Waiting for a Visit
"We are over here," Richard flagged the doctor over to where the Larkin family was seated.
As she moved to join them, she was slightly surprised when the rest of the people in the area moved to follow her. "Are you family of Agent Larkin as well?"
Stepping forward as the spokesperson, Jonathon had the most leverage. "I'm his lawyer and friend, while these are his friends and fellow agents. We are concerned about his well being and would like to know what his condition is."
Glancing at the family, the doctor got a nod of confirmation, so she allowed all of them to group around for the prognosis. "Agent Larkin received three bullets to his body armor at close range. Although they didn't cause any particular damage, the impact did cause his body to swell, which in turn caused him to suffocate to death. My concern is the lack of oxygen combined with the head trauma that seems to still be affecting him. We have done brain scans, and there doesn't appear to be any particular damage, but he has still slipped into a coma."
Zoning out the following statements, Peter only heard Chuck question the doctor and her responses as background noise. Their conversation drifted into medical terms and details he didn't understand. His focus was stuck on the last words he had heard.
Bryce was in a coma, and there was a chance he would never wake up.
Hanging his head, Peter found himself silently praying for his fallen friend. The tears pooled in the corners of his eyes and his heart ached in misery for the potential loss he was facing. Only Elizabeth jarring him back into motion and guiding him towards the waiting room was able to distract him from the pain.
Walking up, Peter found another distraction as a small red-headed woman joined their group. Curious as to her identity, he observed her for the walk up.
Based on his observations, he assumed she was the boss behind the operation. She talked to Chuck and Sarah with an air of official command. Then once she had her information, she disappeared with her phone to her ear.
Unable to muster anything more than basic curiosity, Peter didn't pay much attention to her departure. Instead, he focused on the entrance into the private waiting room. It was where they would wait for their turns to see Bryce while enjoying the privacy to release emotions.
Dividing out into their separate groups again, Peter wondered why the Larkins weren't interested in their comradery or shared comfort.
Jonathon reminded them of the Larkin pride. "I come from a financial background making me somewhat acceptable, while the rest of you have neither wealth nor social rank to commend you. Although Clara and Mrs. Wymond would be more inclined to talk, they are occupied with distracting the others," with a shrug he indicated it was simply their perspective and not his personal opinion.
Working to adjust to the Larkin family, the group asked various questions and Jonathon did his best to explain without giving offense.
They talked through the family pride, Felix's penchant for seeking attention in unhealthy ways, and how Bryce's death was missed. Although they didn't like the answers, the group continued to seek understanding.
Sitting with Elizabeth curled into his side; Peter knew she was thinking the same thing as him. How could Richard and Wyatt ignore their own relations to such an extent?
Reflecting on what he had learned, Peter wondered why Bryce hadn't helped the situation. After going away to college, the kid had slowly reduced his contact with the family until he eventually dropped all ties after graduation. It made sense once he was recruited, but why not retain something of family ties before that? Did he give up on his family? Would he give up on them too? They had been pushing him away for months and hadn't trusted him or given him the benefit of a doubt when he told the truth. Wincing, Peter remembered Bryce's comment by the pool of his family home. Their friendship was unforgiving.
Opening his eyes desperately, Peter needed something of hope for the future. He had broken their friendship, so he would have to take the first steps toward fixing it. "What do you think will happen once he recovers? Is he going back into the Black Ops field?" Maybe if Bryce had some remnant of work to finish, then they could talk things through.
"It will depend on our boss. She is on her phone making arrangements, so we'll see what she determines. I can tell you, Bryce will be finding ways to visit, even if he is sent back into the active field. From what he said about you in the brief times we did get to talk, he thinks very highly of all of you," Chuck answered vaguely, but hopefully.
Sighing, Peter felt some of his tension leave. If Bryce was still talking highly of them in prison and willing to visit, then there was hope their friendship would be recovered.
Sara was interested in knowing more about their boss in the hopes of learning what her opinion might be.
"She 'is Director-General Diane Beckman, the little redhead who joined us coming up here," the other Sarah answered.
"And she is standing right behind us," Chuck added helpfully causing the group to turn and see the woman in question standing at his back where he could probably feel her breath through his hair.
Her focus was trained on Peter. "Agent Burke, a word," She calmly ordered before turning away expecting him to follow.
Letting her lead to a side room, Peter was curious about what she would have to say. "General," he acknowledged as they reached their private conference.
"I wish to speak to you about Bryce and the many charges stacked against him," she got right to the point.
Hanging his head, Peter felt ashamed he had missed everything pertaining to Bryce's cover role as Neal.
Smirking slightly in an effort to ease his nerves, the general took a moment to let her compassion show. "Don't sell yourself short, Agent Burke," she started with a comment far from what he expected.
Looking up at her in surprise, Peter wondered where the encouragement came from, "What?" He couldn't help but list the many ways he had messed up on the assignment. "I failed to see any of this coming, despite him warning me he was in danger from some unknown threat. I failed to find the actual perpetrators because I was so sure he was guilty. He told me he was being framed, but I skewed the evidence with my perspective instead of following my instinct. Worst of all, I failed to do anything but watch him die three feet from me… I saw the effort he was putting into trying to breathe, I saw him turning blue around the lips, and I saw the moment when death won! I am not selling myself short, because I really did mess up big time on this!" His frustrations bubbled to the surface and had to be vented.
Continuing to share her rare soft side, the general smiled at him. "He has been dancing around the most brilliant minds of government all along. Before me, he reported to Director Graham, who never knew he was working on the project he is now in charge of while being mentored by its elusive creator. For me, well let's just say he keeps me on my toes as much as he does everyone else." Picking up her stern persona again, she continued. "You have one of the best agents I have ever seen under your command, and he doesn't have his rank or command for nothing. His cover was of extreme importance for several agencies so we kept you out of the loop for his safety. Based on how quickly you have figured everything out, he isn't wrong about you. Now, I must admit, I have had my doubts about you, but Bryce never did, and I have learned to trust his instincts."
Although he wasn't exactly feeling better, Peter did appreciate the general's words of encouragement. Perhaps someday he could be amused by Bryce's tendency to dance around his opponents, even if they were technically friends, but the kid would have to live before it would even be possible.
Redirecting the conversation back to her original intent, Beckman had more information she needed to address with him, "There is also the matter of clearing his name again."
Perking up, Peter was glad to hear there was hope. "How? The evidence is all stacked against him, circumstantial as it may be."
Showing the trick up her sleeve, the general shared the beginnings of how. "Don't forget, Bryce has been investigating the cases too. Although he doesn't have full proof of all of the perpetrators, he does have more than enough to clear his own name. My agencies will be bringing this data to your team later this afternoon. I hope you won't disappoint by not solving them all adequately." She left off the conversation with a challenge. It gave Peter something to work towards as a distraction until Bryce recovered.
Ending their conversation, the two walked back to the waiting room where the others had been quietly conversing amongst themselves.
Taking his seat next to Elizabeth, Peter observed while Chuck and Sarah were next pulled aside for a private conversation. Cuddling his wife into his side, Peter had hope to hang on too, but he was still very worried for his friend.
"What did she have to say?" Elizabeth asked quietly.
Kissing her head, Peter was still feeling a moment of hopeful reprieve. "That Bryce is always devious and keeping everyone on their toes, including her. Then she told me the evidence to clear Bryce's name is being brought into the office this afternoon and laid the challenge for us to solve all of the cases. Also, she doesn't have faith in me, but Bryce always has, and she has learned to trust his instincts."
Smiling slightly, Elizabeth was also feeling hopeful. "Then you'll have to head into the office after you see him. It would be nice to have the cases wrapped up and his name cleared before he is up and about again."
Before Peter could respond, the nurse came their way and directed them towards Bryce's room. With instructions not to crowd him, they were each given a short visit before being encouraged to go home.
After the Larkin family had seen Bryce, they each went home and didn't hang around any longer than necessary. On their way out, most of them requested to be kept up to date on Bryce's condition while handing their cards to Jonathon. Clara and Mrs. Wymond promised they would continue to visit when they could.
Taking the next turn at visiting Bryce, Peter hugged Elizabeth and held her close for a moment. He needed strength before he went to see his best friend. Although Bryce was alive, there wasn't a guarantee he would stay that way, and after all of the trauma he had been through recently, it probably wasn't going to look good seeing him lying in the hospital bed. Breathing deeply, he let go and walked off down the hall.
Reaching Bryce's room, Peter paused just outside the door as a last-ditch attempt to steady his nerves for the sight waiting for him.
Opening the door and walking in, he was confronted with the expected sight. The room had several machines arranged around Bryce's bed with the ventilator breathing for him, others measuring his statistics, while others connected to lines running fluids in or out of his body. Saving the man for last, Peter let his eyes trace closer to his friend as he took in his surroundings and moved closer. Once he did finally pause to observe Bryce himself, Peter felt like he couldn't move for a moment as his heart and mind focused on his condition.
If he didn't know better, Peter would have thought Bryce was simply sleeping because his body was so still, but there was something restful missing. He was too still, to a point of being unnatural for such an active person. Then there were the colorful bruises visible across much of his head, chest, and even some faded ones along his arms from the previous attempts on his life. The hospital gown and openings for wires made more of his skin visible which was why Peter hadn't noticed all of the colors before.
Feeling drawn to his friend's side, Peter needed reassurance that the machines weren't creating an illusion, that Bryce was indeed still alive. Taking the young man's hand in one of his own, he was relieved to feel its warmth, which was a good sign.
For a few moments, Peter simply stood there with Bryce's hand in his while he thought through several memories of their friendship and events from their partnership in the field. Why had he missed so much? He knew Neal had been a mystery, but he didn't expect him to be hiding all of this.
As his time drew to a close, Peter lifted his other hand to ruffle Bryce's hair lightly. He had to be careful of the ventilator, but he still felt the need to offer as much comfort to his prostrate friend as he could.
With his time up, Peter shifted his fingers through Bryce's hair one last time as he let his hand down. "I'm going to do my best to clear your name and solve these cases, but I need you to wake up. Wake up, Bryce." Having said his piece, Peter pulled his hand back carefully before walking out.
Returning to the waiting room, Peter's depression had obviously returned, so the others knew it wasn't going to be a pretty sight.
Meeting him on his feet, Chuck stood up to shake Peter's hand. "Our orders are to keep him safe. No one is going to hurt him any further under our watch," he promised.
"I hope you have better luck at that than I did," Peter couldn't help but remark. "Keep me up to date on his condition?"
Nodding in promise, Chuck took Sarah and they left to take their turn before standing guard.
"Go get them, honey. I'll be waiting when you finish," Elizabeth promised with a kiss.
"Thanks, hon. I love you," Peter kissed her back.
"Love you too," Elizabeth responded as she sent him off.
Bidding goodbye to the others, Peter was soon headed to the office.
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