thecapitol | (no subject)

Who| Maximus and OPEN
What| Maximus lost his leg to an alien and is in hospital while they build him a new one.
When| a few days after aliens
Where| Hospital
Warnings/Notes| Mentions of severe violence/trauma, depression, possibly suicidal thoughts

It was a desperate time. Even with the Capitol's extensive and immediate health care, there had been enough time between Maximus being hurt to being brought into critical care for him to lose a lot of blood - the mangled leg as unsalvagable as anyone could have imagined. The entire thing had been amputated from mid-thigh down.

The surgery had only taken a few hours but he needed time to recover, so no visitors were allowed until twelve hours later. Though they were making him a prosthetic, it would take a few days to build and tweak - so in the meantime he was stuck in the hospital.

Maximus was awake. They'd tried to force painkillers on him but he'd refused, so they'd slipped a minimal dosage into his IV without telling him and let him rough out the rest, gripping the pristine white sheets as he stared up at the ceiling. The form under the sheets strangely incomplete.

The nurses gave him a wide berth and spoke in hushed voices as they led any visitors to his room - though they would not allow Ferox in the hospital, so he went without his hard won companion.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Joan imagined that the fact that most people came back from death made the experience in the Arena different than most warfare. Regardless, though, there was still the fear and pain of dying, the fear and pain of watching people you care about die.

Like Wyatt.

"He made that decision for you," she said softly. "That must have been hard."

"He made the decision I had meant to make. That I should have made." He let out a hard breath.

"I cannot fault him for it."

He paused, though, uncomfortably, not certain he really wanted to continue to discuss Wyatt when the man wasn't there, before something occurred to him.

"You were a doctor. When-- Did they have these, where you came from?" He grabbed the pamphlet on the prosthetic he was receiving, covered in glossy photos.

She looked at the pamphlet and blinked, raising her eyebrows.

"Um...yeah. Wow. Usually they aren't so, I don't know...glamorous. I'm sure they're more advanced in some ways. I'd have to actually see one. I'd love to take a look at yours."

She was aware that was possibly awkward, but he brought the issue up, and she had found in her time in medicine that avoidance was ultimately more awkward than frankness in these situations.

He nodded. "Your opinion would be appreciated," He admitted easily. Neither he nor Wyatt came from periods where any of this was possible.

"They assure me that one will be built to suit my 'tastes and needs'," He added, skeptically.

"Taste and needs," she echoed, amused. "I can't wait to see what they think those are."

She looked down at the pamphlet again.

"In my time, there are these competitions called the Olympics. The best athletes compete in things like swimming and track and field. There was this one runner who had lost both of his legs...I don't know how. Cancer, maybe. But he had these special prosthetics that allowed him to run. He was one of the fastest people in the world."

Maximus found that extremely hard to believe but then he found the concept of prosthetics hard to believe at all, so he decided to remain polite.

"I'm sure I will learn, when it is shown to me," He said simply. "Until then, I am here."

"It shouldn't be too long. They made them pretty quickly in my day. I'd guess that they're even faster now."

She handed the pamphlet back to him.

He took it back, carefully making sure there were no creases in it, before replacing it on the side table. He didn't like the screens, but he had a special reverence for the strange printed paper. Something that was very similar to what he knew, but an obvious leap in technology.

Incredible, but something he could understand.

"Three days, they said," He said a little gruffly. "If you wish to return to examine it then, you would have my gratitude."

That degree of care struck Joan as strange, and so she noted it, frowning slightly. Her expression smoothed, though, when he looked at her.

"I'd be happy to," she answered. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Maximus shook his head. "... I thank you for your attentiveness, but no. I will manage."

She nodded. "If anything comes up, don't hesitate to contact me. It's important to me that you're taken care of."

Because she still had that sense of guilt.

"I will, of course." Maximus said with a nod. "But beyond looking at my new leg, I doubt it will be necessary. I am not in need of necessities," He added, waving a vague arm around the hospital room.

"True. Still. Anything here, or after they let you out of here."

She gave him a faint smile.

"Until then. Take care, okay?"

Maximus nodded, mutely, trying to ignore the sharp ache of his imaginary leg.

He would do his best.