Christian Grey (![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} heartsnflowers) wrote in ![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} valarlogs,@ 2014-02-19 23:52:00 |
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What: Christian turns white knight
When: 2/20, morning
Where: Christian's flat, then St Joseph's Hospital in Santa Ana
Rating/Warning: PG13, sickness/hospitals/surgery talk, language
Status: Complete
She’d been feverish for a day or so, but the vomiting was something new. As was the fainting, and the sweats. As much as Alyssa Hamilton hated to admit it, she needed to see the doctor. Normally she just soldiered through illnesses, having long had a fear of broad spectrum antibiotics and super viruses. Some elderberry syrup was enough for her, thank you, but she’d thrown it right back up.
Her mum was in Maui, so she couldn’t take her to the doctor. Logan had the baby and Velma to worry about; Vel was due any day. Kitty wasn’t around. Biting her lower lip, Alyssa splashed water on her bathroom door, opened it when the sigil was bright, and set foot into Christian’s living room. “Christian?” Her voice was weak, trembling. Before she knew it, she was faint again, pitching down onto his floor.
Christian had the day off, and he’d enjoyed sleeping in, but he was awake when his door glowed. After jumping six feet, he’d remembered Alyssa’s thing, and gone into the other room just in time to see her hit the floor.
“Shit.” He was over in a shot, lightly slapping her cheeks to bring her round. This wasn’t a time to take the piss. “Alyssa. You all right, luv? You passed out. Alyssa?” She was burning up, he noticed - her hand was hot as hell even through his shirt.
Whimpering, Alyssa groaned as she opened her eyes. “Dun feel good, Mum, I don’t have to go.” She closed her eyes again, curling her body into as fetal a position as she could get it. “I’m freezing.”
Fuck, this was creeping him out now. “It’s Christian. Don’t know where your mum’s buggered off to. Don’t worry, we’ll get you to hospital.” If she was burning up and still freezing, it did mean something was wrong. He got up and went to go shrug a shirt on. “Just need clothes!”
The tile felt like Heaven, and Alyssa sighed contentedly as she let her cheek rest upon it. “Mum’s in Maui. Maui Wowie or something. Isn’t that in Florida? Hope nobody eats her ear. That’s a thing! It happened!”
Yep, definitely freaked out now. Christian had shrugged on a t-shirt and sweatpants, and now he was slipping shoes on and grabbing his keys. “Come on, luv, can you get up for me? We’re going to take you to hospital.” Shit, maybe he ought to call an ambulance. If she couldn’t get up, he’d call one.
“Hurts,” Alyssa whimpered. She tried to sit up, but every time she moved it felt like she was being stabbed in the gut. Tears fell down her cheeks when she realized she couldn’t, that she was feeble and broken. “I’m sorry,” she murmured, though she still wasn’t aware enough for her to realize it was Christian.
Fuck if this wasn’t like being stabbed himself. “It’s all right. It’s all right, just stay there. I’ll ring for an ambulance.” Christian was pissed off and scared all at the same time. “Just stay there for now.” He went into the kitchen, half running, dialing 999 first, then cursing and dialing the right number.
“Christian? I’m sorry. I just had ... I don’t have anyone else right now.” She managed to move to a somewhat sitting position, wiping furiously at her cheeks. “I don’t know what’s wrong, I just had a fever for the most part of this week. I took paracetamol.”
“Don’t apologize, it’s all right.” He wasn’t upset with Alyssa, though he was thinking choice words about her mum. He managed to get through the conversation with the paramedics before going back to her. “If you can’t sit up, I can’t drive you, so I rang for an ambulance. You fainted, and you’re burning up, but you say you’re frozen. That plus pain means something’s wrong.”
“I don’t need an ambulance,” Alyssa murmured. She bit her lower lip hard. “If you pull, I should be able to get up.” But even as she said it, she realized how futile everything was. She really was ill, and all she wanted to do was curl up and bawl. But she couldn’t, not with someone around. Not with him. She wanted him to think she was strong, so crying was out of the question. Instead, she grit her teeth and whimpered.
“No.” Christian wasn’t going to hurt her further. “You’ll do more damage. Professionals will make sure you don’t get hurt more.” Whatever was wrong with her, he wasn’t going to make it worse.
“Christian? Thank you. I don’t ... I didn’t have anywhere else to go.” She lay back down onto the tile, curling into a tiny ball. It hurt less that way. “Mum left on Monday.”
Bitch. Christian couldn’t help but be ragingly angry inside. No mum should do this to her own fucking flesh and blood. “They’re on their way,” was all he said.
True to form, there were paramedics in his townhouse in the next six minutes or so. They were asking Alyssa questions, but if she couldn’t speak, Christian would reply. “We’re mates,” he told the first paramedic before she asked their relationship. “Her mum’s out of town, and her da isn’t in the country.” It was true, just not the whole story.
“I want him to come with me,” Alyssa murmured. She answered questions about her pain, about how long she’d had the fever, her other symptoms. They got her loaded onto a gurney and soon they were rolling into the ambulance, which she thought was way more spacious on the inside than she’d thought an ambulance would be.
“I’m coming.” If they wouldn’t let him in the ambulance, he’d fucking drive behind. Someone had to be there for her. Her parents weren’t, after all. Fucking bitch. He’d give Nancy Hamilton a piece of his mind when she was back, he would.
They didn’t let him in the ambulance, but he drove behind it, so close he had to slam on his brakes once or twice. So fucking sue him; he was hopped up on adrenaline and yes, fear.
When they got to the emergency room, Alyssa was trying not to weep openly. They’d given her something for her vomiting, as well as started an IV in her arm, but she was just filled with pain, and she was still so damn hot. Whatever they’d given her to bring her fever down just wasn’t helping.
Christian was not far behind, and he could barely look at her, so he hung back, furious. “Can someone fucking help her!” he let out eventually, trying to find a medical professional of some sort.
Rude, maybe, but it worked. A man in scrubs came over and started asking Alyssa questions, and it seemed like he hit on a lead. Or at least he wasn’t acting bloody clueless. Christian closed his eyes, trying to keep calm.
Once she told the man her symptoms and vomited yet again in spite of the medicine she’d been given, she was rushed into a room and prodded for a bit. She all but screamed when they pressed down on her right side, gripping the bed and closing her eyes. “Fucking goddamn yes that hurts, you cunt!”
Christian actually flinched when she screamed - he’d been told to stay in the hall, so he stayed in the hall. She wasn’t going to die, so why did it feel like he was going to throw up? “Jesus,” he muttered. “Someone knock her out.”
The doctor diagnosed her hastily. “I think her appendix ruptured,” he said to a nurse. The doctor rushed out to get her some dilaudid and zofran, hastily walking back in with vials and needles. The nurse injected her carefully, waving in Christian.
“She’s going to be going into surgery as soon as we can get a general surgeon to do it, and a room. She needs to go in as soon as possible, so probably within fifteen minutes or so. You should get her a bag, she’ll be in the hospital for about seventy-two hours at least after her surgery.”
“I’ll need to ask her for her keys.” Christian said, sighing, feeling drained. “Did I hear her appendix ruptured?” Was that fatal? He didn’t know anything about it.
The nurse nodded, waving Christian in. “It did, yes. The surgeon will open her up and clean out the fluid from the rupture, then we’ll make sure the infection doesn’t spread while she’s here. She’ll be sore, but odds are she’ll be fine.”
At the moment, Alyssa was sailing. She couldn’t keep her eyes open, but she heard Christian’s voice. “Issat m’Christian?”
As long as she’d be fine, he could deal with it. Christian nodded a thank you to the nurse before addressing Alyssa. “Look at you. Disgraceful, that. High as a kite.”
“It’s so, I can’t feel anything anymore.” She smiled at him, reaching out to take his hand. “She said I’m here a while? Do I have to?”
She was in a bad way; he let her take his hand and squeeze it. “Afraid so, luv. You’re going to surgery shortly. Appendix is what they think. They’re going to repair it as soon as they find a surgeon. I’ll bring you stuff if I can have your keys.”
“They’re in m’purse,” she slurred, pointing to the leather bag on a chair in the corner. “You’re being so sweet to me, Christian. Thank you. M’best mate, you know. Like a big brother, only handsome and I like snogging you. We should snog more, we don’t do it enough. I get all floaty.” She smiled and closed her eyes.
“Thank you.” Christian wasn’t entirely sure what she’d just said, except that she liked snogging him and got ‘floaty.’ What did that mean? “I’m going to get them,” he told her, before going into the bag - you never went into a woman’s handbag without permission - and luckily, they were in the top pocket. God forbid he find personal things or tampons or whatever. “Is there anything special you want me to bring?”
“Mmm, no, just you. Will you visit me when I wake up?” She tried to sit up a bit, winced, and lay back down. “I’m scared, I’ve never had surgery before.”
“Yeah.” He’d planned to just come back here and wait after getting her stuff. “Honestly, you won’t feel a thing. You’ll take a six hour nap, and be a bit sore when you’re done.” He’d had surgery when he was fourteen, to remove what turned out to be a benign tumor on his stomach. “Nothing to write home about, even. But I’ll pop in when it’s over.” Who else did she have? Logan, but he had a pregnant wife to watch over - he’d probably better ring the man anyway, though. Her mum had fucked off. Damian, but he wasn’t having a nervy little gobshite like that in a hospital room.
She smiled, squeezing his hand. “Thank you for taking such good care of me - “ She’d been about to say more, but the doctor came to whisk her away to surgery. Apparently this was life or death stuff. She’d thought she just had a bout of flu.
Christian just nodded, watching them take her, then going to leave with an already-exhausted sigh. He thought he remembered how to get to Alyssa’s house.
He did, and soon his car was in the driveway - hopefully no nosy neighbours were about, though it wouldn’t have shocked him if fucking Nancy had co-opted an old woman next door or some such. Still, he managed to get inside and pick up some of her clothes - a shocking experience, one he hadn’t expected. He’d seen so many clothes tossed on his floor, but someone’s closet was different. Seeing Alyssa everywhere - every short skirt, every ruffled collar and big, comfortable-looking sweater - was disconcerting, and so intimate that it made it hard to breathe.
He packed a bag with a few different choices, as well as the book from her nightstand - it was open, upside down - what were the odds she was reading it? - and her phone, which was still sitting on her desk. He felt naked without his mobile, so why not give her hers. Christian locked the door behind him, able to breathe once more, even as he headed back to the hospital waiting room to, well, wait.
For Alyssa, there was a blur of people coming in and asking her questions - did she have piercings? Did she have any dental work? - which she figured were all about the surgery. Then she was in a room with a bunch of strangers and they were telling her to count back from a hundred.
Then there were voices. Dimmed light, and voices - nurses. Hustle and bustle of people moving, and a woman saying her name. She wanted to sleep more, and wanted to say so, but the woman said she had to wake up and drink something. Her throat hurt so badly that Alyssa didn’t protest. She drank some ice water and it felt like heaven.
“The surgery went well, Alyssa, so we’re going to get you up to your room so you can rest. Your friend Christian’s here, and so’s your friend Velma. They’ll be up soon, okay?” Alyssa just nodded weakly.
Christian had been dozing in the waiting room for the past six hours. He’d thought about going home once or twice, but he couldn’t. The idea of sitting in his flat and trying to work was idiocy, and he couldn’t exactly go pull or something when he was thinking about Alyssa. So when a nurse gently shook him awake and told him that she was out of surgery, he was relieved. “Can I see her?” he asked, and the nurse said yes, that if he followed her he could go right up.
Velma had come as soon as she’d heard, taking a cab while leaving instructions for Logan to meet her later. Or at least to come pick her up. The same nurse came over to her, and she looked up from her book with a smile as she heard.
She got in the elevator with the nurse and a haggard looking brunet she’d seen in the waiting room. He’d been dozing on his hand, and had been there at least as long as Velma without stirring.
As soon as Christian saw the pregnant woman get on the elevator, he knew it had to be Alyssa’s friend Velma. Logan’s fiancee. “She’ll be glad to see you,” he offered lamely, knowing he sounded tired. “I’ll wait outside, so you can talk with her.”
“Oh.” He was Irish, and immediately Velma knew this had to be Christian. Christian Grey stayed in the waiting room for six hours waiting for Alyssa? “Thank you. I’ll tell her you’re outside.” Velma walked into the hospital room with a smile on her face.
Alyssa had the telly on a crap infomercial for some miracle makeup or another. She wasn’t really watching it actively, instead mostly dozing. But she heard movement and someone coming in, so she made herself wake up. “Velma? How did - how did you find out I’m here?”
“Your friend told Logan, and he told me. I was going to wait for him, but he got delayed, so I took a cab.” Velma smiled. “Your Christian is waiting outside the room. Said he’d give us some girl talk time. How are you, honey?”
“He did come back.” Alyssa smiled contentedly, leaning back in her somewhat comfortable bed. “They gave me the good drugs, so I’m just a little sore.” She felt no worse than she usually did after Kitty ran her through the paces.
“Back? I’ve been here since two and he hasn’t left.” Velma raised an eyebrow. “I’m glad you’re just sore. I was worried - according to Logan, Christian called, left a message that you were in the hospital and in surgery, and they thought you’d be fine but he didn’t know.” She understood why he’d left it vague, even if it was a little tactless.
Alyssa blinked. “But he - why would he do that?” She was still stoned, and a bit foggy. It didn’t make sense.
“Do what, stay? Or call us? You’ve been telling us all along he’s not a monster.” Velma smiled. “I think he cares about you, honey.”
“Stay. He has a life. I ... Velma, I love him,” Alyssa whispered. Fuck. Dilaudid making her too honest.
“Well, fucking duh.” Velma wasn’t stupid. “I figured that out weeks ago. Just didn’t give you crap about it.” She took Alyssa’s hand, squeezing gently. “I’m gonna go back down to the waiting room and wait for Logan to get here. He’ll want to look in on you. You know he worries.”
“I don’t - how do I not say it? To Christian?” Alyssa bit her lip hard. “I can’t stop telling the truth! You look gorgeous, by the way, I always sort of figured if Logan and Christian don’t work out for us you and I can go off together into the sunset. See? Bleh, truth vomit.”
Velma laughed delightedly. “I’m too old for you, and I don’t like girls. Just, I don’t know, don’t talk to him much? Act like you’re still fucked up?”
“Mmm. I am.” Alyssa giggled. “You’re not too old for me, I used to shag Logan,” Alyssa snorted.
“And he was too old for you.” Velma laughed. “This guy’s a better age.”
“He’s sweet,” Alyssa smiled. “Is Logan here too? Have they hurt each other yet?”
“Not yet, no. I’ll go down to the waiting room and get him when he gets here.” Velma lowered her voice, just in case the man was able to hear. “Really, I think he’s starting to care about you. Like, for real.”
Giggling, Alyssa shook her head. “Huh-uh. But it’s nice to think about.”
“You’ll get out of that denial soon enough.” Velma squeezed her hand. “I’m going to look for my fiance, and let you two talk. I just hope nobody tries to make me take a wheelchair or something. I’m pregnant, not infirm.”
She sailed out, smiling at Christian, who’d been pacing outside the room. When she’d disappeared into the elevator, he stuck his head into the room. “Alyssa?”
Alyssa nodded, squeezing Velma’s hand and beaming. She had the best friends in the world. Even though he made her heart skip, she included Christian in that.
When he walked into the room, she smiled weakly. “Hey. How’re you?”
“Never mind me, luv, you look like hell.” Christian raised an eyebrow, trying to be cool. “They said you made it through okay, though.” She looked wasted, as if they’d left her in the sun for twelve hours with no water. “Sore throat?”
She nodded, smiling at him. “Velma said you’ve been here the whole time. You didn’t have to do that, you know.” She really wondered if maybe he was just lonely sometimes.
“Wasn’t going to go home and leave you alone.” He knew he sounded vaguely offended. “I’m not a bastard. You needed someone to be here when you woke.” At least, it was what he would have wanted. A shocking amount of what he did was governed by what he wanted, and just translated to other people.
She smiled at him and looked almost shy for a moment. “It was really good of you to do that, you know. I was scared. But look!” She moved her sheets down to show him her wound, a tidy five inch incision on her hip. “Now I look surly and rather badass, yeah?”
“I think anyone who says ‘rather’ and then ‘badass’ right in a row automatically invalidates the title.” Christian did laugh at the scar. “That does look rather fearsome, but you’d only look surly if it was on your face, I’m afraid. Does it hurt?”
“It’s starting to throb a bit, but I’m sure they’ll give me something for that soon.” She pushed the call button on her bed, then jumped when a loud voice came over a speaker built into the bed railings. “I - could I have some ice and some more painkillers? Please? Whenever it’s convenient, I don’t want to impose - “ The nurse cut her off and said that she’d be by shortly. Within moments, a petite woman with scrubs came into the room with a laptop and a vial, and a whole thermos of ice water. Alyssa beamed. “My hero.”
Christian sighed. “They’re nurses, Alyssa. It’s literally their job to ensure you’re doing well. It’s not a bloody inconvenience.” Obviously, they had to prioritize, but asking someone to do their job was never an imposition.
Alyssa smiled, taking the thermos and slurping from it gratefully. The nurse smiled as she flushed Alyssa’s IV out with saline, then injected her slowly with an antinausea drug, then some painkillers. Then another flush, and the woman and her laptop left.
Closing her eyes, Alyssa felt her eyelids start to flutter shut as the opiates slammed into her.
He saw it, too. “Off to dreamland, are we?” He rose. “Will you be all right?” If so, he could go home.
She nodded. “Christian? Thank you for staying. It means the world to me.”
He didn’t think it was that big a deal, honestly. “I try not to be a monster,” was all he said before he left.