Innocents abroad (Modern day AU)

[Chevi]

Oof. Too many words. Lucius' mind was still foggy, trying to sort through information. Evacuation. Motel. Bags. Water.

Water.

Lucius looked around, noticing the water bottles by the bed. It was the moment he realized how thirsty he was feeling, so he reached out for one, and then immediately regretted it.

"Ow! Ow. Shit." his left arm was definitely not a healthy color. He could tell even in the light coming in from outside the tent. And the pain that shot up to his shoulder. He held his arm to his chest and frowned. "Shit. Well, that's broken..."

@Sara

[Sara]

Camilla stared in horror as the blanket dropped and the light from the floodlights outside hit his arm. Yeah, no shit was it broken. She raised her hand to her mouth - gaping open to cover her surprise. And then she regained her senses and slipped back into Camilla mode. 

“You fucking idiot, look at that! Jesus Christ…” She frowned at him and picked up the water he had been attempting to reach for, unscrewing it and holding it out for his good arm to take. She’d take it and hold it to his lips as well id he made no move to actually drink it. Still frowning at him in her imperious way, but tinged with concern, she asked: “Can you walk? There’s a medical tent outside or I’ll take you to the hospital if the queues are bad.”

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

Lucius could tell from Camilla' gasp that it indeed looked bad. It felt bad too. Duh.

“You fucking idiot, look at that! Jesus Christ…”

"Hey" he grumbled. It wasn't like he had not been doing a good thing while he got injured. Or that he hadn't been so exhausted that he fell asleep before the shock wore off. Camilla handed him a bottle of water and he took it, draining the whole thing in one go. It felt like... well, a drink of water after spending time in the desert.

“Can you walk? There’s a medical tent outside or I’ll take you to the hospital if the queues are bad.”

"Yeah, yeah, I can walk" Lucius sighed. At least he was fairly certain he could. He swung his legs over the edge of the foldup bed and stood carefully, swaying a little. Yup. "Relax. I'm fine."

@Sara

 

[Sara]

“Yeah, you’re right, you look absolutely fine, fine for a man that’s just been dragged by an 18 wheeler down a highway.” She tutted at him and automatically reached a hand out to his good shoulder to steady him as he swayed, forgetting herself and everything that had come before. She glanced down at his ‘good’ arm and noticed the scratches, which also littered his neck. She finally withdrew her hand when she was confident he wasn’t about to fall down dead.

Gesturing that he should walk in front of her so if he fell down she could attempt to catch him (which would have been hilarious - like some sort of slapstick comedy), she blinked into the chaos of the busy forecourt. “This way,” she pointed to a big white tent a few hundred yards away. “You’re with a VIP you know,” She tried to joke now the tension was easing back in as the shock had worn off and what happened the afternoon prior came back into her mind. She waved the ‘volunteer pass’ around her neck so he could see it. “Let’s see if this gets you to the front of the queue.”

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"Yeah, you’re right, you look absolutely fine, fine for a man that’s just been dragged by an 18 wheeler down a highway.”

"twas a door" he muttered as she steadied him. Leave it to Camilla to be angry at a firefighter for being injured. "We tried getting into a building to make sure it was evacuated."

He did walk out of the tend, being ushered by her. Someone needed to get him a cast and some damn painkillers.

“This way. You’re with a VIP you know. Let’s see if this gets you to the front of the queue.”

Lucius looked at the pass and raised an eyebrow. Somehow he'd assumed she was stuck here because she couldn't go back to the motel. 

"Look at you volunteering." he smirked. Camilla, making herself useful. He would have taken more advantage of this situation if he had not been too tired and in pain for banter. "Alright, lead the way."

@Sara

[Sara]

She shrugged at his comment, relieved more than anything that he was a) not arguing with her that he needed medical help and b) hadn’t asked her to leave yet, which after how they left things yesterday, wouldn’t have surprised her.

The medical tent was crowded and heaving and from what she could tell, contained injuries of every sort; burns, cuts, smoke inhalation, really everything. Medical staff milled around and rushed between bays and Camilla - seeing it all - had the urge to simply run away. She didn’t like this, and her face grew pale. She wasn’t squeamish but seeing so much pain in one place…

Snapping herself out of it as she glanced across to see Lucius cradling his broken arm, she narrowed her eyes and made a beeline for a man in scrubs who seemed to be taking a breather. She was still carrying water in one hand and as she strode over to him, she held it out. “Water, doc?” he smiled and took it gratefully and she returned his look with a triumphant grin. If there was one thing she was truly excellent at, it was convincing people to do her bidding. “My friend, a firefighter, is injured, he needs help - could you take a look?” Not waiting for a reply, she jerked her head at Lucius as if to say ‘here, now’ and presented him to Lucius, “It’s his arm and he keeps coughing.”

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

Camilla did know how to get things done. Also, she had no concept of waiting for her turn. Lucius watched her as she walked up to a doctor, and after some water and some short conversation, he was presented to the man.

“It’s his arm and he keeps coughing.”

"The arm's definitely broken" Lucius noted, and from the look on his face the doctor agreed. "I just need water for the cough."

"We'll see" the doctor noted, leading Lucius to one of the exam stations. He was glad to sit down again, feeling a little wobbly. "On second thought, I probably need food too..."

@Sara

[Sara]

She went with him as he moved to the exam table as if it were the most natural thing in the world, rather than what it was - which was an ex girlfriend escorting her heartbroken ex boyfriend to a medical tent after he’s been caught in a fire and broken his arm. ‘Weird’ didn’t begin to describe the vibe.

”I can do that.” She offered, wanting to feel useful because standing here - watching him in pain, was doing her absolutely no good at all. “I’ll be back, don’t go anywhere.” She warned him with a light glare.

It took her just under thirty minutes to reappear back in the medical tent, arms ladened down with two cool boxes. One contained water, which she passed to a nurse, who gratefully accepted it and began to dish out cold water to patients. The other had good, which she also set down. When she wove her way back to Lucius she eyed him cautiously and then set down two bottles of water on the bed. “You have a choice of,” She squinted at the cling film wrapped mystery sandwiches, “Ham and cheese or,” she held another up, “BLT.” 

The doctor reentered the exam space a moment later and she turned to him, knowing she wouldn’t get an honest answer out of Lucius: “So what’s the prognosis?”

 

TAG: @Chevi

 

[Chevi]

"Not goin anywhere" Lucius muttered, happy to be sitting down again. Camilla seemed to have an intention to make herself useful. He wasn't sure if it was guilt or a sense of responsibility. Not like she had anything to do with his injury.

By the time she returned with food and water his arm had already been through the portable X-ray machine and put in a cast up to his elbow. The doctors were nothing if not efficient. He'd also gotten painkillers, which was great, because now he was lying down in a state of comfortable fuzziness.

“You have a choice of... Ham and cheese or... BLT.” 

"Both."

“So what’s the prognosis?”

The doctor glanced at Lucius, who was too occupied with trying to unwrap a sandwich and simply gave a nod. Why not? Camilla was going to find out anyway.

"Clean break. His arm will be fine. And his airways are clear too. He needs rest, though. Definitely not going back on duty with that arm."

"What, it's not like I got anywhere else to go" Lucius protested from the bed.

@Sara

[Sara]

She tossed both the sandwiches on the end of the bed. He looked sleepy (and adorable), and it was irritatingly distracting the way his hair fell when it was mussed. As the doctor spoke she cast a glance at the protesting Lucius, still fumbling with the sandwich which she plucked from his good hand and nimbly unwrapped, before tossing it back at him in one fell swoop. 

"Yeah, no shit you're not going back." She rolled her eyes, "Where was your apartment again?" She asked him before continuing; "There are buses, now the fire has moved west they're letting people go back now. So you have a choice of your apartment or a hotel." She offered him a smug smile, very much indicated she wasn't taking no for an answer, "And is he on painkillers?" she asked the doctor, selfishly thinking it might make him easier to speak to...

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"Yeah, no shit you're not going back. Where was your apartment again?" 

When did she decide she was the boss of him? Lucius was distracted by the sandwich she'd unwrapped, but in the back of his mind he wondered at Camilla's behavior. She was still here, getting things done, making decisions. Which was strange, and a bit awkward. Given that the last things they said to each other had been pretty harsh.

"Not far from Ben's bar" he muttered between bites.

"There are buses, now the fire has moved west they're letting people go back now. So you have a choice of your apartment or a hotel."

Huh. Okay, that was good news at least.

"Apartment." he didn't exactly want to pay for a hotel. And they were probably full anyway.

"And is he on painkillers?" 

"Oh yeah. Big time. Someone needs to drive him" the doctor nodded, glancing at Lucius "Don't leave without the paperwork. We don't have the resources to chase you down."

"Damn, doc." Lucius shook his head, a little amused. People had been nice to him, in a caring way, despite everyone being exhausted. And now he had food. "Okay, I'll wait."

@Sara

[Sara]

"Apartment it is." She glanced at the doctor and then back at Lucius smugly, "And excellent - you'll get a lovely bus ride." 

Arching a brow as the doctor left to get the paperwork sorted and Lucius went back to munching the sandwich, she stood at the end of the bed awkwardly. The motel wasn't safe to return to yet - even without the risk of actual fire this close to the city, apparently with the direction the wind was blowing it was just clogged with ash and smoke. She wasn't going to say that to him though, and worst came to the worst, she'd just sleep on the cot she had in the convention centre, after dropping him home. And she would be going to his apartment with him, because even high on whatever painkillers he was on, she didn't doubt he'd try and do something foolish like volunteer if he wasn't forcibly marched back to his own bed.

"I'm guessing you don't have insurance?" Given he was a volunteer, and therefore unlikely  to be covered by the fire department, and an x-ray and a cast - even an emergency one - wasn't likely to be cheap. "So either I can call your folks for you and let them know what happened and get them to pay for this," She gestured at his arm, "Or I can put it on my Amex." 

Guilt made her generous it seemed. Had she not broken his heart and made the wrong decision, he wouldn't be here. Had she not been so argumentative at the bar, maybe he wouldn't have been so reckless out in the field. Had she just tried harder and convinced him to rest, not go back to the firehouse, maybe he'd be fine now. 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"I'm guessing you don't have insurance?"

"Nope!" he almost sounded cheerful through a mouthful of BLT. Fuck it all, that was the general mood of the day. Or the past six months.

"So either I can call your folks for you and let them know what happened and get them to pay for this. Or I can put it on my Amex." 

Lucius looked up. Oh, shit. His parents.

"You can't call them" he stated, the possible outcome cutting through the brain fog. If his parents learned of any of this... Shit. "I... um. I'll pay you back. I promise."

Anything, other than his father getting one more thing to hold over him for the rest of his life.

"This is not your fault you know." he added after a pause, turning back to his sandwich to look away from her.

@Sara

[Sara]

"Oh I expect you to." Because if he paid her back, that would require him actually speaking to her - potentially for a protracted period of time if he did it in instalments. 

"I know." She didn't know, or didn't believe him but at least he wasn't looking at her and was content to munch his sandwich whilst she fiddled with the sleeve of her dress, "I'm not the one who set the fire, after all, am I? Although that would have been a fairly decisive way of getting you to talk to me." She chuckled, trying to break up some of the tension. 

He looked...oddly content for a man as angry as he had been yesterday, and for a man who had just run into fire and survived it with a broken arm. Feeling inescapably awkward, she cleared her throat and leant down to pick up the other sandwich, "Ham and cheese unwrapped, or water?" Look at her, playing nurse. It weirdly suited her.

Where was this doctor with the paperwork.

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"I know. I'm not the one who set the fire, after all, am I? Although that would have been a fairly decisive way of getting you to talk to me." 

Lucius shook his head, finishing the sandwich. That was not what he'd meant, but he was not in a very eloquent state of mind. Camilla seemed awkward now. What more did they have to talk about, anyway? He'd said what he'd needed to say.

"Ham and cheese unwrapped, or water?"

"Both." his body was just catching up to the past 24+ hours. By the time he started on his next sandwich, the doctor returned with the papers too. Lucius got discharged with some painkillers and follow up appointments, and since the beds were sorely needed, he was ushered out of the medical tent with strict directions to go straight home and rest. "So... bus then." he stated, blinking as he looked around. He glanced at Camilla who was somehow still there. "You don't have to come, I can manage."

@Sara

[Sara]

Holy hell was emergency medical care expensive, but Camilla shielded the cost from him and folded the receipt after she paid, following him out into the heaving forecourt. 

“Follow me, weary traveller.” She’d seen the buses when she’s been running round to get him food, and the queue had gone down mercifully since then. “You’re injured, I’m not just going to dump you.” Poor choice of words and she winced, “I’m going to watch you walk through your front door, and then I’ll leave you in a peace. Deal?” Id he protested then he really must not want her here, and they were nearly at the front of the line to board the bus back in the direction of the bar.

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

“Follow me, weary traveller. You’re injured, I’m not just going to dump you.” 

They winced at the same time, probably for the same reason. Even Lucius' foggy mind recognized the implications.

“I’m going to watch you walk through your front door, and then I’ll leave you in a peace. Deal?” 

"Deal." it was probably not a bad idea to have someone make sure he did not just pass out on the bus, and that he actually found his own apartment. The painkillers had kicked in, which was good for the arm, but bad for decision making. "Ugh. They gave me the good stuff." he muttered as they got on the bus.

@Sara

[Sara]

He really was adorable when he was sleepy. She'd thought that when they'd met in Rome, and when they'd dated - did one date when one was having an affair? - and now, sat on the bus, slumped against the window and cradling his cast.

They didn't talk much on the way back - she figured he was tired and didn't' particularly want to be hassled by an ex-girlfriend who resolutely was not leaving him alone. When they arrived at the drop off point near to the bar (according to her phone at least), she nudged him on his leg and he directed them through the smokey streets, back in the direction of the apartment. 

"Do you live here alone?" She ventured as they climbed the stairs to the apartment. "Whose going to unwrap your sandwiches and bottles of water if you do?" She tried to make a joke. She just needed to set foot in the apartment, then she would have an excuse to stick around, to look after him. Not that she really needed an excuse, she wasn't doing this to play some sort of game, she was doing it because she genuinely wanted to.

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

The bus ride was kind of a daze. Lucius leaned his head against the window and floating in and out of sleeping. The few hours at the tent had not been nearly enough, and the painkillers didn't exactly help. When they got to the stop, Camilla made sure they actually got off the bus. He navigated the streets to the building where his apartment was, the walk waking him up a little more.

"Do you live here alone? Whose going to unwrap your sandwiches and bottles of water if you do?"

"Alone" he confirmed, leading the way up the stairs to the small studio he was renting. He dug around in his pockets until he found the keys. "I'll manage." he glanced at Camilla. She had gotten him home safely. Go figure. "More importantly, where are you staying? Didn't you get moved out of the motel?... Don't you have a flight to catch?"

@Sara

[Sara]

He found the keys but hadn't opened the door. Damn. She glanced at him and made a 'hurry up' gesture; "You'll manage, but at least let me get you a glass of water, or tape up your arm in a trash bag so you can shower. I have a feeling you, one-armed, trying to do it isn't going to end very well." She rose her brows as if to say 'you know I'm right'. 

Shrugging, and leaning against the door frame she stifled a yawn with the back of her hand. Whilst she hadn't been out fighting fires, she'd also not got more than a couple of snatched hours of sleep in the chaos. "I'm flattered you think me more important than yourself," Chuckling, she tucked her hair behind her ear, "And just back at the convention centre, my luggage is there." and better still be there by the time I get back. 

"Come on," she nudged his leg, "I promise I'll leave if you want me to go?" 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

Having a broken arm was going to suck, but it wasn't like Lucius had not had a limb broken before. He had been a pretty active child. And young adult. 

"You'll manage, but at least let me get you a glass of water, or tape up your arm in a trash bag so you can shower. I have a feeling you, one-armed, trying to do it isn't going to end very well." 

He sighed and opened the door. She was not wrong. "I do need a shower, don't I." he noted. He didn't even remember the last time he had showered, but it definitely had been before the fire.

"I'm flattered you think me more important than yourself. And just back at the convention centre, my luggage is there."  

Oh. Right. She had been sent to the evac center with her stuff. That was not a great place to spend a lot of time in. Especially because she should not have been in town in the first place.

"Come on. I promise I'll leave if you want me to go?" 

I never wanted you to leave.

Lucius walked in, tossing the keys on the table. The apartment was small and barely furnished; it had a bed, a small kitchen area, and a dining table. Piles of clothes and books lined the floor along the walls, some of them stacked and folded, but with no shelves in sight.

"It's just temporary" he explained half-heartedly as they walked in. Camilla was probably going to drag his ass for living in a place like this, with the background he had.

@Sara

[Sara]

She was in! Success! And well...wasn't this the archetypical 'depressed person's' apartment? No furniture, no pictures, not much of anything, actually that wasn't purely functional. She blinked. She still had her two bedroom apartment in New York, and even his previous studio in the city was a palace compared to this. How long had he been here? How were his parents letting this happen? Had she done this to him? She swallowed the lump in her throat.

"You don't need to justify it to me." She shrugged and moved through to the small kitchen area to rifle through his drawers in an effort to find a trash bag and tape. Finding the goods - she held them out to him, indicating with a wince that she could exactly do it whilst he had a shirt on, not that there was anything particularly sexy about seeing him covered in bruises, soot and scratches. Well. It was Lucius. So maybe there was something sexy. "Shower, water then bed, then I'll go." She affirmed to him, and could have sworn she'd said something similar what felt like a lifetime ago, in a very different context.

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"You don't need to justify it to me."

He didn't. But somehow it felt like he did. She'd been to his old apartment multiple times, and even then she had made jokes about his living situation. And that was a flat in New York City. Lucius stood, a little dazed, as she rummaged around the kitchen. He had the faint feeling that if he sat down, he would not get up again.

"Shower, water then bed, then I'll go."

Shower. Right.

"Yes ma'am." he smiled a little. She was used to bossing him around. Somehow the painkillers had taken the edge out of the memory too, not just the physical pain. Lucius moved to peel off his shirt, but it was not an easy task to do one-handed and sluggish. "You are a very bossy nurse." he muttered.

@Sara

[Sara]

"Would you expect anything less?" she chuckled as she stood impatiently with the trash bag and tape. She winced as he finally managed to free himself from his teeshirt. The bruising had spread and the scratches were worse than she'd imagined. She found herself staring, half in horror and half in...well, she couldn't quite articulate the feeling, and reluctantly dragged her eyes back up to his face with a wry smile. "

"You're not a very good patient, you know. Very hostile." She moved the bag so he could put his wounded arm in it, as she started to wrap rolls and rolls of tape around the top to prevent water from getting in. This felt...oddly normal, it was peculiar. The banter was back - at least in part, and she was desperately trying to push down the feelings that bubbled up whenever her mind drifted back to the bar; you broke my fucking heart, Camilla. 

When she was done she gave him a smug smile and threw the tape onto the dining table, as she herself took a seat at it - pretending to busy herself on her phone to distract herself. "This nurse is not giving you a sponge bath, before you get any ideas." She ventured, trying to keep up the joke, although she didn't look at him to see how it landed. 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"Would you expect anything less? You're not a very good patient, you know. Very hostile." 

"I get to be. I'm a firefighter. Free pass." he smirked as he finally shrugged off the shirt. He was generally a patient person, and friendly with fellow responder personnel. But Camilla... she was a different thing entirely. She taped his arm up in a garbage bag, which looked silly, but was probably the best option for a shower.

"This nurse is not giving you a sponge bath, before you get any ideas." 

Lucius blinked. Oh. Right. He had not expected any of this to go that way, but the light joking was not entirely unwelcome. Better than the awkwardness.

"The only idea I got is that you need a shower too" he shot back with a smirk, before walking into the bathroom and closing the door. She had probably not had a shower for a day at least either, although she definitely wore it better than him.

The shower was a godsend. He spent several long minutes cleaning up, and then some more just standing under the flowing water, trying to soak out the smell of smoke from his hair. By the time he got out he felt clean and refreshed, but also he was feeling every scrape and bruise on his body. The warm water relaxed his aching muscles, at least.

He walked out of the small bathroom with a towel around his hips. Too tired to care, and not like she hadn't seen it all before. Still, he looked a little sheepish.

"You can shower too if you want. The evac center is not exactly a hotel."

@Sara