"Do you think he's awake?"
"If he isn't, don't wake him up. That doctor said he needs all the sleep he can get if he wants to go home any time soon."
Lloyd held back his tired groan as he was pulled from sleep, hearing the hushed voices of his friends inside his hospital room. They had gone home the night before despite the desperate attempts to stay, and he guessed that it must be the next day considering that the room was still dark despite the hushed voices.
"Lloyd? Buddy, are you awake?"
"Don't wake him up!"
"Let's keep the shouting to a minimum."
He really couldn't stand the smell of the antiseptic creeping into his nose or the pull of the IV that was attached to his left hand. But as much as he wanted to just go back to sleep, he knew that it wasn't happening with all of the voices in his room.
He faked a yawn and rubbed at his eyes before opening them and was greeted by the five faces of concern staring back at him, "hey, guys. Everything okay?"
For the first time in the last fifteen minutes, all of them were quiet, seemingly not knowing what exactly to say or how to say it. 'After all, what do you expect them to say? How are you feeling even though you're in the hospital and had someone else in and out of control of your body for weeks on end?'
"Yeah. We just wanted to be here with you," Nya smiled before sitting next to his feet, "Jay brought the Starfarer board game if you're up to it. Most of us don't know how to play, but we're willing to learn."
As much as Lloyd loved the strategy game that was like Candy Land and Dungeons and Dragons rolled into one, rounds could last for hours and his brain was so sluggish that he could barely pay attention to the glorified soap he had been watching on the TV in his room.
"Maybe later, I'm still pretty tired," as soon as he spoke, he could see the excited smiles turn to sympathy, "but you guys can stay!"
"Get some sleep, Lloyd," Cole insisted as he dimmed the lights again, diminishing the strain in his eyes, "we'll be here when you wake up. Promise."
"Thanks, guys." Lloyd yawned again, feeling someone pull the blanket over his shoulders as soon as he laid his head back against the pillows.