Work Text:
The body has three natural reactions to fear stimuli.
Fight, Flight, and Freeze.
Toby Curtis is very aware of this fact. He’s studied it himself.
It doesn’t make him hate himself less.
Watching Happy collapse to the floor was the worst thing he’s ever had to experience. Bookies, gangsters, and even helping a pregnant woman give birth was easier than watching Happy fall to the ground while he was powerless to help. All of his 170 something IQ, his Harvard schooling, and his fancy degrees didn’t mean anything if he couldn’t save the woman he loved most.
He knew in that second he would have to make a choice. Trust Walter and Sylvester and help a suffocating baby or make an attempt at saving Happy.
So he froze.
He could hear the desperate cries of the father for him to help the baby. But he could also see that Happy was unconscious on the floor. It was an awful choice. The logical part of his mind told him that there was nothing he could do for Happy, but the emotional part of his brain told him to run to her and try to get her to wake up.
After the fact, he couldn’t help but wonder what would’ve happened if the cure didn’t work. Happy would’ve died and so would’ve the baby. But honestly, he didn’t care about the baby. It was just something he did. Sure, he was happy for the parents, but all he really cared about was saving lives and doing what needed to be done.
Toby wasn’t sure what he would do without Happy. They weren’t dating, but they were close friends. He would miss her companionship. He was, above all else, an addict. Happy was his addiction and he would readily admit that. He hated himself for missing their date. Toby hated himself for a lot of reasons, actually.
But staring at Happy lying on the floor while he was powerless to help definitely topped that list.