The medics at the Center said it was perfectly natural. They doubted it was due to the concussion he'd sustained from skipping across the lab floor. A minor injury in comparison to the chunk he'd been missing from his flank when they brought him in. It was touch and go from the instant they'd began operating on him. MOM had been the one to break it to her afterwards that he'd flat-lined twice. In the end, they said he was incredibly lucky. The internal damage had no long lasting repercussions and nothing vital had been ripped apart. Three broken ribs, two cracked, and immense blood loss but no punctured lungs or torn organs. Leave it to Martian to pull off something like that. Diana couldn't help but smile at that thought. They said the only lasting damage so far was Martin's memory loss.

"Diana, what happened?"

"You don't remember?"

"Should I?"

He hadn't been bothered by it much. Diana could almost pound his head in for it, but she doubted it would gain her any results. Probably do more harm than good actually, despite the amnesia not having been done by any physical damage.

"He can't remember because his mind doesn't want him to"

"But that doesn't make any sense, MOM"

"You of all people should know it does, Diana. A mental wall to protect his mind from the trauma. If anything, we should be thankful for it"

Diana wholeheartedly agreed with her as she watched Martins chest rise and fall in the rhythmic pattern of sleep. She tried not to remember the time a week ago when she couldn't see him breathing because he wasn't. She still shuddered. Diana wondered what he would think if he remembered. The incident may very well scare him from the job. He was a six-teen year old kid and no matter how much he loved this job or how un-phased he was by the things they faced, at the end of the day he was just a normal teenager. He still got nervous around the girl he likes, he still loves pizza as much as any high school student, he still gets scared sometimes, he still breathes and he still bleeds. She knew that much for a fact. It was easy to find her mind slipping back into that dangerous area of remembering when Martin wasn't awake to keep her mind focused on the here and now.

"It doesn't matter what happened before" Martin grinned up at her from the hospital bed "I'm alive aren't I? That's all that matters. Hey, are you crying!?"

Of course it matters. Diana sighed, her eyes sliding from his chest to the barely concealed white bandage wrapped around his mid-section. She may want to forget it, but she can't. She has to know the consequences of her actions. What happens when she doesn't think. What she may lose if she doesn't. She tightened her grip on his hand. When he first woke up and found her clinging to his hand like it was the only thing keeping him there, Martin turned those bright, concerned brown eyes on her and immediately asked what happened. They both knew it had to have been bad for her to be showing that much blatant worry for him. Maybe that's why he wasn't bothering with what happened prior to him waking up with a bloody gap in his side. He was worried for her. Whatever happened had scared her and he didn't want to bring it up. That was so like him Diana would've cried if she didn't think she was already dehydrated from the amount of tears she'd shed lately. He was worrying about her because she was upset and blowing off the hole in his stomach.

"Just think of how cool the scar will look!" He exclaimed earlier that day, poking at the still tender flesh like a curious seven year old "I can tell Jenny I fought off a shark and that'll make Marvin's bear story sound so lame!"

Diana had been putting off telling him that Jenny had actually been asking about him the day he hadn't shown up to school. Well, since Diana returned yesterday anyways. It had taken some serious coaxing from the medics, MOM, and even Martin to un-glue her from his side for a few hours. All her friends had been concerned, both her and Martin dropping off the grid like that. Diana had been brief, said Martin had needed emergency surgery and the family had all taken time to be with him while he recovered. They tried to squeeze more info out of her, Jenny especially, but Diana avoided the subject and eventually they stopped asking.

"How much longer do you think I get to be here?" Diana jumped, her eyes darting from Martins side to his soft gaze. She'd been so deep in her own thoughts, she hadn't noticed Martin watching her. It took a moment of her relieved staring before his words actually registered.
"How long do you get to be here?" Diana repeated incredulously "What do you think, this is some kind of vacation?" Martin flashed her that stupid cocky grin.
"Well I'm away from school, no one's on my case about homework and I get to lay in bed all day. I dunno what you call a vacation Di, but that about sums it up for me" He looked thoughtful for a moment "Well that, and I get hourly visits from the nurse with the perky-"
"Y'know Martin, since you're feeling so well to notice exactly what's perky on the nurses then maybe you're feeling well enough to finish that ten page essay that was due a week before you were admitted here" Diana seethed. There was no venom to her words and she knew Martin was only humouring her when he gulped and smiled apologetically. She knew he was humouring them both when he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze with his own.

Two weeks, five days and fourteen more hours you get to be here, Martin. But who's counting?

Well, I think I first published this story a little over a year ago and I kind of forgot about it until the other day and I was like 'damn son, that there story needs a second chapter' and so I cooked this up in roughly 15 minutes after brainstorming for a few days

Hope you liked it :)