Rodney had a headache. He felt sick. He wasn't sure where he was or what had happened to him, but those two facts he was painfully aware of.
He could hear beeping. He could hear voices murmuring. The occasional metallic clatter and the slight smell of antiseptic made him think of the hospital he'd visited when he'd broken his wrist a year ago.
What had happened? The last thing he remembered was lying on his bed after the music lesson – he pushed that painful memory away with a determined shove, and allowed himself to drift away from it back into sleep.
Next time he awoke, his headache had eased somewhat and he struggled to open his eyes. He saw a strange man looking down at him, frowning. "Rodney? Come on, it's time you woke up."
'That's nicer than Mum or Dad shouting at me to get up,' he thought idly. But who was this man? He seemed to know who Rodney was, but Rodney was sure he'd never seen him before. He spoke with a funny accent, too. British? Scottish? That was it, Scottish. Rodney opened his mouth to speak, but found it almost impossible to force any sound out.
"Where –" he began, then stopped. His voice sounded strange. He felt strange. He tried to raise a hand to his face, but found his arm felt too weak to respond properly.
"It's all right, Rodney," the strange man said reassuringly. "You just blacked out for a minute and banged your head. We brought you to the infirmary about an hour ago. You've been unconscious the whole time."
Rodney tried to lift his head off the pillow to look around him.
"Hi." Another face came into view. This time, the accent was American, and belonged to a man with a shock of dark hair standing on end. "You gave us quite a scare."
Rodney stared at him. He didn't recognise this face or voice either. Curious. But he felt unable to summon up much energy to investigate further. He laid back again and closed his eyes.
"His blood pressure is more stable now, but his pulse is still a little weak," he heard the Scottish voice say. "I think he'll be fine after a little more rest."
"I sure hope so," the American answered. Rodney had a vague feeling there was more to the conversation, but he wasn't sure what. He relaxed back into sleep.