#Olivia Lark | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

aries-writingblog · 1 year

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If We Have Each Other

Summary: Dick Grayson has always been a saint for his friends, but especially for his best friend and her daughter.

Pairing: Dick Grayson x F!Reader

Word Count: 3.4K

Warnings: reader is a single mom, language, mention of adultery/ cheating

AN: this can be read as a platonic relationship or romantic, photos are from Pinterest

“Grayson, you’re an angel.” YN announced as she opened the apartment door.

Dick chuckled, turning away from his current task of gathering stray clothes that had never seemed to make it to the laundry basket. He dropped the pair of socks into the pile, quickly approaching the two newcomers.

“Oh, my favorite person in the world.” He reached out and snagged the baby from her hip. Olivia gurgled, her hands grabbing out for him. “And her mother, of course.”

“Ha, ha.” YN droned, allowing him to take both bags and the carrier from her, as well as the baby. “She was a little fussy during the night, but she’s happy as a lark now.”

“Never mind, that, I’ll handle it. Olive loves me.” Dick grinned, tilting the baby’s body side to side, only to listen to the giggling and cooing she made. He tucked her against his chest, cradling her with both arms. His attention returned to YN, as she closed the door. “How’ve you been holding up?”

YN exhaled. Hands falling to her hips.

He could see the exhaustion on her face. In her eyes. It was more than a restless night’s worth.

Between her job, errands, and daughter, YN was stretched thin. It was her own choice— a stupid one, considering Dick had offered his assistance, time and time again. She refused, more often than not.

It didn’t stop him from going over to her place and ripping the baby away, forcing her to relax.

He wished she would let him do more.

“I’ve been hanging in there.” She admitted I’m taking Night Shift next week, first time since Olivia was born.

“She can stay with me. I’d love to have a house guest; We can watch Golden Girls together and have all sorts of fun.” He promised, eager to lift her burden, even just for a few nights.

YN shook her head, instantly; She dug around through the backpack, brows furrowed. She swore she packed Olivia’s blanket…

“No, I’m calling the babysitter. She’s college age and could use the cash—“

“No way!” Dick interrupted. He sighed, shifting Olivia to his hip. His free hand reached out and brushed her arm. Holding at her elbow. YN finally stopped shuffling the items, meeting his eyes. “Look, I know it’s tough for you. And I know you want to do everything yourself, but I’m not gonna let that happen. You already know, I don’t mind helping out.”

YN swallowed, her eyes stinging with tears.

God, she didn’t deserve Richard Grayson.

He wasn’t the father of this baby, he wasn’t even in a romantic relationship with her, and here he was, giving up the best years of his life for some other man’s neglect.

For her choices.

And he did it all with a glimmering smile in his eyes.

“You’re a life saver, Richard Grayson.” She croaked, blinking rapidly to quell the tears before they fell.

Dick chuckled, lightly brushing the stray tears from her cheeks.

She had been all over the place, ever since she found out she was pregnant. Crying at the drop of a hat, angry the next, overwhelmingly happy, rinse and repeat.

He was fully capable of surfing the waves of mood swings, by now.

“I’m your life saver, baby.” He nodded. He placed a hand on her back, pushing her along toward his bedroom. “Now, shoo. Go and sleep. Relax. Take a bath, read some books. Lunch is in the fridge when you’re hungry. Let the babysitting commence!”

He turned, holding the baby above his head and stomping back to the spare room, turned Olivia’s room.

Olivia giggled, as Dick wiggled her body in the air.

YN smiled, shaking her head. That man was something else entirely.

Pulling into a safe parking space, Dick turned his car off, searching his console for his wallet. Olive sound asleep in her car seat in the back. The girl could sleep through a hurricane, as long as she was in a moving car.

He was impressed, really.

Exiting the car, he rounded the back— making a pit stop on the left to grab his bag— then to the right side of the vehicle. Opening the back door and unclipping the belts around the baby’s chest.

Olivia cracked her eyes open, at all the new movements, a yawn escaping her lips.

“Grocery shopping with Olive.” Dick sang, tugging the knitted beanie snuggly onto Olive’s head. Covering her ears as she awoke, groggily staring above his head, into the shaded skies of Gotham.

He slipped the baby carrier over his shoulders, then scooped Olivia from her car seat and settling her against his chest.

She made no fuss, just curled her fists between their chests and propped her head against him. Cooing quietly as she tried to settle back into her nap.

Dick locked the car behind himself, backpack full of baby supplies, and his own necessities, on his back. Baby on his front.

This was how a majority of his errands were run, now. His ‘leaving home’ list a bit longer. Keys, phone, wallet, baby, diapers, etcetera. He preferred this over his bachelor days, anyhow.

Snagging a cart on his way in, Dick shrugged the backpack over his shoulders. Depositing the bag into the largest portion of the metallic apparatus. Withholding the infant, still against his chest.

Dick was more paranoid than YN was about a baby in the world. Bludhaven wasn’t as dark or despicable as Gotham’s streets, but having grown up in the dark made his affinity for the light that much greater.

And he never let Olivia out of his sight.

That included grocery store shopping carts. Not only were they hot beds for every snot nose kid’s germs, Dick could see a scenario playing out before his eyes. He leaves Olivia in the cart, cart gets snagged, baby gets snatched, and bye bye Dick Grayson.

Six feet under, murdered by a very angry mother.

Snapping away from the violent daydreams sucking him toward a crisis, Dick refocused on where he had aimlessly drifted. Luckily, down the right aisle.

Breakfast foods.

“You want Cheerios?” He muttered, moving his chin back to look at her. She didn’t seem to care about his words. It didn’t matter to Dick. “Hell yeah.”

He tossed the box into the cart, picking up a few other breakfast materials as he went. Several aisles passed, Olivia keeping herself occupied as he shopped. He talked to her nonstop— convinced that her grasp on the language would be better if he did.

And he didn’t care how stupid he might’ve looked doing it. Anything for Olivia wasn’t stupid at all. He was long past looking stupid in public; It was a juvenile fear of his that he surpassed quite easily, after his first few patrols with Bruce.

“Does the Olive want olives?” He asked, showing her the jar. Olivia turned her head to the opposite aisle, her eyes scanning the items. Uninterested in his proposition. “Yeah, me either.”

Dick swapped out the jar for a smaller one, putting it in the cart instead. He had nearly gagged the day he saw YN eating olives out of the jar— like they were potato chips. And at first, he was going to blame it on her sixth month pregnancy situation, but he couldn’t even do that because she had eaten them on many things, willingly, before that incident.

He usually had a small jar at home— pushed to the very back of his fridge, where YN would be the only person to eat them.

He didn’t even want to look at the things.

Dick hummed under his breath, bouncing gently. Olivia let out a long noise, the tone fluctuating as he bounced her.

She ended in a giggle; Wild laughter that echoed along the aisle. Dick scrunched his nose, mocking her. She only laughed harder.

He smiled, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

Dick pulled to a stop at the end of the aisle, glancing both ways before turning down the next.

But just as he pulled to a stop for Goldfish and other various crackers, he heard his name called from behind. Turning, keeping one hand on Olivia, his eyes landed on an approaching, feminine figure.

Kelly— the Police Sergeant’s secretary.

Her smile broadened as her eyes scanned to the baby strapped to his chest.

“I didn’t know you were a father.” Kelly smiled, her eyes switching back and forth from Dick to Olivia.

Dick laughed, following her gaze.

“Oh, technically— this is a friend.”

She blinked, brows creasing as her eyes flicked from the infant to the man she was strapped to again.

“The… baby?”

Dick gave an elated ‘uh-huh!’, before tilting his shoulder so that Olivia’s face was visible. Kelly cooed, doting on the baby instantly.

“Say hello, Olivia.” Dick shifted, trying to keep moving so that she wouldn’t fuss. “Her mom is a close friend and a single parent so, on my days off, I watch Olivia while she rests.”

“That’s so sweet of you.” Kelly pressed a hand to her heart, her eyes darkened, tilted so that she gazed at him through her lashes. Dick grit his teeth through a smile. “I’m sure her mom appreciates it.”

She was practically purring— in front of a baby, no less. A shiver of discomfort snaked down his spine.

He knew she had always been friendly with him at work, but he had never paid attention to just how friendly.

When he was younger, before YN and Olivia, perhaps he would have noticed. Perhaps he would have done something about it. But now, he just dreaded the scene that played out before him.

How was he supposed to word this and let her down easy?

“Yeah.” Involuntarily, his palm pressed to the back of his neck, brushing the strands away from his nape. “She’s a nurse at the hospital so her hands are always full.”

“I’ll bet you’re a hit with the ladies.” She giggled, fingertips brushing his bicep as she removed her hand from Olivia.

Bingo. Perfect opportunity.

“My days of chasing ladies are over, I’m afraid.” Dick chuckled, his hand pressed to Olivia’s back. She was wide awake now, and leaning into his palm, arms and legs outspread. Dangling from her seat. “It was nice seeing you, I’ve got a few more errands to run and Olivia has a date with a couple good looking toys on aisle seventeen.”

“Oh, don’t let me hold you up.” Kelly responded, her hands held in surrender. She gave another dazzling smile before leaning back down to the baby. “Bye, Olivia. It was wonderful to meet you. See you Monday, Grayson?”

“Monday, it is.” He confirmed, a nervous chuckle slipping from his lips. Satisfied with her work, Kelly turned on her heel and began making her way back to where she came from. Only glancing over her shoulder twice to send him a smirk— to ensure he was watching her walk away. Watching the sway in her hips.

As soon as she was out of sight, Dick exhaled a breath he hadn’t been aware was stuck in his chest.

“Oh, boy.” He groaned, relieved at his lonesomeness once again. Olivia gave a light grunt, fingers trailing over his lips. Removing the offending wigglers from his mouth, he leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead. “You’re a godsend, babe.”

She gurgled happily, completely ignorant of the words he spoke.

Even though she technically got him into the altercation, she also got him out of it. He didn’t feel bad taking advantage of her presence; Though, he may owe her a toy or two, after all.

It was mid afternoon before Dick and Olivia showed face at his apartment again. She was strapped to his chest, his arms full of his reusable grocery bags. Backpack on his back.

YN, who had taken it upon herself to finish up the laundry, pushed herself to her feet at his arrival. Her hands outstretched for the bags hanging from his arms.

He grunted.

“I’ve got them, don’t worry about that.” Dick refused. Instead, opening his arms so that she could unclip the infant.

So, she did what he asked. A wispy smile on her lips as she removed her daughter.

“Hello, darling. You have fun today?” YN asked, cuddling Olivia close to her chest. Dick gave an ‘uh-huh’ to answer; YN narrowed her eyes playfully, a smile pulling her lips involuntarily. “Were you able to get all your errands done?”

Dick nodded, dumping another bag onto the counter. He gathered a few items, then turned to put them away in the fridge.

“Yes. We went to the grocery store, the bank, picked up some documents from the station, defeated a whole gang of drug dealers, and got seven phone numbers.” He informed with a lilt in his voice. YN snorted, and Dick turned away from his fridge to continue his story. “You know how concerning it is that women practically fall over themselves for a guy with a baby? What if I were married?”

He pressed a hand to his chest, scandalously. As if adultery was the worst someone could do.

As if he didn’t see the utter destruction of human nature night after night.

“You should accept some of those, definitely.” She nodded, teasingly.

“Now why would I do that? I’ve got all the ladies I need, right here.” He grinned, holding her tightly against his side. She rolled her eyes when he squeezed her shoulder. “You staying for dinner?”

YN paused, running down her to do list. Nothing that couldn’t be put off another few hours.

“I don’t see why not, long as you’re not tired of us.” She bargained. Dick scoffed, sweeping her hair away from her face.

“Never.” He promised.

YN smiled gratefully, staring up at him. The domesticity of the moment was endearing. His blue eyes even more so. She should’ve been thinking a million different things— hell, she had been thinking at least a thousand before he looked at her like that.

Now, the only thought in her brain was that it was a shame her baby didn’t have those bright blue eyes.

A sudden, loud growling noise erupted from between the two adults. Yn’s face flushed with heat as she averted her gaze to the child in her arms.

“Speaking of dinner, someone is hungry. After that big day of fighting bad guys, we’ve got a tummy rumbling.” YN’s voice lowered, pressing kisses to Olivia’s face.

The baby laughed, her hands smacking her mother’s face and smushing her cheeks.

“You and me both, sister.” Dick concurred, brushing a hand over Olivia’s head.

YN readjusted to grab Dick’s backpack and start sifting through it.

“She have any milk left over?” She asked, pulling out his wallet and keys, pepper spray (like he wasn’t six foot and one eighty nine), various items of Olivia’s. She finally produced two empty bottles.

“Not a drop.”

“Damn.” YN muttered. Half relieved at the fact the infant was healthy and hungry, half annoyed she drank everything. Standing from her seat, YN began making her way out of the kitchen. “I didn’t have time to pump this afternoon, I slept most of it. Looks like we’re going old school, sugar.”

Dick reached over to the drawer beside the sink, rummaging through tea towels and potholders to find a burping rag.

YN caught it as he tossed it at her, throwing it over her shoulder. She made her way toward the living room to procure a modicum of privacy.

Dick hummed at her newest situation. He’d seen her topless far too many times to count. His embarrassment had long worn off.

That first night, in the hospital, he had tried to give her as much privacy and respect he could. He would turn away every time a nurse or doctor came in to check her; At every feeding, he would keep his eyes glued to her face so intensely it became a source of her self consciousness.

‘Get it over with and just look at my tits, Grayson.’

‘YN!’ He’d squawked— eyes going wide. She chuckled. ‘You’re my best friend and that feels like a boundary we shouldn’t cross.’

‘You’ve seen it all, Dick. Trust me when I tell you, this is the least embarrassing thing you’ll see me do from here on out.’

And she was right. As always.

But he liked to think himself a gentleman, and still gave her what she deserved in dignity.

Which is why he stayed in the kitchen, his back turned. YN’s soft hums floated in the air, along with the smells of dinner, being reheated on the stove.

It felt terribly domestic. It didn’t feel real. Like this was something he had dreamed up. Conjured in his mind to satiate his loneliness.

But his mind wouldn’t have made YN pregnant by a man who didn’t hold his word to her. Who didn’t have her back. Dick was too good a friend to imagine a future like that for her.

Even if he benefited from another’s loss. It hurt the ones he loved in the process.

“Your dinner, madam.” He presented the bowl graciously, his head dipping into a bow. YN snorted, eyes rolling. He settled in beside her, careful of the baby in the rocker in front of them. YN gently pushed it back and forth with her shin, keeping Olivia in motion. “Hey, wouldn’t it be hilarious if her first word was my name?”

YN sent him a side eye glance.

“If she says the word ‘Richard’ on first try, she’s—“

“No.” Dick laughed, the look of pure indignation on her face was too good to pass up. His original statement had been half a joke, but now… what he wanted to tell her wasn’t. He hesitated, fingers tracing over the handle of his spoon. “I mean like… dad.”

Yn’s chest tightened, her knee stopped moving. Her eyes pierced through him, though his own gaze remained glued to his soup.

She couldn’t say he had blind sided her— not really.

Dick had acted like Olivia’s father for as long as YN could remember. He had been the first person she called when she found out.

And he had been there every step of the way.

Of course, Olivia would call him dad. That was a given, that she had already confronted.

But for Dick to accept it? Encourage it?

That was almost too much to ask for.

“I’d like that,” YN murmured, clearing her throat. Dick’s gaze was heavy, as he lifted it to level with her. Her face was kind— her eyes gave away her true excitement. “You being her dad. Better than her real father.”

Dick scoffed, anger stabbing at his chest at the mention of the man who fumbled the best two people he had ever laid eyes on.

“That guy can kiss my entire ass.” He grumbled, tilting his bowl to his lips. YN hummed quietly, shifting Olivia closer to her body and carefully bringing a spoonful to to her own mouth. Olivia’s chubby hand reached up, attempting to disrupt the course. Dick smiled softly, reaching over and taking her hand. Pushing it down. “I do consider Olivia mine, you know. And you.”

He was trying to give her a heart attack.

And he was gonna get what he wanted.

Her heart pounded against her sternum. She had known for a while that Dick was slowing down in his older years. He hadn’t been on an actual date in… she couldn’t even remember.

At first she wanted to scold herself for being such a bad friend that she hadn’t even asked about his love life; But then, she realized, he hadn’t even mentioned anything like that recently.

He was being serious.

He hadn’t even needed to ask her and she agreed to his sentiments, wholeheartedly.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

“It’s nice to feel wanted.” YN murmured, failing at her attempt to guard herself.

Dick swore he heard heart strings snapping at her tone. He widened his legs, pressing his thigh to hers, ankles intertwined.

As close as he could get without disrupting their bowls, or the baby.

“I’ll always want you.” He promised, carefully leaning closer. “Even if you are obnoxious.”

YN let out a laugh, drenched in her tears. But Dick was prepared for them this time.

At least they were happy tears.

#dick grayson x reader #dick grayson x y/n #dick grayson x you #dick grayson x female!reader

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clarepreed · 1 year

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Double Trouble

Story Content and Summary - 4,942 words. Two women drown on a beach vacation. Drowning, two victims, resuscitation.

Lark

“Hey!” Lark called out to her sister-in-law, Olivia. Every time Lark glanced back at the other woman she seemed further and further away from where Lark was treading water. “You good? Come closer to shore!”

She couldn’t tell if Olivia even heard her. Lark swam a few strokes parallel to the beach, trying to get closer without going further out herself. “Olivia? Nobody else is out that far!”

Olivia’s head was barely visible, identifiable only by her hot pink hair. The other woman floated there for another ten seconds, then her head disappeared underneath the surface.

“Olivia! Olivia?!” Against her better judgement, Lark swam toward the spot where Olivia had disappeared. The ocean water was cold and deep this far out, the waves nothing more than gentle swells. This was why Olivia had come out so far; she wasn’t a fan of the crashing waves closer to shore.

Lark didn’t find Olivia; Olivia found her.

Hands clawed Lark’s body, weighing her down and making her shriek. She sucked down a mouthful of saltwater and managed to get her mouth above the water before she started coughing. The hands tugged at her bikini and her hair, searching for a handhold, until Olivia’s head broke the surface.

Olivia was making gagging noises as she pushed down on Lark’s shoulders in a panic, trying to keep her own head above water.

Lark was shoved beneath the surface without warning. She kicked wildly and struck out with her fists, trying to get away from Olivia. The other woman had a vice grip on her head, which didn’t loosen even when Lark dug her nails into Olivia’s skin.

Lark’s lungs burned, and her vision dimmed. She clapped a hand over her nose and mouth, and then her body took over. She let out the used breath, bubbles filtering between her fingers, and sucked in a lungful of saltwater. Pain cut through her chest, and she lost her grip on Olivia. Her throat spasmed, cutting off the flow of water.

Olivia’s own grip slackened, but by now Lark couldn’t get her limbs to obey her. Together, they sank several feet below the surface.

She felt peaceful and exhausted. Olivia was in front of her now, her blue eyes open but distant, empty arms outstretched.

The spasm in Lark’s throat eased off, and she automatically took a breath, then another, sucking in the ocean until everything dissolved to black.

Adam

“Where’d the girls go?” Adam stood next to the empty row of four beach chairs, looking over at his brother Jared. They’d just gotten back from a beer run and were surprised not to see their wives there.

“Swimming?” Jared mused, looking out over the water.

“I don’t see them. Maybe they went for a walk? Lark said she was just gonna lay out in the sun, that the water was too cold.”

The four of them had rented a beach house in the off season, which meant there weren’t a lot of people on the beach. Of course, it also meant the water was chilly.

“They left their cover-ups and their phones in their chairs,” Jared pointed out.

Adam walked closer to the water, squinting at the waves as they rolled in. He wasn’t ready to verbalize it, but he felt uneasy.

“I don’t see them.” Jared walked up next to Adam. He was uncharacteristically somber, something that Adam interpreted as anxiety.

Another wave swelled, rolling forward until it crashed onto the beach and spat out the small body of a woman, her bright pink hair covering her face.

“Oh.” Adam heard Jared mutter, his voice strange and muted. Then Jared jerked into motion, taking off down the beach and screaming: “OLIVIA!”

The woman’s hair finally registered with Adam, who’d been standing there frozen with shock. He broke into a run, following Jared into the surf.

His brother had Olivia under the arms and was dragging her out of the water. Adam splashed in beside them, reaching for her legs. Together, they heaved the senseless woman onto the sand, her head lolling, eyes open.

Jared laid her flat. Olivia looked ghostly pale, her eyes half-lidded, pink hair stuck to her face. Adam watched him tilt her head back and lean his ear close to her mouth.

Then Adam turned, looking up and down the beach. “LARK!”

Adam heard a phone dialing; when he looked down, Jared had laid his phone in the sand and dialed 9-1-1. He was already bent over Olivia, his hand pinching her nostrils closed and his mouth sealing over hers. He gave her a deep breath; Adam watched her chest rise.

Adam swiveled his head back toward the water. Just past the crashing waves, he saw something dark against the water. A small body, bobbing by itself.

Kicking off his flip-flops and peeling off his t-shirt, Adam ran into the surf and dove into the approaching wave. When he surfaced, he took a gasping breath and started swimming. He reached her in under a minute, her body floating face down, hair a dark cloud. He wasted no time in turning her over, his eyes darting to her face.

Her eyes were closed, features slack. Adam didn’t bother listening for breath, choosing instead to cradle her in the crook of his arm. He realized he wasn’t going to be able to pinch her nose, so he sealed her mouth with his hand and covered her nose with his mouth.

It was hard to keep her upright and monitor the rise of her chest, but he managed, breathing into her nose several times before lifting his head. “Lark! Breathe, Lark! Breathe! BREATHE!”

Her chest rose a bit when he gave her breaths, but when he stopped her chest remained still. A small amount of pink-tinged froth oozed out of her nose and onto her upper lip.

“NO! Fuck! LARK!” Adam wrapped his arm around her chest and began to tow her to shore.

Jared

“Adam! Where are you going?! I need your help!” He watched in confusion, shouting desperately as his brother ran toward the ocean.

His phone rang and rang. Jared gave her another breath, and then he was at a loss, uncertain what to do since she hadn’t started breathing spontaneously.

She must have breathed in water, he thought.

He swiveled around and swung his leg over his wife, straddling her and clasping his hands together. He pressed the heel of his hand into her abdomen, just above her navel. Then he pushed his hands into her, hard. Her body jerked and made a gurgling noise, so he thrust his hands into her again. Olivia’s head fell to the side, and a gush of water flowed out of her nose and mouth.

The call disconnected.

“Fuck!” He forced his hands into her abdomen again, then redialed 9-1-1. More water flowed from her mouth and nose.

As the phone rang, he gave Olivia three more abdominal thrusts, water gushing out of her each time. She made gagging noises, but these seemed to be involuntary because she did not otherwise breathe or stir.

Jared climbed off of her and gave her a breath, relieved that the flow of air was noticeably improved. The phone call connected.

“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”

“My wife drowned!” he leaned down to breathe into her again. Her lips were cold. “She’s not breathing!”

“What’s your location?”

“Oh, God, uh… we’re close to the public beach access at Conch and Snapper!” He pressed two of his fingers into her throat, searching for her pulse.

“Sir, are you able to perform CPR?”

“Oh, God, I don’t think she has a pulse! I’m starting chest compressions now!” Jared interlinked his shaking fingers and pressed his hands to her sternum.

“Make sure your shoulders are over your hands. Compress to a depth of two to two-and-half inches. Count out loud.”

Jared forced his hands down, feeling his wife’s cartilage give as he forced her breastbone into her heart. “One, two, three…”

Is this two inches? And two inches is right? Jesus…

The force of the compressions telegraphed up and down her entire body. Olivia’s head rocked, open eyes staring. Her shoulders jerked to the rhythm, breasts wobbling in her bikini top. The force rippled down her abdomen and made her legs sway.

“… twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty!” He tipped her head back and gave her another breath. Slippery white foam oozed from her mouth and nose.

“Jesus, there’s foam coming out of her mouth!” He gave her another breath.

“That’s okay, sir, please continue chest compressions.”

“One, two, three, four, five…” as he pumped his hands into her chest, Olivia made gurgling noises that reminded him of a stopped-up sink drain. Jared shuddered at the involuntary comparison. “…twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four…”

He glanced in the direction his brother had gone and his compressions faltered. “Oh my God! Uh…twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven…”

Adam thrashed his way into the surf, Lark’s limp body cradled in his arms.

“… twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty! There’s another victim!” Jared shouted, leaning over to give his wife a rescue breath. “My sister-in-law!”

As he gave the second breath, the operator asked for clarification. “Your sister-in-law has also drowned? There are two patients?”

“Yes! One, two, three…”

Adam staggered onto the sand and dropped to his knees, laying Lark close to the spot where Jared was working on his own wife.

“… nineteen, twenty, twenty-one…”

“Is the second patient breathing?”

“NO!” Adam shouted, getting into position over Lark. “I’m starting CPR now!”

Adam’s compressions were deeper and more forceful than the ones Jared had been doing on Olivia. Lark’s swollen abdomen bulged, and a surge of water and foam immediately poured from her nose and mouth.

“… three, four, five, six…”

Jared skipped the next two breaths and started matching the speed and depth of Adam’s chest compressions. Adam had been a lifeguard during college, and it had been less than five years since he graduated. Jared assumed Adam knew what he was doing.

“…seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty…” Olivia’s chest groaned under his hands. Her head fell to the side, water trickling out, followed by a surge. “…twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty!”

The brothers leaned over, Jared mimicking Adam as he opened Lark’s airway and blew a deep breath into her still chest.

“Oh my God!” he heard someone say.

Bystander, Greg

Greg noticed them when he was still on the boardwalk.

A man ran out of the ocean, a smaller body cradled in his arms. Another man kneeled next to another still person, his shoulders bobbing rhythmically as he performed CPR.

Greg spun, shouting to his wife to take the kids back to the house, and then turned back around. He kicked off his sandals and sprinted down the boardwalk, jumping over the steps that led down to the sand.

By the time he reached them, both men were performing furious compressions on two limp, ashen women.

He hesitated then, uncertain what to do. He’d never seen real CPR performed, though he had a current certification. The women appeared to be vomiting up water and foam, while the men forced their sternums down hard, making their breasts wobble and their stomachs bulge. One of the women was partially exposed, her naked breast quivering with each compression. The men counted in sync as they worked.

“…twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty!”

“Oh my God,” he blurted, watching as the men leaned over and gave each of the women rescue breaths. “Have you called 9-1-1? How can I help?!”

“Responders are on their way and have been informed of a second patient,” he heard a woman say over speaker phone. “Continue CPR as long as it is safe to do so.”

Adam

“How can I help?” The stranger asked. Adam heard the 9-1-1 operator chime in. He was bent over Lark, his mouth pressed to her cold skin, forcing air past the resistance in her lungs.

When he broke the seal so her body could exhale, he asked the stranger: “Are you able to perform chest compressions? You can rotate out with my brother.”

Then he pressed the heel of his hand between Lark’s partially exposed breasts, landing on the darkening bruise there, and started chest compressions again.

“One, two, three, four, five, six—” Lark suddenly heaved, and a stream of water and foam burbled up between her blue lips. Adam rolled her onto her side. Sand clung to the back of her head, clumping up her wet curls. When he swept his finger between her teeth, her tongue felt gritty. He pressed his fingers into her neck, waiting a long ten seconds without any sign of a heartbeat.

“Come on, Lark!” He laid her on her back and started compressions again. The rescuers were out of sync now, so he counted quietly to himself.

He’d been trying to keep himself at an emotional distance, relying on compartmentalization to handle the situation in a way he believed would be the most helpful to his wife and his sister-in-law.

He could feel her ribcage flexing under his hands, hear the occasional crackle of cartilage. The water inside her sloshed audibly with each compression. Her eyes were closed, but the skin of her lids looked ashen. Her lips were blue. When he compressed her chest, her distended stomach rippled and her legs swayed. He knew he was helping, but he felt like he was hurting her.

The worst part was a sense of her not being there, that he was working on an empty vessel.

He bent over to breathe into Lark and caught a glimpse of Olivia. Her eyes were open, her pink hair framing her vacant stare. Olivia’s head rocked as the stranger pumped her chest. Adam noted that the stranger seemed to know what he was doing; his compressions on Olivia were deep and fast. Both of the women emitted disturbing wet sounds with each forceful thrust, their bellies bulging.

Before he started compressions on Lark again, Adam couldn’t help but notice that Lark was the only one with a pink tinge to the foam coming out of her nose and mouth.

“Please, Lark…” the beg slipped out of him, even though he knew that if she was coming back at all, it would be after medications and an AED arrived. He found himself memorizing her features, agonizingly gray and slack. The slope of her nose and her broad nostrils. Her full lips and high cheekbones. The freckles dotted across the bridge of her nose, normally almost blending in with the rest of her skin. His voice cracked as he counted. “…fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen… Jesus, Lark, what happened?!”

Jared

Hearing his brother starting to lose it shook him. He swallowed hard and blinked several times, willing himself not to crack, not while Olivia still needed him.

The stranger was performing chest compressions on her now, while Jared kept her head tipped back, ready to breathe for her again. She was staring up through him with her empty eyes; he wondered if he should try to close them, or if that would feel too final. He didn’t know what the statistics were for both or even either of the women surviving. Hell, they didn’t know exactly when the women had drowned; Adam and Jared hadn’t just gone to get beer from their rental, they’d had to drive out to the store.

Olivia’s head was trying to rock with the stranger’s compressions, but he kept it still.

“…twenty-nine, thirty!”

Jared pinched her nose, squeezing out a small amount of foam, then pressed his mouth over hers. Her chest rose when he exhaled into her, then fell. He gave her another breath, wishing her chest would rise under her own power.

“One, two, three—”

Olivia’s body convulsed and a surge of water came out of her mouth and nose. Jared and the man quickly rolled her onto her side like he’d seen Adam do for Lark. This was different, however. First, her staring eyes closed. Then, she gagged and vomited up the contents of her stomach, water burbling out onto the sand. Finally, to Jared’s relief, she took a breath.

The breath was shallow and barely perceptible, followed by more gagging and coughing. He could see her throat working, chin lifting and lips parting as she sought out the relief of oxygen. She wretched again. Vivid pink hair stuck to the bleached skin of her face. Each of her ribs were defined as she struggled, eyes still closed, mouth gaping like a fish.

Frightened for her, Jared pinched her nose again and gave her a steady series of breaths until she finally inhaled deeply, out of sync with his respirations.

“I’m going to help him,” the stranger said, gesturing toward Adam and Lark.

Jared nodded, watching as his wife took a deep, rasping breath, and opened her eyes.

“We’ve got one back,” he said, speaking to the operator and blinking back tears. Olivia coughed hard and looked around in confusion. “My wife is breathing!”

He grasped both of her hands and squeezed them.

Greg

The other man was giving the remaining unconscious woman rescue breaths as Greg crawled up beside them.

“I’ll take over compressions,” he said, and the man nodded before he gave her another breath, watching her chest rise and fall.

Greg shoved his hands down between her breasts, his fingers brushing her exposed areola. Her top was twisted and yanked down on one side; the man had evidently determined it wasn’t worth the time to cover her back up.

“…five, six, seven…”

This woman was slim, with tawny skin and curly hair. Her eyes were closed, and Greg could see a pink tinge to the foam that oozed out of her mouth and nose.

“…twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three…”

“Where’s the medics?!” the husband blurted out. He was becoming agitated, though Greg didn’t blame him.

“You should see them any minute now,” the operator said. “They’re coming from the north.”

“…thirty!” Greg, leaned back, breathing hard.

The man breathed into her. Greg watched her chest rise and fall.

“What’s her name?” Greg asked.

“Lark,” the man said, his voice hoarse. He gave her another breath, and Greg resumed compressions.

“One, two, three, four… your name? Seven, eight, nine…”

“Adam.”

“…eleven, twelve, thank you… fourteen, fifteen, sixteen.” Greg hadn’t just asked for the purpose of information, or to try to distract Adam. He was feeling a little shaky inside himself, even though he didn’t know any of these people. The woman underneath his hands looked dead. Her lips were blue, and her skin had an unhealthy gray tinge. He thought there might be some blood mixed in with the foam leaking out of her, though he wasn’t sure why. “…twenty-nine, thirty! I’m Greg!”

He watched Adam breathe into her, chest rising and falling. When he started compressions again, he winced. He hated the sound coming out of her with each compression, though he couldn’t think of how he would describe it. A wet, involuntary gulp, perhaps.

“I see them!” the other husband shouted. Greg glanced up; sure enough, two trucks were coming down the flatter section of the beach, flashing lights drawing his attention.

“…twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three…” He reminded himself to press her sternum down to the depth he’d learned in his biennial CPR training at work. Two to two-and-a-half inches. “Thirty! They’re almost here, Adam!”

Adam, ignoring the foam trickling down her face, sealed his mouth over Lark’s and gave her another breath.

Adam

Her mouth felt so cold and slick, nothing like the lips he was used to kissing. He heard the truck approaching, and the encouragement from the bystander, Greg. He could even hear Olivia coughing, and Jared speaking to her in soft tones. But he didn’t hear what he wanted to hear, which was the sound of Lark vomiting up the water and drawing a breath on her own.

As he was giving the second breath, the trucks parked and people started piling out.

“One, two, three…” Adam was grateful that Greg continued compressions instead of waiting for one of the medics to approach. Still, in short order Lark was surrounded, and Adam was being shuffled to the side, followed by Greg. A stocky female medic began pounding on Lark’s chest.

“Sir?”

“Adam, this medic needs to talk to you,” he heard Greg say.

They’d already cut away her bathing suit top and were pulling out equipment. He forced himself to look at the man standing in front of him. “What?”

“Can you tell me what happened?”

“We… we found them both in the water. They’d already drowned. I don’t know what happened!”

“That’s okay, sir. Are you the patient’s next of kin?”

“Yes, sir, I’m her husband. Adam. Her name is Lark.” One paramedic had an ambu bag mask pressed to Lark’s face. He watched a third work around the medic delivering compressions, drying off her chest and applying defibrillator pads.

“Thank you, Adam. Is Lark on any medication?”

“Just… uh, just birth control. She takes aspirin sometimes, for headaches.”

“Did she consume any alcohol or drugs?”

“No drugs. Just one beer. We didn’t bring much out, and then Jared and I decided to go out and get a case, but she didn’t have… she’d already…” His voice cracked, and he darted his eyes back toward Lark. The paramedics were intubating her and swapping positions. While he watched, one of the medics listened to Lark’s lungs while another squeezed the bag, and then a different paramedic started giving her forceful chest compressions. He could see her stomach rippling and the tube between her teeth swaying with each hard thrust.

He heard a bleeping noise and one of the medics pressed a button on the front of the cardiac monitor. The bleeping stopped, but the medic said: “She’s asystolic. Push epinephrine… Mona, you’ll time medications. Good compressions, Xavier, switch with me.”

“Adam?”

Adam blinked and looked back toward the medic.

“Does Lark have any pre-existing medical conditions? Heart problems, asthma, diabetes, anything?”

“No… No, she’s healthy.” Blood-tinged foam and water erupted from the tube between her teeth as the medic squeezing the bag disconnected it and turned her head to the side. The medic never stopped compressions. Adam realized they were continuous, now, forcing Lark’s heart to beat over and over, the force passing through her in an endless wave.

Adam could hear the paramedics talking, but he was losing track of who said what. “Time to analyze… Still asystolic. Mona, take over compressions for one minute and then I’ll push another epi.”

“One, two, three…”

The sound of Olivia sobbing and coughing briefly drew his attention. A medic kneeled next to her, taking her blood pressure. An oxygen mask obscured her face. Jared seemed to be trying to block Olivia from looking at Lark.

“How long will they keep trying?” Adam asked, his voice soft.

“I can’t say at this time, sir. I understand why you would be concerned about that. Your wife is very sick.”

“…fifty-seven, fifty-eight, fifty-nine…”

“Kim, after this minute I want you to take over compressions. You’ll go for two minutes, I’ll take over the bag. Xavier, you’re going to suction her after analysis, after the shock if we get a shockable rhythm.”

“… eighty, eighty-one, eighty-two…”

Adam dropped to a crouch, clutching his head in his hands.

“Are you alright, Adam?” the medic asked.

“Take a deep breath,” Greg said. “I’ve been watching you hold your breath for a while.”

“Pushing epi, switch, two minutes of CPR.”

“She wasn’t in the water much longer than Olivia… I started rescue breaths while we were still out there… why… why…” Adam was on the verge of hyperventilating. He forced himself to slow down his breathing.

“…twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three…”

“I didn’t mean to!” Olivia shrieked, her voice carrying over everything else. Her scream was followed by a deep, wet cough.

“Shh, Livvy, just relax. They’re helping her, we can talk about it later…” Jared begged, glancing back at Lark’s lifeless form.

“…seventy, seventy-one, seventy-two…”

“Good job, everyone, good CPR,” the lead medic said.

“How’s Olivia?” Adam asked, his eyes still on Lark.

“She’s sitting up,” Greg said. “She’s pretty upset.”

“One more minute until analysis…”

“One, two, three…”

“Please, Lark,” Adam whispered. “Give us something.”

“…four, five six…”

“V-fib! Pause compressions!” The lead medic leaned toward the monitor. “V-fib confirmed. Everyone clear… everyone clear… administering shock now. Clear!”

The medic pressed the button, and Lark’s torso jerked, her limbs following a half second later.

“Analyzing… still in v-fib, go ahead and switch, we’re going to suction her, no more than 30 seconds. I want two minutes of CPR.”

Another female medic began performing chest compressions on Lark, while Xavier prepared the suction unit.

“…eight, nine, ten, eleven…”

Adam heard a motor and a slurping sound. It was over quickly.

“Good job, Xavier.”

“…sixty, sixty-one…”

The compressions would have been impressive to Adam if this were a tutorial and the body on the sand had been a mannequin and not his wife. Her battered chest dipped and rose over and over again. He could see the bottom of her ribcage bob up and down, followed by the rippling of her stomach. It looked like the medic was crushing her into the sand.

“…one hundred, one, two three…”

“Get ready to analyze…”

“…seven, eight, nine, ten…”

“Pause compressions. Analyzing. V-fib, everyone clear. Administering shock, clear!”

Larks body jumped.

“Still in v-fib. Push another epi, let’s switch. One more cycle and analysis, and then l will contact the on-duty.”

“Your wife may need a procedure that we have to get permission for.” Adam had forgotten about the idle medic standing over him. He knew at some point the man had gone over and filled the lead in on all the information he’d gotten from Adam, but Adam honestly had no recollection of it happening.

“… thirty-seven, thirty-eight, thirty-nine, forty, forty-one, forty-two…”

“They’re putting your sister-in-law in the back of one of the trucks,” Greg said.

“She’s okay,” the medic said. “That will let my partner take care of her in peace, help keep your sister-in-law calm.”

“… sixty-five, sixty-six, sixty-seven, sixty-eight…”

Lark’s hair was drying. Full of sand and salt, it frizzed up around her face. He could see her limp hand in the sand, moving gently in time with the vigorous compressions. The medics blocked part of his view, but he could see her right breast and the bloated curve of her stomach.

“We’re at fifteen minutes since the 9-1-1 call was placed.”

“… three, four, five…”

A hand dropped onto his shoulder and Jared squatted next to him. Adam glanced at him, surprised he wasn’t with Olivia.

“I just came over to check on you. Olivia’s stable.” Jared followed Adam’s gaze. “Lark…”

“…is not doing well.” Adam dropped his face into his hands and shuddered.

“…forty, forty-one, forty-two…”

Jared squeezed his shoulder. Adam heard him say: “Thank you for your help.”

“I just hope she pulls through,” Greg replied.

Adam dropped his hands from his face. His fingers dug into the sand. The medics were still working on Lark as ferociously as they were when they arrived. He watched the medic pumping Lark’s chest. The motion was hypnotic.

What were you thinking in your last moments? Were you frightened?

Tears began to roll down his cheeks.

“…ninety…”

“I love you, Lark,” Adam whispered, knowing she couldn’t hear him even if he spoke up.

“It’s not over yet,” Greg said, crouching down next to him.

The three men lapsed into silence.

“… ninety-nine, one hundred. One, two, three, four, five, six…”

“Alright,” said the lead medic. “Pause compressions. Analyzing… okay, still in v-fib. Come on… Everyone clear? Administering shock! Clear!”

Lark bowed for a split second, arms and legs jerking. Three of the medics reached in and found a different pulse point to palpate, while the lead eyed the monitor.

“Alright, we have sinus rhythm! Good job! I need her pressure, Mona. Let me know if she starts making respiratory effort, Kim. Lark? Lark, you’re at the beach and you had an accident. Can you open your eyes?”

Adam whipped his head up to look at the medic who’d been talking to him. “They got her back? She has a pulse?”

The medic kneeled in front of him, off to the side enough for Adam to see Lark. “Yes, sir! Her heart is beating at a normal rhythm. She’s not breathing on her own yet, but they will continue to help her breathe with the bag. They’re going to take her blood pressure to see if she needs IV fluids, and then we’ll load her up for transport to the ambulance. You may ride in the front of the truck.”

“Can… May I see her for a second? Before you move her?”

“Let me check,” the medic said, climbing to his feet and walking over to the medic who’d been running things with Lark. When he came back, he said: “You can have a minute with her. Go ahead and talk, she might be able to hear you.”

Jared and Greg helped him stand up. Jared said: “I’m going to let Olivia know.”

The medic led Adam over to Lark. She still looked pretty bad; the bits of her lips that he could see were chalky, and her chest was bruised. He crouched beside her and took her hand.

“Hey, Lark,” he said, his voice cracking. “Babe, it’s Adam. I’m here. I love you.”

He could see her heart beating on the monitor, but he pressed his fingers to the pulse in her neck anyway, wanting to feel it for himself.

Her skin was damp, cool and gritty. The artery pulsed under his fingers as he sobbed in relief.

#resus writing #cpr resus #female resus #medical drama

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