just_1_word | 8.1. Upset
8.1. Upset
Co-written with paramedically
[Follows THIS and THIS]
“I just thought I’d come to see that you were okay…”
At the voice, Aiden looked up from where he was perched stiffly on one of the hard plastic waiting room chairs. His hands were clasped tightly in front of him and he unfolded them to wipe his sweaty palms on his jeans. It was after a moment that it clicked this was one of the paramedics who brought Pat in. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to forget the whole disaster in the ambulance…
“Does Mr Preston have any allergies, sir?” the paramedic asked as he secured a temporary dressing to the cut on Pat’s head.
Aiden watched numbly. “I-I don’t know.”
Pat was secured to the gurney and even taken so far as to put a hard collar neckbrace on him in case he hurt his neck or back slipping in the shower. He was still unconscious, now hooked up to an IV line and his arm splinted with a suspected break from falling on it so hard. “Does he have a middle name?”
“I don’t know…” Aiden repeated in a much smaller tone this time. He could barely be heard over the wailing sirens outside the ambulance as they hurried towards the hospital.
“Any medical conditions other than the MS?” the paramedic pressed and started to check Pat’s vitals again, starting with blood pressure.
Aiden could feel his hands shaking. “I don’t know.” His face fell and he dropped his head to look at his lap. These were all things he should fucking know about his boyfriend. His fingers went to his throat to worry the gold pendant there, seeking some form of comfort in his guilt.
“Are you his next of kin, sir?”
“No,” Aiden mumbled with a small shake of his head.
The paramedic glanced at him only briefly before the monitors signalled a spike in Pat’s heart rate for some reason. It didn’t seem to be an immediate danger, though. “Do you know who is?”
“No,” Aiden forced out this time, not even being able to remember a time he felt like more of a jerk than right then.
Andrew went over and sat down beside the pained looking man. He couldn’t be all that older than Andrew himself. “They were just standard questions, sir. Things we need to ask to give the ER staff a heads up when we bring a patient in, if we can. We don’t always get the information. There’s no need to feel guilty for not knowing the answers.”
“But if I had known the answers, you would’ve had the information and they would’ve gotten their heads up to get him the best treatment possible,” Aiden returned, connecting the dots. “They are answers I should have known. I should have taken the time to know. But I didn’t.”
“You would have eventually,” Andrew assured him.
“Eventually wasn’t soon enough, was it?” Aiden threw back.
Andrew didn’t want to argue with the guy. He was upset enough as it was. “He’s going to be okay. A good healthy course of prednisolone and he will start to feel better again. His medical records are already being faxed from Princeton Plainsboro. Things have just been complicated by the fall in the shower. It looks like he might have a concussion from that. But he’s in the best hands.”
“He shouldn’t have fallen in the shower! I should have been taking care of him!” Aiden cried, swiping his hand through his hair in frustration. “He fucking trusted me to do this! One test, and I fucking failed.”
“Is he your partner?” Andrew asked softly. “Have you been together long?”
Aiden let out a slow rough breath and brushed the dampness from his eyes before it spilled over. He nodded. “Not quite two months. He was straight with me from the start about the MS, you know? Warned me over and over. I should have known all this shit to be prepared.” He waved his hand. “You don’t need this shit. You must have to get back on the road.”
“Actually, that was the last run of my shift. I was just on my way up to visit someone in Maternity, but I wanted to make sure you were okay first. Have you got someone coming to be with you? You shouldn’t be alone for this. It could be some wait before he wakes up. They’ve sedated him for the moment, just to keep him comfortable while they admit him,” Andrew explained. “Is there anyone I can call for you?”
Aiden gave his head a small shake as he leaned forward and rubbed his eyes. “No, but thanks. My best friend is on her way. I have to call Pat’s family and friends. I just… need a minute first. I don’t know what to say to them. It all seems to start with ‘Pat’s hurt and it’s all my fault’, which, in my head, leads to them all lining up like a supermarket queue to string me by my balls and scalp me or something.”
“This is all new to you, mate. No one is going to expect that you knew everything of your boyfriend’s condition in two months. I would bet Pat himself doesn’t even know everything. That’s the nature of MS. It’s so damn unpredictable, and he has only had it a year. You need to try not to beat yourself up about it or it will eat you alive. He’ll be needing you in tip top form to help him through this,” Andrew said and gave Aiden a small pat on the back.
Aiden exhaled slowly and looked tiredly to the young paramedic. “Thanks for your help. I do appreciate it, even if I’m probably coming across as an ungrateful bastard. I know this is not in your job description. I am grateful of you going out of your way.” He looked for an ID badge but the guy had likely removed it when his shift ended. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”
“Andrew. Andrew Connor,” Andrew replied with a smile. “No need to thank me. I just had a feeling you might be sitting here on your own stressing. Guilt over a sick or injured family member is something I understand quite well. Sometimes it’s easier to be alone, but it’s usually better that you’re not.”
Aiden scrubbed his hands over his face, feeling drained and exhausted. “I should make those calls. Most of his friends are doctors or nurses. Last they saw him, he was perfectly fine,’ he mumbled.
Andrew gave Aiden’s shoulder. “Listen, if you need anything before your friend gets here, have me paged in the Maternity ward, okay? I can be back down here in a flash to help you out,” he offered.
Aiden nodded with a faint smile, once again unconsciously playing with the pendant around his neck. “Cheers. I’ll definitely keep that in mind.”
All characters referenced with permission
Word Count | 1,153
Co-written with paramedically
[Follows THIS and THIS]
“I just thought I’d come to see that you were okay…”
At the voice, Aiden looked up from where he was perched stiffly on one of the hard plastic waiting room chairs. His hands were clasped tightly in front of him and he unfolded them to wipe his sweaty palms on his jeans. It was after a moment that it clicked this was one of the paramedics who brought Pat in. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to forget the whole disaster in the ambulance…
“Does Mr Preston have any allergies, sir?” the paramedic asked as he secured a temporary dressing to the cut on Pat’s head.
Aiden watched numbly. “I-I don’t know.”
Pat was secured to the gurney and even taken so far as to put a hard collar neckbrace on him in case he hurt his neck or back slipping in the shower. He was still unconscious, now hooked up to an IV line and his arm splinted with a suspected break from falling on it so hard. “Does he have a middle name?”
“I don’t know…” Aiden repeated in a much smaller tone this time. He could barely be heard over the wailing sirens outside the ambulance as they hurried towards the hospital.
“Any medical conditions other than the MS?” the paramedic pressed and started to check Pat’s vitals again, starting with blood pressure.
Aiden could feel his hands shaking. “I don’t know.” His face fell and he dropped his head to look at his lap. These were all things he should fucking know about his boyfriend. His fingers went to his throat to worry the gold pendant there, seeking some form of comfort in his guilt.
“Are you his next of kin, sir?”
“No,” Aiden mumbled with a small shake of his head.
The paramedic glanced at him only briefly before the monitors signalled a spike in Pat’s heart rate for some reason. It didn’t seem to be an immediate danger, though. “Do you know who is?”
“No,” Aiden forced out this time, not even being able to remember a time he felt like more of a jerk than right then.
Andrew went over and sat down beside the pained looking man. He couldn’t be all that older than Andrew himself. “They were just standard questions, sir. Things we need to ask to give the ER staff a heads up when we bring a patient in, if we can. We don’t always get the information. There’s no need to feel guilty for not knowing the answers.”
“But if I had known the answers, you would’ve had the information and they would’ve gotten their heads up to get him the best treatment possible,” Aiden returned, connecting the dots. “They are answers I should have known. I should have taken the time to know. But I didn’t.”
“You would have eventually,” Andrew assured him.
“Eventually wasn’t soon enough, was it?” Aiden threw back.
Andrew didn’t want to argue with the guy. He was upset enough as it was. “He’s going to be okay. A good healthy course of prednisolone and he will start to feel better again. His medical records are already being faxed from Princeton Plainsboro. Things have just been complicated by the fall in the shower. It looks like he might have a concussion from that. But he’s in the best hands.”
“He shouldn’t have fallen in the shower! I should have been taking care of him!” Aiden cried, swiping his hand through his hair in frustration. “He fucking trusted me to do this! One test, and I fucking failed.”
“Is he your partner?” Andrew asked softly. “Have you been together long?”
Aiden let out a slow rough breath and brushed the dampness from his eyes before it spilled over. He nodded. “Not quite two months. He was straight with me from the start about the MS, you know? Warned me over and over. I should have known all this shit to be prepared.” He waved his hand. “You don’t need this shit. You must have to get back on the road.”
“Actually, that was the last run of my shift. I was just on my way up to visit someone in Maternity, but I wanted to make sure you were okay first. Have you got someone coming to be with you? You shouldn’t be alone for this. It could be some wait before he wakes up. They’ve sedated him for the moment, just to keep him comfortable while they admit him,” Andrew explained. “Is there anyone I can call for you?”
Aiden gave his head a small shake as he leaned forward and rubbed his eyes. “No, but thanks. My best friend is on her way. I have to call Pat’s family and friends. I just… need a minute first. I don’t know what to say to them. It all seems to start with ‘Pat’s hurt and it’s all my fault’, which, in my head, leads to them all lining up like a supermarket queue to string me by my balls and scalp me or something.”
“This is all new to you, mate. No one is going to expect that you knew everything of your boyfriend’s condition in two months. I would bet Pat himself doesn’t even know everything. That’s the nature of MS. It’s so damn unpredictable, and he has only had it a year. You need to try not to beat yourself up about it or it will eat you alive. He’ll be needing you in tip top form to help him through this,” Andrew said and gave Aiden a small pat on the back.
Aiden exhaled slowly and looked tiredly to the young paramedic. “Thanks for your help. I do appreciate it, even if I’m probably coming across as an ungrateful bastard. I know this is not in your job description. I am grateful of you going out of your way.” He looked for an ID badge but the guy had likely removed it when his shift ended. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”
“Andrew. Andrew Connor,” Andrew replied with a smile. “No need to thank me. I just had a feeling you might be sitting here on your own stressing. Guilt over a sick or injured family member is something I understand quite well. Sometimes it’s easier to be alone, but it’s usually better that you’re not.”
Aiden scrubbed his hands over his face, feeling drained and exhausted. “I should make those calls. Most of his friends are doctors or nurses. Last they saw him, he was perfectly fine,’ he mumbled.
Andrew gave Aiden’s shoulder. “Listen, if you need anything before your friend gets here, have me paged in the Maternity ward, okay? I can be back down here in a flash to help you out,” he offered.
Aiden nodded with a faint smile, once again unconsciously playing with the pendant around his neck. “Cheers. I’ll definitely keep that in mind.”
All characters referenced with permission
Word Count | 1,153