Chapter Text
Climbing out of the jeep wasn’t too pleasant, the longer i had sat there, the more the adrenaline wore off and the more I felt my injuries begin to settle. By the time I was fully out into the late evening sun I could feel the dried blood around my bullet wounds, and the way my shoulder throbbed from where one had just grazed me, but none of that mattered, I needed my doctor.
The hallways felt longer, and the ceiling higher as I made my way into the base as a sergeant major led me inside. “You should see a medic.” He said while turning down a long thin hallway, and for a moment my head felt like it was spinning, I shifted and caught myself on a wall, taking in a hard breath before shaking my head.
“No, Doctor first,” I explained, “I have to know he’s okay.”
“He’s fine, he’s been on base for hours throwing a temper tantrum. He broke the break room vending machine,” The sergeant major explained while shaking his head.
My teeth clenched as this nobody spoke to me, “Where is my doctor!” I found myself growling at him like a rabid dog.
“Okay okay,” He said while putting his hands up and side stepping away from me, he grumbled something but I didn’t care enough to listen.
My body felt heavy as I made my way through the base towards the room I was told my doctor was in. I could hear him screaming at someone before a loud bang echoed through the hall. My whole body jolted at the sound and I swore I saw the room go red as if the emergency lights were going off once more.
I sucked in a sharp yet ragged breath and let it out as my body moved without thinking towards the sound of the screaming man. I squeezed my eyes shut, I swore the room was red once again, and opened them. I staggered to the door and pushed it open with my shoulder, pausing as I saw the man before me, his back to me as he seethed. His shoulders raised, hair disheveled in a way I had never seen before, his shoulders raising and falling with each heavy pant as he glared down at the agent before him.
“I DON’T WANT YOUR DISGUSTING COFFEE! I WANT MY STONE!!” He screeched while slapped the paper cut out of their hand. My shoulders jolted at the screaming, my eyes widening as I stared at the man before me. He was normally so put together, so perfect but right now he was a wreck.
He was wrecked because…
Of…
Me?
I don’t understand, I am expendable.
He is not.
I am replaceable.
He is not.
Why was he this upset?
I didn’t utter a word as I stood behind him, staring at the back of his head in silent question as he threw another chair at the agent’s head. I was awestruck, that this man who was perfect, the smartest man in the world, was throwing things and screaming for me.
He needed me too…
Shit he needed me too!
“Doctor?” I called from behind him and watched as his whole body froze up before he slowly turned to look at me, then in one swift movement he was before me, hand wrapping around my biceps, squeezing the graze I had received.
“STONE!” His voice was sharp, panicked as he grabbed me, my back slamming against the wall by the other man manhandling me. “Stone…” His head dipped down but I could hear the tremor in his voice, his shoulders shaking. Then the panic set in.
Was he hurt?
Did he get injured leaving?
Did he get injured while on my bike??
I should have put a helmet on him!
I should have given him more riding lessons before this!
I should have helped him more!
He is my prerogative.
He is my purpose and I just let him drive off like that, ALONE!
“Sir-!” I started but he squeezed my wound tighter and I felt the front of my shirt dampen.
He’s crying ?!?!??!?
“Sir!” I called out, wanting to reach out, wanting to hold him to help him, wanting to help him in any way I could.
“Don’t ever do anything like that ever again!” I clenched my teeth at his words, my eyes tracing over the back of his head as he remained hidden in my now wet chest. “Your moron!” he hissed, “You imbecile! Ahhh- You hopeless fool! You selfless bastard!” He barked into me as he held me even tighter, sniffling. “Don’t you- hic- EVER do that to me- hic- AGAIN!”
For a moment I didn’t know what to do…
“Doctor…” I mumbled out, voice dipping down as my fingers moved to hover over his head, “You’re… you're not injured are you?”
Apparently that was not the right thing to say.
The doctor pulled me forwards before slamming me back into the wall, his eyes finally snapping up to meet mine.
“YOU FUCKING IDIOT!” He screamed at me before slamming me into the wall again, “YOU MORON! YOU- YOU- AHHH!” He screamed in my face, eyes red from crying, tears staining his perfect cheeks. Then he finally stopped, his eyes snapping down to the blood on his gloves, his hand releasing my wound, shifting to stare down at the red stained fabric before meeting my eyes.
“I’ve been hurting you?” He asked his eyes flicking to stare at the currently bleeding wound, “Stone-!”
“I am fine,” I said while moving a hand to cover the bloody cut, eyes trailing down to the floor.
“You were hurt! And you’ve been allowing me to make it worse! We are going to the med bay! Now!!!” He said moving to grab my arm before hesitating, then turning to start walking away from me, “Come!” He yelled.
I stared at the back of the doctor’s head for a moment as he walked before sighing and starting to stagger after him, eyes trailing onto the floor.
At least my doctor was safe.
At least my doctor wasn’t injured.
At least my recklessness had paid off…
His hand was suddenly on the small of my back, my arm getting pulled up over his shoulders and he lifted, pulling me up into his arms bridal style.
I stared at his face, mouth slightly open as I stared at the man who was now holding me, as if I weighed nothing, and carrying me through the halls. “Doctor!” I yelped after a moment, attempting to squirm out of his grip.
“Don’t even start, you are injured,” He growled back, fingers curling into my back and thigh. “You can hardly walk and you're moving too slowly.”
“But I can walk! You don’t need to…” I mumbled out after a moment of staring at him again.
“Im away of what I do and don’t need to do, making sure my agent is okay is on the list of to do’s, as well as chewing him out more for his stupid reckless behavior.” He grumbled, his displeasure easy to see. Finally I conceded, tucking my chin down with a sigh. There was no fighting with him when he’d made up his mind, he would always win with me when his life wasn’t on the line.
He’d set me down far more gently than I'd ever felt him move before, his hand slowly smoothing over the medial table before he snapped at the nearest nurse. “Look over his injuries,” He ordered before taking a step back and crossing his arms.
I stared at the doctor as the nurse moved around me, watching him to make sure he was safe, that no one else would burst through those doors. I needed him to be okay.
Any bullet wound…
Any stab…
Any injury would be worth it to keep him okay, so I wear these injuries like a badge of pride. I watched as the doctor’s face went from cold to worry, brow twisting up, it wasn’t till I sucked in a sharp breath that I realized why. My eyes flicked to the nurse as she slowly stitched a gun shot wound closed, blood soaking her blue surgical gloves. I slowly let the breath out, looking back to the doctor who had taken a small step forwards. His eyes locked with mine for a moment before he closed the gap and sat in the chair beside the bed I was on, his hand tapping on the edge of it, fingers curling over the white sheets as he looked at the injury once more.
“I’m okay,” I started.
“Liar.”
“Doctor, really I’m okay, I’ve had worse.”
“You are not okay, you are full of holes.” He growled with teeth clenched, and I did something dumb again, shifting I offered my hand to him.
“I’m fine really.”
“SHUT UP!” He exploded, throwing his hands out in his frustration, “People aren’t fine when they are getting stitched up like this! People aren’t fine when they’ve been shot at! Shake! Cry! Do something!”
“I’m not people,” I responded, wrong again.
“YOU ARE! SO STOP! CRY! BE UPSET!” He shouted before shaking his head and looking away from the nurse, his eyes red again as he held back his own tears. My eyes flicked to the nurse, then back to the doctor.
“I just…” I stammered slightly before sighing, offering my hand to him once more. “Doctor…” I began before pausing once more… “Ivo…” His eyes wet mine then, staring at me for a long moment before he shifted and finally took my hand, squeezing. Saying his name was near foreign in my mouth, but he needed it.
I needed it.
His fingers shifted and intertwined with my own, squeezing my hand again as he stared down at our hands, it wasn’t until the nurse left that he spoke again.
“You’re stupid,” He mumbled.
“I know Doctor,” I whispered back.
“A complete and utter moron…”
“Im aware,” I whispered again, thumb rubbing the back of the doctor’s hand.
He went silent again, with our eyes locked onto how the spaces between our fingers were right where the other’s fit perfectly.
“I’m okay,” his voice was barely even a whisper.
“We’re okay,” I said back as I squeezed once more.
When I looked up to look over his face, I found his eyes glued to mine, looking me over before his bloodied gloved reached out to touch my cheek. He sneered at the red before looking into my eyes again, gazing into them.
It wasn’t until our lips met that I had realized he’d been leaning in. I froze for half a second before leaning forwards, melting into the touch, my eyes fluttering closed.
My cheeks grew wet as my stomach twisted into knots.
I don’t even know which one of us was crying this time.