#first-aid

In the end, Russell decided to have a private doctor make a house-call.

Dr. Bryant was thorough and gentle, humming whenever she disinfected a shallow cut, talking to him softly, explaining what she was doing and how it would help him feel better.

Lennon seemed more at ease, almost bewildered by her presence, and noted softly after she left that she smelled good. Like you.

“He’s a tad dehydrated, so he’ll need to up his fluid intake. Switch between water and electrolytes; Gatorade, Powerade. Introduce it slowly, water it down. It doesn’t seem like he’s all that used to sugar.” She gave him an almost pitying look, and then handed Russell a serrated piece of paper on top of a pile she’d printed out for him.

“On top are things you’ll need to tend to on a daily basis, like cleaning to prevent any kind of infection, instituting a balanced diet. Start with bland foods; sugar-free applesauce, plain oatmeal, watered-down broth. Stuff high in nutrients. He might not like the texture but he needs it.”

Russell nodded along, taking a pen to the paper and scribbling down notes on the blank side, thanking her profusely as she breezed out the door with a sincere “call me if you need anything”.

On Friday night around 9pm, Lennon padded into Russell’s office, obediently setting down a bottle of antibacterial ointment, the saline bottle, the glove box, tape, and fresh non-adhesive wrappings. Russell shuffled in his chair over to the love-seat where Lennon had already put a pillow down. He was getting used to the smaller luxuries, learning his way around, and it eased Russell’s mind.

“How’s the book?”

“Funny, sir.”

Russell had found out Lennon could read when he asked how to pronounce ‘electrolytes’. Huh, so he’s been reading my notes. He was less pleased when he asked how Lennon could read.

“Old master said it was no good ownin’ a dumb pet.”

It still made Russell seethe if he thought about it. Old master.

“That’s good. If you finish it and want another, all you gotta do is ask, yeah?”

Lennon nodded and climbed up onto the love-seat. He liked to be facing Russell as much as he could whenever it was time to clean any of his cuts or re-wrap his neck. At first it was ugly, Lennon whimpering and grinding his teeth, tears springing up every time Russell so much as touched the skin above the abrasions. But after a week and a half of antibiotics and lots of practice, the wounds were healing up nicely and Lennon was more vocal with his thoughts.

Russell rolled up his shirt sleeves and dug in his drawer for the cotton pads, setting everything down at Lennon’s feet, bracing himself for any sort of grinding or whimpering.

And then he had an idea.

“Hold on a sec.”

He returned holding a small cup filled with nugget ice, offering it to Lennon who took it willingly, not taking his eyes off of Russell.

“Right, let's get this over with, hm?”

“Yessir.”

Russell unwrapped Lennon’s neck gently, trying to ignore how he could feel Lennon’s breath on his open collar, pulling back before he could buckle and bury his face in the kid’s hair.

Kid. The little fucker’s twenty. He had to keep reminding himself.

“Sir?” Lennon almost whispered it, still reluctant to address Russell first.

“Russ.”

“Russ. What’s the cup for, sir?”

Russell laughed and tossed the old wrappings into the trash, flushing Lennon’s neck with the saline and snapping on a new glove.

He picked an ice cube out of the cup with his free hand.

“For you, sweetheart.”

He pushed it into Lennon’s mouth with one hand and dabbed the ointment on with his gloved pinky in quick succession, trying to be as gentle as possible.

Lennon jerked a little, but then moved the ice around, tasting, and Russell tried his damnedest to pay attention to the task at hand instead of the interesting little mouth sounds Lennon was making as he cradled his head.

“My mom used to do it for my little brother when he got sick,” Russell explained.

“That’s awfully nice of her.”

“Mm.” Russell cleaned off the pink running stains off Lennon’s neck and re-wrapped it, taping the edge down.

“Did you get sick, sir?”

“Nah, healthy as a horse. You’re all done, kid.”

Lennon touched at the bandage and then almost immediately grabbed for his shirt, and then remembered the ice cup instead, digging another nugget out and popping it in his mouth.

Russell winced when he heard Lennon crunch down on it.

“You don’t have to chew it kid. You can just suck on it till it melts.”

“Sorry, sir.”

Russell smiled and tousled Lennon’s hair, scratching the base of his skull gently. Lennon practically purred.

“I’ve got to finish up some work, but I’ll come to bed soon, okay?”

“Yessir.” Lennon collected up the supplies and fished the old wrappings out of the office trash to put into the kitchen trash. “Sir?”

Russell turned in his chair, lifting his eyebrows.

He watched Lennon swallow, almost wincing at his unspoken words. “If you got sick, I’d feed you ice.”

Russell made a weird noise in his throat and then smiled.

“Thanks, kid. Be out soon.”

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this prompt was so fun, i couldn't resist taking my laptop off it's charger as soon as i could to get it down <3 thank you bee!