mindglitter (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
mindglitter) wrote2024-05-13 08:23 pm
mindglitter) wrote2024-05-13 08:23 pm
Hospital Obstacle Course
Title: Hospital Obstacle Course
Universe: Personal Magnetism / Black Shadows
Word Count: 1494
Summary: Alek wants nothing more to visit Starr in hospital. If only he can navigate the obstacle course of wheelchairs her sister has placed in his path.
Notes: This is a challenge for me to just let the piece exist as it is. Maybe later, I'll pull this down and edit it a bit, but for now, it can exist as it is.
At the end of the day of depositions, Alek's head ached something horrible, and the last thing he wanted to do was to return to Erin's little warehouse she and the last mark Gabriel had assigned her to target were in the process of turning into a combination restaurant/bed and breakfast.
Listening to her talk about her vision for the space that only she could see at this point was giving him a headache, even more than the depositions, so that was the last thing he wanted to listen to.
Instead, he took the bus line to the hospital where he had been spending most of his waking hours these days.
His sleep was still disturbed by the vision of them pulling Starr's body out from the rest of the rubble. He had done his best to keep the building from landing its complete weight on her when the explosions had brought it down on top of them, but he was only human.
In the end, even he had to have reconstructive surgery on one of his legs that he hadn't been able to cover with his telekinetic ability.
He had been sitting in the back of the ambulance Sandra had called when they had been evacuated, his eyes desperately scanning the scene for any sign they were able to pull her out.
The spitfire who had pulled him out of himself when he had been ready to give up on most everything, during a time when his brain injury had been so severe his language center had been affected, was anything but when they pulled her out.
The concrete dust surrounding her made her entire complexion look grey, and before he realized he was moving, Alek felt hands closing around his upper arms to keep him still when he would have gone after her.
"There's nothing you can do," the EMT holding him back told him, even as he continued struggling.
Even if he hadn't nearly given himself a brain bleed trying to save them long enough for help to arrive, he didn't now that he would have been able to do something to free himself from the larger EMT before he closed the door closing him off from following after her.
"Once they finish fixing you up at the hospital, you can find her. I'm sure she'll still be there when they're done with you."
In his nightmares, she hadn't been. Her body had been consigned to the morgue because he hadn't done enough. Her sister was in his face screaming at him about how little he had done, rather than spirited away to some distant city to protect her from people Gabriel had allied with coming after her before she had the chance to testify at his trial.
Even Alek's depositions weren't going to have his face, and his voice would likely be distorted. He might fancy himself an adult most of the time, but this time, he was willing to accept the ways the legal system purported to shelter those who hadn't reached adult status.
He had little hope that it would work the way they promised it would, but he was willing to at least try.
Thanks to his inability to get sleep in the aftermath of their bringing down of the Compound, Alek was wide awake by the time the bus arrived at the hospital. The worst part was Alek still felt like he was moving through molasses as he walked along the sidewalk to the main entrance.
The young man at the front counter gave him a glance as he walked in, and nodded in the direction of the elevators. Alek gave him a casual salute as he passed the station.
He had been here so frequently, he and most of the front desk staff were on a first name basis. Some of them still questioned him extensively about his identification, but the fact was they were still trying to locate his passport and Green Card had been confiscated shortly after he had come under Gabriel's care, and it wasted valuable time going back and forth with the people at the front desk about it.
In the end, he hoped for more understanding people at the front desk like Bryan, rather than Suzanne or Jack, who were more likely to continue questioning him about it.
Once he was in the elevator, Alek leaned against the back wall and let his eyes close again, dreading when he would have to start the paper trail all over again.
That would involve him going back to New York, see if his parents were still safe, and getting them to go with him to get new papers. His stomach knotted in anxiety at just the thought, so he was grateful to be able to focus on the situation in front of him rather than future concerns.
Not the least of which was the obstacle course of wheelchairs scattered throughout the hallway, of which even the nurses were avoiding rather than putting back in their original location.
He studied the scene in front of him, but staring at it didn't help clarify anything.
Since the nurses looked more stressed than usual, he didn't dare interrupt their rounds to ask questions, and instead made it to Starr's room by weaving through them.
The window looking in on her room revealed a surprise, and further explained the chaos of wheelchairs in the hallway. It possibly even explained the harried look on the nurses faces.
Rather than the West Coast city he had thought she had been consigned to until after the trial, Storm Austin sat perched on the edge of her sister's bed, watching over her as though she could force her out of the healing coma the staff had put her in while they did the multiple surgeries required to heal the numerous broken bones the incident had left her with.
The physical therapy involved would be extensive, so Alek didn't know whether Starr would still be held on this special wing of the hospital before the end of the trial or released to a private physio so she could testify about all the things Gabriel had done to her.
Her testimony would be sealed the same way many of theirs were, because the things Gabriel had forced them to do seemed to defy science, and he still wasn't sure he trusted the Courts to hold him accountable the way he should be, just because it stretched their ability to wrap their heads around the crimes he had done to them.
The closest definition under known law would probably be a statute close to trafficking, and there was enough evidence that Starr held in her head, with some additional testimony from those in power that would back up what she had to tell them.
As he moved to enter the room, Storm looked up, and two of the wheelchairs moved to trap him where he stood.
Oh. So this is how it's going to be, is it?
Even though he could feel the tension indicating she was holding them there as casually as breathing, he slapped the hold on both of them away, and rolled both wheelchairs to where he knew the nurses kept them.
Stop being a child, he told her. Do you realize how much harder you're making this for the nurses? Do you want your sister to get kicked out of the hospital before she wakes up?
Storm didn't respond, but she fell silent again, and when he looked into the room again, she had her head lowered.
With caution, Alek reached for the door, not trusting that she wouldn't be holding the door closed so he wouldn't be able to reach her. Thankfully, the door opened beneath his hand, and he was able to slip inside the door.
"You might be able to play those games with your sister, because she's at a disadvantage in those games, but you can't play them against me. I fight back, and I'm mean."
"Come on, you two, don't fight."
Instantly, instead of continuing the argument, Alek and Storm turned toward the bed where Starr was shifting uncomfortably as though aware of the pain for the first time.
"I'm still sleepy," she said, and wrapped her arm around the pillow in a way he had worried she never would be able to again.
Within moments, she was asleep rather than in the silent coma she had been in since the Compound came down. He watched her as though worried she would stop breathing. It wasn't far from the truth, but at least he wasn't the only one doing it.
Alek had that in mind when he extended a hand to Storm. She didn't react aside from looking at him curiously, as though judging what he was up to.
"Truce?" he asked.
Storm looked between her sister and his extended hand for another beat before placing her hand in his and shaking it.
"Truce."
Universe: Personal Magnetism / Black Shadows
Word Count: 1494
Summary: Alek wants nothing more to visit Starr in hospital. If only he can navigate the obstacle course of wheelchairs her sister has placed in his path.
Notes: This is a challenge for me to just let the piece exist as it is. Maybe later, I'll pull this down and edit it a bit, but for now, it can exist as it is.
Hospital Obstacle Course
At the end of the day of depositions, Alek's head ached something horrible, and the last thing he wanted to do was to return to Erin's little warehouse she and the last mark Gabriel had assigned her to target were in the process of turning into a combination restaurant/bed and breakfast.
Listening to her talk about her vision for the space that only she could see at this point was giving him a headache, even more than the depositions, so that was the last thing he wanted to listen to.
Instead, he took the bus line to the hospital where he had been spending most of his waking hours these days.
His sleep was still disturbed by the vision of them pulling Starr's body out from the rest of the rubble. He had done his best to keep the building from landing its complete weight on her when the explosions had brought it down on top of them, but he was only human.
In the end, even he had to have reconstructive surgery on one of his legs that he hadn't been able to cover with his telekinetic ability.
He had been sitting in the back of the ambulance Sandra had called when they had been evacuated, his eyes desperately scanning the scene for any sign they were able to pull her out.
The spitfire who had pulled him out of himself when he had been ready to give up on most everything, during a time when his brain injury had been so severe his language center had been affected, was anything but when they pulled her out.
The concrete dust surrounding her made her entire complexion look grey, and before he realized he was moving, Alek felt hands closing around his upper arms to keep him still when he would have gone after her.
"There's nothing you can do," the EMT holding him back told him, even as he continued struggling.
Even if he hadn't nearly given himself a brain bleed trying to save them long enough for help to arrive, he didn't now that he would have been able to do something to free himself from the larger EMT before he closed the door closing him off from following after her.
"Once they finish fixing you up at the hospital, you can find her. I'm sure she'll still be there when they're done with you."
In his nightmares, she hadn't been. Her body had been consigned to the morgue because he hadn't done enough. Her sister was in his face screaming at him about how little he had done, rather than spirited away to some distant city to protect her from people Gabriel had allied with coming after her before she had the chance to testify at his trial.
Even Alek's depositions weren't going to have his face, and his voice would likely be distorted. He might fancy himself an adult most of the time, but this time, he was willing to accept the ways the legal system purported to shelter those who hadn't reached adult status.
He had little hope that it would work the way they promised it would, but he was willing to at least try.
Thanks to his inability to get sleep in the aftermath of their bringing down of the Compound, Alek was wide awake by the time the bus arrived at the hospital. The worst part was Alek still felt like he was moving through molasses as he walked along the sidewalk to the main entrance.
The young man at the front counter gave him a glance as he walked in, and nodded in the direction of the elevators. Alek gave him a casual salute as he passed the station.
He had been here so frequently, he and most of the front desk staff were on a first name basis. Some of them still questioned him extensively about his identification, but the fact was they were still trying to locate his passport and Green Card had been confiscated shortly after he had come under Gabriel's care, and it wasted valuable time going back and forth with the people at the front desk about it.
In the end, he hoped for more understanding people at the front desk like Bryan, rather than Suzanne or Jack, who were more likely to continue questioning him about it.
Once he was in the elevator, Alek leaned against the back wall and let his eyes close again, dreading when he would have to start the paper trail all over again.
That would involve him going back to New York, see if his parents were still safe, and getting them to go with him to get new papers. His stomach knotted in anxiety at just the thought, so he was grateful to be able to focus on the situation in front of him rather than future concerns.
Not the least of which was the obstacle course of wheelchairs scattered throughout the hallway, of which even the nurses were avoiding rather than putting back in their original location.
He studied the scene in front of him, but staring at it didn't help clarify anything.
Since the nurses looked more stressed than usual, he didn't dare interrupt their rounds to ask questions, and instead made it to Starr's room by weaving through them.
The window looking in on her room revealed a surprise, and further explained the chaos of wheelchairs in the hallway. It possibly even explained the harried look on the nurses faces.
Rather than the West Coast city he had thought she had been consigned to until after the trial, Storm Austin sat perched on the edge of her sister's bed, watching over her as though she could force her out of the healing coma the staff had put her in while they did the multiple surgeries required to heal the numerous broken bones the incident had left her with.
The physical therapy involved would be extensive, so Alek didn't know whether Starr would still be held on this special wing of the hospital before the end of the trial or released to a private physio so she could testify about all the things Gabriel had done to her.
Her testimony would be sealed the same way many of theirs were, because the things Gabriel had forced them to do seemed to defy science, and he still wasn't sure he trusted the Courts to hold him accountable the way he should be, just because it stretched their ability to wrap their heads around the crimes he had done to them.
The closest definition under known law would probably be a statute close to trafficking, and there was enough evidence that Starr held in her head, with some additional testimony from those in power that would back up what she had to tell them.
As he moved to enter the room, Storm looked up, and two of the wheelchairs moved to trap him where he stood.
Oh. So this is how it's going to be, is it?
Even though he could feel the tension indicating she was holding them there as casually as breathing, he slapped the hold on both of them away, and rolled both wheelchairs to where he knew the nurses kept them.
Stop being a child, he told her. Do you realize how much harder you're making this for the nurses? Do you want your sister to get kicked out of the hospital before she wakes up?
Storm didn't respond, but she fell silent again, and when he looked into the room again, she had her head lowered.
With caution, Alek reached for the door, not trusting that she wouldn't be holding the door closed so he wouldn't be able to reach her. Thankfully, the door opened beneath his hand, and he was able to slip inside the door.
"You might be able to play those games with your sister, because she's at a disadvantage in those games, but you can't play them against me. I fight back, and I'm mean."
"Come on, you two, don't fight."
Instantly, instead of continuing the argument, Alek and Storm turned toward the bed where Starr was shifting uncomfortably as though aware of the pain for the first time.
"I'm still sleepy," she said, and wrapped her arm around the pillow in a way he had worried she never would be able to again.
Within moments, she was asleep rather than in the silent coma she had been in since the Compound came down. He watched her as though worried she would stop breathing. It wasn't far from the truth, but at least he wasn't the only one doing it.
Alek had that in mind when he extended a hand to Storm. She didn't react aside from looking at him curiously, as though judging what he was up to.
"Truce?" he asked.
Storm looked between her sister and his extended hand for another beat before placing her hand in his and shaking it.
"Truce."