It was two and a half hours before anyone bothered to come tell Leo what was going on.
"For Mr Sherman?"
It was a different man, not the one who'd treated Walter in the ER.
"Yes, how is he?" Leo asked.
"Hello. I'm the one who performed the surgery on Mr Sherman. I understand that this was not his decision, but rather yours?"
Leo nodded. "Walter refused to have it done, but as his medical proxy, I made the decision when he was in a coma."
The man nodded. "The surgery went well. There were no complications, and your friend should recover fully from it. The nurse will ensure he has follow up appointments, and before he's discharged he'll be instructed on what to look out for in case of infection or blockage."
"And what about brain damage?" Leo asked. "The other doctor said there could be brain damage because he delayed the surgery."
The surgeon examined him. "We have to wait for him to wake up so we can check. Hopefully, there isn't any, but we can't say for sure. If you'd like, I can take you to him."
"Yes, thank you," Leo said graciously.
The surgeon led Leo to Walter's bed, in a recovery room. The tube wasn't in his mouth any longer, but a nurse was adjusting a mask on his face.
"He should be waking up in a bit."
Leo sat down in the chair at the bedside.
The nurse smiled at him as she finished checking machines and making notes in his chart. "Don't be afraid to touch him," she said. "He's not going to break."
Leo smiled at her. "Thank you," he replied, placing two hands around one of Walter's. He had to be careful not to pull out the IV that was taped to it.
The nurse finished her notes, and replaced the mask with prongs that went into Walter's nose.
Leo thought he would protest at this, but the man was still asleep, which was probably for the best. Last time he was in the hospital, he just kept removing things.
The nurse seemed satisfied with Walter, and left, but not before showing Leo how to use the call button.
Leo stared at the bandage on Walter's skull. They had to cut some of his hair in order to make the incision, and he knew Walter would not be pleased about that. Forget about the whole surgery thing, Leo would be in trouble about the hair the most.
Still keeping one hand on Walter's for comfort, Leo sifted through the information pamphlets that had been left on the bedside table. He started reading through them, looking up every so often to make sure Walter hadn't stirred.
It was when his eyes fluttered that Leo put the pamphlet down and watched carefully for signs he was awake.
"I'm mad at you Leo," Walter muttered, without even bothering to open his eyes.
Leo beamed. "Men in rage strike those that wish them best."
Walter grinned. "What guy said that thing?" he mumbled, rolling his head slightly to the side and cracking an eye open.
"Shakespeare."
"You're holding my hand Leo," Walter noted, his voice barely above a whisper. "Shouldn't we at least go on a date first."
"I think we're already past that," Leo told him.
Walter grinned, his mouth all lopsided, and Leo told himself it was because of the drugs, which was most likely true.
"Did they cut into my brain?" he muttered.
"No," Leo told him. "They cut into your skull though. And your abdomen."
Walter made a face. "I don't even want to know. Did they forget where my brain was?"
Leo only sighed at him. "There's some things you can read when you're feeling better."
"Where're the other people?" Walter asked, waving a hand about vaguely.
"You mean Isabel and Willa?"
"That'd be them."
"I sent them back to the bar during the surgery. I should probably call and update them, since that was a while ago."
Walter frowned. "I can't believe they listened."
"I can be very persuasive."
Walter reached a hand up to his head experimentally.
"Do not touch it," Leo warned.
"They cut my hair Leo," he whined.
"Yes, and they had my permission to do it," he replied.
"What sort of a friend are you," he pouted.
"Friends don't let friends die Walter."
"Did someone say that thing?"
"Yes. Me."
Walter was quiet for a few minutes, and Leo hoped he'd fallen back asleep.
"When can I get out of here."
"Not for at least 24 hours. Brain surgery Walter. It's kind of a big deal."
He sighed. "Yeah, I suppose."
He was silent a bit longer, but Leo had given up hope that he would fall asleep.
"Help me sit up Leo," he demanded. "I'm already bored down here."
"No," Leo said firmly. "You are not to sit up for 24 hours, which is why that's the minimum time before you can go home."
"What..." he moaned.
"If you'd like, I can get Willa and Isabel to come. They can bring books, and I can read to you."
Walter pondered that for a minute.
"Yeah, okay, but none of those philosophy books. I don't want to be put to sleep. Something more exciting."
Leo smiled and stood up. "I think they're moving you to a room soon. I'll go check on that, and call them. Don't go anywhere."
"Like I could," Walter grumbled, but Leo had already left.
Walter hadn't moved when Leo returned with the nurse, which was good of him.
"Good to see you awake Mr Sherman," she said cheerily. "We're moving you out of recovery. Hopefully you can get some rest where it's a little quieter."
Walter hummed at her, but didn't say much of anything else as she checked to make sure the monitors were all unhooked, and that Leo had all of Walter's personal effects and information pamphlets.