Characters: Agent Washington (Red vs. Blue), Agent Carolina (Red vs. Blue), Dick Simmons, Sarge (Red vs. Blue), Franklin Delano Donut, Lopez (Red vs. Blue), Dexter Grif, Frank “Doc” DuFresne, Lavernius Tucker, Michael J. Caboose, All the other AI’s, Vanessa Kimball, Epsilon, Donald Doyle, John Elizabeth Andersmith, Katie Jensen, Antoine Bitters, Charles Palomo, Matthews, Emily Grey, Original Characters, Felix | Isaac Gates, Locus | Samuel Ortez, Siris | Mason Wu, Megan Wu, Four Seven Niner, Malcolm Hargove, Kaikaina Grif | Sister
Additional Tags: Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Psychological Trauma, Fluff and Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Dissociation, PTSD, Depression, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Panic Attacks, Frisbee Murder (don’t ask), Attempted Murder, Space Battles, Aftermath of Torture, Aftermath of Violence, Platonic Slow-Burn, Mental Instability, Flashbacks, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Healthy Coping Mechanisms, Platonic Relationships, Russian Roulette, Creepy-Ass Villains, Canon-Typical Violence, Major Character Injury, Redemption, So Many Space Dads, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Torture, Found Family, i take the canon and i put it in a box, and then i put that box into another box, then i mail it to myself, and when it arrives, i SMASH IT WITH A HAMMER, Canon Divergence, post s13
Summary: With The Staff of Charon a smoking-yet-functional speck on the horizon, and the threat of an active weapons system on one of Chorus’ moons, the fight is far from over. While Locus is no longer a threat, another one of Hargrove’s former lackeys waits for the Reds and Blues as they race to stop the weapons system from coming online. Does she really want to help them? Or is she hiding a more sinister motive? And why is she so interested in Locus?!
i absolutely love deviantart because i can just post a picture of my agent smith plushie in an easter basket and someone’s gonna be roleplaying andersmith all by themself in the comments
[...] As much as I admire what the mercenary does for us, I just can't bring myself to respect him. He kept cracking jokes on the way back to base.
I know that sardonic detachment is kind of his shtick, but it's always made me uneasy. Like he's laughing at a punchline the rest of us just haven't gotten yet.
Trigger warning for: Comas, long hospital stays, hospitals in general.
Prompt: Hospital
Summary: Caboose may have survived a serious injury, but still has yet to wake up.
----
Carolina’s world was numb as she watched the orderlies fight with Tucker over Caboose. Caboose was still, not breathing, but Tucker didn’t want to let him go. It took Simmons and Grif to hold him back and let the hospital workers do their job, taking Caboose away on a stretcher and rushing him into the hospital. Epsilon hitched a ride in the suit of one of the retreating nurses, promising that he’ll do all he could to help. Simmons stumbled out of the pelican to sit on the ground, radioing everyone else to tell them the news.
Tucker was still sobbing. “He’s dead…” He moaned, going limp in despair. “I can’t...I…”
Grif grabbed Tucker firmly by the shoulders and shook him. “He’s NOT dead! Get a hold of yourself!”
“Fuck you, lardass! You saw him! He wasn’t fucking breathing!”
“ He’ll be okay . The last thing any of us need, is you freaking the fuck out and keeping the medics from doing their jobs.” Tucker seemed too stunned to reply, staring off into the distance as he tried to get his breathing under control again. “Caboose is unkillable, I’m telling you. He’ll be fine.”
Carolina didn’t know what to say about that. She knew where hope got her before, it was better to be realistic. What she wasn’t prepared for, was to see Wash running up to the helipad, and stopping to look inside. There was enough blood to paint a room red, and Wash could put context clues together when he saw that Caboose wasn’t there.
“What happened?” He asked, voice hushed and fearful.
And once again, Carolina had to break his heart.
-----
The waiting room was so crowded there weren't enough chairs to sit. Some stood, like Wash and Carolina, some took up whatever space they could on the floor, and others huddled together, talking in quiet whispers. It was mostly the Reds, Blues, and Caboose’s squad taking up all the space. Many other people tried to come in to wait as well, but had to be turned away due to the lack of room. If there’s anything that could be said about Caboose, it’s that he’s well loved. Loved enough that someone was streaming up to date news from somewhere in the hospital, as the city waited to see if one of their Heroes would live or die.
Andersmith especially was taking things hard, sitting in the corner with his other squad-mates, sniffling tears and hugging each other. Most of the room’s occupants were sporting bandages on their arms, reminders from when Dr. Grey ran in and asked for blood donors. Most everyone volunteered, but only a couple were matches, but it was enough for Grey to be happy about the volume she managed to get.
She vanished back into surgery, promising to give an update when she could. It’s been hours already, and Carolina doubted they’d hear anything other than ‘sit and wait’. Eventually it got late enough that most everyone was kicked out, leaving only the Reds and Blues. Grey knew she couldn’t kick them out, because they would fight her on that, so she was forced to let them stay and hog up the waiting room.
Everyone was starting to get anxious the longer the time dragged on, finally being broken when Grey strolled in through the doors, still splattered with blood.
“Hello everyone!” She said, grabbing everyone’s immediate attention. “I have some good news, and some bad news. I’ll tell you the good news first, Captain Caboose is alive.”
Tucker opened and closed his mouth, struggling for a moment to string together a sentence. “How? He wasn't breathing! He probably lost all his blood! How could he still be alive after all that?” In the background, Grif muttered a quick ‘told you so’, before being slapped on the back of the head by Sarge.
“I can answer that.” Epsilon, the smug little bastard, projected himself out of Grey’s suit. “Did you know just how much extra shit was crammed into this guy? Dude had augmented lungs and a heart. He literally could go without oxygen for a stupid amount of time and survive. Still got all kinds of fucked up, but ten bullet holes, a punctured lung, and massive blood loss wasn’t enough to outright kill him, apparently.”
The room was dead silent to let that sink in. Grif however, was basking in the fact that he was right, for once. Carolina took a breath to ask the question everyone was thinking. “How?”
“Caboose is a Spartan.” Wash murmured from his place at the wall, staring off into the darkened windows in the waiting room. “That’s how.”
“No way, no way that someone as dumb as Caboose can be a fucking Spartan.” Simmons pointed out. “He drank gasoline for a year! He believes in sock stealing gnomes!”
“Do you know any other seven foot tall men who are built like a brick house and can flip a tank over with their bare hands?” Wash raised an eyebrow. “Not to mention, seventeen sisters?”
Simmons promptly shut the hell up.
“It’s true,” Donut piped up from his seat. “I’ve seen his scars. Those aren’t normal. Sometimes he’ll talk a little about his ‘school’ and I just...kinda put things together.”
“Same with me,” Wash agreed. “I’m surprised you didn’t figure it out, Tucker. He was getting medication for his scars from you.”
“Look, everyone has scars. I wasn’t about to ask him about it! Command just sent them over and I gave it to him, that’s all.”
“Hot damn, Blue team had a Spartan this entire time, and still got their asses kicked by ours truly? Red team supremacy once again shows its prowess in the face of impossible odds!”
“Shut up Sarge, not helping!”
“So,” Carolina raised her voice a little to stop the bickering before it could start. “Caboose had augmentations that let him survive being ventilated with bullets. What’s the bad news?”
“Well, it seems that he slipped into a teensy, weensy, little coma.” Grey could only shrug. “He’s still not out of the woods yet, but if he survives the night, he has a higher chance to wake up again. There’s nothing else we can do but leave the rest up to him.”
“Caboose will pull through, we promised him a party and even with someone with memory problems, he’s not going to forget that.” Tucker couldn’t help but snicker a little. “He’s not going to want to leave his ‘best friends’ behind anytime soon.”
“Ooo a party! Looks like it’s time for me to bust out my planner!” Donut seemed excited, already deciding that his friend was going to be okay. “I’ll plan it all out, no worries, a party for just us! If anyone else shows up, we’ll just have to beat them off!”
The room groaned.
“Now then.” Grey clapped her hands together to draw attention back to her. “Now that he’s stabilized, I can allow a few visitors. Only one at a time! He needs his rest after all! Who’s first?”
Wash jumped up before anyone could say anything. “Me.”
“And me!” Epsilon looked at the surprised faces In the waiting room. “What? I’m going to monitor the medical equipment in his room. I kinda need to be there so nobody fucks it up.”
“Sure Church, just to monitor things. Yeah.”
“Shut the fuck up Tucker! It’s not like that!”
“Bold of you to say that to a person who saw what you did on that flight back.”
Epsilon’s avatar sputtered in anger, voice overlaid with static as he looked to Washington. “Please, for the love of god, grab my chip before I jump in his suit, armor lock it, and turn off his air.”
Wash sighed.
Caboose laid there, still and pale among a mess of IVs, wires, and beeping machines. A heated blanket was pulled up to just under his arms, hiding most of his bandages from view. A few traces of white criss-crossed just under the collar of his hospital gown, letting one know the full extent of his injuries. An Intubation tube was put in, his chest rising and falling with each press of the ventilator next to him. His eyes were closed and bruised, and if it wasn’t for the machines and paleness, he would have looked like he was just sleeping. It was unreal to see such a large man look so small, dwarfed by the medical equipment surrounding him.
Wash swallowed the lump in his throat at the sight.
On the table next to the bed, was Caboose’s helmet and Freckles, already cleaned. Figuring that was as good of a spot as any, Wash inserted the Epsilon chip in the helmet. The visor flashed on for a brief moment, before the small avatar manifested itself once again. Epsilon gave Wash a nod, and leapt into the bulk of the machinery around the bed, integrating himself fully. He wouldn’t admit it, but Wash felt a little better that someone would be here to watch Caboose at all times, even after everyone else would get kicked out after visiting hours.
He pulled up a chair and took the hand of the arm with the least amount of inserted tubes, and held it. Caboose always liked friendly touching, often wanting to hold hands or sit leaning on someone. The latter wasn’t always possible, due to his size, but everyone on both teams have held his hand here and there. It always made the man smile, beaming like a sun beam in pure, innocent delight.
He used a thumb to trace the back of the downed soldier's hand, hoping that he could feel the soft touch wherever his mind was currently at. He glanced at the clock, It was barely 1am...Caboose would need to stay alive for the next six hours to have the best chance of survival. He couldn’t be here the entire time, most everyone else would want a turn to say hello. He might as well get his done with before he got forcibly dragged out of the room.
He pulled up the file manager in his HUD, scrolling through a folder marked [For Caboose]. He selected a PDF that has hasn't opened in quite a while and brought it up to his HUD. He looked over the words within, and while still holding the limp hand in his, began to read aloud.
“ One day in summer Frog was not feeling well.
Toad said, ‘”Frog, you are looking quite green.”
“ But I always look green,” said Frog. “I am a frog.”
"Today you look very green even for a frog,” said Toad…”
-----
Against the odds, Caboose made it through the night, much to everyone’s relief.
He still wasn’t waking up, however, nor showed any signs of life besides the beeping of his heart monitor. Grey had told them that he just needed his rest and that eventually he’ll wake up. They just need to be patient and wait.
Half the team wouldn’t know what patience was even if it bit them on the ass. It wasn't a rare occurrence for Carolina to pass by the room, only to hear the visitor inside quietly plead for Caboose to wake up. No amount of pleas were going to do anything, but Carolina understood the thoughts behind it. Tucker especially was the most distraught, Caboose and himself were the only ones of the original Blue Team left. He spent as much time as he could in the room before being forcibly removed, and even then would mostly be found asleep sitting up in the waiting room.
The hospital room looked like the inside of a florist shop by the time the rest of the base finished visiting. The room was an explosion of color, and there were so many flowers and cards that new shelves had to be put in to hold them all.
Once it came out that Wash was reading him bedtime stories, everyone else followed suit. The local library became crammed with power armor as the Reds and Blues competed over who could find the best book. She never thought she’d see the day where she’d see a group of grown men fight over a copy of ‘Goodnight Moon’, but here it was.
They all got swiftly banned from the library once guns started coming out, so they turned to pirating books off the internet in an effort to entertain themselves and Caboose. It was unknown if he could hear them, but Wash was adamant that if anything, he could feel their presence. Sarge didn’t bother to read anything, instead regaling tales of battles in his youth where he fought off a hoard of damn dirty Blues, but not Caboose, because he counted as an honorary Red.
Despite their efforts, it was still disturbing to see Caboose so still and silent. He was always moving, twitching, stimming, doing something . He couldn’t stay quiet to save his life, yet he never responded to any forms of contact. All he could do it seemed, was breathe. Eventually he was moved off the ventilator and into a standard oxygen mask, but he was still comatose.
It was a week and a half later when Caboose wearily opened his eyes right in the middle of Tucker reading ‘Go the Fuck to Sleep’.
“Caboose?” Tucker whispered, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
Caboose tried to move, inhaling sharply when he went too fast. His hand blindly reached out before grabbing Tucker’s in a hard grip, obviously seconds from panicking. His eyes darted around the room, glassy in confusion before eyeing the numerous needles stuck into his arms. He jerked, trying to move away, but only managed to shudder in pain and squeezing Tucker’s hand hard enough to pop the bones within.
“Woah woah!” Epsilon projected himself over the bed, ‘standing’ in the air in front of his face. “Don’t move. You are in a hospital. You got all kinds of fucked up. But you’re safe now? Alright?”
Caboose stopped trying to move and slowly released Tucker’s hand from his death grip. He closed his eyes, taking in deep breaths and wincing as he calmed. “Ow…” He rasped. He could barely get above a whisper in volume and both AI and soldier had to strain to hear it under the muffling of the oxygen mask and hiss of oxygen.
“Yeah, I know buddy.” Tucker winced sympathetically. “I bet you feel like shit, eh?”
He got a soft nod in reply, each movement marked by a wince and a gasp.
“I already pinged a nurse, they’ll be on their way.” Epsilon stated, turning around to scrutinize the pain pump attached to the IV drip and started tweaking it slightly. It had an obvious effect, Caboose sighing and relaxing on the bed once the machine clicked, grip slackening a little more as relief crossed his features.
“There.” Epsilon seemed satisfied. “That’ll help. Now, if you get up and rip your stitches, I’m going to be pissed, got it?”
Caboose nodded again, eyes half sliding shut again. It was clear he wasn’t going to be able to stay awake for long. Luckily, a nurse appeared, handing Tucker a cup of ice chips and a spoon, and went over to check the machines.
He ignored the spat that started between Epsilon and the nurse over who got to fuck with the equipment and turned his attention to Caboose. “Thirsty?”
He lazily nodded in response and went to fumble at the mask on his face, but was restricted by all the wires and tubes.
Tucker found himself being the one to pull it down to the side, and feed Caboose little spoonfuls of ice as fast as he dared. He did not like the sound Caboose made when he had to breathe on his own and did his best to get at least some hydration into the dude before he fell asleep again. His throat must be awful, and he seemed to look better with each bit of ice. Tucker got a beaming smile for his efforts once the cup was empty.
“Thanks, Tucker.” Caboose mumbled as his mask was being put back in place again. “Feels better.”
“I’m glad,” Tucker chuckled in response, reaching down to hold his hand again. “You gave us a scare, ‘Boose.”
“mmmhmm.”
“Don’t do that again, alright?”
“mmhmm….”
“Okay, get some rest. You got to get better for your party, remember?”
Caboose smiled before slipping back into sleep, looking finally alive. He didn’t look right without that big dumb grin on his face. Tucker let go of the hand to tuck him in a little more, making sure the heated blanket was evenly spread. When satisfied, he put his helmet back on, tapping the comms to relay the good news to everyone else.
It was time to get a party together.
----
I SAID HE WASN'T DEAD! Epsilon is totally tsundere but he really does care about Caboose.
Of course once Caboose gets out of the hospital, he has a great big party. The whole base is just a big party and he eats so much cake and he gets a hideous homemade trophy made of random stuff welded together (cause i doubt they could find an actual one in a warzone so they made one) but he loves it all the same.
Wash was reading from one of my favorite book series, Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel. Something tells me Caboose would have adored that series and it was one of mine growing up. Wash reads it to him a lot :,3
