For the rest of the day and the next night, Caspian mostly slept. Apparently a side effect of one of the medications the doctor had placed him on was that it made him incredibly drowsy. He napped for a few hours at a time, waking up intermittently either on his own or because a nurse had stopped by to check on him. Each time, he felt a small stab of disappointment that he hadn’t had anymore visitors. As his anger had worn off, the strong emotions that had fueled him to lash out at his father had been replaced with regret for doing so. He wished he hadn’t said some of the things that had tumbled out of his mouth in unfiltered rage.
Although he didn’t regret finally standing up to the king and telling him about all the hurt that had been brewing inside of him since he was a child, he felt like a complete dick for accusing Atlas of not loving him as a son and for telling him to go to hell. If the monarch really did love him, he’d probably been deeply wounded by those allegations, especially since he’d made the trip from their home to the hospital just to see him when he woke up. It was no wonder he hadn’t come back to see him again since then. Cas couldn’t blame him for still being upset though, selfishly, he wished his father would return so they could have a more civil conversation about it. He wanted to apologize for blowing up and try to reconcile so the fight wouldn’t scar their relationship.
That’s assuming he’s willing to make amends for his part though, he thought, staring dully up at the ceiling. He’d woken up from his most recent nap a few minutes ago, and all he could think about was what to do in regard to his father. Being the good person that he was, he felt remorse for the way he’d spoken out against the king and was tempted to go crawling back to Atlas and beg for his forgiveness. However, this was also a turning point for them. If his father wasn’t willing to apologize for everything he’d done to him, then there would be nowhere for them to go from here. Atlas hadn’t been the only one who’d been slighted in that discussion, after all. He needed to hear that the monarch regretted accusing him of being mentally incompetent or else it would just be yet another demoralizing encounter added to his growing collection.
No matter what, the hypothetical talk was nothing more than his imagination as long as his father wasn’t willing to come back and visit him again. He wondered if he should just go back to sleep instead of keep ruminating on it, but before he could, someone knocked on his door and stepped inside. He turned his head and immediately blanched at the sight of the doctor and Jacob—he’d noticed a few hours ago that the guard was loitering around the hospital. If they had just appeared to check on him, he would have been happy to have company, but he knew what this was about.
The last time the pair had arrived together, it was because the doctor had stopped in to give him his next round of Accuparacin. He’d reviewed his vital signs and opened the front of his hospital gown to examine his chest and then revealed an enormous needle that had been almost as terrifying as Ethan’s gun to the prince who had a phobia of medical equipment. The doctor had noticed the way the color drained from his face at the sight and had Jacob stand in the room for moral support while he injected the painful medication directly into the swollen tissue around his broken ribs and wrist. Now, another six hours must have passed, and he was due for the last series of injections.
“Good morning, Your Highness,” the doctor greeted him politely, taking a seat in a wheeled chair and rolling it over to the side of his bed. “How are you feeling?”
“Better every time I wake up,” Cas replied, unable to help but visually search the man for his instrument of torture as he spoke.
The doctor noticed his wandering eyes and smiled at him warmly. He had a savvy bedside manner, the prince had to give him that. “I brought Mr. Curry with me,” he point out obviously. “Perhaps you can tell him how you’re feeling in more detail while I take a look at your ribs.”
Cas knew that was code for ‘look away before you see the fat needle.’ Heartbeat quickening with anxiousness, he turned his head toward Jacob, who’d come round to stand on his other side. Instead of talking about himself, though, he eyed the guard curiously as he felt the doctor unbuttoning the top of his hospital gown. “Have you gotten any sleep?” he asked. “Or were you just waiting around here for me all night?”
“Yes to both,” Jacob replied, watching the procedure with quiet interest. Unlike Caspian, he wasn’t squeamish in the slightest and found the treatment fascinating. Aspiria’s medicines were the best in their part of the world, and he enjoyed learning about them. “I stayed here for the night, but I found some time to rest.”
“Is my dad okay with you being here with me?” Cas asked a little bitterly.
“He’s been resting since the yesterday, so I haven’t asked,” Jacob shrugged. “I’m not only here for you though.”
“What do you mean—” Cas started and then inhaled sharply.
“That was just the alcohol swab,” the doctor said calmly. “It’s a good sign that you can breathe in so deeply though.”
The prince swallowed hard and nodded, bracing himself for the next part. Both he and Jacob stopped talking, since they knew he wouldn’t be able to hold a coherent conversation while the injection took place. Cas’s mind went blank, and he closed his eyes, then grimaced as he felt the needle pierce his chest. The process was agonizingly slow, and even though it wasn’t a very deep shot, the skin and muscles in the area were so tender that it felt like the doctor was burying the needle all the way into the middle of his body. “Fuck,” he hissed, curling his good hand into a fist as the Accuparacin was released. The medicine burned and stung at the same time, and he fought the urge to writhe against the pain, knowing that he’d just make his bruising worse if he squirmed.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness,” the doctor apologized sympathetically as he removed the needle. “I started with the most sensitive area this time, so the rest shouldn’t be as painful.”
“Thanks…” Cas murmured.
After two more injections, one in his other fractured rib and one in his wrist, the doctor announced that the worst was over and that he would send someone in with breakfast for him to eat while his discharge was arranged. Cas thanked him once more and waited until he was gone before he turned back to Jacob. “So you said you’re here for someone else?” he asked, curious who the taciturn guard had stayed to see if not him. A sly smile crossed his lips as he added teasingly, “Is it that blonde nurse? She looks like she’s close to your age.”
Jacob rolled his eyes. “You say that like I’m an old man.”
“You act like an old man sometimes,” Cas said cheekily.
Ignoring the remark, the guard replied, “I’m here because there was an… incident at the penitentiary that resulted in a prisoner being sent to the hospital for treatment. It’s nothing that you need to be concerned about.” Knowing how fond the prince was of Iris and finding out that she was supposedly in love with him, he felt like it was best not to give Caspian any specifics. He had no idea how he would react if he found out the rebel girl was in a room just two floors below him. “In fact, I should go and check on that prisoner now,” he added, bowing to the prince as he attempted to dodge any further questions.
“Oh, okay,” Cas frowned. Assuming it was just another fight between inmates, he didn’t interrogate the guard any further. “You’ll be giving me a lift back home later though, right?”
“Of course, Your Highness,” Jacob assured him. With nothing left to say, he slipped out of the room and made his way to the stairs, heading down two flights and striding along the corridor that would take him back to Iris. When he reached the right door, he lifted his hand and knocked twice, waiting in the hall just in case she was up and about by now. Not spending much time around women in general, he erred on the side of caution when it came to matters of decency.
Snowdrops,
ppppppppp,
ShiningAsh,
sukikyoufu,
Rapture,
Knight 7,
Red Schuhart,
Damycles,
Dion,
shylarah