Chapter Text
Tyler soon fell back asleep in his weakened state.
Boone was careful to drive easily to protect Tyler’s condition. Kate held his upper body the whole way, and at one point she called the hospital.
“Hello, this is El Reno Hospital and ICU. How can I help you?”
“We are about ten minutes out and I have a very injured male”
“Alright, stay calm and stay with me. What is his name, age, supposed injury, severity, last he was fully conscious, and his coherence as of this moment. Also, provide the color and model of your vehicle so we can identify you”
“Tyler Owens, 28, broken leg and severe bleeding with cuts, fully conscious about and hour ago, he's unconscious right now but he was awake a few minutes ago. We're in a white pickup truck with StormPAR written on the side”
“Okay, we have a room in the ICU set up. I am 95% confident he's going to go straight into surgery, and he'll likely be in surgery for two hours”
“Okay, thank you so much, we'll be there in 5 minutes”
“Great, our best staff is waiting for you”
The operator hung up and Kate took a breath of relief.
Tyler's gonna get the best of care.
She looked down at his consistent breathing and twitching eyelids.
After a few minutes, Boone pulled into the hospital parking lot gently.
A team of doctors seemed to recognize the truck and rushed towards the decelerating vehicle.
Boone came to a complete stop and put the truck in park. He jumped out and rushed to help the doctors. Kate did the same, giving Ty a quick kiss on the forehead before jumping out.
The head doctor caught Kate’s attention as she saw a hospital bed being pushed to the other side of the truck.
“He’s in good hands Ms. Carter, we assure you” she said calmly “I am Dr. Bylee and I’ll be his main surgeon. He will be in surgery for an hour minimum”
“Got it, thanks” Kate said, watching as the team carefully lifted Tyler into his bed. He must have woken up because he was struggling against the pressure and was being wheeled towards Kate.
She walked towards the passing bed and took up a brisk walk to stay beside Ty.
“It’s gonna be alright, it’s gonna be alright, shhhh” Kate cooed as he continued to resist pressure from the nurses.
“Kate…..help!” Tyler struggled as they took him inside and Kate was held back by Boone and the head doctor.
“Once he’s out, he’ll be in room 007 on the second floor of the ICU. You both can stay there until then if you want. He’s being sedated currently and surgery will start in two minutes” she explained.
“Thank you, we’ll go rest there, we’re both exhausted too” Boone said, still grasping Kate’s right arm as tears fell from her face.
“No problem” the head doctor turned to go into the hospital and nodded to the pair.
Tyler’s room wasn't cozy to say the least. The white walls and stiff chairs were terrible, but Kate didn’t notice. She just sat next to Boone, under his arm. His presence was all that was holding her to reality, and without him, she likely would have already had a panic attack.
He had his right arm over her shoulders as she shuttered beneath him with each breath.
Every once in a while she would whisper a what if, and Boone would quickly shut it down.
Growing up with anxiety, he knew what it was like to have this experience with a loved one. Even if they weren’t together, he still loved them together all the same.
Boone had his head laid back against the wall and his legs laid out in front of him. They were sore and still screaming from all of the exertion he had put them through in just the past two hours.
He leaned ever so gently against Kate, whom he knew needed the human contact and pressure to feel grounded.
He knew her mind was a train wreck right now and there was nothing he could do.
“Ty’s just as scared as you are, you know. He's always had a fear of doctors and medical attention. He was treated really badly at a hospital when he got stepped on by a bull. They refused to see him and that was the only hospital for miles. We had no car, and they were our only choice. They eventually took him, but would only treat him for his concussion. It ended up just making it worse and he got really aggressive for a few days. He would just yell and the nurses had to separate him from us. They hit him when he acted up and basically kept him locked in his room. God, it was awful” Boone ended with a whisper.
“How'd he get out?” Kate whispered as she snuggled deeper into Boone's side, craving the stability she currently lacked.
“He pulled himself together for a day. One more day and he probably would have gone insane, no joke” Boone sighed.
That seemed to end the conversation, and the exhaustion kicked in for both.
Kate rested on Boone’s bicep and his head rested on the wall, supported by Kate’s head.
The two soon fell asleep, each other's heart falling into exact rhythm with the other.
About two hours later, Tyler was out of surgery.
Startling both, a knock came from the door.
“Come in,” Kate said, righting herself and fixing her hair.
“I'm Dr. Bylee, in case you don't remember. Great news, Mr. Owens has survived the surgery” she paused, just enough time for Boone’s mind to produce a harrowing thought.
“Was there a chance he wasn't going to?” he asked, nearly whispering in the silent room.
“Well, his heart did stop once during surgery, but we revived him within thirty seconds” she said casually.
A tear flew down Kate's cheek. She said nothing.
“Anyways, we're gonna wheel him in here in a second. He's still unconscious, and I'll have a nurse stay with you all until he resurfaces”
“Thanks,” Boone said quietly, watching Kate stare forward.
Just in time, Dr. Bylee opened the wide door to allow space for the bed to be wheeled in.
Tyler had a bunch of medical equipment on; a mask, an IV into his wrist, a blood bank line into the other, a heart monitor, a leg brace/cast situation, and a bunch of butterfly bandages where there were small cuts on his face and neck.
“He has a broken leg, broken rib, strained abdominals, loss of blood, and probably a mild concussion. He has stitches in his leg along with a brace and cast to keep the bone in place. He'll likely be walking as soon as he gets that leg healed, maybe a week to get his stitches out and six weeks to get the brace off. He can start physical therapy and slight weight bearing in four weeks. As of now, he'll be waking up in about five minutes. Any questions?”
“God, that’s a lot” Kate said, holding eye contact with the doctor.
“I know, but those weeks will fly by once he goes home. That should be in a week” Bylee said. She seemed confident.
“Alright, well, I have to get going. I'm leaving you with Nurse Sydney. You're in good hands. Good luck to the three of you and I'm confident Tyler will make a full recovery.”
Kate and Boone hadn't noticed, but Sydney had been prepping Ty for waking up. His mask was off and his face seemed lighter.
“Hi guys! I'm Tyler's nurse, Sydney. I'll be here for a few minutes while he wakes up and I'll leave you all here after!”
“Hi,” Kate offered softly.
Tyler's body took a deep breath and his eyelids twitched.
Everyone's eyes flew to his face and watched as he gained consciousness.
His eyes opened slowly and his pupils adjusted to the light. His eyes dashed around the room and slowly got more frantic.
He was facing away from Sydney, but faced towards Boone and Kate. He couldn't see them right now, as they sat in the corner of the room, near the door and the foot of the bed.
His shoulder slowly rose and he sat up.
His body jolted when he saw Boone and Kate. He had a confused expression on his face, but Kate couldn't figure out why.
His arms were by his hips now, holding him up.
He looked to his right and found Sydney, and his body jolted again. His eyes trailed back to Kate and Boone. He held a strong eye contact with Kate and he spoke first.
“Who the hell are you?”