Fic: Aegis, part 3/4

[kalimyre.livejournal.com]

Aegis

By kalimyre

Rating: PG

Pairing: Ryan/Colin

Summary: In which Colin discovers the wonders of modern medicine. Also known as the really good drugs.

Notes: *waves at Clay and Indy* You guys rock. Which is stating the obvious, really, but still.

Part One | Part Two

Part 3

The hospital was a rude shock of cold air and bright lights after the warmth and quiet of the car. Colin wrapped his arms around his middle and started shivering again, leaning into Ryan as they walked into the emergency room. He already felt silly being there; the short nap in the car had revived him a bit, and he was half sure the doctor would take one look at him and tell him to go home and take some Nyquil.

Ryan deposited him in a chair and told him to stay put, and Colin sighed, slumping into the hard plastic and allowing himself to feel just a little grumpy. He could have just gone home with Ryan and relaxed in his big Jacuzzi, then had a nice soft bed to sleep in until he felt better. Instead he was here in the crowded, noisy emergency room, his head aching and his light jacket wholly unequal to the task of keeping him warm.

Ryan really was overprotective sometimes, and Colin had learned to accept it with grace; he was even a little fond of those moments when Ryan would compulsively check on him, always wanting to touch to be sure. Then there were times like this, when he’d just as soon skip the whole hospital thing and couldn’t because Ryan would never stand for it.

“Okay,” Ryan said, sinking into the chair beside him. “I got you checked in. They should call us pretty soon.”

Colin nodded, eying the forms in Ryan’s hands with dull disinterest. He was glad when Ryan didn’t even try to hand them over, but instead set about filling them out himself. Colin closed his eyes and drifted, aware of the scratch of the pen and the rattle of paper to his side, Ryan muttering to himself every now and then as he worked, and the warm press of Ryan’s knee against his, keeping him grounded. It seemed like no time at all before Ryan’s arm was around him again, helping him up, and Colin opened his eyes to find a nurse standing in front of him, waiting.

“Oh,” he mumbled, looking around. “Our turn?”

The nurse smiled faintly and nodded, then turned and headed down the hall. They followed, Colin once again pressing into Ryan’s side, trying to find some warmth. He had to clench his jaw to keep his teeth from chattering and he swallowed a brief wave of self-pity, shaking his head. Yes, it sucked being sick, but it happened to everyone, and at least he had someone who would take care of him.

He perched on the end of a paper covered bed in a small exam room and swung his legs, frowning when Ryan pulled away to sit in a nearby chair. The nurse pulled a digital thermometer from its housing and put a new sterile cover on the tip before pressing it gently into Colin’s ear. “How are you feeling?” she asked while the thermometer beeped away to itself.

“I’ve been better,” Colin admitted, shrugging. “It’s a little hard to catch my breath.”

She nodded and read the thermometer, her mouth tightening slightly. “Do you feel cold?”

“Yeah, it’s freezing in here,” Colin said, trying to keep the whine out of his voice.

“You have a temperature of a hundred and four point seven,” the nurse said, and Colin felt Ryan’s hand land on his leg, squeezing for a moment. He looked at Ryan, feeling oddly guilty, and the tense lines around his friend’s eyes didn’t help any.

“Oh,” Colin said. “I... really?”

The nurse nodded and pulled out a stethoscope, listening to his chest for a few breaths, then took a quick blood pressure reading. “Are you having any chest pain? Coughing?”

“Yes, both of those. And I was sick earlier,” Colin volunteered, knowing Ryan would say it if he didn’t.

“Okay.” The nurse readied a needle and syringe, laying out sterile gauze, a thin rubber tourniquet, and a bottle of rubbing alcohol. “I’m going to take a blood sample to be sure, and we’ll want to do a chest x-ray as well, but you most likely have pneumonia. I’ll let the doctor know, and he’ll be in to see you soon.”

Colin sat still while his blood was drawn, looking away and grimacing. The nurse was quick and efficient, the procedure mostly painless, but he’d never been very comfortable with needles. When the nurse walked away with her neatly labeled vial of blood, Ryan took his hand, and Colin squeezed it, looking down.

“Sorry,” Colin murmured.

“Why?”

Colin shrugged and turned Ryan’s hand over in his, spreading it open and tracing the lines on his palm. “I guess I didn’t listen very well.”

“You usually don’t,” Ryan said, but his voice was fond, indulgent. He paused for a moment, then leaned in closer, resting his head against Colin’s side. “You’ll be all right. I’m sure they can fix you up.”

“Yeah,” Colin agreed, wondering which one of them Ryan was trying to reassure.

They sat quietly for a while, Colin wishing he could lie down, but not quite willing to chance that choking sensation again. It was much easier to breathe when he was upright. Ryan pulled back when the doctor walked in, a short, stocky man with smiling eyes and a wrinkled white coat.

“Hello,” he said. “I’m Dr. Warren.” He shook both their hands briskly and didn’t bat an eye when Ryan took Colin’s hand again. The doctor scanned the clipboard in his hands and nodded once to himself. “Mr. Mochrie, I’m going to start an IV for you so we can get you hydrated. Once the blood test comes back, we’ll probably want to give you antibiotics, and we’ll use the IV line for that as well, okay?”

Colin nodded and looked away again, gritting his teeth as the doctor expertly threaded an IV line to his forearm, taping the plastic tubing down when he finished. He was starting to feel dizzy again, and the rush of cold from the chilled saline running into his arm didn’t help. He swayed slightly, biting his lip to clear his head a little, and Ryan’s arm was immediately around his back, holding him steady.

“How are you doing?” Dr. Warren asked, watching him carefully. “You feel like you might pass out?”

Colin shook his head. “It’s okay. Could I have a blanket or something?”

The doctor hesitated, tilting his head to one side. “I know you feel cold and I’m sorry, but we actually need to bring your temperature down, not help you retain heat. That’s why the IV solution is so cold. I’ll give you a fever reducer, which should help you feel a little better, and once we’ve confirmed pneumonia and you get the antibiotics, they should help a great deal. Just bear with me for a little longer, okay?”

“Okay,” Colin sighed. He watched the doctor withdraw a measure of clear fluid from a little bottle and inject it into his IV line, then closed his eyes again, hoping he could fall back asleep and wake up when the medicine was working. Ryan’s hand was on his back, stroking slowly up and down and he was so very tired, but he couldn’t get comfortable. He was cold and his chest ached and he wanted to curl up under a pile of blankets, not sit here in this bright and sterile room and wait.

“Here,” Ryan said, guiding him backwards on the bed until his legs were stretched out in front of him. Then Ryan pushed a button on the side and the head of the bed lifted until Colin could lean back against it and still breathe. He sighed in relief, wriggling against the stiff mattress and trying to burrow into it.

“Thanks,” Colin murmured, holding a hand out. Ryan took it and rubbed it between his own, warming his fingers.

He was close to drifting off when the doctor spoke up again, and Colin wondered vaguely if he’d been there the whole time or had left and returned. “Radiology is ready for you now,” he said, a hand on Colin’s shoulder to help him sit up. “We’ll get that chest x-ray done, and by the time you come back here we should have the blood results.”

Colin nodded and slid to the end of the bed, but paused when he saw a wheelchair waiting for him. “Do I have to use that?”

“Hospital policy,” the doctor said firmly.

“Great,” Colin muttered, but he settled into the chair willingly enough, glad that at least he hadn’t been subjected to the indignities of the paper gown that wouldn’t close in back. Ryan grabbed his IV pole with one hand and pushed his chair with the other, and Colin watched the walls move past until he started feeling queasy again and had to close his eyes.

When he opened them again, Ryan was pulling him from the chair and there was another woman in a white coat there, telling him to sit on a metal table. Colin was beginning to feel detached and dreamlike and complied silently, watching Ryan and the woman move around him, arranging equipment. Ryan had to put on a thick lead apron and then he was told to stay still and take a deep breath, which was easier said than done. More instructions and then the woman was actually moving him and he wanted to make a joke about playing Moving People but by the time he thought of it she was gone again. Either he’d slowed down considerably or everyone else was moving very fast.

He was back in the chair and halfway down the hall before he registered that the x-ray was done, and he looked up at Ryan, blinking slowly. “What did that doctor give me?”

Ryan smiled down at him, chuckling. “I was wondering when you were going to come back down. He must’ve used the strong stuff.”

“Hmm.” Colin wasn’t sure if it was medication or exhaustion, but the haze was pleasant and certainly an improvement over the now distant aches and chills. He felt punch drunk and complacent, happy to let Ryan steer for a while.

Soon he was back in the exam room, reclined in the bed while Ryan sat beside him, one hand lightly resting on his chest. There was quiet for a time and they waited, Colin finally starting to feel less cold, his tense muscles relaxing one at a time. He was aware of Ryan shifting impatiently, his foot tapping and his fingers plucking at Colin’s jacket, rubbing the material absently.

“All right,” the doctor said, sweeping back into the room. “I’ve looked at the x-rays and there is definitely fluid in your lungs, Mr. Mochrie. That, coupled with a very high white blood cell count, is a strong indicator of bacterial pneumonia.” He nodded and checked Colin’s IV, tapping the nearly empty bag.

“So now what?” Ryan asked.

“This is actually good news,” Dr. Warren replied. “Viral pneumonia is harder to treat and can last for weeks, but bacterial responds well to antibiotics and you should be feeling fine again in just a few days.”

“That’s good,” Colin murmured sleepily, waving one hand. It was impossibly heavy and he let it flop to his side after a few seconds.

“I see the medication is working,” the doctor said, smiling. “Its primary function is as a pain reliever and fever reducer, but it often has slightly tranquilizing side effects, as you may have noticed.”

“No kidding,” Ryan said dryly. Colin patted his hand and closed his eyes again, aware of movement and the clink of glass around him. He heard Ryan ask, “What’s that?”

“It’s the first dose of antibiotics. We’ll give him a second dose in half an hour, and then check his breathing and temperature again. Depending on how well he responds, we’ll decide whether to keep him overnight or send him home.”

Colin felt a faint tugging as his IV line was moved, and then more rustling, but after that it was quiet enough to hear Ryan’s steady breathing. He scooted a little closer and Ryan obliged, leaning against the bed so Colin’s head could rest on his shoulder.

“You feeling better?” Ryan asked softly.

Colin nodded and cracked his eyes open for a moment before letting them drift shut again. “Good thing you brought me here.”

“Yeah, well... don’t do this again, okay? That thing where you collapse on stage is not actually funny when you’re not faking.”

“Sorry,” Colin said, and Ryan said something else but his voice was only a buzz of sound, indistinct and fading. Colin slept for what felt like seconds and then Ryan’s hands were on him again, encouraging him to sit up.

“Whuh?” Colin mumbled, looking around.

Ryan chuckled and patted his back. “Welcome back to the land of the living.”

“You’re responding well,” the doctor told him, watching as Colin got to his feet and stood there, swaying a little. “You still have a fever but it’s a much more manageable hundred and one and your breathing already sounds better. I’m sending oral antibiotics home with you and I want you to finish the whole bottle, three a day, with meals. Take it easy for a couple days and get plenty of fluids, and you should bounce back just fine.”

Colin nodded and yawned, finishing with a series of coughs that hurt his chest, but not as much as they had before. “Okay,” he said, a little embarrassed by his thin, hoarse voice.

“Thanks,” Ryan said, walking Colin out. The doctor gave a little wave, already busy reading a chart for his next patient.

“Time for bed?” Colin asked hopefully as they left the hospital.

“Time for sleep,” Ryan corrected, smiling at him.

“Oh well. Worth a shot.” Colin yawned again while he climbed into the car, glad of the day’s warmth still lingering inside. He curled up in his seat and watched Ryan’s profile as his friend drove, noting the tight jaw and tired eyes. “Hey, I don’t know if I said this before, but thanks.”

Ryan glanced over at him, raising his eyebrows. “For what?”

“For... taking care of me, I guess.”

“Somebody had to,” Ryan replied pointedly. “Since you kinda suck at it, you know.”

“Guess it’s a good thing you’re here, then.” Colin slipped his hand into Ryan’s, lacing their fingers together.

Ryan didn’t take his eyes off the road, but he smiled and squeezed Colin’s hand. “Yeah,” he said. “Guess so.”

~~~

On to part 4