For Day 13: Alternate Prompt 3: Shrapnel
Characters: Jeff, John
Warnings: mentioned car crash, injuries, surgery and hospital treatment
Jeff breathed deeply.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
Yeah, just like that.
Asleep in his lap was Alan. Virgil hugged his right side while Gordon was on his left. John was sat next to the bed but even he was asleep, using his arms as pillows.
On the bed where his eldest brother lay sleeping.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Oh god.
Alan whimpered in his sleep and Jeff tightened his arms, resting his cheek on his baby boy's head. His eyes never left the bed and the shape of his firstborn.
His eyes drifted to John. He may have been asleep by Scott's bed instead of his own, but he was also injured. Bruises covered his torso from the seatbelt and there were minor cuts from the glass.
John hadn't left Scott' bed since he'd been wheeled in. There had been surgery to pin his leg, hip and arm on his left side and some very intricate work removing the shrapnel from his upper arm and face.
The police had said he'd been lucky that Scott was driving the SUV. If he'd been driving his own car the likelihood was neither of them would have survived as the truck that hit them hard enough to roll them several times.
The thought that he'd come so close to losing his two oldest boys caused him to shudder, and in response both Virgil and Gordon unconsciously tightened their arms around him. Jeff shifted slightly, trying to comfort all three of his boys at the same time.
Jeff drifted off, three hot water bottles doing more than any medication could do to send him to sleep.
He missed Scott stirring.
John didn't. The twitching of his brother's hand, slight that it was, woke him, and John immediately closed his hand over Scott's wrist. That touch was enough to still his brother, and Scott sunk into a deeper sleep, and John followed soon after.
It was a nurse who woke Jeff up while checking the monitors. In turn, Jeff's movements woke the three boys, and they woke John with their noise. The nurse smiled broadly at the boys before disappearing briefly and returning with coffee and juice.
Jeff had barely finished his coffee when his Mom appeared, scooping up Alan as she made her way into the room. She was closely followed by the doctor, and Sally wasted no time taking the three youngest down for breakfast while they talked.
There had been some worry about the extent of the injuries Scott had sustained, but the surgeon had said that he'd been very lucky and the breaks had not splintered. The pins would be removed after about 6 weeks, depending on how well he knitted, then some extensive physio. The outlook was good that there would be no long-lasting issues.
Jeff sighed with relief, sharing a look with John that showed his second-born mirrored that feeling.
Now all they needed was for Scott to wake up.