Dave shifted on the uncomfortable plastic chairs, trying to find a more suitable position. He definitely favored them over all those long hours of crouching in ventilation shafts, which is what he'd be doing right now if his tech support hadn't decided to take a tumble down the stairs, but nevertheless, the chairs were, quite literally, a pain in the ass.
Hal was laid out in front of him, left arm bandaged and in a sling, but not yet cast, and lost in a drug-induced sleep. Dave watched the man rest, distracting himself by keeping track of his partner's shallow intakes of breath. After several minutes had passed, the engineer started to stir, pulling himself slowly out of a sleepy haze.
Hal blinked wearily, regarding his surroundings in apparent confusion. This didn't surprise Dave; his glasses had been crushed in the fall. Everything was probably a big blur. Even without his glasses, however he still recognized the soldier when he turned his head to study what was, to him, the fuzzy being sitting in the chair next to him.
"Dave?" he inquired quietly, voice thick with fatigue.
"Yeah, it's me. How are you doing?"
Hal groaned, and continued to survey the room. "Okay. What happened?"
"You took a little trip down the stairs a few hours ago. Don't know what the hell you were doing, but you managed to break your arm in three places. Damn near took out your collar bone too."
Hal's face held its mask of bewilderment perfectly. In fact, the soldier was pretty sure he looked even more confused than he had before. He brought his good arm up to his face, feeling around for something.
"Where're my glasses?"
"Probably smashed all to hell at the bottom of the staircase."
Hal let out a distressed sound, dropping his arm back onto the stiff mattress of the hospital bed. He began to move the left one, most likely to inspect it (the soldier really couldn't tell, considering how drugged the man was) but Dave quickly moved to lightly pin him down.
"Don't move it! You wanna lose the arm altogether?"
Hal let out an irritated groan, and tried to push Dave off his shoulders, unsuccessfully.
"Doesn't hurt that bad."
"That's because you're doped out of your mind on painkillers right now. You move it again, I'll tie you down."
Even though there was a hint of humor in the man's voice, Hal had lived with Dave long enough to know, even in his current state, that his partner was probably serious. He gave up the battle quickly turning his head again to regard the dark blurry area that was Dave.
"How did I get here?"
"I picked you up off the staircase, then drove here. You were unconscious for most of it. Must have knocked your head against the wall. The doctors think you might have a mild concussion too, but you should be fine."
"What about—"
"Our cover? Don't worry about it. Mei Ling's taking care of it."
Hal figured that made sense. Mei Ling was always digging them out of holes. "The mission?"
"Postponed. Indefinitely. Especially since you won't be using that arm of yours for a while."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be," assured Dave, waving it off. "It wasn't anything that couldn't wait."
Hal sighed, then shifted slightly, stopping when a sharp pain shot up his arm. The painkillers must be wearing off. Dave tensed slightly when he saw the man's face contort slightly in pain, but remained still.
Hal met his partner's eyes the best he could, considering he couldn't actually see them, and called out quietly "Dave?"
"Yeah?" he responded.
The engineer paused for a beat, then continued. "Thanks. For bringing me here. For staying with me. It helps."
Dave grinned slightly, a mere twitch of the lips, and placed a rough, calloused hand over Hal's right one. It was damn near to a love confession in Dave's language.
"No problem," he replied. "You're worth it."
