Accidentally Damaged?
Title: Accidentally Damaged?
Rating: T
Summary: "Alright superman," Cody joked as he pulled a newspaper out of the bag he was carrying. "How much of this here inked paper is true?"
Warnings: I suggest you read 'Bittersweet Hero' first.
Disclaimer: I own nothing and no harm is meant. Seriously people, this is FICTION.
Beta: None, all mistakes are mine.
A/N: So umm...took me long enough but here's part two for those who thought I should continue. Not sure exactly where this is headed so if you'd like to offer an opinion or two, feel free.
Randy lightly traced designs up and down John's arm. Just random symbols, words or whatever came to his mind. Basically he just need contact, needed to touch the sleeping man in someway.
He was leaning back over the bed railing, the same position he'd been in a few hours ago when John had been awake. Only this time, his left arm alone supported his head.
After their little talk, brothers included, Randy hadn't gone back to sleep. He couldn't explain it but he had just felt this strong urge to watch John. Like the machines and monitors wouldn't be enough to assure him his lover was okay. Damaged, but okay.
It had taken some heavy persuading but he'd succeeded in getting John Sr. and his boys to go on home. Telling them to freshen up and maybe catch a few z's in a more comfortable horizontal position. Randy had promised he would call as soon as possible if anything changed, the only condition being that this afternoon he'd have to do the same.
The clock on the wall told him it was 5:30 a.m., Thursday morning. Officially day two since that blond bastard had tried to rob Mr. and Mrs. Gabriel's shop, 'accidentally' shooting John.
Accidentally, yeah the fuck right, Randy thought. If that was an accident then he was king of the fucking world.
Whether or not the kid had been startled into shooting was still up for debate but as far as Randy was concerned, he did shoot and that was more than enough to condemn him in Randy's book. No more details, judge nor jury needed.
Randy's finger stopped mid-trace, disrupting his own name as he closed his eyes, trying to reroute his thoughts. That dark road would only wet his appetite for worse things to come or land him behind bars if he wasn't careful. Besides, the decision wasn't up to him. So he thought.
The rest of his name remained unfinished as he went back to just staring at John. He took note of how high his chest rose before falling as the older man breathed. It seemed John's breathing was more shallow and more frequent than Randy remembered. Normally he only took seven or eight breaths a minute while he was sleeping but this morning he was taking around twelve to fourteen breaths per minute. Randy chalked it up to trauma but didn't dismiss his worry completely.
Though he was trying to fight it himself, Randy could feel his eyelids getting heavier. No one was meant to go without sleep and he was already pushing his body towards 48 straight hours sans sleep, just seven hours short. His body was starting to fight back, ignoring his brain's signals to stay awake. Total shutdown was probably only about a minute away.
He pushed away from the bed railing slouching back in his chair. Crossing his arms over his chest, Randy's eyes were just beginning to close when John started to move.
His forehead wrinkled for a second like it usually did when he was in deep thought.
Randy tensed but waited.
It wasn't until John's whole face suddenly contorted as if he was in major pain, that he moved.
"John?"
Randy quickly sat up, reaching out once again for John's arm. The broken whimper that escaped the older man's lips next had him changing tactics.
He bypassed his arm, instead gently stroking John's cheek, softly whispering sweet nothings trying to calm him. It took a few moments but the man gradually stilled. He didn't wake but slowly drifted back off to sleep, whatever that was bothering him now gone.
Randy caressed his cheek a few more times before leaning over and kissing John's forehead. He settled back in his chair, content to let his eyes close now that John's discomfort had passed.
"Are you his lover?"
The female voice startled Randy. He turned his head in the direction of the door to find one of the night nurses staring at him. Something akin to admiration in her chocolate brown eyes. Randy hadn't even heard her come in the room. Hadn't even been aware that his little display of affection bore a witness.
He didn't respond right away, just sized her up from a distance. Her badge was hidden by her hair but if Randy remembered correctly, her name was Ethel. She was a grey-haired 42 year old mother of six who'd been through all kinds of hell and high water but still believed there was a golden heart beneath everyone's facade.
She seemed nice enough that Randy wanted to peg her as harmless but...well, you understand his hesitation, right? Plus he was all for believing that there were still some good people in this world but her life's motto seemed a tad too naive for his taste.
"Excuse me?"
Mrs. Ethel just gave Randy a warm smile, moving further into the room as she did. She checked over John's chart making sure the numbers looked accordingly, nothing too high or too low for his condition. His I.V.'s had been changed a little over an hour ago so she just checked to make sure they were still attached to him and that the fluids was flowing at the right pace.
Randy's cool gaze clocked her every move. The tension he'd set about the air meant to intimidate but had no affect on her. After twenty years dealing with some ungrateful doctors, patients in denial plus their scared, irate family members; one overprotective lover was at the bottom of the list when it came to breaking down her nerves.
She ended her check-up and shift by changing out John's catheter and bag. Once she had them replaced without waking her patient, Mrs. Ethel quietly washed her hands before turning her full attention back to the tanned young man.
His guarded expression didn't phase her, only brought about another warm smile.
"He calmed at your touch" She offered as explanation. "In all my years, I've only seen a parent or spouse able to soothe so quickly with little more than their presence." She added.
Silence ensued but Randy held her gaze. He scanned her face carefully, looking for any sign that his answer would cause an unwanted reaction. The last thing he needed right now was someone shoving the gays are sinners speech down his throat or someone trying to blackmail him or John for that matter. Though that last concern was probably something to worry about with the younger nurses. They were then one's who got all dreamy eyed when they came in to check on John, not Mrs. Ethel.
After a few more seconds with no response, she gave a small nod before making her way towards the door. She completely understood his hesitation but...no answer was an answer too. Her hand had just enclosed the doorknob when she heard a soft, but deep voice.
"Two years."
She turned back around but the younger man's loving gaze was fixed on his partner.
"Ten years in all but only...only two together." Randy tore his eyes away from John for just a moment. Swallowing, he flicked a quick glance Mrs. Ethel's way. The smile never left her face, if anything it only got bigger. Feeling himself relax a little, he half returned it.
The door was closed quietly as Randy turned his attention back to his lover. The clock read 6:15 a.m. as he settled back in his chair. Maybe it was his mind playing tricks on him since he was so tired but Randy could have sworn right before his eyes closed completely John's right leg lifted up just a bit. Enough for his knee to make an impression in the cover, maybe...
Cena's Viper
"Good afternoon, John. How ya feeling?"
It was just a little after noon before Dr. Morgan was able to make it to John's room, a small crises a few doors down had required most of his attention that morning.
"Well doc, as you can imagine, I've definitely had better days." John replied. He used the railing to pull himself up just a little straighter, his legs didn't exactly feel like the same dead weight from last night but they still weren't co-operating.
"Any trouble sleeping last night, any aches or pains that wouldn't go away?" Dr. Morgan asked as he did a once over of his chart. He noted that John's blood pressure was still slightly higher than he would have liked but everything else seemed fine.
John shook his head, chuckling. "Nope, pretty much slept like a baby once I'd fallen asleep." Of course he didn't remember his small discomfort.
Nodding his head, Dr. Morgan placed John's chart back in it's slot. He placed his hands in his coat pockets and took a moment to look around at John's father and brothers. He was stalling, not really sure if he wanted to ask about his legs. Though he knew they'd done all they could do, he still wasn't quite sure the now absent younger man wouldn't try and make good on his threats.
Taking a small breath, he went ahead and bit the bullet, so to speak.
"And what about your legs. Any feeling at all, whether pain, a tingling sensation or maybe numbness."
Again, John shook his head, sighing. "No...nothing at all." Randy had already asked these questions before he left that morning.
They had eaten breakfast, or rather Randy had complained about the hospital food, then the Orton interrogation had begun. John gave the doctor the same answer's he'd given Randy. Unfortunately, nothing had changed in the short span of those few hours.
The only difference between last night and today was that he felt a little less panicky. Now whether this was a good thing or bad thing, he'd just have to wait to find out.
Dr. Morgan gave another small nod, he was just opening his mouth to speak but John Sr. beat him to the punch.
"Doctor," Mr. Cena paused for a second, looking towards his son. "Where exactly do we go from here?"
John couldn't help but smile at the use of the word 'we'. No, he hadn't thought his family would abandon him but it still felt good hearing his dad say they wouldn't. There was however still a small bit of guilt eating at his conscience for accusing Randy. If he couldn't count his lover as part of his family then who could he?
"I..I mean in terms of therapy, medication if need be and a...a possible outcome to all this." Mr. Cena finished.
"Most importantly," John chimed in with a grin. "When the hell can I get out of here?"
Whatever tension that was been building in the room due to uncertainty quickly dissolved when everyone started laughing. Far be from John to let his humor die so easily even under these circumstances.
Dr. Morgan waited until everyone had calmed down and all eyes were back on him. He cleared his throat once before continuing.
"You might not like me after this, John but you've got at least another week. Plus, today starts your therapy."
John groaned, letting his head drop back onto the bed, a small smile tugging at his lips. "Oh, come on. You're killing me here."
"Oh, quit cha whining, ya big baby." Steve teased, slapping him in the arm.
"We're not here to torture you, just to make sure you'll be able to take care of yourself once you go home." Dr. Morgan offered as a truce, humor lacing his tone. "Your physical therapist is Doctor Arthur Leonardo. He'll be here around 3 for your scheduled appointment, okay?"
"Yep, no problem." Matt cut John off. He just knew his older brother was about to sprout off some smart-ass remark.
The doctor wrote a few things down on John's chart before promising to come back around a little later on. As he walked out he couldn't help but shake his head and laugh as John called out after him.
"Thanks doc!"
Closing his eyes, John let a sigh escape as he leaned back completely. No one spoke as he listened to the sounds around him. The low hum of the machines monitoring his heart rate, the hussle and bussel outside his room, the Hyneman from Mythbusters on tv, plus everyone's breathing. Not surprisingly, John was the loudest of them all. He could feel everybody's eyes on him and though he never shied away from being the center of attention, he wasn't sure how much longer he could take being the star of this here show.
"You alright, bro?" Sean reached out, momentarily forgetting why they were even in the hospital, and touched John's knee. If anyone was expecting the contact to be registered, they were sorely disappointed when after a few seconds, John remained silent.
He swallowed a few times before slowly opening his eyes. The smile he prepared faltered a little when he realized Sean was touching him. He hadn't felt anything, no pressure, not the slightest bit of weight, nothing.
Though he was quick to compose himself, his eyes continued to betray him. The fear, self-doubt, and worry darkening his baby blues just so.
"Yeah man, just...I'm just a little tired, ya know."
Sean nodded, deciding not to push his luck. He slowly let his hand slip from his brother's knee before it returned to tightly gripping the bed railing.
John once again closed his eyes, this time against the emotional pain. He was pretty sure that if he were to look around the room, Sean's troubled expression would be mirrored on the rest of his family's faces. That bothered him.
He was never the type of guy to just sit back and let things happen on their own. He liked to have things planned out in advance, hell, you could ask any of the guys in the locker room and they'd tell you he was the 'go to man'. If anyone was ever bored out of their freaking mind while they were on the road, their best bet was to find John. He always had an idea, was always moving around, always doing something.
Now though, that wasn't the case. He didn't know whether or not he'd be able to walk again, didn't know whether or not he'd gain any feeling at all back in his legs, didn't know what he was going to be doing tomorrow let alone an hour from now. It was completely out of his hands and you can bet your bottom dollar that scared the living shit out of him.
If not for his father's voice cutting through his tirade of negative thoughts, John wasn't sure where his mind would have taken him.
"Alright son, it's almost one so how about we let you get a little sleep before your date with the therapist." John Sr. could tell by the way his son's face tensed up that his thoughts were less than kosher. Better to nip them in the bud now than to let them blossom into a problem later.
John took the hits upside his head from his brothers in stride, laughing and shoving Matt away when he suggested that John could pass a few of the nurses' numbers his way. He mouthed fucker once their father turned towards the door receiving a pretty little bird in response.
Before Mr. Cena could reach the door, it opened.
"Johnny!"
Cody announced the arrival of friends as Ted, Evan, and Morrison filed in after him.
Of course John couldn't stop the dimples from appearing. He used the railings to pull himself up again, face split in a massive grin, almost like a kid in a candy store. It was pretty safe to assume that sleep had just been pushed aside for at least another twelve hours or so.
"Wait a minute, shouldn't you guys be on your way to St. Louis?"
"Oh come on John, really?" Evan asked, feigning hurt.
"Why in the hell would we be in Missouri when your hurt here in Mass.?" Cody finished as they surrounded John's bed. As soon as Randy had called, everyone who could, tossed all plans of heading to St. Louis early in favor of going to see John. The WWE was one massive family, so it only made sense that when one of their own was hurt, they'd go support him or her.
"Adam, Matt and Rey are here too." Ted added. "Matt called a few minutes ago and said they were close."
John was so fucking happy at the moment he wouldn't have cared if Vince came to visit him. He honestly hadn't expected to see the guys until next week, since they'd be in the area for the next show. With this being one of those few times when RAW and Smackdown were in the same state, it didn't surprise him to hear that Matt and Rey were on their way.
"So, where's your playmate?" Morrison asked once he noticed Randy was missing.
"He went for a walk about an hour ago." Dan answered for John. "I'll go find him, I'm pretty sure he's had enough fresh air by now."
John waved as his family left, closing the door behind them.
"Alright superman," Cody joked as he pulled a newspaper out of the bag he was carrying. "How much of this here inked paper is true?"