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Post by Alfred Jones on Jan 19, 2011 20:23:33 GMT
It was around five AM in the morning, a time most people would be expected to be sleeping. However, this was not the case for a certain homeless teen, who had been injured quite badly. Joel watched worriedly as Alfred slumped against the wall, sitting down on the floor. He had been there early to get the place cleaned fully, and he had found the figure slummed outside his doorstep in the back when he had taken trash out, bleeding everywhere.
Of course, the first thing he had done was try to convince Alfred to go to a hospital, which the boy would have none off. He even attempted to punch him for trying to help him! So for now, he was doing the only other thing he could think of. He was putting pressure on teh wound to stop the bleeding, or try to at least, and he was on his cell phone, waiting for that Kirkland guy to pick up. He seemed to care about the boy enough...
He winced as Alfred gave a groan. The poor kid was struggling to stay concious, and was fading in and out despite trying to help put pressure on the areas his wounds were. Alfred wouldn't even tell him what happened, or well, he would try to but he wasn't exactly coherent enough to.
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Post by Arthur Kirkland on Jan 19, 2011 20:27:48 GMT
Arthur, of course, wasn't most people, but he was sleeping for once, curled up safe and warm in his comfortable bed. It had been a good month or so, and there was a soft smile on the young man's face. He was enjoying having an actual friend, having someone to talk to, even if it was occasional and on off. He liked having Alfred around, and he liked seeing him feel a little bit more comfortable everytime he was with him.
His mobile was balanced on the bedside table, but it still took a couple of rings for it to cut through Arthur's pleasant dreams. He groaned, turning over, and groped at the alarm first, before waking enough to grab the phone and flick it open. "Hello?" He groaned, sleepily, clearly not all there. What on earth...?
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Post by Alfred Jones on Jan 19, 2011 20:31:29 GMT
A feeling of relief was felt, but Joel quickly started speaking. "Arthur, It's Joel, you need to come to the restraunt. It's Alfred, he's hurt, and-and I don't know what to do--Please get down here he needs he--" And at that moment, a bloody hand reached up, snagged the phone and turned it off, throwing it to the side under teh counter where it couldn't be reached.
"Don't bother him...." Alfred said slowly, barely concious. He had heard 'Arthur' though, and he really didn't want the man to feel responsible for taking care of him or trying to help him...Well, not die.
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Post by Arthur Kirkland on Jan 19, 2011 20:38:17 GMT
Arthur started to wake up a little, letting out a noise when he heard Joel's voice. "Joel...?" He asked, sleepily, but he woke up even more when he heard what was happening. "W-what?! What!" Arthur quickly sat up, and then - suddenly - the dial tone. He swore, and swore hard, throwing the phone instinctively. He regretted that, though, scrambling after it and picking it up. Moments later he was pulling trousers on over his pyjamas, and a jumper and a coat on too, and after grabbing his keys and wallet he bolted out of the door.
He ran to the train station, fortunately arriving minutes before the train did. Jumping on, he tried to call again, frowning when the phone ran through. He tried again, and then paced while he waited for the train to make the trip between the cities.
As soon as it arrived, Arthur bolted, running again, straight to the cafe. Forcing the door open, Arthur looked around wildly. "Alfred? Joel?"
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Post by Alfred Jones on Jan 19, 2011 20:43:23 GMT
Joel of course had scolded Alfred for that, but he couldnt be too harsh on the guy. When he heard the door forced open and Arthurs voice though, he spoke up. "Back here!" THey were actually in a sitting room off to the side, where customers could wait for seating or well just relax after a meal or whatever. It was decent at least, with seating and what not, and he had moved Alfred in here where he would be more comfortable.
Currently he had the boy on some cushions, and he was still putting pressure on the areas that were most bloody. "W-what do we do?!" The poor guy was freaking out, hysterical. However, the arrival of Arthur coaxed Alfred back into conciousness, and he stared blearily at Arthur, smiling weakly. "Sorry for waking you..." He mumbled, eyes closing faintly to rest them.
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Post by Arthur Kirkland on Jan 19, 2011 20:50:39 GMT
Hearing the call, Arthur ran through. He almost panicked more when he saw the state that Alfred was in, stopping dead in the doorway. Alfred's words brought him back to life though, and he stepped over, but only to slap Alfred's cheek. "You absolute idiot! I told you to call if anything happened to you!"
Arthur found himself too close to tears for comfort, so he stepped back for now, taking a breath to calm himself. Kneeling beside Joel, he pushed Alfred's shirt up to see the damage. "We're taking him to the hospital." Ideally he wanted to take him to a High Lands one, but... Reaching in his pocket he pulled out his phone and offered it to the man. "Call for an ambulance now. And if you have a first aid kit, I want that."
Leaning over Alfred, he ran his fingers over the red slap mark. "Alfred..." His heart was in his mouth again, tears in his eyes. "You idiot." This time it was softer, his normal fond nickname. "What happened?" Taking over putting pressure on the wounds, he ran one hand through Alfred's hair, before putting it down on the cuts.
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Post by Alfred Jones on Jan 19, 2011 20:54:05 GMT
Making a small noise at the slap, it made him dizzy so his eyes closed more, holding back nausea. At hearing the other talking though, he quickly tried to find his voice again, coughing out then shaking his head. "No, I don't want to go! Don't! I'll fix it myself! Give me something to bite on!"
Joel took the phone with shaky bloody hands, and it slipped a few times in his hands, nodding and quickly going to grab the first aid kit first. When the two were left alone for the moment though, Alfreds brow furrowed slightly, a little confused at the others tears before he coughed. "C...Can I explain later...?" He requested, not feeling up to talking much.
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Post by Arthur Kirkland on Jan 19, 2011 20:59:46 GMT
"Alfred..." Arthur warned him quietly. "You're not doing anything." He frowned when Joel refused to call, but sighed, leaning into Alfred a little, feeling his warm, bloody body under his fingertips.
He paused, and then sighed. "As long as you promise to tell me." He said, voice still little more than a murmur. Removing one hand, he pulled Alfred's shirt up and off so he could have a look at what injuries he had. Even if Alfred was going to refuse to go to hospital, there was a little that Arthur could do. "I need to at least know what injuries you have." He said, as he gingerly lifted his other hand to see what was hiding beneath. "Has your head been hit? What about your legs?"
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Post by Alfred Jones on Jan 19, 2011 21:05:35 GMT
Alfred squirmed, attempting to do what he needed to, but he nodded faintly as well. Joel returned with the kit then, setting it next to Arthur, and opened it quickly, looking at what was in side, obviously not knowing what to do with it.
"...Gunshots..." He managed to mumble, but he shivered with a soft noise as his shirt was lifted, uncomfortable despite the wounds he had. "Hit head, but that's not too bad..." He mumbled. Joel ran off and returned with a bowl of water and some towels, and he started trying to clean off the teens chest a bit.There were three wounds, one near Alfred collar bone, one on his side, and one near his ribs. Alfred managed to lift his head enough to see them, and shuddered faintly in pain. "They...They need to come out..." He murmured.
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Post by Arthur Kirkland on Jan 19, 2011 21:11:25 GMT
Arthur bit his lip when he saw the wounds, fisting one hand for a moment. "Alfred..." He whispered. Fortunately enough, Arthur did actually know in theory what to do. He'd had to do research for a story once. He nodded at what Alfred said, and this time couldn't resist leaning forward to kiss the younger man's forehead lightly.
Pulling the first aid kit over, Arthur rummaged through it. "Joel, I need a plate to put shrapnel on, some spirits - vodka or gin, maybe? - and something for him to bite on. A folded tea towel or a piece of wood." He said, pulling out an antiseptic wipe and starting to gingerly dap the blood away so he could see better, careful not to let it tough the wounds where it would sting.
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Post by Alfred Jones on Jan 19, 2011 21:16:23 GMT
Joel perked as soon as his name was said, and nodded, quickly moving away and then returning with the items Arthur had asked for. "There should be large tweezers in there too..." He said, looking at the kit. Alfred just lay back, not even really noticing the kiss and just closing his eyes after a moment, hissing when the wipe got too close to one of his wounds.
Faintly Alfred shifted though, reaching down and without warning...He pushed his finger in one of the openings, chuckling a bit while he grit his teeth in pain. The thumb pushed in as well, and a moment later, the main part of the bullet was pulled out, and he giggled faintly, blue eyes out of it and obviously not himself. "See I can do it...~" he mumbled, before his eyes rolled back and he fell unconcious.
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Post by Arthur Kirkland on Jan 19, 2011 21:24:43 GMT
Arthur reached to get them, and when he looked back to see what Alfred was doing, he let out a cry, catching Alfred by the wrist too late. "Alfred!" Sighing out as he lapsed into unconsciousness, he stroked Alfred's wrist, and moved to take the piece of bullet, dropping it onto the plate. He stroked Alfred's hair with slightly bloody hands, pushing his fringe out of his eyes. Then taking the towel, he parted Alfred's lips, slipping it between them.
He worked quickly now, trying to take advantage of Alfred's unconsciousness. Disinfecting the tweezers with the alcohol, he took a deep breath before starting to pick the shrapnel out of Alfred's wounds. It took a few goes to get the hang of it, but Arthur carefully removed each piece, putting them on the plate, and then pushing it aside. Then he cleaned them, and started to bandage them up, keeping it tight to stem the bleeding.
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Post by Alfred Jones on Jan 19, 2011 21:28:42 GMT
Joel practically pissed his pants at seeing Alfred do that, freaked out by the guy now, and he shuddered before he just attempted to help Arthur, cleaning the wound occasionally so that Arthur could see what he was doing. "I hope it hasnt gotten any organs..." he murmured.
Alfred was unconcious the entire time, not responding or reacting to any of the painful things at all. The only time he did anything was kind of groan in pain when Arthur scraped on his rib, and by the time that he was wrapped up, he was rather pale looking. Joel just sighed, rubbing his neck. "...What do we do now..?" He mumbled. He'd have to shut down the diner for today, to clean up the blood...
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Post by Arthur Kirkland on Jan 19, 2011 21:33:50 GMT
Taking off his coat, Arthur wrapped it over Alfred to keep him warm, before starting to pack things up again. "I'll help you tidy up, and if he isn't awake by then I'll need your help to get him to the train station." On the other end he'd just have to call for a taxi, but no taxi would go from one city to the other.
"First, though... I need to clean my hands." Arthur said, quietly, looking at his blood stained hands. He stood up, heading into the bathrooms and washing up before returning. He moved the pillows under Alfred a little, trying to make sure he was comfortable. Then standing up, he moved to get a mop, silently helping Joel to tidy, with frequent glances back at the unconscious teenager.
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Post by Alfred Jones on Jan 19, 2011 21:37:49 GMT
Nodding slowly, Joel stood, taking the towels off to the laundry room and getting them in first before he found the stuff he needed to get the blood off the tiles. It took around an hour or so, and Alfred didnt even stir when Arthur adjusted his pillows. Finally it seemed enough for the waiter though, and he sighed.
"Let's get going. I have to shut down for the rest of the day anyway now, so let's just get him to your place before people start walking around, ok?"
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Post by Arthur Kirkland on Jan 19, 2011 21:43:49 GMT
Once they were finished, Arthur headed straight back to the backroom, sitting by Alfred's head and stroking his hair. He looked up at Joel and sighed, before nodding. "I'm sorry about all of this." He said, quietly, before shifting. Rather than putting Alfred's ruined shirt back on him, he pulled his jumper off, and sitting Alfred up, pulled that over the boy's head. Luckily, there was enough stretch in it to cover him.
Pulling his coat on and doing it up to hide his pyjamas, Arthur put Alfred's arm around his shoulders, and then as gently as he could pulled him up. "If you can... ah... take the other arm?" He said, breathing a little heavily under the weight.
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Post by Alfred Jones on Jan 19, 2011 21:47:54 GMT
Joel smiled, but let Arthur do what he thought he needed to before he nodded, getting under Arthurs other arm. His build was somewhat similar to Arthurs, so it was a bit of a struggle for him as well, but the two did manage to get him up. "Alright...Off we go."
It was a slow journey, but eventually they were able to get the larger male on the tram, and then eventually to Arthurs flat. "O-Okay...Where should we put him for now?" He asked, sweating faintly from the trip. He was surprised to find that Arthur was a highlander, of course, but he said nothing about it, more worried for Alfred.
It seems that the familiar scent of the place was enough to wake Alfred up though, and he made a small noise, slowly coming back and looking a little delirius.
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Post by Arthur Kirkland on Jan 19, 2011 21:53:29 GMT
Arthur was surprised when Joel implied that he'd come the whole way with him, but he appreciated the help. Unlocking the door, he hefted Alfred up a bit, just in time to see him come round. "Alfred, love, we're home. We need to get you up the stairs."
Nodding at Joel, he kicked the door open and led them both to the stairs, taking as much of Alfred's weight as possible to half lift, half drag him up the stairs. By the time they reached the top, he was panting hard, sweating over his brow, but he didn't stop now, unlocking his door, and leading them through.
"We'll put him on the bed." He said, confidently, giving no space for argument. He pulled Alfred towards the bedroom, still unmade from when he leapt out of it before.
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Post by Alfred Jones on Jan 19, 2011 21:57:15 GMT
Joel just nodded at the decision, taking as much weight as he possibly could to help the poor guy, then when they finally made it to bed, he turned, hugging on Alfreds waist and managing to slowly lower the other onto the bed. Once that was done, he got the others long legs up there as well, before he fell to his ass, panting out. "Jesus...I dunno why I was worried about him not eating, he weighs a ton..."
Alfred only made a small noise when he was laid on the bed, but at hearing Joel say that, a quiet pained voice said "'m not faaat..." He barely even recognized where he was, his vision was so blurred from the pain and lack of focus.
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Post by Arthur Kirkland on Jan 19, 2011 22:01:06 GMT
Arthur probably would have chuckled at Joel had he not been so concerned about Alfred. He did cast the other man a worried glance, before perching on the side of the bed, softly running his fingers through Alfred's hair again. "Fat isn't the same as heavy, silly." He murmured, before moving to pull his shoes off, and then tug the blanket over him. "Do you need anything? Water? I have some painkillers if they'll do anything." He offered, as he tucked Alfred in, worried still.
Looking at Joel, he offered him a small smile. "You too. Tea? Or coffee." He'd given in and brought some for Alfred, though he still wasn't a master at making it.
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