There was a knock at the door around a quarter past 10. "Yeah, come in!"
The door opened and the entire Bravo team filed in.
Trent was first in, and walked straight over to him. He squeezed his shoulder before he leaned down for a quick hug. Full Metal wasn't exactly a hugger, but in certain circumstances he too needed it. "How are you doing brother?"
"Better than last time you saw me." Metal shrugged, "Still not remotely good though."
"Had me scared there for a minute." Trent admitted before he let the rest of the guys get close enough to greet him as well. They alternated between hugs and fist bumps.
"Yeah, well… Gotta do something to spice things up in this group of misfits." Full Metal deadpanned.
"How's the…" Sonny asked as he gestured weakly to Metal's leg.
"Not good." He admitted and shook his head, "But still attached. So that's something."
Sonny nodded, paling just a little.
"They put it in the same thing they had Trent's arm in years ago…" Metal followed up, "Gonna need another surgery to get a bigger version put on, but they decided it was best to wait a bit. Risk of infection and all that."
Trent frowned, "Yeah, I thought you'd end up in something like that."
Full Metal nodded.
Clay nodded a little as well, then he spoke up, "Well, since you ended up here the rest of us engaged our eight collective braincells to make a Full Metal care package out of the stuff we could find."
"8?" Metal chuckled, "At least one of you claim an extra braincell in that calculation."
Clay chuckled, "Probably. Anyway, we brought a box of dip for you, some various candy we had, your cellphone and charger, Brock's tablet, a book… Stuff like that."
"Thanks." Metal grinned.
"Yeah, was considering to toss a couple of beers in there, but that wouldn't go well with the feelgood juice they're pumping into ya…" Sonny shrugged.
"Probably not." Full Metal chuckled, "Thanks anyway."
Clay grinned as he placed the bag on the bedside table, "Should be easy to reach here."
Metal nodded, "Yeah, thanks."
"So… Got anyone taking care of you when you get home?" Brock asked after a while, looking up at Full Metal. They had talked about everything and nothing for quite a while, and he figured it was time to pull out the hard questions.
Metal sighed, "Thought about calling my parents, or my sister. "
"Sounds like a big 'but' coming up next." Sonny pressed.
"Yeah…" Metal dragged, "I can't expect mom and dad to help me. They're old. And Amy, she's… She's got three kids, and both her and her husband works full time. But, I'll be okay. I think I'll be able to take care of my own once I'm done with the surgeries and discharged."
"Well, I call BS." Sonny rolled his eyes, "This is one time you're not allowed to try to get by on your own, without help."
Ray nodded, "Yeah, Sonny's right. You don't get to do that, you're gonna be in a lot of pain for a long time, and you're going to need rest. I called Naima, she'll be by and make sure you get at least one warm meal a day."
"-And readymade sandwiches." Clay smiled, "She'll probably stock your fridge or a cooler by your couch with that as well. And Stella offered to come over and tidy a bit every now and then, take out the trash and stuff… At least until the rest of us ship back home."
Full Metal nodded a little, "Can you thank your little ladies for me?"
Ray and Clay nodded.
He then folded his arms over his chest, tapping the fingers of his left hand against his right elbow, "Man, this… It's gonna be a long and hard journey if I make it back."
They all nodded a little.
"Hey, one day at a time." Clay shrugged, "Only way to get there."
"Yeah…" Trent agreed, absentmindedly rubbing a hand against the impressive scar near his elbow, "One day at a time, and it'll take the time it takes."
"You do know I probably won't make it back?" Full Metal's almost grey eyes met Trent's, then Clay's, a strand of despair audible in his voice. "I'll be lucky if I ever jog again. Or even walk without a limp."
"Hey. It's bad. We know it." Ray shot in, "We all know that. But, let's not take our sorrows up front."
"Ray's got a point." Sonny shrugged, "It's bad, but… You're you…"
Metal offered up a grunt and a shrug, before he reached for the bag Clay had placed on his nightstand, he reached in and pulled out a can of dip. He packed the can, then scooped out a sizable portion to put under his lip. "Well, let's hope you're right."
Sonny nodded, the others did as well.
"Look guys, I'm sorry. I don't mean to be such a depressing person right now." He sighed, "But all of this painkiller and busted up leg combo, I don't know how to grasp it yet."
"That's… That's alright…" Jason shrugged, "You're dealing with it way better than most of us would have."
"Yeah, I'd be a cryin' mess already." Sonny offered up, "-And I'm talking ugly cryin'… Tears and snot all mixed up. Red puffy eyes, the whole nine yards."
Full Metal chortled, "Yeah… I can imagine."
"Like REAL ugly cryin'…" Sonny winked.
Metal nodded a little, then his gaze fell on where his left foot was hidden under the covers. He swallowed and laid his head back against the pillow, just staring up at the wall for a moment. A short chuckle rolled off of him, "Those three flights of stairs at home is going to feel like Mount Everest when I get home."
"Sure is." Clay nodded, remembering how his own injury had drained him.
They all fell silent once more. All of them worried about how the future would pan out.
A few minutes later Jason cleared his voice, "You look tired. We've been here for a couple of hours already. What do you need right now? Rest or company?"
He shrugged a little, "Look, I'm dog-tired…"
Jason nodded, "How about we leave and come back tomorrow?"
Metal nodded a little, "I'd appreciate that. Thanks."
Jason nodded and looked around at the other guys, a silent order to get ready to leave. "Do you need anything while we're here?"
Metal shook his head a bit, "Nah, got my dip and a call cord… I'll get by."
The rest of the guys nodded.
"See you tomorrow." Ray nodded.
Metal nodded, "Yeah, and thanks for stopping by."