Chapter Text
They certainly weren’t in sunny San Diego anymore. Ice was shivering. Despite the cold themed callsign he was very much a warm weather person. The cold just made him feel stiff and uncomfortable. The dry air made his lips crack and throat scratchy.
He sniffled. It also made his nose run which was the most irritating of all. He reached for another tissue from his pocket to blow his nose. Perhaps he was allergic to the cold. He desperately wished that scarves were a part of their uniform.
“Hey, Ice. I wonder if it will snow today.” Slider stood close beside him.
“I hope not.” He stated grumpily.
Slider laughed and bumped him playfully, “oh come on I know you don’t like the cold but if it’s cold at least we get to see snow.”
Ice grumbled but agreed. Snow was pretty but he just didn’t like having to deal with it. He liked it far away on the mountain tops where it belonged. He felt his nose starting to run again. He sniffled and grabbed a tissue. When he pulled it back it came back red.
He blinked. “Well shit.”
Slider glanced down at him and also swore, “shit Ice, don’t just stand there! Pinch your nose!”
Ice held his nose shut as Slider guided him inside to sit down. He felt rather silly sitting there holding his nose. He looked at the red droplets that had fallen to the ground.
“Let’s get you to medical.” Slider sighed.
“What? No! It’s just a nosebleed. I’ll be fine,” Ice shooed him away.
“Fine, I’ll be right back. I’m gonna go find something to clean you up.” Slider patted him and left.
Ice sat there for a while feeling the blood oozing down his hand and soaking the tissue all the way through. His hand was starting to tire and he could taste the metallic tang in the back of his throat.
He wasn’t sure how long he sat there waiting for Slider to return but the metallic taste of the blood down his throat was starting to upset his stomach and make him nauseous. The blood was starting to make its way down his hand and soaking his jacket.
“Ice, how are you feeling? I got some towels and shit.” Slider returned to his side.
Ice’s hand was getting sore from pinching his nose for so long. It didn’t even feel like it was helping anyways.
“I’m making a mess.” Ice started grumpily and slightly embarrassed by the whole situation.
He stared at the mess as if it would magically teleport the blood back into his body.
“Damn, how long have you been bleeding?” Slider muttered quietly.
Ice shrugged weakly. He was starting to feel a little lightheaded. There were a lot of bloody tissues surrounding him. He didn’t know how long nosebleeds were supposed to last but he did have to admit it was looking excessive at this point.
Slider tugged away the bloody tissue from his nose and cursed when the blood immediately started flowing heavily again. Ice swayed dangerously.
“Alright that’s it. I’m taking you to medical for real.” Slider slugged his arm over his shoulder and hoisted him up.
Ice groaned annoyed as a wave of dizziness overcame him, “I’m fine.”
“And I’m Queen of England.” Slider said sarcastically.
Slider half dragged him across the ship to medical where they left a trail of bloody drops following them. The towel in Ice’s hand was completely red.
“What happened?” The first medical officer asked as he approached.
They ushered him back immediately as they saw the excessive bleeding. The room was spinning as they surrounded Ice, but Slider refused to let them take him yet. He felt his grip on him tighten as they bustled around him. He smiled, his RIO was just protective like that.
“I don’t know. He just started bleeding and we couldn’t stop it.” Slider sat Ice down on the cot.
“Do you take any blood thinners?” They asked.
“No.” Ice blinked heavily.
“How long has this been going on?”
“I dunno…” Ice shrugged.
“Maybe like 25 minutes now?” Slider glanced at the clock.
Ice watched as one of them started to draw blood. His vision got blurrier the more vials they filled up.
“Sorry we are just gonna to test it and save some for lab testing next time we are on shore.” The man caught him staring. “Then we won’t have to poke you anymore.”
“I’m just dizzy.” Ice felt his vision getting darker.
He heard distant shouting before everything went black and he slipped into unconsciousness.
Ice cracked his eyes open to see Slider sitting next to him watching concerned. His head was spinning still. He squinted against the bright lights.
“Ice! You are ok?” He leaned forward.
Ice’s mouth felt like sandpaper and dust, “water?”
Slider picked up the small cup on the table next to the bed and handed it to him.
“What happened?” Ice asked, sipping his water.
“You passed out. They said apparently you’re anemic?” Slider raised an eyebrow.
Ice coughed out his water, “what?”
“We think it’s just iron deficiency.” One of the medical officers poked his head in. “We will give you some iron supplements and you should be ok in no time.”
“How did this even happen?” Ice looked bewildered.
He shrugged, “unsure at the moment, but we will do further in-depth testing when we return to base. For now we will just give you these iron supplements and ask you to return in a week to make sure it is helping.”
Ice nodded and looked down at the IV in his arm. He picked at the sheet absentmindedly. He was sure that meant no flying until he was cleared again by medical. He wondered how long he would be grounded.
“Hey, stop that. I know that face.” Slider snapped him out of his disappointment.
“I’m not making a face.” Ice glared at him.
“Yeah, you are. A big pouty face about no flying.” Slider smiled.
“I’m fine!” Ice sighed exasperatedly.
“Yes, you will be, but first we just need to make sure something doesn’t happen while we are in the air.” Slider leaned back.
“You’re right.” Ice grumbled.
“C’mon I’ll find some more sudoku for you while we are grounded.”
Ice looked at him with an excited glint in his eyes, “that's a lot of sudoku you know.”
“Yeah, but it will be worth it.” Slider laughed.
Ice leaned back and sighed. He hoped that he wouldn’t be grounded for long; for his own sake, Slider’s sake, and sudoku creators everywhere sake.