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Chapter 23 – Amnesia.

Drizzle. Fine rain that soak's you through. Will sat in it at midnight; at the park around the corner from the hospital. He had been there for around 24 hours now; ignoring the dull pang of hunger which was overcome by the huge monster of betrayal that reared its head. He could imagine them together now, laughing happily now he was gone, Djaq leaning over his bed, her lips softly touching his. Will's former friend would deepen the kiss, roughly running is tongue along Djaq's lips as he reached out his arms and pulled her onto him...

Will shook himself, struggling to get the image from his head. He knew he had to go back; he hadn't seen Djaq, or any of them in days. He needed to see if Robin had woken up. And most importantly he needed to talk to Allan.

On the bench Will had tried to build up courage to walk back into the hospital, now his white shirt had turned see-through in the wet and his jeans had become heavy with absorbed water. Mist surrounded him so he did not see the figure approaching and was unaware until the wet footfalls reached him. The shorter man sat on the bench beside him, seemingly reading his thoughts.

"They feel terrible," Much muttered, wiping the rain from his brow, as he looked at Will, ready to gage his reaction.

Will ignored the question, turning to Much and starting a new thread of conversation, "How's Robin?"

It was sudden, a tearless emotional sob racked through Much. He plunged his face into his hands and began to shake uncontrollably, his mop of long dirty blonde hair fell as a curtain beside his face.

"Much?!" Will shuffled along the bench in alarm, putting what he hoped was a comforting arm around his friend.

The shaking subsided slowly and Much looked up, eyes wide and watery. He stared at Will, emotional turmoil caught in his unblinking eyes; Will's breath caught in his throat as he waited for the inevitable bad news.

"Robin proposed to Marian," Much said thickly through tears.

This served to send a small wave of relief through Will, followed by the aftershock of confusion; Why was Much so upset?

"But..."

Much shook his head, gulping back fresh tears, "She said yes, but...he keeps asking. He forgets. The doctors say his brain was affected by smoke. No one has any idea how long the amnesia will last." Much finally blinked, tearing his eyes away from Will's and staring ahead of him, into the mist as he explained the heartbreaking few days the others had experienced, his tone was harsh and monotonous until the end, where his voice began to break, "Five times he's proposed; five times Marian has accepted; four times she has explained that he had already asked. Five times he's asked Allan and Djaq why they aren't speaking; five times, each, they've explained the predicament; four times they have tried to make him remember what they told him before. Five times he's asked why I seem so sad; five times I have answered with an offhand shrug; four times I have tried to help him remember that he has asked before. Four times the doctor's have taken blood and done various tests; there's no way to know if it will be permanent."

Tears slipped down Much's cheeks as he turned back to Will, his tone now gentler, "Djaq need's you."

Much shrugged out from under Will's arm walking away without waiting for a response and letting the information he had given Will sink in. All he could do now was hope that, for Djaq's sake, for all their sake's, he would come back to the hospital and offer his emotional support once more.

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Robin struggled to overcome the fuzziness that had settled in his brain and events surrounding the last few days. Djaq and Allan, still not speaking directly to one another, were sitting either side of his bed, Allan still in his white hospital nightgown, trying to explain his 'temporary amnesia', while Robin screwed his eyes and face up furiously trying to remember.

"I can't have proposed five times!" Robin exclaimed, relaxing a little as he stopped attempting to search his brain for memories he was sure did not exist.

Djaq sighed, she understood the problem but couldn't help being frustrated by Robin's semi-denial of the problem.

"I'm sorry Robin." Allan cut in, sensing Djaq's irrational irritation. She did not smile in thanks but kept her eyes far away from meeting his, fixating on Robin, her eyes tired but still filled with concern.

Much traipsed into the semi-private room leaving a trail of muddy water behind him; he took in the absence of Marian, assuming her to be asleep elsewhere, he knew she needed it, and the fact that Carter was fast asleep. He knew this meant Allan and Djaq would be strained trying to keep the peace between them for Robin's benefit, he stepped in; his worries about Will now pushed to the back of his mind.

"Hey," Much forced a cheery smile onto his weary face, he stood at the end of Robin's bed watching as his best friend's eyes darted around the room absentmindedly.

Suddenly they fixated on Much, "Much!" Robin's smile was warm and genuine, "I have some good news, I wanted to wait until you got here, I can tell Carter and Will later." Will's name made both Allan and Djaq shift uncomfortably in their seats but neither said a word. "I'm going to propose to Marian."

The three at Robin's bedside sighed in unison. A confused frown settled on Robin's face, "What's wrong? I know I did some things but I think she's forgiven me and..."

"It's not that." Much interrupted Robin's torrent of guilt as he had heard it before, "Djaq, why don't you go get some sleep?" Much prompted.

Djaq smiled weakly in thanks and with a quiet, 'Bye', directed at Robin she swiftly left the room; Much quickly took up her vacated chair.

"Where to begin," Much muttered under his breath as he again started to explain why his three friend's had not been excited to hear the news.

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Will didn't know what he was doing; all he did know was that he had to do it. He felt selfish and guilty for leaving his friends; he hadn't even fully known Robin's condition before he left; he could have been near dying when Will had left.

He strode purposely through the automatic doors at the entrance to the hospital, ignoring the nurses bickering at the nurses' station as he walked down the familiar corridor. Djaq was walking down it, towards him, she stopped dead in her tracks, staring at Will.

"I'm sorry I've been such a jerk," Will told her walked slowly forwards, his arms outstretched, she did not come to him so he continued, "I know I can trust you, and I love you. I love you more than any words can explain, and I hope that someday we can get married and have children. I want to grow old with you Djaq; I love you."

Hope lightened Djaq's eyes as she moved timidly forwards into his embrace, they held each other for a long moment before breaking apart. Will noticed the dark sacks under Djaq's eyes and guilt immediately flooded through him.

"I was just going to rest," Djaq said softly, "You should go and see Robin, but Allan's there, so you don't have to if you don't; want..." Djaq trailed off, her usual fiery defiance gone, along with her strength to keep her eyelids open.

Djaq walked forward, along the way Will had just come from, turning left and leaving his view, but not before from her profile he saw a glistening tear on the side of her cheek.

Disappointment stirred deep in the depths of his stomach, she hadn't told him she loved him too, her embrace had seemed awkward and cold; he pushed this thought to the back of his mind as he made his way to Allan, Robin and Carter's shared room.

As he pushed the door open two gaunt faces turned to look at him, surprise gracing their faces. Much stood up suddenly, mumbling something about the bathroom and pushing past Will and leaving the room. This left a still sleeping Carter, Robin who had just fallen into a fitful slumber, Allan and Will.

Will hung awkwardly in the door way as Allan rose from his chair, "I'm so sorry."

Allan's sincere apology did nothing to arouse Will's pity and the dark haired man's fist connected with Allan's face quickly, he fell to the ground beside Robin's bed; groaning.