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When he was serving in Afghanistan, Robb’s world had literally exploded around him when his unit’s humvee was taken out by a couple of IEDs. He would never forget the shock of the explosion, the unsettling feeling of the ground being torn from beneath the vehicle, the unexpected pain as metal tore through him.
He had been sure that nothing could compare to the experience.
He was wrong.
He was laughing at something Rickon had said when his phone rang. For the life of him, he couldn’t remember what he had been laughing at, but he had been laughing.
And while he had been laughing, Jon had been bleeding out and flatlining on an operating table in Queens.
“I figured you’d want to know,” Jon’s boss told him over the phone, sounding sympathetic. “He’s at New York Presbyterian in Queens.”
“Thank you,” he managed to mutter, hands shaking as he hung up. His family was staring at him in expectation, his face probably telling them all they needed to know. “Jon… I’ve got to get to the hospital.”
The absurd part of his mind told him that he was at a hospital, but he didn’t let that bit of hysteria get to him as he pushed himself to his feet, feeling shaky but needing to get to Jon.
A strong hand settled on his shoulder as he was led from the room and towards the elevator. “I’ll drive you,” his father assured him, worry etched on his lined face, making him seem older than he was.
Robb was grateful for the offer as he realized that, even if he were in a state to drive, he had given his SUV to Jon.
Jon, who was currently fighting for his life. He choked on a sob as he followed his father to his car.
“What happened?” Ned asked gently after he had gotten the name of the hospital from Robb.
“Jon was shot,” he answered, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to block out the truth of his words. Jon was shot. Robb had known that Jon’s job was likely to drive him crazy with worry, but he hadn’t been on duty. And fuck, the last thing Robb had said to him had been a stupid joke about him running away to California.
“How bad?” his father wanted to know.
“Bad,” Robb bit out, unable to say anything more.
He couldn’t lose Jon. He had just gotten him back. They had been planning on moving in together! Not right away, but soon. Jon had promised. He had said he was here to stay. He had promised that he wasn’t going to leave again.
His father didn’t press him for more information, just drove silently to the hospital as fast as he could and leading him inside once they had parked. Robb was glad he was with him as he calmly asked after Jon. He himself was worse than useless, staring dumbly at the blonde reception as she gave them sympathetic looks and told them Jon was still in surgery.
Ned thanked her after being told where the waiting room was and guided Robb there, pressing him onto a sofa and keeping a steadying hand on his shoulder.
“He’s going to pull through,” he told him. “Jon isn’t going to leave us again. He loves you too much.”
“I can’t lose him, Dad. Not again,” Robb whispered, tears finally beginning to fall. Once they started, though, they didn’t stop, leaving him sobbing into his father’s shoulder as helplessness and despair washed over him.
“You won’t,” Ned soothed. Robb wanted to take comfort in the words, but he knew his father couldn’t possible know that for sure.
They waited there for hours, the rest of the family, minus Rhaegar, slowing trickling in with sober looks on their faces. His mother lowered herself onto the sofa on his other side and squeezed his hand comfortingly. His tears had all been cried out by that point, his head hanging heavily between his legs.
He snapped to attention, though, as a doctor walked in and asked for the family of Jon Snow. He nearly collapsed in relief as he was told that surgery went well and that they were settling him in to the ICU for the night.
“If he remains stable, we’ll move him to a room tomorrow,” the doctor informed them.
“Make it a private room if possible,” Catelyn said. “Jon doesn’t need the added stress of a roommate.”
The doctor nodded and told them that a nurse would get them when they could visit, though they would only be able to go in two at a time.
Robb gave a strangled cry at the sight of Jon once they were allowed back and dropped into the chair next to him to clutch his hand desperately. He looked so pale and small on the stark white sheets, the breathing tube in his mouth driving home just how close Robb had come to losing him.
“Keep fighting, Jon,” he begged him quietly. “Please. Stay with me.”
#
He stayed by Jon’s side unless he was forced to leave, needing to be there to make sure his chest kept rising and falling, that his heart kept beating. His family forced him to eat and to wash up in the hospital’s bathroom even if he refused to go home to shower, but they could pry him from Jon’s side.
It was just his luck, though, that he had lost the battle with sleep right before Jon had woken up.
Robb startled awake as he heard his name called, heart leaping in his chest as he saw Jon’s dark eyes looking at him with a tired smile on his face.
“Jon!” he cried, tears in his eyes as he nearly took in the sight of his boyfriend awake and mercifully alive. And of course, absurdly apologizing for worrying Robb.
He brushed away Jon’s apologies and told him to get some sleep, seeing his struggles to keep his eyelids open, promising to be there when he woke up.
“Vast improvement over the last time I was shot,” Jon mumbled as he closed his eyes.
Robb’s heart ached at the reminder that this wasn’t the first time Jon was shot, that this wasn’t the first time he could have lost Jon.
“I love you,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to Jon’s forehead even as a small voice wondered how many times Jon’s job was going to land him in the hospital.
Robb could clearly envision years of worry and heartache in his future as he agonized over whether Jon was safe or if he would live. Honestly, he wasn’t sure if his heart could take that kind of battering.
He shook the thought away as he sat back down, pulling his chair closer so that he could keep Jon’s hand clasped in his hand. It didn’t matter, he decided. Jon was worth it. He would endure anything as long as he had Jon with him.
As long as Jon stayed with him.
End.