Chapter Text
“Hey, what’s wrong, sweetie?” Caretaker croons as they pad into the room you’re in, their arms full of supplies.
You’ve woken up from some kind of state, and now you find yourself crying so much you can’t even breathe!
Damnit, and every time you try to take a deeper breath- the sobs take over.
And with every sob that wracks your body, the harsh vibrations of pain travel up and down, too.
So you can’t stop, and Caretaker rushes over to your bed to intervene.
You vaguely remember them…maybe you’ve loved them before. Or maybe it was just a date..
“I-uh-I can’t stop…can’t stop..” You choke out between gasps for air.
Caretaker is heavily concerned by the way your chest and flanks heave for breaths, but you didn’t have any lung injuries..as far as they know. It’s probably due to the pain, so it’s a good thing they brought some meds for that.
“Hey, don’t hurt yourself.” Caretaker calmly sits beside you on the edge of the bed, resting all of their supplies near your body. “You can’t keep breathing like that, ok?”
“I-I can’t-“ You sniff uncontrollably. “Can’t stop. I..can’t breathe-please-“
“Alright…shhh,shh-“
“Help-“
“Shhh, you’re ok. But I want you to focus on me, can you do that? I bet you can.” Caretaker interrupts over your increasingly panicked whines.
“..don’t..know.” You choke out. You nearly jolt as their fingers rest over yours in a way you’ve almost never felt before.
Or at least, if it had- you can’t remember it.
“I’m gonna give you a shot to calm you down, ok?” Caretaker warns softly, taking out a syringe of something from their bundle of items.
“I-wh-what? No!” You argue with an even more merciless surge of fear.
However, Caretaker still watches you so calmly as they thumb over your hand.
“I really need to,” They insist. “But you can watch if you want..would that help?”
You can’t bring yourself to cough up a response, considering all your effort is going to the task of breathing. Yet you still watch in terror as Caretaker so carefully plunges the needle to your upper arm.
“There..you’re doing such a good job.” They praise quietly as they dispose of the needle and begin unfurling the wound care supplies.
“I’ll give you a few minutes to let that sink in.”
Your body trembles a little more, and a little harder, until it reluctantly begins to give.
You find that although you can breathe a better for now- it doesn’t last very long.
Whatever was in that shot makes you feel weird, and you still feel like you truly can’t get a deep breath in!
“C’mon, deep breaths,” Caretaker instructs. “In and out, just like that.”
“What are you doing?” You ask slowly, after your breathing has improved just enough that you can speak.
“I’m going to change some of these dressings out.” Caretaker gives you somewhat an expression of pity as they explain. “It might hurt a little, that’s why I gave you that to help.”
You give a weak nod in agreement, so Caretaker proceeds with their work.
“I’ll be so careful with you. And I’ll be done before you know it.” They add cheerfully.
You can only swallow down the hard lump in your throat as they begin to peel away the dried dressings of your wounds.