AN: So, I'm not sure how I feel about this week's episode. I really like the mission they're on and being in Mexico for probably several episodes, but I worry about Mikey and Emma back home. I think it's super interesting to see Mandy and Jason fight a little though. She's holding him accountable! Also, really hope Stella and Clay stay together! That will not be brought into this story! They will still be together. For the sake of the story Trent's is married to a girl named Sarah and Brock is dating a girl name Jessie. I'm not sure what or if they have actual significant others in the show. I looked online and found nothing. Sigh. Hopefully, I can get this chapter up pretty quick. My schedule is less busy right now so I'm trying to get these next couple chapters up quick. :) Enjoy! Let me know what ya'll think too!
"Hey kid." Jason knew it was an over simplified way to enter the room but what the hell else would he say? 'Hey kid, I know you totally broke down earlier but I'm super proud of you for holding it together while you were keeping your teammate alive!' No definitely not that. Clay's eyes were glazed over but he looked at least slightly aware.
"He,eey." He slurred the word out with a smile as Jason came closer to the bed. "How's Son? Is he out yet? Trent? Are they good?" Clay stirred in his bed as he started asking more questions, clearly getting irritated. "Take it easy. Sonny's almost out of surgery, but Trent's good. He's sedated so his body can rest but he's going to be all good." Clay nodded and settled back into the bed. "Where's everyone?" Jason smiled, "Oh trust me, they're on their way up. Ray's just getting some water for us. Wanted me to see how you were doing first." Clay took a shaky breath in. "Water. Yeah." His eyes slipped closed for a moment before reopening and eyeing the cup of water on the bedside table. Jason's mention of it brought his attention to the dryness in this throat. The scratch that wouldn't go away.
"You want some?" Jason reached for the cup before he could get and answer and directed the straw to Clay's mouth. Clay struggled at first, the water mostly sliding down his chest instead of down his throat. It was an internal struggle between wanting to help the kid and wanting to save him the embarrassment of his boss practically having to shove the straw in his mouth. Jason waited though until finally he seemed to figure it out again. His drug riddled mind was slow. The room erupted as Ray, Blackburn, Mandy, Davis, and Kairos all came in. Clay gave the best smile he could as they all spoke to him, asking him how he was doing and what he needed. Telling him they were so happy to see him. Clay did his best to keep up with the conversation, but it was exhausting.
"How are you feeling?" Ray was almost afraid to ask. "Headache and my, uh, chest but other than that really damn good." That got a chuckle out of everyone. "Yeah, they uh, have you on the good medication." Eric laughed as Clay stifled a laugh, then a wince.
"How's the patient?" The doctor's voice cut through the crowd as he stepped forward. Clay cleared his throat as best he could. "Heyyy doc. Doing good." He nodded and wrote a few of his stats down on his chart before coming to listen to Clay's lungs.
"Well, I have good news for you all. Quinn is out of surgery. He is in recovery and settled in a room. We will allow him to have visitors in the afternoon tomorrow. For now, we want him resting so we've sedated him. Tomorrow afternoon we'll start to lift the sedation slowly, it'll be up to his body then to work to come back. He's strong and young. We can give you a more accurate idea of if he's out of the woods after the first 24 hours of him regaining consciousness. Warranting he regains consciousness. His body needs to fight the infection." Davis let out the smallest of gasps from her spot on the left side of Clay's bed. Her eyes were yet to spill tears, but everyone knew she and Sonny were close, arguably had been growing closer, so this certainly wasn't easy on her.
"We really can't visit him until the afternoon?" It was Brock this time, "What about Trent? When can we visit him? Hell, he passed out right in front of us!" Eric eyed him, ready to force him to sit down if he kept this up. He still looked shaky and Eric knew better than to believe him when he said he felt fine. He felt like he was herding a bunch of kids around today.
"It's best for his recovery right now. Besides you need rest yourselves. There will be nurses and doctors in his room constantly right now and it's a very volatile time for his recovery. It's best he saves some of his dignity." No one had the stomach to ask any more about what that could mean. "As for Trent, we're lifting his sedation in the morning. We'd like you guys with him when he starts to come around. He was confused and disoriented when he was brought in and obviously very concerned about all of you, so we think it'd be beneficial to have you guys there for him. I've put a note to have the nurse come get you in the morning when you can see him." Jason sighed, "Thank you. For everything. Really, you've been great." Jason shook his hand along with Jason and Eric. Eric sensed Jason regaining his composure from the events of the day. He was falling back into his position as leader.
The team filled the room with meaningless conversation for a few minutes before finally Clay asked, "Did the airstrike hit?" Clay seemed suddenly clearer minded as he sat up in bed with a wince. His eyes were shifting between Eric, Davis, and Mandy. They all nodded. That seemed to be all Clay needed to hear as he relaxed into the bed again. Jason had sat down next to Clay's bed, his feet up on the side, not close enough to snag an IV or bump his bruises but close enough he could be there in an instant. Close enough to feel he was not going anywhere. Ray had taken his spot in the corner, a small armchair that seemed comfortable enough was calling his name. Brock and Eric were sitting in the two chairs next to the door that they had drug in from the waiting room. They both had stretched their legs out, letting the day wash over them. Mandy and Kairos went to go begin paper work. Kairos agreed to give his report about the day first, while it was still fresh. Jason admired the new man on the team. He was injecting himself into the team well. He wasn't being invasive but was also making sure to mesh with the rest of the guys. Plus, he was damn good at his job.
It felt good to be laughing with everyone. Telling stories that made no sense but left everyone with their bellies aching. They were reminiscing on all the cases of beer they had made Clay purchase throughout his first year with the team. It was Eric who broke up the moment as the laughter quieted down. Jason was swinging his eyes between Clay, who looked exhausted from being up and talking, to Eric who was eyeing Brock. Jason took his opportunity to speak, "Alright, maybe we should start to call it a night. Get some rest. Brock, sounds like you need to go get your head rechecked before then." Brock glared at Jason but nodded. His anger more at the situation then at Jason himself. Eric took the cue to go with him, leaving Ray, Jason and Clay. Ray stood then, "I'm going to go call Naima and the other family members, let them know the media probably has the whole attack wrong and that we're safe."
Finally, Jason and Clay were alone. Jason stood and stretched as he finished the rest of his cup of water. He had traded water for coffee a few hours ago, deciding once the caffeine that had been fueling him for the past 36 hours wore off, he would try to get some rest. He wasn't there yet. It was nearly 10 PM, they had been up for over 24 hours. It wasn't uncommon for them to operate in the early morning, flying during the day and staying up through the night to plan and prepare. They were used to long days of 24 hours awake but when you throw in the injuries and adrenaline crashes, 24 starts to feel a hell of a lot longer. The operation had started at roughly 4:30 in the morning with them finally getting extraction around 9:00 am. Before that they had been up most of the night and the day before, preparing. Even still, Jason wasn't ready to crash for the night. As he looked at Clay though, his eyes sliding closed every few minutes with his blonde hair matted down on his forehead, he realized he was fighting sleep.
"Spencer, you should get some rest." It was his nice way of asking him to just go the hell to bed. "Nah, I'm good. I'm fine." Jason didn't buy it.
"Listen, if you wanna get out of here tomorrow in time to go be with Trent and Sonny when they wake up you gotta get some rest, so you don't look so horrible tomorrow morning." Clay smiled at that as he closed his eyes. It's harder than you would think to simply stop replaying everything through your head over and over. Every decision, every action. Hoping that it would all turn out alright. Praying that Sonny would wake up with full mobility. At least with therapy. Clay couldn't get it to stop.
"It's just, I'm just having a hard time relaxing. Thinking about Sonny." Clay's eyes opened, searching Jason's face. Hayes stared back, not sure where to go with this. It was strange having Clay so open and vulnerable. He knew it was just the exhaustion, trauma, and medication. Even still, he was so out of his realm. He was once again out of his element with the kid.
"Yeah, I know kid. You gotta try though. I can assure you the drugs will help with that. The nurses will be in soon for your checks anyway. Just close your eyes. I'm sure as hell not going anywhere so just shut your eyes. Breathe. I'm here." Jason caught the small nod out of Clay as he shut his eyes. He wasn't sure if he was actually successfully comforting or helping him or if Clay just didn't have it in him to fight it anymore. Jason dimmed the already dim lights even more. He reclaimed his spot next to Clay's bed and leaned back. This kid could very well could be the death of him. He had learned so much from him, from having to teach him, from having to lead him.
Ray found himself stuck in the doorway of Spencer's room. He had returned from making his various phone calls. He had mostly just told Naima what he was allowed to at this point. That wasn't very much, just that they were going to be stuck in the middle east longer than they expected and that a few members of the team were injured. He wasn't able to tell her the extent of the injuries or who exactly it was, but he hoped he dropped enough hints through his conversation. She would tell the others what she knew. Now, he found himself staring at Jason Hayes, leaned onto the side of Clay's bed, breathing deeply as Clay himself slept soundly. His monitors beeping in a regular cadence, his eyelids shut softly. He looked so young and yet so much older than he was. Ray stepped inside and moved to drape a blanket over Jason as he stirred awake.
"Hmm, hey Ray. You get ahold of Naima?" His voice was thick with sleep. "Yeah, she's got it under control over there. Said everyone's doing well. She'll pass along the message to our families." Ray offered him a water bottle which Jason took. "Good, that's good." Ray listened to Clay's breathing over the monitors.
"How's the kid?" Jason leaned back in the chair and stretched, "He's good. He's hangin in there. Nurse came by about an hour ago to do a vitals check. Said he's still on track for discharge in the morning. What about Trent and Sonny? Any update? Where is everyone?" Jason peered around the room, seeing only the belongings of various team members. A jacket here, a phone there.
"Trent's good. A nurse told me he's still the same, resting and sedated. Sonny's fever is climbing but uh, he's still sedated like they told us. So, I'm not sure what that means, I guess. Kairos and Mandy are sleeping at the barracks. There was no point in them staying. Eric got Brock to agree to sleep in an actual room so he's in the waiting area outside of it." Jason nodded as Clay stirred in his sleep, his hand coming to pull at his IV. "Easy Clay, leave it alone." Jason knew how damned annoying the IV's got after several hours and placed another piece of gauze with tape over the crook in his elbow, hoping to discourage his itching.
"Jason, you good? I know it's been hard-"Jason cut him off, "Ray, give it a rest. I can't even go there right now. I'm fine. We're all holding up just fine." There was no malice in his voice. No anger. If anything, there was exhaustion. Pure and unfixable exhaustion. It wasn't the kind that a long night's rest would fix, it was the kind that you felt after not just a couple hard weeks but a couple hard months. The exhaustion that seeps into your bones until just getting up in the morning is work itself. Jason knew where Ray's concern came from. It was all out of love, it always was and always would be. Ray knew how quickly Jason could go from being 'just fine' to being completely and utterly not fine. He also knew though that Jason would not admit anything less than being fine if he was pushed on the matter. He would come to Ray when and if he needed it. It was a constant battle Ray had. Does he push too hard and risk shutting Jason down or does he back off too much and Jason gets lost in the chaos of his own head? For now, Ray would settle with his answer.
"Let me know if that changes brother." He held out his fist and Jason smiled as he bumped it, "Thank you for today Ray."
"What about today?" Ray didn't feel like he did anything out of the ordinary.
"For running point. You were tactically ready and combat ready. I didn't have to give you orders because you were already doing it. I couldn't focus on keeping Sonny alive and making sure Trent was staying on his feet while also trying to set up an overwatch position and a front point defense. You just, you did it. You were what I needed you to be without me needed to ask. Thank you." It wasn't often that Jason spoke like that, really, truly thanked him. Most time it went unsaid, it was a universally known fact that Jason appreciated Ray and it was shown in other ways. Right now, though, it was just what Ray needed to hear. After all the ups and downs with Jason lately, the affirmation was touching.
"That's what your 2 man is for Jace. Try and get some rest." With that Ray silently slipped back into the chair in the corner, crossed his arms over his chest and let the beep of Clay's heart monitor lull him into sleep for the first time in almost 36 hours.
The earliest hints of the sun were coming in through the window when Clay came around. He felt a hell of a lot better than he had the night before. He certainly was a lot clearer in his head too. He glanced around and saw Jason in the chair next to his bed, just where he said he would be, and Ray in the corner. He also noticed Eric, just outside his room, phone pressed to his ear, pacing. A different nurse from the night before was next to him suddenly, "Good morning. It's good to see you looking better. Your vitals look great. How are you feeling?" She was just as nice as the night nurse.
"Better. A lot better actually." Clay forced a smile on his face. Jason roused at the sound of voices, "How's he doing?" The question was directed at the nurse, but Clay took it upon himself to answer with a, "Great. I feel good. Ready to get out of here." Jason huffed, "Let's hear what the actual doctor thinks." The nurse smiled at the two men, "The doctor will be in soon to talk about your discharge. Everything looks good though. I'll bring in your breakfast." Clay thanked her and sat up in bed, testing his pain from yesterday. Much better.
Mandy popped her head in the doorway as the nurse disappeared. "Hey, how you doing?" Her smile lit up the room as Clay sat up even more than before. "A little sore but doing a hell of a lot better than yesterday." Mandy smiled and nodded, "That's really good. You look good. Well, not great but you've never looked great." The joke elicited a small chuckle out of everyone, including Clay, who fought hard to cover the wince that followed.
Mandy locked eyes with Jason and nodded her head towards the hallway, indicating for him to step out. Jason stood, his knees angry from being scrunched up all night, and squeezed Clay's shoulder. "I'll be back in a few minutes. Brock, make him eat." Brock chuckled, "Well, of course." The light banter had completely changed from the mood from last night and the day before. They were all a bit more relaxed. Even still, there was a threat that hung over each of their heads. Sonny was still not awake and until he was, they all knew there were major risks.
"What's up?" Jason asked as she pulled him around the corner and into another corridor. He tucked his hands into the pocket of his sweatshirt that Davis had gotten for him yesterday. Mandy looked at the ground a beat before looking back at Jason. "I'm just checking in. Making sure you're ok."
Jason turned, ready to walk away. He was sick of everyone acting like he couldn't handle himself. Like he wasn't just fine. "Jason, wait! You and I both know you're different. Hey!" She grabbed his shoulder and he spun around faster than Mandy thought, she stumbled back. Jason was angry, angry like he would get when people questioned his authority. Angry how he was when Clay disobeyed and did something stupid. Angry how he was when he found out about Ray's shoulder. Angry how he was when ALPHA team was killed. His whole body showed it.
"Ya know what Mandy? You're right. I'm not fine. I'm not sure which way is up, and which way is down most days. I'm realizing more and more with each time I'm home that I have no idea how to parent my own damned kids. I don't! Then I have to bury Adam in the ground, hold his wife as she cries, as my own daughter comforts his! That gutted me, it did, but I could handle all of that! I could move on from that!" Jason paused, his chest heaving as he yelled at her. Jason had grabbed onto her forearms, his voice cracking as tears welled in his cheeks, "I was doing ok Mandy! I was getting the kids under control! I was talking to Adam's wife and she was getting better. Then though, then a damn kid throws a grenade, and everything goes to hell! I had to watch my medic bleed out in front of me, know that I can't stop him from practically killing himself just to try to save Sonny. All the while, I have my rookie holding his life in his hands. What the hell is wrong with the world? What the hell is wrong with me? Everything I've been involved in lately has been horrible for everyone around me? Am I being punished? I mean-" Mandy had to stop him before he kept spiraling. "Jason, Jason, woah! Shhh. Breathe. Take a breath." Jason stopped speaking, his deep breathing filling the space between them.
"I wasn't trying to make things worse, I just wanted to check in." She had shaken off his arms and now had both her hands on his shoulders, grounding him. Or at least attempting to.
"I know. I just. It got to me for a minute. I'm good." Jason still had the look of pain in his eye that he always came back with after a hard mission.
"For the record Jason, you have nothing to be sorry for. You're not being punished, you're just going through a valley, but you've been through them before, you'll go through them again. I just wanted to let you know I'm here if you need me." It was all Mandy could think to say. It was apparently all she needed to say though. Jason closed the gap between them with two steps and enveloped her in his arms, tucking his head in her neck and just for a moment it didn't feel like everything was crashing around them. It didn't feel like Sonny could never wake up and Trent was lying in a hospital bed. It didn't feel like he had almost lost the whole team. It didn't feel like his children were motherless. Everything felt ok, or at least more ok than they actually were. He let it linger, let Mandy hug him back with everything she had. All the unsaid words she had. Then as quickly as it started, Jason pulled away and walked back to Clay's room, leaving Mandy to stand there and wonder how she got as lucky to have such an amazing team.
Jason entered Clay's room to see him up and moving, slower than normal but still moving. Brock was nearby, clearly ready to help him if and when he needed it. Clay was huffing that he was just fine and didn't need any help. The doctor explained to Jason that he was getting discharged. Jason grinned as he eyed the empty plate where Clay had finished his breakfast. He turned back to Clay though as he sucked in sharply with pain. He was getting discharged and wanted to get the hell out of his room. Jason didn't blame him in the slightest. However, that didn't mean he wanted the kid dropping on his ass trying to change into clothes. Brock handed him his bag that Davis had gotten dropped off yesterday and hovered outside the bathroom door. Jason turned to Brock, "Keep an eye on him, will you?" Brock simply nodded as if it was the most stupid question in the world. Of course, he would keep an eye on the kid. The doctor then ushered Jason outside where he spotted Eric, Davis, Mandy, Ray, and Kairos all seated in the small circle of chairs they had pushed together. They had seemingly overtaking the small sitting area on the floor.
"We have breakfast. You should eat Jason." Jason wasn't hungry in the slightest bit. He didn't think he'd get his appetite back until Trent and Sonny were awake. However, he sunk down into the seat and picked up a banana from the table, slowly chewing as he pictured Trent's face, covered in blood, collapsing to the floor of the emergency room. Clay and Brock were next to him suddenly and Mandy stood up, motioning for Clay to sit. He hesitated at first but with one glare from Jason, he took the seat. He looked tired and worn out, but he did look considerably better than when he was brought in yesterday, or hell, when he had himself wrapped around Jason struggling to breathe. Jason shuddered at the thought.
Lisa looked around the circle, her eyes threatening to spill over for the thousandth time in the past 48 hours. Listening to that operation happen was the hardest thing she'd done in her career. Harder than pushing through all the sexism that she knew, unintentional or not, existed in her field. Harder than the training, harder than when they lost Adam, harder than when she lost Danny. Harder than all of that was having to sit with her computer in front of her, trying to coordinate how to get the team EXFIL while she listened to Eric talk to Jason. While she listened to Eric curse under his breath, while she listened to Mandy pray when she thought no one was listening. She had to pretend she didn't notice when Eric turned the COMS so only he could hear, when he started relaying only that they were hanging in there. She knew it was all lies. She looked around the circle, praying that Sonny wake up, praying that she could just see him. Just get to see his eyes open one more time.
"Lisa? Hey?" Her eyes snapped to Mandy, who was staring at her with concern, they all were. "The doctor's here for an update." They all stood from there spots, ready for the worst, hoping for the best.
"Well, it was a long night for Sonny. His fever climbed rather high last night, slightly over 103 degrees. However, today it is down slightly. We believe the infection is not spreading anymore but we can't be sure. We're going to lift his sedation later today if his fever continues to come down. However, this doesn't mean he'll wake up. He could take hours, or days, to come around. His body is fighting though." The doctor paused.
"Can we sit with him? Please, even just for a little bit. Just see him?" Lisa wasn't one to beg but she was grasping at straws to try to at least see him. Eric squeezed her shoulder. He was well aware of the closeness between Sonny and Davis. He had watched it from afar for almost a year.
"It's not the best idea at the moment. When we start lifting his sedation, we will let you sit with him." Davis only nodded and shifted to the back of the group, trying to hide the desperation in her eyes. "Trent's sedation is going to be lifted soon. I'll allow three of you to sit with him, help him come out of the sedation. After he's awake we can allow the rest of you to see him." Jason instantly stepped forward.
"I need to be there." Certainly no one argued with that. Eric also wanted to be there. Everyone knew Eric was also taking it hard that the guys were having a tough year. It was Clay, who had sat back down in his chair, slightly fatigued from being up and about who spoke up last, "I want to be there too. I want to be there for him." Jason didn't even have the heart to argue at this point. The whole team obviously would want to sit by his bedside, stare at his closed eyes, urge him to wake up minute by minute. They all knew how good Trent was. It wasn't just because of his medical expertise but because of how he operated. He could make you feel like there was no way he was going to let you leave God's green Earth. That was the kind of medic you needed when the whole team is standing around, waiting for extract, hoping it gets there in time. You need someone who can operate under that kind of pressure, while still being a realist, all the while making everyone else think everything is just fine. You just have to keep going. That was Trent.
That was all Jason could think about as he paced back and forth the length of Trent's small room. Clay had long ago passed out in the chair that Jason had pulled in from the hallway. He had an arm slung across his chest, protecting his chest without even realizing it. His leg slung onto the chair that Jason had previously occupied until he couldn't take just staring at Trent's rising and falling chest. The rise and fall of Trent's chest made Jason think back to their Green Team training.
Jason and Trent actually went through it together. It was after a particular hard and long day of swim training that Jason was having a very hard time catching his breath. Trent was on his train team and had noticed he was off almost immediately. Trent pulled him from group and had insisted he be seen by a doctor. Jason was coughing so hard he felt like he would break a rib. None of the instructors had noticed how Jason was pale and shaking, not the way Trent did. Jason certainly would have pushed through, at least until he couldn't. Trent wouldn't let him though. It nearly saved his life. After he basically collapsed, Trent looked him over and ordered him to get chest x-rays. Those x-rays showed plain as day he had gotten water in his lung and was going to be drowning on dry land if he wasn't careful. It was after that day that Jason knew one day Trent would be his team medic. When Jason woke up from being in the base hospital it was Trent who was next to him. He didn't leave, not when Jason was heaving, not when he was arguing with doctors, not when he was cursing at Trent for pulling him from training when they were equals. Trent took it all. That was Trent. The moment Jason was promoted and got his own team he requested Trent. He remembered calling Trent up and retelling him the story.
He recalled telling him, "Listen, I never got to buy you a drink after that so how about we go get two drinks. One to repay you for saving my ass, and the second to celebrate."
"Celebrate what Jace?" Trent had asked.
"For you joining the best damned team there ever will be." He paused, "That is if you want the spot. I don't want anyone else as my medic."
"Hell yeah. You're gonna owe me a third drink too though." Jason laughed, "Yeah? Why's that?"
"For all the future times I'll save your ass." He remembered laughing his ass off at that joke that they both knew was probably true as hell.
"Trent. This is a big position. This is BRAVO." Jason's tone turned serious, "I need you to be sure about this." Jason knew the temptation with an offer to join an elite team was just to jump and say yes. He needed to be sure though.
"Jason, I will not let you down. I will be the best medic I know how to be. I will not leave my brothers. I will not fail. I know I cannot fail." That was all Jason needed to hear. Trent had certainly kept his promise thus far.
Now though, Jason stared at his bruised face, the IVs snaking through his arms, the wires connected to his chest, the bruises and cuts. He just watched the rise and fall of his chest until he couldn't anymore. Then he paced, and just kept pacing.
"Jason, cut it out. You're going to wear a hole in the damned floor." Eric's voice cut through Jason's reeling thoughts.
"Keeping myself busy." Eric shifted the pile of paperwork that he had balanced on his lap. Jason noticed the bags under his eyes, the redness they were rimmed with. He noticed the way Eric was getting increasingly quiet. All the signs that he was running on fumes, they surely would run out soon.
"Did you sleep at all last night?" It was usually Eric checking on all of them, forcing them to sleep and eat and do all other normal human things.
"I could ask you the same question." Jason stopped his pacing momentarily and stared at Trent, still unmoving.
"Just try and sleep Eric. He's certainly not going anywhere. Sonny sure as hell isn't waking up anytime soon. If you sleep, everyone else will too." Jason nodded towards the door where they could see through the small window most of the team, strewn about across chairs and the small couch in the waiting area. They had made themselves as comfortable as they could but yet there eyes remained open. Eric nodded and moved his paperwork off of his lap, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Wake me when Trent decides to come back to work and get off his ass." Jason let himself chuckle at the joke, "Copy."
It was only a few minutes before he could hear in the back of his head, the back of all the rumbling thoughts, the soft snoring of Eric and the ragged but strong breathing from Clay. That was enough to keep him sane at the moment. Now, he just needed to see Trent open his eyes.
Ray strolled through the halls, trying to stretch his legs and grab one last thing to eat before he tried to get some rest. He had wandered up to the next floor and he wouldn't try to deny that it wasn't an accident. He knew that this was where Sonny's room was. He was only hoping to get an update.
What he didn't expect to see was Davis, sitting with her head in her hands, outside of his room. Ray kept his distance at first, trying to evaluate the situation. He was close with Davis, close enough to go ask if she was alright. However, he wasn't sure if now was the time to push on the feelings that Sonny and Davis clearly had for each other. Ray palmed the apple he was eating before throwing it in the trash at the corner and walking over to her. He squatted in front of her chair and pulled her hands apart that had been grasping together so tightly. She looked up at Ray, her eyes welled with tears, her face scared. It was just a moment of understanding. Ray wasn't sure if Sonny and Davis were in love, or if they would ever face their fears, or maybe they were just the kind of friends where you do truly love them with everything you have but not in a romantic way. A sibling type of way. Ray wasn't sure, but it only took a moment to look at Davis and see she was terrified of losing him. Terrified of him never waking up. They all were.
Lisa wrapped Ray in a hug, pulling him close. For the first time since all of this started, she let herself cry. She didn't cry when Alana died, she didn't cry when Clay got shot, she didn't cry when Adam died, not when Clay was losing it over the death of his friend, not when she got the news that Jason was leaving, not when she watched them carry Adam off the cargo plane, or when they put him in the ground. Sonny Quinn getting blown up though, spiking a fever, and trying to fight said fever that just keeps on climbing. That would get her.
It was several minutes before Lisa finally spoke, her head buried in the crook of Ray's neck, "I can't lose him. You guys can't lose him. The team it can't, it wouldn't be the same. I can't lose Sonny. We can't." Ray pulled away, holding her by her shoulders.
"Davis, you think he's going to give up? He's certainly not going to give up. The doctors said he needs time. They haven't even started lifting his sedation. They're doing what's best for him by keeping us from visiting. He needs to rest." Lisa nodded but Ray knew it was most of an instinctual response then actual agreement.
"I just wish he knew we were here. I wish we knew we wanted him fighting. Ray, what happened? I mean, I know Eric stepped away, but I could still hear him. Barely, because his voice was just so weak, but I could hear him giving up. I could hear him slipping away. I just need him to know that he can't give up. He needs to know he has people waiting for him to wake up." Davis was searching his face as if he had the answers. He didn't, not even close.
"He does. Jason got through to him. In the last few minutes, after Trent hit him with the epinephrine, he got through to him. He knew he should keep fighting." Ray swiped at the one lone tear that was sitting on her cheek, "Come on Lisa, let's get you some coffee and something to eat." She shook her head, "The nurses have been telling me how he's doing when they go in to monitor him. His fever came down a degree last hour." Ray stood, "We'll only be a minute. Come on. I'll keep you company after." Ray held out a hand, hoping that she would just stop being stubborn. She grabbed it reluctantly and followed him down towards the cafeteria, sneaking one last look back at Sonny's room.
Jason stared out the window, not really taking in where they were. Still in the middle east, in the best base hospital they had set up. It still wasn't great, only two floors. Not enough beds, or rooms, or staff. It was enough though. Trent's monitors beeping faster caused Jason to spin around. Trent's eyes were lolling around the room, not landing on one thing for too long.
"Where? Sonny? Is Sonny ok? Brock needs, uh, he needs…" His voice was confused and thick with sleep, his eyes barely open as he spoke. He turned his head to the side, finding Jason.
"I need to, to check on Sonny. I need to, to call Sarah. She, she's worried I bet." Jason came to the side of his bed and put a hand on his shoulder, trying to ground him. "He's good. He's got care now. Take it easy." Jason released him for a split second to get the cup off water from the table. Trent's voice sounded so scratchy and painful, he knew he must want water. Trent took the opportunity to try to sit up, a grunt and yell came out of his sore throat. This got Eric out of his seat quickly, Clay also starting to wake up. Both of them stumbled out of sleep to help.
"Woah, woah, easy Trent. Calm down brother." Jason was holding his shoulder as gently as he could, Eric holding the other. Clay grabbed his hands, keeping him from moving all that much.
"Trent, you're good man. See, I'm good. We're all good. Breathe." Clay felt strange instructing Trent to breathe when just a few hours ago, that felt like day ago, Jason was giving him the very same instructions. Trent's chest heaved with pain.
"Shit, shit, shit." Trent gritted his teeth and put a hand to his side.
"I'll get a doctor." Eric disappeared out of the room, Clay coming to take his spot. Jason smiled down at Trent, "Welcome back man. Welcome back." Trent's eyes were glazy with drugs and with sedation, but he knew how much emotion was in Jason's words. "Now, please calm down. No need to give Eric a heart attack this young. Everyone is fine, and we can catch you up once you lay down and let us talk. You're good. You did good. You did a damn good job." Trent took a deep breath, as deep as he could with the stitches and forced him to relax all of his muscles. Eric came back through the door with the doctor in tow.
"Well, hello. How are we feeling? It's good to see your eyes open." The doctor, who Jason had come to like, smiled genuinely at his patient.
"Not bad. I just need to know how the guys are. Did Clay get a chest x-ray? Is Sonny out of surgery?" The doctor continued to check his vitals as Trent rambled on about everyone besides himself. "Yes, Clay did get a chest x-ray. I will in fact let you look at all of their charts after I get you checked out and after you have some food. Sonny has been out of surgery for several hours. He's fighting the infection as hard as he can. He lost a lot of blood, but you saved his life. He's still sedated but we will probably be lifting his sedation later today. I won't lie to you though, I won't sugar coat it. It is up to his body and his strength on rather or not he is able to fight the infection, to wake up after the sedation."
"How long was I out?" Trent had a thousand questions, "About 12 hours." The doctor wrote in Trent's charts for a while. "Well, all things considered, you look pretty damn good. Your stitches are holding up well. That button there is for morphine. I'll come check on you later. For now, you should try to eat something. I'll have a nurse bring you your charts for your team. Take it easy though."
The doctor's cooperation was astonishing to Jason. He didn't try to fight Trent on checking up on the team, he just immediately let him know that would only be possible after he got himself fixed up a little. Yeah, Jason certainly liked this doctor. Clay and Eric both chatted with Trent, catching him up on what happened, Jason chimed in as well when he could. Clay looked better after sleeping through the night, his bruises still there, the stitches, and the winces. It was his eyes that looked better though. Trent was finally relaxing back into his bed when he asked, "Can I see everyone? Please?" He looked at Jason when he asked, knowing Jason would be hounding him to rest. After he had been losing so many people in his life, he had been getting pretty protective. Trent understood, he just wanted to see his guys.
Jason, after a few conditions, went to the waiting room and got everyone. They filed in, making jokes, being loud and boisterous as usual. Trent's face lit up. Seeing everyone up and walking, healthy, or at least conscious and healing, was the medicine he could get at the moment. They filled the room, making jokes about him slacking off and taking time off to catch a nap. Trent smiled and let them talk, let them make jokes, let himself be the center of attention while not really concentrating on what was going on. The drugs were muddling his mind. Jason noticed after about 20 minutes of catching up that Trent was struggling to keep his eyes open, fighting the morphine. He nodded to Clay who stood, "I'm going to go get some coffee, you guys want to come?" They all seemed to catch the message and filed out of the room, promising to come back later after he had gotten some rest.
Once again, Jason was alone with Trent. Jason grabbed his hand, "You just get some rest." Trent groaned, "Sarah? Does she know?" Jason figured he would ask about her again. "Ray called Naima, she told them what Ray was able to tell her. She knows you're alright. Healing." Trent only groaned in response. The morphine really taking over, "Shh, you're good. Just sleep." Jason took his seat by Trent's bed again.
"Jace, I'll request to move from BRAVO, when we're home, I'll move. I'll transfer." Jason's head snapped up from the floor tiling he was staring at. He wanted to question him. Why the hell did he want to leave BRAVO? Trent's eyes were closed though, his breathing even. He had slipped into the sweet oblivion of morphine induced sleep. He looked to the door at the sound of Mandy's heels across the tiling.
"Hey, I brought you some food and a coffee. Hey? You ok?" Mandy took in the confused look on Jason's face, the almost pained look that lived there.
"Trent wants to leave the team." Jason got up, "I need some air."
AN: Ok, there it is! Trent is awake! I tried to write some Sonny and Davis moments without Sonny being awake, hopefully ya'll like it. I had a request to write the into the story a bit, I like that idea too! I'm very excited for tonight's episode. This chapter was a little longer and I expect the next one to be too. Why does Trent want to leave? Well, you'll probably find out some time early next week;)