✅ Project SETI Trilogy

Chapter One - Part XX: Respite

          Julia assured him that she would be back to retrieve the biohazardous materials waiting back in the OR, and would create the lipid-lactose post-natal substance in his stead once they were outside the decontamination chamber. She then left to tend to other things, and Gabriel was grateful for the respite—he looked forward to getting a moment to breathe and process things.

          As he guided Nova through the hallways, he noticed it was very still and silent in Project SETI. He was unnerved by it and further unnerved when he didn't pass a single person—he only heard the echo of distant, urgent footsteps when he passed a junction, but that was it.

          He brought him to the same recovery room as all the other times. It was the nicest one available to the clinic, or at least, it was in Gabriel's opinion. He enjoyed the view of the skyline that the large windows provided, even at night. Lights from fixtures in orbit and from structures on the ground alike sparkled against the backdrop of the deep blue sky, and the visible half-moon glowed brightly above the highest of the buildings. Aside from the view, it was also markedly larger than the others.

          Gabriel settled the bed into position over the magnet on the floor, and it clicked securely into place. Afterward, he replaced the monitoring equipment of the OR with the equipment in the room. He removed the blood pressure cuff, and then he peeled the leads off Nova's shoulders and abdomen and replaced them with a pulse oximeter. He was relieved to see he was still in sinus and that his heart was beating around fifty beats per minute, but it faded a bit upon seeing his oxygen saturation was 90% and falling. He leaned in and placed a hand on his chest, right over his heart. He could feel it thudding beneath and could also feel that while Nova's breathing was regular, it was a bit too slow and shallow to be effective.

          Gabriel plugged his nose and tenderly propped his mouth open so he could breathe for him. He pushed down on his chest when he didn't exhale properly, and then he blew into him again.

          "It's alright, sweetheart," he said to him when he continued to lie still afterward. "I'll help."

          He opened a cupboard built into the wall above the bed's head and took out both an ambu bag and a rebreather mask. He connected the ambu bag to the oxygen stream, turned it on and brought it over to Nova's face. Again, he rested his hand on his chest, but when he didn't feel any movement for a solid five seconds, he pushed the soft silicone mask firmly in place over his mouth and nose and began to squeeze it rhythmically.

          "I know that anesthetic was a lot," he continued in the same coaxing, reassuring voice, "and that you're probably still feeling it. So daddy's gonna breathe for you until you can again."

          Gabriel stood at Nova's side for just over five minutes and kept tirelessly squeezing oxygen into him. He would look down at him, then up at the monitor to make sure his vitals were still stable, and then he'd pause to test if he was breathing yet.

          "There you go," he cooed when he finally took a breath without his help. "Keep breathing, baby."

         As he stepped away, he popped the small tube off the ambu bag and switched it out for the rebreather mask. When it was securely in position, he took a deep drag off of the oxygen stream and blew it into Nova, just for his own pleasure. He gently lifted his head afterward and pulled the mask into position over his mouth and nose. He was relieved to see the small bag attached to it expand and deflate as he continued to breathe, and his oxygen saturation stabilized accordingly.

          He just stood there for a little while afterward, frozen in the moment. He stared at Nova, at his chest as it rose and fell, and he listened intently to the steady chirping of the pulse oximeter. He'd suppressed a lot of thoughts and emotions during the code and subsequent surgery, and he was suddenly overcome with an immense exhaustion that made him want to throw himself into the bed with Nova as everything hit him at once.

          He didn't fight the urge this time, as he had before. He toed his shoes off and took off his shirt, then set the bed to lie at an angle so that Nova was nearly sitting up. He then carefully leaned him forward and climbed in behind him, so that one leg was on either side of him. He gently shifted Nova's body forward and down with his own, and when he was satisfied that he was comfortable, he leaned back into the inclined gurney. Nova's head leaned back along with him, into his chest—and while he hadn't planned it like that—he was certain he could hear his heart from how his head was angled.

          Gabriel closed his eyes. He allowed himself to take refuge in the regular breathing he could now feel against his own skin, and focused on the soft chirp that denoted every beat of his heart. He then shifted to focus on the warmth he could feel radiating off of him, and it didn't take him long to start drifting off like that... but just on the edge of unconsciousness, he noticed how the beeping of the monitor had picked up, so he opened his eyes to observe it. It was still in resting sinus, but now it was in the 75 - 80 BPM range, and he noticed his respirations were different as well.

          "Nova..." Gabriel said softly. He reached up to play with his hair when he inhaled slowly and deeply through his nose. "You awake, sweetheart?"

          Nova groaned and shifted slightly, but generally stayed in the position Gabriel had left him in. "I can't hear your heart... mm... when you talk..."

          He smirked. "Well, I just want you to know... you were great, and I'm so proud of you," he felt Nova smile against his chest as he finished speaking, and it made him grin, too.

          "You can... you can tell me all about it later..." Nova slurred drowsily.

          "You can watch it later, too," Gabriel reminded him. "Right now... the entire facility is on lockdown. Not sure why yet, but I can't go anywhere, so... I thought I'd catch a nap here with you."

          "Mmm... okay..." Nova sighed and relaxed again. He barely registered any of that information; all he understood was that Gabriel wasn't going anywhere and he could continue to listen to his heart, which was now a little faster than it had been when he first regained consciousness.

          "I'm—I'm so happy you're okay," Gabriel whispered. His voice shook with barely-contained emotion.

          "Oh... don't cry, Gabe..." Nova said distantly.

          Fuck, Gabriel thought. Fuck me. I never thought I'd be so happy to hear you say my name.

          "I'm not crying," he protested softly. "I'm just so relieved..."

          He was going to continue, but he noticed that Nova had already fallen asleep again. His body slowly went slack, and under the hiss of the oxygen mask, he could hear him snoring quietly. Gabriel closed his eyes again, and, comforted by the fact that Nova really did make it through unscathed, he fell into a deep and restful sleep.