Slight violence warning. And blood. But y'all should be used to that if you watch Grey's.
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Joe's bar had always been a popular place for the staff at the hospital to visit after long days of work. A group of four had decided to go after their shifts ended. That group consisted of Jo, Alex, Link, and Nico. It was unusual that Nico was seen without Levi by his side, but Levi was working later than usual, so he wasn't able to come. He didn't really mind though, he wanted Nico to go out and have some fun. Lord knows he needed it.
The bar was full, music muffled by the sounds of people chatting. The group found themselves seated at a small table, one which only just seated the four of them. Alex had already announced to the group that he was buying everyone's drinks tonight, a treat on him. The group was thankful, very much so. Any time anyone offered to buy drinks for all meant that it'd be a good night.
Levi was stuck at the hospital; not that it was a bad thing, definitely not. He adored his job, he just struggled with the long shifts sometimes. That was just part of the job he'd have to accept though, as he couldn't change it. Thankfully he had Taryn with him to keep him sane. She always knew how to cheer Levi up when he needed it. She was also incredibly witty at times too, which lead to some greatly timed jokes.
Back at the bar, the group was happily drinking and laughing away. It felt great to get away from the busy atmosphere of the hospital into yet another busy, but more relaxed atmosphere. Plenty of people were already pissed off their heads, despite it being quite early for people to get drunk. Either way, it did provide some comedy to the night, especially when people took a little tumble.
"You seem distracted," Jo spoke over the music, sitting contently in her husband's lap. Nico turned his attention towards her, lifting his shoulders in a shrug. "You thinking about Levi?"
"Just wondering if he's okay, 's all," Nico responded, bringing his drink to his lips so he could take a swig. Jo had this smile on her face, one of knowing. Link nudged Nico's shoulder with his own, stealing his attention away from Jo.
"He's fine, he's a talented young man. He's been doing incredible recently." Link mentioned, to which both Jo and Alex nodded in agreement. They were very impressed with how much Levi had opened up recently; he'd really come out of his shell and that was all thanks to Nico.
"How long have you two been officially together now?" Alex piped up, his brows knitted together in question. The sound of smashing glass in the background, along with a round of cheers from a bunch of men, interrupted Nico's train of thought. He turned his attention to behind him, where a bunch of obviously drunk men were joking and howling about the broken glass the barkeeper had just dropped.
Nico turned his attention back to Alex. "Around six months now, I believe."
"You guys are so cute together." Jo extolled, taking a sip from her drink. Nico smiled widely at her words, almost silently thanking her for the comment on their relationship. Honestly, Nico had never been so infatuated with someone before. Most of his relationships hadn't been too great in the end. He hoped it wouldn't end up that way with Levi.
A loud clamor behind Nico caused him to turn to see what was happening, only to see a crowd gathering around two guys. His curiosity got the better of him and he placed his drink down on the table before making his way over to the crowd. There were a bunch of people whooping and cheering and yelling all around him, which was slightly disorientating. In the middle of the crowd, two men were scrapping with one another. The other three decided to get up and follow Nico, knowing what he could be like in situations like this.
It was just your typical bar fight until the larger man turned and grabbed his bottle from the bar top, smashing it on the countertop with little effort. The rest of the drink spilled out, covering the stools and floor with liquid. It was obvious to most what the guy was planning on doing, which could only end one way. The smaller guy had little to no chance in the fight. He was going to get seriously injured if no one stopped it. However, the crowd just continued to instigate the two.
"Nico, don't you dare get in between them!" Link grabbed Nico by his arm, his grip firm. Nico turned to Link, giving him a somewhat apologetic look before he tugged his arm free of his friend's grip. Without a moment's hesitation or thought, Nico put himself in front of the smaller guy. It was obvious that the two were both quite drunk and that simply trying to reason with them would get them nowhere. Jo, Link, and Alex watched on in absolute dismay, not sure what they should do.
Nico managed to get the other guy safely out the way of the one with the potential weapon. The crowd wasn't too pleased that their evening entertainment had been so rudely interrupted. As Nico turned back to face the guy with the bottle, he didn't expect to see him charging towards him. There wasn't enough time for him to dive out the way and the drunk managed to clip Nico right in the stomach. His force was powerful enough to completely knock Nico to the floor. The crowd gasped in consternation, their excitement suddenly dying when they realized what had happened. Alex was swift to run into the open space of the crowd, tackling the other guy to the ground.
With a groan, Nico tried to sit up, a searing pain driving through his stomach. His hand instantly went to press against his stomach, only to pull it back, covered in a thick crimson liquid. Link and Jo went directly to his side with Link shrugging his jacket off and pressing it firmly against Nico's stomach, to which he let out a winded groan.
"Jo, I need you to call the cops. Link, keep that pressure on his stomach. We don't know how badly he got him." The drunk writhed beneath Alex, struggling to get out from his grip. His chest was pressed against the ground with Alex's knee dug between his shoulder blades. Jo dug in her pockets for her phone, which she pulled out and immediately dialed 911.
A man pushed his way through the crowd, kneeling down next to where Alex was. "I'm a cop, want me to take him?" Alex was more than happy to hand the drunk over to the guy, moving himself to Nico's side.
"Is he okay?" He asked, panting slightly from having to hold down the attacker. Link nodded, his hands still firmly pressed against Nico's stomach. Alex turned his attention to Nico, resting his hand on his friend's shoulder. "How bad?"
"Bad enough," Nico spoke through gritted teeth, his fresh wound throbbing. The pressure Link had against his stomach felt strange and it hurt, but he knew it would stop him from losing as much blood. "I'll be fine."
Jo excused herself to find a quieter place, her phone still gripped in her hands. Once she was far enough away from the crowd, she unlocked her phone and decided to call Levi.
-
Levi had just managed to get a break. It was the first time in hours he'd actually managed to sit. His feet ached, screaming at him to sit for once. As soon as he sat, his phone rang in his pocket. With a strained groan, he dug it out, only to see Jo's name pop up on his phone. She was probably drunk calling him or was trying to convince him to come and join them. He answered with a tired sigh, placing the phone against his ear.
"What do you want?" He droned, rolling his shoulders slightly to release the built-up tension.
"There's been an accident at Joe's, so get ready. Get a team and get a bed ready. I'll see you in five." With that, she hung up. No other information. No information on who it was, what had happened, how bad it was, nothing. He locked his phone and placed it back in his pocket, pushing himself up from the chair he had only just sat in to go and get a bed ready.
After a few minutes, he had found a bed and gathered a team that consisted of Owen, DeLuca, and Casey. They waited outside the ambulance bay, wondering what on earth had happened at Joe's. Joe's wasn't a far walk but if someone had been injured that badly, surely they would have just called an ambulance?
"So, what do we know about the patient?" Owen cleared his throat, pulling a pair of gloves onto his hands. Levi turned to face him and shrugged in response. "What do you mean you don't know?"
"Jo called me and said there had been an accident and that they'd be here in five. She didn't tell me what had happened, how bad it was or who it was. I literally have no information." Levi admitted, only to Dr. Hunt's disappointment. He let out a frustrated sigh and turned his attention away, Levi letting out a muted sigh at Owen's obvious disappointment.
All of a sudden, a car rounded the corner. Not just any car, but Alex's car. They would recognize it anywhere. Just as they pulled up, Casey and DeLuca joined Owen and Levi, all of them wondering what the hell was going on. The fact that it was Alex's car that pulled up and not an ambulance gave them all reason to worry. Jo jumped out the passenger side of the car and rushed to open the back door.
"What the hell is going on?" DeLuca asked, just as confused as everyone else watching on. He turned to look at the interns. "You two, go and get a bed and bring it out here!"
Casey and Levi nodded and both ran in to go and get a bed for whoever it was that needed it. When Jo opened the back door to reveal Link with his hands pressed firmly against Nico's stomach, Owen and DeLuca didn't know what to do.
"Jesus, what did he do?" DeLuca almost gasped at the sight. Owen was completely and utterly speechless; he couldn't conjure up the right words to say.
"Dr. Kim here tried to be a damn hero and stop a bar fight, only to get attacked with a broken beer bottle. We don't know how bad it is, but he's in a lot of pain. I don't expect it to be just scratches with the amount of pain he's in." Link rushed out his words, making sure that he kept the pressure even. Nico let out a sharp groan as Link pushed just a little harder.
"He would have gotten- Fuck, Link, can you be a bit more gentle?!" Nico jerked at the sudden increase of pressure, which only made the pain that much worse. At least he was still conscious, that was all that really mattered.
The sound of wheels scraping against concrete and running footsteps let Owen and DeLuca know that the interns had returned with a bed. Both Owen and DeLuca turned to face them, their gazes landing on Levi. He raised a brow as to why both of the men were staring at him; had he done something wrong?
"Schmitt," DeLuca began, glancing back over his shoulder to the car behind them. Owen took a deep breath and prepared himself for how Levi may react. "The person who we're treating... It's Nico."
His face dropped. Then he seemed to snap back to reality as he pushed past the two doctors in front of him, rushing over to the car. When he saw Link leaning over Nico, hands pressed against what he assumed was the wound, his heart felt like it stopped. Link gave him an apologetic look, one to almost ask for forgiveness over the fact he wasn't able to get Nico to stop.
"What the hell, Nico?!" Levi exclaimed, grabbing Nico's attention from where he was laying. He tried to sit himself up a little to see Levi, only to let out an abrupt yelp of pain. "Right, we need to get him in and now."
At Levi's request, the rest of the doctors moved themselves to help transport Nico from the car to the bed without causing more harm to him. It was difficult, but they managed to do it. They wheeled him into the trauma bay and immediately started working around him. They hooked him up to multiple machines and thoroughly examined the wound. It was all a blur, especially to Levi. He couldn't understand how this had all happened. He just couldn't understand.
-
The lacerations had required some stitching, which Dr. Hunt had managed to do. There wasn't going to be any lasting damage thankfully, just a couple of burly scars to show off for his bravery. After Owen was done with the stitches, he went to fetch Levi, who wanted to talk to Nico about what he had done.
Nico seemed to perk up when Levi entered the room, hands shoved deep into his lab coat pockets. However, the look on Levi's face was anything but happy. In fact, he seemed rather miffed. Levi made his way over to the end of Nico's bed, plucking the chart that hung from it and studied it, breathing deep as he did. After reading it, he changed his gaze to look at Nico, who was fiddling with the fabric of the sheets.
"Why did you do it?" The question was blunt and bland, catching Nico off-guard. "What possessed you to try and stop a bar fight, of all things?"
"Levi, listen-"
"No! You listen to me! What if you had been killed, Nico? What if it had been so much worse than what it was? Why were you trying to be a hero in a situation that wasn't even your damn business?" Levi pointed to himself as he spoke, his other hand still deep in his coat pocket. Nico could tell that Levi was troubled by the situation. It was plastered all over his body language and his facial expressions. He could also see the tears welling up in Levi's eyes, which made his heart ache deep in his chest. Levi had a point.
Nico let out a deep sigh. "If I didn't step in, that guy would have been killed for sure. He had no chance. I thought to myself, if I don't step in, someone could end up dead. I wasn't about to let some poor guy die right in front of me." The room was silent, Levi's arms folded across his chest.
"But you stepped in, you could have been that person getting killed. That poor guy dying, could have been you. Listen, I don't want to argue about this now. What you did was stupid and I'm mad about it, only because I could have lost you tonight. Now, just stay in bed and don't cause any trouble," It was plain to see that Levi wasn't about to give up anytime soon- he was far too stubborn to let that happen. Nico didn't know how to respond. A muffled beep came from Levi's pocket, signaling that he was wanted for something else. With a huff, he pulled his phone from his pocket and checked it. "I have to go. I only have this patient to do and I should be done, then I'll come and get you."
Levi turned sharply, leaving Nico to think about what he had gone and done. As Levi exited the room, Taryn and Casey came up to him. They both had looks of panic struck across their faces, which only intrigued Nico. Soon enough, the three of them was rushing off down the hall. Despite knowing that he should stay as still as possible, Nico's curious mind took over. With a groan he removed himself from the bed, the wound on his stomach screaming at him to stop moving. The pain was agonizing and it made him want to curl up and hide, yet it wasn't enough to stop him.
The pain only grew as he made his way over to the door, opening it with a dull click as he exited the room. By then, the pain had him practically hunched over, his face screwed up tight in anguish. He had to stop and with a defeated groan, he slumped himself against the wall behind him. The wound on his stomach was throbbing, the pain seated deep in his stomach. It made him want to vomit, that's how bad it was. It felt as if someone had speared him with a knife consisting of pure heat and fire- the burning ripped through his chest and Nico knew it wasn't good.
He turned his head to the side, his eyes landing upon a figuring approaching him. A cautious hand on his back, another on his arm and he was being moved. The pain was making him feel delirious, completely dazed. Then, he felt the softness of a bed beneath him, and he was laying once again.
"Hey," It was like the world was rushing around him; why did everything seem so slow? "Nico, are you okay?"
Nico tried to find the source of the voice, to which he eventually did. He could feel himself being attached back up to machines, he could feel himself being helped. By who, he couldn't tell right now. All he wanted right now was for the pain to subside.
After a few agonizingly slow moments, he finally felt himself coming back around. Everything was starting to make sense again, which he was more than grateful for. A dull cough echoed through his chest, causing his wound to ache.
"Jesus Christ, what were you thinking?" The voice, it was there again. This time, he could put a face to the voice. It was Link, who looked distressed beyond belief. "Dr. Hunt just patched you up and you've already gone and undone it?"
Undone it? Nico blinked a few times before glancing down at his stomach, where he could see fresh blood oozing it's way to the surface of his skin. The bandage that covered the area was visibly red, which wasn't a good sign. He let out a pained sigh as he tore his gaze after to look at Link, who was occupied with other things.
"I didn't mean to," He professed, to which Link only sighed. "Just wanted to see what was happening."
"Levi's patient crashed, it was bad. That's why they came to find him. I decided to come and see how you were doing, only to find you trying to make a runner. I'm not even meant to be on duty right now and here I am, having to patch you up." Link lectured, slipping on a pair of rubber gloves. Nico scoffed at his words, turning his attention to watch the people outside of his room. Sooner or later Levi would find out about what he did, which would only piss him off more than he already was.
-
It was late and the hospital was quiet. Nico was waiting patiently for Levi to come and get him, as he had been adamant on taking Nico home himself, in case he tried to pull any other stunts. Thankfully, he had a spare shirt that he had kept back in the hospital just in case. His jeans were screwed though, the blood had definitely ruined them. There was little hope of getting the blood out of them. Not unless he could pull some sort of miracle out of his ass to do so. The seconds ticked by and melted into what seemed like minutes.
Eventually, the door clicked open to reveal an exhausted-looking Levi. Nico didn't say anything, all he did was swivel round on the bed, dangling his legs off the side. He turned to look at Levi, who looked like he could fall asleep at any given moment. Maybe Levi wouldn't shout at him if he tried to speak to him now.
"Are you okay?" Nico asked, a brow raised in wonder. Levi nodded and let out a long sigh, making his way over to Nico. As he reached him, he pushed himself up onto the bed, right next to Nico. Levi rested his head against Nico's shoulder, briefly shutting his eyes. "You look exhausted."
"It's your fault," Levi muttered, his voice thick with sleep. Nico let himself chuckle at that, to which he felt Levi chuckle too. "I hate you."
"Hm, I'm sure you do," Nico slipped his arm around Levi's waist, tugging him closer. Levi let out a surprised noise at the sudden tug, to which Nico couldn't help but laugh at. That only resulted in Levi slapping his knee to get him to shut up. "Are you sure you're alright to take me home?"
"I'll have to, you can't drive, not with your injuries. I'll be fine, just got to keep my energy up for a bit longer." Levi grumbled, sitting himself up so he could roll the tension out of his neck and shoulders. Nico watched, fascinated with Levi's beauty, even if he did look a mess.
"I don't think that's too smart. Listen, the drive is only ten minutes, I can do that much I'm sure. You're far too tired to drive." Nico was adamant about driving, as he could tell that Levi was probably going to fall asleep as soon as he sat in the car. Levi just hummed in response, not really listening to what Nico was saying.
"Fine, but if we die, I blame you." Levi stretched his arms above his head as he yawned. Nico hopped off the bed and held his hand out for Levi, who took it without hesitation. their fingers interlocked firmly as they made their way out the room, side by side.
The hospital was always so much calmer during the night, which only made Levi feel that much sleepier. They made their way out to Nico's car with little trouble, apart from the fact it was a pain to walk and every movement tugged at his wound. Before they got to the car, Nico stopped walking, causing Levi to do the same. He raised a brow at Nico, wondering if everything was okay.
"Why were you so mad that I tried to save someone?" Nico asked, his heart thumping against his chest as he asked the question. The last thing he wanted to do was upset Levi again, but he really wanted to know why Levi had gotten to so mad at him.
Levi swallowed as he took a large breath in, holding it for a moment before releasing it. "In that moment, I was scared that I was going to lose you. My mind just went somewhere else and I snapped."
"You aren't going to lose me," Nico breathed, silently thankful Levi wasn't getting snappy again. He took a step closer to Levi and raised his hand to rest it against Levi's cheek, his skin cold from the chilled air around them. Levi instantly leaned his head into the touch, a tired smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "I promise you that. Even if I did die, I would've come back to haunt your ass."
"Nico!" Levi groaned, his bottom lip jutting out in a pout. Nico chuckled warmly at Levi's reaction to his joke, eventually leaning down to press his lips to Levi's in a fond kiss, Levi leaning up on his toes to kiss Nico better. Nico couldn't help himself as he smiled against Levi's lips, his heart so full of love. The kiss was short-lived as Levi pulled back, his cheeks dusted a light shade of pink. "You're so full of shit, honestly."
"Yeah, but you love me really." Nico was surprised at the words he just uttered. Levi also looked surprised, but that surprise melted into a fond grin as Levi looked up at Nico.
"Yeah, I do. I really do." The confession was something neither Nico or Levi had expected to happen, but it did. But neither of them regretted it at all. Nico could tell that Levi was telling the truth; he really truly loved him. The tone of his voice and the look on his face said everything his words didn't.
"I'm glad," Nico couldn't stop grinning. "Now, I think we deserve to go home and rest, don't you think?"
"Ditto," Levi replied, yawning soon after. The two of them finished making their way back to the car, the night around them growing short.
It had sure been a hectic and pain-filled day, but Nico would not change it for the world. As much as Levi was mad at Nico for getting himself injured, he was just relieved that he was alive and okay. They were just glad that they had each other at the end of it all.