The author's note for the last chapter applies to this one too.

"You had a conversation with him?" Elizaveta repeated, handing some papers to the doctor next to her. She turned to face Gilbert fully. "An actual conversation?"

"Well I mean, yeah." Gilbert nodded his head enthusiastically. "Kind of." He thought about it for a moment longer. "Like, he only said a few things. It was kind of hard to tell what it was. But," he said, not to be deterred. "I'm practically one-hundred percent certain that it was a conversation. Mattie was really trying. He really was."

Gilbert expected Elizaveta to be thrilled. This was her patient, after all. But instead of excitement, her brow was furrowed and her lips pursed in a thin line.

"It was hard to tell what he was saying?" she echoed. Her lips pursed. "How so?"

Gilbert refused to be put off by Elizaveta's behaviour. "It wasn't that bad," he started, but Eliveveta cut in.

"No. Don't try and defend him. I know you like Williams, but you've got to keep in mind that this his treatment and recovery. Prettying up symptoms isn't going to help anyone. What was Williams like?"

Gilbert bit back a grumble of annoyance. "Jeez I was getting there, chill." She was right, probably. Not that he was going to let her know. "It was just like, difficult to understand what he was saying. The words were all... weird."

"Like he was confused?" Elizaveta prompted with a slight tilt of her head.

Gilbert gave a small shrug. "I mean, kind of, yes. But no." He tried thinking back to the way Matthew struggled to put his words together. "It was just as if..."

"He was angry?" Elizaveta offered. "Or out of it? Did he repeat things a lot?"

"What? No." Gilbert crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Would you stop that? How am I supposed to explain if you keep jumping in." Elizaveta rolled her eyes, but Gilbert ignored her. "Look, I wouldn't have been able to tell if he was repeating things or being angry or whatever because I could barely make out his words in the first place. It was all like garbled nonsense. Almost. I could still kinda understand it. I'm pretty sure he actually said something like 'words are difficult' or whatever." He frowned, but quickly shook it off. "But that's all fairly normal, right?"

Elizaveta's expression already told him that it wasn't. She let out a small sigh. "No, Gil, it's not." She looked over his shoulder before tugging on his elbow to relocate them to the side of the hallway. A few doctors and a rolling gurney passed them by. Elizaveta watched them go before turning her attention back to Gilbert. "We've been working on Williams' prognosis," she began, "but the effects of brain injuries are always difficult to anticipate. He's actually been testing fairly well in a good number of categories. But..." Her lips pursed in a tight line and her gaze flickered off somewhere to Gilbert's right. She was clearly thinking.

"But...?" Gilbert pressed, not liking the direction this conversation was heading. He knew, logically, that not all could be well after a traumatic brain injury. But he had still found himself hoping that it might turn out differently for Matthew. "Talking is a good thing, right?" he prompted. "Matthew was really trying hard, I know he was."

Elizaveta's eyes jumped back to him. "Anger, confusion, those things are normal. Even temporary retrograde or anterograde amnesia is fairly common." She shrugged at Gilbert's look of confusion. "The brain can only do so much," she said as way of explanation. "It's usually pretty difficult to hold and retain new memories when your head is trying to get back up to speed after some kind of TBI. So," she said with emphasis. "It would be perfectly normal for Williams to be saying the same things over and over again because he can't remember having said it in the first place. Or if he was getting angry at people around him. All normal things. But mixed-up words? Or, what was it you said, garbled sounds? That's not. Those are symptoms."

Gilbert blinked a few times in silence, trying to process the meaning of Elizaveta's words. Finally he took a short breath of air. "There's something wrong with him?" he asked, already knowing the answer. Of course there was. Matthew had just been in a three-month coma. Clearly there was something wrong with him. Gilbert tried not to let himself feel disappointed in light of this realization.

Elizaveta looked at him for while before giving a small nod. "Likely. Yes. But it might not be permanent. Like I said, brain injuries are really quite unpredictable. We'll have to keep an eye on him of course." She then gave Gilbert an odd look. "It's actually a bit strange, you know. We've been doing a bunch of tests with Williams. Check-ups, the usual. It's all to be expected, of course. But he's been strangely silent up until this point. Well, there was the yelling and noises at the beginning, but that's normal stuff. The silence though, was strange, and now this..."

Gilbert caught the way Elizaveta's voice sounded on the last few words. "You know what's wrong," he said.

She shook her head. "Of course I don't, I'm just a nurse."

"You think you know what's wrong."

She gave Gilbert a look. "We need to keep up the tests," she replied. "It could be anything, really. But... if Williams has started trying to talk to you, maybe he'll finally give it a try during his check-ups. That's a good sign at least."

Gilbert wanted to say something more, but his chest felt a bit tight, and Elizaveta already looked like she was done with the conversation. "Right," he ended up saying, gaze cast down the hall to nothing in particular. "That sounds... good. Just, uh, figure out what's up. Yeah."

"Gilbert," Elizaveta said, causing his to look back at her. "It's... I don't want to say that it will all be okay, because that's not usually how things go in this field, but... it'll work out. Williams is doing well, all things considered. You should be proud."

Gilbert had to blink at that. "Proud?" he repeated.

She smiled at him. "You've done a lot, Gil. It's not just anyone who would go off and befriend a comatose man." She gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder as she stepped out into the space of the hall. "And well, Matthew Williams really needed a friend. You've brought him a long way from where he was."

"Is that your medical diagnosis?" Gilbert joked half-heartedly, joining her in hall after a moment's deliberation. "Patient in room 2053 is in need of a friend, stat?"

Elizaveta let out a small laugh. "You can't deny the facts." Her tone turned a bit more serious. "But I'm going to be honest here and say that I truly thought Williams a goner before you came into picture. The timing of his recovery could have been coincidence, sure, but in this profession I like to occasionally look on the brighter side of things."

Gilbert didn't say anything to that.

"I have a round to do on the third floor," Elizaveta said after a moment, glancing sideways at him. It was still the holidays, and he wasn't technically allowed to stray around the hospital. "Are you going to...?"

"Yeah, I'm heading out," he supplied, plastering a quick grin on his face. It felt a bit forced, but Elizaveta didn't mention anything. The outside seemed appealing, despite the cold of winter. Gilbert wanted some time to think about things. "Can you keep me updated, I guess? On Matt's situation. I'll be around of course, but until I'm officially back on the job I don't really get told much."

"Sure thing, Gil," she replied with a smile. "And make sure you don't stress about things for too long all right? I'll see you around." Gilbert gave her a parting smile, and with that she was gone, lost among the bustle of the busy hallway.

xXxXx

Gilbert heard Alfred before he saw him. He hadn't quite made it outside, having chosen to wander the ground floor on the building's east side. He had been in the process of looping back around towards the main entrance when he heard the raised voices. Alfred's... and another higher tone that he couldn't immediately place, but quickly realized was Matthew's mother.

Gilbert stood just past the corner of the hallway, out of their line of sight. If he leaned a little to his left, he could see the pair, standing near each other. Gilbert figured this was the perfect vantage point for eavesdropping.

"It's the right thing," Alfred was saying. "It'll be okay, I've got a plan."

Matthew's mother had her arms crossed in front of her chest. She didn't seem terribly convinced. Gilbert wondered what they were talking about.

"Look," Alfred continued. "I just wanted to let you know, okay? I'm going to tell dad too, but I wanted to let you know first."

Gilbert had to lean in to catch Mrs. Williams' reply.

"... not going to be pleased."

Gilbert could see Alfred's sigh from where he peered around the corner. "I know that," he stressed. "But that's his problem. It's not like I'm throwing away my future or anything. He'll understand, I think. He won't be happy, but he'll understand."

"Just... all that time... And they say it's so hard to pick it up again once you stop."

Alfred was already shaking his head. "Yeah well, whoever they are, they don't know me. It'll be fine. And I mean, it's not like I'm losing any money or anything. I'll just... take a break. People do that, you know."

Gilbert's eyebrows rose towards his hairline. They were talking about Alfred's schooling. That's what this was all about. Alfred was planning to take time off.

"I'm going to stay here for Mattie," Alfred said, confirming Gilbert's thoughts. "I can wait six months - heck, even a year, I don't care. Mattie can't." His head titled down some, looking at Mrs. Williams from behind a fringe of blond hair. "You do know that, right, mum? He needs us."

Gilbert could hear Mrs. Williams' intake of breath. "I... of course I do, Alfred." A hand reached out to rest gently on the outside of Alfred's elbow. "I just..." She shook her head a little and continued. "I just want to make certain that you've thought it all through. I would hate for you to regret this later."

At this, Alfred took half a step backwards, Mrs. Williams' hand dropping from his arm. "If there would be anything I would regret," he said coolly, "it would be not being there for Matthew when he needed it most."

Gilbert wanted to stay and listen. The accusation in Alfred's voice had been nearly palpable. But Gilbert had the answer to the question he'd long waited for. Alfred was staying. Gilbert took breath of air, and then moved a few steps away, back down the hall. The conversation continued behind him, but the voices were no more than muffled noises, joining the light clamour of the hospital. Gilbert leaned against the wall, thinking.

Alfred was going to stay. He had sounded confident in his decision. The right decision, if Gilbert's opinion counted for anything. He would be here for Matthew, for his recovery. Consistency was everything right now, and for the last two weeks, Alfred had been part of it. He wasn't leaving.

Gilbert felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest. He could breathe a little easier. Matthew was talking. Alfred was staying. Things were slowly starting to fall into place. Gilbert hadn't realized quite how worried he had been over these small uncertainties. But it was all right.

Gilbert took another moment or two to collect his thoughts, and headed back towards the main entrance. Elizaveta was right, he thought. It was going to work out.