Eric was sitting ackwardly in a chair next to the unconscious Hyde's bed. If only Edna could see what had happened to her baby boy! An anger built up and Eric soon found himself hating every person who'd ever abandoned his best friend. First Bud, then Edna, hell even Eric had ditched Hyde for someone else! But Steven had stuck it through, showing no signs that anything was bothering him.
And Eric hated him for that. Why didn't Hyde ever let anyone look inside? Try to figure out what he was all about? Try to help him? The Foreman's had done so much, giving Hyde a place to live, giving him love, and comfort when he needed it. But Hyde didn't need comfort. To Hyde comfort was pity, and pity led to charity, which was the last thing he wanted. At least that's the most Eric was able to read off of him.
Why was this so hard? He was sent as the first to see his friend, his friend of practically forever. The nurse said that talking some times helps the patient to find his way back. But Eric couldn't find the words. He tried to think about their memories together: The first time they met...the first game of hide and seek they played...their birthdays that'd been shared throughout the years...the first concerts they'd snuck into...hell, they'd both even fallen for the same girl at one point.
But everything was such a damn blur! It was hard to grasp one thing, one tiny little thing that could say everything. Eric stared at his hands, unknowing of whether to just get up and leave or speak. Outside that door was a hallway full of people waiting to talk to this poor victim, and here he was, Eric Foreman, wasting time. It wasn't unlikely, Red would sure agree that he was being a dumbass and should go ahead and leave since he wasn't talking yet.
But this was Hyde, Steven Hyde. Badass Steven Hyde who'd taken so much all ready, and because of one stupid mistake of someone else's as now lying with bandages around his waist, tubes sticking everywhich way, and not the faintest sign that he would be coming back anytime soon.
And what of Jackie? Was she going to be able to talk this? To see her big, strong man lying here barely able to move. After Jackie had stopped struggling, Eric and Donna took her to the kitchen, where she cried and cried. Donna held her, sobbing along, and Eric, stilling fighting that lump in his throat, called 911 as he watched the girls. It was the most painful thing in his life to watch.
The soft beeping of the heart monitor brought him back to reality, and Eric snapped his head up. Hyde hadn't moved, and Eric felt a ping of disappointment. "C'mon Hyde," his voice was surprisingly soft and calm. "Jokes over. Come back." But it wasn't a joke, and Eric knew that. "We miss yah, man."