A collar is strapped around Carlos' neck to stabilize it, just in case of any spinal injury. A thin board is place beneath him for the same reason. When an oxygen mask is slipped over his face James can see Carlos' eyes dart around looking for him, slightly panicked and overwhelmed as he's surrounded with EMTs. James hangs back out of their way so that they can do their job, but he also doesn't want Carlos to be scared. He peeks over the shoulder of one of the EMTs, smiling reassuringly. "Hey bud, I'm right here, okay?"
Carlos smiles beneath the mask and nods a little which is difficult because of the brace. He looks tired, there are dark circles under his eyes and every so often his lids close momentarily but they always pop back open. He's still very alert, looking around and taking in everything that's going on around him.
As they start to load him very carefully into the helicopter one of the EMTs takes James aside. "He's in mild shock, so we want to keep him awake. If you could just keep him talking that would be really helpful."
"Of course," James nods, climbing in after Carlos' stretcher. Carlos is covered with blankets and the shivering seems to have stopped. His blue-tinged lips are looking less blue. When his eyes meet Carlos', the Latino smiles. "Your first helicopter ride. I'm just sorry it had to be under these circumstances."
Carlos' eyes close and James isn't sure he even heard him. Without warning they shoot open again. "I wanna go in a hot air balloon!" he announces, and though his voice is muffled by the oxygen mask James can actually hear excitement.
James laughs softly and exchanges a glance with the female EMT. She smiles back at him and nods encouragingly. "Then we will. As soon as you're better."
Carlos seems very much like himself, but this is all still pretty scary. Carlos still has EMTs working on him, testing and evaluating and every so often asking Carlos a question. James gets a sinking feeling there's more going on than he knows but he pushes that out of his mind; right now his focus needs to be on keeping Carlos calm and awake.
The ride seems endless, mainly because all James wants is to hurry and get to the hospital so Carlos can get checked out properly and so he can be at ease. He needs to call the guys and tell them what's going on. But he talks to Carlos, assures him he isn't going anywhere, and listens when Carlos starts rambling about bunnies that nobody else in the helicopter can see. James agrees that the brown and white bunny is definitely the cutest which seems to please the smaller boy.
It's not until Carlos is safely being wheeled down the halls of the hospital, James walking quickly at his side, that he realizes he's not going to be able to go into the trauma room with him. He briefly considers begging the doctors to let him stay with Carlos but he can't let his boyfriend see how worried he is.
They reach the doors and James can't go any further. Carlos' eyes are on him, and James can see that he's scared again. He makes a soft whimpering sound and reaches out for James, and it breaks James' heart. He takes Carlos' hand in his, kissing it. "I'll see you in a little while, okay? Don't give the doctors a hard time. I love you."
"I love you too," Carlos gives James' hand a squeeze before letting his own hand drop back limply on the stretcher. James reluctantly takes a step back and watches as he disappears through the doors. He tries to watch through the tiny little window at the door but he can't really see anything and he needs to call his friends, he realizes. He thankfully remembered to grab his phone from the ground back at the canyon, so he quickly dials Logan.
"Hello?" The voice is distracted and James thinks he can detect the sounds of video games playing loudly in the background.
"Logan. It's James. "There's enough urgency in his voice that Logan sets down the game control and nudges Kendall. "James? What's up?" When he responds this time it sounds like James has got his full attention.
"Carlos had an accident. He fell at the canyon. We're at the hospital right now."
"What?" Logan spits out, whirling around to look at Kendall with wide eyes. "Is he okay? Are you okay?"
"I'm not hurt, but Carlos…I don't know," James sighs, speaking honestly. "He's conscious and he talked to me the whole way here, but he's in shock and a lot of it didn't make sense. He kept talking about bunnies…" he shakes his head, walking down toward the waiting room. "Anyway I don't know anything yet. He said nothing hurt except his head, but he took a pretty big fall. So now all we can do is wait until they tell us something."
Logan relays the news to Kendall and promises to get there as fast as they can. He knows shock isn't good, that it's probably caused by an underlying injury, but that it could also be a sign of a concussion which would fit with Carlos' complaint of pain in his head. He's optimistic since Carlos was awake and responsive, but they need to get there to support James.
When James ends the call he sinks into a chair in the waiting room and realizes that he's shaking. The adrenaline is what's kept him going through all of this, but now he's crashing. He remembers seeing Carlos lying there at the bottom of the canyon and thinking he was dead. He remembers that one moment of panic when he got to Carlos' side and feared he'd find him not breathing. But it's okay, he tells himself. Carlos is in really good hands, there wasn't any blood and Carlos wasn't complaining of any pain. Still, he can't talk himself out of worrying.
He's still waiting for his friends to arrive when a doctor comes out and introduces himself. James stands on shaking legs, praying for good news. He's concerned that despite the helmet Carlos may have a serious head injury and he's just silently praying for good news.
"I just wanted to give you an update before Carlos goes into surgery," the doctor begins and James' ears perk up. Surgery?
"Carlos suffered a mild concussion, but that helmet he was wearing probably saved his life," the doctor admits. "It's not something we're concerned about. He's awake and talking and that's a great sign. However," he continues and James' heart is going a mile a minute anticipating the news. "Carlos also suffered a spinal cord injury. He's lucky in that it's lower in the spine which has a higher recovery rate, but it's far too early to know what the full extent of the damage is. Right now he has no feeling below the point of injury, but as he begins to heal it's possible he may regain the use of his legs. It's just impossible to know at this point. He's being prepped for surgery right now to stabilize his spine."
James feels like the wind has been knocked out of him. He's literally speechless at first as he struggles to suck in a breath of air. He lets it out slowly, trying to take all of this in. It's too much. Carlos could be paralyzed for life. He rubs a hand over his forehead, trying to stay calm. It could be worse, he knows. At least Carlos is alive and not in danger. He knows he has to be grateful for that, and he is. He thinks about Carlos in there all alone about to go into surgery and knows he must be so scared. "Will you tell him I'm here and I'll be with him as soon as he gets out of surgery?" he asks finally.
"Of course." The doctor nods and gives him a smile. James tries to smile back but it's forced, he can't possibly smile right now. The doctor disappears through the doors, on his way to try and fix Carlos. James wants to yell after him to be careful, to not fuck this up because that's his Carlos in there and he couldn't live without him. But he stays silent, vision blurring as his eyes fill with tears. He feels his strength dissipating but just when he doesn't think his legs will hold him anymore four strong hands are grabbing him and holding him tightly. He turns his head and cries into Kendall's shoulder, crying for Carlos who doesn't deserve this to happen to him.
Logan and Kendall exchange worried glances. "James," Logan asks gently. "Is there any news?" James sounded fairly calm on the phone, it seemed that everything was going to be okay and neither boy expected to come to the hospital and find James in this state of mind.
James inhales, letting the breath out slowly as he pulls himself together. He straightens up, smoothing down his dark brown hair. "He's in surgery now," he sniffles a bit. "T-they said he damaged his spinal cord. He can't feel his legs." He can see Kendall and Logan both inhale sharply. "It's too soon to know if it's going to be permanent."
Kendall takes a step back, leans against the wall and stays quiet, like he needs a minute to take it all in. Logan's just standing there looking all wide-eyed, like a deer caught in headlights. James knows they're both thinking. That something like this shouldn't happen to someone like Carlos, who's never hurt anybody, never done anything to deserve this. He's always so happy and full of life, a ball of energy. The thought of Carlos possibly being stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of his life just doesn't seem fair at all.
James loses track of the time that passes. He, Logan and Kendall are quiet for the most part, sitting and staring blankly. All they can do is just wait. It seems like hours later when a nurse comes out and looks around the room. "James?" She calls out. "James Diamond?"
James looks at Kendall and Logan, slowly rising to his feet, using the arms of his chair as support. "Is he alright?" he asks nervously.
The nurse looks a bit uncomfortable. "He's coming out of the anesthesia and he's having a bit of a rough time. He's asking for you." She looks to Kendall and Logan. "You two will be able to visit with him in just a few minutes," she promises, nodding to James and starting to lead him down the hall. He exchanges worried glances with his friends before following her, his stomach in knots.
The short walk feels like forever as they walk silently down the hallway, stopping at a room with a chart on the door labeled "Garcia, Carlos". The nurse pushes the door open and motions him inside. He steps into the room and is completely unprepared for what he sees.