Chapter Text
His breathing wasn’t right. He wasn’t quite hyperventilating but something was wrong with it all the same. His head and eyes were throbbing and his throat was tight. Panic. He was panicking.
Throwing his car into park, he finally paused with shaking fingers to sent a mass text to all of his friends. Tifa. Aerith. Yuffie. Zack. Lightning. Barret. He hardly paid attention to who’s name got shoved into a thread. The text was simple.
~Someone go to my house and watch my kids. Left 13 yo in charge.
Leon hadn’t meant to, and Guardians knew he must have scared the hell out of Ventus when he told him as calmly as he could to look after everyone while he went out. He’d make it up to him later. He didn’t have the time or the head space to sit the children down and explain what was going on.
When he’d gotten the call as an emergency contact, he had only tunnel vision. His phone chimed twice and he glanced at it as he forced himself out of his car. He'd practically jogged into the building.
One was Tifa asking what was going on and another was Barret saying he’d swing by.
~Hospital
He couldn’t type more. Couldn’t form the words and spare the time and his phone blew up a second later. Aerith and Yuffie also heading to his house and Lightning and Zack just asked what hospital.
Leon put his phone back into his pocket, not able to respond yet as he impatiently waited for his turn at the front desk. He imagined everyone was there for something important but at this moment he couldn’t fathom they had more of a reason to hurry than he did. It was the panic and adrenaline talking.
“How can i help you?” A woman asked. He wouldn’t call her tone pleasant but she was friendly, obviously knowing what her job was and what it entailed.
“Leon Strifehart.” He said quickly, already having his I.D. out for her to check. “I received a call that my husband and son were in a car accident.”
She nodded, pulling up their information. “Names?”
“Cloud and Vanitas Strifehart.” His fingers were tapping the desk nervously. He hadn’t been given any information over the phone and that left him even more nervous.
She nodded again. “If you would take a seat, we’ll be right with you.”
Leon puffed out a sound that wasn’t a laugh but he didn’t know what else to call it. “I’m sorry, really.” he began. “I’m a teacher, so Shiva knows i am well acquainted with an occupation that doesn’t get the respect it deserves. I can’t imagine what you go through on a daily basis or the people you have to deal with but sitting down and waiting for even a short amount of time is something i am not going to do today.”
Her smile was tight and she nodded. “I understand. I am not asking you to sit to make you wait. A nurse has already been paged to come get you. If you’d prefer to stand, you can.”
“Thank you.” Leon said and knew already that she’d noted the shake to his hands.
“Someone really will be right with you. I hope everything is okay.”
“Thank you.” he repeated on autopilot, moving to get out of line and hover in the waiting area. There were two doors and he didn’t know which one he needed to pay attention to. He was giving it no more than five minutes before he was shoving his way back in line to have them page the nurse again. The waiting room wasn’t as full as he was expecting but then that was probably a good thing. It meant less people over all and that his child and husband were getting undivided attention.
The thoughts were probably unfair but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He spared a moment to check his phone again, his friends asking questions but he had no answers to give yet so he just put it away.
A woman came out of the door with a tablet in front of her that she was perusing. “Strifehart.”
“Yes.” He was at her side almost instantly. Good thing too, he was seconds before going back to the front desk again. “How are they?”
“They?” She repeated, looking at her tablet and nodding a second later. “I’m not part of the team looking after your husband but i have been with your son. They managed to get him painkillers and x-rays while he was still somewhat dazed but now he’s absolutely fighting tooth and nail against the IV and he really needs more pain medicine.”
“He’s afraid of doctors.” Leon replied automatically, following her as she led him through the doors. Already there were too many turns through the halls and other people being wheeled around in chairs or beds. He didn’t like it. Not at all. “What’s wrong? How is he?”
“In a nutshell, his arm is very fractured. He’ll need surgery and the surgeon will be notified you’re here and be in to see you. He had other minor injuries but that’s the main concern.” She said promptly. “It’s normal for children to be upset but he’s really dialed up to a ten.”
“He has anxiety. PTSD from his former living situation. A fear of doctors and saw his biological parents die.” Leon said, it was more information than he normally would have given but he was panicking himself and needed this woman to understand that he wasn’t just being a timid child.
She frowned, tapping in several notes on the tablet. “See if you can calm him enough for us to work on his pain control, it has to be terrible.”
She didn’t have to tell him what room it was as they turned down the next hall. He sprinted, not giving a damn if it was appropriate or not.
“Don’t touch me!! Don’t touch me!” Vanitas was screaming, voice tear filled and drenched in absolute terror. “Don’t touch me! Where’s my papa!? Where!?”
The nurse was trying to speak to him soothingly but Vanitas wasn’t able to process calm. The poor woman nearly jumped out of her skin when Leon all but crashed through the door.
“Baby.” he was at Vanitas’ bedside in an instant. His left arm was wrapped in a soft cast and nearly strapped to his chest but Leon also eyed the odd bruises on his face and the bandages on his hands. He was wearing a hospital gown already and Leon could see scrapes across his legs that seemed to stop at the thighs. That was probably because he’d been wearing one of Cloud’s old leather riding jackets that was much too big on him.
“Don’t touch me!” His eyes were squeezed shut, face damp with tears.
“Shhh, Vani, it’s okay baby. It’s okay.” Leon cupped the side of his face not bruised and held his good arm at the wrist. “Shh, look at me.”
Vanitas hiccuped, the sound painful.
“Daddy….Daddy!” His crying started anew as he launched himself to the side into Leon’s chest.
“I’m here, i’m right here. You’re okay.” He was okay. He was alive. Leon wrapped an arm around him as carefully as he could, kissing the top of his head and not thinking about this being the first time Vanitas had ever called him daddy.
He’d always been Squall or dad with the oldest twins.
“Daddy…” Vanitas cried. “It hurts!”
“I know, i know it does.” Leon said.
“I dunno where they… where they took papa!” Vanitas started coughing on his own tears.
“Hey, hey.” Leon rocked him back and forth. “You let me find papa. Right now we’re focusing on you. I know you don’t like needles but that’s how they make the pain go away.”
“Noo…” He cried, trying to hide his face against Leon’s chest.
Leon’s heart just broke, but the boy was alive and that’s all he needed to get a hold of himself. “I’m right here. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
“I’ll be so quick.” The nurse promised, having stood there and watched the whole thing. It was a relief that Leon had shown up to calm the boy down and she was all too aware of it. “Just a pinch and it’s done and we’ll have some good pain meds for you.”
“I don’t like needles!” Vanitas whined, exhausted.
“I know.” Leon said, gently out stretching Vanitas’ good arm. “But baby the doctors need this to make you better and i’m right here, i’ll be right here the whole time. We have to chase the pain away.”
Vanitas was quietly crying still but seemed better when he was able to hide against Leon. The nurse, true to her word, clearly knew her job well. It took her less than thirty seconds to find a vein and slip the needle in, taping it down to keep it from moving as she attached the IV.
“There.” She heaved a sigh. “All done.”
“See.” Leon had an arm around Vanitas’ back. “That part is all done.” He looked at the nurse. “Pain control?”
“Yes. The surgeon will be in- oh. Now.” She said as another woman walked in.
Leon could tell this woman was the surgeon though he couldn’t tell how. Maybe it was the scrubs or the no nonsense air she carried but her smile softened when she saw Vanitas.
“Don’t you worry, we’ll get you well taken care of.”
Vanitas didn’t even acknowledge her, he just sniffled against Leon’s chest.
“You must be dad. I’m Dr. Diana.” She held her hand out to Leon who took it.
“Leon.” he introduced. “Can you tell me what’s happening?”
Dr. Diana nodded, pulling out her own tablet. “I see he and his dad…” she paused, looking over her notes.
“My husband.”
“Ah, right.” She offered a smile. “So he and his dad were in an accident. Someone hit the motorcycle they were on.”
Leon nodded dumbly, and no matter how stupid it was, all he could think about briefly was that he’d have to send someone to retrieve the bike or Cloud would be crushed.
“Both were on.. The losing side of the accident we’ll say. Vanitas has road rash across his legs, stitches in his hand, bruised ribs and a fractured arm.” She listed everything off. “The helmet saved his head but he still hit the pavement rather hard. The biggest problem is his arm.”
“The nurse that came to get me mentioned surgery. A cast isn’t enough?”
Dr. Diana shook her head, stepping closer and pulling up Vanitas’ x-rays and pointing out the problem areas. He had three main compound fractures that we need to both stabilize and keep in alignment. Because he’s so young though, we don’t want the time frame he’ll be wearing a cast to affect his bone growth in any way. We’ll correct this with an implant used for internal fixation.”
Leon stared at the image and hated what he was seeing.
She gestured along the fractures. “We’ll insert a rod in his arm, something that can also later be removed given his size. I wouldn’t want to leave it there like we might for an adult. It is something i have done for years now, and not only is it safe but it really helps to speed up the healing process.”
At least Leon had something he’d be able to research now.
“And that’s his worst injury?”
Dr. Diana nodded. “As far as we’ve determined, yes but he’ll be here at least a day or two to recover and then we’ll be able to monitor him and act accordingly should anything else be found.”
Leon swallowed roughly. “When do you want to do this surgery?”
“Today. The sooner the better. We’ll be able to monitor his pain while he’s here but it’s for the best. The alternative is him waiting in the hospital longer.”
“Right.” Leon muttered, looking down at his son but his eyes were closed and his face mushed against his chest. “Hey, you asleep?” he asked softly, gently pressing his forehead to Vanitas’ hair because he wasn’t sure what areas were safe to touch that wouldn’t cause him pain. His worry spiked when he didn’t answer.
“It’s the medicine.” The nurse promised, he’d hardly noticed she’d remained standing there to hear everything that was going on with her small patient.
Leon inhaled slowly. “Yes, surgery.” He nodded, “But i’ll need to be there when he’s back in the recovery room. He’ll panic all over again if he wakes up alone.”
“We can arrange that.” the nurse nodded and he appreciated her evidently making a note about it.
“Alright then. I’ll go get set up and have my team briefed.” Dr. Diana said. “Until then, I’m sure there are plenty of people waiting to throw papers at you.”
“Right.” Squall’s voice was weak. At least the paperwork might be distracting. “Thank you. Can either of you tell me where my husband is? His condition?”
“I’ll go find out for you.” The nurse promised. “Though last i heard he hadn’t regained consciousness yet.” she spoke softly, delivering the news as gently as possible. “I will go and grab the paper work for your son for you to fill out and then go see what i can learn about your husband.”
“Thank…you.” Leon muttered, wanting to argue that she should go find out right this second but what could he do? He couldn’t set Vanitas down and his son was still pressed against his chest. He couldn’t leave him to wake up in the room alone and afraid in the hospital room.
The surgeon was the first to leave and the nurse fired off a few quick questions before promising to be right back with those papers.
Leon looked down at Vanitas. “I got you. I love you so much.” he whispered, watching Vanitas breathe softly, his brows less pinched with pain now that the meds were kicking in. He was only thirteen. He didn’t deserve to be scared and injured in the hospital. As much as Leon wanted to get to Cloud, he was only one man.
“I love you so much.” he repeated softly, shakily pulling out his phone. He’d have to text the others what he knew so far. He might not have known much about Cloud but at least he knew Vanitas was going to be okay.
On autopilot though, he called the first person he needed most right now.
“Hello?”
“Dad.” His voice broke, stress and fear warring for the first spot.
“What’s wrong?” Laguna asked immediately, but all Leon could do was breathe unsteadily into the phone.
“I…”
“Squall…” He didn’t even have it in him to complain over the use of his first name.
“I need help.” he whispered.
There was hardly a pause at all. “Airship is up in twenty, i’m on my way.” A weak noise broke past Leon’s lips, but Laguna didn’t even comment on it. “I’m coming.”
He didn’t ask why, he was just coming.
.
.
.
Notes: i don't actually... have a wealth of medical knowledge so please take certain facts with a grain of salt.