#au: medical drama

[theviridianbunny]

bunny has AU brainrot- a rammble

ok i'm having silly blorbo thoughts but- cyberpunk 2077 au where it's like??? cp2077 modern day au - no horrors of the dark future ect-

just my blorbos in everday normal america/england/whereever they'd end up...

This setting would be good for Rasmus- Rasmus would still be a medical researcher/doctor - like working in an emergency department in a hospital- or he would be an EMT / Ambulance worker!!! but... idek how Viridian would fit into it uGH- gotta figure that out because she wouldn't be a merc- Jackie wouldn't ether!!!

all of these ideas came into my head because I started to watch NBC's ER whilst working on art comms today aaa (FLASHING IMAGES TW FOR THE VIDEO BELOW!!)

Fun bit of bunny lore: Medicine/medical facts/medical environments really really interest me and bring me a lot of joy and fascination!! in another life- if i had the correct training/skills- I would be working in an environment like that for sure!

Before I went off to university to do my art degree- I worked as a cleaner in a hospital for a few months. Working mainly in histology labs- one of the lab assistants let me look in the microscopes at tissue slides during a lunch break, and explained to me how a slide staining machine worked- and it BLEW MY MIND - sparked this joy- this new passion within me- like little 18 year old bunny was so excited!! and now at 23 i'm still in awe and forever greatful!!

[total-drama-brainrot]

lord and reverend father ophelia can you please bless the congregation with your thoughts on chubby alejandro and supportive simp boyfriend duncan

My thoughts are as follows:

yeag

[softquietsteadylove]

can we have submissive Thena and Dominant Gil? (Ten things I hate about you AU) 🫶🏼

Her head was tilted to the side as she laughed at what he said. Her stance was relaxed, leaning against the doorway. Her hand floated in the air, swirling around the last of her fruity low-percentage cooler. He was continuing his story, soaking up her laughter, gesticulating and posing. He flexed his arms in his tight purple t-shirt.

Gil didn't know who the fuck this guy was, but he was way too close to his Thena.

His girl--his woman! And she had even agreed to it! She wasn't calling herself his girlfriend, sure, but they were hanging out together more, she let him pick her up from practise and drive her home. He was allowed to hold her hand sometimes and she'd even kiss him in public if no one was blatantly watching them.

Gil thought that counted as being an official couple! It was pretty big to him, at least. And yet here she was, chatting up some guy he'd never seen before. He was tall, handsome, obviously worked out. Maybe he was older--maybe he was some college jock. If that was the case, Gil was going to march right over there and call him a creep for coming to a high school party.

Thena laughed again, and the guy laughed too, even putting his hand on her shoulder.

That was more than enough. Gil tossed down his empty solo cup. All he'd had in it was soda anyway. He had to drive his princess home, after all. Someone bumped into him in the crowded kitchen but he shoved the younger student out of his way.

"Gil," she smiled at him like everything was peachy. She extended her hand, just about ready to pat her new friend on the chest, "this is-"

"C'mere," Gil rumbled, grabbing her hand before she could feel up the beefcake in front of her. He swept her sharply around the corner and into the bathroom. "Look at me."

"What?" she gave him a look for his manhandling of her. Her eyes were clear though, so she wasn't drunk. "I was trying to-"

He pulled her to him, searing their lips together. She moaned into him, her hands already under his hoodie and squeezing the material of his t-shirt. His tongue demanded entrance, and she granted it.

"Gil," she whimpered as he wrapped his arm around her waist. She fit against him so perfectly, it never ceased to amaze him. She tugged at his shirt, guiding him away from the door.

He put his hand against the wall beside the mirror. Fuck, this was a tiny room! The sink was behind them, him keeping the porcelain edge from digging into her back.

"What are you doing?" she whispered, although she was the one still kissing him.

"What am I doing?" he growled, sliding his hand up her back. "I'm watching some beefcake chat up my girlfriend."

"Oh," she made a cute but also infuriating little sound. "Your girlfriend, am I?"

Little minx--his little shrew, rather. He pressed closer. He was getting a little too worked up over all this, and he didn't give a fuck. "Didn't you say you were mine?"

He felt her shiver in his arms. Their hips kept bumping together from the sheer lack of space. His jeans were getting tight, and she just had on some pretty white skirt and a cardigan she liked.

He had never believed cardigans could be the sexiest article of clothing in the world before this enchantress, and yet here he was dying to get a peek of her bra clasp in the back of it.

"Did I?"

He kept himself close, his breathing was heavy and loud. But it wasn't the only heavy breathing in their little chamber. "Tell me now."

Thena liked getting him a little worked up. She bit into her lower lip, grinning like they were playing a game. Such a wicked woman he'd chosen to fall in love with. "Why should I?"

He breathed out so roughly it made a sound. She pressed closer to him, letting him feel her boobs against his chest and rubbing her thigh against his crotch. He grunted.

"What will you do?"

He reached beside him, fumbling for the door's lock. It clicked, and he held Thena's eyes as he reached down for his belt. "Whose bed were we in last night?"

"Yours," she whispered, her eyes going from their bright green to a dark forest colour. She bit her lip again as she watched him pull himself out.

He moved his hand around her waist and in front of her, only to flip her position, making her brace herself against the sink. "Who do you kiss after practice?"

"You," she repeated, her voice growing higher and thinner as he inched her skirt up her legs.

"Whose girl are you?" he groaned as he finally got her skirt up around her hips. He hooked his finger in the back of her thong and delicately pulled it out of his way.

"Yours," she gasped as he touched himself to her completely bare.

"Whose?" he repeated, running himself along her wetness first. She arched her back and pushed her hips more towards him. He grasped her buttocks, spreading her more.

"Yours, Gil, fuck."

He pushed into her slowly. His head tipped back and his eyes slid closed. This was the most anything he had ever felt ever. He held Thena's hips, barely able to register that he was still living and breathing.

She trembled, but he gripped her tighter, refusing to let her fall. She leaned heavily over the sink, her shoes scraping on the tile floor.

"Shit," he cursed, his hips beginning to move without any need to be told. He had never acted so purely on instinct in his life. He kept his hands on his hips. "Thena."

"Gil, yes, more," she panted as he moved. She wasn't in the best position, but she did what she could to match his thrusts. She kept her head down, not up to the task of seeing her expression in the mirror. He had gotten just a glimpse of it.

Her mouth was dropped open with pleasure.

"Tell me," he grunted, picking up speed. This was not what one did with the girl they loved--fucking in a bathroom at a party. But they would only be young once, and this felt nothing if not...urgent. He gripped one of her thighs and lifted it, letting him get closer (deeper). "Tell me!"

"Yours, I'm all yours," she offered, her body responding completely differently as he held her leg. She made a new sound as he lifted it even higher, holding it close to him. "Shit, Gil, I'm so yours, fuck!"

That was what he wanted to hear. He wanted to hear that he was the only man for her, that he was the only one privy to this side of her, this feeling of being with her.

"Fuck," he growled, "I-I'm so close, I gotta--I-I gotta-!"

Thena moaned directly into the bowl of the sink, it even echoed faintly as he came in the blink of an eye. His hips were still moving, and she followed, her muscles tightening around him. Her leg spasmed.

"Okay, okay, I got'cha," he panted for breath as he lowered her leg, gripping her hips against his as she shook. She all but melted into the sink, her hair spilling like the faucet was the one letting her golden curls get everywhere.

He leaned forward, pulling her hair away and nuzzling the back of her neck. "Babe?"

She made some kind of noise in response. He wasn't sure if it was a grunt or a moan or a whimper, but it sounded somewhat displeased.

"Princess?" he tried again, more sweetly. Things might have gone...too far. "You okay?"

She definitely groaned this time, pointing at the towels against the hand rack on the back of the door.

"R-Right," Gil blinked, he grabbed the softest one, pressing it into her hand gently. He stepped away only slightly, worried she would collapse onto the ground. He stuffed himself back into his pants sheepishly. More laundry to do. Gramps was gonna start getting suspicious.

Thena quickly brought the towel between her legs, moaning faintly as she pressed her thighs together. She pulled it away and tugged her skirt down again, finally picking herself up from the edge of the sink.

Gil cleared his throat, "uh, honey?"

She turned, glaring at him, although there was a distinct flush in her cheeks and down her neck. "You are unbelievable."

He really couldn't help but feel a little proud of that, even if she didn't mean it as a good thing. He grinned, although she slapped him on the chest for it. He chuckled, "sorry."

She rolled her eyes at him, fluffing out her hair again and making sure she looked like they hadn't been fucking. She raised her eyebrows at him, asking in not so many words.

He held his thumbs up and smiled at her; back to being a dork, great. "Looks great!"

She jabbed the towel into the center of his chest. "I thought you would be above feelings of possessiveness."

He grasped her hand, refusing to let her pull away. He wrapped his arm around her again, and she did let him. "I don't need to possess you."

She eyed him, but it was a sign to continue.

And she did seem to appreciate when he said things he really meant. So he leaned in close again, hovering just short of a kiss away. "You're the one who possesses me, Thena. All the time, every waking moment."

Her breath caught, and her skin was still flushed a pretty shade of pink.

"I just need to know you're mine," he finished in a whisper before kissing her. It was a proper kiss this time, soft and tender, the way he preferred to kiss her perfect lips.

Her hands slid up his chest, although it reminded him of the beefcake probably still lurking around. She pulled away and put her hands on his cheeks, "then consider it done."

It wasn't a 'I am yours', but he would take it with gratitude. He smiled and she offered a faint one back. She kicked the towel that had fallen to the floor out of the way. "All this over an old friend."

He bristled, all of his pent up frustration rising again in a flash. "Old friend?"

But Thena gave him that smug look that she got any time she was talking circles around someone. He had fallen for that look at the movies the first time he met her. "Kingo dropped out last year to pursue acting. He's in a film coming out next year. That's why he's so pleased with all his personal training results."

That was why he was flexing in her face, she meant.

Gil pursed his lips. "So he's a childhood friend who's all hot and cool?--that's supposed to make me feel better?"

"Gil," she rolled her eyes, laughing.

"You were laughing!"

"Gil," she said a little more affectionately, leaning on him completely now. "Kingo is a dear friend. One who has absolutely no interest in matters of the flesh, or the heart, for that matter."

"Oh," he blinked, taking in the look she had for him. It wasn't even that they were friends, but he didn't consider her like that apparently--he didn't think of anyone like that, rather. "Uh, well, that's-"

She threw her head back in a full and complete belly laugh.

His cheeks burned as the last embers of his jealousy ate themselves to death. "Okay, okay, yeah, get it all out."

She did. She laughed for a long time. Maybe she was having a little too much fun with it, he thought, but she did eventually quiet again. She lifted her head from his chest and kissed him. "You have nothing to fear from him...nor anyone."

She reached through his arms to flick the door unlocked again. This was the end of the conversation for her ladyship. Gil sighed, "if you say so."

"He is a very good friend, Gil," she made a point of telling him again as they both prepared to show their faces again. She pulled the door open a crack, "exemplified by his loyalty."

As soon as the door was open Gil could hear the guy's voice, louder than even the blaring music that would definitely drown them out unless ears were pressed to the door. And even if they had been, as soon as the door was open, all he saw was his back.

"Sorry, my friend isn't feeling well. But there's another bathroom upstairs!"

"Kingo," Thena raised her voice to be heard. It was easy to forget how loud it was in the mix of things. She patted his shoulder, "thanks for guarding the door. I'm feeling better."

"Oh good!" he beamed at her as if nothing at all had taken place. He waved off those he had been holding off. Once without an audience, he leaned down closer to her face again. "What the hell, T?!"

"Sorry, sorry!" she giggled at his exaggerated expression. "But thank you."

He gave Gil a completely unreadable look before turning back to Thena, his thick arms crossed at her. "He was holding back your hair, huh?"

Gil blushed, since he obviously knew what they were doing in there. But Thena just slapped his chest, which he guessed was fine, now that he knew more about the guy.

"Shut it!" she hissed at him, a full scarlet red, now.

But Kingo ruffled her hair, like he would a young sister. She only hissed at him more, but he laughed. "Relax, T, my mouth is shut and I didn't see anything!"

Gil blinked as a heavy - heavy - hand was slapped onto his shoulder. "Uh-"

"I've heard a lot about you, Gil," he said with a smile, but it sounded an awful lot like a threat. When he opened his eyes again, Gil could swear they could glow like a demon's. "Nice to meet T's boyfriend."

He didn't sound like he meant that.

"Leave him alone," Thena defused him, tugging at his t-shirt, only for him to immediately scold her for creasing its expensive material.

It was a t-shirt.

"You go, be with your precious Gilgamesh," Kingo waved her off like he was dismissing a student. "I'll come find you tomorrow."

"Fine," she sighed as if exasperated, but their familiarity and affection for each other shone through. She waved as he made his way into the other room. "Find me after practice!"

"Not right after though, right?" Kingo winked at her. "You'll be busy kissing a certain someone?"

"Kingo!!!"

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

Why has Barnaby made TWO hospital visits in one year??? What was the first one about??? [<-Talking about the Human AU]

no yeah the first one was Howdy's brief stint (a couple hours) for the whole smoke inhilation minor injuries from the fire thing.

the second one was for Wally's festive lil car crash where he comes very close to Fuckign Dying!!! and. well. technically there are many different visits for that one cause he's in the hospital for a hot sec, but yk. technically only two hospital-worthy events

[homelander-rp-blog]

"Was I in some kind of accident?" // from scarletta ( we haven't written with her before so you can decide if you want to reply !! ) <3 @crypticrps

The patient was a hard case, blood clogged in some parts of her brain after the fall, she was really lucky John was just back from his vacation, his first night shift after a long time being away from the hospital. They bring in a girl that fell on a car roof from a building and was bleeding nonstop, John tried his best to save her and it was an intense process, one of his colleagues told him maybe the girl will experience temporary amnesia when she wakes up again. John has waited all night by her bedside, sitting there on the chair. "Hi.." He greets her in a low, calm voice "how are you? Do you remember your name?" 

[itstimeforstarwars]

I'm rereading the last ten chapters of Galidraan just to make sure I have the story straight...I had totally forgotten about friendship jedi magic lol lmao that's the funniest thing I've ever written.

[fadinglights]

"wait...  how  did  that  happen?"  it's  safe  to  say  anthony  doesn't  know  how  to  react.  how  is  he  supposed  to,  when  he  accidentally  stumbles  upon  the  revelation  that  his  ex  —  a  person  he  may  or  may  not  still  harbour  feelings  for  —  is  sleeping  with  his  colleague  who’s  married  and  he  happens  to  be  friends  with  both  of  them?  he  shakes  his  head,  taking  another  sip  of  his  americano  to  try  and  process  this  unexpected  information  before  speaking  again.  "...why?"  there  are  so  many  other  people  she  could  have  gotten  involved  with  that  wouldn't  have  resulted  in  such  a  convoluted  and  precarious  situation  for  all  parties  involved. / @gcholdtrops

[wannabugi]

to turn around history (2166 words) by sweet_mintx Chapters: 1/? Fandom: 莲花楼 | Mysterious Lotus Casebook (TV) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Fang Duobing/Li Lianhua | Li Xiangyi Characters: Li Lianhua | Li Xiangyi, Fang Duobing, Di Feisheng, He Xiaohui, Shi Shui (Mysterious Lotus Casebook) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Getting Together, Falling In Love, Alternate Universe - Medical Summary: Li Xiangyi has lived many lives. In his 18th, he finds Fang Duobing on a sweltering August afternoon, in the far corner of the emergency room.   容我再等, 历史转身。   A reincarnation AU with them both as doctors.

[transitofmercury]

I don’t normally like Modern AUs for Atti and Orla because I think a lot of what I enjoy about them is so tied to their context and cultures BUT all the Modern AUs I do like to rotate in my brain from time to time are incredibly specific and allow Orla to be a niche nepo-baby. She has to have her nepotism, it’s the modern being-a-princess.

[sjsmith56]

Summary - Part 2 of 2 part story. Bucky leaves the Tower after finding out his former girlfriend is dying and she had his child. She and Steve track him to a biker bar. After a heart to heart talk he agrees to stay with her to the end.

Length - 5.64K

Characters - Bucky Barnes, named female character, Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, Helen Cho, Wanda Maximoff, named female bartender

Warnings - anger, angst, cancer, Bucky dealing with being accused of cheating, Bucky realizing he messed up, swearing, medical drama.

Author notes - First part takes place in a biker bar that isn’t quite what it seems. Second part takes place five months later at the compound where Bucky’s girlfriend undergoes an experimental treatment with the serum. There is a twist ending. It is what it is.

<<Part 1

〰️〰️〰️〰️

Part 2

When Bucky roared out of the parking garage at Stark Tower he didn’t know where he was going or what he was going to do. All he knew was that he had to get out of there before he began destroying something. As he weaved his motorcycle in and out of traffic on the expressway out of New York City, all he could think about was the last four years that had been taken from him. Four years without the woman he loved and a son he had never seen. If he wasn’t so angry, he would have pulled over and wept instead. After some time driving aimlessly, he saw it, a small motel with a roadside bar, on a side road next to the expressway. Turning off at the next exit he doubled back towards the place where a line of motorcycles sat outside the bar. Pulling into the parking lot he stopped a short distance away from the other vehicles and turned it off, sitting there for a moment before entering the bar with his bag.

As soon as he strode in all conversations ceased. It was dark inside and it took a moment before his eyes adjusted then he shook his head at his own preconceptions. The people inside, drinking and playing pool, weren’t exactly what he was expecting, as the hair colour leaned towards grey and white.

“What can I get you?” asked the bartender, a woman with a ready smile.

“A beer and a bourbon,” said Bucky, sitting on the stool in front of her, dropping his bag to the floor, then looking to either side of where he sat. “Older crowd.”

“Yeah, they’re the Silver Wolves Motorcycle Club,” she answered as she poured him a bourbon then started filling a beer glass from the tap. “All of them have been riding for charity for about 40 years give or take. My dad was a founding member.”

Bucky downed the bourbon then took a drink of the beer. “So, they just come around and hang out?”

“Pretty much,” she replied, then she stuck her hand out. “Nancy Martin. I own the motel and the bar.”

Bucky took his right glove off and shook her hand. “Bucky Barnes.”

If she recognized his name, she didn’t say but she did smile and looked at the other riders. “They go on toy runs, and give rides to the kids getting cancer treatment, that sort of thing. They’re all retired from all types of jobs and walks of life but they all love riding their motorcycles. What brings you in today, Bucky?”

“I was looking for a fight,” he admitted, “but I guess now I need a sympathetic ear.”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “That happens when people see the bikes out front. What do you want to talk about?”

“The woman who left me four years ago showed up today to say I was a father and that she was dying,” he said, taking another drink of his beer. “At the time I didn’t know why she left me but apparently she thought I cheated on her.”

“Did you?” asked Nancy.

“Nope.”

“Awkward.”

“Yup.” She poured him another bourbon and he downed it. “I didn’t handle it very well. I took off, drove until I saw the motorcycles and figured I could punch through my anger. Now I don’t even get that.”

“I have just the song for that,” she said, then looked over to one of the riders. “Hey Bobby, put the Rolling Stones on the jukebox. You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”

As Mick Jagger’s voice began to fill up the dim interior Bucky kept drinking his beer. Nancy served some more drinks then came back and appraised the dark-haired man.

“Why would she think you cheated on her?” she asked. “I mean, you told her you loved her right?”

He hesitated. “Sort of. Maybe not in words. We were together constantly, and the sex was amazing. I thought she knew that she was it for me.” He sighed and took another drink of his beer. “Maybe I should have said and done more things to show her. Like propose.”

“Why didn’t you?”

He chewed on his lower lip for several moments. “She was too good for me. I had issues and a past that I wasn’t proud of. Kept waiting for her to say she was moving on.”

“This woman you supposedly cheated with … did you flirt with her?”

Bucky scowled. “I didn’t even like her. She was always coming on to me but I never saw her that way.”

“Did you look for your girlfriend after she left you?”

“Jesus, you ask a lot of questions,” he sputtered. Then slowly, he nodded his head. “She was very good at covering her tracks and that just confirmed what I felt all along, that I wasn’t good enough.”

“You were wrong.”

Bucky whirled around to see Lane and Steve standing at the end of the bar. Some super soldier he was that he didn’t even hear them come in. Nancy smiled and poured out two more beers, placing them on the empty spots on either side of Bucky. Sitting beside him Steve and Lane sipped their beer.

“Sharon confessed to setting you up,” said Steve. “Tony has kicked her out of the Avengers, permanently.”

“Yeah, well …,” muttered Bucky, lifting his beer to his mouth. “Not sure I’m coming back.”

“That would be a mistake,” said Lane. “Danny knows his dad is an Avenger. He wants to be just like you.”

Bucky put his beer glass down. “He knows who I am?”

“Yeah, I haven’t kept that a secret from him,” she replied. “It wasn’t my intention to stay away that long. I was waiting for you to find me. You were the Winter Soldier, finding me should have been a piece of cake. Guess I put you off your game.”

“Then why didn’t you come back?” His voice was full of anguish. “Why didn’t you contact me?”

“Because all this time I thought you were with Sharon,” cried Lane. She turned to him with glistening eyes. “You weren’t the only one who thought you weren’t good enough. All we had between us was sex, or so I thought. We didn’t exactly talk a lot except on missions.”

The Rolling Stones song had ended several minutes before, and Nancy went over to the jukebox, looking over the selection for a moment before picking out a few more songs. The first one was an Eagles tune, The Heart of the Matter. When she returned to the bar Steve looked at her with questioning eyes. She shrugged her shoulders in reply then jerked her head over towards the end of the bar in the universal language of “let them talk.”

“I’m going to give you two some privacy,” said Steve, picking his drink up and following Nancy to the end of the bar.

It was as if the couple didn’t even hear him as they kept their eyes only on each other without saying anything verbally. Bucky ran his hand through his hair then looked at Lane as if searching for the right words to begin this long overdue conversation.

“What’s he like?”

“Danny?” She smiled with fondness. “He’s amazing. Sweet, curious, adventurous. He has your eyes and hair.”

“Is he enhanced?”

She nodded. “He eats more than I do, can hear people talking in whispers, runs faster than a teenager. He’s so strong, likes to lift up the couch for me when I vacuum.”

“Who’s looking after him while you’re here?”

“I have a nanny,” said Lane. “Her name’s Carol and she’s become my best friend. She’s offered to adopt him, but I want her to have her own life, not one that’s been forced on her.”

Swallowing noticeably, Bucky nodded, becoming mute for several long moments. “Your cancer, you’ve tried everything?”

“Yeah, although Bruce is willing to try one more thing,” she replied. “It’s a long shot. He’s going to try to replicate the serum out of Steve’s blood. I might not have enough time left for him to be successful.”

Bucky swallowed hard, as he clamped his jaw shut, trying to tamp down the emotions that were trying to erupt from within.

“We really messed things up, didn’t we? I’m so sorry I stopped trying to find you.”

“I should have trusted you, but I couldn’t believe that you really loved me,” said Lane. “You were so handsome, and I’d see you flirting with all the women. I imagined that once you found someone more interesting that would be it for me.”

“It was always you,” answered Bucky, his voice breaking. “You made me feel things I never expected to feel again. Making love to you was like a religious experience.”

Lane touched his right hand and he enclosed her hand in his, looking at her tear filled eyes. “Stay with me until the end,” she whispered. “Be with me. Help me.”

Pulling her into his arms Bucky kissed her fiercely, as they both began to cry. At that moment the Beatles song We Can Work It Out began playing and Bucky stopped crying then smirked, as he looked at where Nancy was at the end of the bar.

“Were you a therapist in a previous life?” he asked. “These songs … I mean, really?”

She smiled. “Nope, just a bartender. You’re not the first person to have a heart to heart talk with a loved one in here. After a while I kinda get an idea of what they need to resolve things. You have resolved your issues, right? You’re getting back together and you’re going to accept the mantle of fatherhood?”

“Yeah, I am on both counts,” he said, holding Lane’s hands and gazing at her. “I’ll even retire from the Avengers just to be with you.”

“No, don’t do that,” smiled Lane. “I’ll come back to the Tower. Tony offered me a place to stay while …. He’s sorry for doubting you. Sharon had almost everyone fooled, except you, Steve, and Peter. On the way here Steve said you didn’t trust her at all.”

“I didn’t,” he said. “She was always leaning in too close, flipping her hair at me, touching my arm … it put me off. I never thought she would stoop even lower by planting her underwear in the bed. No wonder you left without a word. You must have thought I was the worst type of man to cheat on you while you went to be with your mother.”

“I should have talked to you about it,” answered Lane, “but I just lost it and wanted to get out of there before you returned. Wanda guessed and tried to talk me out of it, but I wouldn’t listen. Promise me that we don’t do anything stupid like that again.”

“I promise,” he replied, then he stood up and drained the rest of his glass, before looking over at Steve. “You didn’t happen to bring a truck, did you?”

“The big SUV,” replied Steve. “There’s room in the back for your motorcycle.”

Putting money on the counter for the drinks and picking his bag off the floor, Bucky smiled at Nancy. “Thanks for the drinks, the music, and the sympathetic ear.”

“You’re welcome,” she answered, “and if the Avengers ever want to join any of the runs the Silver Wolves do for charity, you’re more than welcome. The more the merrier and maybe having you guys involved will increase participation.”

To the sounds of Let’s Stay Together by Al Green, the three of them raised their hands in farewell, and headed out to the SUV, parked next to the motorcycle. The two super soldiers had it loaded inside the SUV within minutes and Bucky took his leathers off so he would be more comfortable in the vehicle. When they got back inside the city Lane asked Friday to direct Steve to a certain address.

“Where are we going?” he asked.

“My place,” said Lane, looking back at Bucky, sitting in the back seat. “Someone has to meet his father for the first time. I’d rather do it in a quiet environment.”

Nodding his head in agreement, Bucky sat back and began to prepare to meet his son. No matter what, he was going to make it work. He owed that to Lane and Danny, owed them for four years of separation. In the time Lane had left, Bucky planned to make their life all about her and their son.

〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️

Five months later

“Are you sure you want Bucky here when we start the treatment?” asked Bruce. “I honestly don’t know what your reaction will be to it. We’ve tested it against your blood samples and Shuri ran the virtual simulations but until we actually start to infuse you with the serum ….”

Tiredly, Lane smiled at the gentle doctor. He, along with Dr. Cho and Shuri, had done so much to try to get a working serum ready for her. Even though she was weak she grasped his hand with all the strength she could muster in her left hand, the wedding band loose on her ring finger, her thin and wispy hair barely grown back.

“He’ll be okay,” she said, in her almost whispery voice. “I know he doesn’t like hospitals and doctors, but he trusts you three and if it gets to be too much, he’ll deal with it.”

“Alright, I’ll call him up,” said Bruce.

Down in the lounge Bucky sat with Danny on his lap, watching a Disney movie with the others. Although he found it hard to concentrate on the movie, as he waited for the announcement, he was glad to be there with everyone. In the months since he and Lane reconciled they had been through so much; being with her as her cancer got worse, getting married, then officially adopting Danny as his son. Although he was listed as the father on his birth certificate, Tony’s lawyer said the adoption would remove any doubt about him being the boy’s legal guardian. Combined with treatments to keep Lane comfortable as the cancer wreaked havoc with her body while Bruce and the others worked non-stop on a serum for her, it had been a whirlwind time for the couple. Without everyone’s support he wasn’t sure he could have handled it as well as he did.

“Sergeant Barnes?” said Friday. “They’re ready to begin the infusion. Mrs. Barnes would like you to be there.”

“Thank you, I’ll be right up,” he said, then looked at his son. “I’m going up to be with Momma now. You stay with Uncle Steve, okay?”

Smiling, Danny changed laps, plopping himself down on Steve’s legs and getting a quick cuddle in response. Bucky stood up and gently mussed Danny’s hair before walking to the elevator. There were several murmured “good luck” wishes and he smiled slightly at everyone before stepping through the opening doors. When the doors opened on the medical floor, he was greeted outside the medical lab door by a nurse, who directed him to wash his hands, put on the gown, gloves, and mask before smiling at him to go on in. Nodding his thanks he entered the isolated treatment room, and sat on the chair beside Lane, grasping her hand in his. Bruce and Dr. Cho, also gowned up, had the infusion all set up. It’s bright blue colour seemed to look the same as what Bucky remembered his serum looked like. Steve had seen it on the internal camera system, as only Bucky was allowed to visit, and had said the same.

“Now, we expect that just like your serum and Steve’s, that it will have a burning sensation as it flows through Lane’s veins,” stated Bruce. “We don’t want to interfere with the process so there won’t be any pain relief. I’m sorry in advance if it hurts. By Shuri’s extrapolations the healing effects of the serum should be evident within half an hour but in reality it could be faster or it could take longer. We just don’t know for sure.”

“Bruce,” whispered Lane. “Just do it. Please.”

Nodding self-consciously he started the infusion pump and both doctors watched the readouts on the virtual imaging system that watched the infusion entering Lane’s circulatory system. Within a minute it was obvious she was in discomfort as her breathing became laboured. Her heart rate increased, as did her blood pressure and respiration rate. She squeezed Bucky’s hand and began to gasp as the pain became harder to take.

“It’s okay, you can yell,” said Bucky. “I did. So did Steve. Do what you have to.”

Giving in to the burning sensation that filled her body Lane began to whimper, which built into cries, then screams. She was already restrained but her body pulled against the padded straps that held her down. Bucky tried not to show any fear, but he buried his forehead onto her hand that he was holding, trying to will his body to take some of the pain she was feeling.

Dr. Cho looked at the monitor. “She’s approaching the red line for heart rate and BP,” she said to Bruce, trying to keep her voice calm.

“Infusion is at 65%,” he replied. “Lane, hang in there for just another minute.”

The alarms on the monitoring equipment were all going off as Lane’s heart rate approached 200 beats per minute and her blood pressure reached a dangerous level. Bruce watched the virtual imaging system as her entire circulatory system changed colour while the serum was infused throughout. When the readout indicated that she had received 100% of the serum he shut the pump off and watched the readouts of her vital processes. Unconscious, her body started sweating profusely and Dr. Cho grabbed some heated blankets out of the warmer, layering them over Lane, to prevent her from going into shock. Bucky looked anxiously at his wife, kissing her hand and stroking it.

As her heart rate stabilized so did her blood pressure and Bruce leaned over to check her eye response. When he shone his penlight into her eyes there was a response from her pupils, but she was still unconscious.

“Lane?” he said, loudly, as he touched her cheek. “Can you hear me?”

There was no response and he looked at the readouts of her brain activity, not entirely happy with what he saw. Then Dr. Cho touched his arm, pointing to the virtual display. The blue colour of her circulatory system had spread to her entire body, including her internal organs.

“That wasn’t supposed to happen,” he said.

“What is it?” asked Bucky. “Is something wrong?”

“I don’t know,” replied Bruce. “The serum seems to be spreading into her muscle and organ tissue. Everything is blue.”

Pulling back the heated blanket from one of her legs all three of them gasped to see Lane’s leg increase in musculature, almost as if it was replacing what she had lost in the last few months. Uncovering her completely they were surprised to see it replicated on all of her limbs then Bucky let go of her left hand and they noticed her wedding ring was no longer loose.

“Does this mean it’s working?” asked Bucky.

“I think it’s making her into a super soldier,” said Bruce. “All of the blood testing and virtual simulations just showed the serum destroying the cancer but it seems to be fixing her body in the process. Both you and Steve experienced the same thing, just not as fast in your case.”

“It is made from Steve’s blood,” said Dr. Cho. “Could explain the rapid response.”

All three of them were looking up at the readouts and the virtual images, seeing the blue colour stay in her system. Her readings approached normal, at least normal by Bucky and Steve’s standards, including a body temperature that was two degrees higher than a normal human. Although Lane was still unconscious her breathing eased, and her body relaxed.

“I think we can undo the restraints,” said Bruce. “We should take a blood sample.”

As Bucky undid the restraints, Dr. Cho fastened a tourniquet around Lane’s left arm, and Bruce began listening to her heart and breath sounds with his stethoscope. After successfully taking a vial of blood from Lane’s arm Helen withdrew the needle and called Bruce to see the insertion site heal as they watched it. Both doctors smiled at each other, amazed that it actually worked. Taking a small amount of the blood in a syringe the vial was sent to the lab for the full work up. The small amount they took was smeared on a slide and both doctors inserted it under the microscope, looking at the sample before transferring the image to a split screen, comparing it to a sample taken before the infusion.

“It’s definitely changed,” said Dr. Cho. She looked up at the elapsed time. “It took only 22 minutes.”

They looked back at Bucky and Lane. He was holding her hand to his lips and murmuring to her. After several more minutes he looked up Bruce.

“Why isn’t she waking up?” he asked. “Her body has healed, right?”

“It looks like it, but we won’t know for sure until the blood work comes back, and we do another full body scan.” Bruce pulled Dr. Cho to the hallway so Bucky wouldn’t hear them. “We should do a brain scan, just to rule out a stroke. Her blood pressure was very high.”

Nodding in agreement they both went in and reset the imaging to do a detailed scan of her brain. While it was being done Bruce asked Bucky to stay in the hallway so his vibranium arm wouldn’t interfere with the process. It was a lie, but he didn’t want Bucky there if the scan showed brain damage. As the imaging confirmed there was no brain injury, he allowed the super soldier back. The blood work results also came back showing no trace of any cancer. Elapsed time since the beginning of the infusion was at 54 minutes.

“Bucky, talk to her,” said Bruce. “Maybe she’s in there and isn’t sure how to get back to you.”

“Can I get in bed with her?” he asked, receiving the okay.

Removing his shoes, mask and gown, Bucky laid beside her, putting his arm around her and cradling her close to his body. Gently, he kissed her on the forehead.

“It’s been almost an hour since they started giving you the serum,” he said softly. “We watched as your muscles came back and your breathing got better. Bruce said all the tests show you’re cured but you’re still unconscious, lost in there maybe. I never really told you that I loved you when we were together before. It wasn’t because I didn’t, it was because I was afraid to open myself up to you, afraid you would see I wasn’t good enough for you. You gave me so much, your friendship first, your love next, a son … still can’t believe I’m a father and that he likes me. Most of all you gave me what I needed, a place to call home. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that from the beginning. We wouldn’t have lost out on four years together. So, I’m telling you now. I need you Lane, my heart yearns for you, my eyes need to see you every morning, my body needs your soft warmth to make love to, every part of me is addicted to you. I’m a better man with you, a lost man without you. Please come back to me.”

His tears streamed down his cheeks as he pressed his lips onto her forehead, asking her over and over to come back. As Bruce and Dr. Cho kept monitoring her readouts, they both began to wonder if they had failed. Everything indicated she should be awake, as her body was functioning as it should, but it was like nothing was there, the spark that was Lane was gone. Bucky slowly realized that she wasn’t going to wake up and began to weep for his wife. Clutching her to his chest, he whispered about what he loved the most about her. Then he kissed her gently on the lips and prepared to get off the bed, sadly accepting that she was lost to him.

“Bucky,” she whispered, so softly that even he almost missed it. “Don’t go.”

“Lane?” He stopped moving and studied her face. “Baby, are you there?”

Her head moved slightly, and she opened her mouth. “Stay.”

Bruce came over and leaned over the couple. “Lane, can you open your eyes?”

His voice was desperate as he repeated his request. Then her eyes fluttered open, and she saw Bucky, bringing a beautiful smile to her face.

“There you are,” she said quietly. “I found you.”

Gathering her into his arms Bucky wept tears of joy at the return of his wife and mother of his son. When he kissed her on the lips her hands grasped his arms, holding on as if she was afraid of drowning. It took several requests from Bruce before Bucky let go of Lane long enough for her to be examined. As far as they could tell the cancer was completely gone and she had been transformed into a super soldier. She still seemed to be a little fuzzy but Bruce attributed that to her brain adjusting to the serum after fighting the cancer for so long.

Advising Friday to pass on the good news resulted in everyone coming up to see the couple, starting with Steve and Danny. Squirming out of Steve’s arms when he got off the elevator Danny came running into the room and threw himself on the bed, to Lane’s laughter. She looked at her son as if she had never seen him before, lovingly caressing his hair and kissing him.

“Uncle Steve says you’re strong now,” the boy said breathlessly. “Does that mean you can jump up high?”

“I don’t know,” replied Lane. “I haven’t got out bed yet. It might be a while before I feel brave enough to try. If it’s true it means you won’t be able to run away from me anymore, as I’ll be able to catch you, and tickle you until you let me kiss you.”

“Aw,” he grinned. “Momma, what about your hair?”

Lane looked at Bruce. “Well, based on how fast Steve and Bucky’s hair grows after being cut I would say you’ll probably start regrowing it in a couple of days. According to the bed monitoring system you also gained 25 lbs in muscle. I’m guessing you’ll start feeling hungry very soon.”

“It seems like forever since I last ate,” she replied. “Everything looks wonderful. All of you ….”

She began to get emotional and both Bucky and Danny hugged her. Wanda watched carefully from the end of the bed, making eye contact with Lane, who smiled and nodded at her, then hesitated when Wanda didn’t smile back.

“Well, right now you need to rest up,” said Dr. Cho then she turned to everyone else. “I want Lane in here for the night for observation. You can have a big party welcoming her back tomorrow. This is a momentous occasion.”

Everyone else left, except for Bucky and Danny, who stayed until the little boy began asking for food. Kissing Lane tenderly, Bucky picked up his son, allowing him to kiss his mother, then he took the boy down for dinner, some play time and bed. Some food was brought to Lane and she savoured every bite, telling anyone within earshot that the food was incredible. As it got dark, she asked for her bed to be pushed close to the window so she could look outside, wanting to see the moon come up in the night sky. Everything felt new again and Lane wanted to feel it all. 🌕

Several hours later Wanda entered the medical lab, nodding at the nurse who was on duty.

“I’m just here to see Lane,” she said softly.

“Go ahead, she’s awake,” replied the nurse who had just checked on her, finding her looking out the window again.

Entering the room, Wanda pulled a chair up as Lane watched her from the bed. The young witch frowned as she tried to word the question she wanted to ask, but Lane put her hand on Wanda’s arm.

“I’m not here to hurt him,” she said. “Lane died during the procedure when she suffered a stroke and had already accepted that. The serum fixed it immediately but she was already leaving when it fixed her body.”

“How did you end up in her body?” asked Wanda. “How do you have her memories?”

“Everything is different there,” said the young woman. “I wasn’t ready to cross over as I never had a great love, never knew what it was like to be with someone who worshipped her as much he did. It felt like I spent an eternity in the between place, waiting for a chance to experience the life that had been denied to me.” She wiped at the tears that came from her eyes. “She always wanted to make things right with Bucky before she moved on as she didn’t expect to survive it. She was so tired of it all and just wanted to be released from it. Lane gave it all to me, his love for her, her love for him and Danny. I love them, as much as she did.”

“But you’re not her,” said Wanda. “You don’t think he’ll realize that?”

“Even now, my original memories are fading so that only hers will be left and I’m great with that,” said the person who was becoming Lane. “My previous life wasn’t good. It was filled with sadness, violence, and pain. I never got what I wanted or needed to feel loved and cared for. Now, I have a chance for that but you’re the only one who knows the truth, the only one who can rip us apart.”

She let Wanda enter her mind and see what her life had been like before she died, before she encountered Lane in the between place that exists after life but before a person’s essence moves on. Her life had been full of abuse and violence that ultimately killed her. Yet even for all that she suffered the person who was in Lane’s body always had hope, for someone beautiful in mind and spirit to become her life partner. She had cast away the negative energy that surrounded her previous life and allowed herself to be filled with the calming energies of love, patience, and kindness.

“Alright,” smiled Wanda. “Both Bucky and Danny accept that you’re Lane. If you truthfully become her then it’s not on me to say otherwise. Promise that you won’t hurt them or leave them.”

“They’re exactly what I need to be happy,” said the other woman. “To love and to be loved is what I always wanted but never had a chance at until now.” The young witch stood up, satisfied that this new incarnation of Lane would keep her promise. “Wanda? Pietro wanted you to know that he still misses you. He said whenever you catch a flicker of light in the corner of your eye, that it’s him. He’ll wait for you, in the between place.”

“Was … was Vision there?” asked Wanda, her eyes glistening.

“No, I’m sorry, there was no one there by that name,” said Lane. “By the sound of your voice you must have loved him very much.”

“I did,” smiled Wanda, sadly. “Thank you for telling me about my brother.”

“You’re welcome,” said Lane. Then she looked out at the moon again. “It’s just as beautiful as I remember it.” 🌅

In the morning, Lane was released and walked out of the medical lab with Bucky’s arm wrapped around her waist and holding Danny’s hand in hers. Before they went to their quarters they stopped in the common area where a large paper banner was hung with the messily painted words Welcome Home Momma! There were handprints from everyone on the paper, welcoming Lane back from her brush with death. After being presented with a large cake Lane thanked everyone for supporting her and Bucky through the last 5 months. As the others went to cut it into pieces for everyone Wanda sat next to Lane and took her hand.

“I’m glad we had that talk last night,” she said quietly. “It’s obvious that you love Bucky and Danny.

“What talk?” asked Lane, puzzled. “You came to see me? I don’t remember that. I do remember that it was a beautiful full moon.”

Wanda turned her head slightly, almost as if she was listening to something faint. Then she smiled.

“I must have dreamt it,” she said. “It seemed so real. How does it feel to be a super soldier?”

“Strange,” replied Lane. “I can hear things out in the hallway but it sounds like it’s right beside me. They gave me a double serving of breakfast and I was still hungry after. Once I’m used to my strength Bucky and Steve are going to train me so I can go on missions. I can’t wait.”

Wanda’s answer was interrupted by Bucky bringing cake to Lane. As Wanda excused herself she stood a short distance away and observed the former cancer patient, realizing that whatever entity had assumed Lane’s identity was now fully integrated with the other woman’s memories. She was truly Lane Barnes now, beloved wife, doting mother, and soon-to-be super soldier for the Avengers. Everything she would ever want or need was here, friends, family, and a higher purpose with the Avengers. Maybe this was the way it was always supposed to be.

Please like, comment or reblog if you liked this.

Short Fiction Masterlist

Tumblr Masterlist

[insinirate]

Wait, so do Vash and Wolfwood know Knives is a dog person too in the puppy au?

in that version of the au only vash knew the whole time

makes.......certain events for ww to find out that nai is also a dog

[valoale]

Me: has tons of shows and films I have saved on my watchlist and has never seen them

Also me: chooses to rewatch all 19 seasons of Grey’s instead

[niofo]

bcos au-gust started i'm at least thinking abt my aus, if not writing them, so more thoughts about thedas medical drama.

i have dorian and sidony as a part of forensic medicine department, and perhaps emmrich as the boss? i know we don't know much abt him yet, but it would be really nice to have such a kind and fun person there, my prof of forensic medicine was horrible.

i wonder abt the psychiatry ward that idris is also working at, considering i put all the healers in emergency. perhaps just other mages. my current boss is very alike vivienne, ngl. but also considering idris and vivienne having a legendary beef with each other he would not work there if she was the boss, so perhaps they're coworkers. also i think solas is giving me a psychiatrist vibe too, he would be really into writing papers and academic discussions. as for their boss i'm thinking my almost oc lydia rainier, so i can proceed with the lost siblings drama with blackwall.

also on topic of the wardens, shartan is also here, as a firefighter friend/coworker of alistair. i imagine that alistair could drag shartan along when he comes to visit his doctor friend gareth, and that way shartan would meet anders. as for another side of his ot3 i tbh have no idea who zevran could be. like i had gareth's crow little sister as a hitwoman as a joke, i'm not sure if i want to go through with it. on the other hand it is a medical drama, it should be bullshit.

[transingthoseformers]

I don't talk a lot about TFP au Pharma, but let's be real this is for his sake rather than mine. He's got PTSD from the Delphi events, which he plans on telling exactly nobody and these plans will be dashed.

Ratchet @ Tarn : "You ruined a perfectly good medic, look at him he's got anxiety."

[softquietsteadylove]

For part 4: I've got this idea of mine where Thena blaming Minerva for what happened to Gil and she ordered her that he wants Gil back under her after this mission.

I want you to decide for the rest! I know this is a lot and I am sorry TT, I just wanna say again that your works are beautiful and so are you. Thank you! xoxo

"How'd it go?"

Thena closed the passenger side door with a huff, clipping her seat belt rather aggressively. "It could have gone worse, I suppose."

"So you didn't mouth off and get fired?" Kingo asked as he pulled out of the lot of the agency office building. "I would say I was impressed if you weren't already on suspension for it."

Thena just shrugged. She didn't much care about the suspension, even considering she was a senior agent, and this kind of thing would reflect on her for a very long time to come. It was a well deserved suspension, given how she had screamed in the face of not only Minerva but the Section Chief as well.

All that having been said, Gil had almost died.

The recovery operation was a success. Thena was the best when it came to infiltration, especially after things had already not gone to plan. She and the rest of Special Ops had arrived at the scene and cleaned things up concisely and without mercy.

She had gone further in with Kingo, intent on finding Gil. At the very least they had confirmed that he wasn't one of the reported casualties, but that still left him as potentially injured.

Thena had found him in one of the back corners of the labyrinth of storage lockers. He was barely breathing and there was blood everywhere. If they had been any later, he probably would have...

She had gone in the ambulance with him, Kingo having covered for her absence, with Minerva's help to corroborate Thena's definitely-good-enough reason for leaving the scene.

She owed that much to Minerva, and after she had gotten in her face about the whole thing being her fault. That was unfair of her, and Thena knew it. She knew what being a team leader meant--what it meant to have people's lives in their hands and be solely responsible for it when things went bad.

She was feeling...fragile.

Minerva had taken it like a champ, because of course she had. She didn't reprimand Thena for it, didn't shout back at her, didn't even demand an apology for it later.

The Chief still had her suspended for her behaviour but Thena hadn't cared then and she still didn't, now.

"Did you do what I told you?" Kingo asked as he drove, letting Thena take it easy in the passenger's seat.

Thena crossed her arms, "I displayed...appropriate remorse."

Kingo rolled his eyes, "come on, Boss. I can't do shit with both you and Gil out of commission."

"I know," she mumbled, looking down at her bag on her lap. She really had attempted to appear apologetic for her actions. "I did offer my apologies for it."

"Did you seem sorry?" Kingo looked over at her as he slowed to a stop, "really?"

Thena rolled her eyes and shook her head, "sorry enough."

"So, no," Kingo scoffed and shook his head as well. "If you and Gil get fired, I've gotta get out of this line of work."

Thena smiled, "we're not fired, Kingo. Not yet, anyway."

"Yet," he huffed as he started driving again. He glanced at her, "the transfer?"

"I said that even if I was fired, Gil would be back on Special Ops in exchange."

"Thena-"

"It was the only way I'd go peacefully," she shrugged, repeating it exactly as she had stated it in her probation hearing. "That's all that matters."

Kingo snuck his eyes over to her as she toyed with the bag on her knees. She was fidgeting. "You really think Gil is going to still work here if you don't?"

Thena ignored him. "It's just one more week."

Kingo made a grand show of rolling his eyes at her as he pulled over, "I don't know, Boss. I've already neglected all the paperwork I can. They're going to start asking me to actually do it instead of waiting for you to get back."

Thena gave him a smile as she gripped the handle of the car door, "serves you right."

He leaned down to look at her even as she got out, "just come back soon, please? And tell the big guy I want him back even sooner!"

Thena waved to him as he drove off again. She had to admit, Kingo didn't drive as much like a hellion as she had initially expected he would. And he had very helpfully given her a ride whenever she needed it during her suspension period. She turned, letting herself into the apartment with her key.

"Hey!"

"Hey," she smiled as she walked in, kicking off her shoes by the door and walking into the kitchen. "I'm getting a little too used to not having to wear heels."

"Well, it's not like you need 'em."

Thena rounded the corner, leaning against the wall as she admired the sight of Gilgamesh in the kitchen, on his feet, alive and well. Moderately well, "what's on?"

"Just some easy pasta," he smiled at her from the stove, stirring it with his left hand while his right remained in a sling. She gave him a look and he laughed outright, "relax, nothing strenuous involved."

He had taken a bullet to the leg, as well as endured a shattered clavicle that would have him in a sling for two months. He would still be on desk duty even by the time he was cleared to return to work.

Thena wandered closer, inhaling the delicious smelling sauce. He really was a surprisingly skilled home cook.

He looked over at her, the sizzling of pasta underscoring them. "Get fired?"

"No, but I think Minerva vouched for both of us," Thena sighed. She didn't love the idea of being indebted to her old comrade, but she had to admit that she owed her quite a lot, at this point. "They said that the suspension will be over next week, and after that they'll 'keep an eye on me', so... "

He nudged her with his good elbow gently, "I told you not to speak your mind. Just tell them you're very sorry for what you did and move on."

She raised a brow at him, "is that what you said at your probation hearing?"

"No, I told them that they were old bastards who could go to hell."

Thena laughed, partly from the joke, and partly because it probably wasn't that far from the truth, knowing Gil. For all the shit she got for not minding her manners around their superiors, Gil was a pretty honest guy, even in the worst scenarios.

Gil turned off the stove burner and turned to her, "you were pretty hurt, after that op. I couldn't just let that go."

She looked up at him too, her eyes drifting over the sling holding his arm and then down over the extensive bandaging he had received in the hospital. Even a week after being released, some of them still had to be maintained regularly. "How do you think I felt?"

He smiled, giving her shoulder a squeeze before moving to the cupboard with the bowls, "hey, we got through it--both of us."

Thena moved faster, bumping him out of the way with her hip to reach them before he could, "barely."

He smiled, letting her reach them for herself, instead moving to get them both water glasses. "But we did."

Thena set down the bowls beside the pan of pasta. She had apologised plenty already, and that was after Gil had awoken and told her he didn't have any clue what she was apologising for (and telling her to take it back, too). But seeing him more in the past week than she had in the past month still made her heart clench in her chest.

"Thena?"

She smiled, spooning out plenty for both of them (although that meant that his serving was double the size of hers). "Sit down, Gilgamesh."

He chuckled, obeying the order with a big grin on his face, "yes, ma'am."

She let him see her rolling her eyes at him as she came over with their lunch. She sat down, leaving her suit jacket on the back of her chair. She kept forgetting things at Gil's place, being here to help take care of him so often. She had reminded herself plenty of times already not to get so comfortable here.

"Hey."

Thena looked up, already smiling because Gil was. He twirled some pasta around his fork from his bowl and held up the bite for her. He was cute; she shook her head at him. "I have my own."

Gil shrugged, "you need more. This is why you're so skinny."

Thena's jaw dropped, although it made an opening for Gil to poke at her lip with the pasta fork. She huffed before biting down on it with a glare. "You are still my Agent, Gilgamesh."

"Sorry, sir," he laughed as he pulled the fork back. "Y'know, I thought you were kinda skinny for an Agent when you first recruited me, too."

"Oh, did you," Thena scoffed as she took a bite of her own lunch. "What else did you think?--since you're feeling candid?"

Gil shrugged, his shoulders still moving with his barely contained laughter, "that you weren't nearly as hard to read as everyone said you were."

She rolled her eyes again.

"And that you were kinda pretty, too."

She stopped in the middle of bringing her fork up to her lips. She looked over at him but he was shovelling in another bite, as if he hadn't even heard what he'd said.

"This is isn't bad for only having one hand," he commented as he took a massive bite for himself.

Thena just sighed and took another bite as well. It was moments like this that made her not want her suspension to actually end.

[musewrangler]

“That bastard did some significant damage to his mind,” Henley stated. Neither had to clarify who ‘that bastard’ was. “I have done all I can but he needs more than that, my Lord. It doesn’t help that he was interrogated extensively as well, but that I can take care of. He’s responding well to treatments. But if I’m correct about what I’m seeing on his scans—and naturally I am—he doesn’t have a lot of time before the damage is permanent.”

Anakin’s stomach twisted. He longed for Yoda in this moment, but the cryptic Jedi Master had made it clear that this was Anakin’s mess and his alone to clean up.

“What would you have me do?” he asked roughly, already aware of where this conversation was going.

“What it takes,” Henley answered curtly. “He needs you, my Lord.”

Anakin looked down at his prosthetic hands—hands that had brought death to so many.

“I am no healer, Doctor.”

“Then start,” Henley told him with more boldness than Anakin recalled in the past, and that was saying something for the chief medical officer. “We have precious few Force users around and the Admiral doesn’t have much time. Your son needs to heal and so isn’t available. You are.”