Law was grateful that Kaya was there to direct his attention to where it was needed so that he could get into the process of piecing Rocinante back together. He was still reeling from the shock of seeing the officer lying there in the first place. Law recalled the offer from what seemed like such a long time ago of patching the blond haired officer up. It had been amusing at the time because it had made Rocinante smile, but now, seeing the other man lying still and so heavily wounded, the offer was no longer as entertaining as it had been back then.
Law's eyes fell over Rocinante again, and he couldn't help but again wonder what had happened to the man. He had an uncomfortable, nagging feeling that he might have had something to do with it.
"Dr. Trafalgar, the IVs are set. We're ready to begin when you are."
"The patient's vitals are faint but steady right now."
The dark haired surgeon shook himself out of his trance, and focused on what he was familiar with. Fixing things by piecing the patient back together.
Law realized as he got started that Rocinante was dressed in that tacky heart patterned dress shirt that he'd seen him in before. It wasn't on for very long as it was carefully cut away to get to the wounds beneath. Law noted that Rocinante also had a mark beneath his right eye and a painted on smile that extended past his lips. Both of which were being cleaned off by some of the assistants to avoid having the makeup run into any of the gashes on his cheek or the side of his head. If the situation wasn't so dire, Law might have been inclined to laugh at the ridiculous red hood with hearts attached to the straps, before it was disposed of to better get a look at the wound.
For some reason, it was a shame to see the hood go because the surgeon rather liked it for some reason. Perhaps he'd have a new one made...if Rocinante wanted it.
Law worked automatically as he called out for different pieces of surgical tools as he attempted to piece back together cut skin and carefully removed any traces of lodged bullets. It had been lucky that none of the bullets had pierced anything vital, though he'd found many traces of the shots in Rocinante's chest, right leg, and even one or two that had even grazed his hip.
The surgeon focused solely on the wounds because he didn't want the guilt to seep in. He wondered vaguely if Rocinante had been doing something illegal, but dismissed that idea immediately and figured that it had to do with the undercover work he'd talked about this past winter before he had said no more. Law hoped that he would be able to ask Rocinante about it, as he fervently went about patching the blond up as best he could. Even if it was only for the man to say he couldn't tell him.
The surgery didn't last nearly as long as Law felt it had, but took it as a good sign that Rocinante appeared to be breathing more easily once he had finished. Law filled out the paperwork himself, and had to wonder who would have done this to his Cora…
Law crossed out a mistake as he flushed. Since when was Rocinante his? Even as the thought crossed his mind, the dark haired surgeon anxiously looked up and over at the door across the hall. He knew that behind that door, Rocinante was resting. Would the blond haired man forgive him for acting as he had? Or would they simply part ways again as soon as Rocinante was well again? The pen paused on the piece of paper as Law's chest tightened at that possibility of Rocinante leaving his life. Law couldn't have that, especially after making sure that the man had not died from his injuries. But it was at that tight sensation in his chest and the desire to have Rocinante stay with him that something that Law felt he'd known for some time surfaced in his mind.
He was in love with that clumsy fool.
He loved the smile that Rocinante gave him when he saw him. He even loved the way the blond would fall over or catch himself on fire with those terrible cigarettes. Liked the way that they would meet each other during their free time even though both were busy with their respective jobs.
Law liked the attention that Rocinante gave him, even if the surgeon seemed to be mortified by it on occasion. The kisses and the hugs and the general affection that he received from Rocinante were something that he never would have thought could be so welcome. The dark haired surgeon ran a hand over his face with a sigh.
Love...it was love, wasn't it?
With an effort, Law went back to the paperwork. He felt that, at the very least, he wanted to tell Rocinante that he loved him. If the blond haired officer still wanted to leave after that for how poorly the surgeon had treated him, Law would at least feel better after getting that off his chest.
Love...
Law had never expected to fall in love, or realize that he had been in love for some time but had just never admitted it to himself. He wanted that chance to tell Rocinante, because he had the feeling that it would actually make the blond haired officer very happy.
-x-
Over his next few days during his shifts, Law visited Rocinante in his hospital room during his free time. When the surgeon didn't work, he would visit and stay for hours on end before being gently reminded that visiting hours were over and that he should go home and get some rest. Law would even forget the time of day occasionally when he would sit on a chair in the blond haired officer's hospital room as he would check on how he was doing. Shachi and Penguin had had to make sure that the surgeon would eat when they saw him at home, after what little sleep Law could manage to get.
And when Law was sure that no one would come into the room unannounced, he would hold Rocinante's hand in his own. And Law would then proceed talk to him, as he would when they met up for lunch or in the park or even his own home.
Two weeks after the surgery, there was still no sign of Rocinante waking up, even though his vitals all indicated that there should be nothing preventing him from doing so. Although given how deep and damaging some of the wounds had nearly been Law wasn't surprised in the least bit that Rocinante was taking so long to recover consciousness.
Four days later, and Law was again in Rocinante's room, sitting alongside his bedside.
"Cora..."
Law reached over and held Rocinante's limp right hand in his own, and brought it to his lips to kiss, before he gripped the limb tightly in both of his hands.
"I'm sorry, Cora." The softly spoken words fell on deaf ears, because Law knew that the other man was still unconscious. But Law liked to think that Rocinante's face looked a little more peaceful than it had before at his words.
-x-
Rocinante woke up disoriented, but somehow, miraculously, he was still alive. That was a surprise. He had thought that he was done for when he had dragged himself off, badly wounded and losing a lot of blood from the multitude of wounds he had suffered. Rocinante knew that he had to be in a hospital based on the IVs in his left arm and the beeping of the machines in the room. He must have also been operated on, because Rocinante didn't feel nearly as terrible as he had before. The bandages were also a good indication of that surgery. Although, the presence of a catheter pointed to the fact that he must have been unconscious for some time.
The blond promptly decided to not think about that.
Rocinante let out a sigh. He highly doubted that he would have made it anywhere near the hospital that Law worked at. And even if he had, Law had made it clear that he didn't want to see or speak to him again. Rocinante's chest tightened at the thought, but it had nothing to do with the blond haired man's injuries.
"Law..." Perhaps it would have been better if he had died. He had no one left apart from his coworkers at the police station. He most certainly had no family left; not ones that he could really see, anyway. Nearly dying from his wounds proved that more clearly than anything else. And yet there he was, still alive with nothing to really live for other than his job and one lingering regret.
"Cora?"
Rocinante froze on the bed he was lying on, the heart monitor spiking a little at the quiet query. He had spoken too soon. Perhaps he'd been mistaken about who was left in his life. The blond haired officer slowly tilted his head to the side.
Law.
It was Law who had spoken, and the surgeon was dressed in casual clothes, sitting next to his bedside with a strained expression; like he wasn't sure what to do now that he saw that Rocinante was awake. Even if Law did have a hand on the bed and was slowly sitting up from the slouch he had been in.
Rocinante's heart beat a little faster, and it was picked up by the heart monitor. Had…had Law been the one to help him? He would have thought it would have been too hard on Law to even make the attempt.
Neither spoke as Law leaned in close to run a hand through Rocinante's hair, and then slid the hand down to lightly caress the blond's cheek. It seemed like an almost unconscious gesture, and had Rocinante not been mesmerized by Law doing what he was, he might have missed the look in the dark haired man's eyes.
Rocinante blinked as Law's hand stilled on his cheek, and he flicked his gaze to the surgeon's uncertainly. Rocinante realized that he wasn't imagining things. There were tears in Law's eyes as the surgeon looked as if he couldn't believe the other was actually awake.
"Cora..." Law's hand dropped to the bed as the dark haired man squeezed a handful of sheets.
"...Law?" Rocinante reached out with his right hand and rested it over Law's. The blond patiently waited for a response, but what he got was unexpected. Rocinante had not at all been prepared for Law to free his hand and all but crawl onto the bed. That had been startling, but so was the fact that Law had wasted no more time on words as he dragged him into a very firm and lingering kiss as he pressed their lips together insistently. And made it quite clear that he didn't want the feather light kiss that they normally shared with one another. Rocinante felt one of the surgeon's hands dig into his hair, though his touch was gentle and avoided the bandages that were wrapped around his head.
"You're awake, Cora." At the pleased, mumbled words into the kiss, Law's tongue darted out firmly across the blond's lips.
Rocinante blinked again, fairly certain that he was blushing by now based on how startled he was by Law's forwardness. He most certainly was awake now with what Law was doing. He'd have to be really out of it on pain meds to not realize that the dark haired man was practically in his lap and kissing him like his life depended on it. It made Rocinante wonder how long he'd been unconscious. But then again, to have Law worried about him at all made the blond haired man...happy. It made him very, very happy that the surgeon actually did care about his well-being. But apparently, right now, Law was more concerned about showing Rocinante just how relieved he was that he was awake and alive.
"Cora."
At the light, insistent nip to his lips this time, Rocinante closed his eyes and hesitantly parted his mouth to allow for a deeper kiss.
The manner in which the dark haired surgeon kissed Rocinante after that most certainly spoke volumes about how Law had felt about them being parted from one another for those few months.