just_muse_me | 17.9.5. Picture prompt
17.9.5. Medical treatment
Co-written with justalilcontact
Chemo. It all seemed so... real, all of a sudden. One minute Chase felt like he was just another post-op inpatient and the next he was an Oncology outpatient, sitting in a cushy recliner chair as Evie settled him and prepped him for the IV to start. Chase had been mostly quiet and Evie seemed to understand this and just kissed his forehead when she left. No words came. Wilson showed up then and talked Chase briefly through the process, which Chase already knew, but he was grateful Wilson was revisiting for him. Then the IV started and Rogue arrived with Mia to sit with him through it all. Chase slept through most of it, with Rogue's gloved hand tucked into his. He slept through offers of drinks or more pillows or blankets. He figured Rogue answered on his behalf... he needed his wife more than anything in the world right now.
It was now later in the afternoon and Chase woke up to find Rogue still there, sitting patiently and holding his hand as she nursed Mia in her other arm. Chase blinked groggily and stretched a little, turning his head to try and see how much longer the IV had. It had almost run its course and his mouth felt like it was full of sand. "Are you okay, babe?" he asked hoarsely, squeezing her hand just a little.
Mia had thankfully nodded off in her arm, and Rogue smiled a little. She wasn't sure how it would have gone down if Mia had spent the whole afternoon bawling her eyes out. She and Chase were lucky in that she was a relatively quiet baby. Rogue had to wonder if maybe Mia understood better than they realised. She would have thought the child might have become distressed, but it only seemed to happen if Rogue, or Chase, cried or showed distress themselves.
"Yeah, sugar, I'm okay. Just sittin' here thinkin' about our weddin'. Feels so crazy that it wasn't all that long ago, and now we're sittin' here with Mia and... I know this is gonna sound weird, but I feel like a proper adult now. Like I got my own life finally." Rogue rubbed her thumb over the back of his hand and looked at the Doc. "How ya doin' yourself? Sure ya don't need anythin'?"
Chase smiled and nodded. "You were always very much an adult to me. You just rock the mummy thing," he told her tiredly. He flexed his other hand with the IV a little, his fingers all cramped from being in the same position too long. He tried to analyse how he was feeling. "Maybe just a drink. I feel like I've been licking carpet and haven't slept in a year." His limbs felt heavy, too. It was an odd sensation he wasn't used to... probably one of many to come.
"Ya rock the daddy thing," Rogue murmured as she looked down at their daughter. "I just feel more like an adult... I don't know why. I guess this is just the next adult phase." Rogue reluctantly pulled her hand from Chase's grasp and shifted her hold on Mia so she could get up to pour him some water. "I'm sorry it's so hard on ya. I wish there was an easier way, but I guess there ain't. Hopefully this is all gonna work, and you'll be better." She set the water in front of him and leaned in to kiss his forehead. "I love ya no matter what though, Doc. I just wanna make sure ya keep rememberin' that."
"I do remember," Chase told her quietly. "It's what's keeping me going right now." He took a small sip of the water, but he may as well have been drinking petrol for all the benefit it gave him. It seemed to reach his stomach and just sit there like he had swallowed a golf ball. He didn't think it was quite nausea, but he didn't feel well either. "I'm just glad that I can go home after this." The IV started to beep, signalling the course had run through. It took a nurse all of a minute to arrive at his side and start disconnecting him from the line, and warning him he had to hang around just a little longer so they could take his obs.
Rogue settled back down beside him, and Mia stirred a little in her arms. She stroked their daughter's cheek with her finger and waited to see if she would wake up. When Mia kept sleeping, Rogue turned her attention back to her husband, and took his hand again. "I'm glad ya can come home, too. Daisy's been frettin' a little, but she's been keepin' me and Mia safe. Remy's been stayin' over when he can. It ain't the same without ya there. House feels all wrong."
"I owe Remy one... probably loads of ones," Chase said as he let out a small, slow breath. "The arrogant male in me has a complex about not being there to take care of his wife and daughter. The rest of me just wants my own bed and clean pyjama pants and a toilet I can use without actually having to put on slippers, a bathrobe and any number of other things to protect my privacy. I just want to be away from medical shit for awhile. I feel like I'll be okay feeling like crap at home with you and Mia."
Rogue shook her head a little. "You don't owe him anythin'. He's doin' it because he's my family. And because I think Mia's got him wrapped around her tiny finger more than he'll ever realise. That bein' said, I do feel like we should maybe do somethin' for him. I don't know what, though. I keep just cookin' for him, and he seems happy with that. Do ya want him t'leave when ya back home? I don't want ya to feel crowded, or anythin'. We'll take care of you, sugar."
"I don't mind. If you need him there to help, that's fine, babe. It's just whether he wants to put up with being under the same roof as me if this shit makes me really sick. It's not going to be... very pleasant. On the other hand, I might be okay with it. Here's hoping. Have you been talking to him, babe? I was worried you might not have anyone to talk to if things got too hard or too intense. It's early days. What about Logan? Have you spoken to him?" Chase asked. He was already working on starting to peel back the tape around the IV. He figured he would help out a little and remove it himself.
Rogue sat back as she rocked Mia and watched Chase peel the tape off his hand. She was fast coming to the conclusion that sometimes doctors really must make horrible patients. They'd be too used to being on the other side of the treatment, and wanting to do all these little things. Like taking off the tape now. Although she did have to admit Chase was being pretty cooperative. He probably still hated it, but she couldn't blame him. "I'll talk to him about it. He might wanna spend some time with his lovers... Feel kinda bad I'm takin' him away from 'em, but he seems okay. Logan's... he's keepin' an eye on me. I don't need to talk to him. He calls every day at the same time without fail. He's kinda like a dog with a bone in that way. He ain't gonna let anythin' happen to me. I think he's been sleepin' at Cameron's a lot more than usual. Makin' sure he's close just in case."
Chase's forehead creased when he looked up at her. "That's still some weird shit," he decided, even if it was amusing. Cameron and Logan... but it worked. By the time the nurse appeared with her trolley to take his observations, Chase already had the IV out and handed the canula over to her. She gave him a Look, pressed her lips together but then just shook her head knowingly, promising to smack him in the head if he did it again. His observations were mostly normal. Blood pressure was a little low and temperature a little high, but she said Wilson had given the all clear for him to go home and then insisted he be taken to the car in a wheelchair.
He frowned in annoyance, shifting forward on the recliner as he went to protest, but standing told him a wheelchair was a good idea. He stumbled, but the nurse caught him. "I'm cool..." he told her, trying not to get frustrated with himself. "Whatever you want me to do so I can get home." The nurse helped him sit again and went to get a wheelchair. Chase met Rogue's eyes with a sigh. "There goes the idea I had that I would be perfectly fine after this. You need Logan and Remy near."
Rogue held Mia securely against her with one arm, and reached out to touch the Doc's face as she gave him a smile. It was beyond hard for her to watch him like this, but she knew he needed her here, and there was nowhere else she wanted to be. "Maybe ya ain't perfectly fine, but give it time. I've got 'em near. Don't worry about it, okay? I know it's hard not to look after me, and after Mia, but just let me take care of ya. And let them take care of me. Please, Doc."
Chase nodded but then subsequently shook his head. "I just hate this. I hate it all, but I'm trying not to let it eat me up because it takes too much energy to be angry. I want to be happy. We should be happy."
A lump caught in Rogue's throat and she had to swallowed it. She leaned down to kiss his cheek, and leaned in close so that only Chase could hear. "We are happy, sugar. We're just takin' a detour."
Chase wrapped his arms around her and hugged her as tightly as he could manage with his depleting energy. If he spoke, he'd probably break down, so he just stayed in the embrace with her and their daughter. It had to be okay, it really did.
All muses referenced with permission and are from the princeton2nyc universe
Word Count | 1,729
Co-written with justalilcontact
Chemo. It all seemed so... real, all of a sudden. One minute Chase felt like he was just another post-op inpatient and the next he was an Oncology outpatient, sitting in a cushy recliner chair as Evie settled him and prepped him for the IV to start. Chase had been mostly quiet and Evie seemed to understand this and just kissed his forehead when she left. No words came. Wilson showed up then and talked Chase briefly through the process, which Chase already knew, but he was grateful Wilson was revisiting for him. Then the IV started and Rogue arrived with Mia to sit with him through it all. Chase slept through most of it, with Rogue's gloved hand tucked into his. He slept through offers of drinks or more pillows or blankets. He figured Rogue answered on his behalf... he needed his wife more than anything in the world right now.
It was now later in the afternoon and Chase woke up to find Rogue still there, sitting patiently and holding his hand as she nursed Mia in her other arm. Chase blinked groggily and stretched a little, turning his head to try and see how much longer the IV had. It had almost run its course and his mouth felt like it was full of sand. "Are you okay, babe?" he asked hoarsely, squeezing her hand just a little.
Mia had thankfully nodded off in her arm, and Rogue smiled a little. She wasn't sure how it would have gone down if Mia had spent the whole afternoon bawling her eyes out. She and Chase were lucky in that she was a relatively quiet baby. Rogue had to wonder if maybe Mia understood better than they realised. She would have thought the child might have become distressed, but it only seemed to happen if Rogue, or Chase, cried or showed distress themselves.
"Yeah, sugar, I'm okay. Just sittin' here thinkin' about our weddin'. Feels so crazy that it wasn't all that long ago, and now we're sittin' here with Mia and... I know this is gonna sound weird, but I feel like a proper adult now. Like I got my own life finally." Rogue rubbed her thumb over the back of his hand and looked at the Doc. "How ya doin' yourself? Sure ya don't need anythin'?"
Chase smiled and nodded. "You were always very much an adult to me. You just rock the mummy thing," he told her tiredly. He flexed his other hand with the IV a little, his fingers all cramped from being in the same position too long. He tried to analyse how he was feeling. "Maybe just a drink. I feel like I've been licking carpet and haven't slept in a year." His limbs felt heavy, too. It was an odd sensation he wasn't used to... probably one of many to come.
"Ya rock the daddy thing," Rogue murmured as she looked down at their daughter. "I just feel more like an adult... I don't know why. I guess this is just the next adult phase." Rogue reluctantly pulled her hand from Chase's grasp and shifted her hold on Mia so she could get up to pour him some water. "I'm sorry it's so hard on ya. I wish there was an easier way, but I guess there ain't. Hopefully this is all gonna work, and you'll be better." She set the water in front of him and leaned in to kiss his forehead. "I love ya no matter what though, Doc. I just wanna make sure ya keep rememberin' that."
"I do remember," Chase told her quietly. "It's what's keeping me going right now." He took a small sip of the water, but he may as well have been drinking petrol for all the benefit it gave him. It seemed to reach his stomach and just sit there like he had swallowed a golf ball. He didn't think it was quite nausea, but he didn't feel well either. "I'm just glad that I can go home after this." The IV started to beep, signalling the course had run through. It took a nurse all of a minute to arrive at his side and start disconnecting him from the line, and warning him he had to hang around just a little longer so they could take his obs.
Rogue settled back down beside him, and Mia stirred a little in her arms. She stroked their daughter's cheek with her finger and waited to see if she would wake up. When Mia kept sleeping, Rogue turned her attention back to her husband, and took his hand again. "I'm glad ya can come home, too. Daisy's been frettin' a little, but she's been keepin' me and Mia safe. Remy's been stayin' over when he can. It ain't the same without ya there. House feels all wrong."
"I owe Remy one... probably loads of ones," Chase said as he let out a small, slow breath. "The arrogant male in me has a complex about not being there to take care of his wife and daughter. The rest of me just wants my own bed and clean pyjama pants and a toilet I can use without actually having to put on slippers, a bathrobe and any number of other things to protect my privacy. I just want to be away from medical shit for awhile. I feel like I'll be okay feeling like crap at home with you and Mia."
Rogue shook her head a little. "You don't owe him anythin'. He's doin' it because he's my family. And because I think Mia's got him wrapped around her tiny finger more than he'll ever realise. That bein' said, I do feel like we should maybe do somethin' for him. I don't know what, though. I keep just cookin' for him, and he seems happy with that. Do ya want him t'leave when ya back home? I don't want ya to feel crowded, or anythin'. We'll take care of you, sugar."
"I don't mind. If you need him there to help, that's fine, babe. It's just whether he wants to put up with being under the same roof as me if this shit makes me really sick. It's not going to be... very pleasant. On the other hand, I might be okay with it. Here's hoping. Have you been talking to him, babe? I was worried you might not have anyone to talk to if things got too hard or too intense. It's early days. What about Logan? Have you spoken to him?" Chase asked. He was already working on starting to peel back the tape around the IV. He figured he would help out a little and remove it himself.
Rogue sat back as she rocked Mia and watched Chase peel the tape off his hand. She was fast coming to the conclusion that sometimes doctors really must make horrible patients. They'd be too used to being on the other side of the treatment, and wanting to do all these little things. Like taking off the tape now. Although she did have to admit Chase was being pretty cooperative. He probably still hated it, but she couldn't blame him. "I'll talk to him about it. He might wanna spend some time with his lovers... Feel kinda bad I'm takin' him away from 'em, but he seems okay. Logan's... he's keepin' an eye on me. I don't need to talk to him. He calls every day at the same time without fail. He's kinda like a dog with a bone in that way. He ain't gonna let anythin' happen to me. I think he's been sleepin' at Cameron's a lot more than usual. Makin' sure he's close just in case."
Chase's forehead creased when he looked up at her. "That's still some weird shit," he decided, even if it was amusing. Cameron and Logan... but it worked. By the time the nurse appeared with her trolley to take his observations, Chase already had the IV out and handed the canula over to her. She gave him a Look, pressed her lips together but then just shook her head knowingly, promising to smack him in the head if he did it again. His observations were mostly normal. Blood pressure was a little low and temperature a little high, but she said Wilson had given the all clear for him to go home and then insisted he be taken to the car in a wheelchair.
He frowned in annoyance, shifting forward on the recliner as he went to protest, but standing told him a wheelchair was a good idea. He stumbled, but the nurse caught him. "I'm cool..." he told her, trying not to get frustrated with himself. "Whatever you want me to do so I can get home." The nurse helped him sit again and went to get a wheelchair. Chase met Rogue's eyes with a sigh. "There goes the idea I had that I would be perfectly fine after this. You need Logan and Remy near."
Rogue held Mia securely against her with one arm, and reached out to touch the Doc's face as she gave him a smile. It was beyond hard for her to watch him like this, but she knew he needed her here, and there was nowhere else she wanted to be. "Maybe ya ain't perfectly fine, but give it time. I've got 'em near. Don't worry about it, okay? I know it's hard not to look after me, and after Mia, but just let me take care of ya. And let them take care of me. Please, Doc."
Chase nodded but then subsequently shook his head. "I just hate this. I hate it all, but I'm trying not to let it eat me up because it takes too much energy to be angry. I want to be happy. We should be happy."
A lump caught in Rogue's throat and she had to swallowed it. She leaned down to kiss his cheek, and leaned in close so that only Chase could hear. "We are happy, sugar. We're just takin' a detour."
Chase wrapped his arms around her and hugged her as tightly as he could manage with his depleting energy. If he spoke, he'd probably break down, so he just stayed in the embrace with her and their daughter. It had to be okay, it really did.
All muses referenced with permission and are from the princeton2nyc universe
Word Count | 1,729