Disclaimer and such in Chapter 1

Chapter 24

L couldn't speak. He could still barely breath. He shifted slightly and gave another groan. Nothing made sense to the tired eyed raven. Everything was trapped in a hazy blur. The wild raven did not know how much time had passed, only that he'd spent every second, every minute and every hour helping his friend become slowly more coherent. Every new sign of improvement from his friend sent good feelings to his heart, encouraging him to work harder in accomplishing his task of warming the older raven.

"B... B-Beyond..." he managed after some time, feeling incredibly confused as to where he was and why he was there. All he knew is that he was tired, cold, and every part of his body hurt. Reluctantly, B swallowed the sweet jam so he could reply to his friend.
"Lawli... you're alive... You're safe. We're in the hideout." He decided to use many simple sentences for now, knowing that the confusion would not allow for him to properly process the normal sentence structures that they were used to.

L looked up at the younger male completely dazed, giving another soft cry.
"H-h-hurts... c-cold a-and... and h-hurts B-Beyond..."
"I know you're in pain. You were in the cold. Do you remember why?" Carefully, but knowing it would hurt his friend, he pulled his legs up and worked on those, rubbing the thighs, knees and shins at a determined pace.

There was a loud cry and tears came to the fearful raven's eyes.
"N-n...no Nnn!"
"I'm sorry Lawli, I know it hurts. I am trying to help you get better." He does not let up his efforts, continuing to rub the legs, trying to get them warm again.
"Let it out. Don't hold back."

The tears kept coming and the dark eyed raven in waves of soft whimpers and cries. He still wasn't sure what was going on and it was clear to Beyond that he wasn't going to be very lucid for a long time.
"W-want t-t-to g-go h-home... p-please... h-home..."
"You can't leave here Lawli. Your clothes are frozen solid. You are not wearing clothes. The only thing covering you right now are these quilts and myself right now." A thought occurred to him just then that he slapped himself mentally for not thinking of sooner, but he would have to wait until his friend was coherent. He would let the older raven take his extra clothes and wear those when he was coherent and in less pain. For now, he did not stop, would not stop.

"So... so... s-sore... sore..." he whimpers.
"I w-wanna g-go go... go ho-home..."
"I'm sorry Lawli... We can't go home." He sighs sadly and begins work on the other leg. L whined once more, unable to understand why he couldn't go home in his nice warm bed. There was a moment where his consciousness even seemed to slip away once more, his eyes becoming dull and his breathing hitching. There was only so much that could be done for him in their protective hole.

Knowing that the odds were against him and his friend, it hurt B. He didn't give up though. He determined that perhaps his friend may benefit from some nourishment and he grabbed his jam jar and took a small mouthful, chewing the more solid bits. He took 2 fingers and dug out a little of the now warm jam and brought them to his friend's lips, gently coaxing him to take was being made available.

L slowly parted his lips though didn't have the presence of mind to close it again nor could he swallow, his mind being just too far in its haze to perform even those simple tasks. B rubbed the jam on his tongue and took his fingers out. It would not be enough to choke the older, but to allow him to know what was in his mouth when he was coherent enough. He swallowed the rest and closed his friend's mouth. Carefully, he got into a seated position and then pulled the blankets fully off the older. He acted quickly and rolled out the blankets and positioned the older into a top corner. He would begin to wrap the detective up like an infant in two layers and keeping a third to cover them both. He was soon seated with the older raven wrapped up as snugly as he could manage and cradled in his arms.

Eventually L managed to swallow the warm jam, his eyes closed slowly and with a few whimpers before seemingly falling asleep. B was super tired, but he didn't give up on his friend, rubbing the blankets and whispering encouragement and sentiments of love. Again, he did not know how much time had passed by, but he was certain that by now, their absence would have been detected and help would be sent out for them.

L's condition slowly started to deteriorate again, unable to get enough of what he needed to survive in the small space. Beyond was doing everything right, but it was starting to become hopeless when suddenly there was a scratching at the wooden door that was pulled open by none other then the younger ravens 'angel' and their adopted dog.
"B! You're alright! I was so... What's happened! Why is he like that?"

Tired scarlet eyes focused on A, but he only saw an angel.
"A... Lawli... He followed me. He must have got lost and he fell. I've been trying to revive him. He's going under again..." he frowned and sniffled.
"We have to... get him back home..."

A quickly checked the boys vital signs discovering that they were weak and fleeting.
"Alright..." She mumbled, composing the safest plan for the older of her brothers as quickly as possible.
"This is what we do. Wrap him up in blankets, keep his head and feat covered... we need to insulate him as much as possible then we can tie the blankets off on Bear and we can all drag him to safety without uncovering him. We just need a waterproof blanket for the bottom..."
"We need a tarp or something close. I'll take care of Lawli and the last blanket. Go get a tarp and come back. Please hurry!"

"Alright, there's one in the grounds keepers shed... and rope!" with that she dashed off leaving the huge dog to look into the hole and whine softly. The younger raven began the task of wrapping his friend in the final layer, making sure it was snug before holding him back in his lap and cradled. He kisses the older's lips and cheeks softly, closing his eyes and feeling a tear escape.
*Thank you... Thank you...*

The whining dog got out of the way when A returned, making a rough, make shift harness for the dog and setting up a quickly made dog sled.
"Alright Bear, you remember how we helped you? Now its your turn to help us!" She knew that he could move him along faster then them both put together. The scruffy black creature being as well built as any sled dog.
"Ready... we can tie him in with the ropes then guide Bear back. He won't have any problems pulling L and some blankets!"

B sniffled softly and nodded, cradling L's head and pulling him out head first from the hole and positioning him carefully on top of the makeshift sled and lashing him onto it.
"Alright Bear, let's get home quickly and carefully. I'll take up the rear to keep Lawli's head stabilized."
"I'm going to go a bit ahead to get someone as soon as possible." A mumbled, "I won't ever be out of ear shot, take it steady..." With that, she checked the harness once more and quickly started on the smoothest path back, clearing big obstacles as she went.

B did a double check on his friend and then walked to the front of Bear and with a tug on the harness, began to lead the dog along the path that A made for them. He looked behind him often, making sure that the small vibrations would not be hurting the young detective.

Their pace was much faster then it would have been without the dog who had no trouble pulling their wounded brother along until they were at the fence. A quickly crawled under and dashing across the field to look for help. The snow was still falling lightly and the dog gave soft whines, squirming under the fence. The younger raven helped Bear along, pulling the harness carefully so as to not collide with anything else. Once back onto the other side safely, B pulled Bear along and continued to check on his friend.
"I'm sorry Lawli... I really am... I didn't mean to wreck things for us like this..."

They managed to get all the way to the door before Watari came running out to his adopted sons, looking just as worried as when Beyond had one of his usual attacks. B frowned when he saw that Roger was right behind him.
"My boys! Where were you?"
"L-Lawli tried to f-follow me... H-he got l-lost and I f-found him. He's re-really ill." Roger frowned, but not in sympathy.
"Do you know that you were not supposed to be out after hours? We were looking for you since after 1:00 AM this morning."
"That's not important right now!" A interrupts.
"L is, in complete honesty, dying. They where pinned down and couldn't move until morning."
The younger raven was already untying the detective from the sled and managed to carry him in his arms.
"Out of my way... I want to get him into the hospital."

A helped the boy move there sickly friend, trying to get him in and out of the cold as quickly as possible. Watari followed behind, but keeping Roger out of this business. B walked as quickly as he could manage, a plethora of emotions and thoughts flooding his mind. He remembered the way and used his back to let himself through the large doors. The nurses who brought B back from the dead were shocked to see the older raven and made to pry him from B, but were met with a growl.
"Leave him alone... I'll take him there myself..."

Soon the pair managed to get the boy on the hospitable bed and quickly worked to unwrap him. They needed to get to his body and start checking his vital signs. They didn't get far when A notices that his breathing has become painfully slow and weak.
"Don't leave me yet, Lawli..." B whimpered again and worked faster until he was exposed on the bed, still devoid of all clothing.
"You gotta do something! Please!"
"Watari!" A ordered and looked back at the older male.
"He needs oxygen!"

The attending doctor and assistant were inside and working quickly, preparing the detective for resuscitation. B took his friend's hand and gave it a squeeze before backing off and letting them work. Tears freed themselves and before long B was crying again, leaning against the wall and collapsed on the floor, hugging himself and rocking back and forth.

Soon they had his body wrapped and were giving him warm fluids to attempt to bring him back. They were doing their best though the monitors clearly showed his condition was weakening. Soon they were forced to incubate the dark eyed raven, leaving A to squeeze the bag that pushed air into his lungs. She looked back at B who was getting more and more distressed and gave a sad little sigh.
"B, come here..."

B stood up and took a couple steps forwards before collapsing on the ground. His emotional stress was too much for him and triggered an attack. A left her post for a moment, helping the boy to his feet and over to L as quickly as possible.
"Take your medicine B, then I want you to squeeze this bag alright?" She continued her task of helping her big brother breath, knowing that if Beyond could do it then it would relieve some of his pain.

The younger raven nodded and dug into his pants, removing his puffer, shaking it and taking the medicine. He stood up again though the hurt never left his face. He took the bag and began to squeeze it at intervals. While doing this, he continued to sniffle and whimper.
"Keep him going B," she mumbled and rushed to get more heat packs to put in his groin and under his arms while the thermo blankets where being taken care of by the nurse and medic.
"I'm so sorry... I'll keep you safe if you live. If you don't..." He let that hang, not wanting the doctor to hear the rest.
*I'll go with you... I promise...* He leaned down to kiss his friend's forehead and continued his task.

It was many hours before the boy in the bed once again started to improve and eventually was almost breathing normally. The wild raven never left his side, giving the breathing task to the clear mask now on the older raven's face. He never slept this whole time, having an idea of what his friend was like normally. Still he remained diligent. The only thing keeping him going were a few jam jars he'd requested.

It wasn't until the next morning when L showed the first signs of waking. A had fallen asleep long ago but Beyond still saw it. His friends eyes twitched slightly and finally opened half way, looking tired and utterly drained despite sleeping so long. Relieved to see his friend waking up, B stood up and gently took the young detective's hand into his own and brought it to his mouth to kiss it just as softly.
"Hey..." he murmured tiredly, smiling softly.

L looked around, slightly confused about where he was and what happened. He couldn't remember much of anything about the night before after he left to find his friend.
"Lawli... You're in the hospital right now. A and I took you back from the hideout. You followed me there last night." He gently squeezed the older raven's hand and didn't let go.
"Hospital?" His voice was horse and tired but sounded much better then it had the night before. Suddenly a few weak coughs racked his body, ripping through his chest painfully.
"Take it easy now. You need your rest. I'm not going to leave your side. I'll explain it later when you are feeling better. Just sleep for now Lawli."

L looked up at his friend for a moment and then slowly looked around. A was asleep in the corner and Watari was also dozed of in a chair next to his bed.
"What's wrong... with me?"
"You... I found you face first in the snow and cold not far from the hideout. You have some frostbite on your fingers, feet and shoulders."
"It... hurts..." L's breath was still weak and strained, the mask fogging with each little puff.

The attending doctor was monitoring his health nearby, noting some fluctuations.
"You should have left me alone Lawli... I didn't want to find you like that... You scared me..."
"I... was... worried you were... out there... in the... the snow... I... I couldn't j-just leave you..." he rasped out, giving another painful cough.
"I thought you died... and realized that you were literally dying on me. I didn't want to lose you so soon. I thought about those nightmares I've had about you and I was convinced this was really your time..." Tears freed themselves and he sniffled and frowned.

"I... I did?" To the dark eyed raven, any risk was worth taking in order to protect his friend.
"Your clothes were wet and freezing to your skin. It was a good thing that I knew what to do in that case. I had to strip you and wrap you in quilts. I was trying to generate friction and heat. It was so hard because I was feeling upset and guilty. I didn't know if you were ever going to make it... I kept trying. I didn't give up. I would never quit because I love you too much Lawli... I love you too much for you to be taken from me..."

"I love... you too, Beyond..." L whispered and started coughing again, though the attack lasted a lot longer this time and his body was left shaking.
"Please... try to sleep. You need to rest so you can get better and so we can do something special..." He sniffled again and frowned deeper.
"I'm so sorry for leaving you behind... I should have taken you with me..."

The older male gave a soft smile and his eyes drifted shut again, slipping into the comforting darkness of a dreamless sleep. B stayed by his side, holding his hand and remaining unmoving, unblinking and patient. He ignored everyone else around him, not paying attention to A or Watari when they woke up, not listening to them or looking to acknowledge them. The young detective was all that mattered to him, no more, no less.

There was one conversation that did catch Beyond's attention however. A was talking to the medic and Watari, trying to explain her ideas in full. He only tuned in when he heard something he considered important about the older raven's condition.
"He will recover faster in a more familiar environment. If you move him back to his room with Beyond and the oxygen I am sure he will be more comfortable. Not to mention that if B takes my new medicine at the same time they will both be doing well at the end of a two week period."

"It could work, but I would prefer him to be in a sterile environment. This is no different than when Beyond was recovering in from his surgery." B looked back and spoke up.
"Let him recover in our room... please. I don't want him to go through what I went through. He deserves to be in his own bed... he told me himself when I found him..."
"Stress plays a huge role in recovery." A states, trying to convince Watari more then the doctor, "And as B just said, he wants to be in his own bed. who wouldn't? If you send the cleaner in there to do a quick vacuum and dust then there will be no difference at all! You can send the doctor in three times a day and I will even stay with them if you think it's best. I know what I am doing Watari."

The elder male brings a knuckle to his lip in thought.
"Give me the rest of today to think it through. I will let you know early tomorrow. This is my final decision." B frowned at him before turning his attention back to the older raven.
"I am not going to leave his side until then. I'll keep him company until you've made that decision..."
"May I also point out that it's warmer in their room. There's a radiator near the end of the bed and it's small, if you turn it on now it will be nice and warm for them... this room however is quite cold... There's a heater in here, but the room is so open its just not heating up..."

"I will let you know first thing. Until then, I will send cleaners to sterilize the room either way." B ignored them again and kept his focus on his friend; he was over tired and felt like he would collapse into sleep soon, but fought his body's instinct in favor to wait by his side.

L coughs loudly and catches everyone's attention, his eyes finally opening again with a soft groan.
"Lawli..." He took the hand he was clasping and nuzzled it.
"Try to sleep... You're not well yet..." he whispered.
"I can't..." he rasps back, looking up at his friend with sad and fearful eyes.
"H-hurts... really badly..."
"Where does it hurt Lawli?" His eyes grew concerned and he looked to the attending doctor with imploring eyes.
"My h-hands and my shoulder... my... my feet..."

A frowned and padded over close, unwrapping him carefully which caused him to shiver and shake.
"It's the frost bite... and your joints are stiff from the cold..."
"You see Watari? Let us go into our room and warm up in there. He's cold enough as it is. If you don't I'll take him from here and carry him to our room myself, with or without your interference..."
"You should do that on a stretcher, his joints will be very stiff and painful," she mumbles, "but yes, the warmth will take some of the pain..."

"By any means necessary, I'll get him back. I don't want to see him suffer in this cool room..." He rubbed his friend's hand in his grip gently and determined. He offered a breath of warm air when he could. A looked back at Watari for a long moment before sighing.
"I'll go turn on the heater in your room so it starts warming up alright?"

B nods, but not removing his gaze or stopping in his attentions.
"I'll protect you from now on Lawli... I'll keep you safe. You're my Lawli, my Lawli and no one else's... I won't let anyone or anything hurt you... I promise you this."
A nodded and disappeared to preheat the raven's room for them while Watari sighed in defeat.
"I don't suppose you will back down from this?"
"No... Lawli should be with me recovering. With A's medicine, I will not be as mobile either. I figure as long as we are both getting better, we might as well do so where we are most comfortable."

"Then I will send a cleaner in immediately..." with that the elderly man left to make his calls and left the two alone with the medic once more.
"Beyond..." L choked out, "hurts to... breath too..."
"You have a chest infection, possibly mild pneumonia."
"A has something for that... I have my tea mix that may help, but I can't be certain, nor will I take that risk... Just stay calm Lawli. Remember how we meditated? Do that with me and calm down."

The older male nodded slowly, trying to clear his mind as much as he could despite the difficulties. It was much harder than usual but soon his body became still, relaxed and calm. The wild raven follows suit and maintains contact, hoping to try communicate with him in a world of their creation in their minds.

L's meditative state was broken suddenly by a wave of pain that caused him to cry out softly. It felt like a spike driven through his fragile lungs and he coughed loudly. Fortunately however, Watari walked in just then, having had the cleaner apparently already finished her work, which told them both that the calm had lasted longer then it had seemed.

"The room is available to you both now. A is inside with your medicine B. She volunteered herself to watch over you both for the duration of your recovery." B manages a smile then.
"Thank you Watari... Can you help me move Lawli there then?"
The elder nodded and moved to a stretcher, the medic and nurse helping to move the stiff boy who cried out as his stiff joints where forced to move.
"I am sorry L, it will get better."

"It's going to be alright. We're in good hands now." He never left the young detective's side as he was wheeled and still when he was transferred from the stretcher to his own bed when they'd got back. The room was much warmer much to the detective's relief. The blankets to where softer and warmer and he wanted to snuggle in and sleep again. B looked to Watari and the doctors and nodded in thanks. He looked to A with a smile.
"Thanks for sticking around A. It means a lot for this."

"Any time B," the girl chirped back.
"Now I have your medication here too and well I would suggest you curl up with L. I mean I know he is naked so don't feel all weird or anything, but your body heat is perfect to keep him at the right temperature."
"It's not like I've been around him in the nude enough times. I've had to strip him to get him warm again A, remember that." Inwardly, he'd never tell her of the events before the older raven was ill that involved full or partial nudity. If she found out, she might be disgusted with them and may never talk to them again. With a small sigh, he strips himself and changes into his night clothes before carefully crawling in next to his friend and cuddling him close, sharing his body heat.

L gave a few small whines but soon became very relaxed and comfortable except for the pain in his heavy, raspy chest.
"A... Lawli might have a bit of pneumonia. Is there anything that you can do for him regarding that?" He murmured this while nuzzling a cool shoulder.
"A mild version of my original medication could be added to the IV antibiotics he is already getting..." she mumbled, "but it's not one of those things you can just up and expect to be gone tomorrow... It will take time..."

"Right now... we have all the time in the world... though that being said... it's very precious to both of us, mostly him..." He used a hand and began to gently rub the shoulder, encouraging heat to start accumulating there.
"I'll go get him something. While I'm gone you can take your first shot and just try to remember your first aid training if anything goes wrong, which I am sure it won't but you know..." A slowly padded out of the room.
"I'll be a while, I'm going to go get changed and feed Bear as well... Give me... twenty minutes or so..."

"Fine by me. I know what to do in case of emergencies." B edged out of bed and went to the vials of the medicine A left him and pulled free a needle and filled the tube with the written amount of medicine A had listed before putting the needle just under his ribcage, taking a breath and injecting the needle into his skin. He hissed at first, but got the medicine inside him before pulling out the needle, putting on a bandage and walking back to edge himself back into the bed with the older raven. Back inside, he continued his warming efforts, keeping his movements gentle, at the same time, keeping an ear on his friend's breathing for any problems.

L's body slowly loosened up a little more from the warmth and he gave a small yawn, drifting off to sleep again completely. He still couldn't remember what had happened to him, but for now that was probably for the best. The younger raven kept up his efforts on the side he was on, being more careful around the joints, being even more delicate than usual. He leaned in and placed a few tender kisses to the neck area before continuing his efforts.

A returned after a while and set aside everything she brought with her, working quickly to hook L up to the IV and get everything operating properly.
"Listen closely for a moment okay B? I'll tell you what the biggest risks are at this point..."
The younger raven turned his head to look at his younger sister.
"I'm all ears A. Tell me what I need to know."

"We have to keep an eye out for not only the problems caused by both conditions. First we need to watch to make sure he does not go into respiratory distress, or worse failure, if he does we will have to act fast to revive him or get him on a ventilator..." she mumbles, checking the older males pulse.
"Even more serious, if he receives a sudden jolt his heart may suddenly go into shock followed by complete cardiac arrest..."

B listened carefully, absorbing the information and letting that dictate his behavior, actions and reactions around him. He nodded and filed all the information away.
"He can't let his breathing become too erratic or he cannot become shocked too suddenly that his heart will fail him. I understand. I am not going to let either of those thing happen to him while he's with me. If you need a place to sleep, you can use my bed tonight if you want. I'm not going to be moving from here anytime soon. I've taken the medicine about 20 minutes ago, so I'm good for another 4 hours."

A smiled and crawled onto the other bed to lay down, feeling a little tired herself from barely sleeping.
"One last thing, if his breathing slows you can offer slow mouth to mouth at the rate of his breathing to help warm his insides and he should pick up again... He is just delicate, that's all..."
"I know he is... That's why I wish I wasn't in such a bad mood yesterday... It's my fault he came searching for me and is still recovering from it... It's my fault for leaving him behind like that... I wish I didn't... It hurts A... My heart hurts for him..."

A frowns and rolls over to face away from them both.
"I didn't mean to make you upset. I'm sorry..."
"Don't be sorry A... you did nothing wrong... I was in a bad mood and I needed to cool off. I've never been apart from Lawli for very long. I have always been close to him. He's the one person here that has my complete trust and I'd die for him. I didn't mean for things to go so badly... Can you forgive me for being a jerk yesterday?"

"I was never mad..." A mumbled and closed her eyes.
"You should sleep, I've set an alarm to go off each time you need your medicine..."
"Alright... Thank you A..." He was overtired, and welcomed sleep, whatever may come of it in the encroaching darkness. He nuzzled his friend's neck and gave it a soft kiss before finally getting the much needed sleep his body had been craving.