Broken but Fixable?
A/N. Please know that this is my first time writing a cancer fic. I wanted to leave my comfort zone of happy endings, and small problems to try something bigger. Even though I have done some research on the cancer I want to use, please also know that there may still be mistakes. If there are please tell me, and I shall try to fix them the best I can :)
A/N 2. This fic is also slightly inspired by 'Old Reliable Edward'
…
"You're so old and slow, I'm surprised Sir Topham Hatt keeps you on!" Gordon grumbled as Edward's train buffered up to his own.
Edward sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm only twenty nine!" He defended. "You're just a few years younger than me!"
Gordon scoffed. "Even so, I've see you go quite slow and quietly! Especially these last few days."
Edward let another sigh leave his lips. "What is your point, Gordon?" He asked, starting up his engine, pushing Gordon's up the hill. "Everyone has their own way of doing things. You have your way, and I have mine." Edward huffed. "Besides, I haven't been feeling well these past few days."
Even though he was inside the cab, he could still feel the strain of pushing the much bigger engine up the hill, causing him to pant a bit.
Gordon rolled his eyes. "Regardless, you need to speed up!" He said.
Finally, Edward pushed the train up the hill enough so Gordon could start up. "Express coming through!" He boomed grandly, speeding down the track.
Edward shook his head. "And still, not even a thank-" but his sentence was cut off by a coughing fit, causing him to double over.
When he was calmed down, he sat up, and leaned against the left window in his cab. "That's the third coughing fit today..." He said. "I'll go to the doctor after work to see if anything is wrong." He mumbled to himself.
But he flinched as he sat up. His back was hurting him tremendously, as was his chest. He didn't understand why both parts of his body were hurting him so much, but he brushed it off as just possibly working too hard. He then reversed down the track to go back to the yard, to continue his work.
Later that same day, Edward was at Knapford Station, unloading boxes from cars that had materials to fix part of the sidewalk that broke. He was also just a few feet away from Gordon, who was watching him with a smirk on his face, and Thomas, who was watching him with a worried expression.
"Going so slow again, Edward?" Gordon teased, which made Thomas glare at the older man.
Edward rolled his eyes, before picking up a crate. "I have already told you why." He sighed.
Gordon only chuckled. "If you say so, Edward. Just don't over work yourself. You don't want to become unreliable." He teased.
Thomas huffed, and hit Gordon in the arm. "He's not unreliable! He's far from it!"
Edward growled, slightly irritated. He was only twenty nine! Plenty young to do work! Plus, Gordon was only a few years younger than him at twenty four. Why was Gordon being so rude about his age?-
But suddenly, Edward's thoughts were interrupted by a multitude of things. Pain shooting up through both his chest and back, sudden tiredness that hit him like a truck at full speed, and yet another coughing fit.
He started coughing uncontrollably, dropping the crate he was holding, breaking it, and scattering its contents around on the ground.
"Edward!" Thomas yelled, running up to his mentor, but unsure of what to do. Gordon stood there, staring at Edward with wide eyes, speechless.
"Someone get help!" someone yelled in the background.
Meanwhile, Edward was still coughing, with everyone- mainly Thomas watching in horror. The pain is his back and chest increased so much to the point where he fell to the ground onto his hands and knees.
He felt like he was being crushed.
Thomas followed Edward in his fall, just a foot away from him, crying.
The coughing got so bad, Edward was now coughing up blood, making Thomas scream over and over for help, now sobbing uncontrollably.
Finally, the coughing ceased, giving away to wheezing, and deep, painful gasps for air. There was a small pool of blood in front of Edward, about six inches wide. The twenty nine year old fell over onto his side, extremely exhausted. Thomas moved, and pulled him into his lap the best he could.
"Edward. Edward, listen to me," Thomas said, shaking, while holding him close, and brushing some hair away from the older man's eyes. "Everything will be ok. Everything will be alright- we'll figure this out." He said, still sobbing, but it calmed down a bit.
It hurt Edward even more to hear the fifteen year old's usually happy voice filled with despair and anguish, so in hopes to tame this scared little boy, he nodded. "A-alright Thomas. I-I trust you…"
Just then, paramedics came onto the scene, with a gurney, and loaded Edward onto it. Then another man came, and took Thomas with them, and made sure he stayed with Edward.
Meanwhile, Gordon just stood there, in shock. Was- this the reason why Edward has been so slow and weak in these past few days? Has he been making fun of Edward for something that could be life threatening?
…
Woah! I have never, I repeat, never written something like this ever. Like I said, I wanted to step out of my comfort zone, and try something big. So um, tell me what you think! Feedback/reviews appreciated!