Appendicitis (EMT!Deran part 2)
Summary:
Last time, it was just stumbling on to a teenage crush and a smooth ride to the hospital, last time wasn’t his boyfriend lying unconscious on the floor, looking sweaty and pale.
(EMT!Deran strikes again and this time it is worse. So much worse.)
Beta love to @allthehearteyes Story gifted to @itsmisstea
You can read both chapters here- https://archiveofourown.org/works/19981111/chapters/47303767
~*~*~*~
Chapter 2: Appendicitis
Deran was halfway done with his day shift that started at 6:30 am. Sadly it has been a busy morning, running back and forth between the hospital and locations. Him and J just dropped off their latest pick up and not a minute later they get a call from UCSD about a collapsed male.
Deran makes his way to the school and he couldn’t help but think about Adrian. It has been a little over 6 months since they picked the surfer boy up from the beach with a broken wrist. He likes to think they are doing pretty good. Sometimes their schedules don’t match up with Deran’s long hours and Adrian working and going to school but they have been making it work. Adrian and him even went surfing together after Adrian’s cast came off. Getting to know Adrian more than he ever thought he would, has made Deran fall for the blue doe eyed boy even more. He still doesn’t know why the hell Adrian is taking a chance on him but Deran wasn’t going to complain.
He shakes his thoughts off as he pulls onto the campus, listening as J gives directions to which building to go to. As they pull up, they see a few panicked looking adults, probably the boy’s classmates waiting for them.
He helps J grab the gurney and gear and follows the kids to the classroom, coming up to an open door where more people are gathered.
“Out of the way please.” He hears J yell out as they direct the gurney inside. Taking a glance it looks like a regular college classroom, the elevating rows of seats on one side, the teacher’s desk and board on the other. In between those two is the collapsed boy, a few students and most likely the teacher surrounding him.
“Paramedics are here, clear the way please.” He shouts out watching them seperate like the Red Sea only for Deran to lay his eye on. “Adrian?” He breathes out. He can’t believe his eyes. He bends down, ignoring everyone around him and cups the unconscious boy’s face, lifting his face up to get a better angle.
“Adrian, can you hear me?” He asks, hoping his voice sounds steady in front of everyone around them. This is so much worse than before. Last time, it was just stumbling on to a teenage crush and a smooth ride to the hospital, last time wasn’t his boyfriend lying unconscious on the floor, looking sweaty and pale.
“How long has he been unconscious?” Deran asks as he pulls out his penlight, opening Adrian’s eyelids only to be met with white.
“How did you know his name was Adrian?” He hears on the side but he ignores the question. Luckily J is there to take over.
“Are you the teacher? Can you tell me what happen sir?” J asks, pulling the man slightly to the side as Deran continues following vital procedures.
He feels less like throwing up when finding a heartbeat, slightly fast, but there. His breathing at a steady pace.
“Umm yes. At first Mr. Dolan was complaining about abdominal pains. Then all of sudden he rushes to the closest waste bin to throw up. When he stood up, he was very pale and then he just dropped.”
“Alright and how long ago was this?”
“We called you as soon as he fainted so maybe 15-20 minutes ago.”
Deran lightly presses down on each side of Adrian’s abdomen and gets a reaction on his right side. Not enough though, Adrian flinches at the pressure and groans but keeps his eyes closed.
“We have movement. Pain in lower right abdomen.”
“Alright thank you sir.” J says, patting his arm before moving to Deran and Adrian. Helping Deran lift Adrian onto the gurney.
“Has he woken up at all before we got here, or has he been unconscious the entire time?” Deran calls out to anyone, not taking his eyes off the task at hand.
“He woke up once, groaning. He grabbed his waist and rolled over but then he just fainted again.” He heard one of Adrian’s classmate answers. He doesn’t acknowledge her but he makes a mental note. He has an idea of what happened but he can’t know for sure, not until Adrian gets to the hospital.
“He is showing signs of tachycardia, has a fever of 102.3 but respiratory beat is steady. Pain in lower right abdomen with pressure.” Deran shoots off to his partner as they run to the ambulance.
“Have you spoken to him this morning? Did he say anything about how he was feeling?” J asks. It was the first time since they arrived that it has been acknowledged that this is a personal case for Deran. Usually medical personnel aren’t supposed to work on patients that they know on a close personal level, which is basically code for relationships, but it is harder to catch when it is paramedics.
“Nothing out of the ordinary. He-” Deran answers trying to remember their conversation this morning over the phone.
“He said he had a rough night, couldn’t sleep. He also mentioned he wasn’t hungry. He didn’t say anything else.” Deran hated that none of those answers helped. They are still pretty early in their relationship so he can’t blame Adrian if he doesn’t tell him everything, like if he was feeling deathly sick.
J and him work smoothly to get the gurney strapped in. He feels J grab his shirt and he looks at him.
“What?”
“Are you good?” J asks. Deran blanches at the delay.
“Are you kidding me? Yes, I’m fine. Go J.” He yells practically push J to the doors.
J stands his ground though “I’m serious Deran. Are you good?” He asks, not believing him.
“J I got it, get us to the hospital NOW.”
J takes one last look before hopping down and slamming the doors. Deran shakes his head in disbelief but continues to work.
He can’t blame J though. He was there that day, saw how smitten Deran was from the very beginning. Any normal person would be shaken to find their lover unconsciousness on the floor. Don’t get him wrong, he was. It is scaring him to see Adrian like this,but Deran is a professional. If he erases the face of his boyfriend then he sees this stuff on a daily basis.
As the vehicle moves, it jolts the gurney and he hears Adrian groan again but this time he moves his hands to his stomach. He takes note of the shaking appendage as he moves to sit next to the surfer boy.
“Adrian. Hey Adrian, can you hear me?” He calls out over the noise the moving ambulance makes.
Adrian finally opens his eyes, barely, and looks around trying to take in his surroundings. He closes them once again groaning, moving around probably trying to find some kind of comfort. Deran once again calls out to the boy, cupping his cheeks to get him to look at Deran so he can assess him. Adrian’s eyes finally focus on him as he sees the confusion settle in.
“Deran?” He whispers.
Deran gives him a soft smile. “Hey there pretty boy. Can you tell me how you are feeling?”
Adrian stays quiet and Deran knows how this goes. The nickname probably threw him off but it is something Deran does with patients like this. Not necessarily flirt, but he tries to distract them from their surrounding, the pain, and most likely panic they will feel coming back to consciousness.
“What is going on?” Adrian asks. His voice is raspy as he tries to move his hand but it barely goes anywhere.
“Adrian, honey, listen to me. You fainted in class, not too long ago. I know it’s hard right now but I need you to answer me. What are you feeling? Are you still in pain?” He takes his stethoscope to listen to his heartbeat still finding it at a fast pace. He has one gloved hand running over Adrian’s hair and looks back at the blue eyed boy.
“It hurts.” Adrian barely response.
“I know it does. We are almost there Adrian, I promise. One more question alright. Can you tell me where it hurts?”
He can see tears starting to fill Adrian’s eyes. He frowns seeing him in pain and once again, rubs his hand over Adrian’s head, moving the sweaty hair from sticking to his forehead. “I know it hurts babe, but come on, where does it hurt?”
Adrian takes a deep breath in as he moves his hand to the known source. His right abdomen area. “That’s good Adrian. You are doing so good. Just try to relax as much as possible. We are going to pull up to the hospital any minute and the doctors are going to make it go away. I promise baby.”
“I think I am going to throw up.” Adrian says. Deran sees the pending signs and moves Adrian right before he hurls over the side of the bed. Deran continues to comfort him, rubbing his back and murmuring to him that it is okay. He looks up to where J is in the front seat, praying that they are almost there. He lies Adrian back down when he is done, seeing his face streaked with tears, sweat and vomit. He grabs a sterile cotton towel and softly wipes Adrian’s face. Constantly repeating. “Almost there, it’s going to be okay.”
Pulling up to the hospital, Deran shoots open the door like a cannon, already unstrapping the gurney, waiting for his partner to come around.
J gets to his side, pulling the bed out of the truck and they make their way into the hospital. “How is he?” He asks before the nurses get to them.
“He has been going in and out of consciousness. I am pretty sure it is his appendix.” Deran quietly responds back. Looking over at J. J nods his head in determination.
“When we get in, let me handle it alright.” J tells him. Deran nods his head, wanting to cry. One, because this is Adrian, the nicest, sweetest and probably most innocent man Deran has ever met, he is the last person who should have to go through this. Two, he realizes he has reached the end of the line. He can no longer stay with Adrian and help him. He has to get back to work, he has to wait until who knows how long to hear what his condition is, if he will be okay. All he can do is wait now and it sucks.
He feels his feet stop and he can’t move them, like they are stuck in cement. He sees J who nods his head at him, before he moves his back to the nearest wall. He can feel people walking past him but everything sounds like it has a layer over it.
He doesn’t know why it is hitting him this hard? This is the kind of stuff he sees everyday but his mind keeps going to the fact that it is Adrian.
Adrian, who has managed to wiggle himself into his life in only a matter of 6 months. Who is exactly like what Deran thought he would be as a teenager, prefect and way out of his league. Deran, still as an adult, never believes he deserves good things, even after making a name for himself away from his family. He could never feel like he is good enough for anything and that is what Adrian is. Just everything good. With his smile, his freckles, that body, but also his crappy taste in music, and how he is a complete shit and absolutely terrorizes Deran, knowing all he has to do is flash a smile or smirk and Deran will just laugh or let it go. Not just anyone could drag Deran to meet their sister and her kid but yet Deran didn’t even blink an eye when Adrian asked. That reminds Deran of Adrian’s sister. She needs to be here. He starts patting around for his phone when he feels a hand on his arm. He sees J looking down at him, holding out a water bottle.
Deran sighs as he grabs it but doesn’t move to open it. The younger man moves to sit next to him on the wall.
“You were right. Most likely Appendicitis. They are preparing him for surgery. With his state, it most likely ruptured so they have to remove it and get him on antibiotics ASAP. Other then that, he should be okay.” J says before Deran could even ask. Deran knows he is trying to sugar coat it.
“You can’t promise that. Not yet anyways.” Deran comments before hitting his head against the wall. He opens the bottle and takes a swig before handing it over to J to take one as well.
“How are you doing?”
Deran looks at J, not wanting to answer. He can feel his throat tighten as he recalls everything that just happens. He can only manage to shrugs his shoulders before looking away.
“He is going to be okay.” J says once again.
“I hope so.” Deran whispers. Their silence is cut off as their pagers begin to beep. How the hell is he supposed to go back to work after this?
“Come on man. Duty calls.” J says helping him up. Deran makes a mental note to call Jess on the way.
_*_*_*_*_
He doesn’t know how but Deran manages to get through the rest of his shift. Thanking Jess for sending texts to keep him updated. It was close to 4:30 pm by the time Deran showered and changed his clothes before going back to the hospital. He was originally planning on going straight from his locker to Adrian’s room but Adrian was still in surgery by the time Deran’s shift finished and Jess threaten him with bodily harm if he came before he showered and had something to eat.
“You wouldn’t be any use to Adrian if you are dead on your feet.” Hearing Jess’s voice in his head.
Now though he is sitting next to the sleeping surfer whose been out of surgery for a few hours. Deran shakes his head in disbelief at how much he looks like one of those scenes out of the movies. Sitting next to his injured lover, holding his hand waiting for him to wake up. Thankfully some of the color has returned to Adrian’s face and now he just looks peaceful. Just the way he should be. He stands up for a second to stretch out the knots in his back but a moan from his right captures his attention. He turns to see Adrian moving in the hospital bed. His head moving from left to right before slowly opening his eyes. Deran feels himself standing there frozen like an idiot but he has no idea what he wants to say.
“Hey.” Adrian whispers, giving him a shy smile. That is all Deran needs and feels his feet move closer to the bed. He grabs Adrian’s hand with one of his while his other hand moves to the top of Adrian’s head, rubbing his hair.
“Hey man, you know. We gotta stop meeting like this.” Is the first thing Deran says and feels lighter when Adrian gives him a soft chuckle.
“I mean if you want to see me that bad, all you have to do is call. I’ll make the time.” He adds wanting Adrian to smile bigger.
Adrian does smile for a split second, his body moving with a chuckle before groaning and almost moves to close in on himself. “Don’t make me laugh please.” He says softly. He turns to look at Deran but thankfully he is still smiling.
“I’m sorry.” Deran whispers as he brushes Adrian’s forehead with a kiss before taking his previous seat on the side of the bed. They sit there is silence, not knowing what to say. Deran definitely didn’t know where he should start.
“You look like hell.” He hears Adrian say and he almost has to throw his head back and laugh. That is such an Adrian thing to do.
“So do you.” Deran shoots back with a smile. His elbows move to the mattress as his hands cup together in front of his mouth.
Adrian softly chuckles, this time being aware not to jar his body. He leans his head back on the pillow and sighs out “I feel like it.”
“What happened?” Adrian asks, lifting his head.
“Jess says the doctor went over it with you when you first woke up. You don’t remember?”
Adrian looks dazed as he tries to remember before shaking his head. “No I guess not. Jess is here?”
“She was. She went to go pick up the kid and get him settled. Said she will be back later.” Adrian nods at his answer before biting his lip.
“So?” Adrian says but doesn’t continues, just leaves it hanging.
Deran doesn’t know if he should try to explain. He wonders if he should get a doctor but with the way Adrian is looking at him he decides to give it a try.
“Umm well you had an infected appendix. The appendix ruptured which could be fatal so the doctor had to perform an emergency appendectomy, basically removing it and any infection it spread when it ruptured. Now that they have you on some antibiotics you should be okay. Just have to rest and take it easy for a bit.”
Adrian stares at him, his mouth opening and closing, reminding Deran of a fish.
“What?” Adrian finally lets out. “I could have died? How the fuck did it happen in the first place?”
“Well it is either caused by a blockage or it was caused by either a viral or bacterial infection-” Deran continues, the words just vomiting out of his mouth.
“Deran please” Adrian says, closing his eyes and shaking his head. “I really don’t-” He starts but don’t finish. Just lays his head back down.
“I don’t really want a nurse or doctor right now.” He says turning his head back to his boyfriend. Deran feels his face flush in embarrassment. He was never really good at comfort. He is the baby out of his brothers, and some could say his mother was overly comforting. Medical stuff he knows. It was a comfort zone, something that is only his. He mutters out an apology and he sinks smaller into this chair.
“No Der I didn’t mean-” Adrian says in a way that makes Deran look back at him. “I just, I really wouldn’t mind having my boyfriend here with me you know.”
Deran nods his head although he is not entirely sure what Adrian was getting at. He sees him smile as he gently shakes his head.
“You idiot, Get over here.” Adrian says as he lifts the side of the blanket.
“I really shouldn’t” Deran replies. He just got out of surgery, he doesn’t think having another grown man in his bed is the best choice at the moment. He looks back at Adrian to see him giving those blue doe eyes again and can already feel the pull.
“Fine but only because you had a bad day.” He grumbles as he lightly tries to find a position that won’t hurt Adrian. He finally finds a spot where he can wrap his arms around Adrian’s rib cage and has his head leaning on top of Adrian’s shoulder. They sit there in silence, Deran finally starting to settle, knowing that Adrian is finally okay. Not unconscious, not sweaty and pale..not dead.
“Can I tell you a secret?” He whispers. He feels Adrian nod his head but they both stay in their position. “I was really scared today.”
Adrian whimpers as he runs his hands over the arms that were wrapped around him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was that bad.” He tells him.
“So you were feeling sick?” Deran ask, slightly moving his head to see Adrian’s face.
“I thought it was just a stomach ache.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Who tells their boyfriend their stomach hurts? I just remember feeling like I had a stomach ache and I admit I thought it was just gas and that’s why I didn’t really have an appetite. But then the pain started moving and it just got unbearable.” Adrian confesses and Deran feels himself squeeze the other man tighter.
“Just please..even if you feel it is not that bad, please let me know. I can’t…I can’t do today again.”
Adrian moves his arm to cup Deran’s face from the side, placing a soft comforting kiss on Deran’s cheek. “I promise.” He whispers as he kisses his cheek again before moving his face back so their cheeks were pressed against each other. Once again silence engulfs them. All that can be heard is the movement outside the room and the soft breathing from the two men in the bed. Deran sits there with Adrian in his arms and feels like this is…this is right.
“Wait it can be caused by an infection?” Adrian asked out of nowhere.
Deran softly chuckles but nods his head. “Yeah, viral, bacterial, even parasitic.”
“I wonder if it happened when I went moss sliding with Tim that one time? I bet that water wasn’t the cleanest.” Adrian admits. Deran groans as he glances over to his boyfriend, looking like the most innocent idiot ever.
“Adrian man are you trying to kill me?” Deran cries out pulling away. Adrian frowns and pulls Deran back in.
“No no I am sorry. I was just joking.” He apologies pulling Deran closer to him but still trying to be careful of his stitches. Deran reluctantly wraps his arms back around Adrian and sticks his face in his neck.
“You better be.” Deran grumbles. “Or I will have to kick your ass.”
He feels, more than hears, Adrian scoffs as he grabs Deran’s hair and pulls his face up to his and out of his neck. “Please. You love my ass.”
Deran rolls his eyes. “Shut up.” He says.
He can see Adrian just about say something but decides to shut his boyfriend with the best way he knows how, and places his lips on the other man’s. Just the way he likes it.