Author's Note: Hello, everyone! Welcome back to my world of madness – and my third Being Human fanfiction that crept its way out of the murky waters of my mind.
Once again, I love two things about the show – hurt!Josh and Josh/ Aidan moments, which is why it is here again the theme of choice.
This is set early on in season 1, but it has no greater implications for future episodes or whatever, so it stands alone.
I am no native speaker and this story is unbeta'd. That means all mistakes are mine, but I hope you forgive me some of them because it is not my native language. It's my way of training ;)
I don't know yet if I want to make this slash – for that I don't have enough written yet. Let me know what you'd like better^^ Plus, any other suggestions about how this may continue are also welcome. As I said, I didn't write everything yet, I just started, so some other input is always nice to maybe push the plot.
As always, reviews are welcome and ever so appreciated.
Read, review, and hopefully enjoy ;)
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Summary: Josh gets sick. Aidan and Sally are more than concerned about the werewolf, especially since his condition worsens the closer the full moon comes. Josh tries to brush it off, but maybe he should listen to his friends? Lots of hurt!Josh& sick!Josh coupled with Aidan/ Josh moments, and of course Sally is adorable as ever.
The three friends are spending yet another evening in their own little bubble of madness, within the four walls that grant them a strange kind of normalcy. Sally called for a movie night, so now she and Aidan are sprawled over the couch, glancing at the TV while Josh sits in the armchair with his laptop on his lap, typing in numbers, occasionally biting on his thumb nail.
"Ugh, commercial again!" Sally throws up her hands in exasperation. She hates those.
"... they won't show less if you keep pondering on it, you know," Aidan huffs, his head resting on his hand, looking annoyed. He doesn't even know why he is watching this chick movie lacking any depth or plot.
"Still, this sucks. I mean, we are fully in the plot, we are about to come to the climax of the story – and then... commercial break for, what? Hand cream and dog food!" she mutters.
"Write a letter to the bosses, if it's that much of a matter of heart to you," Aidan snorts.
"Ha-ha, if I could hold a pen or punch in some keys on a laptop, I surely would!" Sally puckers her lips angrily.
"Again, pondering on it doesn't help you," Aidan sighs, in the hope that the female ghost will finally give in and simply deal with the hand cream and dog food commercials. However, Sally Malik is a bullhead through and through, which is why she instantly brings her attention to her other roommate, and orders him, "Josh! Write an e-mail to the editor, I'm mad!"
"What?" Josh blinks at her, tearing his eyes away from the laptop.
"Hello, earth to Josh! We are having conversation!" Sally grumbles, but Aidan corrects her, "We two were... or rather... you just yell and I nod my head to appear polite."
"Just that you don't appear polite," Sally huffs.
"Aww, that almost hurt your my feelings," Aidan snickers. Sally makes a dismissive gesture of the hands before turning her attention back to the werewolf, "Josh! Write that godforsaken mail already!"
Suddenly the lights flicker.
"Sally, we talked about this. We are not going to give in to your threats if you break the house apart. That is not the way adults act, hm?" Aidan scolds her. He actually enjoys teasing her when she is in one of her tantrums. It's always better than those awful movies.
"You are the one to talk!" Sally hisses.
"Hey, I don't try to break the house apart just because I don't like commercials," Aidan argues.
"Ah, shuddup already," Sally rolls her eyes.
"What is this about?" Josh blinks at them, running a hand over his face.
"I'm sorry, I didn't really listen to... that," Josh grimace politely, turning his attention to his roommates. Only now he actually takes notice of their mock fight.
"Nothing you missed," Aidan snorts.
"I am annoyed coz of the commercials and now I want to write a mail to the bosses of the TV company to stop that. And since I can't write, you'll have to," Sally explains as if it was the most natural thing on earth.
"... did you write one to them before? When you were still alive?" Josh questions.
"No, why?" Sally makes a face.
"Why is it such a matter of heart to you now?" Josh frowns.
"you know exactly why! Now I'm a ghost! That means I'm mostly stuck watching stupid TV! All I want is some romance, some humor, anything out of the ordinary! But commercials just show me the reality that just sucks. I want to have a bit of... fancy fiction," Sally admits.
"Well, I feel with you, but don't you think it's a bit drastic?" Josh argues, his tone soft and soothing.
He often talks to her like he does with his patients, at least when she is having one of her mood swings. That actually works most of the time, though Josh hopes that Sally never finds out that he talks to her that way, or else they will have goo coming out of the sinks for a week.
"Just for me? Write that mail and cuss at them!" Sally bargains.
"I will not write to those people to stop the commercials. Or you really think that they'd listen to one mail by some stranger to leggo of all that money they make with these?" Josh replies, now a bit sterner.
"Listen to reason, Sally," Aidan grins.
"Ah! You are both so mean!" Sally mutters, folding her arms over her chest.
"Just realistic," Aidan shrugs.
"If only I weren't a ghost, then you'd...," Sally means to say, but the vampire interrupts her, "Even if you were as human as the rest of people, I wouldn't help you with that. You are just being weird again."
"I'm boxed in, Aidan! What else do I have to focus on if not on commercials and... whatever else going on inside this house?!" Sally insists.
"Well, then fuss about it all you want, but can't you do that more quietly and... to yourself?" Aidan snorts.
"I hate you!" Sally puckers her lips angrily.
"You love me and you know it," Aidan huffs.
"Not when you are like that!" Sally retorts.
Josh glances at the screen, blinking repeatedly. His sight is blurring each time he tries to glance at the screen again. He never had problems with his eyesight before. Maybe he has to get glasses after all, or contacts.
Though he would rather not.
Then Aidan and Sally won't ever stop cracking nerd jokes at his expenses.
Sally tilts her head at him, "What are you doing on the laptop anyways, Josh? You missed half of the movie!"
"Again, nothing he missed," Aidan snorts.
"Hello! We're having a movie night!" Sally argues.
"None of the movies I would have picked, though," Aidan insists. Because, actually, movie nights in their household means that Sally gets her will, or that Josh manages to get them into yet another Star Wars marathon.
"Anywho, what is so much more interesting than this wonderful movie night?" the ghost questions.
"... taxes, loans, finances... someone's gotta, after all," Josh shrugs. Not that he actually enjoys doing these.
"What? I don't eat or anything. And is not like I can work or whatever to earn my rent," Sally argues. "So don't blame me!"
"I didn't mean you," Josh shrugs.
"Then what?" Sally makes a face.
"Nothing, nothing," Josh shakes his head, his eyes drifting off to the screen again, to which Sally frown even more.
"Still about that, Josh?" Aidan rolls his eyes. Sally's frown only deepens, so the vampire explains, "... we kinda had it arranged that we take turns on doing that, but... uh... let's just say I kinda suck at the whole... online-paying-stuff."
"Huh?" Sally makes a face, so Josh jumps in this time, "Last time I let Aidan do this, he overdrew the account, like... totally wiped it empty, and that money then somehow ended up on an account for... a firm in China producing artificial vomit. Not to mention I only learned about that once they almost shut down electricity for the building. Only God knows how you managed that."
"Seriously, how did you do that?!" Sally blinks at the vampire. Aidan shrugs, making a face.
"You are like... ancient... you know more than most people coz you lived it, and you can't handle online banking?" Sally huffs.
"I'm not ancient, I'm just older than 200 years, for the record, and... in my defense, I didn't have to do that for the longest of times because I lived with my lair, where someone else handled it, if at all. Plus, I normally use paper and pen and then there are those neatly written papers you just have to fill out and bring to the post office, if that concept is any familiar to you, still," Aidan argues.
"You're so outdated," Sally snickers.
"Whatever," Aidan snorts. "Well, either way, since then Josh is taking care of it so that I don't... invest... in artificial vomit made in China anymore."
"Josh, you have my sympathy," Sally bows to him mockingly.
"Thank you," the werewolf winks at her. He tries to focus on the screen again, but the lines are just getting blurry again.
He lets out a grunt, "Need more coffee."
Josh gets up, puts the laptop on the table and makes his way into the kitchen. Aidan leans over the back of the couch as Josh fingers for the coffee pot.
"How many did you have already?" the vampire questions.
"What?" the werewolf frowns at him.
"You down that stuff the whole day already. To me it's a miracle that you didn't go through the roof thanks to the caffeine-overload by now," Aidan replies.
"Is my coffee consumption a new issue of your interest now, or what?" Josh makes a face. He is simply tired, for goodness' sake. If not for the caffeine, Josh would have called it a night before sunset. And normally, Josh always feels fairly energetic, but these days... he just feels drained.
"No, I just hope this doesn't mean that you'll crawl the walls all night long now coz you are caffeine-fidgety," Aidan argues. He has seen Josh on coffee-overload once – and that was surely no pleasure. Josh is perhaps the only roommate who managed to clean the entire house in one night-shift, from top to bottom, and yes, he always worked on the joints with a toothbrush. That Aidan didn't get any sleep either is nothing that bothered the werewolf that night, so Aidan is actually having an eye on his caffeine level.
"Am I fidgety right now?" the werewolf argues, holding up his hand as proof.
"Not more than usual," Aidan shrugs.
"Then I'm fine having another cup of coffee," Josh snorts, purposely taking a long sip from the brown beverage.
"Suit yourself. But don't whine when I get to tell you that I told you so," Aidan huffs.
"I'll come back to that," Josh nods before he sits back down in his seat and grabs the laptop.
"Oh, my God! He kissed her!" Sally cries out excitedly as the couple in the movie shares the "epic kiss" of all romances. The ghost holds her arms in front of her chest in awe.
"... isn't that just the way those movies work? They get to know each other, they are head-over-heels, then crisis, then they kiss, then someone runs after the other... and then happy ending," Aidan argues.
"Don't forget there's usually a fountain, rain orelevator scene," Josh adds.
"True," Aidan agrees.
"Not to forget the cheesy music," Josh goes on.
"Oh, right!" Aidan smirks, realizing Sally's anger boiling higher and higher.
Teasing her is definitely more fun than this movie.
"And a car driving off and the guy running after her, or the other way around, though less common," Josh snickers.
"Shut up!" Sally cries out.
"Or some smart-ass quote by some author or philosopher towards the end," Aidan grins.
"Or the third person who would be so much more fitting lets the girl go, because he sees how much she is in love with this other guy, who is just not the man of her dreams, but then kinda," Josh sticks out his tongue.
"Yeah, love triangles!" Aidan agrees. "And competition over her."
"Beating each other up or rolling down some mound," Josh nods.
"Oh, and there's always some bitch who is competing with the chick!" Aidan says.
"Both of you! Lemme watch my movie already!" Sally curses.
"You force us to watch it with you, and not just letting you watch it alone – so don't complain about us complaining," Aidan argues. She had it coming.
"But you don't watch these alone!" Sally insists.
"Why not?" Aidan makes a face. If she doesn't want them to comment on the film, she should better keep them out of it from the start. Sally knows by now that neither one is too fond of her favorite films, well, Josh likes a few of them, but he, like Aidan, also likes to bicker about them to tease Sally.
"You just don't!" Sally shrugs.
"... great line of argumentation," Aidan blinks at her.
"Whatever," Sally grumbles.
"Wow, that was just as...," Aidan snickers, but that is when Josh intervenes, "Aidan, play nice."
"I thought you were on my side," Aidan pouts.
"I don't like those movies, but we are trying to be normal, well... watching a movie together is. And it's her good right to say that we should spend time with her," Josh argues.
"Thank-you, Josh!" Sally smiles proudly. She would clap him on the shoulder now if she could.
"Traitor," Aidan mutters.
Josh just shrugs at him as he focuses on the screen again, taking another sip of the coffee.
"Seriously?" Aidan cocks an eyebrow at him.
"Hey, just do what I do," Josh tells him.
"And that is?" Aidan makes a face.
"Don't pay attention, just be there for her," Josh replies.
"Okay, that is mean to some degree... but also kinda cute, thinking about it," Sally grimaces. "So thank you!"
"As I said, traitor," Aidan grumbles.
"Doing the part you'd normally do when it comes to the loan and being there for Sally... I don't see how I'm the traitor on this one," Josh argues.
"Right, this time Josh's everybody's darling, my fangy friend," Sally joins forces with the werewolf.
"Don't call me that," Aidan warns her in a low voice.
"Fang Man?" Sally grins. She knows that Aidan likes to tease her about her movies, but so does she love to tease him with silly names. For someone who is actually always so calm in most situations, this is surprisingly something that gets him over the edge quite fast.
"Knock it off," Aidan warns her.
"A-fang-istan?" Sally sticks out her tongue.
"Wow, we just hit the next bottom," Aidan rolls his eyes.
"Fanglomerate," Josh smirks, his eyes fixed on the computer.
"Seriously, Josh?" Aidan cries out.
"I don't even know what the hell that is? Is that something or did you just make it up? I kinda like it!" Sally grins at him. Josh still eyes the computer as he goes on in a mute voice, "That's when a series of conglomerates accumulate into an alluvial fan in fast eroding environments. This forms rock units called fanglomerates. That's where oil fields in the North Sea come from."
"... can I call you that, Aidan?" Sally smirks at Aidan dumbly. "An old rock?"
"You dare, you die... oh wait, you already did, so... I don't know, I exorcise you," Aidan threatens her.
"You would not," Sally argues. "Because you love me. And because I'm darn adorable."
"And I will kindly forget about all that if you don't quit with the names," Aidan grins in a sing-song.
"So you get to tease me about my absolutely awesome movies, but I get exorcised for giving you cute nicknames?" Sally makes a face.
"Exactly," Aidan nods.
"You really are an old rock," Sally mutters. "And anyways, I know that this just hot air."
"My Latin's not halfway bad," Aidan sneers. "And you can look those exorcisms up on the internet."
"Ah!" Sally hisses. "But you don't know how to use a computer."
"Oh, I know how to use a computer, I just fail at online banking," Aidan corrects her. "So, wanna chance it?"
"Phew!" Sally huffs. "Bring it on, fanglo... whatever the rest was!"
"He's right, though. You just have to type in exorcism and google delivers you all of it," Josh says. Sally whips her head around to face him, "You read that also?"
Josh shrugs at her innocently.
"How dare you?!" Sally cries out.
"Predicaments against a not so friendly ghost?" Aidan grins.
"Josh?" Sally taps her foot on the floor, waiting for an answer.
"I just read...," Josh tells her.
"But why do you read stuff about how to get rid of me?!" Sally pouts.
"I didn't search for it. I just stumbled over it," Josh insists.
"You don't stumble over that!" Sally argues vehemently.
"I do," Josh insists, and Aidan agrees, "He reads the most random shit you've ever seen."
Aidan knows that ever since he had to carry in the masses of books Josh brought into the household. Of course there are plenty of medical books, but Aidan spotted more than one random book about the geographic conditions near volcanoes or the feeding habits of certain birds. Especially around the full moon Josh just loves to read such things.
"You and your random stuff... you have to stop looking up those weird things. I tell you all the while, man!" Sally shakes her head.
"I'll keep that in mind," Josh makes a mock salute before his eyes fall back on the online banking. He really has to get this done. If only the letters stopped moving.
Maybe Aidan was right after all.
Too much coffee makes his mind fidgety.
"Either way, call me that other thing again and I'll look up exorcisms on purpose," Aidan threatens the ghost, who leans back, making a face, "Negh-negh-negh."
That is the closest thing to normal their movie nights are ever going to get.
A few days later, Josh and Aidan are at the hospital on their shift, walking down the corridors.
"... Are you taking over Ms. Morgan for me?" Aidan asks.
"Why should I?" Josh makes a face. Aidan normally doesn't ask him to take over his patients. He actually hates it that there is this kind of black market among the staff where they trade patients like kids do with their trading card games.
I have one with summer cholera – but the relatives always bring cookies. What can you deliver?
Coma patient, but his wife does most of the cleaning, so it's easy work.
Deal.
Deal.
Anyone got something to trade for a rash?
And the vampire on more than one occasion pointed out that he hates it, so Josh is honestly surprised that Aidan is now suddenly asking him for it.
"... you have a good rapport with those grannies," Aidan tells him, though it's fairly obvious that he is playing the compliment-card here.
"I get along with most of the patients, does that make it my obligation to take care of all patients who actually don't throw their bedpan after me?" Josh argues. No, his roommate will have to do better than that if he wants to trade patients.
"Josh, c'mon, don't make me beg you. She hates me!" Aidan puckers his lips.
"She doesn't hate you," Josh shakes his head.
"Yes, she does," Aidan insists.
"Aidan, she is just... difficult and scared. And I bet that her anger or whatever isn't even directed at you. She doesn't hate you," Josh argues, to which Aidan replies with a dead-pan, "She said: Aidan Waite – I hate you. And then threw the flowers her niece brought her at my face!"
"Oh well.. maybe that is...," Josh mumbles with a grimace. Aidan leans closer to whisper at him, "Seriously, right now I just wanna suck that old witch dry so that she shuts up."
"We talked about how we don't eat the patients," Josh scolds him.
They are weird, aren't they?
But by now they accepted that their kind of normal is just weird.
Others talk about the weather.
They talk about eating people because they are monsters.
"Then help me already!" Aidan cries out.
"Aidan, I have enough other stuff to do," Josh argues.
"I take one of yours in turn, fine, two! C'mon, just spare me this evil witch!" Aidan bargains.
"If you keep calling her that, it won't improve much, you know?" Josh snorts.
"I don't want our relationship to improve, I want her to drop dead!" Aidan retorts.
"Aidan...," Josh lets a heavy sigh.
"Fine, I just want her to shut up and leave me alone. We hate each other equally," Aidan corrects himself. "So... help me, big please!"
He folds his hand in front of him, actually putting on pleading eyes.
"You're serious," Josh makes a face. If Aidan Waite begs someone, he really means it.
"She's driving me insane!" Aidan cries out. "One more day and I will do... things... bad things."
"... But for that you take care of Mr. Carter for me," Josh supposes.
"What about him?" Aidan narrows his eyes at him, but Josh grins at him, "You will see. You either buy the pig in the poke or you go... with your... sow."
"Fine, okay, I take over that one for as long as you spare me her evil eye!" Aidan nods. He just has to get away from her. Aidan felt his fangs poking the inside of his cheek often enough when around her.
"Wow, must really mean something to you if you...," Josh means to say, but before he gets to finish the sentence, he crashes into another nurse with a carriage in front of her, so hard that it knocks him to the ground.
"Josh! You okay?" Aidan blinks at him worriedly, but Josh already scrambles back to his feet, his attention on the nurse he knocked into, "Sorry, did I hurt you or anything, Judy?"
"No, I'm fine," Judy assures him, only for her frown to deepen. "But you're not."
"What?" Josh blinks at her. Judy points at his arm which has a gash oozing blood.
Great, just great.
"Ah, darn. Sorry, I...," Josh mutters, whipping his head around. Aidan can't help the frown. Josh is seriously the only person he knows who apologizes if he is hurt. That guy, really.
"Wait, lemme help you with the...," Josh already means to bow down to help her pick up the things that fell off the carriage, but Judy holds up her hands, "I got it, I got it."
"She's right," Aidan tells him. "C'mon, we need to clean that."
"I can do that myself," Josh argues.
"Might need stitches, you genius. Wanna see you making those with just one hand," Aidan huffs.
"I'm so sorry, Judy," Josh apologizes another time.
"Hey, no problems. I wasn't paying attention either," Judy tells him, flashing a sweet smile.
"C'mon, or else you'll bleed all over the floor. I don't wanna clean that up," Aidan tells him, pulling Josh into one of the storage rooms where they have dressings and the like. Aidan pulls up one chair and knocks on the seat, motioning for Josh to sit down. He obeys, but looks rather reluctant.
The other thing quite curious about Josh Levison?
He is a great orderly, but a lousy patient.
"Only you get a wound like that from... walking," Aidan huffs as he gathers the items he needs.
"I already said I'm sorry, okay?" Josh argues.
"Josh, you don't have to apologize for that," Aidan shakes his head. The vampire plops down in another chair and pulls one of the metal trays on wheels over to him with his foot to put the material on it. Aidan puts on some gloves before he then starts to unwrap the first packages in a practiced way. It really has its upsides to be a nurse – at least you can always patch up your friend if he ends up hurting himself.
Aidan applies a stack of gauze bandages to Josh's arm to get the first blood away. He doesn't look up as he speaks in a softer tone, "But... everything okay with you?"
"I bump into something every five minutes, as you constantly remind me. I'm clumsy by nature," Josh snorts. He always gets it rubbed under his nose that he is a klutz.
Well, he is, so maybe that stands to reason.
It's just that sometimes he is with his head somewhere else that he really can't focus on anything else. Imagination is such a wonderful place at times.
"That's of course true, but you seem rather... jittery these days," Aidan grimaces, allowing concern to show. He observed in the last few days that Josh bumped into things more regularly, and that even at home. Something that actually became less common, now that Josh knows where everything stands so that he doesn't have to look to know where he is walking. Just this morning, he missed a step and almost fell down the last bit of the stairs.
"Whatever," Josh rolls his eyes.
"Hey, I don't mean it in a bad way," Aidan argues as he starts to clean out the wound.
"I know... I guess it's just... you know, this time of the month drawing closer again," Josh exhales. It's not like he didn't realize just how often he bumped into things – if the bruises on his shins and arms weren't proof enough.
"Ah, well, that explains... part of it," Aidan grins as he tosses a few of the gauzes into the trashcan.
"If you crack your PMS joke again, I will smack you," Josh warns him.
"Hey, don't smack the guy so kind to clean your cut," Aidan scolds him.
"No one's forcing you. I can do it myself also, you know," Josh grumbles.
Really, a very lousy patient.
"Josh, I'm just messing with you. Now don't be mad," Aidan grins, now in a softer tone.
"I'm mad by definition," Josh huffs.
"You know how I mean it," Aidan snickers.
"Yeah," Josh sighs.
They are all mad, weird, messed-up, but at least they are messed-up together, right?
"Okay, well, lucky you, the cut won't need stitches, and your dog smell prevents me from turning... me. So we are good to go. I'll just wrap that little quick, then all's as good as new," Aidan tells him.
"... thanks," Josh mumbles, once again, looking more like a teenager than an adult.
"Not prob. You patch me up like... all the time," Aidan winks at him. He throws the last packages in the trashcan before continuing with his work of dressing the wound.
"True again," Josh shrugs.
"And you save me from Ms. Morgan, so... you get a bit of credit for that," Aidan snickers.
"Got it right," Josh agrees.
"Ah, there. All done," Aidan says as he takes off the gloves, letting them snap into the trashcan. He finishes the band-aid to hold the bandage in place before he claps his thighs as he gets up. "Feels okay or you wanna take something for the pain?"
"It's just a cut, man," Josh snorts. He might be acting childishly at times, but he is not that much of a wuss.
"Then let's get back to work," Aidan grins, grasping Josh by the shoulder as they both stand up.
"Yup," Josh agrees, clapping Aidan's lower arm as a thank-you gesture. With that they exit and start walking down the corridors again, as though nothing ever happened.
"Mr. Carter is right here in this room," Josh nods at the door to their left.
"Alright. You know where Ms. Morgan houses," Aidan says.
"Down this way, to the left, third room to the right, got it," Josh agrees. "I'll catch you later."
It never ceases to amaze Aidan that Josh always knows where almost any patient is – plus full name, age, clinical picture, family history, family members with hobbies, friends and favorite color, their antics, their favorite food and so on and so on.
It just shows that he really cares about them. Josh just is that way, so the vampire figures, and that is something he truly admires him for.
"See ya," Aidan waves. "Don't get hurt again, will you?"
Josh rolls his eyes before he turns around to heads off. Aidan enters the room, putting on his nicest of smiles, "Good day, Mr. Carter. I'm Aidan and I..."
But that is when a shrill shriek erupts, "Where's that greedy leprechaun? That Jew will only steal my money! But not with me! Do you know him?! Are you friends with him!? You just want my money also, don't you!?"
Aidan rolls his eyes. No wonder Josh wanted to get rid of that guy.
"Uhm, Josh is with another patient, which means that I'm taking care of you today," Aidan goes on with his diplomatic tone.
"You're a Jew, too! I can see it at your nose!" the man cries out in a high-pitched voice. Aidan grimaces, trying to ignore the antisemitism, playing nice. It's really a miracle Josh didn't ask him to take over for that guy.
"Now, Mr. Carter, how about we get you dressed, hm?" Aidan asks with a fake smile, clapping his hands together, only to get the reply, "Stay away from me, Infidel!"
"Now put the cross down!" Aidan holds up his hands in a reassuring gesture.
"By the dear Lord Jesus Christ, stay away from me!" the man hollers. Aidan approaches the man with a roll of his eyes, closing the door.
Josh will pay for that.