Part Eight - Are You Real?

When Colby opened his eyes, he couldn't believe what he saw. The drugs Lancer had pumped into him were still making him hallucinate. That couldn't be his mother sitting there.

He blinked. She was still there. He blinked again. Still there.

"Mama?" he asked, praying that he wasn't seeing things.

"CeeJay? Baby? Can you hear me?" Cat stood up and was leaning over the bed. She took his hand in hers.

He winced at the contact; his mother's light touch felt like a ten-ton weight had dropped on his hand.

"Remember Cat, the drugs have got his senses all outta whack." He heard his father say.

//What the hell?//

"I know that Gareth, you don't need to remind me." She looked back at Colby. "CeeJay, honestly, I can't leave you alone for a moment can I?"

Colby blinked. Yeah, that was his mom, no doubt about it, even if she did sound like she was standing in the bottom of a well. "What're yu...yu doin' here?" His drugged voice sounded strange to his ears.

She quirked an eyebrow. "I haven't been to L.A. in ages. My son doesn't seem to remember to invite his mother down."

That got a smile out of Colby. His arm brushed against the bed railing, sending frissons of pain up his arm. //Man, this is going to get old.// "But yur back, Mom. The ride down 'ere..." He ran out of words.

"Now you listen, young man..." Cat very gently touched Colby's cheek with her fingertips. " I would come no matter what. You're my son and I worry about you."

Colby nodded and swallowed. His throat hurt. His eyes wandered past his mother to his father.

Gareth gave his son a lopsided smile. "This is getting to be a bad habit, son."

"Yeah, well…" He looked past his father, then around the room. "Alan went home?"

Gareth nodded. "Go back to sleep. We'll be here when you wake up in the morning."

Colby blinked and focused on his mother's face, a face that was slowly slipping out of focus. "I'm glad you came." He managed to get out before sleep claimed him yet again.

Cat blinked back her tears. Her boy would be fine. He would. He would if she had to stay there 24 hours a day until he left the hospital.


Night had long since fallen and visiting hours would be coming to an end shortly but Cat was steadfast in her refusal to leave Colby's side. Gareth had tried reasoning; cajoling and pleading but Cat would have none of it.

"You are more than welcome to go back to Alan's." She told Gareth, more than once. "I am staying here. My baby boy is not going to wake up wondering where his mother is."

Nine P.M., the end of visiting hours came and went. No one came and told them to leave. Nurses drifted in and out. Colby slept on. Then, about an hour later, a man dressed in a lab coat, khaki pants and a dark blue button down shirt came in the room. His head, full of curly, dark blonde hair, was bent over the chart in his hands. So engrossed in reading the chart was he, that he did not see either Gareth or Cat until he looked up. Startled, he looked down at his watch, then back up at the Grangers. Gareth offered him a smile and so did Cat but hers was not nearly as friendly.

The man shut the chart, smiled and held out his hand to both, shaking Gareth's hand first and then Cat's.

"You must be Agent Granger's parents. I'm Dr. Adam Mosely. I'll be your son's doctor until he's discharged. I'll confess that I didn't expect to see you until tomorrow."

Before Cat could say anything, Gareth spoke up. "How's he doing?"

"He's doing quite well, actually, considering what he went through. The drugs are working their way out of his system; they should be gone completely in the next 48 hours. The after effects of the tubocurrae will around for a little longer but not by much."

"So, the hypersensitivity and the hallucinations will be gone in that time frame?" Gareth asked.

Dr. Mosely nodded. "They should. That's why he wearing a mask. The more oxygen he breathes in, the faster the drugs dissipate."

"When can we take him home?" Cat said, speaking for the first time. The men could talk all they want; she just wanted one answer to one question.

"If all goes well, this time next week." Dr. Mosely said. "Now, do you two have a place to stay? It's extremely unlikely that your son will wake up for more than a few minutes at a time, if he wakes up at all. This time would be the best time to go and get some rest. Visiting hours start at eight." His eyes moved from Gareth to Cat and back.

"We're staying with friends." Gareth said.

"I'm not leaving." Cat said.

They had both spoken at the same time.

Dr. Mosely nodded again, set the chart down on a nearby table and crouched down in front of Cat.

She was instantly on the defense. //I am not leaving my son.//

"Mrs. Granger, I understand you wanting to stay with him but you're not going to do yourself or him any good by doing so. You've had, both of you, have had a long and stressful evening. You and your husband need to get some rest and be fully awake for him tomorrow."

Cat studied his earnest face, the dark green eyes, the tousled hair. He looked enough like the Cascade Postmaster to be his brother. He had kind eyes she decided but no matter. She was not going anywhere. "I appreciate your concern, Dr. Mosely but I am not leaving until Colby does."

Dr. Mosely looked up at Gareth, who nodded, then back down at Cat. "Mrs. Granger, I'm going to ask you to consider not only your health but that of your son's."

Cat stared at him, stone faced. Just what was Dr. Mosely implying?

"In your son's medical history it says you suffer from spinal arthritis, which is nothing to play with as you know."

Her eyes narrowed. Was he saying that she would put her well-being over CeeJay's?

"If you sleep in the chair you're sitting in, there is a very good chance that your entire back could seize up completely. What happens then? Do you really want to wind up in the hospital as well? Even if that doesn't happen, you'll be in terrific pain and your son will know that, no matter what drugs are still in his system. That knowledge will only slow down his recovery. Why? Because he'll be worried about you."

She scowled. Where did this young pup of a doctor get off saying she was putting CeeJay at risk? So what if her back was already twinging? Didn't he understand that if she left, she wouldn't be here if CeeJay woke up? That she would be abandoning him? She looked up at Gareth but he was no help.

"I agree with Dr. Mosely." He said.

"You would." She snapped.

"Mrs. Granger, please. I'm asking you not as a doctor but as a son to a mother, please take into consideration the effects your bad back might have on him."

Cat swallowed and looked at Colby, fast asleep, no more than two feet from her. She had almost lost him again today. She reached through the bars of the bed and laid her hand on his arm, warm and solid under her touch. How could anyone ask her to leave?

"Mrs. Granger, you do not leave on your own, I can have you escorted out. My concern for your son's health is paramount."

Cat heard that and snapped. "Well, it's a good thing someone is concerned for his health." She hissed. "Since apparently I'm putting it at risk."

Dr. Mosely regarded her with a tolerant look. Gareth settled a hand on her shoulder but she shrugged it off. She opened her mouth to continue but was interrupted.

"Mom?" Colby's voice was muffled and weaker than normal but it was there.

She turned to see her son's blue-green eyes resting on her and her anger vanished. "Yes, baby?"

"Stop arguin' with the doc." He swallowed. "He knows what he's doing."

"Did we wake you?" Cat asked, her resolve melting under her son's slightly unfocused gaze.

"Kinda." Colby looked up at his father. "You stayin' with Charlie?"

Gareth nodded.

Colby looked back at his mother. "It's a nice house, Mom. You'll…" he swallowed again, "you'll like it."

Cat felt tears of shame prick her eyes. What was she doing? Making CeeJay talk her into leaving? What kind of mother was she?

"I'm not…" He paused for a moment. "goin' anywhere."

She looked at her son and saw the struggle he was waging to stay awake just to convince her to get some rest. The last of her resolve gone, she leaned over and kissed him gently on the forehead. "All right, baby, I'll go."

Underneath the oxygen mask, she saw his lips quirk upward in a smile. "Good. See you in the morning." His task done, Colby drifted back to sleep.

Cat looked from Gareth to Dr. Mosely and back. "I'm going to be here when visiting hours start and not a minute later."

Dr. Mosely nodded, relief flooding his young, boyish face. He stood and moved out of her way.

It took her a few moments and some help from Gareth in order to get up from the chair. She tried not to wince, tried not to prove the doctor right but she failed. Her back hurt and there was no way around it.

She clung to Gareth's arm like it was a lifeline. Step by painful step she made it to the doorway. She heard Dr. Mosely take a breath behind her as if he was going to speak but she cut him off. "I will see you in the morning." She said, over her shoulder. Then she and Gareth were gone, for the moment.


When Colby next woke up, he wasn't really sure he was awake but he guessed he was. His eyes wandered around the room, spotting Tim Ryan the medic from the Alpha team of HRT standing just outside the glass wall.

//Tim?//

He tried to smile and failed, tried to wave but couldn't raise his arm, not that it really mattered anyway… before too long, Morpheus reclaimed him, pulling him back down into the welcoming darkness.