cambox | BECAUSE WE GIVE NEGATIVE SHITS AND LOVE SUBWAYS

[Ingo nods weakly. He will. He'll do his best, for as long as he can-- though with any luck they'll arrive soon and he'll be given some relief.]

...Emmet? [He doesn't know what was... happening, before the stabbing, but--] I love you.

[Please understand that. He does, doesn't he? How could he not?]

[Emmet laughs, weakly, nodding.]

I know. I do, too. I love you a lot, I just want you to be happy.

[Oh hey, finally made it to the hospital. That was so fast, thank goodness, but--]

I'll be close by, okay? I'll be waiting!

[Aaand they wheel Ingo off, and Emmet follows until he can't any longer, stopping in the waiting room.]

[In the waiting room, Emmet signs in, giving the desk their insurance information. Even if he was crying, shaky, and fearful, he did it diligently, and then went to sit.

He only managed to stay seated for a minute, before he stood up and went to the back of the room, pacing back and forth, back and forth.

Right, he should call them. He starts with Silver's number. ...And the phone isn't on. He calls again, and again, but on the fifth attempt, he leaves a message.]

S-Silver, I... I don't know where you are, or what's going to happen, but... but Ingo is... he's in the hospital, and I don't know if he'll be okay. I... I'll call you back if I learn something else.

[He hangs up, pacing faster and more anxiously. Then he calls Elesa, who does answer her phone. She reassures him, despite her own worry, and tells him that she'll be there late that night once she catches a flight back to Nimbasa from Opelucid.]

[...He waits, for a while longer. Ten minutes... fifteen minutes... but he's struggling, and the Depot Agents can't come - they need to keep the Subway functional. But he doesn't want to be alone, so...

...Hilbert. He calls Hilbert, steadying his expression in a feeble attempt to remain calm. Please, Hilbert, answer...]

[Hilbert answers in a timely fashion, though he's understandably confused by the caller ID. What's Emmet calling him for?...]

Emmet, hey. [What's up?]

[Emmet's sniffling, some, which is very unusual for composed Emmet.]

I... Hilbert... I know it's strange to call you, but, Ingo... Ingo's in the hospital, and I don't know what to do.

[Can you... come here? Can he ask you that? Is that okay? Or... ... ...]

I... I need someone. Please... is it okay?

[Whoa. He can tell it's serious even before Emmet say's what's wrong. He's never heard Emmet like this before. And he's turning to him? Man.

He answers without a second thought.]

Yeah, absolutely. [Hilbert begins to pull his stuff together as he talks, to hurry there in as little time as possible.] So you're at the Nimbasa hospital too, right?

Yeah. The waiting room.

[There's a pause and some shuffling sounds, as Emmet wipes his face and tries to hold himself together.]

I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... this is a lot to ask...

Hey. Don't even worry about it. [Emmet's the one having a hard time and he's apologizing to Hilbert?...]

I'll be there as soon as I can. Hang in there, alright?

Thank you. Thank you very much, Hilbert.

[He'll... he'll hesitate, before he hangs up. So he'll wait, sitting in a seat and waiting, watching for the doctors to come to him or for Hilbert to arrive.]

'Course. It's no problem. Never a problem.

[Hilbert lives nearby, so it doesn't take him that long to get there with the help of his fastest Braviary. He doesn't waste any time, to keep the wait as short as possible-- and soon enough he's hurrying through the doors.

Oh, there he is. Hilbert will run over to him.]

Emmet--...

[Oh man. He really is a wreck. The sight alone's enough to make him worried already, and he doesn't even know what happened.]

C...can I?

[Emmet half-asked, but he can't wait for an answer. He pulls Hilbert into a hug.]

Sorry... I'm sorry.

Ingo was... a woman showed up, and she tried to stab me. Ingo saved me, but I don't know if he'll be okay.

There's nothing to apologize for. [Of course Emmet can hug him-- he needs it. Hilbert will gently hug him back, quietly listening to the explanation. Poor... Poor Emmet. Poor everyone.]

That was pretty brave of him. Getting hurt like that is scary for everyone. [Thank goodness that Emmet is safe, though. (But why does he care about that so much?...)

Hilbert squeezes the hug a little tighter, for reassurance, and continues on calmly.] It's hard, but try not to worry yourself too much. You got him here, right? That's good. And I don't think stab wounds cause death very often at all when they get medical attention, especially so fast. And you guys are healthy, so he should be good at recovering. Right?

Y-yeah... but... what if he got a punctured lung? Or a major artery was cut...

[But the logic helps, because even if those things are possible, it's most likely that the hospital will fix them. It's scary. It's so scary. But with someone to cling to, he can calm down, his racing heart slowing back down to normal... and bringing to his attention a throbbing.]

...My hand hurts...

[He laughs, genuinely amused by that. Whoops.]

You would have noticed something was up, right? Did it look like that had happened? [The signs of a punctured lung or a bloody artery would have been pretty obvious pretty quick, probably.... hard breathing or... well, blood.] Don't think about the "ifs." We'll see what the doctors have to say.

[....wait, his...?]

What did you do? [hilbert pulls away a little to glance at it. Oh, no-- this is the arm that got attacked a while back, isn't it...]

Hah... hahahah... I punched her...

[He sits back, prying the glove off of his hand. Whooooa shit that hand is swollen and getting nastily bruised.]

I think I broke my hand... I thought I broke her jaw.

[...WHAT

LOOK AT THAT-- THAT'S--]

Looks like it hurts. [geez louise. he ain't even mad, the punching makes sense, but...] You should probably get that looked at, you know.

[C'mon, c'mon. Let's get it checked.]

I... well... I don't want to go and not be able to go and see Ingo, though...

[...]

Yeah, that makes sense, but... [Hilbert doesn't look too pleased.] If you hurt it worse because you waited, you might be stuck away from Ingo for longer 'cause it'll take longer to fix.

Plus... I dunno. You know Ingo best, so-- would he want you to ignore it in favor of seeing him?

... he was so scared... he's never been that scared.

He... it was my fault. I... I was stepping back... because I didn't think he needed me. He had Elesa, so...

I'm such an idiot!

Hey... Hey. [Hilbert frowns, putting a hand on Emmet's shoulder.] It's not your fault. Whatever you were doing, there's no way it's your fault this happened.

Sure, he needs you. You guys both need each other. Right? You're brothers. That's what brothers do. [It's not like you're being replaced by Elesa. That relationship's different.]

But because of that, you have to take care of yourself. If you showed up injured, he'd have another thing to be scared about, wouldn't he? He needs you to be alright, too.

It's just a hand... I can lose my hand, and still be okay. I can lose my hand and it won't stop me.

I can't live without my brother. Not yet...

Emmet. Look at me. [Hilbert is sterner, now. You're veering way off. Don't freak out.]

You aren't going to lose him. Okay? And you aren't going to lose your hand, either. That's too extreme. There are more in-between options.

Realistically, if you got it checked out you would just be in a different hospital room while you wait for him to come out of wherever he is. I'm sure we can explain the situation to the nurses and they can work something out so we'll be sure not to miss him.

["We". Technically, it would just be Emmet, but...]

[Thank you, Hilbert. It is good that you're here to be a voice of reason, because Emmet is very well beyond it.]

...Okay. If we go, and they call for me for Ingo, can you go in my place? Just to let him know that I'll be coming, if they're putting a cast on my hand again.

[He stands up, starting towards the counter again... but he stops, waiting for Hilbert. You'll come with him, right?]

Sure I can. That's fine. [He smiles a little to himself, glad that Emmet wasn't stubborn about his hand.

Of course-- of course he's coming. Wouldn't think of doing otherwise. That's what he's here for, isn't it? He'll hurry to catch up next to Emmet, making sure to keep the distance between them minimal. It'll be okay, Emmet. Everything will turn out fine.]

no subject

1/3

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject