Disclaimer: Yeah, you've heard it all before..I don't own these characters, except for the ones I invented. Inspiration is a tough master as it is 4:11am as I finish this chapter, and my muse wouldn't let me sleep. Part three coming soon, and yes, the parents will be coming in, don't worry!
Shadows: Part Two
Gary's eyes fluttered open. He looked down, and smiled briefly. Alana was still there. She hadn't left him. She looked like she was still asleep, if she did sleep. She had her eyes closed anyway. She must have sensed he was awake, as her eyes opened, and they were as bright as always. She rolled over onto her stomach, and looked at him smiling.
"Good morning there. Finally decided to rejoin us all huh?"
He yawned. "What are you talking about?"
"Hey, you're normally up a lot earlier than this."
"Huh? What time *is* it?"
"Oh a little after nine I think. You look surprised to see me Gary."
"Well, I-er I didn't know whether you'd still be here or not."
She grinned sweetly. "Hey, I said I'd be here for you didn't I Gary?" She shuffled a little on the bed. "Well I had to leave a couple of times to be honest, night nurses ya know?"
Gary looked at her oddly. "You you mean, they can see you?"
She chuckled to herself. "See me? No way. The thing is, if you wake up, and I'm here, there's a likelihood you'll forget what's going on, and talk to me. Then who'd end up looking silly?"
He smiled at the idea. "Me I suppose. But I'm glad you were here Alana."
She nodded. "I know."
"So, erm Alana? Wha-what happens next?"
"You mean with you and your memory, or with us?"
"Both." he said softly.
She sat up on his bed, and tucked her legs under her. "Well with your memory, I've been listening to the doctors. They're going to have some person from another department come and talk to you. They'll probably let you go tomorrow. There's no *real* reason to keep you here. I expect they'll get Chuck and Marissa to keep talking to you. You know, try and get you to remember something. They're both really stubborn you know. They'll be trying for ages yet."
She looked at his face. He was listening to her with great interest. She moved closer to him.
"As for us..well" She reached forward and gently stroked his face. He was coming to love that. It was very comforting. "I'll be here for as long as you need me Gary. You don't need to worry about me disappearing any time soon."
She laid her head on Gary's shoulder. He was just about to wrap his arms around her when ironically, she vanished, and the door to his room was opened. A nurse came in with a breakfast tray.
"Morning Mr. Hobson. Breakfast?"
"Yeah, whatever." She placed the tray on his little table that drew over his bed, and stood there. Gary looked at her.
"I'm not leaving till you start eating, understand?"
Gary sighed, and picked up a piece of toast which looked like chipboard. It felt like it too, and yeah, it tasted like it. The corners the nurses mouth twitched into a smile.
"Someone will be coming up to see you sometime soon after breakfast Mr Hobson alright?"
Gary screwed up his nose at the toast, and he could almost hear Alana laughing. "Yeah, sure"
The nurse stifled a laugh. "Yeah I know it's not exactly gourmet, but it's food. We provide, you eat, get it?"
"Yeah."
"You know your friends'll be here in a little while as well right? You remember them?"
Gary looked at her with an eyebrow raised.
"I remember them from last night, if that's what you mean. I'm not stupid remember."
"I know. I'm sorry if I sounded patronising Mr Hobson. Doctor's orders you know."
"I beg your pardon?" Gary was puzzled. What was she on about?
"Oh, you know. We've all got to try and get you to remember something if possible." She shook her head. "But in all honesty Mr Hobson, I think you should just take your time."
Gary was just about to open his mouth and say that he wanted to get his memory back as quickly as possible so he could get out of here. But then he had the mental image of Alana's dusky eyes, and he wondered if he would ever see her again if he got his memory back. Well, she had said that she'd be there for however long he needed her. Maybe he would need her afterwards. Maybe. But he did want his memory back. It felt strange, not remembering anything. His thoughts were interrupted by the nurse calling him.
"Hey, that toast's not just for decorating your hand you know."
He sighed and took another bite of it. Man it was disgusting. He hoped his own cooking wasn't this bad. The nurse nodded approvingly, then turned to leave. She left the room, and after taking one last bite of the thing they passed off as toast, then plonked it back down onto the tray. He lay back and looked around for Alana. But….she wasn't there. He bent over the side of his bed and looked underneath, in case she was playing some strange game with him.
"Alana?….Alana where are you?"
He couldn't see her anywhere, and he pulled his head up from under the bed. It was just as well really, as immediately afterwards the door opened, and Marissa and Chuck from yesterday walked in. He pushed his table aside, and their presence, he realised must explain Alana's absence. Gary smiled briefly at the two of them. He couldn't be rude to them, but they made him feel kind of uncomfortable. He knew they didn't mean to make him feel that way, so he kept quiet.
"Hi Gary." Marissa said, almost cautiously.
"Hi Marissa…Chuck."
"Morning buddy. How's it going?"
"Oh not too bad. They make you eat chipboard, but hey, that's that's just the way it goes huh?"
Chuck raised an eyebrow and gave a half-hearted laugh. At least he was making the effort to be sociable, Chuck thought. He knew if it was him, he'd be as scared as hell about what was going on. Then Chuck took a moment to really look at his friend. His face looked relatively calm, and he looked fairly collected, but, with Gary you could never really tell. Often he was very, very good at hiding what he was really feeling, and the thought that he could be doing it now worried Chuck. But he couldn't continue that train of thought any longer. The door opened once again, and some other doctor came in, a woman this time, with curling auburn hair. Chuck's eyes started bulging…Mama. Then he shook that off. Now was not the time for it. His friend needed him. He noticed that the doctor was carrying a pair of crutches. She smiled at the three of them, and set them down next to Gary's bed.
"Hi. I'm Dr McAlaster. Those are for you later Mr Hobson." She turned to Marissa and Chuck. "Mr Fishman and Miss Clark? I believe we spoke on the phone last night?"
Marissa nodded. "We're ready Doctor."
She smiled at Marissa. "Alright then. I'll leave you to it for a while, but I'll be back later."
Marissa sat down on one of the horrible moulded plastic chairs that this particular hospital provided. Chuck was still standing, leaning against the wall. Dr McAlaster walked past him on her way out.
"Good luck" she whispered to him. He nodded at her in acknowledgement. She left, and he sat down himself. Marissa took a deep breath, and then started to talk. Heck, they were both nervous. It felt so weird, trying to teach a person about themself, about what kind of person they were, and giving them a crash-course in their own history.
"OK, Gary, I know this is going to feel weird for you, but it feels weird for us too. We do want to help you you know?"
"Yeah, I I know."
"You just have to trust us. We're your friends. We're not going to tell you lies. Alright?"
"Yeah, that's fine Marissa."
So over the next couple of hours, Chuck and Marissa took turns in telling him facts about himself. But it wasn't like he was re-discovering himself. To Gary it was like an extended history lesson. Though he did manage to take in a few facts about himself. Apparently his name was Gary Hobson, he lived there in Chicago. His hometown was Hickory, Indiana. His parents were Lois and Bernie Hobson. He used to be a stockbroker, but now he owned a bar called McGinty's, which the three of them ran together, and he lived in the loft conversion above the building.
Though Gary tried to look interested, and tried to look like these facts meant something to him, they meant nothing really, and he just wasn't interested. He felt like there was something missing from what they were telling him, something big. Was he married or something? Did he have kids? No, he doubted that. If he was a husband or a father, where were his wife and kids? So what were the two of them not telling him?
******************
"So, you can go home this afternoon then?"
The same nurse that had brought his breakfast this morning was back again. This time she came unarmed. No food/hardware. She carried on changing the bandage on his ankle. She'd brought him his clothes this time. He looked through them…Jeans, blue sweatshirt, black leather jacket. Nice enough clothes he supposed. Then he realised she was looking at him again.
"What? Oh oh yes, they've told me I can go then. As long as Chuck and Marissa keep on at me. Which, if the past few hours are any example, they they will be doing."
The nurse laughed, and smiled at him. "I have no doubt. OK, your ankle's all set there. Here take these," with that she passed him his crutches, "and your clothes, and get changed. Believe me that hospital gown is *not* your colour"
He stared at her as she smirked at him. He took his crutches and headed towards the bathroom. Man it felt good to get out of people's sight, and just be alone for a few moments. He looked in the mirror, at his face. It wasn't a bad face, he told himself. But that nurse was right. The gown was *not* his colour. He let the gown slip to the floor, and then reached inside the bag for his trousers. He felt the texture of the denim, and pulled them out. He carefully slipped the trouser leg over his injured ankle, but was a bit more brisk when it came to putting the rest of his clothes on. Maybe, he thought, maybe putting some of my own clothes will help me remember? Probably not, but there was nothing lost by trying.
Gary picked up his crutches again, and headed out of the bathroom. Chuck was standing there.
"Good news buddy. They've just told me you can go *now* if you want."
There was a long silence, as if Chuck expected him to say something.
"OK then. You ready to go?"
Gary sighed, and started heading towards the door. Chuck raised an eyebrow.
"Alright. I'll take that as a 'yes' then I suppose
******************
The elevator doors opened, and Marissa was waiting for the both of them in the reception area. She heard the doors part, and walked towards them.
"Chuck?"
"Yeah it's me Marissa."
"Are you two ready to go?"
"Yeah. Come on Gar, we've got the van outside." Gary looked blankly at him, but neither of them said anything. It wasn't important.
It was fairly difficult getting into the van on crutches, but Gary managed it. He just sat there quietly as Chuck drove. He couldn't think of anything to say to him or Marissa. Then he looked down and saw her. It was Alana, crouched down before him, her hands on his knees. He opened his mouth, but she gestured to Chuck and Marissa, and placed a finger to her lips. Though he couldn't talk to her, Gary was glad Alana was there. He knew she hadn't gone then. And he was thankful.
The van pulled into an alley next to a fairly large red-bricked building. Gary had managed to catch the name as they had started parking. "McGinty's" The bar the three of them apparently ran, and the bar he apparently owned.
"Here we go Gar, McGinty's. Home sweet home."
But to Gary, there was nothing sweet about it. And McGinty's was no home. None that he could remember. And with the continuous nagging feeling that something was being kept from him, Gary wasn't sure he wanted to remember it.
Shadows: Part Two
Gary's eyes fluttered open. He looked down, and smiled briefly. Alana was still there. She hadn't left him. She looked like she was still asleep, if she did sleep. She had her eyes closed anyway. She must have sensed he was awake, as her eyes opened, and they were as bright as always. She rolled over onto her stomach, and looked at him smiling.
"Good morning there. Finally decided to rejoin us all huh?"
He yawned. "What are you talking about?"
"Hey, you're normally up a lot earlier than this."
"Huh? What time *is* it?"
"Oh a little after nine I think. You look surprised to see me Gary."
"Well, I-er I didn't know whether you'd still be here or not."
She grinned sweetly. "Hey, I said I'd be here for you didn't I Gary?" She shuffled a little on the bed. "Well I had to leave a couple of times to be honest, night nurses ya know?"
Gary looked at her oddly. "You you mean, they can see you?"
She chuckled to herself. "See me? No way. The thing is, if you wake up, and I'm here, there's a likelihood you'll forget what's going on, and talk to me. Then who'd end up looking silly?"
He smiled at the idea. "Me I suppose. But I'm glad you were here Alana."
She nodded. "I know."
"So, erm Alana? Wha-what happens next?"
"You mean with you and your memory, or with us?"
"Both." he said softly.
She sat up on his bed, and tucked her legs under her. "Well with your memory, I've been listening to the doctors. They're going to have some person from another department come and talk to you. They'll probably let you go tomorrow. There's no *real* reason to keep you here. I expect they'll get Chuck and Marissa to keep talking to you. You know, try and get you to remember something. They're both really stubborn you know. They'll be trying for ages yet."
She looked at his face. He was listening to her with great interest. She moved closer to him.
"As for us..well" She reached forward and gently stroked his face. He was coming to love that. It was very comforting. "I'll be here for as long as you need me Gary. You don't need to worry about me disappearing any time soon."
She laid her head on Gary's shoulder. He was just about to wrap his arms around her when ironically, she vanished, and the door to his room was opened. A nurse came in with a breakfast tray.
"Morning Mr. Hobson. Breakfast?"
"Yeah, whatever." She placed the tray on his little table that drew over his bed, and stood there. Gary looked at her.
"I'm not leaving till you start eating, understand?"
Gary sighed, and picked up a piece of toast which looked like chipboard. It felt like it too, and yeah, it tasted like it. The corners the nurses mouth twitched into a smile.
"Someone will be coming up to see you sometime soon after breakfast Mr Hobson alright?"
Gary screwed up his nose at the toast, and he could almost hear Alana laughing. "Yeah, sure"
The nurse stifled a laugh. "Yeah I know it's not exactly gourmet, but it's food. We provide, you eat, get it?"
"Yeah."
"You know your friends'll be here in a little while as well right? You remember them?"
Gary looked at her with an eyebrow raised.
"I remember them from last night, if that's what you mean. I'm not stupid remember."
"I know. I'm sorry if I sounded patronising Mr Hobson. Doctor's orders you know."
"I beg your pardon?" Gary was puzzled. What was she on about?
"Oh, you know. We've all got to try and get you to remember something if possible." She shook her head. "But in all honesty Mr Hobson, I think you should just take your time."
Gary was just about to open his mouth and say that he wanted to get his memory back as quickly as possible so he could get out of here. But then he had the mental image of Alana's dusky eyes, and he wondered if he would ever see her again if he got his memory back. Well, she had said that she'd be there for however long he needed her. Maybe he would need her afterwards. Maybe. But he did want his memory back. It felt strange, not remembering anything. His thoughts were interrupted by the nurse calling him.
"Hey, that toast's not just for decorating your hand you know."
He sighed and took another bite of it. Man it was disgusting. He hoped his own cooking wasn't this bad. The nurse nodded approvingly, then turned to leave. She left the room, and after taking one last bite of the thing they passed off as toast, then plonked it back down onto the tray. He lay back and looked around for Alana. But….she wasn't there. He bent over the side of his bed and looked underneath, in case she was playing some strange game with him.
"Alana?….Alana where are you?"
He couldn't see her anywhere, and he pulled his head up from under the bed. It was just as well really, as immediately afterwards the door opened, and Marissa and Chuck from yesterday walked in. He pushed his table aside, and their presence, he realised must explain Alana's absence. Gary smiled briefly at the two of them. He couldn't be rude to them, but they made him feel kind of uncomfortable. He knew they didn't mean to make him feel that way, so he kept quiet.
"Hi Gary." Marissa said, almost cautiously.
"Hi Marissa…Chuck."
"Morning buddy. How's it going?"
"Oh not too bad. They make you eat chipboard, but hey, that's that's just the way it goes huh?"
Chuck raised an eyebrow and gave a half-hearted laugh. At least he was making the effort to be sociable, Chuck thought. He knew if it was him, he'd be as scared as hell about what was going on. Then Chuck took a moment to really look at his friend. His face looked relatively calm, and he looked fairly collected, but, with Gary you could never really tell. Often he was very, very good at hiding what he was really feeling, and the thought that he could be doing it now worried Chuck. But he couldn't continue that train of thought any longer. The door opened once again, and some other doctor came in, a woman this time, with curling auburn hair. Chuck's eyes started bulging…Mama. Then he shook that off. Now was not the time for it. His friend needed him. He noticed that the doctor was carrying a pair of crutches. She smiled at the three of them, and set them down next to Gary's bed.
"Hi. I'm Dr McAlaster. Those are for you later Mr Hobson." She turned to Marissa and Chuck. "Mr Fishman and Miss Clark? I believe we spoke on the phone last night?"
Marissa nodded. "We're ready Doctor."
She smiled at Marissa. "Alright then. I'll leave you to it for a while, but I'll be back later."
Marissa sat down on one of the horrible moulded plastic chairs that this particular hospital provided. Chuck was still standing, leaning against the wall. Dr McAlaster walked past him on her way out.
"Good luck" she whispered to him. He nodded at her in acknowledgement. She left, and he sat down himself. Marissa took a deep breath, and then started to talk. Heck, they were both nervous. It felt so weird, trying to teach a person about themself, about what kind of person they were, and giving them a crash-course in their own history.
"OK, Gary, I know this is going to feel weird for you, but it feels weird for us too. We do want to help you you know?"
"Yeah, I I know."
"You just have to trust us. We're your friends. We're not going to tell you lies. Alright?"
"Yeah, that's fine Marissa."
So over the next couple of hours, Chuck and Marissa took turns in telling him facts about himself. But it wasn't like he was re-discovering himself. To Gary it was like an extended history lesson. Though he did manage to take in a few facts about himself. Apparently his name was Gary Hobson, he lived there in Chicago. His hometown was Hickory, Indiana. His parents were Lois and Bernie Hobson. He used to be a stockbroker, but now he owned a bar called McGinty's, which the three of them ran together, and he lived in the loft conversion above the building.
Though Gary tried to look interested, and tried to look like these facts meant something to him, they meant nothing really, and he just wasn't interested. He felt like there was something missing from what they were telling him, something big. Was he married or something? Did he have kids? No, he doubted that. If he was a husband or a father, where were his wife and kids? So what were the two of them not telling him?
******************
"So, you can go home this afternoon then?"
The same nurse that had brought his breakfast this morning was back again. This time she came unarmed. No food/hardware. She carried on changing the bandage on his ankle. She'd brought him his clothes this time. He looked through them…Jeans, blue sweatshirt, black leather jacket. Nice enough clothes he supposed. Then he realised she was looking at him again.
"What? Oh oh yes, they've told me I can go then. As long as Chuck and Marissa keep on at me. Which, if the past few hours are any example, they they will be doing."
The nurse laughed, and smiled at him. "I have no doubt. OK, your ankle's all set there. Here take these," with that she passed him his crutches, "and your clothes, and get changed. Believe me that hospital gown is *not* your colour"
He stared at her as she smirked at him. He took his crutches and headed towards the bathroom. Man it felt good to get out of people's sight, and just be alone for a few moments. He looked in the mirror, at his face. It wasn't a bad face, he told himself. But that nurse was right. The gown was *not* his colour. He let the gown slip to the floor, and then reached inside the bag for his trousers. He felt the texture of the denim, and pulled them out. He carefully slipped the trouser leg over his injured ankle, but was a bit more brisk when it came to putting the rest of his clothes on. Maybe, he thought, maybe putting some of my own clothes will help me remember? Probably not, but there was nothing lost by trying.
Gary picked up his crutches again, and headed out of the bathroom. Chuck was standing there.
"Good news buddy. They've just told me you can go *now* if you want."
There was a long silence, as if Chuck expected him to say something.
"OK then. You ready to go?"
Gary sighed, and started heading towards the door. Chuck raised an eyebrow.
"Alright. I'll take that as a 'yes' then I suppose
******************
The elevator doors opened, and Marissa was waiting for the both of them in the reception area. She heard the doors part, and walked towards them.
"Chuck?"
"Yeah it's me Marissa."
"Are you two ready to go?"
"Yeah. Come on Gar, we've got the van outside." Gary looked blankly at him, but neither of them said anything. It wasn't important.
It was fairly difficult getting into the van on crutches, but Gary managed it. He just sat there quietly as Chuck drove. He couldn't think of anything to say to him or Marissa. Then he looked down and saw her. It was Alana, crouched down before him, her hands on his knees. He opened his mouth, but she gestured to Chuck and Marissa, and placed a finger to her lips. Though he couldn't talk to her, Gary was glad Alana was there. He knew she hadn't gone then. And he was thankful.
The van pulled into an alley next to a fairly large red-bricked building. Gary had managed to catch the name as they had started parking. "McGinty's" The bar the three of them apparently ran, and the bar he apparently owned.
"Here we go Gar, McGinty's. Home sweet home."
But to Gary, there was nothing sweet about it. And McGinty's was no home. None that he could remember. And with the continuous nagging feeling that something was being kept from him, Gary wasn't sure he wanted to remember it.