Author's note: Wes and Gunn talk. In the actual episode, I was expecting someone to come into Gunn's hospital room and make up with him.
Part III
Gunn heard a sharp but hesitant knock at the door. He'd know it anywhere.
"May I come in?" he heard.
"Yes," he answered.
"Thank you," said Wes, opening the door.
He remained on the threshold.
"Come in," he heard Gunn say.
"Thank you," repeated Wes, moving closer.
"No problem," said Gunn.
He was curious as to why Wes came. He also wondered why Wes wasn't armed.
"I know you're wondering why I came," said the Englishman.
He moved a chair closer to the bed and sat in it.
"What do you want?" asked Gunn.
"Nothing," replied Wes. "Absolutely nothing."
"Why are you here?" Gunn rephrased his question.
"I don't know," Wes was brutally honest.
Gunn sat back in his bed. He didn't know what was going on, but he wasn't going to push Wesley into an explanation. He desperately wanted to know, but, luckily, Wes made the decision for him.
"I'm sorry," said Wes.
"What?" wondered Gunn.
"I'm sorry," Wes said again, no emotion on his face. "I was wrong. I was wrong, and I'm sorry."
"What for?" said Gunn with a bitter chuckle.
"I of all people should know how easy it is to mess up," said Wes. "That sometimes, we make stupid decisions that affect everyone. That, as a result of that, we get hurt by our friends, not just physically, but emotionally as well."
Gunn stared at him.
"So, yes," said Wesley. "I am sorry. I also think that I forgive you."
Gunn could not believe his ears.
"This all seems like some kind of nightmare, doesn't it?" asked Wes.
"Yeah," replied Gunn.
"Except no one wakes you up," continued Wes. "No one tells you that it' just a dream, that it isn't real."
"Yeah," said Gunn.
He thought how strange it was that Wes was so calm, yet how tense he seemed. He wondered why Wes changed topics so rapidly. Then again, he didn't actually change the topic, he merely traveled to another part of it.
"Why are hospitals so white?" wondered Wes.
"Wes?" asked Gunn. "Are you OK?"
"No," he replied. "I'm not."
"Oh," said Gunn, at a loss of words.
"I'm lost," said Wes. "Everything seems so normal. I think that everything will be normal. It's not."
"I'm sorry," said Gunn, he thought he had to say it.
"I know," informed Wes. "I know. I also know that it's not your fault. You didn't know. I'm sorry, as well."
"Yeah," said Gunn.
"Sometimes," said Wes. "Things aren't what they seem. Sometimes, actions, objects, and events are unexpected."
"Where are you going with this?" asked Gunn, a little unnerved.
"They're unexpected," continued Wes. "Because you know that they're likely to happen. You've expected it for so long, but it never happened, so you stopped thinking that it would happen. Yet you're not surprised in the least when it does happen."
"What are you talking about?" asked Gunn.
"Death," said Wesley.
"Oh," once again, Gunn was speechless.
"We look death in the eye every day," said Wes. "We look it in the eye, and spit into it! Why we do not die, I'll never know."
"But we do die," supplied Gunn.
"Yes," nodded Wes. "We do. And when we do, the world falls apart. Someone's dead. And you want to make their last request be worth something."
"We do," said Gunn. "But sometimes, they do not have a last request."
"Yes," came the reply. "Sometimes, they do not. But you know what they wanted you to do."
"But you think, 'What if you're wrong? What if that wasn't what they wanted?'" said Gunn.
"And you do it," said Wes, staring into Gunn's eyes as intensely as Gunn was staring into his. "But you know that it's what you want. You know that it's what you have to do."
Gunn nodded his agreement.
"You want life to get back to normal," said Wes.
"Yes," said Gunn.
"You want it to be what it was like before," said Wes. "But you think that it would be impossible to go back to that."
"We can," said Gunn, channeling a confidence he didn't have.
"Yes," said Wes. "But not now."
"Not now," agreed Gunn. "But someday."
"Someday," nodded Wes, grabbing Gunn's hand. "Definitely someday."
Author's note: If you're wondering, I separated the story into three chapters because I see it as a three-part story; Gunn thinking, Wes thinking, Gunn and Wes making up. The whole story, barring A/Ns is 1,408 words. I do picture the story ending with the possibility of Gunn/Wes. If you don't, that's OK. This story will not have a sequel. Thank you for reading.