Work Text:
As she sat under the warm shower, watching the blood of her musical idol swirl down the drain the absolute absurdity of the days events hit like a freight train. How the hell did a middle of the night Patreon chat get me here?
*6 months previously *
Laying next to her sleeping partner Madi was doomscrolling, the standard “I can’t sleep but I’m not leaving this bed” activity when an unusual notification came across the top of the screen *The Andy show invites you to join their live*….. That’s weird it’s like 3am, quickly grabbing the earbuds off the nightstand she joins the chat window curious what was happening.
Andy appears on the screen looking bedraggled and frustrated “hey guys, so we have a situation and i wondered if any of our followers might be able to help. Our main medic has had to step away from touring with us due to some personal issues, and we can’t really continue the tour without a medic or our performer’s insurance is void. Is there by any chance someone among our fans that have paramedic/nursing qualifications that’d be interested in joining our crew last minute? It’s mostly just making us drink water and the occasional band aids. Oh and need to be comfortable with Jinx’s epilepsy. Drop your info in the chat if that sounds like a good fit for you. Wrangling us dumbasses isn’t for the faint of heart but you’ll be paid a decent salary, the band will cover your expenses and you get to be back stage every night.”
She didn’t mean to yell, she really didn’t but… “HOLY FUCK” Ryan, who’d been sleeping peacefully sat bolt upright in bed in what can only be described as an indignant panic “What?!” Mandi was to busy typing in details and credentials to even register the question “What the fuck Mandi?!” “I…I…I think I may have just gotten a job offer from Black veil brides…” “Wait, What? Babe are you awake?” “YES!” “Did you hit your head?” “No! I just…I couldn’t sleep so I was scrolling and my Patreon…” “babe…breath…” “They need a medic for the band…” “okay?” “I trained as a combat medic before I was a nurse remember?!” There was a not so subtle hurt in her voice, given the amount of time she spent talking about it. “Of course I remember, it’s fucking 3am” “They responded, asked to video conference in an hour” “Are you sure this is real?” “No, but only one way to find out” he looked at his wife, in her pjs with bed head and a look of optimism on her face he hadn’t seen in a long time, and said a prayer that this was not some cruel joke “looks like I’ll make coffee…”
It took about 5 minutes of dazed staring at the zoom link for Mandi to realize she needed to try and look…human. What followed was chaos, finding decent looking clothes, brushing out the mess of curls on top of her head into something that could be considered professional….if you squint.
With the iPad sat in its stand on the dinner table between two cups of coffee, Mandi sat holding a stack of educational certificates still half convinced she was dreaming.
They both jumped when the iPad made a chime. “Well here goes nothing” with another deep breath she pushed the connect button. Andy appeared on the screen with the tour bus common area in the background, and he looked absolutely exhausted. “Hello, Mandi?” “I…Yes I’m Mandi, and this is my husband Ryan” “Nice to meet you both, I’m sorry for the odd hour, I honestly didn’t expect anyone to respond so quickly especially with such ideal credentials” “Ideal?” “Yes, from the sounds of your training, you’re actually rather overqualified for our typical needs” that’s when she burst into tears, because there was something she left out. On the screen Andy was confused, and looked to Ryan hoping for some context.
“She’s disabled, uses a wheelchair a lot of the time. You’re her favorite band, and she loves her work. Accessibility has been a big issue for her especially with employment.” “Oh i see, so you’re able to walk still?” “Y-yes, it just hurts badly sometimes because of my hips and spine. I swear I’m capable” “Most of the time it’s just hanging out with us, I don’t see any reason that a wheelchair would be a problem. Some places might be less than accessible, but we’re a creative bunch.” That was not what she’d expected, most people hear disabled and decide she must be an imbecile. “Is there anything else you’d need accommodation wise to be along with us?” “I…I have infusions that I do myself through a port in my chest. I can do it whenever is convenient, and I can always put it in a backpack if I’m needed in the middle of it” “Again shouldn’t be a problem, our assistant Shevy is amazing about finding us all whatever we need, I’m sure wherever Jinxx gets his meds can help you get whatever you need” “really?!” Suddenly the fact that her idol was on a video chat offering her a job wasn’t the most insane part of this situation. “Yeah, I mean as long as you’re able to take care of us when we need it, there’s no reason we can’t make sure you’re taken care of as well”
“Does that mean I got the job?” Whoops didn’t mean to say that out loud. “Haha, yeah if you want it absolutely. We’d have to fly you out here to us day after tomorrow though, is that something you could do?” Wide eyed she’d looked to Ryan, expecting him to shatter the dream. After all, they were struggling and juggling two daughters in high school is not for the weak. “We will figure it out, you deserve this Mandi” with that she was crying again, ugly crying. “You mentioned on your application you have children, we will obviously make sure you’re back home for major events during the tour” that caused more crying. Ryan practically read her mind and picked up the conversation while she excused herself to blow her nose. “Thank you for this, she always credits your music with saving her life as a teenager, and I think you’re doing it again now” “she’s the one doing us the favor, we can’t preform without a medic, and given her qualifications unless it’s something catastrophic this means we can stay out of the hospitals and the circus that always devolves into. Signing shit when you can’t stop puking really blows” That was what Madi walked back into the kitchen too.
The next few hours involved a lot of going over paperwork and technicalities, verifying credentials, explaining contracts and travel details. They said goodbye as the sun came up with the plans to fly out to Orlando day after next. The rest as they say, is history.
*8 hours previously*
Madi watched in awe from side stage, no matter how often she watched the band perform it always amazed her. She’d been touring with them for 6 months now, and while in most situations they were coworkers/friends, when the band hit the stage she allowed herself to watch as a fan. Normally she walked along the barricade with Shevy, with whom she’d become close friends with but with the heat and incoming weather she’d chosen to stay back stage in her wheelchair and watch from there.
The wind picked up rather aggressively, and the warning to cut the show short came across all the staff phones/monitors in the middle of hallelujah. As soon as they flash the warning across the screens and start to lower the speaker stacks. A gust of wind blows through hard enough that Andy cut the song off and told everyone at the festival to get to safety. Good advice, that really should’ve come about 30 seconds earlier. Andy waited for the rest of the band to file off the stage concerned about the flashing warning and stress combo causing Jinxx a problem.
Everyone heard the ropes snap, but nobody realized what was happening until it was too late. The speaker stack listed and fell, causing a domino effect with the stage scaffolding and sent one of the main pillars right into the middle of the group back stage. Jake, Lonnie and CC split one way, while Shevy and Jinxx went the other, but Andy got tripped up in his own feet and fell backwards not only slamming his head into the floor with a sickening noise but also getting hit across the torso with the support beam. It was like time stood still for a moment before everyone made sense of what just happened, then everyone was working together to get the support off of the trapped singer.