New Perspective ~ A Handsome Jack x Reader Story

Chapter Eleven ~ The Amputation

          Slight gore warning! Not too much, but just a heads up anyways! ~rose

          There was a blaring light that shone through the eyelids that shielded your eyes as you slept. A soft, whirring sound became apparent as you slowly became conscious. Not lifting your head just yet, you listened to a conversation that was going on in the room you were in. Feeling around with your hands, you defined the cold surface you were on as a table of some sort.  

          "...low on such resources! I-It may be easier to just reattach it!" A squirrely voice seemed to protest something, sounding timid and quite nervous. 

          "I-It's true!" Another voice chimed in, sounding equally as skittish. "It's holding on by a couple of nerves! Although there is a ch-chance it may not work after the surgery, in about a w-week, we could-"

          "YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!" An angry voice boomed from the other side of the room, a whimpering sound from the other speaker following. "It's too far gone! I don't care how low on resources you are! Just make them better!!" 

          Coming to your senses, you attempted to rise from your position - though, something wrapped around your stomach and shoulders held you back. Prying open your eyes, you glanced down at your chest to find heavy leather straps bounding you to an operating table. As your vision became clearer, you moved your head to look around you - to the voices that were speaking. 

          Two scientists were just leaving the room, leaving a frustrated looking Jack there at the door. He was pinching his nose, making an aggravated face.

          "Idiots. I'm surrounded by idiots..." Jack grumbled under his breath, his eyes shut tightly. After breathing in and composing himself, he shifted his head slightly to face you. His eyes widened once he saw you were looking back at him, and he made quick work of walking towards you. 

          "Y/N! You're awake! God, uh- wait, don't move-" Jack sputtered out as you wriggled against your restraints. 

          "W-Why am I being restrained.." you groaned, gripping your hands into tight fists as to distract yourself from the uncomfortableness of your position. However, once you tensed up your muscles, a sharp pain shot through the top of your left arm. You winced out in pain, your head slowly turning to look at the cause of your discomfort. But before you could, Jack quickly clasped his hands on either side of your face, forcing you to look at him. 

          "Hey, now! Hey,  you don't wanna look at that right now, hah..." he let out a breathy laugh, making sure your eyes were on him and not on the source of your pain. Eyebrows lowering in frustration and confusion, you struggled to recall what happened as your eyes locked with Jack's. 

          After a moment of silence, the memories hit you. 

          When you and Jack were escaping, you were attacked by another group of marauders and bandits. Blind with rage, you shot at them without anything to protect your body with. In result, you were shot several times in your left arm, right near your shoulder. That must be why you felt a sharp pain there... but it doesn't explain why you're strapped down to a table? What is going to happen to you - is he going to cut it off? Will you only have one arm for the rest of your life?

          You shuddered at the thought, shutting your eyes tightly as if it would help to avoid thinking about it. Jack's eyebrows quirked in response, watching you silently. As his grip on your face loosened slightly, he finally spoke up. 

          "After you passed out in the Dust, I was tryin' to find a way to a fast-travel station. I had figured that getting you to Sanctuary soon as possible would be the smartest choice, but I was given some advice by, ah, someone..." he trailed off near the end of his sentence, looking to the sided as if to dismiss the detail. "And I was told that I should bring you to a lab. After racking my brain for a bit, I remembered this beat-up forgotten Research and Development sub-lab that was holed up on the outskirts of the Highlands! So, I found my way here and chatted with the brainiacs to figure out what to do about your- uh... your injury..." Jack trailed off once more, turning his head slightly to your left arm. You attempted to look over as well, but Jack's hands still cupped your face. Though, you still resisted his grip and tried to look at your arm. Feeling your head move, Jack pulled your face back to face him. "Look, you don't wanna see it, it's... well, it's not pretty.."

          You simply responded with a frown, which made one appear on his face as well. He then dropped his head with a heavy sigh as your eyes stuck on him. Then, after a moment, his hands dropped from either side of your face. Accepting this opportunity, you shifted your head to look towards your arm. Once your eyes fell on your wound, you felt like throwing up.

        There was a patch between your shoulder and arm that was practically void of flesh. There were a few tendons holding your arm together, as the bones looked cracked and, at this point, useless. A pool of blood had formed on the table beneath this patch of nothingness, as it still dripped from your torn muscles and flesh. In simple terms, your arm is barely holding on. Nausea slowly began to grip you as Jack spoke. 

          "Don't worry, the scientists here are currently making an arm to replace that one..." he told you, however you couldn't quite comprehend him yet. You were too taken aback by the sight of your busted up arm. Jack must've noticed this, as he gently cupped your face once more to draw your attention to him. "It'll be okay, alright, pumpkin?" 

          You took your time to answer as you looked into his eyes. They both held such beautiful colors: his left, a striking emerald hue - his right, an icy blue shade. You felt as though you could get lost in them for hours. Reluctantly pulling away from their trance, you nodded your head slightly as the sound of footsteps became apparent. Shifting your line of sight, you watched as two scientists walked over - one of them holding a sleek looking piece of metal. Only when they got closer did you realize it was the prosthetic arm Jack was talking about. Once Jack registered that they were walking over, he let go of your face and stepped back, crossing his arms. You could only assume that he didn't want to seem sentimental in front of his employees. One of the scientists walked towards a machine beside the table you were on, as the other walked up to Jack and presented the arm. 

          "H-Handsome Jack! We have an arm for your companion... we hope that it will suit nicely," the scientist closest to Jack said, fidgeting slightly with the metallic prosthetic in his grasp. Jack simply nodded his head, glancing at the scientist closest to you. 

          "Hey! Brainiac! What are you doing with that?" Jack barked, arching one of his eyebrows at him. The scientist flinched at Jack's words, clearly nervous to be near him. 

          "I-It's just a face mask to transfer a mixture of oxygen and nitrous oxide into your companion's lungs, which will sedate them f-for the surgery..." he sputtered, shaking as if he were caught doing something extremely embarrassing. You glance up at the mask, thankful for the fact that they thought about putting you to sleep for the duration of the surgery. The scientist released a sigh of relief as Jack mumbled an 'alright,' and he continued to move toward you. "J-Just lift up your head slightly, this won't hurt a bit!" You complied, allowing him to secure the mask onto your face as he began to release the laughing gas.

          After a moment, you began to feel lightheaded as your limbs became numb. Lazily, you watched one of the scientists grab the tools he would need for the procedure, as the other talked Jack through every little thing that would happen. However, you weren't able to register what exactly he was saying. Jack just nodded along, his arms crossed firmly against his chest. He then gave one last look towards you to let you know that things would be alright. You understood this, as comfort washed over your already numb body. Reassured, you allowed yourself to slip into an unfeeling and heavy sleep.

          What's this? An update? Yep hehe I'm alive! I'm happy to be continuing this story, as I've had so much planned for this for such a long time! I'm glad to be back! ~rose