Chapter 21

    No sooner than Lucas had gone to sleep, he was rudely awakened by a loud banging on the door. Looking round the room, he noticed it was still dark and the clock on the table read 3:30. Lucas was glad when Bridger was the one who got out of bed and opened the door. Listening from his bed, Lucas easily recognised Matt's strained and worried voice.

    "What's going on? It's three thirty in the morning; you'd better have a good excuse for waking us up." Bridger grumbled.

    "I need to speak to Lucas. It's urgent." Matt looked desperate.

    "OK, come in." Bridger sighed; it was going to be a long night he could tell.

    Spotting Lucas watching him with acute interest from his bed, Matt went to sit on his bed. Lucas sat up to make room for his brother to sit down on his bed; he could tell this was important. The elder brother was nervous and that was a bad sign Lucas could tell.

    "There's been an accident… At the conference. Baz somehow got hit on the head and they had to take him to the hospital. It's pretty serious." Lucas went deathly pale at the mention of the word hospital. "Well, come on then! Get a move on."

    Lucas quickly changed into the first thing his hand found, while Matt talked to Bridger and giving the youth time to change without an audience. When he had completed his task, Lucas walked over to Matt and Bridger who were still talking.

    "OK, we'd better get going. Emily is at the hospital and she said she'll ring us when the doctor can give us any information. I don't want to leave her there too long." Matt explained, already half way out the door and dragging Lucas with him. Lucas just had time to wave at Bridger before he was dragged along the hallway and out the door.

***

   The mood in the car was subdued. When they reached the hospital, there hadn't been any word from Emily and this part worried Matt even more. Usually if they didn't hear from the doctors or were allowed to see him that meant something bad Matt knew from experience. He didn't tell Lucas his fears, as he wasn't sure how he would react. Matt wasn't sure how his kid brother was coping at the moment with Baz and the argument.

    "You OK?" Matt finally asked.

    "What do you think? I was woken up in the middle of the night and told that Baz is hurt but aside from that not knowing any more details. You?" Lucas almost snapped.

    "Oh yeah, I'm fine because this is how I love to spend my nights. Driving to the hospital." Matt retorted before taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to say that."

    Lucas looked over at Matt before dropping his head down and mumbling,

    "Me too!"

    Pulling into a car parking space, they walked a couple of blocks to the hospital, knowing they wouldn't get a space at the hospital car park. The pair dashed to the relative's room, where they met Emily.

    "Any news?" Matt cried after hugging his fiancée.

    "Nothing yet, but they said they'd keep us informed once they know how he is." Emily replied, the strain of being the message bearer showing on her face.

    "Hey, it's gonna be OK." Matt reassured her. She nodded her agreement.

    Sitting down, the three of them prepared to wait for any news. After half an hour, Matt decided to purchase hot drinks for everyone. By the time he arrived back, Emily had disappeared but left a note behind. Lucas had fallen asleep in the hospital chair. Grimacing, Matt knew Lucas would be uncomfortable by the time morning came. Watching Lucas sleep, he looked so peaceful and calm. Not wanting to wake him, Matt gently placed his coat protectively over the sleeping form and sat down in a chair opposite, sipping his coffee.

***

    It was six in the morning before the doctor notified them of Baz's condition. Doctor Roosevelt looked haggard.

    "I'm afraid I have some good and bad news for you." This grabbed their attention and all sleep vanished from their eyes immediately. "The good news is that Mr Sunderland is alive. The bad news is that he is in a coma after receiving a blow to the back of the head." He allowed the news to sink in before continuing. "I'm afraid he's unconscious at the moment and we are unsure as to when, if ever, he is going to wake up. Sometimes it takes two, three days. Others it can take years. The longer he stays unconscious, the more chance of having brain damage is increased."

    "Thank you doctor." Matt said.

    Lucas became deathly pale at the mention of brain damage. No one really noticed, as they were still contending with their own demons. Lucas suddenly felt short of breath as though he had just run a marathon and, trying to stand up, the shocked youth suddenly collapsed, banging his head painfully on the arm of the chair.

***

    When he woke up, the first thing Lucas saw was his brother staring intently at him. Still feeling a bit dizzy, Lucas drew a hand to his head and croaked for some water, which his brother immediately brought him.

    "How are you feeling?" Matt asked.

    "I've been better." Lucas mumbled.

    "You gave us a shock earlier with your fainting antics." Emily added.

    "What can I say? I have a flair for dramatics" Lucas weakly smiled. "And what do you mean, earlier?"

    "You were unconscious for five hours." At Lucas' shocked look, Matt quickly explained, "But some of that was probably down to tiredness too. By the way, Barry's here. He wanted to see you, but he wasn't allowed to because he wasn't family. He said he'll try and sneak in later!"

    Lucas smiled. Doctor Roosevelt appeared in the doorway behind Matt and started to do some tests on Lucas's reactions to ensure that there was no permanent damage caused.

    "How many fingers am I holding up?" The doctor tested.

    "He wouldn't know that anyway!" Matt teased, earning a scowl from both Lucas and the doctor.

    "I want to keep you in here for a bit longer. I don't think there's any lasting damage but it's better safe than sorry I always say." The doctor looked at Matt. "Don't over excite him; otherwise he won't be going home today."

    After the doctor had left, Emily commented,

    "Well, you certainly made a good impression on him!"

    "I prefer to call it my charm." Matt countered.

    Listening to their gentle teasing, Lucas suddenly began to feel tired again and before he realised what was happening, he had fallen asleep. Matt and Emily looked down at the sleeping form and their hearts melted. Adjusting the covers so it covered more of Lucas, Matt gently kissed Lucas's forehead.

    "'Night kiddo!" Matt softly whispered. He had been so scared when he had seen Lucas fall and not get up again and hadn't moved from Lucas's bedside in five hours despite the constant suggestions about food from Emily and Barry. Barry, at this moment, was sitting with Baz and Emily went to tell Barry that Lucas had woken up. She looked at her fiancée, who was still sitting at his brother's bed side and hoping he would wake up soon.

TBC…

Ha, ha, ha! Poor old Baz and Lucas! What can I say? I'm an ELFer. It's my job to be mean.