Chapter Text
Finally, it’s Wednesday, Adam thought. Besides the fact that he got to see Olive in approximately 26 minutes, his morning was absolute shit. He had a scheduled Zoom call with Tom to discuss their collaboration, but he had texted last minute saying he needed to reschedule, this being the second time he’s done this and delaying the project again. Adam had also received a response to his email inquiring about his funds saying that until further notice, they would remain frozen.
At least there were only 19 minutes before he’d arrive at the campus Starbucks to see Olive. He started packing up his laptop to head out when his phone buzzed.
Olive: Hey Adam, I’m really sorry but I’m going to be late for our date today. My stomach is aching and I’m waiting for the medicine to kick in before I can walk that far.
Instantly Adam began to panic. How much pain was she in if she couldn’t walk for 10 minutes? How could he help her? Where was she?
Adam: That’s ok. Do you need anything?
He kept it brief, not wanting to impose himself on the situation, for all he knew Anh or Malcolm was helping her right now.
A second later Olive replied: Thanks but I’m sure it’ll be ok soon.
Adam felt like pushing but resisted, if she wanted him she’d ask. He decided that he should head to Starbucks early anyways, everything about today was stressing him out and he thought he could use the fresh air. He was walking past one of the smaller, less used breakrooms, as it was typically frigid and lacked any kind of kitchen appliances. He heard soft whimpers and sniffles. Adam was not the comforting type, but something in him told him to check in on this person.
Adam’s heart stopped when he saw Olive curled up on her side clutching her stomach. He hurried over to her and let instinct take over, he crouched down and asked, “Olive, what’s wrong?”
Tears streamed down her face falling on the old sofa cushion, but she answered, “My stomach is killing me. It wasn’t this bad five minutes ago. It’s getting harder to just breathe.”
Adam hated how broken her voice sounded, she touched her arm to comfort her, and while she wasn’t burning up, she was still far too warm for how cold the room was. She let out a cough and then seemed to recoil when the pain hit her. “It’s ok Olive, I’ve got you. Let’s get you to the hospital.” Adam said rubbing her bare arms up and down.
Olive offered no struggle to his plan, she did however seem surprised when he scooped her up into his arms and started walking towards the door.
“Adam, I can walk,” Olive stated.
Adam had no clue whether or not that was true because of her condition. “Maybe, but this will be faster. I’m parked right out front, it’ll only take a few minutes to get to the hospital on campus.”
Olive seemed to be too in pain to complain anymore. The pain must have increased because Olive let out a sharp grasp than a cry of pain. Adam didn’t even think as he pressed a kiss on the top of her head, and said, “It’s ok, we're almost there.”
He knew nothing about this should make him happy, but when she pressed her face into his chest and stopped crying so hard, he was just the tiniest bit relishing this.
When they finally reached his Prius, he placed her in the passenger seat and hurried to the driver's side. For the first minute of the drive, they were silent with the exception of Olive’s heavy breathing and sniffles, but then she said, “I’m sorry” and began to cry again.
“What are you sorry about?” Adam asked confused.
“You have things to do. You shouldn’t have to come to help me. I should be able to do this on my own.” They were pulling up to Stanford hospital, but Adam needed her to know she was wrong, in a nice way.
“Olive, it's okay to need help. None of this is your fault. I just… why didn’t you tell me you needed help when you texted about the coffee?” His own curiosity had taken charge.
Olive glanced at him but then turned back to the window, “Well, it got bad really fast, so I was hoping the medicine would help,” she paused, “and I just thought I could figure it out on my own. I didn’t want to bother anyone.”
Adam hated that she had been forced to be so independent all the time. They may have had very different childhoods, but one thing that they shared was that they had to figure things out on their own, he knew what it was like to feel like it was wrong to ask for help, and he wanted to be a person Olive could come to.
“Olive, I’ll always help you, I’ll always want to help you,” he didn’t care if he was crossing a line, he needed her to know how he felt in some capacity.
He finished his little speech right as they were pulling into the emergency department lot. “Now, let’s go see what’s wrong.” He walked around to help Olive out and was happy to see her able to walk with a little support from him. They made their way into the ER and buckled down for a long day at the hospital.