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When it gets dark outside, and the TV starts to make their eyes hurt, Murphy lets out a yawn.
His brother is immediately tense again, and but doesn't say anything, instead just lying still while Murphy presses his head into Connor's shoulder. They're both kind of on the bed now. Murphy is mostly in the middle, but as scooted over as he could manage before Connor stopped him, hating the ashen look on his face. So now Connor is half on the bed, his legs resting on a chair, but his torso pressed up against his brother. Murphy craves the contact, though he would never admit it.
A nurse had come in to give him his due round of pain medication an hour before, and Murphy could already feel it wearing him out. The screen blurs a little bit, and the tinny sound starts to crank up the static in his head.
Murphy lifts a hand to rub at his eyes, feeling more exhausted than ever before, "Connor?" He slurs, and blinks lazily at his twin when he turns to look at him, "'m getting' tired, an'—" he let out a yawn, "I think tha' ye are too."
"Not as tired at as ye are though," Connor lets out a quiet chuckle, and went to slide off the bed, "Time fer bed, Murph."
He latches a hand out to grab his brother's sleeve though, just before Connor gets out of reach, and struggles to keep his eyes open, "It wasn't yer fault, ye know." Connor freezes, and avoids Murphy's eyes, which are drooping more by the second, "It wasn't, ye eegit, it wasn't."
Connor doesn't reply immediately though, simply leaning back to press his forehead against Murphy's forehead, and smooth down his messy hair, "Try ta get some sleep, Murph."
He wants to dispute the matter, wants to stay up all night and hash it out if that's what it takes to convince his brother, but Connor is pulling the covers up to his chin, and he's just so tired. Connor begins to hum a simple tune, one that Murphy recognises as an Irish folk song, and that wears him right out.
Murphy falls asleep to the sound of Connor humming, and the feeling of his brother's hand wrapped loosely around his own.
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The sound of Murphy's quiet breathing fills the room, and its only then that Connor lets his head drop into his hands. He stays like that for a moment, just listening to his brother breathe, and riding out the pain in his ribs that has been throbbing all day.
Then Connor stands up quietly, once he's sure that Murphy is asleep, and creeps out of the room.
He goes to the payphone in the hospital lobby, and rests his head against the glass while he listens to the dial tone. His fingers are shaky as he tries to slot a few pennies into the machine, his cast making the task difficult, but Connor gets it done, and soon the phone is ringing. It's answered almost immediately, and he closes his eyes briefly.
"Ma?"
The voice on the other end responds immediately, and is full of worry and concern, "Connor? Are ye okay? Is yer brother okay? What's goin' on, do ye need anythin'—do ye—is Murphy okay? Connor? Connor, answer me, luv, are ye okay?"
He closes his eyes again for a moment, relief flooding through him, "Aye, he's okay, Ma. He fell asleep a few minutes ago, I just—I wanted ta hear yer voice. Sorry."
"No, Connor, don't apologise, luv, don't ever apologise fer that. I'm sorry tha' I can't be there. Now, are ye okay?"
Connor nods, and then feels stupid, because obviously she can't see him, "Aye, Ma, I'm fine too. Jus' tired. I figured tha' ye would want me ta call ye before I go ta sleep. How's work?"
His mother let out a sigh, and he could just picture her, with her feet proppped up against the counter in the empty shop, "The same as normal. Little shits keep comin' inta try an' scam me outta the vodka and whiskey, but they're lackin' yer brains an' Murphy's charm."
"Maybe we'll havta give the local kids a lesson in bein' us, then so," Connor lets out a tired laugh, and taps his cast gently against the payphone, "Listen, Ma, I'm almost outta minutes. An' I havta get back ta Murph, jus' in case he wakes up an' I'm not there."
There's a sad element in his mother's voice, but its mixed with something that he hasn't heard before, not until she tells him, "I'm proud of ye, Connor. I am so, so proud. Now ye get back up ta yer brother, an' get yer skinny behind inta a bed, ye hear? Okay, night, luv."
"Night, Ma—" Connor replies, but the phone hangs up before he can hear her respond, and he's left staring at the payphone, wondering if she heard him.
But there's nothing that he can do about it, so he places the phone back where it belongs after another minute of just staring at it, and starts to make his way back to Murphy again. He just hopes that his brother hasn't woken in his absence.
Connor is really starting to hate this lack of control.
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Luckily, Murphy is still out like a light when he gets back, lying flat and outstretched on his back.
The red road rash is still painfully obvious on Murphy's face, and it makes Connor wince every time he glances at it. To add to that, he'd had to watch Murphy try and drag himself a few inches to the side earlier to try and make room for him on the bed, because Murphy was always the stubborn one, but fail because his legs were too broken, were too painful and immobilized.
Connor is interrupted in his scrutiny of his brother by a nurse knocking on the door, and she sticks her head around cheerfully.
"Can I help ye?" He asks roughly, not caring for a split second about keeping up appearances, running a hand through his blonde hair.
She gives him a small smile, "Here's your pain medication for the night, and an extra blanket in case you get chilly," In her hand are two large white pills, which Connor just stares at silently, before shaking his head, "You need to take these, Connor. They've been prescribed by your doctor, and I'll have to page him if you won't take them. They'll keep you comfortable and relatively pain-free for the night."
He is tempted to refuse the pills, and just deal with consequences, but it seems like too much effort, so he gives in. Connor swallows the pills quickly, grimacing at the taste, and accepts the blanket with a nod, wishing that the nurse would just leave.
When she finally does, after checking up on a sleeping Murphy, Connor drags out the small cot, and practically collapses onto it, the extra blanket snug around him.
Then his world swirls into darkness and safeness, and he's asleep the second his head hits the pillow.
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Murphy watches worriedly as doctors flood into his room, pushing himself up into a sitting position, "What's going on?"
The TV is a low hum in the background, something that had been distracting Murphy had been waiting for Connor to wake up.
"You're having another surgery on your leg, Murphy," A nurse tells him efficiently, pushing up the bedrails on his bed, while someone else disconnects the blood pressure cuff that had been strapped onto him during the night."
No one had told him though, and fear rips through him. He whips his head around, still slightly disoriented, and sees Connor still asleep in the corner, "Wait, someone has ta wake m'brother, ye havta wake him up!" Murphy grasps at one of the doctor's arms, and looks desperately over at his brother, "Ye havta wake him—I need—ya havta wake him up."
That night had been an equally as horrible one for Murphy, with him waking up in tears three or four times, only to have some stranger leaning over him and trying to comfort him. He'd longed for Connor each time, but every glance that he'd taken into the corner where his brother was curled up on the cot, had reassured Murphy that Connor needed his sleep.
But he knew that Connor would flip out if he woke and Murphy was gone.
Eventually, someone listens to him, and bends down to shake Connor's shoulder roughly. Murphy leans forward as much as he can, weakly shaking off the hands that try to push him back, and calls out, "Connor, Connor, wake up, man, this is fuckin' ridiculous."
Connor groans, and cracks an eye open as a doctor gives him another light shove. He rubs at his face in confusion, upon seeing all the people in the room, and then his eyes widen in realisation and he jolts awake, "What—Murph!"
He watches his brother stagger to his feet, reeling from the sudden shock, and gives him a tight smile when Connor reaches his bedside, "Surprise, Connor, looks like I'm due fer another surgery this morning."
A nurse attempts to push Connor back slightly then, but his brother stands his ground, and frowns suddenly, "Wait—what, Murph? I don't—I don't remember anythin' from last night. Did ye wake up in th' night or anythin' or did… What th' fuck?"
Murphy shifts uncomfortably as someone leans over him, and pushes down the feeling that there's too many people and too close too close too close. "I was fine, Connor," He lies, and grabs onto his brother's hand, "Everythin' was fine." Murphy remembers waking up and feeling as though his legs were on fire with agony, but he manages to keep it together, "Did ye sleep well?"
But the twins are cut off by a nurse carefully pulling their hands apart, and Murphy's bed rolling forward a fraction.
Connor looks terrified and totally confused, having only just woken up, and Murphy gives him a calm smile, though its anything but what he's really feeling. "It's okay, Connor, it's okay. I'll see ye soon, okay? Jus—jus' be there when I wake up, yeah?"
His brother nods, and shoves his way to Murphy's side once more, to lean down and press his lips to his forehead. Then he grasps the back of his head, and they spend a second closing their eyes and just being close to one another. "Aye, I'll be there," Connor whispers, and Murphy can hear the pain in his voice.
"I'll see ye then, so."
He is wheeled out of the room then, and Murphy rubs at his eyes the second that he's out the door. He tries his best to turn around then, so he can see Connor for as long as possible, but all he can see is the lonely figure of his brother, in the now empty room, before the door shuts. All his emotions come rushing back then, and he sniffs as quietly as he can, staring up at the tiled ceiling.
"Someone has ta take care of m'brother," He tries to say, "He's all alone, and I—"
But Murphy gives up then, because his voice is too quiet and scared for anyone to hear him. He covers his face with one arm to shield himself from the prying eyes and the bright white lights, and pretends that he is as confident as he sounded to Connor.
And then he tries to pretend like its working.
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I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I'll try and have the next one up sometime before next weekend, if that's okay :) I'd love to hear any comments or feedback that you have on this chapter, because I love all of your reviews, and they're what gets me writing the next chapter faster!
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Thanks for reading,
ArmedWithMyComputer xx