Chapter 40: Pain means it’s working

Carlos was the first person to make sure that Kellen wasn’t showing any other signs outside of the pain he was experiencing. He unwrapped Kellen’s arm, making sure that the skin on his hand wasn’t going necrotic due to the poison or lack thereof.

Kellen barely noticed the other man touching him, or when he took off his eye patch. Sure, the light got a little brighter, but he was keeping his eyes closed just because of the severe level of pain he was in. He couldn’t tell that the man was poking and prodding his wounds. The pain was so overwhelming at this point in the transfusion that he had to fight to stay conscious.

Taylor was doing her best. She was keeping the room calm and checking in with Kellen constantly. it was annoying to Kellen, but at the same time, it was what she was supposed to be doing.

Kellen wasn’t even aware that time was passing until Taylor announced, “We’ve done it. We’ve reached bag ten.” She said. Kellen, who had no medical knowledge beyond basic patching up, splinting, and where to cut so you didn’t bleed out, had no idea what that meant.

“Is that good?” Kellen asked through clenched teeth. Taylor let out a soft laugh.

“It could be. How is the pain, Kellen?” She asked.

“We’re at an eight out of ten now.” Kellen admitted and Taylor swore.

“Shit. Alright. Almost done. We just need to wait for the last of the bag to enter your bloodstream. Carlos, how are we looking?” She asked out loud and Carlos let out a disbelieving laugh.

“We are looking good. Good good. His blood is coming out clearer. Not perfect, but I can already see how I can pick apart what is left inside of his body at this point. If everything goes to plan and he doesn’t suddenly reject the blood, this is a viable option.” Carlos sounded optimistic, but was also keeping the excitement down. They could get all the way through this and catch on a snag.

Kellen let out a soft chuckle.

“Don’t say something so damn ominous, Carlos. That’s like wishing something will go wrong.” Kellen accused. Carlos gave a snort.

“I’m not the one with predictive powers here.” Carlos said, giving a pointed look in a particular direction which told Kellen that was where Rhys was. “So? What does the Captain think?” Carlos asked and Rhys remained silent for a long moment.

“I can’t see anything, which is a good thing. It means that Kellen is still in my future.” Rhys said and goddammit if that didn’t make Kellen emotional. Kellen wasn’t expecting that kind of reply, and neither were any of the other staff.

Taylor let out a sigh.

“Glad you found someone so perfect for you, Kellen.” She whispered to him quietly before she turned back into her professional self.

It felt like eons, but eventually, all the blood was in Kellen’s body, he’d given as much as he’d gotten, and now it was a waiting game.

Kellen was allowed to sit up, and was even encouraged to drink a few more juice boxes. He wasn’t allowed to be treated right away since they needed to wait for his body to settle a bit. During that time, Taylor and Carlos left the monitoring to their team while they went over the information at hand.

Taylor was a good person for Carlos to have access to, apparently. She was able to explain terms that Carlos didn’t know medically, but knew from his time dealing with poisons. She was also a patient person, and used to dealing with messy other Espers. Carlos couldn’t pull the wool over her eyes, and it appeared that spending time around her had helped mellow him out as well.

Only time would tell if that was actually true, given how much pleasure it gave Carlos to bother Sakura as much as he did.

Rhys was given the all clear to approach Kellen again. Kellen felt the man approach, shifting his body slightly to look at him with his good eye as he approached. Kellen still didn’t have his arm coverings on, nor did he have his eye patch on. Kellen watched as Rhys scanned those injured areas looking rather distressed as he looked them over. Kellen couldn’t blame him.

Kellen wasn’t looking down either.

He was also still in a great deal of pain. There was a fog of it tainting everything around him. His chest was heaving even as he tried to keep taking measured, calculated breaths. There were just some things that were hard to breathe through.

“Sugar, I wish I could take this pain away for you.” Rhys murmured, reaching out and rubbing Kellen’s back. Kellen didn’t want to be an asshole and tell him that rubbing his back right now was not going to help him, so he kept his mouth shut. Even as it felt like it was agitating his nerves more.

He was not going to tell Rhys to stop touching him.

“I wouldn’t want you to.” Kellen ground out. “I don’t want you to feel this either. God, it’s about as bad as when it first happened.” Kellen admitted and a few of the members helping out grew curious about that. They asked Kellen questions and it was hard enough of a thought that it distracted him from his pain for a moment.

Having Rhys nearby also helped. While stupid, Kellen did want to put on a bit of a show for the other man. He didn’t want him to worry too much. Especially not right now. Kellen wanted this to work.

Everyone needed this to work.

A timer went off and Taylor returned, doing a check on Kellen to make sure that everything was as normal as it could be. Turns out, nothing was normal, and that was a good thing.

Kellen’s tests up until now had been the same, dreary news of no changes. That was not the case now. His test scores were different in ways that meant they could actually tackle what was in his system. The team had hope in their eyes for the first time in a while. Kellen included.

It felt like they were counting their chickens before the eggs hatched, but Kellen was not about to tell them not to celebrate. This was a great step forward. Rhys’ tight grip on his shoulder told Kellen that too. Everyone was hopeful, not just the doctors.

After another timer went off, Taylor’s eyes began to water as she looked towards Kellen. She looked relieved, hope making her emotional.

“it’s been half an hour, Kellen. Nothing has happened.” She told him, her voice tight. “I can start attempting to heal your hand now, and we can give you medication for the pain.” She told him. Kellen found himself emotional in the face of Taylor’s own vulnerability. He could tell that the rest of the team was affected as well.

This was a big deal. This was ginormous. If this was working, the other Espers and Guides who were unconscious could have a relatively quick wake up procedure. Now they just had to wait out a full 24 hours before declaring he was in the clear.

Taylor set to work attempting to heal his injuries, or at the very least, bring down the level of pain he was in. No one was certain that it would even work, but she made sure that Kellen was injected with pain medication first.

A type of pain medication that Carlos insisted on. One that he had manufactured to go around the poison in his system instead of antagonise it. He had no idea that pain medication could do that, but he trusted Carlos on this one thing. Man knew poisons.

Once the pain medication was in him, Kellen counted down the seconds that Taylor told him it would take to hit him. Kellen let out an audible sigh as he felt some of the pain fade and Taylor smiled at him warmly.

“It’s good to see that it’s helping. However…” Taylor trailed off, staring down at the hand she held in her own.

It hadn’t changed. While Kellen was waiting for the pain medication to hit, she had been working on Kellen’s hand. However, nothing was happening. Taylor tried not to look defeated but it was clear that her hopes had been raised, and now they were dashed once more.

Kellen just shrugged.

“It’s early, you haven’t dealt with everything that is going on in my body yet, don’t get down on yourself yet.” Kellen told her, comforting her. Taylor glanced at him before she huffed, shaking her head.

“I shouldn’t be getting comforted by the man who is currently waiting for the treatment I just gave him. This is just like a damn Guide.” It was said affectionately, and Kellen smiled.

“Blame it on the pain meds. I’m feeling a lot better. Can I put my eye patch on again? I feel a little strange without it on.” Kellen asked and Taylor nodded. She was looking for the eye patch when Rhys disappeared for a second and then was back at Kellen’s side. He was gently putting the eye patch on for him and Taylor froze. She clearly hadn’t anticipated for him to use his powers like that, but Kellen was used to it.

Kellen chuckled, slightly amused.

“Rhys, you can’t scare others like that.” Kellen chastised and Rhys didn’t look apologetic in the slightest.

“A quick blink isn’t going to change anything when it comes to my power usage. Just let me take care of you.” Rhys murmured and Kellen couldn’t argue with his words. Taylor resumed her work shortly after she heard Rhys’ words. She was shaking her head, but there was a smile on her lips.

Kellen remained in their care in this room for another half an hour, then, once they were feeling better, Kellen was allowed to go back to the room he had been assigned the night before. Kellen wasn’t allowed to leave the Medical Bay, not until the 24 hours was up.

Kellen was fine with it. This was what he needed to do, not just for him, but for Gwen. Bree, and the others. Rhys was like a tender caregiver. He was soft spoken, careful with Kellen’s uncovered arm. While Kellen was allowed to cover up his eye again, his arm needed to be uncovered. That would be the easiest way to see if things were moving in either direction. There was enough poison and healing powers injected into his body that anything could happen.

If Kellen didn’t notice it, someone on the cameras in his room might. It was a solid warning from Taylor that he could not get up to anything again, and Kellen took it to heart. If this worked out? He wouldn’t need to worry about restrictions for much longer.

That alone made him act on his best behaviour. He was being completely selfish in the long run, so he let Rhys tuck him in. He followed Taylor’s suggestions with ease. Anything to make this as easy of a transition as possible.

All the while, the clock was ticking on and Carlos was working on the blood samples from the blood bags that he’d gotten from Kellen. Each sample from each bag was something that needed to be studied so that they could find out what the worse reactions could be.

Kellen remained in his room, a warm cup of tea in his good hand, Charlie and his parents finally being allowed to see him after Taylor and her helpers had finished getting the last of their tests done. At least, for now.

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