Thursday, 01 October 2015

Cal couldn't do it.

Every morning was the same. He would wake up, shower, get dressed, have breakfast, brush his teeth and put his shoes on. And every morning he would reach his front door, go to unlock it, and withdraw his hand.

He thought he could see Ethan. He thought that he would manage to step out of his flat, get in and drive his car to the hospital, go to ICU and see his brother.

But he couldn't. The thought absolutely terrified him.

I'm sorry, Ethan. I'm so, so sorry.

Ethan shifted in bed, feeling uncomfortable. He wanted to move but was barely able to. Dr McKay - he could now retain the name in his mind - was kind to him. He smiled a lot and praised the little things Ethan did. Various people he recognised came to see him: Mrs Beauchamp, Charlie, a Chinese woman he couldn't remember the name of.

But he was still so confused. He didn't know where Cal was, no one would tell him. They told him how Honey (whoever that was...) wouldn't be coming back and that they were sorry about it. They told him that he had been injured and was currently ill but they were working on helping him recover and they told him how proud they were of him for fighting.

But no-one ever told him about Cal. Ethan couldn't ask about Cal, he couldn't even speak. His movements were still weak and he felt sore all over. Occasionally people would guess his needs: a drink of water, for example. But he could only nod and shake his head weakly in response.

He was getting annoyed. More than annoyed. Sometimes he'd be relatively calm, but other times he would get angry. Mostly with himself; he couldn't do things he knew were basic every day things.

Dr McKay had told him not to get stressed, that getting stressed would be bad for his health. Just saying that wouldn't help his stress, and once or twice - when he'd been really frustrated to the verge of tears - he blacked out and woke up with a stuffy head.

And he didn't understand!

"Hey, hey. It's okay, Ethan." Dr McKay was by his side (Ethan didn't even see him enter) and he rubbed his arm.

I feel like a child.

He was sitting up slightly in bed, his bed head having been raised up earlier. He felt tears sliding down his cheeks. Dr McKay handed him a tissue. Ethan didn't do anything. It wasn't like he'd be strong enough to do anything with it.

"Come on, Ethan. Try."

At least Dr McKay seemed to be a mind-reader. His smile though, and his positive energy, encouraged him. Ethan put all his strength into his arm, shaking slightly. He brought it up to his face slowly, tiring with the effort. He managed to wipe both his eyes before letting his arm fall limply back onto the bed.

Ethan didn't feel happy but Dr McKay was beaming.

Ethan wasn't hungry. He was tired. He'd been awake for a while and wanted to go back to sleep, but Dr McKay and a nurse - Ethan hadn't been able to commit his name to memory - were trying to get him to eat by himself. Only small amounts, but "you're making progress, Ethan. Let's try this, shall we?"

No. Ethan didn't want to try it. He wanted his big brother.

Mutely, he shook his head in response to their encouragement. It was the fourth time he'd had to decline and they still didn't understand that he didn't want it.

Ethan moved his shaky hand across the paper resting to the side of him, on his bed. It was the nurses way of allowing him to communicate whilst he was recovering. There were many things beyond Ethan at the moment, speaking one of them.

A lot of his energy was put into trying to communicate with this piece of paper with the letters of the alphabet, but it was much better than not having a voice at all.

Slowly and not at all steadily, he pointed to three letters.

CAL.

"We haven't been able to get in touch with him," Dr McKay said apologetically. "Why don't you try a mouthful of that soup while I try and phone Cal."

Ethan shook his head, pointing again.

CAL.

"I will, just eat a bit first. You're doing so well, you can continue it."

It was a slow process, pointing at letters with minimum strength, but soon Ethan managed to get his point across.

NO EAT. CAL.

Dr McKay didn't frown or anything. All he said was, "glad to see you haven't lost your persistence."

Cal let his phone ring out. He always did, and then if the caller left a voicemail he listened and decided how to proceed. Many had been left regarding Ethan, and Cal did want to see him, but he couldn't and he didn't know why.

The phone stopped. He left it for a bit. Then he checked to see if a voicemail had been left. Surprise, surprise, it was Dr McKay.

"Hello, Caleb. Please, when you get this message, come to the hospital. Ethan needs you. He's... well, he's refusing to eat until you come here..."

And with that, without even listening to the rest of the message, Cal found the motivation he needed.

For the first time in a while, Cal found himself at the entrance to ICU. He'd made it this far, but he constantly wanted to turn around. The only thing keeping him from turning was Ethan being... well, his wonderful, idiotic Ethan.

His ID card allowed him access to ITU and he walked in. He knew the way to Ethan's room blindfolded and wasted no time in getting there. Peeping through the window he saw Ethan - sitting up slightly -, Dr McKay and Nurse Jones.

The nerves, for once, were subdued. They allowed him to not only knock on the door to warn them of his presence, but open the door and walk in.

Ethan's head slowly turned towards him, his eyes immediately brightening.

Cal half-smiled. "Hey, Ethan."

Guest: Well, Cal's back now! (I hope you're happy about that xD!) Thanks for your review!

Bonnie Sveen Fan: Cal is very important, and he will be in Ethan's recovery. They both need support and they are both the best people to get it from! Thank you for your review!