Fic: Waiting to Come Down
Title: Waiting to Come Down
Characters: Sierra Anderson, Cooper Anderson, Blaine Anderson, The Anderson Parents
Pairing: None. Though I have been told that in certain light this can read kind of Andercest-y.
Verse: Canon(ish)
Word Count: 1751
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Angst. SOOOO much angst.
Summary: Cooper returns home following Blaine's attack at the Sadie Hawkins Day Dance
Notes: It's all the fault of Cough Syrup.
The last time Cooper did this, flew home at the last minute, it had been in the middle of a press junket. This time it was during filming. The director was a bit cranky, but once Cooper gave his reason for having to go, no one argued with him.
Stepping off the plane in Cleveland, he hailed a cab and headed straight for the hospital. He hadn’t brought enough luggage with him to really need to drop it by the house and besides, it’s not like anyone would be there. They’d all be at the hospital. Waiting. Just like last time.
He really needed to stop coming home like this.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Walking through the sliding glass doors of Westerville General, he was immediately hit with the all too sterile, yet somehow still stale smell of the hospital air and it made his stomach churn, the memories of the last time he had been here hitting him. And with those memories came the pit slowly forming in his stomach. What if...
No. No. Everything was going to be fine. Blaine was going to be fine.
Giving his younger brother’s name to the receptionist on duty, he was directed to the second floor intensive care unit. He tried not to think about that too much as he rode the elevator up a floor. Instead he put his acting skills to work and plastered a smile onto his face. He couldn’t let her see him upset. No doubt she was already...
Drugged. She was drugged. The moment Cooper turned a corner and entered the ICU waiting area that became apparent. Sierra was sitting in a chair, beside their mother, plugged into her ipod with a glassy expression that was in no way natural. And the fact that she barely looked up when he entered...even after their mother has risen to great him...
“What did you give her?”
“Hello to you too, Sweetie. And she’s fine. She just...”
“I didn’t ask if she was fine, Mother. I asked what you gave her. And why did you give it to her?”
“Clonopin. Given the circumstances, Dr. Baur thought a stronger sedative might be...”
“Given the circumstances?” Cooper could honestly not believe what he was hearing. His parents were unbelievable. Their son was unconscious and their concern was whether or not their daughter made a scene? “Her brother was just nearly beaten to death! Beaten! And for what? For daring to go to a school dance? For having the audacity to have fun? She has every right to be upset...”
He couldn’t have this conversation anymore. He couldn’t. To continue this conversation with his mother would only lead to him being pissed off. And so he turned his attention to his sister, dropping down to his knees in front of her and tucking some loose strands of hair behind her ear. “Hey, Ballerina...”
Taking her hands in his, his thumb gently slid under the end of sleeves and caressed the still all too prominent scars on her wrists. It was an almost subconscious movement, something he didn’t even realize he was doing until she tried to pull back. To pull the reminder of her condition -- of her failure -- from her brother’s grasp.
Cooper, however, held firm. He wouldn’t let her pull away. He couldn’t. She needed to know that no matter what their parents said there was nothing “wrong” with her. She didn’t need to be “fixed”. She needed to know that she was stronger than everyone thought. Just like Blaine was. She made it through and so would he. He needed her to know that, to believe it. Because he needed to believe it.
“They won’t let me see him...” Her voice was quiet, slow...as if it took her a minute to form her words. He guessed that’s the sedative. He’ll deal with that in a moment. Right now it’s what she said that matters most, not how she said it.
“At all?”
She shook her head and Cooper’s frown deepened. But before he could launch into round two with his mother, she started speaking again. “Not since we first arrived. I went back with Mom and Dad, but then they...and they won’t let me go back in...”
“And we explained our reasoning for that, Sierra.”
“Well now you can explain it to me.” Still not letting go of his sister’s hands, thumb still rhythmically moving across her scars, he looked over his shoulder at his mother.
The little sigh his mother let out there let him know her patience was starting to wear. He didn’t care, he just waited.
“Do I really need to? You know what your sister can be like. It was absolute hysterics. I know you want to paint us as the villains here, Cooper, but...”
“I’m taking her home.” He didn’t have to paint his parents as villains. They did that all by themselves. Wasn’t it just last year they were sitting in a similar situation while Sierra fought for her life? Because they blatantly ignored what was right in front of them for years? And now, after all that...she still refers to it as “hysterics”? Or “what she’s like”?
Oh he had no doubt that when Sierra first saw Blaine that she was a complete and utter wreck. But if what his mother told him when she called was correct, it sounded like that was a pretty fair reaction. Blaine had been beaten black and blue, he had broken bones and massive internal bleeding...they were all lucky he was still breathing. So you know what? She got to freak out. Without their parents immediately reaching for their phones or a pill bottle.
Finally letting her hands go, he reached up to toy with her hair once more. He couldn’t stop touching her. He was becoming quite aware of that fact. But he suspected that would subside once the fear that the next call he got was going to be for a funeral did. “I’m going to go back and see Blaine, okay? Five minutes. Ten tops. And then you and I are going to go home, order Chinese, and watch a movie. Sound good?”
“What about...?”
“If there is any change in Blaine’s condition then you and I will come right back. And I promise you, Ballerina, when those eyes do open...you’re gonna be the first one back there...”
Rising to his feet, he gave his parents a look that just dared them to upset her, before he headed out of the waiting room and towards the double doors that led to the actual unit.
There, in room 216, was Blaine. His baby brother. It hurt how little he looked laying there...how helpless. Blaine was a strong kid. He had already been through more than most kids his age and now...
As he approached the bed, he tried to reconcile the bruised and bandaged body in the bed with the boy he had seen less than a year ago. His curls were still slicked with gel...though time, sweat, and other things Cooper didn’t want to think about had made them start to release. He could almost see Blaine standing in his room, getting ready for the dance, insisting that his hair behave...
Tears began to prick at the corner of his eyes as he took a seat, leaning forward to rest his arms on the side of the bed, his hands covering Blaine. “I am so sorry...I should have been here...”
Yes, logically he knew there was nothing he could have done. That whether or not he was home wouldn’t have changed Blaine going to the dance. Or the fact that there were homophobic assholes in the world. But still, he couldn’t help feeling like he had let Blaine down. Well, no more. “I promise, Blaine...it’s going to be different from now on. I’m going to be here...for you...and for her.”
Standing, he laid a gentle kiss to his brother’s forehead before heading back towards the waiting room, doing his best to hide any signs that he had been crying. “All right, Ballerina, ready to go?”
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
“Is Blaine dying?”
The question startled him. Not because of what his little sister was asking, but more because she had been so quiet ever since they got home. Like at the hospital, he blamed the sedatives for that and so let her be, waiting for her to come out of the haze on her own. Now, curled up on the couch, her head resting in his lap and his hand mindlessly stroking her hair, she spoke.
“No, Ballerina. He’s not dying.”
“Then why won’t they let me see him?" To her, there was nothing else that made sense. She had seen him that first night. How could it be any worse? "If he’s going to...I..I at least want to be able to say good-bye.”
Cooper knew it was a testament to just how fucked up their lives were that he was grateful to hear her say that. To know he didn’t have to worry about what was going on in that head of hers, to fear that she might be planning to follow the boy she was so sure was going to leave her. Leaning down to kiss her temple, he shook his head.
“You don't have to worry about saying good-bye. Blaine’s not going anywhere. Not for a long long time. They just think...” He knew he had to choose his next words carefully. He didn’t want to imply what their parents kept implying...that she was fragile and couldn’t handle the truth. “Blaine needs some time to rest...to let the stuff going on inside his body figure itself out and knit itself back together, but he’ll wake up soon and then the two of you will go back to being the tiny terrors I know so well...”
“Promise?”
“Promise, promise. Have I ever lied to you?”
“No.”
“Okay then.” He smiled down at her, letting them fall into silence for a moment before... “How’s ballet?”
He knows it’s a crappy and completely obvious change of subjects, but letting her dwell on Blaine wouldn’t end well. For anyone. Because no matter what he says, no matter how much she agrees, he knows she doesn’t believe him. Not fully. And she won’t believe him, not until Blaine was awake. So until that time came the only thing they could do was be there for one another.
Characters: Sierra Anderson, Cooper Anderson, Blaine Anderson, The Anderson Parents
Pairing: None. Though I have been told that in certain light this can read kind of Andercest-y.
Verse: Canon(ish)
Word Count: 1751
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Angst. SOOOO much angst.
Summary: Cooper returns home following Blaine's attack at the Sadie Hawkins Day Dance
Notes: It's all the fault of Cough Syrup.
The last time Cooper did this, flew home at the last minute, it had been in the middle of a press junket. This time it was during filming. The director was a bit cranky, but once Cooper gave his reason for having to go, no one argued with him.
Stepping off the plane in Cleveland, he hailed a cab and headed straight for the hospital. He hadn’t brought enough luggage with him to really need to drop it by the house and besides, it’s not like anyone would be there. They’d all be at the hospital. Waiting. Just like last time.
He really needed to stop coming home like this.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Walking through the sliding glass doors of Westerville General, he was immediately hit with the all too sterile, yet somehow still stale smell of the hospital air and it made his stomach churn, the memories of the last time he had been here hitting him. And with those memories came the pit slowly forming in his stomach. What if...
No. No. Everything was going to be fine. Blaine was going to be fine.
Giving his younger brother’s name to the receptionist on duty, he was directed to the second floor intensive care unit. He tried not to think about that too much as he rode the elevator up a floor. Instead he put his acting skills to work and plastered a smile onto his face. He couldn’t let her see him upset. No doubt she was already...
Drugged. She was drugged. The moment Cooper turned a corner and entered the ICU waiting area that became apparent. Sierra was sitting in a chair, beside their mother, plugged into her ipod with a glassy expression that was in no way natural. And the fact that she barely looked up when he entered...even after their mother has risen to great him...
“What did you give her?”
“Hello to you too, Sweetie. And she’s fine. She just...”
“I didn’t ask if she was fine, Mother. I asked what you gave her. And why did you give it to her?”
“Clonopin. Given the circumstances, Dr. Baur thought a stronger sedative might be...”
“Given the circumstances?” Cooper could honestly not believe what he was hearing. His parents were unbelievable. Their son was unconscious and their concern was whether or not their daughter made a scene? “Her brother was just nearly beaten to death! Beaten! And for what? For daring to go to a school dance? For having the audacity to have fun? She has every right to be upset...”
He couldn’t have this conversation anymore. He couldn’t. To continue this conversation with his mother would only lead to him being pissed off. And so he turned his attention to his sister, dropping down to his knees in front of her and tucking some loose strands of hair behind her ear. “Hey, Ballerina...”
Taking her hands in his, his thumb gently slid under the end of sleeves and caressed the still all too prominent scars on her wrists. It was an almost subconscious movement, something he didn’t even realize he was doing until she tried to pull back. To pull the reminder of her condition -- of her failure -- from her brother’s grasp.
Cooper, however, held firm. He wouldn’t let her pull away. He couldn’t. She needed to know that no matter what their parents said there was nothing “wrong” with her. She didn’t need to be “fixed”. She needed to know that she was stronger than everyone thought. Just like Blaine was. She made it through and so would he. He needed her to know that, to believe it. Because he needed to believe it.
“They won’t let me see him...” Her voice was quiet, slow...as if it took her a minute to form her words. He guessed that’s the sedative. He’ll deal with that in a moment. Right now it’s what she said that matters most, not how she said it.
“At all?”
She shook her head and Cooper’s frown deepened. But before he could launch into round two with his mother, she started speaking again. “Not since we first arrived. I went back with Mom and Dad, but then they...and they won’t let me go back in...”
“And we explained our reasoning for that, Sierra.”
“Well now you can explain it to me.” Still not letting go of his sister’s hands, thumb still rhythmically moving across her scars, he looked over his shoulder at his mother.
The little sigh his mother let out there let him know her patience was starting to wear. He didn’t care, he just waited.
“Do I really need to? You know what your sister can be like. It was absolute hysterics. I know you want to paint us as the villains here, Cooper, but...”
“I’m taking her home.” He didn’t have to paint his parents as villains. They did that all by themselves. Wasn’t it just last year they were sitting in a similar situation while Sierra fought for her life? Because they blatantly ignored what was right in front of them for years? And now, after all that...she still refers to it as “hysterics”? Or “what she’s like”?
Oh he had no doubt that when Sierra first saw Blaine that she was a complete and utter wreck. But if what his mother told him when she called was correct, it sounded like that was a pretty fair reaction. Blaine had been beaten black and blue, he had broken bones and massive internal bleeding...they were all lucky he was still breathing. So you know what? She got to freak out. Without their parents immediately reaching for their phones or a pill bottle.
Finally letting her hands go, he reached up to toy with her hair once more. He couldn’t stop touching her. He was becoming quite aware of that fact. But he suspected that would subside once the fear that the next call he got was going to be for a funeral did. “I’m going to go back and see Blaine, okay? Five minutes. Ten tops. And then you and I are going to go home, order Chinese, and watch a movie. Sound good?”
“What about...?”
“If there is any change in Blaine’s condition then you and I will come right back. And I promise you, Ballerina, when those eyes do open...you’re gonna be the first one back there...”
Rising to his feet, he gave his parents a look that just dared them to upset her, before he headed out of the waiting room and towards the double doors that led to the actual unit.
There, in room 216, was Blaine. His baby brother. It hurt how little he looked laying there...how helpless. Blaine was a strong kid. He had already been through more than most kids his age and now...
As he approached the bed, he tried to reconcile the bruised and bandaged body in the bed with the boy he had seen less than a year ago. His curls were still slicked with gel...though time, sweat, and other things Cooper didn’t want to think about had made them start to release. He could almost see Blaine standing in his room, getting ready for the dance, insisting that his hair behave...
Tears began to prick at the corner of his eyes as he took a seat, leaning forward to rest his arms on the side of the bed, his hands covering Blaine. “I am so sorry...I should have been here...”
Yes, logically he knew there was nothing he could have done. That whether or not he was home wouldn’t have changed Blaine going to the dance. Or the fact that there were homophobic assholes in the world. But still, he couldn’t help feeling like he had let Blaine down. Well, no more. “I promise, Blaine...it’s going to be different from now on. I’m going to be here...for you...and for her.”
Standing, he laid a gentle kiss to his brother’s forehead before heading back towards the waiting room, doing his best to hide any signs that he had been crying. “All right, Ballerina, ready to go?”
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
“Is Blaine dying?”
The question startled him. Not because of what his little sister was asking, but more because she had been so quiet ever since they got home. Like at the hospital, he blamed the sedatives for that and so let her be, waiting for her to come out of the haze on her own. Now, curled up on the couch, her head resting in his lap and his hand mindlessly stroking her hair, she spoke.
“No, Ballerina. He’s not dying.”
“Then why won’t they let me see him?" To her, there was nothing else that made sense. She had seen him that first night. How could it be any worse? "If he’s going to...I..I at least want to be able to say good-bye.”
Cooper knew it was a testament to just how fucked up their lives were that he was grateful to hear her say that. To know he didn’t have to worry about what was going on in that head of hers, to fear that she might be planning to follow the boy she was so sure was going to leave her. Leaning down to kiss her temple, he shook his head.
“You don't have to worry about saying good-bye. Blaine’s not going anywhere. Not for a long long time. They just think...” He knew he had to choose his next words carefully. He didn’t want to imply what their parents kept implying...that she was fragile and couldn’t handle the truth. “Blaine needs some time to rest...to let the stuff going on inside his body figure itself out and knit itself back together, but he’ll wake up soon and then the two of you will go back to being the tiny terrors I know so well...”
“Promise?”
“Promise, promise. Have I ever lied to you?”
“No.”
“Okay then.” He smiled down at her, letting them fall into silence for a moment before... “How’s ballet?”
He knows it’s a crappy and completely obvious change of subjects, but letting her dwell on Blaine wouldn’t end well. For anyone. Because no matter what he says, no matter how much she agrees, he knows she doesn’t believe him. Not fully. And she won’t believe him, not until Blaine was awake. So until that time came the only thing they could do was be there for one another.