Way Exorcism Consultants

Six: In Which Frank Has a Broken Arm

Frank was only out for a few seconds, but it was enough time for Gerard to get worried. He and Brendon had gotten the bookcase off of Frank's arm before he came to, but there was still a mess of books on the ground. Frank woke with a groan of pain and rolled over, grabbing his crushed arm.

"Frank! Oh my god, Frank, don't do that!" Gerard assaulted the shorter man.

"Jesus Christ, Gerard! Give him some space!" Ray exclaimed, kneeling down next to Frank. "Oh man, that looks bad," he said as he inspected Frank's arm. "Like, hospital bad."

"Damn right it's bad!" Frank shouted. Tears were pricking at his eyes. "It hurts, goddamn it hurts."

"It's gonna be okay, Frankie," Gerard said, helping Frank move into a sitting position.

"Where's the nearest hospital?" Mikey asked Brendon.

"A-a mile or so away—"

"I'll drive," Ray said.

"No, I can take him," Gerard piped up. "You guys finish up here. Meet us at the hospital?"

Ray and Mikey nodded with concerned looks as Gerard helped Frank to his feet and led the cringing man out to the car. Gerard strapped Frank in and hurriedly got into the drivers seat, pulling up directions to the hospital on his phone. As he pulled out of Brendon's driveway, Gerard hit a bump and Frank gasped with pain.

arm.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Frank mumbled.

"We'll be there soon," Gerard tried to console Frank.

He wasn't lying. Gerard pulled up to the hospital after a five minute drive and he walked Frank into the emergency room. Gerard led the way to the nurse's desk and got the nurse's attention.

"Hello, what's wrong?"

"My friend," Gerard said, "He broke his arm."

"I'll call a doctor. Do you mind filling out some paperwork?"

Frank and Gerard nodded in unison as the nurse gave them a few sheets of paper.

Frank sighed as he looked over them. "Can you fill these out for me?" He asked, looking up at Gerard.

"Sure," Gerard said, taking the papers and beginning to fill out a few things. "Do you have insurance?"

"No. Shit. I forgot this was gonna cost me money," Frank's already low mood fell even deeper. Fuck America for not having good healthcare.

"Don't worry about it. I can pay for it with the job money."

Frank was surprised. "You don't have to!"

Gerard raised his eyebrows. "Of course I have to, you saved my life!"

"Hardly," Frank pouted. "I just pushed you out of the way."

"Still, you saved me," Gerard said with a genuine smile.

"Fine. Okay," Frank caved. "You pay."

Eventually, a doctor came to take Frank to get x-rays done. When the doctor, a kind looking middle aged woman, came back with the x-rays, she showed Frank and Gerard that Frank's arm had been snapped in two places.

"You're lucky it didn't shatter. What did you say cause it again?"

"A bookshelf fell on it," Frank explained.

The doctor raised her eyebrows. "Alright then. We'll be able to set your arm in a few minutes."

"Thank you," Frank and Gerard said in unison. She left, leaving the two men alone in a curtained off cubicle.

After a few seconds of silence, Gerard said, "I really do mean it. I'm grateful for what you did."

"I know you are," Frank said. "I know you would have done the same."

Gerard nodded vigorously. "And so much more."

Frank's eyes widened as he turned to face Gerard, his cheeks warming. "What do you mean by that?"

Gerard bit his lip, debating his next move. "I've only known you for a little over a week, but I like you. You're a great friend."

"You are too," Frank said, his face morphing from surprised to concerned. "What's up?"

"It's nothing, I--" Gerard felt a hand on his cheek and lifted his eyes to meet Frank's. Frank gave him a warm smile before placing a chaste kiss on his lips.

"I'm always here if you need me," Frank said with a small smile as he pulled away from the other man.

Gerard sat slack jawed for what seemed like hours.

"Shit, should I not have done that?" Frank winced. "I'm sorry."

"No, no!" Gerard waved his hands as if trying to brush away Frank's words. "I... I liked it."

Frank heaved a relieved sigh. "I liked it too."

Both men stiffened as the doctor pulled open the curtain. "I'm ready to set the bone. It's gonna hurt a lot, I'm not gonna lie."

"Oh joy," Frank laughed.

---

Frank could take a good amount of pain, he knew that. He'd been happy at how well he'd been handling the pain of his broken arm, but man did getting it set hurt. That aside, it hurt a lot less now, wrapped up in a clunky white cast.

He and Gerard were still sitting in the little curtained off room, a somewhat awkward tension between them, when Mikey and Ray burst in.

"Frank! How are you? Does it still hurt?" Ray asked as soon as he walked in.

"I'm okay, Ray," Frank smiled.

"I think I figured out why the ghost is still around," Mikey said. "She said some stuff about the night she was murdered, I'll tell you all in the car. I'm still not sure what she meant when she did that whole 'sinner' thing."

Gerard nodded. "I have an idea about it. We can talk about it later, but I think we should take Frank home to rest."

Frank nodded in agreement. He was exhausted.

"Okay, let's go," Ray said.

---

Thank you for reading! There's gonna be some major filler-fluff in the next chapter, then back to the plot. I don't think there will be more than four more chapters, maybe three, and I have next week off from school so I might be able to finish this soon! Comments please? ily bye