Chapter Text
"Spottie, you gotta get better," Elmer pled. "We need you back home. Albo's going nuts, and we haven't seen Racer in weeks. Please." The only response he got was the sound of the respirator going off, same as the day before. And the day before that. And the day before that. Elmer sighed, his lunch break was almost over. Standing, he checked Spot's vitals and made a note of them on his chart before leaving to do his rounds.
It had been a few weeks since Spot first received his positive Covid test, and a few weeks since his lungs completely gave out, leaving him on a respirator. No one knew when he'd be able to breathe on his own again, and no one was allowed to visit. Well, that was, except Elmer. Perks of being a nurse, he guessed.
Working at the hospital was hard, especially with the overflow of Covid patients coming in daily. Elmer was just glad he wasn't working in the ER anymore. He didn't envy those poor triage nurses; having to keep sick people socially distant and reminding folks to keep masks over their noses as well as having to do their actual job. No, Elmer supposed he was lucky in that sense. It was hard, yes, and it was definitely causing stress in their small apartment. (Cozy, as Race would say, but he's not here. Who knows where he is.) But on the bright side, if there was one to this whole mess, was that Elmer could still get to see Spot. Most people couldn't see their loved ones if they were battling Covid, but Elmer was an exception.
Elmer continued his rounds, checking in on patients and delivering messages from loved ones. He spent a while talking to a little girl who was lonely from all the isolation, delivering a book for her to read. Other than that, it was business as usual. Sad, but usual. He ended up clocking out at the same time as one of his work friends, Mush Meyers.
"Can't wait to go home and sleep," Mush commented, using his pinkies to take off his mask. Elmer nodded, feeling the lines on his face where his own protective gear had been.
"Blink still workin' nights?" he asked.
"Yeah," Mush nodded, "but he has tonight off." He smiled at the thought of his husband, but then got serious again. "Spot looks like he's doing better."
Elmer felt a lump in his throat, but nodded anyway. "Yeah," he said. "I just can't wait for him to be well enough to come home."
Mush sighed. "I feel ya," he said. "I dunno what I'd do if Blinkie got sick." By this point, they had gotten to the parking lot, where Elmer's van was waiting.
Elmer got out his keys. "Am I dropping you somewhere?" he asked.
Mush shook his head. "Nah, Blink's picking me up."
Elmer smiled. "I'll wait with you," he said. He really was dreading going home. He loved his boys, but it was too much to deal with right now. If he went home, he'd have to deal with the fact that Race was missing. He had to deal with the fact that his and Albert's lives were falling apart. For now, he could just pretend that his life wasn't a mess, that one of his boyfriends was missing, another was possibly dying, and the third was - well, there wasn't much going on with the third right now, so he guessed that was a win.
"You sure?" Mush asked, receiving a nod from Elmer. The two friends waited in silence for a couple minutes, before the revving of a motorcycle engine caught their ears. "That's him," Mush announced. Sure enough, Blink took off his helmet and strolled up to give Mush a kiss.
"How was your day?" he asked.
Mush blushed. "It was okay," he said, giving his husband an embrace. "You?"
Blink shrugged. "Same old same old. I rode around for a while looking for Racer." Blink made eye contact with Elmer, who he had just noticed. "Nothing yet, but I haven't heard from Jack yet today, and he was also lookin'"
Elmer nodded, thankful to have such great friends. "Thanks," he said, before backing away to let the couple have their moment. "I'd better head out. Gotta check on Albert and stuff." Waving goodbye, he took one last look at the hospital before leaving. "Just keep breathing, Spottie," he whispered, more to himself than anyone else. "We need you."