Rory Doyle

The pull away from his hand wasn’t unexpected, he should have known that he was crossing a boundary with that. What did catch him off guard was the way Rory’s body was very clearly racked with pain when he twisted away. Liam immediately felt guilty, Rory had gotten hurt and it was his fault, he had no idea how bad the damage was, but he had no doubt the asshole he’d punched had been the cause. When Rory turned back toward him, he was very clearly angry, and on one hand it made Liam want to back down, but the other was also being stubborn as hell. “You’re clearly not fine Rory!” Liam said firmly.

“I made that choice when I was a twenty something who was scared out of his mind and could barely comprehend that everything in my life up until that point had been a partial lie” Liam spoke softly, looking down at where Rory’s hand was touching his. “It’s not sympathy, or pity. Yes it’s concern, because you’re one of the best people we have, and also my ex-fiance and fuck I care about you getting hurt Rory. Especially if it was my fault, because I’ve done way too much of that already” His words didn’t need to be loud with the two of them this close. He sighed softly, “At least let me take a look at it, see if there might be anything seriously wrong, maybe put a numbing cream on the bruises so they don’t hurt as much”

#nurseliamfarris #c: liam #//decided rory really hates the term 'ex'#and i figure they've never really talked about it before so this is the first time he's heard it

Rory didn’t know what Liam wanted. Did he want him to say he wasn’t fine? Because he wasn’t, but a few bruised ribs was the least of his worries. He could deal with the physical pain, but what he couldn’t handle was the emotional one - the one that came with having to see that man who hadn’t chosen him every day, to see him interact with others, garner interest from others, potentially love others. That was a pain far crueler...

He couldn’t stand the proximity when Liam’s tone got soft, when he started trying to explain, so Rory immediately dropped Liam’s hand like it was lava, leaving his seat to start pacing the floor. He really should have just walked right out the door - he didn’t know why he didn’t... Every point Liam made, Rory mentally tallied his counterpoint, ready to spew out all of them in a mess that would maybe, hopefully leave Liam just as wrecked as he was. But then he said the label Rory had always refused to even think out loud. Ex-Fiance.

He hated the term ‘ex’ - it felt so final. He always referred to Liam as former (like there was secretly some hope of return), but usually just Liam. The term ‘ex’ made everything else just sort of haze out in the finality of it. Forget all the other kind words - they meant nothing next to ex.

And suddenly Rory wasn’t angry, but so sad he could almost cry. (Please, dear god, don’t let him cry.) He stopped in his tracks, just sort of stood there, and when Liam’s tone turned pleading, he let himself be numbly lead to the exam table.

It shouldn’t have that effect. Ex. It was all but set, but he’d never heard it before. There was a finality that caused all the fight to leave him. Liam thought of him as ex...

There had be more syringes in here somewhere, Liam remembered putting in the order himself. Someone else had received the order and put them away, but he knew there had to be more in here. Up on his toes, Liam was hunting around for a telltale box that would be exactly what he was looking for. The sound of the door opening behind him startled him, enough so that he had to catch himself before scattering everything on the shelf.

Finding out it was Rory was only more startling, though the other didn’t even seem to notice that he was in here, not surprising considering they still needed to get some sort of light installed in here. The sound of a door slamming also made him nervous, because he’d definitely put a doorstop in the door as he was entering, since the door locked from this direction. The fact that they were locked in was only confirmed by the swear and the vague sounds of someone grasping at a handle.

“You just locked us in here, didn’t you?” Liam asked, trying very hard not to startle Rory, but that was going to be a difficult task since it was dark in here, so the other likely still didn’t realize just who he’d locked himself in a closet with.

Rory let out another expletive when he heard the voice of another person in the room. “Fuck! Don’t do that!” he scolded, the brief spike in his adrenaline at the fright meaning it took him a second to place the voice in question. Liam. Double fuck.

He didn’t say anything else for a moment, instead fumbled in his pocket for his pen - the handy-dandy kind that had a little flashlight at the end for examinations. (He was all about useful gadgets that could make him more efficient...) He clicked it on, and began scanning the room, stopping when the small, weak spotlight illuminated Liam’s face.

He spent a moment just staring, like his brain needed to catch up with whatever just the fuck happened. And it was only Liam’s expectant face that reminded him he had been asked a question. “I- yes,” he admitted, a little sheepish, but mainly curt, so as to hopefully effectively end all conversation at that. The last thing he needed was Liam’s scolding; he really didn’t think he could survive that.

“You got your phone or something? We can call someone to open the door.” Assets weren’t allowed to carry phones, but he assumed associates were.

#nurseliamfarris #c: liam #//i tried and therefore no one can criticize me...

Rory may have been a doctor, but it didn’t mean that he wasn’t still ordered around like a fucking Golden Retriever when one of the other associate doctors needed something. He constantly needed to be reminded of his place, his colleagues had no trouble telling him. You’re still an asset and that means you’ll do as you're told.

It didn’t matter that he was literally hands deep into an examination; when Dr. Fellows asked him to go fetch more gloves from the storage room, Rory was compelled to comply. Throwing his patient an exasperated, tight-lipped smile, he rushed to the supply closet, so desperate to get it over with that he was careless and let the heavy door slam shut behind him. The sound startled him more than anything, and with a sigh, he fumbled in the dark for the doorknob, finding it and giving it a harder tug than necessary.

Only the handle stayed firmly in place. Didn’t even budge an inch. Fuck. Fuck. Whoever invented storage closets that locked from the inside should be fucking shot. Because here is was, stuck inside one of those very contraptions.

“Fuck.”

@nurseliamfarris

AU: I lead- Associate Quint

Quint nodded, humming softly. He jerked his head, signaling for the other to follow him as he walked towards the back of the office. “How many ya got?” He asked, glancing over his shoulder at the other.

#kind-soul-quint #c: quint

“One really bad - the withdrawals are messing with his metabolic system. He’s burning up even when we put him in an ice bath. Two other’s just need it for the pain. I offered to sedate them, but MacNamara insisted they ‘feel’ the effects of their poor decision.” Rory’s tone gave away just how much he disagreed with the method. But then again, it wasn’t like he could really be surprised by this place’s cruelty anymore...

It was probably really pathetic of Liam to say he could watch Rory work for hours, but he really could. The way his dark eyelashes just brushed over his cheeks while he looked down at Liam’s hand, the way his lips pursed just so, the way his skilled fingers wrapped around Liam’s and just held him. It was times like this that made it so painfully aware to him just how much he wasn’t over his ex-fiance. It was easier when they were both out in the med bay, working, rather than secluded in his office with Rory delicately patching up his hand. This moment echoed the past a little too closely, made Liam remember that he’d been the one to leave. That he’d been so cowardly, and now Rory was here, and it felt like his fault.

“I know” Liam admitted quietly, with the adrenaline fading, he knew that his decision hadn’t been the best one, “I’m sorry. I’m going to figure something else out.” There had to be something he could do to keep someone else from ending up here injured. But for the moment, he was focused on Rory, because that short answer told him that he wasn’t getting the whole story. Ducking down a little, he very gently reached out to tilt the man’s chin up toward him. “Fuck, Rory, did he hurt you?” He asked softly, still looking Rory over, trying to find the injuries. The absolute last person he wanted hurt by his stupidity was this beautiful man.

Liam’s touch was too gentle, too loving, and Rory jerked his chin away out of his grip in a way that twisted his torso and caused an involuntary wince to spread across his features. The associate had gotten one good blow to the ribs while Rory had worked quickly to sedate him in a last ditch effort. He was fairly certain nothing was broken, but it would be enough to leave him tender for the next few days. He kept his head turned away while the pain passed, working on steeling himself to finally meet Liam’s eyes.

“I said I was fine, okay?” he said, his tone flat and harsh, his eyes no doubt sparking fire and daring Liam to argue. “I don’t need your sympathy, or your concern - or those pitying looks you think I don’t see either, for that matter. It just-” What? It hurt too much? Made him angry? Or desperate? Reminded him of how he’d never found another goddamn person after Liam? Yes to all of the above, but he didn’t get to know that. He sighed instead, picking up Liam’s hand and getting back to work. “You don’t get to do that anymore,” he said instead, simply, casually, as though he were remarking on the weather. “You made your choice. Be man enough to stick with it...”

It had never occurred to Liam that taking on this job might put him face to face with his ex-fiance. If he had thought about it, he might have assumed that the two of them would meet up as associates, since Rory was from a crime family elsewhere, surely he would have been made an associate here. But here they were and Liam was shocked when he found out that Rory was an asset, it made his heart ache. He’d thought that when he’d left it would be better for the both of them, he was terrified, and Rory could find someone else, someone not broken like Liam felt. It was pretty clear nothing had gone like he hoped.

The moment he saw Rory in the doorway, his heart picked up, because as much as he hated to admit it, every inch of him still gravitated toward the man. If he were being honest, he hadn’t had a real relationship since Rory. Sure, he dated, but they never lasted long, and he always found something at fault with them, something they were missing that Rory had.

“I know, I should of. But I was so goddamn sick of him bringing people in here looking like that. And talking to the nurses like he did” Liam murmured, eyes down. As Rory moved over, he lifted them to watch the other’s face, looking over it and trying to read it like he’d once been able to do in an instant. “If you wouldn’t mind…” Liam trailed off, but then his brow furrowed, “Wait, I saw you heading to take care of him, he didn’t hurt you did he? I told you to just let him walk it off, I didn’t hit him that hard. Are you alright?” Liam asked quietly, eyes searching Rory for injuries.

Rory focused all his attention on the matter at hand, picking up Liam’s hand gingerly, ignoring the tingle that always erupted when their flesh made contact, and getting to work. He willed his hands not to tremble with nerves, prayed his increasingly sweaty palms wouldn’t cause the instrument to slip from his grip. Sure, he and Liam had been forced to work in close proximity before, but this was different. It felt intimate, almost like a recall of all the times Liam hovered over him at the bathroom sink when Rory came home with cuts and bruises he couldn’t quite explain. (There were small graces to his gangly limbs that sometimes flew around almost without his permission, and maybe Liam just didn’t want to see the truth when Rory spouted out clumsiness as an excuse every time. He’d almost managed to convince himself in his angrier moments that it was Liam’s fault he hadn’t known sooner.)

When Liam asked his question, his voice laced with a concern that made Rory’s brows furrow (he hoped he was bent over enough that Liam couldn’t see), he defiantly kept his head bowed, refusing to make eye contact. He didn’t need Liam’s worry - it felt too late and he didn’t want it. And more than that, he knew if he met those blue eyes, he’d crack. And that was the last thing he wanted. “I’m fine,” he answered shortly instead. “And someone needed to clean up your mess. He doesn’t take kindly to people defying or standing up to him. If no one appeased him, he was only going to find another asset to work his frustration out on.” He wouldn’t say he did it gladly, but Rory was at least willing to be that person, hoping that whatever modicum of authority he had as a doctor would save him. And maybe it did, a little bit. But only a little...

AU: I lead- Associate Quint

Quint calmed down when the kid explained himself, the man’s brow furrowing. “Junkies, eh…” he replied, rubbing his beard. The fault of Quint and he was sure most associates and assets knew this was how kind and giving he was. He didnt care if you were a slave or an master; if you needed help you bet your ass he was going to help. “Is it to help em with withdrawals?” Quint asked, his tone calmer and worried now.

#kind-soul-quint #c: quint

“Yeah. And the pain,” Rory looked up, noticing the man’s kinder tone. Rory liked to think that maybe he’d gotten good at reading people, sensing the threats. It wasn’t infallible, but somewhere hidden deep inside was still that hopeless romantic who wanted to see the best in people. “I mean, it’s not much, but it’s better than nothing...”

lxcidwaters

Sam hated worry the other people who worked with him. He felt there were more important things to be concerned with. And he wasn’t on that list for sure. At the other’s question, he shrugged. The nurse knew he hadn’t really deserved to be slapped, but it happened on a semi-regular basis. “It’s fine. Just a slap. It could have been worse.”

Rory hated it - how often a phrase like that was uttered, how he knew exactly what it meant. It was almost like a code between the assets. Could have been worse. Don’t make a fuss - that’s the one surefire way to make sure it does. “Can I at least get you some ice?”

#drfox #c: samuel

It was incredibly awkward to try and clean up your own hand. Especially when the said hand you were trying to clean up was your dominant one. But Liam didn’t exactly have a good left swing, so it wasn’t as if he would have punched the guy with his non-dominant hand. As it was, the skin had split slightly on his second knuckle, must have caught on a tooth or something and that was just begging to be infected. So here he was, trying to awkwardly to clean himself up with his left hand. But he didn’t want to bother one of the nurses over it, they shouldn’t have to clean up his messes.

The guy deserved it. He was new, and for weeks now, he’d been bringing in assets after renting them. All of them looked slightly frightened, and the purple bruises all over their body and occasional fractures had grated on his nerves, but the nurses had always been the ones to get to them first, take care of them before Liam stepped in to give his assessment. This time, he happened to be there, and made his opinion very clear. The guy probably wouldn’t say anything, too caught up in his forced masculinity to actually admit some soft handed doctor had punched him.

Footsteps approaching startled him, and he fumbled with the tweezers and cotton ball soaked in alcohol, making them clatter down in the dish. “Oh, um hi”

The sight of Liam always sent a pang of hurt straight to Rory’s heart, which always brought with it a healthy dose of embarrassment, and then a wave of anger. Liam had rejected him - told him without ever having to even say a word that Rory suddenly wasn’t enough for him - and now he was, for all intents and purposes, Rory’s boss. Never mind the fact they were both doctors. Never mind the fact that Rory was the one always fated to brush with criminals. Liam had escaped him, and then somehow Rory got trapped in his web. It was humiliating. And that was where the anger came into play - because it really shouldn’t affect him as much as it did. He thought for sure Liam’s abandonment should have revoked his privilege of having any influence in Rory’s life, and Rory never remembered reinstating them. Liam just weaseled in the way he always did...

But it wasn’t the usual pang that hit him this time with he saw his former fiance; this time, it was something more like pride. Because the prick who’d just gotten a beat down deserved it (Rory, like most assets, knew that first hand), and a stupid, stupid part of him couldn’t help the butterflies that fluttered at the idea that Liam was the Knight in Shining Armor. Okay, and here comes the anger again...

“You shouldn’t have done that,” Rory scolded softly from the doorway, having just finished tending the raging associate. He was shaken - and fairly certain his arms would be sporting bruises from the man’s angry hold as he threatened Rory never to say anything about it - but he refused to allow Liam to see that. Instead, he sighed - quickly, to hide the shaking of his breath - and came forward to pick up the tools Liam had just dropped. He always was fucking useless, and Rory ignored the wave of fondness at the thought. “Here. Let me...”

lxcidwaters

Eyes were dull as Sam looked in the mirror at the red mark on his cheek. He’d managed to upset some new associate who wasn’t so compassionate to the asset who had been around for sixteen years. The nurse has only bumped into him on accident due to his sleep deprived state. Perhaps it was deserved though. Maybe he was that useless. At the sound of footsteps, he looked up and stepped aside. “I apologize if I was in your way…”

Rory’s brow furrowed at the sight of his fellow asset, sharp eyes not missing the angry mark on his cheek. Rory felt oddly protective of the other assets in the med bay, being in the rather odd position of being the only one in a position that should, by all accounts, be an associate. He had father dearest to thank for that particularly cruel fate... “Sam? What happened?” he asked, his tone heavy with concern.

#drfox #c: samuel

AU: I lead- Associate Quint

“Oi!” Quint barked at one of the workers, his bow furrowing as he waved at the other wandering through the grow lab he had. It was small, just a place where he made new blends and plants, but still…people usually didnt come here. “Oi, oi! What ya doin here?:

#kind-soul-quint #c: quint #drug tw

Rory startled at the harsh tone, his jaw tightening instantly as he steeled himself for the onslaught. He didn’t think he’d ever get used to it - cowing to other people’s will. It wasn’t who he was anymore, but even halfway across the country, he still felt his father’s thumb pressing into him, willing him to be that person again. “I was hoping you might have some plants I could use for more homeopathic remedies,” he said, his eyes averted, knowing the other man would see the rebellious fire if he looked too closely. “There’s lots of recovering junkies I’d prefer not to put back on the hard stuff...”

Rory Doyle: Asset

Liam leaving broke him. He watched him pack up his things, slowly and methodically erasing himself from Rory’s life. It wasn’t a sudden switch, like one moment Liam was there and then he was gone; it was more like a fading, and there was nothing Rory could do to stop it.

Once Liam was gone completely, Rory would mope around the apartment for days on end, wallowing in the emptiness of it, thinking with that vaguely indulgent melancholy that it so perfectly mirrored his heart. Empty, and with any sense of lingering warmth being slowly leeched out day by day. It had once been the place they shared together, and now it was only him.

He watched from afar as Liam moved on, checking his social media day after day like some sort of fucking masochist. And meanwhile, all Rory could do was go through the motions, numbing out his hurt with work until it left him hard and bitter. And careless, too. Because nothing really mattered anymore when Liam rejected his love and made it look so easy. Nothing about it was easy for Rory...

He finished medical school, but barely, and resentfully rejoined the ranks of his father’s crew. Only the new Rory was angrier, and more willing to put up a fight, and his father hated that. The fights became more frequent, as his father’s impatience grew and Rory’s resentment grew with it, until it ultimately culminated in the throwing of fists, a disrespect Duncan Doyle could not allow.

He sent Rory away to the MacNamara’s, claiming it was some sort of peace treaty. But Rory knew better. His father couldn’t stand the sight of him and, always being the one to land the last blow, he gave Rory one final slap in the face by insisting he be made an asset.

Rory had always felt like a slave to his father. Why should it be any different here?

#macnamaraevent #event: i lead

i-am-not-salinger-blog

“Okay….” He said, following Rory around and lifting an eyebrow. He didn’t watch that much TV, preferred movies and video games but he plopped himself down on the couch and wrapping his arms around his knees. “What did you need from me again?”

#i-am-not-salinger #c: marlowe #//heeey!#sorry this took forever

“I - what? Nothing,” he shrugged, not expecting his intentions to be questioned so suddenly. “I just-” He sighed, feeling slightly embarrassed. “This apartment’s so big. And lonely. I kinda figured I could use the company...”

maverickgrey-blog

To say he was surprised would be an understatement. The male was offering up the use of his TV whenever Maverick wanted to use it? It was almost as if he was being spoiled a little bit. “Well I have to say I’m a bit surprised by the offer but it’s one I wont forget either. Seems I’m being a bit spoiled today.” he stated in a playful tone as he moved to sit on the overly comfortable couch. “What all am I going to have to do to earn this kind of pampering?”

#maverickgrey #c: maverick

Rory always felt a little bit dirty when people asked questions like that - like there was some sort of assumption that he would not do anything kind without the expectation of something in return, like that was just what was expected on him because of what he was. “No. No conditions,” he shook his head emphatically. “I don’t use it, and this place is too big for me anyway. It’d be nice to have someone else to occupy it once in a while...”

Now that he was letting himself indulge in this night, it felt like he was diving back into all the emotions he kept carefully locked away. He couldn’t keep his hands off of Rory, stroking gently along his face, to his neck, holding him tenderly to him, like he was afraid he’d drift away at any moment. Even when Rory pulled back to pull his shirt over his head, Liam watched with dilated eyes and ran his fingers eagerly over the newly exposed skin. His fingers dug into Rory’s back, almost massaging their way down, pressing into every gorgeous muscle there, ones he used to stare at every morning as Rory got ready to leave. Ones he used to teasingly massage when he’d had an awful day.

His hands moved down to the waistband of Rory’s pants at the same time he opened his mouth to Rory. His tongue searched to explore Rory’s while he worked his jeans open, wanting more of that skin to skin, to have Rory as bare as he was. Liam needed to feel Rory, needed to have every inch of him again, especially if he only got it this single night.