inhotwater | BORDERLANDS AU 1

[There's a sound. Something about it seems familiar, but somehow, he's having trouble placing it.

And there's... an odd feeling. Someone holding his hand? Honestly, he thinks that might just be his brain playing tricks on him.

So there's no reaction to his name getting called out, not really.

But as Oswald peers into the rubble, through it, he'll be able to see someone there. Edward's form. Still, too still, but it's hard to tell if that's because of the rubble or because he's not breathing. If he thinks to check a pulse, however, he'll realize there is one.

Faint. But present.

What is visible of Edward doesn't look right. He's injured. Badly. Though the extent of it... is impossible to see, like this. Not until he's dug out of the rubble. Though there is a sound, if Oswald focuses. Barely audible. A quiet wheezing.

The sign of someone having trouble breathing.]

[no reaction, nothing--but it's definitely Edward. And for a moment Oswald is completely still, barely daring to breathe...before he hears it. A quiet breath. Wheezed and not sounding great but it's there--and he swallows hard, immediately sitting up, frantic, still clutching Edward's limp hand in his]

Butch! Help, I've--I found him! Hurry!

[and he's turning his attention back to the rubble, already trying to figure out what should come off first. He can barely reach for anything when Butch is already there, and Oswald hears a muttered "Holy shit--" before he's already in there, starting to pull a couple pieces off. He looks up at Butch, starting to reach to help, because what else can he do--except then Butch's voice, firm and steady.]

"Go get Doctor Thompkins."

[it's a good idea, but he doesn't want to leave Edward--]

--but--

"Now!"[it's snapped, grunted as he starts lifting a ver heavy piece of cement] "Tell her to bring a stretcher, we're going to need it."

[part of him wants to snap back, to yell back because that's the kneejerk reaction but...Butch is right. And Oswald squeezes Edward's hand--before scrambling to his feet.]

Right. Okay, right! [and with that, he's booking it for the medical tent]

[The weight, the pressure, suddenly... lessens. That should be a good thing, a great thing, but Edward's barely aware of it at all. Things are happening around him, there are sounds, light is finally spilling in, but everything is just... one big blur to him, right now.

And as Butch continues pulling off rubble, he'll see the state of Edward. It's not good.

There's the cuts, bruises, the small injuries of having been hit by a blast and buried under rubble. That... would be one thing.

But there's blood. A lot of it and more, now, as the pressure is taken off of the wound, letting the blood flow again. Though the side of Edward is already covered in blood regardless. Which is where the real problems become obvious.

His right arm is gone. There's nothing there, at all, just a wound bleeding out at his shoulder, some ugly looking burns on the skin around it. So not from the collapsing rubble, no, that's from the initial blast.

His face is in similar bad shape. Covered in blood. At first it might just seem like blood from a head wound leaking over and that's certainly part of it, but the right eye socket looks... bad. It's a horrible, awful wound, blood leaking out... The odds of saving that are looking pretty damn grim.

And that's only what's immediately visible. Who even knows what's going on inside, right now, after being stuck under crushing rubble for that long? His ribs are probably not doing great, for one. And the rest... Well.

The doctor's going to have a time with all of this.]

"Holy shit, Eddie--"[Butch swallows hard, already dropping to one knee once he's got some of that rubble cleared and pulling off his tie to wrap it around what's left of Edward's shoulder like a tourniquet. Or at least a very rough version of one.

No sooner does he have that finished that Dr. Thompkins appears, followed by a stretcher, two aides and, of course, Oswald and the rest of the Gentoos. As if they would stay behind.

Oswald goes immediately white as a sheet as the blood drains from his face] Edward--

[and he starts to take a step forward, but Dr. Thompkins is already in his way, shouting orders to her aides about what they need to do, how to get him on the stretcher, what she's going to need--]

"You--go back to the tent and prep for surgery, sterlize everything--does anyone know what blood type he is?!"

I-I, no, no, that's not something we--[Oswald's voice is hoarse and thin--and Lee immediately interrupts him]

"Fine--" [and she's back to her aide] "Get some O negative prepared, he's going to need a transfusion--" [even as she's speaking, they're situation Edward onto one of those boards, gently rolling him onto his back.] "You!" [she turns to Butch] "Help us get him onto the stretcher."

[and with that, it's another bit of coordinated movement to get Edward loaded up onto the stretcher, and then they're at a cautious fast-walk back to the tent, the rest of the Gentoos and Oswald trailing behind. As they approach, there's a separate part of the tent, closed off by a curtain, being held open by the aide from before. This looks like the surgical area. Oswald, of course, starts to follow--but he immediately gets Lee turning on him, finger in his face]

"No, Oswald! You're staying out here."

But--

[again, she's right, but he can't help--]

"I need to work and I can't do that with you hovering. Now stay!" [it's snapped, harsh, before she's turning away, and Oswald's hackles start to go up--]

[when he's tugged back by Ivy. She's got a hand on his arm, her grip surprisingly strong]

C'mon, Pengy. You gotta let her work.

[she can feel the tension in his muscles, trembling, but she tugs him back never the less, drawing him away. It helps, to focus on his distress rather than her own, after all. She's scared witless. It looked bad and she doesn't want anything to happen to Edward but Oswald's in distress and if she focuses on that, she can cry later. So she'll draw him away, the rest of the Gentoos either following or scattering to find something to eat or drink or even take a nap. They haven't rested either, so now's the time, really.]

[And it is going to be a lot of work. There's the blood transfusion, doing something about those bleeding wounds, of course, and... well. The eye is a no-go, already far too damaged, there's nothing really left to save. The burns around his shoulder and along the side of his abdomen are going to need treatment, as well, though they haven't spread very far. Small mercies.

Several of his ribs are definitely broken and he's having some trouble breathing, still, even now that he's out of the rubble.

It's mainly those things that are the highest priority. He seems to have been lucky enough to avoid any serious internal damage, for a... given definition of lucky, anyhow. It's going to be close, everything, but at least none of his organs have been ruptured by anything.

...He's not okay, by any means. But he might just make it...]

[despite how all the Gentoos have scattered, they eventually all crowd back up together to await whatever verdict Lee is going to bring them. They're all sitting on various bits of rubble or the ground, all clumped together, quite like their namesake. Selena's gone and fallen asleep on Bridget, who is sitting next to Victor, the two of them doing some calculations for the shield. Ivy is between Selena and Oswald, and Butch has settled behind them on a chunk of concrete. Oswald is, for once in his life, quiet. Almost too quiet. He stares blankly at the closed curtain to the operation area, hands fisted in his lap, clenched on each other, surrounded by the ruins of his metaphorical kingdom.

This is his fault. All of it. It's his own hubris that lead to this, thinking he knew better, thinking he knew Pandora better--and now look where he is, where they are, where Edward is.

This is the cost of his arrogance, and Edward, more than anyone, has had to pay the price. Not to mention the damage to everyone's research labs, what might've been lost. The injured Icicles. His Citadel may have become a target of Handsome Jack eventually but...Oswald just sped the process along. He should be in the one in there, not Edward.

...finally, Lee emerges. She looks tired, because she is tired--and Oswald is scrambling to his feet anyway, the others quickly following suit. Oswald feels like his heart is in his throat and he's strangled, unable to speak. Fortunately, Lee's already doing so even as he starts to open his mouth to try anyway.]

"He'll live. He's in pretty bad shape, but as long as we keep an eye on him, he'll recover eventually."[she presses her lips together] "We should get him back to my hospital, though. He needs another blood transfusion and a lot of the drugs he'll need are there." [at Oswald's numb nod, she continues] "His right arm...it's gone. I wasn't able to salvage his eye, either. He has extensive burns on his right side and some broken ribs from the rubble, not to mention the dust and dirt he's breathed in. But...no punctures. Despite the fractures, he managed to avoid pretty much almost all internal bleeding. So there's that. I do want to take him back to the hospital right away, though."

[she pauses, narrowing her eyes at Oswald]"But before I do...you wanna tell me why the hell you guys got hit by moonshots?"

[Oswald's mouth presses into a thin line] What does that matter, exactly?! He needs help--

"Because I should know what I'm getting my hospital full of doctors, nurses, and a lot of sick people into!"[snapped back, interrupting him--she's not about to have any of that horseshit] "I'm not saying I won't treat him or take him there, Oswald, but I need to know what to be prepared for."[her voice is low, stepping in so she's almost nose to nose with him. Oswald's jaw works, clenching, that anger still boiling blow the surface]

....he used to work for Handsome Jack. He found out some information Jack doesn't want to share, and now he wants him dead.

[At that, Lee leans back with a small huff.]

"...right. So probably better to pretend that he's dead for now, while he's recovering."

[Oswald blinks at that] Ah....yes?

"Yes. This isn't my first rodeo, Oswald." [drlyly] "Put out some kind of bounty or something. A prize for Jack's head. Make an angry, tearful announcement. Sell it like I know you can." [she reaches out to put a hand on his shoulder] "You take care of that, and stay here and start to rebuild. In the mean time, we can say someone else is in the hospital, in order to have a reason for all of you to visit."

[her eyes flick over the rest of the Gentoos]

"Who wants to volunteer?" [there's a brief hesitance, because being laid up like that means that no research is getting done--but after a moment, Selena just raises her hand]

"Sure, why not. I could use a break of sitting around and doing nothing."

"Good." [and with that, Lee's stepping back]"You're coming in the transport with us, then. Let's go." [and she's turning to walk towards the large transporter van that they all came in, and Selena moves to follow, turning to salute them]

"See ya, nerds." [and with that, she's hurrying after Lee.

And there's a silence that settles over them for a moment. And Oswald wants to scream. He wants to throw things and tear something apart and probably cry but

None of that would do Edward any good. So he swallows, hard, before clapping his hands together]

Well! It seems we have a job to do and a video to record. Butch! Come help me with this! Ivy, Victor, Bridget, get some rest.

[there's a moment--a flicker of uncertainty among them--]

Now! Let's go! [snapped--and that's enough to jolt them out of it. Ivy reaches out to squeeze Oswald's arm before she's being ushered away by Bridget, Victor bringing up the rear. Oswald turns, starting to walk towards the technicals. He can hear Butch's footsteps start to follow him, quickly catching up. ]

"....where're we gonna film?"

[Oswald hums in his throat] In front of the wreckage, I think. For maximum impact.

"Right. I'll hold the light and the camera, you ham it up?"

Exactly. Though I don't know how much hamming will be necessary. [there's a dark color to his voice, guilt and regret, horror, anger, rage. Butch glances down at him...before he nods]

"You got it, boss."

[Edward isn't expecting to wake up again.

When he does... he almost expects to still be stuck in the same place, stuck underneath rubble. Back to the agonizing slow wait until his body finally gets with the program and shuts down.

The first thing that clues him in that something's off is the lack of pain. Well. No, not quite the lack of it, entirely, but it's all drowned out. It feels more numb than anything and it's... a relief. Enough of one that he drifts off again, for a little longer.

When he snaps back to consciousness, he tries to open his eyes. Only one actually does. He doesn't quite... wonder about that, yet, mind still catching up with everything happening. And he blinks a little, blearily. Trying to take in what he's seeing.]

[it's...a hospital room. White walls, no windows, a curtain pulled. There's a bedside table, and a chair next to his bedside.

And sitting in that chair, reading a book, one of her feet propped up on the steel frame, leaning the chair back on two legs is...Selena.

It's been a couple days, so she's cleaned up now and back in her casual clothes. There isn't much to do other than hang out and keep an eye on Edward, which is kind of boring, but it definitely gives her time to just...relax.

So that's what she's doing. Relaxing.]

[It takes a bit, before his mind is awake enough to actually start connecting any dots. He's not... entirely there, yet, but after a slight delay he squints a little, to focus his vision.

Which isn't much, but even blurry, he recognizes that person.]

...Cat?

[His voice is quiet, kind of hoarse. But he manages to force the word out, at least.]

[it takes a moment--a pause in her reading, a frown, glancing up--and then her eyes widen, almost comically.]

"Holy shit, you're awake." [she lets the chair drop back down onto four legs, closing the book and dropping it on the chair as she pushes to her feet. Selena leans on the railing of the bed, smirking down at him] "Welcome back to the land of the living, Eddie."

[Edward blinks a few more times, just... tiredly shifting his head a little so he's got a better view of her. That's... harder than it should be. He hasn't put together why yet.]

Kinda... didn't see that one coming...

[Kind of a wry sarcastic comment there, but honestly, he was fully expecting to be dead by now.]

[yeah, Selena's gonna just arch an eyebrow at that one]

"What, the moonshot? Or you being in the land of the living?"

The latter, mostly...

[He thinks that over for a moment.]

...I guess both, technically.

[He's... feeling a little sluggish, here, so the response is a bit slow. There's a lot of drugs in his system, right now, which is helping him not be in horrible agony.]

"I mean, technically you are kinda dead officially. I'm your injured stand-in. Hence why I'm stuck hanging out here." [she sounds more dryly amused than put out, though]

"But hey! Actually, you're not dead. So that's a bonus. And whatever you did with the shield saved, like, half the Citadel and Ivy and Victor so good job there."

[He squints... more, at that. Selina, please, he's far too out of it to follow along with all of this.]

I'm... huh?

[He's very confused. Selina. Why.]

[yeah he looks very confused. She just huffs a bit, and waves a hand]

"Don't worry about it. Hold on, though, I gotta let Dr. Thompkins know you're awake--"[Selina leans over, pushing a button on the side of his bed, and there's a low buzzer noise] "There. Fulfilled my civic duty."

Oh... okay...

[He keeps trying to focus his vision, but she's just a little too far away for that to work, really, without his glasses. And--

He blinks, suddenly realizing part of the problem. It feels like... there's something over his other eye. A bandage, maybe? He tries to touch it to confirm, except... one of his arms feels a little stuck. IV drip... oh. Hospital. That makes sense.

And... no response on his other side.

...If he was just a little less awake, he'd wonder about that more. Right now, it's really just... one step at a time.]

[which is about the time that Lee comes in--and Selina's backing up to get out of her way as she leans into Edward's field of vision. She smiles a little, gently]

"Hi Edward. I'm Doctor Leslie Thompkins. I'm taking care of you for now. Are you in any pain?"

[He blinks, at Lee's appearance, and it... takes a few moments for her words to register properly.]

No, I... I don't think so...

[Very numb, maybe. Weird. Not... good, really, but no pain that he's noticed.]

"Okay. That's a good start. Can you tell me what you last remember?"

Mostly I remember... being stuck under a bunch of debris, after part of the Citadel collapsed...

[He remembers that pretty clearly, in fact. It felt like it was forever.]

"Yes, that certainly happened. You were dug out and then transferred to my hospital."

Mhm, I think I... I kind of figured out that part...

Got that far...

[But that's... good. Not dead. He's not stuck anymore, he can breathe again, all good things.]

"That's good. Your cognitive abilities seem intact so far, so that's a good sign. You need to heal a bit longer before we talk about other issues, so for now I'm going to put you back under so you can sleep a bit longer, alright?"

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