Hold on, dear love

[bigdamnhiro]

[x]

[He's pretty sure some of the EMTs know him on sight now. He's been in enough ambulances recently for it.

After administering oxygen for the smoke inhalation and treating and gauzing a few minor burns on his hands and face, the nurses shuffle him off to an empty room and stick him in a chair by the window to wait for his aunt. They won't tell him much about his brother, but he's not stupid; he can guess Tadashi's in the ER right now, in what condition he doesn't know, but after the explosion in the lab...it can't be good. Hiro can't help feeling at least a little responsible. He doesn't know what went wrong, but he was the one who set an untested process into motion. Maybe he didn't have a choice, maybe it was the only way to save his brother, but it still sets low-key anxiety clawing at the inside of his ribcage and makes him nauseous thinking about it.

Did he make the right choice?

He's not sure. He's not sure of a lot anymore.

He doesn't mean to fall asleep, doesn't think he could if he wanted right now, but he's hardly slept anyway, and the last hour has been a frenzy of disasters and fires to put out and 9-1-1 calls and paramedics and police and...he's just so tired. In spite of himself, he ends up passed out in his chair, curled in on himself in the corner, face tight with worry even in his sleep.

He should wait for Aunt Cass, or news about Tadashi, but exhaustion gets the better of him.]

Comments

[croissaunt]

[It was never routine, no matter how many times she found herself rushing to the ER. This time was one of the worst ones. It ranked second of the three worst days of her life, and that was only because the first two were tied. And the two tied in third were funerals.

Cass doesn't get the call immediately until the chaos begins to die down. Part of her just wonders if she should have her nephews automate the emergency closing of her shop-- No. No. That's a very bad idea. Very bad. But she also isn't thinking about that. It is just something that popsinto her head whenever something... else happens.

Like now.

An explosion. She didn't know much more than that, other than Hiro was okay and that Tadashi... wasn't. At least there was hope this time. Last time, there had been nothing. Nothing left but a hat, and she still doesn't quite grasp that Tadashi's back. Sometimes his voice startles her, and sometimes his smile just makes her stare. It's so hard to comprehend.

Except now that she does, because she has no idea if she's going to lose him all over again.

At least they don't have to worry about losing her on the way over; she's gotten pretty good at driving and panicking at the same time. Cass is a woman and a mom. She can multitask.

Aunt Cass arrives a short while after Hiro falls asleep, and she doesn't even get to the front desk before she spots Hiro, eyes going wide in relief. "Hiro!"

It's a small favor that her shout will at least provide possible warning to Hiro before she rushes over to him and throws her arms around his neck and shoulder in a tight hug.]