#Good Neurosurgeon Near Me

[neurosurgeonindore]

Best Neurologists In Indore - Dr. Amit Pratap Singh Deora

Dr. Amit Pratap Singh Deora is a ray of hope in the field of neurological illnesses, armed with substantial knowledge, specialized talents, and an in-depth understanding of the complicated workings of the human brain.

As one of the Best Neurologists In Indore, he leaves no stone unturned in giving extensive diagnostics and customized treatments tailored to each patient's specific needs.

[kiki-shortsnout]

Something I'm working for @the-elle-kat! A Sugardaddy A/B/O in which Tony (omega) ran away from home when he was pregnant, and since then has been leaping from crappy part-time jobs to make ends meet.

Stephen (Alpha) a famous, and rich, neurosurgeon has been looking for a caregiver for his mother, who is paralysed from the waist down after a horse riding accident.

***

‘Good afternoon, Doctor Stephen Strange I presume?’ the man on the other side of Stephen’s door answered.

He has manners. Stephen begrudgingly admitted, his ego stroked at the use of his title. The omega was slight, small in stature as was typical for male omegas, well-groomed and Stephen took a moment to appraise him. He’d never been with an omega, preferring the uncomplicated nature of betas, their lack of pheromones better suited to Stephen’s need for control in his life, but his man might have made him look twice.

‘You must be Tony Stark, please come in.’

‘Yeah, about that, I’m really sorry but I’ve had a slight hiccup with my babysitter and…’

Opening the door wider, Stephen saw there was a small child attached to his hand, a girl with the same huge chocolate eyes as the omega, her free hand clutching a stuffed animal of some description.

You have got to be kidding.

He should do them all a kindness and shut the door in his face now, but Wong’s warning hung over him, so he gritted his teeth and stepped back, opening the door wider.

‘Take a seat,’ he spoke through clenched teeth after they’d followed him down the hallway, indicating the impressive dining table near his piano, watching the child like a hawk as she moved, touching nothing as she sat on the chair

At least it's well-behaved, Stephen thought to himself, sitting opposite them and smoothing out the application form. A brief look at the omega’s neck told him everything he needed to know. Unbonded, a single parent then. Explains the high school education.

‘So, how long did it take you to judge me?’ Tony asked, folding his arms over his chest and giving him a sardonic smile.

‘I don’t know why you think that you’re qualified for this job, why you believed bringing a child along for an interview would help your prospects,’ Stephen told him frankly.

‘I apologize for bringing her, I know it’s unprofessional, but it would be irresponsible for me to leave her alone, or ask someone she doesn’t know to watch her. In terms of being qualified, no, I have nothing on paper that can show you my qualifications, but I do have experience of being a single parent.’

Stephen said nothing more, almost daring the omega to elaborate.

‘No one knows time management better than a single parent, how else could I work and support my child? I did it alone, cared for her, and stayed committed to her development. I’ve dressed her, fed her, got her to her appointments, and that was what you were asking for in the application form.’

He scoffed, the sound making the small girl flinch.

‘I think you’re oversimplifying the care my mother requires. I do not doubt the amount of effort that goes into child rearing, but those skills aren’t applicable here.’ Stephen couldn’t believe he was even explaining this, let alone entertaining this farce of an interview.

‘Doctor Strange!’

Evangeline, his mother’s carer burst through the door, her hair standing on edge from where she’d obviously run sweaty hands through it, splotches of red on her cheeks from her frustrated anger.

‘I can’t, not anymore. I know I promised to stay until you found someone else, but that woman is impossible.’

‘Evangeline, wait,’ Stephen pleaded, getting to his feet, ignoring his guests as he tried to chase after her.

‘Don’t listen to what he says, she’s a monster,’ Evangeline directed towards Stark before she fled the penthouse, ignoring Stephen’s repeated calls for her to stop.

He’d only made it a few steps before the front door slammed, the sound echoing through the space of his penthouse.

What the hell was he going to do now?

‘I think it’s best if-’

‘Stephen!’

The headache that had been brewing behind his eyes grew in strength, pounding against the inside of his skull as his mother wheeled herself into the room, her rage in her scent thick enough to make Stephen’s nose curl, and he spared a brief thought for how the omega might find it.

‘What happened?’ Stephen asked, his voice monotone. He’d long ago learnt to keep his emotions out of it, knowing anything he said would make situations such as this worse.

‘What happened is another one of those bimbos you hired completely ignored my wishes and began doing things without my permission. I don’t understand why you think it’s so hard to-’

‘Mother, we talked about this. They’re here to help you, to help you be as independent as possible. However, they’re not your emotional punching bags-’

‘They’re supposed to ask me at least-’

‘And we both know your demands are impossible-’

‘If you just listened to me for once!’

‘That’s enough!’ A clap of hands interrupted them, and they both looked at the standing omega, his hands still clasped together as he stared at the pair of them.  ‘We’re all grown adults here, so let's stop shouting over each other and listen, shall we?’ He spoke to them as if they were of the same age as the child still sitting at the table, and Stephen stretched to his full height, outraged at the impudence.

‘What happened?’ His voice lowered, becoming sweet and coaxing as he addressed his mother, and to his wonderment her anger dissipated, her eyes wide and uncertain with the omega’s full attention on her.

‘I wanted to go for a walk. I haven’t left the apartment in a few days and-’

‘That’s because you made Evangeline’s life hell for-’

‘Nope, no interrupting. You’ll get your say in a minute.’ The omega held his hand up, silencing Stephen’s explanation, and he could see the slight smile on his mother’s lips, a genuine amusement he hadn’t seen in months. Forcing his outrage down, he shifted from foot to foot, gripping hold of his temper as he watched events unfold.

‘You were saying…’

‘Beverly.’

‘Beverly. Sorry, please continue.’

[toournextadventure]

THE OC LORE THE OC LORE LETS HEAR IT??

JUST LET ME KNOW WHAT KIND OF OC LORE YOU WANT BESTIE

But I'll give you some very basic life stories about birb!Reader's older family for fun 😌 if you wanna know about the siblings, let me know, I've got lots more 👀

Reader's ENTIRE adopted family is full of Outcasts, unwanted people, and those that ended up alone whether on purpose or not. It's constantly growing so it's always an absolute madhouse and everyone is either an aunt, an uncle, or a sibling. Chaos always ensues

Her Grandpa, for example, is a true European vampire. He was a blacksmith centuries ago and is the one who teaches Reader all of her "old school" skills. All of her swordfighting skills came from him and he's the one who made the sword for Gomez. One of his favourite pastimes is throwing pop quizzes at all the grandkids to see if they're keeping up with their Romanian. He'll be damned if his grandkids don't learn his language (at least they think it's his language, he has never confirmed a single thing ever in his life). When Wednesday comes around, he's pleasantly surprised at her intellect; they talk for hours in languages Reader doesn't understand

Then there's her Abuelita. She and her parents had come up from Mexico when she was only 4 or 5 and grew up in Southern Texas. They got scattered when she was about 24 and ended up on the East Coast where she met Grandpa and the rest is history (Reader is convinced she only speaks Spanish. Jokes on her, Abuelita speaks perfect English, but the joke has been going on for so long that she can't give up on it now). She bullies Reader even more when Wednesday is around, just to see the amusement on Wednesday's face when Reader gets frustrated

Auntie C is a bad bitch, we stan. She grew up in foster care in Seattle and was miraculously adopted by Abuelita and Grandpa. Easily got her PhD and is a neurosurgeon who does NOT take any shit from the kids, especially the older ones because they damn well know better. No spouse, no kids (except for the Family Kids), ALWAYS in her hoe phase, she is living her absolute best life. She also takes no shit from Wednesday, throwing her own threats right back; it's a wonderful bonding experience

Tio's parents sent him to America at 11 so he couldn't get drawn into the Colombian Cartel. Spent almost three years roaming before being found by Aunti C, who befriended him and eventually brought him home. He's a musician at heart and taught Nicky how to play guitar (he tried teaching Reader, and she's not too shabby, but not near as good as Nicky). Tio, more often than not, is the one who teases Reader most and ABSOLUTELY gives her all kinds of shit when he finds out about Wednesday

Pop probably has the most traumatic past. Growing up on the East Coast, his father (and uncle and cousin) died in a coal mine collapse. Not long after, his mom took her own life, leaving him alone. He was adopted out of an orphanage and became the youngest of Abuelita and Grandpa's group. He and momma were high school sweethearts that got married out of college (he knows more than most about Reader's struggle with her anger, and he's her biggest supporter). He thinks Wednesday is a good anchor for Reader to finally start trying to heal

Momma, strangely enough, had a perfectly normal life. She still talks with her parents, has one sister and a few nieces and nephews. Everyone teases her for not having trauma, to which she says "watch it before I GIVE YOU something traumatic to worry about." She mother's Wednesday in her own way and even though Wednesday will never admit it, she enjoys the genuine care from someone other than her own family

[madsworld15]

Part 3 of Heal Me, Hold Me, Make Me, Know Me

Fic 2 of my Asexual as Folk Series

For the next few days, Brian and Jennifer rarely left Justin’s side. The young teen remained in a coma, but with each passing day, his prognosis got better. On the second day, the neurosurgeon was able to go in and complete the surgery they had started the night of his attack. With his head injury taken care of and his internal bleeding getting better on its own, what remained was a waiting game.

Justin was no longer on the ventilator, and the cannula in his nose was simply there as a precaution, not that the doctors really felt he needed assistance with getting oxygen. His doctor told Brian and Jennifer, on the morning of the third day, that his brain activity had shown signs of improving. He was optimistic that Justin would come out of his coma very soon. That was hours ago, and Brian was getting anxious. Was there something wrong with Justin that the doctors missed? Is that why he hasn’t woken up yet?

He was tired of just sitting around; he needed to move. Brian needed to get out of the four walls of this hospital. It had been almost a full 24 hours since he had last left Justin’s room for more than just a bathroom break. Brian stood up and placed a hand on Jennifer’s shoulder. He gave her a small smile and then motioned his head to indicate that he was going to step outside for a second.

“It’ll be good for you. Take all the time you need.” Jennifer returned his smile.

Brian walked toward the courtyard near the ICU. The air was a bit chilly, and despite wearing a long-sleeved button-down, Brian found himself huddling against himself to try to stay warm. Having not slept in almost 15 hours, Brian was exhausted and didn’t know how he was going to properly function in his client meeting via phone in two hours. He’d tried getting out of all work for the last few days, but this meeting couldn’t be rescheduled because the customer wanted their ad to go live by the end of the week.

Brian pulled out his cigarettes and quickly lit one. He’d needed a smoke for days now but hadn’t dared to try. He didn’t want the doctors or Jennifer to say anything. Now, he was so stressed and exhausted that his nerves were constantly on edge. He needed something to ease the tension that was now a permanent fixture in his muscles.

A few minutes later, Brian stubbed out the butt of his cigarette and rolled the non-lit end between his thumb and forefinger as he thought back over the last few days. He’d never admit it out loud, but he hadn’t breathed easy in days. The idea that Justin could die had haunted his every moment. For reasons beyond even his understanding, Brian couldn’t picture a life without the kid in it. He threw the butt into the trashcan by the door.

The cell phone in his pocket rang just as he was ready to go back inside. He looked at the caller ID and saw his sister’s name. He rolled his eyes and almost ignored her completely. But she’d been hounding him for ages, calling at least four times a day for the last 4 or 5 days. 

“What do you want Claire?” Brian sighed and rubbed his temples with his other hand.

“I’ve been trying to reach you for days, Brian.” Claire sounded completely put out, but what else was new. His sister always had something to complain about.

“I’ve been busy. I would think me not answering your calls would give you a clue.” Brian was barely able to keep his own sanity in check at the present, let alone try to talk his overly emotional sister off her own ledge.

“I can’t take it anymore. Mommy is drinking more than ever before. She’s never happy, no matter what I do. I need a break.” Claire whined through the phone.

“So take one. She’s an adult. Let her make her own decisions.” Brian sighed before he hung up on Claire. Two minutes was more time than he’d really been able to handle.

Brian shoved his phone back into his pocket and opened the door. The warmth of the hospital was only a degree or two above that of the outside, but it was enough for Brian to welcome the change in temperature. He made his way back to Justin’s room, and the sight he was greeted with pushed all the air out of his body. There in his bed, Justin was awake and mumbling something to his mom, who was crying once more. The minute Brian entered the room, Justin turned his head to him. 

“Brian.” Justin grinned a crooked grin. Brian took a deep breath and willed his eyes not to tear up. 

“I thought I’d never hear your voice again.” Brian finally said as he crossed the room and gently took Justin’s hand in his own. Despite his efforts, tears fell from Brian’s eyes.

Justin didn’t say anything in response, just squeezed Brian’s hand. The two made eye contact, and Brian refused to blink. He worried that if he tore his eyes away for even a second, it would all prove to be a dream. He rolled his lips over his teeth and gave the smallest of smiles. Without turning away from Justin, Brian brought his other hand up to caress his cheek and spoke to Jennifer.

“How long?”

“He opened his eyes about five minutes after you stepped out.” 

Brian nodded his head and fell silent. There were so many things he wanted to say, but he didn’t know how. He cared deeply about Justin, and he knew that Jennifer could see that, but Brian wasn’t someone who went around talking about said feelings. Being raised to be silent but present meant that Brian had never developed the emotional maturity or communication skills to be comfortable with such declarations. Instead, he showed through his actions and hoped that people caught on. If they didn’t, well, that was on them, wasn’t it?

Justin smiled groggily at him and then said tiredly, “My mom was trying to tell me what happened, but she doesn’t know everything.”

“You don’t remember?” Brian looked from Jennifer, who looked away, and Justin, who shook his head.

“The last thing I remember was Emmett saying ‘Go Baby!’ the moment I signed up for the King of Babylon contest. I don’t remember dancing, I don’t remember after, and I definitely don’t remember whatever got me here.” Justin explained.

Brian didn’t know which he preferred, that Justin remembered everything about that night, including the viscous attack, or that he didn’t remember the painful, damaging events. Either option hurt in some way, and that was something he wasn’t used to at all.

He stared up at the ceiling as he contemplated how much he would tell Justin. 

“I remember everything. But I wish I could forget the bad parts.” He let go of Justin’s hand to rub both his hands down his face.

Justin’s eyes went soft, and he reached for Brian’s hand. “There were good parts?”

Brian bit his lip and contemplated how much he was willing to reveal, how much he wanted to give away.

“You won King of Babylon for one.” Brian shrugged with a smirk on his face.

Just then, Brian’s cell phone rang again. He was certain it was his sister again. So, he ignored it. When Justin gave him a curious look, Brian waved him off. There was no reason for him to leave Justin at this moment, especially not for his overly dramatic sister.

“And,” Brian paused, unable to figure out how to explain what he had said to Michael and why. “I pissed Mikey off by telling him we were together.”

“You told him the truth?” Justin’s eyes lit up, and Brian knew despite whatever reservations he had about admitting things out loud, he would do anything to ensure Justin’s eyes never lost that light ever again.

Brian shrugged just as his phone went off again. He wanted desperately to ignore it, but considering he’d been out of the office for days, there was now a chance it was a work-related emergency. Sure enough, he pulled it out of his pocket and recognized the number as coming from his boss. He looked up at Justin with an apology in his eyes.

“I’m so sorry, I have to deal with this. I promise I’ll come back later.”

“Don’t worry about it. You’re a busy guy.” What he didn’t say, but Brian heard loud and clear, was, ‘I’m surprised you have stuck around.’

As Brian exited the room, he heard Jennifer reassure Justin that Brian would be back. After all, he had spent the last three days there with her. But Brian knew, and he knew Justin did too, that there was no set time frame for his return ‘later.’ Brian had been ignoring that he even had a job for the last three days, but now that his bubble had popped, he couldn’t ignore the stress coiling up in his stomach at the state of his accounts.

He arrived at the office about 20 minutes later. Cynthia met him just outside his office, by her desk, with a look of apology. He had told her what had happened to Justin so that he could have some peace these last few days.

“I’m so sorry. I know you said you were taking the whole week, but then the art department lost the file containing the mockups for Liberty Air, and Ryder was fuming. He told me to get you here, or he would have your pink slip.” She grabbed his jacket from him and continued, “I refused, but in a show of dominance, he called you.”

“Cynthia,” Brian put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. “Breathe. It’s fine. I can come in for a few hours if it’ll make Ryder happy.”

“But, Justin?” 

“He woke up about an hour ago. He’s going to be fine. I need to focus on the Liberty Air account, so tell me. How bad is it really?” Brian walked past her and into his office. He immediately poured himself a glass of water and sat behind his desk for the first time in almost a week.

“Well, I’m pretty sure Ryder is seconds away from firing half of the art department. So, maybe you could say something?” Cynthia gave him a pleading look as she gently draped his jacket on the hook. 

“Why do I need to step in?” Brian knew he should, but a part of him, the extremely exhausted part, didn’t have the energy to even bother with it.

“Oh, don’t act like you don’t care. I’ve worked for you way too long for fall for any of that.” Cynthia chided him.

He was about to snark back at her; being around Cynthia had softened his edges a bit and made him feel normal for the first time in days when Ryder appeared at his door.

“Ah, I thought I saw you walk past my office, Brian.” Mr. Ryder’s eyes gleamed with enthusiasm. “Glad to see whatever had you away is taken care of now.”

Ryder’s lack of interest in his employee’s lives had never bothered Brian before. In fact, he had loved it. But, right now, fresh off a three-day stint at the hospital with little to no sleep, Brian was irritated by it.

“My partner isn’t going to die. Thanks so much for the concern, Ryder.” Brian seethed and gave his boss the kind of glare he reserved mostly for his interactions with his mother.

“Liberty Air will be here for the sit-down meeting with us in about 20 minutes. Where are we at with getting the mockups situated?” Ryder chose to ignore Brian’s statement.

Brian pinched the bridge of his nose and dispelled any thoughts he had of Justin. He needed to focus if he had any hope of keeping his job. Ryder was an understanding man, to a point, but if Brian fumbled the play with Liberty Air, one of their biggest clients, he would be packing his things.

“The art department said they would have a new mockup in your hand within ten minutes.” Cynthia addressed Brian directly, who in turn gave Ryder a look, essentially dismissing him.

Ryder left Brian’s office in a huff, saying he would see Brian at the client meeting shortly.

“So, when exactly am I supposed to see these mockups?” Brian leaned his head against his hands. 

“Right now,” Came a voice from the doorway. Brian looked up and laid eyes on the head of the Ryder art department, Mitch.

“Thanks, Mitch.” Brian got up and met the man at the door to go over what he presented. “Can we quickly change the size of the font to be one size bigger? Otherwise, this looks exactly like what the customer is looking for.”

Mitch nodded, and in a flash, he was gone once more, down the hall toward his shared working space. 

“I would rather eat nails than do this customer meeting right now,” Brian admitted to Cynthia. Of all the people in his professional life, Brian trusted no one like he trusted Cynthia. She always called him on his bullshit and kept him from burning the candle at both ends sometimes.

“I think Ryder is worried,” Cynthia whispered conspiratorially. “Rumor has it he’s trying to sell the company and is worried that if we lose any of our current clients, no one will bite.”

“Why is he looking to sell?” Brian asked her, finally starting in on his overflowing inbox. The start of a stress headache already forming.

“Not sure, but I’ll bet my money on money and retirement.” Cynthia handed Brian two ibuprofen before giving him a wink and walking out the door.

Over the next 6 hours, Brian flitted from his meeting with Liberty Air, which he managed to smooth over any bumps, to working on all the other client work that had piled up during his time off. He didn’t even look at the clock again until Cynthia knocked on his door. She was on her way out for the night and had wanted to check on him as well.

“Oh fuck. I didn’t realize how late it was.” Brian responded when a glance at the clock on his computer told him it was a quarter to 8 already. “Yeah, I’m leaving too.”

He got up, flipped off his computer, gathered up his client files, and put them in a pile to be handled tomorrow. Then he grabbed his coat and followed Cynthia out the door.

“You going to see Justin?” Cynthia asked him with a knowing look.

“I am going to call his mom and check how he’s doing. Then I am going to go home and sleep.” Brian admitted. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see Justin. It’s just that he needed to be well-rested for work the next day, considering all he needed to catch up on.

“If you say so.” Cynthia’s words held weight, and Brian felt guilty for not feeling bad about his decision.

“I just spent three days straight sitting at his bedside. He’ll be fine without me for one night.” Brian scoffed as he left her in favor of climbing in his own Jeep. He rolled down the window and added, “See you tomorrow, Cynthia.”

*****

In fact, Brian didn’t have time to make it back to visit Justin until Saturday afternoon, three days after he left to go handle his work emergency. He’d forgotten how all-consuming his job could be sometimes. Despite not making it to see Justin during normal visiting hours, all that he was allowed now that he was on a regular floor, Brian had called Jennifer every day to check in and relay to her his message of care and encouragement for Justin. He felt bad having not been to see the kid for three whole days that he brought him a gift. It wasn’t much, just a silly little stuffed frog wearing a shirt with sunshine and a rainbow on it that he’d found at the gift shop, but still, it was more than he’d ever done for someone else before.

“Did you talk to my mom yet today?” Justin smiled at Brian as he handed the teen the stuffed frog.

“Nah. I figured I’d be seeing you. I didn’t need to.” Brian plopped down in the chair next to the bed, “Why?”

“I’m getting released tomorrow. I still have to do in-patient rehab at a specialty care facility, but no more hospital.” Justin was so excited Brian didn’t have the heart to remind him that the rehab center would probably be very similar to the hospital.

“That’s great. See, you’ll be back to earning tips at the diner in no time.” Brian smirked. “And putting Warhol to shame in the art studio at PIFA.”

“I doubt it.” Justin’s mood dipped at the mention of art. “My rehab therapist said I’ll be lucky if I regain 80% function in my hand.”t

“The way I see it, that’s still a passing grade. Besides, I doubt you’ll give up at a measly 80%.” Brian winked at Justin and patted his thigh fondly.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do if I can’t ever draw again.” Justin acted as though he didn’t even hear what Brian had said.

“Justin,” Brian nudged the teen until he made eye contact with him. “Doctors always downplay things to keep themselves free of a lawsuit. They say things like you’ll never walk again, talk again, or draw again so that when you do, you’ll think they worked a miracle, and they can charge you an arm and a leg.”

“Trust me, you’re going to draw again. Don’t listen to his bullshit.”

[spaghettificationandpretzels]

A Voice Through the Nothingness Part 1

Series Masterlist

Contains: Near-death injury, angst, coma, disease outbreak, mild fluff, and more angst.

3.3 K words

Comment if you want to be tagged or follow #a voice through the nothingness

“Nothing is predestined. The obstacles of your past can become the gateways that lead to new beginnings.”- Ralph Blum

It was meant to be routine, nothing was supposed to go wrong, but it did, and now Frank was waiting in the hospital waiting room, covered in his best friend's blood because one of their rich clients lied to them.

He was going over the whole thing in his head, where they went wrong, what could have been done better, but every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was the bomb going off spitting distance from Billy.

And the noise, the horrendous sound of fracturing glass and Billy's screams flew around his brain from ear to ear like a sadistic butterfly. Everything washed into focus when Karen appeared in front of him, "Frank, what happened? It's all over the news, there was some kind of bomb."

Frank swallowed, "Hill lied about everything, and our checks missed it. He tried to come clean about it, but by the time he had shown us the accounts, it was too late. That fucker got Billy blown up over a few million bucks, who the fuck tries to pull over on the fucking Russian mob?"

Karen sat beside him and placed her hand on his thigh, "tell me everything."

"It wasn't on their books. Their biggest backer is a shot caller from Brighton Beach. Hill was skimming from the beginning. He said he hired us because they had been getting threats because they wouldn't merge with Telcorp. I don't know how the fuck we missed it."

Karen reached up and stroked Frank's face, "cash in hand is hard to track and if this player never showed his face, there's no way you could have known. Telcorp is one of the worst companies in America, you didn't look any further because his explanation made sense. This isn't your fault Frank, this is that shot callers fault."

Frank's face hardened, "don't worry, I know."

It took five hours for someone to come out to give them an update, by that time, the hospital had moved them into a private waiting room, and everyone was there, half of Anvil, Curtis, Mat and Foggy, David, Sarah and the kids.

Frank could tell by the look on the doctor's face that things weren't good, but he asked nonetheless, "how is he doc?"

The doctor took a deep breath, "your friend is still in surgery, it's likely he'll be in there for a few more hours. He had some deep lacerations to his face but we're hopeful that his vision is still fully intact, and it doesn't look like there is any damage to the underlying essential nerves or structures, so while he may still have numbness, he will be able to move his face."

There was more, "his jaw and throat are also fine. The breaks in his arm and leg are minor considering everything and set easy. The issue is with his brain, there's swelling and multiple skull fractures. The Neurosurgeon is still working to control bleeding and patching what she can, but right now, we're not sure if he will wake up or what condition he'll be in if he does."

Frank nodded, "thanks, keep us updated please?"

The doctor nodded, "of course, we're trying our best Mr Castle, someone will be out in a few hours when the neurosurgeon knows more."

****

It took eleven hours for them to put Billy back together, cutting, gluing and sticking for Billy to come out with his head wrapped in bandages and a tube down his throat so he could breathe. Sarah had taken the kids home to sleep, but no one else had left and there was a slowly growing pile of coffee cups in the bin.

The same doctor came out looking haggard but assured and despite Frank's sire muscles, he was up in a flash, "what's the news?"

The doctors didn't offer him a smile, but it wasn't a frown either, "we don't know. He has a brain injury, a very serious one at that, but, he did maintain his airway when we did a breathing trial. We have him in a medically induced coma right now to give him brain and body time to rest but the fact that he was breathing on his own, even if it was for thirty seconds, is a good thing."

The whole waiting room relaxed, "right now, we have no idea if or when he'll wake up, it could be in a week, it could be never. If he does wake up and has function, he will need significant rehab to be able to return to some semblance of normal life. We don't want to give you false hope right now, but so far, the signs are good."

****

Billy was in the ICU for a month. On day five, they brought him out of the coma and pulled the tube from his throat. On day ten, he started to show some signs of activity but a twitch here and there was nothing special occurring to the neurosurgeon.

They had taken shifts, a constant rotation of people in and out so Billy was never alone. The nurses even put a cot in the room so someone could stay there overnight.

Every day for a month, they spent hours hanging on the doctor's every word, watching the nurses turn him to prevent bed sores, getting updates from the physiotherapists as they worked on him to keep his body working and talking to Billy in hopes that it kept his brain active.

Come the end of the month, there was a sadness in the air as they moved him to the long term care ward. The doctors would tell them every day that they were hopeful, that there were tiny improvements here and there that showed he might be getting better but deep down, they all thought the same thing, he had a few months of the same care in the hospital before he was shipped off some else to rot and die.

Frank refused to leave Billy's side the day of his move, sitting there with a bobbing leg holding his hand while he lives on coffee and cheap hospital food. When Curtis came for his shift, Frank's leg refused to carry him out.

Curtis placed a warm hand on Frank's back and sat on the chair next to him, hoping to give him some comforting words, "this is Billy we're talking about here Frank, he's going to get through this."

Frank shook his head, "and if he does and wakes up a zombie? He's said it before Curt, he doesn't want to turn out like his mother."

Curtis shook his head, "when Bily wakes up, we both know he will work like a dog until he can leave here on his own two feet."

Frank swallowed, his eyes filling with tears, "I can't lose him Curt, he's.."

Curtis cut him off, "Billy's one tough motherfucker, he'll pull through, I can feel it in my bones." He gave Frank and hearty slap, "now go home, or I'll call Karen and have her drag you home."

That had Frank up, "alright, no need to call in backup, I'm going."

Curt stood up and wrapped his arms around his friend, "we're going to get through this, don't worry."

Five months later

Hazel sighed, her eyes heavy as she dragged her feet from her station in the peds ward to long term care across the sky bridge and down the hall. It's a journey she had made every day since she started working two at the hospital years ago. She followed the same routine each time, arrive at the ward, grab a coffee and take her break with her best friend, Lizabeth. 

She leaned against the table in the breakroom and rubbed her face, the double shift hitting her like a truck as she watched the people outside, "Who's the new patient? He seems pretty popular." 

Hazel sipped her coffee as Lizabeth spoke, "Willaim Russo, some hot shot military contractor. He got a face full of glass and a TBI in that bomb blast a few months ago." 

Hazel thought for a moment, "wait, does he run a company called Anvil?" 

She nodded, "yeah, most of his visiters are his friends, why do you ask?"

Hazel sighed, "because it's a small world."

"Excuse me," no response, so she tried someone else, "miss.." People were rude here. Hazel really didn't want to be late, she couldn't imagine it would look good if she didn't show up to get the keys to her shoebox apartment.

She was going to give up when a man caught her eye, he was handsome, almost insultingly so but even in his very nice suit, he looked like he had lived a thousand years without sleep. She stuck out her hand and waved, "Sir, sir, can I please have a moment of your time, I just need some directions." 

To her relief, the man smiled and slowed, "of course ma'am, where were you headed?" He gave her an easy smile, his teeth blindly white, 

Halez pulled out her huge map and pointed to a street "Newport Properties, they said to go to seventh but then someone at seventh said to come here, I'm about as lost as a bee in the dark." 

The man laughed, "you're on the right track. Get on the next train and then get off in seven stops, it should be easy from there." 

Hazel smiled, "thank you so much, you're a saint." 

The man smiled, "no worried ma'am, take care of yourself." 

Hazel walked away only to realise that she had a million more questions and if her track record was anything to go by, she wasn't going to find someone else to answer them. 

"Wait." 

He turned around and walked back over, "still lost?" There was a charm in his voice. 

She nodded, "yep, like I said, as a bee in the dark." 

He gave her a look, "how about I sit next to you, you can ask me all the questions you want?" 

She smiled, but her brain caught up to her good nature, "you're not a serial killer, are you?" 

He chuckled, "no, ma'am, I'm not, I promise." 

Hazel sighed, "I really don't want to take up any more of your time." 

The man shook his head and stuck out his hand, "it's no bother, ma'am. I'm Billy." 

Hazel accepted his hand, it was warm and calloused, "Hazel, it's nice to meet you Billy." 

The train arrived soon after and they got on, Billy pushing way to get them both a seat, "so what do you want to know Hazel?" 

She shrugged, "how do I get from Hell's Kitchen to New york General?"  

Billy held back his smile and pointed to the map in her hand, she passed it to him and he opened it across their laps, taking time to answer her questions as he showed her where to go. 

"You working there?" 

She nodded, "I'm a nurse in the peds ward, it's meant to be one of the best." 

Billy looked her over, she was beautiful, "yeah, I've heard that too. How long have you been a nurse?" 

She smiled softly, "ten years, I love it. What do you do?" 

Billy's face was a neutral mask, "I just got out of the Marines, I'm actually on my way to look at a property for my new company." 

Hazel's face changed as if she was trying to read his thoughts, "you're starting your own company, that's awesome, good for you." 

Billy smiled, "thanks, most people pick up the Marine thing." 

She shook her head, "I'm sure you hear thank you for your service all the time, most of the time, it doesn't mean anything. I'm guessing you're a bit sick of the platitude." 

For the first time in a long time, Billy was stumped, "wow, people usually aren't that honest. And yeah, I do get a bit sick of hearing it, most people don't mean it." 

Hazel huffed, "humans aren't known for their understanding." 

There was a sadness in her voice that Billy understood, "I'm sure you've been on the receiving end of the same thing a few times before?

She nodded, "yep, you can only eat so much cheap pizza before you realise that the pizza should be a raise and more paid time off." 

Billy laughed, it was hearty and filled with warmth, "don't I know that. Speaking of which, have you tried any yet?" 

Hazel shook her head, "I've been too busy, plus, everyone says to go somewhere different, and bad pizza is just sad." 

Billy pointed to the man, "Mama Magda's, you won't get anywhere better." 

Hazel's smile grew, "ok, I trust you, even though I only met you," she looked at her watch, "fifteen minutes ago." 

Billy shook his head, "what else to you want to know?" 

She blinked, "so much." 

They talked for what seemed like seconds but it wasn't, with the last chime, Billy's smile faded, "this is your stop." 

Hazel mirrored him, "oh, that was so fast, I though it was going to take ages." 

Billy shook his head, "nah. You better go, you don't want to be late." 

She stood up, and the train slowed, and then Billy pulled something from his pocket, "here's my number, call if you get lost again." 

He passed her the card and she smiled again, "thank you Billy, you're a lifesaver." 

Hazel sighed, the money fading. "I met him on the train on my first day in the city. I had no idea where I was going, so he sat next to me until I got to the right stop. I always meant to send something to his office to thank him but I lost his card unpacking, I'm glad he has people."

Lizabeth smiled, "yeah, it's good to see. How's it over in the land of little ones?"

Hazel chuckled and sighed, "great, we had one of those petting zoos in the yard today, the kids had fun."

Lizabeth raised an eyebrow, "and you didn't?"

"You know I did, there's no need to make fun of me." Hazel's tone held no offence.

"I'm not making fun of you, I just know how you get around poor little things in need of love." She could tell Lizabeth didn't just mean animals and children.

"Oh shut up Lizzy."

Three weeks later

"Can we at least move between wards?" No one was happy about the meeting, but the joy of outbreaks meant they had to.

The director nodded, "You can move between wards if you are fully vaccinated and follow infection protocol, but we ask that you use discretion and don't go where there aren't infections already. It might only be measles but we can't take any chances."

Hazel rolled her eyes and turned to her friend sitting next to her, "well Lizzy, looks like we need to bring back teased hair and rainbow pants because we're back in the eighties."

Lizabeth huffed, "we're on infection number two, I don't think it will be long before half the ward goes down."

Hazel rubbed her face, "let's hope it doesn't last long, they said it would be three weeks until we reassess, but who knows."

"We can only hope, there's only so many of us and you know how fast my guys go down without company." Lizabeth's tone was a mix of anger and worry.

Hazel sighed, "you don't need to tell me, maybe you'll get more staff?"

The look Lizzy gave her took Hazel all she needed to know.

Six weeks later

The walk between wards had become less of a way to pass the time and turned into a lifeline, a few moments away from the bright colours and loud noise to rest in the quiet of a place now devoid of anyone else but unconscious patients and staff.

Hazel and Lizabeth clinked their paper cups together and swigged their coffees, "so much for three weeks, it's looking grim here."

Lizabeth rubbed her face, "yeah, it's feeling grim too but we're trying."

Hazel drummed her fingers against the wall, "I know I'm not suppose to ask but how's Mr Russo doing?"

Lizabeth looked at her friend, she noticed how her eyes would flick to his room every now and then, "like the rest of them. My day is a mess of backsliding and fielding calls from people wanting to come and see their loved ones."

A few moments passed before Hazel spoke, "you need more people right?" Her friend nodded, "I'll come in, admin will be fine with me coming in as long as they don't need to pay me. I'll finish my shift then start a four hour volunteer one. Give me two patients and I'll read to them."

Lizabeth smiled, "as long as Russo's one of them?"

She knew Hazel didn't mean anything malicious by it, she just wanted to return the favour for helping her on the train. "Yeah, I owe him and I never got to thank him for helping me, better that that never right?"

Lizabeth chuckled, "sure. I'll get the paperwork for you when we walk by the desk."

Hazled smiled, "thank you Lizzy."

Two days later

Hazel took a deep breath, book in hand and walked into Billy's room. She had no idea where she was going to start or what to say, she felt kind of silly but nevertheless, she owed him something and she was going to pay him back. 

She pulled up a chair and sat by the bed, taking his hand in hers, "I'm Hazel, you probably don't remember but you helped me a few years ago on the train when I got lost. I meant to call you but I lost your card when I was unpacking and when I looked up your company but I couldn't find your direct line and I didn't want to be weird." 

Billy could hear her voice as her name entered his ears and her face flashed through his skull, "as lost as a bee in the dark." He wanted to respond, squeeze the warm hand in his, do anything to let her know he was there but he couldn't 

Hazel sighed, "I know you have people but they're not allowed here right now so I thought I'd fill in, not that I'm much of a substitute. I brought a book, I didn't want to pick anything that would bore you but I was worried about nightmares, so I picked Murder on the Orient Express. I figure if you haven't read it, working out who the killer is will give your brain something to do." 

Billy wanted desperately to speak, to let her know that nothing could be worse than the darkness he felt as the hours passed him. 

She cleared her throat, "I spend most of my time reading to children, so you'll have to forgive if you feel like you're listening to a Disney movie." 

"Better that Frank reading me the paper." Billy thought to himself. 

"It was five o’clock on a winter’s morning in Syria. Alongside the platform at Aleppo stood the train grandly designated in railway guides as the Taurus Express. It consisted of a kitchen and dining-car, a sleeping-car and two local coaches. 

By the step leading up into the sleeping-car stood a young French lieutenant, resplendent in uniform conversing, with a small man muffled up to the ears of whom nothing was visible but a pink-tipped nose and the two points of an upward-curled moustache." 

The story went on and Billy felt like he had a movie playing in his head, her voice faded in and out but he always managed to stay tethered to its strands until a buzzing sent him flying back into his withering shell, "I'm sorry Billy, that's my cue to leave but I'll be back tomorrow ok and we'll pick up where we left off." 

She squeezed his hand one last time and stood up, and Billy willed himself to move at least one finger, and to his despair, it happened just as her footsteps faded away. 

Part 2

[nospoonsbutknives]

Since I’m still not supposed to work, clean, or do anything but resting (well and walking gently) after my diagnostic laparoscopy, I am being driven nuts with boredom. So I started speculating about what condition I might have if I don’t have endometriosis, and since they didn’t remove anything I’m thinking pathology will come back negative (although something happened, there was scarring). One of the few possibilities left is fibromyalgia, and I have convinced myself this is what I have😂

We’ve ruled out structural issues (according to two neurosurgeons I have a beautiful spine), my brain looks clear, I’ve had MRIs up and down the spine and hips, I’ve had an EMG, I went to the Mayo Clinic, I’ve had different blood tests done … I think rheumatology is the only thing we haven’t pursued. So many doctor and hospital visits😭

And when we first started searching I wouldn’t have guessed fibro or endo. I had what felt like an explosion of pain near my tailbone which then radiated down my left leg. We thought something with my spine for sure. It never went away, and overtime it’s changed … a flare for me feels like having the flu all over with pain and inflammation. I get muscle spasms and twitches, pain in other areas (although the low back and left leg still have the higher pain score), brain fog, chronic fatigue, headaches … and I can’t walk unassisted, I use either a cane or I’m in a wheelchair. And every test comes back fine😂

I’m writing this all down because I don’t do a good job of tracking my symptoms. I undersell how much everything hurts or impacts me … I just want to be able to hike again, to prepare yummy food, go places with my kids, be able to think clearly … but here we are, three years into this chronic pain journey, still pursuing a diagnosis 🤷🏻‍♀️

If you read this far, excuse my word salad😂 I don’t want to bum people I know out, and I do try not to speculate or fixate on possible conditions. Just kind of spilled out today.

[clonemedickix]

Rating: M

Word count: 2.9K

Pairing: Original Clone characters Volte and Primer x OC General Lara Lin

Warnings: Implied violence, medical trauma, medical procedures, severe wounds, implied angst, blood

Excerpt Summary - The immediate fallout of Order 66 is felt by the Dragon Company, as they fight to save their General from their own deeds. Exploring the knowledge and talents of Chief Medical Officer Volte and the deep loyalty of the clones of Dragon Company to their leader.

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@blueink-bluesoul @523rdrebel @anxiouspineapple99

She opened her eyes on the new planet among her troopers and the dragon. There was a slight breeze; it ruffled small strands of her hair, and smelled of the ocean. The sun was setting in the distance, over a horizon of water stretching as far left and right as she could see. She lay on fine white sand, damp with moisture. She was on a beach, her men scattered around her, most still unconscious. Behind them was a grassy land, stretching back to a forest of tall green trees. The air was sweet with the smell of salty water and green things, the sound of waves gently washing onto the shore in a low rhythm. Baiulus gave a short bark and suddenly unfurled his wings, lifting off to explore this new land, but also to head back to Kaller to make a convincing show of distress to any wondering at the General’s status. Lara was so weak. It took all of her concentration and remaining strength to crawl forward and look at the surroundings.

A few of the men were starting to stir; she heard a few groans from around her. Faintly she thought, I bet they have monster headaches - I’m for damned sure no neurosurgeon. She herself was still bleeding, her wounds still open, now contaminated with the soil and rock of Kaller and the sand of this new planet’s beach. Man, they’d really tagged her. Guess that’s what comes of training them so well, she thought wryly. Lara stood painfully, leaning on the hilt of her sword, and slowly staggered to a rock nearby. It was a good height to sit on for the moment, so she could see everything a little better. The hand over her abdomen came away covered in sticky blood. She arched her head back to look at her shoulders - holes in the mail there too, with scorching on the edges. Her right shoulder was a mess, and her right arm was so numb it might as well not be there. She could see it was attached, but no amount of mental command could get her fingers to move. With a frustrated, desperate feeling she whispered “Fuck!”. This was all a fucking mess. It was her last coherent thought for a while.

She heard a shout that sounded far away and down a tunnel, and running footsteps from one of the clones. “General! General, dank ferrick!! Hang on, let me help you!” Hands suddenly fluttered over her and she drunkenly looked up to see whom they belonged to as she started to fall to the ground, all strength leaving her. Volte. It was Volte, her company medic. His face was half panicked and horrified at what had happened. Volte looked back over her head and shouted “LT! Primer! Grab my gear and get it over here! The General is hurt bad!” There was more assorted cursing from the men as more came to and realized they were A- not where they had been when last they remembered and B- the General was seriously hurt (and it was their fault). Men stood and looked at one another, asking what the hell had happened? Confusion started to pump through the group like their life blood. They saw the activity hovering near the edge of the sandy beach and all more or less gravitated there.

The sight that greeted them was of Primer suddenly sweeping the General into his arms and carrying her away from the beach to a softer grassy area about twenty yards away. She was limp as a rag doll in his arms, blood dripping down her arms and from her hands. She was white as clean snow. Her armor was laying in a pile near the rock, and there was blood covering the ground in a concerning puddle, with splashes here and there from where they’d jostled her to get her undressed. The men all collectively, internally gasped at seeing her wounds. She looked like she’d been in an explosion. The wounds to her abdomen covered nearly the entire surface that hadn’t been protected by the armor of her chest plate. There were a couple of grooves cut into her sides from blasts that passed close enough to clip her but didn’t penetrate. Her right shoulder had taken at least two bolts head on and was a bloody mess. Her left shoulder had been grazed; that at least was merely raw and not bleeding like her abdomen and right shoulder. They marveled that she was alive and wondered if she would be able to move her right arm. She had taken fire on her thighs as well, and one good wound to the left knee. There was dirt and grime ground into the wounds, especially the knee, and at some point she’d touched her face with her blood covered hands - she had red all over herself. God, she was completely torn up. The men felt a surge of shame and guilt at what they’d done to their beloved leader. They had all sworn her loyalty, to serve her up to and including their deaths. How could they have done this to her, orders or no?

Volte looked up from his work trying to stanch the bleeding and ordered three nearby clones to find them wood for a fire. And a few others he dispatched to find clean water. “There has to be a fresh water source somewhere nearby or those trees wouldn’t be here. Find it and get it back to me. Fill every canteen, GO!” Primer dug through Volte’s bag - he knew enough about the medical supplies to have an idea what was needed. He pulled out more bandages and searched through the satchel for bacta spray or saturated bandages. Lara coughed suddenly, blood spraying finely from her lips. Her hands flew to her abdomen as an automatic response to the pain and she tried to roll onto her side. “Wait General, we’re going to fix you up. Don’t worry, please just hang in there.” Volte’s eyes pleaded with her not to give up, while Primer looked at her from her feet, his eyes full of dread.

The groups sent out to find water and firewood returned as swiftly as they could and got to work building a warm fire nearby, while the water in canteens was stacked in a pile at Volte’s disposal, some put over the fire to boil the water within. They had to get her wounds clean; they couldn’t leave them full of dirt and gravel. Volte was terrified that even if he stopped her bleeding, she would end up septic and die anyway. Once the water had boiled, he threw some bandages in the clean water, then removed the packing he’d been holding pressure with and cleaned her abdomen with the hot water over the raw holes. He saw Lara’s eyes go wide in shock and she gasped - if she’d had more strength it would have been a terrible scream. Her lower lip quivered and he saw her teeth violently chattering from the pain. She was going into shock, even with their racing the clock to help her.

Volte and Primer managed to get the bacta on all the wounds and bound the worst bleeders up with the bandages he had. Volte sat back, looking at his work and then up at Primer. His eyes spoke volumes about the gravity of the situation. He was terrified they might lose her, no matter what he tried. He briefly considered rounding men up to donate blood to her directly, but changed his mind. A direct blood transfusion, without a cross match or screening was a huge risk. While all the clones had the same blood type, he had no idea what the General’s was. She wasn’t even human, though most forgot that when around her. His eyes flicked briefly to her delicate ears - her hair had fallen back from them to reveal the small pointed tips. No. He couldn’t risk a transfusion without knowing if they would match her. He would only be able to provide supportive care, and hope and pray for the best. Volte settled in with the feeling of frustration and helplessness often shared by his compatriots on Earth. One often had to hope for the best in situations like these; he would only consider the transfusion if they ran out of options.

Men were drifting out a little, finding a place to sit or venturing into the woods to find wood for themselves to make fires. They’d have to make themselves a camp; the sun was setting already and dusk was fast approaching. The collective mood was one of bewilderment and concern. They remembered firing on her, just after receiving an order. They remembered the dragon lashing out at the nearest clones, and then blinding pain. They all had some grade of headache, some holding their heads and moaning, needing to lie down, others just a vague discomfort they could work around. A few had dried blood on their upper lips and down the side of their faces from their ears- some had developed small bleeds from Lara’s hasty brain surgery.

When Boost walked into the ring of light provided by the fire at the General’s impromptu hospital camp, he saw Volte suddenly scoot to the General’s side, having noticed something that needed immediate attention, he had his fingers on her neck, feeling for a pulse. Primer sat up, asking Volte what was wrong?

“Her heart stopped. Primer, Boost, get over here and help!” Volte started pumping on her chest, compressing her blood for her since her heart had quit its job. “Boost, you watch the bleeding on her abdomen. It’s going to need reinforcement. Primer, you get over here, give her a breath when I tell you to.” Volte kept up the compressions, suddenly stopping at his count of thirty and barked “Two breaths now Primer!” He watched for chest rise critically and then immediately resumed compressions. Volte did another round, ordering Primer to breathe for her again once more, then he checked for a pulse. This went on for a good ten minutes - compressions, breathe, compressions, breathe, check pulse. Finally, her heart started beating on its own, and she was breathing, albeit shallowly. He sat back on his haunches, watching her, making sure she kept breathing. Dank ferrick, she was so pale. He may not have a choice about the blood transfusion if she was going to make it.

Primer watched Volte critically and finally asked “Well, do we need to do something else? What do we need to do, Volte?” He felt frustrated, terrified and angry. At himself, at this Lord Sideous that had given the order to kill Lara. He couldn’t bring himself to think about what he would do if she died because of their actions. He was so wound up, he was about ready to throttle Volte for not having the answers to his questions. He saw Volte look at him with slightly wild, frightened eyes.

“She needs blood, Primer. I didn’t want to try it because we are human and she’s… whatever she is. I was afraid our blood wouldn’t match and that can kill her just as fast as bleeding to death.” He took a deep steadying breath. “I don’t think we can deny it to her now. We’ve got to try something.”

Primer looked at his medic, realizing the truth of his words. He was stuck between his own personal knowledge of the General, and the rumors that had always surrounded her existence. Few knew for a fact that she was immortal, a true goddess. He struggled to believe she would actually die on them, though she gave every appearance of trying very hard at the moment. If she was as powerful as he’d always been led to believe by Cody, Echo and Fives, and Rex, then surely her body would be able to handle the blood donation from a clone. Primer took a deep breath, and said “I’ll do it Volte. Hook up whatever you need to, and I’ll give her the blood. If something happens, it’ll be my problem and no one else’s.” Besides, he’d made promises to Rex he had to keep; though more often he kept those promises for himself. He had to at least try for Lara’s sake; he couldn’t lose her.

Volte nodded quickly and grabbed Primer’s hand, placing the fingertips on her carotid artery. “If you feel the pulse stop, start compressions. The compressions are the most important part.”

Volte scuttled over to his pack quickly, dumping it upside down to find the contents he needed. He was in too big of a hurry to dig for stuff blindly. He called over to Boost, who was still holding pressure on her bandages. “Boost, how is the bleeding?”

“The bandages are getting soaked; she’s bleeding through. Want me to change them?” Boost looked up at the medic, his eyes full of anxiety. He wasn’t sure how exactly but he wanted to help as best he could.

“No, here.” Volte tossed more gauze packs at him. “Reinforce what you have there. Keep the pressure on.”

Volte continuing digging through the pile of supplies, looking for an IV spike and some venous catheters. He really needed another set of hands. Someone would need to take over for Primer if he was going to be the donor. There was a small crowd of clones growing on the periphery of their impromptu surgical area. Glancing up, Volte saw two men he knew had some extra medical training, cutting through the group of concerned men. He felt a surge of relief. “Turk, Dorian! Get over here. Y’all take over the CPR on the General if she needs it.” The two clones nodded without a word and moved to her side. Primer got up and moved to her other side, as Volte found the equipment he needed and stumbled back to Primer. Primer quickly took off the gauntlet and bicep guard on his left arm, rolling up the sleeve of his body glove for access to his veins. Volte tied a tourniquet on hurriedly, giving Primer’s veins time to build up a little stasis. The medic quickly cleaned Primer’s arm with a disinfectant, then reached back to insert the small cannula into a vein. He’d already connected tubing to the cannula, and with one hand he opened a small clamp to allow blood to flow back into it. He left the tubing down, to allow the blood to flow by gravity into a bag, and secured the tubing to Primer’s arm to stabilize it. As soon as he got some volume into the bag, he spiked another port on the bag with filtered tubing. Volte reached over and cleaned Lara’s arm quickly, then tied another tourniquet on her bicep, popping the skin to try and raise a vein. They were all very flat; she had bled so much. He was going to have to fish for a vein. Grasping the IV catheter, he delicately inserted it beneath her skin, going for a vessel that was at least visible and feeling for the exterior wall of the lumen. As carefully as he could, he felt his way with the tip of the catheter and felt the tissue give a faint pop when it went through the wall of the vein. Volte clicked the mechanism to withdraw the needle; he saw blood well back through the catheter and sighed in relief. He’d gotten it in with one try. Volte popped the tourniquet, attaching the tubing to the catheter now in her arm. He quickly allowed blood to start flowing through the filter tubing to the General. Volte secured the tubing to Lara’s arm as well; he dropped the level of the bag to take blood from Primer and then, clamping it off, he raised it above his head and unclamped Lara’s side of the tubing, allowing it to flow into her.

Volte couldn’t take too much of Primer’s blood at one time, but he kept track of the amount as closely as he could. He pulled two units, about six to seven hundred milliliters out, giving it to the General. While he was completing the transfusion, he heard Turk say to Dorian “Pulse stopped - start compressions Dorian.” Turk’s eyes flicked to Volte’s quickly as Dorian started pumping on Lara’s chest again, working to get the blood flowing that the medic was rushing to give her. Volte lightly compressed the bag, working to administer it faster. Dorian counted off his compressions just like the General had taught them, and when he got to thirty he stopped to allow Turk to give her two breaths. Dorian rolled right back into compressions as soon as the breaths were in. He didn’t stop until he got to thirty again. Turk gave her another couple of breaths and then checked for a pulse. “I’ve got a pulse. And… she’s breathing. Okay. We’re okay.” Turk spoke it more to himself, as if for reassurance.

Primer watched with a helpless feeling. She’d trained them for just about every scenario she could think of, but it was always to save themselves, to help their fellow clones. Lara had never imparted any education on how to save herself. She’d never considered that her own men would betray her. Volte finished pushing the donated blood into the General, then clamped the tubing off. He fiddled in this bag for a little package containing a small cap, and when he removed the tubing from her arm, he placed the cap over the catheter instead, to keep access to her vein. Volte reached over and removed the tubing and IV access from Primer’s arm, giving him a tiny piece of gauze to cover the site. “Volte, is she going to make it?” Primer was afraid to ask, but he had to know.

The medic leaned over her, placing his hand on her carotid pulse, then laying it gently over her chest. He could feel her heartbeat; it felt steady and stronger this time. She was breathing; it was regular and not ragged or shallow. He was afraid to hope much, but he felt there was a chance. As long as she didn’t reject the blood transfusion. “LT we will just have to give her time. If she doesn’t have a transfusion reaction, then it should help her. And if needed we will know we can give her more if she doesn’t have issues and keeps bleeding. But I think the next steps are going to be completely up to her.” Volte got fresh bandages from his bag and reached over to Boost. “Let me change them now, and somebody is going to need to give up their shirt to tie on a pressure dressing.”

Turk immediately pulled off his armor to the waist down, stripping off his shirt and handing it to Volte. “It’s not exactly clean you know.”

“That’s not the point. We don’t have time to stand here and hold pressure all night. We have to get a camp built and gather supplies in case she needs something. The bandages are clean at least.” Volte looked tired. All of the men took a breath, exhaustion and unhappiness starting to hit all of them.

Primer moved to get closer to Lara; he told Dorian to move back. “Volte and I will take the watch. Turk, you and Dorian help get the camps organized.”

The Dragon Company settled in for the night. They weren’t sure what planet Lara had brought them to, nor what dangers might reside, undiscovered here, but they all trusted her implicitly. She had done this to get them off that battle field and to some state of safety, at great cost to herself. Baiulus returned from his journey - wherever he’d gone to - landing quietly about 100 yards away from the men - a watchful distance. The men knew they were on thin ice with the dragon, the only thing keeping him from taking his vengeance on them Lara’s command from the now distant surface of Kaller. They would have to tread lightly around him until his rider was well enough to speak for herself.

Volte and Primer held vigil with the General through the night, Primer holding her hand like a mooring line to a pier, afraid that if he let her go she would drift away without their knowledge. His worried expression and eyes full of concern had caught Volte’s attention, and the medic wondered at the feelings clearly showing on his lieutenant’s face.

Boost went with Turk and Dorian to help organize the men. He had checked on all of the company, working to identify the dead among them, helping treat the wounded with their own emergency supplies. He knew Volte’s attention was completely given to keeping the General alive. The injuries to the clones weren’t that bad; none were at risk of dying. Nothing that a few bacta bandages wouldn’t fix. The injuries to their collective souls would be harder to repair, as all of the men kept their attention lightly trained on their General, all praying to the Force that she would pull through this catastrophe.

[screampied]

hayoooo vaygus 💋💋💋

i’m glad da hear that you got some rest 🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼!! omagaaaaa vinyls 😈😈, which one did you buy ? and plant food ?😭😭i didn’t know it existed 😨

i had a good day although tiring, but when i got home i changed the sheets, vacuumed and cleaned my room then showered and settled in my bed with my pou (lol idk if you see but the game pou (i bought a doll of it recently…impulse purchasing they say 😞😞) and then enjoyed some free time after all the exams🤞🏼🤞🏼

wouuuuyh, an actor seems so kewl and it suits you really good ☝🏼☝🏼 i have interest toward medicine too but the studies are so hard and long 😪😭😭 like i find the anatomy and just the medical sector so fascinating in general so i aspire to be a surgeon one day 🤷🏻‍♀️

otherwise, i’d reeeeeeally like to have a vlog channel (or a channel in general on ytb) and so TRAVEL. the first dream on my bucket list is to travel allllll around the world and also film it bc i loooove editing and stuff. i also would like to write more on tumblr specially in english, so, my other dream is to be bilingual 💆🏻‍♀️💆🏻‍♀️💆🏻‍♀️ and to keep on with tumblr, having a community on it would be a must ,LIKE, having anons or ppl talking and sharing their life seems so kewl too 🌚🌚 and i think it’s gutch for nowww

off topic but, what are you 3 top song of the moment? for me, the songs i have on repeat are :

-astrology, kali uchis (unreleased)

-she’s my collar, gorillaz ft kali uchis 🌚

-low, sza

those songs are playing on repeat rent free in ma head 👨🏻‍🦲👨🏻‍🦲👨🏻‍🦲also off topic but you really gimme SZA vibes ???? (/pos ofc)

well bye bye (i wrote a whole essay sorry😭😭😭) have a good day, day at work, a good night and dreams 🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼!

-🌟

helloooowww star 👨🏽‍💻💓

hehe yessss, i love anything vintage related so i have a lil vinyl collection — mostly the vinyls hang around my room and the rest i play while i work or write >.< i got the demon days vinyl by gorillaz and a night at the opera by queen, two of my fav bands of all time 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️ i wanna get a tame impala vinyl too bc currents is prob my favvv album ever

lel yes 🧘‍♀️ i have a venus flytrap and it basically eats bugs and stuff like that. its near my garden, plant food in general i usually buy things like miracle gro n stuff !!

i’m glad u had a good day tho !!!! my day was okay, yesterday i basically stayed inside and did nothing. i’m gonna visit some campuses later today maybe and i have a piercing appointment today also 🙂‍↕️ LOOK AT UUUU being productive 🤞🏽 this is inspiring me to do spring cleaning today (is it still spring aha) so thank u !! <3 aw i remember pou, i used to stave mine bc i forgot ab it. poor bb

ooooo a vlog channel would be so nice !!!! 💓 i kinda wanted to do smth like that too, like it could help w my speaking bc i hate speaking but its soothing to record urself and just talk yk? doing grwms or shopping hauls would be soooo cute. and same i wanna travel too, i hope to visit the states one day (im from the carribbean) but i wouldn’t know where i wanna go first :0

THANKKK YOU 💖 i know right, i kinda backed out of medicine bc of the long years of school you need for it. im okay w my current career path but imagining me as a neurosurgeon would be kinda cool 🙂‍↕️ it was greys anatomy that even made me so interested in medicine LMAO. ik how the show is nothing like irl but i loveee greys n had a little doctor phase for a while heh. but i wish u luck on ur writing + bilingual journey !!!! you got this my friend mwah mwah

top three fav songs would be — dark vacay by cigarettes after sex, pyramids by frank ocean, and evil by melanie martinez

ITS OKKAAY i always appreciate whenever u stop by 💓💓 you too love have a good day !! BISSOUS 💋

[lastlycoris]

The weekly meeting with Dr. Strange and Dr. Quinzel again. The only real benefit to this meeting is that I can usually sleep in as long as I want. That's nice.

Taking a box of my Pocky and wasabi-flavored potato chips along with me. Hospital security is getting tired of me ordering snacks through Amazon and asking them to leave it at the hospital lobby to the attention of myself. I guess they should be happy with the new developments. Amazon now refuses to deliver to Gotham after the warehouse looting from all the "eat the rich" violence going on here - and is still going on.

Bet that's going to end up as one of the questions - my opinion on all the violence going on. I guess it would probably be a negative. I can't actually leave the hospital, so I can't buy my exotic snacks. And from a wealth perspective, as a neurosurgeon, I am one of the rich they want to eat, even if I make near to nothing now. Government takes most of it as part of my sentence.

Truthfully, I'm expecting one of these new era vigilantes to hit the hospital soon. They don't seem that smart - or rather the underlings aren't. The leaders of "New Dawn" and "Eat the Rich" are good at pointing their fingers and getting followers to do the work for them.

Anyway, time for a nap.

[niuniente]

Do you believe NDEs are proof of the spirit? do you believe there'll never be a wholly scientific explanation to them? because after all, if this is caused by the brain... then everyone that nearly dies would get it. All I do know is that elders that ARE dying do tend to see their dead loved ones and angels. All of them. even animals do as well!

I don't have enough scientific knowledge or understanding to answer to your questions. I recommend checking International Association of Near-Death Experiences IANDE's research data.

Having said that, NDEs are proof of a spirit - which to me sounds a bit funny because I have no need to get a proof of us having a spirit. For me, we're spirits having a human experience in physical bodies, not physical bodies possessing a spirit. You run into this a lot in peoples' NDE experiences, too. And yes, everyone who crosses over will be met with their loved ones, including relatives they've never met in this physical life-time :3

Some good sources for NDEs, together with the IANDE's page, are following podcasts (which contain all kind of NDEs):

ThanatosTV (English version)

The Other Side NDE

JeffMara Podcast (contains other subjects, too, like aliens and UFO)

Heaven Awaits (the host had an NDE himself, which prompted him to make this channel)

Love Covered Life (NDEs and other spiritual subjects, like pre-birth memories etc.)

For books, you may want to read Dying to Be Me (Anita Moorjani), Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife (Eben Alexander), Many Lives, Many Masters: The True Story of a Prominent Psychiatrist, His Young Patient, and the Past Life Therapy That Changed Both Their Lives (Brian L. Weiss),

You'll find a list of English NDE books from here.

[sol-arium126]

Runs in the Family

posting my fic here so I have it saved somewhere other than just ao3

————————————————————————

Jessica is relatively early today. Quite an uncommon occurrence, given the small child she has to wrangle at every waking moment. 

Henry, her six-year old son, had finally passed his months long velcro sneaker strike and had agreed to wear something other than his Transformers crocs for once. It was going to be a long day and Jessica did not want her son to trip and fall in a hospital as busy as this, quite common when he wears those shoes. 

Nevertheless, here she is, standing in the lobby of the Neurology floor of Bronx General, Henry’s backpack slung over her shoulder, and her other arm around the boy. 

Speaking of being early, Josh is not. Technically, she told him to meet her in the lobby at 10:15, it’s only 10:00 now. Still, she has to race across town to meet with investors and then attend the convention in the early afternoon. Her husband, unfortunately, is away on a business trip. Which makes this whole plan all the bit more stressed for time. 

Nearing 10:20 now, Jessica has to keep herself from checking her watch every couple of seconds. She has always liked her schedules and preferred not to derail from them. She is just about to ask about him at the nurses station when a man, presumably a doctor given the coat he’s wearing, walks up to them. He has a beard and the brownest eyes she has ever seen on a human being; he has this calming presence  about him, something she can’t quite place her finger on.

“Good morning, it looks like you’ve been sitting here for a bit, is there someone you’re looking for?” The bearded doctor says. 

“Oh yes, I’m looking for Josh Nichols. He’s a neurosurgeon here. It looks like he’s running late for pickup. Do you know where he is?” Jessica says, slightly uneasy, she needs to be out of here at latest 10:30 if she wants to make it to the meeting with time to set up. 

“He’s just finishing up a post-op appointment, he should be done soon. Do you want me to tell him you’re here? I could pass along a message.” 

“If you could sure, tell him it’s Jessie. I know this work is really important, but I’m running on a tight schedule. Just let him know I’m here, with Henry, waiting for him.” Jessica sighs, hoping that Josh is done soon. 

“I could do that, oh by the way, I’m Dr. Oliver Wolf, I’m one of the Neurologists on this floor. I work with Josh quite often.” 

And with that, Dr. Wolf is off down the hall, Jessica hopes it’s in pursuit of Josh. 

A few minutes later, Dr. Wolf is trailed down the hall followed by non other than Josh. Who is sheepishly avoiding eye contact with Jessica. 

“You forgot didn’t you?” Jessica stares a deadpan at Josh. 

“Yes, I’m sorry.” 

Jessica sighs and hands him Henry’s bag. It’s Transformers themed, perfectly matching the Optimus Prime t-shirt Henry is currently wearing.

“Don’t forget, he usually eats lunch by 1:00, he can only have one juice box, and if he wants snacks I packed it for him in the front pocket of his lunch box. There also some coloring books and his puzzles that he likes to do. He is allowed to play on your phone but please don’t put him on there for more than an hour, he gets way into Tetris if you leave him for too long. Got that?” Jessica knows Josh understands, it’s not his first time baby-sitting, but a part of her still worries for her baby. 

Jessica bends down to Henry’s level, gives him a kiss on the head and a big hug. She waves goodbye and blows a kiss when she nears the elevator and enters it. The door close and she is gone. 

Big green eyes look up at Josh. He’s worried Henry will start crying, he hates being separated from his mom, but what comes next is a surprise for him. 

Henry wraps his whole body around his legs and says 

“Uncle Joshie! Guess what!” Henry says, excitement oozing out of his entire being. He has the biggest smile on his face.

Oliver lets out a relieved breath when he hears that sentence. Josh throws him a confused look, but then focuses his attention back to Henry.

“What?” Josh replies, and picks Henry up in his arms. 

“Mommy said we are going to hang out all day today! And she said we are going to have dinner together tonight, all of us!” Henry is giggling, much like a six year old would, being presented with such an exciting day. 

Josh looks at Oliver. 

Oliver, looked like he was going to vomit for second there, but now he just looks relieved. Josh wonders why. He’s not thinking too hard about it when it hits him. 

Josh takes a hushed tone before speaking. 

“Oh my god, you thought this was my secret love child or something didn’t you? You thought that was my ex wife dropping off a kid I never told you about.” Josh starts to laugh, a smile spreading across his face. 

“What, no, of course not.” It’s very obvious Oliver is lying by the way his voice hitches up and he scoffs. 

“You totally did.” Josh laughs again, the absurdity of that thought alone is hilarious. 

“It’s okay, it happens. That was my sister, Jessica, though we just call her Jessie. And this is Henry, my nephew.” Josh exaggerates the syllables to fully ingrain into Oliver’s head that no, he does not have a secret love child and that was not his ex wife or something. 

“Now little man, let’s get you set up in my office and let’s see where the day takes us. I’ll also get you introduced to some of the people I work with, how’s that sound?” Josh asks Henry. 

“Yay! Let’s go!” 

__________________________________

Once in Josh’s office, Josh sets up the small side table with coloring books and puzzles galore for Henry to play with. Henry gladly takes up on his playtime offer. He has one more surgery left on the docket today and he’s free to devote his entire attention to Henry. 

Oliver followed him to his office. It’s a little awkward before Josh makes the first move. 

“Guess I didn’t think we’d be doing meet the family this early.” A light chuckle escapes Josh. 

“I didn’t know you had a sister. I think it’s important to know about things like that.” Wolf is still a little shocked over the revelation.

“Is this about the secret love child thing? Or something more?” It’s a genuine question, Josh does not mean any hurt or malice with it. It’s natural Oliver is curious, Josh doesn’t really go around talking about his family very often. 

“Maybe, but I want to know about you. About your family, your childhood, where you’re from. I would love to meet your family and get to know them. I want to get to know you too.” 

“Okay. But on one condition.” Josh looks Oliver straight in the eyes when he says this. 

“Yes?” Oliver replies.

“Let me in too. I want to know all those things about you too. I want you to confide in me, as I confide in you. Are we in agreement?” 

“Yes, agreed.” 

“Good.” Josh replies.

Their moment is stalled by Henry coming up and tugging on the bottom of Oliver’s coat. 

“Excuse me, are you a doctor like Joshie? You have the same coat as him.” 

Oliver bends down to Henry’s level, meeting him in eye level. 

“What a good observation Henry, I am a doctor like your Uncle Joshie.” Wolf snickers at the nickname. “But I’m a little different from your uncle. I don’t do the surgery on the patients. But I do help people with brain problems.” 

“Well then what’s your doctor name?” 

“My name is Dr. Oliver Wolf, it’s nice to meet you.” 

“Like the animal? My friend Emily likes wolves, she says they are the best animal. I like Transformers better though. I think they’re cooler.” 

“Yes Henry, like the animal.” Oliver laughs, this kid is so cute and funny. He wonders if Josh was like this as a child. 

“Henry, are you okay staying with Oliver for a little while? I have one more surgery to do and then I’m all yours.” Josh explains, he hates to leave him right when he got here, but duty calls.

“I guess that’s okay, only if I get to follow Oliver though. I don’t want to stay in here. Please? Can I?” Henry pulls the biggest puppy dog eyes, there’s no denying him.

“Only if it’s okay with you?” Josh asks.

“It’s totally fine, come on Henry, let me introduce you to my interns.”

Oliver grabs Henry’s backpack and stands in the doorway, waving bye to Nichols. 

Henry excitedly grabs Oliver’s hand in his and leads him out the door into the hallway. 

Josh looks on with awe. He still has time before he has to get prepped for surgery so he takes the time to muse on Oliver. It was cute seeing him with Henry. 

Like he was meant to be father in a way. 

No, he can’t be thinking about that right now. 

They just started dating, it’s way too early for that. But, Oliver looked so natural, so caring, so, he doesn’t have to words to describe how it looked. Just that it was right.

Josh wonders what it would have been like if he had kids. Would he look the same way? Would he be as caring, as thoughtful and empathetic as Oliver is? 

He doesn’t think he’d ever know. 

He’s probably too old for that kind of stuff now, but he loves his niece and nephews. 

He thinks he prefers being the cool uncle anyway.

He didn’t think he’d get the chance to ever have a relationship with them, he was so full of shame back then. He closed everyone out. 

But now, he has the opportunity to be open. To form relationships with his loved ones. 

To be open about himself and be loved in return despite his faults. 

Josh smiles to himself. He might bring Oliver to dinner later, it’s probably time that Jessica finally met the man he’s been talking about for months. 

______________________________________

The interns are gathered in Oliver’s office. He had paged them, though he said they could come whenever they were free, it wasn’t urgent. God knows they are stressed about enough stuff, they didn’t need an urgent message on top of that.

When Oliver makes his entrance a minute later, they are shocked to see who is standing next to him. 

A child.

A young child, probably around 6 or 7, by their guesses.

Dana pipes up.

“Is this your secret love child or something?” 

Van is the next to speak.

“Obviously not, that kid looks nothing like him.” Van crosses his arms. 

“Maybe it’s our new patient, but you said it wasn’t urgent, it’s not urgent right Dr. Wolf?”

Ericka responds.

The interns very much get into a debate about the origins of this child. 

“Guys, quiet down, you’re going to make Henry nervous. And no Dana, he is not my secret love child, and nor is he our patient, Ericka.” Oliver says.

“Well then who is he?” It was Jacob’s turn now to talk

“This is Henry, he is Dr. Nichols’ nephew, he’s going to be helping us today while Nichols is in surgery.”

“Hi.” Henry is hiding behind Oliver’s legs. A little nervous from the cacophony of the interns debating.

Each of the interns regains their composures and introduces themselves.

Henry is quiet for each one but speaks after Van introduces himself. 

“Are you a transformer?” Henry asks.

“No?” Van is confused. Did he accidentally say something wrong? He’s not that familiar with Transformers lore.

“You said your name is Van, that’s a car. You’re named after a car. Transformers can turn into cars.” Henry points out matter-of-factly.

Van can’t argue with the logic there, however he shouldn’t trick this kid into thinking he’s actually a Transformer.

“I am unfortunately not a Transformer. But you are right, my name is Van, and that’s a car.” Van never thought about his name that way, but leave it to a kid to instill a new insecurity in him. 

“Okay, can we see the patients now? I want to see what Uncle Joshie does.” Henry turns to Oliver. 

“I’m sorry, we can’t go see patients, only the doctors and nurses can do that. We could give you a tour, the special tour.” Oliver replies. It isn’t safe to have a child running amok in the hospital, especially when there are a lot of sick people around. Oliver has an idea though.

“What’s the special tour?” Henry asks.

“Well Henry, it’s a tour, specifically for you. The interns and I are going to show you around downstairs, how does that sound? We’re going to see the garden, and the plants that live there.”

“Real live plants?” 

“Yes, real live plants, and I’ll tell you all about them when we’re there.” Oliver replies.

The interns, happy to go on a field trip, grabs their coats and follow Henry and Oliver out.

______________________________________

In the garden, Henry is full of wonder. He points at all the different plants and insects, asking what each is. 

At every turn, Henry is telling Van about the Transformers. He knows a lot. For a child in grade school, he sure can talk about Transformers. 

Nearing the end of their outing, Henry asks Oliver if they could take a plant to Josh. 

“We can’t take them from here, but I could show you the gift shop, I’m sure they have something for him.” Wolf reassures Henry.

His pager goes off when they are leaving the garden, Carol is paging him. 

“Ericka, you take point on Henry, I’ll be right back.” 

“Henry, I’ll be right back I promise, take good care of the interns for me.” 

Henry gives him a thumbs up and goes back to talking to Van.

Oliver quickly leaves, headed towards the entrance to the hospital.

The interns are left with the child. 

It’s awkward, save for the talking coming from Henry, but they don’t exactly know what to do with a child. Sure, they can treat and help kids, but it feels different that it’s technically their bosses’ nephew. 

Do they just hang out with him?

When does he eat? 

What does a six year old eat?

Chicken nuggets? 

It’s basically the same as a college student, right? 

Dana is the first to break the silence.

“Hey Henry, how about we go buy that plant for Dr. Nichols now. Are you ready to go?” 

Henry stops talking to Van and immediately grabs Dana’s hand.

“I’m ready!” Henry smiles at Dana.

It’s oddly reminiscent of her younger sister. The same toothy grin. The same endless talking about her favorite things. It’s nostalgic. Almost like she’s here with her. 

She wishes she could go back and cherish the moments more. She couldn’t have known it would end so soon, but she’s glad to have gotten that time with her. 

She’s here now, with Henry. And it’s okay. It’s going to be okay. She will be okay.

________________________________________________

The interns make their way back to Wolf’s office. With one child in tow, and one small flower plant, courtesy of Dana’s wallet. 

On their way there they run into Wolf, also making his way in their direction, probably going to where they came from. 

“Dr. Wolf, Henry has something to show you.” Van says.

“I got Uncle Joshie a flower in a pot.” Henry proudly shows off his gift. 

It’s adorable, it brings tears to his eyes how cute this kid is.

“He’s going to love it, I’m sure of it. How about we have lunch now?” Oliver replies.

“Can I have a juice box?” Henry asks.

“Yes, you can.” 

The interns and Oliver take their lunch in the office. Henry endlessly talks about his friends, Transformers, and all sorts of little details about his life. 

By the end they learn his favorite color is red, his favorite movies are Transformers One and the Trolls movies, and his mom drives a truck. 

Very riveting things to a child.

______________________________________

Around 2pm, Josh strolls into Oliver’s office. The interns are long gone, and Henry is quietly coloring in his many coloring pages. 

Upon seeing Josh, Henry springs up and launches himself at him.

“Uncle Joshie! I got you a gift! And I saw all these plants and bugs and it was so cool.” 

Henry scrambles out of Josh’s arms and retrieves the small flowerpot from his backpack. 

“Thank you so much. Wow, it’s beautiful, don’t you think so too, Oliver?” 

Henry is looking at Oliver expectedly, waiting for his response.

“I think it is beautiful, wonderful choice you made Henry.” 

“See, I told you he’d love it. He always loves what I get him.” Henry proudly smiles and makes his way back to his coloring pages.

Josh makes his way to the chair in front of Oliver’s desk and sits in it.

“So, how did it go?” Josh asks.

“Good, he’s a wonderful kid, don’t worry. He had a lot a fun, all of us did.” 

“Did he have lunch yet?” 

“Yes he did, and he entertained us all with his stories, it was quite interesting.” Oliver smiles thinking back about it. It was impressive how much this kid could talk and still be able to eat in between sentences.

Josh takes a hold of Oliver’s free hand and squeezes it. It’s a nice contact. Oliver squeezes back.

“Thank you, for everything. I seem to be thanking you a lot lately.” Josh sighs contentedly. 

“You’re welcome, don’t thank me though, the pleasure was all mine. That kid is awesome.” 

“Do you want to come over for dinner tonight? I’d like you to meet Jessica, formally. She’s been asking to meet you for ages, even before we got together.” Josh pursues the topic carefully, he doesn’t want to rush into anything if Oliver doesn’t want to. 

“I’d love that, what time?” Oliver replies.

“Around seven, Henry goes to bed around nine and I’m sure he’s going to want to spend every minute before asking you questions and things.” 

“Okay, I’ll see you at seven then.” 

They are still holding each other’s hand, sharing a moment. Nothing in the world could break them apart, well except for the small human who is now peering behind Josh. 

“Why are you holding hands? Are you married? My mommy and daddy hold hands and they are married.”

Josh, all flustered now, breaks the contact with Oliver to set Henry on his lap. 

“Uh, well, no, we are not married. But we are together.” Josh explains, trying to parse the topic in as simple a way as a child can understand. 

“Well if you’re together why don’t you just get married?”

“It’s a little bit more complicated than just getting married, sometimes people aren’t ready for that yet. And sometimes they don’t want to at all. Your mommy and daddy were together once without being married. Does that make sense?” Josh asks, hoping it makes sense because he’d rather not go into the total specifics.

“I guess, but does that mean you kiss and stuff?” 

“Yeah, we do kiss and stuff, is that okay?” 

“Yeah it’s okay, mommy and daddy kiss too, and they do that because they love each other. Do you love each other too?” Henry asks, it’s an innocent question coming from him, but it means a lot that he doesn’t quite understand yet. 

What should he say? 

They’ve really only said it a couple times to each other but haven’t said it in reference.

Then again, no one’s asked. 

It’s true though, he does love Oliver.

But why is it so scary to say it out loud, especially in front of his nephew?

He hasn’t really talked about his relationship with Oliver to his family yet, save for a couple late night conversations with Jessica. 

He decides, he’s going to be brave now.

“Yes.” Josh looks at Oliver. “I do love him. And I believe he loves me too. Is that right, Oliver?”   

Oliver can’t hide the flush that rises to his cheeks. 

“Yes, It’s right.” 

Henry pipes up again, “Well then you should get married.” 

“I think it’s a little early for that, but we’ll think about it, okay?” Josh responds, hopefully putting a pin into that conversation. He did not need Henry going home saying he was going to get married to Oliver to his entire family. 

______________________________________

After dinner, Josh is washing dishes in his kitchen with Jessica. It’s quiet, save for Oliver entertaining Henry’s questions. 

“So, how long have you been together for?” Jessica asks.

“Almost six months.” 

“Does he make you happy?” 

“Yes. He does, every day.” 

“Then that’s all I need to know. I don’t care what you’re doing so long as you’re happy. And if he makes my big brother happy, then he’s good in my book.“ Jessica says; and it’s been a long time coming. She remembers when they were young they were so close. But as he they grew older, Josh drifted, especially after high school. It was tough for him. She didn’t know why until she was well into to twenties, she thought he hated her and their younger sister. 

That wasn’t true, not even in the slightest, in fact, it could be argued he left because he loved them too much. He was afraid of what they would think of him if they found out. He was just so full of shame, he blocked everything and everyone out. 

But when he left the military, thankfully, he reached out and reconnected. It was nice, seeing her brother, seeing how he’d changed. He was more open and more carefree. It was like he had gained a new sense of life; it was evident then and it’s evident now. 

She’s glad he found his person. He looks happier now, more than he’s ever been.

“You know Juliana’s gonna want to hear all about your new man right? When’s the last time you talked to her?” 

“Oh don’t worry, she knows. She said my voice sounded different and she demanded to know who I was seeing. Nothing gets past that woman.” Josh laughs. 

“Are you bringing him to Christmas? Mom and Dad will love to see you finally bring someone home.” 

“I think I will. They’ve really come around, and maybe mom will stop asking when I’m going to have a boyfriend considering I have one now.” 

Jessica starts to laugh, followed by Josh. It’s a nice moment shared by siblings, once torn apart, now together, happy in this point in their lives. 

When the dishes are done, Josh stays back in the kitchen whilst Jessica goes to check in on Henry, who is still blabbering about to Oliver. 

He can hear Jessica try to coax Henry into going back to the hotel and taking a bath, starting his bedtime routine. He is opposed at first, but tiredness makes itself known and he agrees, not without one last hug from Oliver and Josh.

They say their goodbyes and off they go back to their hotel they’re staying at while in town. 

Now it’s just Oliver and Josh left in the apartment. 

“What do you say to coming to New Jersey for Christmas?” Josh asks. 

“Are you inviting me to your childhood home for Christmas?” 

“Yes, I am. I’d love for you to meet the rest of my family.” 

“Then yes, I would love to come.” 

Oliver pulls Josh close into him and hugs him. Holding him tightly, arms wrapped around his shoulders.

“Thank you for letting me into your life and in your heart.” Oliver says.

Upon hearing this Josh leans out of the hug and takes Oliver’s face in his hands, like he’s holding the whole world right there in his palms.

“No, thank you. Thank you for allowing me to open up again. I was stuck for a long time, but with you, I see now what life could be like. A life that I can be happy with.”

Oliver, overcome with emotion, surges forward and kisses Josh, wrapping his hands around Josh’s waist. 

Josh, in his fervor, kisses back with as much passion and emotion as Oliver. 

They break apart after a few seconds, both needing to catch their breath, but still holding onto each other.

“Oliver, I love you, in spite of everything and anything, I love you. And I don’t think anything will ever change that.” 

“I love you too.” Oliver is silent for a moment.  A yawn escapes him, it’s late and they’ve had a long day. “Bedtime?” Oliver asks, hoping the answer is yes because by god, he is tired. 

“Bedtime.”Josh agrees. “Come.” He leads Oliver by the hand to his bedroom. They both take off their shoes and the jackets they are wearing. He lets go of Oliver’s hand to flop down onto the bed. He taps the other side, signaling Oliver to lie there. He extends a hand, hoping that Oliver will get the memo and take it again. 

“Lie next to me and let me hold you tonight.”

“Okay.” Oliver says, voice barely above a whisper. He takes Josh’s hand and lies down on the bed next to him. 

Josh’s hair is already a little bit messy from the pillow, despite this, he smiles at Oliver. 

Oliver takes his free hand and brushes Josh’s fallen strands of hair out of his face. 

It’s awfully intimate. Oliver could spend hours just looking at Josh, taking in all the details until he recognizes him by sight alone. 

He loves his eyes. So blue, so shiny. He’d never really thought of the color blue that much until he’d met Josh. Now, he sees that particular shade everywhere. In the sky, in the plants around him, just everywhere. 

He’d never tell Josh, but he lied about what defining feature he decided to look at to recognize him. Though he does have freakishly large hands, (seriously those must be a liability right?), it was his eyes that caught his attention right away. He thought they were beautiful.

And his smile, god, Oliver can’t get enough of his smile. It’s like his whole face lights up. His eyes crinkle at the edges and his teeth show. He knows he’s truly happy when he sees that smile; a smile that seems to be reserved only for Oliver. It’s one of the most wonderful things in life, he decides, to see Josh smile.

They keep looking at each other, taking the other in, drinking their appearance as if they’d wake up blind the next morning, they’d want to remember their faces perfectly. 

“Marry me.” Oliver says, caught up in the moment. He realizes this and clamps a hand over his mouth. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry.” He covers his face with his hands. 

“Wow.” Josh says, also shocked by Oliver’s sudden statement. 

“Wow, that’s all you have to say? I think I just proposed to you.” 

“You think? I think your exact words were marry me. Is that something you really want?” Josh is still stunned, he hadn’t really thought about marriage before, especially this early in a relationship. But it seems with Oliver, rules are meant to be broken.

“Maybe? I don’t know. Talking with Henry made me think about it. I don’t think there’s anyone else for me. This is it. You are it for me. What would you want?”

“I can’t really give you an answer.” Josh doesn’t know what to say. Marriage has been a concept so foreign to him. It wasn’t even a possibility until a few years ago anyway, but still it’s just something he’ll need to think about. He continues. “I don’t know what I want, but I know that I want to be with you, here, right now. I’m not saying yes, but I’m also not saying no. I love you, I adore you, and I’m pretty sure I want to spend the rest of my life with you, but I’m not so sold on the idea of marriage. It’s a lot. I’ve seen the ways it ruins people who swore that they were soulmates. But, I’ve also seen people who are happy, who end up with that person until the end of their days.” 

“You’re right. I may have jumped the gun a bit there. But I wasn’t about how I feel about you. I do want to spend the rest of my life with you. There is no one else I’d rather be in bed with, working with, living with, doing anything with. You are my world, Josh.” 

Josh pulls Oliver into a deep kiss, every ounce of love and feeling into it. When people say fireworks go off when you kiss somebody, this is it. 

When they break from the kiss, Josh leans his forehead forwards onto Oliver’s. He kisses the hand he’s still holding and sighs against it.

“We’ll talk more about this at a later time. I would love to talk about it now, but I think we’re too tired to make any sound decisions. Goodnight Oliver, I love you.” 

Josh wraps an arm around Oliver’s middle, tugging him close and closes his eyes. 

“Goodnight, love you too.” 

They get to sleep, finally, off into the sweet caress of dreams.

[ace-4-fuck]

21:27, 9/1/23

I am 31. I am concerned for my health.

I don't post this for comfort or reassurance or ideas. It's just a statement. I am 31. I am concerned about my health.

In five days I am having spinal surgery. It's a procedure called a laminectomy of the lumbar spine. I have two herniated discs in my lumbar spine, a minor herniation in L4-L5 and a large herniation in L5-S1. Two neurosurgeons told me I need surgery.

The laminectomy was the lesser invasive procedure they offered. It's basically going in and removing the damaged portions of the disk at L5-S1. This is necessary because the damages has lead to cannel narrowing and direct pressure on a very important nerve in my lower back.

The bottom of my right foot is numb. My calf has pins and needles up the back. My knee feels like I've run a mile and over stretcher it. Someone is driving a rail road spike directly under my butt cheek into my hip joint and the pain is shooting down my thigh. I sometimes get cramps in that leg that make me want to cut it off.

The neurosurgeon who will be preforming the procedure tells me it is likely my symptoms will improve with surgery. But he promises nothing. He says that the main goal of surgery is to stop things from getting worse. I have seen cauda equina syndrome. I do not want worse.

My surgery is scheduled for September 6th.

I am 31. I am concerned for my health.

The pre-op stuff shows I have a high heart rate. It was in the 120s before I consciously vaguled myself to drop it to 106. It freaked the nurse out a bit to watch it on the 12 lead EKG. Nurses working in pre-op don't deal with people like me often. I remember when my resting heart rate was 88. It was only seven years ago.

My blood pressure was good. 126/84. Near perfect with a manual cuff because automatic cuffs don't work on me.

My lab work was not fine.

I have a white count due to a UTI. I've had this UTI since late July. This UTI is what caused two minor herniations my PCP was treating with NSAIDs, steroids, and muscle relaxers into something two neurosurgeons, working for completely different hospital systems independently of one another, insist needs surgery. This UTI has survived two weeks of Keflex. I'm now on five days of Bactrim. I want this antibiotic to work.

I also am registering as pre-diabetic on the blood work. Yes, the white count will influence that. But I'm 31. There's family history of diabetes. I've seen DKA, ESRD, and the stress plain diabetes can cause someone. I don't want the 'pre-diabetic' that no one has officially labeled me as to become 'type two diabetes'.

My platelet count was high. As someone whose biggest fears walking into surgery are drugs wearing off early and possibly throwing a clot in the aftermath, I did not need this added concern.

I am 31. I am concerned for my health.

I have herniated discs in my lumbar spine, migraines, asthma, to many cavities in my teeth, insomnia, ADHD, hemorrhoids, and major depression. My surgical history includes wisdom tooth removal, a coloscopy, and soon a laminectomy.

I am 31.

Fuck I am scared.

[arunalaya]

How to Find the Best Spine Clinic Near Me

Back pain is a common health issue that affects millions of people worldwide. It can be caused by a variety of factors, such as poor posture, injury, or underlying medical conditions. If you are experiencing back pain, you may need to seek treatment from a spine clinic. In this article, we will discuss some tips for finding the best spine clinic near you.

Look for Spine Specialists

When searching for a spine clinic, it is important to look for specialists who are experienced and qualified in treating spine-related conditions. The spine is a complex part of the body, and treating spine-related problems requires specialized knowledge and skills. Look for clinics that have spine specialists, such as orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, or chiropractors, who have undergone extensive training in spine care.

Check Credentials

The credentials of the healthcare professionals who work in the spine clinic are also important factors to consider. Make sure that the doctors, surgeons, and therapists have the necessary qualifications and experience in treating spine-related conditions. You can check the clinic’s website or contact them directly to find out if the specialists are licensed, board-certified, and have specializations in areas such as spine surgery, physical therapy and rehabilitation, or pain management.

Consider the Clinic's Reputation

A spine clinic's reputation is an important factor to consider when choosing one. You can look for online reviews, testimonials, and ratings from patients who have used the clinic's services in the past. You can also check the clinic's website to find out if they have won any awards or received recognition for their services. A good reputation can give you confidence that the clinic you are considering has a track record of providing high-quality care.

Evaluate the Services Offered

You need to consider the services that the spine clinic offers. The clinic should offer a range of services that cater to different needs and conditions. These services may include diagnostic tests, physical therapy and rehabilitation, spine surgery, and pain management. You can check the clinic's website to find out what services they offer, and whether they have the necessary equipment and facilities to provide these services effectively.

Check Location and Accessibility

The location and accessibility of the spine clinic are important if you are experiencing back pain. In many cases, back pain can limit your mobility, making it difficult to travel long distances. Therefore, you should look for a clinic that is conveniently located and accessible by public transport or car. You can use online maps and directories to search for spine clinics near you. You should also consider the clinic's hours of operation, as you may need to schedule appointments around your work or personal commitments.

Ensure Insurance Coverage

Back pain and spine-related conditions can be expensive to treat. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the spine clinic you choose accepts your insurance plan. You can check with the clinic directly or contact your insurance provider to confirm the coverage details. You should also ask about payment plans or financing options if you do not have insurance or if your plan does not cover the entire cost of treatment.

For More Info:-

Paralysis

Spine clinic near me

[astrahospital1]

Most Common Neurosurgery Procedures

What is Neurosurgery?

Neurosurgery is one of the most commonly performed and complex among different types of surgeries. This surgery is associated with the prevention and treatment of different types of disorders connected with our nervous system. The medical experts who specialise in performing these surgeries are referred to as Neurosurgeons.

When we talk about Neurosurgery, many people associate it with the brain. However, though this is partly true, according to Neurologists in Bangalore, it involves much more than just the brain.

Best Neurologist in Bangalore is of the opinion that though Neurosurgery procedures can be performed on both adults and Paediatric patients, the appropriate decision is taken based on the nature of the disorder, disease or type of injury. The good news is that many modern invasive and non-invasive surgical procedures with the use of technology have made Neurosurgery simple and more successful.

Common types of Neurosurgery procedures performed

Some of the most commonly performed neurosurgeries according to seasoned Neurosurgeons working with Astra Hospital, widely regarded as the best Superspeciality hospital in Bangalore include the following:

Anterior Cervical Discectomy: Doctors in Astra Hospital indicate that this surgery is recommended for patients who present themselves with symptoms of a herniated disc. The pain can get unbearable after a certain period of time and the only successful option is Anterior Cervical Discectomy.

Craniotomy: According to vastly experienced brain doctors in Bangalore, it is unfortunate that the number of casualties due to brain stroke or brain injury is increasing day by day. A craniotomy is a complex procedure which is conducted only by vastly experienced surgeons only and there is no comprise on the health of the patient. Efficient Neurologists working at Astra Hospital, the best brain rehabilitation centre near me indicate that these are critical surgeries which need to be taken up without any compromise or loss of time to prevent loss of life.

Laminectomy: A team of versatile neurosurgeons working with Astra Hospital, the best hospital for Neurosurgery in Bangalore describes Laminectomy as a small invasive procedure which works brilliantly on patients suffering from back pain.

Chiari Decompression: Disorders relating to instability found in patients due to variations in the functioning of the brain are cured through this surgical intervention. Chiari decompression is a very safe and highly recommended procedure for treating this condition.

Lumbar Puncture: Seasoned Neurosurgeons working for Astra Hospital, the best brain rehabilitation centre near me, suggest that Lumbar puncture is still a very effective surgery when it comes to treating that portion of your brain which creates fatal seizures.

Spinal Fusion: This procedure is used to treat traumatic injuries caused to the spine. It is suggested by neurosurgeons to keep the patient’s spine in a stable position.

[a-hazbin-spider]

At first he was thinking he was asking for too much for something that would take under two hours. Maybe Vox was still powerful enough to be stingy? It wasn’t until he starts questioning the decision that Angel understands it was lowballing it. It isn’t like he usually gets to ask for anything. Even then, if Vox wanted it so secretive, maybe it was better, he can’t imagine Val wouldn’t notice an added sum for himself, or whatever else might’ve been on the table. Perhaps it could be pushed off that he thought of that- but it was before Vox had ever said a word of it being secret. He hopes under the scrutinizing red light of those eyes that he can’t see what must be a pink starting to color his cheeks. It sure feels like they’re burning. Vox is going to guess quite easily that he’s acting like some sad stray animal, wanting what he asked for over anything.

A silent breath is taken through his nose, the only indication that he’s trying to collect himself and stay cool being the slightly larger puff of his chest. He’s got this. He’s an actor! Nobody can tell the difference between his pain and pleasure on screen, naturally he can make someone think he doesn’t want to crawl in a hole and die twice. “Yeh, I don’t think ya understand how rare it is I get to do any wining or dining. I’m not askin’ for a date, don’t get me wrong, it just sounds nice. Thought two hours oughta pay for that.”

Can he pass that off as expensive taste? Maybe. Truth was he was grossly underestimating how much two hours was. Or- how big this task was as far as weight. Took it like maybe helping his brother with a car at the dead of night, and being offered to share a sandwich after the fact. What the two men had in common- each were able to make Angel feel very simple. For now, Vox isn’t making him feel berated or stupid, but Vox was always so smart and advanced. At least when simple solutions were all they needed, he was the right guy for the job!

“Take-backsies, he says.” An amused murmur is let out under his breath while he leans in closely. “I understand. Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.” All eight eyes hold a focus, and he is just as grateful for the sort of nostalgic familiarity with an admittedly strange task, as he is to have the embarrassment banished to the back of his mind. His claws are careful, but, in the mess of overlapped and otherwise displaced wiring, they glide into the underside, feeling for any give while he stares intently, searching for any open ports in the meantime.

Softly into his focus, a near inaudible chittering can be heard while the task is at hand, and wires are combed through as one might over hair, or pages of an old book. And with just as much tender care, too. These were, after all, rather important, or so one would think.

“I ain’t know a whole lot about computers.” He starts, yep that’s so reassuring isn’t it? “But I’m guessing these match their port in some way, right? I’m just gonna need to pair them up..?” Wishful thinking? Probably. What are the chances that a body fucking labels itself? It isn’t like the hand bones show their order, and make a handy matching color or number by each fragment and joint. This probably was like rearranging hands and feet. Half the bones- and nerves- are in there. That’s why so much torture involves breaking them! Only… wait this was literally his head. This is his brain isn’t it? That is… so much worse. At least thoughts like that keep him from messing up. Neurosurgeons must have balls of solid titanium.

One good thing about Angel’s body, it had so many fingers, that allowed him to start and keep holding any finds while he continues to hunt down the rest. Each area can be bookmarked essentially. Makes the time hunting less painstaking than it already was. “A’right… that oughta do it… Er. What’s next?”

[ alone ] for one muse to find the other trying to treat themselves /and or

[ drugged ] for one muse to take care of the other while they’re delirious

@a-hazbin-spider ?

[ alone ] from the injury/hurt prompts list!

~

Vox usually likes to be alone after a fight; to lick his wounds in private, so to speak. He has a habit of walling himself off in his sanctum, free to keep tabs on everyone while secure in the knowledge that no one could see him. The solemn darkness of the space was the next best thing to real reassurance that things were going to be okay, and much easier to get ahold of.

He's careless, perhaps. Maybe too injured to think as he stumbles inside, a prominent trail of black oil and bright blue coolant marking his path from the nearest CCTV camera to the door. He forgets to lock the door on the way in.

So it's a nasty shock some time later when the door slides open in the middle of his work. The bright glare of the hallway floods in, illuminating both his headless form and his TV on the table in front of him, its case pulled open and innards exposed for repairs. In lieu of his normal vision, each of the many screens around all swivel to look at the intruder, all displaying a single, familiar red eye.

Vox snarls as he recognizes the silhouette, sinking claws into the table. His speakers blow out and warp his voice as his audio processors fail to keep up.

"What the fuck are you doing here, Angel Dust?"