Chapter Text
Chris was numb, he couldn’t feel a thing. He and Nick were sat in the hospital, praying that Matt would be okay.
The three of them had gone out for a drive to Target, for some items for one of their upcoming videos when it happened.
They had been in the car, sat at a red light, quietly singing along to some rap song Chris had put on. Nick occasionally chimed in from the back, too busy texting his boyfriend to care. When they felt it, the first wave.
They had been rear-ended hard. Sending their car forward into oncoming traffic. Matt tried to brake, but the force of the initial hit had been so strong he struggled to control the car. “What the fuck!” Nick yelled from the back.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck” Matt cried out, doing his absolute best to control the uncontrollable car. Chris immediately reached out and held onto Matt’s arm, acting entirely on instinct.
They didn’t even have a moment to grasp the fact that they had been rear-ended when the second wave came. As the van had been pushed into oncoming traffic so suddenly, the cars who had right of way had no time to stop. Resulting in a truck smashing directly into Matt’s door, causing the car to flip and roll multiple times.
Chris remembers hearing himself and Nick scream as they were being thrown about the rolling car, he tried to look at Matt, but the force was making it impossible. When they finally stopped flipping, he passed out. He’d knocked his head too many times, causing him to pass out.
By the time he’d woken up, he was being dragged out of the van by a firefighter “Matt” He had weakly called out, but he was too disoriented to understand what was going on. He could see the flashing lights of the police, ambulance and fire trucks. But he couldn’t see Matt or Nick. “Nick? Matt?” He tried again, but he could barely make out a whisper.
“You’re gonna be okay son, you’re gonna be fine,” The firefighter told him, carrying him over to a paramedic. “Matt?” He tried with more force this time.
“What’s that buddy?” The paramedic asked, confused at what he was trying to say. Chris started to panic. Where the hell is Matt? “Matt, Matt, Matt” He choked out, a bit clearer this time.
“Matt?” The medic asked, wanting clarification. She was trying to keep him calm, he had a bunch ion wounds that needed addressing sooner rather than later. She was trying to get him into the gurney and on the way to the hospital, but due to his panicked and disoriented state, it was proving to be more difficult. She didn’t blame him, the boy was in shock. It was a miracle he was even awake, the other two they had dragged out of the car hadn’t been.
Chris started making noises of agreement at her “Matt? Where Matt?” He slurred. It was becoming harder for him to stay awake, the shock was tiring him out and he was losing blood in all different spots of his body.
“We got Matt hunny, they’ve already taken him to hospital. What’s your name sweetheart” She tried, she needed him calm. “Chrizzzz” He slurred out, struggling to not let the darkness take over. “Oh, Chris? That's a nice name…. Wait? Chris? As in Chris Sturniolo? You’re Matt’s Dom?” She started to panic. Matt had been in critical condition and had been rushed to the hospital as soon as they got him out of the car.
The issue was, that they couldn’t operate on the boy without his Dom’s explicit permission. They could look after him and do what they could to keep him alive, but they needed the Dominant's permission to operate.
“Chris okay don’t panic, I need you to consent to Matthew’s medical treatments, right now” She told him seriously. She hated to do it, she needed him calm, and this was not how she would have gone about it, but Matt could die if she didn’t do it. It was obvious that Chris cared for the boy, he wasn’t just a pet to him. It was all he’d been asking for since he came two.
“Whaa-“ Chris tried “Chris please, just say yes for me, right now. You’re gonna be okay I promise, but please just say yes, I’ll do the rest. Do you consent to Hill Tree medical staff operating on your Submissive Matthew Sturniolo, as a matter of absolute urgency?” She pushed him, she knew it was wrong, but it needed to be done.
Chris could barely register what she was asking him to do, but he knew it was something to do with Matt needing help, so he did his absolute best for him. “Yezz-“
“Good, good, that's good Chris. You’re gonna be okay, you’re both gonna be fine” She praised him, but he couldn’t hear anything anymore, the darkness was consuming him and he was letting it.
That had been hours ago now, and they had rushed him to the hospital where Matt and Nick were.
When he came around again, he was in a hospital bed, wrapped up in multiple bandages with a broken arm, a fractured shoulder, and a concussion. He was in agony, but all he wanted was Matt. The doctors had told him that he was going to be fine, that the swelling would go down in a few days and that he was free to leave.
They also told him that Nick was in the room next door with a broken foot and wrist, and also had a concussion. They wanted to keep Nick overnight to observe his head, as he had been out longer than Chris had, but other than that he’d be okay.
So, he went to Nick’s room and sat with him. He looked awful, the same as Chris. He had bandages and casts all over him. Looking as white as a sheet, terrified. “Oh my god, Chris. You’re okay” He cried when he saw him. Chris made his way over to him as fast as he could, climbing into bed with him. Both of them sobbing their eyes out.
“Matt?” Chirs asked, having heard nothing about him since he woke up. Nick looked back at him heartbroken “All I know, is that he’s in surgery. They wanted to get him in earlier but they had to wait for your permission. Makes me so sick to think about it. He was dying and they still wouldn’t operate on him cause of that fucking collar.” Nick spat out, fuming at the situation.
Chirs choked out a sob, this was his fault. “Oh, oh my god. No, Chris. This wasn’t on you, you didn’t do anything wrong. You consented, you did what yore supposed to do. Please don’t cry. He’s gonna be okay” Nick tried to reassure him, but it was useless. It was just words, neither of them knew if Matt was going to be okay.
It didn’t matter, both of them ended up sobbing to each other for the rest of the night, terrified for Matt.
Nick’s boyfriend, Tom, had come to the hospital as soon as he heard what had happened. Nick’s phone hadn’t been too damaged in the crash surprisingly, so he got one of the doctors to call Laura and have her tell everyone that needed to know.
He had brought them a change of clothes from their home and kept them company. He didn’t try to take their minds off what had happened, he just let them cry, supporting them. Matt and Chris liked Tom. He was a great guy. He and Nick had been going out for about seven months and they couldn’t fault the Gen. He was frequently at their house with Nick so they were around him a lot. They’d consider him as one of their close friends.
He was perfect for Nick, and the brothers loved him for that.
Laura had wanted to come, but she and Madi were currently in New York for work. But they booked the earliest flight back home, that they could. Laura had also called the boy's parents and let them know. That had been a hard conversation. She did her best to explain what had happened. But while she was trying not to break down, she was listening to Marylou lose it over the phone. Her heart broke into a million pieces at that.
Those boys were practically her adopted sons. She spent so much time with them, acting as a makeshift parent to them, that when she heard the news she felt ill. She felt the pain as if it were her own child and it was soul-crushing.
She was the one to call Tom, letting him know what had happened. He had known something had happened. He and Nick had been texting back and forth the entire time and then Nick just suddenly stopped. That wasn’t like Nick. He knew something was up, but he never would have guessed that. He broke down when Laura told him, getting all of his tears out before he went and saw his boyfriend and his brothers. They didn’t need extra grief on their hands.
He had informed Nick and Chris that their parents were on the first flight out from Boston. The boys had just nodded their heads, too numb to process anything.
It had been hours and they still didn’t have a word on Matt’s condition. Chris was losing his mind. His boy, his Princess was being operated on and he had absolutely no idea how it was going. They had barely even told him what they were doing to him. He wanted to scream.
Marylou and Jimmy had gotten there about an hour ago. Marylou broke down the second she saw the two of her boys, bandaged up and cuddled in bed together, silently crying. She went over and wrapped them both in a gentle but tight hug, needing to hold them. She was absolutely terrified for Matt, but at least she could hold her other two while they wait for an update.
Jimmy was in shock, he couldn’t speak. He just sat at the end of the bed, holding his head in his hands. Matt had been through so much already, and he was still only 19. How could one person go through so much pain and still not be out of the woods? He wished he could take all of the pain Matt had suffered through and feel it for him. It wasn’t fair.
None of them spoke to each other, all just sitting in uncomfortable silence, silently sobbing and praying for Matt. They had all been too distracted to notice that this was the first time Tom was meeting Nick’s parents.
“Uh, I’m looking for a Christopher Sturniolo?” A doctor walked in, scanning the many faces in the room. “Me, that’s me! How is he?” Chris nearly shouted, jumping from the bed. Everyone in the room whipped their heads at the doctor, staring at him intently.
“Um, right. So his condition was critical. When he was hit by the truck his spine sort of bent out of place, and then during the tumble a large shard of glass lodged itself into his lower back. We have realigned his spine, but it had broken in multiple places. We have done our best, but it is unsure if Matthew will ever be able to walk again. He may be able to recover from this injury, it is possible. But he will be reliant upon a wheelchair for the indefinite future.” The doctor told them, sympathetically.
Everyone in the room felt a shiver run down their own spine. Matt may never walk again?
Needing to get it all out before the family completely broke down. The doctor continued “He also suffered severe head trauma, which we won’t know how bad until he wakes up. But there is a likelihood that he will suffer some side effects from it. We do believe he will have some form of brain damage, but as I said it is too early to know what. I’m sorry”.
“Oh, my god. This can’t be happening right now” Chris cried, falling to his knees sobbing. His breathing was irregular and his sobs echoed throughout the whole room.
Nick couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Matt, their sweet innocent little Matt, the boy who wore his heart on his sleeve and had suffered more than any person ever should. Was going through all of this. Nick couldn’t hold on anymore, he scream and sobbed. Tom ran over to him, holding him as he wept.
Marylou went catatonic, unable to move or make a noise, just silently crying.
Jimmy was silently sobbing, taking everything in “He’s going to live though right?” He muttered out to the doctor. He just couldn’t believe any of this. “Yes, he will live Mr Sturniolo, he’s been paralysed from the waist down and is highly likely to be suffering some form of brain damage, but yes, he will live” The doctor told him honestly.
From the floor, Chris cried out to him “When can I see him? I need to see him” he pleaded. The doctor took pity on the Dom “He’s sleeping right now, but I can take you to go see him. Only you though, I don’t want to create a scene and have him wake up prematurely” he told him seriously.
“Please, I need him” Chris begged. The doctor nodded his head sympathetically, ushering him to where Matt was.
His boy looked so damaged, he looked worse than he and Nick combined. He had bandages everywhere, IV drips, feeding tubes everything.
He gently took his hand and held it close, silently crying. “You’re going to be okay Princess. We will get through this. I love you so much, we’re going to be okay” he whispered to his sleeping boy.