just_muse_me | 18.3.3. You should've seen it!
18.3.3. You should've seen it!
Co-written with doctortara | Follows THIS
It was after two in the morning when the phone rang. Lachlan had just gotten Riley back down to sleep after taking the very early morning feed duties. He nearly jumped out of skin at the noise and bounded out into the hall to grab up the phone before it woke his wife or son again. Nothing good ever came from phone calls at this time of night, and this time was no exception. He had listened in shock to Aiden on the other end of the line and then ended the call to bound down the stairs, skidding into the living room and slapping on the overhead light.
He was fumbling with the television remote control, trying to turn the TiVo on when Tara appeared in the doorway, sleep-ruffled and squinting groggily in the bright light. She had heard the initial ring of the phone, but her husband’s voice had dragged her awake. She was even more alarmed when he was bounding down the stairs and got out of bed immediately to follow him, thinking something was wrong with their son. “Lachie?” she said huskily, noting he didn’t have Riley. “What’s going on? What’s happened? Are you okay?”
“Aye,” Lachlan said distractedly and then swore harshly when he nearly dropped the remote. The TiVo appeared on the screen and he started scrolling through their recordings to try and find the Liverpool game. He hated English football but always watched Cameron’s games, albeit not live since the baby came along. Sleep was a precious thing for new parents, so staying up until midnight for a football game wasn’t on the agenda recently. After the big week including the bachelor party and wedding, Lachlan, Tara and Baby Riley had been in bed by nine that night. “That was Aiden. Cameron was hurt in the game. Pat’s in a bad way because of it but they cannae get flights until ten tomorrow morning. I’m going to go over there, but I just need to see it first. Aiden said some bastard tripped him to stop him reaching the goal posts.”
Tara’s mouth dropped open in shock. She was by Lachlan’s side in an instant, tucking her hand into the crook his elbow and watching as he tried to find the recording. “How badly hurt?” she asked with a small gasp. “D-Do you want me to get your clothes and jacket?”
“In a minute, baby.” Lachlan turned the game on and started to fast forward through the first half. “Second half, just after half time. They dinnae know how hurt. Pat cannae get hold of anyone. Phones are all engaged and the football club are blocking international calls. Aiden said it looked like he hit his head and was unconscious when he was taken off. He just wants me to look to see if I can try and see what the injuries might be.”
Tara nodded mutely and watched the rapid players pass across the screen. They passed the half time interval and Lachlan slowed the footage down. She put her hand up to her mouth and watched in horror as Cameron was indeed tripped by his opposing player. They watched it at normal speed at first and a breath hitched in her throat in shock. “Oh my god,” she said tearfully. “Play it back slowly.”
The second playback showed the fall a little more clearly and Lachlan rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to analyse it. “He knocked himself out when his head hit the ground, his shoulder took a lot of the impact. But his leg… look… it twisted when the guy tripped him. He’s probably got a concussion, but if his leg isnae injured, it’ll be a miracle. Fuck…” He shook his head in disbelief. No professional sports star wants an injury, but a leg injury was a football player’s worst nightmare. He looked at Tara helplessly. “Shit, after everything this weekend with the fight, it’s nay wonder Pat’s a mess. He had to watch that knowing Cameron was pissed at him and left without saying goodbye? Will you be alright here with the wee one? I’ll willnae be away too long, but-”
“You stay with him until they leave for the airport,” Tara cut in with a nod and took his hand into hers. She kissed his fingers, holding his gaze. “What do you want me to do? Should I try and get us flights too?”
Lachlan let out a slow breath and shook his head. “Aiden will take care of Pat. We’ll try and bring our flights forward a few days if we can, but we cannae just go. As much as I want to help Pat. We havenae picked up Riley’s insulin for the trip and he needs to see the Paediatrician before we go. We’ll work it out in the morning. If we can go earlier, we will, aye? I’ll head over now and try to take over the calls back to England for Pat. If Cam’s bad hurt, Pat will be feeling it.” He stopped, rubbing his eyes. “I’m so tired.”
Tara cupped her face in his hands, seeing the exhaustion in his eyes, before she kissed him softly. “I’ll put the kettle on. You go get dressed and I’ll make you a coffee. I’ll get Mum to come over tomorrow afternoon so we can curl up in bed together and catch up on some sleep,” she promised. “Pat and Aiden will just need someone to help them think straight.”
Lachlan nodded. “Aye. You try and get some sleep now. Riley’s gone back down, but I dinnae know how long with will last. He didnae get through his whole bottle.” He wrapped his arms around her with a tired sigh, kissing her head. “I love you, baby. We’ll sort it all out some way.”
All muses referenced with permission and are from the princeton2nyc universe
Word Count | 973
Co-written with doctortara | Follows THIS
It was after two in the morning when the phone rang. Lachlan had just gotten Riley back down to sleep after taking the very early morning feed duties. He nearly jumped out of skin at the noise and bounded out into the hall to grab up the phone before it woke his wife or son again. Nothing good ever came from phone calls at this time of night, and this time was no exception. He had listened in shock to Aiden on the other end of the line and then ended the call to bound down the stairs, skidding into the living room and slapping on the overhead light.
He was fumbling with the television remote control, trying to turn the TiVo on when Tara appeared in the doorway, sleep-ruffled and squinting groggily in the bright light. She had heard the initial ring of the phone, but her husband’s voice had dragged her awake. She was even more alarmed when he was bounding down the stairs and got out of bed immediately to follow him, thinking something was wrong with their son. “Lachie?” she said huskily, noting he didn’t have Riley. “What’s going on? What’s happened? Are you okay?”
“Aye,” Lachlan said distractedly and then swore harshly when he nearly dropped the remote. The TiVo appeared on the screen and he started scrolling through their recordings to try and find the Liverpool game. He hated English football but always watched Cameron’s games, albeit not live since the baby came along. Sleep was a precious thing for new parents, so staying up until midnight for a football game wasn’t on the agenda recently. After the big week including the bachelor party and wedding, Lachlan, Tara and Baby Riley had been in bed by nine that night. “That was Aiden. Cameron was hurt in the game. Pat’s in a bad way because of it but they cannae get flights until ten tomorrow morning. I’m going to go over there, but I just need to see it first. Aiden said some bastard tripped him to stop him reaching the goal posts.”
Tara’s mouth dropped open in shock. She was by Lachlan’s side in an instant, tucking her hand into the crook his elbow and watching as he tried to find the recording. “How badly hurt?” she asked with a small gasp. “D-Do you want me to get your clothes and jacket?”
“In a minute, baby.” Lachlan turned the game on and started to fast forward through the first half. “Second half, just after half time. They dinnae know how hurt. Pat cannae get hold of anyone. Phones are all engaged and the football club are blocking international calls. Aiden said it looked like he hit his head and was unconscious when he was taken off. He just wants me to look to see if I can try and see what the injuries might be.”
Tara nodded mutely and watched the rapid players pass across the screen. They passed the half time interval and Lachlan slowed the footage down. She put her hand up to her mouth and watched in horror as Cameron was indeed tripped by his opposing player. They watched it at normal speed at first and a breath hitched in her throat in shock. “Oh my god,” she said tearfully. “Play it back slowly.”
The second playback showed the fall a little more clearly and Lachlan rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to analyse it. “He knocked himself out when his head hit the ground, his shoulder took a lot of the impact. But his leg… look… it twisted when the guy tripped him. He’s probably got a concussion, but if his leg isnae injured, it’ll be a miracle. Fuck…” He shook his head in disbelief. No professional sports star wants an injury, but a leg injury was a football player’s worst nightmare. He looked at Tara helplessly. “Shit, after everything this weekend with the fight, it’s nay wonder Pat’s a mess. He had to watch that knowing Cameron was pissed at him and left without saying goodbye? Will you be alright here with the wee one? I’ll willnae be away too long, but-”
“You stay with him until they leave for the airport,” Tara cut in with a nod and took his hand into hers. She kissed his fingers, holding his gaze. “What do you want me to do? Should I try and get us flights too?”
Lachlan let out a slow breath and shook his head. “Aiden will take care of Pat. We’ll try and bring our flights forward a few days if we can, but we cannae just go. As much as I want to help Pat. We havenae picked up Riley’s insulin for the trip and he needs to see the Paediatrician before we go. We’ll work it out in the morning. If we can go earlier, we will, aye? I’ll head over now and try to take over the calls back to England for Pat. If Cam’s bad hurt, Pat will be feeling it.” He stopped, rubbing his eyes. “I’m so tired.”
Tara cupped her face in his hands, seeing the exhaustion in his eyes, before she kissed him softly. “I’ll put the kettle on. You go get dressed and I’ll make you a coffee. I’ll get Mum to come over tomorrow afternoon so we can curl up in bed together and catch up on some sleep,” she promised. “Pat and Aiden will just need someone to help them think straight.”
Lachlan nodded. “Aye. You try and get some sleep now. Riley’s gone back down, but I dinnae know how long with will last. He didnae get through his whole bottle.” He wrapped his arms around her with a tired sigh, kissing her head. “I love you, baby. We’ll sort it all out some way.”
All muses referenced with permission and are from the princeton2nyc universe
Word Count | 973