Take it Slow

(Tommy wanted another chapter)

Tommy-

The next time Tommy's eyes found their way open, the room was dark, except for a dim light near the beeping sounds to his right. He had no doubt that at least one of them was a heart monitor and another, a breathing machine, as he still felt the thick, uncomfortable plastic tube down his throat. Just the feel of it made him bite back a gag. He had thought that it had been removed before, yet if it was, it was back now.

He wanted it taken out, but as he listened to his heart monitor, he knew that it needed to stay. Even with the item helping him, his heart rate would skip or speed up abruptly every few minutes. The stuttering hurt, but not nearly as much as he thought it would.

They probably have me on some good drugs, I can barely move but I don't hurt too badly.

He expected his surgery sight to hurt, at the very least, but even his chest was barely bothering him besides his heart skipping issue.

The sudden line of light cutting through the room made him wince, then grimace painfully around the tube from the sudden movement. Okay, the drugs don't work quite that well. He thought as the door slowly shut, then someone walked toward him. He could hear their footsteps, but he had to blink several times to clear his vision enough to be able to see who had come in.

A doctor in head-to-toe white, except for a green surgical mask, walked over. He looked to be around his mid fifties, considering his graying hair and wrinkles, but Tommy knew that the job weighed heavily on most and some doctors looked much older than they were. Christopher's exhausted face flashed behind his eyes and he felt his stomach churn with worry.

I hope he hasn't been here too much, he needs to sleep.

"You have a very good friend, Tommy." The doctor said as he glanced down at a clipboard he'd carried in. He was quiet as he checked the different readings on the machines to Tommy's right, then wrote down the information on the board.

"He's been in here almost nonstop for two days. He left around two this afternoon, when you started responding better to the breathing tube and medications."

Tommy felt tears well up in his eyes, but he blinked them back. The doctor seemed to notice after a quick glance up from his clipboard, but thankfully didn't say anything about it.

"I wish I could say that I could remove that, because I know it's not comfortable, but your heartbeat isn't strong enough yet. Hopefully in a couple more hours we can give that a shot."

Eager to communicate, Tommy tried to nod, but the tube in his throat grated against his esophagus, making him cough.

"Careful. We do a simple version of communication with patients who can't move well or talk. If you can move the fingers on your right hand, please tap the blanket." He said, turning his attention to Tommy's right hand.

It had several IV's hooked up to its wrist area, but Tommy couldn't feel too much pain when he tried to move his fingers, so he focused as hard as he could to tap his pointer finger on the blanket.

"There you go. If you want to agree with something I'm asking, tap your finger once. If not, tap it twice. We have no tapping mean not able to respond, because sometimes it's too hard to move your fingers, especially after a strong dose of medication. Do you understand?"

Tommy tapped his finger once, feeling a little relaxed now that he could actually communicate, even if it was just simple yes's or no's.

"Perfect. Would you be willing to try and have that tube removed later tonight if you're doing well?" The doctor asked.

Tommy tapped his finger against the bed once. He knew that he might have trouble and need it returned, which would be horrible, but if he could manage on his own, that would be one step closer to recovering. The doctor checked a few more things and then told him to try and relax and just let his body keep healing. He gave Tommy another dose of pain medication, too. About ten minutes after the man left, Tommy passed out, the medicine doing a damn good job of helping him get some sleep.

Tommy wasn't sure what awoke him later that night, but when he opened his eyes, the dimmed clock up on the wall read eleven o'five. He did his best to look around the room, but his eyes were terribly sore. He wasn't sure if it was from exhaustion or his fever, but the moment they landed on Christopher, sitting silently in the chair to his right with his Kindle out,  Tommy's heart gave a hard stutter.

Christopher blinked a few times, then looked toward the monitor. After a moment, he turned his attention to Tommy. The Kindle in his hand slipped to the floor, the leather case keeping it from making much sound on the tile floor as he jumped up. The chair made a bit more noise as it was shoved back against the wall from the sudden movement, but Christopher paid it no mind.

Aw, hun.

His eyes had perfectly black half-circles beneath them and they were slightly sunken in, too, telling Tommy that along with not sleeping, Christopher probably hadn't eaten much of anything in the past several days. It was sad to see the man in such a state, especially after seeing him lose those circles and eat under his care.

I need to get out of here as soon as possible.

"Hey..." Christopher whispered.

Even his voice sounded exhausted. Tommy tapped a finger against the blankets of his bed and Christopher smiled. "Dr. Daniels told you that, huh? Good. I told him that I would take over if you wanted the tube out tonight. Do you still want to give that a shot?" He asked.

Tommy tapped his finger against the blanket again and was rewarded with a tired smile from Christopher. "Good, I'll get ready to do that." He said as he turned and moved out of Tommy's line of sight for a few moments. When he returned he was tugging gloves onto his hands, then added a soft green mask to cover his mouth.

Okay, that's kind of hot.

The thought made Tommy's own lips quirk up slightly around the breathing tube, making Christopher shake his head. "I don't want to know what you're thinking."

Tommy rolled his eyes as best he could and waited a few more moments before Christopher began to lean over him. "This is going to hurt. I need you to try and not gag when I begin pulling on it." He mumbled as he began to undo the fasteners that helped keep the tube and mask that went along with it, in place.

When he was ready to remove the actual tube, Tommy felt a wash of nervousness flow through him. "It'll be okay. I promise I won't hurt you intentionally... at least, not here." He added with a hint of a smirk that made Tommy's stomach twist into a strange knot.

His mind was running through quite a few scenarios, though he wasn't a pain sub really, when he felt Christopher begin to remove the tube. His gag reflex automatically triggered, making his raw throat muscles contract around the tube. There was little he could do but let the tears fall from his eyes and try to keep enough breath in his lungs to stay conscious.

The moment the tube was out Tommy began coughing painfully. He didn't even have the strength to lift his head, but somehow his body found the ability to repeatedly try to hack up a lung. He felt like it just might succeed, too, if the gasping breaths he was trying to get in between them, didn't hyperventilate him first.

"Shit, Tommy! You need to focus. Stop coughing."

He wanted to. He really, really did, but it was a lot harder to get a hold of his tired body than he ever imagined it would be. The heart monitor was steadily picking up its pace and panic began to set in.

Dammit, calm down and just breathe! You need to get out of here!

Blinking more tears out of his eyes, Tommy let them roll freely down his cheeks as he tried his hardest to focus on calming down. The insistent  beeping of the machines only made it worse.

"Tommy, please. Please, you need to focus!"

Christopher's pleading voice bolstered Tommy's determination and he managed to choke back a few coughs, though it hurt even more to do so. "That's it baby, please. Focus on my voice. Look at me. I'm here for you and I won't be leaving."

Seeing Christopher's determined eyes narrowed worriedly above his surgical mask made Tommy push even harder to calm himself. He felt like what little control he was struggling to get was slipping, but then Christopher's hands cupped his face and the man leaned down to press a faint kiss to his sweaty forehead.

"It's going to be okay. You can do this, baby." He whispered. "I need you back home."

Tommy saw Christopher's black rimmed eyes mere inches away from his own as the man leaned back just enough for their gazes to meet. "I'm so tired, and I suck at making myself eat."

Yeah, you do.

"I love having someone to come home to, even if I don't show it well. Or at all..." Christopher said, his words trailing off as a faint color dusted his cheeks and he glanced away for a moment.

Aw, hun. You show it in so many ways that you don't even realize.

Tommy felt his heart began to calm down as a warmth settled over him.

You are so sweet, and I want to be the one who welcomes you home forever.

His breathing began to slowly even out and the machines to his right settled down into a steady rhythm. Christopher gave an audible sigh and closed his eyes, relief clear as day on his face in the dim light.

I love you. Tommy thought as he forced his head to lift just a fraction and press his lips to the mask covering Christopher's.

I