He opened his eyes.
Nothing was tinted purple, which was a bad sign. The air smelled of disinfectant. He could feel stickers on his chest and a catheter in his right arm. There was a rhythmic beeping noise coming about 3 feet from his head.
He looked to his right and to his left. Clearly, he was in a hospital room filled with balloons, cards, flowers and packages wrapped in bright paper. Thankfully, it was a private room for one.
Aurelius Guilford-li Britannia was sitting beside Zero's bed. He was intently working on a crossword puzzle.
Zero's clothes were gone, and he was wearing a hospital gown instead. In other words, he had been seen. His mind raced as he struggled to remember the people from the brief episodes of consciousness he'd had since the sunny afternoon in the Rose Garden. His worries were answered with a slightly painful pressure in his chest.
Zero whimpered sharply at the unexpected discomfort, distracting Aurelius from his crossword.
"Aha. Good morning," said the young man.
"Likewise," said Zero.
"How are you feeling?"
"Terrible. Like I just got out of a shipwreck," Zero replied, remembering stranded sailors from the pirate movies that he had seen as a child.
"Yes, Dr. Darlton said you would probably be feeling that way since you had a heart attack."
"Darlton what?"
"Dr. Darlton said that you'd be tired because you had a heart attack."
"Impossible." Zero was baffled. He ate his vegetables, exercised daily, didn't smoke, hardly ever drank…. How on earth could he possibly have gotten a heart attack?
"Whatever you say," said Aurelius.
Zero felt languid and heavy, but he wanted to sit up. Lying down made him feel powerless. He started trying to push himself up when Aurelius mentioned, "There are buttons on the railing of the bed, a remote, too."
Aurelius handed the remote to Zero, who pushed one of the buttons. The top of the bed tilted up to almost a sitting position.
"Thank you," said Zero. "I'm not very familiar with hospital furniture, obviously."
"You're welcome," Aurelius replied.
"How many people saw me?" Zero inquired.
"Well…. the EMTs, nurses, nursing assistants, surgeons and cardiologists treating you, cleaning staff in the area, patients who happened to be in the hallway, the security guards by your door, members of the Prime Minister's personal staff, the Prime Minister…."
Shit, thought Zero.
Aurelius continued, "Due to confidentiality agreements, the medical staff and government staff can't say much about you. At least they're not supposed to. A lot of your clothes had been removed by the time you'd arrived, so it's doubtful anyone besides the people who saw your tag recognized you as Zero."
Well, that was a blessing. Zero examined the plastic identification bracelet around his left wrist. It read, "ZERO, ZERO. DOB: ? ADM: ATT: AGE: 63? M. ADM DATE: 13/06/50." He frowned at the overestimation of his age, an overshot of almost 13 years.
"Chairman el Britannia is on his way from Kyoto," Aurelius mentioned. "He'll probably visit you sometime tomorrow."
"Great," said Zero. Schneizel would be very helpful with damage control regarding the media and Zero's identity.
"And, the Prime Minister sends her apologies for not being here. She is quite distressed by your sudden illness and wishes you a speedy recovery."
"Affairs of state never wait. I hope she won't worry about me too much."
Aurelius rolled his eyes. "You could have died, you know. It's only natural that she might be concerned." Besides, the Prime Minister had a reputation for great care toward people with whom she worked. She was similar to her brother Schneizel in that respect.
Zero looked down sheepishly. Yes, he had made Nunally worry. It was an uncomfortable thought.
"Your mother must be very jealous of you right now," said Zero in an attempt to steer the conversation to another topic. "When I turned up many years ago, she was determined to unmask me. Now here you are, seeing my face without having expended the slightest effort."
"The Prime Minister asked me to stay with you, some others as well," said Aurelius. "She didn't want you to be alone."
The attempt to change the subject had failed. Back to talking about Nunally. "That's just like her," said Zero lamely.
The door of the hospital room opened. A doctor entered trailing a small entourage of medical students. Her white coat was embroidered with the name, "Annabella Darlton, M.D." She had short brown hair, wire-rimmed glasses with rectangular frames and a smile that reminded Zero of Lloyd Asplund.
Zero felt a twinge in his chest as he considered the entourage and his doctor's slightly disconcerting appearance.
"Good morning, Aurelius. Good morning, Mr. Zero. I see you're awake and that you're sitting up. Recovery is progressing right on schedule. All very good. I'm Dr. Annabella Darlton, Chief of Cardiology. How are you feeling this morning?"
"I've been better," he answered.
"Naturally. That's normal in people who are recovering from a heart attack. Any chest pain?"
"Just a bit on and off. How can I possibly have had a heart attack?"
"Appearances can be deceiving," said Dr. Darlton. "You may look healthy and your cholesterol numbers may be good, but alas, there is another factor in play here. As much as you may not want to hear it, you are most certainly going to have to take it easy from now on."
"Take it easy?"
"I don't presume to know exactly what your work entails or what else is going on in your life, but you will either have to learn to reduce your stress levels or manage them better."
Zero looked horrified at the thought of making any changes to his lifestyle.
"The alternative is that you die," said Dr. Darlton cheerfully. "But I'd prefer that we not dwell on that. You shouldn't dwell on it either. Really, what you ought to do is simply relax."
Relax or die? thought Zero. This was going to be impossible -- even with the help of the Geass.
