Mercy
jack abbot x gn! chronic pain! reader
you've been in horrible pain for too long to be normal. the doctor at the er you visit one night fixes you up, body and soul.
cw: brief like needles mention? mention of pills. nothing addictive. obviously professionalism violations. also its like super self indulgent and i dont wanna hear it. you dont get diagnosed so its just pain. also no beta we die like my opp robinavitch someday will
(ao3) (masterlist)
It was 2:43 in the morning, and you were slumped into a shitty chair in the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center Emergency Room waiting area.
Your back pulsed with the pain, but you willed yourself against it, like you had been for the better part of two weeks. Willing it to pass, praying that your sheer stubbornness would allow some higher power to look down on you in pity and wash the agony from your body.
2:44.
A baby wailing caused you to flinch, and the sudden movement caused the muscle running from your back along your stomach to seize up.
You collapsed into the arm of your chair, biting back a cry at the sudden grip of fire running over you.
Deep breath in, deep breath out. Visualize breathing comfort in, and pain out.
Bullshit, you knew, but you were grasping at straws at this point, because you had no everloving clue why this was happening to you.
2:44 still.
The nurse at the front called a vaguely familiar name. It wasn’t until his second try that you registered it as yours, and you scrambled to get up before being reminded how idiotic of an idea that was.
The nurse was by your side fairly quickly, tucking a clipboard under his right arm and gently placing his left around your middle back.
“I gotcha, come on back.”
He was nice looking, you briefly registered, with dark curly hair that suited his facial features wonderfully.
He settled you into a bed in the triage room, urging you to lay back slowly to prevent any irritation.
You answered his questions as precisely as possible, describing the fluctuations of the pain throughout the day, whether it was aching, stabbing, burning, whether it radiated and where from.
Mateo, to his credit, (he had introduced himself earlier after verifying your name and date of birth) was listening very well, typing on his computer every time you answered one of his questions. The time came to move you to one of the main rooms, and your nurse was very kind in walking you back.
“I’ll get your doctor in here as soon as possible, alright?”
You just nodded slowly and prepared to wait.
You didn’t have to wait long, though.
Within five minutes, the door to your room opened, and a man stepped in.
A doctor, but a man.
Sturdy, well-built, greying perfectly.
If you weren’t in this much pain, you’d think this was a wet dream.
“Good morning,” the man said softly. “My name is Dr. Abbot and I’ll be taking care of you. I hear you’re in some pain?”
You nodded as he sat down and rolled his stool up to your bedside.
“Now, I’m sure you’re sick of explaining,” His voice was low, slightly gravelly, and soothing. “But would you mind telling me what you’re feeling just one more time?”
You wrinkled your nose at the thought.
“I know,” he laughed softly. “I just wanna hear it directly from you. I’m sure I’d like it better than when Diaz told me.”
You smiled and looked away shyly, taking a deep breath.
“I’ve been in a lot of pain lately. I’m in a low degree of pain most of the time, but over the past two-ish weeks, it’s gotten a lot more intense. It’s to the point where I can barely stand and walk around, let alone go to work, or perform basic hygiene, or clean my house. I mean, I do my best, but I can only do so much before the pain gets to be too much. Can’t even sleep much the past five nights.”
Dr. Abbot was frowning, a furrow between his eyebrows. “I’m sorry to hear that. It sounds like this is really taking a toll on you.”
You closed your eyes in relief at the basic sympathy.
“Where is this pain usually located?”
“All the way down my back, my hips, my neck and shoulders, sometimes my knees and wrists. The back pain is the one I’m most concerned about. I’ve experienced all the other pains since I was in high school, and been able to manage them. I don’t know why this is any different.”
“You’ve experienced multiple forms of joint pain since high school?” The gorgeous man raised an eyebrow. God, you were lucky. Fuck doctors, but… you know. You were too tired to complete the turn of phrase.
You nodded in response to his question.
“Are there any injuries that might have contributed to these pains? Breaks, sprains, car accidents?”
You shook your head.
“Okay… that’s highly abnormal. It’s important to me that you know this.”
You froze.
Obviously, you knew it wasn’t great, but it was an odd feeling, having someone take your pain more seriously than you did.
“Oh.”
He cracked a smile at that. “‘Oh’ is right, sweetheart. I’d generally classify that as chronic pain, which can have varying levels of intensity, but can even be a significant hurdle at lower grades.”
You just nodded, tears pricking into your eyes.
“I know, it can be overwhelming to hear. Unfortunately, this means that we likely won’t be able to find a lasting fix for you tonight. What I wanna focus our efforts on is getting you comfortable, making sure you can sleep tonight, and referring you to someone who can help you figure out what’s going on better than little old me ever could.”
You grinned weakly, still a mixture of disappointed and relieved. “Naw, give yourself some credit. Making me feel better already.”
Dr. Abbot laughed softly. “Well, I’m glad to hear it. I’m thinking we give you a toradol injection, basically a super strong ibuprofen or aspirin, and then we can give you a dose of tizanidine, which is a muscle relaxant tablet. I don’t know how well the tizanidine will relieve the pain, it can vary from person to person, but it will more than likely let you sleep for once. Sound good?”
You closed your eyes against tears again at the idea of some relief. “Yeah. Yeah, that works for me.”
Dr. Abbot reached over and placed a hand over your shin. “Alright, sweetheart. I’ll be right back with those, and then we’ll get you fixed up a little bit. Just sit tight for me.”
You nodded before he left the room.
Turns out, there was a minor caveat to receiving your medication. “Now, I’m obviously not going to withhold your medication from you,” Dr. Abbot murmured as he smoothed the bandage over your injection site. “But I think it’d be best if you took the tizanidine and stayed for a few hours. I have some concerns about you getting home safely, since you haven’t slept in so long, and the medicine will likely knock you out.”
You giggled at the emphasis he placed on the last word, and he met your eyes with a smile.
“If you’d be more comfortable, you’re fully within your rights to go home and take it there, but my professional recommendation would be for you to stay with me.”
You latched onto the last thing he said, stay with him, and nodded again. “I’ll stay.”
Dr. Abbot’s smile grew wider. “Wonderful. Now, I’m gonna have you take one of these,” He presented you with the pill in a little paper cup and a larger cup of water. “And get comfortable. Someone will come and check on you periodically to make sure you’re doing alright. Maybe it’ll be me, maybe it won’t.” He winked as you put the water cup down, and your face heated.
“But I’ll see you before you leave. Feel better, sweetheart.”
“Thank you,” You murmured, distracted by the way his forearms flexed as he grabbed either end of his stethoscope. “You too.”
Dr. Abbot laughed again as he left the room, and you froze.
Why the fuck did you say him too?
a/n: hello i have not escaped the legions of hell but im here. the flirting and unprofessionalism is pretty subtle. Technically Speaking jack didnt have to keep you overnight. he wanted to. also like 99% of the time a nurse will give you the medication but he wanted to. the sweetheart thing. uhhhh OH YEAH him saying hed see you before you leave??? usually when i take tizanidine im knocked out for like three or four hours before i wake up (unfortunately even when ive been sleeping consistently) and if you do the math..... basically he stays overtime to make sure he sees you. bc he liiiiiikesss youuuuu.
also if youre Birth Capable they make you take a pregnancy test before giving you toradol but like it doesnt matter. im just trying to romanticise my medical problems yk?
okay thank you for reading bark bark bark bark bark i love you goodnight <333333
