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Follo rolls over in his bed. Damn. The pain was bad enough to wake him up, but was it bad enough to navigate HQ in the middle of the night..?
Yeah. Yeah it was.
Reluctantly getting out of bed, Follo throws on a pair of shorts over his boxers and slips on a large black T-shirt and slippers before heading to the door. Taking a deep breath, he heads out, hoping no one else was awake.
First, he heads to the infirmary. Eishia is well acquainted with Follo's tooth problems. She usually left a bottle of his pain meds in a special spot for when he has nighttime pain. She knows how reluctant he was to take pain meds, making it easier to trust him to be well behaved with the drugs.
After locating and taking a pill, Follo attempts to leave the room without waking Eishia in her infirmary-adjacent bedroom. She has some good ears on her, unfortunately.
Follo frowns as the door opens before he can reach the handle.
"Oh! Follo. Bad pain night?"
Follo nods, "Woke me from a dead sleep. When's my dentist appointment again?"
"Still months away. I keep asking if Grandma knows any other dentists that do extractions but she swears the others are all crooks." Eishia replies. "You going to be okay?"
Shrugging, Follo steps aside, letting Eishia further into the room. "I'm going to see if an ice pack will help. We still have some in the freezer?"
Eishia nods, "We should, I don't think anyone else has used one recently."
Follo steps around Eishia, moving himself closer to the door. She was sweet, but Follo was not in the mood for conversation.
"Try a salt water rinse too while you're in the kitchen."
Another nod from Follo and he successfully escapes the room. "Good night, Eishia. Thank you!" he whisper-shouts, heading in the direction of the kitchen.
Arriving in the kitchen, Follo walks quickly over to the freezer. It doesn't take long to locate an ice pack. He presses it against his cheek and sighs. What little relief it provides still feels wonderful.
"What are you doing awake?" a familiar grumpy voice questions.
"Zanka? Sorry if I woke you."
"You didn't." Zanka replies, "Tooth ache again?"
"Yep. Woke up in pain."
"Damn, sounds rough."
"It is, but I'll survive."
Zanka nods, not saying more as he heads to grab some crackers from a nearby cupboard.
"Stomach ache?"
"Yep."
We've met like this far too many times, Follo thinks as he turns to leave the room, raising a hand in farewell as he does.
"Night," they both say in unintentional unison, though it doesn't faze either of them.
"Feel better," Follo adds, not waiting for a response when he leaves.
Follo heads back to his room, praying the pain meds kick in soon as he opens his door. He slips in silently, closing and locking the door before flopping unceremoniously onto the bed.
He presses the ice pack back to his cheek and closes his eyes.
Hoping the pain fades soon, Follo curls up into a ball and tries his hardest not to cry.