Summary: After a tough mission at TerraSave, Claire ended up in the hospital and Leon comes to visit her.
Status of their relationship in this one shot: Dating!
The bright white lights were beaming in the tranquil, pristine room. It was also quite a small room, clearly meant for only one person to be staying in, but it was extensive enough to allow visitors to stay in. It smelt very bland, as if it had no smell, it was a boring scent. There weren't many windows either, just a few along the left wall, which showed the busy outside world, people who were actually able to live their lives outside of a hospital.
Claire didn't like it here - she absolutely despised being in the hospital. If only she would've been more careful, she wouldn't have ended up here, in this plain, depressing room. All she wanted was to be back at her house, laying in her bed and watching TV or reading a book. Here, she can still do that, but not like she can back home. Now she doesn't even know when she'll be out of here, the nurses haven't given her a clear set time yet.
Her entire left side hurt, it was beyond bruised up, it was all black and purple. Her left arm was also banged up too, having red scratch marks all down it and a huge dried bloody scab on her elbow. Her body hurt, but it wasn't an unbearable pain. She's sure if she was in the comfort of her own home, she would feel a whole lot better. But alas, she has to stay here to make sure no further damage occurs to her well being.
Not only does she miss her home, Claire also misses being at work. Despite her mission at TerraSave causing her to get hurt, she doesn't really care, she just wants to get back out in the world and work, it's her ultimate passion and it's all she ever wants to do aside from being home. She misses some of her co workers, luckily a few of them have visited her. Gabe is the one she misses most, the two have a tight bond, he's like a second brother to her.
All Claire was trying to do was get her mind off of the fact she's rotting in a hospital bed mid day, when she could be at work, being productive and useful. She feels lazy, which is a feeling she hasn't even felt since her days in college, back then she was lazy, she'll admit that. Although, it's kind of hard to keep her mind off of it when all she can even hear is the sounds of the lights buzzing above her, they were clearly old and in utter need of being replaced.
Once she's all healed up, the first thing she's doing is going to HQ and asking when the next upcoming mission will be ; that is if they even let her go on one. TerraSave happens to be rather safe than sorry and sometimes they'll force workers to take breaks from serious missions after a messy injury, which Claire has sadly suffered. It's like all she can think about - working and being home.
Whilst Claire was deep in thought, she hadn't even noticed a nurse walk in. The woman seemed young, even younger than Claire. She finds it admirable that young people are working towards such tough and hard working jobs ; a nurse being a great example of that. It encourages her more than anything. "Hi Claire, I'm Kaylee, it's nice to meet you, your usual nurse had the day off today so I'm here just to check in on you!" Kaylee spoke, her tone kind. "Oh, yeah, sure." Claire responded, attempting to sit up.
"Oh, no hun, just stay layed down... You did a lot of damage to yourself." Kaylee chuckled to herself, seeming very friendly. "Yeah, guess that's what happens when you work in the force though." "I imagine so... TerraSave, correct?" "Yes, that's the organization I work for." Claire responded, her eyes gandering up at the nurse. "What's your position there?" Kaylee questioned, holding a clipboard in one hand and a pen in the other, most likely needing to gather some info from Claire.
"I'm a representative for the company." Claire answered, sliding some of her loose hair behind her ear, although it hurt her arm a bit, she still wasn't recovered at all. "Nice... And your organization just basically helps people and the aftermath of terrorist attacks? Or just attacks in general?" "Pretty much, yeah." Claire spoke, her tone brittle. "I see now... And how exactly did you end up injuring yourself?" "Well, I was on top of this steel platform, trying to get a better angle of where our missing chopper was, because it literally vanished, then boom, the platform starts swaying and I fell from it onto a rock, it fucking hurt." Claire snorted, rubbing her temple. "I bet." Kaylee replied, her tone empathetic.
"I'm honestly surprised you're okay, for the most part. You bruised your ribs pretty good and your entire arm is scratched up and it's swelled... Like a lot... You're a tough girl." Kaylee complimented, placing the clipboard down. "Thanks, I try." Claire tittered, sighing deeply to herself, her eyes staring down at the white marble floor, Claire imagined it was cold to be barefoot on, but at least the cot was warm enough.
"Alright well, thank you for answering those questions, I appreciate any information I can get." Kaylee stated, smiling kindly at Claire before speaking once more, "Oh and by the way, Barbara, the receptionist currently working told me that you have a visitor on the way, not much has been told to me but I know their name is Leon, does that ring any bells?" Kaylee asked, seeming skeptical. "Oh, yes, that's my boyfriend. Jesus, in all honesty I forgot about him." Claire giggled, she wasn't being serious but she won't lie, he wasn't on her mind much.
"Don't worry, you hit your head and got hurt, you tend to worry about yourself more than others which is valid in this situation but I'll keep your secret." Kaylee reassured her. "Thanks." Claire chuckled, folding her arms. "Yeah... Anywho, I'll see you soon, I'll check your vitals and all that good stuff in about an hour or two, will you be okay until then?" "Yeah, don't worry about me!" Claire expressed, giving Kaylee the queue to know she could leave not worrisome. "Okay then, just hit the button on the right side of your cot to alert a nurse and one of us will come to you, sound good?" "Yep!" "Alrighty then, bye bye Claire." Kaylee said with a bright, cheerful grin before walking out of the room.
Breathing out deeply, Claire reverted her eyes to the TV directly in front of her bed. It was a small, black square one and it was mounted onto the wall. What was playing was Steve Irwin, the guy was playing with some Cheetahs, it was adorable. Sadly, the man had passed away not to long ago, Claire remembered how girls at her high school fawned over him. She has no doubt girls will continue doing it once his son is older.
Through the small windows in the compact room, Claire spotted a few different breeds of birds finding their ways to the sills of them, relaxing and pecking away at whatever goods they were able to acquire. Claire adored wildlife, it was so natural, like truly. It isn't even debatable. It sort of kept her mind off of the fact she was hurt pretty badly, but nevertheless, she would recover soon, it's just a matter of time.
Lost in her own thoughts, Claire was startled when she suddenly heard the door creak open, black shoes were visible from the bottom, indicating it was Leon. He must've just gotten out of work, he dresses quite nicely for it too. "Leon?" Claire spoke aloud, hoping it'd be him. "I'm here babygirl." He said back to her, opening the door fully to show himself off. He looked as handsome as ever.
"Hi." Claire mumbled, tilting her head upwards, catching a glimpse of his face. "Hi baby... You doing okay?" Leon questioned, striding over to her cot and immediately grabbing her hand, knowing to be careful, despite it being her not damaged arm. "Yes, I'm okay, just sore and hungry." Claire responded, her voice soft & timid. "I imagine honey, I heard you had quite the fall. Pedro told me you were unconscious afterwards, I wish I could've been there, my love." Leon spoke with sincere, he felt horrible that he couldn't be there for her the day it happened.
"It's okay, you were at work, you aren't obligated to come to my rescue." Claire tittered, beaming at him with love plastered on her face. "I kind of am though..." Leon whispered, caressing her hand with his thumb. "You said you were hungry?" "Yeah, I haven't eaten since yesterday, before all this happened." Claire chuckled, sighing deeply to herself. "I can pick you up some food here in a bit, I don't need you trying to eat this shitty hospital food." Leon snickered, firmly holding her hand, making sure she knew he was there for her.
"It's okay, I'll live." "No, I insist, I can get you whatever you'd like, from wherever." Leon insisted, sitting down in the chair beside her hospital bed, being careful to not bump anything. "Well... A bagel from the bakery sounds good." Claire giggled, gazing up at her man. "You ask and you shall receive." Leon smirked down at his girl. "Before you go, just stay here for a bit, it's been literally two days since I've seen you." "Okay beautiful, I'm more than happy to stay here with you... When will you be able to come home?" "Don't know yet, I imagine I'll find out when the nurse checks my vitals again." Claire replied.
"Okay. Whenever you're able to, whether it be tonight or tomorrow or whenever, I'll bring you back to my place, it'll be safer that way. Pedro told me you're getting some time off, he told me you were pretty rough looking." Leon heaved, letting go of her hand and moving it to her hair, slowly running his fingers through it. "I bet I was." Claire blew out, adjusting her upper half and attempting to turn her body to get a better view of Leon. "No, just stay there, you're so stubborn." Leon chuckled. "I just wanna be able to move again." "Give it a day or two babygirl."
Claire cutely rolled her eyes and let out another deep breath, she seemed very bored of this place, which Leon didn't blame her. He wishes that she could be home, with him. It's all he wanted for her. "Come here." Leon mumbled, standing up and drawing himself closer to her body, embracing her with open arms. Claires lips formed a half smile whilst she wrapped her right arm around him, using her fingers to grasp onto his shirt.
Leon nuzzled his head into her neck, breathing gently and taking in this moment with stride. He was grateful she was okay, he doesn't know what he would've done if she would've gotten more injured than she already is, or worse. Leon can't imagine a world where Claire isn't his soulmate. "I'm glad you're ok." Leon uttered out in her ear, kissing her cheek a couple times before officially pulling away. "I love you Claire." "Me too and I love you more, Leon." Claire said, her heart was swelling with care and love for him.
"Do I look dumb at all? My hair is a mess, I haven't showered in two days and my entire left side is just beyond beat up... Ugh..." Claire scoffed. "No, no babygirl, you look fantastic always. You could like..." Leon stopped in thought before finishing his sentence, "You could have literal shit smeared on your face and I'd still view you as perfection." Leon laughed, lightening the mood. "Ew, you sicko." Claire chortled, slapping his arm lightly. "Just speaking my mind." He mumbled out to her.
"Oh, by the way, Chris let me know he's gonna fly down from New York to check on you. I wouldn't dare try and deny his request." Leon joked, he somewhat feared Chris but respectively. "What? Why? I'm fine! That's a waste of money, he has absolutely no reason. Oh Jesus." Claire groaned out. She wasn't a teenager anymore, yet he still tries his best to take care of like she is. "Hun, he's your big brother, he's going to worry." "I get that, yes, but it's beyond unnecessary, I'm okay." "Well, it's your problem now, not mine." Leon teased, pinching her cheek playfully.
Leon leaned over towards her face and planted a gentle, warm kiss on her lips, breathing in her scent as he did so. He felt a load of sorrow deep within him. Seeing his girlfriend hurt like this was the last sight he wanted to bare. And when she had asked, "Do I look dumb?" He just felt his heart break a little bit. He was never much of the soppy type, but Claire has definitely made him softer, more affectionate. She will always be his love, she'll always be loveable, no matter what state she's in.
He kept the kiss going for a bit longer, very lightly touching her hip considering it was the bruised up one. Claire's right hand held onto his forearm, her eyes were closed too. "I just wish I could've visited you sooner, I'm sorry that I was working." Leon spoke, his tone blue. "No need honey, I understand. I'm just appreciative that you're here now, that's all that matters Leon." "I'm glad beautiful. I'll make sure you get home soon, I don't need you stuck here in a hospital." "Trust me, I know." Claire tittered. "I can't wait to get back to work." Claire exclaimed.
"Well sweetheart, I hope you understand you aren't going back anytime soon, you need time to heal, you could've... You just really got hurt, alright?" "I'll go back whenever I feel okay." Claire pleaded. "No Claire, you'll go back once your body is okay. You're so stubborn and so damn ambitious, it's attractive." Leon laughed, telling her how he felt. "I got my ways." Claire snickered. "But seriously, I want to get back to work asap, I hate being lazy, you know that." "This isn't lazy, this is called recovery, you need it babygirl." Leon persisted. "Fine." Claire sighed, laying her head back onto the hard yet comfortable white pillow.
"You're dramatic." Leon teased, plopping back down into the chair and gleaming at her. "How about I go get your bagel, how's that sound?" "Yes, please, I can feel my empty stomach each time I move." Claire chuckled, tossing her right hand onto her lower stomach. "Ok. I'll be back soon, just hang tight and don't fall asleep on me, yeah?" Leon spoke, pulling his head down to hers and pecking her forehead with carefulness.
"I'll be back, I love you." Leon stated, kissing her lips quickly before beginning to tread lightly out of Claire's hospital room. "Love you more handsome." Claire responded, waving goodbye with her healed hand.
Art Creds: Sardine.