Fandom Tale of Two Survivors { The Last of Us 1x1 with icedthemoon }

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Emmett Adler, Ezekiel Finch, Theophilus Sharpe, and Ravi Akuna (and the Smith Clan)
Former Fireflies, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 21, 24, 29, 25, 26 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Nate pressed his lips together as he watched the end of the sun rise from the front porch. He leaned against the railing. Breathing. Waiting. Until he heard his name. He took a moment to step back and then step back inside. “Alex.” He walked into the living room with a slight smile. “You ready?” He stopped a couple feet away. He was ready to go see the family. He needed to.

Grace woke as the hand shook her. She whined and moaned as she tried to stay asleep, though it did not work. Her mouth fell open as she yawned. She pushed the back of her hands into her eyes as she aggressively rubbed at them. She blinked a few times, narrowed eyes at Kai. “Mm… Daddy?” She raised both arms to stretch up. Being a bit top heavy in her unbalanced stretch, she fell over onto her sister as she did so.

Hayden looked away. He didn’t want to see the evidence of all the things that went wrong. Even though the leg was supposed to be eventually be better, Hayden knew that no matter what, it still happened. It could heal wrong. It could have serious complications. Everything could go awry. He hated that. When he looked away, all he saw was Jacob and Soren. How that actually went wrong. How that may never be right. He wanted to be thankful that at least they were alive. He wanted to. He wasn’t sure how. One leg hung off of the bed.​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Cameron Harris, Kaiden Lachlan, Elijah Lewis, and Luke Smith (And the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former Firefly, Former WLF, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 19, 23, 26, 27, 22 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Alex looked at the door when Nate came through and he smiled at him. “I’m ready.” He said with a nod, holding his hand out for Nate’s good one. “Let’s grab breakfast for our family and head over.” He said, smiling still as he closed the distance between them and turned to lead them outside.

Kai watched as Grace slowly woke up, and heard her. Whatever was inside him, paused for a moment as he watched her stretch. “Good morning princess.” He said as Ally groaned, not wanting to wake up. She rolled a little in place and huffed. When her sister fell on her she groaned. “Get off me!” She huffed as she pushed on Grace, probably a little rougher than she intended. Allison wasnt trying to be mean to her sister, she just wasn’t always a morning person. “Allison. Be nice to your sister. Now, let’s get up and dressed. We have breakfast to get for everyone.” He said, looking at them.

Josh saw Hayden look away and he sighed softly. “Baby.. look at me.” He said, reaching his hand out to coax Hayden’s head to look back at him. “It’ll all be okay. We’re alive and safe. We don’t know what actually happened and until he wakes up again, we won’t. You can’t beat yourself up over this. You had no control.” He said simply, looking at Hayden with a smile on his face. He knew this was hard for his husband, he’d heard the fears over the years. He’d seen his leg broken in half and just about put back together. So he was going to support and comfort his husband anyway he could. ​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Emmett Adler, Ezekiel Finch, Theophilus Sharpe, and Ravi Akuna (and the Smith Clan)
Former Fireflies, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 21, 24, 29, 25, 26 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Nate took Alex’s hand and walked close to him. He may have been feeling exponentially better now, but he still needed that extra support. He briefly uncoupled to close and lock the door and attached himself again afterwards. As they reached the gate, he looked at Alex. “Are you okay?” He bit his lip as he felt that might be a little strange. “I mean… in general. Not like right now. But… with everything?” They focused so much on Nate that he felt like they hadn’t given Alex enough time.

Grace huffed as her sister pushed at her. “Hey!” She whined and sleepily tumbled to the side before pulling herself up. she yawned again as she took in the morning. She slid off the bed and ran to Kai, hands pulling at his legs. “Can we go give them our drawings too? Breakfast and drawings and then school?” Grace didn’t know what all they were supposed to be doing, but she really wanted to show her grandfathers what they did for them the night before even if they weren’t totally complete. “Maybe we can finish them there after school?”

He didn’t want to. He didn’t want to come face to face with everything he was trying to ignore. Josh wasn’t having that. Hayden had to look anyway. No control. That was always the problem. The day the world changed, he lost every bit of control there was. He had been searching for years any way that he could get it all again. He tore his face away. He had no words that would be good in this situation. He could not help but look at Jacob and Soren. Look at the pain there. Oh. Soren slowly moved his head, rolling it as he began to blink. Waking. It was not long before he was squeezing Jacob’s hand and making sure he was there. “Mm. Whatcha doing up so high?” he asked still groggy. ​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Cameron Harris, Kaiden Lachlan, Elijah Lewis, and Luke Smith (And the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former Firefly, Former WLF, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 19, 23, 26, 27, 22 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Alex walked out of the house with Nate, their hands parting long enough for his partner to shut and lock it. As they walked to the gate, he looked at Nate, hearing his question. Then he looked away. “I’m okay.” He replied, and he was, well.. kind of. He was better since he was able to talk through his pain with Ezekiel. It had been rough but it was needed and appreciated. But he wasn’t the one who took their brothers death so hard. Well, he did but it didn’t shake who he was. Or maybe it did. He never thought about it. As a warrior, emotions were made to be compartmentalized, stored until they could go through them. “I’m okay, really.” He said though at this point, he wondered if he was just saying that.

Ally huffed back at her sister before she rolled off the bed to and ran over to Kai. “Yeah! Can we?!” She asked excitedly. Kaiden looked at the two girls pulling at his legs and chuckled softly. “Of course girls. We’re going to get dressed, Papa is getting the drawings for you and we’ll bring them and breakfast with us.” He said as he gestured to the clothes that they’d gotten. Still in bags from yesterday. “I want you to each pick and outfit and then we’ll get you dressed okay?”

Josh sighed softly, watched as Hayden tore his face away again. “My love..” He said softly, concern in his tone. He hated seeing Hayden like this. “You need to talk about what you’re thinking. You remember how bad it is to hold it in.” He reminded him gently as he heard Soren. Jacob looked at his husband and smiled softly, squeezing that hand back. “I’m right here my love. And I’m standing, that’s why I’m so high. How are you feeling this morning?” He asked, terrified to ask what he wanted to so he started with the easy questions first.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Emmett Adler, Ezekiel Finch, Theophilus Sharpe, and Ravi Akuna (and the Smith Clan)
Former Fireflies, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 21, 24, 29, 25, 26 | Current location ;; Wyoming

What they had gone through was more than a lot. Alex lost just as many people as Nate did. He may not have killed them himself, but they were still gone. Forever. In a tragic way that they could not fix. Naturally, if Nate was handling it in his way where he mostly wasn’t, he was sure that Alex had to be feeling worse than he kept saying. Who was actually that strong? Even if he was, he shouldn’t have to be. That was what partners were for. They were to help each other. “Okay.” He fumbled with the gate but was determined to make it work with his one good hand. He had to use more shoulder, and he made it work. Once he got it closed again, he took Alex’s hand once more. “But if you aren’t, you can tell me.”

Grace was excited that they got to do so many fun things today! She was easily excited, and that had always been the answer. She giggled in joy before running over to the bags. She pulled out the sailor top and skirt immediately. It was the one on top. “This one!” She pulled off her clothes and began to put on her own. She could work a lot of it by herself, though it was hard. Her little fingers were still working on learning how to be as adept as they needed to be. She was not entirely successful by herself.

How bad it was. Of course it was bad. His whole life was nothing but bad in that regard. He knew better than to hold it all in. They were better when they talked. He used to think that he was over this part of not being able to be a good partner. “There isn’t anything else to say that you don’t already know. It’s just…” He looked at Jacob and Soren and finally looked back at Josh. “I know you’re okay, and you’re going to be okay, but there are so many ways that you might not be. Ways things can go wrong. What if your leg doesn’t heal? What if you lose it? What if even though he woke up, he doesn’t make it?” He hadn’t meant to say that last one. It was a very real fear he had not been trying to think about. Soren looked up into the eyes of his husband and smiled. “You’re so beautiful. You know that?” He yawned again before trying to sit up out of habit. He learned quickly that was painful. After his hand swooped in to cover his head, he laid back down. “Well, I would tell you that I feel like I was crushed by a landslide, but actually I don’t know if that’s true.” He sort of looked at himself. “It’s… weird.”​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Cameron Harris, Kaiden Lachlan, Elijah Lewis, and Luke Smith (And the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former Firefly, Former WLF, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 19, 23, 26, 27, 22 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Alex looked at Nate as he heard him, and he was going to ask if he wanted help with the gate before Nate managed to get it on his own. Oh. Never mind. He felt his partner take his hand again and hummed softly. "I will." He agreed with a small smile on his face. "I'll tell you, I promise." Alex said as he walked down the trail with Nate, glancing over at him. "As long as you tell me what's going on with you too. Whenever you need to talk, okay?"

Kaiden chuckled as he watched Grace run over to the bags. Allison was right behind her sister as she ran to the bags. He walked over with them as Ally pulled out her pink dress and struggled to pull it over her head. Kaiden started with Grace, helping get her clothes on and then pulled on Ally's dress. "Beautiful girls. You ready to head out?" He asked as he stood up and held his hands out for the two girls with a smile on his face.

Josh looked at Hayden, hearing his words and sighed softly as he watched him look to Soren and Jacob then back to him. "Baby.. I wish there was something I could do for you, but I cannot take away the worry. I cannot take away the fears or the doubts that cloud your mind. All I can do is be here for you and listen to your fears." He said softly as he looked at him. He wished that he could help his husband more. Jacob looked at Soren and smiled softly as he shook his head, seeing him try and sit up. He was about to tell him not to do that before Soren figured it out and laid back down with a hand over his head. "First off, that's not exactly funny.." He said, shaking his head a little, and secondly, we need to check all your systems. Head to toe." Jacob added as he looked at his husband. "Are you ready, and you have to tell me everything, what hurts, what you can't feel, and what feels okay."​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Emmett Adler, Ezekiel Finch, Theophilus Sharpe, and Ravi Akuna (and the Smith Clan)
Former Fireflies, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 21, 24, 29, 25, 26 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Nate was determined to be useful. He was going to learn how to manage without both hands. He was going to figure out how to be him still. Every day, he felt a little more like Nate again. Sometimes, when he realized this, he felt a little bad. Then he remembered that everyone they lost would have hated if he didn’t stay him. His eyes fell away. He understood this all too well. He wasn’t being the most communicative about his own struggles lately. He never really had been. He wasn’t supposed to have them. They were burdens to other people. Maybe not to Alex? He smiled. “Okay. I promise too.” They walked to the main gate and moved through to the streets of Jackson.

Grace wiggled as Kai helped her into her clothes. One of these days, she was going to be able to do this herself. That day was not today. She waited for Kai to finish will Ally too then took his hand. “Yeah!” She bounced in anticipation. In the doorway appeared Ezekiel. He was freshly bathed and clothed. He also had their drawings and the rest of the coloring things so that they could do that there whenever there was a chance. “Look at these stunning little girls we have.” He smiled as he leaned in the doorway. “Ready for breakfast?”

Hayden hated sharing his fears, because it made them real. It made them carry more weight than he wanted them to have. When he bottled them away, he could pretend like they didn’t mean as much as they did. Over the course of the many years that he did this, he learned that this was a wish. It never worked that way. “I know. I shouldn’t even be the one so afraid. He’s over there trying to make jokes. I’m almost certain he’s laughing. How can he be laughing?” He sunk a little back into the bed as he sighed. “Are you going to laugh too?” Soren was laughing a little. He was not in some great mood where everything was fine and dandy, but it seemed like the better option to sitting around sad. “I can do that. I already tell you everything anyway. This won’t be any different.” He pulled both of his hands back to himself. “Alright, nurse. Tell me what to do.”​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Cameron Harris, Kaiden Lachlan, Elijah Lewis, and Luke Smith (And the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former Firefly, Former WLF, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 19, 23, 26, 27, 22 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Alex looked at Nate as he heard him, smiling softly. "Thank you." He said, hoping that Nate would actually talk to him about things that were bothering him. He didn't want Nate to hold in what he was feeling or thinking. It wasn't fair to his love to do so to himself. He bit his lip as they headed to the main gate and through to Jackson. "I wonder how Soren's doing this morning." Alex said as they walked, he knew how worried Jacob was when he wasn't moving his legs.

Kai chuckled as they finally got dressed and he looked up to see Ezekiel in the doorway. "Aren't they just adorable?" He asked as he looked at them, taking their hands. "Come girls. We've got breakfast to get right?" He asked as he led them towards the door. "Yes!" Ally giggled as she took Kai's hand and pulled on it to run to the door. She couldn't wait to show off her drawings to her grandfathers. And she was starving too, her stomach grumbled a little as she moved.

Josh sighed softly as he listened to his husband, and watched him sink back into the bed a little. "I wish I could help you but if all I can do is just be here for you, then that is what I'm going to do. I'll be here for you, no matter what." He said softly, kissing Hayden's forehead gently. "He's laughing because he's Soren and because things are sad and laughing takes away some of that sadness. Though, no not right now. I've got nothing to laugh for, unless laughter would help you feel better." Josh replied as he looked over at them. Jacob looked at Soren and nodded as he listened to him. "Good." He said simply as he put his hands on Soren's shoulders and ran them down his arms. "The first question, did you feel my hands run down both arms?" He asked before he removed his hands. "I also want you to lift both arms, first one at a time then both at once, bend the elbows and wrists, and wiggle your fingers."​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Emmett Adler, Ezekiel Finch, Theophilus Sharpe, and Ravi Akuna (and the Smith Clan)
Former Fireflies, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 21, 24, 29, 25, 26 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Nate walked quietly as they moved through the streets. He hoped that he could keep this promise. He could say that the reason he didn’t tell Alex some things before was because they hadn’t known each other long. But then they promised not to lie to each other. They promised not to hide things from each other. It never felt like something worth saying. Maybe for Nate, it wasn’t when it was about himself, but it was for Alex. That was something he needed to consider. “The fact that he was awake before we left means that he’s healing. He likely better today, though I bet he hurts more than before since he’s more conscious of it all.” He tried not to think about the thing they were all worried about.

Grace was happy and bouncing as they walked through the house and to the front door. She was so excited to go. They were going to wear new clothes that everyone could see. They were going to get breakfast, and it was always great food when they ate from the cafeteria. They were going to get to see their grandfathers again. She loved seeing them. She was having a great day already. Ezekiel followed closely behind them. He did not want to take up any additional space as part of the whole group. Not yet anyway. He opened the front door for them so that he could close and lock it once everyone was out.

Hayden looked at Josh, and despite the conversation, he kind of smiled and also kind of laughed. “I don’t think laughing is enough to make the sad go away. I don’t know how anyone does that.” He laid his head on Josh’s chest, crossing and arm over until he was all but wrapping himself around the upper part of Josh. “I think I’ll stick to having you be here.” Soren would have nodded if he could, but seeing as how that was difficult on a table, he did not do that. He considered saluting as well, though he thought that might ruin the test. “I did. It felt very nice except for the pain.” He lifted one arm, the other, and then both. With both up, he bent them at the elbows and wiggled his fingers. “Am I doing good so far?” He coughed a little as he laughed. “Do I get a passing score?”​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Cameron Harris, Kaiden Lachlan, Elijah Lewis, and Luke Smith (And the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former Firefly, Former WLF, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 19, 23, 26, 27, 22 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Alex wanted to help Nate, to be there for him when he was feeling low. To be an ear for him to talk to when he needed that. He could only hope that his partner would let him. “Are you worried about him too? About.. his legs? I’m sure he’ll be fine, just, sore.” Alex said softly as he looked at Nate. He had to believe that the universe wouldn’t take Soren’s legs away like this, but given how the luck had been for them the last week or so, he wasn’t very hopeful anymore.

Kaiden led the girls out the front door, chuckling at Grace’s bouncing walk. Her sister was a little more quiet, walking beside Kaiden quietly. Once they were on the street, she paused them and held a hand out for Ezekiel after he’d locked the door. She wanted him with them as a group for the short walk to the cafeteria. She couldn’t wait to show off her drawings and eat the delicious cafeteria food.

Josh looked at Hayden and saw that kind of smile and kind of laugh. “Well, they do it just like that.” He replied as he felt Hayden’s head lay on his chest and felt arms wrap around him. “I’m fine with that too.” He said, kissing the top of Hayden’s head gently. Jacob shook his head as he heard Soren, and watched him move his arms, elbows and fingers. “You’re doing exceptionally well so far. A+ on your arms, elbows and fingers. Now. I’m going to press down and run my hands along your chest. Let me know where it hurts.” He said, slowly taking his hands and running it down from his neck, down his chest, over ribs and stomach and ended at his waist. He stopped then to see what hurt, and what didn’t and if there was any of that he didn’t feel at all.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Emmett Adler, Ezekiel Finch, Theophilus Sharpe, and Ravi Akuna (and the Smith Clan)
Former Fireflies, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 21, 24, 29, 25, 26 | Current location ;; Wyoming

This was not the question that he was hoping to answer in that moment. In fact, it scared him that he needed to answer it now. “Yes? I…” He didn’t want to say that there were only signs of bad with this. “I hope that I’m…” He looked at the cafeteria building as they came closer to it. “Wrong.” Because with the signs from before, it seemed a whole lot more likely that he lost the legs entirely than they were taking long to wake back up. If that were the case, what did they do wrong? What did he and Jacob neglect to do to save them? “Hello!” As they neared the cafeteria, he turned his head to see Kaiden, Ezekiel, and the two little girls. Grace was waving at them as they neared. Ah. The family. Nate too waved as he opened the door and held it for everyone coming.

Hayden closed his eyes as he lay against Josh’s chest. He listened to Josh’s breathing along with Jacob’s words. He imagined it instead of watching. His imagination could be both better and worse than the reality. For now, it had to be better. Soren grinned and chuckled. “Good, I would hate to pass my first test with my favorite teacher.” He cringed a little as Jacob touched him. “Can the answer be yes? All of the places. No where specific just-“ He stopped talking as his breath left him. Jacob had just touched near a rib. It wasn’t the rib that was the problem. It was the pressure on it and put pressure elsewhere. Not that he would be able to describe that.​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Cameron Harris, Kaiden Lachlan, Elijah Lewis, and Luke Smith (And the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former Firefly, Former WLF, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 19, 23, 26, 27, 22 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Alex squeezed the hand he held tightly and looked at Nate. “I’m sure everything will be okay.” He said, hoping to reassure his partner. He knew though that until Nate saw Soren walking or even moving his legs, he’d probably be worried anyway. Allison looked ahead to see Nate and Alex, waving too. “Hi!” She called as Kai smiled at the two. Once they got to the door, he looked at Nate and smiled. “Thank you.” He said with a nod of his head, leading the family inside. “Okay. So we need meals for your grandfathers, your dads, you, your grand uncle and Alex and Nate. So, who’s ready to help?” Kai asked as he clapped his hands. Ally giggled and nodded. “Me!!” She said, bouncing up and down.

Josh merely laid back and watched. He rubbed Hayden’s back as he did. He didn’t know what else to do. Jacob snorted, shaking his head. “I’m happy that your humor is still intact.” He said before he bit his lip. He saw the cringe and when he touched near one of his ribs, heard the breath catch. “This is going to get uncomfortable quick. But I need to check out where that pain is.” He said as he gently felt along each rib, then felt each intercostal space. “Okay, so which hurt more?” He asked, concern in his voice.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Emmett Adler, Ezekiel Finch, Theophilus Sharpe, and Ravi Akuna (and the Smith Clan)
Former Fireflies, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 21, 24, 29, 25, 26 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Everything might be fine. What was the worst that could happen? Some permanent injuries. Some disabilities. That was better than no life. He was happily distracted by the appearance of everyone else who showed up. He watched as the family all funneled inside and followed after them. He counted everyone as Kai listened them off. “Grand uncles,” he corrected. “Soren’s awake. Er, well, he woke up last night. So, he’s probably awake. I would be if…” he stopped there as it occurred to him that he shouldn’t talk about the inevitable pain and misery that this man was going through to his family who were less likely to listen to that as the medical talk that it would be coming from Nate. “There were so many people around me too. Plus, I am sure he wants to see these cuties.” He grinned at the girls as they all made it to the line for food.

Soren let out the breath his was accidentally holding. It must have been the pain. He opened his mouth to answer the question and instead let out a hiss. Well, that answered some questions. No hiding the pain now. If he wanted to do that of course. He wasn’t going to do that. He was still himself. He still told Jacob everything. “Can the answer still be yes?” he asked, his voice tight as he spoke through the pain. He raised and hand and took Jacob’s. He pushed it into himself and guided it across his body once more so that he could find the spot instead of having to describe it. Just passed the rib, in the spaces between, he hissed again at the pain. He was hoping for something not too bad. You know, something like a horrible bruise and not his death.​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Cameron Harris, Kaiden Lachlan, Elijah Lewis, and Luke Smith (And the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former Firefly, Former WLF, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 19, 23, 26, 27, 22 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Kaiden blinked as he looked at Nate, hearing those words. "H- He's awake??" He asked, his voice breaking a little as they walked to the line for food. To Kai, Soren and Jacob were just as integral in his childhood as Josh and Hayden were. There was a moment where that need to run resurfaced, though Kaiden wasn't sure if it was a need to run to see Soren or a need to run and break down somewhere. Allison meanwhile laughed and smiled. "Soren awake?" She said, happy. She couldn't wait to show off her paintings. Alex caught the change in Kaiden and narrowed his eyes, looking at him curiously.

Jacob heard that breath get let out and bit his lip as he heard the hiss a moment later. "Yes, the answer can still be yes." He said softly. He felt the hand grab his own and felt it pushed into his husband and guided across his body. He felt the rib and just past it was the diaphragm and intestines. Could be anything from internal bleeding to simple bruising. "Okay.. I got it." He said, lifting Soren's shirt up. On his stomach was a large purple bruising and he sighed softly. "It's most likely bruising and trauma to the deep tissue and that will be painful while it heals like any other bruise. It's harder to see if you have internal bleeding because while we have a lot here, we don't have true surgical equipment." Jacob said, sighing roughly. "Okay, so I need to watch the stomach. Let's head for the legs. I'm going to run my hands down one leg at a time and put pressure on there. Let me know what you feel." He said as he started to run both hands down one leg, and then down the other. This was where his fear was. That he wouldn't feel anything in his legs.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Emmett Adler, Ezekiel Finch, Theophilus Sharpe, and Ravi Akuna (and the Smith Clan)
Former Fireflies, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 21, 24, 29, 25, 26 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Nate wasn’t sure what he should do about Kaiden’s reaction. He did not know him well enough to know if this was a problem. Alex probably did. They had a previous relationship that Nate could never touch. He did not want to. He loved that Alex had that in the same way that Nate had Ben and Max when he was younger. Finally, he nodded as Ezekiel continued to herd the girls forward for the food. “Yeah, he’s awake. He wasn’t saying much. He was still pretty out of it, though what he did say did seem a lot like him.” He chose not to mention the potential problem with the legs. That was something they would see when they got there. Finally they were at the front. Ezekiel spoke so that they could get a whole lot of packaged meals. There was absolutely no way that they were keeping Kaiden here when they could be in the medical tents.

It was so much easier when he could give Jacob the resources to find the actual answers rather than Soren attempting to make them up. He knew enough about himself to know that he would never be able to accurately describe what was wrong with him or what he was physically feeling in comparison to his husband’s abundance of knowledge. “Bruising sounds great,” he said with a smile. “Bruising means it’s practically normal. You get a handful of bruising too, Josh?” He wished that he could see Josh. He hated that he was so restricted where he was. He closed his eyes as he waited for Jacob. If he closed them, he could focus on both breathing through the pain and attempting to determine where the pain was. He tried to practice those breathing exercises he learned once. In through the nose and out through the mouth. “Um. Jacob.” Yep. That was what he thought. All night light. “I am going to hope,” he began with his eyes firmly shut, “that you haven’t started yet,” because if he kept them closed he wouldn’t see the truth, “and not that I can’t feel them in the same way that I still can’t move them.” The humor in his voice drained as he spoke so that the last few words were so full of anguish that Hayden tensed as he listened.​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Cameron Harris, Kaiden Lachlan, Elijah Lewis, and Luke Smith (And the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former Firefly, Former WLF, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 19, 23, 26, 27, 22 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Kaiden swallowed hard as he nodded, and he went quiet. He didn’t know what was happening and that made him even more nervous. He didn’t like that, but it was the worrier in him. Something. He’d picked from Hayden years ago. Alex placed a hand on Kai’s shoulder. “He’ll be okay.” He said, smiling at his brother. “And he’ll be back to normal in no time.” He added as they got to the front of the line. “Thanks Alex”. He said softly as he took four meals. His and Ezekiel’s, Soren and Jacob. Ally reached hand up to take a meal to. Alex took his and Nate’s. “Are we ready to see them?” Alex asked as he looked around. He wondered where Theo was, usually he and Eli were here early.

Josh looked at Soren, nodding. “You should see my leg. It’s all purple and blue.” He replied with a chuckle. Though as he listened, his heart filled with dread. And he could feel Hayden tensing, so he held his husband tight. Jacob’s heart sank as he listened to Soren. Heard that humor drain and anguish quickly replaced it. “Baby.. I wish I could say I hadn’t started yet, but.. I can’t say that. So you can’t feel this?” He asked as he squeezed the lower right leg. “Maybe, it could be a pinched nerve on the spinal cord. I’d need to flip you over to check that though.” He said, and to do that he’d need help.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Emmett Adler, Ezekiel Finch, Theophilus Sharpe, and Ravi Akuna (and the Smith Clan)
Former Fireflies, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 21, 24, 29, 25, 26 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Between all of them, they grabbed enough meals for everyone they knew would be in there. Ezekiel too wondered about Theo and Eli, though after seeing how Theo was the day before and how he disappeared without saying anything to anyone, he was sure that Eli had his work cut out for him trying to get him to be be okay. Much like Ezekiel was doing for Kai, only Kaiden was a whole lot better at masking it than Theo was. Theo had far too much energy to pretend like he did not. “Yes!” Grace squealed as she took her meal and ran to the doors. Ezekiel followed after to make sure that five year olds running everywhere did not cause too many problems. Nate moved to the side to see if Cameron and Emmett were there yet. He wanted to make sure that they knew what was going on.

Soren wanted to laugh. He wanted to make a joke about the purple and blue that was Josh’s leg. He wanted to compare it to the probability that his whole body from stomach down was probably just like that. He wanted to say that at least it was his leg and not both, except the gravity of that statement was really starting to weigh on him. “No.” Because there was nothing. He couldn’t feel anything. It was not even like he was laying down, because that would give him some sort of pressure on his legs. There was nothing. Like he didn’t have them. It was wrong, and he hated it. He spent sixty years having legs, and now it was like they popped them off like a little lego man. Flip? He could do that. Without thinking, he shoved his bruised arms to his sides and started to lift himself. Several things went wrong. The lifting for one. That was incredibly painful. He was beyond sore. He revealed something that felt terrible on his back. Maybe his spine too. Oh he didn’t like that at all. And then there was the part where he could not move his legs. He bit back the tears of frustration as he trembled for the second or so that he was in the air before crashing back down on the table. “Right. So. Maybe I can’t do that for you.” Hayden doubted that he would be much help with that either. He had. strength but he wasn’t sure he could stand without shaking himself. “I am sure that Kai and Ezekiel are on their way. You can check then.”​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Cameron Harris, Kaiden Lachlan, Elijah Lewis, and Luke Smith (And the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former Firefly, Former WLF, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 19, 23, 26, 27, 22 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Kaiden watched as everyone collected the meals for all the people in the medical tent as well as their visitors. Then he followed the group to the door, opening it and letting everyone out. He paused to see Nate move to the side and Alex stayed with him. Cameron was walking into the cafeteria with Emmett and caught Nate, smiling softly at him.

Jacob bit his lip as he heard that 'No' and he looked away and took a deep breath. In. Out. In. Out. He looked at Soren and narrowed his eyes when he watched his husband shoved his arms to his sides and start to lift. Before Jacob could say a single word, Soren trembled for a second and then crashed back to the table. "Soren Truelson-Smith.. you were just involved in a landslide. As your nurse, I forbid you from moving like that on your own without help. I swear, if you just hurt your back further from that, I will divorce you right here and right now." Jacob seethed as his worry overflowed and filled his body, anxiety and nervousness bubbled in his stomach. He clenched his teeth as he slid one hand under Soren's shoulders. "I'm going to run my hand along what I can of your spine, just to see where we might have a problem. If it's just inflamed and pinched, we can work the muscles and nerves and discs back to normal.." Hopefully. He started to run his hand with gentle pressure on the spinal cord as far as he could with Soren on his back.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Emmett Adler, Ezekiel Finch, Theophilus Sharpe, and Ravi Akuna (and the Smith Clan)
Former Fireflies, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 21, 24, 29, 25, 26 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Ezekiel led the group out of the cafeteria and towards the medical tents. Unlike Nate, Grace remembered where she was going. She was so excited that she nearly dropped her breakfast. She juggled it until she finally got a firm grasp again as she bolted for the tent. “Be careful!” Ezekiel called, though he knew that there was very little that could hurt them here. They were still up early enough that there were fewer people out in the streets. She did not stop until she made it to the tent.

Nate watched the rest of the people go and stayed behind to moved to Cameron. He held onto Alex’s hand as he moved. “Hey. I’m sorry we haven’t seen you much. We’ve been uh… busy. Did you hear about… um. Josh and Soren?” That was the easiest way to start this. If they had not yet, then they could tell the story that they knew. Otherwise, they could update from whatever they last knew.

That kind of fury was the kind that Josh had to endure from Hayden all the time. Soren was lucky and had a far rarer rate of disappointing his husband. Well, until now it would seem. He already regretted trying to be helpful. Yes, involved in a landslide, but how was he supposed to remember that he was lacking in legs? It felt like when he was so still for so long that his mind dissociated those parts of him. It took a long time for that to happen, and it didn’t happen often since he was never that still. The last time might have been when he was young and riding in the family van. He was in the middle seat, staring out the window, ignoring the screaming of his siblings, totally still. He thought about anything and everything, and as he looked down at his hand, he realized that he couldn’t really feel it anymore. He wasn’t sure that he had one. His thoughts were cut off by the pain in his back as Jacob starting touching. He reflexively shoved his head to the side and attempted to hide his face with his hand. So that wasn’t nice at all. He told the water thinking about leaking from his eyes that this was absolutely illegal before he spoke. “You wouldn’t divorce me. Don’t-“ he gasped before he could finish. “Lie.” He did anyway. “You know, who needs a spine? Or legs? Or… a body? I could just float!”​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Cameron Harris, Kaiden Lachlan, Elijah Lewis, and Luke Smith (And the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former Firefly, Former WLF, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 19, 23, 26, 27, 22 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Ally ran with Grace, while Kaiden followed the group. He was lost in his mind as they headed to the medical tents. How was his uncle, was he okay or was he doing badly. He chewed on his bottom lip as his fear and worry settled like lead in his stomach. Once they got to the tent, Allison waited with her sister as she looked back at the two adults. Kaiden was moving quite slowly though he finally made it to the tents and swallowed hard before opening the flap for them.

Cameron looked at Nate and smiled softly as he nodded. "It's okay. I've heard about Josh and Soren. I helped treat their horses when they came back." He explained. "Has he woken up yet?" Cam asked, looking at Nate and Ale with a cautiously curious expression on his face.

Jacob looked at Soren, and he couldn't help it. He had been worried sick over his husband not waking up, terrified that he'd be without the use of his legs for the rest of his life, and now he had to worry about him hurting himself just to help him? Jacob watched as Soren shoved his head to the side as he began touching the spine. He could feel the inflammation all along the spinal cord. That could be putting pressure on it and not allowing the brain signals to go to the proper limbs, like his legs. "If you keep trying to be helpful, I will divorce you. Don't test me." He said with a sigh as he heard his questions. "You do. Now, I can feel inflammation at the top of the spine, and I'm sure it's worse further down. That also means we'll have to put on your side while I work on getting that swelling down."​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Emmett Adler, Ezekiel Finch, Theophilus Sharpe, and Ravi Akuna (and the Smith Clan)
Former Fireflies, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 21, 24, 29, 25, 26 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Grace was not waiting patiently. She wanted to see her grandfathers. She liked the rest, but she wanted to show them the pictures and be on that weird bed again. The moment that Kai opened that flap, she dashed inside. She went straight to the bed with Josh and Hayden. She did not even notice the others. “Hi!” She squealed as she leapt onto the bed and crawled across them. “Hello!” She plopped herself into the middle of them like she did before. Hayden was forced to scoot out of her way. Ezekiel moved inside, hand around Kaiden’s to remind him that he was not alone in this. He should have run after the girls, and he probably would, but first, he looked at Jacob and Soren. He was awake.

Again, he wanted to joke. He wanted to playfully argue. Even then, you wouldn’t divorce me for trying to help you. You always like when I help you. Though, right now, did anyone like that? His back sure didn’t. Or maybe it was specifically his spine. Every touch from Jacob felt like something was shooting through every nerve, and it was not the pleasant kind of sensation. It felt more like one of those arrow tips that got wider and then suddenly cut off so that it really grabbed onto whatever it shot through. Today, that was him. “A guy gets trapped in a land-“ wow that was painful, “-slide just to be divorced by his husband for being hurt. Josh.” Because he desperately needed something to ground him. “Josh, how is that at all fair? Did Hayden threaten to divorce you-“ he clamped his mouth shut and eyes closed for a moment, “too?” He opened his eyes as he heard the sounds of more people. Small little girl voices? “Are you going to do what Nate did last night? Because that was exceptionally painful.”

Nate gave a quick little nod. “He woke up last night. It wasn’t for very long. But it was enough to know he’s alive in there.” He smiled. That was better than anything else. “He, uh, can feel all sorts of pain, which is also a good sign. That means his body is working.” His smile faltered. “Mostly.” It fell completely. “Um. He, uh… I don’t know how he is this morning, but. He was pretty out of it when he fell back asleep. And he couldn’t…” He looked at Alex. “Couldn’t move his legs. But! It’s still so early! That could be… anything…”​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Cameron Harris, Kaiden Lachlan, Elijah Lewis, and Luke Smith (And the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former Firefly, Former WLF, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 19, 23, 26, 27, 22 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Allison raced in after her sister, giggling as Josh saw her coming and swooped her up onto his other side as he saw Grace leap on the bed. "Careful Grace." He said softly as he shifted his leg away from the excited little one. "Hello girls." He added as Ally giggled and handed Josh the container she had with a big smile. "We brought breakfast!" She said with an excited cheer. Kaiden felt Ezekiel holding his hand and he squeezed it as he heard Soren's voice. He looked up ahead to see Jacob gently moving his fingers down his back. Jacob rolled his eyes as his husband and looked over at the newcomers. "Oh good. Ezekiel. I need your help. I have to get him onto his stomach so I can check his spine." Jacob said as Kaiden's eyes widened as he took a step back. Spine.. that was a pretty big part of the body. Kaiden turned on his heel and slipped out of the tent. Josh looked over at Soren and shook his head. "No, I didn't get a threat of divorce from my husband." He replied, sighing softly. "Though if I'd pushed it, I might've." Josh added.

Cameron's eyes brightened as he heard that, though he frowned at the part about his legs. "That's not good. I trust you and Jacob to try everything to get those legs working." Cam said as he placed a hand on Nate's shoulder. "Like you said, it's still early. We won't hold you up so you can get over to them." Cameron added, smiling at him.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Emmett Adler, Ezekiel Finch, Theophilus Sharpe, and Ravi Akuna (and the Smith Clan)
Former Fireflies, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 21, 24, 29, 25, 26 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Grace tried to be careful, but that was incredibly difficult. She had so much excitement in her body! She held onto her breakfast. Hm. Where was their breakfast? She looked around. Where did Kai go? She was immediately distracted by Josh and his words that kind of confused her. “What’s divorce?” Hayden chuckled as he looked at the two little ones. “Ezekiel, before you help him, bring me the other breakfasts please? I am not sure I can get up anymore.” Ezekiel nodded, noticing the disappearing act of Kaiden, and then brought the breakfasts to everyone. As he did, Hayden answered. “We are married. We love each other so much that we decided to be together forever. But, sometimes when your grandpapa here thinks he can do things that are unnecessarily dangerous and get away with it, he is tempting me to divorce him. No more happily ever after together.” Ezekiel walked back over to Jacob. “Okay, How do you want me to help?”

Nate hated this. He didn’t like having to deliver bad news. Yes, it was good that Soren was awake. It was great even! It was not so great with the rest. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do if it got worse. How was awake and talking almost worse than the waiting during the nothing? “Thanks. Cam.” He tried to smile, and he did. “I’m glad you’re here.” He sighed. “I missed you. We… We all did.” He looked at Alex. “Okay. We should probably join them.”​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Cameron Harris, Kaiden Lachlan, Elijah Lewis, and Luke Smith (And the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former Firefly, Former WLF, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 19, 23, 26, 27, 22 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Ally looked around as she noticed that Ka was gone, but her attention was drawn away when she heard Hayden say no more happily ever after. “Wait, so divorce means no more being together?” She asked, confused as she watched Ezekiel bring over their breakfasts. She made herself comfortable in Josh’s lap. Jacob looked up at Ezekiel and sighed. “I need to rotate him onto his stomach. So if you could roll the legs, I’ll roll the upper body.” He said before looking at his husband. “Baby, I love you a lot, but this will most likely hurt..” Jacob warned him before he started to push up under his shoulders so he could roll him with Ezekiel.

Kaiden meanwhile was outside, running. Somewhere. The stables. He had to go. Get out of the town. Get away from everything and break down. He grabbed his horse from the stables, before Cameron arrived. He mounted the horse and started the walk through town towards the gate.

Cameron smiled at Nate, and pulled his friend into a small hug before he stepped back. “I’m glad you’re here too. I missed you as well. We need to catch up soon also.” He said, before turning to head to grab breakfast. Alex waited patiently and then nodded, gently pulling on Nate’s hand so they can head out to the medical tents.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Emmett Adler, Ezekiel Finch, Theophilus Sharpe, and Ravi Akuna (and the Smith Clan)
Former Fireflies, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 21, 24, 29, 25, 26 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Hayden nodded. “Uh huh. No more being together.” He touched Ally’s little nose. “And you should never settle when you aren’t happy. However.” He turned back to Josh. “Talking about things with your person can fix the majority of things.” He leaned over Grace and kissed Josh’s cheek. Grace looked up at them in awe. “So married is together and divorce is not together?” Huh. Weird. Ezekiel moved as he was told and rolled the legs. As soon as someone else could help Jacob, he would go find Kai. Otherwise, he was going to have to hope that Kaiden came back to him. Soren felt it almost immediately. He couldn’t stop from gasping as they moved him. It was a good second before he could cut off the sounds and he shoved his eyes closed and rammed a hand into the table with so much force that the table shook. Grace looked up and over there, confused. “What are they doing?” Nate’s smile widened at Cameron before he left. He walked out with Alex and to the medical tents. He was really hoping that everything was going to be okay. Really hoping. And then the sounds of Soren’s horrendous pain was the only thing that he could hear.

Theo was only barely waking up. He should have been up a while ago. He should have been riding back and seeing how everything was since they were gone. He should give Eli back to the town so that he could be useful. He yawned as he stretched out.​