Shiro woke up early; stretching his limbs and going about his usual schedule. He made it from his room to the kitchen, looking out at Keith in the living room. He was sprawled out on the couch, stacks of papers on his chest and coffee table. Even sleeping his face looked stressed, worry lines etched into his brows.
Shiro worried about his brother. He knew Keith would have to jump through hoops to get his life and his fathers on track. Not that it was Keith's fault he was in this position. Life has not been kind to him, not in a while at least.
Shiro started the coffee maker and walked around the breakfast nook to the couch Keith was sleeping on. He stacked the papers, sat them neatly on the table, and grabbed the blanket at the end of the couch, pulling it up over Keith's sleeping form.
Keith sighed, mumbled something under his breath, and rolled over, sneaking down into the warmth of the blanket.
Shiro walked back to the kitchen, put the freshly brewed coffee into a thermos, and made his way to the door.
Heath's doctor continued rummaging around the office, jotting down notes and adding comments to him. The day started early, working through lunch. Now he sat, waiting for the results from the tests, praying he was free to go home.
The doctor sat down in his chair, typing some information into the computer in front of him, before turning back to him, "Your reflexes are very good, Mr. Kogane. So far, you are the first to gain full mobility so soon after reviving. It truly is remarkable."
The chair swiveled, bringing the old face of his doctor to view. The doctor smiled. "Aside from your mental screening, which has not returned yet, you seem to be in perfect condition from the last check-up you had from before.
"From what I gathered from your stay, and from the tests performed it looks like you should be good to go. After your psychoanalysis is done, your family is free to come to get you. If you start to feel unwell, or how some have explained, like you are floating in your body, please do not hesitate to come back.
"Unfortunately, because of your time away, there have been some muscle and bone marrow deterioration that was not brought back, so you may experience pain in your joints after long periods, along with phantom feelings of being burned. Of course, we will be sending you home with medication if and when these events happen." Heath took a moment to let the new information sink in.
He was not worried about the physical tests; Heath took them all the time before. For work and just to make sure he was in good health. His worry was in his mental well-being.
Heath was aware he would not be the same as before; that much was obvious in the nightmares and his new behavior. He was quiet, much more than before. Smells and some words would make his skin crawl in a way that was hard to describe.
Heath stood up, making his way to the door. He was free to move around the hospital as he wished, so Heath made his way to the entrance of the children's play area. Seeing the children run around and nurses and parents smiling with shiny eyes helped Heath not miss his son.
Heath sat at one of the couches, relaxing to the sound of a child giggling. He could remember bringing Keith to the park, watching him run around and play with other kids. He was shy, always hesitant to actually ask to play, voice quiet and nervous eyes.
Sometimes, when there were no children to play with, Heath would sneak behind his child and toss him into the air, acting like a monster going to eat his son. Keith would shriek and laugh his little heart out.
Heath was pulled from his thoughts by a tap on the shoulder. A little boy stood, staring up at him with excitement. One eye was a brilliant blue, yet the other had a bandage on it, hiding it from view. He had cuts and scrapes on his face yet stood with pure happiness.
"Excuse me, mister. But would you like to play with us?" A small group of girls and boys stood behind him had hope painted on their faces. Heath chuckled, standing up. "Ah, I don't see why not. What are we playin?" The kids yelled in happiness, running to the open section in the middle of the room. The first couple of kids kicked a ball back and forth, then the next few would steal and pass it. A soccer game started, kids splitting themselves off.
Heath stood with the boy who asked him to play, ready to play with the little kids. He began, kicking the ball to the opponent's goal, keeping a slow pace to allow the kids to catch up to him.
He passed the ball to a little girl with blond pigtails, who scored against a boy with his arm in a blue cast.
They continued playing, Heath occasionally picking up the kids to cause them to laugh. His team won, but the kids all laughed and ran around after, clearly just happy to play anyway.
Heath looked over to the parents sitting on the sidelines, laughing and showing each other pictures of the game. He felt happy, getting to play with little kids again. He tried to do as much as he could with Keith, but because of his job, he either came home at odd hours or was exhausted when he did come home.
A lady, decked in nurse scrubs, sat down next to Heath, watching the kids play. She sighed, something hidden in her eyes.
"That was a nice thing you did, playing with them. Anyone else would have said no, or wouldn't have had fun while doing it." Heath looks at her, then back at the kids. "Ah, they're kids. They deserve to have fun, even in a hospital. Besides, they remind me of my son."
She nodded, looking down. "You're one of the revival patients, right? How old would he be now?" He answered, attention going to the window on the other side of the room. The nurse must have noticed because she stood up and walked away.
Heath stayed there, sitting, watching the children play and have fun, till his nurse walked in, bouncing on his heels.
"Hi, Mr. Kogane. Guess what, guess what! The secretary just called me down and told me to go get your stuff ready. You're free to go! They were calling your son when I left!" Heath's back straightened and made his way to the door. He was leaving.
I am so sorry that it took me so long to update this. I was busy for the past two weeks, but now I have time to update for next week. Unfortunatly, after that, things may slow down for the starting of school.