forum One-On-One (Closed)

Started October 24, 2018 by @Imperfect_Autumn group

tune

Barry found himself unable to look her in the eye, instead staring downa t his lap as if he'd seen a ghost. After a moment, he squeezed her hand back. "Not–Not your fault."

"It is my fault, Barr… Please don't try to persuade me otherwise because it's not going to work," Kasey begged softly, taking his hand in both of her's as she spoke. "And don't blame yourself. You're the least to blame, here."

Pale, wide-eyed, bleeding, and trembling, Barry looked like he’d been through hell and back. He could only shake his head mutely, trying and failing to drag oxygen through his constricting throat.

Kasey chewed on her lip as she loomed at Barry. "Hurry, Harper… I don't think we have a lot of time left. He's lost a lot of blood," she mused quietly, rubbing his hand with her thumbs.

Harper gave a silent nod, speeding up until he was going as fast as he dared. When they were far enough away, he called Dr. Madeline Willows and asked her to meet them at the apartment. She readily agreed, saying she would bring her things.

Barry clung to Kasey’s hand as if his life depended on it, squeezing his eyes shut. “Are we—are we almost there?”

"Almost, babe," Kasey assured him in a whisper. "Just a few lore minutes."

"Madeline might already be there when we arrive, so she can help us get him upstairs," Harper said as he turned onto the street the building was on.

Barry nodded mutely, practically gasping for air right now. “Hey—Hey Kasey?”

Kasey's gaze turned back to Barry from where she'd been looking out the window. A flash of worry crossed her eyes and hung there as she looked at him.

"Yeah, Barr?" she asked softly, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

“What—What did you do with the ring?” His voice was rough, raspy, barely above a whisper.

Kasey blushed and looked down at her hands. She pulled the small ring from her finger, where she had left it after trying it on, and held it up for him to see.

"I… put it on," she admitted softly. "I just wanted to see how it would fit, and it fits perfectly… Was, uh, that okay? Do you want it back…?"

Barry’s shattered spirit soared. He responded by reaching out and closing her fingers over the ring, then leaning his head against her shoulder.

Kasey let out a breath as hadn't known she had been holding as he closed her hand. She smiled and leaned over to kiss his head, murmuring a soft, "Thank you," as she slipped it back on.

Does this mean we're really engaged, though? Is he really my fiancé? Or is it just him telling me to keep the ring until he proposes…?

Barry exhaled shakily, giving a tiny nod in response. He didn’t speak for the rest of the ride, too occupied with battling his turbulent emotions.

"We're here," Harper finally announced a few minutes later. He parked and climbed out to help Barry down. "Kasey will help you from behind while I help you from the front, okay?"

“I-I can walk,” he murmured, before taking a step and nearly falling over. Maybe not… He hadn’t actually been on his feet in almost two days….

Harper scoffed softly. "Honestly, even if you could, I doubt she'd let you," he said, speaking of his sister.

"Exactly. You were literally just tortured, Barr. You need to rest as much as possible," Kasey said, helping him from the van. She jumped down, wrapping an arm around his waist.

He nodded weakly, sagging against her more than he would like. “Can we—can we take the elevator?”

"Of course," Kasey agreed as they led him toward the apartment.

A taller redhead made her way over to them as they were reaching the doors, a large bag in her arms. "Harper, Kasey. Good to see you two. I'm guessing this is the patient?"

"You guess correctly, Mads," Harper confirmed with a nod, smiling over at the doctor. "Madeline, this is Kasey's boyfriend Barry. Barry, Doctor Madeline Willows."

“H-Hi,” he croaked weakly, suddenly hyperaware of the words that had been carved across his face. “I’m—I’m Barry.”

Madeline took one look at Barry, nodded, then looked at the other two. “Come on. Inside. Now. We have to get him fixed up before he bleeds to death.”

Kasey nodded and helped Barry inside. They took the elevator, as per his request, and were soon inside the apartment. Kasey cleaned the table off for Barry to lay on it’s that Madeline could work

Everything passed by in a blur, colours, sounds, requests, assurances. Barry only did what he was told, drifted from place to place, tried not to succumb to the pain. What else could he do?

“I’ll need clean rags and a bucket of water. Before you put him up there, lay something down. I don’t want your table to be bloodstained,” Madeline directed.

Kasey told Harper where to find rags and a sheet while she held onto Barry. Madeline was prepping her supplies, making sure they were sterilized.

Once everything was set up, the young doctor had Barry lay on the table. She looked down on him with a mask on her face and gloves on her hands. “I’m going to clean you off before I do anything, okay? This might sting a little.”

Barry croaked out a weak 'yes', blood dribbling from the corner of his lips.

“Don’t try to speak. If I ask you a question, nod your head for ‘yes’ and shake it for ‘no’ if you can,” Madeline instructed.

She dipped the rag into the water, which she had put some drops of a disinfectant into, then started to clean off the blood that had dried on his chest. She was careful to not touch the words carved into his skin as much as she could possibly avoid it. When she had finished his chest, she moved up to his face and told him to close his eyes.

Barry sucked in a sharp breath as stinging pain erupted all over his chest, but did as he was told, screwing his eyes shut as tight as they could go. His hand, still shaking, reached for Kasey's, needing her presence.

Kasey couldn’t watch… But she couldn’t take her eyes off of Barry. So, instead of watching Madeline cleaning him off, she kept her eyes on his face. When he reached for her, she took his hand, holding onto it tightly.

Youre going to be okay… She’s amazing at what she does. It’ll be over soon, she assured him silently, speaking directly to his mind.

Madeline cleaned off the young man’s face, biting her lip beneath her mask as she concentrated. She didn’t want to rub anything the wrong way and cause him more pain than he was in.

Barry's chest had stopped rising and falling, his throat constricting too much for him to take in any air. But he just lay there, too exhausted to fight for oxygen, too proud to complain. Slowly, his grip on Kasey's hand began to weaken…

“Nonono… Barr, c’mon. Just a little longer,” Kasey whispered, her grip tightening on his hand.

Madeline gently moved her aside, letting her continue to hold his hand, though. “He’ll be breathing again soon,” she promised in a murmur. She laid her hands on his throat, closing her eyes. A soft glow came from them, and the tightness in his throat loosened.

Barry's eyes which had been glazed over with pain and fear, flew open He gasped for breath, filling his lungs with it, shaking himself from the hold of unconsciousness, from the black that had threatened to take over.

Kasey let out a shaking breath, biting her lip at the sight. He was going to be okay… That was all she could hope for.

“I’m going to put my hands on your chest, okay? This is going to feel strange,” Madeline said bluntly. She did as she said she would, setting her hands, palm down, onto his chest. The pale blue glow came from them, sending a tingling sensation across the words. The same light sweptover the wounds, lighting them for a moment.