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“Rest,” the boy repeats, like he's forgotten the meaning of the word. Nathan wouldn't be surprised. He doubts Casey has gotten a single day of proper rest since he was kidnapped. Casey's eyes flick between Nathan and Benny, his bottom lip quivering. "N - not suppose'be in Master's bed."
“That was an old rule. I'm your Master now, remember, little one? I make the rules. And this is where I want you."
Tears start to spill down Casey's cheeks, but Nathan can't tell what emotion is causing them. The boy probably doesn't even know himself. "Nate, can you grab me a water bottle from my fridge? He's too dehydrated."
He’s too dehydrated to be crying,is what he means, probably not saying so in case Casey misinterprets him as being in trouble for doing so. Nathan grabs a water from the mini-fridge and a banana from on top of it, figuring it's an easy snack if Benny wants to try to feed the boy too.
“What do we need to do medically?" Nathan asks as Benny props Casey up with some pillows - whispering he's sorry as Casey cries out in pain - and starts to help him drink from the bottle.
“He needs another IV with antibiotics and a sedative. The doc offered to come in and help, but I-" he pauses, looking over his shoulder at Nathan. "I wasn't sure if we'd be alone. Figured the doc would get the wrong idea if we had…company."
“Fair enough. Do you have the supplies? I can do it.”
Benny nods his head towards the bag he had slung over his shoulder when he first arrived. "In there. You sure you got it? It's been a while."
“Yeah. I got to brush up on my medic skills when-" he pauses, realizing last minute it might not be a good idea to say Carter's name. "When mine was sick."
“Shit, right.” Benny laughs humorlessly. “Was that really only last week?”
“Feels like a fucking lifetime.”
“You’re telling me.” Benny pulls the water away, screwing on the cap. Casey makes a sound similar to a wounded animal at the loss. He immediately cowers after, clearly not having meant to make the noise.
“S-sorry, Master," he whispers. His chest is heaving again. "Sorry, sorry, I'm sorry."
“Hey, you’re fine. Were you upset I took the water?”
Casey’s eyes go impossibly wide. “Upset? W-with you? No, Master! Never. Not upset. I – I swear, Master!”
“Alright. Calm down. I wasn't-" but before Benny can say anything else, Casey is burying his face in hands that have scraped knuckles and broken fingernails, sobbing "Sorry," over and over again.
Benny stares at him like he's a foreign creature. If the reality wasn’t so fucking awful, Nathan would laugh. He settles for consoling his friend instead. "It's normal. Let's get his IV set up. The sedative will help."
“Yeah. Yeah, okay." Benny starts to reach for Casey, lips parted like maybe he's going to try and say something, but he drops his hand last minute and turns to Nathan instead. "Let's get to work then."
Carter is staring at the door, eyes dry and tired, when itfinallyopens. He sits up in bed, clutching his moose like a lifeline. It takes a lot of effort for him to wait until the door is closed before he blurts, "How is he?"
“Resting,” Nathan says in a voice Carter recognizes. He's heard that tone before when Nathan has had to hurt him. Not during the hurting, but after. For the apologies. For the promises of being better. For the asking of forgiveness. "I gave him a sedative and set him up with another IV."
“You did?”
Nathan’s lips twitch. “Why do you sound so shocked? I did it for you when you were sick.”
“Really? I don’t… remember that.”
“Fair enough. I didn't do it the first time because I felt so damn guilty about the whole afraid of needles thing. But you were so out of it most of the time after that, and I wanted to avoid that fucked up piece of shit doctor coming near you again, so I did it myself."
“Where the hell did you learn how to do doctor stuff?”
“I received extensive training before taking this position." He tugs his sweater over his head, the fabric muffling what sounds like a yawn. Carter tries very, very hard not to stare at the way his abs twist with the movements. He fails. In his defense, he doesn't do anythingbutstare, when he'd really like to touch and maybe lick them, so… still a win.
“Don’t hold back now.”
Carter startles. Can Nathan read his fucking mind? Did he talk out loud?“H-huh?”
“I’m sure you have a lot more questions about Casey. Get them out so I can answer them and go to bed.”
He removes his belt. Carter remembers what the leather felt like on his ass. How hot and shivery it had made him. How turned on.
