Hospital part 1
Marc let Jake rush the three of them to the hospital, since he was the most familiar with the streets of New York, especially when it comes to rushing and not killing everyone involved. He kept anxiously glancing back through the Mirror at Layla, who had soft wrinkles pushed and etched into her skin, ravines of her own worry and panic. She had a cool towel pressed to the kids forehead while she whispered in quiet Arabic to him, her own hands trembling to match his shaking.
Once in the hospital, Jake let Marc take over again, and Marc lifted the teen up, careful to support their neck with each movement while they all headed in and to the front desk. Layla took the clipboard of paperwork to fill out while Marc found a slightly more isolated part of the waiting room where he could keep his eyes on the entrance. A small thing to help ease just a little something while panic and worry took over every other part. He glanced back down at Tim, swallowing past the lump in his throat. Tim was drenched in sweat, hair clinging to his forehead as his body shivered in an attempt to regulate itself. Skin pale, and God's, he was so tiny. Sure, maybe not when compared to other teens. Marc wouldn't really know. But right now? Like this? He was just a child. Marc reached up, shakily wiping his bangs from his forehead, watching those baby blues flutter open before wincing closed again, feeling the small shallow pants that signified life.
Marc tried to take a slow steady breath in himself, something to help ease his nervous system, to remind him that it was ok, that Tim was alive, that he wasn't Randal. He wasn't going to the hospital to see a brain dead body. He wasn't small, huddled behind his father as his mother screamed out. His brother's drowned body so so small on the large white bed.
‘ Let me take over, mate. It will be ok’ Steven, that was Steven, because they weren't back there. But Layla needed him to be here, to be strong. Needed a rock instead of another crisis.
“No, I got this” Marc tried to take another deep breath, but the smell of antiseptic still stung and nothing really changed.
Layla came back over shortly, sitting on the chair next to Marc and reaching forward, one hand running through Tim's hair and the other arm wrapping around Marc. “I told them we were on Vacation from overseas” she explained, because it wasn't exactly a lie but also far from the truth. Though, it would help prevent more questions down the line. “God's, what happened? They were doing so good earlier” she rested her head against his shoulder, tucking in a shaky breath of her own as she blinked back tears.
A small whimper and mumbled words brought their attention back to Tim. “You awake?” Marc asked as he shifted them around, making sure both him and Layla could see them.
“Br'ce?” Tim slurred, consciousness still barely present as he tried to open his eyes, only to wince away from the bright lights.
God, Tim felt worse than when he had the clench, and that was saying something. Maybe this time he was actually dying. It sure felt like it. Or maybe Mr Freeze stashed him away somewhere, freezing his body to the point it felt on fire. He tried to move, to get blood flow back, but every ounce of energy felt like it was zapped from him, replaced with millions of needles and heavy lead weights.
Everything was off, distorted and fuzzy. But at least he felt safe, so he was probably in the cave… or maybe Leslie's? When was the last time he felt safe? Ah… he was probably with Kon in his nest, maybe Bart too… it was pretty loud so definitely Bart. But they were being mean and not turning off the lights. He tried to make his mouth move, to ask one of the few people he trusted to take mercy, but nothing worked really.
Why was it so cold again? Where was he? Tim tried to force open his eyes, to wake up, but everything blurred together and the light felt like daggers digging and carving away into his brain.
But he felt safe here, held to… who was holding him? To bulky to be Bart, not Godlike enough to be Kon, to boxy to be Cassie.
God he missed his little family. He just wanted to curl up and forget about life for a little bit with them, forget about how it felt like he was suffocating… maybe he was?
Tim tried to pull in a breath, but his lungs spasmed with the effort, trying to pull in oxygen but very little made it in. Panic quickly wiped away as warm hands cradled his face, warm… Cassie was always warm, a little human furnace. When he would get sick she would curl up with him and watch trashy reality TV while Bart ran to grab any snack anyone of them could ever desire. The warmth helped ease the pain, if only for a moment. She always was there, rising like the sun. A warm reminder that came back again and again, and reminder that even when she was off world or on a separate mission, she would always return.
They had promised to get together again, just the four of them. To binge watch some new show and all get piercings together. To remain a unit despite how life tore them apart. Was that what they were doing? That didn't sound quite right though…
Where was he again? Not knowing was dangerous. It left vulnerability. Tim tried to open his eyes but the light stabbed him instead, driving its way through his brain like a bullet, or maybe an ice pick given how cold he was.
Something was pressed to his face and his lungs were forced full of air- oh thats right, he couldn't breath. He tried sucking in the air now but just ended up coughing, the effort leaving him feel completely exhausted. Maybe if he just took a little nap…
___
Layla watched as they pushed an oxygen mask onto the teen before rushing him back. The urgency the staff had should have been comforting, but seeing how packed the room was it only furthered the fear. Concrete proof that Tim was worse off, that he was a priority case. It made her want to scream, to cry, to plead with every known God for him to be safe, and to curse herself for not seeing how bad things were getting. How quickly everything was escalating, it didn't make sense. Minus the infection, They looked healthy, decent muscle build, not underweight or anything, healthy hair and skin. It didn't make sense.
It was just a little infection, and she got them on antibiotics and was cleaning the wounds. They weren't even deep wounds, just small scrapes from falling down. It didn't make sense. She had to have missed something, but what?
For now, it was out of her hands. She shifted to lean more against her husband, pulling his hands into her own. “I don't get it” she finally admitted, hoping that maybe he had seen something, anything.
“Well… they probably did not even realize how bad it was getting. You said they were switching a lot? It's safe to assume they do not have quite the level of co-consciousness and communication that me, Steven, and Jake have” Marc started, twisting her fingers with his own. “And I imagine the fever was making it worse, it's also possible that They were deliberately hiding it. I mean, Carrie seemed set that they could not and would not take care of themselves” Marc shifted to tilt her face up, to look her in the eyes. “It's not your fault. You did everything you could within reason” he pressed their foreheads together, closing his eyes as he tried to let himself calm down, even if only for a moment. All they could do for now was wait.
___
“Mr and Mrs ElFaouly?” Layla quickly stood up, hand reaching out to grab onto her husband's, a stable grounding point.
“As I am sure you are aware, Tim is immunocompromised, which escalated the infection quite-”
“What do you mean?” Lalya cut off the doctor, because she didn't know. And to help Tim she would benefit from knowing every possible curve ball. Every little detail that could help them be better parents, no, guardians? Caretakers? Nothing seemed to fit the descriptor, besides she had time to figure that out later.
“Well, from his splenectomy, the performing doctor Im sure had filled you in on the long term and life long care that follows, as well as elevated risks. I would have liked to have seen him sooner, but I also know you had him on antibiotics and without a long term hospital stay that is what most doctors would have recommended, especially with traveling. Regardless, what is done is done. Now, as I was saying before, what started as a small infection spread, and is what we consider a bacterial infection. This spread through his blood and caused swelling in the membrane around his brain and through a lumbar puncture we can determine that it has evolved into bacterial meningitis. Now, thankfully we caught it before any permanent damage was done, but his body is still struggling to fight it off more than we would hope with the intervention measures we have taken” the doctor explained, flipping through the stack of papers. “Once he recuperates, I highly recommend a course of vaccines and booster shots to help build his immune system back up. Now, onto the next step in the list. Tim also was also exhibiting signs of sepsis and the early stages of pneumonia, all most likely triggered from the same infection. I believe the drop in blood pressure is ultimately what made him pass out. We will most likely need to keep him for a few days, ideally longer. You may want to extend your vacation. Once he is released I would also recommend bringing him to his normal doctors back home and having an immediate follow up as they will be more informed on his specific care and response to treatment”.
“Of course, thank you” Marc spoke first, voice even despite the way he was mentally reeling over all the information. He pulled Layla in close, wrapping his arms around her before spinning her around into a full hug, hanging his head into the crook of her neck while he took a few deep and slow breaths.
Tim would be fine, they got him help before it escalated into permanent damage or death. Tim was alive. He wasn't like his brother. He didn't kill him. They would all be fine.
‘ I'm taking over ‘ was the only warning Marc got before Steven took the reigns, forcing Marc out of what was a rather triggering situation, though he wouldn't admit to it. Steven gave Layla an extra squeeze before lifting his head back up. He glanced at the door the doctor left from before back to her. He ran his hands up and down her arms around few times before pulling her back in to a proper hug. “I'm sorry, love. It's going to be ok. I'll tell that pigeon right off and we can spend the next week with them”
“I know, Steven. I know its going to be alright. But I feel like I failed them. We should have taken them to the doctors days ago, God's, sepsis? Meningitis? They could have died. They still could if they dont respond well to treatment. And what then? We still dont know if they have a family out there looking for them? Or a plan? A place? What if they have a pet dog we're about to starve to death?”
“Love, you're catastrophizing. We will figure it out, together” Steven shifted to cup her face in his hands, wiping away her tears. “One day at a time, one step at a time”
“I know… its just-”
Steven cut her off, pressing a delicate kiss to her lips before pulling back. “Let's just focus on the now, we can go visit them, be there when they wake up”
___
Life existed in small bursts for a bit.
Tim woke up to warm hands running through his hair. Fingers deftly parting black strands to scratch at his scalp. Something far away beeped in a steady slow rhythm and soft murmurs lulled him back to sleep.
The next time Tim awoke, it was to choking on the air that forced its way into his lungs, body freezing yet sweating as he tried to move, to push himself up, to show his family that he was ok, he wasn't a weak link. He could still go on patrol. Two sturdy hands pushed him back, and he thought it best to listen.
JJ woke as a sharp pain faded from his elbow, an IV? He tried to push open his eyes but someone had glued them shut. Or maybe he was just exhausted. He usually felt this way after a session with daddy. Drained and dead, body hardly belonging to him, more pain than human. But at least the bed was soft and not hard metal. It didn’t dig into his hips painfully, did not threaten to push the joints out of their sockets, so he opted to let the exhaustion pull him down again. At least in his sleep, when he was unconscious, the pain couldnt follow him like a sick shadow puppet. He drifted back off, thinking of shadow puppets formed on walls with hands. Maybe his new mum would put one on for him. She was nice and helped chase away the scary monsters, and her name was oh so beautiful. He wished she was there to hold him again, but he was out before he could even know who was talking. Hopefully it wasnt important.
Tim woke up to a nurse shifting him around. He tried to force his voice to work, but it couldn't make it past the plastic strapped to his face. He tried to blink away the blurriness that seemed to fill his world. To try and figure out what happened. But everything hurt and that took so much effort. A warm hand quickly placed itself back in his, and he might not have comprehended much, but he knew he was safe. He let his eyes fall back closed and fell back into the deep ocean, drifting along on the boat far away from everything. Nothing but warm blankets and warmer sun rays with the gentle rocking pulling him back to sleep. Someone was with him, tucking the blankets around him, a soft murmur thick with an accent he couldn't quite place nor understand, all he cared about was there fingers running through his hair and the warm light radiating heat back into his cold body as he was gently rock rock rocked back to sleep.
The next time Red woke up, he kept his eyes carefully closed and breathes even until the world started to slowly fade back in. Murmurs slowly becoming words, beeps lining up with his steady heart beat. His body was stiff, too stiff for how loose his joints normally were. He was warm, too warm. But he couldn't let them know he was awake and lose the upper hand surprise offered. He listened until the words the nurses were speaking started to make sense, symbols strewn together until his brain could slowly decipher them.
“... fever is finally going down. He should be waking up soon and feel much better now, probably a lot more with it” one of them, the one poking at the IV bag explained to another.
“That's good, his parents have been worried sick. Were they able to obtain any medical files from his other doctors?”
“No, not yet. The kid apparently doesn't exist in any modern sense. His doctors must keep everything on paper. Its pretty suspicious, if you ask me” they shifted his arm, checking the injection sight. “Ive basically had cps on speed dial incase they showed even one red flag”
“I mean it could just be the family, I had my brother, the cop? I had him run a quick check on the two parents, and aparently the father, Steven, only existed as a museum worker for a little, no medical records, no nothing”
The two nurses left, and Red knew he had to get to action. First and foremost, remove the IV. Then he could work on sneaking out before his kidnappers returned. He shakily lifted his hand, slapping around numbly until it caught. Just the motion left him feeling like he just a ran a marathon, but he couldn't stop. Once he finally got it out, he quickly sat up, pushing his feet to the ground before the entire world went sideways and blacked out, the last thing he heard was the monitor beating his rapid flutter away. The last thought he had was that he should have remembered the body's weakness, should have remembered to get up slow, to let it adjust.
Too late now, he supposed.