So Close Part 6 - Restless Nights
Book(s): The Royal Romance & Open Heart crossover (AU)
Pairings: Liam x Ella (MC); Ethan x MC
Characters belong to Pixelberry; Ella Brooks belongs to me.
Song inspiration: Lonely Days by Fiji & J Boog
Summary: Ella was stuck in between two men, Bryce and Ethan. When she had to make a choice, she ultimately chose Ethan … but he refused. Now what?
Catch up here - So Close masterlist
A/N: It’s been entirely too long since I’ve updated this story, I’m so sorry I’ve been MIA. I hope ya’ll forgive me.
Thank you @ao719 for encouraging me to finish writing all these stories, prereading and telling me to “quit hoarding all of them” LOL love youuuuu!
Warnings: angst (lots of it); mentioning of bodily injuries and blood; character death
Words: 1469
Ella felt the pounding headache first against her eyes. It hurt to even take a deep breath in and she winced at the stab of pain and began to cough.
“She’s awake!” Bryce.
“No shit, Sherlock!” Jackie. There was a smacking sound.
“Was that supposed to hurt?” Bryce.
“Stop it!” Ethan.
“Ella?” Sienna.
“Mmm?” Ella struggled to open her eyes, her vision was blurry and she forced herself to blink to clear it. “… happened?”
“You fainted, sweetie, do you remember that?” Sienna sat next to her on the hospital bed, a concerned look on her face.
Ella shook her head slowly.
Ethan had his arms crossed against his chest, a nervous look over his features. Bryce had his lips tucked between his teeth, tapping a finger against his mouth; a tell that he was also nervous. Ella couldn’t figure out why, but something was going on. Words just … were too hard right now. She looked from Ethan to Bryce and back again; Sienna understood. “Dr. Ramsey has something to tell you.” She stood from the bed and gestured for Ethan to take her place.
He let out a sigh and sat next to Ella. “I’m glad you’re awake,” he murmured. “How do you feel?”
“Headache,” she whispered. “But … tell me.”
Ethan nodded. “You hit your head and was asleep for a bit. You fainted because … you saw on the news that Liam” - he hesitated and cleared his throat - “There was an accident.”
Ella’s eyes widened as the memory started to flood back to her in waves.
King Liam Rys of Cordonia was reportedly on a plane home and left from the Boston airport.
She sucked in a breath and let it out slowly.
That plane was the target of an assassination attempt.
Ella’s heart rate started to slowly increase and the machine next to the bed began to alarm.
No news on whether King Liam has survived this heinous attack.
“Ella!” Sienna gasped and jumped forward. “Try to calm down, sweetie.”
“El,” Bryce’s gentle voice distracted her from the memories and she turned to look at him as he sat on the other side of her on the bed now. Ella’s eyes were swimming with unshed tears. “He’s on his way here, he’s alive as far as we know.”
Her eyes widened at Bryce’s statement. The young surgeon took her small hand in his and rubbed his thumb over her knuckles.
Earlier that day
An out of breath Dr. Ramsey carried Ella from the cafeteria to the ER. “I need a bed, now!” A nurse opened a door to an empty room and Ethan ran inside. “She fainted in the cafeteria and she needs a CT.”
“Are you thinking a PE or do you want a head CT?” The nurse typed the orders into the computer and pulled her work phone out to call radiology.
“No, just a head CT is fine,” Ethan scanned Ella’s body in a quick assessment and his eyes went back to her eyebrow that was crusted with blood. “She got some … surprising news. I don’t think she has an embolism.”
“Alright, Dr. Ramsey, we’ll wheel her over there. I’ll start an IV when we get to radiology. Fluids?”
“Yes, just NS at 75.”
A middle-aged man with wrinkled green hospital scrubs approached Ethan as Ella was wheeled from the room to radiology. “Ramsey, what’s going on?”
“Keifer,” the two men shook hands. “Dr. Brooks fainted in the cafeteria and I brought her down for scans.
“Oh,” Dr. Kiefer’s brows furrowed. “I’m sorry to hear that. I’ll look at them as soon as they're done.” The radiologist turned and followed Ella’s bed to look at her results.
“Ethan!”
He turned to see Naveen approach him. “There has been an accident, some King of Cordonia?”
Ethan nodded. “Let me guess, he’s on his way?”
“Yes, how did you-”
Ethan waved the question away with a sigh. “It’s just my luck, that’s all. What does he need?”
“I have all hands on deck for this as I’m not sure how serious the injuries are; he is royalty from another country,” Naveen’s brows furrowed. “Why are you here? You hate rounding in the ED.”
Ethan let out a breath. “Ella saw the news report, she … knows the king. She fainted in the cafeteria. I’ve got scans going right now.”
“I’m sorry, Ethan,” Naveen patted his friend’s shoulder. “Well, you stay put with Dr. Brooks, I’ll round up the bunch and have them do some work.”
Ethan nodded and went to sit inside the dark control room where Ella was getting her workup done. He watched her body, still and lifeless, on the table as they took pictures of her brain. For some reason, his mind flashed to their argument at his place and how she said she was done with him. His chest constricted at the memory, and he silently berated himself for his behavior that night. Something about Ella made him crazy; he would do anything and everything for her, protect her with his damn medical license if he could, and keep her from having to endure any issues with the medical board, but he still kept her at a distance. Not wanting to get hurt, not wanting to hurt her … but he did hurt her. And had her run to the arms of her ex-boyfriend that’s a fucking king. Ethan rubbed his temples and let out a frustrated sigh.
Bryce, Sienna, and Jackie all congregated in the front of the hospital where Dr. Banerji was to make an announcement.
“What do you think is going on?” Bryce asked as he tossed a few pieces of candy into his mouth.
“I don’t know,” Baz Mirani quipped as he stood next to the group, buzzing with excitement. “I heard that there’s some king that was part of an assassination attempt and he’s coming here.”
“Can you imagine?” Sienna said with wide eyes. “A king?”
Everyone heard someone clear their throat from the front of the stairs and turned to see Dr. Banerji standing with Dr. Emery and another physician that was head of trauma medicine, Dr. Albrey.
“All,” Dr. Banerji banged his cane against the stairs to get everyone’s attention. “I called this all-hands meeting because there was an airplane incident near our waters and the survivors are coming here. If you have no cases, you will be assigned one. We need all the help we can get. I need the Diagnostics Team up front after this please, everyone else, head to your departments for detailed instructions. I don’t have the details of the injuries as of yet but once I know, you will.”
The crows dispersed and the remainder of the Diagnostics Team filtered through and approached Dr. Banerji.
“I knew it was a plane crash!” Dr. Mirani whooped. “I am so ready!”
“Yes, well, unfortunately, the team is a bit short today,” Naveen adjusted his glasses. “I’ll assist until Dr. Ramsey can join you.”
“Where is Dr. Brooks?” Harper inquired.
“She had an accident and Dr. Ramsey is tending to her in the ED,” Naveen explained. “Let’s regroup in the office, we can call and see what the ETA is.”
500 miles off the coast of the North Atlantic Ocean
The ocean waves had taken the large emergency raft back towards Boston. Burning parts of the royal aircraft were floating alongside the raft while the sun was about to set; casting the ocean in an orange glow. It was a somber, tense, and quiet time; Bastien, Maxwell, and Liam were the only survivors. Rashad, the two stewardesses, and the two pilots did not survive the attack.
Bastien had a large gash across his leg and was bleeding from his shoulder. He had taken his shirt off and tied it around his injuries like a tourniquet. When he found Maxwell in the water, he was barely conscious and bleeding from both his arms. He pulled the tall, lanky man into the raft and tore his dress shirt off to wrap it around his lacerations to stop the bleeding. It took about 30 minutes for Bastien to find Liam, who was also barely conscious, but treading water. Once he pulled him onto the raft, Liam immediately passed out. The King of Cordonia had a head injury, the dried blood had dripped down his face to his neck. Bastien wrapped Liam’s head with his shirt; then looked up to the sky when he heard helicopters circling the crash site. He let out a small sigh of relief and began to wave his good arm in the air. They were safe … for now.
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Batfam AU where Jason never dies, so Tim doesn't join the family the standard way. Instead, he continues pouring most of his time and energy into his photography, eventually becoming known as a popular photographer for events and all that. So now, picture this:
Tim gets hired to be a photographer for a Wayne gala. Obviously, he's ecstatic, because he can take pictures of Batman, Robin and Nightwing and be in their presence for a whole night. Since Tim is so naturally talented in stealth and taking pictures unnoticed, the second one of the fam realises this they're like: this kid is good.
Tim manages to go unnoticed by all 3 of them (all bat-trained, one literally batman) multiple times during the night, and even when he is noticed, he disappears before they can manage to get a good look at him; to the sheer amazement of Dick and Jason.
Jason, (very discreetly putting snacks in his suit pocket): i know you're under the table, kid.
Tim: don't mind me, Mr. Todd-Wayne, sir, just taking a few pictures
Jason: right... Jason's fine, and what pictures were you taking from under the table?!
Tim, showing him perfectly good shots of him: these.
Jason: how did you get that. it looks like you took it from the rafters
Tim, nodding: I did.
Jason, glancing at the ceiling: ...what?
Tim, gone:
Jason: no fucking way.
Dick, hearing a very, very faint camera shutter from behind him:
Dick, turning around and finding no one there: what the actual...
Dick, getting the feeling of being watched and whirling around to find Tim staring at him from across the room: ... huh.
Jason, pulling Dick aside: you see that kid too, right?!
Dick, nodding: the camera kid, yeah?
Jason: who is that.
Dick: he's one of the hired photographers, apparently. one of the best in his field, despite his age.
Jason: he's good. like, really good. snuck up on me 4 times already, the little bastard.
Dick: you too? i swear he's constantly watching. it's creepy how well he can sneak past both of us.
Jason:
Dick:
Jason: you don't think...
Dick: no. B would've told us.
Jason:
Dick:
Dick: did he get another kid and not tell us somehow
Bruce: what do you mean another kid?
Jason: you heard us. did you adopt another kid and not tell us?!
Bruce: no?? how would I even?? ... what's this about?
Dick: one of the photographers has managed to sneak up on both me and Jay multiple times already
Bruce: what.
Jason: he also can't be more than like. 15 or 16. so forgive us for assuming you took another one in.
Bruce: do you know his name?
Dick:
Jason:
Bruce: really?
Dick: in our defence, he's very hard to catch. i wouldn't be surprised if he's snuck up on you, too.
[camera shutter noise]
All of them, whipping their heads toward the sound only to find nothing but air:
Tim, smiling from the other side of the room:
Jason: do you see what we mean?!
Cue an entire night of shenanigans where it's just Dick, Jason and Bruce trying to catch Tim and learn about him. Upon finding out who he is and where he lives, Dick immediately asks to keep him as an honorary member of the family. Jason is hesitant at first but at some point Tim calls Bruce Batman instead of Mr. Wayne on accident and Jason laughs so hard he's basically won over. Bruce can do nothing but watch as Tim proceeds to come over almost every night for sleepovers and is coddled by both of his sons. And he can't deny, the kid's investigation and stealth skills are top tier. By the time Dick and Jason both start referring to Tim as 'their younger brother' Bruce has just accepted his fate.
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Just to tie in my two themes this month----
Additional notes, because poll options apparently limit their characters:
Frodo finds great peace in watching the tides rise and fall throughout each day. He attends all the ranger programs on birds and seashells and fills pages with sketches and poetry.
Sam meticulously selects postcards in the gift shop for each of his friends and spends a whole morning writing and addressing them. He also buys Junior Ranger hats for his kids and a variety of Appalachian jams for Rosie.
Park rangers launch a Missing Person search for Aragorn when they realize his car's been parked at Avalanche Creek for three days. The search runs for almost a week before he comes strolling out the opposite side of the park, supporting one of the SAR techs who twisted an ankle during the search.
Legolas is first drawn to Olympic for the towering, mossy temperate rainforests, but the ground goes out from under him when he steps onto Second Beach for the first time. He spends an entire day watching the light and tides shift on the sea stacks, and he leaves feeling both full and hollow, like a bell that's just been rung.
Mammoth is only Gimli's first stop on a cavern tour, followed by Jewel and Wind Caves and Carlsbad Caverns. Wind Cave is his favorite for the unusual formations. He makes an obnoxious tween boy cry in Carlsbad for breaking off a speleothem.
Boromir is on a tour of military parks. He asks so many questions to the intern working the info station at Fort Sumter the kid has to go find the park historian. His favorite site is Vicksburg because that place was buckwild, though he silently judges one of the reenactors for his clumsy handling of a black powder rifle.
Merry also makes stops in Jurassic and Dinosaur National Monuments. He watches every park video, takes selfies in front of all the fossil exhibits, and earns his Junior Ranger badge at each one. He buys a keychain for Pippin.
Pippin actually gets four citations, mostly for trying to stick his hands in mud pots. He doesn't mean anything by it---he's just so delighted and curious about the bizarre landscape. He winds up with several thermal burns and dumps a king's ransom in the donation box on his last day.
Gandalf gets dinged by rangers for not paying the $5 fee for Trunk Bay, but he acts senile until they eventually decide to drop it. He gets postcards from everyone and responds to none of them.
Faramir and Eowyn are traveling together and do many of the same hikes and rides, but they do have some different preferences off-trail. Eowyn drags Faramir to a rodeo and the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar in Jackson Hole, and he goads her into Ranger Shelton Johnson's living history programs on the Buffalo Soldiers in Yosemite.
Eomer is bike-packing on his sport cruiser motorcycle. He goes to Roosevelt south unit for the wild horse herds but ends up spending half a day watching a prairie dog town. He takes 400 photos of them, mostly blurry, and texts them to Eowyn.
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