Carlos was both excited and disappointed. He couldn't wait to go back home to see his family for Christmas, but he had wanted to bring Cecil along. Unfortunately, Cecil had used all of his available vacation time to visit Carlos in the Desert Otherworld and Station Management would not approve time-off, even in the Christmas season.
Carlos had broached the idea of not leaving Night Vale this year, instead going the next when Cecil could come along, but Cecil would have none of it.
"Carlos!" he had exclaimed with good intent. "It's your family! You have to go. I'll be fine here."
Carlos finally conceded. They both smiled and Carlos kissed his loving boyfriend. "I'll make sure to call you everyday."
"Oh, Carlos," Cecil chuckled. "Silly, beautiful Carlos. Your phone will not work once you leave Night Vale. You'll actually be lucky if it does not explode. And you know that phones in the rest of the U.S. will not call Night Vale phones."
Carlos sighed. Why did this town have to make literally everything difficult?
So here they were: Carlos was packing up the car with his suitcase for the week and Cecil was sitting in the car, waiting for him. Carlos jumped into the car and smiled at Cecil, who asked him, "Are you ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," Carlos answered with a smile and Cecil pulled out of their apartment complex's parking lot. They were fairly silent on the drive to the train station, both feeling the bittersweetness of the situation. Plus, Cecil seemed to be focusing especially hard on the slippery roads from the incoming snowstorm. More than once, he could feel the car sliding on the thick black ice.
Once they had arrived at the station, Cecil parked the car off to the side and then sighed and turned to Carlos whilst keeping his eyes averted from his boyfriend's.
"Carlos, I—I'm going to miss you," Cecil told him with a slight quaver in his voice. "So much," he finished, his voice breaking on the last word causing Carlos's heart to break. He leaned over and hugged Cecil, who almost crushed Carlos in his vice-like grip.
They sat there for a while, not wanting to let the other go. Eventually, Carlos whispered in Cecil ear, "You know, I could still stay."
Cecil shook his head and pulled away from the embrace. "No, Carlos. You have to go see your family for the holidays. You haven't seen them in years. They must miss you." Cecil paused and smiled at him. "Three years is a lot longer than one week to miss someone."
Cecil, ever the sage, Carlos thought, bringing a smile to his face. "Alright Cecil," he ceded, hugging him once again, but with a happier connotation.
Cecil said goodbye to Carlos once again when the train arrived. And then he was gone.
Cecil got back into their car and began to drive back home. The ride was incredibly silent, even more so than the silence that had filled the car when Carlos was sitting in the passenger's seat. Cecil found himself beginning to daydream about what Carlos was doing right now on the train. Maybe he was reading a book. Or maybe listening to his iPod. Or maybe even—
Suddenly, Cecil heard the screech of tires, saw a flash of red, and then felt nothing at all.
Just as suddenly, everything came back to him. Cecil could feel every painful nerve in his body, yet he could not see around him yet. Surprisingly, he could hear someone. It was faint and far away, but it was definitely someone and they were definitely talking to him.
"Cecil. It's okay, Cecil. Don't be scared."
Okay. What's going on?
"You're going to feel some pain, but we're giving you some meds for that."
But why am I in pain?
"Just try to open your eyes."
But what happened? What's going on?!
Slowly, Cecil did as the person told him, working his eyes open, struggling against the bright lights that invaded his corneas.
"That's it Cecil," the person said again. Once Cecil got his eyes open enough to see, he looked around. He discovered that the person was a man dressed in a long, white coat—a doctor, probably—and that he was in a very bright, white room, laying on a bed. A hospital.
"Wha . . .?" Cecil tried to ask, but found that he could hardly form words from the dryness in his throat.
"Here," the doctor said and handed him a cup of water. Cecil drank it greedily and then handed it back. He tried to speak again.
"Wha . . . happ'n?" Cecil asked. The doctor understood his meaning and explained his situation.
"You were in a car accident, Cecil," he said with a dejected expression. "On your way back from the train station. There was another car and it slid on the ice and it crashed right into you. You hit your head pretty hard so you'll be a little dizzy and disoriented for a while."
Cecil just stared at him. "Why was I at the train station? Where did I go?"
He frowned and didn't answer his question. Instead, he took a small flashlight from his white coat pocket and shined it in each of Cecil's eyes. Then he stood back up and asked Cecil, "What is the last thing that you remember?"
"I—I don't know," Cecil stammered as he tried to formulate a memory; any memory. The doctor was now sitting on the side of Cecil's bed.
"Cecil, do you know who I am?"
Cecil bit his lip, thinking for a moment. He definitely looked familiar. "No—Not, um, expressly, I guess. . . ." Cecil trailed off and the doctor excused himself and then left the room.
A few moments later, the doctor returned and said, "Okay, Cecil. We're going on a little trip up to the CT room." Cecil straightened up, immediately regretting the quick movements that jarred his head.
"Alright," Cecil said dazedly and the doctor wheeled his bed out of the room.
The doctor—who introduced himself as Teddy Williams—had wheeled Cecil back to his room after the lady in the CT room was finished with the scans. Cecil was tired and frustrated and most of all just plain confused. What was going on and why was this happening to him?
"You just rest now, Cecil," Dr. Williams told him as he moved the bed back into its normal spot in the room. Cecil didn't have to be told twice and quickly fell asleep, thankful to not have to worry about his current situation at least for a little while.
His rest was not long-lived, however, as he soon found his unconscious mind bringing bothersome images of a man to the foreground of his dreams. The man in question had dark and delicate skin, a strong, square jaw with teeth like a military cemetery, and black hair with a touch of gray at the temples. Cecil wondered who he was and, more importantly, if and why he was so important.
The persistent thoughts eventually woke him up, only to be greeted by the doctor off to the side of the room looking at his chart and preparing a syringe. Once he turned around, he noticed that Cecil was once again awake.
"Cecil," Dr. Williams greeted, taking a couple steps closer to his bed. "How are you feeling?"
"Better," Cecil answered, mostly because he didn't know what to say since he didn't know how he usually felt. And especially not in situations like these. The doctor smiled.
"Good! Let me just give you your meds for the day. . . ." he trailed off as he injected the syringe's contents into one of Cecil's I.V.s. "Okay, done. Now, I have to ask you something."
Cecil swallowed frightfully and let the doctor continue. "I have to ask if you would be up to talking with one of your friends. I don't know if you remember him, but we'd both like to try to jog your memory a little bit. Does that sound alright?"
Cecil nodded his head and said, "Yeah, definitely. Who is he?"
The doctor moved towards the door, clipboard in hand, and said over his shoulder, "Let's see if you can recognize him first, okay?" Then, he left the room. A minute later, Dr. Williams returned with another man in tow. The new man stepped up to Cecil bedside, placing his hand on Cecil's.
"I'll give you some time to talk," Dr. Williams said. "Don't overexert yourself, Cecil." And then he left.
The new man hadn't stopped looking at Cecil, his eyes a mix of exaltation and also trepidation, which Cecil found strange. He didn't say anything, so Cecil cleared his throat.
"Um, hello. . . ." Cecil said awkwardly. The man just smiled wide, yet his eyes stayed sad.
"Hello, Cecil," he said. "Do you remember me?" Cecil looked at hard as he could at the man's face, but came up with absolutely nothing except an overwhelming sense of familiarity.
Dejectedly, Cecil shook his head. The man surprisingly only grinned wider.
"That's alright," he said. "I'm Earl. Does that name sound familiar?" Cecil thought hard and something sparked. Earl. Earl Harlan. Scouts?
"Yes!" the man—Earl—exclaimed. Oh, Cecil must have said that outloud. "That's my last name—Harlan. And we were in the scouts together. I'm so glad that you remember me, sweetie!"
Cecil's mind stopped right in its tracks. Sweetie? Clearing his throat again, Cecil asked, "Are—Are we dating or something?"
Earl nodded his head in answer.
"Oh," Cecil said in a small voice. "I'm sorry. I don't remember."
"That's alright," Earl told him, moving his hand to slowly push back Cecil's hair from his forehead. "I'm just so glad that you're alright."
Cecil didn't know what to say, so they both sat there for a minute in silence, Earl still combing his hand through Cecil's hair. After a minute, the image of the man from Cecil's dream came back to the front of his mind and he looked up at Earl.
"Earl?" Cecil asked. "Can—can I ask you something?"
Earl nodded his head. "Of course, Ceec," he said. Cecil took a deep breath before starting.
"Do you know a man with dark hair, kind of graying on the sides. And he has dark skin and really beautiful teeth?" Earl suddenly stiffened, which made Cecil nervous. Did I say something wrong?
"Earl?" Cecil asked very timidly and quietly. Earl looked down at him again and took a deep breath.
"That was the man that hit you with his car," Earl told him gently. "His name is Carlos and he skipped town after the accident, leaving you practically dying in your car." Earl's voice became harsh and angry as he finished the story. Cecil merely stared at the wall in front of him, unable to speak.
"Wh—what?" he finally asked. Earl just began running his hand over Cecil's head again.
"Don't worry about it now, Ceec," he told him soothingly. "Just rest." Cecil did as he was told and snuggled down into the blankets, gently drifting off to sleep as Earl continued his ministrations.
The next time that Cecil woke up, Earl was asleep in a chair right next to his bed, his hand still on Cecil's on the bed. Cecil smiled and momentarily felt guilty for not remembering such a good boyfriend like Earl. It just wasn't fair to either of them.
But Cecil was glad that Earl decided to stick by him. Earl had stayed by his side for the last two days, not leaving Cecil's bedside, except to go to the bathroom, which didn't even require him to leave his room. The doctor had only allowed Earl's extended stay because Cecil had begged them not to take Earl away. He felt safer with him around.
And so Earl had stayed. He stayed through Cecil's medication times every few hours. He stayed when nurses came in to change Cecil's clothes and sheets. He was forced to stay behind when the Dr. Williams brought Cecil back up to CT, but he was there when Cecil got back. He stayed with Cecil through the night, sometimes on the chair next to his bedside, a couple times lying right next to Cecil on his bed, just holding him.
Cecil was so happy that Earl stayed with him through the night because he kept having that dream of the man—Carlos, Earl had said. He didn't know why he didn't feel any animosity towards the man that had almost killed him. He just didn't. It's like there's something else to know about him; something that changes everything.
A few days after Cecil's second CT scan, the doctor came into his room where he and Earl were watching television together. Earl muted the show once he noticed Dr. Williams and they both gave their attention to him.
"How are you doing today, Cecil?" he asked. Cecil smiled and told him that he was feeling better. "Good!" Dr. Williams said before becoming serious again. "I've come to tell you two things. One: I want to get a SPECT scan to determine the cause of your amnesia, which is not classified as transient anymore. This means that it is serious and a SPECT scan would create an image of brain far superseding any CT or X-ray."
Dr. Williams paused to let Cecil absorb the information. Slowly nodding, Cecil looked up at Earl, who had began to comb his hand through Cecil's hair, as he always does when Cecil is stressed or being given stressful news. Earl merely smiled and Cecil looked back at the doctor. "What's the second thing?"
The doctor looked sideways at Earl for a split second before telling Cecil, "Carlos is back in town and he found out that you were in the hospital. He's downstairs in the Waiting Room. Would you like me to send him up?"
Earl jumped to his feet before Cecil could even process what he had just been told. "I don't think that that is a good idea, Doctor," Earl exclaimed. Dr. Williams merely stood up straighter and looked Earl right in the eye.
"It is Cecil's decision," he said calmly and looked at the man in question.
Cecil didn't know what to say. Earl really didn't want Carlos anywhere near his room, so that had to mean something, right? On the other hand, Cecil was dying to know why he felt differently towards the man that he never met—or more likely the man that he just couldn't remember but had an important impact on his life.
Looking sideways at Earl for a second before turning to Dr. Williams, Cecil said, "I—I would like to see him, but Earl has to stay, too."
The doctor gave Cecil a sympathetic look before agreeing and leaving the room. Earl immediately sat back down and ran his hand through Cecil's locks.
"I don't know about this, Ceec," Earl said slowly. "Maybe you shouldn't let him in here."
Cecil looked at Earl for a second before they both heard a knock. Cecil said, "Well, too late now," before the door opened wide, revealing Dr. Williams and the man from Cecil's dream. He looked exactly like Cecil had imagined except that his face was full of worry and he looked completely overwhelmed.
"Cecil!" he gasped as he jumped forward to the side of Cecil's bed that Earl wasn't currently standing next to. Carlos wrapped his arms gently around Cecil's chest, burying his face into his shoulder. When he didn't feel Cecil react, Carlos pulled away and looked at him.
"How are you doing?" Carlos asked a little awkwardly after his blatant show of emotions. Cecil gave him a small smile and said, "I'm good."
"That's good," Carlos breathed out. "Dr. Williams said that you were having a few memory issues."
"Yeah," Cecil admitted, feeling Earl's vice-like grip on his forearm. "But I think that I'm doing alright now."
"Oh thank goodness," Carlos said excitedly. "Because I would be so sad if you couldn't remember me!"
Carlos laid his hand on top of Cecil's head and smoothed down his hair. Cecil paused for a moment. Carlos was showing affection in much the same way that Earl was. And why would he say that Cecil couldn't remember him unless they knew each other; besides the fact that they were in a car accident.
When Cecil had stayed quiet for a good couple minutes, Carlos slowly sat down in the chair next to the bed and looked right at Cecil before saying, "Cecil, you do remember me, don't you?"
Carlos looked completely dejected when Cecil slowly shook his head. "I'm Carlos. I'm your boyfriend. We've been dating for three years now. We live together in an apartment on the other side of town and you dropped me off at the train station about a week ago so I could visit my family for Christmas." Carlos sounded a bit desperate, grasping at straws that seemed too short and not good enough.
But it was good enough for Cecil. He slowly turned his head towards Earl, who was looking at the ground, having pulled his hand off of Cecil. "Earl," Cecil started, not knowing what to say. "Is that true?"
"Is what true?" Carlos asked surprised. "Earl? What's going on?"
"Earl," Cecil said again, but this time with more force. "Is it true?"
Earl looked at Cecil sadly before nodding his head minutely and saying, "Yes, it's true," quietly.
Cecil was devastated. "Get out," he whispered. Earl grabbed for Cecil's hand and began to object, but Cecil just repeated his statement again even louder.
"No! Get out! Just . . . get out."
Once Earl had left the room, Cecil felt like crying. Luckily Carlos was still there and he made to grab Cecil's hand when Cecil practically jumped out of bed to hug Carlos tightly around his shoulders.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Carlos asked quietly. Cecil just shook his head and pulled Carlos down onto the empty side of the bed. Carlos complied and Cecil snuggled into his shoulder, slowly falling asleep.
The next morning, Carlos told Dr. Williams not to allow Earl anywhere near Cecil's room. Cecil still hadn't explained the entire situation to him yet, but Carlos could tell that Cecil did not want to see him anytime soon.
Carlos also slowly started helping Cecil recover his memories. After a couple days, Dr. Williams returned and told them that he was not going to go through with the SPECT, after all. Cecil would have to stay in the hospital a little longer to make sure that he is sufficiently healed, but he could go home with Carlos after that.
Dr. Williams described something about transient global amnesia being amplified by external and internal stress, which was now reduced by Carlos's return and Cecil's inner conscience being put at ease. But Carlos didn't really listen. He was just glad that Cecil was going to be okay and that he could bring him home soon. Carlos desperately wanted to go home with his boyfriend. And they would very soon. And that's all that mattered.
Imagine Person A of your OTP getting into an accident of some sort and going into a coma. After a few days, weeks, months, etc., they awaken, but they have developed amnesia and can't remember their own past. Person A's ex, who has been trying to get Person A back for years, takes this opportunity to manipulate Person A's mind. Soon after, Person B comes back from a trip to see Person A, only to discover them in the arms of their ex. How does Person B react? Is it the end of their former relationship, or will Person B find some way to get their lover back?