Disclaimer – I still own nothing. Sorry. This chapter is a little longer, I hope you all like it. Reviews are most welcome.
Enjoy!
Hal once again, woke up to find himself in his father's arms. Unlike last time though, he was completely awake, and remembered exactly what had happened. Anne was checking his pupils with her penlight, and he remembered the light that was shining down on him when Karen had him tied to the metal table.
He still wasn't completely convinced that he wasn't still in that building, that he wasn't still tied down to the table. He couldn't help but feel like this was just another drug induced hallucination. But every single time he woke up, he woke up in the same room, with someone he had seen before. That was new.
Karen would manipulate the dream in a way that would make him lower his guard faster, including trying to find the people who he would be comfortable with showing his vulnerable side to. Hal was truly starting to feel like he was actually safe, and while the idea of letting his guard down scared him, he decided to let it play out and see what would happen, starting with letting his Dad know that he was conscious.
The young man looked up at his Dad, who was staring at him with a concerned look on his face. He gave the boy a small smile though when he saw his son was awake.
"How long was I out?" Hal asked.
"Not long. Around, half-an-hour?" Tom figured before asking a question of his own, "How are you feeling?"
"Fine. Sorry I panicked." Hal replied sheepishly.
"Don't worry about it. You feeling better now?" Tom asked. Hal could hear the concern in his father's voice.
"Yeah, I think so." Hal didn't give a definite answer. While he was starting to trust that he was indeed safe, that this was all real, he wasn't ready to let his guard down just yet.
Hal pushed himself away from his Dad so he could sit upright. It was then that he noticed that Anne was still in the room, watching him with a concerned yet searching look, as though she was trying to figure something out. When she realized that he was watching her too, the look disappeared and she gave him a reassuring smile.
"Well, if you're feeling better, than are you ready to get off the floor and on to the bed?" Anne hoped that with the drugs apparently out of his system, he would be okay with getting off the floor where he had for some reason taken refuge.
Hal looked at her, then looked back to the bed. He couldn't exactly remember what it was that made him freak out anymore, all he could recall was what it reminded him of. As he looked at the hospital bed, trying to find what it was that threatened him, he saw the restraints that were still attached to the bed-rails. Oh, that's it.
Anne waited for Hal's reaction. He had clearly heard her, and then turned his gaze to the bed. He was staring at it hard, as though he was trying to determine if it was a threat. Then, his face suddenly paled.
The doctor looked back to the bed, wondering what it was that he saw. It didn't take her as long as it did for Hal to see the straps. She remembered that Hal didn't actually become very aggressive until she had the nurses hold him down. And he didn't start fighting until they tried to restrain him to the bed. She remembered his bloody and rope burned wrists, sign of pulling against restraints.
Anne decided to take the attention from that and on to something else, and her eyes fell on the pile of clothes Maggie had given her. Anne went over to the table where she put them, grabbed them in her hand, and went over to Hal.
"Here, there's a bathroom just over there. Why don't you get changed?" Anne suggested, handing the clothes to the young man who actually let her get close this time.
Hal looked over the clothes, then up at the door Anne had pointed to. He looked back at his father, who gave him a reassuring nod. Hal slowly got to his feet, and made his way passed Anne and towards the bathroom.
The minute Hal closed the door, he looked in the mirror. He hadn't seen his reflection in five months, but it looked almost exactly as it did before he left, with a few minor changes. His skin was paler, he had dark circles under his eyes, a bruise on both his cheek and forehead, and a cut on his lip.
After inspecting his face, Hal turned his attention to the rest of his body. He had a few bruises on his ribs, and about three cuts that he could see. There was only one gash that was deep enough to require stitches and a bandage right in the middle of his ribcage on the right side. He figured Anne did that when he was out as he couldn't recall anyone stitching it up when he was awake. Pretty much all the dirt and dried blood had been washed off, which he also couldn't remember anyone doing but he didn't care.
Hal changed out of the clothes his was still wearing and into the ones Anne had given him. He recognized them as his own from before he left and wearing them again gave himself a sense of comfort, and yet, a sense of unease as well.
Looking back up at the mirror, Hal wrapped his right hand around his left wrist again, and squeezed as tightly as he could. He bit his lip to keep from gasping in pain, and kept his eyes on his reflection. The image in the mirror stayed the same, the person staring back didn't change, no Karen or skitter appeared in the background. This was real.
Hal let go of his wrist, and looked down. The bandage was now turning red. He had squeezed it so tightly that the cuts reopened. He had no idea how he was going to explain that. Hearing noises in the other room reminded Hal that his Dadand Anne were probably waiting for him, so he exited the bathroom.
Sure enough, Tom and Anne were waiting. His Dad was sitting on the bed, and Anne was standing by the table, both looking his direction before he even left the room. Hal looked over the bed and noticed that the restraints on the bed were gone. He looked over at Anne and she gave him a smile. Apparently, she had figured out what had made him so hesitant.
Hal went over and sat on the bed beside his Dad. Tom put his hand on Hal's shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze as Anne came forward and stood in front of him.
"What happened here?" Anne asked, looking at his now bloody wrist. Hal shrugged, not giving her an answer. Anne went to the other end of the room where some medical supplies laid on the counter. She grabbed some antibacterial cream and a roll of bandages, then made her way back to her patient.
Hal was still sitting on the bed, though looked very uneasy. Anne held up what was in her hands and he relaxed ever so slightly. She wondered how long it would be before he stopped being so guarded. Though, she couldn't expect anything else really. He had probably kept himself guarded the entire five months he was gone. Stopping that would not be easy.
After Anne finished rewrapping Hal's wrist, she went back to the table, and looked at the syringe she had placed there yesterday when they first brought Hal into the room. While the drug appeared to be out of his system, as she expected after 15 hours, she still wanted to run a blood test to be sure. Problem with that was, she had no idea how Hal was going to react, so she turned around to face him with her hands empty.
"Hal, do you feel okay? Like, is your head hurting, do you think anything's broken?" She tried to go slow, asking him questions that she hoped he'd answer.
"My head hurts a little, but no, nothing's broken or anything like that." Hal answered fairly quickly.
"Well, the headache could be the result of whatever drug or drugs were in your system. Do you by chance know what it was?" Anne questioned, trying to be gentle. Hal got a faraway look in his eyes before shaking his head.
"Okay. Well, I'd like to make sure that it has fully worn off, and, if possible, see if we can find out what it was. So, I'd like to run a blood test." Hal snapped his head up to look at her so fast that she thought he'd get a whiplash. He stared at Anne with distrustful eyes.
"All that I would do, is take a blood sample and run a few tests on it." Anne explained calmly, not wanting Hal to have another panic attack. Tom put his hand back on his son's shoulder, trying to offer him some support, but also to have a hold on him, just in case Hal panicked.
It took a few moments, but Hal finally nodded. Anne turned around and grabbed the needle. When she turned again to face the two Mason, Hal immediately tensed up again, and stared at the syringe in her hand. Anne moved it so it laid on the flat of her palm, and let Hal look it.
Hal stared at it for at least three minutes before he again nodded, giving his consent. He even moved his arm so she could take it. Anne slowly wrapped her fingers around the needle and pricked the crook of his elbow. She could see Hal grip the sheet in his fists tight enough to make his veins pop, so Anne finished her task as soon as she could.
Once she had taken a sample, she took out the needle, placed a band aid over the spot, put the syringe back on the table, and left the room. Outside, were Matt, Ben, and Maggie. Anne knew Maggie would be there, she was there since that last time she entered the room. Ben and Matt on the other hand were actually ordered to go get some sleep and then get a meal before they came back. Considering how fast it took them to do that, Anne knew they did not get much sleep and probably scarfed down their food as fast as possible.
"How is he?" Matt asked as he was the one who saw her first. Lourdes, having seen Anne enter the hallway and hearing Matt's question, also came over.
"He's doing a lot better. No major injuries, looks like the drug has worn off, and he's awake. Lourdes?" Anne called the other doctor over and handed her the blood sample, "Get this Kadar, see if he can run a test, just to be on the safe side." Lourdes nodded and went on her way with the small vial.
"So, we can see him now?" Maggie clarified, remembering what Anne had said earlier.
"While he is doing better, he's still pretty freaked out." Anne told them.
"What do you mean?" Ben asked.
"He is, um, very distrustful right now." Anne tried to explain, but given the looks on their faces, it didn't work, so she tried a different way.
"Do you guys know what hyper vigilance is?" When they shook their heads, she continued, "It's a state of feeling constantly tense and on guard, like you are expecting a threat at every turn. Hal is being very hyper vigilant, as well as showing signs of PTSD."
"So, what do we do?" Ben wondered.
"Go slow, and don't do anything that he can perceive as a threat. I'll go see if he's okay with visitors, and if he is, then you can all go see him."
FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS
When Anne left the room, Tom put his arm around Hal's shoulders. Though Anne went as fast as she could, and waited for his permission, he never relaxed. Even though the doctor was gone, Hal still clenched the sheets tightly and was so tense that he was shaking.
"It's okay Hal, it's over." Tom whispered.
"I know." Hal replied, slowly unclenching his fists.
"Why don't you lie down. You still look a little tired." Tom suggested, but Hal shook his head.
"No, I'm fine." Hal told him, taking a deep breath to calm himself.
Anne wasn't gone for very long. The door opened less than five minutes after she left, and she came back inside, though didn't approach them.
"There are some people outside who want see you, and I'm pretty sure if I don't let them, they will kick the door open." Anne said with a knowing smirk and Hal immediately knew which people she was talking about.
"Well, it'd be shame to wreck a perfectly good door." Hal joked and Tom felt the worry he had been feeling for awhile start to loosen its hold on him. Anne smiled and opened the door as three figures came into the room.
Matt was the first one to enter. Hal almost didn't recognize him. His youngest brother had gotten taller, and he had his hair cut short, loosing the mohawk he had last time he saw him. The minute Matt laid eyes on his brother, he stared at him, and slowly started walking towards Hal.
"Hey buddy." That did it. Matt stopped for a minute, before breaking out into a full out run. Hal was ready, and caught his baby brother as he ran into his arms. They both held each tight, and Hal felt a weight that he didn't realize was pressing on his chest, disappear. Breathing suddenly felt a lot easier, and he held his little brother tighter. When he heard sniffling come from Matt, he pulled away slightly.
"Hey, are you crying?" Sure enough, when Hal looked at Matt's face, there were tears making their way down his face. Hal brought up his hands and wiped them away with his thumbs.
"It's okay, I'm okay." He told his youngest brother. Matt smiled at him and nodded. He looked like he was going to hug him again, but saw that someone else had made their way over. Hal looked over to where Matt was looking, and saw Ben standing at his left, his own eyes filling up with tears. He almost jumped at the sudden appearance of his other brother, but managed to keep himself together, and gave Ben a smile.
He let go of Matt and opened his arms to Ben in invitation. Ben didn't hesitate to enter the embrace and they both held each other tightly.
"Missed you Dumb Jack." Ben whispered.
"Missed you too, Math Geek" Hal replied, then he slowly pulled away and looked at his family and said, "I missed all of you."
It was then his eyes found her. She was standing a little ways away, watching him with tears in her eyes, and a smile on her lips. Once she realized that he was looking at her, she lifted her hand gave a little wave. It was taking all she had to not run up and pull him into her arms, but she wanted to give him some time with his family.
But the minute he saw her, he kept his eyes on her. After she waved, he returned it and said, "Hi Maggie."
Just like Matt, she melted, but she kept herself from running at him. Instead, she slowly walked towards him, trying to keep her tears from falling. As she came to stand in front of him, he reached forward and put his hands in hers.
"Hey." He whispered.
"Hey." She whispered back. The two of them were completely oblivious to the looks everyone else in the room were giving them. Hal took his hands out of hers and wrapped his arms around her waist as she put her hands on his shoulders and pressed her lips against his in a kiss that he returned wholeheartedly.
All too soon, Maggie pulled away and gave him a light punch in the shoulder.
"That's for scaring me." Maggie explained.
"Fair enough." Hal agreed. Everyone in the room laughed, all too relieved that their missing family member was finally safe and sound.
FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS
Hal tossed and turned on the hospital bed, trying to get comfortable. It wasn't very late, but he was exhausted. Anne had warned him to get some sleep earlier, but Hal wanted to stay up so he could visit with his family. Over the last few hours, they updated him about everything that happened while he was gone.
After a while though, it became obvious that Hal was about to pass out. So Anne and Tom ushered everyone out of the room, leaving him alone for the first time since he'd been found. He had hoped pushing himself to stay awake would help him fall asleep since he'd be more tired, but no such luck.
He moved to lie on his side, and closed his eyes, thinking maybe if he stayed still enough, he'd drift off to sleep. What happened though, was something else entirely, because random images started flooding his mind
He saw a huge machine in the center of a dimly lit room. It was so big the reached the ceiling which was easily 20 feet tall, and had thick wires connected to it which ran in all directions.
Then the image was gone, and Hal was outside on top of a hill. He looked down into a valley and saw that it was filled with skitters and Mechs. At least a thousand of each, maybe more.
Then the images faded away and Hal opened his eyes.
He was still in the bed in the hospital, not in the dimly lit room with the machine, or outside looking down at a horde of skitters. Hal sat up in the bed, looking at the pitcher of water sitting on the counter on the other side of the room. He thought maybe a drink of water would help calm him down when he heard the door open.
Hal's pulse quickened, until he saw that the person entering the room was a small girl with dark brown wavy hair, darker skin, and big brown eyes. She couldn't have been more than 6 years old, but Hal instantly recognized her, and knew that she was far younger than 6. It was Lexi, his little sister.
She came in a little farther and the door shut behind her. Looking around the room, she quickly found him. Her eyes focused on him, and stayed still, but Hal could see nervousness in her face, though she was trying to hide it.
"Hi Lexi." Hal welcomed, giving the girl a smile. Seeing that he didn't appear to be angry with her, but actually happy to see her, she gave him a grin in return.
The happy moment soon became confusing and slightly scary when he heard a voice in his voice that he knew belonged to the child, but she never opened her mouth, and he didn't hear it through his ears.
Hello Hal.