Car rides suck while his eyes are recovering. Hook doesn't need the bandages anymore, no, but trying to watch while Orange drives hurts, even at reduced speeds. His vision is blurry, the sun is bright even with sunglasses on sometimes, and he just wants to curl up in a ball and never leave the apartment some days. but unfortunately he has doctor appointments to keep up with if he ever wants the chance to get cleared again, so he has to go along with it and hope that one of these appointments will be the one when his doctor looks him in the eye and tells him as long as the AEW medical staff sign off on it, he's cleared.

He's drawn out of his thoughts when Orange pulls up in front of a medical facility that Hook squints out at, frowning. "Orange?" he asks after a moment, catching Orange before he gets out of the car.

"Yeah?"

Hook frowns over at him. "I, uh. You said I had an appointment. This isn't my doctor's office though. Right? Or are my eyes more fucked than I realized?"

Orange's lips twitch up and he shakes his head slowly. "No," he admits. "It's not." Tapping the top of the car, he tips his sunglasses down and stares at Hook, winking. "Trust me?"

Hook groans and pushes the door open, gingerly twisting to the side and planting his feet out on the pavement, standing. "Alright," he mumbles. "Alright." It's not easy, he's still disoriented when in new places, but he tries. Waits until Orange rounds the car and lightly grips his hand. "Where are we going?"

"Follow me," Orange says, guiding him across the parking lot and leading him towards the building.

"What is this place?" he mumbles quietly, itching to remove his sunglasses to get a better scope of the place, but knowing that he can't because of the intensity of the sun overhead glinting against the protective lens. "Orange?"

"You'll see," he says, the cryptic tone of his voice bothering Hook.

"Orange-"

Orange turns and rests a hand on the side of Hook's face. "Trust me, ok? I promise, you'll understand. Just give it a couple of minutes."

Hook exhales, shuffling around anxiously. "Fine," he grumbles, leaning into Orange's touch. "You're lucky I like you."

Orange smirks. "I know," he says. They're still waiting in the parking lot, Hook growing more and more antsy the longer they stand there when the door opens and Orange glances over. Hook follows his motion, hearing someone getting pushed out in a wheelchair behind them.

Hook falters, unconsciously digging his nails into Orange's palm as he realizes who's in the chair, swallowing. "Bro?"

"Hey, these two'll take care of me. Thanks," Joe tells the nurse standing behind his chair, who hesitates only a few seconds before nodding, leaving him with Orange and Hook. "Hey, kid. Good to see you out of those bandages."

Hook swallows and walks towards him, steps a little shaky, uncertain as he crosses the uneven pavement. Orange remains nearby, just in case he's needed, but Hook makes it to Joe's side without anything horrible happening, faltering as he looks down at him. "I-... are... what's going on?"

Joe shrugs. "Your dad recommended a specialist to me, said he'd been to him a few times for his shoulders, said the guy was good, so I decided to give him a try. Figured while I was here, we could catch up a little." He looks up at Hook, scrutinizing him as best as he can. "You alright?"

"I..." Hook sighs. "Getting there? I guess. I'm still not cleared, but uh. It's progress." He tugs at the strings of his hoodie absently and stares down at Joe. "Vision still sucks, but it's a little bit better day by day, so hopefully. Soon... you know."

Joe nods. "Look, I'm sorry I can't help you with whatever you choose to do next. I know I... failed at everything with this whole situation, but uh. You and Shibata will have to take care of each other for awhile. You know?"

Hook nods, a strained look on his face. "I'm sorry I couldn't do more too."

Joe huffs and reaches out, lightly tapping Hook on the arm. He lets his hand linger there, squeezing slightly. "Listen, it's not on you. You held up your end of things. You were following my suggestions and it just... it went wrong, you know? The blame falls on me, not you."

"But-"

"No buts, kid," Joe says, leaning back in his chair and staring up at Hook, a tired look in his dark eyes. "I got myself involved in shit I didn't fully understand, and I should've. You had a better grasp of the situation than I did, I underestimated that asshole, and we all paid for it." He stares up at Hook's doubtful grimace and sighs. "Don't make me get your mom involved in this."

Hook groans. "That's just playing dirty, bro."

"Nah, just playing to win," Joe says with a smirk.

Hook sighs, then shuffles around a little, glancing around the mostly empty parking lot. "Uh, where are you staying? We can get you there?" He glances over at Orange, who shrugs, thinking about the issues of trying to get Joe in their car, and finding a way to wedge his wheelchair into the trunk.

"Um," he says hesitantly, eyes flickering from the car to Joe and back.

"Thanks for the offer, but TK helped me with lodging and transportation here. I called them after my appointment so the driver is on his way back here. It's ok, I'm good, Hook."

Hook nods. "Ok," he says. "Uh, well, if you're hanging around for awhile, maybe we can meet up again later or something."

Joe's lips twitch up into a faint smile. "Yeah, kid, sure. When your eyes get stronger, you can go back to texting me random lacrosse facts in the middle of the night."

Hook scoffs and brushes absently at his nose, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, sure, bro," he says, shaking his head. "Maybe this time you'll actually believe what I tell you."

"Hey, man, it's not my fault half the shit you tell me sounds absolutely ridiculous." Joe chuckles at the annoyed pout that crosses Hook's face. He's about to say something else when they hear a car pull in and Joe glances over as a car pulls in to the parking lot. "Ok, well, there's me." He holds his fist out patiently. "Take care of yourself, alright?"

"You too, bro," Hook murmurs, bumping his fist against Joe's. "Talk to you later."

"Yep." He nods over at Orange.

Orange nods back and steps forward, taking Hook's hand. "C'mon," he says quietly, guiding Hook back towards the car.

Once settled inside, they sit for a minute, watching the driver get out of the vehicle and begin to help transfer Joe from wheelchair to car, Hook exhaling shakily. "Thanks for that," he says softly, glancing over at Orange.

Orange squeezes his fingers and nods. "Did it help?"

"A little," Hook says after a moment. "I know I don't have a time frame, or a plan really. But I..." He suddenly reaches up and tears his sunglasses off and looks at Orange, a renewed determination raging in his still healing eyes. "I'm gonna make Jericho pay for all of this. One way or another."

Orange stares at Hook, startled. "I know you will," he says. "I know, Hook." They sit for a few minutes, staring at each other, before Orange exhales slowly. "Let's go home."

Hook nods, reluctantly slipping his sunglasses back into place. "Yeah," he says. "Let's."

Orange squeezes his hand a couple of times before glancing at the rear-view mirror. Joe's car has left so he eases out of the parking lot, Hook lost in thought next to him.

It's hefty goals, but he has time to think of a way to make all of this right. And this time he won't fail.