Sorry for the delay! Please enjoy as Roger heals and explores his new world.
When Roger opened his eyes the next morning, his heart leapt at the hazy sight of both his mother and father sitting at his bedside smiling at him. He eagerly sat up a bit and reached his arms out to them. After receiving his good morning hugs and kisses, he turned his head to give his greeting to his little neighbor. His smile faded. The boy was laying flat on his back with a bigger piece of breathing equipment covering his nose and mouth. His chest was bared and displayed several electrodes stuck all over it. His eyes were closed. Roger nervously observed for a moment, becoming more concerned when he noticed that his own tray of breakfast had been delivered to his bedside, but his friend's had not.
Aggie gently nudged her husband and motioned with her head over to where Roger's gaze was fixed. "That's the boy he's become acquainted with here." she whispered. "They wait for each other to wake up." Dr. Bell smiled in response, trying to give comfort to Roger when he looked fearfully up at him. Aggie craned her neck slightly to see over to the other side of the far bed. "See the coat?" she whispered so only her husband could hear. The black trenchcoat she'd seen the woman wrap him in the night before had been nestled beside his arm. Dr. Bell nodded. He opened his mouth to say something in regards to the boy's apparent condition, but immediately stopped when he saw someone enter the curtain. It was the woman again. Her face read pure horror; she covered her mouth with her hands. Immediately she rushed to his side and pulled the hospital sheet up over his bared skin to his neck as tears were forming despite a set jaw. A nurse hurried in shortly behind her. "Mrs. Kessler!" she called, reaching for the woman's arm. "Mrs. Kessler, please! He mustn't be disturbed! We're closely monitoring his heart and we need him to remain still!" The small, frail woman looked wildly between the nurse and her child, seemingly in shock and unable to speak. The nurse decided to give her a report instead of making her ask questions. "He had a cardiac event in the night. We don't know why. His heart rate skyrocketed but his blood pressure tanked—we think that it may have been a blood clot, but we want to be sure to observe him just in case. We ran some blood tests and should have the results soon. For now though…" She reached out and touched the woman's shaking shoulder before solemnly leaving the area, closing the curtain behind her.
The woman seemed frozen in time. Her wide eyes stared down at the blankets covering her son, her hands were clasped at her chest. She was the picture of fear, devastation. Dr. Bell put a hand over his wife's briefly to tell her that he would be back. He stood and crossed over the curtain line to speak to her quietly. "Mrs. Kessler, is it?" he asked. The woman's eyes flickered over to him briefly, but returned immediately to her son before she gave a nod. "Nice to meet you. I…I'm a doctor myself. But this is my son, Roger, and I'm here for him. I know…I know hearing all of this…medical talk…can be so frightening. D-Do you…have any questions? That perhaps I could answer? Help with?" The woman didn't move at first, she just remained still with her lips slightly quivering and her eyes blinking away tears. Dr. Bell suddenly remembered that Aggie had told him the nurse mentioned the boy couldn't speak English—for a moment, he briefly worried that everything he'd said had frightened her more if she didn't understand. But she then drew in a deep breath and shook her head slightly. Dr. Bell remained at her side for a moment in case anything came to her mind before giving a polite bow of his head and stepping quietly away. Aggie gave him a grateful and sad smile as he returned to Roger's bedside and took her hand again.
"W-What…is…transfusion?" a small, broken, heavily-accented voice spoke into the air.
Aggie and Dr. Bell looked up suddenly in surprise. The woman, Mrs. Kessler, was staring at them. Dr. Bell cleared his throat a bit. "It's where they take blood from a person, and put it into someone else that's very sick. It can help them get better." She seemed to think about this for a moment, giving a quick nod after it processed. "Is that…what they're talking about for your son?" he went on carefully. She glanced up again briefly and gave another nod, wiping her face on her sleeve. Mrs. Kessler reached down and stroked the boy's cheek to hide more tears from the couple that was now watching her with such sadness in their eyes. "He's beautiful," Aggie spoke up with all the gentleness she could muster. "Your little boy is beautiful." The woman gave a broken, heartbreaking smile before tears burst forth from her eyes. "T-Thank you," she whispered. Aggie glanced over at Roger; he was looking closely at his friend as if hopeful that something would suddenly change and he'd wake to wave at him. "He's very kind too," she went on. "I think the nurse mentioned that he and our son have an interesting relationship. We appreciate that." Mrs. Kessler looked up at Roger's bed and swallowed hard. "Benji s-says…he…has f-friend here." she murmured. A thoughtful smile ghosted across her face at the mention of her son's happiness. Aggie made a mental note of the boy's name so that she could write it down for Roger. "Where are you from?" Dr. Bell asked carefully.
At this, Mrs. Kessler seemed to withdraw. She bit her lip and looked anywhere but at the couple before her. Nearly a minute or two passed before she said anything, warranting a confused exchange of glances between Dr. and Mrs. Bell. "G-Germany," she whispered. "W-We come here…last m-month," Aggie felt her stomach lurch—the star on the coat was quickly becoming more and more significant to the story of this strange pair the more she learned. Dr. Bell gave a pause to allow for any discomfort to settle. Given what he'd seen and heard himself and what he knew from his wife's recount, he began to sense that this woman was under incredible stress. "That's a far way to travel," he stated. "What brought you here?" Mrs. Kessler stroked her son's face and stared at the continuously printing machine that was tracing his heartbeat with every pump. "I-It's…safe here," she whispered. Another pause ensued, this time for an even longer duration.
Dr. Bell glanced at Roger, who was beginning to wiggle under the covers to adjust his position to see Benji better from his place in bed. Aggie gave him a kiss on the forehead beneath the line of the bandage wrapping around it. "Y-You are…you're married?" Mrs. Kessler's voice said. Dr. Bell smiled and took Aggie's hand as he held her with his arm. "Yes, we've been married for several years now." he replied. "Are you…married?"
"Y-Yes. Yes. M-My husband…and I. Benjamin…is our only."
"Oh, Roger's our only child too." Aggie was silently grateful that her husband didn't elaborate. "Is your husband here in England with you two?"
"N-N…no. He…is…"
Suddenly, Mrs. Kessler broke down into silent, streaming tears. Her breathing became rapid, her eyes leaking tears even though they were squeezed closed. Aggie immediately jumped up and went to her side, setting hesitant hands on her shaking shoulders. "H-He…stayed…in Germany with his father a-and our shop." she gasped out. "H-He's coming…when h-he m-makes enough…money to bring our parents. I-It is…just Benji and I. We come h-here…hiding…from them." In that moment, Dr. Bell and Aggie realized that the floodgates had been opened for this poor woman who had obviously been holding everything together for far too long. "I-I-I…can't…I-I c-can't…do it…" she stammered. "I-I am trying…for him…I a-am…working at n-night in factory…to help….I-I…" Aggie wrapped her into a close hug now. Though it hadn't been outwardly said, she knew exactly who they came here to hide from, and who the mother feared was still coming for her husband. "B-Benji…needs…his abba…" she sobbed. "I-I am…not enough f-for him…I c-cannot…be…" Aggie pulled her back to hold her shoulders and meet her eyes. "Don't say that!" she cried out, brushing tears off of the woman's face. "Don't you say that! Look at how strong you are—how far you've made it. You're working endless hours and spending your time off with a sick child. You're doing all of this so well. Look at this beautiful boy here. Look at how wonderful he is. It's because of you. He's here, safe and alive, because of you."
Mrs. Kessler gasped and struggled to catch her breath. She maintained her averted gaze. "W-We…were h-hiding and…Benji got so ill." she whispered, reaching her hand to touch the small boy's. "The Catholic f-family that was h-hiding us in t-the basem-…the basemen-…shelter…said he h-had fever. He s-start…coughing and coughing….so s-sick…and kept…sleeping, sleeping…fainting. We c-come here…and immediately to hospital." Aggie glanced over. The boy was stirring slightly, his fingers flexing and mouth twitching. Right away Mrs. Kessler straightened and rubbed her face on her sleeve. She reached out to him and took his shivering hands. "T-This…is his father's kipota. H-He g-gave it to B-Benji…wrapped him…in it. W-When we leave home…h-he promised to s-see Benji's…bar mitzvah…and to…h-hear him l-learn English." Dr. Bell looked over at the boy in the bed—he was almost exactly Roger's age then. In barely a whisper, she breathed out, "B-Benji doesn't know…that t-there was a raid in our hometown…days ago. M-My old neighbor…wrote me…t-that…people w-were…t-taken to camps." She glanced up at both Aggie and Dr. Bell, her eyes pleading. Dr. Bell gave a firm nod. "I'm praying that you'll get a letter from your husband soon saying that he's fine." he replied as soothingly as he could. The small boy in the bed blinked his eyes open slowly. He turned his head to his right. Pulling his little hand away from his mother, he raised it in a small wave to the scrawny brown-haired boy sitting in the bed next to him.
Roger's face lit up when he saw his friend give a wave. "P-Papa!" he called out, pointing over to Benji eagerly as if showing his father his new friend. His face was eager, lively, and childlike again—so different from the way they'd been used to seeing him, somber and afraid. Dr. Bell smiled. Though the mood changed quickly when suddenly Roger's eyelids drooped and he became extremely sleepy. Immediately Dr. Bell started towards him, but Aggie put her hand on his arm. "It's alright," she murmured assuringly. "This happens—he'll just suddenly fall asleep but then wake up minutes later. Dr. Marquis told me it was normal. It's not a seizure, it's just…some long word for tiredness." Roger's head bounced a bit as he drifted off. A look of concern flashed across his father's face as he watched, slightly unnerved by the sight of someone just knocking out without even trying. He'd read about narcolepsy a lot, but hadn't ever seen an actual case. Why did his first exposure have to be his own child? But the boy, Benji, didn't even seemed fazed by the sudden lapse in consciousness. In fact, he just patiently waited until Roger picked his head up again and sleepily awoke. He offered a wave. With a heartbreaking smile, Roger gave him a sweet wave back, as if he had no idea that they'd just done this moments before—as if he had no idea how long he was sleeping.
Dr. Bell noticed how Roger and Benji seemed to "check on" one another throughout the day; always glancing over every few minutes. If they ever did meet eyes, they'd just exchange shy smiles without anything else. Even in the nighttime when the nurses dimmed the lights and Roger couldn't really see very well, he still habitually looked toward the neighboring bed. Benji began receiving the transfusion blood treatment before he went sleep so that he would be more comfortable. Aggie and her husband sat cuddled together, watching their sweet child drift off to sleep for the night—his last scheduled night in the hospital before he was allowed to finally go home. "You worked so hard to save him," Aggie whispered to Dr. Bell. "This wouldn't have been possible without you and your constant efforts with your colleagues. He would still be getting forced into an asylum if we didn't have you." Dr. Bell kissed the top of her head. "Darling, neither of us could've even been brought together as a family without you." he replied gently. "I can't wait to bring him home tomorrow."
"I can't wait either. Do you reckon he'll remember the house?"
"I think at this point the close memories he has are muddled, at best. He probably is familiar with things, but just can't place how he's familiar with them."
"…Do you reckon he'll be the same boy we knew?"
"We may have some adjusting to do. But he's still Roger. He's just a happier, calmer version of Roger."
"…Will…his likes and dislikes have changed? Will he still want that tweed blanket to sleep with? Will he still want to sleep in our bed? Will he still keep his rock garden?"
"I reckon he'll be relatively the same in that regard. He didn't get a new brain, he's just had some…areas altered. Like his handwriting and his eyesight may be different, he may become sleepy a bit more, but—he's still our Roger."
Aggie paused for a moment as she heard Benji let out a small whine from across the room. She craned her neck to watch as the sleeping boy stirred a bit in his bed and pulled the black coat closer to his face. The ticking heart machine caught his movements in its constant scribbles. "He's already made a friend," she whispered in thought. "He didn't have that before. Maybe you're right." A nurse came by and gently adjusted Benji's arm so that it was extended again while he was receiving the blood. Before leaving, she also went around and fixed Roger's head so that it wasn't sliding off the pillow. Aggie gave her a quiet smile as she left in thanks. A few moments passed as the couple looked over their child. "What happens if his memories do come back over time?" she asked in a whisper. Dr. Bell rubbed her shoulder, not entirely sure how to answer because he often wondered the same thing himself. "If he does start to…remember…and if the hallucinations come back…it's…we just…we just continue to give him whatever it is that he needs. Perhaps he'll have taken the time between now and then to…learn to overcome it. He's stronger now. Stronger, braver, but still our Roger."
"David…the things that…happened to him…do you think…even though he was coaxed…that there was a part of him that…that was hopeful that he was being loved? Interested in loving someone else? In loving a…boy? Will you be accepting of that?"
Dr. Bell looked at Roger lying there, his black eye and bandaged head. He knew what his wife was asking. And it was something that he himself had been wondering as well; was Roger's orientation existent only on the island when he was will, or was it a part of him? Did the surgery change that about him? He heard his son let out a very soft sigh in his sleep, his fingers twitching around the arm of the gifted teddy bear he'd received. And suddenly—it didn't matter. None of it mattered. Roger was on this earth. After everything he'd endured, after every sickness and surgery and mental illness, he was still here. Surviving. No matter what, he'd pushed through. And they got to have more time with him as a result of that—he had the chance to make them smile and show the rest of the world how strong he was. Dr. Bell felt himself grinning absently. He kissed the top of Aggie's head again and stroked her cheek. "Whoever he's interested in, whenever he's interested in them, and whatever gender they may be, it doesn't matter at all to me. We will be his biggest supporters—we've all been through so much together and we've figured it all out so far. In fact, Roger finally being healthy might actually allow us to learn more about him. His preferences don't have any impact on how much we love him. Because no matter what…no matter what, he's still our Roger."
Aggie's heart melted at her husband's kind words. Tears welled up in her eyes with pure relief and happiness that possibly their nightmare was over—they'd finally given their little boy the best possible world that they could for him to just be himself, a child. She stood up. Wiping her eyes, she tiptoed across the room to his bedside, where she bent down and kissed his forehead. His eyes slowly blinked open and peered through the darkness.
Roger smiled.