maskormenacelogs | (no subject)

WHO: Sarah, George, and Jesse
WHERE: A hospital in Heropa
WHEN: May 7th
WHAT: Pest removal surgery
WARNINGS: Medical grossness, parasite grossness

[ Over the past week and a half, Sarah has worked hard to shut off the part of herself that wants to panic about what's going to happen today. She knows it's going to be awful; the only question is whether what she goes through today will be worse than living with this thing in her jaw indefinitely, and she doesn't think it will be. Finite pain versus who knows how long of waiting, worrying? Yeah, she'll take the pain, thanks.

As they approach the hospital's surgical wing, she gives George's hand a squeeze and glances over at him, trying to look confident about the whole thing, even though confidence is the absolute last thing she's feeling right now. Maybe if she acts like this is no big deal, he'll feel better about it. It's not that she doesn't trust George or Jesse, but she definitely doesn't want either one of them backing out at the last minute. ]

So we just—do this, yeah?

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Everything's ready and waiting for us.

[Jesse's seen to it. It wasn't hard to convince the staff to let a registered imPort borrow a room and supplies for a few hours, especially once several thousand dollars exchanged hands. Anyway, this place is practically Jesse's second home. He leads them straight to their designated operating room, and once they're inside, he begins to unpack his own supplies: the blood bags he promised, all prepared to be administered through IV.]

We won't be able to use anesthetic with this stuff.

[George tries to nod, but his heart is beating too hard in his ears. I'd rather die than hurt Sarah - that's what he's always said, isn't it? That's his one philosophy in life these past months, and he's about to crack it wide open. Even with the light at the end of the tunnel, the possibility of life without the parasite, all he can think about is the pain he's about to cause.]

Here's a gown. You can, um. Change wherever.

[He hands it to her, gently brushing her shoulder as he does so. For a moment he thought to suggest the bathroom around the corner, but there's no point. He and Jesse have both seen her wearing much less.]

... Thanks.

[ Yeah, she'll be taking that and heading into the bathroom, thank you, George. When she reemerges a couple minutes later wearing the hospital gown, she's got her arms crossed, both to try and alleviate the goosebumps rising on them and to cover up the fact that her hands are starting to shake. No anesthetic at all. That's going to be bad. ]

[It's not as if Jesse was leering at her, anyway. He's fully focused on prepping for the surgery, and this is where it becomes clear he's been spending a lot of time working in rooms just like this one. He hangs the blood bag on the IV stand and hooks up the tube and connector, priming it and preparing the needle so it's all ready by the time Sarah steps out of the bathroom.]

Good to go for the IV? We can wait a minute if you need it.

[He doesn't mean to rush either of them. It's understandably terrifying for someone who's not used to the unmedicated life.]

No. Let's get this over with.

[ Sarah glances at the bags of blood, then away before she can let the image sink in. She looks at George for confirmation instead. Unless he has any reason for her to wait, she'd rather start now. ]

[He tries to soften the fear out of his face as he fiddles with his gloves.]

Deep breaths, okay?

[It could be aimed at her, or it could be aimed at himself. Trying to follow his own advice, George steps over to examine the instrument tray, making sure everything's accounted for.]

I'm going to need your hands, Jesse. Scrub in once you get the IV going.

[Jesse nods as he steps closer to Sarah. He makes quick work of getting her on the IV, an expert when it comes to getting a needle into a vein.]

You're probably gonna start feeling calmer now.

[That blood's good for a lot of things. Anxiety is one of them.

Once she's all set, Jesse turns to finish the rest of his preparation. Which, oddly enough, involves bandaging his own presently-uninjured face.]

[ Sarah looks at the IV running into her vein, the blood dripping from the bag into the line, and screws up her nose. She's already feeling less anxious, but it doesn't make her like the idea of this whole thing, or the sight of the blood, any less disgusting. ]

You're gonna have to make sure I can't move. Once you start cutting. [ Because she's pretty sure that no matter how calm Jesse's blood makes her, it's not going to matter once George starts actually cutting into her face. ]

We can use the straps.

[He hates saying it, he hates just the thought of it, strapping her down like she's some kind of feral animal. Like she's being punished for her pain. But more than anything he wants this to go quickly, and it won't if she's thrashing around.

He mentally whispers a million silent apologies, and watches as the blood slips through the line. Holding his breath, he steps over to deal with the restraints.]

Okay, I'm going to be doing a Risdon incision, which is about two inches along your jawline. [He looks over at Jesse.] Betadine, please.

[Jesse, who's paused to eye those restraints uneasily, realizes after about half a second that George is addressing him. He's been present for plenty of emergencies, but he's never been an active participant in surgery. There's usually no need for that when he's around. At least he knows his way around a medicine cabinet, and he hands over the Betadine as soon as he's registered the request.]

[ Sarah pulls at the restraints a few times, testing them. When she's sure she won't be able to reach up and accidentally force George into giving her a Glasgow smile, she relaxes back onto the table. Taking a look at the expressions on George and Jesse's faces, though, not to mention the bandage on Jesse's face, makes her pretty sure that she doesn't want to watch them doing this. Squeezing her eyes shut, she tries to take a few deep, calming breaths. ]

Just tell me what you're doing, okay? So I know when...