Meeting Again Part 1

Posted on Mon Jan 12th, 2015 @ 6:50pm by Lieutenant Commander Ethan Chaparral MD

Mission: Devotion of Time
Location: Sick Bay
Timeline: Current

Ethan rubbed at the stubble on his chin. ~I really do need to shave,~ he thought to himself. He was sitting in Sick Bay allowing himself a quick rest. He’d just dealt with a sprained ankle and an Ensign who had decided to play around with a real sword, a souvenir from another era. The man had almost severed his wrist. There were of course a variety of other ailments and minor incidences, it had been a long day, especially since he was the only one working there. He closed his eyes and tried to relax.

“Damnit!” Dylan cursed as he slammed the locker to the phaser rifles shut and caught his finger in it. As pain coursed through his body, he gingerly opened the locker door and extracted the injured hand groaning as he saw blood and lots of it. Not seeing anything to wrap it with, he held his hand against his chest and fought back the nausea that the pain was causing as he staggered out of the armory trying to recall where sickbay was.

By the time he reached his target, blood had soaked into the front of his uniform good and proper and he was starting to feel a little faint. Stepping through the doors he said weakly “Doc?” before promptly falling to the floor.

Ethan looked up at the sound, dropping the PAaD he’d been holding, then he saw who it was, the man he’d been dreading seeing. The man he’d been prepared to tell the Captain he didn’t want to be roommates, if having roommates with, or have anything to do with and his face drained of color.

He dropped to the floor beside his former love, momentarily panicking before the doctor in him took over from the boyfriend in him.

He bent down and began examining, his patient.

“E-Ethan?” Dylan gazed up into the once beloved eyes of the man he had given everything to before his vision began to tunnel and he passed out.

“Damn,” Ethan said to himself. He found the problem quickly enough, Dylan’s left index finger. He’s severed a digital artery and the bleeding had to be stopped. He wasn’t much of a trauma specialist, but he could get by. So he grabbed a trauma kit and lay it out then tied a tourniquet around the top of Dylan’s arm glad to see the gush of blood drop down to a slow trickle. Running a quick scan gave him an estimate of how much blood the other man had lost though it wasn’t hard to see given how much blood was soaked into his uniform. Clamping off the artery as a temporary fix, he set about fluid resuscitation. If he didn’t get Dylan’s blood pressure up he was going to be close to dead in no time.

“Damn it Dylan don’t you die on me you bastard, I still love you.” Ethan wasn’t sure where the words came from, or what they really meant. He picked the other man up and got him to a biobed. He wished someone else was around to help, but there wasn’t. So he’d have to do it himself.

Though he wasn’t a trauma specialist, his mother was and he’d seen plenty of impromptu field fixes, so he grabbed a tube and a couple of needles. If Dylan needed blood and he did, he could give it to him because fortunately he was a universal donor, O negative. Finding a vein in both their arms. He stuck himself and then Dylan.

A soft grunt of pain escaped Dylan’s lips as the needle punctured him, the stemming of the bleeding bringing his blood pressure up enough to bring him around. Then, as the life giving blood flowed into him his eyelids finally fluttered open and his eyes immediately fixed on the man beside him.

“Don’t say anything, just lay there. Or I’m going to tell you I told you so.”

Ignoring that order, Dylan groaned and said in a croaky voice “Did I wreck your floor?”

“The floor can be cleaned, God what did you do to yourself?’

“Slammed my hand in the weapons locker.” Dylan replied, lifting his head a little so that he could look at his hand, “Did I lose any fingers?” he asked with concern before spotting the tube running from his arm to Ethan’s and asked “W-what are you doing?”

“You lost a lot of blood, I had to give you some of mine. I didn’t really have a chance to ask.”

“Is it safe?” Dylan looked shocked.

“It was better than the alternative, and if you’re wondering, I don’t have any diseases.”

“Hopefully that works both ways.” Dylan quipped before asking “So what’s the verdict on the hand, will I be able to use it?”

“Yeah,” came the reply, “you should be able to. I think you’ve had enough blood now though. He gently removed the needles, first from Dylan’s arm, then from his own. He got up then, getting a couple of small butterfly bandages and applied them.

“You may need to have surgery, I don’t know I’m not the one to do that, but I don’t think you’ll have any permanent damage.”

He traced the other man’s chin with his finger, “I shouldn’t have let you go.”

Dylan closed his eyes and swallowed hard before looking at Ethan and saying “I’m no good remember?”

“Dylan, I never said that. I never thought it. I should have respected your decision, but I was just scared. I didn’t want to lose you.”
“That turned out well then didn’t it?” Dylan replied sarcastically before sighing and saying “A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then...I’m a different person now Ethan.”

“Different in what way?”

“As in I do what I want, when I want with who I want and I don’t care about the consequences.” Dylan replied finding himself getting agitated despite his weakened state, “You taught me that doing everything by the book gets you nowhere but a broken heart.” he looked away.

“That’ s not what I meant to do. I never meant to hurt you. I should have trusted you and not your sister. Dylan what can I say, how do I make it up to you?”

Dylan frowned and said “My sister? What the hell does she have to do with it?”

Ethan cocked his head slightly, “She’s the one that told me you were switching to Armory and she told me about the whole being married to your career thing. Told me that was your priority, you know all the things we talked about, or tried to talk about.”

“It was her?” Dylan’s anger rose deep inside, “So it was my family.” he spat out bitterly, “Well the joke was on them because since I left you I’ve had more lovers than a hooker.” then he blushed and said “Sorry...I...uh…” then he shook his head and added “Never mind.”

His words stung Ethan deeply both for the thought that the man he loved had found comfort, or at least release in the arms of so many others and because he was at least partially responsible for Dylan’s actions.

“Dylan, look at me. It’s okay. Alright maybe not okay, but I understand, You do know, I never stopped loving you right?”

“Why?” Dylan simply asked. If the tables were turned, he’d hate him.

“Because we both made mistakes that night, you say you don’t care about consequences, but I don’t believe that.” He tapped the other man gently on the chest, “ because I know what’s in here.”

“There’s nothing in there anymore Ethan.” Dylan tried to fight the rising panic deep within him. He couldn’t go back. He couldn’t be hurt like that again.

Ethan got up and checked Dylan’s finger to make sure it was wrapped properly. Then he leaned in quickly and stole a kiss. “Are you sure Dylan? Are you really sure?”

Dylan savoured the kiss and swallowed hard before lying through his teeth and saying “I’m sure...I’m dead as a doornail inside.”

Ethan sat back, unable to speak for a time, “Did I do this to you Dylan?”

“Partly.” Dylan admitted, “But apparently my sister had one hell of a part to play in it too, as well as a few years of self destructive tendencies.” he rubbed his forehead with his good hand and sighed.

Ethan took the man’s good hand in his, “Then let me make it up to you. I lost you once, I don’t want to lose you again.”

“But I’m no good.” Dylan replied, “You deserve someone better than me Ethan, someone who can make you happy.”

“I haven’t been quite as active as you say you have, but I haven’t exactly been celibate either. But I haven’t found anyone else but you who can make me happy.”

“But I didn’t did I?” Dylan raised his head to look at him, “I tore your heart out and left you.” he added, “How do you know that I wouldn’t do that again?” he challenged Ethan.

“You’re right, it did tear my heart out. It hurt, I can’t deny that. I kept expecting you to come back, i tried to reach you, I sent a hundred messages to your PAaD, tried calling you and everything. Eventually, I just gave up. I blamed myself, because I know I should have trusted you. Its just when the first thing checked out, I figured there might me some truth in the rest of it too.

But you wouldn’t have run off like you did, you wouldn’t have lived the life you’ve lived, if I hadn’t pushed you. I know I hurt you too. Its just as much my fault, no its more my fault than it is yours. I already told you we both made mistakes.

I can’t know you won’t hurt me again, so maybe we start off slow.” Then he paused looking into the other man’s eyes, “But I’m willing to take a chance again, if you are.”

TBC

A joint post by

Lieutenant Ethan Chaparral MD
ACMO

&

Lt. Dylan Santiago
Chief of Intel