Archive of Our Own

It had been a normal enough Tuesday. Ryland was at school teaching. Simon was gone for another three weeks for his work. It would be quiet when he got home, but that was life sometimes. 

It was always easier when Simon was gone during the school year. Ryland could stay late in the classroom grading. Sometimes he would join the after school program to do science experiments that didn’t fit into his regular curriculum. And if the apartment just got too quiet Adrian had given him an open invitation to crash at their and Rocky’s place just so Ryland wouldn’t have to be alone. 

Ryland could have kept working in labs around the world. But he was ready to take a break from that. He had contacts, people he could talk to and get right back into the action that was a biology lab. People who would sometimes call him up randomly for outside opinions, DuBois had actually done that right before the school year started to talk shop. But for now, and the foreseeable future, teaching was going to be his primary focus, at least career wise.

Beside him on his desk as he went through emails after school, his phone lit up buzzing with an unsaved number. Ryland lazily looked over at it, answering and putting it on speaker before turning back to the email he was typing. 

“Hi. I’m calling for Dr. Ryland Grace?” The voice at the other end of the line spoke firmly, professionally. 

“Speaking.” Ryland answered. 

“This is Ava from Iron Lung Diving Group. Are you somewhere you can speak privately for a few minutes?” The voice on the other end said calmly. 

Ryland's heart sank in his chest. His hands hovered above the keyboard before he slowly closed the laptop entirely, turning his full attention to his phone. Iron Lung Diving Group was where Simon worked. And this was not the script for when Simon called, usually it was an operator and then they’d be connected. 

“Is Simon ok?”

“Simon Grace is alive.” Ava confirmed. “He sustained a serious injury while working. Our medical team is with him now and he will be brought back to the surface pressure as soon as it is safe to do so.”

“Can I talk to him?”

“Not at this time. Our top priority is getting him the medical care he needs. We will get you in contact with him as soon as he is medically stable.”

Ryland took a breath. “Is… is there anything else you can tell me?”

“Not right at the moment. I wanted to call and let you know of the situation. We expect to have more information in the next hour or two. I can give you a call back then with more information.” 

Ryland nodded his head. “Please keep me updated.”

“I will, Dr. Grace. I’m very sorry to call you with this news.”

“Thank you.” Ryland said quietly, the phone call lasted about another minute before it was disconnected from the other end. 

Ryland sat there, face in his hands trying to breathe as his world crumbled around him. The only beacon of hope was that Simon was alive, he was getting help. But that was a small light in the dark. Simon being a saturation diver had been the way they had met, both working on the same project. It was one of the last projects Ryland actually enjoyed working on before pivoting to teaching. Simon was so cool under pressure, so certain when he spoke about his job. He knew it inside and out, it could be dangerous, but it was something he was so proud of. 

And Ryland was proud of him too. Having an adrenaline junkie brother had taken a number on him. He could never do a dangerous job that risked bodily harm, but he could never drag Colt or Simon away from their careers. Ryland didn’t like it, but he’d long since accepted that he was never going to try to change who either of them were. He loved them both too much.

Ryland wasn’t crying, he could feel it coming soon. He mindlessly picked himself up from his desk, switched his phone off of mute, and made a beeline to the front office. 

It was already past six, most of the office staff had gone home, and the few that were there ignored Ryland. Seeing him later after school wasn’t anything new. 

“Yes, Dr. Grace?” Stratt didn’t even look up from her computer as the science teacher stood in the doorway of her office. 

“I need a substitute,” Ryland said, voice shaking. “For… I don’t know. For a while.”

Stratt looked up from her computer. She’s been the principal at GCMS so long that nothing shook her anymore. “What’s going on?”

“Simon got hurt at work. I’m… I don’t know. He’s working in the North Sea right now. His company didn’t tell me what happened. They said they’d call me back.”

Stratt had met Simon a few times over the two years Ryland had been teaching at GCMS. He had a unique career, it stood out. “Dr. Grace, I’ll get you a long term substitute. You can go. Don’t worry about your students or the school. It will all still be here when you get back.”

“Thanks.” Ryland barely acknowledged her as he turned and left the office. 

He went back to his classroom and sloppily threw everything off his desk. He grabbed his bike helmet on his way out, flicking off the lights, leaving the classroom half prepped for whatever substitute Stratt found the next morning. 

Ryland stood outside the school near the bike rack. He was thankful the pick up had finished for the day. He wasn’t sure he could face any of the students with a smile and pretend everything was fine. He rested his helmet on the handle bars of his bike and stood there for a few minutes before pulling his phone back out. 

It rang twice before he got an answer. 

“Hi Grace!” Rocky all but shouted over the phone. 

“Hey Rocky,” Ryland could feel his voice was small. “Can you or Adrian come pick me up from school?”

“Sure, what’s wrong?” Rocky had instantly toned down his excitement at getting a call from his best friend. “You sound sad.”

Ryland nodded his head as he took a deep breath. “Simon got hurt at work. I… I don’t know exactly what happened yet but they called me. They wouldn’t call me if it wasn’t bad.”

••●━━━━━━●••

Adrian had pulled up in the parking lot not even fifteen minutes later. They didn’t say a word as they got out of the car, hugged Ryland, and loaded him into the passenger seat and then his bike into the back of the van before getting in and slowly pulling away. 

Ryland was so out of it he didn’t even notice they were going the wrong way. He leaned against the side of the car as the first tears started to fall. He listened to the radio that had been turned down to almost be inaudible. His hands kept figuring with his phone, waiting for another call that probably wasn’t coming for a while. 

The day was unfairly beautiful. Sunset wasn’t more than an hour away, the colors were warm and gentle. Ryland would have preferred it start raining, than having to watch the sunset out the window. 

He didn’t think about where they were going until Adrian pulled into the driveway. 

Ryland looked up, finally taking in his surroundings. “Adrian, I just wanted to go home.”

“You don’t need to be alone.” Adrian gave him a gentle smile. “Stay with Rocky and I, at least for tonight. I’ll cook something you like.”

It sounded like a polite offer coming from Adrian, but it was more of a demand. He had called Rocky, Rocky had called Adrain, and now Adrain was going to hold down the fort until further notice. 

Ryland just accepted it as he got out of the car and walked into the house. He kicked off his shoes and went straight to the couch. 

Adrian followed into the house, disappearing into the kitchen. When they returned to the living room they had a quilt draped over one arm and a mug in their free hand. 

They placed the cup in front of Ryland on the table and wrapped the quilt over his shoulders. “Let me know if you need anything.” 

Adrian sat on the nearby loveseat, on their laptop, being present but giving space at the same time. Their presence was always so grounding. 

Time slipped away from Ryland as his hand fidgeted with the edge of the quilt. He recognized it. It was “his” quilt, the one from the guest room that he always used whenever he came over, even if just for a movie night.

His phone rang. Full volume. Adrian looked up from their laptop, closing it and getting up to move to the couch to sit with Ryland as he answered the phone. 

“Hello? This is Ryland Grace.”

“Dr. Grace, this is Ava with the Iron Lung Diving Group, do you have a minute to talk?”

“Yes.”

“Simon has been stabilized and the situation is under control. He suffered a severe injury to his left arm. At this time, the team who’s looking after him do not believe the limb can be salvaged.”

Ryland closed his eyes and sank into the couch. Adrian reached out and took his free hand. 

“But it’s… he still has… it?”

“Yes. There was no need to perform an emergency amputation at this point. For now our team is going to keep him comfortable and keep the injury clean. Once we can get Simon to a proper hospital, a decision about the viability will have to be made. We’ve already made arrangements for Simon to be taken to a hospital in Aberdeen, Scotland once he has gone through decompression.” Ava sounded like she was reading off notes to him. “He needs five days for decompression to be complete. We’ve made arrangements for you to fly out to Aberdeen and already be there when he arrives.”

“Thank you.” Ryland said quietly, trembling. “Can I talk to him?”

“Let me check with the medical team and see if he’s able to call. Please hold.”

Ryland took a deep breath, leg bouncing as he looked over at Adrian beside him on the couch. He gave their hand a tight squeeze. 

“Angel?” Simon’s voice was rough on the other end of the line.

“Hey!” Ryland tried to smile despite his shaking body. “Simon… hi.”

“Hi.” Simon responded.

“Are you… are you in any pain?” Ryland asked quickly. “Are you… are you ok?”

“I’m alive, Angel.” Simon sighed. “No pain, I’m on the good painkillers.”

Ryland tried to laugh at Simon dramatically slurring  his words. Simon also let out a weak laugh but it was more performative than anything. 

“I was talking to Ava. She told me about your arm…”

“Yeah it’s still there.” Simon confirmed. 

“I wish I was there, Si. I wish I was with you.”

“I wish you were here too.” Simon muttered. “I love you, Angel.”

“I love you too.” Ryland whispered. 

“Call Rocky and Adrian.” Simon insisted. “Don’t be alone, Ry.”

Ryland chuckled, looking over at Adrian who was watching him carefully. “Adrian’s already here. They’ve got me. Don’t worry.” 

“Good. I’m…” Simon trailed off briefly. “I’m really tired, Ry.”

“Yeah, that's probably the painkillers.” Ryland nodded his head. “I’ll let you get some rest. Call me at any time, ok?”

“Ok. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

The call went silent for a minute before Ava was back on the line getting Ryland’s information to make travel arrangements and send him all the information. 

••●━━━━━━●••

After the call Ryland had collapsed into Adrain and cried for half an hour before laying on the couch, lost in a trance. 

Adrian had disappeared into the kitchen to start dinner and called Rocky to give him a heads up and warn him to tone down his energy. 

Rocky, to his credit, did his best. He checked on Ryland when he got home, but left him alone on the couch when Ryland didn’t engage with his attempts to distract his best friend.

When dinner was ready, he bullied Ryland into sitting up and eating the dinner Adrian prepared even though the teacher had almost no appetite. Ryland didn’t eat nearly enough in his opinion, but Adrian stepped in before anything escalated between the two. 

“Do you want to do anything tonight?” Adrian offered as they took his half finished plate from Ryland. “We could watch a movie or play a game.”

“I… I don’t know.” Ryland said quietly. 

“Grace need sleep.” Rocky declared from the loveseat.

“I don’t think I can, Rock.”

“Have you talked to your brother?” Adrian suggested. “Maybe talking to him could help?”

Ryland sat up a little reaching for his phone. “I… I haven’t. I… I’ll call him.”

Adrain nodded as they cleared out the dishes. Rocky gave Ryland a supportive double thumbs up from where he was reclining in the loveseat. 

“Ryland!” Colt answered his call with an enthusiasm that matched Rocky answering early that day. “What’s going on, man?”

Ryland took a deep breath as he steadied himself. “It’s Simon. He…. He got hurt at work.”

“What? Is he ok?”

“He’s… alive. I got to talk to him on the phone for a little bit today. He was on a lot of painkillers so he didn’t talk long.” Ryland reported. “I don’t really know what happened. I just… I was told his arm was injured. It hasn’t been amputated… but I think it might have to be. They’re trying to wait to get him to a hospital before making that decision.”

Colt went uncharacteristically quiet. “Dude…”

“I’m over at Rocky and Adrian’s. They’re…” Ryland looked over at Rocky on the couch, “making sure I’m ok. I fly out to Scotland on Saturday.”

“Why so long?”

Ryland sighed, taking off his glasses and putting them on the coffee table. “He can’t get to the hospital until Monday. He’s… he has to go through decompression. His body physically can't handle coming up to the surface after being so deep in the water, nobody can.”

“Right. Sorry I know you’ve explained the science to me before. I remember now. I’m sorry, Ry. I know it hurts to not be there with him.” Colt said gently. “Do you need me to come back to California and help you guys out? I have some contacts from when I was recovering. I know some good people.”

“No, I’m ok. I’ll let you know if we need anything but I’m leaving in a couple days.” Ryland tried to bite back the tears. “I just… that first call was just like with you. It was just… he’s hurt and we can’t tell you anything right now.”

“Listen, Ry. You call me at any hour, ok? And if I don’t have my phone because I’m on set or I’m in the shower, Jody will have it. I can tell her about this, right?”

“Yeah, it’s not a secret.” 

“You call me anytime. I don’t care.” Colt finished firmly. “I’m here for whatever you guys need.”

“Thank you, Colt.”

“Do you want to stay on the phone or are you getting ready for bed?”

“I’m…” Ryland took a deep breath. “I’m going to go. Hopefully I'll get some sleep, I don’t know. At least close my eyes for a while.”

“I love you, Ry. Keep me updated ok?”

“Will do. I love you too, Colt. Be safe.”

“Always.”

With that Ryland hung up the call and tossed his phone onto the couch next to him. 

“Did that help?” Rocky asked from the loveseat.

“I don’t know.” Ryland admitted. “Colt wants to help but he’s in Asia and there’s not much for anybody to do right now. I hate waiting.”

“It will be Saturday before you know it. You'll jump on that plane and fly out to Scotland and you’ll see Simon.” Rocky promised.

“I’m going to bed.” Adrain announced as they appeared from the hallway. They were wearing an oversized college shirt and pajama pants that were covered in Rocky’s face. 

“Amor mío.” Rocky dramatically called from the loveseat, extending his arms up for Adrain to come hug him. 

Adrian smiled and leaned down over him to hug their spouse. Rocky grabbed them the first chance he could and started peppering them with kisses. 

The whole scene drew a weak laugh out of Ryland from across the couch. “Get a room!”

“This is our room!” Rocky protested between planting kisses. 

Adrain was laughing now and the whole room felt just a little bit lighter. They managed to wiggle away from Rocky and walked over to hug Ryland. “Try to get some rest tonight. I’ll be working from home tomorrow, we’ll get breakfast. Ok?”

“Yeah.” Ryland agrees. “You’re the best, Adrian.”

“Aren’t they?” Rocky beamed. “Buenas noches, mi cielo. Si quieres saber cuánto te amo, solo cuenta las estrellas en el cielo.”

Adrian laughed as they waved goodnight and disappeared down the hallway. 

“You’re a sap.” Ryland reported with a fading smile. 

“Oh, like you’re not?” Rocky rolled his head to the side grinning like the idiot he was even after eight years of marriage. “You want to watch TV?”

“You have work tomorrow.”

“Yeah, and?” Rocky asked as he picked up the remote. 

••●━━━━━━●••

As promised, Adrian took Ryland to a local bakery the next morning when he roused himself off the couch around 10 am. He’s slept well all things considered. Breakfast was delicious. And they swung by Ryland and Simon’s apartment for Ryland to grab a few changes of clothes and toiletries for the next few nights. 

They were in the car on the way back to Adrian and Rocky’s when Ryland’s phone started ringing. 

“Hello?”

“Hello, this is David with the Iron Lung Diving Group. You are receiving a call from Simon, would you like me to connect you?”

“Yes.” 

The line went to hold music for a second before Simon’s voice came over the phone. “Hello.”

“Hi!” Ryland lit up. “How are you feeling?” 

“About the same.” Simon reported, his voice was a little quieter than usual. “There’s… there’s a lot going on managing my condition.”

“Yeah.” Ryland took a steady breath. “I wish you didn’t have to wait to get to the hospital.”

“I know.” Simon agreed. “But I’m doing ok. I'm being  monitored 24/7. We train for these kinds of things, I trust these guys.”

Somewhere in the background Ryland can hear someone reacting to Simon’s sincerity a faint ‘we love you too, Simon’ could be heard in the background. 

“Is that Jack?” Ryland asked.

“You know it is.” Simon sighed. “Did you sleep ok last night?”

“Yeah, I guess so. I slept on the couch. Rocky put on one of his telenovelas and for some reason it just knocked me out.”

“They have a guest room.”

“I know.” Ryland sighed as he ran his hand through his hair. “The couch is really comfy, I’m ok, I promise.”

“I just want you to sleep ok. What time is it over there anyway? Are you not working?”

“It’s just past 11. No, I'm not at work. I… I don’t think I could keep myself together enough to get through the day in front of a classroom.” 

“I wouldn’t expect you to, Angel.” 

“I’ve got a flight out to Aberdeen on Saturday, I’ll be there around noon on Sunday.” Ryland said cautiously, changing the subject. “Your company made accommodations for me, I’ll probably be staying with you in the hospital though.”

Simon hummed as he took in that information. “I should be getting to the hospital between three to five in the morning local time on Monday.”

“I’ll see you there.”

“Sounds like a date, Angel.” In the background Ryland could hear people talking. “Ok. I don’t want to hang up but I’ve got to talk to the medical staff and they’re probably going to give me something to help me sleep. I’m sorry this was only a quick call.” Simon said softly. “I love you, Ry. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“No, it’s ok. I’m just happy to hear your voice.” Ryland smiled as he closed his eyes. “I miss you, Simon. I love you too.”

The call disconnected and Ryland gently put the phone down in his lap, curling in on himself a little bit in the passenger seat. “He sounds ok over the phone.” Ryland answered Adrian’s unspoken question. “A lot more coherent than before.”

“That’s good.” Adrian nodded along. “How about you?”

Ryland shook his head. “I just want to hug him. It’s not fair that he’s over 5000 miles away.”

“I know.” Adrian said gently. “You’ll be there soon.” 

••●━━━━━━●••

By Thursday, Ryland was bored and getting antsy.  So he dove into grading and lesson plans to try to pass the time. Simon was probably going to be in the hospital for a while, and even when they got back home, Ryland wasn’t sure he’d be comfortable going back to work right away. 

He had backlogged all his online lectures from when schools had gone remote a few years back. So he spent the afternoon watching old lectures, creating assignments, and putting together a plan for the next three weeks so that a substitute didn’t have to be too responsible for the subject material of the class. 

He tried to make everything as straight forward as possible; quizzes that automatically graded, participation based discussions in class with key points for the substitute to lead the conversation.

Then he went about finishing up the emails he had abandoned the previous day. 

It was around noon when he got the call he honestly expected earlier. His phone was ringing loudly on the kitchen table beside him. Stratt’s name front and center on the screen. 

“Hi.” Ryland answered the phone. “I know what you’re going to say.”

“Ok, then answer the question.” Stratt didn’t sound amused, she hardly ever did. 

“Would you like a science lesson on hyperbaric habitats?” Ryland asked. “Cuz long story short, you can’t just come up to the surface after you get down there, you have to go through decompression, and depending on how deep you are, the longer it takes. So Simon’s not going to get to a hospital until Monday, and I don’t fly out until Saturday. I’m trying to distract myself.” 

Stratt sighed on the other line. “Dr. Grace, I appreciate your dedication to your students. But you’re on leave for a family emergency, please take it easy and take care of yourself first.” 

“I’m trying, Stratt.” Ryland relented. “I am, I promise. I just need a distraction.” 

“May I ask if you’ve been able to talk with Simon?” Stratt asked, his voice was a little gentler than usual. She was able to be gentle in delicate situations, but it was rare to see.

“Yes, I’ve spoken with him. He’s doing as good as he can be.”

“I’m happy to hear that. If you need anything from me, please reach out.” Stratt offered. “But for now, stop working before I make IT lock you out of your work accounts. Find a hobby, Dr. Grace.”

“Thank you, Stratt. I’ll try.” 

••●━━━━━━●••

“Stratt had IT remotely lock me out of my work computer right at 4 pm.” Ryland complained as he laid on the couch. “Then I tried to use my personal laptop to log into my account and that got blocked twenty minutes later. It’s like she’s watching me.”

Ryland had been the one to call Simon this time. Time zones weren’t a thing in saturation diving or even on their support vessels. Things were happening around the clock, and if Simon had been asleep, he would have just left a message. 

Simon laughed on the other end of the call. A real laugh that wasn’t forced. “You’re a known workaholic, Angel.”

“I know I am. But I need something to keep myself from worrying about you.”

“What were you doing before you called?”

“Adrian gave me a puzzle.”

“That’s something.”

“I guess.” Ryland sighed as he looked over at the puzzle. “I’ve got the edge pieces sorted out. I’m going to work on it, but I don’t know how long it will hold my attention.” 

Simon was quiet on the other end of the line. 

“Is Jack keeping your mind busy over there?”

“He’s trying. He’s good company. I’m sleeping a lot more than normal, I’m told that’s to be expected.”

“Yeah, your body needs all the rest it can get.” Ryland agreed. 

It was quiet again. 

“Do you… want to talk about what happened?” Ryland offered. 

“No.”

“Ok. I miss you, Si.”

“I miss you too.”

They lapsed into silence again. Ryland rolled over on the couch and curled in on himself. 

“Have you cried?” Simon finally asked, his voice was quiet. 

“Yeah, after the first time we spoke.” Ryland could feel his voice shaking. “You?”

“I have, I want to think it helped.” Simon admitted softly. “I’m not sure though. I got put on an IV anyway to keep hydrated.” 

“I need a hug.” Ryland’s voice shook. “From you, not from Adrian or Rocky or any one else.”

“I want that too.”

••●━━━━━━●••

“Hi Grace!” Rocky called as he let himself in the front door. 

“Hi Rocky.” Ryland replied into the pillow he was laying face down on top of. 

“Adrian told me that the principal had to put you in your place.” 

“Can you invent time travel? And teleportation? And just send me to next week and across the pond?” Ryland asked as he rolled on to his side. “You’re smart Rocky.”

“Yeah let me bend the laws of physics for you real quick.” Rocky laughed. “Give me an hour.”

Ryland glared at him at Rocky before noticing the pizza boxes and grocery bags he was carrying. 

“Are you up for a night in?” Rocky smiled as he brought the haul over. “I got chips, pizza, and beer. I’ll put some music on, we could mix our own drinks if you want something else. You’ve got a puzzle going.”

Ryland chuckled as he sat up on the couch, keeping his quilt wrapped around him like a security blanket. “When did we get old, Rock? What? We’re going to sit around, drink beer, and work on this puzzle?”

“Don’t threaten me with a good time.” Rocky shrugged as he put everything down on the love seat and started unpacking it all. 

“This is not your idea of a good time.” 

“Do you want to go to a bar?” Rocky paused what he was doing. He looked excited at the idea. 

Ryland thought about it. It would be nice. It would be what he’d been craving all day, a distraction. But going out into the world was too much. Simon was stuck in a hyperbaric habitat, probably drugged into sleeping to make things easier for everyone, himself included. 

“No.” It was an easy and honest answer.

“You want a beer?” 

“Yes.”

Rocky smiled, calmer and less energetic than before, as he handed Ryland a cold beer from one of the bags. Getting another two out for him and Adrian. 

Adrian appeared from their office a few seconds later. 

Ryland had used his keys to open his drink and Rocky did a little party trick opening his and Adrian’s beers with another beer bottle. 

With all the drinks open they sat around the coffee table while Rocky looked for a playlist on the TV. 

“A toast.” Adrain smiled at Ryland. “To Simon’s recovery and health.”

“To Simon!” Rocky agreed, holding his bottle up to Ryland. “May he come home soon.”

Ryland obliged Rocky, then Adrian. “To Simon.”

••●━━━━━━●••

The next morning’s hangover had earned a place on Ryland’s list of top five worst hangovers post college edition. His college years deserved a list of their own. 

He had woken up to Rocky snoring on the other end of the couch. Water and aspirin had been left on the cleaned up coffee table with the half finished puzzle. Adrian was an actual saint for putting up with the last few days. Not that Ryland thought he was imposing. Adrian was absolutely not going to let him be alone with everything going on, Rocky wouldn’t either. 

Once the two best friends finally sobered up and were back to being functional-enough adults, they had gone to Ryland and Simon’s apartment again to get Ryland packed and ready for his flight out the next day. 

Simon had called in the middle of their cleaning to talk for a little bit, he had called earlier in the day and had spoken to Adrain since Ryland was knocked out on the couch. Ryland nearly cried when Adrain told him that he missed the call, but Simon promised to call back later that day. 

It was the same as all their previous calls. Simon was doing as well as he could be in the situation. Ryland was keeping himself together with the support of Rocky and Adrain. His flight was finally less than 24 hours away. He made sure Simon had all the flight information and Adrain and Rocky’s cell phone numbers to call if he needed someone to talk to while Ryland was in the air. 

And after a fifteen minute break from chores sitting on the couch talking to Simon, Simon needed to get off the line. Their calls were usually longer, and Ryland usually had plenty of classroom stories to share. Simon would tell him about the limited antics the diving crew could get up to in their small shared space. But neither of them had much to share at this point. It was a waiting game until they were reunited in the hospital. And then they could go from there.

When Ryland got off the phone, Rocky had mocked him with the same lines Ryland had used on him when he sat around the dorm chatting with Adrian instead of doing his half of the chores to keep their living space tolerable. That earned him a decorative couch pillow to the face. 

They got the place cleaned up, not that it was too messy to begin with. Ryland got his laundry done, and packed a bag. Rocky took out all the trash bags and replaced them. It felt like living in the dorm again. They chatted idly as they worked, Rocky put on music. The day was already half way over when they started, but it didn’t need to be any longer. 

••●━━━━━━●••

“Grace, do you have everything?” Rocky asked as he drug Ryland’s suitcase out of the van. 

“Yeah, Rocky. I got it.” Ryland nodded as he got his backpack. “Adrian printed all my stuff out and I have a fully charged phone.”

“Passport?” Adrian asked. 

Ryland patted the very fashionable sling bag Rocky had loaned him. “Right here.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come?” Rocky asked. “I’ll get a ticket right now.”

“You’re not going.” Adrian shook their head. “You’ve already offered four times.”

“I’m ok, Rock. I promise.” Ryland adjusted his backpack as he took the suitcase from Rocky. “I’ll keep the group chat updated with everything.”

“What am I going to do with my best friend?” Rocky teased as he wrapped Ryland in a hug. 

“You’re so dramatic.” Ryland hugged him back. “You’ll be fine. You travel for work all the time and leave me in San Francisco! This is payback!”

Rocky waited for Ryland to let go of the hug first. Ryland squeezed him tight. 

“Thank you guys for letting me crash at your place this week.” Ryland let go of Rocky, turning to hug Adrain.

“Of course,” Adrian hugged him. “We’ll pick you up from the airport when you come home. Let us know if there’s anything we can do to help from here.”

“I will.” Ryland promised, he straightened himself up. “I’m going to go get checked in and go through the TSA, hopefully it doesn’t take too long.”

••●━━━━━━●••

Nothing eventful happened during either flight or the layover in Amsterdam. Ryland could sometimes sleep on planes, but not this time. He went through the plane’s movie catalog and had found a few that Colt had worked on, and Metalstorm, of course that one was there. 

Scotland was cold and wet by the time Ryland arrived. He updated the group chat that he had arrived and just stood outside at the arrivals area listening to the rain. It was the middle of the day, but time had stopped being a thing in Amsterdam when Ryland got a burger at nine in the morning. 

Ryland would go to the hotel, crash, sleep, and be up at the hospital in 16 hours. The hotel was a walkable distance, he had his yellow coat, hopefully the weather wouldn’t be an issue. 

It was surreal to be here after the week he had. A week ago he would have assumed it would be a normal week of missing Simon but everything being ok, being normal.

And now he was here. Standing at an airport in a foreign country, after a flight he didn’t book for himself, trying to will himself to hail a cab and go to the hotel, which he also didn’t book. Ryland wanted to pass out.

He found a bench and let himself sit there for another ten minutes, watching people coming and going around him, trying to get out of his head. 

A text snapped him out of it.

Ryland shook his head as he replied with a star eyes emoji and picked himself up to walk over to the service desk to figure out how on Earth he was supposed to get to his hotel from here.

••●━━━━━━●••

Ryland had slept as well as he could in a strange place with his anxiety doing backflips. He pulled the blackout curtains and passed out on the bed without unpacking a thing. 

He woke up at midnight local time, unable to get back to sleep. He unpacked his suitcase and tried to kill time. His plan was to get to the hospital just before three in the morning. Simon had told him between three and five. So he’d be there, probably under caffeinated for the hour and lack of sleep he was dealing with, but he would be there. 

The front desk worker seemed a bit surprised to see anyone leaving the hotel at 2:40 in the morning. He waved at Ryland on his way out the door. 

The rain had stopped, the sky was still cloudy, there were no stars out tonight. Street lamps illuminated the path as Ryland followed his phone’s directions to the hospital, a quick fifteen minute walk away. 

The hospital lobby was quiet, a few people sat around, and there was someone at the front desk working on a computer. Ryland steadied himself as he put one foot in front of the other and walked up to the desk.

“Hi.” Ryland said awkwardly to the lady sitting behind the front desk. She didn’t seem surprised to see someone at three in the morning. “My husband’s getting transferred here this morning. I’m kinda early. Is there somewhere I can wait?”

“What’s the patient’s name?”

“Simon Grace.”

“And your name?”

“Ryland Grace.”

The woman typed the names into something on her computer screen. “Ok, you can have a seat and someone will come let you know when we have updates. There’s a coffee station if you want some.”

“Great. Thank you.” Ryland looked over at the little drip coffee set up on a table. It was minimal, but coffee was coffee. 

The woman nodded, printing out his visitor badge and handing him the sticker to put on his shirt.

••●●●••

“Mr. Grace?” A nurse spoke his name as she stood in front of him. Ryland had been leaning back in a chair with his eyes closed. “We just got confirmation that your husband is being transferred to our facility. He should arrive within the hour. We will have a surgical trauma team waiting for him when he arrives. They’re going to evaluate his condition and then you’ll be able to go see him.”

Ryland nodded his head. “How long will all of that take?

“Typically I would say an hour to an hour and a half after he arrives.”

“Thank you.” Ryland set up as the nurse walked away, stretching out his back before picking himself up to get another cup of disappointing coffee.

••●●●••

“Mr. Grace?” Ryland looked up from his phone, it was the same nurse as before. “I just wanted to let you know that your husband has arrived and is with the trauma team now.”

“So about another hour and a half?”

“Yes, sir.” The nurse confirmed. 

Ryland took a breath as he pulled out his phone and opened the newest group chat Rocky had added him to: “Simon Support Group Chat.”

He sent the message and checked his clock app to see what time it was back home and in Bangkok. Normal enough times for both of them, but not even sunrise for him yet. 

Rocky and Adrian were probably together, they almost always were. Their texts popped up one after the other.

Ryland smiled down at his phone before switching it back to solitaire. He wasn’t up for a conversation. It was nice to know across the world people were supporting him and wishing them the best, but that didn’t mean he wanted to engage in conversation. 

Fifteen minutes later a notification popped up.

Ryland smiled at the notification and dismissed it, going back to sipping his coffee and solitaire. 

••●●●••

“Mr. Grace, you can come with me.” It’s a different nurse this time. Ryland doesn’t hesitate to scoop up his backpack and follow the nurse down the hallway. He shot a quick text to the group chat that he was going back. He muted the group chat and shoved the phone into his pocket, anxious to get to see Simon face to face. 

The nurse doesn’t say anything while they walk, she scans her badge to pass through some doors and leads Ryland into a hallway with several small rooms lining the wall.

They finally stop at one door and the nurse knocks before opening it and letting Ryland into the room.

“Hey angel.” Simon smiled

Ryland didn’t even think. He dropped his backpack at the door and nearly tripped over his feet. Simon was sitting upright in the hospital bed, he lifted up his right arm and held it open for a hug. Ryland all but collapsed into his husband's side, sitting on the little room that was available on the side of the bed and leaning into Simon’s shoulder, crying. Simon hugged Ryland with his good arm, tucking Ryland’s head under his chin. “You’re here.”

“I’m here.” Ryland repeated. “You’re here.”

The nurse moved Ryland’s backpack into a chair before stepping out quietly to let the two have their privacy. 

Simon patted Ryland on the back to get up to sit up. Ryland followed reluctantly and Simon’s hand cupped his face, wiping away tears. “Thank you for being here.”

“I wouldn’t be anywhere else.” Ryland placed his hand over Simon’s. “I wish you could have gotten here sooner.”

“Me too,” Simon agreed. “It’s nice to have someone other than Jack being my nurse.”

Ryland let out a dry laugh. “He was doing his best I’m sure.” 

“Yeah, but he’s not a professional.” Simon shook his head, his eyes were so tired and sad. “I’m sorry, Angel.”

“No,” Ryland took a breath. “No, Simon. It’s ok. You’re alive and I’m here. It’s ok. Nothing is your fault.”

Simon took a deep breath and looked over at the wall to his right. Neither really knew what to say anymore. 

Ryland looked over Simon’s body. His left arm was propped up on pillows, wrapped in thick clean bandages. No wires or sensors were attached to that arm. It was in a splint, holding it in place. All the monitors and wires and tubes were on his right side. 

Simon looked a mess. He wasn’t dirty, but he was unkept. His shoulder length hair was everywhere. His stubble had grown a little too much and needed attention. He had bags under his eyes and looked like he hadn’t slept since it all happened, at least not properly had a restful sleep. 

Ryland gently reached out and took Simon’s cheek, slowly moving his head so that they could share a quick gentle kiss. 

Ryland pressed their foreheads together, eyes still closed. “I love you, Simon. I’m here for you. We’re going to get through this. It might be hard but we made a promise. Hard things wouldn’t come between us. We’re a team. Me and you. Forever.”

Simon hicced a little as he brought up his hand to hold Ryland’s neck. “You’re my Angel, the best thing that ever happened to me. I know you’re forever in my corner.”

“I am.” Ryland agreed. “Always.”