In the early hours of the next morning Chris finally feels a weight be lifted from his shoulders. Piers is okay. The younger man appears to be 100% percent human - no mutation is scarring his body, appearing to be entirely gone from Piers' system. A blood check done by two of the doctors separately confirms that the C-virus is almost completely gone from Piers' system. Chris feels oddly overwhelmed by the news, like he doesn't know whether or not to believe it yet.
Of course, Jane Lauren is right there ready to give him a dose of reality with the explanations Chris keeps on requesting from her.
"Just the fact that Piers has both of his arms in tact is a sign that the virus is not completely gone from his system. However, as there do not appear to be any negative complications as of yet, this can be seen as a positive, albeit suspicious side effect of the C-virus and the vaccine mixing." Lauren is watching machine monitoring Piers' heart rate as she speaks.
Like her, Chris deems it more important that she look after his partner than look at him right now. He keeps listening closely, making sure to note everything for future references. He's not letting anything slip past him anymore. It will be over his dead body before he lets something happen to Piers again.
"Piers could be missing his limb as an alternative." Lauren says "And as you will probably agree, Chris, that is not something that a man in your line of work can easily get past. If all goes well, your partner will be ready to return in the field in a few short months."
Chris frowns at this, a number of questions popping up in his mind. Would Piers even want to return to the field after this? But of course he would, the kid is as stubborn and determined to fight as a bull. And no amount of negotiating or even arguing would be able to change his mind were he to decide that he wished to get back to fighting bioterrorism alongside Chris. But would he be fit to do so? With any possible psychological and physical trauma resulting from the infection with the virus, would Piers actually be able to deal with the strain of their working conditions? Would he need to go through training again? Through counselling before that? And would he even be able to demonstrate enough patience to actually go through with any such necessary precautions?
Chris rubs his temple briefly. This is one of those times when he wishes he could see into the future. He has never been keen on the unknown but it is in situations like these when he really resents being a mere human being. Not that the non-humans he has met in his lifetime were able to predict future events with stronger accuracy, but he can honestly go without feeling like this - so blind. So out of control.
"I'd almost forgotten that he might want to get back out there." Chris mutters, casting a somber look over Piers' sleeping form. With the mutation gone from his face and body, the younger man appears to be more peaceful and yet more fierce at the same time. At this rate, Chris assumes, it will be only a few more hours until Piers is notifying him that he's joining Chris on "their next mission." For some reason the thought alone makes Chris' stomach clench. It's too soon. The memory of what happened in China is so bright on his mind that it will be months until he is not paranoid about Piers' safety anymore.
"I know you wish to protect him from everything right now." Jane Lauren says to him softly and Chris finally tears his watchful gaze away from Piers to look her in the eye. She looks more sympathetic than usual, like she's about to console him like a mother would her restless child. "But we can't exercise endless control over the ones we love the most in an effort to protect them from their own choices. That's not what a full life is about, Chris."
Her words really hit Chris where it counts and he is left pondering about what she has just said in silence for the longest time.
Is it really like that? Has Piers Nivans, his second in command, become so important to him that nobody else in his life matters quite as much? Not even Jill or Claire? There is no question that what he and Piers have been through together in the last few years has moved them past a simple working relationship. Chris doesn't fool himself even for a second that Piers has not become a priority, but is it more than that? Would it be outrageous to think that Piers is his top priority? The one Chris values the most? Loves the most?
Chris runs his gaze over Piers' face - the strong jaw, wide forehead, full lips. His stomach clenches again and he scowls to himself. No. It isn't the right time to think about this. He can't allow himself to get sidetracked with these distracting thoughts. Stay focused, he tells himself, but acknowledges the truth in Jane Lauren's words. If his partner expresses his desire to go back to work, it won't be Chris' place to deny him. Not unless Piers explicitly asks him for permission.
"You're right." Chris finally says, observing as Jane Lauren sedares his partner once again. "How much more of this?" he motions toward the sedative.
Lauren considers it, looking at her doctor's chart. "With the speed of his recovery so far, I would say we need to give him another three to four hours, just in case. So this will be the last sedative we give him for a while and it's not quite as strong as the ones we were administering yesterday."
Chris huffs under his breath in approval and understanding. "Good. What happens when he wakes up?"
"Hopefully you're here see his face when he realizes he has been cured." Lauren says, giving Chris a smile. She turns to leave the room. "I will have Sally bring a mirror for Piers."
Chris stares after her momentarily, then turns his attention to Piers' heart rate monitor, then finally sits back in the armchair. Just a few more hours, he thinks to himself.
"Chris? ...Chris?"
"Chris."
"Captain!"
Chris shoots up and awake, looking around the room swiftly, his vision blurry. When it clears up, the first thing he sees is Piers sitting up in his bed, his back propped up on a bunch of pillows. Piers is a little pale, but doesn't appear to be tired or distressed. In fact, the expectant look he's giving Chris seems rather lively and confident.
There's two other people in the room - Jane Lauren, who is handing Piers a glass of water and another nurse Chris hasn't met before who is fixing Piers' sheets and - for the lack of a better term - tucking him in.
Piers throws Chris a tiny smirk as Chris gets on his feet to stand by the bed.
"You missed it, captain." Piers says, his tone critisizing but there is also a trace of humour in it. "They let me see myself in the mirror and everything." The younger man says, waving his seemingly perfectly healthy hand in the direction of the large mirror now hanging on the wall.
Chris doesn't know whether to feel guilty for not being awake for it or relieved that everything seems so normal. If he didn't know better, he'd bet this was a dream. "Sorry." He says, meeting the younger man's eyes, beyond happy to see them back to normal.
Piers' strong green gaze holds Chris' as though they're alone in the room, and for a second it feels like everything has changed.