Chapter Text
Marie was nearly fourteen hours into her emergency medicine residency shift. On paper, it was sixty hours a week. In practice, she preferred not to count.
It was only the second year of a long, brutal program that could swallow almost any life outside the hospital.
She was already a doctor. What she wanted now was to be truly good at handling the kind of chaos she had once been helpless against.
“Shit.” The system froze for the third time in less than five minutes. She stared at the computer screen, the cursor spinning uselessly.
Around her, disinfectant drifted in from the hallway. Another patient’s monitor beeped in the background at irritatingly regular intervals. A phone rang at the station before anyone picked up.
The page stayed frozen. “For fuck’s sake,” Marie muttered, already tired and annoyed.
The overhead call came at that exact moment. “Severe head trauma. Unconscious patient. Two minutes out.”
She abandoned the computer and headed straight for the trauma bay.
The doors burst open. The paramedics came in fast, the stretcher rattling over the floor.
The patient was tall, broad, and far too intact for the report that came with him.
“Fall from height,” one of the paramedics said. “Witness heard the impact and found him down under a pedestrian overpass. Unresponsive on scene. No companion.”
“Where did he fall from?” Marie asked.
“The overpass on Central Avenue.”
Marie frowned. “A pedestrian overpass?”
She had seen people come in looking much worse from much less. But the man on the stretcher had no blood running down him, no broken bones, none of the damage a fall like that should have caused.
His face was untouched. Beautiful, even, in a way that was almost irritating. Strong jaw. Well-shaped mouth. Dark lashes on someone who should have looked worse.
She knew that face from somewhere. But that didn’t matter right now. He needed help.
Marie touched the side of his head, and the shiver came immediately.
Blood where it shouldn’t be. Pressure climbing inside the skull. A ruptured vessel. Active bleeding.
And Compound V.
Sup.
Of course.
The body had survived the fall. The brain had taken the hit.
The room moved around her. They transferred him to the bed. A nurse got access. Someone called neuro. Someone asked if they had found ID. Someone repeated blood pressure. Oxygen. Pupils.
Marie barely heard any of it.
She was already inside the injury.
The blood was harder to move than usual. The tissues were unusually dense and rigid.
Even so, she found the rupture fast. She pulled the blood away from the compressed tissue and started guiding it back into the vessel.
The monitor changed. Better, but not enough. The vessel was still leaking.
Marie gathered herself. She thickened a small portion of the blood into a clot, just enough to seal the rupture without blocking the flow. The stiffness of the tissue helped hold it in place.
Seconds.
The intracranial pressure started to drop. The brain bleed was controlled. There were other small internal bleeds throughout the body, but the brain was the real problem.
“Pressure’s improving,” someone said.
Marie didn’t take her hand off his head until she was sure.
“Imaging. Then ICU.”
A nurse was sorting through the belongings found with him on a plastic tray. “He came in alone,” she said. “No emergency contact yet. Phone’s locked.”
“Keep trying,” Marie said.
It wasn’t until they started wheeling the stretcher out that she really looked at his face.
Then it clicked. She did know that face. They were Jordan Li, the actor known for action films, brutal stunt work, and never using doubles.
The bigender sup with the irritating interviews, the arrogant answers, and a face that was far too beautiful in both forms. The kind of person who seemed to know exactly what effect they had on other people and enjoy it.
None of that was here now.
The scans confirmed what Marie already knew. Controlled traumatic hemorrhage. No active bleed. No need for surgery, as long as the vessel stayed sealed.
Jordan was admitted to the neuro ICU for close observation. Marie went up with them.
The first hours were the most dangerous. The vessel could reopen. The clot could fail.
Something could shift. She didn’t want to be on another floor if it happened. Marie felt like she needed to stay with Jordan.
After admission, one of the ICU nurses looked at her.
“You can go back down. We’ve got them.”
Marie looked at Jordan in the hospital bed.
“Not yet.”
And she stayed.
The room was cold, quiet, clean. The air-conditioning ran constantly. The smell of alcohol, plastic, and disinfectant felt stronger here than it had downstairs in the ER.
Jordan lay motionless in bed, an IV in their arm.
Marie pulled up a chair and sat down.
Every few minutes, she checked the vessel again. Still closed. Still stable. Good.
The hours passed like that.
At one point she got up, stretched her back, drank half a cup of bad coffee, and came back. At another, she realized she had been staring at their face for too long.
It was strange seeing someone so public stripped down to this. No camera. No pose. Just a person who had nearly died.
She was looking at Jordan’s hand when she felt the first real change.
Their blood pressure shifted. Their fingers twitched against the sheet.
Marie was on her feet before she thought about anything else.
Jordan’s brow tightened first. Then their mouth moved slightly, like waking already hurt. A second later their eyes opened.
They blinked slowly, trying to make sense of the light, the ceiling, the pain, and then found Marie beside the bed.
“So that’s your face, huh.”
Marie blinked. “What?”
“Good first thing to wake up to.”
Marie felt a quick flutter low in her stomach.
“What’s your name?” Jordan asked.
“I’m Dr. Moreau. Marie Moreau.” A pause. “You had a traumatic brain bleed.”
“That bad?”
“Yes.”
Jordan took her in for a second longer, like they were still putting the room together around her.
“Something about your face is telling me I had a bad day.”
“You almost died.”
“Did I?”
“You did.”
“But I didn’t.”
“No.”
“Because of you?”
Marie hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah.”
For the first time since waking up, Jordan went quiet.
Marie reached into her pocket for the penlight. “Before we get into that, I need to make sure you know who and where you are. Let’s do a quick neuro check.”
“You always this bossy?”
“Yes.”
A tired, crooked smile tugged at Jordan’s mouth. “Nice.”
Marie ignored that, even if the answer had amused her more than it should have.
“Do you know your name?”
“Starting strong.”
“What’s your name?”
“Jordan Li.”
“Do you know where you are?”
“In a hospital.”
“Year?”
“2026.”
Marie checked their pupils. Jordan followed the light without complaint, a little too interested in her.
“Did I pass?”
“You’re awake, oriented, and still talking too much.”
“So yes?”
Marie put the penlight away. “So yes.”
Jordan seemed pleased with that. They shifted slightly on the pillow, then stilled. Marie saw the pain hit before Jordan said anything.
“Easy,” she said.
“I’m trying,” Jordan muttered.
“How’s your head?” she asked.
“Like shit.” Jordan paused. “Still worth waking up if you’re what I wake up to.”
“You really are determined to be annoying.”
Jordan smirked. Then the curiosity came back.
“What happened to me?”
“You came in unconscious with a traumatic hemorrhage. You were bleeding into your brain.”
Jordan’s face sharpened. “Seriously?”
“Yes.”
“And now I’m not.”
“No.”
Jordan lifted an eyebrow. “How?”
Marie hesitated for only a second. “My power.”
“You’re a sup?”
“Yeah.”
“What kind?”
“I have blood powers,” she said. “I can sense blood flow, move it, change it. You had a ruptured vessel in your head. I pulled the blood out of the tissue it was compressing, redirected it back into the vessel, and sealed the rupture enough to stop the bleeding.”
“You can do that?”
“I can.”
Jordan stared at her.
“That’s incredible.”
Heat rushed up Marie’s neck so fast she had to look away.
“And, just so we’re clear, also very hot.”
“Hot?”
“Very. Hot.” Jordan’s eyes lit up. “I’m serious. That’s incredible.”
Jordan’s attention stayed locked on her.
“You saved my life,” they said. “And you still waited here for me to wake up?”
“I did,” Marie said, looking at them. “You were still at risk of bleeding again, so I stayed.”
“For how long?”
“A few hours.”
“So I have a babysitter.”
“You have a resident making sure your brain does not start bleeding again.”
“I like babysitter better.”
Then, right there in front of her, Jordan changed. It happened in one smooth rush. The face shifted. The body under the blanket changed shape. God, they were beautiful in every possible way.
Marie stared. She knew, of course. She had seen pictures, clips, interviews. That was not the same thing as seeing it happen right in front of her.
“Wow,” Jordan said softly, with a smirk. “I really am crushing this.”
Marie felt her face warm and hated that Jordan could probably see it. “You’re not crushing anything.”
“Come on, Marie.” Jordan’s mouth tilted. “You had a whole face about it.”
“I didn’t.”
“Marie. I was there.”
Marie held out for a second, then gave in. “Fine. It was… a lot.”
She shook her head. “I knew who you were. I’d seen videos. That was not the same thing.”
That pleased Jordan so much it was ridiculous.
“It was kinda awesome,” she said, blushing. “And… also beautiful.”
Jordan watched her for another second. “You really liked it that much?”
Then she gave in. “Yeah.”
Jordan looked almost shy about how happy that made them.
“That,” they said quietly, “might be the best thing anyone’s ever said to me.”
Marie let out a soft laugh. “You are absurdly pleased with yourself.”
“I have very little going for me right now. Let me have this.”
“You’re a famous actor, rich, adored by half the world. That doesn’t sound like very little.”
Jordan sighed. “I don’t even like it that much anymore. I’m good at it, sure. I kept getting hired, kept making money, kept getting more famous. But that’s not the same as wanting it.”
Their eyes came back to hers.
“What you do feels a lot closer to the kind of person I always wanted to be. You do something real here. You change people’s lives.” A small pause. “You changed mine.”
Marie went quiet for a moment. The compliment hit harder than she wanted it to.
“You really did hit your head,” she muttered.
“You know what I mean.”
Marie let her gaze fall to the blanket, then brought it back to them. “Yeah. I do.”
She let out a small breath. “I wanted crime fighting at first.”
That got their attention. “Really?”
“Yeah. I thought that was what I was supposed to do. Use my powers, go after bad guys, all that.” Her mouth tilted faintly.
“That was my major when I started college.” A beat. “Then one day there was an accident near campus. A bad one. Someone had an arterial bleed.”
Marie folded her arms a little tighter. “I stopped it. Right there. Before they died. That was it for me. I’d never felt so sure about anything in my life.”
Her voice softened. “I changed my major after that. I didn’t want crime fighting anymore. I wanted this.”
“That makes a lot of sense, actually,” Jordan said.
Marie arched a brow. “Does it?”
“Yeah.” Jordan shifted slightly. “I wanted crime fighting too.”
“You did?”
“For a while, yeah. I was doing it. Then people started paying attention for all the wrong reasons. The shifting, the fighting, the whole…” They gestured vaguely at themself. “Jordan Li of it all.”
Marie smiled.
Jordan caught it and kept going. “Someone invited me to do a film thing. Then another. Then another. I was good at it, so I stayed. Then I kept staying.”
“And now?”
“Now I’m not sure when it stopped being something I chose and turned into something I just kept doing.” Jordan’s voice went quieter. “I just…” They glanced at her. “I don’t think it’s what I want anymore.”
The room was quiet for a beat.
“You miss it?”
“Yeah.” Jordan’s mouth tilted faintly. “Turns out almost dying in front of a very pretty doctor can be clarifying.”
Marie tried and failed not to smile. “You were doing well for almost thirty seconds.”
“I had to ruin it. It was getting too sincere.”
Marie took a breath and straightened.
“Okay. Now let me check your head.”
She checked the vessel again with her power. Still sealed. Still holding.
“You can actually feel that? The blood, the vessel, all of it?”
“Yes.”
“And move it back?”
“Yes.”
“And seal it?”
“You really do have a lot of questions.”
“I woke up and found out the hot doctor who saved my life can stop brain bleeds with her mind. I’m having a normal reaction.”
Marie laughed then, properly this time, and Jordan’s whole face softened at the sound of it. They seemed to feel it everywhere.
“There,” Jordan said quietly. “That one. Do that again.”
“Maybe another time,” she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
Marie let the quiet sit for a second before she asked, “What exactly happened on that overpass that ended with you unconscious on the ground?”
Jordan stopped.
Their whole face changed. Eyes wide. Jaw tight. Breath caught high in their chest.
Then they smoothed it over so fast it almost looked effortless.
“A very embarrassing landing. That’s all.”
Marie got the feeling they didn’t want to talk about it, so she let it go.
The silence turned awkward.
Jordan glanced at her.
“Come on, Marie. I’m trying very hard to flirt with you through a brain injury here.”
Marie crossed her arms.
“And you’re doing it while I’m working, which feels especially inappropriate. So it’s Dr. Moreau for you right now.”
“Feels perfect to me,” Jordan said, clearly enjoying this.
Marie tried to look annoyed, but failed.
By then, the meds were already starting to drag at them again. She could see it in the slower blinking, the softer mouth, the way their body was sinking deeper into the bed.
“You need rest.”
“And lose precious time with my beautiful blood doctor? No thanks.”
She gave them a look that had no real edge to it. “Go to sleep before I change my mind about saving you.”
Jordan laughed once under their breath and then winced.
“Do you always order people around right after saving them?”
“Yes.”
“Kind of into that.”
Marie rolled her eyes, but she didn’t say anything this time.
“Alright, boss. I’ll give you this one.” They yawned. “Still had a good day, though.”
“You had a brain bleed and almost died. How exactly is that a good day?”
Jordan’s expression softened. “Because I woke up and you were here. That seems worth holding on to.”
Marie’s breath snagged hard enough that she had to look down at the chart. When she raised her eyes again, Jordan was still fixed on her.
“When I wake up again, are you still going to be here?”
She didn’t have to think.
“Yes.”
“For how long? How long will you stay?”
“For as long as you need me.”
“Good.” Jordan’s face relaxed almost immediately, and they closed their eyes.
“Marie?”
“What?”
“Thanks… for saving my life. And for staying.”
For some reason that made her happy.
“You’re welcome.”
They were already drifting when Marie pulled the blanket a little higher over their shoulder. She stayed in the chair beside the bed and watched them breathe, listened to the monitor, and checked the vessel every few minutes even though it kept holding.
Even asleep, Jordan still didn’t look fragile to her. Not only because of the body, or the fall, or the Compound V in their blood.
They had woken up in pain, after nearly dying, and still somehow managed to be funny, soft, and sweet with her. Definitely not the arrogant actor she had taken them for.