#sorry steve
No. 13 - THAT’S GONNA LEAVE A MARK
“This is gonna suck” | burns | cauterization
Ely as usual was stolen from @epochandeons
Steve couldn’t help but kick himself as he drove to the Daniels’. He’d been so stupid, he knew he had. It was entirely his fault, too. He shouldn’t have turned his back on someone who had threatened to stab him, he really should have known better.
Luckily, it was just a glancing wound, but it definitely needed stitches and of course it was just out of his reach. He’d called ahead, Fao was home, as were Finn and Ely for a change. There was no way he could go to A&E, they’d just act a million questions he didn’t have time or energy for. Fao would do.
He knew better than to use the front door; he’d had plenty of tellings off from Sheila and didn’t have the energy for another. He let himself in through the back, blood dripping as he unlocked the door. He’d obviously done a terrible job at an attempt at a bandage.
Fao met Steve at the door, unable to stop his smirk. “Well, this is a welcome change. C'mon, let’s get you sat before you keel over.”
Steve raised his hand in warning. “Don’t.”
“Alright, come on. Sit, yeah? I’ve got you.”
“Don’t take forever, will you?” He asked as he sat. “I just need it stitched up.”
“Mmhmm, I’ll be the judge of that.” Fao said, grabbing his supplies. “Top off.”
“It’s fine.” He told him, taking his top off. “See?”
“Yeah, because that much blood is always fine.”
“Nothing vital.”
“Sure.”
“See for yourself.”
Fao sat in front of him, adjusting the light to get a better look at the wound. It was still determinedly bleeding, but he managed to get a decent look at it. It wasn’t deep enough to have hit anything major, nothing about it had him worried.
“Alright, fine. Nothing vital, this time.” He said after a moment. “But you’re lucky it’s not worse.”
“I’m not lucky. I told you I was fine.”
“You are lucky, you’re bloody close to plenty of vital shit.”
“Stop with the lecture and just fix me up, will you?”
Fao hummed. “I’m getting there. Looking for the local…” He was sure he’d gotten some out.
“Alright.”
He couldn’t find it. It wasn’t with the rest of the kit where it was supposed to be, and as he rummaged through the drawers it was nowhere to be seen. Either someone had taken it and not put it back properly, or they’d forgotten to order some more when they’d run out.
“Fuck.” He muttered under his breath. “We’ve got none.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“I wish I was.”
He took a slow breath. “Fine. Just get it done.”
“We’ve got Midaz. Or propofol? Ely can come over.”
Steve scoffed. “You are not knocking me out.”
“I wouldn’t, Ely would.”
“None of you are.”
“I can hardly suture without giving you anything. Ely might be dating me but she’s not that bad.”
Steve stood. “You touch the propofol and you’re done.”
“Sit back down.” Fao told him, a hand on his shoulder. “Pain meds then. Morphine?”
“No. I’m working later.”
“No you’re not.”
“Not if you keep taking forever.”
“Without pain relief, this is gonna suck. It’s gonna suck even with pain relief. Take the Midaz, Steve. Or at the very least some oramorph.”
“No.” He pulled his shirt on. “I’ll ask Finn instead.”
“Finn’s been having myos all morning. Do you really want him to suture? Over the surgical reg?”
“At the minute, neither of you are doing it.”
“Fine, I’ll do it with no pain meds. If you’re so determined to suffer then you can. Shirt off.”
He pulled it back over his head, glad his back was to Fao as he grimaced in pain. “It’s not even that bad now.”
“Sure, sure.”
Steve sat on the bed, and turned to Fao. “Nice and quick, then.”
“Can you lay down for me?”
“If I must.”
“Just want to make sure you’re not going to go anywhere.”
“As if anywhere would let me in looking like this.”
“I don’t want you keeling over off the edge of the bed, yeah? Don’t feel like scraping you off the floor.”
“My blood pressure is fine.” He said, though did lie down.
“Surely that’s more comfortable, anyway?” Fao said, picking up his kit. “Just shout if you need a break, alright?”
“It is.” He agreed. “Do me a favour and don’t fuck it up.”
“Me? Fuck up? I’m hurt.” Fao said, and started to suture.
Steve tapped his feet. “You’ll get over it.”
“I might not.” He said, chewing his lip as he concentrated. He wasn’t about to do sloppy work.
“I’m sure you will.”
He was quiet then, too busy on his work. It was difficult, Steve was fidgety, and after a few minutes he frustratedly adjusted his light. Ely walked in after that, and he twisted to look at her.
“A stór. The last stock take we did, did we order any local? I’ve just turned the place upside down looking for some.”
Ely frowned at him. “I thought Steve did the last one. Are you suturing without any?”
“I wish I wasn’t.” Fao grumbled.
“Oh, fucking hell. Really, Steve?”
“Don’t be nice to him, he refused painkillers.”
“And we wonder where you get it from.” She teased.
“If you’re going to flirt, will you do it in your own time?” Steve interrupted. “I need this over with.”
“Painkillers would help.” Ely said, sitting down next to him. “I really can’t get you anything?”
“No.” He winced as Fao started up again. “It’ll be over soon.”
“I just saw you wince.”
“It’s difficult to suture neatly when you keep fidgeting, Steve.”
“I’m staying as still as I can.”
“Which is why you need meds.” He said bluntly.
Ely sighed. “Look, ignore him, he’s an ass. Won’t you let me give you something?”
“I told Fao, I’m working later.”
“Not with a wound like that.”
“A few stitches and I’ll be fine.”
“Judging by the blood that’s around, you need rest. Have some meds, and then you can sleep it off. We’ve got plenty of midaz and other stuff, we could do twilight or something. Then it’ll be done before you know it.” Ely said gently.
“Please, Ely. Just let Fao get on with it.”
“I’m better than Fao with the drugs. Not even some codeine, morphine? Just to take the edge off, Steve.”
His protests were interrupted as he jumped, jerking away from Fao. He groaned through clenched teeth. “Fuck.”
Fao swore, and dropped his stuff with a clatter. “I can’t keep doing this.”
Steve didn’t move, hands clenched into fists as he tried to breathe through the pain.
“That’s it, Steve, breathe through it. Nice deep breaths.” Ely soothed. “Let me give you something? Please, just so we can sort this.”
“What?”
“It would be best to try some sedation, some midaz or fentanyl. That’ll keep you still, really. Means we can finish quicker.”
“The bare minimum.”
“Of course. Only as much as you need.”
“I need to still be conscious and talking.” He countered, offering her his arm.
“Mmhmm. We’ll look after you.” Ely said, grabbing some gloves and a cannulation kit.
“I’m serious, Ely.”
“We need you to settle and be still, so Fao can suture. You’ll be relaxed.” She told him.
“Fao was doing a fine job.”
“I was trying my best, but you were too fidgety.” Fao told him. “I just need you to be relaxed enough not to move, yeah?”
“I wasn’t moving.” He grumbled.
“Alright.” Fao wasn’t about to argue with him, but just let his girlfriend work.
Ely got set up quickly, well practiced by now. Gone were the days when doing things like this used to scare her. Now it was virtually second nature. She got the cannula in easily - Steve was a welcome change from Fao’s difficult veins or a seizing Finn.
Steve watched her carefully as she worked. He trusted her clinical skills - it had been half the reason she’d been picked in the first place - but he didn’t trust her to not drug him. He didn’t trust either of them.
With the monitoring set up that she wanted (or rather, what she knew she could get away with without Steve having a strop) Ely shared a look with Fao as she measured out the meds. They’d worked together long enough now that Fao knew exactly what she wanted, and so he moved his stool slightly, aiming to distract Steve as she gave the drugs.
“Who are you on shift with tonight, Steve? Did you see the rota?”
He took the bait. “I didn’t recognise the name. Think it’s someone new.”
“Fresh blood? At least they can’t be any worse than us lot, eh?”
Ely gave the meds as quickly as she dared, enough to make sure Fao could get everything sorted. She rubbed his arm, hoping to be another welcome distraction.
“Oh, you…twat.” He slowly turned to Ely. “What did I tell you?”
“Just relax, Steve. I only gave you as much as you need, yeah? Couple of nice deep breaths for me?”
“I should go. Serve you right.” He struggled to focus, to piece the sentence together.
“Later, yeah? Let’s just take a deep breath, relax for me.” Her voice was gentle.
He hummed. “Yeah.”
“Well done, that’s it. Just relax, you can close your eyes if you want.”
He pulled his hand from Ely’s reach. “No more.”
She laughed. “No more, I promise. How about a little nap, hmm?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“Always have a choice. Thought it might be nice, I bet you’re feeling pretty sleepy.”
“Twat.”
“So you’ve said.” She said lightly. “It’s alright, we’ll look after you.”
“Thanks.”
“That’s okay, that’s what we’re here for.” She said, and glanced over at Fao. He hadn’t started to suture again yet, but was fussing over the wound, trying to ease the bleeding a little.
As Fao hit a particularly sore point, he turned to look at the wound. “Ow.”
“Sorry, Steve. It’s a bit sore, isn’t it? Don’t worry, it’ll get better.”
“Will it?”
“Yeah, just focus on those deep breaths.” Ely told him. “Nice and relaxed.”
Steve did as he was told; after all, he didn’t really have much choice. He shifted slightly to get more comfortable (and just to annoy Fao, he was sure), and shut his eyes. He might as well try and sleep through it as much as he could.
“That’s it, well done.” She said, rubbing his arm, and then turned to her boyfriend. “Go on, shouldn’t have any trouble now.”
Fao nodded, and started to suture, as quickly as he could. He hated this just as much as Steve did, they just didn’t have a choice.
