Coward-punching

Requested by 'Guest' (you know who you are), these are some missing scenes from after Chris was attacked, set between the 22nd September and the 6th November.

26th September (whilst Chris is in his coma)

Nate stared at his unconscious boyfriend through the window of the Hospital. His own heart was pounding with such force that Nate was worried it would rip through his chest. He was breathing heavily and felt lost. Without Chris he felt like he had no-one: Chris had stuck by him through his struggles with PTSD, and Nate felt as though he had thrown it back in his face by snapping at him about his past at the party. Nate didn't think he had ever felt as empty in that moment as he had when one of his closest friends was shot dead right in front of his face whilst they were in combat.

Kyle and Georgia had headed to the canteen a few minutes earlier to get some refreshments and had invited Nate along. Nate had politely declined, partly wanting to stay just in case Chris woke up, but mainly because he felt uncomfortable being around the couple without Chris. He didn't think he had ever been in the same vicinity as either of them when Chris wasn't around, and the thought of trying to talk about anything other than his unconscious boyfriend to people who were virtually strangers made Nate feel uncomfortable. Not that he didn't like them or anything: Kyle was a friendly, funny guy who was like a brother to Chris, whilst Georgia seemed sweet, caring and quirky. Aside from that, Nate barely knew them and wasn't ready to be exchanging pleasantries with them.

As if on cue, Georgia approached Nate cautiously and laid a gentle hand on his arm. Nate spun around, both of them startled.

"Sorry" Georgia apologised hastily, "I didn't mean to disturb you, I was just wondering if you were hungry"

She held out a paper bag towards him, "I wasn't sure what you liked, so I got a couple of different sandwiches and some pasta salads for you to choose from"

Nate smiled slightly, "Thanks" he whispered, taking the bag from her.

"Are you ok?" she asked

Nate shrugged, "Does it matter? Chris is the one we should be worried about"

Georgia dropped her head to the side, "Of course it matters, and Chris is in the best possible hands. Now you need to worry about yourself"

Nate shook his head, "I'm fine"

"You might feel like that now, but once the shock subsides you'll feel exhausted and hungry" she pointed out, "Trust me, I see this kind of thing all the time. Families and friends of patients stop taking care of themselves when their loved one's in hospital and it always comes back to bite them"

Nate sniggered, "I guess I can't argue with you then, can I?"

Georgia shook her head smugly, "Nope, so don't even try"

Nate smiled, "I'll bear that in mind for the future" he replied before glancing to the floor, "If there even is a future"

Georgia raised her eyebrows, "You shouldn't think like that" she warned him, "He's gonna be ok, you'll see"

Nate shook his head, "That's not what I meant" he reassured her, "I meant that I'm not sure if I'll be sticking around. I don't know if Chris will even want me around"

Georgia looked confused, "Why would you say that?"

"Because we had a fight just before he was attacked" Nate admitted reluctantly.

"A fight about what?"

"My past" Nate replied, then sighed, "He probably won't want a bar of me"

"Don't say that" Georgia cried, "We'll have to wait for the prognosis but it's likely that Chris will need all the support he can get, even just for the little things"

Nate thought to himself for a few moments and Georgia smiled slightly, "Don't give up just yet, ok? Chris is besotted with you and he's gonna need you around"

Nate nodded reluctantly and Georgia left him on his own. Staring through the window, Nate realised that Georgia had a point: Chris was going to need him once he had woken up. The question was whether Nate was ready for that. He couldn't remember the last time someone had depended on him and since their relationship was so new he wondered if it was worth standing by him. Watching the machines monitoring Chris' body unnerved Nate, so instead he distracted himself by compiling a mental list of items that Chris would need once he woke up. Eventually he stepped away from the window and made his way back to Ramsay Street with a plan to go to number 26 and collect all of the items together for his boyfriend.

31st October (following Nate firing Susan as his counsellor)

Although Nate was concerned about his well-being in the long-term, he knew that firing Susan was for the best. After all, nothing was worth traumatising a family member for, not even his own mental health. He knew that it would be a struggle, but he had made some progress with his PTSD and hoped that he could continue in that way with any new counsellors that he decided to see.

As Nate left The Waterhole, he felt some tension drain from his body knowing that he had made life easier for his aunt. He reflected on the events of the past couple of hours and chuckled at the memory of seeing Chris, Kyle and Georgia in the living room with Kyle sprinkling gerbera petals everywhere. Nate was slightly embarrassed that he didn't realise that it was Chris' attempt at setting a romantic atmosphere, but he was so used to being his carer that he was stuck in the mind-set and couldn't envisage Chris in a romantic way. Perhaps Chris was right: at some point he had gone from being his boyfriend to being a patient, and that wasn't fair on either of them. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do to fix the situation but he realised that they needed to have a proper conversation about it if they wanted things to work.

Nate reached into his pocket to retrieve his mobile and called Chris. The phone rang a few times before Chris quietly answered, "Hi"

Nate could tell that Chris was bitter about Nate admitting that he felt uncomfortable with the idea of being intimate before leaving him alone to talk to Susan, and he sighed regretfully.

"Hey" he responded, "Are you busy?"

There was a pause on the other end of the line before Chris reluctantly replied, "Not really, why?"

"I was wondering if I could come over"

Chris scoffed, "You've never had to ask before"

Nate considered this, "I know, but I wasn't sure if you'd want to see me"

"Of course I do" Chris argued softly

"I just reckon we need to talk" Nate admitted, "I'm sorry about what I said earlier"

"Don't worry about it" Chris told him, "I've been thinking about it, and I get where you're coming from. A lot's changed since the attack, of course it's going to affect our relationship"

"But I want to try to sort this out"

"And how are you going to do that?" Chris asked offhandedly

Nate thought to himself for a few moments, trying to come up with something romantic to make up for ruining Chris' gesture earlier on, "Well we haven't used the spa for a while" he pointed out

"We used it yesterday for my hydrotherapy exercises" Chris reminded him

"I know, but I meant that we haven't used it for our own enjoyment"

"Good point, we haven't" Chris replied, and Nate could tell through his boyfriend's tone that he was smiling, "Ok, I'll get the hot tub ready. Just give me a minute to finish my sandwich"

Nate chuckled, "Trust you to be eating"

"Well yeah, this is me we're talking about" Chris retorted and Nate laughed. His boyfriend's eating habits were – without a doubt – one of the most endearing things about him, despite all of the jokes that were made about it, and Nate continued to smile to himself whilst Chris got the hot-tub ready.

3rd November (following Chris being taken to Hospital after his seizure)

Once Nate had rushed out of the Hospital he let out a deep breath. The image of Chris having a seizure in the garden flashed before his eyes and Nate didn't think he had been that scared in a long time – not since his days in the army, that's for sure. The mere thought of losing Chris sent shivers down Nate's spine and he was unnerved by how strong the feelings were. Perhaps it was linked to the army: the last time he had really been panicked or frightened was when he was in combat, and now suffering from PTSD must have brought all of those emotions back. Although that was the logical explanation behind it, Nate realised that it wasn't the real reason and his true feelings gradually dawned on him: he was in love.

Upon sensing people approaching, Nate turned around to spot Kyle and Georgia heading out of the door. They smiled reassuringly at him.

"He should be ok" Georgia informed him, "They're just going to monitor him overnight"

Nate let out a breath, "Good"

"Are you ok, dude?" Kyle asked, noticing Nate's thoughtfulness

Nate nodded, "Yeah, it's just been a strange day, that's all"

"Tell me about it" Kyle scoffed

"So, I'm guessing your romantic evening didn't go to plan?" Georgia queried

Nate shook his head, "Actually, not even close" he admitted, "I didn't realise what you guys were trying to do earlier on. I thought the romantic stuff was for you two"

Kyle looked confused, "But we left" he pointed out

Nate chuckled, "I know, but my brain didn't register that" he told them, "But thanks for your help anyway"

"It's no problem" Kyle replied

Georgia grinned, "Yeah, Chris has helped us more than enough with our relationship woes, so it was the least we could do to help him in return"

Nate smiled slightly, "That sounds like him, helping people who need it"

Georgia and Kyle nodded in agreement, "He's a great guy" Georgia replied, "But obviously you already know that"

Nate nodded, "Yeah, I do"

Georgia smiled at him fondly, "Things are really serious between you two now then?"

Nate nodded, "Yeah, I think that…" he began, then stopped himself from continuing

There was a pause before Georgia prompted, "You think what?"

Nate hesitated, "This is gonna sound a bit cheesy or weird or whatever, but I think I love him"

Georgia and Kyle beamed at him, "Wow, that's great!" she exclaimed, giving him a quick hug. Nate laughed and Kyle thought to himself for a moment.

"Ok, so things are more serious than we first thought" Kyle murmured

Nate shrugged, "Yeah, well I didn't really realise it until after his attack, a part of me wanted to run away from it, from him. But I couldn't" he paused then realised, "And I ran away from him just now, didn't I?"

"It's not too late" Georgia pointed out, "He wanted to follow you after you left but we forced him to stay"

"Really?"

Kyle nodded, "Yeah, he didn't want to stay overnight, he wanted to have the date instead"

"You could always do it tomorrow though" Georgia suggested, "Once he's been discharged"

Nate paused thoughtfully, not wanting to wait that long, "Not necessarily" he murmured

Kyle and Georgia exchanged a puzzled glance, "What do you mean?" Georgia asked

Nate smiled slightly and glanced at Georgia, "Would it be possible for me to come back here later?"

"Why?" Georgia asked

"I've got an idea, but I might not be able to put it into action until after visiting hours"

Georgia raised an eyebrow but was smiling, "I'll check with the nurses on duty, but I don't see why not"

"Cool, thanks. I'll see you guys later" he replied before giving them a quick wave and heading off.

Kyle and Georgia watched after him curiously, wondering what the eager man had planned for that night…

Thanks for reading, and thanks to 'Guest' for the request. I originally wasn't sure what I should cover in this, but I hope this was close to what you were expecting. I really enjoyed writing this and hope you (and everyone else) enjoyed it too. Anyway, despite Chris' departure I'll still be writing, so if anyone has any ideas for Chris related stories then feel free to let me know.