Chris Evans One Shots and Imagines

Scars Left Behind - Part Two

You couldn't remember when you fell asleep or if you had just zoned out to the point the outside world faded away to nothing. The only thing you could comprehend was the pain in your chest. It was a pain you had never experienced, soul crushing and bone breaking. The fear of not knowing if your world was going to be taken from you. You were pulled from your thoughts or your sleep by an almost silent voice...

"Mummy?" He called out. You jumped from the confines of the sheets you lay between and rushed to his side.

"Hi baby..." You smiled down at him. His once olive skin was now a shade of sickly white and his eyes were slightly swollen causing his once chocolate brown eyes to be almost black.

"Water?" He asked.

"I'm sorry baby, you can't have any until the doctor gets here okay?" The guilt took over you as you studied his chapped lips. He looked dehydrated and it scared you to no end. As you felt the walls inside you crack you were interrupted by a knock on the door. Before you could invite them in a tall woman with big green eyes and luscious brown hair walked in with an even taller, slender man trailing behind her with a notebook in hand and a bright smile that put you slightly at ease.

"Is this Liam?" The woman asked with a cheery voice.

"Yes, it is." You squeaked out feeling slightly intimidated. Your eyes were drawn to the clock on the wall reading 6am. They were here early.

"Hi, I am Dr Kris but please call me Leah and this fine fellow behind me is Adam, we are part of the renal team here and are going to be looking after this little guy."

"Hi, I'm Y/N. Liam's mum." Your smile was laced with exhaustion and fear which you could see Leah picked up on immediately.

"Do you mind telling me what's been happening with Liam just so we can get an understanding of where you believe you are up to?" She sat on the edge of the bed and reached below the blankets to tickle Liam's toes but didn't get a response from him, he just lay there hooked up to machines and stared off into the distance.

"Uhh, well we thought he had gastro so we took him to the hospital on Sunday after we found blood in his nappy. They ran a few tests and then last night they flew us up here." You shrugged, recalling what had happened.

"Do you know why he was sent up here?" She asked warmly.

"They didn't tell me till we got up here that he is in renal failure." You felt your lip quiver as the fear you had been battling all night reared it's ugly head once again.

"Okay. So, the fecal culture that they ran on Liam has come back showing a rare form of ecoli which is releasing a toxin called Shiga Toxin. This toxin is attacking his kidneys and his haemoglobin which is sending him into renal failure. This is called Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome. It doesn't usually occur here, we maybe get 2-3 cases a year in children and unfortunately there is no cure we can only treat it systematically..." Your heart stopped at her words. There was no cure? Adam moved out of the corner and came to sit near you on the fold out bed you didn't realise you had moved back to.

"The good thing is we caught it early!" He assured you as the tears once again broke free from their confines and ran down your face.

"What we are going to do is start off with bloods this morning to find out where he is up to, depending on his numbers he may be going in for surgery this afternoon to insert a peritoneal catheter so we can begin dialysis but lets not focus on that yet, it will depend on his numbers." Leah smiled at you and began to examine Liam while asking you questions such as is he usually this pale, is he swollen here, how is he acting in himself. By the time they left you felt your heart and brain each going a million miles a minute. You tried your best to calm your breathing but it didn't seem to be doing much good. Reaching for your phone you noticed a message on the screen from Chris.

Chris

Everything will be okay! Boarding now, should be there by 7am then will catch a cab to the hospital.

Checking the time you were so thankful to see that it was now almost 7am meaning Chris wasn't far off. You decided to try your luck and dialled his number. On the third ring he picked up.

"Baby, is everything okay?" He asked and upon hearing his voice again you just broke down.

"How far away are you? I need you!" You sobbed.

"We just landed, I am getting a cab as soon as I can." You could hear Lisa on the other end of the line but couldn't quite make out what she was saying.

"They are going to take more blood. I can't do this alone." You felt your heart breaking in two as you spoke and your voice caused Chris more pain than he ever thought possible. He bid you goodbye and ran through the airport with his mother in tow, jumping into the first cab he could find.

"Is everything okay?" Lisa puffed out as she tried to catch her breath slumped next to her son in the dirty smelling car.

"No." He managed to whisper out hanging his head. The guilt had been eating him up inside since you and Liam had been boarded into the ambulance to go to the plane. He had gone straight home and was unable to stop himself falling into a heap on the ground, clutching one of Liam's toys to his chest as he broke down. Everything had happened so fast and he felt completely out of his depth. He was unsure if he had the strength to keep going. He was adamant your strength could rival that of a lioness protecting her cub but his insecurities plagued him, that he would not be able to the pillar of strength you deserved.

Chris had cried himself to sleep that night with a pair of Liam's pyjamas in his arms. The smell soothed him but at the same time caused his fear to grow. If the worst was to happen, he didn't think he could carry on.

By the time Chris and his mother reached the hospital he was checking his phone for the update on your room. He ran through the hospital, ignoring the pointing and the stares of those around him as his mission was clear, he needed to get to his son. Finally making it to the room he had barely made it through the door before you were in his arms, squeezing the life out of him. The hug was brief but powerful. You knew he had somewhere he needed to be and watched as he rounded the bed your toddler lay on to be by his side. Chris climbed into bed, careful of the tubes that he was connected to and began to stroke his sleeping boys messy blonde hair. He peppered kisses to his forehead as you and Lisa witnessed the reunion of a man and his son. The two had always been thick as thieves and seeing them together always warmed your heart. As if on a cue an unfamiliar face poked her head through the doorway to notify you that she needed to take some blood. Leaping into action Chris stood up bringing his son with him. He manoeuvred the steel pole that housed the many chords that Liam had and followed the nurse to the procedure room.

"Stay here baby, try and relax. I've got this." He promised. You knew he did, you knew that if there was anyone who was meant to be a dad it was Chris but the idea of leaving your son for even a second caused you physical pain.

"It's okay darling." Lisa spoke softly so only you could hear. You turned to her and nodded slightly. You allowed Lisa to guide you to your fold out bed and sat beside you, stroking your hair as she held you in her arms.

"I spoke to your mum in the cab, she isn't that far out. Maybe 40 minutes away at the max. You turned to your mother in law and in a rush of anguish you told her everything that had happened since you had boarded the jet to get to the hospital. She sat silently as she listened and took in everything you said. You could almost see the cogs turning as she concocted her own plan to help you and her son survive this ordeal. Chris walked back into the room carrying a Liam who had tears running down his face and offered a weak smile.

"I think he wants mummy." Chris told you but was proven wrong as Liam snuggled in closer to his dad. You could see his heart swell and a fraction of his fear of not being enough dissipate before your eyes. Once again Chris lay on the bed with his little one in his arms and in the moment of tranquility he dozed off.