{Hayden's POV}
(Saturday, November 7, 2020-6 am)
[Berkian Memorial Hospital]
The last Thor only knows how many hours I've spent waiting to get back, and I still wasn't ready to see my grandfather in this hospital bed. The flight was so messed up leaving Syria. We departed at 9 pm, Syria time, then flew three hours and eight minutes to Budapest, Hungary. It was only supposed to be a half an hour layover, and turned into a severe storm and getting delayed by four hours, which meant we left there at 4 am, Syrian time because I didn't care to figure out if Hungary had a different time zone or not. Another three hours and twenty-one minutes were spent arriving at the main island in the Archipelago. As soon as I was off the aircraft, I hopped the readied helicopter to take me to Berk. Thankfully, it was only a twenty-five-minute flight, and I had the pilot drop me a little away from the hospital so the noise wouldn't bother the other patients. Now, here I am just arriving at the front doors. I spoke to Gabriel on the layover and checked in every thirty minutes to make sure my grandfather was still alive; he is, but getting weaker. I also talked to Troy upon landing in Hungary, and Archia Isle. I just texted him that I reached the hospital and would speak to him soon. I rushed inside, still in my ACU with my bags and went to the front desk.
"Can I help you?" the woman asked.
"What floor and room is Wilson Holgersen on?" I asked.
"What relation are you to him, sir?" the woman inquired.
"I'm his grandson, Hayden Haddock," I said. The female checked her system.
"Third Floor, ICU. Room number 381," she informed as I turned to the elevator behind me and briskly moved to get inside and head upstairs.
. . .
[Third Floor; Room # 381-ICU]
After checking in and getting a visitor pass sticker; I reached the room. I peeked through the glass to see everyone still there. My mother was laying her head on my father's shoulder. Uncle Gabriel was leaning against the wall, arms folded, and looking sad. Even Uncle Shawn, Aunt Felicia, and Shane were here along with all my friends. I put my hand on the handle and turned it while walking inside.
"Hayden!" they all shot up in surprise.
"A-Am I…Too late?" I asked.
"No; he's just sleeping, but had another small stroke about twenty minutes ago," Gabriel said as I dropped backpack off my shoulder to the floor, and out of the way. I took my hat, and outer coat off-tossing them to where my bag was, then moved next to the bedside slowly. I touched my grandfather's hand as I felt him twitch a little, then his eyes opened to see me.
"Hey…" Wilson greeted with a soft, weak tone that was barely above a whisper. I leaned over and hugged him carefully as he lifted a hand to try and embrace back, but it ended up being a few pats on the arm.
"Thanks for waiting for me," I said as my voice began to crack.
"I wouldn't leave without saying goodbye to you, lad," Wilson smiled a bit.
"Thank you," I felt tears prick my eyes.
"You been showing those enemies a thing or two about messing with the Archipelago?" he asked. I laughed a bit with a nod.
"Every day. The tour ends in three months," I informed.
"Be nice to have ya home again," Wilson nodded. "I've missed you," he squeezed my hand.
"I've missed you too, Poppy," I replied, trying to smile.
"Where's that boyfriend of yours?" Wilson inquired.
"He wasn't allowed to come with me, but he wanted too," I replied.
"Well, call him up. If no one else is gonna warn him not to hurt you; I will!" Wilson forced a laugh then coughed. I checked the time; it was about 8:15 am in Syria. I nodded, not wanting to deny a request from my grandfather, then dug my phone out of my pocket. I pulled the Skype application, then tapped Troy's name; TheDrekiWarrior_0019. Yes, my boyfriend and I came up with the same general screen name for Skype. Dreki meant Dragon in Icelandic. The call began as I saw Troy's tired face came on screen.
{I literally just got to sleep, babe.}
"I'm sorry. I know you've been up all night making sure I reached Berk alright," I smiled softly.
{It's fine. You're more important than sleep. Is everything okay over there?}
"Yeah. My…Grandfather wanted to talk to you," I admitted as Troy rubbed his eyes, blinking.
{Alright, I'm all ears.}
I turned the phone to my grandfather. "I-I'm sure no one else has given you this warning; so before I go, I will. If you hurt my grandson, you bet your bottom that I will haunt you from the grave, and when you die…I will kick your butt," he said. My eyes widened and face-palmed.
{Understood, sir. However, I assure you that I rather die than hurt Hayden.}
"As that's out of the way," Wilson smiled.
"Get some sleep, Troy," I told my boyfriend.
{I'm awake now.}
"You've been up all night," I sighed.
{So have you, Hayden, perhaps even longer. You ran the eight-hour patrol from 12 am to 8 am yesterday, then had the meeting from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm. Then you got the call from your dad at 7:45 pm, and all the flying…You've been up for hours, and you're exhausted. I can see it in your eyes, Love. You need sleep too, or you're gonna pass out and give everyone a heart attack like last month!}
"Troy, I'm okay. I slept in between flights, and in Hungary waiting for the weather to clear. I'm fine, don't worry. Go get some rest, or I'll make it a direct order as your Lieutenant," I mumbled.
{Aye, sir. Call me later, alright?} I nodded to him. {I love you, Hayden.}
"I love you too," Troy blew me a kiss, and I returned the gesture. After that, the call ended. I put the phone away in my pocket as my grandfather's eyes were closed. I was stroking the back of his hand, the room was quiet for a few minutes with the only sound as the monitors beeping.
. . .
[BMH; Two Hours Later]
Nothing happened in a couple of hours. My grandfather fell asleep, but I refused to leave the seat beside him. I was exhausted, Troy was right about that. I just couldn't sleep; I didn't want to miss anything, and I suppose that kept me awake. Fear of waking up and having my grandfather be gone. Nobody had left the room, everyone was tired, but like me; they didn't want to miss something. I felt Poppy twitch a bit as I looked at him.
"It brings me joy like you wouldn't know to see everyone all together one last time. I suppose that's what makes this moment in life so perfect. I am complete having lived long enough to get to see everyone happy in their lives," Wilson suddenly said with a smile on his face. "I can go in peace now,"
No sooner than he said the words, the beeps became slower. My eyes widened, tears already coming forward and threatening to fall. "Po-Poppy?" I asked. Nothing. I shook his hand, but he didn't respond, and I knew he was dead. I held his hand tightly and bowed my head, to say a silent prayer that he passed to the next world with little difficulty.
"Dad?" Vivian moved to the other side of the bed. He didn't answer her as I saw my mother start crying, my father came beside her right away to offer comfort. "Daddy?" she asked again. Still nothing. I watched my mother lay her head on her father's chest, sobbing. I let go of Wilson's hand, then leaned over to kiss his forehead before backing up, suddenly feeling a hand on my shoulder. I saw Gabriel, looking at me as tears began to slip from my eyes. Gabriel hugged me tightly while I cried. At some point when the initial pleas for it to be different stopped, and tears were silent around the room; a nurse had come in to mark the time of death, cause, and disconnect the monitors. Everyone was given another chance to say their goodbyes before my grandfather was covered and taken out of the room. Feeling like my mother needed all the support she could get; I decided to stay with them for these five days I was home.
. . .
(Tuesday, November 10, 2020-11 am)
[Berk]
Saturday, Sunday, and Monday were quiet, but upsetting days. None worse than today, of course. I told Troy that my grandfather passed away two hours after the phone call we'd had, and I cried the entire time as Troy tried to offer as much comfort as possible from where he was in Syria. Nothing was done on Saturday; everyone just took that day to get themselves together. Sunday was spent preparing for the memorial on Monday at 9 am, and then today, was the funeral. I spoke a little from my grandfather, but only fond memories growing up with him and everything he taught me that I still used now as an adult. I was going back to Syria to finish the deployment tomorrow, and I wasn't looking forward to it. The funeral ended at 10:30 am, everyone was at mom and dad's house for the after party. Even Dustin, Rachel, and Cole came out for it because I assume Troy told them what was happening and wanted them here to offer support since he wasn't with me.
I had my return trip to Syria planned; if I did everything right, I would be landing around 11:30 pm, then be back in my company's sector fifteen minutes following that. I wanted to see Troy again; he was the only one who could bring me any kind of comfort besides Uncle Gabriel. To be completely honest, I didn't like being in this house after what happened the last two times I'd been here. October 2018 when I wanted to kill myself, and then April 2019 when my father grabbed my arm to force me to tell them why I had the gun in 2018. I mean, maybe it's due to my grandfather dying on Saturday morning at 9:47, but I feel really depressed. I can't shake the tears that keep coming when I'm in this house or the flashbacks of what happened. Like I said, I don't know if it's the overwhelming sadness of losing my Poppy, but I wanted to get away from here. I wanted to talk to Troy, and I hoped he was free to speak. I got my phone and checked the time; 1112. It was 1312 in Syria, Troy would be just leaving lunch if he's not running a mission, guard, or patrol. I pulled up our Skype conversation from earlier this morning when I let him know that my phone would be on silent during the funeral.
11:13 AM; Are you busy, baby?
I set the phone down and waited a few minutes before there was a reply.
TheDrekiWarrior_0019{My BF}, 11:16 PM-11/10/2020; Just got back to the barrack from lunch, so no. What's up, babe? You okay?
I sniffled a little as I've been unable to stop crying while lifting the phone once more.
11:17 PM; No…
Seconds after I sent it, Troy called me, and I answered. "Hi…" I wept a little, wiping my eyes.
{Talk to me, Love. A bit hard now that the funeral is over?}
"I don't even know, Troy. Maybe it's because my grandfather passed away on Saturday, but being in this house…Gods, the pain, and hurt have been overwhelming. I know there's sadness in the loss of a loved one, but I actually feel…Depressed again," I admitted.
{How depressed, Hayden?}
"Not like before, but just in general. I can't seem to stop crying, and it's like I still feel the betrayal from when my parents were going to kick me out, and the night when dad grabbed my arm. I keep seeing it, and it only started after I agreed to stay here so mom could have a little more support," I informed.
{And that admiral, but you have to worry about you, babe. If being in that house is making you remember all that, and feeling depressed, then you need to go stay with Gabriel or my parents tonight. The memories of what happened will, unfortunately, never be forgotten even if you've forgiven them. The fact they did hurt you is always going to be in the back of your mind, as a fear that if it happened once; it can happen again. So the best thing for you would be to get out of there where the pain of that incident will fade, and it won't be so overwhelming coupled with the fact you just lost your grandfather. You're feeling depressed because it's becoming too much hurt at once, so remove one of the causes, and don't stay there.}
I suppose that made sense. If being here was upsetting me because of the past, the smartest move would be to get away from it. I didn't want to be here with everyone going on about my grandfather, and I really didn't want to keep staying in this room where I had made the decision almost three years ago now to commit suicide.
"I'll stay with my uncle tonight, and then I'm sure he won't mind taking me to the transport center tomorrow for my return flight back there," I said.
{When is your flight?}
"I leave Berk at 1:30 in the afternoon, should be leaving the mainland from Fort Archian with a group that is going into Syria at 2 pm, then arrive at the base with the time change around 11:30 pm," I stated.
{I'll be waiting for ya. Bludvist said we're off tomorrow night at 2200, then all day on the 12 th .}
"I can't wait to be in your arms again. I really need one of those hugs you always give me when I'm upset," I palmed away a few tears.
{Then I promise not to let go until you say. I love you, Hayden.}
"I love you too, Troy," I tried to smile. I knew Troy would be able to help; he always could. Troy was more than my boyfriend, he was my best friend too, and that's what made us such a great couple. Tonight, I would stay with Uncle Gabriel, then be on my way back to Troy tomorrow, where I'm sure that with him near me; I'll be able to start feeling better from all this sadness.