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Nursey is literally the clumsiest person Dex has ever met in his life.
Sure, his older brother used to knock over mugs. He used to trip over toys left on the floor by their younger sisters, and stumble over pebbles on the sidewalk, but he never actually fell in Samwell River.
Despite this, the first time Dex gets a true indication of just how clumsy Nursey is, he doesn’t think much of it. Anyone could fall in a river - they don’t, but they could.
Dex and Chowder sit opposite one another at the kitchen table. They’ve been working for ages with their heads bent over their papers, scribbling furiously, and the silence they’ve been in has yet to be disrupted. It's kind of nice and it doesn't happen often, which figures, as it doesn't last long.
“What’s that noise?”
The sudden volume of Chowder’s voice makes Dex jump. He listens slightly and opens his mouth to respond that actually, he can’t hear anything, when he does.
There’s a scuffle of noise and commotion as Ransom, Holster and Bitty usher Nursey into the Haus. Dex and Chowder, who can see them through the door, jump to their feet. It’s the kind of commotion that follows an incident, like when somebody gets injured on the ice and people are speaking in firm, urgent voices. Dex abandons his studying in an instant.
He rushes into the hallway, steadying himself on the door frame so he doesn’t overbalance. Chowder is hot on his heels. Nursey is steered to the couch and sat down, holding what seems to be Ransom’s Samwell hoodie to his forehead.
“What happened?” Chowder asks.
“Nursey fell in the river,” Holster says, and the words are quite funny, but the look on Holster’s face doesn’t scream amusement. He looks deeply concerned, tense like he does under pressure on the ice.
Bitty hovers over Nursey like he’s not sure what to do. “Do we need to call an ambulance?” he asks, visibly upset.
“Probably not,” Dex pipes up and walks over. “Head injuries bleed a lot so they often look worse than they are. Let me see.”
Ransom, Holster, Chowder and Bitty all cast him doubtful looks before shuffling back slightly. Dex doesn’t blame them. It’s not like he and Nursey fight much, anymore, but they’re not exactly best friends, either. He can’t blame the others for worrying that the two of them are going to bicker their way through this.
“Nurse?” Dex asks, softly, in his first-aider voice. He kneels down and waves his hand in front of Nursey’s face. “Can you hear me?”
“Yes,” Nursey replies. His voice is shaky but, all things considered, he sounds alright. Dex can feel the rush of relief that follows Nursey’s response.
“Great,” he says. He hopes it doesn’t sound sarcastic, but Nursey always has a way of taking it like that. It’s the cause of many of their arguments. “Okay. Can you take the hoodie away from your head for me?”
Nursey blinks heavily at him.
Bitty steps forward, looking even more worried. “I don’t -“
“Just for a second,” Dex interrupts firmly. Bitty looks down at him in surprise - Dex never usually argues with him. “I need to see the wound.”
Nursey lets Dex guide his hand away from his head as Bitty sighs. Dex catches a glimpse of Nursey’s forehead, checks it quickly, scans it for anything foreign. Again, he feels the relief in his chest - it’s bad, but it’s not terrible, and Dex knows what to do about this stuff. He didn’t volunteer at his local ambulance service for three summers to remember nothing.
“Okay, you can put it back,” he tells Nursey, who nods slowly. Dex presses Nursey’s hand firmly on top of the hoodie. He turns to the others and speaks fast, in low tones. “Bitty, can you get me the first aid kit out of the kitchen? It’s in the cupboard, above the fridge.”
”Sure thing,” says Bitty, and he goes quickly.
“Rans, can you grab me some of the ice packs out of the basement?” Dex asks. “The snap and go ones. Don’t snap them yet. C?”
Ransom nods and does as he’s told, taking off. It’s weird giving their captain orders, but Dex doesn’t bother dwelling on it. Chowder, having been listening and watching intently, stands to attention. “Yes?”
“Can you lie Nursey down on the couch?”
Bitty sets the first aid kit down in front of Dex, who opens it. He leaves Chowder to manoeuvre Nursey onto the couch whilst he pulls on some latex gloves.
“Okay, Nursey,” he leans over his d-partner and speaks softly as Ransom sets down the ice pack and backs off. “I’m going to take the hoodie off and press some gauze on your forehead. I gotta apply some pressure so it might hurt a little. Okay?”
Nursey doesn’t say anything but he does nod again. Dex takes it as express permission and does exactly as he explained, pressing the gauze to Nursey’s forehead firmly, but being as gentle as possible. Nursey’s face is pale, but his jaw is set, almost like he’s gritting his teeth and bearing it.
Dex’s first aid training took over a while ago. He knows he’s got to apply pressure for at least fifteen minutes. The minutes pass slowly, tensely - in the meantime, Bitty takes Ransom’s hoodie into the kitchen to wash the blood out of it. Chowder sits on the armchair next to the couch, jiggling his leg impatiently.
Ransom and Holster do their best to answer Dex’s questions.
“Did he pass out at all?” Dex asks, after he’s had a rough, terse, fast run down of what happened.
Holster shakes his head. He’s rushing to get his words out. “No, he just fell in, hit his head and came straight back up again, but he was holding his hands over it. We could tell it was bleeding, he - it... he had blood on his fingers.”
“Okay,” Dex says. “Not a serious concussion, then. He could still have a mild one. We’ve gotta keep checking to see if he’s got a headache, or if he feels a bit sick.”
“How can you be sure it’s a concussion?” Chowder asks. “I’ve seen a bunch on the ice but I’ve never known how to tell.”
“Um,” Dex takes Nursey’s hand gently. It’s cool to the touch and sticky. If Dex has thought about how Nursey’s hands feel in his, it’s not like this.
He holds it up to Chowder, who takes it. Nursey laces their fingers together and Chowder laughs. “It’s really clammy,” Chowder notices.
Dex nods. “He’s quite pale, too,” he adds. “Clammy, pale skin, headaches, a bit of nausea - they’re your main symptoms. Of a mild one, anyway. It’s more serious if you pass out.”
“Oh.” Chowder hums. “How do you know all this stuff, Dex?”
“I’m first aid trained,” Dex says. “I volunteered a bunch for my local ambulance service for a few summers. You see a fair few concussions. People are clumsy.”
“That’s really cool, bro,” Holster says. Dex shrugs.
Ransom nods, agreeing. “Do we need to do anything else? Like, when can he eat? He can’t get on the ice again anytime soon, right?”
“He might be able to sooner than you think. We need to get him to see a doctor,” says Dex. “Especially for the all clear to play hockey again.”
Ransom and Holster leave them to it, assured that Nursey is in safe hands. After the fifteen minutes are up and another gauze has been placed on top of the first, Dex lifts it up and smiles.
“Looking good, Nurse,” he says, and hopes he doesn’t sound as sickeningly relieved as he feels. “It’s basically stopped bleeding. I’m gonna plaster you up now.”
“Phew,” Chowder laughs. He does sound relieved. “I’m going to get you something to eat, Nurse. Does tea sound good? Ooh, toast? Do you want toast?”
“That sounds wonderful, C,” Nursey says, smiling weakly. Chowder beams.
“Can you call Harriet?” Dex asks. Nursey needs to see the team doctor, and sometimes she comes to the Haus if they ask nicely enough. Chowder nods and leaves, humming cheerily.
“Nice one, dude. You worried all of us for a hot second,” Dex tells Nursey, who chortles.
“I didn’t realise you were such a good doctor,” he replies quietly. “I can’t even put bandaids on without giving myself an injury.”
Dex snorts and unwraps the bandaid. “I used to volunteer at my local ambulance service,” he explains. “I’m a trained first-aider.”
“Of course you are,” Nursey snorts as Dex applies the bandaid gently.
“What?” he asks. It’s not like anyone knew.
Nursey shrugs with one shoulder. “You have hidden depths, Poindexter.”
“The Samwell River doesn’t, apparently,” Dex retorts, concentrating. He’s so relieved, he barely even knows what he’s saying.
The joke startles a laugh out of Nursey, who looks delighted. “That’s funny, bro,” he says. He still sounds weak, but he laughs loudly. “You got comedian training, too?”
“There’s no such thing,” Dex says. He’s smiling too. He finishes applying the bandaid. Nursey sighs and closes his eyes, seemingly settling in to the couch, and it’s only then that Dex realises how gentle he’s being.
“Don’t sleep,” Dex says. He jostles Nursey’s head slightly, trying to keep him awake, but his eyes remain closed.
Nursey snorts again. “I’m not.”
“Good,” he says. He smooths out the edges of the bandaid and drops a quick, soft kiss next to it, right on Nursey’s forehead.
Nursey’s eyes fly open and Dex stills, shocked. He hadn’t even realised what he was doing. He racks his brains, thinking of an excuse, any reason why he’d done it, but he comes up empty. He flushes.
“I thought Bitty was the Haus mom friend,” Nursey laughs weakly. He doesn’t look at Dex and if Dex isn’t mistaken, some of the colour has returned to his face.
Mom. Of course. For years, his own mother patched up cuts and scrapes and she had always kissed it better. Because of this, Dex had always done the same to his younger siblings. It’s habit, Dex thinks, and that must be why.
He’s not sure why the habit kicked in with Nursey, of all people. He never kissed any of the people during his stint with the ambulance service. He has some self restraint.
“Habit from my siblings,” he says gruffly. Then - “um, sorry.”
“Oh,” Nursey says. He sounds a little surprised. “Dude, no worries.”
Dex nods curtly.
“Shall I come and sit with you, Nursey?” Bitty asks from the kitchen door frame, looking a mix of mildly amused and still slightly concerned. “I’ve got work to do.”
“Yes please, Bits,” Nursey says. Dex feels bad as yet more relief fills him. He doesn’t have to sit in the awkwardness of what he just did.
Dex busies himself by thwacking the ice pack on the heel of his palm and handing it to Nursey, who automatically lifts it to his head. He packs up the first aid kit, hurrying and stumbling over the compartments. It’s only when he’s done and up and walking towards the kitchen to return it that Nursey clears his throat.
“Dex?”
“Hmm?” Dex turns back around. He hopes he doesn’t look fiercely red, but he can feel that his cheeks are hot.
“Thank you,” Nursey says. He sounds as grateful as he looks. “Really.”
“No problem,” Dex replies, and it’s really not.
☆
"Uh - Dex?"
Dex looks up.
He's alone - he hadn't realised everyone else had left around him. He sits in the lounge, propped up against the couch on the floor, his laptop the only light in the room.
Nurse is leaning over the edge of the couch, holding his hand aloft. He's clearly not gone back to his dorm either, but Dex isn't quite sure why he wouldn't sit in the lounge with him. It strikes him that, even if they don't always get along, he thought they were civil enough to sit and work in each other's company.
"Yeah?" Dex responds. He glances at the bottom corner of his laptop screen: one in the morning. It could be worse.
"Um, I got a splinter," Nursey waves his hand a little. "I don't know how to get it out without, I dunno. Snapping it in half or something."
Dex huffs a breathy laugh, pushes his laptop to the side and gets up from the floor. "Okay," he says. "Come into the kitchen."
Nursey follows close behind, almost stepping on Dex’s heels, still holding his hand up in the air. "Y'know, it's really useful that you know first aid."
"I guess," Dex agrees as he pulls the first aid kit from on top of the fridge. "It would help if you stopped injuring yourself. How did you manage it this time?"
"I was studying in here but I wanted a snack, and I caught my finger on the edge of the cupboard," Nursey explains.
Dex frowns and scans the room they’re in. Sure enough, Nursey’s books and notes are spread over the entire kitchen table. The sight soothes something in Dex - there’s no way Nursey could’ve done that in the lounge.
“Which cupboard?” he asks, returning his attention to the first aid kit.
“The one on the end,” Nursey says.
“The one with the biscuit tins, you mean,” Dex grins.
Nursey grins back immediately. “Naturally.”
Dex runs the faucet warm and fills the basin with soapy water. “Let’s see your finger, then,” he says.
Nursey shows Dex his index finger. Dex isn’t expecting anything terrible - splinters, after all, are never usually that bad - and he’s comforted to see he was right. His siblings used to get splinters all the time.
“I don’t know how stuff keeps happening to me,” Nursey muses as Dex begins to carefully clean the area with the soapy water.
“Because you’re clumsy,” says Dex.
Nursey hums. “I suppose.”
“This will probably hurt a little,” Dex informs him as he steadies Nursey’s hand, tweezers poised.
“I can take it,” Nursey says, grinning wolfishly. He taps his forehead with his other hand, where the bruise from a month or so ago has gone, and the only thing left is a lighter line on the skin - a scar. “I dealt with this.”
Dex snorts, his eyes on Nursey’s forehead. “You did. Surprisingly well, actually,” he says.
“A compliment?” Nursey arches an eyebrow. Dex returns his eyes quickly down to Nursey’s splintered hand. “How unpredictable of you, Poindexter.”
Instead of responding, Dex gently pulls the splinter from Nursey’s finger.
“Ow!” Nursey makes to pull his hand away, but Dex holds on. “Fuck! That hurt.”
“Told you,” Dex smirks.
“You seem all too happy that I’m injured,” Nursey accuses, but he’s grinning back, so Dex can’t find it within him to take it too seriously. It differs, slightly, from their fierce arguments before.
Dex carefully squeezes Nursey’s finger, and turns back to the first aid kit for a dressing.
“Why are you doing that? It’s bleeding again now,” Nursey asks, holding his finger up to his face to examine it.
“It’s good for it to bleed a little,” Dex says absently. “It flushes out any germs. Why do we only have bandaids with weird patterns?”
“They’re not weird!” Nursey protests. “I like them.”
Dex rolls his eyes. It figures that Nursey would like the garishly printed bandaids littered in the Haus first aid kit. “You’re pretty much the only one that has to wear them, I guess.”
Nursey looks over Dex’s shoulder into the first aid kit, examining the selection. Dex tries to ignore the fact he can feel Nursey’s breath dusting over his cheek, and tries to ignore that it makes him flush more than even slightly necessary.
“I want that one,” Nursey points at one of the bandaids.
Dex laughs and takes it out of the packet. “Wash and dry your finger, then,” he says, and Nursey does as he’s told.
“Why this one?” Dex asks him.
Nursey shrugs. “Figured you couldn’t kiss my finger better, so this is kind of similar.”
Dex doesn’t respond, because he can’t quite think of the words to say, but his chest jolts anxiously.
He unwraps the bandaid, littered with little red hearts, and softly wraps it around Nursey’s finger. He feels, as he’s doing so, his ears get slowly more red.
“There you go,” he says quietly once he’s done. “All better.”
“Thanks, Dex,” Nursey beams at him cheerfully. “Are you done studying?”
Both answering Nursey’s question and ridding his brain of the hazy mess Nursey seems to induce in him, Dex shakes his head. “I’m not sure I’ll ever be done studying.”
“Well, I can clear a space for you on the table if you don’t wanna be by yourself,” Nursey offers.
Dex marvels at how easily the words come to Nursey, how he can offer stuff like that so simply and easily. “Sure,” he says, and curses himself for how awkward it sounds. He tries again. “Yeah, that would be great.”
Nursey doesn’t seem to notice. “Fabulous!” he says, then cups his hand around his mouth as if he’s telling Dex a secret. “We can raid the snack cupboard.”
“I think I’d better do that,” Dex says. “We wouldn’t want you to get any more splinters.”
“Eh, I don’t know,” Nursey smiles, wiggling his heart-covered, plastered finger at him. “It wasn’t too awful.”
☆
Fortunately, Dex is present for the next disaster. He’s there and straight to attention, and it’s only a stroke of luck. He really wasn’t even planning on turning up.
Bitty is on one of his pie testing streaks, when he finds several recipes on Pinterest and YouTube and adapts them. It’s a few weeks after Nursey’s splinter, and the Frogs get a text in the evening inviting them to the Haus as tasting guinea pigs. They’re only too eager to help, even if Bitty’s moments of inspiration seem to come very late in the day.
Dex, deep in his work, mulls it over for a while before deciding he wants pie after all. When he gets there, on his way back from the library, Chowder and Nursey are already at the table, along with Ransom, Holster, Lardo, Tango and Ollie. There’s a spread of plates on the table ready to be eaten from.
“The pies are a surprise,” Bitty tells Dex when he arrives and puts his bag down. “You’ve gotta tell me what you think’s in them!”
”Okay, okay,” Dex laughs, taking the fork that’s waved eagerly in his face. “If I must.”
They’re there for about half an hour, having the pies presented to them and cooing with appreciation at every single one. It makes Dex feel warm inside - not because of how hot the pies are, but because of how comfortable he feels here. Dex, living in Maine two years ago, would sit in his bedroom and wonder if Samwell would ever feel like home. Now here he is, feeling like he never wants to be anywhere else.
They’re on the fifth pie when Nursey starts coughing loudly.
“There’s your review, Bits!” Ransom laughs. “It’s so good he tried to shovel it down,” he jokes, and the others laugh too.
Dex, however, grabs Nursey’s forearm and grips it. He studies Nursey’s face closely.
“Uh, guys,” he says seriously. “I don’t think he’s choking.”
Bitty gasps in horror. ”Oh my Lord, his face!”
True to Bitty’s words, the area around Nursey’s eyes is rapidly swelling. Something in Dex’s chest drops painfully.
“Bits, call an ambulance now,” Dex orders, his face stony. “Tell them we’ve got somebody in anaphylactic shock.”
“Fuck,” Ransom mutters. “Fuck!”
“What?” Tango asks, flustered. “What does that mean?”
Lardo steps in to explain. “He’s having an allergic reaction.”
“Nurse?” Dex asks, ignoring them, and doesn’t wait for a response but manoeuvres Nursey to the floor. “I need to lie you down. Do you know what it is that caused this? Do you have any known allergies?”
Nursey shakes his head a tiny bit. “No,” he says, and his voice is hoarse.
Dex feels panic coursing through his veins. It doesn’t matter how often he’d seen injuries like this, they never get less scary, and this is certainly no exception. The fact it’s happening to Nursey, of all people, makes it worse. Nursey is chill, he’s unbothered, he’s smiley and jovial - he doesn’t lie on the floor in the kitchen looking terrified.
“Dex, I’m gonna faint,” he breathes.
“No, you’re not,” Dex says firmly, and grabs Nursey’s hand. “You’ll do no such thing.”
“Hmm,” Nursey smiles faintly. “Okay.”
“Rans, raise his legs,” Dex instructs his captain, who takes Nursey’s legs quickly but gently and props them up on his shoulder.
Bitty’s talking to the operator over their heads, his voice rising in pitch and panic. Dex examines Nursey’s hand: his skin is clammy, cold and pale. He moves his fingers subtly around Nursey’s wrist, trying not to panic anyone else too much. He figures taking Nursey’s pulse is a pretty good indication of how serious the situation is.
True to what Dex had been expecting, Nursey’s pulse is unusually fast. The worry he feels only increases.
“I can see what you’re doing,” Lardo mutters to Dex over his shoulder. “Is he going to be alright? How’s his pulse?”
“He’ll be fine,” Dex says, probably to himself more than anyone else. “When the ambulance gets here they can take him straight to hospital and he’ll be fine.”
Lardo looks at him with a stare Dex can’t work out. “So his pulse isn’t great, then.”
“It’s way too fast,” he says. “Bits, can I have the phone? I need to speak to the operator.”
Bitty hands his phone over and Dex relays all the information he’s collected to the person on the other end, pulse, clammy skin, breathing and swelling. Hearing somebody trying to reassure him only panics him more, so he hands Bitty’s phone back to him.
He feels Nursey grab his hand again, so he squeezes it carefully. Nursey looks asleep, almost, the swelling forcing his eyes closed.
“Dex, I’m scared,” he says weakly.
Dex’s chest fills with a rush of emotion. He hears Bitty sniff behind him, obviously crying, and feels his eyes burn with tears.
“Don’t be,” he says. “You’re good at this, remember? You fell in a river and got a head injury and you were fine. You got a splinter - remember that? That was life threatening. You were very brave.”
Nursey smiles but doesn’t say anything.
“You got a pretty bandaid out of it,” Dex reminds him.
“Can’t have a bandaid for this,” Nursey says, and he sounds so genuinely disappointed that a laugh escapes Dex.
Dex raises Nursey’s hand to his lips and, softly, kisses his knuckles. “There you go,” he says. “How’s that?”
“Miraculously, I’m cured,” Nursey jokes hoarsely, then coughs. “Fuck.”
Dex looks up at Ransom, who’s still supporting Nursey’s legs. His captain stares back at him, eyebrows raised and a look Dex can’t make sense of on his face. Dex decides to ignore it, but his own face doesn’t - he can feel his cheeks heat up, despite the panic of the situation.
“Dex? The ambulance is here,” Lardo tells him after a tense period of squeezing Nursey’s hand - Dex isn’t sure quite how long it was. It’s not long after that when the paramedics take over, and Dex can take a step back and a deep breath.
Bitty goes with Nursey, wringing his hands with worry and taking the bag that Chowder and Holster had apparently been packing as Dex monitored his d-partner. He feels bad for not noticing what was going on around him, but then again, he knows all his attention was on Nursey.
It seems to be that way, recently.
The whole team stay up all night, sitting in the Haus lounge with their phones close by, watching Netflix movies one after the other. Dex is constantly making popcorn, unable to sit still. They get regular updates in the group chat.
Bits: in the waiting room, they’ve taken him into the ER
Bits: are you all ok there? eat the leftover pie if you’re hungry
Bits: nothing yet, but i’ll keep asking <3
“How long do you think he’s going to be in hospital for?” Chowder asks Dex half-way through Civil War.
Dex sighs. “It varies,” he says. “A while, usually, with allergies. He doesn’t know what he’s allergic to, either, so he’ll probably be in there longer than if he had an adrenaline injector.”
Chowder sniffs and rubs his eyes with his sleeve. “It was so scary.”
“Yeah, it was,” Dex says, and holds his arms out for a hug, which Chowder burrows into. “He’ll be okay, honest. He’s in good hands.”
It’s 2am when they get the text they’ve been waiting for. Their phones go off in quick succession, screens lighting up the room as alert noises make them jump. Every single one of them snatch up their phones.
Bits: he’s okay!!! i’m with him now
Bits: he says hi :)
Bits: they’re keeping him in overnight, for monitoring, but he’ll be fine <3
Dex can almost feel the collective sigh of relief they breathe.
They go and see him in the morning, having barely slept. They let Dex and Chowder in first so they don’t crowd him. Dex knows it’s because they’re the Frogs - they come as a trio - but he can’t help but think it’s because Bitty knows just how much he needs to see if Nursey is okay.
Nursey is hooked up to a drip and he looks exhausted, but he still beams brightly and sits up when he sees them.
“Hey, Nurse,” Dex greets.
“Hey yourself,” Nursey replies.
Dex grins at him. “I told you you’d be fine.”
Nursey smiles back, holding up his hand in a fist and brandishing his knuckles. “I knew I would be after that,” he says. “You’re a miracle worker, remember?”
Dex, who had totally forgotten kissing Nursey’s hand in all the worry, flushes. “I didn’t really do much.”
“I would’ve flipped the fuck out if you’d not been there, dude,” Nursey tells him. “Plus, I doubt anyone else there knows what anaphylactic shock looks like.”
“They don’t,” Chowder says, and they both look up at him. “We were talking about it when you were in the kitchen, Dex. It was really impressive, the way you took control like that, and... I don’t know. You just jumped straight into action.”
Dex’s flush is past a flush now, and his face is fully red with embarrassment. He rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. “It’s just what I’ve been trained to do,” he says.
“Too modest,” Nursey laughs. “You saved my life, bro.”
“You really did, Dex,” Chowder agrees.
“What did they say you’re allergic to?” Dex asks, very eager to change the subject and equally as curious to find out what caused Nursey’s allergic reaction. He’s so used to Nursey’s constant chirping and bickering that this feels like an oddly abrupt change.
“Bitty put peanut butter in the last pie we tried,” Nursey explains. “They think it’s that - a peanut allergy. Basically I shouldn’t eat peanuts any time soon.”
“Sucks, bro,” Dex says. “Peanuts are tasty.”
“Have you never had peanuts before?” Chowder asks.
Nursey shrugs. “I don’t remember having any, but I must not have. I don’t think my parents like them.”
“I bet Bitty’s beside himself with guilt,” Dex sighs.
“He feels awful,” Chowder agrees. “But it’s not his fault.”
“Of course it’s not,” Nursey says. “I keep telling him to stop apologising. If I didn’t know, how was he meant to?”
“Exactly,” says Dex.
Nursey yawns so widely Dex can see his back teeth.
Dex laughs. “We need to send the others in to see you before you fall asleep. Is that okay?”
“Definitely,” Nursey says.
“See you later, Nursey!” Chowder hugs him, probably too tight for comfort. “Feel better!”
“I’ll be back to normal in no time,” Nursey laughs. “See you, C.”
“Bye, Nurse,” Dex says and waves awkwardly as Chowder walks past him and out of the room to fetch Lardo, Ransom and Holster, leaving Nursey and Dex by themselves.
Nursey rolls his eyes. “Hug me, you idiot,” he says.
Dex snorts and does as he’s told. He embraces Nursey gently, but it’s Nursey that squeezes his shoulder. There’s a surge of warmth inside Dex that he doesn’t want to think about.
Chowder plays a risky game, leaving them in a room alone together, but maybe he’s noticed the same thing Dex has recently: that they really don’t fight that much any more.
“I was telling the truth,” Nursey says into Dex’s chest. “You saved my life, dude.”
Dex doesn’t say anything, but he does grip a little bit harder. He can’t find it in himself to make it awkward this time.
“Thank you,” Nursey carries on, “really. I mean it.”
“It was nothing,” Dex says, and when Nursey scoffs, he grins. “I mean that, too.”
☆
It’s a few months later when Dex is next called into action.
He’s been lured into a false sense of security since Nursey had his allergic reaction. Sure, Nursey knocks stuff over and trips constantly, but they all seem very minor nuisances now. He spends a lot of time applying bandaids and rolling his eyes, semi-affectionately.
Dex isn’t sure why it used to annoy him so much.
There’s now an EpiPen in the Haus kitchen, one in Nursey’s bag at all times and one at Faber. Bitty made everyone on the team read up on what to do in the case of another reaction, and banished all peanuts from the Haus.
There’s some weird dynamic between Nursey and Dex now: they still chirp and bicker, and Chowder is constantly admonishing them, but it’s like they can’t bring themselves to take it seriously.
It’s kind of nice.
Dex prefers it.
They’re on the ice when it happens. Injuries on the ice are plentiful, unfortunately, and unpredictable. It’s a miracle, really, that Nursey doesn’t end up with an injury at least once a week. It’s not that Nursey is clumsy on the ice - the opposite, in fact, as Nursey glides on the ice like something out of a ballet. It’s that Nursey seems to attract disaster no matter what surface he’s on.
Games are fast paced and full of action. Practices are similar, only with more laughter.
Skating on the ice, very late in the evening, slightly tipsy and in celebration of Chowder’s birthday, isn’t action-packed at all. It’s funny, slightly bizarre and enjoyable, and definitely a memory that Dex will prize forever. It’s the kind of thing that came to mind when he was dreaming about escaping his small hometown.
Being on the ice drunk is a terrible idea, in theory. Bitty looks on from the benches with a half exasperated, half amused shake of his head whenever anyone overbalances or falls on their ass.
Dex isn’t drinking. He figures they need somebody sober if anything goes stupidly wrong, and anyway, he’s enjoying himself. He finds, recently, he can have just as much fun sober with this team.
He doesn’t have to get drunk to cope with this team’s chirps and jabs like he did back in Maine.
“Happy birthday, C!” Nursey yells at the top of his lungs from the centre of the rink. Dex smiles at him. Nursey, on the other hand, is truly tipsy.
“Many happy tidings of the year!” Whiskey yells even louder, clearly full out drunk.
Ransom bursts out laughing. “That’s Christmas, you pillock!” He clutches his side and steadies himself, leaning heavily, on Holster. The big blonde defenseman titters with laughter as well.
“Are you gonna join us, Bits?” Tango shouts up, skating past on his sixth backwards lap of the rink. “It’s fun!”
Bitty looks down at him reproachfully. “I most certainly am not,” he says. “Someone needs to keep an eye on y’all.”
“Aw, nah, we’re chill,” Nursey croons. Dex looks over his shoulder to see Nursey spinning circles at centre ice.
“He’s gonna kill himself,” Holster remarks. “Anyone got the first aid kit ready?”
Almost as if prompted by Holster’s words, Nursey catches one foot on the other and faceplants the ice. Most of the boys burst out laughing, Dex included, at the timing of Nursey’s fall. He’s definitely dramatic, Dex thinks.
The laughter peters off, however, when Nursey lifts himself up with one hand, his other one clutched to his chest. There’s blood on the ice where he was lying.
“Shit, Nurse!” Dex shoves his Coke at Chowder’s chest and skates over. “Again? Seriously?”
“Give me a break!” Nursey defends weakly. “It’s been ages!”
Holster rolls his eyes. “I’m going to become a psychic,” he says.
Ransom looks at him with bright eyes. “Oh, dude, you’d be perfect!”
“Once our captains are done flirting, Nurse, your lip’s split,” Dex nods his head at the affected area. “I think you bit it. What’s up with your arm?”
Whilst Ransom slings his arm around Holster’s shoulders, which looks awkward due to Holster’s height, Nursey winces and worries his split lip with his tongue. “I think my wrist is broken.”
“For fuck’s sake, bro,” Ransom snorts, “you really can’t catch a break, can you?”
“Now Bitty can say I told you so,” Holster sighs, tapping Ransom’s arm.
Chowder shakes his head. “He wouldn’t!”
“He won’t now,” Ransom says as they watch Bitty storm down the stairs. “Give him an hour or two.”
Dex ignores the rest of the guys talking behind him and examines Nursey’s arm. It’s slightly swollen and bruised.
He runs through what he knows about breaks and fractures in his head, green-stick, complicated, open, closed, hairline.
“Can you move it?” he asks his defence partner.
He and the partner in question both stare down at Nursey’s hand, presumably both of them willing it to move. It doesn’t. Dex sighs heavily.
“Do you need anything, Dex?” Bitty asks from behind him.
Dex looks up at him, his own internal worry and weariness mirrored plainly on Bitty’s face. “Could you grab me a triangle bandage, a wipe and an ice pack, please?”
“Bandage, ice pack, wipe,” Bitty repeats. “Of course.”
He hurries off with Ransom and Tango in tow to find a first aid kit.
“Don’t move it,” Dex says to Nursey, “not even slightly.”
“Hurts like hell if I do, bro,” Nursey says with gritted teeth.
Dex stares at him for a moment. There’s blood on his teeth where his lip is still bleeding, and it’s slightly down his chin too. His eyes are wide and his jaw set. It’s probably not the Nursey everyone else it used to: injured, in pain, nervous or scared, but it occurs to Dex that this is the closest he gets to his defence partner.
Except for celebratory hugs on the ice.
“It’s cold.” Nursey shivers involuntarily. “Is anyone else cold?”
“It’s an ice rink,” says Dex. “I thought you were meant to be smart?”
Nursey grins, despite himself. “Do all the first-aiders at your ambulance service chirp their patients?”
“No,” says Dex, taking off his sweater. “Special just for you.”
He immobilises Nursey’s arm on top of his sweater. Without any prompting, Chowder takes his own sweater and drapes it over Nursey’s shoulders.
“Thanks, guys,” Nursey says quietly.
Bitty and Ransom arrive back on the ice, having brought the entire mobile first aid kit with them. “I didn’t want to get the wrong thing,” Bitty says.
“Very wise,” Chowder nods.
Dex roots through the first aid kit, nodding in agreement. “Yeah, thanks, Bits.”
He digs out a triangular bandage and wraps Nursey’s arm up in an elevated sling. It comes to him pretty quickly: a broken arm or a broken wrist is a common injury, and he’s seen a fair few.
He makes his way through it slowly, with a lot of “is this okay”s and “tell me if I’m hurting you”s. Every time, Nursey’s response comes with a soft smile.
Dex tries to ignore the fluttering feeling in his chest, because it’s very unreasonable when Nursey has a possibly broken wrist.
“You guys carry on with your fun,” Nursey says when Dex is finished. Chowder helps him up with a truly offended expression.
“We couldn’t!” protests Chowder. “What are you going to do?”
Nursey stills, unsure. His eyes flick up to Dex automatically.
Ignore it, ignore it, Dex tells the fluttery feeling.
“You’ve gotta go to the ER, dude,” Dex says, like it’s obvious. To him it is.
Nursey nods, like it’s what he was expecting. “I’ll get a bus, or something. You guys stay and enjoy yourself.”
The mere suggestion startles Bitty into his mothering mode. “A bus?! Over my dead body, Derek Nurse!”
“Has everyone been drinking?” Holster asks, uncharacteristically responsible in his drunken state.
“Oh,” Bitty says, disappointed. He glances over his shoulder at his own abandoned beer on the benches. “I think so. Taxi?”
Dex shakes his head, tries to ignore the racing of his heart. “I haven’t,” he says. “My truck’s here. I’ll drive you, Nurse.”
Bitty, Ransom and Holster’s frowns deepen slightly. Dex can’t help but feel a little indignant, at that - he and Nursey get on now. They don’t argue as much.
The crease between Chowder’s eyebrows disappears, however, and he grins. “Yay!” he cheers. “Perfect!”
Dex and Nursey leave the team slowly picking up speed on the ice again, opening more beers and restarting their happy birthday serenade. Chowder sends Nursey off with a carefully calculated hug.
It’s fully dark outside when they leave Faber. It surprises Dex, kind of, how the day has ended without him really knowing.
“Dex?”
Dex looks up at Nursey. “Hmm?”
“I just wanna thank you,” Nursey says. He’s looking right at Dex, wide eyed and earnest. “You keep looking after me. You don’t need to, but... just - thanks.”
“Who else will?” Dex jokes, and Nursey huffs a laugh. Dex’s eyes train over his defence partner, looking tired and wary. There’s still blood on his chin. “Stop walking,” he instructs.
Nursey does as he’s told, looking at Dex expectantly. Dex takes one of the antiseptic wipes from the first aid kit out of his pocket and rips it open.
Fuck it, he thinks, and steps close.
“You still have blood on your face,” he breathes.
Nursey just blinks at him. “Oh.”
Dex dabs at Nursey’s split lip, wiping away the red smeared over his chin and trying not to think about how he can feel Nursey’s warm breath on his knuckles.
“It hurts, kind of,” Nursey whispers. “It’s tingly.”
“That’s the antiseptic,” Dex says knowledgeably. He’s equally as quiet - it feels odd in the open space of the night.
Blinking, Nursey doesn’t respond. Dex finishes cleaning up his lip and bins the wipe, trying not to feel to disappointed about stepping away from Nursey’s warm proximity.
“Let’s get you to the ER,” Dex says, “yet again.”
Nursey huffs a laugh. “Sorry.”
“No,” Dex shakes his head. “It’s all good. I don’t mind ferrying you around.”
“You’re unusually nice to me when I injure myself,” says Nursey. “Maybe I should do it more often.”
“Not necessary,” Dex says firmly. Then, more tentative - “unusually?”
Looking thoughtful, Nursey hums. “Maybe it’s not so unusual anymore. A year ago it would have been.”
Dex snorts. “A year ago I was freshly out of Maine and still, uh...”
“Still?” Nursey prompts softly after Dex trails off.
“Still in the closet?” Dex says, very quietly and posing it like a question. He can hear his heartbeat in his ears.
When he looks up at Nursey, his defence partner has the biggest grin on his face. “See what I was saying?” he smiles, his voice full of warmth and welcoming. “Hidden depths, Poindexter.”
He holds out his good hand. Dex, albeit tentatively, takes it and gives it a squeeze. The fluttery feeling is back, but Dex can’t find it within himself to care.
“I kind of need to go to the ER now,” Nursey says. Dex laughs, loud and relieved and a little bit woozy.
“Anything else, sir?” asks Dex.
“Hmm,” Nursey smiles at him and squeezes his hand back. “Nope. I think I’m all set.”