i’m not a doctor and fanfic is not a place to learn proper first aid
Rhys has a bad habit of forgetting when and when not to use his cybernetic arm.
A great time is when Jack is on his back, trying to fend off the last of a pack of psycho who thought it fun to try to take a bite out of him. Jack’s already cursing his decision to venture pass the boundaries of Hyperion’s latest outpost, despite being lulled into a false sense of security thanks to the forested terrain. Of course there’d be creeps everywhere on this damn planet, even in areas he thought might be a little more lush and quiet.
This stinking, slobbering asshole just won’t get off of him, and worse yet the jagged, rusty edge of that buzz-axe is trending uncomfortably close to Jack’s throat. He grunts and snarls and tries to push the psycho off of him, but the guy’s bearing down with his full weight and Jack’s gun had been knocked away in the struggle, leaving him defenseless.
Thankfully, Rhys has enough sense to pick it up and aim it properly—unfortunately, in his haste Jack sees, in his periphery, his boyfriend hold its handle in only one hand. The fleshy, easy to damage one.
Jack’s gun is a new, heavy-duty assault rifle with a low magazine but high than average damage. The whole reason they had ventured from the outpost in the first place was because Jack had wanted to test it out on some unsuspecting fauna, see just how much heat it could pack out in the field. Jack remembers trying it out a few times back on Helios’ shooting ranges, and while the thing is powerful it needs careful as hell handling, so the gunman doesn’t end up mangled in the hospital instead of the target. It’s a two-handed kind of weapon, and Rhys is standing there holding it with one like it’s a frikkin’ peashooter.
Before Jack can shout a warning Rhys has fired, and he sees the violent kickback shred his boyfriend’s arm backwards moments before the psycho’s brains explode all over his vision. The buzzaxe sinks harmlessly into the dirt besides Jack’s head as the bloody corpse flops forward, nearly getting the CEO a mouthful of splattered brains and bits of skull. He shoves it off of him quickly before swaying to his feet, able to make out tense noises of pain even with the tinnitus ringing in his ears.
Jack can already tell as he rushes over to his boyfriend’s side that Rhys’ arm has been dislocated by the kickback. It flops limply against the ground like it’s holding on only by the skin of his shoulder. Rhys’ teeth are clenched, face flushed with pain he futilely tries holding back. Jack sinks to his knees beside him, knocking away the gun as he examines his boyfriend’s injury.
Even beneath his clothes the joint looks visibly out of alignment, so bad that Jack grits his teeth in a wince. He carefully places his hand against Rhys’ shoulder but even that slight movement causes cries of pain to finally break free and proper from Rhys’ lips. Tears bead up in the boy’s eyes, the dam now broken as sobs rock through his chest, the trembling not helping the pain in the dislocated arm.
“Easy, easy pumpkin, just stay still okay?” Jack croons, any pride he feels at Rhys blowing a psycho’s whacked-up brains out now dampened slightly by his boyfriend’s pain. There will be plenty of time for adulation later anyway, when Rhys is safe at home, properly fixed up and no longer suffering.
Jack purses his lips as he wracks his brain for a solution, or at least a first step to getting Rhys the help he needs, but its hard with the sobbing cries spilling unbidden from his injured boyfriend. He starts to pet back Rhys’ hair, combing it best as he can back into place.
“Hey kiddo, hey. Shhh. I know it hurts, I’m sorry,” Jack says, and he really does mean it. Even if he really wishes Rhys had remembered to use both hands on the rifle, the guy who was two seconds away from sawing Jack’s head off is dead, and as much as a dislocated arm sucks it could’ve been a lot worse for the both of them.
Though he’s still going to have to deal with it before Rhys can feel any better.
“Jack, please can’t….can’t you fix it…?” His boyfriend moans, voice broken by pain. Jack worries his lip as he places his other hand on Rhys’ injured bicep.
“Yeah, I can…I’ll try, sugar, but it’s gonna hurt a lot before it gets better, okay?” He whispers, dredging up old first aid knowledge he recalls from his younger years, before he became rich enough to pay others to risk life and limb for him. Rhys’ eyes widen, fear momentarily overtaking the look of pain.
“W-what? How…how much more can it possibly hurt?” He whines. Jack forces a reassuring smile and pats the side of Rhys’ cheek, clearing away a tear with a finger.
“I promise you you’re gonna feel a hell of a lot better once I pop this sucker back into place, okay?” Rhys’ fear doesn’t abate much as the reality of Jack’s suggestion sinks in, but after a long moment of panting and swallowing around the tense lump in his throat, Rhys finally nods.
“Just…just do it…get it over with…”
“That’s my boy.” Jack strokes Rhys’ face one last time before bracing the hand against Rhys’ shoulder, with the other still squeezed firmly around his bicep. Jack takes a couple deep inhales, encouraging Rhys to breath with him in order to help calm him down.
“All right…” Jack starts, hands firm. “On the count of three…one…two—“
He doesn’t wait until three, bucking Rhys’ anticipation with a sharp pop as he works the arm back into his socket. Rhys screams as it happens, his spine arching up off the ground as fresh tears spring into his eyes. Jack hates himself for a brief moment thanks to the crushing noise of Rhys’ pain, but with the pass of a few seconds the screams dies down into a whimper. Rhys blinks rapidly and sniffs, the tears slowly drying up as the sharp pain fades into a memory.
“…Better?” Jack tries as he softly pats Rhys’ shoulder, and this time he doesn’t flinch. The relocated arm moves stiffly, but it moves as Rhys weakly twitches his fingers.
“Ah…little bit…” He croaks, but before he can exert himself any more Jack strips his own jacket off and starts tying the sleeves together. Rhys watches through a haze of lingering soreness and confusion until Jack loops the makeshift sling around his neck and carefully slides the injured arm inside.
“That’ll do….at least until we get back to the outpost. Get some proper painkillers into you. ‘Least I can do for my hero.”
“What?” Rhys asks blearily as Jack slides his hands underneath him, still able to hoist his boyfriend into a bridal carry, despite lingering aches and bruises from his fight with the psychos. He cradles Rhys’ weight against his chest, ensuring the arm isn’t jostled too bad as he walks.
“You forget about the little stunt that caused all this, kiddo?” Jack tilts his chin to look at Rhys as he starts moving back towards the outpost, barely visible above the tops of the trees. “Those guys would have had a real handsome head to stick on a pike if it weren’t for you blowing some lights out.”
“Oh…right…” Rhys nods, though he looks like he might conk out from exhaustion any moment. “Well…you’re welcome.”
“You’ve really gotta let me teach you how to properly shoot, though. Two hands next time, okay?”
“M’kay,” Rhys mumbles just as he slips into a light doze, head falling peacefully against Jack’s chest. The CEO snorts, already envisioning Rhys’ first proper training lesson as he ambles off towards the welcoming lights of the outpost.