doctor sinclair

. ✧ ・゜. +・o ✧

Somehow, Alina made it to El's cabin without blacking out. The car ride had been terrible, with every turn sending a new wave of nausea into the pit of her stomach, but she'd made it. Even though everything was hurting—her head, her ribs, her knee, and her nose, despite El using her powers to snap it back into place. Even though she kept thinking about the sight of the corpse of Tom Holloway's corpse turning to jelly. That and the fact that, back at the hospital, she'd been so utterly delirious and in such a terrible amount of pain she'd wished for death. It was only her father—an apparition her brain had conjured up to keep her from going out entirely—that had snapped her back to her senses. Despite death being a largely unselfish thing, Alina thought that it would be selfish to die now. To leave her friends to fight the Mind Flayer on their own. And even though she wasn't much help, even with her powers—the hospital had proved it—she just couldn't let them do that.

Staggering into the cabin, Alina took heavy breaths through her newly repaired nose, which was still sore and bruising slightly. She hadn't seen herself yet, but judging by the way everyone was looking at her and the skin-crawling feeling of dried blood caked onto her—a combination of hers, Jonathan's, and Tom's—she made Gabe's injury seem like nothing but a scratch. Unlike him, she didn't look like she'd been run over by a truck, but rather three airplanes, a rocket ship, and an ambulance.

She assumed.

Nancy immediately began to get supplies for Jonathan, tending to his wounds, because she was soon going to head to a couple houses to pick up some supplies. Will and Max were going with her, while the others were staying behind at the cabin, too afraid to leave it again. Alina watched, her vision slightly clouded, as Nancy brought a washcloth to her brother's bloody forehead, sponging away the reminder of tonight's horror, before she was led into the bathroom by the one and only Lucas Sinclair, who had, of course, volunteered to be the one to take care of her injuries.

With one arm around her, his other one filled with some clean clothes El had offered up, Lucas helped Alina sit on the lid of the toilet, where she leaned her head on the counter. He began rummaging for supplies in the medicine cabinet, his breath heavy and his limbs shaking, and he kept taking out supplies only to put them back.

While he did that, Alina kept her eyes away from the mirror. She wasn't sure she wanted to see what she looked like. She didn't want to make herself into a victim. So she instead tore off a piece of toilet paper and held it up to her throbbing nose, which was where most of the blood had congealed.

Eventually, Lucas extracted himself from the cabinet, his arms laden with a whole number of things. Tylenol, cloth, bandages, nasal spray and ice packs he'd gotten from the freezer. Kneeling down, Lucas held the cloth to Alina's knee, which had turned a purple in color and had a long, thin line oozing blood from the medicine cart. It was quiet for a couple minutes as Lucas dabbed at the wound, but Alina could tell he was trying to figure out what to say to her. Her suspicions came true thirty seconds later when he finally snapped.

"God, Alina, what were you thinking?" he asked. He sounded mad, which was not good. He didn't get angry often, but when he did, it sometimes morphed into arguments, and the arguments turned to fights. They'd never broken up, but there had been one time in February where they'd gotten close. It had been resolved when Lucas had come over, apologized, and gave her a comic as a I'm Sorry gift. Apparently that was a typical Lucas Sinclair thing to do, but Alina appreciated it.

Lucas continued now, "Do you never think about yourself? Ever? Why are you always rushing right into danger?"

He was wrapping her knee with bandages now. Alina crossed her arms. "I'm sorry," she said, continuing to pinch her nose, which continued to throb. At least it wasn't burning, like it had been when El had snapped it back into place. She'd had to scream into her hands when that had happened. "I didn't know I was just supposed to let Jonathan and Nancy get killed by those bastards. And besides," she added, pinching her nose harder, "it wasn't like I knew they were in trouble. It was just a feeling. I didn't want to drag you all up there for a feeling."

"Well, maybe if we'd have gone together, you wouldn't have gotten so hurt!" Alina had never seen Lucas like this, not since she woke up in the hospital last November. So... protective. His voice softened, and he handed her the nasal spray, which she used to clear up the clogged airways in her nose. "Look, Al, we all know you're powerful. There's no denying it. And there's also no denying that you've gotten stronger with all of El's training. But you should've told us. We should've come with you. We could've all fought against those bastards, instead of just you, Jonathan, and Nancy. Al..." his voice got quieter. "I thought you were going to die. When I saw you on the floor, I—" he squeezed his eyes shut. "I remembered last year."

"You mean, when I really almost died?" Alina asked, as Lucas wet the cloth again and began to scrub the blood from her face. It was nice, and it made butterflies float their way through her stomach in a way they hadn't for seven months. It was like she was falling for him over again.

"Yeah. When you were screaming, and you were choking up all of this black stuff, and I was just yelling your name and pleading for you to stay with me. I thought that was it, Al. I thought you were going to die and I would never be able to tell you how I really felt. So seeing you, on the floor... it was like reliving all of that."

"I'm sorry," Alina said quietly. "I'm sorry for running into danger without telling you guys. And I'm sorry for last year, too. If I'd have been stronger, I could've just told you that I was a host, and you could've gotten it out of me, too."

She hadn't really talked about those days since it had happened. But now, with everything coming back, it almost felt freeing to.

"No, no. Don't apologize. I should've seen all the signs. I was painfully oblivious."

Alina laughed, and Lucas scraped the rest of blood off her face. "Okay, done."

"Why did you lie, back at the mall?" Alina blurted out. "To back up Mike, I mean. Why didn't you just tell the truth?"

Lucas looked down. "Yeah, that was pretty shitty thing of me to do," he said. "But Mike and I... we've been friends for so long, and I... I don't know what I was thinking. Honestly, I haven't been a really good person lately. From the mall to the D&D and ignoring Gabe and Will... I've just been an asshole. But," he added, "I'm determined to make up for it now."

"I think you have," Alina said. "You've done exceptionally well lately."

Lucas smiled, and then held up the ice pack. "I guess so. Okay, let's see your ribs."

Alina found herself a little nervous to check the state of them, because they'd already been injured before, and must be positively swelling at this point. They hurt every time she breathed, a shooting pain that went all the way down to her toes. With trembling fingers, and, she had to admit, a little bit of a blush forming on her cheeks, she lifted up her filthy shirt and revealed the wound.

Lucas whistled at the sight of it. "Jee-zus."

Alina's left side was bruised, all the way from the top of her ribcage to her hips. It was mottled mixture of pink, red, blue and dark purple, a kaleidoscope of colors that were swollen slightly and sensitive to touch. It wasn't as bad as she'd thought it might look like, but it was still awful. Immediately, Alina took the ice pack and held it to the wound, which, along with providing some relief, helped hide the markings. She closed her eyes, taking a few deep breaths, trying to suppress the nausea rolling in her stomach.

"I'll bet it hurts like hell," Lucas said. "How's your neck?"

"There's just a little bit of soreness," said Alina, her fingers grasping at the spot where her throat had been seized by the flayed man. There were a few, faint red finger marks, but it wasn't as bad as El's and would heal in time. "Definitely not the worst injury I got tonight."

Lucas nodded. "Okay, last thing." He handed her a Tylenol and a cup of water. "For your head."

Alina gulped down the pill and the water. She had to admit, she was feeling much better. She was still in a lot of pain, obviously, but that would go away in time. Stretching out, she found her legs were less stiff, even though her knee still throbbed slightly.

"Thanks, Dr. Sinclair."

Lucas saluted. "No problem, Detective Fairgrieves-Byers. Just doing my job."

Alina flexed her fingers, her eyes immediately being drawn to the faint strawberry splotches on the palms of her hands, and her eyebrows shot up, remembering something. "Hey, Lucas," she said. "When Tom—well the Mind Flayer—was about to kill Jonathan, something happened. With my powers. It was more than I've ever done before. Like, all of this energy came from everywhere, not just my hands, and it all rushed at him. It hit him so hard that he flew into the wall. I've never been able to do that before."

Lucas's eyes widened in awe. "See? I told you! You're stronger! You know, you compare yourself to El a lot in terms of powers, but she's had her entire life to practice, even if most of that was against her will. You've had less than one, really. So, who knows what you're capable of? Who knows how strong you might get?!"

"Wow," Alina breathed. "I never really thought about that before."

"Well, it's impressive as hell. I still can't believe my girlfriend has superpowers."

She laughed. "I can't believe my boyfriend helped save the world."

They were quiet for a couple of minutes, but it was a comfortable quiet where they grinned at each other, beat up in their own way. Then Lucas stood up and said, "I should let you change." he gestured to the clothes perched on the sink and Alina's own filthy garments. Before he could leave, though, Alina stopped him.

"Wait, Lucas..." she grasped his arm. "Wait a second. I just... I wanted to say thanks. You know, for patching me up. And—" with a smile tugging on the edges of her lips, Alina leaned in. Lucas's eyes widened, but he seemed happy to oblige.

By now, Alina and Lucas had kissed many times, but as they did it this time, she was reminded of her first and second kisses with him. The awkward one outside the cafeteria, as they were about to eat pudding, and the sweet, fruit punch tasting one at the Snow Ball. And though this kiss didn't taste like chocolate or fruity drinks, Alina thought this one might be the best one yet. It tasted like home.

She didn't know how long it had been when they finally broke free, but both of their faces were hot and their faces stretched into smiles. Lucas looked almost stunned.

"Wow. That was... that was, uh... wow, I just... I didn't expect—"

"Yeah," Alina grinned. "Exactly what I was thinking."

Lucas smiled even wider, and then he finally made his way outside the bathroom to join the others. And Alina, still ravaged with pain and bitterness, now had a new feeling mingled with it. Happiness. Bliss. It made her injuries almost bearable.

So Alina Fairgrieves-Byers pulled on her new clothes and then sat on the lid of the toilet for a few minutes more, savoring the memory of Lucas's touch. And then, feeling considerably better, she rose, making her way out into the cabin for what would undoubtedly be a long night.

. ✧ ・゜. +・o ✧

a/n: i literally cried while editing this chapter just because i love them so much 🥺🥺🥺 sinclairgrieves (and gill) is my otp and i just ❤️🧡💕💞💓💖💗💚💝

next chapter we're going to have an alina and gabe moment 🏃‍♀️ literally one of my favourite chapters solely because it made me so happy :') i really do miss writing them :')))

'till next time!