Author's note: I changed the name of the Nurse Lady they visited to Nora Allen
He huddled with his hands under his armpits and bounced on the balls of his feet, hoping to not freeze to death while he waited.
He lost track of time as he drifted in and out of consciousness, his back was raw and painful, each wrist had indents from the cuffs and the skin surrounding the anklet was inflamed from his tugging.
He startled to attention as he heard the front door slam against its frame. He could hear each deliberate thudding step from his father as he headed towards the basement door.
"Stop being so damn lazy, you've got a job to do. I hope you've learnt your lesson, you do your job and I'll leave you and your damn sister alone, if not, I'm sure even you could figure out what would happen." He growled as he stumbled down the stairs, the smell of stale booze seemed to fill the room and made him dizzy as he stood. As he was freed he refused to give him the satisfaction of rubbing the aches away even though he really wanted to. Instead he narrowed his eyes and headed up the stairs asking as he went
"What are we doing?" He headed straight for the kitchen table (knowing that if he stopped to put on a top he'd probably be taught another 'lesson'). As he looked over the unfamiliar blueprints he was briefed on the goal at hand.
"I'll need to go down and check a few things" He stated, this was his forte, both of the men knew this
"You need to get these" he added as he wrote down the list of equipment he and the crew would need. As he handed it to his father the only reply he got was a brief grunt as the older man left.
He watched the retreating uniform until he heard the sound of keys on the other side of the door he let out a breath, grabbed some clean clothes and headed for a hot shower to both warm him up and wash away the grime that covered him. Once he felt a little more human he figured he'd have a little time to stop in to check in on Lisa and Mrs Allen.
He knew his way around the hospital too well he thought as he expertly manoeuvred himself, avoiding high traffic halls. He knew he was probably covered in bruises but he hadn't had the energy to cover them up, if the stares he was getting were any indication he perhaps should have. Despite the bruises, the nurse at the reception desk immediately recognised him and steered him towards the break room
"Nora has been going out of her mind looking for you, she came from picking the kids up and you were gone. What happened to your face? I'll grab you some ice packs" she rambled to him as they walked. He remembered to say thank you as he was left in the doorway.
"Sorry for worrying you Mrs Allen" he said into the almost empty space. She turned quickly to face him
"It's Nora, I keep telling you" a glad smile on her face to know that he was safe, grinning now that he was back in the hospital, the smile fell as she saw his face
"Jesus Christ Len what on earth happened?" she asked, shocked by the damage that she could see and angry at the person she knew was responsible. The anger grew as he attempted to give a nonchalant shrug but the obvious pain evident on his face gave him away, she gave him a hand to a chair as she suddenly realised how exhausted he looked.
"Where's Lisa?" he wondered aloud. Nora would have let out a laugh, this kid looked like he'd been to hell and back a few times and still had more concern for his sister only she could clearly see why he might be concerned
"She's with Barry, they're just getting some sweets from the vending machine" she supplied, the tension in his shoulders draining some.
"Just wait here I'll ask Mary to get you a bed, you look like you could do with a nap." she instructed to the boy half asleep in the hard chair at the table "and get you something to eat, you're all bone" she joked, but winced as she realised the observation was more true than she would have liked. A moment after she left Lisa crashed through the door glad to see her brother
"Hey Len!" she cried as she ran. The rest on the tension was soothed with the presence of the kid
"Hey Lise, you been behaving for Mrs Allen?" he asked. When he didn't receive an answer he opened his eyes, he couldn't quite say when he had closed them, to see His baby sister staring wide eyed at him. For a few more confused moments he stared back, unsure of what would cause her worry before remembering that his face was probably covered in fresh injuries.
"What did he do, geez Len, you look like crap?"
"Bit harsh Lise, I-" he was cut off by a now angry Lisa
"Don't Len. What happened?" The rare serious tone sobered any joke he could have made about the predicament
"You know how he gets, I just provoke him more when he's drunk" he provided, hoping she wouldn't ask anymore, he hated upsetting her. The fight seemed to go out of her though as she stepped to offer a gentle hug.
"What did you get up to at school?" He asked as the silence stretched on, the silence was soon filled with chatter about everything that had happened at school, including the few hours since school spent in the hospital waiting for him to return.
Mrs Allen returned with a wheelchair and began to help Len into it
"I'm alright Mrs A, I did manage to walk here ya' know" he explained but did not fight being helped into the chair.
"Gee Len, you could have seriously hurt yourself" … "well hurt yourself more" she added. As he raised a single eyebrow in response she replied
"Humour me" dryly. As he was pushed into a room with clean sheets, he remembered how tired he was but knew he had to do the job before he'd be able to sleep, he decided he'd ask for some coffee before his resolve crumbled. He opened his eyes again, trying to blink away the tiredness from his heavy lids and tuning back into the conversation going on the other side of the bed
"Blunt force abdominal trauma, we need to set up a saline drip for the dehydration, we need some food before he gets painkillers but ice should start to bring down the swelling and-" She paused to ask Len "What hurts? Anything happen that we should know about? Don't leave anything out" she requested in a no-nonsense tone that demanded to be complied with.
"My back hurts and my wrist I guess, eh, I'm a bit cold though, think I'm alright otherwise" he mumbled, the day's events feeling impossibly heavy all of a sudden. "think?" she asked, concerned about the welfare of the kid
"s'bit tired" he replied, speech slurred "Can I grab some coffee?" he asked around a yawn as he rubbed his eyes.
"you should get some rest, I'll grab you some food from the cafeteria." she said as she left the room, returning a few moments later to remind him to 'behave'.
"Len? Are you alright?" Lisa asked from his side, making him wonder when she had come in.
"Of course I am Lise, just a bit tired is all" he gave her a small smile before yawning again.
"I'll wake you up when the food comes." she offered with a smile of her own, at his own concern showing she added "You know Mary would never let him get past her again Len, Sleep" she consoled, he still looked a little unsure but the exhaustion dragged him into a deep slumber against the starched pillows beneath his head.