Hell Above

Jack follows the nurse out of the room and down the hallway, continuing down another hallway after they turn a corner. The other man begins speaking then, and it’s evident in his tone that he’s concerned with the situation, despite obviously not knowing what is going on. “I’m not sure what happened.” He states. “Jordan just asked me to come get you. He said that your friend keeps asking for you.” He tells Jack in a rush, words tapering off in volume as they approach the exam room.

Jack simply nods, rushing forward past the man when he spots Alex. The blonde is on the ground, knees pulled tight to his chest and back pressed flush against the hallway wall, with Jordan kneeling in front of him. Jack crouches down beside them, meeting Jordan’s eyes before voicing, “I've got him.”

The nurse looks conflicted for a second, moving to stand as he questions, “You sure?”

“Yeah, just give us a few minutes.” Jack assures, shifting onto one knee to occupy the space in front of Alex where Jordan had been. The elder’s head is bowed to rest against his knees, but Jack can tell by the shaking of his shoulders that he’s crying.

He waits until he’s sure Jordan and the other nurse are out of direct earshot before speaking. “Alex, will you look at me, please?” Jack asks, doing his best to keep his voice low and even. The blonde shakes his head fervently against his knees, mumbling something in response that Jack can’t understand. “Lex, look at me.” He repeats, shifting to sit on the floor.

Being stubborn, Alex still doesn't comply. Jack takes in a deep breath, pushing the air back out of his lungs before trying again. “It’s okay, I’m right here. Just breathe. I’ll wait until you’re ready.”

It takes more coaxing, and a hesitant hand smoothing over the front of the elder’s knee, but after a few minutes Alex lifts his head. His face is wet, eyes glossy from crying as they meet Jack’s. Jack immediately leans up to wipe away the few remaining tears from the blonde’s flushed cheeks, but hesitates when Alex flinches at his touch. He retracts his hand slowly, settling back down onto the floor in silence.

“Do you want to tell me what happened?” He asks, watching the humiliation and hurt swim in the elder’s honey eyes. He had known Alex was holding something back, and yet somehow the state that the blonde is in currently unsettles him. In the nearly 6 years that they’d known each other, Jack is certain that he’d never seen Alex appear so obviously undone – so fragile and damaged.

Alex shakes his head in reply, but then seems to reconsider. “I don’t know – I just panicked.” He answers, emotions leaking into his voice. Lip pulled in between his teeth, he bows his head to avert his gaze back to his knees as Jack considers where to go from there.

When he’d first caught sight of the elder, it had nearly instinctual to make sure Alex was okay. But now that the blonde is calm, the irritation towards him that Jack had been building up is resurfacing. He ignores it for the time being, moving to stand and offer a hand to the blonde. Alex takes it, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet.

“Will you be alright?” Jack questions, making sure Alex meets his eyes. The blonde nods, lifting his arm to rub at his eyes with his sleeve. “I’ll wait out here, okay?” Alex nods again, dropping his arm back to his side as Jack motions Jordan back over.

The nurse returns to their side, offering a smile to both men before gesturing towards the closed door behind them. Alex follows him back into the exam room, while Jack takes position leaning against the hallway wall across from the door.

-

An hour later finds them sat back in the hospital room, waiting for Jordan to return with the results of the x-rays. As it had been explained to Jack by the nurse, he’d instructed Alex to undress so he could put on the hospital gown required and the man had pretty much lost it.

Jack hadn't tried to start conversation once they’d been showed back to their room and the air between them was becoming thick with what each wasn't saying.

The blonde had slipped back into the withdrawn state he’d been in since he’d woken up, eyes focused on a fixed point and hands still in his lap – his usual fidgety persona gone completely.

Jack’s annoyance towards Alex had not only come back full-fledged, but was increasing steadily with each minute more that they sat in silence. He wants answers, wants an explanation for the blonde’s seemingly irrational behavior over the course of the day. He wants to understand why Alex is being like this, and he wants to know how to fix it.

He already has a decent idea of what the blonde is hiding, based on the scene from last night and the way Alex has reacted throughout the day, yet Jack doesn't want to jump to extreme conclusions, and he would much rather the truth be a lot less severe than what he’s prepared for.

A knock on the door causes both men to look up, and then Jordan steps into the room with a manila folder in hand. “Hey guys,” The nurse greets, stepping over to stand in front of where Alex is sat on the exam bench. “So, I looked over your results, and as we’d figured, you've fractured two ribs on your left side.” He explains, opening the folder to pull out several printed images of the x-rays.

Holding them up, Jordan points to where the fractures are, going on to say, “Because it’s just two, and there’s no signs of any other inquires or complications, you’re not going to need any further medical assistance. You’ll just have to take it easy for the next few weeks. Just make sure you don’t lift anything large or heavy, and don’t wrap or bind your midsection at all – I know it’s tempting, but it restricts your breathing.”

Jordan pauses then, making sure Alex is actually listening before finishing, “Try to take a few really deep breaths every hour or so, too. That’ll help the healing process along and strengthen the cartilage back up, and lying on your inquired side can actually alleviate a lot of the pain.”

“Can he take pain-killers?” Jack asks, looking over to Alex, who appears rather indifferent over the results.

Jordan nods, “Yeah, Aspirin or Tylenol is fine. Any other questions or concerns?” Neither men speak up again, so Jordan takes that as an answer. “Alright, well, that’s all then. Have a good rest of the day, guys.”

Jack responds with a rather unenthusiastic “You too.” before the nurse exits the room.

The younger gets to his feet, Alex standing soon after, as well. They go through the motions with the woman at the payment desk to cover the cost for the visit, at which Jack is mildly surprised when Alex doesn't protest over the money.

They exit the hospital, Jack leading the way out into the parking garage with Alex trailing a few steps behind the entire way. The silence that settles once they’re in the car is so heavy that it becomes enough to make Jack pause as he goes to shift into reverse. He puts the car back into park and turns in his seat to face the blonde, demanding, “You’re going to tell me what happened.”