On a String [closed]

[Chase Campbell]

Chase didn’t even notice the darker blush that James was sporting. His mind was elsewhere. Trying to comfort his husband without resorting to his ability – that would be backtracking, and wishing hateful things on whoever was responsible for this. He wasn’t typically a vengeful person, but messing with his family crossed a very, very dangerous line.

When Clarisse told James he needed to calm down, Chase felt the reflex to use his ability again. But he couldn’t. Not if he wanted James to stay sane. So he just held on, gently stroking the older man’s side. He just wanted this to be over and done with, his gaze purposely avoiding the blood and the pile of glass shards. They needed to move on. They needed to tell Claude. But nothing was going to happen until Clarisse was done.

Which was mercifully quick. The trainer glanced at Clarisse when she addressed him, and he nodded, focusing on the, ugh, blood. “I’ll take care of him.” He knew a little bit about basic first aid simply from his training to teach. Cuts and scratches were no strangers in his classroom. So he watched Clarisse’s gentle hands wrapping James’ own, making mental notes to himself. And if he did it wrong, he could probably count on James to tell him so.

“I know,” he murmured softly. “Niko’ll be fine, though, okay? He’s still in class for a little while. And if you’re really worried, we can get an older student to watch him until we can take him.” He tried to be reassuring about it, but it was hard when James’ anxiety over their son was passing to him. It was hard not to be stressed. Especially when their unknown enemy knew Niko’s name. “And Ginny’s gonna be fine, Jamie. She’s nowhere near Pilot Ridge.” Still, he couldn’t deny James checking in with his daughter. Not after all this.

But it didn’t stop him from feeling relieved when Clarisse finished up. James was right. They had to go. But only when James was ready. Chase shifted, gently drawing his arm off of his husband to face him a bit better. “We’ll go when you’re ready, okay? We’ll see Claude, we’ll talk to Sean, and we’ll get Niko afterwards. We’ll protect him. We’ll protect all of the students. And I’ll protect you.” Though it sounded a little pathetic, Chase had to say it. He was going to protect James. This was never, ever going to happen again. Not on his watch.

[Dr. James Campbell]

When Clarisse told him to try to calm down, he really did attempt it. It was just so hard, because he was in the process of freaking out about...well, too many things to list, at the moment. He took a few deep breaths, and though it might have brought his heart rate down, it wasn't by much. He was trying though.

James watched too, as she carefully wrapped his hands in gauze. It still made him sick to see it--blood was so messy--but he had to know how to do it properly. If Chase was going to be wrapping his hands, they should both know how to do it. "How often do we need to change the bandages?" And how long would they hurt? James was not looking forward to the recovery, not while he was dealing with all of this other stuff as well. Not having full use of his hands was just making it all worse. "I--I'll call her after we tell Claude. So long as the invader hadn't picked up his daughter's name, she was safe, right? Or maybe not, since he had obviously been specifically targeted.

But why? Why him?

He stood, as soon as Clarisse said he was allowed to go. They had to go inform the administration, even if he was still feeling awful. Maybe later he would make an appointment with her to find out more about caring for his hands. And maybe he would schedule time to see Sean, but not now. "Thank you, Clarisse....We have to go now." He tried not to let Chase's statement get to him, but there was something about it that reminded him of something his father had once said, shortly after Ginny was born. "The hardest job a man has is taking care of his family." And James had failed to do that today. "Chase....we have to go."

[Clarisse Prideaux]

“I know you will.” Clarisse murmured in reply to Chase as she snapped off her gloves and dumped them on the tray. “You always have taken care of each other. You’ll need that now more than ever.” She mused, though she was sure the two men were already aware of that fact. She could only pray that they would cling to each other and their son, and that this ordeal would only pull them together, not drive them apart (as Clarisse was starting to believe it intended). The last thing Hammel needed now was to have its dynamics disintegrate.

When she had finished, she patted his forearm encouragingly, proud of his attempts at calming himself. The fact that he’d even tried was impressive. Clarisse didn’t even think she’d be able to control her own heart rate if she’d been in his situation, and it usually was very important for her to keep herself under control (lest she crush something by accident). All in all, Clarisse was heartened by James and Chase’s bravery.

“For now, change them three times a day.” Clarisse said as she dumped the tools she had used to care for James into a sink to be sterilized as soon as the men were gone. “Until the bleeding stops, which should be soon.” Pinching the covers of the plastic over the metal tray, Clarisse wrapped the bloody glass, her gloves, and the other biohazardous material in the covering and tossed it in a biohazard bin. “For now that’s all you need to know. We can discuss later what more is to be done.” Thye had bigger things to worry about than James’ hands. They would heal quickly. They’d hurt and itch…but they’d heal.

“Now go.” Clarisse said, even though the pair were already headed towards the door. “Tomorrow ,when things have settled a bit, I’ll be in touch with Chase with more specific instructions to care for your hands.” Taking a deep breath, Clarisse looked at them steadily. “Chase and James. Right now your highest priority is protecting your family…but know that you have me as your ally in protecting the students.”

As she opened the door for them to go out, Clarisse looked as if she were already ready for battle. No one messed to disgustingly with her school. No one. “Come what may, the person who did this will see justice.”