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The sounds of their vode going about their daily life barely reached Echo’s ears while he anxiously paced in front of their makeshift med bay. He’d been thrown out, after the medic claimed he was a distraction and that he was hovering. Echo wasn’t hovering. He wanted to make sure they were alright. He had wanted to fight Salus, but medics had a certain kind of authority that you couldn’t argue with. Not even Rex.
Rex wasn’t faring much better either, standing off to the side, his arms crossed and scowling at nothing. Since he heard about who they had found, Rex hadn’t left the vicinity of the med bay. He too, had gotten kicked out pretty soon.
None of them had expected … this. There was still no explanation how Kix was still alive, or how Tech was alive or who had done this to them. They had found nothing in the records recovered from Tantiss. Then again, maybe it hadn’T been the empire? But they wouldn’t know anything for certain until they were awake. If they woke up.
Echo knew about hibernation sickness and the risk of dying after being frozen in carbonite for prolonged times. It didn’t help settle his nerves.
Echo’s pacing was interrupted by the door opening. In sync, he and Rex turned towards Salus, opening their mouths and closing it again when he simply lifted his hand.
“They are both … alive. Not well yet, but alive.” He sounded tired. “I’ll let you in there, but only if you are quiet and careful and don’t do anything stupid, got it?”
Both of them nodded quietly and Salus stepped out of the way. “When I come back from my smoke break I want there to be peace and quiet in my med bay, got it?”
They nodded again, and Echo refrained from commenting on the smoking thing. Salus always hounded the others about it but then went and smoked himself. Hypocrit. But he was a damn good medic, apparent miracle worker and the only medic they had, til now. Echo kinda respected him. And feared him.
He stepped in after Rex. The air was warm and a little stuffy. There were no windows - it was makeshift after all. But it made do. Only two of the costs were occupied. They didn't have any more injured, fortunately. But it made the room too quiet.
Echo looked at the two patients on opposite sides of the room. They looked too pale, both of them, and were still unconscious. But breathing. Echo let out a soft sigh and felt some of the tension bleed from his shoulders. It wasn’t perfect, and he would only relax when he knew both of them had survived the worst. For now, he could accept it though. Slowly, he sat down at Tech's side, letting Rex stay with Kix.
Tech looked so unusually small and it broke Echo’s heart a little. But he was here, something Echo hadn't dared to ever hope. None of them had. His little brother was back. It was hard to believe, almost impossible, but when Echo rested his hand on top of Tech’s it was real even if still cold to the touch. Echo paused before reaching out and pulling up the blanket a bit more around Tech’s shoulders. He would take care of him.
At some point, Echo had fallen asleep. His neck would hate him for it in the morning but Echo couldn't leave, couldn't be convinced to by no one. Eventually, Salus had given up and told him, again, to behave. Not that Echo was planning to do anything, but he needed to stay here.
At first he wasn't sure what woke him. The med bay was dimly lit by an emergency light, not enough to see properly. But … there was a rustle and someone moved. Echo reached for the lightswitch. His eyes took a second to adjust to the new brightness. When they did, his heart fluttered. Tech had sat up a little and was looking around the room.
“Tech? Tech!” Echo scrambled out of his chair to kneel beside the bed, grabbing one of Tech’s hands. The other man flinched before recognition settled in.
“Echo?” Tech’s voice sounded rough, and his gaze was unfocused. He blinked a few times.
“I’m here, Tech.”
“I can't see you.” How Tech could sound so calm in the face of all that, Echo might never fully understand.
“It's a side effect from being frozen in carbonite,” he explained, failing to keep the relief out of his voice even if the news were less than optimal.
“Oh.” There was a beat of silence. “Hibernation sickness then. Did you know it is known to cause death? And victims who survived often experienced exhaustion, weakness, dehydration, dizziness, memory loss, and temporary - why are you crying?” Tech’s voice took on a concerned edge when he heard Echo’s shaky sob.
Echo laughed through the tears and buried his face against Tech’s shoulder. “You’re an idiot. I missed you so much.”
One of Tech’s hands came to cradle his head and Echo couldn't resist, carefully climbing into bed with Tech.
Tech didn't mind, not in the slightest. He pressed himself against Echo. If it was for warmth or for the comfort of another body beside him, Echo didn’t know. He didn’t care either. They both needed it.
“Where are the others?” Tech asked after a second. He was fidgeting with the blanket with one hand and Echo tried his best to calm him down. This whole situation was affecting Tech more than he initially thought.
“I haven't told them yet. We … weren’t sure if you would make it. I’ll call them first thing in the morning, okay?”
Tech relaxed a little more against him. “Hm, okay … Cross?” His voice was quiet, like he didn’t dare to ask.
Echo smiled softly. “We got him back too. It didn't go to plan but … well.” He trailed off. “That's a longer story for tomorrow too, yeah?”
“Okay,” Tech agreed, trying to stifle a yawn. But he melted more against Echo, letting out a shaky exhale. “I just want to come home.”
“Soon, Tech,” Echo promised. “Soon.”