"Talking"
¤Writing¤
4
Walter felt ridicules wearing the giant headphones, but he had no real say in this as he was being tested.
It had been now nearly three week since he woke up in the hospital and he still couldn't speak, the doctors had told him that he may if he was lucky get some of his voice back but he had to be careful and not rush the healing or he would be without voice.
His hearing was another story and the reason he was being tested at the moment.
The test was a standard hearing test, push the button when you hear the tone, Walter thought he had heard a few of the tone and had pressed the button too.
It felt like it had been an eternity before the doctor knocked him on the shoulder to show that the test was over, the doctor wrote down in a notebook that Walter could return to his room and that his doctor would tell him the results when they know.
Walter nodded and a nurse wheeled him back to his room, which was for the first time since he woke up empty of his friends and family, Paige was with Ralph and Drew at the movies, she had wanted to stay but had promise Ralph that they would watch this movie before everything had happened, and she and Ralph would visit later that day. Cabe was home to change clothes and grab a few things he needed and would then return, Sly and Megan was at Megan's therapy, Happy and Toby was doing something Walter wasn't sure what but he know that they would turn up soon.
The nurse helped him into the bed and then left him alone, at first Walter didn't know what to do he had a stack of books and magazine but he was not in the mood for reading and watching the tv was out too as he couldn't hear anymore, sure he could put on the subtext but he didn't want to do that either.
So there he sat in a hospital bed just watching the wall bored out of his mind and feeling well like crap to be honest, Walter wasn't dumb he know that the test would most likely show that he was now deaf and he didn't know how to feel about that, he still had his life and his high IQ it was just his hearing that he didn't have any more.
Tears started to well up in his eyes and soon run down his cheeks as Walter for the first time really let the fact that his life as he know it was over, and it would never be the same again, he know deep down that he was not alone and that he could and would learn sign language but just for now he cried over his old life being gone. He cried over how unfair it was that just he had been nearly killed and he cried over his loss of his voice and hearing.
Walter cried himself to sleep.
He woke up and saw Cabe sat beside him once again reading the newspaper, when Cabe saw that the young man who he saw as his son was awaken he smiled at him and picked up the notebook that was their only way at the moment to communicate with each other.
¤Hello son¤ he wrote ¤How are you feeling?¤
¤Okay I think¤ Walter wrote back he had the day before got rid of the cast on his arm and had now a splinter to hold the bones in the arm in place and while he was a bit wobbly he could at least write now.
¤The Doctor will be in soon¤ Cabe wrote
Walter just nodded what more could he do?
The nurse come with Walter's lunch which looked good but Walter was just not hungry so he just pushed his food around the plate and no poking from Cabe could make him eat more than a few bites.
After lunch Walter tried to read for a bit but soon his eyes closed and he was soon fast asleep again.
Cabe look at the young man who was fast sleep again, at first he had been worried that Walter was sleeping so much but Toby had said that it was normal as Walt was healing, so that was good.
It was late evening and Walter had just eaten his dinner, which Paige and Ralph had brought with them, and for the first time in days Walter had manage to eat nearly all of the food, and was now reading a book that Megan had got for him.
Paige and Ralph had gone home as Ralph had school the next day.
Doctor Timber knocked on the door more in habit than anything else.
"Hello," He said "I have Walter's test results."
"Well come in doc and tell us," Cabe said and touched Walter's shoulder to alert him that doctor Timber had arrived.
Walter looked up at the doctor and for a brief moment he hoped that the doctor would tell him that he still had hearing and that what he had lost would be back again soon, he know it was a stupid thing to hope for but he couldn't help it.
Doctor Timber smiled and sat down on the chair beside Cabe.
¤Hello Walter¤ he wrote on a notepad he had with him ¤How are you feeling today?¤
¤I am well¤ Walter wrote back trying to not look too nervous
Doctor Timber smiled again but even Walter could see the sadness in the smile.
¤Well that is good Walter¤ he wrote ¤I have your results, and as we feared you are deaf, and from what we can see at the moment it is permanent, I am sorry Walter¤
Walter read what the doctor had wrote on the notepad and then he read it again, a strangle sob like sound escaped his lips but he nodded, he had already reached the same conclusion but it was still hard to see it written down.
Doctor Timber turn to Cabe and told him more or less the same thing as he had told Walter.
"I will leave now as I have rounds," he said softly "I will leave this information pamphlets so that you can look at them when Walter want to. Good evening."
And just like that he was gone.
Cabe looked over at Walter and saw that the young man who he thought of as a son, was just stared out into the air with unseeing eyes.
Cabe didn't know what to do so he just sat beside his son in everything but blood and waited for something to happen.
The duo sat like that for a while until Cabe had starting to fall asleep, he had just let his eyes rest for a little second when a hand poked him, he looked up and saw that Walter was looking at him.
¤What is it?¤ Cabe wrote
¤I have looked at the pamphlets that the doctor left me¤ Walter wrote back ¤I am going to learn sign language, there are two classes at the university closed to the HQ, one is for deaf people and one is for hearing, I was thinking that maybe the team wanted to learn too.¤
¤Of course we will learn it son¤ Cabe wrote and smile ¤When is the class and does it cost anything?¤
¤The deaf class is every day for 90 min from 17.00 to 18.30¤ Walter wrote ¤The other class is Monday, Wednesday and Friday same time as the deaf one. It seems to be free both of them, we will have to ask when you get there.¤
Cabe nodded.
Later that night as Walter was trying to sleep and was looking up at the ceiling he for the first time thought that maybe it was not the end of the world that he was deaf now, he had his family who would always be with him.