Jeff hadn't remembered falling asleep with his head next to Nick's arm. The last thing he remembered was crying and squeezing Nick's hand repeatedly, hoping he would wake up long enough to tell him he loved him and to not give up. The nurses came in every hour, the doctor came in every few hours, and a few random visitors stopped by throughout the day. Blaine and Kurt had brought him a bag of clothes and bathroom supplies, knowing that he wouldn't be leaving until he knew Nick would be fine. They stayed for an hour, not saying much, and then left when the doctor came in for the third time that day.
"No change I see." The doctor looked at Nick's chart. "We can attempt to wake him up tomorrow afternoon, but he may be in too much pain to handle it. If that's the case, we will induce the coma for another 24 hours. I do think that once we start a regular morphine drip, he'll be able to deal though." The doctor put the chart down and looked at Nick's many bruises and cuts. He looked up at Jeff finally. "How are you holding up?"
Jeff thought for a moment before answering. "Could be better, but I could be worse." He squeezed Nick's hand and attempted a smile at the doctor. "Do you think he'll be able to talk tomorrow?"
The doctor took a deep breath in and exhaled sharply. "I couldn't really be sure, but my guess is no. Not only will he be in a lot of pain, but his throat also had a very large cut on it that had to be stitched and talking may hurt him. If he does though, I'll make sure you can hear him." The doctor smiled at Jeff and waved, walking out of the room quietly.
Jeff rested his head back on the bed. His back was killing him, his head hurt, he was tired, hungry, and he just wanted to cry some more. He was so glad to be here with Nick, but he didn't want to have to be here with Nick. He still wasn't sure how he could forgive him for any of this. He decided just to wait for as much of the story as he could remember before yelling. Jeff didn't want to scare him.
Jeff woke up a few hours later, still tired, and definitely more sore than he ever remembered being before, but he heard a soft voice in the corner. He turned to see his mom sitting by the window.
"The school called and told me what was happening. I'm so sorry, Jeff." He ran to his mom and she took him in her arms, letting him sob into her shoulder. She had always been accepting of him, knowing that he was who he was and he couldn't change it. Her husband was much the same way, but unfortunately, they were divorced. It was rough on Jeff when it happened, and for the longest time he was convinced it was because he came out to them, but both of his parents had constantly told him it was because they just weren't in love anymore. "The doctor told me the major things. I'm guessing you're staying for a while." She glanced at his bag in the corner and smiled sadly. "He would be happy to know you've been here the whole time, honey. Why don't you go take a shower and brush your teeth? I'll get you if anything happens." Jeff sat up and did as she said, squeezing Nick's hand before freshening up in the hospital bathroom.
About twenty minutes later he walked out to see the doctor talking to his mom. He assumed it was something bad so he ran to them and frowned. "What's wrong?"
The doctor and his mother both smiled, which Jeff found really odd. "It looks like we'll be waking him up earlier than expected. His vitals have shown a drastic improvement over the last three hours and we feel that it would be a good time to try to switch to regular morphine drips. I promised you could be in here when we did it, so how about you take your position?" Jeff grabbed Nick's hand immediately and started to rub his arm as gently as possible. The doctor set everything up, and a nurse switched everything over, letting us know as soon as she was done. It took a couple minutes, but Jeff suddenly felt Nick squeezing his hand until it hurt. He felt tears in his eyes as he looked at Nick's face. It had gone from somewhat peaceful to pained in such a short period of time. Jeff felt his mom's hand on his shoulder and he tried to take a deep breath.
"Nick? Baby? Can you hear me? I love you." Nick let his hand loosen a little and Jeff continued to rub gentle circles on his arm, which seemed to relax him a little.
"Nick? This is Dr. Avers. I need you to try to open your eyes for me. I know you are confused and in pain, but I need to be able to help you." Nick took in a deep breath and moaned at the pain he was obviously feeling. Jeff squeezed his hand gently. Nick opened his eyes slowly, squinting with the bright light above him. "Good job! Now, do you think you can talk?"
Nick took a shaky breath, let it out, then tried again. He turned to Jeff and Jeff saw a tear in his eyes. His hoarse voice rang out in the room. "I'm so sorry, Jeffy." Jeff reached up and gently wiped the tears falling from Nick's eyes. He smiled, happy to see that Nick was able to talk.
"I know." Jeff felt his mom's hand tighten again on his shoulder. "I want to know what happened, but not now. I'm just happy you're alive." He felt a tear slip down his cheek and he sniffled. Nick tried to smile, but it was more like a grimace. The doctor touched a few buttons and Nick seemed to relax a little more, but didn't take his eyes off of Jeff.
"Nick, I'm going to need you to tell me what pain you have. Take your time. Get used to the morphine. It might make you feel nauseous and lightheaded. Just breathe normally."
Jeff was quite surprised to hear Nick listing his pain quickly. "My ribs hurt a lot, my head is pounding, my arm has a shooting pain in it, and my leg aches." He got really pale and the nurse held the bucket up to his face just in time for him to throw up. Jeff rubbed his arm soothingly, hoping it would help him feel better. It seemed to after a moment or two. Jeff reached up and wiped another tear from Nick's cheek and Nick tried to smile again. He took in a deep breath. "I love you so much."
The doctor smiled and Jeff's mom spoke up. "Nick, I'm Isabelle, Jeff's mom. I hope you don't mind me being here. I was very worried." Nick looked up towards her and tried to remember if he had ever met her before.
"I don't mind." He coughed a little and let out a little whimper. The doctor interrupted.
"I think that's enough talking for now. You should rest so that you can heal. I'll be back tomorrow morning to explain everything. Jeff will be here with you all night I think, so you won't be alone. You're lucky to be alive, Nick." The doctor left the room and Jeff's mom moved back to her seat by the window, giving Jeff some alone time with Nick.
"Just rest, baby. I want you to get better." Nick smiled for real this time and squeezed Jeff's hand.
"I want to kiss you." Jeff smirked. Nick was heavily medicated and probably wasn't feeling most of the pain anymore, but he was still Nick.
"I don't want to hurt you." Nick frowned and looked sadly at Jeff. Jeff sighed and stood up, leaning over to kiss Nick, who reached up with his good arm and pulled him closer. Jeff laughed. "Nicky, my mom's here." Nick just kissed him more intensely and Jeff moaned. "Nick." Nick let him go finally and sighed.
"I was afraid I wouldn't be able to do that again." He coughed and Jeff rubbed his arm.
"Me too. Now, rest. I'll be here when you wake up." Nick smiled and closed his eyes. Once his hand relaxed in Jeff's, Jeff knelt his head down and started to cry. He wasn't sure why he was crying anymore. He was relieved mostly, but he was still angry that Nick did this to himself. He felt his mom come behind him and rub his back. He took a shaky breath and looked up at her.
"Are you hungry? I was going to go get some dinner. How does McDonald's sound?" Jeff smiled.
"Sounds like you remember my favorite place to eat. Can I get a Big Mac and a large fry please?"
"That's a lot of food."
"I haven't eaten since dinner with Nick before the accident."
"Okay. I'll be back in a bit." She smiled and walked out of the room. Jeff decided to set up his cot since Nick would be asleep for a while and he could try to get some actual rest after he ate. He looked over at Nick when he heard a moan, but saw that he was smiling so he ignored it.
His mom came in only a minute after he finished setting up the cot in the room. He smiled up at her and she set the food down on the edge of the table for Nick's food when he was able to eat again.
"You need to eat. He didn't wake up did he?" Jeff shook his head and grabbed the food from the table. He finished in record time, realizing too late that he would probably get a stomachache. He threw his trash away and turned to his mom, who was eating a chicken salad slowly.
"You think he'll be okay?" He knew his mom wasn't a doctor, but he also knew she would be honest with him, even more so than the doctor would.
"I think he'll be just fine, honey. He's got you." She smiled comfortingly at him and he looked down at his lap.
"Do you think we'll be okay?" He bit his lip to hold back the tears he knew would come if he thought about how truly angry he was.
"I think you will both figure everything out in time. People make mistakes, especially at this age. I know he is incredibly sorry."
"He's only sorry because something happened."
"I think he would have been sorry whether he was here in this hospital or in your room back at Dalton. He'll figure out how to make it up to you and you will forgive him. I can see how much you love him and I can see that he loves you more than you think he does." She smirked and stood up. "I have to go home. Visiting hours are over. I'll be back in the morning. I love you, honey. Call if you need anything at all." She kissed his cheek and he said goodbye.
He moved his cot closer to Nick's bed, hoping to be able to hold his hand through the whole night. While he was changing into his sweatpants, he heard a laugh come from Nick's bed.
"Best view I've woken up to in years." Jeff spun around quickly, looking at Nick with a shocked face.
"You're supposed to be sleeping." He pulled his sweatpants up quickly. He sat down on the edge of Nick's bed and held his hand. "You should sleep."
"I don't want to." He grimaced. "Everything hurts too much."
"I can get the doctor in here." Nick shook his head when Jeff got up to press the nurse button. "They can give you more morphine."
"It makes me feel sick."
"But you don't have pain."
"I prefer the pain."
"Why would you prefer pain?" Jeff had never heard anyone say they prefer pain over nausea.
"It reminds me not to do stupid things anymore." Nick turned his head to hide the tears falling from his eyes. He felt Nick grip his shoulder and then his hand on his cheek, pulling his face towards him.
"I think you've learned your lesson. Do you want to talk about this now?" Nick nodded and took a deep breath. "Are you sure?" Jeff wouldn't admit it, but he was terrified to hear the story. He was almost hoping Nick wouldn't remember it so that they could just throw it in the past and move on. That was not the case though.
"I went to this party to celebrate an old friend's birthday. I swear I wasn't going to drink. I had promised you I wouldn't and I was going to stick to it. Wait, can you help me sit up?" Jeff looked at him nervously, but gently helped him sit up, bringing the bed to a sitting position. "Thanks." Jeff nodded for him to continue. "I did good for about an hour. I just kind of mingled, but I started to feel really guilty about lying to you about where I was. And I promise I wasn't faking sick. I was actually feeling really sick. I think that's why I accepted the first shot of vodka. I figured it would be just enough to make me feel better and then I could enjoy myself a little more." Nick stopped to cough and Jeff handed him some water. He shouldn't have been talking this much, but he couldn't wait for this conversation to be over. He cleared his throat, wincing a little at the pain, and then continued. "My friend convinced me to do a couple more shots, and I just let go. I don't even remember how many drinks I had after the fourth shot, but I know it was way more than I should have had." He looked down at his lap, feeling extremely guilty. "Someone I hardly knew offered me a ride, but I said I was fine to drive. Obviously, I wasn't. It took me ten minutes just to find my car, even though I'm pretty sure I passed it about six times. I was so drunk. The whole time my mind just kept thinking about how I needed to get home to you to apologize for breaking my promise." He wiped a tear and took a breath, looking up at Jeff. "I didn't see the truck. I was trying to get to you, but everything was blurry and there was rain and I was going so fast. I didn't see it. I should have, but I didn't. I'm so sorry, Jeff. You have no idea how much I regretted everything as soon as I drank." He burst into full on sobs, which caused him to whimper in pain every few seconds as well. Jeff pulled him into his side as gently as possible and shushed him.
"Please calm down, Nick. Please. It's okay. I forgive you." He hadn't meant to say it and he didn't think he would be able to forgive him this easily, but he did. Nick had a hold on Jeff's shirt and was holding as tightly as he possibly could.
"Please don't break up with me. I swear to you I will never drink again. I won't lie anymore. I won't ever do anything wrong again." He let out a full sob and Jeff held him even tighter, but still tried not to hurt him.
"I'm not leaving you, Nick. I love you so much." He tried to calm Nick down as much as possible, but a nurse walked in a moment later looking nervous.
"Is everything alright in here?" Jeff nodded. "Please come get me if you need something."
The nurse walked out and Jeff kissed the top of Nick's head. "Calm down, baby. I'm not going anywhere. I love you."
Nick slowly calmed down, started to breathe normally, and Jeff kissed his forehead. Soon enough, he heard a snore come from Nick and he smirked. He rested against the bed, getting comfortable for a long night.