Loving and Healing
Simon "Ghost" Riley x Fem! "Gecko" Reader Tags: Injured reader. Mentions of stabbing. Brief mentions of addiction. A/N: I decided halfway through to change the tense. Sorry for any changes I didn't catch! Word Count: 2.1k "Don't give me that. You are not okay."
Gecko had never been more sick of her bed in her entire life.
It turns out, getting stabbed not once, but twice is a sure way to be put on strict bed rest. It had been a stressful ordeal, to say the very least. A knife blow to the leg and midriff lead to a fast exfil from their location. That led to an extensive surgery where the findings were scary. A ton of blood loss and serious physical trauma.
The first week, she was in the hospital under direct supervision. That in and of itself was maddening. Hospitals were boring and really made her realize how she took good health for granted.
On week two, she was discharged but still on strict conditions. She was only to leave bed for bathroom trips and small increments of walking. She was also ordered to have someone with her frequently, checking in and assisting her.
And it was no surprise that Simon had hardly left her side during this time.
He had taken it upon himself to make her his responsibility. He brought her meals, helped her out of bed, put her back in bed and most importantly, made sure she didn't do anything to sabotage her recovery.
Today was no different. Ghost was right on time for lunch, 12:15 p.m. sharp. He did try to change up the meals (all within guidelines of what she could and couldn't have.) It was a lot of easy to digest meals, but he did try to vary them. He sets the tray down on her bedside table. She takes a peek at today's menu items. Sandwich, soup, crackers and an orange juice.
"How are you feeling?" He asked, voice gruff and deep as always.
"The same as the last time you asked me that question." She replied. She's not being irritable or showing annoyance, it was just that he asked her that question often.
She gave a smile, a weak one, but a smile nonetheless. Simon noticed she still looks so pale. It had been a week and a half and she still looked...terrible, frankly. The doctors all said it would take time for her body to bounce back. Even with two blood transfusions, she still felt woozy and her body was usually most of its energy to heal. All normal given the circumstances, but not any less hard to watch.
He noticed when he sat the tray down that her prescription bottle was untouched. Not even opened.
"And you still refuse to take the pain meds." He sighed.
He stands tall at her bedside, looking down at her frame that was sunken into the bed.
"I don't trust pain meds," She said. He knew this. He knew all about her hesitance to take prescription pain killers. "I've known too many people to get hooked on pills. The doctor said I technically only have to take them as needed, and I don't need them."
Ghost and Gecko had very different approaches to this entire ordeal. She was maintaining a positive outlook on her recovery, choosing not to focus on the fact that she literally almost bled out and died in his arms out in the field.
Ghost on the other hand, could not avoid thinking about it. The entire thing had scared him something awful. He would never say that. But it didn't make it any less true.
Simon on the other hand, had catered to her every need. The near-death ordeal has scared him terribly.
His expression hardened at her response. He knew she was hesitant to take any kind of prescription pain killers, but it worried him to see her in pain and refusing relief.
"You are in pain. There's no way you can't be," He said, his voice slightly exasperated. "You were stabbed, twice."
“Anyone who was stabbed twice would be in some pain,” She said, her eyes sunken into her face and her face colorless. “I don’t hurt that bad. Not bad enough to take any meds.”
He was so frustrated with her. She wasn't cooperating the way he wished she would. She was trying to do too much too soon. She wouldn't relax. And she wouldn't take her damn pain medication.
"You're bein' impossible." He hisses.
Simon knew she was downplaying her pain, and it irritated him. He hated seeing her like this, pale and exhausted, refusing to take the meds that had been prescribed for a reason.
“Simon,” She said in a tone just above a whisper. She wants him to listen and understand that she’s fine. He had been so tough on her these last few days. The soft side of Simon that only she knew was nowhere to be found. She knew he was just worried, but he was stressing her out. “Please don’t be like that. I’m okay, I’m stable. Don’t make me fight with you.”
Frustration and concern had been a constant for him since this happened. He knew her desire to stay strong and not risk dependency on the meds, but it was hard for him to simply back down.
"Don't give me that. You are not okay." He huffs.
“Yes, I am okay. I’m not in a morgue somewhere,” She pointed out, looking and noticing how tired he looked. He certainly hadn't gotten any significant sleep. “Please try and relax.”
Her even mentioning the morgue makes his head tilt in disbelief. How could she just say that so easily? DId she not realize how close that had been to being her reality?
"You are-" He cuts himself off, sitting on the edge of her bed suddenly to be closer to eye level with her. "I can't stand you being like this. And you have the nerve to think it's funny?"
Ghost was normally one for dark humor. Though, she could understand that this situation was an exception.
“You don’t like me looking like this?” She asked just to make it sting. "I thought I looked tough.”
"Yeah," He rumbled sarcastically. "You look real tough not being able to even lift your fuckin' head."
She can't argue there. Everything was taking her energy. She hadn't done anything other than sleep and eat. Even eating sometimes wasn't something she was up for. Speaking of, she glances at the lunch on her bedside table.
"Thanks for bringing me lunch. You didn't have to." She said.
He turned his attention to the food. He helped her sit up as comfortably as she could before he sat the tray in her lap. She looked at the spread in front of her. A decent lunch.
She was a little shaky as she went for the first spoonful of soup. He silently monitors how much she eats. He wanted her to eat as much as she could. Food was fuel and fuel meant energy. Energy was certainly what she needed to get over this.
"You gotta eat," He said for the thousandth time. Every single meal he said it, like she didn't know that. "You lost a lot of blood the other night."
The other night.
He said it like it was just some casual thing that happened. Not like a near-death experience that had left him a nervous wreck for her, tracking everything she did and her progress.
"Oh really?" She said, swallowing a spoonful of soup around a mouthful of sarcasm. "I hadn't realized."
"Fuckin' smartass..." He muttered. He watches her struggle with the spoon, her hands shakier by the minute. "Lemme do it."
He doesn't give her a choice. He takes the spoon, angling himself to help her take bites.
"This is so demeaning." She grumbled.
"Not demeaning. Necessary," He corrected her.
That earned him an eye roll from her. She didn't like this Simon. This Simon was tough on her and made her do things his way. The medications she was required to take like antibiotics and preventative drugs, he made sure she took at the same time every day, nearly down to the second. He wouldn't let her walk unassisted. He wouldn't even let her stand without him for more than a minute or two. He wasn't letting her get an infection or risk busting stitches on his watch. He was serious about her getting better.
She had to get better.
He continued to feed her spoonfuls of soup. He doesn't take his eyes off of her.
"Makin' sure you heal properly," He said after a little while. "You're actin' like I'm torturing you."
He paused the soup feeding and reached for the glass of water. He made sure she drank decent gulps before she responded.
"I haven't argued with you." She said. It was mostly true. She had been patient and understanding of why he was being so tough. Aside from an occasional grumble, she had been doing this the way he wanted.
"Yeah," He replied. "But you're actin' like I'm bein' unreasonable."
Gecko looked at him, her eyes droopy and dim. Those same eyes suddenly fill with tears. There's hardly any energy in her system to cry.
“Because I’m frustrated,” She said, her voice wobbly and laced with tears. “And you’re being so short with me.”
Shit.
He wouldn't apologize for being strict with her recovery rules. Those were doctor's orders and he was making sure she wouldn't end back up on an operating table. But he could admit that maybe his approach had been too rough. Her frustration was more than just being stuck in her bed.
He sat the tray aside, kneeling beside her bed. His hardened demeanor fades just enough for her to notice.
"Hey…" He said, his voice losing some of its sharpness. "C'mon, love. I'm not trying to hurt your feelings, but you gotta understand..." He trailed off when the tears slipped from her eyes. "I want you to get better."
She looked so exhausted. Her body was working overtime to recover and heal. The healing process was draining her. She was trying to wrap her head around all of this and now her boyfriend was treating her like a recruit. The tears were steady as he tried to make it better.
"I'm not meanin' to be hard on you," He sighs. "I don't want anything to happen to you...more than it already has." He nearly whispered the last part.
That only makes her cry harder. The small sniffles turn into real sobs. He knew she was emotional and worn out. This was more than just physically hard on her.
He threw caution to the wind. Time to break some rules within reason. He stood from the side of the bed, kicking his boots off and shedding some clothing to get more comfortable. The mask went too. His face bare and hair slightly tousled from it.
He maneuvered her to crawl in behind her, settling her between his thighs without jostling her. He rested her against his chest, his lips pressing a kiss to her head.
He wrapped his arms around her, avoiding the problem area on her gut. He could feel her trembling as she cried. He doesn't rush her.
"Love, 'm sorry..." He sighs, irritated with himself. "Didn't mean to be like that."
He held her while she cried. He spoke as gently to her as Simon Riley possibly could. He does it until her crying slows and her breathing gets calmer. Her body goes limp too, he knew she would fall asleep soon. He hated that she had to use precious energy being upset, but if her body needed to then so be it. After all, he had pushed her too hard.
"Get some sleep," He murmurs. "We'll talk more when you wake up. 'M not going anywhere."
She only nodded as the last of her crying sent her to sleep. He relaxed a fraction once she was asleep. Sleep was good for now.
And he meant it when he said they would talk. They would discuss this, figure out a way to make this easier on both of them. He knew that would end up with him promising to be softer on her. He would agree, but it would take some trial and error.
After all, losing her was worse than anything he could ever imagine.
