twistoffate | Overflow

From:

[Every day waiting for Dagny to get out of the hospital feels like it takes forever. Not that Isaac spends any of it complaining. Pacing, yes, especially any time he has to leave his husband's side for one reason or another, but not complaining.

He knows he's a little overprotective, that a hospital is, generally, a safe place. It's hard to stop himself. He's used to thinking of recovery as a time of being vulnerable, of waiting for the possibility of the other shoe to drop, when he can think straight enough to know what's going on around him. He's been sick a couple of times since he came back; he's always ended up curled up in a closet or some other small, dark space, trying to hide from dangers that no longer were coming. He didn't actually realize that instinct would stretch to anyone else, but in hindsight, it makes sense.

He does his best not to be too obvious about it, though. Doesn't want to scare the nurses, or give Dagny a reason to worry. He does end up rambling senselessly at his sister a few times, but that's different. She knows where his instincts come from, and that... well, that's a conversation Isaac pretty quickly realizes will have to wait until the medication is out of Dagny's system, because he doesn't want to try and have it twice. It's probably the better plan anyway. He'd rather not get interrupted in the middle of it, which is way more likely at the hospital than at home.

(He's not actually aware of the way he's started thinking about getting back to the apartment as getting home, but it's there despite that.)

At some point when they seem to be getting close to being discharged, he gets in touch with the professor and asks for a favor. So everything he's going to need for a while is already waiting in the apartment by the time they actually get out, a couple of stuffed bags sitting to the side in the living room. He'll figure out where he can put it that'll be more out of the way and easier to get access to his things later; his focus when they first get in is on getting Dagny set up with anything he needs and making sure he's as comfortable as possible, given he's still got some healing to do.

He's still giving him a little bit of room once they're actually settled in enough that Isaac feels like he can relax a little, perching on the edge of the bed, not sure how close he can get without making the pain worse.] Do you want anything?

From:

twistoffate

[Thank God Dagny is used to this part enough to only need a few days in the hospital. Most of it he spends high enough to only remember bits and pieces, something he continues to feel bad about, leaving Isaac to fend for himself most of the time. Even if Isaac was constantly encouraging him to use the PCA, saying he'd rather have him feel good than be present (the sweet bastard), it didn't take long for him to ween off of it enough to be able to go home. Once his blood levels were normal, and his pain managed, the only thing left was healing, something that fortunately he could do at home.

Seeing the bags when he walked into the house was unexpected, and they lost more than a few minutes to Dagny grabbing Isaac and kissing him. They still can't do much, not with the amount of effort just moving around takes, but that doesn't stop him from occasionally trying anyway. If he had any questions about Isaac's commitment to stay, all of those disappeared by seeing that he essentially moved in while Dagny was hospitalized. Honestly, he couldn't be happier.

After a while, he wandered into the bedroom, getting himself situated for the long haul of relaxation. In order to really be able to get comfortable, Dagny has to be in an upright position, so when he's in bed, he has a mountain of pillows behind him. He has water and snacks on the bedside table, his extra strength Tylenol and muscles relaxers, he's feeling good, he's feeling clear headed, the pain is a distant throb. He's okay.

If only he could get Isaac to settle enough to believe him.]

You. [An eyebrow waggle, not like it can go anywhere.] At least come closer. I don't have any IVs you can pull out anymore.

From:

canyousaveme

That doesn't mean I can't irritate the hole in your stomach.

[It would be much more convincing if he wasn't already shifting, pushing himself up just so he can climb on the other side of the bed, where there's a little more room to settle against Dagny's side. He's still extremely careful, sitting up next to him and just resting his head against his shoulder, but it's hard to pass up the chance to get close now that he has it. Even as things started to settle, there's not much room in a hospital bed to curl up together; it's been an annoying few days, on that front.]

Satisfied? [He turns himself in enough to press a kiss against Dagny's jaw, smiling a little despite his dry tone.] Is your head feeling any clearer?

From:

twistoffate

It’s not much of a hole anymore, they basically filled it all in. So it’s fine.

[The argument is unnecessary since he got his way but he can’t help teasing back anyway. Besides, it’s always nice to remind Isaac that even though he is injured, he is fine. It feels like something he’s needed a little more reassurance on lately, not that Dagny blames him. It’s not every day your husband dies and comes back to life.

He makes a content noise at Isaac’s question.] Yes, this is much better — just admit this is better. That hospital bed sucked. [Despite being too small, it was also stiff and cold. To be fair, they probably don’t want people to be so comfortable that they don’t want to leave, but he definitely was missing his bed. And not only because he gets to cuddle with Isaac in it.]

Well, I’m not calling you my drug anymore, so I’d say that’s an improvement.