Rey leaned back against his bed, wincing as he held onto his left arm with his right hand, keeping his arm bent up. He had just finished his last test of the day, which had involved giving more blood than he was aware could exist in a human body, and was now holding the bandage on the area and waiting till he felt comfortable that the crook of his elbow wouldn't spurt like a fountain if he moved it.
It had seemed like a long exhausting day, even though it had only been a few hours. The doctors had sent him through every piece of machinery in the hospital they could think of, and after each test, technicians scurried off with pages and notes and files while Keith whisked him off to the next place. He wasn't even sure he knew the names of some of what he'd done, but at least it was finally over with and he could lay back and relax a little.
Rey hesitantly moved his arm, looking down at the bandage over the needle spot, and probed it lightly, wincing at the quick bolt of pain, but he didn't see any sign that it was still bleeding, so he lowered his arm to the bed, letting out a long breath and closing his eyes, enjoying the silence and peace for a moment.
The door came open, and Rey glanced over, smiling some when he saw Batista step in. "Hey, man," he said, sitting up.
"Hey, I came by earlier but you were downstairs. How you feeling?" Dave headed over to the bed, carrying a brown paper bag along with him.
"Like I've been poked and prodded and pricked and under a microscope all damn day. I'm amazed they didn't open my skull and poke my brain with a stick."
Dave chuckled and sat on the bed next to him, pulling the rolling table closer. "I brought lunch, hope you're hungry."
"Starving, man." Rey dug into the bag and took out a few boxes of Chinese takeout, grinning. "I know you didn't forget the chow mein."
"Right here, dude," Dave responded, grinning and handing over the box.
"Dave, I love you, man." Rey chuckled and took the box and the offered chopsticks, opening the box and starting to dig in. Dave picked up his own box, and the two ate in relative silence for a while before Rey looked over at him. "Dave?"
"Yeah, man?"
"How is your eye doing?"
Batista turned his head so that Rey could see his entire face, which had a small bandage over his cheek but was otherwise unmarred. "A little sore, but it'll be all right. A couple of days bruised up. Nothing new. Fortunately you caught me more in the head than on the actual eye or it might have been worse."
"I'm still sorry about that, man. I really wish it hadn't happened..."
Dave waved a hand a bit dismissively. "Don't sweat it, Rey. It's no worse than anything I could get in the ring."
Rey lowered his gaze, then looked back up at him. "Dave...did you really leave Smackdown to come here with me?"
Dave raised his head, looking forward at the wall, not saying anything for a moment. Then he looked back down at the box in his hands. "It's not a big deal."
"Not a big deal? Dave...you gave up your livelihood, your...you were a champion, man. I mean, you were just getting into the prime of things. Why would you leave that all behind just to come here and take care of me?"
"Listen, Rey...I just...I needed to, you know? That's all." Dave wound noodles around his chopsticks, still looking down into the box.
"You could have called...just to check on me. I mean, Dave, it's not that I don't appreciate it, it's just that...I can't believe you'd give up everything for me like that. Just...I'm grateful, but I feel bad."
"You don't need to feel bad, Rey. It's not your fault." Dave looked over at him, managing a weak smile. "You didn't ask for this to happen. But...I felt right, taking this step. It wasn't as hard as you'd think for me to be able to come here and take this, be away from the roster and all that. Besides, the work's not hard, it pays decent...and I'm closer to my family longer. It's really handy for both of us."
"I still really appreciate it, Dave." Rey reached over and patted his leg. "It's amazing you're doing this for me."
Dave just reached over and patted Rey's shoulder, continuing to eat, and after a moment, Rey picked up his box and continued as well, staying quiet for a while. As they were finishing, there was a knock, and the door opened, Marcia stepping in with her large tote over one arm.
"Hello, boys," the woman said warmly, reaching down to pick up her glasses from the chain around her neck, putting them on and studying the white boxes. "David, I see you went to Ming Pao..."
Dave smiled a little and reached into the bag again, taking out a box and holding it out to her. "I didn't forget, Marcia."
"Such a nice fellow," she replied, patting his head as though he were a child, which made Dave laugh somewhat. "Oh, and Rey, honey, I got those books I said I would bring for you..." She dug into her bag and took out three hardbacks, holding them out to him. "They aren't much, but maybe they'll be better than nothing."
"Thanks...thanks, Marcia." Rey took the books and smiled at her, and the older woman patted his shoulders, smiling back.
"David, are you spending the night again tonight?" she asked, looking over at him.
"No, ma'am. I've got some appointments I've got to get to."
"You're not gonna be in here with me tonight?" Rey asked, looking over at him.
"No, buddy, you're on your own tonight." Batista put an arm around Rey's shoulders. "But no worries, you've spent plenty of nights on your own here. The doctors and nurses will keep an eye on you during the night."
Rey nodded a bit, smiling up at him, glancing down at the books in his hands.
"All right, boys, I'm off to clock in and make my rounds," Marcia said, smiling at the two of them again. "Rey, enjoy those books, and if you need some more, just let me know. David, I'll see you in the morning."
"See you later, Marcia," Dave said, as Rey waved a bit, and the woman smiled and went back to the door, knocking lightly, then stepping out as she went.
"How does that work?" Rey asked, as the door closed.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, when I just went down to the second floor, I saw everyone's doors, but how do you know when someone needs to come out of the room?"
"Most of the time, the only people in the rooms are the patients. Whenever a doctor or a nurse heads in, one of us security guys gets paged to accompany them, so we can wait outside till they need to come out."
"Oh." Rey nodded some, setting the books on the table beside the bed. "Well those will help the time pass a little bit faster, I suppose." He sat back again, looking up at Dave once more. "Have I done this before, Dave?"
"Done what?"
"Well...you guys said I'd been here nearly a year, and you were talking when I...woke up about how much better I had been doing. Have I ever forgotten everything of this before, or is this the first time?"
Dave chewed the inside of his cheek slightly, a habit Rey had tried unsuccessfully to break him of before...this. "Not...not exactly the first time, no, but...this does seem to be the most severe of it. Before it was just bits and pieces of things...not everything and for such a long period of time." Dave looked over at him. "But aside from the bad dreams, you're staying pretty lucid."
"So that's good, right?"
"Hell, I don't know, man. I only understand about a third of the stuff your doctor says, to be honest." He draped an arm around Rey's shoulders again. "But between you and me, you seem better, somehow. Like maybe your brain, I don't know...maybe it hit some big internal reset button and you're back to normal now. That would be a hell of a way for it to happen, wouldn't it?" Dave chuckled faintly, but it seemed as though his heart wasn't entirely in it.
"Well...did anything happen before I lost all the memories, like, some new test or something?"
"I don't think so...just the usual day...got up, ate breakfast, went to your group therapy, I came and got you for a workout downstairs, back up for lunch and dinner, bedtime...all the usual crap."
"So...so this just all came out of nowhere, huh?"
"Pretty much..." Dave rubbed the bridge his nose between his fingers. "Maybe there'll be some change in all your test results that'll point to the results. But if you ask me, you seem good. If it keeps up, maybe they can figure out some way to fix your nightmares and you can be back home soon."
"I'd like that." Rey leaned against Batista's side a moment. "Then we can both make our dramatic comebacks to the ring in style, huh?"
Dave chewed on his cheek again. "Yeah, man, we'll do that. We'll go for the tag belts again. It'll be...it'll be awesome." He grunted, then got to his feet, rubbing his back a bit. "Well...I probably ought to get going...I got a few little things I need to run out and take care of today."
Rey nodded, sliding off the bed to stand as well. "When will you be back?"
"Tomorrow morning. I'll be on shift, though, so I won't be able to stay around long. If you're still asleep when I get here, I'll just check back in with you later." He patted Rey's shoulder. "Tomorrow at lunch at the very latest, I promise."
"Okay, that's good. That's not too long." Rey chuckled. "Probably irrational, but I feel a lot safer somehow when I know that you're here with me. I know that sounds silly, the hospital folks aren't here to hurt me...but you're at least a familiar face."
Batista half-smiled again, then pulled Rey in for a quick embrace before letting go and stepping back. "You just get some rest, read your books, and take it easy, all right? I'll see you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow, man." Rey raised one hand in a half-wave, and Dave moved over to the door, rapping at it lightly with his knuckles, and stepping out when the doorknob turned, the door quickly closing behind him. Rey hopped back up to sit on the bed, sitting back and picking up the box of chow mein again, working on finishing it off. He turned his gaze over to the three books, reaching over to pick up the first one. He chuckled faintly when he saw it was a copy of Through The Looking Glass...he wouldn't have figured the grandmotherly woman for the fantasy type. Still, it was better than unadulterated silence, so he opened it up and started reading, still nibbling at the food Dave had brought him and, at least somewhat, feeling more normal than he had since he'd woken up here.
