Hey there, I saw you saw the video of the Newfoundland flopping on the Scottish terrier, and I was wondering if you saw the one w the narcoleptic pup tryna play wirh it’s siblings but it keeps falling asleep 😭I wish I could find it
"It's not fit for duty." John barely suppresses a growl when Simon points that out for the fourth time, his eyes tracking you like a hawk. "You need to send it home -"
John snarls, snapping his teeth in Simon's face as a very quick correction. "I'm well aware they aren't cut out for the force." He grumbles as he watches you wobble slightly, sitting down heavily on your ass as sleep claimed you again. "That's our new pup. Training purposes."
Simon stares at him in disbelief, tail wagging slowly as he weighs his options. "You've gone soft."
"If you think they aren't fit, you tell them to pack up and go home." John states, which makes Simon's ears pin. "What? It's not cut out for the force, so it should go home."
"You're the Captain."
"You're the one with the most complaints."
Simon watches as you slowly rouse awake, one of the other soldiers nudging you gently into a sitting position. "Like I said, perfect for training. Rescue, medical, even make them a drug plant."
Simon lets out a quiet rumble, calling you over so you could get out of the way. "Rest here, pup. That's enough for you today."
"Yes, sir!" You plop down between the two superior officers, head resting gently in John's thigh. His hand strokes between your ears absently as he watches the rest of the soldiers run drills.
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Narcolepsy: Neurological disorder that affects brain's ability to control sleep-wake cycle
Not so bf!Iwaizumi who first met you because you sweetly snorted against school gym wall. At first he didn't know how to react, but it was getting late so he knelt next to you, nudging you carefully.
Not so bf!Iwaizumi who thought you were dead for a minute because he couldn't wake you up.
Not so bf!Iwaizumi who felt bad when you told him you were waiting for your friend and accidentally fell asleep, so he decided to walk you to the bus stop.
Not so bf!Iwaizumi who got surprised when he realised that both of you were taking the same bus to go home.
When there were only two seats left so he sat by the window and watched as you sat next to him.
Not so bf!Iwaizumi who introduced himself to you softly and before he could ask you for yours name you plopped on his arm, already closing your eyes.
Not so bf!Iwaizumi who got flustered and definitely told about this later to Toru Oikawa later.
Not so bf!Iwaizumi who secretly searches for you at school, and always finds you sleeping or falling asleep.
Not so bf!Iwaizumi who always stayed a couple of minutes after practice to check if you would sleep against the gym wall again.
Not so bf!Iwaizumi who always got disappointed when he didn't see your tapped out figure.
Not so bf!Iwaizumi who watched you from afar, just to make sure you won't fall asleep in hideous places.
Toru Oikawa who started to tease Not so bf!Iwaizumi for staring at you all the time, joking that he's a creep for watching you sleep.
Not so bf!Iwaizumi who didn't find you asleep in school library, so he decided to just ask you about your name.
"Hey." He said calmly, composed, not stressed at all.
"Oh, hi. Iwaizumi right? " You looked up from the notebook you were holding.
Not so bf!Iwaizumi who's heart started beating faster because you knew his name ; even if he told you it when you were half asleep.
"Uhm so I was wondering… You know last time you haven't told me your name, so just in case I find you again, sleeping against the gym ; I would know how to wake you up. " He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry. I was so sleepy that I forgot to properly thank you. I just have that… That sleeping disorder that makes me sleepy almost all the time. Ugh, I'm sorry again." You admitted. "Ah, and my name is y/n."
He just blinked at you trying to understand what you just said. Before, he just assumed you did not sleep much at night and that's why you always walk around half-conscious.
"Uhm, then nice to meet you y/n." He gave you one, barely visible smile. But it definitely warmed up the atmosphere. "What disorder?" He said as nicely as he could.
"Narcolepsy."
Not yet bf!Iwaizumi who googled for hours about your disorder to understand you better. And maybe to take care of you better.
Not yet bf!Iwaizumi who sits next to you In the hallway just to make sure nobody stumbles against you.
Not yet bf!Iwaizumi who wakes you up everytime the school bell rings because you have been so deep in sleep that you can't hear it.
Not yet bf!Iwaizumi who asks you for your phone number, just so you could call him everytime you returned home safely, so he wouldn't need to worry about you later.
Not yet bf!Iwaizumi who walks you home under the pretext of making sure you won't fall asleep on some jerk's arm. (He's so done omg)
Not yet bf!Iwaizumi who gives you his hoodie everytime he sees you getting sleepy.
Not yet bf!Iwaizumi who invited you to his practisce but he had already brought some blanket, cuz he knew you would fall asleep.
Not yet bf!Iwaizumi who is not even upset about you sleeping when you were supposed to watch him play because you're so damn cute sleeping.
Toru Oikawa who makes fun of the grin Not yet bf!Iwaizumi has.
Not yet bf!Iwaizumi who made it part of his everyday hobby to make sure you fall asleep safely and comfy.
Not yet bf!Iwaizumi who asks you out on a movie date, but before it even starts you fall asleep on his arm.
Not yet bf!Iwaizumi who always checks on you.
Asks you how you feel or if you took your meds.
At first he tries to do it subtly, nonchalantly so you won't even catch it, but then he gave up and just started to straight up ask you.
Not yet bf!Iwaizumi who knows what are your triggers.
Not yet bf!Iwaizumi who makes micro confesses to you when you're snorting.
He looks at your unconscious body with those lovely eyes. Oh, and the words just spill out of his mouth. "
That's crazy and all, but I can't stop thinking about you, you know? Or "I just... adore you" he would say as he huffed softly.
And sometimes you would even hear those words, but they were so blurred you thought you were projecting them. But those words always landed in your heart.
Not yet bf!Iwaizumi who let's you sleep in his bed when you come over, even though he hates when someone gets in his bed.
Not yet bf!Iwaizumi who makes 'dates' sleepovers because he knows you would fall sleep anyway and he doesn't want you to have back pain.
Not yet bf!Iwaizumi who plays with your hair when you sleep against his chest.
Not yet bf!Iwaizumi who finnaly confesses but makes it a whole speech about how much he loves you, adores you, and want to be next to you always.
Bf!Iwaizumi who shushes Oikawa when he's too loud.
Bf!Iwaizumi who invites you to his matches even when the only thing you do is sleep through them.
Bf!Iwaizumi who never gets mad at you for sleeping, no matter the situation.
Bf!Iwaizumi who carries a sleep kit with him.
Bf!Iwaizumi who kisses your forehead when you wake up.
Bf!Iwaizumi who takes you to the gym, works out with you and then let's you sleep on his lap between sets.
Bf!Iwaizumi who gets jealous when you fall asleep on someone else.
Even though he knows you don't do it on purpose. And even though it's not that person's fault, he still feels that weird sting inside his stomach.
So he picks you up, and carries you so you can sleep against his arm,
Is it a bit selfish? Maybe. But he knows that you would rather wake up laying against him, not some random.
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He doesn’t develop the condition until his early 20s. It starts as just feeling more tired than usual. But slowly over weeks and months, he becomes more and more sleepy during the day, and taking naps is only helping briefly before the sleepiness returns.
It keeps progressing. He swears his eyes have been on the road the whole time but suddenly he jerks and realizes he’s swerved into the other lane. His dreams are vivid and sometimes when he’s falling asleep or just waking up he finds his body paralyzed.
The naps he used to voluntarily plan to take become involuntary. Stan finds himself just suddenly falling asleep sometimes no matter where he is. Sometimes for a few minutes, sometimes longer.
It freaks him out a bit. With his lifestyle, he can’t afford to just fall asleep suddenly, it’s not safe. Who knows what could happen to him while he’s vulnerable like that. Plus, driving becomes harder. Stan has so many near accidents that getting behind the wheel of his car starts making him anxious.
And he hates that. His car is his home, his escape. His life depends on it.
By the time Stan starts experiencing bouts of muscle weakness and loss of control when he experiences strong emotions, he knows he should see a doctor. The problem is he can’t afford one. He doesn’t know what to do, so he tries to handle (ignores) the problem as best he can.
And that’s how he ends up in the hospital after a bad car crash.
He fell asleep at the wheel, and the ensuing wreck totalled the Stanley mobile. Doctors tell him it’s a miracle he survived, but Stan can’t find much joy in that, knowing his only stable home—and everything he owned in it—is gone.
But it’s during his recovery in the hospital that Stan’s condition gets noticed, and he ends up diagnosed with narcolepsy. It’s also in hospital that he ends up reuniting with a twin brother he thought wanted nothing to do with him.
Ford’s phone number was found in his pocket, and the hospital had called Ford while it was uncertain whether or not Stan would pull through. They were trying to find relatives to contact in the case that Stan died.
Miraculously, he survived. Even more miraculously, Ford shows up, angry and panicked and worried about Stan. Stan almost can’t believe it. He hadn’t thought Ford would want anything to do with him ever again, but it turns out near-death experiences can make people change their mind about you.
Anyway, I don’t really know where else I’m going with this. But Ford takes Stan to live with him in Gravity Falls once he’s released from the hospital. Ford maybe becomes slightly paranoid of Stan ever driving again, considering what happened, but tries to help Stan deal with the narcolepsy as best he can.
Summary: Reader is asked out by Jack on the same night Code Hula Hoop is called out. You and Jack begin dating, but your narcolepsy becomes uncontrollable after a complaint is put against you and you’re under a lot of stress. But Jack was always there to catch you, and to love you.
Tags/TW: expect anything medical you would see on The Pitt. Smut implied but nothing descriptive,
Word count: 3.8k
Notes:
Narcolepsy is a brain condition that prevents a person from choosing when to wake or sleep. This leads to excessive daytime sleepiness, sleep attacks, cataplexy (temporary loss of muscle control resulting in weakness and possible collapse) and excessive dreaming and waking in the night.
Any illness is on a spectrum. Not everyone will have the same symptoms or the same severity.
❗️❗️ Please don't self-diagnose based on ANYTHING I've written in this fic. It is written for a fictional purpose and to raise awareness on narcolepsy. Expect medical inaccuracies.❗️❗️
⋆ ──── ♡ ──── ⋆
You were often asked, how you manage being a doctor and having narcolepsy. The answer is always the same: how does anyone manage life when they have any form of illness? They simply just do.
Your illness does not define your entire life, but it affects it. That's the difference. And for someone who is not chronically ill, it is often difficult for them to understand this.
But it's simple, really.
Your diagnosis is a check box on the first page of a book. Your life is that book. The box will always be ticked, but that doesn't mean that it will be on every page. It is on the first page, sometimes halfway through, maybe at the end. The ink may run onto other pages, sometimes most likely staining them, but the majority of the book may not be affected by it.
That's how simple it is.
There was no limit to what you could achieve, and that has always been your mindset. Thanks to your wonderful parents, who raised you to know no limits or borders, you thrived.
And that is what Jack Abbot fell in love with.
You. The future of medicine.
His love for you wasn't sudden. It was studied, gradual and calculated.
He studied you as you worked; how you took control of a situation, how you answered so confidently and how great of a mentor you are to everyone else. He found himself looking forward to hearing you speak. He asked you questions just so he can hear your confidence come out of your beautiful lips. He found himself thinking of medical topics he could ask you just so he can hear you ramble on about it.
He gradually fell in love, because he was scared at first. Scared because there was a slight age gap and he thought of himself as the old man of The Pitt. He was scared because he didn't know the right way to fall in love, or what to do when he was in love. He was simply scared of too many things, until he realises that is what love is. It is to be scared of so many what-ifs, when there is only one thing that is certain. He wants to be with you.
He calculated every step to get you to fall in love with him. But the joke's on him, you had already fallen for him. You noticed his looks, his smiles, the sparkle in his eyes when he asked you questions. How could you not? So you let him take each calculated step, and you knew him too well and knew what his next step would be.
Until one day, Jack nervously blurted out about this new restaurant he wants to go to. He had prepared a speech in his mind on how he would ask you out, but the moment he stepped into the room and saw your eyes, he forgot all about his speech.
"Jack?" you smile as you approach him, "I know."
"You know... what?"
"I know what's in your heart."
Jack doesn't hold back his smile, "this whole time?"
You shrug teasingly at him, "maybe"
"So I don't need to ask you out? the answer is yes?"
"Oh no… i’d like to hear the speech you prepared…”
Jack also knew about your Narcolepsy from day one. He had been debriefed, along with everyone else. How is it that you managed such an illness, somewhere like PTMC?
Again, it was simple.
They'd treat you just like anyone else, but add a few minor adjustments.
You were honest from the start about what your triggers are and what they'd need to anticipate. Working in emergency medicine means you are never working alone. There is always someone there to help.
You, however, agreed with them that you should never be the emergency they'd need to attend to, because it wasn't an emergency as long as you were safe. And here at The Pitt, you always were.
Your narcolepsy was well managed because you didn't neglect yourself. But sometimes, when things got difficult, it took a turn for the worst. But luckily, everyone at PTMC was more than willing to step in and help. They all loved you, but no one loved you as much as Jack Abbot.
⋆ ──── ♡ ──── ⋆
"Okay, that's fair, I had a whole speech prepared" Jack says as he breaks into a nervous smile, "but how did you know that?"
"Everything you do is calculated, Jack" There was no hiding your smile either because Jack Abbot was finally asking you out.
"Is it that obvious?" Jack's cheeks had gone pink and he nervously fidgeted with his hands. He had been waiting a long time to stand here and ask you out. He would have loved to do it somewhere romantic, but he simply couldn't wait any longer.
"Not really, I just know you too well." Months of working along side him and picking up on his habits. How could you not?
"So you'd go out with me?" Jack says softly as he leans in. He wants to kiss you so damn much, but the first time he does will certainly not be in central 11 at the pitt.
"Let me think about it." You tease him as you brush past, "I like to think about big decisions like this!" You certainly don't, but what's the harm in some fun teasing? Also you enjoyed watching Jack squirm.
"No, hey come back!" Jack yells for you to come back but you were already walking backwards away from him. "You have 60 minutes to give me an answer!"
"What's that all about?" Ellis asks pointing at Jack who's walking away with a smile on his face.
"Nothing" you quickly say.
"You're blushing... he's blushing..." She says slowly... "Did you two fuck in Central 11? Cause that's nasty."
"What! No! Of course not!"
"You're literally grinning" There was no lying to her; it was all over your face, "he finally asked you out, didn't he?"
"Maybe...." you giggle excitedly, "okay, yes he did!! finally!"
"I hope you said no?"
"Huh?" your jaw drops in surprise, "w-why-why would I say no?"
"Hah. Just kidding. The look on your face! You're so in loveee"
You suddenly felt sixteen again, and your high school crush had just asked you out to prom. Tonight was gonna be a good night.
Jack kept checking his watch for the 60-minute countdown, because if you don't let him know by then, he would have kept asking over and over again until you yell yes.
Just before you needed to present a case to him, you got called into one of the triage rooms to settle a dispute between one of the nurses and an angry patient. "He's refusing to give blood."
"That's fine" you say casually, "if you don't do bloods, we can't treat. It's simple really."
"Just give me the medicine."
"But how can I give you medicine if I don't know what's wrong?" This career had taught you that gentle parenting is needed when it comes to difficult patients, and maybe a bit of sarcasm. "Do you know what's wrong?"
"You're the doc you tell me."
"And i'm telling you, you need to agree to a blood panel. But again, can't force you."
"I'm getting out of here." He yells before pushes off the chair.
"Just to confirm you're self discharging against medical advice?"
"Don't be sassy with me"
"Not being sassy. Just asking questions, Sir." Your reply is very polite, and that seems to anger him even more. "I'm gonna take your silence as a yes."
He looks at the nurse, "Is she always this bitchy?"
"Okay let's not be nasty here, alright?" the nurse snaps at the patient, and you gesture for her to step away from him. But as the two of you try and walk away, he gets hold of her ponytail and pulls her back.
Your reaction was of course, to yell at him and shout Hula Hoop loud enough for everyone to drop what they were doing and look toward the room. You don't remember much of what happened after, but all hell broke loose as you tried to separate him from her. He ended up falling on the floor, and you on top of him.
Jack, Mateo and along with everyone else were now running in, as you tried to get away from the patient whom you were now on top of. Jack helped you stand just as security took control of him. "You alright? What the hell happened? Are you hurt?"
"Asshole" you spit out breathlessly, "he attacked her and so I pushed him.”
"Did he hurt you?" Jack was checking you over as he walked you out of the room.
"No, i'm good, but-" you felt the urge to fall asleep come on all of a sudden. “He pulled her back Jack! He literally attacked her he- he-“
“It’s okay I’ve got you” Jack reacted quickly by getting hold of you and putting you gently to the floor. He put his hand under your head so your heads not touching the dirty floor. “I’m here. I'm not going anywhere.”
“Is she alright?” Parker was now by your side.
“All good, give her a second. He stressed her out so she's having an attack.”
“Did he hurt her?”
“Not sure, she was on the floor when I found her.” He doesn’t take his eyes off you for one second. “You’ll be back in a second okay?... I’m not going anywhere...”
“Shall we move her?”
“No, it’s best if she wakes up where she last was.”
“Why?”
“That’s a great question, Dr Parker.” Jack says softly as he watches you. “How common are hallucinations in narcolepsy?”
“Common..”
“And she’s just been potentially assaulted by a patient; she’s worried about her friend who might also have been assaulted. Her last memory is of her collapsing in my arms.”
“That’s all grounds for her to panic or hallucinate”
“Exactly.” Jack feels to starting to twitch, “Once she’s awake, we’ll move her. Need to make sure the bastard didn’t hit her.”
“On it” Parker rushes off to try and find an empty room, while Jack sits on the floor next to you as you start to wake up.
“I’m here” he murmurs softly, “you’re with me"
It was about two seconds since opening your eyes that panic had set in. Your first thought was to brush Jack off, although not entirely sure why you did that. "Look at me, sweetheart. You’re safe. I’m here"
You look at him with panicked eye, and after a few moments, your memory catches up with what has happened. Jack sits quietly on the floor with you as you come around. “I’m good” you rasp, throat dry and head foggy, “I’m fine”
“Okay, but can I still check you over please?”
“Why?”
“You were on the floor when I found you, sweetheart. Did he hit you?”
“No” you blurt out, “I think I did.”
⋆ ──── ♡ ──── ⋆
Jack paces around the lounge after taking you home the morning after the incident. "Tell me again what happened"
"Jack, I've already said" you sink back on the sofa, hiding under a blanket.
"Again. Please." Jack pleads.
"He pulled her by her hair, so I pushed him off her, and then he fell."
"How did you end up on top?"
"I tripped, I think."
"Fuck," Jack whispers, "you think or you're sure?"
"I don't know..." you feel your tears starting to run. The patient whom assaulted the nurse had hit his head, and claimed it was your fault it happened. "I'm sorry" a whisper even Jack barely heard. "I messed up."
"Nooo, no! This is not your fault." He walks over and sits next to you. "Sweetheart you did nothing wrong."
"But I did" Jack's heart broke over seeing your red and teary eyes. He was stressed out over how stressed out you were.
"You didn't. It was self-defence. We all heard it."
You shake your head, "i'm gonna be in trouble."
He wraps his arms around you, and you instantly felt safe in his arms, "i'm not letting that happen. Not a million years. Do you hear me?"
Silence follows and Jack doesn't push it, so you don't get stressed out and have another sleep attack.
"I never got back to you" is the first thing you said to break the silence. "About what you asked me."
"We don't have to talk about that now."
You shift slightly and turn to face him, "Do you think it would be wise? for us to be together? After what happened today?"
"What worries you?"
"They're gonna think there's favouritism, especially if the patient complains and you support me?
"Well let them then" he smirks, "you're my favourite and I want the whole world to know it."
You giggle playfully at the way he leans in smirking, "I'm your favourite?"
He whispers against your lips, "Want me to show you how much you're my favourite?"
You don't need to answer the question, because your heated kiss told him everything.
⋆ ──── ♡ ──── ⋆
The case with the angry patient had been taken a step further, after he filed a complaint against you. There was now an investigation and you were under a lot of eyes.
Dating Jack, whilst you're under this pressure, was also complicated. He was your rock throughout all of it, but you also felt that it was unfair how much pressure you had put on him. You skipped the 'honeymoon' phase of the dating stage.
It also meant that your relationship had to stay a secret, so Ellis was the only one that knew. So with the amount of stress you were under, your attacks had become more frequent. There was no controlling them, and you were starting to lose control of everything you worked hard for. You weren't able to drive anymore, and suddenly you lost your independence.
And with that, you were starting to feel sad.
⋆ ──── ♡ ──── ⋆
The loud ringing of your ringtone is what woke you up first, and it was Jack calling. "Hey" voice still half asleep, and you weren't even sure what time it was.
"Did I wake you?"
"Yeah"
"Another attack?" Jack was concerned for you all the time, even when you reassured him that everything was fine, when in fact it wasn’t.
"No, I'm in bed so this time it's on purpose." Sometimes sarcasm was the best type of medicine, despite Jack not always appreciating it.
"I'm coming over and we're going out for the day."
"Are we?" You look at the time and it was just after 3pm. Trying to have a normal life when you work night shift can sometimes be hell.
"It'll be fun! We can go shopping?"
"I do like to shop..." he now had your full attention. Getting out of the house might help lift your mood up a bit. "Give me like 30 minutes?"
You could practically feel Jack's smile through the phone. "See you soon!"
You walk out of the shower to find Jack on your bed, asleep. You stand next to him, letting the water from your wet hair drip onto him until he slowly opens his eyes. "Hi gorgeous"
"You're asleep."
"Resting my eyes," he corrects you.
"Aha..." you lean over, "are we still going shopping?"
He gives you a lazy smirk before quickly grabbing you and pulling you on top of him. "Not so soon, sweetheart."
"I was promised shopping", you jokingly protest as you unwrap your towel.
Jack wasn't paying attention as he stared at your naked body. Without looking up, he mutters, "yeah shopping later…. First this."
You let out a screech as he pulls you toward him playfully.
A little while later, your phone rings and interrupts your moment with Jack. It was someone from HR calling to inform you that a deposition date has been set. You’d need to present your case in front of many people, and try to prove to them that you did nothing wrong. You don't even manage to say anything to Jack because he saw your face as it changed. He noticed the moment your hands no longer gripped the phone, and the moment your muscles gave out. But he was there to catch you, he always was.
"I've got you, you're okay" he lays you on the floor gently, "just breathe through it. You'll be back in a second."
Your eyes were barely open, and despite you still being awake, you were completely paralysed. It was like your body belonged to someone else, and it was completely detached. You wanted to scream or panic, but you only had control over your mind, and your body wasn't responding.
"That's it… you're doing so well." he murmurs softly, as he pops a pillow under your head then sits down next to you. “You’ll be back with me in a minute. Don’t be scared... I’m right here..”
Minutes stretched into what felt like hours. It was pretty traumatising actually, having cataplexy attacks. You suddenly become a stranger in your own body, and despite your mind yelling at you to run, all you managed to do was lay still.
“Forget about everything else. Whatever your mind tells you… it’s all gonna be fine.” Jack gently brushes his hand across your cheek, “it’s gonna be fine because I’m gonna make sure it, okay?” He grabs your hand and rests it between his hands, waiting for you to make a move. But this time the attack takes a big longer, and he doesn’t leave your side. “You’re doing so well, baby. I don’t think I tell you that enough.”
You rasped out, voice still weak from the attack, “hi”
“Welcome back” he shifts over and lays next to you on the floor. “You okay bubs?”
“I’m really sad”
“I’ll make it better.”
“No one can” you voice breaks completely as the reality of what HR said sinks once again. “I messed up.”
“Sweetheart you didn’t mess up. They know that, too. It’s just protocol okay? Now… forget about shopping. How about we put on a nice movie, have a sofa day? I’ll take care you of, if you let me.” He wipes all of your tears away and traces gentle kisses all over your face. “I’ll make it all better I promise”
“I dont know what I’ll do without you, Jack”
“That’s something you’ll never have to think about, because I’m not going anywhere baby.”
⋆ ──── ♡ ──── ⋆
The day after the call, things started to blur together into a mixture of exhaustion and anxiety. It was obvious how much it weighed you down, and the weeks that followed were challenging and mentally draining. Jack became your shadow in the gentlest way possible. He was there to help, give his love and words of support, but nothing truly helped you feel better. The stress and anxiety you were under had caused your attacks to become incredibly frequent, so you willingly signed yourself off work.
Jack started staying over most nights, rearranging his shifts so he could be there when you woke up. He made this chapter of your life feel survivable.
One evening, about a week after the phone call, you were both on the sofa, going over your notes. You stared at the piece of paper for what felt like hours. Jack’s hand covered yours, gently taking it away from you. "Let's put this away shall we?"
Before you could protest, your head dropped, and the next thing you remember was waking up again. “Sorry,” you mumbled.
"Don't be." He presses a kiss to the top of your head. "We just need to get you to deposition day and then...me and you are going away."
"Oh yeah? Where to?" you curl up against him and he wraps his arms around you.
"Anywhere you want. Pick a place, and let's go there."
"That would be nice.." You swallow hard, emotion tightening your throat. You hoped that the light at the end of the tunnel would wait for you until after the deposition.
The night before the deposition, the worst episode yet hit while you're brushing your teeth.
One second you were somewhat okay, the next your legs folded and you were sliding down the bathroom wall. This time, nothing triggered it and it simply just happened. Jack caught you before you hit the tile, lowering you carefully and sitting with you on the cold floor until the paralysis eased.
“I’ve got you,” he whispered, the same grounding words he always used. “You’re okay. I’m right here.”
When you could finally move again, you buried your face in his neck and let yourself cry for what felt like the hundredth time that day. "I don’t know how much longer I can keep doing this!"
"You don’t have to," he says, "one more day then we're out of here."
You nodded against his skin, clinging to that promise like a lifeline.
⋆ ──── ♡ ──── ⋆
Deposition day.
A day you didn’t you were going to make it to, because your body betrayed you over and over again the last few weeks. But Jack was there all the time. You didn’t hurt yourself once because he made sure you didn’t.
He was there for the nightmares, the cries and most of the attacks. He took the day off to help you prepare for the deposition, but the more you thought about it the more upset you got.
“Hey, look at me.” He says firmly “don’t think of anything else. Just answer me this: do you think you did anything wrong?”
“No”
“Case closed.”
“But-“
“No buts, hun, no buts. You had a witness with you who was attacked. The patient is prone to being aggressive. You are not getting in trouble, do you hear me?"
“I don’t know-“
“No, no don’t do that.” He cups your face and leans in, “tell me you believe me.”
You mumble, “I do”
“Louder”
“I do!”
“That’s my girl” he gives you a hot and wet kiss, “let’s go get this over with. Hmm?”
“I’m scared I’ll have an attack in the room.”
“Then they’ll simply have to wait then. I’ll be there with you.”
“You’re allowed in??”
“Of course I am. Not letting you in there on your own.” He murmurs softly, kissing you again this time slower and deeper.
“Jack…” You swallow, heart pounding for an entirely different reason now.
“Mmmm?”
“I love you” you blurt out, not expecting to tell him this soon.
"You have all my love, it's all for you. You know that right?" Jack grins once he sees you smile. "I love you too”
Despite your heavy heart and sadness, you managed to get yourself out of the house and over to PTMC for the deposition. You may have lost your independence over the last few months, but you have gained so much love from Jack.
And just as promised, the moment you were done with the deposition, Jack packed the car, and you headed somewhere far away from work, commitment, trauma, blood and patients.
Work could wait, but your health couldn’t. And for the first time in weeks, you felt like you could finally breathe.
