Title: Reminders
Author: OpheliacAngel
Pairings & Characters: Eddie/Coop, Zoey
Genres: Romance/Hurt/Comfort
Rating: Mature
Summary: Coop goes under the knife for appendicitis.
A/N: Written as a fill on my h/c_bingo card for the prompt 'surgery.' Rated for Eddie's mouth. So there were a few awesome scenes between these two in the last season, but I'm still depressed 'cause it's over and there weren't enough. Also, anyone realize how truly loyal Eddie is? He's like the greatest friend and lover ever. He never once gave up on Jackie even though numerous times it was in his best interest to do so. He's a genuinely good guy and I do not say this lightly.
Coop's pale under the flickering lights in the bathroom, hunched over underneath the sink like he's trying to throw up and stand up at the same time. Eddie's been meaning to change those damn lights for weeks now but work's been running him ragged and he's been distracted too. It's pretty fucking dumb, Eddie knows, thinking about those damn lights while Coop's on the floor, one hand clutching the sharp edge of the counter top and the other his stomach. Eddie drops his keys on the floor and makes for him, but not before noticing the blood running down Coop's hand and arm and pooling on the floor. He must have cut himself on the counter.
As Eddie slides to the floor beside him he grabs the towel on the counter and drags it down with him, quickly wrapping it around Coop's hand and pressing down hard to try to staunch the blood flow. Coop's having trouble breathing but he glances up at Eddie and smiles, the hand that's still gripping the sink replacing Eddie's hand and holding the towel there.
"Hey, man." He swallows and winces, hand gripping the counter top harder. "Think it might be appendicitis."
Eddie feels like an idiot once he realizes he hasn't said a goddamn word to Coop since he got here. "It's gonna be okay," he reassures his boyfriend, can't help but think that he hasn't called him that for more than two days tops. They kept it slow for a good long while before Coop admitted he wanted something more and Eddie pulled his head out of his ass just in time. That and Jackie pulled him aside and talked to him, which was a pretty big deal for her. Piss Jackie off and she's going to do something about it.
It made Eddie realize that Jackie cared about Coop, the whole staff actually, and that if Coop wasn't happy everyone noticed it. Especially Jackie. Jackie, who would kick Eddie's ass if he didn't make it right. So he did. But goddamn it, he's still gonna have to get used to calling anyone boyfriend, let alone the one and only Fitch Cooper.
Eddie swallows. He can see that Coop's trying to hold it together but he shouldn't have to for Eddie's sake. Eddie doesn't mind being there for people, being the only weight someone has to lean on. It's one of the things he's best at actually. He's always prided himself on being a loyal friend and a friend lover; that's not the same as being a people lover. He's never been that great around people but once he makes a friend, that friend has his trust and loyalty no matter what, come what may. Coop annoyed him for the better part of eight months before he started to like the guy, but once Coop became his friend there were no second thoughts. The doctor had his trust and his attention and his affection too. Still, he's been neglecting Coop these past few weeks, trying to figure it all out in his head.
Now Coop definitely has his attention.
Eddie's never had appendicitis before but he knows the agony that accompanies it. He torments himself by wondering how long Coop was down here before he got home, but that's his job now. Worrying about Coop every second of the day. Thinking about him when he's not worrying, wondering what he wants for dinner, what he wants for his next birthday. What he wants Eddie for. He's kicking himself now for stopping to get Chinese food, but it's not like he can turn back time anyway.
"Think you can stand, buddy?" He keeps his voice gentle, calm, priding himself on doing nothing to portray the fact that he's almost shitting his pants right now. Sure, removing someone's appendix is a routine procedure. In and out, Coop would say. Back up in a few days to a week at most. Still, things can go wrong in surgery.
Eddie's barely to the boyfriend stage yet.
Why the fucking hell did he take so long?
Coop's on his knees but Eddie can see his injured hand start to dig harder into the counter top and he cannot have that. "No no no no no. Fuck! Forget that." He takes the doctor's hand in both of his to stop him and Coop does, struggling to breathe in and out normally and not curl in toward his abdomen. Neither much works. Eddie moves his hands to Coop's waist then but soon realizes that's not going to work either. Coop's appendix obviously hasn't ruptured yet but who the hell knows how long he's been down here and how much time he has left before it does. He doesn't want to speed up the process either. "I'm going to have to call an ambulance, okay? I don't know how the hell to move you." Coop nods, settling himself down on his knees again, breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth, arm curled around his stomach protectively.
Eddie digs in his back pocket for his cell phone, watching Coop carefully for any signs like that the pain has escalated or he's about to lose consciousness, meaning his appendix has ruptured. Coop seems more or less the same though as he gets a five minutes guarantee and abruptly ends the call. His arm wraps around the doctor from behind, taking extra careful not to touch his stomach or anywhere near it, just wanting to lend some support somewhere other than kneeling there and waiting for help he can't provide.
He's getting a headache from the flickering lights in the bathroom and once he realizes he's chewing the fingernails on one of his hands he pulls it away and grasps Coop's shoulder instead, running circles there with his thumb. "Should've called me."
Coop shakes his head slightly. "Felt wrong all day, should've realized." He jerks and moans then in Eddie's arms, whimpering under his breath and Eddie is fucking done then. The pharmacist pulls himself closer, bracketing Coop's back and giving his boyfriend something to fall back into if - when - he can't hold himself up anymore. Coop tenses for a second and Eddie can feel the wave of pain ripping through his already weakened body, but he seems to realize that Eddie's not about to back out anytime soon and starts to lean backwards, slowly. Eddie's hands support his sides, letting him know he'll catch him and won't let him fall. A few seconds later and Coop's leaned back into Eddie's chest, Eddie holding them both up without holding onto anything for support. His knees are definitely going to be thanking him for this later, but if he can do anything to make the doctor relax even a little bit you'd better be damn sure he's gonna do it.
His insides twist and turn at Coop's whimpers, heart jumping in his chest as Coop tenses again. When the hell are they gonna get here? Eddie fingers the phone in his pocket and whispers in the silent bathroom, wondering if he's imagining the roar of the ambulance in the distance but close. "You don't have to hide from me."
Coop's breathing quickens and Eddie's heart rate with it. "It's not that. Just didn't want to have you freaked out by this."
"Don't worry about that," Eddie reassures. His fingers stretch out until he's resting a palm on the doctor's back, moving his hand in hard circles along the center of his back, trying to give his boyfriend a distraction. "We're gonna get right back to this. This just gives us some time to slow down for a while."
Coop hiccups, betraying more of his pain. "Didn't want to slow down." Eddie's heart clenches but his hand doesn't stop moving. Jesus, when the fucking hell is the ambulance going to get here? The doctor needs to be blissfully passed out already, not wallowing in pain while trying to tell Eddie things that are only making him more upset. They'd have time later for this.
Still, Coop's probable line of thinking doesn't slip past the pharmacist. "You're gonna be fine. You just gotta take it easy," Eddie tells him firmly. "Relax. Stop thinking about shit that's getting you worked up." Eddie does get it. He doesn't himself talk about his feelings unless it's with Jackie, and only sometimes, and Coop's surprisingly the same way. The doctor seems open and trusting but Eddie was in for a shock when he realized that Coop really isn't as gullible as people think him to be. Eddie doesn't know what keeps Coop down but he has a serious problem concerning openly talking about things that bother him, as well as what he expects out of a relationship. This makes it all the more frustrating for Eddie since he doesn't know what the hell Coop expects out of him and doesn't want to leave him needing for something that Eddie is more than capable of providing.
But with his walls worked down by pain, Eddie also gets why Coop has to talk about this now, even though he doesn't want him to. "You asked me what I wanted and I didn't know how to explain. I wouldn't." Eddie could definitely hear the sirens now. Coop shifted in his hold as if begging Eddie to listen. "I just…." His hand reaches back for Eddie's and Eddie takes it, squeezing it. "I just need you. I don't need anything else."
The paramedics are swarming them then and Eddie is startled at the realization that time must have passed. He still holds onto Coop's cold, trembling hand. "I know. I get it. I need you too. Fuck, I need you."
Eddie helps them transfer Coop onto a gurney and they wheel him outside, and not once does he let go of Coop's hand. The ambulance ride is easier, even though Eddie's still waiting, but he can't shake the chill of Coop's words coursing through him.
They let him hold Coop's hand for longer than anyone else would be able to, but even he has to let go before Coop's wheeled into surgery. Jackie shoots him a reassuring smile and Eddie falls back, knowing the doctor's in good hands. He paces the hallway for a long time, running through all the things that could go wrong in surgery, making a list of antibiotics and painkillers that Coop will need once he's released, if he's released.
Eddie backs up against the wall eventually and slides to the ground, drawing his legs up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. He closes his eyes and rests his throbbing head against his knees, not so much as moving when someone sits down beside him.
"Water?"
Zoey. She's pressing something wet against his arm and it must be the water and he lifts his head up, taking the cup of water that's being offered and swallowing it all down. He wipes his mouth off on the back of his hand, tries to think of Coop smiling but all he can see is Coop's face pinched in pain, all he can remember are Coop's whimpers and Coop breathing heavily and Coop kneeling on the floor, hand wrapped around his abdomen.
"He's going to be fine. You know that, though." She puts a hand to her head, elbow on her knee, staring at the wall in front of them. Eddie stares at it too. "You should tell him though. I think it's a sign."
Zoey tends to know everyone's secrets before anyone else does these days, unlike when she first started at All Saints, so he doesn't ask. With Coop making even extra stops to his pharmacy than he did before it must be pretty obvious to everyone. "Never been good with interpreting signs," he admits.
She places a hand on his shoulder before getting up again. "You don't need to be with this one."
Coop's a mess after the surgery. He's disoriented and has little balance and would probably talk a mile a minute - since he usually will if on painkillers - if he clearly wasn't so tired. Eddie insists on the wheelchair and a taxi and carrying Coop up to his apartment. He runs the doctor a warm bath and then fixes him some soup and tucks him into bed, putting the television on some random channel so Coop doesn't have to fall asleep to silence. The doctor's clingy too, Eddie can tell just by looking at him, but his restraint is remarkable given most of his barriers are down. Eddie strips himself of all his clothes and burrows under the covers, wrapping himself around Coop and being careful not to so much as brush against those sensitive areas. Coop's high on plenty of painkillers but when he wakes up tomorrow morning he'll still be in a world of pain until Eddie continues the dosage.
His boyfriend turns toward him, eyelids drooping. "You okay?" Eddie asks, fixing the sheets. "Too warm, too cold? Still hungry?" His thumb rubs over the stitches on Coop's hand, memorizing their pattern.
"Perfect," Coop answers, snuggling against Eddie. He yawns, starts to drool on Eddie's chest, but Eddie just sits back and smiles. He doesn't mind. He presses a kiss to Coop's forehead, holding him gently. Perfect is a pretty damn good description actually.
FIN