turned to look at him, arching an eyebrow.
“Do you want to have this conversation now?” She asked him, sharply. “In a hospital, when you’re exhausted, hurt, and embarrassed?” She shook her head. “I said that we’d talk, and we will. But not now.” She pulled open the door, not bothering to hold it for him, angry at him for snapping, and herself for letting it bother her.
“I’m going to get your father’s script,” she told Izumi. “You can help him to the car.” She was too angry to deal with him right now.
While she was oblivious to what had happened in the room, she knew her mother well enough to know that she was angry. She simply nodded and went into the room with her father who was putting on his boots. "I take it that didn't go very well?" she asked as she moved closer to him. "She's getting your medicine, I'll help you get to the car. Should I ask for a chair or do you think you can make it with just me to lean on?"
Rand wasn’t any happier. Now the guilt was right back on the surface and he sure as hell wasn’t going home with Nori now. Not after that. “No, it didn’t,” he said with a wince as he managed to pull on his other boot. “If they bring a wheelchair in here, I will wrap it around the orderly’s neck, even if it kills me.” He didn’t have much of a temper, but nobody could be expected to keep a level head in his physical state now. Especially after that. “I’m fine. I want to go home. To my hotel room.” Where he belonged. “I appreciate you and your mother being concerned, but I will be fine. You can call me and wake me up every hour, Or she can. But I’m not very good company right now and all I want to do is sleep. So, let’s go.”
Well damn. Izumi let out a sigh as she listened to her father go right back to his stubbornness. Yeah, it definitely hadn't gone well, whatever had happened. "I can't leave the two of you alone for more than five seconds without something bad happening," she muttered. Helping him get to his feet, she led him towards and then out of the hospital room and in the direction of the exit. "I don't care if you're good company or not. If you want to stay at your hotel room, fine, but I'm not going to leave you there alone."
“Because she hates me and she won’t even admit it to herself,” he grumbled back. Yeah, filter broken. He should be excused from it considering how much pain he was in alone. The concussion just made it worse. “This is a bad idea, Izumi. You just said it yourself. I will be fine. You both can call me and wake me up every five damned minutes if you want. It isn’t like I’m going to be sleeping much. But I want to be left alone. Please.”
"I said that leaving the two of you alone together is a bad idea, but not because she hates you," Izumi told him. "I'm not going to lie and pretend she thinks you're amazing because likely she's very angry at you, but she doesn't hate you. I don't think Mama knows how to hate anyone or anything, not entirely." Noriko wasn't the sort to waste much time with hate, honestly. "But I'm not leaving you alone. You're hurt and I'm going to worry myself to death if I don't know that you're absolutely alright," she told him. "You're not going to win this one. I'm just as stubborn as you are and I'm not wounded so I'm more resolved to get my way," she said as they reached her car which was thankfully an SUV with plenty of headroom for her father. Letting him lean against it, she pulled the passenger side door open and let out a breath. "Leaving you two alone might not be a good idea, but honestly you both need to talk to one another and maybe this is some higher power's way of telling you to both suck it up and just have a conversation."
Rand shook his head. “It has nothing to do with what I want or don’t want,” he said. “Or if she hates me or not. She has every right in the world to hate me.” Part of him, the part that had he let abuse himself with guilt wanted her to hate him. That would be easier than dealing with the emotional turmoil. “She doesn’t want to talk about it. And I don’t blame her.” And now one of them was going to accuse him of running away when it got tough. He couldn’t win for losing. He didn’t argue about getting in the car, just waiting for the next round to start.
Izumi sighed and reached out to cup her father's cheek. "So maybe she doesn't want to talk about it. That doesn't mean that the two of you shouldn't. It's always going to be this huge elephant in the room if it doesn't get resolved and frankly the both of you are driving me completely mad dancing around each other the way that you are." Her voice was a bit more calm and gentle this time as she tried to soothe him a little. "If she hated you, she wouldn't have come with me," she pointed out. "She wouldn't be offering to look after you. It's not just for me. The both of you are being absolutely ridiculous. So stop fighting it, stop arguing and just stay with mom. Please."
“You’re not the only one,” Rand muttered, looking out the window. “I know we are. But you think pointing that out will help any? This isn’t exactly fun for either of us. Especially with your mother constantly challenging me not to run away the second things get tense or crazy. It’s insane. It’s probably even stupid. But-” Yeah, he had nothing and really wasn’t in any condition to be talking about it to anyone or trying to work his way through how he felt. Which was entirely the problem. He was so far gone, he didn’t even realize it. “I don’t know.”
"I wish I could just snap my fingers and make all of this go away and get easier, but holding it in isn't any good for anyone. Right now I'm more worried about you recovering than you and mother working out your differences," she admitted. "I want you two to talk, but more than that, I want you somewhere safe and not pay-as-you-go. So there aren't really many options other than with me or with Mama. You shouldn't be staying in that hotel anyway. It's no way to live. It's nomadic and honestly it makes me feel a little like you could up and leave again," she admitted reluctantly, glancing over at him as she settled herself into the driver's seat of the car and pulled her seat belt across her lap. "I know you don't want to hear that, but it's part of the reason I don't want you at the hotel."
“I tried okay?” he snapped, which was breathing a little to hard and required him to stop for a minute. “I know it wasn’t the time or the place and I’m in so much fucking pain I can’t see straight, but we were both being so stupid and she was lecturing me on misplaced guilt. God.” He really just wanted to curl up with a bottle of jack and hopefully never wake up. Then Izumi hit him with that. “I didn’t expect to find you so easily,” he told her, feeling now like it was just a pale excuse. “I haven’t had a chance to look for something better. My hours suck for apartment hunting.” Yeah, like she’d believe that even if it was true. “I will go wherever you two decide. Can we please just get this over with?”
She was surprised and perhaps slightly startled when he snapped at her, even if she likely deserved it. Izumi was quiet while he spoke and simply nodded at the last question, unable and a little unwilling to try and come up with a response to anything else. She glanced out the window in time to see her mother heading towards the car, thankful for not having to be sitting there in silence much longer. Once Noriko had climbed in, she let out a breath and looked at her mother in the rearview mirror. "I think I'll drop you two off at your place, Mama," she said to her. "I'll go back to the hotel and get whatever else Rand would like from his room and bring it over later."
Noriko nodded, folding Rand’s script for his medication and passing it to Izumi. “That sounds like the best plan. You could pick up Randall’s medication while you’re out, if that’s ok?” She didn’t want to ask too much of Izumi - they were all a little rattled. She sat back in the seat behind Izumi, buckling up. At this angle, she could look at Randall, still frowning worriedly. She was calmer than she’d been when she stormed out of his room, realising she’d been a little unfair. He looked exhausted, and understandably so. Thankfully the spare bedroom in her apartment was made up, clean sheets on the bed, so all he had to do when they got in was go lie down.
Randall hadn’t meant to snap. He just shut up until Nori got in, so he didn’t make this situation any worse. It wasn’t that he wasn’t grateful for their help. It was just that guilt Noriko had called him out on telling him he didn’t deserve it. He was far from in the best mindset to be making any sort of rational decision. “Don’t worry about the meds,” he said. “I won’t be able to take them for at least 24 hours. Because of the concussion.” He didn’t want to inconvenience them both anymore than he already was. “If my keys made it, my gym bag’s in my truck at the club. That should work for now. Until I can think straight enough to make a list or go myself. Thank you.”
Izumi took the prescription regardless and tucked it into her purse as she pulled out of the hospital parking lot. She fully intended on getting the prescription anyway just to be a stubborn ass like everyone else in the car were being regardless. "Fine," she said softly at her father's words about the things at the hotel. "I can get Rupert to come with me to the club and we'll pick up your truck and drop it by mom's," she said.
Noriko rifled through the bag that the nurses had handed her, hearing the jingle of keys in the bottom. She pulled them out, holding them up so Izumi and Rand could see them in the rearview. “I’ve got them,” she said, perhaps unnecessarily. “You don’t have to do all that today, darling,” she assured Izumi, gaze flicking between the two of them. “Randall won’t need his truck, and clean clothes can wait until the morning.” Worst case scenario, she could go pick up something from his hotel room when she went to pick Noah up in the morning. She didn’t want Izumi stressing herself out more than she already had - not when she should be enjoying her weekend, spending time with Noah. And, perhaps, Rupert.
Nodding a little, Izumi reluctantly agreed. "Okay," she sighed. "I'll pick up the prescription on my way to work tomorrow. Maybe later on this evening I'll bring Noah by to see you," she commented, glancing over at Randall. "If he can't make you feel better, no one can."
Okay, that all sounded better. Rand nodded. “Thank you,” he said. “Both of you. I know I’m being a grumpy ass, but I appreciate it. Especially if you’re willing to let Noah cheer me up.” Another part of his life now that guilty part of him didn’t think he deserved. He was trying to stay awake the whole trip, but with the tension draining, even with the pain, his body was overruling him.
Well, at least Rand was admitting that he was being an ass. Noriko couldn’t really hold him responsible, however, not when he was clearly in pain. Pain that would continue, until he could safely take painkillers. And even then, they wouldn’t help much. Not being able to take opiates wasn’t going to make things any easier for him. Sighing softly, Noriko leaned her head against the window, looking out as Izumi drove them to hers. She had no idea what she was going to do with him, was hoping that Randall would sleep for most of the rest of the day. She’d wake him for dinner, of course, but other than that...the reality of offering to look after him was starting to set in, and Noriko was beginning to wonder how she was going to cope.
Izumi smiled a little at her father's thanks. "You're entitled to be grumpy. You've cracked a rib for crying out loud," she pointed out with a little glance towards him. "I'll bring Noah by later this afternoon if you're feeling up to it. Just have Mama call me or you can when you'd like to see him and we'll come over." Yeah, that was a lot better than the arguing. Izumi was satisfied with the way things were going now.
“I think he’s asleep, honey,” Noriko murmured quietly, not sure if Izumi could see him properly, considering her attention was on the road. She was amazed he’d stayed awake this long, to be honest. If he’d been kept awake all night at the hospital, he’d been running on adrenaline and little else.
“I’m not sure bringing Noah over’s the best idea,” she admitted, reaching forward to squeeze Izumi’s shoulder. “Perhaps tomorrow instead?” She wanted to make sure Randall got enough sleep, and adorable as he was, Noah was not conducive to peace and quiet. And she had to admit, selfishly, that there was a part of her that wanted Rand to herself. At least for an afternoon. Even if it was nothing more than listening to him snore from the spare room, having someone else in the house was a comfort.
Izumi nodded a little. "You're probably right," she agreed. "Are you still wanting to watch him tomorrow or should I just put him in daycare?" she questioned her mother. She didn't want to put too much on her mother's plate especially now that she'd have Rand to watch over as well. "I could just bring him over after work tomorrow for a little visit."
“Can I let you know later?” It partly depended on how the rest of the day went with Rand; if they got on ok, there was no harm in Noah coming over. But if Randall was still just as groggy and in pain, and they were still at each other’s throats, she didn’t want to subject her grandson to that.
“In any case, you should both come over tomorrow afternoon. I’m sure your father would like that.”
"Yes, of course," Izumi said with a little nod. "Just call me and let me know either way." It really didn't matter whether Noah went to daycare or to her mother's so long as she knew he'd be safe. Right now Rand was needing sleep and having Noah's less than quiet self in the house likely wouldn't be helpful in that. "Thank you for watching after him, I know this isn't easy for you."
“He needs looked after,” Noriko answered simply. “You have a life of your own to lead, and I’m not letting him sit in a hotel room by himself because he’s too stubborn to admit he needs help.” No matter how confused she felt about Randall, and her feelings towards him - now moreso than ever, thanks to what had happened in his hospital room - she couldn’t let him suffer alone. And much as she’d deny it to her daughter, she got lonely. She’d loved having Izumi and Noah staying with her, and though she’d understood her daughter’s wish to be independent, she still missed having her around.
"He does need looking after, stubborn thing that he is. I wish you plenty of luck trying to get him to rest and not try and do things while he's healing." She didn't really envy her mother in that task, but Noriko was the mothering sort and she was stern enough to make Randall listen. Pulling into her mother's drive, she let out a little sigh and put the car in park before turning it off. "I'll help you get him inside," she said as she reached out to gently touch her father's arm. "Daddy, we're here."
Rand woke up when the car stopped, the gentle jolt making him wince. He unfastened his seatbelt, shakes his head a bit as if to clear it. Which was a bad idea, because, yeah, ouch, concussion. “Oh, good,” he mumbled, taking his time getting out of the car. He was determined to walk to the damned front door without having his tiny ex or his slightly less tiny daughter support him. He got as far as standing up before he needed a (small breaths) breather.
Izumi was out of the car and around it by the time he opened the door and stood up. "See," she commented to her mother. "Stubborn and willful. On top of all that pride. You're gonna have a time with him," she teased. Well, partially teased because it was at least half true. Slipping her arm around her father's waist, she sighed a little and drew his arm over her shoulder. "Once you're inside you can get to bed and be as stubborn as you want."
Noriko went ahead of them, digging her keys out of her bag before unlocking the door. She lived on the ground floor, thankfully, so Rand wouldn’t have too much trouble getting into the apartment. Opening the door, she grabbed the few toys of Noah’s that had escaped her Sunday morning clean-up, tossing them towards his toy basket in the corner of the living room.
Rand scoffed at Izumi’s words but gave up protesting and just consoled himself with leaning on her as little as possible. “Where do you think you get it from?” he challenged. “Your mother’s an angel.” Oh shit, there was that broken filter again. “Oh thank God, no stairs.” That helped more than either of them could know.
Izumi couldn't help but smile a little at her father's comment about her mother. She helped her get Rand into the bedroom and once he was settled, she let out a breath. "Alright, I guess I'll leave the two of you alone then. You call me if you guys need anything," she added as she stepped towards the door. "I love you," she said, eyes flicking between them. "Both of you. So no arguing," she smiled, then she let out another breath and headed out again, showing herself the door and making a silent prayer that they wouldn't kill one another.
Luckily for Rand, Noriko was out of earshot when he called her an angel. She pulled the curtains closed in the spare room, flicking on a bedside lamp so that if he did wake up, he wouldn’t be too disoriented. She let Izumi help him onto the bed, not wanting to get in the way more than neccessary.
“I’ll call you later,” she promised her daughter, watching her go. She couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the admonition not to argue, even though she couldn’t exactly deny that her and Rand weren’t at each other’s throats, given more than five seconds alone. Sighing, she turned her attention back to him.
“Do you need anything?” She asked, unsure of herself again. “Or shall I just leave you to get some rest?” He’d slept in the car, of course, but she didn’t want to just leave him if he needed anything else.
“Bye, little bird,” he murmured, using the nickname he’d given her as baby. He was too tired to remember himself or his guilt much. His boots he managed to get off on his own, and was unbuttoning his shirt pretty easily on his own. That was enough off until Nori had left. Squirming out of his jeans could be done laying down.
Rand shook his head. “You’ve both done more than enough,” he assured Nori. “Thanks. Again. As much as I’d like to down Jack until I can’t feel anything anymore, that isn’t how it works. Rest is better.” He shifted himself back onto the bed slowly and carefully. “Don’t fuss over me too much Nori. I’m probably not going to do anything more exciting than try to sleep. I’ll be fine.”
Noriko suppressed a soft, hurt gasp. She’d never thought she’d hear that nickname again - had never used it for Izumi after Rand had left. It had hurt too much, even if it had suited her. She folded her arms, hugging herself as she watched him ease his boots off, unbutton his shirt. Thank God he didn’t go any further than that.
“I’ll be across the hall if you need me,” she murmured quietly. She left the room before he could say anything else, leaving the door ajar so that she’d hear if he called out. Kicking off her shoes and placing them neatly by the door, she headed to the living room. She curled up on the couch, clutching a cushion to her chest and closing her eyes. It hurt to be around Rand, more than she’d thought possible. With other people there, she’d been able to avoid him for the most part. Now, though, there was nothing to distract her from the fact that she was still hopelessly, irrevocably in love with him. That didn’t mean she didn’t feel angry, or betrayed, by the way he’d abandoned her. But neither could she ignore it. And the next few days were going to be utter hell.