Tadashi paced back and forth in the waiting area near the ER. The doctors still hadn't come out with news on Honey Lemon's condition.
Tadashi was beyond worried, both for Honey Lemon and for Hiro. Hiro had gone into shock almost immediately after Honey Lemon was shot. He'd been in and out of the Emergency Room and was now in a hospital room a bunch of floors above where Tadashi was now.
Tadashi shook his head. How could Callaghan do such a thing?! He simply didn't understand what brought about this sudden change in his former professor's behavior. Abusing Hiro and then shooting at him in the middle of a court room? It just didn't match up to the professor he'd known.
"Are you here for Aiko?" Tadashi turned to see a doctor approaching him.
"Y-yes." He replied. "Is she going to be okay? Please tell me she's going to be okay!"
"She's stable for the time being. I can take you to her if you'd like." The doctor said.
"Please do." Tadashi said.
The doctor led him to a hospital room. Tadashi noted it was on a different floor than Hiro's was.
Honey Lemon lay in the bed, pale and still.
Tadashi pulled a chair up beside her bed and sat down. After sitting there for a few minutes, he pulled out his phone and checked his messages. There were several messages. At least one from each of his friends and one from his Aunt Cass. His friends were practically demanding to know Honey Lemon's condition. He was getting even more texts from them as he sat there looking at his phone. Aunt Cass simply asked he inform her when he had news and left it at that.
Tadashi typed a message into the group chat, letting his friends know that Honey Lemon was stable and he'd let them know if anything changed. Then, he sent a more detailed description to Aunt Cass and inquired about Hiro's condition.
Aunt Cass was the first to respond. -Hiro's blood pressure is still low, but he's recovering. Stay with Honey Lemon for now. We can switch once Hiro wakes up.-
Wasabi was next. -Thank goodness. Keep us updated, okay?-
GoGo added in. -She'll definitely be happy to see your ugly face when she wakes up. Isn't she still mad at you?-
Tadashi smiled sadly, knowing the first part of GoGo's message was sarcasm.
He texted. -Well, she'll have to deal with it then. I'm not leaving her, at least until she wakes up and tells me to get out.-
He put away his phone and turned his gaze to Honey Lemon, his breath catching as he took in her face. He gulped before speaking.
"I know you can't hear me right now, but I wanted you to know I'm so sorry. It's my fault you got caught up in this, and though I'm grateful for what you've done for Hiro, I also feel extremely guilty for... all of this. But enough of apologies. What I really want to say is thank you, for everything you've done for me and Hiro. While I don't know what motivated you to take action, I'm extremely grateful you did. Thank you. Just... thank you."
Of course, Honey Lemon didn't answer. He hadn't expected her to, but it would've been nice if she had.
Tadashi sighed and closed his eyes. It had been a long day and he was exhausted.
Before he knew it, he was waking up with his head resting on his arms on Honey Lemon's bed. He yawned and realized he didn't remember falling asleep.
"You awake, sleepy head?" Tadashi jumped nearly a foot in the air at the sound of Honey Lemon's voice.
He looked to see her eyes were open and she was gazing at him with a small smile. Sunlight was streaming through the window. It had been dark out when Tadashi had last been awake.
"Honey Lemon, I..." He paused, not knowing what to say. After a moment, he blurted out the abridged version of what he'd said last night. "I'm so sorry. Thank you for everything you've done." Another pause. He wasn't sure if that was enough. "It's all my fault. If I hadn't... if..."
"It's okay, Tadashi. I understand." Honey Lemon interrupted. "I was never angry. Just hurt. But I know how you feel about Hiro and the thought that you might have lost him, again, set you off. You reacted with the information you were given. I didn't tell you everything, and I know you didn't mean what you said."
"Wha... you can't forgive me that easily! It's not right!" Tadashi protested.
Honey Lemon laughed. The sound eased Tadashi's nerves a little.
"You might not agree with it, but I do see a point in forgiving you, Tadashi. What you said was in a fit of anger. I know you didn't mean it." Honey Lemon said. She winced as she moved to brush some hair behind her ear.
"Whoa. Take it easy. You're injured, remember?" Tadashi said.
Honey Lemon decided to change the subject. "How's Hiro?"
Tadashi grimaced and checked his phone. "According to a text I got while I was asleep, he woke up three hours ago."
"Is he in the hospital too? Did Callaghan shoot again?" Honey Lemon gasped.
"Yes and no. Hiro fell into a state of shock after you were shot. It really affected him. He should be okay now though." Tadashi said, unable to successfully keep the worry out of his voice.
"Hiro's strong, Tadashi. I'm sure he's fine." Honey Lemon said, guessing at Tadashi's thoughts. She paused. "Well, besides the trauma… I guess I meant he's all right physically."
Tadashi hummed in agreement, moving his gaze to his feet.
"I'm sorry." He repeated after a few minutes' silence. "If I'd just… if I hadn't…" He stumbled over his words. "If I'd just seen Callaghan's intentions fast enough, maybe you wouldn't be in a hospital bed."
"And then what? Would you be the one in the hospital bed? The room was crowded, Tadashi. Even if all three of us were able to get out of the way in time, which would've been impossible with Hiro in that wheelchair, someone would've gotten hit. We don't know who it would've been if it hadn't been me. I'm not sure I even want to know."
Tadashi grimaced again. "You're probably right…"
The two looked up as a doctor entered the room. Tadashi looked away while Honey Lemon's bandages were changed and she was checked over for further injuries.
They resumed the conversation after the doctor left.
"Don't worry, Tadashi." Honey Lemon said. "I'm strong enough to handle it, and better me than Hiro…"
They both involuntarily shivered at the thought of how things would've been if Hiro had been the one hit. The poor boy was already hurt enough. He didn't have any strength left to handle a bullet wound.
"Anyways…" Honey Lemon continued, just to be interrupted by Tadashi's ringtone.
Tadashi picked up the phone. "Hello… Oh, hi Wasabi… Yeah. Room 208... Okay. See you… Bye." He hung up the phone. "The others are on their way up. I'm going to go check on Hiro once they get here. I need to make sure he's okay."
Honey Lemon nodded in understanding, wincing at the movement.
"Take it easy." Tadashi repeated his earlier advice.
Wasabi, Gogo, and Fred entered the room. Tadashi nodded to them and then left.
As he walked away, he overheard Gogo ask if he'd left because of them and Honey Lemon respond that he wanted to check on Hiro.
Tadashi sighed and leaned against the wall in the elevator. He didn't know what to feel. He was glad Honey Lemon had forgiven him, but hated the fact that she was injured and in the hospital.
The elevator dinged and Tadashi got off. He entered room 739 to find Aunt Cass in the middle of comforting a trembling Hiro.
"Look. Tadashi's here. He can tell you everyone's all right. He was just with Honey Lemon." Aunt Cass said.
Hiro looked up with teary eyes. "Is… is Honey Lemon all right? She didn't die, did she?"
"No. She didn't die. She's perfectly fine. In fact, she woke up before I did this morning. She's making a fast recovery. The others are with her now." Tadashi comforted, kneeling next to Hiro, opposite Aunt Cass.
"See? I told you she was all right." Aunt Cass said, stroking Hiro's hair.
"What others are with her?" Hiro asked.
"Gogo, Wasabi, and Fred. You remember them, right? They came by the house about a week or so ago. And they hung out with us before… everything happened. Remember?" Tadashi said.
Hiro nodded, seeming significantly calmer. He had stopped trembling and he was crying fewer tears.
It broke Tadashi's heart, seeing Hiro like this, especially since his attitude and outlook were nothing like they were before Callaghan had harmed him.
He wanted to cheer Hiro up some more, but what could he say?
He thought for a moment. "Hey, when we get home, do you want to build a robot together, like when we were kids?"
Hiro hesitated a moment before smiling lightly and nodding. "Y-yeah… I'd like that…"
Tadashi smiled as well, relieved.
The doctor came in and told them Hiro could go home whenever he felt like it.
Of course, before going home and resting, Hiro begged them to take him to see Honey Lemon.
Aunt Cass and Tadashi obliged, and soon they were on floor 2.
They paused in the doorway of Honey Lemon's room.
Gogo, Wasabi, and Fred were chatting with Honey Lemon about various things. It took a moment for the four of them to notice the three newcomers.
"Hey." Honey Lemon said, giving them a small wave accompanied by a wince.
"You're okay." Hiro responded quietly.
"Yeah. I'm fine. No need to worry." Honey Lemon smiled at the boy. "How about you? Are you feeling okay?"
"Better now." Hiro replied.
"Good to hear. You stay strong for me, okay? And get some rest. You look like you need it." Honey Lemon said.
Aunt Cass shook her head. "You're almost as bad as Tadashi now."
"What do you mean by that?" Tadashi and Honey Lemon asked in unison.
"Over-protective." Aunt Cass said simply. "And more worried about Hiro than about yourself."
Gogo, Wasabi, and Fred laughed at how true that was, while Tadashi and Honey Lemon blushed in embarrassment. Hiro gave a small smile.
"Well, we should be getting this one home. The doctor wants him to get some rest." Aunt Cass said, motioning to Hiro. "Hiro, you have anything else to say before we go?"
"Get better soon, Honey Lemon." Hiro said quietly.
"I'll see you guys later." Tadashi said to his friends, taking control of Hiro's wheelchair and following Aunt Cass to the elevator.
The drive home was relatively quiet. Hiro stared out the window while Tadashi watched him worriedly.
At home, Tadashi helped Hiro up to their room and settled him on his bed.
When he turned to go, however…
"Nii-chan? Can you stay with me?" Tadashi froze when he heard that. It had been a long time since Hiro had called him Nii-chan.
He bit his lip before turning back to Hiro. "Of course. I'll just get something to do from my side of the room. Get some rest."
Hiro nodded obediently and settled down in his bed.
Tadashi sighed as he grabbed a couple of books from the bookshelf. He wanted his rebellious little brother back.
Sure, Hiro had been timid when he was little, but never like this.
He returned to Hiro's side and read his books silently until the young teen fell asleep.
It was late by the time he returned to his own side of the room. His friends had texted to make sure they'd gotten home safely, so Tadashi texted them back before putting his phone on his side table and drifting into a sleep that was far too deep.
