dreamlikenewyork | "I'm still on your side..."

Who? Emily and Lincoln Cole
What? Siblings being siblings
When? Sunday afternoon
Where? Clitty and Linc's place

Emily and Angela's plans had ended up put off a bit, but that was okay. It was something they were going to need to learn to get used to... especially with a marriage and a new baby on the horizon. Em was okay with that, and she'd promised to catch up a bit later. She'd gone out to take a walk while Ange was out. When the news had come along that Clitty had gone to bed with a migraine, Emily decided to give him a little bit of time to rest, before dropping in to check on him and Lincoln.

When she headed over to their apartment, she let herself in, not wanting to wake either of the guys if they were still sleeping, but still wanting to look in on them. All was quiet in the house, but the bedroom door was still open, and she popped her head in. Clint was still sleeping, but Linc was awake, watching him sleep, and Emily met his eye when he looked up at her. "Hi," she mouthed, waving at him.

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Lincoln had a lot to think about. He just didn't realise how much he had been thinking until Emily was there and his thoughts were intercepted. He was worried about Clint's headaches, but he knew they were being treated. It was a result of all the stress he had been under, and who could blame him? But it was strange seeing Clint so vulnerable, but Lincoln was glad he was finally seeing it. In the past, Clint had a way of seeming invincible in so many ways. It had been hot when all that was driving them was lust and a lot of really hot sex. But it had evolved and progressed into love, but even then, Clint was cockblocking the feelings and not accepting them. it took some extreme reaction from Lincoln to switch things up. Then it all went horrible wrong when he was stabbed and nearly killed.

Clint was lying in the bed next to him asleep. Lincoln was glad to see him sleeping, because he finally dragged out of Clint that he had barely been getting any recently, and if he did, it was only small bursts here and there. Clint was curled up on his side with a cold pack that had warmed up again by now laying on the pillow by his head. Lincoln had gotten it for him when he came home looking like death. He said he had been throwing up outside in the gutter before he could even make it into their building. He took his meds, and went straight to bed. The room was dark, save for the lamp dimmed right down so Lincoln wouldn't fall on his fucking ass if he needed to get up. He shifted to get himself up now. There was still a lot of pain, but he eventually managed it and exited the room with what Clint had affectionately termed his 'Grandpa Shuffle'. He gave his sister a kiss on the cheek. "Hey, it's good to see you."

Emily was grateful to see her brother up and about. He had been for a bit now, but she had to admit that there was still a part of her that was afraid that she'd come over here to find him in worse shape again. It was a constant fear that they all carried surrounding Lincoln and his injuries. They were deep, and the recovery would by no means be easy or quick. They had all just accepted that and known that they needed to be there for him and move forward as necessary to keep supporting him. When he'd made his way over to her, she gave him the gentlest of embraces, careful not to jostle him or hurt him, and returned his kiss on the cheek. "It's good to see you, too, Linc," she told him, taking him by the hand. "Would you like a cup of tea or something? I wanted to come by and visit with you for a bit. Ange told me Clitty was down with the migraine, and I... Well, I had to worry. Sister prerogative, right?"

She tucked her arm gently around Linc's waist just to give him a little extra support if he needed it. "Let's get you in a comfy seat before we do anything. I'd like to talk to you since you're awake. I've got a hell of a lot on my mind, and I know that you do, too. There's been so fucking much going on lately, I think we both could damn well use the chance to sit down and have a good chat. Do you need extra pillows?" she asked, as she got him over to the comfortable reclining chair.

Although externally, Lincoln's surgical wounds had healed and were now just evidenced by some nasty scares across his stomach, internally, the healing process would take longer. He had a lot of pain, but it was controlled now with strong but effective medication. He didn't eat a whole lot, but he had supplement drinks to take because he wasn't eating normally. He had even gained a little weight in recent weeks, which had been a huge relief to Clint, who had been concerned he was failing in taking proper care of all of Lincoln's needs. "He hasn't been sleeping well. Finally got the bitch to admit it too. I knew, but we made this sort of... pact to not assume how each other is with anything, or assume what we're thinking. He goes a few days, but then hits a wall because he hasn't slept well. That's when he gets the migraines. They make him really sick. I wish I could help him more with them. Just need to convince him to take the sleeping pills now, and that I won't die if he crashes out with them."

He was breathless and a little shaky getting out to the living room, but it was just the exertion of a weakened body. Once he was sitting on the sofa and getting his feet up, he was okay. "Tea would be nice. Just weak, not too hot. No milk or sugar." Pretty much the complete opposite to how he normally took it, but he couldn't handle hot drinks in his gut, or anything strong. "So, you want to have a baby. Clint mentioned it to me, but then he got sick, so it was a bit up in the air. I was kind of a mindfuck."

The good thing about the setup of Clitty and Linc's apartment, which ironically had once been Emily's as well, was that it was so open. She could easily chat with her brother from the kitchen as she prepared his tea. Even his tea requests told her how poorly he was. Linc generally liked his tea hot with extra milk and sugar. But she made it just as he was asking for it... plain and not too hot, as she chatted with him. across the counter. "I'm glad he finally told you. I knew that you didn't want to be left out in the cold about it. The bitch is tougher than anyone I know, but even he has his limitations, and he doesn't want to admit to them." She sighed, as she waited on the water to heat up. "If you want, I'm glad to come over here and chill with you for a while so he can take them and feel okay about it." At the end of the day, Ange and Emily would both do anything they needed to do in order to help their family out.

"It's... Yeah, it's definitely a mindfuck, but I do... We do, actually. Ange and I." She held her left hand up to show her brother the gorgeous ring that Angela had left on their dresser this morning. "We're getting married, too. I'd asked her before she went into labor... Actually, she went into labor while I was asking her, and then it was all about getting her to the hospital safely, and getting Elliott here. She... After she had him and he was taken off and pretty much given to Beau and Austin, she struggled. She carried him nearly nine months, and then just... just nothing, you know? And the two of us kind of decided together. We want to start a family."

"Like pulling teeth," Lincoln said with a snort. "But it's not like I don't know how he is. I was stabbed in the stomach, not the head. I know he's a stubborn ass and he drives me crazy. But it's nice to know not everything has changed. I just keep thinking back to what happened to Lewis, and how Lorenzo was after that. He had a tough time, and he did whatever he could to keep his head above water so he could still take care of Lewis. Which is exactly where Clint is. I'm just glad he hasn't changed. I know he could have." That was what Lincoln had been trying so damn hard to hold onto, even through the worst of his pain. If Clint changed, he wasn't sure he could deal with anything. Clint being Clint had been like his anchor. They had talked about it. "That might help. But at the same time, I know him. He'll probably say you can't come and babysit me every time he sleeps. With a few well-positioned 'fucks' thrown in for good measure. He's... he's doing well, all things considered. None of this is anything he ever thought he'd need to deal with. I guess loving me is something he never thought he'd have to deal with, but this happened," he added, holding his hand up to point to his wedding ring.

He took Emily's hand to get a closer look and smirked. "Girl's got good taste. This is Tiffany, you lucky bitch. Not too bad for a relationship that crashed and burned not all that long ago. But a baby... Clint's baby." He stopped, and he was chewing the corner of his lip. "I just... I don't know how I'm supposed to feel about it. It's got nothing to do with us ever wanting kids. I don't think that's on the radar. In another universe, maybe. It's just strange. I don't know. I think I've just not caught up with everything. It's like - wham - everything hitting all at once, and I don't know how to feel. I get she's feeling lost, I really do. I saw the pictures of the baby. But I don't know..."

"I'm still on your side..."

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