It was four hours after he was admitted before they finally allowed Nathan back to see Duke. The younger man had spent three of those hours in surgery, as they pieced him back together. As it turned out, his boyfriend had gotten pretty beat up. Starting at the head, he had a concussion, and the split over his eyebrow had taken seven stitches to close up. The man's strangle hold on him had fractured his larynx. His right shoulder had been dislocated and he had a hairline fracture on his forearm. Three ribs were broken, two bruised, and from what the nurse had told him, his whole torso was just a splatter portrait of nasty bruises.
The cut on his side had taken thirty-four stitches to close up, reaching all the way from his left hip around his side to nearly his spine. And his leg…nothing was broken, but Nathan was pretty sure he'd heard every letter of the alphabet talking about what was torn. ACL, MCL, L. meniscus, and M. meniscus, all some degree of torn, sprained, or hyper-extended.
They'd repaired everything they could at the time, and now it was just a matter of waiting for him to wake up from the anesthesia.
Nathan wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting there in the hard plastic chair next to Duke's bed, but his ass was starting to go numb. Not that it mattered – he was too intent on the man lying in the bed to care about it. God, Duke looked so…wrong, lying there. His normally olive skin was pale and marred with angry purple bruises. A crisp white bandaged wrapped around his head pushed all his hair up away from his brow, and Nathan knew that beneath the covers, there were plenty more bandages just like it. His leg was propped up to help with the swelling, and his right arm was in a sling across his chest.
To his side, a heart monitor beeped a steady rhythm as a tube carried clear liquid from a bag on a stand into his boyfriend's slender arm. He was pretty sure he hadn't even blinked since he walked in the room, but a noise from the door had him doing just that.
"Hey," Audrey greeted softly as she walked in. "How's he doing?"
Nathan waited until she'd grabbed the seat on the other side of Duke's bed before he answered. "He's stable," Nathan said. "He's beat to hell, but he's stable."
Audrey nodded slowly, reaching out to brush a strand of errant hair from the bandage on Duke's head. "He really came through back there," she said.
"What happened?" Nathan asked. He'd been wanting to know, and now seemed like as good a time as any.
"I don't know. We went to the church to talk to the Rev. and when we got there…" She shook her head, her eyes wide as she rubbed her face. "I've never seen anything like that, Nathan. He just showed up out of nowhere. There was a little girl and he said she was Troubled, that she 'had to be cleansed.' Rev. started screaming and everyone started running. I told Duke to get them out, and I tried to talk to the guy."
"I take it that didn't go so well," Nathan guessed.
Audrey let out a half-chuckle. "That's an understatement. He ended up knocking my gun away. I remember, he was aiming for me, and then Duke just appeared out of nowhere. He had a candlestick from the church, and he hit him, and then…well, you saw him. He just kept hitting him, and Duke just kept getting up. I tried to help him, but I couldn't even get close. He just…he held the guy off by himself. I don't know how he did it."
Nathan was just about to reply when a new voice entered the conversation. It was so soft, he barely heard it, but he did.
"Magic."
Nathan felt his heart leap in his chest, and dropped his gaze down from Audrey to the slender form on the bed.
Sure enough, peering out from bruised, half-open eyelids was the most gorgeous pair of hazel eyes Nathan had ever seen.
He promptly stood, as Duke's face twisted into a grimace. "Morning, sunshine," he greeted softly, resting a hand in Duke's thick hair. "How're you feeling?"
Duke, in typical Duke fashion, managed to conjure a chuckle and a smile, even as his eyes watered. "Fan—" His voice cracked, and he reached up for his bandaged neck. Nathan caught his hand, though, and used the other to fish a piece of ice out of the cup on the bedside. Duke eyed it as Nathan brought it to his lips. "Water?" he mouthed out, because apparently, his swollen throat had given up on him.
"Sorry, baby, you're stuck on ice chips for now," Nathan said. Duke didn't look too happy to hear that answer, but all the same, he let Nathan slip the piece of ice past his lips. A few crunches, and Duke's throat bobbed.
And then he promptly started sputtering.
He tried to sit up, but it didn't work very well, what with his ribs and the cut on his side. "Hey, hey, easy," Nathan said, catching Duke before he could hurt himself and easing him up just enough to help him catch his breath.
It took a little while, and when he finally did, he was so pale Nathan was afraid he was going to pass out again. His face was twisted in a grimace, and the arm that wasn't secured to his side in a brace went to wrap around his middle. As Nathan lowered him back to the pillows, he saw moisture welling in those hazel eyes and felt his heart wrench in sympathy.
Behind him, as if to prove the powers of her intuition, Audrey stood. "I'm going to go talk to a nurse…see if they can give him something to help with the pain."
Nathan nodded. He appreciated the reason she said she was going, but he also appreciated the real reason she was going: to give him time alone with Duke. Duke wouldn't want her to see him crying; it was bad enough that Nathan was seeing it, and he was his boyfriend.
Once Audrey was out of the room, Nathan turned his attention back to Duke. The younger man was still trying to hold back tears, and he was laughing softly like he always did when he was hurt and didn't want it to show.
Nathan's heart ached at the sight. Frowning, he leaned down and kissed Duke gently, carding a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry," he whispered. And he was. He was sorry that he hadn't been there to protect him, he was sorry that Duke had gotten hurt, and he was sorry that there was nothing he could do to take his pain away. He would've born it all if he could, every ounce of it, but instead he was stuck with the feeling of Duke's tears against his fingers and his soft, chuckling sobs.
Duke cleared his throat. "I'm fine," he rasped. Even the two words seemed to take a tremendous effort from him, and more tears rolled down his cheeks.
"You will be," Nathan told him. Careful of the scratches on Duke's cheek, he brushed his thumbs over the tear tracks, wiping them away even as more fell to take their place. "You're gonna hang out here for a couple of days and let them pump you full of all sorts of really great drugs until you're belting 'Row Your Boat' like that time after your birthday party."
That got a smile out of Duke – a real one, not the mask of one he donned to hide his pain. "Sounds fun," he said. He started to shift, but stopped and let out a harsh breath through his nose. His good hand went once again to the bandage Nathan knew to be on his hip, and he turned in towards his hurt shoulder.
"No you don't." Nathan put a hand on his other shoulder, holding it back to the bed to keep him from curling up as he was want to do. "Moving's gonna make it worse, babe; just try to keep still."
"Keeping still hurts too," Duke muttered. His voice was rasped and ragged, but it was starting to get better. All the same, Nathan reached into the cup and picked out another ice chip.
"I'm supposed to get you to eat one of these every few minutes," Nathan explained at Duke's incredulous look.
"No thanks," he muttered. It hadn't worked so well the last time, that ice.
But Nathan was persistent. Maybe he didn't listen to doctor's orders when they were directed at him, but with Duke, it was word of law. "Let's go; open up." Duke's lips stayed pursed though. "Come on, babe, humor me," he urged, tracing Duke's cracked lips with the melting ice. The clear liquid pooled in the crevasse of his lips, until Nathan pulled them apart with his thumb. Finally, Duke gave in and opened his mouth just enough for Nathan to slip the chip of ice in. "Now don't chew this time. Let it melt."
The chip hadn't been that big to begin with, and Duke didn't speak until it had melted. "Nate," he began, and went to push himself up on the bed. He barely got his shoulders an inch up off the bed before he gave up. "Fuck!" With a cry of fury and pain, he slammed his hand down on the bed, which in turn only seemed to make him hurt worse.
"Hey, hey…Duke, calm down," Nathan soothed, taking Duke's smaller hand in his own. Between the frustration and the pain, Duke's tears returned in force. This time, Nathan couldn't just stand there. He pushed the rail down on the bed and sat down on the edge, leaning over and taking Duke gently into his arms. He was afraid to hurt him, but at the same time, Duke was such a physical person; he lived for warm embraces and gentle kisses.
And as if that was what he'd been waiting for, Duke melted into Nathan's arms, fisting his good hand in Nathan's t-shirt. "Christ, this hurts," Duke groaned through grit teeth, burrowing his head into Nathan's shirt.
"I know, babe." Nathan held him as firmly as he dared, cradling his head against his shoulder. "It's gonna be okay, though. Audrey's gone to get a nurse. She'll get you something for the pain, and then maybe you can get some sleep." After all, if they gave Duke anything stronger than Tylenol, he'd probably be out of his head for a while. Nathan had discovered early that his boyfriend didn't have a very strong resistance to medication, and frankly, he wasn't going to complain this time. He'd give anything to get Duke some relief.
Duke, on the other hand… "Don't want drugs," he ground out. "Hate 'em." Alas, the perpetual dilemma: the pain meds would make him feel a whole lot better, but they'd make him fuzzy; and while Duke no doubt wanted to feel better, Nathan knew he absolutely despised being fuzzy. Duke hated any loss of control, and the fact that he was in what was probably one of his least favorite places on earth probably wasn't helping all that much.
And, of course, the nurse chose that moment to walk in. The older woman seemed to take his and Duke's position in stride, padding into the room in her bright purple scrubs. "Nice to see you're awake, Mister Crocker," she said. "I hear you might be wanting another dose of happy. How about something to help you sleep?"
Nathan felt Duke's good hand start to push against his chest, but it wasn't strong enough to do much of anything. "I'll pass," he ground out, even as the effort of trying to push Nathan away brought a strained whine of pain from the back of his throat.
"Just let her do what she needs to do," Nathan told him. "It'll help."
"I said I don't want it!" There was a sort of desperate pleading in Duke's voice that made Nathan's heart bleed. Duke was getting upset again, and he was part of the reason.
Still, he couldn't keep being in pain like this. And Nathan couldn't bear to keep watching it. "You need to get some relief, babe; the meds'll help."
"They'll mess with my head!" Duke snapped in response, his voice hitching higher even as his injuries made it crack.
Duke was trying to push Nathan away from him, and finally, Nathan conceded. Gently, he lowered him back to the bed, but instead of letting him go, he held him there. Turning to the nurse, he gave her a nod to go ahead with the pain meds. She had a syringe with her, and she pulled the cap off.
"Don't!" Duke shouted, and it was the harshest, most torn sound Nathan had ever heard. He was watching the nurse's every movement with wild, panicked eyes, until finally Nathan put a hand to the side of his face and turned his head the other way. Leaning down on Duke's other side, he forced him to meet his eyes as he held his hand down to the bed. The rest of him wasn't moving anywhere. Not with the injuries he had.
"Take it easy, Duke. Just take it easy."
Mercifully, the nurse was silent, and as soon as she finished emptying the syringe into Duke's IV, she was gone.
"Let go!" Duke cried at Nathan. He didn't know the nurse was gone, or that it was already too late.
Rather than letting go, he pulled his boyfriend close again. This time, Duke tried futilely to push him away, but he just held firm, hushing him and stroking his fingers through his hair. "It's just me," he told him as Duke writhed in his arms. "Relax, babe, it's just me. I've got you."
"I don't—" Duke's voice cracked, but whether it was from rising hysteria or his injured throat, Nathan couldn't be sure. "—don't want it."
Too bad he already got it.
But Nathan wasn't going to tell him that. He didn't want to upset his boyfriend more than he already was. If anything, he wanted to get him calmed down. "You're gonna be okay, Duke. Everything's gonna be okay."
Slowly, but surely, Duke's struggles began to wane as the pain medicine began to work its magic. The tension was easing from his slender form as Nathan held him, and his eyes started to take on a dazed look.
"Shit," he whispered after a moment, his head lolling back. Nathan adjusted his grip on him, supporting his head in the crook of his elbow. "She already…already…and I hate painkillers, Nate. I hate being fuzz…fuzzy." It was as if he started to realize the medicine was taking effect, because he took in a deep breath and tried to sit up. "I'm not…Nate, I'm not…"
Nathan just hushed him, running the backs of his fingertips gently down Duke's cheek. "I know, babe. It's okay."
Duke's eyes were starting to slip closed, try as he might to keep them open. "Nate," he whined, grabbing at Nathan's arm with clumsy fingers. When he finally found purchase, he held it, but he was having trouble.
"Shh," Nathan soothed. He made sure to keep his voice low, hoping to help lull his boyfriend. "Just take slow, deep breaths…let your eyes close…." Whether he wanted to or not, Duke was starting to do just that. "'Atta boy…I've got you, babe, just relax."
Duke made a soft noise – a soft "nhh" like he was maybe trying to say Nathan's name – but that was all he could muster.
Nathan allowed himself a small smile, and pressed a soft kiss to Duke's lightly-parted lips. "Just go to sleep, babe. Just go to sleep."
But he needn't have said anything; Duke was already asleep.
Unwilling to surrender his hold on his injured, sleeping boyfriend, Nathan shifted to get more comfortable on the bed. He kept his arms around Duke, and after a moment, he was situated with his boyfriend still cradled against his chest.
That was about when Audrey came in, and her eyes widened momentarily at the sight of Duke curled up against Nathan on his hospital bed. Her expression softened quickly, though, and she smiled. "I take it he's feeling better?" she asked.
Nathan nodded, unable to tear his gaze from the sleeping form cradled in his arms. "The pain medicine really helped. Thanks."
"It was the least I could do," Audrey said, leaning back against the doorframe and folding her arms across her chest. "Considering he saved my life and all."
"Leave it to Duke to play the hero," Nathan said softly, but his tone was laced with fondness and affection that Audrey didn't miss.
She chuckled. "I wonder where he might've learned that," she said, looking very pointedly at Nathan.
Nathan just shook his head, absently brushing a stray strand of hair from Duke's face. "No, it's not me. He'd deny it to his deathbed, but he's a hero all by his lonesome."
All by his lonesome, Nathan thought to himself. But never alone.