Ben could feel his skin pulling itself together at his spine and it hurt, it really hurt. The spikes had been a part of him and he felt its loss. His other spikes stung and squirmed at the loss of their brother and it made it harder to concentrate. Anne was still holding his wrist, fingers resting against his pulse point as she watched his face warily.
"Well you're doing much better than yesterday but I'd still feel more comfortable if you stayed in bed." The doctor looked at the boy with a sympathetic smile.
"But there's really nothing I can do to make you stay in it is there?"
Ben shook his head and slid off the bed, leaning on it heavily even as he said he was fine.
"I need to see Hal. I'll be fine Dr Glass I'm just tired."
She grasped his arm and ducked down a little to meet his sad eyes with her own.
"And you're sure you're not in any pain?"
"It's nothing I can't handle."
Anne knew that Ben's spikes should help Ben heal faster but she really had no idea what his limits were anymore. After donating three to Maggie and having a fourth ripped out she didn't know if they could rely on the spikes ability to heal Ben. The doctor also knew that there was no stopping Ben when he wanted to see his brother and decided to simply monitor the teenager as he healed and support him if he needed.
The middle Mason shuffled down to Hal's room with Anne following behind, and sighed in relief when he saw his big brother. Maggie was still tucked at Hals side but stirred when the two entered.
"Ben, are you okay?"
The boy waved away the question with a flick of a hand and moved towards the bed where Maggie was climbing off, straightening Hal's blankets as she did.
Anne dragged in another chair and positioned it next to the bed for Ben to sit in before checking over Hal's vitals.
Ben and Maggie watched eagerly as Anne peeled the gauze away from Hal's head and briefly inspected the wound there before smoothing the dressing back in place and picking up his wrist instead.
Knowing the doctor was keeping track of his brother's pulse Ben kept quiet though as soon as Anne took her hand away the question burst forth anyway.
"Is he okay?"
Dr Glass sighed, a small smile lighting up her face. "I already told you he was fine Ben and you know I would tell you and everyone else if anything changed."
Ben nodded and relaxed a little, shuffling his chair closer to the bed and resting his hand next to Hal's. He wanted to hold his older brothers hand, he wanted to thank Hal for taking care of him in that cell they shared but no words came and he couldn't bring himself to touch the lax hand on those sheets. He knew Hal wouldn't respond and he knew the hand would be cold and unresponsive to his touch so he rested his fingers next to his brother's hand instead. Almost there but not quite touching.
"His pulse has actually improved which is a good sign. His body is replacing the blood he lost and his breathing is a little more regular and even which is also good. He's making improvements so at least we know we're heading in a good direction."
Maggie spoke up from her side of the bed, her hand holding tight to Hals, startling Ben a little.
"So he could wake up soon?"
The nurse bit her lip like she wanted to give good news but had little to offer.
"It's unlikely…..the head injury is still something I don't know much about. I'll take him for a head scan in a little bit now that his breathing and heartbeat are more reliable. I'll know more about how his heads doing then but for now just keep talking to him."
Maggie nodded but stood after looking at Ben. She had been there since last night anyway and she knew the others would want some time with Hal. The girl leaned over her boyfriend and pressed a kiss to his cheek before letting go of his hand.
"I'll come back later, do you want me to bring you back something to eat?" She directed her question at Ben but Anne interrupted when the teenager declined the offer.
"Yes thank you Maggie that would be wonderful, Ben would love for you to bring him some food." Maggie gave a wary glance to Ben but nodded at the doctor. Ben still looked like crap and she patted his shoulder on the way out.
Ben was still staring at his brothers pale fingers when Anne handed him a glass of water along with a stern look.
"Drink all of it, and if you need anything or if anything changes with you or Hal you tell someone or come find me okay? I have other patients to check on but your Dad and Matt should be here soon."
Ben nodded and watched the doctor leave before taking a sip from his glass. His whole body hurt and he was tired and wired all at once. The past few days had been exhausting and although his life was literally a war zone there was no denying that almost being executed had been terrifying.
The black bag over his face had felt suffocating and meant he had had no idea what was happening when his Dad had come with the others to save them. For Ben and Hal and Anne it had only been a countdown, making him so panicked he had been hyperventilating under the black fabric, an order to shoot, making him flinch and almost cry out though no bullets came.
The order to shoot was repeated over and over and Ben had had no clue what was going on. And then there was noise and crashes and people screaming but he could hear his dad talking and he had finally seen him when Tom took the bag off his head allowing the teenager to breathe and see what had happened.
He shook of the panicky feeling the memory of the bag had given him and hoped he wasn't developing a phobia on top of everything else. Hal's monitor beeped a little more frantically for a second, making Ben look up and see the lines of pain on his brothers face.
"Hal?" Easing out of his chair, the teenager lent over his big brother and scooped his hand in his own, Hal's fingers twitching in his grasp. Just as Ben started to think the man might be waking up his face smoothed out again and the monitor played out its usual rhythm.
Disappointed, the middle Mason took his seat back but kept his brothers hand in his and just kept waiting.
