Febuwhumpday3 - Tumblr Posts

Just Hold On

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Febuwhump Prompt - blood loss

Prompt - ‘A world without you seemed impossible.’

You found yourself pacing the length of the room, getting lost in the repetitive motion of back and forth, back and forth. The dread of what was to come invaded your mind, you were unable to think about anything else. It felt like every time you closed your eyes all you could see was a pale, lifeless body lying there covered in blood.

You felt yourself shuddering as the image assaulted your mind once more.

You couldn’t say how much time had passed before a hand on your shoulder startled you. Your head snapped around to see Rick standing there, a kind smile on his face that did nothing to hide his own worry.

“He’s gonna be okay.” He told you but you could see how he doubted his own words.

Shaking your head, your bit your lip not wanting to direct your anger and fear at the wrong person. You’d seen Daryl hurt plenty of times, you’d been with him since the beginning, you’d seen him bleeding from deep wounds or simply covered in bruises but this…this was different.

This time you didn’t know if he’d survive.

Inside the clinic Denise worked hard to sew him back together, desperately doing what she could without an entire hospital supply room to support her. You and Rick had long been kicked out of the room, distracting her as you watched every move she made.

“You don’t know that.” Was all you managed to say, eyes flickering over to the closed door.

Daryl and a small group had headed out that morning on what should have been an easy supply run and returned hours later laying a bloody Daryl on the floor as they called for help. At that point you couldn’t see the injuries that were hidden by clothing but there was no hiding the blood that had stained most of his shirt.

You had watched as the gates opened, stood frozen once you saw him before running over to the growing group as fast as you could, cupping Daryl’s cheeks in your hands, desperately pleading with him to wake up. Rick was the one who pulled you away so they could get him up to the clinic.

Watching as he was stripped had you turning pale and your stomach twisting as you saw the wounds. There were deep slashes scattered across his torso, bruises forming in the shape of boots. You choked on a sob as Rick cupped the back of the head, hiding your face in his chest as you continued to cry.

It wasn’t long until the two of you were told to wait outside and neither of you were planning on leaving any time soon.

The hours dragged by, you’d gone from restless and pacing to collapsing into the chair beside Rick, the man smiling sympathetically at you as he wrapped an arm around you, pulling you into his chest.

The two of you sat in silence, neither having any comforting words for the other as you waited for any news on the man you both loved. Despite everything you’d been through since the apocalypse started you could honestly say this was one of the worst moments, completely helpless and not knowing whether the man who had been by your side since the beginning, the man who was the only reason you had survived this long, the man who had grumbled and muttered when you followed him from the walker infested warehouse but had somehow along the way ended up falling for you, would survive or not.

A world without Daryl Dixon seemed impossible.

The door to the clinic opening pulled you out of your thoughts as your head snapped up to see an exhausted looking Denise standing there, her mouth opening and closing a few times but no words came out.

You felt your blood run cold, mind jumping to one conclusion at her lack of words. Your eyes pooled with tears but thankfully Rick spoke up before you could spiral much further.

“Denise,” He prompted softly, not sure if he wanted to hear the next words out of her mouth either.

“He’s stable,” She started with causing you to let out a sob of relief, your hand covering your mouth. “But I can’t make any promises, Rick. He could be fine or it could be touch and go.”

You blocked out the rest of her words, the only ones you needed to hear were that he was stable, he was alive. That’s all that mattered. Daryl wouldn’t die, he couldn’t…he’d be fine.

He had to be fine.

“You can see him now.” You heard Denise say, Rick and you both standing before making your way into the room.

You paused in the doorway, more tears falling from your eyes as you looked at him. He looked completely lifeless, skin almost grey as he lay there, shirtless and bandaged up. Needles poked into him as they gave him what he needed to stay alive.

You forced a shaky smile up at Rick as he lay a comforting hand on your shoulder before you walked further into the room and took a seat on the edge of the plastic chair next to the bed.

You’d never seen him like this and you were terrified, hesitating as you lifted your hand, scared that one touch would be all it took before the heart monitor beeped to nothing. You closed your eyes and gently took his hand in yours, waiting for something to happen and breathing out a sigh of relief as nothing did.

“Daryl,” You whispered, leaning down and resting your lips against his hand before pressing a lingering kiss to them. “Please wake up, you have to wake up.” You pleaded with the unconscious man, aware your words would have very little effect but needing to say something.

You looked up as you heard another chair scrap on the other side of the room and watched as Rick sat opposite you, mirroring you as he took Daryl’s hand in his.

“You heard the lady,” Rick smiled, “You gotta wake up, brother.”

You and Rick sat together in near silence for the night, neither one of you wanting to leave the other or Daryl alone. It was a long night and lonely night when Daryl failed to move but you were glad to have a friend.

Days continued to pass without a hint of movement from Daryl. The whole time you refused to move from his side, Rick had to after the first night, too many duties to attend to but if it were up to him he’d have been in that room with the two of you. Though he did stop by often enough to make sure that you were taking care of yourself.

Which you weren’t.

You weren’t holding up and as each day passed you felt yourself losing hope. Food wasn’t even a thought in your mind and if it wasn’t for Rick stopping by several times a day with food then you knew you wouldn’t have eaten anything, even with Rick’s help you only had a few bites at most a day.

Thankfully some of the colour had started to return to Daryl’s face even if he had yet to wake up, Denise said that was a good thing, his body was working on healing itself. It showed Daryl was fighting.

He was also taking to the blood transfusion that she had had to administer. She spoke about red blood cell transfusion, gave you the rundown of the procedure but you tuned her out, could hardly stand to listen to her talk about how much blood Daryl had lost, about how he might still take a turn for the worst.

You spent most of the day just watching him, watching the weak rise and fall of his chest, watching his heart beat on the monitor, watching his eyes to see if there was even a flicker of movement. If you hadn’t had Daryl memorised before you did know, you knew the man like the back of your hand, hell better than that.

There hadn’t been a day that passed in which you hadn’t cried. Everyday that hope faded more and more until it felt like you were drowning. You refused to let go of Daryl's hand, praying that you’d feel it twitch one of these days, praying he’d curl his fingers around yours. Daryl’s hand in yours felt like an anchor, the one thing that kept you holding on.

“How’s he doing today?” Rick asked as he walked into the clinic, smiling sadly as you didn’t even look up at him.

You only had eyes for Daryl.

“Same as yesterday and the day before.” You said bitterly, wanting him to get better so you could leave and get your hands on the Saviours.

Rick watched your emotions play out on your face, understanding what you were feeling all too well. He wanted to rip the face of every saviour, wanted Negan’s head on a stick but he knew they had to be smart, knew that if they struck now they’d lose. Negan would be expecting them.

Rick was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard you let out a surprised gasp, he looked to you, a question on his lips when he paused, watching as your eyes lit up for the first time in nearly a week.

“Hey,” You said, huffing a laugh of absolute disbelief, “You’re ok, you’re ok,” You repeat like a mantra.

The feeling of Daryl’s fingers tightening around your own was just about the best feeling in the world. The complete feeling of relief that ran throughout your body made you feel lighter than you had in days, like a weight had been suddenly and breathtakingly removed from your back.

Rick watched in amazement as his best friend scrunched his eyes closed hard before he tried to pry them out, Y/N watching his every move like a hawk. It took a few attempts before Daryl managed to open his eyes, blinking against the harsh lights before his eyes settled on you.

At this point your eyes were filled, yet again, with tears but this time they were tears of disbelief, tears of happiness, tears of fear as you realised how close you’d come to losing the most important person in your life.

“Y/N,” He managed to grumble out before he started coughing, causing you to move, quickly grabbing your cup of water and guiding it up to his lips, helping him get the water down carefully.

Once he was finished you put the cup back and moved yourself onto the bed, being careful of his torso as you did so. He looked up at you, immediately noticing the dark circles under your eyes and the worry that was written across your face plain as day.

“Ya need t’sleep, baby.” He croaked out causing you to let out a watery laugh, the man nearly died and here he was still more worried about you than he was himself.

“Needed to make sure you were ok.” You told him, letting your hand gently reach up and cup his cheek, smiling shakily as he leaned into the touch.

“M’okay.” He assured you, turning his face into your palm and placing a soft, barely there kiss upon it.

“You nearly died.” You told him with a choked sob, desperately trying to swallow down tears.

Daryl’s gaze shifted from you over to Rick, who stood forgotten by the door feeling like an intruder. Rick shot him a shaky smile which was returned weakly before Daryl turned his attention back to you.

“S’gonna be ok, gonna get the bastards.” He told you, watching as laughed and nodded along with his words. “But you gotta sleep, darlin’.”

Those words had you falling in love with the man all over again, this idiotic, absolutely selfless man who put you before him every single day, even when he was practically on his death bed only days ago.

You couldn’t help but smile at him, a smile that was only reserved for him, eyes soft and lips upturned with a tilt of your head. It was the smile Daryl loved most, one only he could draw from you.

Carefully you leaned down, your lips brushing against his so softly. It was exactly what you needed, the feelings of his lips moving against yours, proof he was alive. You could finally breathe properly.

Eventually you pulled back, resting your forehead on his, causing him to smile up at you. He managed to lift his hand up, barely hiding a wince from you, and rested it on your cheek, letting his fingertips run along your cheekbone.

“I love you,” you whispered, swallowing hard around the lump in your throat, he was ok.

“I love you too, darlin’.” He told you, just as softly, the two of you in your own little world, so absorbed in each other you didn’t notice Rick slipping out of the room with a smile of his own, glad that his two best friends had found each other whilst the world around you went to hell.

__________

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Febuwhump day 3: Muzzled

Fandom: Star Wars

Timeline: The Bad Batch

Warning: Character death

(I'm so proud of this story lol. Please enjoy.)

Hunter woke up in a cold, dark room. Looking around he noted the room was empty other than him. His wrist met with metal as he tried to pull them up. He was sitting on his knees, both his ankles and wrist cuffed. A tight cloth was tied around his head, tucked into his mouth to stop him from speaking. Trying to move the chains kept him against the wall.

    He tried to recount what had happened to lead him to this. He remembered being separated from the rest of the batch on their last mission. The planet was freezing cold and it started to take its toll on him. Walking through the woods he would be found by Crosshair who would stun him.

    Hunter wondered why Cross hadn't just killed him. Crosshair wanted him dead, he wanted all of them dead.

    Hours passed before light spilled into the room as the door opened. Hunter looked up to see his brother. "Hello Hunter." Crosshair said coldly.

    Hunter attempted to greet the soldier but was once again reminded of the cloth that restrained him from speaking.

    Crosshair chuckled "what's wrong, cat got your tongue?" He hissed.

    Hunter rolled his eyes.

    "Don't get too comfortable Hunter. Soon you'll see." Crosshair moved to the upper corner of the room.

    Hunter wondered what that could possibly mean. His question was answered soon after as he heard familiar voices taking of how to free their brother. Hunter panicked and looked at Crosshair. He was the bait.

    Crosshair grabbed one of his vibro-knifes from his armor. Hunter relieved whoever walked through that door first would have no chance to see what was waiting for them. It was a perfect plan.

    Hunter frantically tried to free himself from the chains. He desperately tried to remove the gag from his mouth. He could hear the footsteps of his family running closer to the cell he occupied. The beeping of the combination to the door scared him. He wished the batch would have just left him instead of falling for Crosshair's trap.

    The door opened. Tech walked through the door first followed by Echo. The other two stayed outside to guard the room. Little did they know the danger was already inside.

    Hunter tried desperately to alert his brothers of Crosshair. His muffled screams were heard but not understood until Crosshair's knife submerged in Tech upper back. Tech fell to the floor. Hunter shrieked, Echo gasped and took a step back as Omega and Wrecker took their eyes off the hall. All relieved what had happened. Crosshair had killed Tech. Crosshair had killed their brother, his brother in what he would say is in the name of the empire.

    Crosshair had no remorse. He stepped closer to Echo who had fallen to the floor in disbelief. He knew Tech was dead but needed to prove it to himself in some way. Echo couldn't lose another brother. Not after so maybe. Hunter continued screaming into the cloth, both to warn the others and from the sheer pain of losing his brother to one of their own.

    Wrecker would attack Crosshair while Omega would run to Tech and Echo. Echo shook Tech trying to wake him. He couldn't grasp the fact that Tech would never wake again. Like his other brothers he would forever rest, never to be bothered by the pain of the real world again.

    Crosshair jabed the knife towards Wrecker. Wrecker moved to the left to avoid injury. This unfortunately opened Crosshair to new possibilities. He slung the knife towards Echo. More attempted warnings ignored. Echo however would move on his own to stand and be hit in the lower back. This would force him right back on his knees.

    The suppressed screaming hadn't ceased. Attempting to warn the batch, trying to get them to leave. Hearing soldiers coming closer and closer. Though no one understood him, he pleaded to his family to leave him. Even if they did understand him they wouldn't. That's the way they were or at least were now.

Wrecker slammed Crosshair into the wall "Omega try to free Hunter!"

The girl moved from where she was comforting Echo over to Hunter. As to not scare her he finally let his voice rest.

"Hold on Hunter" she spoke softly. Gently untying the gag she pulled it away from his face.

"Leave, soldiers, hall" Hunter stuttered out, his throat horse and in pain.

"Hunter, we aren't gonna just leave you here." She fiddled with Hunters chains, attempting to free him.

"Please, no one else needs to die here." He begged her.

Omega's heart broke. No matter what they did Hunter always tried to look out for them. He couldn't let it be the other way. It was like if he didn't find a way to save them, no matter the cost, he would fail them. "Wrecker" the blonde began, "can you come get these chains off Hunter?" Omega's voice sounded calm. Hunter knew she wasn't, he knew it was for him. His heart shattered as he realized the position she was put in, the position that didn't allow her to be a child.

"You need to leave, please." Hunter looked at Wrecker as he walked over to him. "They're coming."

"We aren't going to leave you." Wrecker kneeled down and pulled the chains out of the wall and floor.

Echo had begun to attempt to fight Crosshair.

Picking up Hunter, Wrecker kneeled down to Tech. "I got them both, let's go!"

Echo moved from where he was and waited until the others were out of the room before rushing out. He would close the door before Crosshair would get the chance to leave.

The team would hardly escape. Back on the Marauder the family attempted to stay together, all just barely holding themselves in one piece.

After a while everyone was physically stable. Now they were left with three adults, one child, and a body. Cid would pity them and give them some time. None of them weren't sure how much time they really could take or how to properly handle the sharp grief that came with losing Tech.

Hunter rubbed the part of his face the gag had been. If only he could have told them, if only that cursed cloth hadn't been there.

@febuwhump

Febuwhump Day 3: "Bite Down on This"

Fandom: Star Wars The Bad Batch

Summary: Omega is injured and imperials are around. Hunter is trying to help her with the pain as well as keep her quiet.

  Hunter had always been scared of Omega getting hurt. As he got to know her, he knew that he could only handle it so well. She was his little sister but he felt so much like her father. He never even knew he could feel like a father.

    But now he was faced with that. He hadn't been keen on being her on the mission. Phee had said she would keep an eye on her but the girl snuck aboard.  Now she was in front of Hunter, bleeding.

    The clone looked around. Omega was sobbing. Hunter recounted everything that had brought them to this moment, trying to make sense of any of it. A mission for Cid. One bounty hunter with a determination to 'win' and one explosion later his little girl was hurt.

    Now he looked back at her. "Hunter, imperials are heading to the site of the explosion. Be careful." Tech warned. He didn't answer him. Instead he looked around and tried to find an answer.

    Taking off a piece of his armor, he tore a part of his undershirt off. He balled it up and held it to Omega's mouth. "bite down on this."

    Fear rushed over Omega. "Hunter" she said. Her continued to cry as she took the cloth in her mouth.

    Hunter held her wound carefully. The glass was still in her side. He took torn pieces of his clothes and placed them by the glass. He pressed on her side and she yelled. "I know. I'm sorry." He's voice shook.

     The black fabric hid the blood that had started to poll in Omega's mouth. All Hunter could hear was her cries. He tried to listen for the imperials but his mind betrayed him.

    Omega started to cough. She squeezed Hunter's hand as she tried to stay quiet. The man brought his comm up to his face and spoke softly. "Omega's down" he started, "sending you our location." Then he turned off his comm.

    Now Hunter could hear the radios of the enemy. He looked at Omega and realized that the cloth she had been biting down on was filled with blood. He panicked and took it out of her mouth. Her cries became less muffled.

    The man placed a hand over her mouth for a moment. "I know. I'm sorry. You'll be okay." She looked confused.

    Hunter felt like he was going to cry. He didn't want to scare her. If he cried now, she would worry and that was the last thing he needed.

    "You'll be okay." Hunter tried to remain calm. He felt her blood on his hand and realized they didn't have time. Now he didn't care who found them. The empire wanted Omega and alive so if they found them, they would at least take care of her.

    Even if that meant they killed him. She needed help. The voices grew closer. "Over here!" One called.

    Hunter sighed. He had faced things like this before. He grabbed his gun and got ready to fire. As troopers turned the corner they were gunned down by Echo and Tech. Wrecker followed ise behind.

    "We're here." Echo said. Wrecker took one look at Omega and teared up. He placed a hand on Echo's shoulder to steady himself. Tech assessed the girls injuries and Echo took Hunter back.

    "Echo" Hunter spoke. Echo just took him into his arms.

    "She'll be okay."

    Tech picked Omega up and started to walk. "We need to get back to the Marauder."

    The family made their way to the ship and Tech started to tend to his sisters wounds. Later in the evening he would emerge from his room. "She'll be fine."

    "See. I told you."

    Hunter sighed. "Thank you, Tech." He walked back to be with her and sat beside her. He looked at her and rested his arms on his knees. At least she was alright.

Pepper scheduled a press conference after Tony made another mistake. The press conference had started out normal, but once questions began to be taken, everything went wrong, and someone lost their life.

TW: Major character death, panic, fear, gun, gunshot wounds, blood

Disclaimer: I do not own anything!

@febuwhump

@febuwhump prompt: "bite down on this"

***

"This fucking hurts!"

Spike scrambled through the tool kit in the workshop and finally seized upon a tool that had a rubber sheath on it. In his haste to get back to Faye he nearly tripped over his own two feet before reaching her side.

"Here! Bite down on this!" He encouraged, offering her the tool.

Faye's mouth opened in disbelief and she had to quickly smack the proffered item from his hand before he could stick it between her upper and lower teeth himself. Despite herself and the excruciating agony tearing through her, Faye began to laugh until tears were spilling down her cheeks.

"What the fuck are you thinking, you goof?" She demanded through giggles once she was able to speak again. "You're not setting a fucking bone here, Spike!" She snorted, her chin dropping to her chest for a moment.

Spike sat back on his heels, expression crestfallen.

"I don't know what you want from me, Faye. I don't know what you need from me. I'm way over my head here..." He took in a deep breath and tried to let it out slowly though his heart was still racing wildly. "I just... you... what do I do?" His voice was plaintive and warbled slightly as if he was fighting to keep from breaking down.

Eyeing the distraught cowboy, seeing fear prominently displayed on his features for one of the first times in her life, Faye took pity on him.

"Just... hold me, you dolt. I'll take care of the rest for now. Don't worry, Jet will get back here with Doc in no time." She winced as another contraction took her breath away. Spike looked physically pained by her discomfort and she tried to suck it up and play it off as he tentatively settled in behind her so she could lean back against him.

"This is ridiculous, Faye. You should be in a hospital." Spike muttered quietly.

"I don't trust hospitals." She replied when she could focus on something other than the pressure. "I trust you. I trust Jet. And given how many times he's put you back together again, I trust Doc too."

She felt Spike shudder behind her as he exhaled. "I just... what if... I mean... if something goes wrong..."

"Shh, shh, shh..." Faye reached down to grab his hands in her own, squeezing his fingers between hers partially for his comfort and partially to deflect the discomfort she was feeling somewhere else. "Don't go borrowing trouble. Fuck the future. There's only now. There's only this. The present is where we are and what we have control over. I've got this. Do you believe in me?"

He sighed shakily, burying his face in her hair so he could lean his face down to press a kiss against the side of her neck.

"You're one of the only things in this world I have any faith in." He replied eventually.

"Damn straight." She breathed. Another contraction was beginning to crash over her. It was awful but it was endurable. And, since she'd familiarized herself with all the available text and videos on childbirth, she knew that they still had some time before their baby entered the world. She wasn't sure if her water had broken or not, but she wasn't yet feeling the urge to bear down.

"You sure you're okay? I can't do anything else?" Spike murmured, flexing his fingers against hers as her hands relaxed as the contraction faded away.

"You're doing everything I need right now. You are everything I need right now." She replied in a soft voice.

Their world was about to change for better or for worse... hopefully for better even if it took a lot of work to keep it on a good course. She understood his fears, his concerns, his helplessness. She could welcome those emotions, address them, and ideally soothe him a bit. Perhaps it was the mother already in her that was so patiently dealing with his anxiety in a time when she herself ought to be comforted, but she felt remarkably calm. She felt nearly invincible, truth be told.

Spike so rarely fell apart. He did not often display any sort of true uncertainty or worry. It made him all the more human to her, his panic, and it made her love him even more deeply. He would likely put on a brave front when the others arrived, but for now he was clinging to her like she was the only secure thing in a world of upheaval.

And realistically, she was.

The woman who had cracked open his heart after Julia left it weakened and exposed... Faye had reset it like a broken bone and nurtured it until it was no longer paining him. She had become his guiding light, his north star, the safe port where he could moor his soul and rest easy enjoying the days at her side.

But neither of them were truly capable of relaxing into a life of easy sailing. They needed challenges to thrive... and what better challenge than raising a child?