In Which Relationships Are Strange Complex Things That Sometimes Need An Injured Rodent Or Two
It's not like it's unheard of for any of the Alexes to be quiet, but it's still intriguing to Brendon, when he walks into the back courtyard to see the tiny, fair haired one hunched over something, tongue sticking out in concentration.
He's rushing over at the faint squeak, but the smallest one grabs his hand and slows him down long enough for the scene to sink in.
The one with the rat is dabbing oh so very carefully at whay looks like a long, exposed cut with a handkerchief that he keeps dipping into a bucket of water.
The kid who's got his hand, the second one, with the dark hair and serious face, says, "Alex doesn't like to leave things hurt, and he watches Joe, so he knows what to do."
There's total faith in the tiny face, and the first Alex looks up, so serious, to ask his friend, "Johnson, could you get more water? Joe says it needs to be clean."
Brendon picks up the littlest one, and approaches very slowly. "What are you doing?"
The next few seconds feels strangely like been babbled at by Joe, except its coming from this scrap of a kid, all eyes and hair.
It's the care and the tenderness in the movements of the clumsy baby-fingers that gets to Brendon. Part of him wants to reach over and try to help, but he thinks of the nights in the sewers, years ago, now, trying to keep life from escaping from the tiny rat-bodies. At least this kid sounds like he knows what he's doing.
Brendon asks, "Do you need anything else?"
The eyes are huge but serious. "Something to bind the wound?" He glances at the rat, suddenly baby-uncertain. "It will have to be fine, so it can wrap properly around such a tiny hand."
Brendon smiles a little despite himself, but beyond the surface amusement, he feels as serious as the kid himself. He asks the child hefted against his hip, "Do you know what he means? Want to help me peek around inside?"
The kid nods, fat baby fist stuffed in his mouth. Inside, they find some scraps of silk, something that maybe Ryan brought home. Brendon says a silent forgive me as he takes up the scissors.
He hands the strips to the Alex who's apparently a very tiny doctor. The kid nods, unsmiling, and says, "Perfect."
He carefully, carefully wraps the strips, firm but not too tight, around the injured paw. When he's done, he looks up at Brendon with a slightly worried grin.
"I think he'll be okay now. Do you think I should try to keep him till he's better?"
Brendon nods. "Maybe we can get some wood shavings, make him a little sick bed to lie on until he recovers?"
The rat never leaves. His paw heals, but he stays in the house. Ryan grumbles, but Brendon catches him refilling the little water dish in his nest.
When Brendon catches him at it, he glares defensively and says, "Don't know how anyone lets you manage real estate when you can't even look after a pet."
Alex Marshall is a fairly frequent guest at their place, and as the years go by, it's not just the rat's company he's seeking out.
Ryan and Brendon's place is huge after the chaos and crowd in the apothecary, and sometimes, especially after difficult rounds, Marshall needs the quiet.
If anyone gets the need for having a place to run to, its Brendon and Ryan. Brendon just gets some of Marshall's preferred soap off Macy, and keeps it by the sink. It's the Marshall equivalent of putting up a banner saying "Welcome". When Ryan notices, it's Brendon's turn to blush defensively, but Ryan just nods and pats his hand approvingly, and that's that.