The ride to the nearest hospital was long and rough, mostly over unpaved roads and badly paved roads. Rose woke up several times crying in pain as she was jostled around in the back of the ambulance. It was dawn when they arrived, the rain still pouring down as she was rushed in and straight to surgery.
Sam was taken and placed in a room to be examined and bandaged, x-rays were taken of his head just to make sure that he didn't have a concussion. When it came back that he was mostly fine, just a few bruised ribs and some shock from the ordeal he went through they allowed him to call his parents. It wouldn't take them long to get on a plane and get to Texas but driving to where they were was a different story. After that, Sam called the number Hoyt gave him and told him what hospital they were out and their expected time to be released, though he wasn't all that sure about Rose.
Sure to his word Thomas was there waiting with Sam to see Rose get out of surgery. He caught plenty of stares and hated every moment that he was there but he stayed for her. He kept twisting his apron in his massive hands, his eyes darting from place to place before looking at Sam who was just as tense, sitting on the edge of his chair. Max was getting cleaned up in the morgue, waiting the arrival of his parents to take him home.
The hours ticked by before a doctor finally came out, looking taken aback by the presence of Thomas. "Uh… Sam O'Murchadha?"
Sam stood up, "That's me, I'm her brother."
The surgeon motioned him to a quieter area, Thomas started to go with them but decided against it. He rubbed his hands together and hung his head, his breathing hard. What if she wasn't okay? Was that why he wouldn't talk to Sam in front of him? He strained to hear them but it was useless. The huge man couldn't make out a word they were saying to each other, just the occasional Rose this or Rose that.
He lifted his head when he heard Sam coming closer, "He said the surgery went well, but… she lost a lot of blood. Hoyt hit a major blood vessel or something like that and we… just let her bleed. That whole time she was just laying out there in the rain bleeding out. Even worse than the first time. We could have killed her." Thomas bowed his head again, his fingers digging into his legs as he hunched over himself. The news had him shaking, visibly shaking. His chest felt so tight and empty that he started to cry.
Sam awkwardly patted his back, "She… She's going to be in the ICU, at least for tonight and tomorrow, but they said… she'll… probably be okay." Thomas pinched the bridge of his nose before rubbing his eyes and standing up, looking at Sam expectantly. "Yeah, let's go see her."
They walked with Sam in the lead to the elevators so they could go up to the ICU. When the doors opened up and they stepped out the nurses stopped Thomas from going into her room trying to explain that he was a walking infection risk to everyone on the unit. "Oh no you don't, no sir. You need to leave, go home, shower, put on clean clothes. You can make people sick in here with all of that dirt and… is that… blood?!"
Sam tried to explain that they just wanted to visit Rose and make sure she was alright. "He came here from a meat processing plant, he just wants to visit my sister. He heard about our crash and he wants to make sure that she's alright."
"While that's very sweet we can't have him here. Not as dirty as he is." Thomas hung his head, he didn't really have anything that was clean, nor did he have a way to get back for some time. "Look… we have an empty room you can shower in and clean up. I'll… try and find some scrubs big enough to fit you." The nurse pinched the bridge of her nose before showing him to the empty room. She turned the shower on for him and gave him a handful of wash clothes and a handful of body wash bottles. "I'll be back with some towel and the scrubs."
Thomas scratched the back of his head before he started taking off his clothes. His arms were heavily scarred from self mutilation, some were fully healed others were still getting there. His skin was darkly tanned, from his hands to mid-bicep. He was rather hairy, well muscled like a strong man, thick around the center to support his muscles when he needed to lift something heavy. His legs were just as thickly muscled as his arms, years of working in the meat factory did better than any gym. He stepped into the shower after taking off his mask, his head bowed to keep the water off his face for the most part.
He took his time, making sure he was completely clean before he emerged again. The scrubs were mostly too tight, especially around his arms, but they'd do for now. They even left him a mask. He put it on, fixing it to hide the worst parts of his face, though he could still see parts of his gnarled scars poking out from the sides as they crossed over his cheeks.
He brushed a hand through his hair before heading out, Sam looked up at him in surprise, it wasn't every day he saw such a sight, Thomas is the classic green scrubs of anyone that worked closely with patients at the hospital. They could almost pass him as a surgeon. "She's this way…" He finally spoke after a long stretch of silence.
Thomas followed obediently pausing at the entrance to Rose's room. She looked so frail in that tiny bed. Her pretty blonde hair was darker, still wet. Carefully he walked over to her, there was a mask on her face that fogged rhythmically with her breathing. Her brow twitched, creasing before her eyes squinted open. Sam quickly dimmed the lights, letting her eyes adjust slowly.
Thomas took her hand softly, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb. "Sam?" She croaked, exhausted from the surgery and staying on the ground for so long. "Thomas… you're here…" She smiled and closed her eyes. Her body went slack. It had to have worked for them to be here together.
"Rose you rest up. Doc said it'd be awhile before you were one hundred percent but we'll keep an eye on you, okay?" Sam patted her leg. Not getting a response from her he left the room to find some food. Not that he had any money to get any but maybe he could scrounge up enough for a sandwich or get a free sandwich from the cafeteria.
Thomas stayed with Rose, watching her softly and keeping one eye on the nurses that gave her different injections through her IVs. He watched even harder when they changed her dressings and cleaned the neatly stitched up wounds. A gutteral sound came from him when they tried to make him move. The nurses backed off, assuming he was the boyfriend or husband of the woman in the bed. One nurse didn't take no for an answer, explaining first to him and then again to Rose once she was awake. Thomas scooted back to make room for the nurse, allowing her to take care of Rose. She washed her face and removed the extra oxygen, giving her a bed bath because they didn't want her up and moving just yet while she was still so weak.
Thomas stayed tense the entire time, watching intently. He would do this for her next time. Thomas visibly didn't like that there was a stranger touching her. It would have been one thing if it was a family member he didn't know but this lady was no one to them. When she finally finished Thomas was quick to get back to Rose's side, going right back to holding her hand. He watched her chest rise and fall and relaxed again letting her sleep. They'd go home together soon.
Rose opened her eyes slightly to look over at him, "Thank you, Thomas… you get some sleep too…" She mumbled. He nodded eagerly, settling closer so he could lay his head on her legs. He was a little surprised when her free hand played with his hair. He closed his eyes with a soft grunt, holding her hand as he drifted off. He didn't realize he'd been there for several hours now.
By the time Sam returned it was nearly dawn the next day and their parents were in tow and a little shocked to see someone so large hunkered down with their daughter. Martha hurried to her side, "Rosie… oh my sweet little girl…" She dabbed at her eyes daintily, sniffling as she sat down on the other side of her. They'd just come from seeing Max, so they were glad that their adopted children were in mostly one piece. "Dylan, go talk to the nurses and see when we can take her home with us."
Rose stirred slightly, "No… I want to stay in Texas…" she mumbled, having heard her say she wanted to take her home, "Let me stay here…"