Who: Agent York and Agent Carolina When:Backdated to when they returned from the rescue mission Where: Wash and Carolina’s place What: Discussing and recuperating Rating/Warnings: Low/None Status: Complete
Even after she had returned home, Carolina was in no shape to go anywhere. She had checked herself out of the military hospital against her doctor’s wishes. After they had finished the necessary surgeries and told her that all that was needed was rest and recovery, that was it. Nursing herself back to health could be done just as easily at home as in a hospital bed. Plus, it meant her visitors would not be required to sign in and be limited to a few hours a day.
Once home, Carolina quickly realized that the doctor’s recommendation had indeed been serious and probably necessary. Even with the massive pain pills they gave her, it was difficult to move around the apartment. She was sleeping in her bed or on the couch for far more hours than she was awake. Occasionally, she would wake up yelling in Arabic, reaching for the nearest weapon to defend herself. It wouldn’t take her long to remember where she was, but every time it happened it never failed to piss her off. A bit of PTSD was normal after what she had gone through, but dammit, she refused to give in to it.
Today, though, there were no sudden jerks or death threats. Carolina woke slowly, feeling a calming warmth coming from her hand. Kanan? Her brows furrowed as she forced her way through the medicated haze. One eye opened, then another. Eventually they managed to focus on a head of sandy brown hair. Not Kanan. York. The corners of her eyes softened. Even after everything they’d gone through, she still trusted her XO. “...Hey.” She managed to croak. Her voice was hoarse from sleep and opiates.
York had been spending a lot of time--really, probably more time than was necessary, or, well, healthy--at Carolina’s side. He was trying to help, he told himself. Thankfully, he didn’t need any surgeries or anything. Just bandages, wraps, whatever. Broken ribs, dislocated shoulder, sprained… somethingorother. His face had taken a serious beating, but it was nothing that time wouldn’t heal. He couldn’t believe they’d nearly lost her. He wasn’t sure what his life would be like without her.
He’d been sleeping. Doped up on some pain medications himself, it was hard to stay awake more often than not. So his hands were wrapped around hers, his head resting on his arm. It was actually quite an uncomfortable position, but he managed. And when he heard her voice, York lifted his head to blink at her. “Hey,” he repeated. Sleep was pouring off of him in waves. “You need some water?”
Carolina shifted on the bed, using her free hand to try and sit up. What did he say? Water? An attempt to swallow confirmed her throat still felt like cotton. “Yeah. Water sounds good.” It looked like York had also been asleep. She didn’t remember him being there when she had gone to bed, but the redhead suspected that there had been some talks about watching her in shifts. Just to make sure she wasn’t spirited away. To be honest, she couldn’t really blame them. She’d done the same for Wash when he was in the hospital.
One arm wasn’t cutting it, so she pulled her hand from his grip so that she could use both to pull herself back to lean against the headboard. She wanted to rub the sleep from her eyes, but she didn’t dare get anything near the mess that was the left side of her face. Instead, Carolina settled for blinking repeatedly while trying to assess how well York’s injuries were healing. He still looked like a mess, but at least some of the bruises seemed to be changing color for the better. The rest of him was covered by his shirt, but she knew his ribs had taken a beating as well.
“I didn’t hear you come in.” Carolina frowned. It was true, but it was also a bit disconcerting. The medications they had her on were useful in dulling pain, but they also dulled her senses as well. She’d like to think that the reason York’s presence hadn’t woken her was because they’d fought side-by-side for so long, but she couldn’t be sure. Didn’t matter. She shouldn’t be putting herself in vulnerable situations, especially while convalescing. Doctor’s recommendations be damned, she was going to start weaning herself off of those as soon as possible.
York nodded. He rose from his chair and took a couple of steps, stumbling just a little in a crooked line, and lifted a hand to carefully rub a finger against his good eye. There was so much sleep dust there. He was trying his best to wake up. They were all on pain meds, and York was normally pretty good at shaking them off... but today--tonight?--he was still a bit drowsy.
Ah, dresser. That's where the water was. York grabbed the bottle and poured some into a cup to bring back over to her. "You were asleep when I took over." Taking turns, keeping an eye (heh) on her. York moved back to the bed and offered her the glass. This was what they did. Watch out for each other. All the time.
The world was still foggy, but not enough to for her to miss the way York was walking. Carolina frowned. “Shouldn’t you be resting too?” She didn’t like seeing him stumble. He had been beaten worse than Wash in the ordeal. Personally, she suspected it had something to do with the fact that he rarely knew when to shut up. York could frustrate even the most patient man without breaking a sweat. Lips quirked upward at the thought. After so many years the trait had become more amusing than annoying.
“Thanks.” Taking the glass, Carolina reminded herself to take small sips. With her cheekbone the way it was, she wouldn’t be able to use a straw for a few weeks yet. As if on cue, her face decided to throb. Wincing, she searched for her pills. Ah ha. Carefully, she reached out to the bottle. Speaking of pills. “What did the doc give you?” Taking care of each other. It’s what they did.
It was mostly because he’d just woken, but York definitely wasn’t at his best. He’d been more concerned about Carolina then he let on, and he didn’t want to leave her side. He and Wash took turns practically ripping the other away from her so each could shower and sleep. Hopefully she’d be out of bed soon, though, and things could go back to whatever ‘normal’ was. York really needed to get back to work, too. It’d been a stretch to be able to get the time off he needed to fly half-way around the world and risk his life rescuing her.
“Sure.” York replied, and slipped down into the seat. He gave a stretch, then winced and curled in on his injured shoulder. “...hmm? Oh. Not much. Antibiotics, mild sedative. I’ve got some extra strength tylenol.” Then he chuckled softly. “I say, save the money on the prescription, and just pop three of the regular strength ones. It amounts to the same thing, doesn’t it?”
Carolina frowned at York. Seriously? She reached over to give him a light smack on the back of the head. “No, it doesn’t.” Men. They were all stubborn as hell. Especially in her family; York was definitely family. Her frown deepened as her vision finally cleared up enough to get a better idea of the state of his injuries. “You should be in a bed, not a chair.” Not that she didn’t appreciate him at her bedside, but if it took him longer to recover because of it, she would be pissed.
York gave a little “ow” that was mixed in with a laugh after she smacked his head. He shrugged his shoulders, but everything hurt all of a sudden. Maybe talking about pain killers was enough to remind him that he actually needed them. And he hadn’t taken any since he’d been on his turn watching over her. “I’m fine, ‘Lina. I’m okay. I’m more worried about you. They didn’t have nearly as long to rough me over as they had for you.”
“I’ll be fine. I’m in a bed.” Carolina arched an eyebrow. Even if he was right, she wasn’t going to let him use that as an excuse to not take care of himself. She eyed the various pills on her nightstand before reaching for one of the bottles. Unlike her XO, she had made sure all the prescriptions the doc gave her were filled. Not that she planned to take all of them for this particular injury, mind you, but in this place she had to make sure to plan ahead. “Here. Take these.” She held out two large pills.
“I really don’t need to.” York said, frowning down at the pills. He sat up a little and leaned in, then hissed and winced before bringing a hand to his bandaged ribcage. “Those are yours. You need those more than I do.”
“I can get more.” Forcing her hand to remain steady was a bit more difficult than she had anticipated. Carolina’s jaw set stubbornly as she willed her muscles to obey. If he was going to be bullheaded, then she would just butt heads right back. Figuratively, that is. Her head had taken enough beatings in the last few weeks.
York stared at her for about three beats, then gave a sigh, defeated, then held out his hands for her to drop the pills into his palm. There was no beating Carolina in a battle of stubbornness. He knew he had to give up the ghost. “You’d better be getting more.” He said, and swallowed the pills dry. “This isn’t gonna put me to sleep, is it?”
Carolina waited until York had swallowed the pills before nodding. “Probably.” There was a smirk in her eyes as she capped the bottle. It was a good chance that the drugs would make him drowsy, even if it didn’t put him to sleep completely. Considering the black beneath his eyes, she figured he could use a bit more sleep anyway. “Don’t worry, I think there’s a bed around here you can lay on if it does. Might even include a pillow if you ask me nice enough.” They took care of one another; whether that person wanted to be taken care of was irrelevant.
“Sick people need that bed more than I do,” York argued. Absolute worst case, he could take the floor. Besides, maybe Wash would be back soon to take over, and then York could go sleep in his own bed. He didn’t immediately feel the effects of the strong painkillers, but they’d hit him quick. York hadn’t been eating all that well. “I’ll be fine. I’m supposed to make sure that you’re getting rest.”
“I’m not sick.” Carolina rolled her eyes. At least that didn’t hurt. She knew that York wasn’t about to leave her alone to go rest himself. If she wanted to make sure he rested properly, there were really only two options: the rolled mat and sleeping bag by the door or on the other side of her bed. Either would work, but the actual bed would probably be better on York’s back. To drive the point home, she pat the empty space next to her. “It’s just a bed, York. Or are you going to sissy out and use the mat instead?” She was teasing, but one way or another, she was going to make sure he also recovered properly.
York looked from Carolina to the mat, weighing his options. Sure, the bed would be more comfortable. Better on his ribs, his shoulder, his arm. But he didn’t want to squish into her space. They hadn’t often shared sleeping space since… well, it’d been a really long time. It would be nice, though. Much nicer than sleeping on the mat. Would it be too nice?
York sighed, then climbed up from the chair, and slipped onto the bed beside her. Thankfully there was enough room that he didn’t have to be squished up against her too close. He sighed. “Is this better?”
“Mm. I half expected you to choose the mat.” Carolina’s small smile, however, told a different story. There. Now she could rest easy knowing that her XO was going to get some kind of rest while he recovered. “Don’t worry, I’ll kick you off if your snoring interferes with my recovery.” Well, kick might’ve been a bit of an exaggeration. Shove was more likely. Still, she was glad he had acquiesced. They’d gone through a lot in the last year, but she hoped that they would be able to become the friends they should’ve been from the start.
Closing her eyes, Carolina let herself relax with her back against the headboard. The painkillers were also going to be putting her to sleep soon. Before that, she wanted an update. “How’s Wash doing? I’m guessing he’s been taking his turn in that chair, too.” She couldn’t blame either of them, really. It had been near-impossible to get Carolina to leave Wash’s side when he was in the hospital and she knew her brother could be just as stubborn as her.
“I came close.” York settled down in the bed. It was pretty nice--not too soft, not too firm. And he was goldilocks. He closed his eyes, deciding that he could let himself doze and still watch over her. Sort of. They could watch over each other.
“I sent him out for a nap and a shower. I hope he went to see Anna, too. He needs some cuddle time as much as the next guy.” York yawned. He hadn’t realized how tired he really was until he was laying down in a bed, and now he was sure he was gonna fall asleep. “I’m sure he’ll be back soon.”
“Good. I’m sure he needs the break more than he wants to admit.” Carolina made sure York really was settling in before very carefully moving to lay down as well. Urgh. She hated being confined to a bed, but she was smart enough to know that trying to get up now would only set her recovery back even more. Although, she might risk it if she thought York and Wash were hurting their own recovery because of it. She winced as she tried to settle in. Nothing like being tortured to reacquaint you with sore muscles you didn’t even remember existed.
With Wash accounted for and York falling asleep beside her, that only left two people. “I’m guessing Shepard is back at the agency.” After saving all of their asses yet again, of course. “So how’d you manage to convince Kanan to go home?” Carolina wasn’t going to admit that the cuddling comment had made her miss her new boyfriend. At least, not out loud.
“That was all Wash,” York’s eyes were already closed. He was already starting to nod off. It was warm and soft, and the pain meds were kicking in. He didn’t mind it, though. He wanted to make sure she was safe, and in sleeping here beside her, that was the best he could do. “You’ll have to ask your brother when he gets back.” Hopefully that would be several hours from now so they could both get some shut-eye.