jake and nat having to work as a team to hold him still and get ear drops in, and attempt to calm him down at the same time...
CW: Medical whump/ear infection, trauma response
"Come on, little man, let's just move this hand-" Jake frowns. For as skinny as he is, the newest little rescue is surprisingly strong, too, and his hand stays clamped palm-down against his ear as he shakes his head almost violently, kicking out and catching Jake in the hip, sending him staggering back with a grunt of pain.
"No," Chris whimpers, shaking his head again, shoving himself back into the corner of the living room as far from them as he can get, wedged between the sofa and the wall. "I don't, don't, don't want it!"
"Shit," Nat mutters, raking a hand back through her hair before she remembers it's in its usual braid, catching and accidentally pulling out some of the silvering brown strands that fall to frame her face. "He's really not going to go for this, is he?"
"He didn't act like this about the fucking tylenol-"
"Liquid tylenol he swallowed, not an ear drop into his ear," Nat says, sounding as exhausted as she looks. "He has to take the drops, Dr. Masood was very insistent."
Chris starts to hum, softly, soothing himself with the low tuneless sound, rocking back and forth.
"It could get better on its own, right?" Jake feels a stab of guilt at being willing to just let Chris hurt, but if he won't take the damn meds...
"Normally, yes. But his immune system is a wreck from WRU and wherever he lived after, he's got nothing to fight it off with. He's had that pain for... what, weeks now? And it keeps getting worse. He needs the drops."
"So what do we do? Count to five and grab him? Just... push him down on the couch and get the drops in?" His stomach twists in disgust and revulsion at the thought.
Nat stares at the top of Chris's head just peeking up above the arm of the sofa. "That'll undermine the trust we've built, Jake. Trust is immensely important. He needs to feel safe here. We... God. You've got to go to class. So go on. I'll stay here with him." She holds out her hand. "I'll talk to him and see if I can talk him into it."
Jake hesitates, then hands the little bottle over to her. "What if you can't?"
"Then we count to five and grab him. But I think I can. He's a good kid, he's just scared. Honestly, who knows what they put in them at WRU, I was never-... informed about anything that detailed. Go on." She waves a hand in dismissal.
Jake takes a breath, then nods and walks away, closing his eyes. He hates to leave Chris, hurting and sick. But he can't just stand here staring at him all day while he refuses the one thing that will help.
Nat settles onto the floor, groaning as her knees crack and remind her she isn't young enough to do this all the time any longer. "Okay, Chris, it's time to get you feeling better," She says, gently, but pitching her voice loud enough to carry over his humming.
Chris shakes his head again, but he's listening, because he says, "H-hurts, hurts going in, cold, it hurts."
"I know. But it'll help, honey, I promise."
He keeps shaking his head and presses his face into the side of the couch.
Nat glances up to see Jake walking down the sidewalk to catch the bus. She sighs. "Well. I guess we both have all day."