#needless to say i missed the 2024 window

[whumpsmith-participates]

Medwhump May 2024

Day 28 - Head injury

TW: uhhh ungrateful dilf in distress? Light gore/blood/wound description, tobacco

@medwhumpmay

"See? This is why I taught you to drive."

"Yeah, great thinking ahead," Erick droned monotonously, trying to keep his focus on the traffic surrounding him, "now just lie down before you start throwing up again."

"Don't tell me what to do."

"I'm not the one who got hit over the head with a hammer!" Erick said.

"Don't make me put it on the to-do list."

Erick rolled his eyes. If he just stopped responding maybe Fetch would settle down. He was in a particularly bad mood, not just because he had his skull cracked open recently, but because his job also fell through. He'd been shadowing some guy's daughter so he could kidnap her for ransom because the guy owed another guy money, but a particularly watchful neighbour had noticed him hanging around their house and the girl's bedroom window, getting the exact right idea that the girl was in danger, and decided to take matters into his own hand by sneaking up on the mercenary with a hammer. It was through sheer luck that Fetch managed to get away before police arrived, and with the whole neighbourhood on edge after the incident, not to mention the migraines and vertigo from his injury, Fetch decided to call it quits and just go home.

He was laying in the back of the van on the old mattress that they usually took turns sleeping on on long trips, holding a bag of mostly-thawed peas against the back of his head and trying to rest. If he moved around too much he got nauseous, if he got too worked up he got nauseous, if he did anything he got nauseous... So, needless to say, he wasn't in the best mood. He felt miserable, he missed out on a lot of money and drove all the way out there for nothing, and he was dependent on Erick to get home.

Well, okay, the last part wasn't too bad. Erick had grown to be a pretty decent driver. He was patient, empathetic, and only really talked back if Fetch pushed him a bit too far. He would never admit that, though. Not out loud at least. He was too stubborn for that, and he didn't wanna get too soft on the kid.

"There's a gas station coming up," Erick said, "I'll pull over and get you some new ice. I doubt those peas are doing much cooling at this point."

"Get fuel while you're at it," Fetch said, "and water...and if you really want to you can have a snack too I guess."

"You don't want anything?" Erick checked, squeezing into the right lane so he could pull into the station easier.

"A smoke."

"Don't you still have plenty?" Erick asked.

"I'm almost out."

"Alright, alright, I'll try," Erick said, "I can't get them if I get carded though."

"Don't make me stumble in there to get them myself," Fetch grumbled.

"Just go take that nap already, you're getting cranky," Erick quietly said as he pulled into the gas station.

Fetch elected to ignore him, just this once, trying to get comfortable on the crummy old mattress while Erick got out of the van and headed into the gas station store, picking up a six-pack of water, a small bag of ice, a can of pringles, and finally waiting in line at the counter. The clerk seemed unbothered enough, so he decided to wager a shot.

"I understand if you don't wanna do it, but could I also get two packs of Marlboro red?" he asked, "it's for my uncle, he banged his head pretty bad the other day, so he's sleeping in our van."

The clerk looked the teen over, glanced outside the window at the van, before giving him a discreet nod and sliding two packs into the plastic shopping bag while obscuring it from view by standing with his back to the camera.

"Just this once," he said, "anything else?"

"Can I get fifty dollars on pump two?"

"Definitely."

"Thanks, I'll be back for my change, if any," Erick said, making sure to hand the clerk enough bills, before taking his bag and heading back towards the van. He opened the sliding door on the side, so he could give Fetch the fresh bag of ice and a bottle of water, before going to pump gas.

He headed back in to get his change, and not long after they were back on the road again. Fetch finally settled down enough to take a nap, and Erick could drive in peace for the most part...until Fetch got nauseous again and he had to pull over in the middle of nowhere to try and clean vomit out of the van while Fetch complained about every little thing.

"Are you sure I shouldn't take you to a doctor?" Erick asked.

"You can dump me at hospital if I start seizing, but for now I'm fine. I just need rest," Fetch insisted, "while you're at it, can you redress the wound too?"

"If you promise not to hit me again if it hurts," Erick said.

"I will hit you whenever I damn well please," Fetch grumbled.

Erick rolled his eyes and just grabbed the first aid kit, crouching behind him and carefully removing the bandage from around his head and peeling away the gauze. The cut was still bleeding pretty bad, and as he gently poured some water past it, he could literally see the slight crack in the skull. He shivered a bit. He could imagine very well how it might actually feel.

"Are you sure you don't need stitches?" Erick asked, "I can see bone."

"If you're really that worried, you can try grabbing a hair or two on either side and knotting it together," Fetch said, "might not be long enough, but usually does the job pretty damn well to help the skin heal."

"Okay," Erick slowly said, "one second..."

He grabbed some disinfecting gel and rubbed that on his hands before gently trying to follow Fetch's advice. The strands of hair he grabbed were probably a bit bigger than Fetch intended, but it was hard to grab smaller strands when everything was sticking together with blood. Surprisingly, it worked quite well in closing the gash, and Fetch didn't seem too bothered by it either.

After Erick was satisfied with the very improvised sutures, he washed it off with some more water just in case, before covering it with a new piece of gauze and the same bandage as earlier.

"How's the nausea now?" Erick checked, while cleaning up the kit.

"Still there," Fetch said with a sigh, "this fucking sucks, I won't be able to work for a while."

"But on the bright side, Ethel will make you that soup you like so much," Erick said, "as soon as she sees that bandage...anyway, I got some pringles. The salt will do you some good, make it easier to drink more water."

"I would kill for that soup."

"Pretty sure you have killed for that soup..."

"What?"

"I said I'm pretty sure you'll get your soup," Erick said, "cause of the bandage..."

"Just give me the pringles...and a light," Fetch grumbled.

Erick handed him the can of pringles and his cigarettes and lighter, waiting for him to get his nausea under control before helping him back into the van so they could continue their ride home.

"Ugh, why does it smell like vomit back here?"

"Because you just puked, sir..."

Fun fact: tying hair together to use as sutures is something I learned during this year's emergency response training. Our trainer had a lot of hands-on experience in triage at big disaster areas and loved to go off topic with very educational anecdotes.

Masterlist Main account

Taglist for the dynamic duo: @lavndvrr