Life Doesn't Get Easier

Carter nodded slowly and then looked back towards the nurse as he left. He didn’t move for a moment as he looked at Leo, chewing his lip. Finally, he stepped closer to the bed, though he wasn’t going to be sitting. He was too keyed up for that.

He cleared his throat. “Leo?” he asked carefully. He gave a small smile. He looked better and Carter was thankful for that. “I told you that you wouldn’t die,” he said jokingly. “How are you feeling?”

Leo recognized the man’s voice right away. Finally, someone that wasn’t about to poke him with god know’s what. He snapped back into attention, trying to focus on the blurry figure before him. “You’re still here?” He asked, unable to keep himself from smiling just a bit. His neck had been bandaged, blood staining the wrap. 

Carter’s eyes widened as the nurse explained what had happened to Leo. It did sound like something from a horror movie. He shuddered. He’d known it’d been bad but he’d had no idea how bad it actually was. He wrapped his arms around himself as he walked with the nurse, looking at the ground as he listened. At least Leo was okay it seemed.

He looked towards the door, surprised to hear that he’d been asked about. Leo had been so out of it that he hadn’t even thought he’d be remembered. “H-he did?” he couldn’t help but ask. He swallowed. “I-I can go in, right?” He wanted to assure himself that it was okay.

“Of course you can.” The nurse assured, stepping closer to open the door. “Your presence might help things, honestly.” Once the curtain was pulled back, the dimly lit room was revealed. Leo was in the middle of a blood transfusion, wide awake and staring off at a wall. 

Carter just nodded when he was thanked, chewing at his nails as he followed the nurse. “Th-thanks,” he muttered as they got to the waiting room. When the nurse left, Carter couldn’t even sit down. Though eventually he was forced to with his leg. By the time the nurse came back, he’d told Margo to go home and was on the phone with his father.

When he saw the nurse, he said his goodbyes and hung up, walking towards the man. “H-how is he?” he asked carefully, rubbing his hand over his arm.

To the nurses surprise, Carter hadn’t gone anywhere. He gave the other man the best smile he could. “He’ll be alright. Seems he was a victim of organ theft. Sounds straight out of a horror movie, I know. I guess there’s been a whole string of them around town.” The nurse shook his head, gesturing for Carter to follow him. “Luckily for your uh..friend here, they only stole one of his kidneys. The other seems to be in perfect working order.”

Had Carter been bolder, he’d have been more likely to tell them to be careful with Leo. Unfortunately, he was a stuttery mess, especially right then. He looked to the nurse that had spoke and hesitated. Slowly, the pieces he’d gathered on the way came together and he gave a shaky nod.

He cleared his throat. “F-from what I can tell, there was some people that got him and injected something into his neck,” he said, lifting his hand to his own neck. He swallowed. “He’s been scratching at it and there’s some nasty stitches in his side that he picked at. And, uh, I’m afraid I don’t know anything else.”

The nurse nodded, furiously typing every detail he was given. “Thank you.” It seemed that neither men knew each other. Yet with how close Carter was following, the nurse had a feeling he wanted to stick around. “Please follow me. The waiting room in the back is a lot less…hectic. With injuries like that, they’ll probably want you out of the room for now. I’ll come get you when you can come back.”

Carter helped Leo walk as much as he could. He’d told Margo to stay outside, knowing full well that she’d just fuss and get in the way in the end. She meant well but that was the last thing they needed. He helped Leo forward, going towards the desk.

He looked down at Leo, confused for a moment since he hadn’t been expecting. “O-oh. Uh. Don’t thank me yet. Let’s get you fixed up and then you can thank me,” he said as they got to the desk. He looked at the nurse. “W-we need a doctor.”

It was very hard for the nurse to keep from making a sarcastic comment. There was blood all over the place, of course they needed a doctor. However, she bit her tongue and simply nodded. With the severity of the situation, she figured it would be safe to bump them ahead or triage and send them right back.

cursedindefinitely:

carterovercame:

Carter looked at Sam for a moment, chewing his lip. He checked his watch quickly and then gave a small smile. “W-well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt anything,” he said. “Lead the way.”

Sam grinned, gesturing for Carter to follow. “C’mon, it’s just around the corner.” He said, moving to link his arm with Carter as he walked. His heels clicked on the sidewalk. “What’s your name, anyway?”

Carter blushed when he realized he had yet to introduce himself. “Oh, m-my name’s Carter,” he said, smiling slightly. “What’s yours?”

Carter relaxed as Leo seemed to agree. He didn’t shrug him off, keeping still to let him rest for the time he could. At least he wasn’t scratching at his neck anymore. “Good,” he said softly. With a glance outside, he realized that they were closer than they thought. How fast was Margo going?

He didn’t have time to find out before she stopped, somehow making a smooth stop. Carter looked to Leo as Margo got out and the door opened. “Okay. Let’s get you some help,” Carter said, wrapping an arm around Leo to help him out of the car.

Moving sounded hellish, but Leo soon realized that he had no choice. If anything, his balance was worse than it had been before. The world around him was a blurry mess. He found it easier just to hide his face on the other man’s shoulder. 

The moment they stepped inside, he recognized the place. The smell, the distinct smell of rubbing alcohol and bleach. How inviting. The sound of commotion didn’t help the matter. He must’ve looked awful. 

cursedindefinitely:

“Ya heard me.” Sam snickered, crossing his arms. “There’s a cute cafe just around the block, whaddya say?” He asked, tilting his head and smiling cutely. “My treat.”

Carter looked at Sam for a moment, chewing his lip. He checked his watch quickly and then gave a small smile. “W-well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt anything,” he said. “Lead the way.”

Carter watched Leo anxiously, glancing out the window for a moment to see where they were. If he remembered correctly, they’d be there soon. Barring any unforeseen developments of course. He looked back to Leo as he began to speak. For a moment, he was confused on why exactly Leo felt the need to tell him that. He stared at him as he began piecing it together.

He let out a nervous sort of laugh, running a hand through his hair. “Oh god. You think you’re going to die,” he said. He shook his head, chewing his lip. “No, no. No one’s dying. Whatever you’re gonna tell me can wait until you can actually talk. Capisce?”

Leo certainly felt like he was going to die. The pain in his side was disgustingly strong. He knew it had to be ugly. He’d passed the point of panic, truly more annoyed with the pain than frightened. After all, it wasn’t like he was in control here. If he died, he died. There was no use in pouting about it. 

cursedindefinitely:

Sam snickered, covering his mouth. “Ah, sorry. Sorry.” The stripper didn’t sound genuine but still.  “How about I make it up to you with some coffee or something?” He smiled sweetly. 

Carter was entirely unconvinced with Sam’s apology, muttering something unintelligible under his breathe. Though with the offer, he immediately looked up, looking somewhere between confused and dumbfounded. “W-what?” he asked.

Carter kept Leo’s hands from scratching at his neck, holding his wrists. Margo was thankfully continuing to drive, no longer questioning what was happening. She could tell the situation was dire. She’d get her explanation later. Carter would have to be sure to thank her properly later. He was was fully set to explain to Leo why he wasn’t allowing him to scratch when he started coughing.

He looked at him in alarm for a moment before moving quickly. He fumbled for a moment as he moved to grab a water bottle sitting in the cup holder. Thank god his aunt was always so well prepared for anything. Carter didn’t doubt they’d have been able to patch him up themselves if they had the training. “Here,” he said, pushing it into Leo’s hand. “I-I’m sure if it’ll help but…”

Leo squeezed the bottle, feeling it crinkle in his hand. He was pretty sure he knew what it was, but he still couldn’t see a damned thing. His throat was burning though, and he was willing to drink whatever the fuck was in there if gave him just the slightest amount of relief. Shaky hands brought the bottle to his mouth, and though he’d missed a couple times, he eventually managed to drink from it.

cursedindefinitely:

“Disagree?” Sam asked, tilting his head curiously. “Really?” He smiled and giggled, looking over Carter again. “Hm..well, you look cuter when you’re face is all red like that.” The demon teased. 

Carter chewed his lip, rubbing a hand over his face. “S-stop,” he said, not really able to look at Sam right then. “Jeez, I don’t think this is gonna go down any time soon.” He glanced at Sam shyly and then looked away again.

cursedindefinitely:

Sam snickered a bit, covering his mouth. “Well still, I hope you just try to prevent it.” He smiled sweetly. “You’ve got to cute of a face to be scratching it up like that.” The youth teased.

Carter hummed a moment before the last of what Sam said caught up with him. His eyes flicked to him and his face went red. “Oh, uh… th-thanks?” he said, looking towards the ground. “I’d have to say I disagree though.”

“Carter, what’s going on?” Margo asked, looking in the rear view mirror at the man her nephew had deposited in her car. Carter just waved his hand in reply, focusing on Leo. As he got in next to him, he immediately grabbed his hand again to keep him from scratching his neck. They couldn’t have that. “Carter.”

Carter looked up at the sharp tone and blinked for a moment. “J-just drive to the hospital… please,” he said, tacking on the last word as a afterthought. “I’ll explain once we get there” She could only nod as she began to drive and Carter looked back to Leo, hoping that they could make it before he passed it or something.

There was a woman in the car, and Leo had heard that word again. Hospital. This time, he fully understood what it meant. He couldn’t have been more relieved. Though, now that his hands were again restricted, the discomfort in his neck continued to grow. A sharp, constant burn.

Carter felt as if the answer to his question might be a now as he waited for the answer to come. Though finally he got the answer he hoped for. The guy’s name. Though he didn’t expect the influx of information that came that only served to make him more determined to get Leo somewhere where they could help.

“Your neck?” he asked. They injected him with something? That couldn’t mean anything good and he swallowed. As long as he didn’t freak out, maybe he could piece together something more substantial. He was thankful as his aunt’s sleek white care pulled up beside them. “Come on. If we get in there, we’ll get to help faster.” He tried to direct Leo towards the vehicle carefully, moving to open the backdoor. He didn’t even want to answer his aunt’s alarmed gaze.

Opening his eyes once more, Leo couldn’t even see the car. Not only were his glasses simply gone, but the blood loss wasn’t exactly helping anything. He knew they were going somewhere though, and he knew this man was trying to help him. He just had to focus and do his best to follow directions. 

Carter glanced at Leo as he cursed and gave a nod as he agreed. Thank god. The last thing either of them needed was Leo to put up some sort of fight to his suggestion. Though it took a moment for him to remember where the hospital even was. Too far and they wouldn’t be able to get very far with Leo’s stumbling. He’d have to call someone and he didn’t know too many people that actually drove.

He fumbled with his phone for a moment as he pulled it out, though he continued to keep Leo moving. “Okay,” he said, sending an urgent text to his aunt. He tried to come up with some sort f explanation for her but he came up blank. He’d have to face it when the time came. “Um… do you know your name?”

The fact that he couldn’t remember his own name brought Leo further into distress. He shut his eyes, trying his very hardest. It had to be in his mind somewhere, he just had to see past this foggy cloud of confusion. Finally, it hit him, along with a burst of memories. “My…My name’s Leo…u-uh…Leo Reinerson. I-I work for the state.” He shuddered, the pain growing stronger by the minute.