#mormormor

You: Hey baby, Sorry this is a late letter. Sorry the handwriting's shaky. I don't know if you got a letter or not, but I'm going to come home early. Kind of, I think. They won't let me go home, but they're letting me go to London, or so they say. I don't know when this is happening, in a few days probably. Has Sebastian told you? They're supposed to message next of kin. He's my only blood left.

You: I'm so sorry, I'm coming back home though. I love you. All my love, Severin

Stranger: Richard had not gotten a letter. Technically if they'd actually gotten around to a real wedding before Severin had been sent off, he'd have gotten the letter first. But Sebastian got it. It was nearly a day later, but Jimmy came around to drop it off and then left very quickly. Sebastian needed to be taken care of, he said. Richard cried loudly into the empty apartment. He didn't eat or sleep well for the next two days, but he did manage to get a bag of things together for Severin at the hospital. That's where he went on Wednesday, red eyed and exhausted. A very old nurse lead him up to a room where he was let in. His hands shook and he sat down next to the bed, putting the bag on the floor. "Rin?" He whispered, scooting a little closer to the bed and barely touching his lover's arm.

You: Early in the morning they had taken Severin's bed and wheeled him onto an air craft. They strapped him down to things, doctors waited with him, a nurse read to him for a bit, but mostly he slept. That's what he'd been doing recently, because when you can't hear in one ear, your arm doesn

You: ((Sorry!))

Stranger: ((All good:D))

You: Early in the morning they had taken Severin's bed and wheeled him onto an air craft. They strapped him down to things, doctors waited with him, a nurse read to him for a bit, but mostly he slept. That's what he'd been doing recently, because when you can't hear in one ear, your arm doesn't move, and you have shrapnel in your side, there's not much you can do. He was lucky, he was told, but he knew that when he got home, he wouldn't be lucky. There wouldn't be happy tears and the kisses would be laced with fear. It wouldn't be the happy reunion he'd been looking forward to. Still in a sleepy haze, pleasantly numb on a slew of medicines, Severin barely noticed Richard. It wasn't until he'd been there for a few minutes that he noticed the presence and began stirring. "Hmmm?" He asked, slowly opening his eyes. Richard was there, his big brown eyes were puffed up and red, and his hand was trembling lightly. He looked a wreck, and Severin wanted nothing more than to fix it. "Heey...bunny" He said, his voice gruff, but solid. "When'd you get in?"

Stranger: His head snapped up and he sniffled. Oh. That voice. That stupid beautiful voice he had been desperate to hear mumble in his ear every morning when the alarm went off. "Hey, Lion," Richard said and was very proud of himself as an actor that he could say that so evenly. "Only a moment ago," He lied. "I brought you some things from home though - I thought you'd like them," Carefully, and on Severin's good side, he put his hand on the man's forearm and ran his fingers up and down the cool skin. Usually the man was like a human radiator, but hospitals were known for being cold. Clearing his throat, he tried to make a joke, "And here you said you wouldn't do some big surprise when you came home," Which was true. Richard wanted to know the exact moment, but that plan had very much changed.

You: Shivers running up his spine as Richard ran down his arm, Severin smiled lightly. "You brought stuff here?" He asked, a little slow to the world, but for good reason. That was very sweet of Richard, he really was a wonderful person. Severin loved him so much, he was glad that he had Richard to wake up to. "Sorry. Didn't mean to....surprise you" He said quietly, looking over at the other, feeling so much love for him. "You're so lovely. I....love you. So much......Thank you....thanks for being here."

Stranger: "I brought you some sweets and I brought you a blanket and some warm socks and some of your favorite movies," He explained and gently squeezed the man's arm. "I don't wanna be anywhere else, silly. I love you," He smiled and sniffled a little more, wiping at tears before they could fall with his free hand. Sebastian came in then and Richard left to let them have their alone time. "You idiot," Sebastian mumbled and wiped at his eyes, "You scared me half to death," He put his head down to rest his cheek on Severin's thigh. "You fucking bastard,"

You: Everyone was coming in and out so fast. He'd barely had time with Richard before he was gone, and he was reaching out for the man to come back. But then Sebastian walked in, and he was upset. More upset than he'd seen Sebastian.....maybe ever. He was pretty sure he was crying, and Sebastian didn't do that often. Frowning, Severin tried to sit up a bit more, trying to blink the fuzziness out of his brain. Taking his good hand, he ran his fingers through the other's hair, trying to show him that he was there. "Jus' doing my job, Bas" He muttered, taking a deep breath. "I'm gonna live. What'd the letter say?" He asked, curious as to how much information his family had been given.

Stranger: Sebastian nodded and honestly smiled at the feeling of fingers in his hair. God, how could he have let his brother get into so much trouble. It was supposed to be his job to protect him, for Fuck's sake. He was older by like thirty minutes! Closing his eyes, he sighed, "They said they were regretted to inform us. Ha. And then, uh, jeez. Then they said that you were severely injured from an IED. They said that your, uhm, condition wasn't exactly like able to be told at the moment and that you'd be staying in this hospital."

Stranger: ((brb))

You: Christ, that wasn't a lot of information. Though, at the time that he'd woken up, they didn't answer many of his questions either. He hadn't thought to ask too much, though. He was so drugged up, most of his time was sleeping or playing cards with the nurses that would let him. He wrote one letter to Richard, but he knew his hand shook. Frowning, he looked down at his brother, looking more distraught than he ever had. "Did they tell you more now?" He asked, looking over at the other. "I uhm, my left ear doesn't work, and I don't think I'm allowed to use this arm for a while" He said, trying to think it over. "They said they did surgery on my side. That stuff was in it. Did they get it out?" He asked, looking down, but seeing nothing with his hospital gown on. "Richie's here. Is Jim?" He asked. "Did you all come to visit? Or just you two?"

Stranger: Sitting up a little, he cradled his brother's hand to his face. "A doctor told us more. They said you're arm broke in a lot of places. So they set it, but I guess they like can't put a cast on it right now," Sebastian nodded and coughed a little. "And uh yeah. You're probably always going to be deaf in that ear. And you had shrapnel in your side, but they did surgery to get it all out... they said they're really amazed how well you're doing," He smiled gently. Severin was too fucking stubborn to die like that. "Jim's here. He's probably out there with Richie. He wanted to make sure you were getting the best care,"

You: They were all here checking in on him. That was pretty comforting, really. They all seemed to care, and as he looked up at his brother, he could see just how much he cared. Smiling lightly, he smiled. "Well, they're really good at drugging me. Can't feel a thing, it's...really nice" He said, turning his hand over to squeeze the other's. "I've been sleeping a lot" He added. He really had very little to report, he didn't remember too much. "Wonder if they're going to put pins in my arm. 'S already the bad one" He hummed, closing his eyes again. He was tired, he was drugged, he really didn't know how to pay too much attention.

Stranger: Sebastian smiled, stood, and kissed Severin's hand. "Go to sleep, ya bastard. You'll be seeing more than enough of us over the next few days," He left the room and Richard peeked his head inside, walking quietly over to the chair and taking his place again. "No, shh. Go to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up," He promised. Curling up on the chair, the actor forced himself to close his eyes and actually try to get some rest. ((we can stay here or we can time skip if you want))

You: ((We can timeskip. When would you like to skip to?))

Stranger: ((I don't know, but I feel like Severin definitely like would be really really self concious about how he looks, so Richard wants to see and I could see how that would start an argument once Severin comes home. Also like eventually he'd probably refuse to keep going to therapy and stuff))

You: He'd been home for two weeks now, but it wasn't like how he wanted to be home. Richard had been hovering over him, making him meals and putting his socks on, petting his hair back and remembering to take his medicine. Sebastian had been dropping by, driving him to therapy and making sure he was getting out of the house. They were all very nice gestures, but it was suffocating. He didn't want to be reminded of what happened to him, of the ugly scar, wrapping it's way around his side like lightning, except it wasn't smooth and beautiful. It was twisted and warped and not at all how skin should look. He hadn't let Richard see, even though it was technically a risk to shower without help, he'd managed. He kept a shirt on at all times, tried to hide the lighter scars that crept up his neck or across his cheek, where he'd skidded across the ground. He didn't want to go to therapy in any means, and he only left the house so Richard would stop babying him, but Sebastian was only mildly better. At least he understood Severin's need to do things. This morning, he was protesting a shower, despite it having been three days. "I'll take one tomorrow, Richie. I just want to drink my coffee right now. Sebastian took me out shopping yesterday, my arm's sore" He said, looking down at the mug in his hand. It had a picture of the two of them, before Severin deployed, a gift he'd given Richard as a way to remember him. Now, he just wanted someone to understand, but it didn't look like he'd be getting that any time soon.

Stranger: How could he understand? He hadn't been there, he'd been home, thinking everything was fine and that his Severin - the most important person in the world to him - was going to be home in three months. Then all of that came crashing down and he felt like he had to keep Severin in this bubble so he'd be okay. Richard just wanted to keep him. And he really did try to sympathize, but it was so /hard/ not to baby him. But the therapist had mentioned to him the other day that he really ought to back off, which hurt to hear. He'd made a comment about a shower at the sight and smell of Severin. Biting his lip, he nodded and picked up his own tea mug to bring it to the sink, "Did you maybe want to take a painkiller or..." He knew for a fact that the last painkiller had been taken almost five hours ago. It was when Severin was changing shirts - something he insisted Richard not help with because he didn't want him to see. But Richard desperately wanted to see the scars, he wanted to know what that damage was. He felt terribly guilty for feeling bad, he knew he was supposed to be strong here and that he had it much better than Severin, but he was so sad all the time now. "What do you want for dinner later?"

You: Things were tense now. Richard was either worrying incessantly or trying to shy away from him. He thinks it was because the therapist had told him to back off, because it's all Severin talked about. But the shrink was a quack, and was filling Richard and Sebastian's head with nonsense about how he needed this or needed that, or that a new set of pills might help ease the transition. But he knew he didn't even have reason to complain. Men died, men came back with missing legs or arms. All he had was an elaborate cast, a dead ear, and the scar to prove that he'd been an idiot. Looking over at the other, he sighed, trying to think about what to say. He wasn't really hungry, not when his arm was throbbing. He'd have to message Sebastian and ask him to pick up more, if he'd let them. He wasn't supposed to get a new bottle until next week, but his arm hurt now. It'd hurt more than he wanted it to, he wondered if he wasn't letting it heal correctly. Sighing sadly, he shook his head. "I don't know, Richie. I'm not really hungry" He said. "You don't need to work so hard. We can have leftovers tonight. We have plenty of those"

Stranger: Richard rinsed out his cup and sat back down at the kitchen table, "Yeah. We can do left overs," Prior to this, he'd been so excited to cook Severin all his favorite meals, was anticipating the reaction to the first bite of good homemade food, but dinners were awkward and the cooking never seemed to be just right. "It'll be kind of a hodge podge of food," He mumbled, thumbing the edge of the magazine he'd been reading. He'd been reading a lot online too - lots of women were saying the things they had to deal with when their husbands came home and some of it seemed a lot worse than what Richard was dealing with. But he really didn't want to let Severin know that he was studying his condition online. "We can watch a movie later," He suggested quietly, still looking down at his magazine, but not really reading the articles.'

Don't send a doctor, you're out enough money on this job. I'll manage just fine-SM As soon as I find him, I'll get us a way back, alright?-SM

Stranger: Richard will be rather upset if either of you die. I can send help if you need it. What went wrong? JM

You: Someone found us, we were ambushed-SM Sev was smarter than to get captured, but I don't know where he is. My tech is broken-SM I'll find him. We'll come back alive-SM

Stranger: If you say so, we'll work out details of it later. Tell me if it gets worse, I can have a few people on standby. JM

You: Right-SM [Three days later] Can you get my location?-SM I have no idea where we are, but I need evac now-SM I found Severin-SM

Stranger: Good, you're alive! Richard's been worrying. Yeah, I'll track you. Give me twenty minutes to get someone there. Medic needed? JM

You: Very-SM A few if you can squeeze-SM

Stranger: How bad? I'll start making calls. JM

You: I will bet you one thousand pounds he's going to need emergency surgery-SM I think I'm better than that, but not by much, I'm sure-SM

Stranger: Details. Bad enough we need to go hospital over our doctors? If you think so, I'll start working IDs. JM

You: Yes, bad enough that we need a hospital-SM Severin does. I can be okay with our men, but unless you have a fully equipped surgery room for him, he needs a hospital-SM

Stranger: Lovely. I'll get to work, team's coming. Fifteen out. are you any worse off than three days ago, or has it been festering? JM

You: Festering is certainly an accurate word to use-SM Besides being dehydrated, I think I'm not too much worse off than three days ago-SM

Stranger: Do either of you have an infection? JM

Stranger: I'll make up a cover for you, too, just in case. JM

You: Likely-SM

You: Thanks boss. How far out is the team?-SM

Stranger: Wonderful. Please tell me you haven't been crawling around sewers or garbage heaps? JM

Stranger: Ten minutes, by my timer. JM

You: Not really, no-SM Alleyways, yes. Garbage heaps, only occasionally-SM It's infected, Jim. Okay?-SM

Stranger: If you've got an infection, you're going to the hospital. What got infected? On both of you. What was the original injury? JM

You: Sev's right leg is...not good. I've got it in a tourniquet. My side is the bad part-that was a last minute escape situation, originally a blade-SM

Stranger: How long have you had it in one? Enough blood still going he isn't going to lose it? JM

Stranger: Five minutes out. Is he awake? JM

You: I don't even know. I don't know what time it is. Keeping it is 50/50. He was bad when I found him-SM Barely. I've got him answering questions, talking about Richard. I'm too afraid to move him-SM

Stranger: How long ago did you find him? JM

Stranger: Still, conscious is good, if nothing else. Speaking of Richard, I'll talk to him after you're picked up. JM

You: Not long before I called you-SM

You: Okay. I'm so sorry I let this happen-SM

Stranger: Have you been sticking it out longer than necessary to find him? JM

Stranger: Shush, worry about that later. JM

You: What?-SM

Stranger: Could we have picked up just you earlier, but you didn't call because you couldn't find him? JM

You: [....] The medics arrived. Are you meeting us at the hospital?-SM

Stranger: I'm breaking it to Richie then coming. JM

You: Okay-SM Be gentle with Richie, I know how he gets-SM

Stranger: I know, I know. I've been dealing with him longer than you have. I'll see you there in a bit, keep texting if you like. JM

You: They're taking us in different cars-JM

Stranger: I'm going to guess more room, but ask why for me. JM

You: You're right-SM I don't like it-SM

Stranger: I don't either, but go with it. The hospital isn't far. I can tail around Severin and Richie can go to you, if you like. JM

You: I don't care-SM Just make sure he's safe-SM

Stranger: I will. Richard will calm down more with you, anyway. JM

Stranger: Give me a moment to get him, we'll be there soon. Tell me if anything else strange happens. JM

Stranger: ((brb!))

You: Okay-SM

You: [Ten minutes later] We're here. I don't know where Severin is. I can't hear him anymore. Tell me you have him-SM

Stranger: We're just getting there. I'll go find him, but stay calm. They probably just sedated him, yeah? JM

Stranger: Do you know for-sure he's in the hospital? JM

You: I think so-SM He better be-SM We followed him. I'm so sure of it-sM

Stranger: Call me paranoid, but you recongised at least some of both teams, right? Johnson should've been there, and Alejandro. JM

Stranger: Richard might then you're Severin when we get over there. Had to lie to the nurse a bit so I can get access to him. JM

You: I had Alejandro-SM Johnson was with Sev. I told him to take him. Sev likes him more-SM

You: Okay. That's okay. Can I tell him I'm not or...?-SM

Stranger: Go ahead, just keep him there. He's panicy enough as is. JM

You: Yeah, I can try and do that-SM

Stranger: I have to stand outside the room, but I found him, I believe. JM

You: Okay-SM

You: Is he safe? What are they doing?-SM

Stranger: At the moment, figuring out what to do about his leg from what I can see. They might close the curtain on me. JM

Stranger: They put him out, by the way. JM

You: Fuck-SM

You: Okay, at least he can't feel it-SM

Stranger: He doesn't have an allergies I don't know about, right? JM

You: No, you should know everything, and this should be okay-SM

You: Tell me he's going to be okay-SM

Stranger: Okay. They shut the curtain on me, but they just do that for gorey things. If he's survived this long, he'll be fine. JM

You: Richard's nearly hysteric-SM I've told him I'm okay probably 20 times already-SM

Stranger: I didn't let him freak out too much earlier, he's dropping it on you now. Sorry. JM

You: It's okay-SM He keeps muttering my name and trying to touch me, but refraining-SM Then he'll mutter Severin's, then hide in his hands-SM I'm going to hold his hand. Message me with any and every detail you can-SM

Stranger: Good. You're good with him. JM

Stranger: The curtain is still closed, my guess is he'll be in there for awhile. Just tell me when they're done stitching up your side. JM

You: I don't know how I am, but he calms down with me-SM Is he in surgery? Or just in a room?-SM

Stranger: Surgery, sorry it wasn't clear. JM

Stranger: You comfort him. He likes it, it isn't as common. JM

You: Okay-SM

You: I'm doing my best to comfort him, but I'm really tired-SM Can you get here so I can ask Richie to get me something to eat?-SM

Stranger: Yeah, Severin will be fine in there. And I suspect in there for awhile. JM

Stranger: I'll be there in a moment, go ahead and send Richie off. JM

You: Yeah? Alright-SM

You: Thanks Jim-SM

Stranger: He's probably going to go sit outside Severin's room the minute he leaves, though. JM

You: I told him I was really hungry, he looked determined to get me soup and a piece of bread-SM After that though, yes. He'll probably be gone for hours-SM

Stranger: I shoved a blanket in our bag. Are you cold, or can I leave it with him? JM

Stranger: Have the doctors left you? JM

You: Leave it with him-SM Almost. They're bringing in an x-ray machine to make sure nothing's broken or bleeding, they stitched my side up though. I've been informed I'm very ugly-SM

Stranger: I'm always willing to slice up a few nurses when they're being rude. JM

You: Don't worry about it, they bring good drugs-SM

You: It was your brother. I think his words were "That looks really, really horrible"-SM

You: Which, you know, is the same thing-SM

Stranger: Nah. Richie means the cut looks bad, not your face. JM

Stranger: Probably painful. JM

Stranger: Looking, I mean. Painful, infected, etc. JM

You: Yeah, I hear it's really gross-SM I'm not supposed to wear a shirt for like, two more days at least-SM

Stranger: I don't mind. ;) JM

Stranger: Do you know when you'll be released, though? JM

You: My entire side is a swollen, puss filled cut of infection-SM

You: When my fever's gone and I can walk, if there's not more damage-SM

Stranger: They'll put a bandage on it. JM

You: Not for a bit, no-SM

Stranger: Well, then be glad I have a better stomach than Richie. JM

You: I am-SM

You: They just have to finish other tests first I think-SM

You: Or maybe they want it to crust up, I don't really know-SM

Stranger: I don't either. Nurse pointed me in your direction, I'll be there in a moment. JM

You: Wonderful. Thank you-SM

Stranger: ((To paragraph?))

Stranger: Mhm. JM

You: ((sure! Do you want to start or should I?))

Stranger: ((Could you?))

You: ((Sure!))

You: It was bad. That's all Sebastian could really process at the moment. He'd gotten ambushed on a mission, a simple mission, then lost his brother. The next three days were spent in panic, with little resources and eventually, little food or water. He'd almost gotten caught on the second day, which he figured meant he was close, but to no avail he escaped with only a large gash along his side, mostly across his ribs. He didn't mind that so much, he was more concerned about his brother and what was going to happen to him. He had seen how weak Severin looked, he had every reason to be worried, and he was. A fever higher than it should be, strapped to too many monitors and wires with no food in his stomach, Sebastian was exhausted and more than irritated with life. He hoped that Jim would be able to soothe that irritation, but he was doubtful that he would be able to help much at all until Severin was out of surgery, which would be in quite a long time.

You: ((did that go through?))

Stranger: ((Yes, sorry. My phone forces me to type slowly some times.))

You: ((oh that's fine I just wanted to make sure!))

Stranger: Three days of suppressing panic. Three days, he could do. Jim could make dinner and pretend everything was fine to Richard for three days. The stress was getting to him, piled on top of running his Empire. He kept it going normally, not letting it seem a blow had been taken to them. Weakness wasn't good, especially in this game. As of today, things were worse. Jim knew he was ready to crack, but now wasn't the time. He was walking quickly down the halls, listening to the click of his shoes and trying to ignore just how much he wa affected by this. He found the right door and pushed it open, eyes scanning quickly. Taking things in helped him relax, helped him think more logically and step away from the emotions. Jim stepped forward, finally turning his gaze to Sebastian. He took a deep breath before walking forward, the sharp smell of the hospital tingling his nose. He needed a joking sense to get him off edge. Leaning across the other to get a look at his side, he frowned. "Nah, not that ugle," Jim shrugged, before meeting Sebastian's eyes and wincing, "Your face on the other hand..."