#OTC Medication Uses

[masonrxpharmacy]

When it comes to managing health, understanding the differences between over-the-counter medications (OTC) and prescription medications is crucial. Each type of medication serves distinct purposes, comes with specific regulations, and is suitable for various health concerns. In this blog, we will explore the medication differences, advantages and disadvantages of both categories, and provide essential medication safety tips to help you make informed choices.

What Are Over-the-Counter Medications?

Over-the-counter medications are drugs that can be purchased without a prescription from a healthcare provider. They are typically used to treat common, mild health issues, such as:

Pain Relief: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen and acetaminophen are widely used for headaches, muscle aches, and fever.

Allergy Relief: Antihistamines like diphenhydramine and loratadine help relieve allergy symptoms.

Cold and Flu Remedies: Cough suppressants, decongestants, and expectorants fall into this category.

Digestive Health: Medications for heartburn, indigestion, and constipation, like antacids and laxatives, are also OTC options.

Advantages of Over-the-Counter Drugs

Accessibility: OTC medications are readily available at pharmacies, grocery stores, and online, making them convenient for self-treatment.

Cost-Effective: In general, OTC vs. prescription costs are lower, which makes them an attractive option for patients looking to manage minor ailments without incurring high healthcare costs.

No Prescription Required: Patients can make their own decisions regarding the use of OTC medications without needing to consult a healthcare provider, promoting autonomy in healthcare choices.

Disadvantages of Over-the-Counter Drugs

Self-Diagnosis Risks: The availability of OTC drugs can lead to self-diagnosis and misuse. Patients may overlook serious health conditions that require professional evaluation.

Side Effects and Interactions: Even OTC medications can cause side effects or interact with other medications. Understanding medication labels is crucial for safe use.

[homiro]

Thanks potat again for the kindness. Got them. They're not exactly bulky noise cancelling headphones but they cancel noise enough and they're Grundig which is a brand I trust so let's hope it doesn't disappoint me. I had and still have an MP4 player from this brand that only broke because it fell and the buttons were smashed but when I plugged it in, it was still running smoothly and still are to this day. I suppose I could take it somewhere that works with analog technology and see if they can repair it because even the battery life was amazing. It lasted like three days of several hours of use and the sound quality was great. Not to ride the brand too much since I'm not being paid lmao but yeah I like the brand so I hope these will last. They seem sturdy enough and were within the budget so that's a plus. Happy new year everyone.

(Note: I have chronic ear infections due to sensory issues and constantly plugging my ears and needed non invasive mildly noise cancelling headphones but didn't have money for them until my golden angel stepped in and said I gotchu. I couldn't be more thankful and I'm sorry for the stupid post. Things get wild when you're stressed and in pain and uhh the infection isn't gone yet but I've been keeping it under control with topical antibiotic cream so it's not hurting anymore and doesn't seem to have spread past the ear so I guess that's good seeing that I don't want to hurt my family by you know dying)

[treecakes]

this migraine that keeps coming back after a few hrs each day that i’ve had this past week and a half is making me nervous for the digs i have starting tomorrow. i want to enjoy them they’re the first two real archaeology field schools i will have participated in and i’m really excited but i’ll have absolutely no fun digging in the sun for hours if i have a migraine every single day.

[snarp]

If I have to spend $100 for a one-month supply of prescription eyedrops due to COVID-induced damage to my meibomian glands then I am sending the bill to the White House.

[thepolyamorouspolymath]

Adderall addiction is a very real thing -- for people who don't have ADHD. For people who do, you don't get high, you get stable (it's like benzos that way, if you have anxiety a Xanax will not make you high but you will suddenly not hear your heartbeat).

It's still used for the same reason benzos are (they too are very addictive).

BECAUSE THEY FUCKING WORK BETTER THAN ANYTHING ELSE.

I do think ADHD may be climbing due to life factors, however every bipolar person I've ever met had a fucked up childhood so guessing there's a correlation there too... the reason WHY an illness exists is not a reason to not fucking treat it.

Also, the opiod crisis is because we overregulate opiods, not underregulate them. I know because lots of western nations sell mild opiods OTC, and everyone is FINE. Almost like every study of the last forever that said addiction is caused more by environment and should therefore be treated that way was right rather than the guy who said addiction should be prayed away (sound familiar?) a fucking century ago.

And you know what another super addictive medication is? Insulin. Seriously, you'll die if you stop! That's how stupid it is to worry about whether you'll be dependent on something you will need forever bc you have a forever condition anyway.

I fucking knew it, I SAID it: they're making ADHD people the next culture war targets. They will 'just ask questions' until we lose every scrap of ground we've gained in the last decade and more. We may not quite inspire the same level of hatred as a sexual minority, but we can very easily be made to inspire disdain and that also works.

They will strip us of our accomodations and our medications and try to stifle any sense of shared identity, and if that kills some of us, oh well. So long as it fuels another outrage cycle, fine.

So many of the tropes they've been using on trans people work extremely well on ADHD people too! "There are too many of these people suddenly! It must be a fad! It spreads through friend groups! And online! People are going private for diagnoses and that's bad! They are using pOwERfUl medical interventions and we think it's freaky!"

I saw the first ripples of this in terf circles about two years ago. And of course it's spread.

6% of British ADHD people lost their jobs in the last year thanks to the meds shortage. SIX PER CENT! And that just made these ghouls go "ooh, tasty, what else can we do?"

Recently an 'expert' was on the BBC saying people see ADHD diagnosis as a "golden ticket." Laurence Fox has been ranting that the condition doesn't exist and threatening "'you won't poison my child's body [with ADHD meds] against my consent"

People need to be aware this is going to get worse. Maybe, if we're lucky, it won't get really bad. But it's going to get worse than it is now.

[mortalityplays]

talking about impenetrable accents/dialect just reminded me. when I was in Milan a couple of years back I was staying in this little rathole hotel and I had the biggest fucking migraine, so I was like non c'è problema I'll just go buy painkillers. of course every pharmacy on the map in a three block radius was closed, so my stupid ass just starts wandering around trying to figure out on the fly if you can get OTC from supermarkets in italy.

I walk into this little everything store (to my foreign eyes the kind of place that back home could sell you a bunch of carrots, a 6-pack of beer, pantyhose, bleach and a screwdriver set) and I see some household basics in the back but not what I need. with the confidence of a person who is only in the city for 3 days because he got bored and packed a bag and booked the cheapest flight available the week before (<= MENTAL ILLNESS), I was like no worries I know some italian, I can just ask.

I grab a bottle of water, walk up to the counter, and I'm like Ciao, hai il paracetamolo? And the guy is like che, and I'm like paracetamolo. Per la mia testa. And he's like che?

This is where I would have said 'aspirina' except I can't take aspirin for medical reasons, or 'antidolorifico' except I don't know that word and I've got no phone data for google translate and also I'm stupid. So in my fucked up leith-glasgow-italian accent I'm like paaa-ra-cetta-mollll-ooo. He's like ohhh bene, bene, and he calls another guy out of the back and asks him to go get something. Other guy then walks out of the store into the street, and before I can be like hey, che la fuck, he comes back and hands me a huge bundle of herbs.

At this point I'm like okay this entire interaction has been a bust, but these guys have been very nice and patient and they're both smiling happily at me because they've been of service, so I'm like ahh perfetto, grazie, pay them a couple of euros and leave.

EVENTUALLY I find a pharmacy that's open, and my head is fucking killing me, and my phone still isn't connecting, and now I have this small shrubbery poking out of my coat pocket, so I don't even bother looking around the shelves. I just walk straight to the counter and I'm like uhh ciao, scusi. And hearing my nightmare of an accent the guy answers in english and I'm like thank christ, do you please have paracetamol. Not aspirin, I can't take aspirin. And he's like yeah yeah hold on, goes into the back, comes out with what I need.

Only when he comes out he gives me this look, and then he starts laughing. And then he pretends he's not laughing and rings me up and I pay, and as I'm leaving I can see him losing it. But I don't care, my head is going to explode, I'm going back to the rathole to close the blinds and fall comatose for four hours.

When I get back to my hotel room I take off my coat and remember the huge bouquet of herbs in my pocket. They smell amazing, and I'm like I'm pretty sure this is parsley in which case I can just get some tomatoes and mozzarella later and make it work. but since I have no idea what that interaction was, I want to make sure. I bring out my phone to get a visual reference of what parsley leaves look like, and because I was using it for google translate earlier I put 'parsley' in the wrong box like a dope and translate it to italian.

prezzemolo

I wish I could have been the pharmacist in the moment he looked at my tired pissed off anglophone ass, heard me say 'paracetamol' in my fucked up accent, and turned around saw what was in my pocket. I'd have lost my shit too.

[slimywren]

twitter parxies are freaking out and trying to redefine what straight edge means

[screambirdscreaming]

Look, I get where you're coming from, but I think you've swung too far in the other direction here. NSAIDs and acetaminophen are, in most places as far as I'm aware, the only options available for non-prescription pain medications. They're available without prescription because, if used infrequently and within the recommended dosages, they are relatively safe and low in side effects. HOWEVER. it is very difficult to get a prescription for pain medication, and even if you do, those medications also come with dose limits and side effects. So the bottom line is that many, MANY people are relying on NSAIDs and acetaminophen for the primary management of chronic pain. And in that context, it is absolutely possible to severely hurt yourself. Which I think people absolutely deserve more knowledge and awareness of - even if they find it somewhat alarming.

This is especially true where people are brushed off by doctors to "just use advil" for pain that is quite frankly, too severe and ongoing for advil to safely handle. The dismissive way in which doctors treat NSAIDs gives the impression that they are harmless, and many people are desperate for relief. This leads people to use NSAIDs heavily and without precautions, causing lasting harm to themselves which could have been averted, or at least mitigated, by taking steps towards safer use - like those outlined in the original post. NSAIDs work on several biochemical pathways at once - they reduce inflammation, relax muscles, decrease pain signalling of nerves, and slightly inhibit blood clotting, and they also increase the production of stomach acid and decrease the production of protective mucus lining the stomach. This function is pretty much baked in, there's no way around it. So it's not an issue of "some people's stomachs are sensitive to NSAIDs," it's an issue of "NSAIDs cause some damage directly to the stomach lining every time you take them". It's not very much damage from one dose, and if that's the only dose you take for a while, it'll heal right back up. But if you keep taking them, multiple doses back to back, for days or weeks on end.... the damage starts to add up. Or even if you don't use them that much, but take maybe a dose every day to help with muscle soreness after work... or a couple times a month, for migraines or period cramps.... point is, if the damage to the stomach lining is happening faster than it can heal, you start to get problems - but you probably won't notice anything is wrong until it gets pretty bad.

Being careless until you get a proto-ulcer, or an ulcer, or acid reflux, or a bleeding lesion in the duodenum - is not a great tactic. And I will tell you, pretty much everyone I know who is careful about taking their NSAIDs with food or antacids, has become careful after suffering AT LEAST one of the above. And many people end up, as OP said, unable to take NSAIDs at all, because the chronic damage to the stomach is too easily aggravated. Which is not great! So it's good to get in the habit of safer use, before you find yourself in a situation of heavily using pain meds without realizing they could cause lasting damage! Because the underlying issue is stomach acid causing damage to the stomach lining, you can: - take NSAIDs with food, or after eating, so the food dilutes the stomach acid - take NSAIDs with an antacid, like tums (although avoid aluminum-based antacids with ibuprofen) - take NSAIDs with an H2 blocker, a relatively fast-acting medicine that reduces acid produced by the stomach - take a daily PPI medication, which reduces acid produced by the stomach over the long term

Now, H2 blockers and PPIs are other (non-prescription) medications which have their own potential for side effects and interactions - so do your research if you want to add either of them to your medication regimen. But they can be very helpful, especially for healing up if damage has already been caused. Now all that being said. Acetaminophen is a COMPLETELY different story. And what pushed me to reply to this post was the way you were lumping together information on max dosages, which I think is dangerously misleading, even if the numbers are not technically incorrect. See, the risk with NSAIDs is chronic damage from long-term use, but they are relatively safe drugs in the acute sense. For Ibuprofen in particular - the bottle will tell you not to take more than 400mg at once, but if pressed a doctor will say you can take up to 800mg and it's perfectly safe if you don't make too much of a habit of it, and hypothetically you could even take a much higher dose than that and not die, although you wouldn't have a very good time. So, while it is certainly not recommended to take more than 800mg at once or more than 1600mg a day to avoid long-term consequences.... it happens. Which can perhaps teach a person the wrong lessons about dose safety. The risk with acetaminophen is acute toxicity. If you take too much at once, it causes liver toxicity, and then liver failure, and then death. This process can be stopped, but not reversed, so survival depends strongly on early diagnosis and treatment. You might think that the toxic dose in enough higher than the treatment dose that it'd be difficult to overdose accidentally - but that's not necessarily the case. From a National Institute of Health summary on Acetaminophen toxicity: "Acetaminophen toxicity is the second most common cause of liver transplantation worldwide and the most common cause of liver transplantation in the US. It is responsible for 56,000 emergency department visits, 2,600 hospitalizations, and 500 deaths per year in the United States. Fifty percent of these are unintentional overdoses." Sure, relative to the total population, overdoses aren't *that* common - but if 50% are accidental, I think people need to be better informed. The major issue with acetaminophen is that it is present as an active ingredient in many, many multi-drug medications, which people often don't realize. So an overdose can occur if, for example, a parent who has already given their child a Tylenol to get their fever down also gives them a dose of cough syrup - each alone at the recommended dose, but it adds up. (Children are at a greater risk of overdose on anything, because toxic dosage is relative to body size, and kids are small.)

So yes, acetaminophen is a great drug and relatively safe if you know how much you are taking. Always check the active ingredients on any medicine you take, especially if you're taking multiple things at once. And for acetaminophen especially, don't take more than the recommended dose at once, don't take more than the maximum dose per day, and wait at least 4 hours between doses - even if the effect has worn off. Don't push it!

Every time I see another ibuprofen post on this site I'm like STOP

STOP

Stop.

Take that after a meal. Take it with a big glass of water. Don't take it on an empty stomach EVER. Don't take it with alcohol. You will destroy your stomach. You will end up with an ulcer. You will vomit blood. I'm not exaggerating.

Yes, you. Yes, it will happen to cute little you. With your cute little bottle of miracles. Ibuprofen really does that to your body.

Love, an adult person over 35 who can't take NSAIDs anymore

[artemis-pendragon]

Okay so I'm not in the hurricane evacuation zone by any means but I do live in a horrendously natural disaster-prone region SO!! Here are the best tips I've gotten for surviving in a disaster zone.

1) Write your name and your emergency contact's phone number in DARK PERMANENT INK somewhere visible on your skin (wrist is good) so if you're unconscious or dead emergency response can ID you and get in contact with your family/friends

2) If you have any particular medical needs or conditions write that too!! Specific medications + doses, warning signs and symptoms to watch for, etc

3) During the disaster, if your circumstances change or may change soon, record a new voicemail message explaining these changes so anyone who calls you knows your most recent status and location. Whatever details you think might help!

4) Stock up on Rx meds before pharmacies close. Get some OTC meds too and make a watertight and portable first aid kit. If you're gonna be in flood conditions and your Rx bottles aren't fully sealed, wrap the lids with duct tape to make a tight seal. If you've got tampons and pads in the house, stuff those babies in there! Good for everything from periods, to bloody noses and open wounds in an emergency! Plus they're super absorbent and can be used to temporarily block up small spaces and cracks

5) If there's no bottled water left in stores buy the biggest and cheapest bottles of soda you can, dump them out, and fill them with fresh water. If you have sinks and bathtubs that aren't expected to flood, fill those bad boys up with fresh water, too. Store as much water as you can!!

6) Put all important documents such as Social Security cards, birth certificates, marriage certificates, or anything else you want to save into waterproof bags. Ziplock baggies double sealed with duct tape along the closed seams are great! Double bag if needed!

7) Special cool new thing I learned about hurricanes that I'm probably the last dumbass on earth to know but just in case I'm not: even if a hurricane makes landfall as a Cat 3, if it was a Cat 5 over the ocean on approach it will bring in Cat 5 surge. Downgrading the wind speed doesn't downgrade the flood potential

8) TAKE THE BACKROADS OUT OF MAJOR CITIES OH MY GOD PLS DONT GET STUCK ON THE FREEWAYS IT'S HELL

9) Last but not least, if you can't afford to evacuate or don't have a place to stay, some people under videos and posts tagged with current natural disasters are offering temporary places to crash for those in affected areas for free!! I've seen multiple cases now of people offering up their guest rooms or couches to evacuees and their pets in the last week that have worked out ❤️

If anyone else has more tips, and more experience with this type of disaster specifically, please add on!! Love you all and hope everyone stays safe 💕

[goblinbabe666]

i fucking haaaaaate. and i mean HATE. having to stock up when i get my period. this is bullshit. i’m already in pain and extremely sweaty and nauseous. on top of having to leave my house to glower at hygiene products and pain relievers and snacks for an extended period of time trying to figure out what i need or want i have to go spend my OWN MONEY? TO NOT BE UNCOMFORTABLE? ITS SO EXPENSIVE.

[wiisagi-maiingan]

I know that ibuprofen is like. A meme now (at least in my disability and chronic pain circles) but please remember that OTC pain killers like ibuprofen and acetaminophen are still medications and there can be severe consequences if you take them too often or exceed the recommended doses.

Acetaminophen overdose is known specifically for liver damage and potential liver failure. Ibuprofen overdose can cause stomach ulcers, gastrointestinal distress and bleeding, high blood pressure, heart failure, and strokes.

These medications aren't something to be afraid of, but you need to be aware of how to use them properly and that includes following the recommended dosage closely and not using them more than necessary. Ibuprofen especially should not be taken for more than a few days in a row. Always check reactions to other medications too; one of the most common causes of acetaminophen overdose is people taking acetaminophen with cold or flu medication that also contains it. If you take ibuprofen and acetaminophen together, like many people do, it's incredibly important to limit how often you do that and pay close attention to how much of each you're taking.

If you're using OTC pain killers to handle chronic pain, speak to a doctor if possible about alternatives. If that ISN'T possible, and I am aware it's not for many many people, please just be careful and don't put yourself into liver failure or a stroke to try getting rid of a migraine.

[juanabaloo]

Please take it one step further. If you are lethargic get your vitamin D and iron levels checked. Spinach and OTC (over the counter) supplements might help. They also might not be anywhere close to enough. (Imagine you need like 20 gallons of water and you take one glass and hope it will be enough.) At different times in my life I've needed prescription vitamin D AND iron infusions.

You deserve a life with energy! I get my levels regularly checked now and if they fall below a certain level then I need more. I currently take a daily OTC Vitamin D pill, and need iron infusions roughly once every 1-2 years. (I live in the US, still have periods, and I'm lucky enough to have good insurance, for the US.)

There was a TikTok post about an advertisement for “blood-making pills for weak women” someone found in a newspaper from the 1890s and everybody seemed to think it was just an example of the weird misogyny of the day and age but no. Anemia was a massive public health concern. It always has been through history but part of the reason we have this idea of old timey women thought history being physical weak, chronically cold and pale and fainting is because they often they were. Anemia was also a massive problem for men in that day but even now it disproportionally affects people who menstruate. So tonics full of stimulants and “healthful vitamins” were marketed at young women in pages upon pages of advertisements in every newspaper. People generally felt like shit all the time back then.

[macgyvermedical]

Definitive Care for Writers

The following are things that could be believably taken care of completely outside of a hospital/without a doctor, listed by the caregiver's highest level of medical training:

With a "Lay" caregiver:

OTC Medications with labels that have instructions for use, like acetaminophen and/or ibuprofen for a headache/fever, antihistamines for minor allergies, etc..

Sunburn

Menstrual cramps

With someone who has first aid training:

Simple choking (Heimlich maneuver believably fixes this)

Small cuts, venous bleeding only (pressure to stop bleeding, washing with water and dressing is believable)

Opioid overdose (single drug, use of nasal naloxone and rescue breathing is believable as long as the person is monitored for several hours)

Heat exhaustion (get them out of the sun, give water)

With an urban EMT or Paramedic:

CPR for drowning or lightning strike only (other causes generally need medications or surgical procedures to return heart to normal rhythm)

Uncomplicated childbirth (It's not fun to have a baby out of a hospital, but it can be done)

Uncomplicated seizure for someone who has a known seizure disorder (basically just need to time it and give emergency med if longer than 5 minutes, have it at least stop after the medication)

Fainting (if it's a 1-off thing with no injury)

Low blood sugar (sugar/food with carbohydrates fixes this within about 15 minutes)

With a Wilderness EMT:

Simple fractures, broken ribs, sprains, and strains (as long as the bone ends are well approximated, a splint during the healing process will do a "good enough" job fixing this)

Some dislocations (forward shoulder dislocation, patella dislocation, finger dislocations all can be believably reduced in the field)

Small wound closure (something like a cut or bullet graze that doesn't hit an artery)

Moderately-sized wounds without life-threatening bleeding (can be packed in the field and believably heal with daily care)

Hypothermia (warm the person up and give sweet warm liquids)

With a Registered Nurse:

Uncomplicated concussion (need to do assessments every 2 hours, have them come up normal)

Severe nausea and vomiting (needs timing of medication, sips of water)

Small skin infections and abscesses (treat-able with heat)

Viral Pneumonia (not requiring oxygen)

Malnutrition

Migraines (assessments needed to determine not a stroke)

[cabin13cappuccino]

coming out of my well to shame the fandom re: treating Nico like he's from 1840 rather than 1940 in terms of living with medical innovations

Vaccines for the following diseases were available during this time:

Smallpox- first generation vaccines were available and work on second generation vaccines occured in the 1930s with production of an egg-based vaccine begun by the Texas Department of Health in 1939. DC schools required smallpox vaccination for children to be allowed to attend by 1930, so Nico would have gotten immunized for this even if he didn't get anything else.

Diphtheria- first vaccine was developed in 1913, then a cheaper version in 1924. Yep, it's the "antitoxin" they call for in Balto (1995)- it can be used to either treat active infection or immunize.

Pertussis (whooping cough)- first vaccine was licensed in the US in 1914, then another in 1931, and another that became the basis for the modern vaccine in 1932.

BCG vaccine for Tuberculosis (TB)- first available in 1921, but neither the US nor Italy mandated it. This vaccine is still given around the world today.

Tetanus ("lockjaw") - first vaccine was produced in 1924, then a more effective version in 1938. The combo DTP (diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus) vaccine was first released in 1948 and was used all the way up to 1996 when a new, safer version was released.

Anthrax- the veterinary vaccine in use today is based on the one developed in 1935 in South Africa. The Soviet Union developed a human vaccine that was available beginning in 1940.

Yellow fever- the vaccine still in use today (17D strain) debuted in 1939.

The first rabies vaccine was developed in 1885, for crying out loud!

Penicillin was used to cure infections as early as 1930, though it didn't hit mass-production until 1945. Other antibiotics (Salvarsan and Prontosil) were in use in the early 1900s (by 1910 and 1935, respectively).

Thyroxin (1914) and insulin (1923) were known quantities for treating endocrine disorders.

Medical radiography (x-rays) was a thing before 1900. There were portable ECG/EKG machines as early as 1927.

Cocaine was taken out of Coke in 1903. Like, not even Maria di Angelo would remember that.

Yes, a whole bunch of things changed in medical science between 1942 and the mid-2000s- plenty of fodder for "Will blows Nico's mind with modern medicine." I will even provide suggestions!

Vaccines for major childhood illnesses: polio (1952), measles (1962), mumps (1967), rubella (1969). IMO the polio thing is way slept on given how big the March of Dimes got in the public consciousness.

Closed-chest defibrillation (1950s) and CPR (1970s for the public)

Organ transplants (1953)

Ultrasound (1949/1961)

Not giving aspirin to anyone under 16 due to Reye's Syndrome risk (1980s) and the advent of other OTC painkillers (ibuprofen, 1969; paracetamol/acetaminophen, 1952; naproxen, 1976)

Insulin that comes from genetically engineered E. coli instead of purified animal pancreases (1978) so as to keep allergic reactions from happening

Rapid strep or flu tests (1980s/1990s) rather than waiting days to culture stuff

If y'all want a "they took the cocaine out of Coke" moment, might I suggest "what do you mean cigarettes/asbestos give you cancer" and/or "they took the lead out of the gasoline"?

But yeah...we've made a lot of progress since 1942 but it wasn't "you got ghosts in your blood and bad air do some drugs about it" back then- not by a long shot.

Wah wahwah wah wah back in my day we scoured Wikipedia and the rest of the internet to do background research on fandom-related minutiae and we liked it

[unintentionaloracle]

Bleeding Heart [Fic]

Happy Halloween! Have a Jhea fic that has nothing to do with Halloween!

Description:

Rhea gets a visitor after getting attacked on NXT.

(Note: the brief bit of Sami slander hurt my heart to write ;_;)

“Rhea!” Jey shouted when he saw her at medical. He hurried to her side. She'd been cleaned up since officials found her, but he couldn't get her earlier bloodied state out of his mind. And she still looked so strangely fragile in the cot they had her in. A far cry from the confident Australian amazon who had his heart in a chokehold for almost two years.

Rhea opened her eyes and her attention turned to him. “Mmm...Jey?” She said, groggily, as Jey took her hand. “What are you doing here?”

“I was in town, baby. I was watching the show back at the hotel, and I saw what happened. So I rushed over. Oh, and Jimmy came, too. He's out in the hall. And Priest's on his way, too.” Jey explained, squeezing her hand.

“So you...came to see me?” she asked, apparently still processing that.

“Yeah, I didn't want you to be alone. What if they came back?” Jey said, squeezing her hand.

Rhea frowned. She started to sit up. “Then I handle them myself, like I've been–” She winced and yelped in pain, holding her shoulder. Jey gently rubbed her back before easing her back down.

“You were saying?” Jey said. “I know you can handle anything, but you shouldn't have to by yourself, Rhea.” He said, cupping her face.

Rhea frowned. “Don't you have your own stuff to deal with, Jey?”

Guilt stabbed Jey's heart like a knife. “I'm sorry about that. I was just trying to focus on the title like you said, give you your space to do your thing, then this crap with my family came up...” He sighed. “But what kind of man would I be if I saw my girl had gotten beaten bloody and didn't drop everything for her?”

For a moment, Rhea’s expression softened. “...I'm your girl?”

Jey’s eyes widened. “I–uh...Sorry, that slipped out. But I-I mean...” He took a deep breath and put his hands on his hips, pacing away. “I didn't want to do this here, because of this, but...I want you to be, ya know?” He went back to her side, sitting on the corner of the cot and holding her hand. “I've been down bad for you for like, ever. And I know nobody can own you, but...you've got me, heart and soul, you know? I-if you want! So, do you wanna be my–?”

Rhea grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him closer. “Do you know how long I've been waiting for you to ask me that!?” She exclaimed before pulling him into a kiss, curling her fingers into his hair.

Jey pulled away. “So...that's a yes?” He said, voice cracking ever so slightly.

Rhea chuckled. “God, you're cute. Yes!”

Jey grinned. “Yeet.” He said, then grabbed her sides (delicately, due to the injuries), and continued to kiss her, kicking off his shoes as she invited him under the sheets to share her cot.

---

“So is Jey's little girlfriend gonna be a problem for us?”

Jimmy stared at Roman's text. Of course he had to let The OTC know what was happening! They never knew where Solo and the rest of the fake-ass Bloodline were gonna pop up and attack! It's why he came with Jey to medical in the first place. He took a deep breath and went to peek in on his twin again.

Please don't be banging, please don't be banging, please don't be banging...

Rhea and Jey were still just making out and generally being cuddly. It was all still PG. Jey even looked...actually happy, despite everything. He sighed with relief, then hid on the other side of the doorway again.

His phone dinged. Roman again:

“Well?”

Jimmy thought a moment. He knew the two of them weren't “official” before Jey dropped everything to come out here. Rhea had her own mess to deal with, and they couldn't afford Jey's attention getting split between The Bloodline AND the new, wack version of The Judgement Day.

Sure, Jimmy and Naomi could keep these things separate, only intervening with each other's business when they had to/the other asked for it. But they'd been married for a long time. Plenty of time to work that out. Jey, however? In a new relationship with a girl almost as impulsive as he could be?

But...Jey looked so happy. And he knew he'd taken a lot of Jey's happiness away this past year: costing him opportunities, not being there for him, dragging him back into the family drama...

...exposing his best friend as the no good lying traitor he always was...

Jimmy may not have been ready to apologize to Jey, but he was his little brother, at the end of the day. He had to look out for him...

“Nah, we're good, OTC.”

I can't hurt him again. Or take anything else from him.

Roman immediately responded:

“Good. And if we aren't, it's not on Jey. It's on *you*.”

Jimmy texted a quick “okay” before nearly collapsing against the wall in relief. He sighed.

“Don't say I never did anything for you, uce...”