So, for starters, sorry for the wait. It's only been a week, but still. I just don't want to post EVERY SINGLE DAY because it'll get less views. R&R
Matthew continued sitting in the cursed hallway for another full hour, though to him it felt like it'd been years. A doctor walked out of Gilberts room and smiled slightly at Matthew. "Gilbert Beilschmidt is awake. There are some things I will need to tell you before you can see him, but he is awake. You should be glad for that."
Almost instantly Matthew was standing, ready to go into the room. "Please hurry and tell me what I need to know. I want to see him." His face portrayed fear, worry, regret, and anxiousness. As they say, he was wearing his emotions on his sleeves.
"I understand your urgency, but there is some rather bad news that you need to know. And unfortunately I cannot tell you anything just yet. Family must be told first, then they decide whether or not anyone else is to know."
Matthew's brain screamed at him to protest, and so he began to say, "It's never been like that before-" but the doctor cut him off.
"There has never been a change in his condition before. Now please, go home and get some rest. We'll call you just as soon as we have permission to let you know Gilberts state."
Matthew was silent. Something bad had happened to Gilbert and he wasn't allowed to know about it… He clenched his teeth and fist in anger. He had to wait for Gilbert's family to know first, and that meant Ludwig. Ludwig was Gilbert's only true family left.
Once again, Matthew began to protest. "What if his brother doesn't come? He hasn't even visited for years, so what if he still doesn't come despite-"
"There's no need to worry about that," came a voice from down the hall, once again halting Matthew's objections. Both Matthew and the doctor turned to see a tall man walking towards them. "You make it sound like I don't even care about my brother Canada. Please, just let me take care of this quickly. I have work to get back to."
Matthew tried so hard not to, but he really couldn't help but glare at Ludwig - or, should he say, Germany. Sure, running a country is hard, but family should always come first! And either way, Matthew was a country too and he still had time for Gilbert! Sure, he'd stopped coming to visit for a really long time… But now that Gilbert was awake it would all be better now! Right?
He watched in annoyed silence as the doctor and Germany walked into the hospital room, and through the temporarily opened door he could hear the most beautiful sound…
He heard the sound of Gilbert speaking. It was hard to make out his words, but the mumble sounded like a groggy and strained, 'Hey Doc!' The fact that Gilbert could speak again, comprehensible or not, was a miracle to Matthew's ears!
But it was taken from him within seconds as that damn hospital room door closed and left him standing in bitter silence.
Fifteen minutes later Matthew heard the click of a door opening and immediately jumped from his seat. He mildly noticed the pain in his ass from sitting so long, but gave it no concern as he sped towards the doctor whom was accompanied by the ever stoic Ludwig.
"So? Can I see him now? Can someone tell me what's going on exactly?" the Canadian asked urgently. He needed to speak with Gilbert soon or he feared he'd go insane. He'd waited done his waiting, six years of it, and now he had a chance to see his lover and it was being held away from him.
There was a pause filled with silence before the doctor turned to Ludwig. "This is your decision. I can have no say. But I do advise that you let me tell him what has happened."
With a curt nod, Ludwig took a step forward. "You can see him. You'll probably be able to help anyways." He began walking away, and it was fairly obvious that he was leaving. "Canada, I must warn you though…" He stopped, and was now standing beside Matthew.
It suddenly occurred to Matthew just how much taller and stronger Ludwig was then him.
"Do not ever imply that I don't care about my brother. Don't assume things based on history you don't know, nor understand." And with that, Germany walked away down the hall, eventually turning in the direction Matthew knew led towards the front exit.
Canada allowed the other words to sink in, taking in every word one step at a time. Had he been a bit too quick to judge Germany's feelings to Prussia?
"I want to see him. Please, hurry up and tell me what I need to know," Matthew said to the doctor calmly, deciding he would either kill or apologize to Ludwig later.
With a nod the doctor sat down and gestured for Matthew to do the same. Matthew did, of course, and waited anxiously to finally receive an answer. "I'm sure you're aware that the reason Gilbert fell into his comatose was because-"
"Because his country fell and it was finally catching up to his body, I know that. But he's awake now. So what's happening to him now?" Matthew didn't care about what he already knew. He wanted answers to all the mysteries of the present, not the past.
The doctor sighed. "I was getting to that. Anyways, his country falling caught up to his body all at once and overwhelmed him. It sent him into a comatose. I'll be honest, we all expected him to die due to his country being dead." He paused, but not for long. Matthew was looking rather fearful and impatient. "But he didn't die, obviously. Though… It appears he's no longer a country. He's become… Well, he has become human. Nor does he have any memory of ever being country - or rather, I should say, he doesn't have any memory at all."
It took a moment, but when Matthew realized what the doctor was saying it hit him all at once like a brick wall. "Can his memory be recovered? Will he be okay? What did he say when he saw Germany - er, Ludwig?"
"Slow down ," the doctor said calmly, placing a hand on Canada's shoulder. The nation assumed it was meant as a reassuring gesture. "His memory can be restored. Seeing something or someone close to him might help; I suppose that's why everyone thinks you may be able to help."
On instinct, Matthew asked, "Who's everyone?"
"Mr. Ludwig, the doctor who was on call whenever you used to visit, and the nurses… Your place next to him has not gone unnoticed."
Matthew couldn't help but smile a bit. "Can I see him now?" he asked anxiously. He knew that Gilbert may not remember him, but he also knew that the doctor had said seeing something or someone he knew might jog his memory.
The nod of approval was all Matthew needed before he raced into the hospital room.