Just Hold On
Still in a daze, Charles didn't have it in him to argue when the nurse came back in with a sour look on her face and started hooking him up to all the damn machines again. He watched Ares pace, typing away into his omni-tool as the nurse worked. As soon as she reestablished the IV, he felt the cool, numbing rush of narcotics flooding through his veins. The room seemed to tip sideways, spinning around him and threatening to make him empty the little he had in his stomach all over the asari's nurse uniform. He groaned and closed his eyes.
When at last the asari stopped tugging on wires and tubes connected to him, the soft sound of her footsteps told him that she was leaving. Charles opened his eyes and reached out for Ares, clearing his throat a little. He wanted nothing more than to have the turian back at his side, his anchor to sanity and calm.
Closing his omni-tool and dragging the chair back over to Charles' bedside, Ares grunted and sat down. He looked over the machine hooked up to the IV, probably trying to decide whether he wanted to pump more painkillers into Charles. At some point, he'd put his prosthetics back on over his scarred plates, but Charles didn't remember seeing him do it.
"I let her know where we are …. She'll be here in a bit," he said as he turned back to Charles, humming softly.
Between the pain, shock, and drugs sweeping through his system, it took Charles a moment to make sense of what Ares said. Licking his lips, throat dry again, he asked, "Jasmine?"
"Ramona," Ares corrected, reaching over to grab the rolling table and pulling it closer. "Better to call her that until she says otherwise while she's here."
Steadying himself, Charles reached for the glass of water. As much as he loved Ares taking care of him, it made him feel like a burden to need the help. "Right, yeah … sorry, my brain kind of feels like mush right now."
"It's fine." Ares brushed Charles' hand aside and picked up the glass of water, holding it out to him with the straw held steady against his lips. "If it's easier, just don't say names."
Charles took a few swallows and nodded. "I'll do my best to remember," he said, though he figured he'd struggle with not using names just as much as using the wrong ones. Watching Ares closely, face swimming in his vision, he asked, "Are you okay, after Garrus …."
Humming, Ares flicked his mandibles a few times, gaze resolutely on his hands as he poured more water into the cup before setting it back on the table. "Yeah …. I have to be."
Despite the pain and thinking Ares would probably only huff and push his hand back to the bed, Charles reached out and pressed his palm to the turian's cheek. "I love you, and I'm sorry that had to happen now of all times and places, but I'm so fucking glad you're here with me."
Surprisingly, Ares left Charles' hand there a moment before wrapping his fingers around Charles' wrist and gently easing it away from his face and back to the bed. "I won't leave here unless I know you'll be alright …." Voice quiet, he added, "Even if the others show up."
The weight of the statement weighed heavily on Charles. Ares might not ever actually say he loved Charles, but in moments like that, he showed it clearly. Charles didn't understand how Ares could be so willing to face his worst fears just to stay there with him in the hospital and not realize how much he loved Charles. For half a second, he thought about pointing it out, but the idea slipped away from him with a wave of dizziness. What would be the point, anyway? Ares would never say those words until he was damned good and ready.
Giving him a weak smile, Charles closed his eyes to stop the spinning, sleep tugging at his mind. "This really means a lot to me." He huffed a moment later and added, "I wish you could lay down with me."
"I wouldn't be able to lay in this bed even if you weren't in it," Ares said with a wry chuff.
Charles chuckled before cutting it off with a groan and looked at Ares again. "Yeah … you're not missing out. It's not very comfortable, anyway."
"It's a hospital bed. It's not meant to be." Rumbling, Ares shifted his chair so that his body was parallel to Charles' bed, almost creating the illusion of being in bed next to him.
"Shit, don't I know it." Charles sighed, hearing the slur in his voice. "I just know I'd heal like … thirty times faster with you in bed next to me." The corner of his lip lifted in a half-assed smirk. "Even if we can't fuck."
Ares gave him a dubious hum and lifted a brow plate. "Then what's the point of being in bed?"
"Ah, come on," Charles started to lift his uninjured arm to wave his hand through the air then realized he wouldn't get far with the IV and everything else hooked up to him. He let it drop again. "You know you've turned me into a sap. Being next to you, just being able to feel you close, hear your breathing …." His eyes drooped closed, and he forced them open again. "You're the air I breathe, Ares," he said barely above a whisper.
"Spirits," Ares said, subvocals groaning. "You're high off your ass." Shifting up, he reached beneath Charles' head and adjusted the pillows. "Go to sleep."
"Doesn't make it any less true." Surrendering the battle, Charles let his eyes fall closed again and layed in silence for a moment, mind drifting. "Wake me up when she's here," he muttered before sleep took him.
Pain lanced through Charles' chest and shoulder as someone shook him awake. He hissed, eyes snapping open to find Ares still sitting next to him, a hand resting on his chest. Jasmine stood at the foot of his bed, forehead crinkled in a sympathetic wince. He groaned, licking his lips and fumbling around until his hand closed around it the remote to control the bed's position. He used it to lift the bed until he sat more upright, despite his wooziness.
Glancing at Ares, he licked his lips again. "Will you hand me the water?"
Without a word, Ares pulled the table over and grabbed the glass of water, holding it out to Charles with a slightly raised brow ridge. Silently thanking Ares for letting him keep an ounce of pride in front of Jasmine, Charles steeled himself against the pain and slowly reached for the glass. Pulling it to him, he used his mouth to capture the straw and took deep, greedy swallows before handing it back to Ares.
Turning his attention to Jasmine, he forced his best smile on his face. "Hey."
She let out a soft snort, eyebrows raising a little. "Hey." Shifting her weight to one hip, she crossed her arms and smiled. "Tell me you didn't get shot on purpose this time."
"Not this time," he said with a huff.
"Good." She smirked and walked to the far corner of the room, grabbed the only other chair, and pulled it closer. Positioning it not far from Ares, she sat down, crossing one leg over the other and leaning back. "So, what's the damage?"
"Punctured lung and a through and through in his shoulder," Ares said, taking out his box of cigarettes.
Jasmine scoffed, looking pointedly between Ares and the cigarettes. "We're in a hospital, and he's on oxygen. Are you serious?"
He glanced at Charles, a brow plate raised in question.
Charles chuckled, suppressing a groan and licking his lips again. They still felt so dry, no matter how much water he drank or how much saline they pumped into his body. "Seems to be the going consensus." He turned his gaze to Jasmine. "I'd rather he smoke in here than leave me in this hellhole alone to do it outside. Fuck, I don't even want to be here. I want to go home, but he's listening to the nurses and doctors over me."
"And he's right to do so," she said, draping her wrists over the arms of the chair.
It earned her an eye roll from Charles and a rumble of agreement from Ares. Sticking his cigarette in his mouth, Ares sat back and started flicking the lid of his lighter opened and closed at his side. He'd light it eventually, but he didn't seem to be in any real hurry. Maybe he was putting it off as long as he could, for Charles' sake.
"Uh huh. And how long did you stay in the hospital after you were shot?" Charles asked her, raising an eyebrow.
"That's different." She lifted a foot to rest the edge of her boot against the railing of his bed.
"How's it different?" Charles didn't even trying to hide the cynicism in his voice.
"I am who I am, and I wasn't shot in the lung." With an arched eyebrow, she gave him a look that said she dared him to keep pressing the point, but he only grunted, too tired and sore to argue.
"Even if she was," Ares started, rumbling as he stretched out his legs, "I wasn't responsible for making her stay like I am now."
Jasmine glanced at Ares, a defiant yet playful sparkle in her eyes. Whatever she thought about his statement, she kept it to herself.
Turning his gaze back to Ares, Charles sighed. "The only thing keeping me from walking out of here is knowing it'd upset you."
"Then I'm willing to use that as ammunition to keep you here." Ares shrugged. "Works better than the other ideas I have."
"Mmm. What other ideas?" Trying to make light of the situation the best he could, Charles gave Ares a suggestive smirk. "Sounds like something to keep in mind for later, once I'm healed up and back at home."
"Doubt it," Ares said without inflection.
"No fun." Charles shifted around on the bed. Being upright caused him quite a bit more pain, but he wasn't willing to make himself feel even more vulnerable by lying prone. "Unless you're talking about tying me to the bed permanently." Just the thought of being restrained increased the beep of his heart monitor.
"If I have to … on that bed," Ares said, gesturing to the hospital bed, "I can guarantee it won't be fun."
"It wouldn't be fun for me on any bed, not permanently," Charles said, voice dry.
"Bondage has never really been my thing," Jasmine said, "but if it keeps you here where you should be, I'm game."
A wave of panic hit Charles, even though he thought they were both probably only teasing. He barely made it through letting Ares handcuff him to their bed at home. Fuck all if he'd let Jasmine or anyone else besides Ares trap him like that, no matter how much Ares trusted them. He sucked in a slow, deep breath, brushing aside his racing thoughts.
Ares hummed as he lit his cigarette, not looking at either of them as he spoke, "If I have to do what the old man did to me, I'll do that too."
"What's that, exactly?" Charles asked, figuring if Ares alluded to the topic, it wasn't off limits and hoping it'd be something less stressful to consider.
Taking a drag, Ares rumbled. "Among things like bribing me with painkillers, he used to give me a shot that'd numb pretty much everything. Couldn't get out of bed no matter how hard I tried."
Charles swallowed, hands curling into fists even as his eyes widened. "Fuck that."
Jasmine snorted, and as annoying as Charles found it, he forgave her because he realized she probably didn't understand how much the conversation actually disturbed him. Ares had to know, though. Even if the turian didn't know about Charles' past, he'd smell the fear and panic on him. It didn't stop Ares, though. Apparently, he wasn't done trying his hand at the 'scared straight' tactic of ensuring Charles' compliance.
Ares smirked around his cigarette. "They wouldn't be able to find it on bloodwork either. Don't want to stay in the hospital, then I'll go find some."
"Now you're just being mean. Especially knowing I already said I'd stay, and there are far nicer ways to get me to do whatever you want." Charles stuck his lower lip out in an exaggerated pout. It was meant to hide his real feelings from Jasmine as much as beg Ares to change the subject, but Ares just shrugged.
"I brought you something," Jasmine said, shifting forward and picking her bag up from the floor next to her feet, "if your warden will let you have it." Pushing back the flap, she pulled out a bottle of orange Paragade, and Charles' mouth literally watered.
She stood up, cracking the lid open and stole the straw from his cup of water before dropping it into the bottle. She moved to his other side, away from his injuries, when Ares didn't argue and perched gently on the edge of the bed. Using her free hand, she gathered up the tubes and wires before looping them over a small hook on the side of the monitor, freeing up his range of motion. Smiling, she held the drink out to him, and he accepted it with a wide grin.
"Thanks." Sucking down a long drink, he let out an appreciative moan.
She chuckled and patted his leg, watching him a second longer before making her way back to her chair.
"This," Charles said before taking another drink and glancing at Ares, "might be a better bribe than painkillers."
Ares hummed around his cigarette. "Then I'll get you more if you stay."
"Deal," Charles said with a smirk, resting the bottle on the edge of the bed and holding it steady.
A tentative knock sounded at the door, and Charles turned to look at Ares, eyebrow raised. "Who is it?"
"Cammus." Ares closed his omni-tool. "He's alone."
"Come in," Charles called out, regretting it instantly.
The door opened, and a moment later, Cammus rounded the corner, mandibles fluttering wildly. Worry poured off of him in waves thick enough to choke even Charles. God only knew what it smelled and felt like to Ares. Cammus' gaze moved over Charles before shifting to Ares, studying Ares as if just looking at the other turian might reveal something more about Charles' condition. Hell, maybe it did. He took a few, hesitant steps closer to the bed and rested his hands on the railing.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, a trill to his voice.
"Like shit," Charles said, and then forced a smile on his face. "I'll be alright. I'm just glad to you didn't get shot, too."
Cammus shook his head and swallowed. "I thought for sure you were going to die. I—"
"But he didn't," Ares interrupted, "because you followed the instructions I gave you until the ambulance arrived."
Flicking a mandible, Cammus hummed, sounding doubtful. "C-Sec did far more to help, I'm sure." He waved a dismissive hand. "And the ambulance didn't take long. There was probably already one on standby, given the—"
"Cammus," Charles cut him off, hoping to bring an end to the overly humble deflection, "you helped save my life. Deal with it."
The turian chuffed, a small smile flickering over his face.
"You're my hero," Charles said, using a teasing tone to drag out the last word.
Cammus chuckled, seeming to relax, and moved to take the seat Jasmine vacated when she'd left. "Right. Well, don't make a habit out of it."
"If you insist." Charles shifted on the bed, doing his best to ignore the stabs of pain as he tried to get more comfortable. Lifting the bottle of nearly empty Paragade, he took a sip.
"I'm surprised the doctors are letting you drink that right now," Cammus said.
"Pfft." Charles took another drink. "Who said I asked permission?"
"It's the only way to keep him here." Ares hummed and crossed his arms, shrugging. "So I'll be supplying him."
Charles grinned. "Which makes you an even bigger hero."
Ares gave him a dismissive grunt.
"But, I'd stay even if you didn't. I told you I would, and I meant it. Even if I don't like it. At all," Charles said, adding emphasis to the last part. He didn't know why Ares kept trying to come up with different excuses as to why Charles stayed or different ways he might convince Charles to not leave, but he figured it was just a symptom of the turian's deeply-felt concern and helplessness in the situation.
"How long do you have to stay?" Cammus' mandibles flared as his gaze moved over Charles again.
"A few days, I guess." Charles sighed. "Which might not be so bad with the way Aelianus keeps me doped up and sleeping through it all."
"I aim to please," Ares said, flicking a mandible.
Charles smiled, affection making his heart flutter as he looked at Ares. "It helps a lot that you're sticking around," he said for probably the twentieth time. "Even though I'm sure you're going stir crazy."
Ares grunted. "What gave you that impression?"
Charles awoke from sleep, gasping for breath and choking. He coughed, the movements excruciating, panic filling him completely. Helpless, his gaze drifted as he clawed at the oxygen tube attached to his face. A hand gently pushed against his chest while another stopped his flailing hands.
"Calm down," Ares said softly, a gentle rumble filling the air. "You're safe."
But he wasn't. He couldn't breathe. He grabbed at Ares' jacket, eyes widening as he coughed again, sending blood spattering against Ares' jacket and throat. Charles desperately tried to fill his lungs with air, but he just couldn't get enough. Realization and horror swept over Ares' face, eyes growing half again in size. Immediately, he called out for help before nearly punching the alert button above Charles' bed.
Looking back down at Charles, Ares cupped his head as darkness started to close in around him, "Hold on …. Just hold on …."
A/N: This is the end of 'The Beast Inside'. Charles and Ares' story will resume in the next fic for the Bloodlust series!