You Got Wires, Going In [Closed]

[Horus Richmond]

The last thing Horus remembered was the sound of sirens and Nub's voice in his ear telling him he would be okay. There was this irritating bleep bleep noise by his head, and he attempted to lift his head to find out what the hell was going on. Everything felt irritatingly heavy - like his body was made of lead. Oh god, he wasn't DEAD was he?

He opened his eyes and the world swam into focus, turning to the left and watching this blood sack dripping down, down into... He started and looked down at his hands. Or he tried to. Both of them were heavily bandaged, and he could see an IV nodule outside of one of the dressings. Finding the strength to push up in the bed, he glanced around uncomfortably. "Fuck." He hissed into the silence, voice gravelly and uncomfortable.

"Th'fuck happened?" He asked the air, trying to wiggle his fingers, do something with his hands, only to find stinging and pain each time he tried. "Sett? Nub? Sakh?" His voice became desperate as he struggled to sit up further while handless, eyes wide with fear. He went to tap his teeth on his piercings to comfort himself, and found them removed. He wondered whether they'd taken out the one on his wrist, the dermal he'd paid a swag of money for, then realised he was just about thinking of everything all at once.

Horus took a deep breath then, and swallowed. "M'awake!" He hollered as loudly as he could, trying to find out what they'd done to his hands to make them hurt so much. He hated hospitals, they always felt so clinical and unfriendly, unwelcoming. Shit he didn't want to be alone in this place right now.

[Sett Richmond]

Sett's hand was trembling as he leaned against the the vending machine, waiting for further news on his baby brother. Anubis was pacing and Sakhmet wasn't speaking. Sett couldn't think straight and was only thinking about his brother who was unconscious two rooms down the hall.

If only he had been upstairs just a minute earlier. If only he heard the girls earlier. If only Horus didn't live in the attic with that stupid, hard to reach trap door.

Sett almost didn't hear the mumbling from the room but he heard the unmistakable yell. He alerted his two younger siblings before rushing to the room. Horus was paler than usual but he was awake. That was the important bit. The small red marks on the exposed skin of his body made Sett almost cry.

"Russ, you fuckin' idiot." Sett breathed, walking to the bed and hugging Horus around his head. "Don't do that ever again, you hear me?"

[Anubis Richmond]

Anubis felt sick. He didn't much care for hospitals (he shared that with Horus) because they smelled like antiseptic and death. They were gloomy and cold and the thought that people were dying in the same building he was in made his stomach churn. They'd been reassured by the doctors that Horus would be fine, but Anu didn't care. His brother was hurting, had been hurting, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Horus' yell caught Nub's ears and he was hot on Sett's heels as they bolted into their baby brother's room, tears welling in the blonde's eyes as he saw Horus laid in the hospital bed with IVs and bandages. "Bubba!" He whispered, leaning over the bed and also enveloping the youngest Richmond in a hug around the shoulders, careful of the wires and tubes.

Sett's warning was well deserved and Annie nodded as much as he was able with his face tucked against his brother. It washed away the majority of his panic, knowing that Horus was now conscious and was himself enough to holler and talk. He was going to be okay. "I love you, Bubba. Don't hurt yourself ever again!" He chided, gently touching at his brother's cheeks. "We were all so scared." He admitted in a low voice, though didn't pull back. It was almost as if he were afraid of what would happen if he let go.

[Sakhmet Richmond]

Much like her brothers Sakhmet was not a big fan of hospitals, although her reasons were much simpler: She was absolutely petrified of needles, and there were long, sharp, pointy objects everywhere in hospitals. So many different ways and means to be poked and prodded.

However, she wasn't here on her own account, which made it...not easier, exactly, since she was certainly distressed over Horus' condition, but rather she felt she could have strength on her baby brother's account whereas visits for herself resulted in melt downs.

She hadn't said a word since they'd entered the hospital; she didn't trust herself to speak. Instead she'd allowed Sett and Anubis to answer all questions and fill out all paperwork while she sat, tense and nervous, idly flipping through magazines though her focus was all on thoughts of Horus.

At the shriek she sat up, looking to Sett before jumping up and following him into the room.

She hovered behind her brothers, allowing Sett and Anubis to cling, not wanting to join the crowding until there was more room and less chance of suffocating.

"I'm so glad you're awake," She whispered. This was the first sound she'd uttered since getting in the car with Sett. "Do you need anything? Do you want me to bring you anything? Water? Juice?"

[Horus Richmond]

Horus was about to start yelling and shouting to get some attention when suddenly he was being crushed and snuggled and pet and lectured. He frowned and flailed under the giant manhug and reached a hand out for his sister, managing to wiggle his cut fingers to curl around hers.

"Yeah yeah, lectures." He grumbled, feeling sore from having some breathing pipe down his neck during the glass removing surgery. Seems he'd rather badly screwed up his hands. Managing to get some breathing air, he pawed at his eyes and stifled a yawn. "'m sorry I scared y'all though." He wiggled further up the bed and managed to look Sakhmet in the eye.

"Couldja put my piercings back in? An' m'throat feels like 've been givin' head f'three months." He moved up the bed and scratched his chin with the tips of his fingers. Urgh, everything still felt hazy. His eyes turned to the blood again and he wrinkled his nose. "An' can w'get th'bloodbag t'disappear. S'makin' m'think o'that time wi'Ember an' her period." Well, at least the blonde teen was in semi good spirits, although clearly dodging why he was in the hospital in the first place.

Also, his hands were stinging like mad and he felt like there were still glass shards in it. It felt horrible, and any distraction would be appreciated. "An' f'th'record, b'fore y'start sendin' in psychs an' shit, I didn't punch th'mirror wi'th'intent o'bleedin' all over the place." That needed to be set straight. Horus didn't broach the fact he'd closed and bolted the attic door for the sole reason of bleeding out and having a peaceful death - or so he would have liked if he hadn't realised he'd forgotten to write a goodbye note. It had been spur of the moment after all.

"S'how long have I been out for?"

[Sett Richmond]

When Sett had his fill of hogging his youngest brother, he stepped away and let the other two near him. He leaned against the window adjacent to the bed and listened to his younger siblings' conversation.

Horus' explanation did nothing to dull Sett's haggard emotions. But God was he relieved his brother was alive. The past few hours have been complete chaos in his head. Normally, he alredy had trouble forming coherent thoughts. Having to worry about his brother being dead just made that worst.

He could tell Horus was trying to make light of the situation but Sett couldn't. He wanted to be angry with Horus. He wanted to yell at Horus for being an idiot. For caring too much what other people said about him. He wanted Horus to realise that his self-image was fucked up. But he couldn't do that either.

All he could do was be the big brother who was here to bail everyone out and clean up their shit. At least he wasn't Ra. God knows what the eldest Richmond would have done in this situation.

"Why did you punch the mirror?" Sett asked. "Why did you lock the door?" His voice was uncharacteristically low and he could only look to the floor.

[Anubis Richmond]

It was nice for all of three seconds to hear Horus crack jokes, but the moment quickly faded. The jokes didn't change the fact that Horus was injured, or that they were all crowded around a hospital bed, or that their youngest brother had almost died. And Anubis knew that Horus often hid behind humor, which did nothing for his nerves. Something was seriously wrong and his Bubba was trying to hide it.

Anubis loosened his hold around his brother's shoulders, but Sett already asked the questions that Nub wanted. He looked at the shifter, then over to his sister, and finally back to Horus, wanting desperately to hear the answers. Real answers, not avoidance tactics, not jokes.

He reached over to touch Sakhmet's arm, realizing just how pale she looked. He felt so helpless. Sett's face was overtaken by worry, Horus was bandaged, and Sakhmet looked frail. He just wanted to hug them all until everything was better. Never mind that his stomach was still turning unhappily, that he was still panicking inside. He just wanted things to go back to the way they were.

"I love you, Bubba." He said quietly, holding onto Horus' arm. He didn't want to touch his bandaged hands, so he settled for lightly gripping his forearm. Being the tactile person that he is, he couldn't just step back. Touching Horus was his way of knowing that he was okay... at least for now.

[Sakhmet Richmond]

Much like her two older brothers Sakhmet didn't quite believe Horus' deflections. She wanted very much to know why he'd behaved as he had; it obviously hadn't been an accident, and that concerned her. However, she also didn't think that immediately after he'd regained consciousness was the appropriate time to pounce on him for answers, and so she shot Sett a pointed glare as he moved back, allowing her to pull the youngest Richmond into a hug, made awkward by the wires attached to him.

"You really scared us." She whispered, voice barely audible over the hum of machines. "I'm so glad you're safe."

She inhaled deeply then, mentally casting about for a subject change that had nothing to do with whatever secrets he was harboring. She was sure he had them, sure that this was related to the bullying he'd faced at the hands of the Adams boy, but she would bide her time on getting answers. She wanted to heal the most recent wounds before digging to the original ones.

And despite his immediate refutation of any need for psychs she fully planned on finding one to help him. Neither she nor her brothers were qualified to give the sort of help her baby brother needed, not if he was going to wander around punching mirrors and trying to bleed to death. She offered as much emotional support as she was capable of, but even she had limit.

She hated to admit it, but this was too much.

"I'm afraid I must admit I haven't asked about discharge yet." She apologized, squeezing one shoulder gently. "If you have to stay I'll be sure to bring you meals so you don't have to rely on hospital food."

[Horus Richmond]

Horus blinked as Sett lectured him, and instinctively he clung onto Anubis, resting his cheek on his skinny elder brother's shoulder and sucking in a breath. "Sorry." He mumbled, barely raising his voice loud enough to be heard over the machines. He put his face in his hands and seemed to scrub at his face as if it would wash the problems away, but all he felt was stinging and discomfort.

The next words that came from his mouth were both angry and upset, and he stared at Sett with tearful eyes. "Y'wanna know why?" He said quietly, voice oddly still. "'Cause 'm nothin' but a waste o'space an' everyone'd b'better off without m'. An' don't say it ain't true 'cause y'had t'MOVE t'come take care o'my sorry ass. An' I'm tired o'bein' th'stupid fat blonde one o'th'family." His voice died for a moment as his throat became thick and sore.

"'m just a stupid fatty fatfat." He added bitterly, before rolling on his side, away from the concerned faces of his relatives. He ignored the fact he was on the brink of tears, and instead glared off at the monitors as though they were the cause of everything wrong with him.

Eventually, after a long silence, he mumbled. "If I have't'see someone, I wanna see Dr. Neville." He wouldn't speak to anyone else. He didn't WANT to speak to anyone else, and now all he could think of was Elliot's disappointed, upset face. He scrunched his face up as tears ran down his face, and swiped them with his bandaged hands.

"I wanna go home now." Horus muttered finally, bitter smile on his face. "Even 'f 'm damaged goods or whatever th'hell y'guys think o'me."

[Sett Richmond]

Horus' apology broke Sett's already messed up heart. He hated being the jackass when it came to his siblings. He was usually the one to encourage them to do stupid things. That was his role as a Richmond boy. He wasn't equipped with the right tools to deal with this sort of situation.

Unaware of Sakhmet's glare, Sett kept a stony gaze at Horus as he insulted himself unnecessarily. Sett moved away from the hospital bed, letting Sakhy move in as he continued to listen to Horus' self-bashing, his slim fingers curling up into fists.

He couldn't yell at his brother. Not in the hospital. Especially not right after his brother's surgery. But God, Sett's heart swelled with anger at his brother's untrue words. Sett knew his brother's condition well enough to know that his words, to him, were true, which made Sett that much angrier at whoever gave him that complex in the first place.

That shitty Adams kid. He was at fault.

Sett tried to even out his breathing as he unfurled his fists. "I...I can't do this right now. You just stay. With Nub. I can't..." he turned to Sakhy. "If you want to go home, you better...come with me now." He had to pause in between his words so as not to make it so obvious he was about to scream at any point.

He approached the bed and kissed Horus' forehead roughly before disappearing from the room.

[Anubis Richmond]

It was heartbreaking to hear Horus' reasoning. With his brother's head resting on his shoulder, Anubis curled his arms around him, running his fingers through his hair. He couldn't believe this was how Horus saw himself. For as long as he could remember, Horus was always so bold. He was the first to get the ridiculous piercings (in Nub's opinion, but he had to admit his brother didn't look bad with them), the first to do something loud and goofy in public without caring what anyone thought.

But this is what he had been reduced to, all thanks to some jerk kid that Anubis wanted to stab in the throat with scissors. Annie pouted when Horus rolled away from him, looking up at Sett, not sure what to say or what to do. This was serious and Anubis had never been very good at dealing with serious things. What he wasn't expecting was for his older brother to walk away.

For a while, Anubis just stood there in silence. With both of his siblings gone, the room seemed a lot bigger and Horus looked a lot smaller. He chewed on the inside of his cheek before sliding up onto the edge of the bed and running his hand along Horus' side. "Bubba?" He ventured, his voice quiet. "I didn't mind moving to come see you. I missed you." He rested his hand on Horus' shoulder, gently rubbing it with his thumb.

"And I don't think you're fat or stupid." Anubis just wanted Horus to know that he didn't regret moving to America to take care of him, wanted Horus to know that he still thought of him as his precious little baby brother. "And you can't give up, 'cause how else are we going to make our awesome line?" Maybe if Horus was reminded that he had something to aspire to, he would realize that he couldn't just take the easy way out. Nub leaned over his brother and offered him a weak smile. "I'll stay with you til you can go home. Then everything will be better."

A boy can hope, can't he?

[Sakhmet Richmond]

Sakhmet had been aware, in a vague sort of way, what Horus' self-perception was, but she'd never realized that it was more than the usual mild dissatisfaction most people had with themselves. She'd certainly never expected something so vile and so very, very far from the truth.

"I want you to come home, too," She said at last, disappointed that she couldn't give him the one thing she asked for. "But I can't do anything about that until the doctor discharges you."

Already Sett was storming off, and she blinked back tears of anger at him, at Jesse, at this entire situation.

"You don't see yourself the way I do. I don't see a waste of space, I see a creative, fun younger brother who always cheers me up when I'm down and lights up the house with his ideas. And I came to America because I missed him and I wanted to help him like he would help me if I were in his place."

She didn't address the weight issue; he was far from overweight, but even if he had been she failed to see what difference that ought to make. He was still human. Oh, she would be concerned, but she would be concerned because she cared about his health and didn't want him to get diabetes or have heart problems and not because she thought obesity was something people ought to be made fun of for.

"I'll clean your room for you and fix you your favorite meal when they let you out. Love you."

And she turned and hurried after Sett.

[Horus Richmond]

Horus could sense Sett's tension and decided it was even more reason not to look at him and stare at the machines. His fingers twitched slightly as he felt the warm press of Anubis against his back, and weakly cuddled against him, suddenly feeling exhausted.

"I love y'guys." He managed, watching Sett leave and taking a deep breath. "An' thanks. Y'all really special t'me." He said quietly, moving down the bed and stifling a yawn. Sakhmet's words were one of the many reasons why the youngest Richmond adored her - she was always so good and kind, and he didn't know what he would do without her.

"Sak? Can y'look after Sett f'me?" He asked softly, once the man was out of ear shot. "He ain't doin' okay." A small half smile perked on his lips, and he pulled the girl over and held her close, kissing her cheek. "Jus' try an' get m'out soon, kay?" He offered, closing his eyes and resting back as her heels hit the floor.

Then he was just him and Anubis.

He managed to lick his lips to wet them, and then curled up tighter on the scrawny elder blonde. "'m glad y'here." He said sleepily, pulling the sheets up and closing his eyes. It just felt like his entire body was sinking down into a comfortable deep dark void. He forced it back just long enough to quietly insist:

"I wan' m'piercin's back in."