"Alan can you hear me?"
The voice was vaguely familiar and sounded like it was speaking underwater. But it was comforting; a reassurance that he wasn't alone. His curiosity fought every urge he had to sink back down into the dark. His whole body hurt, and the side of his face, covered with gauze, felt disgustingly sweaty.
"Alan can you open your eyes for me?"
Normally he would have laughed at the stupid question, but lately such a simple action had been difficult and unpleasant. Nevertheless, his curiosity at the familiarity of the voice inspired his distinctive determination. As he lifted his eyelids sluggishly, his face stung and everything was a blur. But after blinking several times, the world began to right itself.
A woman in her late twenties with tonged blond hair stood above him with a boyish smile on her face. Her hands were gentle on his arm. "Hey Alan, remember me?" she asked.
Yes, I remember, he wanted to reply, but to his frustration, he could only let out a hoarse, "Yeah."
It was Maddy, the nurse from Radiology; his nurse, apparently. It had been quite a shock waking up inside a machine, but her comforting words and soft touch had calmed him. Somehow she'd gotten through enough for him to understand what was going on. "Welcome back, kiddo," she smiled. "You're back in Intensive Care."
"Oh," was Alan's reply.
"Your Dad and brother should be here soon."
"Great."
Maddy smiled at his sarcasm. She'd managed to cover the events of his initial return to consciousness whilst in Radiology. Alan couldn't remember anything, but that didn't impede the embarrassment he felt over causing such a commotion.
Maddy gently touched his unhurt shoulder. "Don't worry, kiddo. It was a perfectly natural reaction considering what you've been through," she assured him.
Alan didn't reply.
"Okay," Maddy tried again more cheerfully. "I'm going to raise your bed up a bit, how does that sound."
"That'd be great," Alan admitted. Lying on his back unable to see what was going on had certainly grown frustrating. He gave a yawn as he was being lifted and immediately regretted it as he felt one or two stitches pull.
Maddy noticed his grimaced. "Easy, you okay?" she checked.
"Mmhmm," Alan replied, reluctant to open his jaw again.
At that moment, the curtains were pulled back and in strode two of the three people he wanted to see. "Dad. Scott." he hoarsely murmured.
"Alan!" his father smiled, reaching him in two strides and holding him gently.
"Dad, I'm sorry," Alan gasped.
His father pulled away, a frown on his features. "For what?"
Alan swallowed nervously. "For freaking out earlier."
He was shocked to see his father smile. "Don't be silly, Alan. It wasn't your fault."
"Can we get him something to drink?" asked Scott, who'd taken up a position on Alan's left side. Alan smiled softly at his brother's intuitive mother-hen routine. Scott never missed anything, such as Alan's speech becoming more and more strained.
Maddy gave him a sympathetic look. "Sorry, sir. Dr Quaid has ordered nil by mouth for the next twenty four hours to be safe," she replied. "I'll leave you guys alone. If you need anything just press the buzzer." She closed the curtains behind her.
Scott sighed. "Sorry sprout."
Alan could only raise the corners of his mouth in an attempt to say, 'It's okay.' By now the pain had become intolerable and he was growing tired. But something still poked at him, and he couldn't ignore it any longer. "Dad, how's Fermat?" he whispered. He'd thought of nothing else.
His father hushed him, sitting to his right. "Fermat's going to be fine. He's a right sight better than you are right now."
Thank God. Alan's smile was more of a grimace. His father began to gently stroke his hair back from his forehead, a gesture that always encouraged Alan to relax. For a few moments he was lulled into the familiar trance, but quickly snapped himself out of it. "Dad, I wanna see Fermat," he said.
Jeff only continued to perform the hypnotic motion. "Shhhh. You have to stay in bed, son. You're not out of the woods yet," he said with a gentle firmness.
I'm awake aren't I? Was Alan first thought. He must have allowed it to slip from his mouth, because Scott said, "We know, sprout. But the doctor's still not certain whether you could be bleeding internally and wants to keep you in bed."
But I wanted to see Fermat, Alan wanted to argue, but he knew he wasn't going to win. Instead he closed his eyes, furrowing his brow in frustration, and before he knew it he was sinking back down into oblivion.
TBTBTBTBTBTBTB
"Sir, I strongly advise against this. Please get back into bed."
Sarah was a sweet girl, but Fermat wasn't in the mood for listening.
"I'll be fine," he assured with a grimace as he took a step from the bedside towards the door, pulling his I.V pole along with him. It isn't that hard, really, he said to himself, even though with every step he could swear he heard his bones creaking. He'd waited hours and to him, that was too long. Scott hadn't returned to tell him about Alan, which signified the possibility that something was wrong. He was going to find out himself.
Beside him, his father hovered, his hands raised nervously as if touching Fermat was going to make the boy fall over. "S...s...Fermat, please. I'm s...s...positive Alan is fine," he reasoned.
"No, you're n..." Fermat was defeated by the sentence. He had watched his father during experiments long enough to know Brains' 'positive voice', and this was not it. The only way he was going to get the answers he wanted was to get up. He was ready to crawl if he had to.
"Fermat," Sarah blocked his way. "Listen to me. You may not be among the critically injured, but you're still in a bad way and exerting yourself may cause complications."
"Then g...find me a wheelchair," Fermat said. "I'm going to see my f...f...Alan with or without your h...h...assistance!"
Sarah looked to Brains for help, but Brains appeared to be stunned and could only look back and forward between the two. Sarah sighed and held up a hand. "Stay right there. I'll be back."
Fermat paused, long enough for his father to finally gain the courage to touch his shoulder. "I admire your c...c...stamina, son," he said. "But this is r...r...s...s..."
"Insane?" Fermat finished for him. "So are the th...th...foolish things Alan would do for me."
Despite his obvious uncertainty, his father gave him a small smile. Sarah returned with a wheelchair, into which she helped Fermat. "Just a quick trip, you hear?" she clarified.
Fermat nodded, smiling for the first time all day.
TBTBTBTBTBTBTB
Alan didn't sleep very long. When he woke up, his father and Scott were still there. He inhaled deeply, slowly rousing himself. It was rather difficult though; he was so tired.
His father perked up when he saw him. "Hey," he smiled. "That wasn't even a catnap."
Alan offered a smile, swallowing in preparation to speak. God, I'm thirsty. "More than you've gotten."
Jeff's smile widened.
Scott joined in the conversation. "Hey sprout, you just missed the family. Gave them a call back home and let them know how you're doing. They really wanted to talk to you."
Alan nodded, unable to smile. It required too much energy, which was strangely depleted. Should have slept longer, he mused.
"Hey," Scott said. "Better make the most of your sleep. Quaid should be back soon to give you another exam."
"Joy," Alan said thickly. Just the thought of more poking and prodding was making him nauseous. He grimaced and closed his eyes, attempting to ignore the sensation. His eyes snapped open when the curtains were pulled back.
"Excuse me, Mr Tracy," said a young nurse, poking her head in. "Your son has a visitor. May I let him in?"
Visitor? Alan didn't have a clue who it could be.
Jeff looked at him for consent.
If it's nobody important, I want to go back to sleep, Alan thought. "Who is it?" he asked, softly.
The nurse drew back the curtain, revealing...
"Fermat!" His exclamation was more of a croak, but it was enthusiastic nonetheless.
"Alan!" his friend beamed, coming to his bedside . "You're okay!"
Alan cringed when he saw Fermat in a wheelchair. The nausea was increased by his apprehension. "What about you?" he asked.
"Just a c...c...few bruises," Fermat told him. "And a dislocated shoulder. Nothing I can't h...h...cope with."
Alan swallowed down bile. Out of relief, he thought. "That's good," he whispered.
A small cough from the end of his bed announced Brains, who was smiling warmly. Unable to manage words, Alan returned his smile.
"I thought you were..." Fermat started to say.
Alan flopped his good arm onto Fermat's as a gesture of reassurance.
"So the last ex...ex...tests went okay?" Fermat confirmed.
Alan closed his eyes tiredly and nodded. He'd better get this over with before he fell asleep again.Sighing, he asked his father, "Can we have some privacy for a minute?"
Jeff nodded, his eyes showing concern, but understanding. After his father had ushered everyone outside and closed the curtain, Alan turned to Fermat. "How are you really?"
Fermat looked at him with big eyes. "A lot better than y...y...Alan I was so worried."
Alan smiled softly. "You shouldn't have been," he mumbled. "Not after the way I spoke to you yesterday."
Fermat looked down. "We both said..."
"No," Alan interrupted. The nausea was rising again and he felt like a bird about to fall off its perch. "Fermat, listen," he said, swallowing. "I was an arse. You were right, you always are."
Fermat frowned, shaking his head. "Alan..."
"I was stupid and I'm sorry," Alan continued. "You know I didn't mean to tease you about your..." Okay, now I'm going to be sick. He fought back the bile with a grimace, unsteadily pushing himself up with his good arm in an attempt to manoeuvre himself sideways to stop himself throwing up all over himself.
Fermat's frown deepened. "Alan, are you okay?" he asked, nervously.
"I'm fine," Alan whispered, but it was a lie. Getting up must've have been a bad idea, he mused as Fermat's face blurred. He sagged back onto the bed, his ribs protesting against being leant on.
Fermat looked scared. "Alan, wh...wh..."
"'M fine..." Alan murmured. As long as he kept saying that, he'd be okay. As long as he kept saying that, his friend wouldn't be scared anymore. That was his job; to look after Fermat, to protect him and stick up for him. As long as he said that, Fermat wouldn't be scared or sad.