Chapter Text
It is a beautiful, snowy day at the manor.
Masky and Hoodie were out on a mission, Slender-Man was off doing his own thing so the younger boys could do basically whatever they wanted without getting shouted at.
That brings us here, with Ben, Jeff and Toby at the lake nearby. It had frozen over a few days prior, so it is the perfect place to run about and pelt each other with snowballs.
“Hey shitface! Eat this!” Jeff yells, and throws a snowball right into the center of Toby’s face, the impact knocking him down to the ice.
Toby wastes no time, gathering snow in his hands and balling it up. “Oh you’re in f-for it now.” He says, standing up and running towards him, swinging his arm to throw it back at Jeff’s face.
As the snowball leaves his hand, he slips and falls face first. Before he can collect himself, the ice makes a loud crack.
Jeff and Ben freeze, eyes darting to Toby. “Dude. Do. Not. Move. If you fall in Masky will kill us. ”
The ice cracks some more, and Toby looks up at the two, wide eyed. Before he can get a word out, it finally gives way and he sinks into the freezing water.
“Shit!” Ben yells, his hands nervously resting on the back of his neck. “What do we do? I’m not going in after him I can’t fucking swim!”
Jeff groans, and runs a hand over his face. “Fuck should I know? Maybe he’ll come up on his own.”
So they wait.
And wait.
And wait, for about 10 minutes.
“I’m calling Clockwork.” Jeff says, and pulls out his phone.
“No! What are you Crazy? She’ll actually murder us!” Ben shouts, grabbing Jeff’s arm.
“What do you propose we do then, huh?”
“You go get him! You can swim!”
“I’m not jumping in there!”
“Just do it for fucks sake!”
“Fine! Jesus you’re pushy.”
Jeff takes his hoodie off and hands it to Ben, then walks up to the hole. “You owe me fucking Ticci bitch.” He grumbles, then dives in.
It doesn’t take long for him to find Toby and drag him to the surface. Once he does, it takes nearly all of his strength to hoist himself and Toby back up onto the ice and drag him to the lake bed.
“Holy shit he’s fucking blue!” Ben shouts, running up to them.
“Oh really? It’s almost like he’s been in freezing cold water for almost 15 minutes you dumb fuck!” Jeff yells back, dumping Toby into the snow and putting his hoodie back on.
“Shouldn’t we give him CPR?”
“I’m not going that far, I don’t even know CPR. The best I’ll do is dump him on the couch back home and let Jack find him.”
“Fine. Whatever. But I’m not dragging him back on my own, you’re helping me.”
So they both grab an arm, and drag him all the way back to the manor.
—
Once they get home, Toby is unceremoniously dragged into the house and dumped on the couch.
“Now we hide.” Jeff states, and kicks his shoes off.
But before they could make a run for their rooms, Jack steps out of the kitchen.
“What the fuck did you two do.” He bites out.
“Toby fell through the ice at the lake. We left him there for ten minutes because we didn’t know what to do and now we’re gonna lock ourselves in our rooms so Nat doesn’t skin us alive.” Ben blurts out, clearly nervous.
“Dude!” Jeff shoves his arm, then looks back up at Jack, who is already at Toby’s side checking him over.
“Just get out of here.” Jack sighs in annoyance, and moves Toby to the carpet.
Ben and Jeff waste no time, bolting upstairs. Then lock themselves in their respective bedrooms.
“Toby? Can you hear me?” Jack taps his face, then delivers a crisp smack across the side of his cheek, searching for any signs of consciousness.
He finds none and places his hands on Toby’s chest, starting CPR compressions.
After almost 4 rounds, Toby coughs up a slew of water, and looks around. “W-what happened?”
“You fell in the lake, I know you can’t feel it but you have hypothermia, and I have to treat it. So whatever complaints or disagreements you have, save them. I am not fighting you on this right now.” Jack responds, getting to work on stripping him of his soaked clothes.
Toby gasps for air again and groans. “Take me out to dinner first, geeze.”
Jack throws the soaked hoodie across the floor and glares at him. “What did I just say?”
Toby shifts on the carpet, not even shivering. “Okay okay, I didn’t- didn’t think y-you meant no fun too.”
Jack doesn’t respond and takes the soaked jeans off as well, then picks him up and lays him out on the couch. “Don’t move, I’m gonna grab some hot water bottles and blankets.”
“Aye-aye captain.”
Jack leaves for a minute and heats up six water bottles. then grabs a handful of blankets, gloves, a couple towels, and a special thermometer.
He comes back over to the couch, sets the supplies on the coffee table and starts gently running a towel over Toby’s body. “I would apologize for this hurting, but lucky you, you can’t feel a thing.” He pauses for a minute before speaking up again. “You aren’t shivering, is that a part of your CIPA?”
Toby nods, staring at the ceiling. “I don’t sh-shiver or sweat, and you’re w-wrong. I do feel it- it it .” He took a breath, attempting to calm his tics down. “This is v-very uncomfortable. I am having a s-sensory overload and w-would be picking at my hands if I could m-move them.”
Jack sets the now wet towel off to the side and puts a dry one under Toby’s head. “Oh, I didn’t think of that. Is there something I can do to help after I get you warm?”
“Y-you can put pre-pressure on m-my legs and cu-cut the lights. G-give me something to chew on.”
“I can do that.” Jack starts putting the water bottles on his neck, armpits and groin. He then covers him with the blankets, focusing mostly on his core. “I’m going to take your temperature, the most accurate reading I can get is by putting the thermometer down your throat.”
Toby groans and shifts a little. “Do you have to? We- we already k-know I’m hypo- hypothermic , my skin is blue. Do we need to kn-know any more?”
Jack puts on the pair of gloves and picks up the long, funny looking thermometer. “Yes, Toby. I have to check. Depending on how cold you are tells me how to treat you from here on out. It’s only gonna take a minute. Tilt your head back and open your mouth as wide as you can.”
Toby pouts but listens anyway. He tilts his head back and opens his mouth. Squeezing his eyes shut, awaiting the inevitable feeling.
Jack starts feeding it down his throat. “Swallow.”
Toby swallows as he was asked, but can’t keep himself from gagging.
“Good, almost done.”
About 30 seconds pass before pulling the thermometer out and setting it aside. Toby sputters and coughs, gasping a little.
“T-that sucked.”
Jack writes the numbers down and hums. “I know, I’m sorry. But this is a really bad case. Your body temperature is 79.4. I’m surprised you aren’t dead, much less awake and talking.” He pulls a portable heater near the couch over and turns it on its highest setting.
Toby swallows and squeezes his eyes shut. “H-hey man I’m- my sensory p-problems are getting worse. I-I’m starting to f-freak out a l-little.”
Jack takes his gloves off. “Alright, will focusing on your breathing help at all?”
“N-n-no.” His head cracks to the side. “
“Okay, I can’t turn off the lights yet, I have to go see if we have some things in the infirmary.”
“W-wait. Can y-you call C-Clockwork?”
Jack gets up and nods. “Yeah, I can do that. Sit tight, I’ll be right back.”
He walks off to the infirmary in search of heated IVs. You would think the infirmary was used quite frequently in the manor, seeing as how its residents are idiots. However, everyone tended to steer clear of the place, so most of the supplies were either untouched, or didn’t exist.
Eventually, he finds normal IV bags, and an IV fluid heater. Which is gonna have to do, because he was sort of running out of time.
‘It would be ideal to completely recirculate his blood, and ventilate with warmed oxygen… wait.’ Jack freezes, and looks around the infirmary. ‘ We have that. ’
He goes searching for an oxygen tank and the machine to connect it to.
Bingo .
He grabs the equipment and a nasal cannula, along with an extra bag of saline and a few more blankets.
Jack walks back into the living room, both arms full of supplies. “I found more stuff that will be a big help, how are you feeling now?”
“S-shit.” Toby muttered, still not moving save for the shaking hands.
“I figured. I’ll call Nat once I finish getting you all set up.” Jack sets up the oxygen and holds up the cannula. “I’m gonna put this on you, don’t worry about breathing a special way or anything. Just breathe normally.” He sets it in place on Toby’s face and clicks it on.
“I don’t- I don’t want any needles. I h-hate the feeling of things under my skin.” Toby says, his voice barely above a whisper.
Jack pulls out his phone, clicking on Cockwork’s contact. “I’m sorry, but with how bad the hypothermia is you need an IV. I’ll get Nat down here before I do it though.”
Toby falls silent, and watches him as he puts the phone to his ear.
The conversation only lasts a minute, before he pockets his phone. “She’s gonna grab a few things from your room then she’ll be down.” Jack puts another blanket over top of him, and pulls Toby’s arm out, beginning to tie a rubber tourniquet on his bicep.
Almost instantly, Clockwork runs down the stairs. A tote bag on her shoulder. “What the hell happened?” Her eyes fall on Toby, and her expression hardens. “Scratch that. What did you do?”
Toby swallows, and meets her gaze. “I sl-slipped on the lake.”
She gets closer and sets the bag down next to the coffee table. “Well that would have been a dumb way to go out. Hey, maybe we can watch that Guardians movie later.”
Toby huffs and reaches his hand out to her, but Jack lowers it back down. “You have frostbite. Don’t touch anything until I can thaw your hands out.”
He grumbles, and Natalie pulls a weighted blanket out of the bag. “I brought your weighted blanket, I know it helps. Jack, is this okay?”
Jack nods and puts on a different pair of gloves, then rips open an alcohol pad. “That’s okay, you aren’t supposed to heat the limbs before the core but I’ve done enough for an extra blanket to be okay.”
With that, she lays it over his legs and he visibly relaxes. “Th-thanks babe.”
She walks around the couch and gently holds his head up, then sits down and sets it in her lap. “It’s no problem Tobes, but you seriously have to be more careful because if this happens again I will beat your fucking ass.”
While Toby is distracted, Jack wipes the crook of his arm and inserts the IV, taping it down.
Toby leans his head back into Natalie’s lap and closes his eyes. “H-how how long do I have to stay like this?”
Jack sets the rest of the IV up and turns the fluid heater on. “A few hours at the least. Until your internal temperature has stabilized.”
Natalie takes the towel out from under his head and tosses it to the floor, then starts gently running her fingers through knots in his hair. “What about the frostbite?”
Jack stands up, and turns to the kitchen. “I am going to get right on that actually.” He walks off into the kitchen, leaving Natalie and Toby alone.
“Where did Ben and Jeff go? Weren’t they out with you?” Nat asks.
“F-fuck if I know. My gu-guess is they dumped me here and ran.”
Clockwork's eyes linger on Toby’s blue skin for a moment. “I’ll give them a piece of my mind later.”
A few minutes pass, and Jack comes back with a bowl, and a jug of warm water. “Sit him up, keep the water bottles in place.”
Natalie carefully shifts Toby into a seated position and lets him lean against her. Jack sets the bowl in his lap and takes hold of Toby’s hands, then sets them in the empty bowl.
“I’m gonna pour warm water over your hands and let them soak for a little.”
Toby nods and does his best to relax, eyes darting between the water and the bowl. “Then can I sleep?”
Jack uncaps the jug and puts some of the water over Toby’s hands. “Yes, then you can sleep.”
The whole process of rewarming Toby’s hands took nearly half an hour, but eventually all of the warm water had been used.
Jack wraps Toby’s hands in bandages, then tucks his arms back under the blankets. “And we’re done, finally.”
Toby looks up at his girlfriend, the blue tint to his skin fading. “Bite.”
Jack gives him a confused look. “What?”
Natalie readjusts herself so Toby can lay back down in her lap. “He wants something to chew on, there’s a silicone fidget thing in the bag I brought down, can you grab it? If he can’t chew his fingers, he chews on that. If he can’t chew on that he chews on me. I would like to avoid that.”
Jack nods and grabs it out of the bag, handing it to Nat. “What else is in here?”
She gives it to Toby and he immediately preoccupies himself with it. “Change of clothes, headphones. I didn’t put much in it because I was in a rush.”
“Alright, lights?”
Toby hums around the fidget in his mouth and nods. “Yes.”
Jack walks across the room and turns the lights off, the room still illuminated by the moon.
Natalie throws her arm over the side of the couch. “Toss me the remote too, I’m putting that movie on where the kid falls through the ice and dies . Maybe it’ll resonate with Toby.”