Chapter 2 – Rude Awakening
Disclaimer: I do not own the Suite Life series or any characters from the shows.
Why was he in a hospital? Was he sick? He didn't remember feeling sick? He could feel a small bit of fear on the edge of his being.
Was he injured? He examined his body and determined that he wasn't greatly injured. He did, however, feel weak compared to how he had last night. But, how could it have been last night? He was in a hospital now and the previous night he had been in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Something was not right.
Why the hell am I in a hospital?
He sat up, feeling suddenly skinnier and less muscular than he used to be. Zack knew that he wasn't necessarily muscular to begin with, but he liked to think of himself as a bit cut, even if he was lean at best. It was good for the self-esteem.
He swung his legs out over the side of the bed and stepped down. He felt a few tubes or wires slip awkwardly out of his flesh. Suddenly the peaceful quiet was replaced with a horrid, blaring, noise. According to his heart rate monitor he had just flat-lined.
It didn't take long for a nurse and a doctor to come rushing into the room. Their sense of urgency and concern flooded off them and almost knocked Zack over. He understood they were worried he was dead, but once they saw him surely they would be relieved.
Their reaction was far different from what he expected.
"Oh my god! Zack, you're awake!" The nurse covered her mouth with manicured hands, looking completely surprised.
The doctor seemed to control himself a bit better, "Zack, please sit down. My name is Doctor Carlson. Penny will you turn that thing off, please?"
The doctor ushered Zack back to his bed and, simultaneously, the heart rate monitor was shut off.
"Zack, do you know what day it is?"
Zack thought for a few seconds, "It's March 20th. Saturday."
The doctor frowned, obviously displeased with the answer. "Can you tell me where you are?"
It was Zack's turn to frown.
What's with the quiz?
He didn't understand why the doctor was asking him all these questions. He was feeling a little exposed, a little intimidated. Zack wanted Cody nearby for comfort and Cody was nowhere to be seen.
"Look, where's Cody? I just want him here."
The doctor frowned again, looking puzzled, "Zack, who's Cody?"
Who's Cody? This is the worst freaking doctor I've ever had!
"Cody? Cody Martin? My twin brother?"
The doctor nodded slowly, choosing his words carefully, "Peggy, please contact Mr. Martin's family and tell them he's woken up."
She nodded and stepped silently out of the room.
Zack could feel himself beginning to get impatient. All he wanted was Cody by his side and this quack was asking who Cody was. "Just get me Cody, please."
"I'm sorry Zack. I don't really know how to tell you this. Cody isn't real."
Zack succumbed to a fit of laughter, "That's good, doc. Just get Cody for me. Oh man, that's funny." He wiped a tear from his eye, "That's got to be the best thing I've ever heard."
The doctor sighed and produced a calendar. "Zack today is September 7th. You're in Boston at the general hospital."
Zack raised an eyebrow in confusion. Why was this doctor messing with him so much? Was it normal for doctors to wake their patients up with jokes? He could feel a strange sense of worry in the pit of his stomach, though. This doctor didn't seem to be joking at all. And how could he have been transported from the SS Tipton back to Boston in one night without him knowing? It didn't make sense.
"I don't get it."
"Zack, you were in a coma and-" The doctor was cut off by three bodies, entering the room in what may as well have been an explosion.
"Zack! Zack! You're awake!" The woman was clearly his mother. She had been hand-in-hand with another man.
Upon further inspection Zack realized the man was his father. Why was his father here with him now? Why wasn't he touring? More importantly, why was Kurt holding his mother's hand? The two shared an awkward second of eye contact before Zack was suffocated by his mother's tight embrace and strong perfume.
"Mom. Relax." Zack looked at the doorway of the room expecting a worried and wary Cody to enter any second. When nobody came he grew curious, "Where's Cody?"
His mother withdrew from him and held his face. Her eyes were also clouded with confusion, "Zack, who's Cody?"
Zack felt his confusion turn immediately into anger, "Alright! The joke's over! It was funny to begin with, but it's not funny anymore! Mom, this doctor was trying to tell me Cody didn't exist. He told me it's September and that we're in Boston. It's March. And nobody is bringing Cody! Is," Zack paused, suddenly scared, "Is he okay?"
"Zack it is September. And we are in Boston. But, I'm sorry, I don't know who Cody is." She exchanged a glance with the doctor, asking a silent question.
"Stop lying to me!" Zack could feel himself loosing it. All he wanted was Cody beside him. He would have been lying to himself if he said he didn't want to give his brother a big hug.
The doctor intervened, "Zack, please let me explain. You were brought here almost a year ago. You were in an accident, a car accident. Your mother and father were relatively uninjured but you cracked your skull open and it was putting pressure on your brain. You've been in a coma for eleven months."
Zack would have shouted at the doctor. He would have cursed and screamed and fought and gone looking for Cody. He would have done all this, but the seriousness on the doctor's face made him cringe.
"What… what do you mean?"
The doctor shared a long look with his mother and father before continuing. "Zack, I don't know what you saw when you were in a coma. It's common for coma patients to have dreams. I'm not sure who Cody is, but Zack, you're an only child. Cody was just in your imagination when you were… away."
Zack felt reality sink in. He felt the iciness of truth grip his heart. Could the doctor's words be true? It would explain a lot of things, but it would also leave too many questions. Questions so consuming and overwhelming that Zack didn't want to even think about them.
Zack's father, who had remained silent until now, spoke up. "Zacky. He's right. You're an only child. You live with your mom and I just outside of Boston."
Zack shook his head furiously, "Why are you lying to me? Who are you? My mom and dad are divorced! I grew up in the Tipton hotel with mom and Cody! I don't know who the hell you are!"
Carey, if that was even her name, started crying, only to be comforted by her husband.
The doctor stepped in again, "Zack, please lower your voice. I'm sorry that we have to tell you like this. From my understanding, dreams can be very vivid when your in a comatose state. Can I ask you a few questions?"
Zack chose to sulk inwardly instead of shout, "Apparently."
The doctor frowned, not satisfied with the answer. "Zack, what's your earliest memory?"
Zack thought for a while. After a few moments he scrunched his face up.
That's weird.
"My first memory is unleashing the Drew Crew in the Tipton. Moseby didn't like that at all."
The doctor nodded. He might have even smiled. "How old were you when that happened?"
Zack felt a chill crawl up his spine, "It was after my first day… my first day of sixth grade."
Carey and Kurt looked at each other in horror. Their son didn't remember anything of his past life. Years and years of raising a child and instilling in him common sense and tact had been wasted.
"Don't you find it weird that your earliest memory is from when you were twelve?"
Zack swallowed hard, Could it be? Is it even possible that it was all a dream? It can't be. That was real. I cried, I felt pain, I was the happiest and saddest I've ever been. No. That was definitely real.
"Yeah, that is a little weird."
"Yes it is." He paused, "Zack do you want to talk about what you saw? Sometimes sharing your experiences with others is a very good way to put them to rest."
Zack nodded slowly. He'd share his "experiences". But he wouldn't do it because he wanted to put them to rest. He'd do it because he wanted to relive them.