Chapter five:
As the end of the month comes up Ink is awake so much more during the day. He can sit up having the bed lifted though right now he's asleep. So his bed has him laying down.
It's getting close to afternoon as the four wait for him to awaken. They've allowed time for them all to be awake during the day, as Ink is more likely to be awake then compared to the night. They've been also taking turns to go get some food when they're hungry.
Blue turns hearing footsteps. He sees Dust enter the room and smiles in greeting.
Dust joins them by the bedside of Ink. "Have you guys eaten today?" He sees them shake their heads. "I have. So why don't you all go get something to eat? I'll watch him and wait for him to wake up. That way he's not alone when he wakes up."
The four agree and head off to the hospital cafeteria.
Dust turns to look to Ink, waiting for his Papyrus to let him know when they're gone far enough. He is glad that only Blood is able to see Dust Papyrus along with Dust himself. He sees his brother come over to hover by Ink.
That's the signal that the others are far enough away.
Dust sits on the bed and sees Ink about to wake up. He waits as the other blinks open his eyes. He smirks then slams a hand to the others throat causing Inks eyes to open fully. He meets with Inks eyes spotting the terror and surprise in them. "You should have never woken up Ink." He warns as Dust Papyrus heads back to the door to be a look out. "You were supposed to die. Though I'm sure you won't disappoint me despite this set back." He pulls back knowing not to leave a bruise on Ink right now. He can hear Ink slightly coughing as he is released, Inks coughing only lasts for a short moment. "You don't even deserve to live. And you know it don't you?" He sees a tiny nod as Ink tries to hold back tears. "And don't you forget that I'll make your life a living hell if you don't die." He hears his brother call that someone is coming so he moves away. He stands relaxed giving a warning growl to his victim, knowing that if Ink looks terrified he'd be caught.
Ink shakily takes some breaths calming himself. He forces a smile as a doctor comes in.
The grey cat doctor moves closer. He is rather used to seeing at least one other in Inks room. So he doesn't mind Dust. "How are you feeling?" He brings up looking over Ink to check on him.
"O-Okay." Ink tells him slightly stuttering as he forces the words out.
"Okay. If you need to give your voice a rest just nod or shake your head." The doctor gets a nod in response to this. "Okay. So you said you're feeling okay. You don't have a headache or anything? We do have you hooked up to medications to help in a few ways, including with pain, currently as you heal. So it should help."
"Just a little dizzy." Ink tells the doctor who nods.
"That's okay. You'll probably feel a bit strange for awhile. But it should be fading when you start to move around a bit more. As you regain your movement." The doctor sees Ink nod to this. "We also have an appointment with a therapist here finalized. It is mandatory but it also means no one else can be in the room with you. The therapy is a very private thing." He sees Ink nod as he glances away. "I know it's scary. I can assure you that she's really nice. She also really knows what she's doing. We have to do this because of how you got injured." He steps back and glances to Dust. "We'll be trying to get work on getting his body moving again soon."
Dust nods. "I'll let the others know."
The doctor nods then leaves the room for now, promising that soon Ink will be unhooked from the feeding tube. He knows that they'll need to start getting Ink to eat without the tube.
"Good. So far I don't have to kill anyone." Dust tells Ink teasingly once the doctor is gone. He glares daggers at Ink. "You are not needed. It's all lies. I will do whatever it has to take for you to get that and die."
"P-Please not that." Ink trembles at the thought of having it happen a second time.
"I won't tell you what I decide to do." Dust does admit to himself that he has preferred the physical and emotional hurt, though will do the other part if he must. He'll focus on the other options, as he doubts for now he won't get Ink alone long enough for more. "Now sit there and think about how worthless you are."
The two stay in silence and the others come back when done eating in the cafeteria.
"I should get running now that you're back. Got a text asking me to go over to help move some boxes." Dust lies as looks to the others from by Inks bed. "Oh and the doctor said that they plan to start work on Inks body movements soon. He just didn't specify how soon." Dust informs them leaving the room.
"Thank you for letting us go to get something to eat." Blue tells Dust who nods his head then lets the other leave.
"How are you feeling?" Dream questions Ink staying close to him.
"My throat is a little sore." Ink tells him secretly not wanting to talk.
"That's okay. You rest your voice." Dream assures Ink. "And remember if you get tired you can go to sleep." He sees Ink nod in understanding.
Ink tries his best to look happy to them, though he can see that they are a little worried about him. He knows that they now know that he is hiding emotional pain from them.
Three days later...
Ink is awake and alone in his room. He has been eating without the tube to appear normal, though a nurse has to feed him right now. He has some trouble with motion right now. He was told by the doctor that it's okay as they don't need to rush the movement. He turns in slight fear when he hears someone come in. He relaxes a little at seeing Error. His room light is on as he's awake, sitting up thanks to the bed shift, and it is the middle of the day.
Error moves closer to Ink. Looking at him with a serious look. "Inky." He speaks moving a chair away to stand right by Ink. "E-Everyone else is b-busy. They d-decided to go f-for a walk for s-some fresh air. I-It's just us n-now." He has already told Blue his plan when Ink is released from the hospital, and the other agreed it's a good idea. He will share that part with Ink when it gets closer to that time. For now he needs to see if Ink will talk to him yet. "N-No one else w-will know." He sees Ink look away and gets worried. He can see Ink is also fearful. "Ink. P-Please. I need to k-know. Why?" He pauses waiting for any kind of response. He does notice the other begin to shake a little. "I-I want to h-help you." He places his hands on the bed hoping to give Ink a comforting look. He hopes the other will look at him to see his comforting look. He won't force him to look though. "Y-You don't have t-to say all the details. J-Just tell me s-something. Please."
"I-I cant." Ink sounds completely terrified worrying Error even more.
"Why?" Error questions as his soul pounds as a thought crosses his mind. "I-Is someone t-threatening you?" He tries to keep his voice from getting angry. He clenches the bed sheets at the thought. He sees Inks eyes close at that. "D-Did someone h-hurt you!?" He gasps and feels his magic flaring up in rage, especially when he sees Ink shake even more. He knows that it means that someone is hurting and threatening him. He can read that from the other easily. He takes a breath to sound calm. "Inky. Y-You don't need t-to protect whoever it is. P-Please tell me. W-Who has been h-hurting you?" He waits and sees Ink start to cry. He lets go of the bedsheets and wraps Ink in a hug. "H-Hey." He shushes gently as he tries to comfort him. "I-I'm sorry f-for pushing. Y-You don't have t-to talk if you're n-not ready. J-Just know that y-you don't have to l-listen to their threats. I-I won't let t-them hurt you again. I-I promise." He moves one hand to gently strokes Inks skull. He lets the other cry to him as he stays there. He plans to not leave Ink alone again. He can't risk whoever has been hurting Ink to get a chance to do it again. He will take care of whoever it is when he knows.
Until then someone, that they trust, has to always be with Ink in his room.
Ink finally manages to calm down so Error wonders if he should try again.
Error would only do a small push, the smallest he can, if he does try again. He second guesses it as he doesn't want to upset Ink again. He decides to tell him something that should help instead. "M-Me or one of o-our friends will always b-be in the room with y-you." He promises to Ink and finds it strange that Ink doesn't relax. "O-Only those w-we trust will be l-left alone with you. S-So you're not alone f-for the one hurting you t-to come in to d-do it again. Y-you can tell us, o-or just me if y-you prefer, who did h-hurt you when y-you're ready." He blinks when Ink shakily moves one arm to clutch at his shirt. He wonders if he had pushed too far, further than he had intended to. "I-Ink." He begins only for Ink to speak in a whisper.
"H-Hell kill you."
Error takes a note on that small bit of information.
Whoever is doing this is a male.
It's a start.
"T-They can try. B-But they w-won't succeed." Error tries to assure Ink hoping that he'll say more. He moves his hand from the others skull to his back to rub it. He does so since Ink has started to tremble a little again. "I-I'm here for y-you." He tells Ink keeping his voice gentle. "A-And I'll destroy w-whoever hurts you." He blinks as Ink mumbles something too quiet to be heard. "S-Sorry Ink. Didn't c-catch that. Can y-you speak a little l-louder?"
Before Ink can say anything a knock comes to the door. He refuses to look to see who it is.
Error turns to look over his shoulder. He sees Dust wave hi. "S-Sorry. Not t-the best time. I-Ink needs a little t-time."
"Thats fine." Dust tells Error with a shrug. "I'll come back another day." He leaves with that and he has confidence that Ink won't say anything. He figures that if he hasn't said anything so far then he will not spill the beans. As he exits the hospital he sees Dream, Cross and Blue heading towards the entrance. "Oh. Hey."
"Hey Dust!" Blue greets back warmly as the three stop by him. "Did you just visit Ink?"
"Yeah. But according to Error it's a bad time. Seems Inks a bit upset right now. Error didn't let me come into the room." Dust rubs the back of his head that is covered by his hood.
"Oh." Blue blinks as the three look a little concerned about Ink.
"Well if anyone is going to help Ink right now it's Error. If he's already there with him helping then we should give them space." Dream suggests glancing to the other two before turning back to Dust. He knows that all of them know that Error is the closest friend Ink has, so they do have confidence that Error can help Ink the most. "Why don't we all go out for some warm drinks at a cafe? Giving Error and Ink a little time so Error can calm Ink down."
"Sounds good to me." Cross agrees as do the others so they head away from the hospital.
Error continues to keep Ink close rubbing his back. "I-I'm not going a-anywhere. You're s-safe with me h-here." He makes assuring noises as he lets Ink work towards calming down. He is glad to eventually feel the other relax in his arms. "There w-we go. I'm s-so sorry for p-pushing you too far. Y-You can tell me w-who has been hurting you at y-your own time. J-Just please do t-tell me." He doesn't mind that Ink doesn't nod. He knows that the other heard him. He pulls away making sure Ink is comfortable on the bed. He gently helps Ink clean up a little. "A-All clean." He offers a smile to Ink who doesn't seem ready emotionally to smile.
"Is everything better?"
Error turns as Ink doesn't look up. He sees Dream, Cross and Blue standing by the entrance area. He figures Dust must have told them that they needed a moment, so they knew to stay away a little longer. "Y-Yeah. Better than b-before." He confirms and the three head further in checking on Ink.
Dream hugs Ink gently seeing that he is still kind of hurting. "It's okay Ink. We're here for you. And you can always indicate if you need to talk to one of us alone. Even if it's just Error. It doesn't matter. We'll leave for a bit. So don't be shy." He does hope that Ink will talk to him though he knows that it'll be in time. He just has to be patient. "Please don't let things get so bad that you try this again. All of us are willing to help you no matter what that is." He stays close to Ink hoping that his aura, that radiates good emotions, will help his friend.
Ink stays quiet though no one blames him, especially after they had heard that he was having a moment. He doesn't blame his other friends for what happened, he knows that it's not their faults. He just doesn't feel like it is needed to be said, especially without the context of what lead to this. So he just stays quiet.
Around supper time the others get ready to head to the cafeteria.
Ink has passed out as his emotional moment got him pretty tired. He is sleeping peacefully for now.
So they might as well get something to eat and let Ink rest.
Blue gets up then notices Error stays sitting. "Error? Aren't you going to come to get something to eat?"
"No. I w-wanna stay w-with Ink." Error tells them and sees that they're okay with it. He knows that they know that at least Ink feels comfortable having a moment with him.
"I'll bring you back something." Blue promises and leaves with Cross and Dream.
Error turns back to Ink after watching those three leave. He sees the others face shift to fear and he slightly squirms. He reaches over and gently puts a hand on Inks cheek. He knows that the other is having a nightmare. He's seen it before since he's been awake a lot during the night. He just would help Ink by calming him. At least now he knows basically why the nightmares are there. "I-It's okay. Y-You're safe. I-I promise." He shushes gently. "I w-will protect y-you." He continues to tell soothing words to Ink until he calms down. He pulls back glad that Inks nightmare calmed down.