#Hurt Conrda

[tarlos-spain]

Febuwhump Day 6: Hypotermia

Titulo: Together in the cold

Fandom: The resident

Pairing: Conrad/Devon

Characters: Conrad Hawkins, Devon Pravesh

Summary: "Maybe I should have died in the gas leak."

Conrad stopped in his tracks and turned around.

"Don't you dare say that. You scared the hell out of me that day. Seeing you on that gurney, so pale. You looked... So don't say it."

Devon curled his own body into a ball, squeezing as hard as he could as if that was going to make him warm up a little.

"We're going to die in here aren't we?" Devon asked, straining to speak as his teeth clacked together and he couldn't stop shaking.

"No one is going to die, not here and not now Dev." Conrad moved around the room as if he didn't feel the cold, as if a t-shirt and jeans were enough to protect him from the sub-zero temperature they were in. "I’m certainly not going to."

"Maybe I should have died in the gas leak."

Conrad stopped in his tracks and turned around.

"Don't you dare say that. You scared the hell out of me that day. Seeing you on that gurney, so pale. You looked... So don't say it."

Devon curled his own body into a ball, squeezing as hard as he could as if that was going to make him warm up a little.

"When I found myself locked in there, when I noticed the gas... I was sure I would die. But I felt so alone..." A fit of coughing made Devon stop talking, he felt his throat burning, his lungs too and breathing was starting to become very difficult. "I just wanted to tell you..."

Conrad knelt on the floor and took Devon's cheeks in his hands. He smiled; he was scared to death, just as much as Devon himself, but one of them had to try to keep calm.

It was the only way they would find a way to get out of there and avoid freezing to death in the damn hospital room where they kept the drugs.

All for finding a place to kiss Devon without anyone seeing them.

If he hadn't been so stupid and if he hadn't been so worried about what people would say if they saw them… What did he really care what anyone in the hospital thought of them? They were two adults, it had been a long time since they had been teacher and student, and he hadn't been unfaithful to his wife with Devon.

His relationship with Nic had ended long before and the only thing that really brought them together was Gigi.

"You don't have to tell me anything, I just want you to concentrate on breathing and staying calm."

Conrad reached for his phone, but he didn't have much battery left and on top of that there was barely any reception. How was it possible that in the hospital there was a death trap that couldn't be opened from the inside and had no way to talk to the outside?

How could it have occurred to them to go in there to kiss and have an intimate moment? Were there no better, quieter, and, above all, warmer places to do it?

It had been a heavy day, very long at work and they had barely had time to see each other. Plus Gigi had been down with a bad cold the week before and Conrad had barely had time to go to the hospital to be with her.

"I've missed you so much." Devon had whispered in Conrad's ear as he walked into the hospital that day, with the excuse of talking to him about an extremely complicated case he had on his hands. "When you let me go home, I feel like I'm the other guy."

They entered the elevator and as soon as the door closed, Conrad pushed Devon against the wall to kiss him. He caught his waist tightly and then his lips in an almost rough kiss.

Devon pulled him apart for a moment so he could speak.

"This is what I mean. We're barely together and when we have a moment we limit ourselves...to this." Devon stroked his cheek and moved in for a tender kiss on the lips. "Conrad, how do you feel about me?"

The elevator doors opened and the moment of intimacy was over. Then the day became complicated as it always was at the hospital and they didn’t have time to see each other. Fortunately, they were able to eat together, although no one saw them in the cafeteria.

They went directly to one of the doctors' break rooms, which that day was occupied with interns who were studying. The other was closed because it had a broken pipe and the third was already occupied by other fellows taking a break.

Devon took a sharp breath and dropped his shoulders as Conrad closed the room.

"I guess it's not our day, and I also guess you're still not ready for everyone to know about us."

"Dev...it's really weird, because if we tell everyone."

"We make it real and you don’t like that thought, do you?"

Devon's hands were shaking, and when Conrad looked at them, he noticed that his partner's skin was turning paler and paler. He reached over and heard Devon's teeth chatter, so he held his cheeks again—he wasn't much better off himself, but he smiled and gave him a kiss.

He picked up the phone again and suddenly found himself with a bar of signal.

"Billy, Dev and I are in the drug freezer on the third floor. Come quick, we don't have much time left."

They had already been cooped up for twenty minutes in minus-something degrees. He'd rather not know what the actual temperature was because then he could guess how much longer they had left to live. Better to hold out hope for as long as possible so as not to show Devon any fear.

When he heard him scream, he turned around again to find him practically crying, the trembling in his body even greater.

"Hey, Dev, what's wrong?"

"I think...that...I just broke my finger. I think it was...frozen."

"Let me see."

Devon grunted in desperation and let Conrad touch him. Even if he wasn't a doctor, he would have realized that Devon’s hand didn't look good, and that a broken finger would be the least of their problems if they didn't get out of there soon.

Conrad looked at the phone again. He was out of range again; he just hoped he had been able to send the message and that Billy would get it in time.

He moved as fast as he could even though he could already feel that his body, like Devon's, wouldn't hold out much longer before collapsing, and then they would both be lost. He found a drawer with bandages—frozen, but hopefully they would do their job of protecting Devon's hands.

His were shaking too, but he seemed to be a little better than Devon. Maybe not too much, but he couldn't say that out loud.

"This time...I'm not getting out of this, am I? That day… God knew if I didn't do something, I'd die locked up or from the gas...and now..." Devon let out a breath—as if being on the verge of hypothermia wasn't enough, he was having an anxiety attack. "I don't want to die in here."

Once out of the elevator on the third floor and with nowhere else to go, Conrad smiled, took Devon by the hand, and led him to the drug storage rooms. People rarely came to the third floor, it was more like the last resort they had used during the pandemic.

Now that was over, those rooms were usually full of drugs and secluded from everything. The perfect place to hide away for a while.

He closed the door and pressed Devon's body against it. He began to kiss him, reassured that no one could find them now.

When he was able to pull away from Conrad, Devon stared at him.

"Tell me the truth. Are you ashamed for us to be seen together?"

Conrad hadn't expected that question.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because we always end up in places like this, alone, hiding, like you're ashamed to be with me."

Conrad pulled him away from the door, placed a hand over the back of his neck and pulled him even closer to kiss him, to show him that what he felt wasn't just a sexual thing, it wasn't just attraction.

"I'm so sorry, baby. I'm sorry I made you feel this way. It's true that I feel very uncomfortable being the center of attention from comments or stares, and I thought..."

Devon laughed and rested his head on Conrad's shoulder.

"So you thought you needed to protect me from the stares of others. Conrad, my love, I've spent a lifetime being the freak in high school because of the way I talk, the color of my skin, my desire to study, or not wanting to go out on weekends because I wanted to study. I assure you that being the center of attention because I'm Dr. Hawkins' boyfriend is no big deal to me."

Conrad stared at him silently.

"That's the first time you've ever said that."

"Said what?"

"That you're my boyfriend or that I'm yours. It actually sounds pretty good."

A noise nearby made them both gasp, and this time it was Devon who grabbed Conrad by the hand and walked into the first storage room he could find. He didn't even realize he was freezing in there, because it was more fun kissing his boyfriend now that they were finally able to share how they felt about each other.

He grabbed Conrad tightly and pushed him against one of the shelves. Something fell to the floor and someone on the other side of the door said something that neither of them understood. They kept silent and took refuge at the back of the room, where obviously no one would see them.

They were going to make their relationship public, but admitting that they were hiding among the meds was not the best way for anyone to take them seriously, so they would wait to get out of there.

If only the door hadn’t closed on them and locked them in a refrigerator.

Conrad bandaged Devon's hands and told him not to move them. He knew what could happen to hands and feet in a frozen state and Devon had already broken a finger; he didn't want the damage to be even worse.

He looked at his phone again, hoping to get a message from Billy or anyone else who might be able to help them. But there was nothing.

"If we're going to die in here..." Devon said haltingly as his teeth chattered.

"We're not going to die here, Dev, I promise."

"But it could happen." Devon's face said it wouldn't be long now. As a doctor he knew it, and as a human being he could tell. "And I want to...tell you...please come here."

Conrad had already come to the conclusion that they would not be able to get out by themselves, and if no-one helped them, this would become their grave. So he moved next to Devon and held out his arms for him to snuggle against him, giving what little warmth he still had, perhaps allowing him to hold on a little longer.

He kissed the top of his head and smiled.

"Conrad...you need to get out of here...for Gigi."

"Ah, no, Dev. Let's both get out." Conrad flinched and noticed he was having trouble wiggling his fingers, but he didn't say anything. There was no point in scaring Devon when he already knew what his situation was. "Because I have an incredible weekend planned at the amusement park, you, me, and Gigi, as a family so you two can get to know each other well and fall in love like I love you."

"Sounds...like...a gr…great…idea…."

Devon rested his head on his chest and dropped his arms. Conrad rubbed them, but got no response.

Conrad didn't have much more time left. He felt like laughing, because as Devon had said, it was going to be very sad when they found their bodies there, a very sad way to die.

His eyes slowly closed, while he was still doing his best to struggle, and suddenly a bright light came to him. It was the other side, the end had come, and it turned out that the afterlife really existed. Someone had come for them.

He heard voices and barely saw movement until after his last great effort, he lost consciousness, hugging Devon tightly.

*

Conrad awoke with a jolt. He sat up, but his whole body ached and he fell back into bed. He recognized one of the hospital rooms and next to the bed were Billy, Dr. Bell and....

"Dev."

Both his hands were bandaged and one finger was strapped up

Conrad reached out, though his body felt too heavy to move, and waited for Devon to approach.

"How are you? What about your hands? You're up. Can you really stand?"

Bell rested a hand on Conrad's shoulder and forced him to calm down.

"Dr. Pravesh is fine, it will take a while for him to use his hands properly, but we've done all the necessary tests to be sure there are no complications."

"You saved me, Conrad."

"Sure, but your hands… And you were knocked unconscious."

Devon sat on the bed and stroked Conrad's cheek. Conrad stared at his companions, AJ was also at the door but none were surprised by the gesture.

"You didn't stop talking, you gave me your jacket, you kept me awake, active and well... In case you haven't noticed now, you're the one who's going to be in bed for a few days. You've got a pretty high fever and your body has been on the verge of not being able to handle it."

Conrad had realized how bad he was feeling, but had tried to disguise it, as if that were possible in his condition.

"We've come close to losing you, Conrad." Billy said. "You really scared us by being afraid to say you'd fallen in love."

"Will you cut the crap already?" AJ said. "You're with Devon, you love him, and he loves you. Is it that hard for you to have a happy family for once?"

Conrad smiled and watched as Devon settled into bed with him. "To warm him up," he said, but he knew it was just being with him, being together at last and not caring what anyone said about it.

#The Resident #febuwhump #Devon/Conrad #Hurt Devon #Hurt Conrda #Whump #Hospital #They're in love