*Because I needed some Ethan/Mario bromance in my life. And Jesse being a protective mama is my favorite thing ever.
Chapter 7 – "Babysitter's Wanted"
The next time Ethan woke up he was alone, the spot next to him cold, indicating that Leanne had been gone for some time now. He stretched his good arm out from his side and reached up to scratch his head, wincing when he bumped the bruise above his eye. He moved to sit up and let out a wince when a sharp pain shot through the left side of his body. What he thought was a quiet groan must have been loud because the next thing he knew Mario Savetti came flying through the door, a panicked look etched across his handsome face.
"Ethan!" His voice was strained and he looked like he was probably having a pretty rough day himself. He reached out to steady Ethan's trembling upper half, lowering him back down against the mattress, as he called for Jesse.
"That's really not necessary Dr. Savetti." Ethan groaned his retort, and sucked in deep breath as the pain in his arm escalated. "I'm fine."
"Bullshit." The younger man didn't skip a beat as he pulled out his stethoscope and checked Ethan's heart. His hands then moving to the man's scalp, checking the head wound that spanned from above his eye to his cheek. "Your blood pressure's through the roof."
Ethan hissed as Mario's hands made a move for his injured arm, and he tried to jerk it free, only causing another shot of tormenting pain to travel up his arm. "Maybe that's because you scared me when you screamed my name and came bursting through the door." He raised an eyebrow at the brunette doctor, but Mario wasn't paying him any mind, his focus aimed solely on his arm.
"What's wrong?" Jesse came flying through the door and Ethan could tell that the man was out of breath, meaning he ran from wherever he had been a few minutes before.
"I moved." Ethan winced again, this time using his free hand to smack Mario's head gently. "This doofus came running and scared the shit out of me."
Mario rolled his eyes at the Colonel's comment and turned to Jesse with a serious face. "He's in pain, and his heart rate is elevated. He needs morphine."
Ethan grumbled something under his breath as he sank back against the pillows. "Guys, I'm right here." He hollered after a minute of watching the two argue over what to do next. "Maybe you should try asking me." His voice was quiet, but firm, eyeing the two men as they both turned to face him.
Jesse let out a sigh and crossed his arms over his chest, setting his face in a serious glare. "What do you need Dr. Willis?"
"Ouch." Ethan could feel the burn from Jesse's stare from across the room and he suddenly wished he had just let them drug him so he could go back to sleep. "No need to get all evil nurse on me Jesse."
Mario let out a slight chuckle, earning himself a glare from the man standing next to him. He plopped himself down in the chair by Ethan's bed when neither one of the other men made a move to break up the awkwardness.
"I heard yelling." Rollie rounded the corner next, Ethan's chart in his hands and a worried expression on his normally calm face. "What's going on?"
No one spoke. Instead they all just shifted glances back and forth around the room. Rollie knew everyone was tired. They had all been pulling extra hours with Ethan and Leanne both down right now. And none of them had really slept much since Ethan had been brought in, but he didn't understand why everyone was so tense all of a sudden. Reaching out, he placed a hand on both Jesse and Mario's shoulders and gently turned them towards the door. "I'll take it from here." His voice was soft, and Jesse and Mario both nodded, casting a backwards look at Ethan as they left the room.
Reaching behind him to shut the door, Rollie let out a breath as he turned to face Ethan, sighing when he say the strong mask had faded, pain etched into his face. "What's going on Ethan?" He asked softly, moving forward to get a better look at the man.
"I tried to sit up." His voice was low, the pain now making it hard to even catch his breath. "Pain shot through my side."
Rollie gently reached out for Ethan's injured arm, and held it up to get a better look. "Just your arm? Or your whole side?"
Ethan let out a pained noise as Rollie continued to move his arm around. Closing his eyes against the pain, and the light, he whispered. "Both." He let a fuck! escape under his breath as Rollie placed his arm back down on the bed. "But more the arm."
Rollie nodded his head gently and moved to Ethan's IV, where he quickly administered something into the line. He offered the tired man before him a soft smile, but when he saw that his eyes were closed he knew that he should leave him. "I've given you some morphine." Ethan nodded his head against the pillows, his body already sinking down into the mattress. "Try and get some sleep." Rollie watched him for another minute, waiting for any signs of distress, but instead he was met with quiet snores. Smiling to himself he left the room, turning off the light and shutting the door behind him before turning to face his two colleagues.
"Now do you want to tell me what you two were doing sitting outside of Ethan's room in the middle of the night?" Rollie's question was soft, but his eyes were glaring.
"I wasn't sitting outside of his room!" Jesse threw his hands up defensively. "He was!" He pointed an accusing finger at Mario and Rollie slapped a hand over his face.
"It was all Leanne's idea!" Mario's voice was squeaky, something Rollie never thought he would hear, not in a million years, and when he removed his hand from his face he saw both men hanging their heads.
"Why?" He already knew the answer to the question that he asked, but he wanted to see if these two fools were aware of why they were on babysitting duty.
"Because she's afraid something will happen to him." Mario's voice was barely a whisper, and he cast a sideways glance at the nurse next to him.
"So she asked you two to babysit?" Rollie was confused. He understood Leanne's worry, however, he didn't understand why she had these two sitting outside of Ethan's room in the middle of the night.
"She asked each one of us." Mario let out a sigh and leaned back against the wall, shoving his hands in his scrub pockets. "We're supposed to take shifts."
Rollie let out a sigh and began pacing back and forth. "I see."
The three waited in silence for a few minutes, all of them unsure of what to say. They were all lost in their own little worlds, thinking about the man laying on the other side of the door, and his lover who was probably asleep on the couch in her office downstairs. None of them wanted to leave the man alone. None of them really even wanted to leave Leanne alone. And they were all struggling with just how exactly to deal with this unique situation.
"Did Leanne say why she wanted you guys to keep an eye on him?" Rollie's voice finally broke the silence.
Mario sighed again and leaned up from his position against the wall. "She's terrified that he's gonna take a turn for the worse and that there won't be anyone here to help him if and when that happens." He hated giving his friend's secret away. He knew that Leanne had told him that in confidence. But at this point, he just wanted to do whatever he could to help. He knew that he hadn't always had the best relationship with either one of the older doctors, but lately, he found himself really starting to enjoy their company. They were both great doctors and mentors, but they were also great friends. And he felt that by agreeing to help Leanne keep tabs on the injured man, he was being a good friend. A foolish friend maybe, but a good one.
Jesse let out a sigh that matched Mario's and wrapped his arm around the younger man's shoulders as he spoke. "She told me the same thing." His voice was soft and he hoped he too, was doing the right thing. "She wouldn't say why she wanted us to do it exactly, just that we keep an eye on him."
Rollie nodded his head, closing his eyes as he let the information sink in. He understood where Leanne was coming from. He really did. But having Mario, who was half asleep himself, sit in the hallway outside the man's hospital room was a little ridiculous.
"You two go get some sleep." He patted them both on the shoulder and gave them a reassuring smile. "I'll go talk to Leanne. See what this is really all about."
Jesse and Mario both wanted to argue, but they also knew that they both desperately needed to get some sleep, so they nodded their heads in understanding. After taking one last look at the door to Ethan's room, they both headed down the hallway towards the elevator.
Rollie sighed as he opened Ethan's door, checking on the sleeping man one more time. "I hope you know how damn cared for you are Ethan." He whispered, pulling the blanket up to the man's chin. He quietly made his way back to the door, shutting it behind him, and made his way downstairs to Leanne's office.
*Don't forget to comment!