023: VIDEO

[intheblanks]

[A view of the good doctor and a small team in surgery. Chase is wrist deep under yellow, iodine-swiped skin.]

And that's what it really means to have your stomach tied up in knots. Well that looks much prettier than it did before - the rest seems clear. Book scans and barium for five days to check things are moving through clearly and the other adhesions shouldn't be problematic...

[He lifts both hands free, gloves bloodied to the wrist, and backs up.]

If you can close up here... Have me paged when she's through recovery so I can explain the switch to open. I'm going to-

[Wipe out.

Whatever Chase was going to do, it's interrupted by him suddenly crashing out of view behind the table. Surgical tools and kidney bowls of unidentified matter shower to the ground. There's a groan and, just at the edge of shot, a foot clad in a bright red stiletto being tentatively stretched out to one side of the table.]

I'm going to go and strap my ankle.



[ooc: still unwell so still backdating, sorry sorry <3]

Comments

[as_damaged]

I thought about stealing you House's cane instead, but it didn't seem worth the declaration of war.

[And, well, she wouldn't really anyway, but it's just the two of them and joking does seem to be the tone of the day.]

[intheblanks]

You might as well steal me his bike. Actually, I'm not sure how I'm getting home right now.

[as_damaged]

There's always the couch, if you can't find someone to walk you.

[intheblanks]

You know what crashing here means. The whole hospital assumes you're on call.

[as_damaged]

Then I'd suggest talking someone into walking you home.

[intheblanks]

[He glances back down at his desk, shuffling a few papers to sleep in files for the night.]

I was thinking of asking if you'd help me with RICE.

[as_damaged]

Well, [she says, drawing the word out as though there's actually a debate.] I'll go get an ice pack.

[intheblanks]

Got one. [It's under the desk, on the box he'd had his leg raised up on.] I'm up to C. Rest, Ice, Coffee, Escort.

[And just to clarify-]

As in, home.

[as_damaged]

[She rolls her eyes rather more dramatically than necessary.]

All right. Let's limp you to a cafe.

[intheblanks]

[What's life without a little drama. It's only at this point that it fully sinks in for Chase that to accomplish what he's asked for he's going to have to stand up and walk with her now. In his hooker shoes.]

Keep your eyes above the waist.

[As he tries to get his one good foot in a safe position to balance on.]

[as_damaged]

[Someone who didn't know her very well might miss the slight cant of her head, the lip-twitch that isn't quite a smile.]

Just take it slowly, and keep your weight on the balls of your feet.

[At least your teacher is a pro, doctor. Cameron's heels aren't quite as vicious as some on the street today, but she hasn't stumbled once.

And there is no promise made to avert her eyes. Of course.]

[intheblanks]

Foot.

[He reminds, setting one of the crutches under his arm as a replacement for the leg that threatens to give under him. It will be easier to balance tomorrow, when he's not forced to tiptoe. As it is, getting used to the rhythm of a crutch is difficult enough without doing it on pin-thin stilts. His first few steps are a collection of narrowly missed tumbles.]

...This might take longer than I thought.

[as_damaged]

I'm not going to carry you,

[she warns, but takes a step closer in case he needs to lean. Or be caught. Though really, there's a reasonable chance that would throw her off-balance, veteran heel-wearer or no.]

Take your time.

[intheblanks]

[An arm around her shoulder would be ideal. For now, he struggles onward with the crutch.]

You'd need to work out more for that. Just warn me if you hear someone else hobbling in the distance?

[A run in with House would be all he needs.]

Have you seen him today?

[as_damaged]

He's around, of course, but he hasn't insulted my taste in heels yet.

[One step at a time. They'll manage, or else he really will be sleeping in the on-call room.]

Of course, it's just a matter of time.

[intheblanks]

You know he can only give compliments when they make you uncomfortable. Otherwise they make him uncomfortable. Think of the insults as his backward way of letting you know he thinks you're hot.

[All of that, and without gritted teeth. It wouldn't have been possible three years ago, or, really, for a certain period stretching from about a week before his return to the city until a few months in to this stay.]

Like acting as though I'm still working for him is his way of telling me he thinks I should.

[as_damaged]

I could care less about what he thinks, but only if I really tried.

[The statement is barely more than a mutter, tossed off casually. She's even relatively sure it's mostly true.]

How else would you expect him to act?

[intheblanks]

[Chase (still) doesn't think it's close to accurate, but it makes him laugh anyway, enough to tip his shoulder into hers as he readjusts the crutch.]

I wouldn't. He's been doing it since I moved into surgery, with the added benefit that I don't work for him any more, so if I do what he asks and something gets screwed up, it's my own neck on the line.

[And yet none of this is said bitterly.]

Reassuring to know that some things don't change?

[as_damaged]

There's something to be said for the comfort of knowing where you stand.

[Even if she's not quite sure where he stands. She's getting better at predicting him, at gauging his reactions, but from time to time there's still a jarring reminder of all that inexplicable time between them.]

Though I've always thought his people skills have grown considerably, here.

[intheblanks]

He makes pronouncements from the relative safety of the network. It's not exactly a social whirl- [It's at this point that Chase discovers stairs and crutches ain't easy. He stands at the top, frowning down the short but ominous flight.]

[as_damaged]

Having second thoughts?

[intheblanks]

Working out a plan of attack. [He prods the edge of the step with the rubber end of one crutch, then looks up at her.] I might need to borrow a shoulder.

[as_damaged]

[She takes a moment to glance down at their legs, not even flickering a smile at his stilettos, before setting her lips in a firm line and taking the first step, hand on the rail and other shoulder tilted toward him.]

I should have brought a chair, not crutches.

[Ramps and elevators would be so much easier. But she's poised to support.]

[intheblanks]

I've already had to stand Eden down on that idea, don't you start.

[He won't submit to looking like an invalid when he isn't one, and he'll start working his ankle as soon as the swelling lets him in order to be as little hampered as possible by it. It's a quiet dedication he normally does everything not to show, and a dislike of vulnerability. Even when said vulnerability leaves him handing her the crutch and looping an arm instead around her shoulders. He's careful, probably overly careful, to put as little weight on her as possible on the way down.]

You must have the balance of a mountain goat.

[as_damaged]

I'm glad someone was thinking rationally.

[She leans most of their combined weight on the railing, careful to time her steps to his stillness, her stillness to his shifting. It's far from effortless; honestly, it's surprising her feet aren't killing her, considering the stairs, considering how much she's been walking around.

She does risk a small smile at him when she pauses next.]

Don't worry, if you practice you'll get the hang of it.