#post-surgery

There was no pain, either. He reached for his shoulder with his left hand.

“Whoa, wait,” Todd said, seizing Marcus’s wrist. “Not yet. Like I told you, it’ll be about twenty-four hours before the tissue fully grows to fuse with the arm. You’ve got a sling on for now, okay? That sound good?”

Marcus swallowed tightly. His eyes slowly focused on Todd’s face, hovering a few inches above his own. “Why do I feel so weird?” he croaked.

“I ended up sedating you,” Todd said, releasing Marcus’s wrist. “You don’t remember that? You started to pass out and… and panic, I guess. I couldn’t manage both you and the install. I asked you if I could… you said—”

The memory flashed behind Marcus’s eyes, here and gone in an instant.

“D-do whatever the fuck you… fuck, I… I can’t… Jake…”

He nodded weakly. “I let you,” he said. “I remember.”

Todd let out a breath. “Yeah. I didn’t… I didn’t… force…”

Marcus’s eyes pricked with tears, with relief. “Y-yeah,” he said softly. “I know.” He glanced down at his… at his one remaining flesh-and-blood arm. He was still receiving fluids through an IV taped to the inside of his elbow. Suspicion prickled in the back of his mind as his eyes followed the tubing up to the bag hanging from a stand by his head. “And am I… are you… still giving me… something?”

Lars stepped away from the wall, looking even more exhausted than when they brought him to this place. “Nothing in there but saline, Marcus,” they said. “I’ll… if it’ll make you feel better, we can put a line in me, give me some. I’m probably dehydrated as it is.” They shrugged and leaned against the foot of the surgical table Marcus lay on.

He met their gaze, trembling slightly as he opened and closed his hand. “Thank you,” he whispered. “For… for bringing me here. For everything.”

A smile tugged at their lips. “Yeah, Marcus. I’m glad I could help. Truly. I wish you’d come to me sooner, but I’m glad you came to me at all. I’m glad that this—” They gestured at his shoulder. “—worked out.”

Marcus finally allowed himself to glance down at Todd’s handiwork. Clean, tidy dressings stretched across his shoulder, obscuring the border between his amputated flesh and the shiny new arm.

Looking at the arm, though, made him feel dizzy all over again. Not with nausea or pain – but with awe. The intricate metal piece extended from his shoulder like it had always belonged on his body, and Todd had just been waiting to attach it. It lay against his chest, cradled in a medical grade sling – an astronomically expensive piece of equipment gifted to a broken Lev like someone else might give someone else a dollar. He gingerly ran the fingertips of his flesh hand along a seam in his new bicep. He didn’t feel the touch. He hadn’t expected to.

“That touch is a little light for the sensors to be able to pick up and transmit,” Todd said. “They do better with firmer pressure. The muscles are the things that are going to take the full twenty-four hours, but… you might have some neurological attachments formed already. Here.” He reached out and gently took Marcus’s metal fingers in his. “Let me know if you can feel this.” He squeezed Marcus’s second and third fingers and watched Marcus’s face.

Marcus’s stomach swooped as the sensation passed through him. There was something not quite perfect about it – as if he was being touched through a glove. But he felt it. He felt it.

“Holy shit,” he breathed.

Todd grinned. “Yeah,” he said. “Yeah, I kinda live for this part.”

Marcus tried to sit up. “I—”

“Let me help,” Todd said. “You use your shoulder for a lot more than you think.” He scooped his arm behind Marcus’s shoulders and lifted. Marcus’s skin crawled, but he allowed the touch. It was better than tearing a connection between himself and the new arm and ruining Todd’s handiwork.

He swung his legs down off the table and sat on the edge. “Okay,” he croaked. “I’m… Todd, I can’t thank you enough for this. Twenty-four hours, and then I can start looking for Jake, right? I’m not sure where I’m going to start, but… I know he was arrested. I have a date. I can work backward from there.”

Lars cleared their throat. “I have a lead, if you want somewhere more definitive to start.”

Marcus leveled his gaze at them. “You have… a lead? And you—”

And you didn’t tell me?

They wet their lips, as if they could tell what he was thinking. “Yeah,” they said. “I do. I’ll tell you on one condition. But it’s a pretty fucking large, very firm condition.”

Rage and distrust rose in Marcus’s gut as he stared them down. “And that is?”

“That you stay with either me or Todd for the full twenty-four hours once I tell you. Todd isn’t fucking around with this. You will absolutely tear your shit up if you try to go after Jake before the nanobots have the time to finish with their work. And I’m telling you, you cannot save Jake if you don’t let them work.”

Todd nodded. “I left as much of your own tissue in as I possibly could,” he said. “But if you do… any amount of activity before the time is up… I’ll have to go in, remove more tissue, and do the entire install over again. The clock will start again. So you… really do need to not use that arm at all for twenty-four hours.”

Marcus ground his teeth in annoyance. “I get it,” he said. “Now will you tell me what the fuck this lead is?”

Lars huffed and tilted their head back. “Well,” they said. “This town is a pretty good place to live – AMTEC usually leaves us alone in general – but there is one person in town who I know for sure is an AMTEC employee. Lower level, definitely, since he lives here and takes the train into the city for work every day, but… he’s AMTEC. So… I don’t know. Might be a good place to start.”

Heat flooded Marcus’s throat. He felt his bionic hand twitch against his chest, felt it want to curl into a fist – or curl around this person’s throat.

Someone from AMTEC lives in this town and I had no idea. I could have gone after them from the start. I could have figured out where Jake was weeks ago and—

And what? He couldn’t have saved Jake, not without a working right arm. He needed Todd to fix him before he saved Jake. He couldn’t have done anything without Todd, and without Lars, either.

He nodded once, jaw clenched so tight it was making his head hurt.

Lars swallowed. “You still need to wait the full—”

“I know,” Marcus said through his teeth. “I won’t go after this person until I’m better. I promise.” He rolled his head on his neck and had to stop himself from rolling his shoulders. “But once I’m better… just give me an address, or give me a name. I’ll start with this person. And I’m not going to stop until I have Jake back.”

Or until the entirety of AMTEC is burning. If Jake is dead, there isn’t anything on this planet that can save a single one of those fuckers now.

Continued here

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Tai had barely had an hour's sleep (even though he was adamant he wasn't tired) when one of his physio colleagues appeared to pester him. He knew he was miserable and unenthusiastic, but he didn't have the energy to care. The pain had started to creep in again, but he didn't want to ask for anything until after; it would only make him spaced and dizzy, and he wasn't going to collapse on his colleague. He'd been on the wrong side of those patients too many times. 

Physio completed and homework given, Tai gave in and asked for meds. They were happy enough to give him some, just waiting for the rest of his medications to come up from pharmacy before he could go. 

The morphine quickly kicked in, Tai relaxing back into the bed with a groan. Harrison was quick to soothe him, all too aware how shitty it would be making him feel. The soft words and gentle hands were enough to allow him to relax, glad to be pain free once more.

He was worried about going home and managing his pain there, but as soon as they gave him the green light, he was up and ready. Harrison was firm as he made him use a wheelchair, partially out of selfishness and self preservation; if Tai stumbled or fell, he wasn't sure his own leg would take it. 

With a grumble, his resolve crumbled and he let Harrison push him to the car, just glad to be going home, to be in his own bed, with his own snacks and home comfort. And, of course, the kids and the dog were a bonus too, and he found himself smiling to himself on the drive home, dozing with his head resting against the window. 

It was always strange, leaving hospital. Day surgery always fucked with his head, too. It just seemed so… jarring. Like after the surgery and everything, he shouldn’t be going home yet. But he was glad to be out of hospital, away from it all, where Harrison would look after him, and it felt like he’d just closed his eyes when they pulled up on the drive. He lifted his head, blinking sleepily at his fiance. 

“Home?”

Harrison reached over to squeeze his hand. "Yeah, we're home. Let me come around and help you, yeah? Let me open the front door first."

“Mm, yeah. Need my crutches.”

"Bed or sofa when we get in?"

“Uh, what time is it?”

"Half four." He murmured, heading round to open Tai's door. "Careful, yeah? No injuring yourself, please."

“Sofa, then.” He said. “I’m fine, I can do it.”

"Okay. I'm here, yeah? I know you want to do it all yourself, but I'm here."

“Crutches?”

"Here, slowly." He passed them to Tai.

He took them, carefully getting to his feet. “Thanks.” He mumbled. 

Harrison couldn't help but hover, worried that Tai was going to hurt himself. "That's it, you're doing great."

“I’m okay. Get the door, yeah?”

"Yeah, I'll get it." Harrison didn't dare to move too far away, still within arm's reach as he unlocked the door. "You doing okay?"

“Yeah, yeah. Slow and steady an’ all that.”

"Exactly." He stretched out as Tai neared the step, unable to help himself. 

“Hars, I’m fine, really.” He said. 

"I know you are. I'm just helping." He huffed. 

“Yeah.” He said softly. “I’m the one who hovers, I’m the physio.”

I've had enough physio to know how to hover." He tried to joke. 

“True.”

"I'm sure the boys will be excited to see you."

“Looking forwards to seeing them too.”

"Hopefully Steve's not gone mad with them."

“They’ve probably gone mad with him.”

"Ah, maybe." He grabbed at the wall as he stumbled himself, too focused on Tai to remember the step. A blush spread across his cheeks, and he turned to call into the house, pretending he didn't just trip. "Boys? Dad? We're home."

Tai couldn’t help but laugh. “What was that you were saying, love?” He couldn’t help but tease. 

"What? As long as you get in safely, I've done my job. I don't matter."

“Until you fall and I trip over you.” 

"At least you'd have a soft landing." He grinned. "Ah, watch out. I hear the terrors."

"Dads!"

“Hey, boys.” Tai said. “Missed you.” 

Alfie was uncharacteristically quiet, keeping his distance. He offered his dads a smile, letting Kieran past him to try and hug Tai. 

“Careful, Kit. I’m not very good at hugs with these crutches. Why don’t we go and sit down and we can hug on the sofa? What’ve you done with Grandad Steve?”

"Sorry, dad." He pulled back, stepping out of the way. "Grandad's drawing with Levi."

“You’re okay, we’ll cuddle up on the sofa.” He reassured, offering him a smile and one to Alfie, too, who looked mildly terrified. 

The twins led the way, protesting as Harrison reached to ruffle their hair. Levi and Steve were waiting, Levi proudly holding up a clearly homemade get well soon card.

"Aw, bless you guys." Harrison found himself choked up, turning to look at Tai. He couldn't quite believe that that was their little family, waiting for them and wishing Tai better. They'd all obviously helped, with various degrees of success; even Steve had glitter and pen over his hands and top. 

"You alright, Tai? I'm glad you're home."

Tai too, felt himself choke up, though he knew it was the sheer amount of meds in his system. “Oh, thank you, Leaf. That’s so sweet.” He managed to get out, overwhelmed. He nodded when Steve spoke. “Yeah, glad to be back.”

"Cmon, on the sofa." Harrison pushed gently, stepping out of his way. "Let's get that leg back up, and we can see if you want any pain relief or snacks."

Tai settled on the sofa, sighing happily once his leg was up. He made sure his crutches were close by, where he could reach them if he needed to get up again. 

"Right, all settled?" Harrison fussed over him. "What do you need?"

“Settled.” Tai said. “Need my boys, and maybe a tea?”

"I'll go make you one. Do you want one, dad?"

“Won’t say no if you’re putting the kettle on.” Steve said, settling on the other sofa.

"Won't be long then." He hummed, heading to the kitchen. 

"Dad?" Alfie asked, standing at the edge of the sofa. "Can I come up too?"

“Of course you can, Bug.” Tai said gently.

Kieran and Levi had already snuggled beside their dad, but Alfie hesitated again. "Where can I go?"

“Come squish in, we’ll make space.”

He made a noise. "I'm scared I hurt you."

“It’s only my knee, you won’t hurt me.” 

"But you had an operation."

“I’m okay, you can come and cuddle.”

He slowly tried to get in, getting somewhat closer to his dad. He fidgeted with the sleeves of his hoodie, worried he'd hurt him or get in the way, or just do something wrong.

Tai looped his arm around his son and pulled him closer, kissing the top of his head. “There. Perfect.” 

Alfie squeaked quietly, freezing in panic as Tai pulled him in. Instead of being in pain and hurting him, Tai kissed his hair, and he broke. All the emotions of the day bubbled up and over, and he buried his face against his dad's chest. Scout whined from the floor, unhappy one of his boys was crying, and he edged closer too, front paw on the sofa's edge.

“Oh Bug. It’s okay, I’m okay, yeah?” He said. “Look, you’ve got Scout worried about you now. Do I get all of you up here? Good job we’ve got big sofas. C’mon, Scout, hup.”

Scout happily jumped up, sticking his wet nose in Alfie's face. His tail was gentle as it wagged, but his tongue was relentless, trying to wipe all of Alfies tears away.

"I'm so-sorry. I didn't mean to make him sad."

“It’s been a long day, huh? It’s okay. Come on, we’ll all have a cuddle here, Scout can curl up with us, we’ll make Dad go and sit with Grandad Steve. I get you all to myself.” Tai hated seeing Alfie upset, knowing the anxiety he’d had to deal with all day would’ve been hard on the boy, especially knowing full well he tried to be strong for his brothers. 

Harrison returned with mugs of hot tea and paused in the doorway. His heart broke for his son, but he tried to be strong and joke. "I go make a cuppa for two minutes, and my kids and the dog have stolen my husband from me."

“You snooze you lose.” Tai joked, managing a small smile.

"Can you reach your tea if I put it on the side?" He asked Tai, passing his dad's to Steve.

“Yeah, that’ll be fine, thanks love.”

He settled Tai's on the coaster on the side, stretching over to give him a kiss. He was more than a little jealous of the four on top of Tai, but his husband looked content, and he sure as hell wasn't going to interrupt. He ruffled Kieran's and Levis hair, and gently gave Alfie a squeeze for a hug. The oldest twin gave him a small smile, tucking himself back into Tai's chest. Scout, not wanting to be left out, thumped his tail, so of course he got a kiss on the nose, Harrison sneaking a treat from his pocket. Eventually, or so it felt, he flopped on the sofa by Steve, kicking his feet up. 

"Ah, that's better, being home. Everyone sorted." He sighed happily, looking around the room. "My little family."

Tai had to admit it wasn’t the most comfortable, everyone on top of him, including the dog, who wasn’t always the most gentle. But they weren’t making his pain worse, the painkillers he’d had in hospital still mostly working, his boys with him, he wouldn’t change it for a second. Alfie’s tears had stopped, Kieran seemed more confident, and Levi was happy. He carefully reached forwards to scratch behind Scout’s ears, appreciating the comfort the dog brought. 

“Yeah, perfect.” He said softly, glancing at his husband, already fighting sleep. “Jus’ perfect.” 

Before he knew it, he was asleep, the meds taking over. His chin tucked into his chest, he was out, completely lost to the world. 

Harrison stood, quietly padding across to Tai. He pulled the blanket from the back of the sofa, gently tucking it around his husband and sons. Both twins looked exhausted, and Levi was already pretty much asleep. Kieran was yawning and Alfie rubbing his eyes, both pressed tight to their dad. Harrison made sure they were all tucked in, no limbs escaping from under the blanket. The boys whispered a thank you, snuggling closer to Tai.