The journey to the hospital had been silent almost. Jackson didn't try to talk to Aaron again, not after the reception he received earlier off of the teen. So he decided to avoid ticking the younger man off any more. Paddy, who had decided to join them, kept trying to get each of them to talk, finding the silence between his attempts at conversation uncomfortable. It had been a bit of jumble to get into the car. They'd had to push the front passenger's seat as far as it would go to allow for the length of Aaron's leg in the temporary cast. It didn't help his already irritated mood when he was trying to get himself awkwardly into the car and Pearl had decided to make an appearance, screaming out when she thought he was going to fall.
"Right, we're here." Paddy said at last, turning the engine off and un-strapping his seat belt.
"Thanks." Aaron said as he began to get his crutches into order to get out of the car.
Despite Aaron's mood swing earlier and the resistance to talk in the car, it didn't stop Jackson from jumping out the back to open Aaron's door for him. "Thanks." Aaron mumbled as he got out.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Paddy asked, at a loss as to what to do with himself in the mean time.
"Nah, I'll be alright Pads, got Jackson." Aaron said nodding his head towards Jackson who was waiting to go inside.
"Alright, If you're sure then. . . Think I might grab myself a coffee while I wait for you." Paddy told him, getting out and locking the car. "Text me when you're out."
Aaron nodded his head in understanding before heading off towards the plaster unit.
As soon as they were inside the hospital, they found the plaster unit in no time and checked in. They found themselves still sitting in the corner of the busy waiting room an hour later, neither of them had no idea of the amount of people who had broken bones of some sort. The pain in Aaron's leg from falling over earlier was beginning to come back again with vengeance and it didn't help matters when people kept stepping over it in the cramped area.
"What color are you thinking of getting?" Jackson asked Aaron as he watched a young girl walk out from a set of doors with a bright orange plaster cast on her wrist. He'd seen no end of people sporting numerous different coloured plaster casts.
". . .What?" Aaron questioned, miles away as he tried to block out the pain.
"I said: what colour do you want?" Jackson repeated looking at Aaron, he noticed the way Aaron had his jaw locked shut.
"Urm. . . don't know." Aaron breathed, ignoring the way Jackson was no looking at him. "Blue I guess."
"Should have known." Jackson laughed. "Everything you own is blue."
Aaron nodded his head, spacing out again.
"Aaron? Are you alright?" Jackson asked him straight out. "Your leg isn't bothering you is it?"
Aaron shook his head. "No."
Jackson raised an eyebrow, but decided to leave it at that. He knew better than to push Aaron, using this morning as an example. However he did know that Aaron wasn't being honest with him. If he had to then he would speak up.
"How long are they gonna be?" Aaron commented as he watched another person go in before him yet again.
"Give them time, there's a lot of accident prone people like you around." Jackson teased, tapping Aaron on the top of his leg forgetting it was the injured one.
"Argh!" Aaron yelled out, receiving a few close stares around them.
"Sorry!" Jackson quickly apologized, feeling instantly bad to be the cause of his boyfriend's pain.
Breathing deeply to control the fresh throb of pain in his leg, Aaron closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall.
"Everything alright over here?" A nurse asked who had been walking past at the time carrying a bundle of notes in her hands.
Aaron nodded his head without opening his eyes, still concentrating on blocking out the pain. The teen didn't see it when the nurse raised a disbelieving eyebrow, working for twenty five years as a nurse she knew when there was a fake.
Jackson, who did see the nurse's expression, shook his head. "He's been in a lot of pain for a while now." He informed her.
Aaron soon opened his eyes and shot Jackson a look. "Jackson!"
"What Aaron? I'm only being honest." Jackson reasoned.
"Have you been given pain medication as a relief?" The nurse asked.
Aaron nodded his head. "Yeah."
"Have you been taking them?" She questioned.
"Yes!" Aaron snapped, receiving a warning look from Jackson to play nicely.
"I think he feel over this morning." Jackson admitted looking at the nurse. He daren't look at Aaron; he could already feel him burning holes into the back of his skull.
"I didn't!" Aaron shot at him.
It was no use Aaron even trying to lie his way out, Jackson knew he'd fallen over.
"What's your name?" The nurse asked Aaron, taking in what Jackson had told her.
"Aaron Livesy- and I swear I'm sound, alright." Aaron fibbed. "It's just a little pain-."
"-We'll be the judge of that. . .Aha!" The nurse exclaimed as she came across Aaron's file after riffling through them. She began to mutter the words she read on Aaron's notes under her breath as she ran her finger along the papers. "Wait here a moment. I'll just go check a few things over with one of the Doctors."
"Alright, thanks." Jackson said as they watched the nurse disappear behind a set of doors.
"Why'd you go do that for!" Aaron snapped at Jackson. "I didn't fall over okay!"
Jackson looked at Aaron with not so much as a believing glint in his eyes. "Aaron . . . there's no point you even trying. I know you fell over." Jackson told him.
Aaron opened his mouth to protest but was cut off as the nurse returned. "Would you like to follow me, a doctor would like to see you." She told the teen.
They were lead into a consultation room behind a set of doors and along a very long corridor. Not used to long distances since being on crutches yet, Aaron had to stop several times and lean himself against the walls to take a breath before he started to move along the corridor again. Once the room, the nurse instructed him to sit on the bed whilst she fetched the doctor.
"Jackson. . .about earlier." Aaron started to say after they'd been waiting for a few minutes.
"I know." Jackson said smirking at him. Even though Aaron wasn't one for words, Jackson always knew what he was trying to say. "You didn't mean to."
The older man was fully aware of how Aaron worked. After seeing him try to ignore the pain whilst they waited in the waiting room, from the fall, Jackson understood why Aaron had been more irritable. It was because of the pain he was too stubborn to admit to.
"I mean it Jackson." Aaron said full of sincerity. "I shouldn't have taken it out on you. It wasn't fair."
Jackson laughed. "I'll remember that in future."
Their conversation was cut short by the appearance of the doctor who the nurse had gone after. He offered them both a warming smile as he took at seat at his desk before beginning to read through the notes the nurse had left for him to check over. A few minutes later, once satisfied with what he'd read, he stood up and walked round his desk to the bed which was occupied by Aaron, who sat on the edge.
"Good morning, I'm Doctor Jenner. I've been told you've taken a fall since fracturing your leg." He said placing his pen back into his shirt pocket. "I've read through your notes and I understand that you can't afford to cause anymore stress to your leg."
"Why's that?" Jackson asked for Aaron he seemed non to bothered.
"It could lead to complications which could force us to operate which is the least we want to do if we can." Doctor Jenner explained. "But let's not rush ahead of ourselves." He quickly added upon both of the young men's faces. "First of all we'll send you for an x-ray, then while we're waiting for the results, we can get that cast off of you." He told them as he looked at Aaron's cast. "Have you gotten this wet?" He asked.
The doctor knew he'd gotten wet, there was no point lying. He knew he was in trouble with Jackson anyway, even though the older man didn't want to admit it. Aaron nodded his head. "Yeah, sorry about that."
"How did you get it wet?" He asked, curious to know how the teen had ruined his cast in less than 24hours.
"Fell over in the shower." Aaron admitted.
The doctor raised his eyebrows. "Well I've heard a lot worse." He sighed before telling them he'd send them up to x-ray soon as. "Are you in any pain at all?" He asked as a last thought.
Of course he was in pain! "Yes." Aaron told him as if it were obvious.
"He's been given pain medication to take but . . ." Jackson said leaving his sentence hanging.
"Have you taken any since falling?" Doctor Jenner asked.
"Yeah I took a couple but they only just worked." Aaron admitted. "They wore off hours ago."
"Alright, I'll get a nurse to give you something for the pain in the mean time." Doctor Jenner said. "I'll just go organize that X-ray. . ."
"Thanks." Aaron said as Doctor Jenner left them.
"Suppose I better let Paddy know we'll be a bit longer." Jackson said pulling out his phone to text the older man about what was happening.
"Argh! Why do I have to be such an idiot!" I should have listened to you!" Aaron fumed from his seat on the bed.
"You weren't to know." Jackson tried to assure him as he tapped out a quick message.
"You're always right, so why shouldn't I have not listened." Aaron argued. "There was no reason for me not to." If he'd have listened to him and not taken a shower they'd be at home by now with his second cast on. If he'd have listened to him the day before and not taken the call out he'd be at work now like nothing had happened, all bones in one piece, or if he'd listened to him in numerous other occasions he would be better off. But no, he never listened to him.
"Don't beat yourself up about it.2 Jackson told him as he pressed send.
A few minutes later Jackson's phone sprung to life to alert him he'd received a text from Paddy. "What does it say?" Aaron asked.
Jackson took a moment to read through what the older man had sent him before answering Aaron. "He's coming to meet us, apparently there's something he needs to tell us."
That triggered a little worry inside of Aaron. What was there that Paddy needed to tell them? It must be serious if he couldn't' tell them by a quick text. He started to think if there was anything. But there was nothing that did come to mind. His mum was alright and behaving herself since the last time he'd checked. All was well else where. . . well apart from the obvious. Darrel. He was still in the back of his mind. But he needn't worry about him for at least six months ahead. He was behind bars and the court case was nine months away. He'd tried his best to keep thoughts of Darrel to the back of his mind. Now they were beginning to creep to the center.
Once out of X-ray, Aaron was guided back to the consultation room by a nurse, were Paddy was waiting for him along with Jackson. He waited until the nurse left behind he rounded on Paddy, urgent to know what Paddy wanted to tell them and hoping against anything it wasn't anything about Darrel.
"So what is it then Paddy?" Aaron asked as he sat down on the bed again.
"Have you checked your phone?" Paddy queried, beating round the bush.
"No I've left it at home. Why?" Aaron questioned, who would want to get hold of him, apart from Adam?
"The police have been trying to get hold of you." Paddy told him. "I just got off the phone from them a little while ago, they're bringing the court case forward."
"What? They can't do that can they?" Jackson exclaimed, shocked by the news. They've been told it was nine months away as yet, plenty of time to get there head round it. He was frightened how the news was effecting Aaron.
"Apparently so." Paddy confirmed. "I don't know how soon though, they said they would call back later today."
"How'd you feel about all this Aaron?" Jackson asked the teen who'd become quiet at the news.
Aaron shrugged his shoulders. "Gonna happen sooner or later."
Both older men knew better then to believe the unaffected front Aaron was putting on in front of them. However neither of them could confront the teen any more because Doctor Jenner returned with the results from the X-ray.
A/N – Wooo! Another update! I thinking I'll try and get into a swing again with this one then pick up a few other fanfics I've got going on. I got a tad busy the past month and suffered hugely from writers block, so I am incredibly sorry for that! Anyway I hope you're enjoying this fanfic, thank your for all those who read this and also those who review as well, I makes me want to write more when I hear what you think about it. So thank you. I would love to know you're opinion on little aspect of this fanfic. Has Aaron caused any more serious damage to his leg? What do think? Would he need an operation or not? On top of the upcoming court case that's looming over their heads? Please let me know what you think! Look forward to hearing from you!