Rebirth – Chapter 5: Stitches

-Notes-

Agent182: …eh? I'm not sure I know why you'd say that. If you mean the line where Lawrence is recalling the incident with his patient 'John', that was just supposed to be an incident he remembered. That's not to say he necessarily made the connection that Jigsaw was 'John'. Thanks for the review!

Merry-2004: Sorry to keep the suspense! Lucky for you, this chapter is Adam-centered. Thanks!

Kaliska Vanka: Aw, ain't it adorable? XP I try to make their feelings seem somewhat…subtle. I mean if I one day woke up with all these feelings for another woman, I know I wouldn't immediately associate it with love. They'll get the hang of it eventually though, right? Thanks for reading!

Okay, so, on wit' it.

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"Dr. Gordon is still in surgery." The doctor informed almost nonchalantly as he began bandaging the splint onto Adam's left ring finger. He had unwittingly shattered it against the door in his overzealous pounding.

"I don't care." He said defiantly. "I want to see him."

"That's out of the question. Lay back. You need rest. You've got a mild concussion and you've lost a fair deal of blood."

Adam looked up in frustration at the middle-aged doctor, shaking his head. "Hey pal, I'm an American citizen—I fucking know my rights! You can't keep me in here!"

"Sir, I recognize that you've been through something traumatic," the doctor slowly straightened up in his chair, adjusting his glasses.

"Bullshit." Adam snapped back.

"However," the doctor continued. "I am under legal, and moral, obligation not to allow people to interfere with a medical proceedure. You may see Dr. Gordon when he is awake, and I deem you well enough to do so. Until then, you will abide by my advice and get some rest before you make yourself sicker. I'm only acting in regard to your best interest."

Adam looked down at his arm that lay in a sling, defeat eminent. He couldn't stand this anymore. He didn't know if Lawrence was dead, dying, or on his way to dying, and no one would tell him anything. He felt like a poor, desperate, stupid child, and the way the tears seemed to stand readily there for him was not helping any. Fatigued from excessive vomitting and bloodloss, there was little to nothing he could do but pity himself and wonder what was happening in the opperating room. It wasn't fair. The fear, the pain…it was all supposed to be over now. But maybe it never really would be. "Can I at least see him when he's out of surgery?" he asked quietly.

"Maybe in a day or so." Came the reply. "That depends on whether or not his—and your—condition improves. And I think the police have a few questions for you as well."

"I don't give a shit." Adam grunted, pausing to hold a hand to his violently spinning head. "What do I need to talk to them for? Aren't I the God damn victim here?"

The doctor gave him a stern look over the rim of his glasses, jotting something down on a clipboard that Adam didn't care enough to question.

"Can't I…? W-well can't someone just tell me…when they know he's okay? …Please?" he looked up hopefully with glimmering eyes, not daring to let more of his ridiculous tears spill. For fuck's sake, he was a grown man.

"Dr. Gordon is really no longer any of your concern." The doctor brushed off passively, rubbing under his nose with his pen. "Now, would you like one of the nurses to bring you something to eat?"

Adam grimaced. The idea of eating made his head spin anew. "No." he bit out.

"Alright then. Rest up. I'll be checking on you in the morning." The doctor—who, Adam just realized, had never bothered to give his name—stood and pushed the chair aside as he headed out the door, not sparing another glance at his patient.

He lay back again with an internal groan, unconcsciously clenching a fist before feeling a sharp stab of pain in that hand. His head was throbbing and his shoulder gave small distressed tremors as he tried to lie still, but at least he wasn't sitting on the hard tile floor anymore. He didn't remember exactly how he got here. He woke up somewhere between his ankle being bandaged and a light being shined into his eyes as some elderly doctor loomed over him. Everything hurt, and he was terrified. Now he was just anxious.

Alright, and still a little terrified. Anyone would still be freaked out, wouldn't they? That damn doctor had some nerve. 'Time for bed Adam, gotta get your beauty sleep'. Well he wasn't tired. In fact, he doubted if he would ever sleep again. Even if he could, there weren't enough drugs in this hospital to keep the nightmares away. To stop him from reliving 'the incident'. Fuck…that's what it would be referred to now, wouldn't it? 'Incident'. As if that could even half describe it.

It was the same as before, in a sense. Trapped in a dark room by people who could care less about his 'best interest'. Instead of chained to a wall, he was strapped to a bed. And this time, Lawrence's voice was not there to comfort him.