Cottage on the Hill (MxMxMxMxM)

Chapter Twenty-seven

(A/N Apologies for the long waits, I've been having a rough time of it the last couple of weeks. In return for your patience, this chapter is a long one (almost 3000 words over my usual limit!). I can't tell you when the next one will be posted; I'll do my best to make it sooner rather than later, but who knows what my brain will be doing this week. Thank you for your patience, enjoy!)

5:30am, Thursday November 5th

Someone murmured a soft 'good morning' and I saw the lamp switch on from behind my eyelids. It can't be morning already, can it? I groaned, the weight of exhaustion settling in the pit of my stomach. Nina shifted the bed beneath me so it was sitting up a bit more, then I heard her open the curtains.

"Good morning, how are you feeling?" she asked. I noticed that it was still almost completely dark outside, though the lights from the hospital gave the space below a weird glow.

"Tired," I croaked softly, yawning and rubbing my eyes. Nina hummed and came to my bedside. "What are you doing?" I asked vaguely, only keeping my eyes half open.

"I'm just checking your vitals, and then I'll leave you to wake up a bit. I'll come back in half an hour with your first medication." She put the blood pressure cuff around my arm. I winced at the squeeze. "Everything seems good. If you start feeling terrible, press your call button."

I hummed and buried my head in my blankets again. Nina sighed softly. I heard her leave, but not close the door to my room. The noises of the hospital gently coming to life woke me. I yawned again and rubbed my eyes, looking at the little cup of water she'd left. I stared at the white styrofoam and all the tiny, random patterns in it.

The clock on the wall flicked over to 5:50, and then 5:51, and then I realised that I have no way to call or text my loves, or Cora. My phone isn't here, and god knows if it still works. I can't really afford a new one, so I hope it's ok. Ollie said something about them coming back at 6am, though some small part of me wants them to not see me like this.

I swallowed as 5:55 came and Nina came back. She turned the little switch on the lamp and the light brightened a bit. "Still feeling ok?"

I nodded.

"Good." I watched as she dropped a white tablet into half a glass of what smells like orange juice. "Sit up. You can lie down once you've had this." I pushed myself up and rubbed the gunk out of my eyes before taking the cup from her and sniffing. Weird. "It's tasteless. This is Deferasirox."

"Which one is that again?" I asked before taking a breath and downing almost all of the juice.

"The one that removes excess iron from your blood stream. Did your partners go over the side effects with you?" She knitted her brows. I shook my head and drained the rest, then slumped back on the pillows. "Alright, the most common ones are nausea, abdominal pains, vomiting, a tired feeling, dizziness, and anxiety. If you feel nauseous, I can give you something for it, but it's not viable for the long term."

"I'll be ok," I said softly. I'm used to feeling nauseous by now. She hummed and set a little timer, announcing that I can have food when this goes off. I grunted and closed my eyes again, curling gingerly around the cannula in my arm.

"Your transfusion is at 8am, so I'll come in with your other medication before then, and something small for you to eat. Unless something goes drastically wrong, you'll be discharged right after the transfusion."

I hummed and nodded, unwilling to open my eyes. Another voice murmured good morning to her.

"He's awake, just not feeling well," she said. I opened one eye and saw Ollie and Cas standing there holding two paper bags, both from the café down the street.