Chapter Text
Sammy wasn’t sure how she got here. Sitting outside the ICU of a big white Italian hospital with Gia on one side and Ben on the other. It felt like that night had been a horrible flash from a nightmare. Fresh and raw and something that couldn’t possibly be real. And yet they stood there. Sammy could recall flashes of the night, horrified memories that played like the world’s worst PowerPoint in her head.
Everything with Brooklynn flashed behind her eyelids every time she closed them. She could see everything in quick bursts like a silent movie. She could see herself and Yaz sitting on Gia’s bed. She could almost still feel the cold of the room. The buzz of their argument was silent, yet vibrating through the air like a bad omen.
She wished she could forget the fighting. The way her voice got louder, the way Yaz’s voice got louder. The words that were said.
She regrets not seeing it sooner. The way Yaz’s skin looked so pale, coated in sweat, how her eyes were so unfocused.
How she had dropped to the ground in a second, like a rock.
How the light just flickered off in her eyes the second Sammy turned around.
Like you, when you left for Wyoming!
Sammy regretted those words so much now. Regretted that they may have been the last things she ever said to Yaz. She remembered how fast she moved, how she caught Yaz before she hit the ground. How her throat tore into itself at the scream that ripped through her. It took all of three seconds and three hours at the same time. The horror of turning around to see the love of her life dropping in an almost lifeless way burned behind her eyes.
The next events were just a flurry of voices and movements.
The confusion. The way the door burst open seconds, minutes, or hours later. Sammy couldn’t remember how long she sat there with Yaz in her arms, screaming. Fear choked her in a way she hadn’t felt before. Gia dialed on her phone The ambulance. The flash of uniformed medics, the buzz of Italian as they guided Yaz out of Sammy’s arms, the horrible way they pushed Sammy away, gentle yet urgent as they examined her. Loaded her into an ambulance and rushed to the hospital.
Sammy doesn’t know how long they’ve been sitting there. Time felt like it stopped. She’s vaguely aware of Kenji, talking to one of the nurses about some medical information for Yaz, things they all remember from her ankle surgery after Nublar. Which medications make her skin itch, and which ones she has mild allergic reactions to. All the stuff Sammy knew but couldn’t find her voice to say. Kenji had taken over as the rest of them stood in shock. One of the nurses spoke English; the other didn’t. Gia translates all the updates for the rest of the group.
It’s an hour later. An hour and a half. Before a doctor comes over. Sammy felt her blood turn cold as the Italian man in a lab coat walked over, a few nurses with him, one being the one who spoke English. Faces unreadable in a way that made Sammy feel pure dread seep under her skin.
A concussion.
It felt like a joke. The nurse asked them if Yaz had taken a hit to the head recently, within the last few days. Sammy went cold as she thought about Senegal, the realization hitting her, how Yaz had off-handedly said she got hit with the tail of the Suchomimus. She had said her head ached a bit…
And they just… hadn’t thought much of it at the time. They were too focused on Brooklynn to notice that one of their own was suffering.
She could have died.
The reality hit Sammy hard. Yaz could have fallen asleep right next to her in bed and died. It’s enough to almost cause Sammy to gag on the air around her. Yaz could have died. She hears Ben retch a bit at the news, one of the nurses quickly pulling over a trash can as he threw up his dinner, with Gia rubbing his back. Kenji looked pale, his body shook a bit as if the news was an earthquake, while Darius’s face painted itself in guilt.
“The surgery was a success,” The English-speaking nurse offered, “The CT scan showed significant blood in the skull. We had to perform what’s called burr hole surgery to relieve the pressure in her skull.”
God, they drilled holes in her girlfriend’s skull. The thought made Sammy sick to think about. Her girlfriend almost died. The severity of the injury, how had they all just… not thought about how severely hurt Yaz was? They all knew she got knocked out, so why had none of them questioned? Why did they just not notice how in pain she must have been?
“Your friend's case is a bit unusual; you don’t know what might have hit her?”
Dinosaur tail…
But they couldn’t really tell them that.
“We were kinda separated for a bit during a hike,” Kenji explained, “She was separated from us for like… 30 minutes. So we don’t really know what hit her.”
The nurse nodded, grimacing a bit.
“We’d like to keep the drains in for at least 12 hours, since the nature of how she got the concussion is a bit blurry; we’ll need to run frequent CT scans to monitor cognitive activity. Any other clues as to what might have caused this?”
“Maybe she fell? Sorry, she’s not forthcoming about getting hurt, doesn’t like when we worry.” Kenji covered again, “The bruise was kinda concerning, but she said she was okay.”
“How come she didn’t say anything?”
Darius’s voice, smaller than normal, almost as if he were twelve again, standing in front of all the older kids at camp.
“Like… wouldn’t the concussion hurt a lot, or wouldn’t there have been other symptoms?”
“If your friend is as stubborn as you say, perhaps she didn’t say anything out of pride,” The nurse suggested, “Brain injuries can also cause confusion or issues processing certain things; it wouldn’t be unusual for her to not know something was wrong as well.”
The nurse is nice enough, explaining all the symptoms of a concussion, explaining how Yaz might not have said anything because she might not have known the danger she was in. Because she may have been confused. Because Yaz wasn’t herself. The nurse explains headaches, dizziness, confusion, and difficulty concentrating. And Sammy knows she’s trying to be helpful, but each word sounds like a stone settling in her stomach. Confusion. Amnesia. Memory loss. Irritability, difficulty controlling emotions…
What was her girlfriend feeling? Was the irritability what caused her and Sammy to fight? Had Sammy missed other symptoms? Sammy tries to recall little things they’ve talked about. Yaz mentioned her head hurt. Did she say anything about ringing in her ears? How many signs had Sammy missed?
They can’t see Yaz tonight, and the rejection almost makes Sammy lash out at the poor English-speaking nurse on the spot. But she assures them Yaz isn’t waking up tonight. She’s too heavily sedated. Her brain needs to start resting so it can heal. The sight wasn’t going to be pretty either, as the young nurse gently explained that they needed to make sure everything stayed clean so Yaz wouldn’t get sick. There are tubes in her head and wires everywhere. She’s still intubated. How the doctors will run tests in the morning, and then they can go from there. She’ll stay in the ICU with a nurse watching her all night long, so if something does happen, they will react to it accordingly.
No one says anything; they all sit in the too-bright hallway of the hospital as nurses walk past, doctors, people. Everything is moving but their little group.
“What do we do now?”
Darius’s voice was heavy despite the soft tone. No one says anything for a minute. Ben looked down at his shoes, Kenji at his hands. Darius looked around, clearly unsure. Sammy couldn’t find any semblance of strength to offer anything.
“We make sure she’s okay.” Ben offered.
“I’ll go,” Kenji said suddenly, causing everyone but Sammy to look over at him, “I’ll go to Malta in Yaz’s place.”
Sammy almost yelled at him, because how could he still be thinking about Malta, about Brooklynn, while Yaz was lying in bed, sedated, intubated, and with tubes in her head?
“She’d be pissed as hell if she found out you two ditched just because she got hurt.” Kenji continued after a minute, “and she’d be pissed if she found out you two got yourselves hurt, so I’ll go with you. Gia and Sammy will keep an eye on Yaz here.”
Gia nodded as the others made a vague noise of agreement, yet were not enthused about the plan.
“We should take turns going back and getting cleaned up,” Kenji offered, stretching, “Ben, Darius?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Yeah, I should probably clean up a bit,” Ben winced, “I can smell me.”
“... Sammy?”
“... I can’t leave.”
She felt Kenji’s hand on her shoulder.
“If something happened… and… She hates hospitals.” Sammy looked up, tears burning her vision, “I can’t leave her alone.”
“Ok,” Kenji’s voice was gentle, “I’ll bring you back a change of clothes then? We’ll pack up a bag so you can stay close.”
Kenji’s voice is sympathetic, and Sammy can see tears threatening in his eyes as well. Ben sniffled a bit, shaking his head.
“She’s gonna be okay,” Ben offered, hopefully, “She’s stubborn, she’s not gonna let this be the end.”
Darius wiped his face with the back of his hand quickly.
“I can stay with Sammy for a bit,” Darius offered, “We’ll take shifts.”
“Sounds good, D.”
***
Sammy had to give Gia some credit; despite only knowing Yaz for a few days, she was surprisingly helpful in getting updates from the nurses. Every hour, she’d walk over to the desk and ask the current nurse at the front desk for an update on Yaz. The hospital staff were patient, and Sammy was grateful for that as well. She was sure the hospital staff was getting tired of the same person asking about a sleeping patient.
“They said she has a really good heartbeat.” Gia mused as she updated them, the same. Yaz’s vitals were steady, and the nurses were looking after her. Everything looked good, and they hadn’t noticed any more drainage from the tubes in her head. A good sign.
“Years of cardio paying off,” Kenji shook his head, “Let’s not tell her that though, I don’t need to give her another reason to gloat on how cool running it is. Because it’s not.”
Ben and Darius scoffed a bit as they fell into more comfortable silence. Every uneventful update seemed to somewhat calm their fears, though the tension in their shoulders was still present. Darius still fidgeted a lot, and Ben kept standing to pace up and down the hall. On one hand, they knew it was going to be uneventful; the nurses explained to them several times that Yaz likely wouldn’t wake up tonight. But that didn’t mean something worse couldn’t happen. Sammy’s stomach hurt just thinking about that.
Then there was the guilt. Waves of it that crashed against her every second as she stopped and really thought about the events leading up to them being here.
Arguing with Yaz about Brooklynn felt so selfish now. The entire time, her girlfriend’s head was slowly filling with blood, putting more and more pressure on her brain, and she had noticed none of it.
So much for her girlfriend’s intuition.
Wyoming
God, that could be the last thing she said to Yaz. The last thing before she lost her. Sammy telling her she blamed her for getting help? For not wanting to be a burden? After they had a long conversation about their failed communication while on a smelly ship to Senegal. After Sammy assured her she was forgiven… After Yaz apologized with those sad puppy eyes. After Yaz tried to make it up to her with snuggles, bouts of closeness that warmed Sammy’s heart.
Sammy still held it against her.
That wasn't fair. That was petty. Sammy wasn't petty.
But she had been hurting, and maybe she lashed out, and her lashing out might be the last thing Yaz ever heard her say.
Sammy tried to push the thoughts away, tuning back in to the boys’ quiet chatter.
Despite the boys planning to go to Malta tomorrow, they didn’t seem to be in a hurry to leave the hospital. Darius had practically rooted himself in the seat across from Sammy in the hallway while Kenji and Ben took turns pacing. It’s almost one in the morning, and the boys would rather be tired than leave now and get whatever sleep they could before tomorrow.
***
When Sammy wakes up, her back hurts from the awkward way she’s slouched against the chair. Darius is seated across from her, a new round of drinks from the vending machine down the hall in front of him, and… a small stuffed animal in his lap.
“... Who’s your friend?” Sammy asked as she sat up in the chair, back immediately cracking at the movement.
“Oh, it’s for Yaz, for when she wakes up. I saw it when I passed the gift shop. I thought it’d help make it feel a little more like home… or at least more like at the ranch. I couldn’t find a cow, but…”
Darius stood up, walking it over to Sammy so she could have a closer look. Sammy blinked the rest of the sleep away as she looked over at the brown stuffed animal.
“It’s cute,” Sammy smiled a bit as Darius handed the animal to her. The little stuffed goat featured dark brown fur with darker legs and tail accents, plush, slightly curved horns sat on its head, and adorable plastic eyes. “She’ll love it.”
Darius smiled a bit, happy with his impulsive gift. His face fell after a moment.
“I really want her to be okay.”
“Yeah,” Sammy agreed, “me too.”
“I just,” Darius’s hand traveled upward, landing on the spot where his raptor tooth necklace used to sit. He had stopped wearing it after Brooklynn’s deal, conflicted about his feelings regarding dinosaurs. Torn between his love for them left over by his father and the pain of them taking his best friend from him, “I don’t want to leave and then find out… that I missed saying goodbye… But I also really don’t want to say goodbye.”
“Ain’t no one saying goodbye,” Sammy offered sternly as she stood from her own seat to move to sit next to the conflicted boy.
“Ben’s right, Yaz is stubborn, she ain't gonna leave that easily,” Sammy added, “It’s just another race, and we’re sitting at the finish line.”
Darius tugged at a bit of his shirt where the raptor necklace should be. A failed attempt at a familiar self-soothing motion.
“At least you weren’t fighting with her,” Sammy sighed miserably.
“You two were fighting?”
“Kinda… yeah.”
“About Brooklynn?”
“...Yeah… Well, kinda about Brooklynn. I just… I’m still angry with her, I’m upset with her. But I let that blind me to the point that I didn’t notice that Yaz was off.”
“That’s not your fault, Sam,” Darius offered, “a lot's been going on, it’s not like any of us noticed Yaz was in trouble either.”
“Yeah, but I’m her girlfriend! I told Ben all about how I was pretty confident in my girlfriend's tuition, only to not notice that Yaz’s skull was filling with her own blood. The only thing I did was prove why she left for Wyoming in the first place.”
The two felt the beat of silence pass between them.
“I’m sorry, I’m not as good at this as Ben is.”
Darius shifted in his seat, rubbing the back of his neck.
“It’s okay. I guess I just appreciate you listening. I just feel really guilty. On one hand, I get it, I know Yaz, I know she’d want to go after any one of us if we were in Brooklynn’s place. I know Yaz needs to know Brooklynn is safe. But at the same time, I can’t help not feeling a little jealous that she’d be so quick to run to Brooklynn and stay so far away from me.”
“I think,” Darius started, speaking slowly to choose his words, “I think I kinda get how Yaz feels. It’s a lot easier not to burden people when you’re not around people. Or at least when you’re not around people you care about. That way you don’t let your negativity get to them, ya know?”
“It’s never a burden,” Sammy offered, “I’d happily spend the rest of my life letting her lean on me if she needed.”
“But, then you’d get tired.”
Darius pointed it out matter-of-factly. Sammy blinked a bit.
“She loves you,” Darius continued, “she wouldn’t want you to exhaust yourself for her sake. Plus we’re talking about Yaz here, she wouldn't even sit down for ten minutes back on Nublar with a broken ankle. She's not really good at leaning on people.”
Sammy chuckled at Darius's deadpan comment.
“You’re right,” Sammy offered after a moment of thought.
“But, she should still call you more.”
Sammy chuckled a bit.
“Someone else could afford to call more too,” Sammy teased as she nudged Darius with her elbow, “Ya know, you’re not all that bad at this.”
“Yeah? I’d like to think I’ve grown up a little.”
The two fell into a comfortable silence.
“I get how you both feel, I think. Yaz has always been so protective. I get her wanting to try to protect Brooklynn from her own stupid decisions. But I also get you not wanting to get hurt again by someone who left us once already, by choice.”
“Yeah, Yaz loves Brooklynn enough to go after her now and yell at her later,” Sammy mused, “It’s gonna be a bit messy if she does come back.”
“Yeah,” Darius muttered, “But we’ll be together, and we’ll handle it together… Camp Fam for life?”
“Camp Fam for life.”
“We’re back!”
They both turn their heads to see Kenji and Ben walking down the hall towards them.
“Boys.” Sammy shook her head as she noticed both of them holding gifts as well, “What did you do?”
“What?” Ben asked, “Being in a hospital isn’t comfortable, we’re thinking of Yaz’s comfort here!”
Sammy eyed the blanket in the bag Ben was holding, and… the bag of apples Kenji was holding.
“Where did you?”
“At the market!” Kenji said, “Apples are like nature’s cure-all! How else are we gonna get her out of the hospital without apples?”
“An apple a day.” Darius offered with a shrug.
“Plus, we’re gonna disinfect everything too,” Ben announced as he walked over and picked up the stuffed toy from Sammy’s hands, “Germs.”
“I’m on it,” Gia offered with a smile, “I can take the boys back and make sure all their parting gifts are washed and ready for when Yasmina wakes up.”
The boys seemed happy with that, giving them something to do while they waited for an update on Yaz. Sammy smiled a bit, appreciating how the boys were trying to be helpful before they left. They were clearly dragging their feet, waiting until the last possible minute. Ben had the burner, checking on updates on Dark Jurassic, setting arbitrary times they should leave, but never pushing. Kenji settled in the chair next to Sammy while Gia and Ben walked off with the bag of stuff to wash.
***
Kenji saw the nurse before the rest of them did, jumping up to stand the second he noticed the familiar face.
“CT scans show your friend has no more blood building in her skull; that’s a very good sign.”
“So, what are the next steps?” Kenji asked, “Does she go in for another CT scan?”
“Ideally, we’ll take her off sedation. Getting her mobile again will help with recovery time and reduce the risk of complications from prolonged bed rest. We’d also do another CT scan this afternoon, and we’ll go from there.”
“Ok.”
“Um, I had a question,” Darius spoke up, “about the burr hole surgery. I was kinda reading up about it, so the tubes have to stay in her head for like 24 hours?”
“Typically, yes, we want to make sure everything is drained before we remove the tubes. Sometimes longer to ensure that everything is drained. Now, regarding you all heading back home, it may require two weeks of healing before we can suggest air travel. So I highly suggest moving around your flights.”
“Understood,” Kenji nodded.
“When can we see her?” Ben asked.
“They’re in the process of removing the breathing tubes now and removing her from sedation. Once she’s more awake, we can come get you all.”
***
Yaz felt hazy.
It was the only word she could think of. The room was too bright, there were people around her, which she instantly hates, and her body felt like lead. Someone’s flashing a light in her eye, awesome.
“Ms. Fadoula,” A heavily accented voice, “can you hear me?”
Yaz tried to speak, but her teeth instantly clacked against something, and the person standing above her immediately redirected her.
“If you can hear me, blink twice.”
Sure, that was easier. Yaz’s eyes felt heavy as she blinked twice as demanded. The doctor’s moving again, asking her if she can move various parts of her body. Toes. Legs. Raise her arm. Move her fingers. All she can do is in the haze of sedation.
Beeping.
She can hear beeping. The walls are so white and bright.
Her head hurts.
Where’s Sammy?
Yaz’s blurry eyes glance around the room. Faces she doesn’t recognize. White coats, scrubs, tubes.
“Sa…” The vibration of the sound in her throat almost causes her to choke as her teeth clank against whatever is placed in her mouth. A nurse adjusts; she feels a hand on her shoulder.
“Easy, give it a few more minutes.”
She’s not Sammy.
Where’s Sammy?
“Once the sedative wears off a little more, we can get that out.”
No.
She wants to see Sammy.
Where was Sammy?
She blinked a few more times, trying to clear the haze, trying to gain some more strength to demand again.
“Sam…”
“Ok, ok.” The nurse again, hand firmer against her shoulder, teeth still clanking against stupid plastic, her teeth almost digging more into it in defiance, “Doctor.”
“Ok,” The doctor came back into view, “why don’t we get that taken care of? Okay, but you need to listen to me, okay?”
His English is a little broken. Yaz gave a short nod, eager to listen if it meant they could get Sammy to her faster. He and the nurse work a bit over her, which Yaz takes as discomfort. She doesn’t know where she is, where her friends are, her head hurts, and there’s something jammed in her mouth keeping her from talking.
“Ok, take a deep breath for me?”
Yaz listened, filling her lungs with air through her nose.
“Ok, and exhale.”
The feeling is uncomfortable, something gets pulled gently from her throat, and Yaz feels the urge to cough. Once the tube is out, her throat remains sore.
“Ok, another deep breath, and cough.”
Yaz did cough, and cough, and cough, pushing herself more upright as she felt mucus hack up her throat. One of the nurses placed a tissue in front of her mouth to catch the gunk as she tried to catch her breath again.
“Sammy,” She repeats, voice hoarse, eyes hopeful. The nurse holding the tissue seems to light up a bit in recognition.
“Oh, your friend?”
Yaz nodded.
“Of course, we can go get her.”
Yaz barely hears the other nurses talking about a transfer out of… wherever she was now. The ache in her head let up only a little bit as she watched the nurses move around her.
She’d have to wait a bit to see Sammy, it seemed.
That was okay.
She felt her eyes flutter shut, taking in a breath. She knew she probably shouldn’t fall asleep before Sammy got there. She might get worried, but… Yaz felt herself being pulled gently to sleep anyway.
***
The energy is electric for the next few minutes. The boys on edge as they wait for the nurse to return. No one sat back down.
“Sammy?”
They all look over like a collective herd. The younger nurse almost looked startled by all the movement at once before continuing.
“She’s asking for you.”
Is she awake?
Sammy’s heart beat wildly in her throat as she took an anxious step forward.
“We are transferring her out of the ICU, so I can take you to her new room. She will be under observation for a few days before we can discharge her.”
“Ok,” Sammy’s voice shook as she moved to follow the nurse, Gia at her heels. The boys followed close behind, trying so hard not to run as the anxiety crept up their spines.
“We were able to extubate her without issue; she’s breathing on her own very well. We scanned this morning, and she has no more fluid in her skull; everything looks as we’d want it to. There is some drainage from the tubes still but not a significant amount.”
Tension in Sammy’s shoulders didn’t ease. She’d feel better once she saw her.
“She’ll be on painkillers and antibiotics for the time being. We’ll also do a few more tests and scans throughout the stay. A nurse will also talk to you about our plans for early mobilization. The drugs will make her tired so she may nap a lot the next 48 hours.”
Yeah, yeah, Sammy thought as she turned through the halls. Room 307.
Sammy has to stop herself from charging into the room. Before she can, the nurse steps in front of her again. Sammy has to resist the urge to punt the shorter nurse and has to remind herself that they are trying to help Yaz.
“There is a bathroom in the room. We recommend all guests wash their hands and keep good hygiene to help reduce the risk of infection. We also found an English version of our post-concussion healing to assist with the next steps. We also have handouts regarding the healing from the burr hole surgery. We recommend low physical and mental activity for the next few days. But as I’ve said, we want to eventually get her moving this afternoon.”
She handed Sammy a thick stack of stapled papers. Yasmina’s name is at the top with detailed notes about her surgery and care plan moving forward. Sammy thanked the nurse as she stood outside the room. She felt Gia rest a hand on her shoulder a minute before they both entered the room, Gia immediately moving to unload the boy's gifts on the counter of the room, a sink on one side, and what looked like a small refrigerator under one of the counters. Some cabinets. There’s a dividing curtain that’s currently blocking the bed and a tall cabinet on the other side of the room, a TV propped up on the wall. A doorway in the corner of the room that was sure to lead to the bathroom. Sammy felt Gia’s hand on her shoulder a second before she muttered something about getting a coffee, a weak excuse to give Sammy and the others a couple of minutes alone with Yaz. Sammy made her way to the bathroom to wash her hands as directed by the nurse. While Ben, Kenji, and Darius moved to use the one outside the bathroom.
Sammy splashed some water on her face, suddenly conscious about how she must look after sleeping upright in a chair. How greasy her hair must look as she eyed her reflection in the mirror, how oily her skin must look.
Sammy washed herself off a bit before drying her hands and exiting the bathroom. From this angle of the room, she could see Yaz asleep on the bed more clearly. Yaz had white gauze wrapped around her head, an IV still in her left arm, and a few monitors still hooked up; the steady beat of the heart rate monitor drummed in Sammy’s head as she dared move closer. Tubes, almost unsettlingly neat, disappeared under the left side of the gauze. She settled on Yaz’s right, out of the way of the contraptions she was hooked up to. Her face looked calm, happily napping as the nurse suggested. Hair down and face soft, it reminded Sammy of waking up together at the ranch. The window allowed for some sunlight to sweep across the room.
Sammy almost reached over to brush her bangs more out of her eyes, but stopped herself, too afraid to touch the bandage wrapped around Yasmina’s forehead. She moved her hand away, settling to let her hand take Yaz’s instead, suddenly becoming more aware of how much smaller Yaz’s hand felt in her own. Her poor girlfriend was all beat up and lying in bed. Sammy felt a small twitch of Yaz’s fingers against her hand. She felt suddenly self-conscious of her grip and loosened it as she felt Yaz shift more.
Ben’s the first to wonder over, his body relaxing slightly, almost satisfied seeing Yaz alive. His hand almost looked comically large as he gently brushed stray hair behind Yaz’s shoulder. The motion was so careful he might as well be touching glass.
“Scared the fuck out of us, Fadoula,” Ben chuckled, the sound watery as he muttered Yaz’s trademark curse word without a care. He took a calming breath before he bent over, softly placing a feather-light kiss on the top of Yaz’s head.
“No kidding,” Kenji chuckled, “not cool.”
Kenji and Ben switch places as Kenji mirrors Ben, placing a light kiss against Yaz’s hair before pulling away. The motion was like two brothers relieved of their sister’s safety. The familial love took a slightly different form in Darius, who scrutinized everything Yaz was hooked up to before he relaxed and perched himself at the foot of the bed. He let out a breath before letting his hand pat against Yaz’s ankle twice, a wordless acknowledgement.
“So, D, is our girl good?”
“Yeah, looks like saline, so keeping her hydrated, the compartment where the tubes drain into barely has anything in it, so that’s good too. Everything else, vital-wise, looks in the green.”
Sammy smiled as Darius analyzed everything, old habits from when his dad was in the hospital. Darius knew almost every piece of equipment before he was twelve and was always hyperfixated on them when any of the camp fam were hurt to make sure they were being cared for and that nothing was wrong.
Yaz shifted a bit in her sleep, inhaling a larger breath before slowly exhaling, hand tightening around Sammy’s for a few moments. Sammy felt relief in the simple gesture, squeezing Yaz’s hand back.
“That’s our girl.”