"Until he's fully awake and able to work with them, we won't know whether or not he's paralyzed…"
"What about the x-rays?"
"Definitely nicked the spine and then carried on through. The bullet barely made it out the front, most likely. He's lucky it hit so low. It only hit his large intestine, and the hole was an easy fix for Dr. Carr."
"Can you idiots just shut up?" Mettaton finally growled sleepily at two of his men that were talking quietly in the corner of the waiting room, all of the other Echo and Snowdin members there glaring at the two.
"Uh… sorry, boss… didn't realize you were awake."
"Go gossip somewhere else…"
"Yeah, sure, boss…" Both men edged out of the room, still caught up in the middle of all the glares of the exhausted men and women around them.
Mettaton was curled up on a tiny sofa under his coat with Papyrus' scarf tangled in his arms, and several other Family members were trying to sleep too either sitting in the uncomfortable chairs, on one of the few sofas, or on the floor. They were all Mettaton's and Papyrus' bodyguards, but no one was allowed in to see Papyrus yet. It had been a full forty-eight hours since Papyrus had been rushed into the emergency room, and Mettaton had only heard updates every few hours that Papyrus was still alive, but nothing had changed about his critical condition.
That was about to finally change as a doctor in long white coat, a blue dress shirt, and black slacks, stepped in. He adjusted his dark-rimmed glasses and glanced down at his clipboard. "Is there a Mr. Taylor here for Papyrus Skjal?"
Despite being thoroughly exhausted, Mettaton bolted upright. "I'm here," he answered quickly. "Is he okay? Is he awake?"
"Hold on," the doctor said softly, lowering his clipboard. "I have some new information for you. He's finally started to improve." Everyone in the room let go of their held breath at that, and Mettaton stood to approach the doctor, keeping Papyrus' scarf clutched tightly to his chest. "My records indicate that Mr. Skjal's brother added you to the list of people who are allowed to make medical decisions for Mr. Skjal recently, should he not be able to decide for himself. That means you're also entitled to full knowledge of what's going on with him and all sensitive information pertaining to his condition."
"… I hope you don't have something awful to say…" Mettaton murmured, but the doctor's expression remained neutral.
"Let's go sit down in my office and I'll fill you in on all the details. There's a lot that's still very tentative and will change based on his condition, and you, as a decision-maker for him, need to know about it."
"… Alright." Motioning for all his men to remain, Mettaton followed the doctor to his office on the next floor down, and took a seat in a simple chair before the doctor's desk while he settled into his own office chair and pulled out a file.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I never introduced myself…" the doctor remembered suddenly. "I came in earlier but you were asleep. Nathan Miles, I work in Neurology and I was in on the surgery to repair Mr. Skjal's intestinal tract. I took an assessment of possible damage to his spinal cord and vertebrae."
"Mettaton Taylor… um… Papyrus is my…"
"Your partner, I'm aware. Don Skjal made sure that accepting doctors were taking care of his little brother, so he wouldn't be refused care. It's a damned shame that happens in this day and age… but I promise you you're in a safe space, sir."
"That… that's good to know. Really, it is. The number of times we've been refused service even for simple things because we're together…" Mettaton looked down at the scarf in his hands, remembering all the times they'd been asked to leave restaurants or stores at the beginning of their relationship.
"That won't happen here where I and Mr. Skjal's other caretakers can help it. Now... Let me see…" Dr. Miles sorted through the file marked 'P. ' and pulled out a sheet of notes. "First of all… I need to make it clear that we do not know yet if Mr. Skjal's mobility will be compromised in the long run. The bullet struck and destroyed a vertebrae but it's not clear if it effected the spinal cord yet. If it was only the vertebrae, he will still need physical therapy once we replace it and get him back on his feet. If the spinal cord was damaged… well, there's a chance he'll be paralyzed from about the navel and down. If that's the case, we will of course guide you and his other caretakers through all the necessary steps to get him settled and help him make the most of life, even disabled. This is a very real possibility and it's hard to come to terms with for everyone involved… but it isn't the end of the world. The hardest person to convince of that will be Mr. Skjal himself if he is indeed paralyzed."
"… I think he'll be able to handle it… he's the most positive person in the world. He'll think a wheelchair is a neat new addition to his look…" Tears flooded Mettaton's eyes for what felt like the millionth goddamned time and he buried his face in the red scarf.
"He may need a little help finding the light, Mr. Taylor. But being disabled doesn't mean his quality of life can't be just as good as it was before."
"I know, I know… I'll be the one having a hard time, not him. He'll probably go showing off, doing wheelies and making spinners for the big wheels. My Papyrus can make anything look stylish…" Sniffling, Mettaton shook his head. "I'm sorry… please, go on."
"Not a problem, sir. I know this is very difficult… but I do have some good news for you in the middle of all this uncertainty."
"… Yes?" Mettaton looked up with a little bit of hope.
"He did wake up briefly a few hours ago, and aside from the expected painkiller haze, he was fairly lucid. He even remembered my name from when I told him just before the surgery. And that's a wonderful sign. Even people who've been through far less trauma usually don't remember their doctors' names after an operation, or any at all until the morphine dosage is lowered, but he recited back every one we'd told him."
"Papyrus never forgets a name. He's too polite," Mettaton nodded with a weak smile. "Did he say anything else?"
"He asked about a kitten. Does he own a cat?"
"Oh… no, Kitten is our friend Kate's nickname."
"He did ask about you and his older brother as well, and Dr. William Gaster who… is his father, isn't he?"
"Yes, he was here yesterday for a while."
"I hope they'll show up again soon. Mr. Skjal could probably use some familiar faces around him. He is staying in Intensive Care for now until we can absolutely nail down all the damage, and we encourage visitors, but only one or two at a time. We want to give him a reason to stay determined, and seeing friends and family should do that for him, from what little I've seen of his personality."
"Can… can I go see him?"
"He's being moved to a new private room as we speak. The nurses and his surgeon cleaned him up once he was awake and they wanted to double-check that he didn't have a concussion after we found a nasty bump on his head. Thankfully, it's just a bruise, probably from falling after he was shot."
"Likely…"
"Mr. Taylor… may I ask what happened? He wasn't the only one brought in, I believe."
"It… it's complicated. How much do you know about Papyrus' older brother?"
"Don Garrett Skjal? My little brother works for him, and I tend to be first pick for Snowdin Family members who need a neurologist."
"So you know about their business?"
"Intimately so. I go to Grillby's all the time and talk to former patients about it."
"Well… we've been fighting with that Sualy immigrant, Russo."
"Ah."
"G was shot, but it only hit his arm. The bullet went through and hit Papyrus full-force instead…" Mettaton had to stop any more tears from brimming. His eyes were already sore and red again.
"Did the Don get medical attention?"
"Not that I know of. He had to go save Kitten."
"Kitten as in Kate, right? … Not Kate Frisk? Surely not."
"The same."
"Shit…" Miles cursed. "I hope things turn out well… We'll do our best on this end, Mr. Taylor, I can promise you Mr. Skjal is getting the best care available. If there's anything we can't do, we'll call on help from New Home."
"That's good to hear. And I really appreciate it."
"Of course. Now… why don't we go see your partner? He ought to be settled in by now. And I'll be sure to get the room numbers of any others that were brought in from the Families for you."
"You're a huge help, Dr. Miles. Thank you."
After gathering up any other paperwork he needed, Dr. Miles led Mettaton down to the lower levels of the hospital, all the way into the deadly-quiet ICU where the worst cases stayed. Dr. Miles got a page from the front desk and had to pass Mettaton off to an ICU nurse, and soon Mettaton was standing before a green curtain. The nurse drew it open slightly, and in the little space Mettaton's eyes were assaulted with so many screens and machines that he didn't know how the nurses could possibly understand it all. There was a constant nurse for every patient in the ICU, and the one in this room was a woman in her thirties in blue scrubs, taking quick notes from the machines around her.
But Mettaton's gaze was drawn to the center of the room, to the bulky hospital bed where, propped up by the raised head of the bed, Papyrus lay motionless looking like absolute death. He was so incredibly pale, almost grey, and there were all kinds of tubes and wires attached here and there and his entire torso was locked in a brace to keep his injured spine correctly aligned to heal. His medium-length dark hair had been recently washed and combed, and his beard trimmed very close to keep out of the way. An oxygen mask obscured his mouth and nose, but Mettaton's heart skipped to see his strange amber eyes slightly cracked open, watching the heart monitor readout go by.
"Papy?" Mettaton asked softly, and the attendant nurse turned to see him and the other nurse waiting. Papyrus' eyes slowly trailed over to the source of the new sound, and when he saw Mettaton, a tiny smile appeared under that oxygen mask. The heart readout picked up, just a little faster.
"Are you Mr. Taylor?" The attendant nurse asked while the other left.
"Yes…" Mettaton murmured, unable to look away from Papyrus.
"Just try to keep everything calm and quiet for Papyrus. We don't want too much excitement yet. All I ask is that you try to keep out of the way when the nurses come around, just so nothing impedes us getting our friend here moved out of ICU in a couple days. I think he'd like a room with a window."
"I'm sure he would. I won't trouble anyone." Mettaton slowly stepped toward the bed, and Papyrus' left hand, mostly untethered by wires and tubes, rose a few centimeters to reach for his partner's hand. Mettaton took that hand in both his own and leaned in to press a kiss to Papyrus' forehead. "Hi, angel," Mettaton murmured.
"You can take his mask off," the nurse interjected, and Mettaton carefully pulled the oxygen mask down from Papyrus' face.
"M-… Met-…" Papyrus rasped, his lips and throat too dry to speak properly, and the nurse brought up a little cup of water with a straw, handing it over to Mettaton to let him care for the injured, younger man. They both needed that moment to be okay. As Papyrus managed to drink and finally licked his lips, he tilted his head over slowly and Mettaton reached up to caress his cheek. "Mettaton… mm… nightmare…"
"About what, darling…?"
"Couldn't… wake up… I'm… awake now…?"
"You are, I promise you are. It's all real."
"Good…" Papyrus closed his eyes then. "You're here… 's nice…"
"I am here, and I'm going to be here the whole time, my love, until you're causing havoc again with your brother."
"… Kit…ten?"
"I'm sorry, darling, but I haven't heard back yet. But your father and G both went to get her. I'm sure she's safe and asleep in G's arms right now."
"Yeah… Sans'll get her… Dad'll… keep them… sa-… s-…" Papyrus drifted off back to sleep before he could finish the thought, and Mettaton couldn't help a bitter little chuckle. It would've been so cute and endearing if not for the awful situation. From that moment on, Mettaton spent most of his time around the ICU, keeping out of the way, but always near if Papyrus woke and needed him. It was something of a help to the nurses too, as Papyrus would react far more to Mettaton than anything else, and his vital signs got a little stronger when he knew Mettaton was there. Eventually a kind nurse brought a chair for Mettaton, and that was where he fell asleep in the corner, where Papyrus could see him if he woke again.