[IC] The Long Road Home

[Andrew Blade]

Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

The last few days (or was it weeks?) had been hard to keep track of. Sergeant Chambers remembered their patrol had discovered evidence of a bomb-making facility in the tiny village they'd been sent to investigate. Before they were able to start apprehending potential suspects, gunfire and explosions rang out. From there, he could recall he had been shouting and directing his squad to cover, then calling in to his platoon sergeant to set up suppressive fire. After that, it was a blur. He knew that he had engaged targets with aimed shots, and that at least one of his men had been hit by sniper fire. He also remembered getting hit more than once, but everything was such chaos, he couldn't remember if it had been a bullet, a grenade, or something else that had brought him down. Something had hit his plates, he remembered feeling the brutal thump, but then other things had broken skin, and from the sensation of pain he could remember, likely bone.

His men had gotten him into an MRAP, and a little later some medics had hovered over him. Then there was a helicopter ride. Then he was in a hospital. He didn't remember being lucid whenever he awoke- a lot like waking up several times in a night but going right back to sleep after.

At least he was somewhere safe, though. He knew that, and it allowed him to relax, as much as he could, anyway. Pain seemed to emanate from all over his body, but it felt distant, like he was feeling it from far away. Opening his eyes, Sergeant Chambers looked around and took in a sterile environment with dim lights and a Thomas Kincaid painting on the wall. He was propped up in an uncomfortable bed with tubes and wires and some kind of apparatus attached to him. He felt something restraining his arms and legs, and when he looked, his right leg was lifted up off the bed, with small cables coming from it. A sling held his right arm against his chest, with a heavy, cold pack wrapped around his shoulder, while his left arm was in a full cast stemming from his palm all the way up to his shoulder.

As soon as he saw the extent of the damage, the pain started to hit him, with a dull ache coming from both his arms and his chest, but strangely enough, he couldn't feel any pain in his knee. Looking at the bandaged and casted-up limb, the gears in his head started to turn and he glared at his foot, propped up at eye level. Gritting his teeth, he willed his toes to wiggle, but nothing happened. In horror, his eyes darted to his right leg- which seemed to be uninjured beneath a blanket- and he tried to lift his knee. Again, no response.

Immediately his mouth went dry and he could feel his heart racing. He wanted to call out, but he didn't think anyone would hear him. looking down at the arm draped across his chest in a sling, he saw a remote control under his wrist and tried to maneuver himself to grab it, but his shoulder was so stiff and sore that he broke out into a sweat just trying to turn and shift his forearm. Tears of frustration, rage, and panic began to stream from his eyes. His fingers were working, and he used them to painfully try to walk his hand toward the remote attached to the frame of his bed with a thick power cord.

Before he was able to find and grab it, though, the door to his room quickly opened, spilling in light from the hallway outside, and a woman in pale blue scrubs rushed toward him. He looked up at her with confusion, terror, and anger in his eyes. Chambers mouth opened, but he didn't know if he wanted to ask a question- too many flooded his mind at once- or say something to express his frustration. All he could muster was an incoherent strangled gasp that just managed to escape his dry throat.

@honorandpride

[Vixere]

The night had been quiet, something that Celeste had been incredibly thankful for. There had been precious little sleep on the thin mattress in her hostel, but the couch in the break room was comfortable and working doubles meant that she could choose to sleep on premises. Rubbing her sore back, a sip was given of her coffee from where she stood in the sterile hall. Charting on her tasks for the day, rather than behind the desk that meant that she couldn't hear any movement, she found the serenity almost calming.

Swift fingers soon pressed to the next screen - Chambers. Using her pointer finger on the touch screen, she was soon enough re-reading over the man's Kardex. The notes and injuries were extensive, prognosis was poor, and they had yet to properly address his mental state.

POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS.

Those two words were common, but they felt like a slap in the face when she began to hear the shuffling inside of the darkened room. Though she had stepped in to check his vitals and adjust his IVs, he had been peaceful. He certainly wasn't now. Pausing briefly at the door, her coffee was left atop the glove rack as she hurried within. Monitors weren't screaming, but the rates were increased. Soon enough, he would find the ceil blue of her scrubs at his side.

With his extensive injuries, the hand that touched him was on his chest, barely there. "Easy, soldier." Voice quiet with the monitors, she knew it sometimes helped in focusing attention from being scared and panicking.

"I'm right here, it's all right." Reaching to his bed side table, the hand from his chest wrapped warmly around the back of his neck. A Styrofoam glass with ice water was brought to him, the straw pressed between his lips to let him drink. Putting it aside once he was done, his pillows were resettled behind his head.

Leaning as close as she was, he could have scented both her perfume, warm and sweet, and the disinfectant on her scrubs. Her badge had a glaring red RN at the bottom, a picture identifying her and her name, but in his panic and the darkness, it might have been impossible to identify.

"Looks like they should have gotten you a touch pad," was murmured more to herself than him. Straightening from where she had been bent over, trained eyes assessed him and adjusted the pillow under his knee. "I'll have to check if you can get more morphine."

[Andrew Blade]

The woman that came to his side was an unexpected mercy that sent a soothing tingling sensation through his body- what he could feel of it anyway. It didn't quell all of his fears, but her tone, her touch, her scent, and even just her presence and the confidence with which she engaged him exuded a sense of ease and calm that he was able to take stock in and help reassess his situation. Memories started to come back to him, but they were still only flashes of barely consciousness, and he couldn't separate dream from reality.

With the nurse's gentle hand moving to the back of his neck and a straw to his lips, the taste of cold water had never been so good.

With the sudden onset of this creature's presence, her hand on him and her voice almost sounded affectionate- softening the harsh reality he was just now starting to understand. Looking up at her face, the concerned expression brought him further back from the edge he had found himself at. She was saying words, but he couldn't put any context to them. With the water down his throat though, he was now able to vocalize his questions.

"I'm sorry, I'm... Where am I? I.. What... What happened to me?"

[Vixere]

As he seemed to calm a bit, the beeping of the monitors seemed to slow enough that she didn't seem overly alarmed herself. Instead, he would be able to see the glint of auburn hair and a flash of pale eyes that bore no cosmetics in which to enhance them. Given the darkness of the room, and only the fluorescent lighting of the hall, it wouldn't be hard to tell that it was night time.

It was his questions that seemed to soften her expression more, which earned a moment of trepidation before her voice came again. "Well, we can begin with you being in the hospital, Mister Chambers - Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, to be specific." Slowly, her sore form lowered down and sat in the chair beside his bed, a welcome reprieve for throbbing feet. "You've been through the ringer, and though I could throw a lot of medical mumbo jumbo at you, I think you'd probably prefer some bluntness while you're a little hazy."

Leaning forward, she seemed to close a bit of distance in hopes to help comfort him, calm him just a bit. "Last time you were in the field, your spine took some damage, which is why you might be feeling pretty far off-kilter, and there were also a few bullets to contend with. You've got a journey ahead of you, but there's no reason to feel hopeless."

Slowly, one small hand was held out in offer if he wanted to wrap his fingers around her own - but she didn't grab, merely offered. In their state of shock, many lashed out and most rejected such a notion, but it was there regardless. "I'll be through it with you, at least through the worst of the medical part of it. I can't tell you everything, but I'm sure the doctor will want to talk to you in more depth than I will."

[Andrew Blade]

Jason hadn't heard anyone call him "Mister Chambers" since the last time he got pulled over for speeding seven years ago. The title surprised him a little bit, and further affirmed his suspicion that he was being dealt with by civilians and not military personnel here. Landstuhl wasn't a name he was particularly familiar with, but it sounded German, which made sense if he had been flown to Germany. Ramstein was the base in Germany that the U.S. sent all of its injured soldiers before they were brought state-side, but that was all Chambers knew about the place.

Listening to and looking at the woman as she spoke, she took on a very soothing demeanor. It wasn't just her soft voice, her gentle touch, her physical closeness, or the expression on her face, but some combination of the sight, touch, sound, and feel of her presence and maybe some other kind of intangible sensation in the air. Chambers could feel her concern wash over him like a thin, warm blanket of comfort. It was almost as if he could feel his blood pressure decrease along with his pulse. When he looked at her and listened, he knew he didn't want her to stop talking, or stop looking at him with that expression and those eyes. Jason tried to understand when the last time someone had made him feel this way, or what was so special about this particular woman, when he heard a beep from the machine his IV bag was attached to, and realized he was on morphine.

When she extended her hand, Jason looked at it, and then at her face, quizzically. She might have just been resting it, but it seemed like she was offering it to him, or maybe it was just another effect of the morphine. None of that mattered though. Chambers reached over just slightly with his broken arm, as she had placed her hand within inches of his, and grazed her fingers with the pads of his fingertips. When she didn't move her hand away, he grew slightly bolder, until finally he found several of her hands wrapped in his. The cast on his arm went all the way to his wrist, crossing his palm, which made gripping things in it difficult, but didn't allow him to rotate his wrist either. While only able to hold her fingers, he felt the squeeze of her own grip in return, and a smile suddenly cut across his lips.

"Thank you," was all he said as he felt the effects of the latest dose of morphine start to cause his head to feel fuzzy and drowsiness to set in once again, "Would you mind just sitting for a while, with me, and just... talking?" The drugs made him completely incapable of embarrassment.

"I just would like it a lot if you just sat and talked and looked at me. It doesn't matter what you say, I just want your voice and your eyes right now, if you can. Please."

He didn't pay attention to the words she said after he learned her name, the tone of her voice just brought him back to a soft, safe place in his mind, and he was back asleep again in minutes.

[Vixere]

Celeste had stayed still, speaking quietly of who and what she was, until heavy and rhythmic breathing told her that he was soon asleep. Rising carefully, her fingers unwound from his own to pull away from his own. The blankets were pulled around him and she ran her hand over his hair, smoothing it. There was some comfort, at least for her, knowing he would be able to rest while on the morphine. Turning from the bed, she soundlessly left the room and took her coffee on the way.

The nurse had charted it all, feeling sad that he had not remembered prior conversations with previous medical staff. His tag of danger was stared at and then removed, a progress note entered, before she had finished up her work. The rest of her shift had been fairly routine, allowing her to take a shower once there was an ability to report off and take up her backpack. There was a glance down the unit before she looked to the older nurse, speaking quietly.

"If Chambers has any changes in condition, get me. I'll be sleeping on the couch."
"Don't you ever go home?"
"Not when I'm on a stretch."

Swinging the bag onto her shoulder, long strides took her to the locker room to clean away the stresses from the day.

---

Through the day, Jason would find that the nurse and aides were kind and patient, but they seemed more curt than Celeste. Of course, he was likely to quickly find out he was going to need a lot of help. The ladies helped him eat and drink, saw to all the minor things he could need - they all seemed to power through, as most staff did, though they often seemed to use his rank more than she had. Then again, Celeste was a civilian that had escaped away from stateside to come somewhere else.

It was late when Celeste came on shift, having overslept, with a large mug of coffee scented with cinnamon and vanilla, to get report before hitting the floor. Stethoscope around her neck and a blood pressure cuff in her pocket, there was a quiet knock on Jason's door before the nurse had entered. Dressed in navy today, a warm white fleece was unzipped and open.

"May I come in? I have to torture you with a set of vitals."

[Andrew Blade]

Awakening the next morning from a drug-riddled sleep, Staff Sergeant Chambers was still a little fuzzy about all of the details that led him to where he was, but he remembered the nurse from the night before. Her name began with a C, but he couldn't quite remember what it was. Thinking about her visit the night before sent a warm sensation through his chest that radiated out to the rest of his body- what he could feel anyway. He hoped she was on a regular shift there.

As other nurses came in and noticed his new level of alertness, they would exchange pleasantries, but none of them seemed particularly interested in much small talk. They had to have other patients that were in more critical conditions than he was. It was embarrassing and often difficult for Jason to ask for help when he needed something. Nurses turned the television on for him, but he didn't ask them to change the channel, settling for the AAFES channel that it was already on and the programming that came with it. When lunch came he just ate whatever they gave him. His own feelings of embarrassment meshed with his own perception of being a hassle to care for, and so he asked as little of them as possible. It was a nightmare whenever he developed an itch somewhere, but he just endured as best as he could.

When the doctor came in to speak with him, Jason said that the morphine could be turned down. The pain sucked- a lot- but he would rather fight it with "Ranger Candy"- 800mg of Ibuprofen- and maybe some codeine and water than be in a fog and have a hard time remembering everything all the time. Outside of that, he spent a lot of time throughout his day sleeping. His appetite sucked, even though he knew he should eat. With no control over his lower body, he was terrified of what would happen when his digestive system went to work. Having slept many hours of the day, however, he was wide awake when his new favorite ginger came in to the room that night.

"May I come in? I have to torture you with a set of vitals."

"I don't really see that I could do much to stop you," Jason replied, sounding a little more bitter than he meant to with the joke as she crossed the threshold.

"Thanks for sitting with me the night before," he tried to initiate more conversation than he had with the other nurses, "It really, reeeeeally sucks being stuck in here all day with no one to talk to and nothing to do but watch Reba on TV. They say an occupational therapist is going to come in tomorrow and talk about ways to deal with my new condition, but the doc told me today that he expects me to be able to walk again after a few more surgeries and some intense rehab. How long do you think they'll keep me here before they send me back stateside for recovery and rehab?"

[Vixere]

It was his bitter tone that caused a pause, as if she were thinking of coming back later, but his voice came again. It was only because of his attempt at conversation that she seemed to relax a bit, coming within after the door was shut behind her. Given it was getting late, she was surprised to see no aide or dinner tray within the room, but he surely had eaten, right? Coming to his bed side, one hip sank to sit on a hollow near his hip as the blood pressure cuff was extracted from her pocket. His question came when her attention was focused on finding a spot where it would not cause him undue pain to get her vitals.

Slowly, her eyes lifted a bit before she smirked a bit. "Well, given I heard that you're a bit stubborn, not long. It all depends on when they feel safe taking you home, honestly. Once you heal from this initial stay, you could request to head home if you're wanting to get back quickly. A lot of guys do." Finally, his muscular upper arm was chosen as she wrapped it with her device, taking her stethoscope to put it in her ears. "Little cold, okay?"

Once his pulse was found, the pressure came as quick as it went, the hissing of air deflating soon enough followed by the velcro being extracted from his flesh. The opposite hand soon enough got a finger taken for oxygen saturation and pulse, even as the thermometer was put beneath his tongue - all while writing down values.

"You're welcome," was finally said in response to his thanking her. "You know, it's not weakness to ask for help. The girls will do whatever it is you need, we don't mind." Once she had her readings, the probe cover was ejected into the trash and both tools were put into her pockets.

"Now, you're going to get used to me being a mother hen one way or another. That means two things - either myself or one of the aides needs to wash you up because I'm refusing to fight with a UTI, and I'm going to harp on you to eat. I know you're a tough guy and don't like to be fed, but I can go down to the caf and get you something better than the junk they're getting you as long as it's calories and a buffer between your stomach and a bleed from your medicine. Deal?"

Those pale eyes went to the television, then she leaned over him a bit to bring the remote closer to his casted arm so he could change the channel himself. It was both good for his independence and, she hoped, a distraction from her maternal drive to see her patients well cared for.

[Andrew Blade]

Awkward feelings rose up within Jason when the attractive nurse told him about washing him, and he accepted her admonishment that he needed to do a better job of asking for help. She had a very personable demeanor that made it much easier for him to relax and accept her genuine assistance and advice rather than feeling like a burden to everyone else. The other nurses were probably just as kind if he would allow them to be, but he had met this nurse the night before and he had already experienced her comforting bedside manner. A level of trust and acceptance had already been established with her, and the discomfort associated with entering that stage of a relationship was already past. It wasn't something he looked forward to trying to work through with someone else.

"Yeah," he replied, "I don't know how I'm going to do anything besides lie here. I'll admit, I know that I need to ask for help, I just hate feeling so dependent on other people, even though I know my feelings don't change the reality of it. It's just something I'm going to have to work through, you know?"

He looked up at her, catching her eye.

"I kind of feel okay talking to you about it, though, and asking you for help. I don't know why. I get the feeling that it's okay for me to let my guard down and let you do things for me. It's kind of weird. I hope you don't mind if I request your assistance with most things... Like washing up, or helping me eat."

[Vixere]

From where Celeste sat on his bed, he would find that she smiled a bit. It was a warm expression, even if he would be able to see the darkness beneath her pale orbs and a bit of a slouch in her posture. The nurse rarely slept well and didn't take the best care of herself, as most of them didn't. There just wasn't enough hours in the day to do her work, sleep and eat, and perform adequate self care.

"Well, my shifts max out at eighteen hours, and my contract means I'm off the floor at least two days a week. When I'm here and it's quiet and not chaos, I'll do my best to be here. As it stands, you're my most critical patient right now, so you're allotted most of my time as it is." Rising, Jason would be exposed to the fact that Celeste was pretty shrimpy - barely five feet, and generously curved. Despite her small stature, her presence made up for it.

"I'm going to grab some supplies to get you cleaned up, and I'll need to change some of your bandages. Find something good to listen to, yeah?" Those same legs carried her from the room, cracking the door behind her. Though it would likely feel like a lifetime to Jason, the nurse soon knocked and entered again with an armload of supplies along with a basin.

The hot water was run in the bathroom before the basin was filled and her supplies brought to be rested on his table. Gloves were pulled from her pocket as she seemed to settle in for the task. "Do you want to be shaved or are you going for the mountain man look while you're stuck here with me, handsome?"

[Andrew Blade]

Swallowing his pride was not something Chambers had learned to do very well. He couldn't recall off the top of his head any other time that he had felt so powerless, and it was quite possible that he never had. When his nurse finally came back, he knew that he was going to have to get past his discomfort and make the best of it. After all, an attractive, well-built woman was about to take his clothes off and touch his naked body. Sure she was wearing latex gloves and he couldn't even feel anything below his waist, but sometimes you have to take the little victories.

"Shaved?" he asked, his mind wandering for a bit before he realized exactly what she meant.

"OH!" he exclaimed in realization, "You mean my face. Let it grow out a bit, we'll see how it comes in and go from there."

His eyes averted from the woman as she prepared to expose his naked body. His embarrassment compounded by the natural deduction she would make from his comment about shaving, along with the fact that he wouldn't be able to help her adjust his body very much with his arms as badly hurt as they were and his spine still injured. Trying to quell the redness that flushed his cheeks, Jason closed his eyes and tried to tell himself to stop being so negative. An attractive woman was taking his clothes off- if you called a hospital gown clothes. That hadn't had that happen since the last time he was home over 12 months ago. It would be best to just enjoy it as best he could.

"I'm sure you get this all the time- and please, forgive my boldness- but if you see something you like... feel free to let me know."

A sheepish smile cut across his lips, and he realized that it was almost impossible to look her in the eye, "You don't have to, it'd just be nice if you did. -Like what you see, I mean. -Well, and tell me, but even if you don't tell me, it'd be nice if you liked something... I mean... You know what I mean."

[Vixere]

Her small hands were busily unwrapping supplies when Jason realized she had spoken about shaving his face, which only earned a relaxed smile before she laughed. The sound was warm and welcoming, even as she popped open the aloe-based cleanser she had been carrying in her pocket.

"You might be the only military man I've met that's willing to let his beard grow while in my clutches." Putting that soap down, she soon leaned forward and her hands slid behind his neck to untie the hospital gown carefully, but quickly. "Do me a favor?" When his attention was on her and she was unsnapping the grommets, a smile overtook her again. "Take a deep breath. If you can shower naked with other men, you can handle this just as well, yeah?"

Pulling the gown down to his waist, it was left there as she quietly examined the bruising on his body before retrieving a washcloth and soaping it up. Soon enough, she was washing him without fanfare. Each pass was gentle and warm, replacing the sterile scents of surgery with something more normalized.

"Did you decide what sounds good for food yet? I was debating on a burger, myself. Medium rare, maybe a fried egg on top. They make bomb fries too." Eyeing his shoulder, Celeste deftly avoided particularly tender flesh.

"And I saw a tattoo, when I was doing your assessments. What's the story behind that?" Rinsing his skin next, it was dried as she went. "I have a couple, myself." Drying one of her gloves, the edge of her neckline was pulled down as she bent low, showing the edge of a tree. "I'd have to show you a picture, I think. I have the World Tree over most of my back, but I still need to get my color finished."

[Andrew Blade]

Celeste's advice was solid, and he was getting into his own head way too much. Taking a deep breath like the petite redhead had told him, he let it out and tried to relax- as much as he could with his body rigged up the way it was. Surprisingly, he found that if he focused on her- her words, her voice, her lips- it was a lot easier to forget his feelings of emasculation and tell himself that what she was doing was her job, and something he needed her to do. Moving forward, Chambers needed to start accepting his circumstances and doing what he could to make the best of it. This woman disrobing him while he was practically immobile removed every last vestige from him. Never in his adult life did Jason imagine being this physically vulnerable before, but he was becoming comfortable with it- with her at least.

"Food... I haven't had anything to eat really in forever," he admitted as she soaped his naked torso, "I'll have to take your recommendation. Medium rare sounds good too. I don't know how much of it I'll be able to finish, but it's worth a shot if you'll help me eat it. Probably better to cut it up and use a fork, though- just the burger, I mean, not the fries."

With a smile, the patient closed his eyes and tried again to relax while this woman bathed him with a warm cloth. As he grew more accustom to it, the more difficult of a time he found he was having not being aroused. If he weren't basically helpless, he might have made a pass at her.

"Ah, which tattoo is that?" he wondered, bringing himself back to the moment, "The Japanese symbols down the back of my neck read 'Mugen no Jyuunin' which translates to 'Inhabitant of Infinity.' Kind of a play on immortality- which I guess rings true after surviving an ordeal like the one that put me here. I think I'd like to see any you have to show me. I figure it's only fair since you're seeing more of me than any other girl before the end of the first date."

[Vixere]

The woman gave a nod as he spoke about his food, though a chuckle would answer him. "I was thinking that it would be nice to give you some real food, which means you can take your first bite. If you're so concerned, I can wash your face after." An easy smile was given, hoping to break more tension as she kept up cleaning him. If his slumbering manhood stiffened, she hadn't made a comment at all. When she went lower along his body, the sheet was pulled away like his gown was, leaving him completely nude.

"I should hire you to be my personal trainer when you're aces again," came the compliment, though she didn't pause in her task. For her, though the male was certainly attractive, right now wasn't a good place to be getting attached or planning on asking him to have coffee.

From his head to his toes, it was easy enough to soap, rinse, and dry him. However...

"I'm going to turn you. Take a breath, scream if you need to, but I don't think it'll be bad. It won't take me long." Using the sheet beneath the man, Chambers would likely be surprised at how easily the petite nurse rolled him into the side wth the cast, though she had held true to her word. In lures than the minutes, she had completed the steps and was guiding him back.

Shaking out a clean gown, she was soon enough placing it over him, leaving close enough that the man could have embraced her if his arms would obey him.

Once the nurse was standing on her own again, the left side of her scrub top was lifted to show the edge of a tattoo that spanned her hip - blue roses. "When I get back from getting our food, I'll show you pictures. Sounds fair?"

[Andrew Blade]

When his nurse started cleaning below his waist, he was both grateful and disappointed that he couldn't feel anything below his waist. He purposely found something interesting on the other side of the room to inspect while she scrubbed his manhood, not wanting to see if his cock responded to her touch.

A smile interrupted his discomfort while she scrubbed his lower body and commented that he would make a good personal trainer. He was immediately reminded of some of the videos he'd seen being traded among the guys in the barracks that involved an attractive woman and her male personal trainer.

"Darling," he said, realizing after the fact that she might not appreciate the affectionate pet name, but hoping she'd forgive him anyway, "When I'm aces again, I would be absolutely delighted to be your personal trainer, your masseur, and even your personal chef for a night or two. I know that this is your job, but I don't know if I'll ever be able to do anything that would repay the kindness and assistance you've given me."

When she announced she was going to turn him, though, he chuckled, "I don't think you can turn someone who's already straight," but even so, he gritted his teeth and prepared himself for the pain that would undoubtedly course through both his arms when she shifted his body. He grunted once, but otherwise did his best to hide the physical torture he felt. Chambers regretted having them take him off the higher dose of morphine, but that couldn't be helped now. When she was finally done, he let out the breath he'd been holding throughout the process and sighed- his heart rate slowly returning back to normal as she dressed him again.

Before Celeste left, the petite picture of a hot nurse that Jason was having trouble scrubbing from his mind was made worse when she lifted her scrubs to reveal her bare hip.

"Dinner, and a show?" he responded with a smirk, "Sounds fair to me!"

[Vixere]

Darling.

That little purr of a pet name had meant more than the soldier had probably wanted it to, her stomach fluttering and a warmth spreading up her chest in a way that, after years of devotion to work, felt foreign. It was likely for the best that all Celeste had been able to manage was a chuckle in response, though her lips had formed into a curvy grin without knowing it. If only she could tell him that it was impossible to let people in, he might have realized it would be like fighting in a burning house.

Gathering up her supplies, the bandage changes were going to have to wait while he got some actual food in his stomach and his spirits lifted. Crouching to begin putting it all together, she couldn't help but give a soft laugh as the linens and trash were bagged up and lobbed towards the door.

"I like doing what I do, Mister Chambers... healing, it has honor of its own, at least from my heritage." Settling back against her worn Puma shoes, the grip thankfully kept her aloft. "You don't have to thank me or serenade me, you just have to get better to get back to your life." A smirk was forced onto her lips. "Besides, I'm sure you have plenty of women that will be crawling all over you stateside." It was as best a rejection she could give, but it felt like someone had thrown acid on that wonderful feeling that had previously been there by that one, simple word. "I will say, though - if you're still here and your hands are working, I wouldn't turn down a good foot massage. Eighteens are killer on your tootsies."

Rising to stand, it seemed to take a little effort more than she would have liked. Stretching and yoga had been thrown to the wayside for sleep months ago.

"I have to toss these, then I'll be back with your food and mine. I could use a few minutes to rest anyway, and I did say I'd show you ink." With a smirk, the nurse was gone out the door with her mess with just a whisper of her shoes on the floor.

It felt like a lifetime waiting in the cafeteria for the food to be ready. With a hand on her nose bridge, she pinched there to remind herself not to get attached. Jason Chambers was her patient, she had to keep a line drawn. It didn't matter that he was friendly, right? Though, the thought of spending time with him didn't much feel like work to get him something good to eat, or just to chat and take their minds from the reality that she had run from the States and he had been practically blown up.

When she heard her name, she was pulled from that place in her head to grab the tray and head back up to her floor. Snaking a couple bottles of Coke and a straw along with a handful of napkins from the lounge, it felt strangely surreal. Stopping at the linen closet to grab a couple towels before she knocked on the door, the nurse soon enough entered again without her tools aside the stethoscope that seemed to hang perpetually around her neck.

Pulling his table over towards her, the tray was set down and the armchair nearby was yanked closer.

"You weren't diabetic, so I grabbed you a regular Coke. Figured it would be a nice change from water, and all the juices here always taste watered down." Leaning over, a towel was tucked into his gown to protect it, even as her bare fingers were tickled by the beginnings of a beard. "And we can share the fries, I always feel like they give me a pound of them anyway."

[Andrew Blade]

After Celeste left, Chambers wasn't sure how to exactly process his infatuation with his nurse. He didn't know how much longer he'd be here, or how unhealthy it was to try to cultivate some kind of relationship. She had totally just touched his cock and balls, and a part of him was incredibly upset that he hadn't even been able to feel it. He tried to push that down, though, and pushed the buttons on the remote for the TV the gorgeous redhead had left in his hand before she left.

There wasn't a lot on, but Jason managed to find a UFC fight that he had missed over the course of the deployment and was being replayed on the Armed Forces Network. Robbie Lawler was a fighter he had remembered watching since the early 2000's, and it was good to see him competing at an elite level again. Watching the fight was a bitter reminder of his own injuries and new limitations, however. He remembered his time in the combatives gym back at home, and the local MMA gym he'd gone to as well. In his younger days, he had actually competed on an amateur level, and seeing two grown men in their physical prime test each other physically in ways that he didn't know he'd ever be able to again.

Midway through the third round, Sergeant Chambers' attractive nurse returned, a tray full of food that smelled fantastic in her hand. Chambers sat quietly while she arranged dinner for the both of them.

"Thank you," he told her before she offered a bite of a hamburger for him. He closed his eyes when he tasted the fresh burger and sighed. It was delicious, and for just a moment, he tried to stop worrying so God damn much about everything and just be a man laying in a hospital bed eating dinner served to him by a beautiful woman who seemed to actually want his company.

As they ate, Jason explained to her his own history with the sport of mixed martial arts while they watched it on tv. She continued to feed him his burger and coke and split her fries with him. It was DFAC food, but it wasn't bad at all. Chambers always thought it was weird that the Army trained cooks, but contracted out their food prep and cooking to civilian agencies. For the rest of the time that he could, he just tried to forget his problems and the future and the past and just be present with Celeste there. It was difficult, but for a few moments in that time frame, he was pretty happy.

[Vixere]

Celeste had taken a fair bit to seemingly relax fully, though the redhead proved to be a good listener. Somehow, she had not been surprised when he had revealed that he had once participated in mixed martial arts - his form alone was too fit to be that of a passive military man. Part of her felt some hurt at knowing how much muscle mass he was going to lose in recovery, and her heart broke at the knowledge that not being able to move his legs had to be like being completely trapped within his own flesh. At the same time, having that much knowledge on how to hurt people also struck a chord in her, as if sending up a red flag to stay away... but, for now, he was harmless and she could enjoy his company.

Every bite was a little victory for them both - Chambers needed to eat, and Celeste felt a bare bit of pride knowing that she had been able to get him to do so. Every sip of Coke, every fry was something in his stomach that would give his body fuel to begin recovery.

One leg folded up under her, she had eventually shown him pictures - they were tasteful, but she had shown him progress of completing the large World Tree on her back, the healed version of the blue roses on her hip. Her right ankle held a Celtic triangle, and a Viking compass rested on her left foot.

"I would show you my solar plexus piece, but... well, the only shot I have of it only has my arm covering me, so I think that's one earned," was chuckled after a moment, her iPhone slid into her cargo pocket. Gathering up the garbage onto the tray, she had been slow to rise from the seat, as if it felt a monumental effort. Just sitting with the man and relaxing had been strangely comforting. "I have some things to see to, but I'll try to get in here before morning to get your bandages changed, so long as things don't get crazy tonight. Try to get some sleep though, okay? It's the best thing you can do to heal."

Using her hip to bump his table back into place, she had given a grin and touched his shoulder before she had left the room. It hadn't been a grip, but a nearly affectionate gesture. Even still, as the door was cracked behind her to filter out the noise of the hospital, Celeste hadn't been able to drop the ease that she felt in his presence.

---

The night had proven to be anything but quiet. If Jason was awake for any of it, he would have heard the insanity that had happened - the scuffle of people, the calling of security and codes. Celeste's voice had been with it all, but the last incident had happened not long before the end of shift.

"Stand down, I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to help--" Those had been the only words she had been able to say to a man lost in psychosis before he had lunged at her, larger and physically stronger despite the broken leg that should have made him be on crutches. Before she had been able to think, he had ended up in a choke hold and security had come running, managing to pry the man off before he had either crushed her wind pipe or she had gone limp. Even still, it didn't mean there was any less alarm when she had collapsed to sit in a pile on the floor with a mixture of gasps and shock.

It had been sudden and violent, and she could feel the swelling and bruising before it would have even been present. Helped to her feet by other staff, she had been slow to fill out the paperwork and report off to the other nurse before she had gotten herself a coffee. Standing before the machine, she had almost thought about sleeping on the couch before there was a curse, paying for a second one. Dumping ice into it and grabbing a straw, her feet had taken her right back to 516, where she had been able to relax earlier.

Managing to knock quietly on the door, her form lingered for a moment before the ginger had entered and stood a few feet from his bed.

"Mind if I sit with you for a few minutes? I brought some morning coffee."

[Andrew Blade]

Chambers had been visited during the evening by a surgeon that told him they wanted to take him into surgery in the next few days to help remove some of the shrapnel that was cutting in to his spine. It sounded like they were hoping to return feeling and function to his lower extremities, but the doc was careful to avoid sounding particularly hopeful. Jason didn't know if it was worth getting excited over or not, but he was excited to talk to Celeste about it the next time he saw her. The following morning he'd been awake for a few hours already when she stopped by his room.

"Darling, please," he smiled when he heard her request, "I would take a few minutes with my favorite nurse on my best and worst days."

A noticeably small smile was her only response as she crossed the threshold and arranged the extra coffee she had brought so he could sip it through a straw. Her demeanor was more forced than usual, and the bruising around her neck added to his assessment.

"Rough shift...?" he started, but continued before she had to figure out how to explain what she'd been through for the past 12 hours, "For what it's worth, I learned a long time ago that one of the best ways to deal with someone trying to slip their arm around your throat is to turn your chin towards the crook of their elbow and tuck it so that it gets in the way. It works 90% of the time."

[Vixere]

Once she had been allowed in, her steps had been almost timid and quiet, though she had spent more time worrying about the straw in his coffee than about the bruises around her fair throat. Instead, she had finally sunk down to sit when he spoke, asking the question that had brought her pale eyes up for the first time since she had entered his private room.

It was his advice that seemed to calm her anxiety a bit, her features going from mechanical to a bit more genuine as she managed a nod, her coffee placed down as she leaned forward and let Jason take a drink first.

"I guess I should have thought about what you guys are trained to do. It was stupid and dangerous of me," came her words, though they certainly weren't very calming or confident in herself. "But next time, I'll try to remember to tuck my chin down."

Sitting back into her chair once more, a deep breath was taken as she realized that her heartbeat was slowing and calming in the uncomfortable arm chair, at least for now. Her legs didn't cross, remaining a bit spread with her elbows on her knees.

A half-laugh was managed, but the nurse sounded exhausted. "I don't know why I came here. I guess... I just felt like I needed to not be alone, I guess. I can leave, if you want."