#mediwhumpmayday7

[whumpinaheartbeat]

White Walls Closing In (Mediwhump May 2023, Day 7 First Night In Hospital)

This fic contains hospitalisation, mentions of a benign tumour, mentions of future surgery and an underaged whumpee. Please read with discretion.

As a Son of Apollo, one could have thought that Will Solace would be comfortable with hospitals.

He could spend entire days at the Camp Half-Blood infirmary and in fact he had done just that countless times while looking after the sick and wounded. If anything, Will felt at home surrounded by bandages and ambrosia squares, always having some task that needed to be completed or some Camper to talk to. The infirmary was familiar, it was safe. If he would be so bold, the Infirmary was his Domain.

But here? With the white walls and the whirling machines and the strangers who kept poking and prodding him as if his blood could have possibly changed in the last half hour? It was unfamiliar and unsafe and even if Will logically knew why he was here he still did not feel as though he belonged.

Nico nudged him.

"I'm thinking." Will claimed.

Nico didn't bother with a retort about how Connect Four wasn't that complicated of a game, waiting almost patiently for Will to make his move. Nico’s silence made Will want to claw his skin off for some reason and when the machine next to him started pipping loudly again Will curled his hands into fists.

Will intrinsically knew how to fix the machine, there was simply a kink in the IV line again and all he had to do was straighten it and acknowledge the alert. Almost every single thing in this building Will could sense, and if need be fix, because every singly thing had been made by a Child of Apollo that had been guided by the great God of Healing and yet when Will had tried to use that knowledge to fix the machine earlier, he had been yelled at by a particularly annoying nurse and told not to touch anything else.

The alert kept sounding, echoing in Will’s mind. He tried to focus on something else, anything else. Nico’s knee pressed up against his own, the pattern that was slowly being created in their game, the smell of the Hyacinth’s that Kayla had bought for him.

But the alert was too loud, it was too consistent. It was echoing, again and again, and he swore that it was the only sound that has ever existed.

Will slammed his fist into the table, knocking plastic coins everywhere.

Nico barely reacted, only pressing his knee against Will’s again but if anything that just made Will even more frustrated.

“What?” Will growled.

The Son of Hades stayed silent, dark eyes blinking slowly. 

It's wasn’t like Will didn't know that Nico was just as uncomfortable as he was, it couldn’t be easy for Nico to be in a place that has seen so much death, but right now everything was just too much and Nico’s silence was just letting that infernal machine be all the louder. 

Nico pushed the table off to the side and grabbed Will’s hand.

Will’s shoulders dropped.

“I hate this.” He whispered.

“I know.” Nico said. 

“I’m a Son of Apollo. I should be able to fix this. I should be able to fix me.”

They had had this conversation before.

Over the years, Will has treated almost every single camper at Camp Half-Blood. Some of their injuries were mere scratches or minor burns, things that faded away with a simple hum and some ointment. Others were more serious. Dislocations, broken bones. Detached limbs, even, thank you Paolo. 

Will has literally brought more people back from the brink of death than he could even remember and yet for all that, Will couldn’t fix a stupid tumour on his stupid right lung. It was benign, at least as far as he could sense, but even benign things had the possibility of becoming malignant if left untreated.

If he could do the surgery himself he would have already done so. Kayla and Austin had confronted him long after Will had already sensed the tumour, both of them intrinsically knowing that something was wrong with him but as much as Will begged them to keep it quiet, they had told Chiron.

And Chiron had told him to go to the hospital.

It didn’t make any sense; Even if Will couldn’t do surgery on himself, he would have trusted Kayla and Austin with his care because they were children of Apollo too and with enough thorough instruction they could do what was needed.

Why go to a mortal hospital when they were literally the progeny of the God of Healing?

And why was that stupid machine still making that stupid alert and why hadn’t some nurse come in to fix it already?

Will let go of Nico’s hand, twisting around so that he could acknowledge the alert on the drip machine, readjusting the flow rate as he did so to make it go faster.

“Will,” Nico warned. 

“It’s fine.” Will said. “I can tolerate it.”

The immunotherapy mixture they were giving him wasn’t quite chemotherapy but he had still been warned about the similar possible side effects and while he didn’t exactly want to experience nausea or fatigue, he could not stand the idea of trying to sleep with the IV still in not that he thought he could sleep here anyway.

Someone cleared their throat and Will scrambled away from the machine, making it start alerting all over again.

Doctor Storey came over, acknowledged the alert and reset the flow rate. She did not bother to admonish Will, another conversation that had already happened countless times just in the few hours he has been here for.

“Mr. di Angelo,” She said instead. “I’m afraid visiting hours are over for the night but you’re more than welcome to come back at nine am tomorrow morning, pre-op doesn’t start until eleven.”

Will had known that this was coming and yet his blood still ran cold at the thought of Nico leaving him. He looked up sharply at his boyfriend who made no attempt to stand from the bed. Maybe he was going to stay after all, maybe he was going to intimidate the doctor into breaking the rules and maybe Will wasn’t going to have to spend his first night in hospital all alone after all.

Nico leant forward and kissed Will’s forehead gently before pulling away and standing up.

Will refused to watch him go, even when Nico hesitated at the door, focusing instead on holding back the tears that were building in his eyes.

“I’m just going to check your vitals one more time and then you can get some sleep.” Doctor Storey said.

“My vitals are fine.” Will shot back. “Blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen saturation, all within normal range. You can go now.”

“Will,” Doctor Storey sighed. “I know you said that your father is some kind of Doctor, but right now you are my patient and I need to treat you like all of my other patients.”

Will did not want to be angry with her. He didn’t like to be angry with anyone and like she said, she was just trying to do her job. But he was the Son of Apollo and as such he knew exactly what he was talking about because this was his body and he knew everything there was to know about himself. 

Doctor Storey did her checks anyway, confirming that surprise surprise his levels were all normal.

“Rest,” She said. “Tomorrow is a big day.”

It took all of his willpower to not roll his eyes as she at last left him.

The room immediately felt too big, the white walls stretching on forever while at the same time feeling like they were closing in on him. His attention bounced between all of the things around him from the small couch below the curtained window to the too bright lights above him that Doctor Storey had supposedly dimmed on her way out to the immunotherapy concoction that bled into him so infuriatingly slowly.

These weren’t even his own clothes, it was a thin gown that somehow both dug into his skin and didn’t feel substantial enough.

While ADHD often helped during battles, not to mention allowing him to juggle the treatment of multiple patients at the one time, right now it was doing nothing but giving him nothing but hell.

If only to try to let out some of the energy that was so suddenly bubbling within him Will increased the flow rate of his IV once again but that only took a moment and he was left wanting to claw his skin off in the too loud silence that followed. 

The curtains were closed. 

That would be something he could fix, he could open them up and maybe that would distract him long enough to forget everything else because even if his Dad wasn’t actually here at least Will would be able to sense his presence in the Sun. 

He scrambled up off the bed, nearly overbalancing as the world spun around him.

He pushed aside the dizziness, knowing that he was just imagining it given that just hours before Will had been feeling perfectly fine. Gripping onto the machine that the IV was hooked through, refusing to look at the yellow fluid that was flowed within it, Will went to the window.

Will had to reach across the couch to get to the curtains but he didn’t care, suddenly desperate to have them open no matter what. 

A small part of him had already known what he would find and yet the rest of him still wanted to cry when he saw that the Sun had already fully set with the moon having already taken its place and while Will knew that the Moon was still connected to him in a way, it was nothing compared to the Sun.

Will felt drained suddenly and his knees buckled but he did not fall, a hand gripping onto his elbow.

“Falling for me already, Solace?”

Will was so happy to see Nico at all that he didn’t mind the cheesy line and instead just thew himself at the smaller boy and hugged him. After a moment, Nico’s arms wrapped around Will just as tightly and they stayed there before Will at last felt strong enough to pull away again.

“I thought you left.” Will said, trying his hardest to keep the hurt from his voice.

“Of course not.” Nico said. “I just had to wait a few minutes before shadow traveling back. Are you… Okay?”

“I am now.” Will said. “So, are we going to hatch some exciting escape plan or what?”

“Will.” 

Will dropped his shoulders, taking in a deep breath. Even doing that much made Will’s head spin a little and his healing powers alerted him of the tumour that he already knew was there and if that wasn’t annoying enough the machine he was lugging around started screaming at him again.

Will adjusted the line quickly and acknowledged the alert, and if he muttered a curse as he did so then that was his own business.

Nico chuckled, reaching out and grabbing his hand. 

“It’s going to be fine.” Nico said.

“I know.” Will said.

“And I’ll be with you the whole way.” 

Will felt warmth bloom inside his chest and he squeezed Nico’s hand back tightly.

“I know.” He said. “I love you.”

“I love you too so get back into bed before I have to drag you there, you look exhausted.”

If Will was being honest, he was exhausted. In order to be here and get the treatment he needed, Will was going to have to relinquish all control over his own body and he hated it. He hated that he couldn’t fix this himself, he hated that even now he could sense the tumour nestled deep in his lung, he hated that there was nothing he could do but accept the help of mortal doctors.

Will once more readjusted the flow rate on the drip, setting it back to the right rate that would keep the worst of the side effects away.

It was going to take time to get used to being in the hospital, just like it was going to take time for him to fully recover from tomorrows surgery. 

Nico guided Will to the bed and while Will was strong enough to walk by himself, it felt nice to trust Nico to set the pace. Once Will was lying down, the exhaustion suddenly weighed heavily on him and Will had to fight to keep his eyes open.

“By the way,” Nico said. “I brought you something.”

He held out a small ball and when it lit up a warm gold, Will found himself falling in love with Nico di Angelo all over again.

“A night light.” Nico said. “For a Night Light.”

While this was just a hospital room and not the pits of Tartarus, the small orb still made everything feel a little better and when Nico crawled into bed next to Will, holding him close, that made Will feel a little bit better too.

And, when an hour later Nico had to stumble out of the bed and into the shadows nearly face planting in the process as a nurse came to check on Will again? Now that definitely made him feel better.

@mediwhumpmay

[faofinn]

Day 7 - First Night in Hospital

@mediwhumpmay

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 - A continuation of a prompt from Whumptober, which in itself is a continuation of a Sicktember prompt 😅

“Stay put for a minute, I need to organise a space for him. One minute, alright?”

"Just getting everything organised." He reassured. "Thank you for taking us seriously."

“I’m sorry it’s taken this long for someone to take you seriously. We’ll get this sorted now.”

"Thank you."       

Harrison turned to his husband, stroking through his son’s hair.  "I knew he wasn't well, Tai."

Tai sighed. “He’s being looked after now.”

"What if they left it too long?" He whispered over Kieran's head.

“They’ll get it sorted.”

"Yeah."

Kieran gave a quiet whine, his hands over his stomach again. He curled into his dad, trying to seek some relief. 

"You gonna be sick again, Kit?"

He nodded, his eyes wide. “My tummy hurts.”

Harrison's heart broke further, and from the look he exchanged with Tai, he wasn't alone. His husband shoved the empty bowl at them, pressing the call bell for some more. 

One of the nurses appeared a short while later. “Sorry it took so long, can I help you- oh. You poor thing. I’ll go and grab you some more bowls, two seconds.”

"Thanks." Harrison was beyond stressed, rubbing Kieran's back and muttering soft encouragement between bouts. "You're alright, Kit. It's better out than in, right?"

The nurse appeared moments later with more bowls and tissue. “Here, and let me get rid of some of these used ones, yeah?”

Kieran roughly wiped his mouth, though immediately vomited again. He made a small noise, a brief frown appearing on his face before everything happened at once. The bowl fell from his hands, tipping into his lap and he seemed to just crumple. Harrison was immediate to support him, but the worry and fear was so clear in his tone. 

"Kieran? Kit? Kit, open your eyes, please, Kit."

Tai’s stomach dropped, the fear rising. He darted for the curtains, looking around for someone to help just add the nurse reappeared. 

“I’m going to get a doctor, alright? Hold on for me.” She told them, pressing the alarm. 

Harrison kept Kieran on his side, though he was still curled into him. Kieran was still stubbornly unconscious, everything becoming so much worse as he started vomiting again. 

"Shit." Harrison whispered under his breath, shifting Kieran further over. He wiped his sons mouth, trying to clear as much as he could. This wasn't supposed to happen. Not to their family. 

When the doctor appeared, his decision was easy. “We’re going to resus now, alright?”

Harrison glanced up. "On the bed?"

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

Steve had heard the alarm, had seen it was his grandkid's room, and rushed over, meeting them as they were wheeling Kieran out. Harrison was balanced on the bed, supporting a very clearly unconscious Kieran, the pair covered in vomit. Tai was white, far clear in his face, and even the doctor's face was guarded. 

"What happened?"

Tai gravitated towards Steve, relieved to see someone else. “I don’t know. He was sick, and then sick again, and then he just went.”

"Kids can do that." He tried to convince, wrapping an arm around Tai. "It should be just a faint, just a response to all the vomiting."

“And Hars just… is Hars. He knows what he’s doing.” He mumbled, leaning against him. 

"They're looking after him. He's gonna be okay."

“Finally.” He hated this. Hated thinking about the what ifs. Hated thinking his son was stuck with the same, miserable disease he was stuck with. 

Steve pulled him in for a hug, holding him tight. "He's got all of us in his corner."

“He has. I’m just worried about him.”

As they pushed the bed into the bay, Kieran began crying, deep, whimpering sobs. Harrison's heart broke again, wrapping himself around his son, brushing through his hair.

"You're okay, it’s okay. You’re safe, dad's here, you’re okay."

Tai moved closer to his husband and his son. “We’ve got you, it’s going to be okay.”

"Daddy?" He asked quietly, whimpers breaking through. "I don't feel very well."

“I know, Kit. It’s okay, the doctors are looking after you. You’re going to be okay.”

"I want Alfie."

“He’ll come and see you later.” Tai said gently. “He’s looking after Levi now.”

"Oh. What about me?"

“We’re looking after you now.”

"But I want Alfie too."

“You can see him soon.”

Harrison hummed, his hand still in Kieran's hair. "Kit? Why don't we swap your pjs for some hospital ones? Get you nice and clean again, yeah? And they're gonna want to stick some stickers on you too."

“You’ll feel much better in clean clothes.” Tai told him gently. “Dad and I will help you, yeah?”

Kieran didn't have the energy to argue, letting them help. It didn’t stop the embarrassment though, his cheeks flushing red as he saw the mess he'd made. The panic had started to overwhelm him again, worried he'd be more than a little told off for the mess. Of course, nobody cared about it. It had been an accident and everyone knew that; it wasn't as if Kieran had asked to be that poorly. After plenty of reassurance, he was settled on the clean bed once more, leads and wires attached everywhere. 

At some point, Tai had taken a photo, dropping it in the group chat to keep everyone updated. As sick as he was, he was settled. There were a few more tears as he was cannulated, the plan to sedate and insert more stable caths when he was ready. He was started on fluids, his blood pressure so low even for a kid. Insulin eventually too, a desperate attempt to start shifting things in the right direction - he'd worsened dramatically even since they'd first been seen. 

While it was the middle of the night and he was bound to be tired, he'd only become more drowsy and irritable, and unfortunately for him, hadn't managed to entirely stop being sick.

With the help of a little sedation, they ended up getting more access, and passed an NG. He needed cranial imaging, and it was easier to manage when he was clinically as stable as he could be. And, with as much access as possible, just in case anything went south. 

It seemed to be an age, but the scans came back clear and he was on his way to the PICU. Steve followed them, and while Kieran wasn't 100% with it, he felt better for having his grandad there too.

Kieran somewhat changed his mind once they'd transferred him, calling out for Tai. In the end, he hopped up on the bed with him, hiding his fear of all the needles and wires and machines and - everything. He wasn’t there for him, Kieran needed him. With a happy noise, Kieran snuggled closer, his head on his dad's chest, his favourite place to be, listening to the beats of his heart. He was quiet for a long while, and Tai was almost certain he'd fallen asleep amidst the low hum of Harrison and Steve’s conversation. 

"Dad?"

"Mm? You alright, Kit?"

He gave a long sigh, still apparently feeling the sedation too. "Are we the same now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Because you have to take your…your antisugars."

He smiled. "My insulin, yeah. That's what's in that bag there, too. I think it's nearly 100% that we will match, though, so I'll be able to help with every single thing you need, and you can ask me anything at all."

"Promise?"

"Of course, Kit." He sighed past the lump in his throat. "You know how Daddy is a super doctor too?"

He nodded, looking up at Tai. 

"Well, when I got diagnosed with 'di-ah-bee-teas'," he sounded it out properly for Kieran. "Daddy made sure to teach me everything. Sometimes he would even do my checks for me because I was a bit of a scaredy cat! But if you need me to help, or even daddy to help too, all you're gonna have to do is ask. I'm sure even grandad Steve would do it for you, too, if you asked nicely."

Kieran managed a laugh, snuggling closer. Tai's murmuring reverberated through his chest, and the circles he was drawing on his son’s back didn’t help keep the tiredness away. It didn’t take long for him to slip into sleep, content on Tai, and protected by his entire family. 

[autobot2001]

Painful Death

@themerrywhumpofmay: box @mediwhumpmay: first night in hospital Tw; drugs, murder, death (Snippet from Hidden Killer)

A man walks down a row of storage units, looking for number forty.   There's little in the storage unit, but the man is looking for a particular box. "I knew It was wise to copy the files," he whispers once he finds the box, "hopefully there's something in here that'll help the police. "Too bad they'll never find the box," a voice taunts. The man recognizes the voice and panics, clutching the box close to him. "You should have been given the death penalty!" He yells. "I believe you have evidence that you've committed a federal crime in that box." The man can run out of the storage unit and down the street. Hoping to reach the buddy street before the man chasing him does anything.

The man makes it to the busy street, running on the side. He doesn't make it far before being tackled to the ground. Resulting in losing his grip on the box. The box lands on the ground, the lock remaining intact.   "I could kill you no problem," the man taunts, "but I'm returning the beating you did to me." The man is used as a punching bag. Not for long until several cars park on the side of the road to stop the attack. The attacker gets one last good punch to the head, knocking the man out.

The man wakes up, slowly realizing he's in a hospital room. A nurse walks in, pleased the patient they came to check on is awake. They leave to get a doctor.

"You've been unconscious for three hours. Aside from a serious concussion, you're fine, but I want to keep you here at least overnight. Do you remember who you are?" "My name is Charles Curtis. I was targeted because of — the box! Where's the box!" "Police custody. Why must you have the box?" An officer walks into the room, carrying the familiar box. "Care to explain why this box contains medical records?" The officer asks. "Intuition. I worked at the asylum that burned down two years ago. Not during my shift, but Austin hoped I'd be there. I copied his files, hoping they could help the police get him. I should have brought the box to the police when he started attacking..." Charles stops talking, realizing what he thought was a great idea two years ago now has him in serious trouble. "That's enough," the doctor demands, "he looks fine but has a serious concussion." The officer leaves.

"An expensive kill," the drug dealer comments, "we could have worked out a deal." "No, this is going to be worth the price," Austin smiles. "Fine, it's your five hundred and fifty-eight dollars." "Actually, this will look like my victim made the purchase."

Charles tries to rest, but his mind worries about Austin's next move. Knowing Austin will not give up until he's dead. "Death or life in prison," Charles sighs. "I can decide for you." Charles panics but has no time to react before Austin pins him down with one hand and puts a piece of tape over his mouth. Two others cuff his hands to the rails of the bed. "Be ready to remove all evidence and run," Austin tells them as he prepares the syringe. Enjoying Charles' muffled screaming, "a nice cocaine injection. Three, two, one, move!" Austin cuts the line for the nurse call button before the three leave. Austin would love to watch Charles die, but leaving a camera behind would risk being caught. Charles knows he has no time to get out into the hallway for help. Tears roll down his face.

Within minutes Charles feels the effects of the drug. Before he can't move, just me, Charles writes a vital note. Struggling with chest pain and feeling like his heart is exploding. Knowing even if nurses hear his scream, there's nothing they can do. Yo Charles' luck, his scream is heard. Several doctors and nurses rush into the room. By now, Charles struggles to breathe. The medical staff work as fast as possible, fearing only a blood test or scab will tell them what's happening, but their patient only has a little time. A nurse rushes to get a crash cart.

When the nurse returns to the room, Charles is having a seizure. The doctor by the bed thought Charles was only unconscious once the seizure ended. "No pulse; we have a code blue."

"Ten minutes with no change," the doctor sighs, "time of death, ten-thirty p.m." "Something is not right about this," one nurse comments. "An autopsy will tell us." "Sir," another nurse calls out, holding a piece of paper. "This adds to the mystery. The note reads Donald Garza is in danger. Protect him. Even has where this guy lives written." "This is going to sound crazy, but this suggests someone came in here. The only way Charles' condition could determine that he's now dead is by injecting something into his IV. Call security and the police."

Austin exits the hospital and walks down the alleyway. Police cars speed by. "He's dead, perfect. You're next, Donald."

[sticks-and-stones-are-great]

Mediwhump May - Day 7

"First Night in Hospital"

(original characters/story)

@mediwhumpmay

“Family of Michelle Tate?”

Troy jumped to his feet before he’d even really registered what the nurse had said. Beside him, Daniel stood up too. 

“It’s Michael. He’s Michael.” Daniel sighed.

The nurse looked over the clipboard in their hands again and nodded. “You’re family?”

Troy felt Daniel’s hand on his shoulder. “We are.” Daniel said. 

That was kind of Daniel. 

He wasn’t Michael’s family. He was the one that had gotten Michael into this mess. He was the one who had pushed Michael too hard. Guilt sat in the pit of Troy’s stomach like a stone.

“Follow me.” 

Daniel followed the nurse, with Troy bringing up the rear. They led them into a room. The doctor explained Michael’s condition. Troy wrapped an arm around Daniel’s shoulders when the kid started to cry. They were told the visiting hours. They were told that talking to Michael would be good for him. And then, they were left alone. 

Daniel sat beside Michael’s bed and Troy didn’t, he couldn’t, he paced around the room. He was sore and exhausted and every step ached. But he couldn’t sit. He could barely look at Michael, lying pale in the bed, covered in tubes and wires.

But Daniel sat as close as he could to his brother without actually getting into the bed. He held Michael’s remaining hand, stroking the back of it with his thumb. And he talked.

“Mom and dad know. Mom’s coming tomorrow. I’ll be with her.” Daniel said. “I don’t know when dad will come, but he will. I’ll make him.” Daniel then looked back at Troy. His eyes were red and wet.

“I’ll come tomorrow too.” Troy reassured. “Sharon knows what happened. I called her earlier.”

Daniel nodded then turned back to Michael. 

“It should have been me.” Troy felt the words leave him before he realized what he had said. The ringing thought he’d had in his mind ever since he found Tate. The only thought. It should have been me.

“This isn’t about you.” Daniel kept his eyes on his brother.

Troy’s face burned with shame. “I know, I’m sorry, I-”

“It’s okay.” Daniel interrupted and aimed a smile back at Troy. “You’re hurt, you’re grieving, we say weird stuff. But this is about Tate, not you. He saved a lot of people today.”

“He’s a hero.” Troy murmured and wiped his eyes. 

Daniel laughed softly. “Don’t let him hear you say that.”

“Yeah.” Troy smiled too. “I’m sorry… I’m just so sorry this happened.”

“I know. Me too. But he knew what he was getting into.” Daniel said. “Troy, you didn’t do this to him. This isn’t your fault.”

And that was it. Troy crumbled. Tears filled his eyes. Snot ran. And he sobbed. Daniel got up from the chair and embraced him. Troy wept into his shoulder and hugged him back.