"I don't like it," Cal heard when he entered. "Please, get Cal... I don't like it."
"What happened?" Cal asked Zoe. The relief he felt for Ethan being awake was taken over when he heard Ethan's painful cries. He didn't want Ethan to be conscious if he was so distressed.
"He woke up before we had the chance to start and panicked. He didn't know what was going on and then he started crying for you. He won't keep still and we can't calm him."
Cal put on the apron to protect him from the radiation, before stepping by the scanner. "Ethan," he said softly, "Ethan, it's Cal. You can hear me, I know you can. Just calm down, Ethan."
"Cal! Get me out, I don't like it. I can't breathe. What's happening?" He sobbed. Cal wished he could just hug his brother and calm him down. "Please, Cal!" he sobbed, "get me out!"
"It's fine, Ethan. Everything will be okay, you'll be okay. Just stay as still as you can and it will soon be over." Cal continued to soothe his brother, who's crying seemed to have decreased. Cal hated seeing his brother so upset and scared and clingy, and it worried him that not long ago, they were arguing.
"What's happening, Cal? I don't understand." Ethan said, looking up at his brother with pleading eyes. Cal didn't know where to start. He didn't know whether Ethan remembered being hit, remembered the argument, or even remembered what Charlie had told him. Before he could answer (and if he was honest, kind of glad), Zoe entered with the results. Lily, Charlie, and Cal all looked up.
"Right, Ethan. I have the results from the scan and the x-ray, and I'm afraid you've broken your right tib and fib. You're shoulder isn't broken or fractured, but it is badly bruised, so you will have to be more careful with it. You do have concussion, but your neck and back are clear, so we'll get you sat up." Cal looked over at Ethan, who looked very confused.
"Ethan?" he asked worriedly.
"I don't understand. Why don't I understand?!"
"Ah, yes. Cal - can you come over here?" Zoe asked, and he nodded slowly.
Ethan clung onto his hand. "No, don't leave me! Stay, Cal."
"He won't be long. We'll get those blocks away and the collar off, and then you can see Cal again," Zoe said, gesturing for the other two people in the room to sort Ethan out.
Zoe took Cal aside. "I think he might have post-traumatic amnesia, but considering his head injury isn't that serious, he should be alright in a few hours. We'll obviously keep him in for observation, but he will be alright. Just make sure you keep him calm." Cal nodded and went back to Ethan.
An hour and a half later saw a calmer Ethan in cubicles. "I don't understand what happened, Cal. Please tell me. Why aren't you telling me?"
Cal sighed. He'd put it off for long enough. "What do you remember about what happened today?"
"I remember," his forehead creased, "Charlie talked to me. About Emilie and you. Then you told me about the Huntington's. Oh my God, Cal! The adoption! Huntington's... we might have it. You could have it... you could have Huntington's!"
"Hey, hey, hey. Calm down. It's okay, Ethan. Just carry on telling me what you remember, and we'll deal with that after.
"Erm, I remember telling you to move out... I think. I did, didn't I?"
Cal nodded, "you did, yeah. Can you remember what happened after your shift - when you came home?"
Ethan stared at the sheets, before throwing his head back on the pillow. "I don't know!"
"Come on, Ethan. You walked into our living room. What did you see? Imagine it. Remember it and imagine it."
Ethan closed his eyes. "You. I saw you. You were sleeping... no, drunk. You had been drinking."
"What else, Ethan?" Cal pushed.
He waited for an answer from Ethan, and after another short moment of silence, Ethan said, "I give up. It's giving me a headache. I'm going to sleep." He kept his eyes shut and stopped talking.
"Don't get comfortable, I'm not allowed to let you sleep for long, remember?"
"I don't. That's the point," he mumbled, sounding defeated.
Ethan groaned. "Why'd you wake me up?" he whispered, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
"Because you have concussion and you can't sleep for long. So tell me, what do you remember now?"
"Can you not question me?" he asked frustratingly.
"Answer my question," Cal said.
"Answer mine," Ethan opposed.
"Fine. No, I will. Now your turn," he said, getting annoyed at his brother. All he needed to know was if his memory was back to normal. He didn't need Ethan being difficult.
"I don't know, Cal. You were on the sofa when I came home. I remember... I remember shouting. We argued. Because... because... you didn't tell me. You didn't tell me and I needed to know."
"What didn't I tell you? Can you remember what I didn't tell you?"
Ethan stared at the ceiling, like he was looking for the answer. "The adoption. The Huntington's. I shouted at you." He stopped.
"What else, Ethan? What did you shout at me about?" Cal urged.
"I can't remember, but I said I was moving out. Oh my God, Cal. Something hit my side. Cal! I remember! Something hit me, but I don't know what. It hurt so much."
Cal smiled, relief hitting him in a wave. At least he could recount the evening, more or less. But then he had to tell Ethan what happened. What Ethan would probably never remember by himself. "You were hit by a car, Ethan. You walked out into the road. I don't think you heard me calling out to you."
Ethan looked to Cal, his eyes searching Cal's face. "I'm sorry I worried you, Cal."
Cal laughed half-heartedly, "don't be sorry, Nibbles. We probably needed that to put things into perspective. We both always need a car to put things into perspective."
"I'm never going near another car again," his little brother mumbled.
"It seems it's still dangerous to you even if you're walking, Eth," Cal laughed.
There were a few moments of silence, before Ethan spoke again. "I'm... I'm sorry Cal - "
Cal shook his head. " - don't apoligise. I should apoligise - if you're going to listen this time." Cal waited for Ethan to nod (just so he wouldn't aggravate his little brother), and continued. "I realised today that if it wasn't for Charlie, you wouldn't have found out until one of his got Huntington's. If neither of us got it, you never would have found out. I didn't have the guts to tell you, Ethan. How could I?"
"It will be okay, Cal. I don't really want to move out, or you to move out." Ethan admitted slowly. "I am sorry for everything I said. It was just a shock. A very big shock."
"You're telling me," Cal mentioned, shrugging.
"Yes, well. When I get out of here, can we have a proper talk? About everything. We've only really shouted at each other... well, I've done the shouting. It wasn't fair on you. Just, let's talk. About where we go from here. I don't want to find out whether either of us have it... but I want to know more about this. About everything. Please?"
Cal smiled gently. "Of course, Ethan. Just don't go getting run over again," he said jokingly, and in a moment of affection (though the fact Ethan was run over probably helped), Cal wrapped his arms around Ethan, being careful around his shoulder. At first, he felt Ethan tense, before he relaxed into it.
"I'm glad you're okay... I'm glad we're okay," Cal said.
"Me too, Cal. Me too."
So, this is the end. I hope you enjoyed it. As I said before, it wasn't very structured, and a bit of dramatic licence was used. It wasn't that good, but I hope you liked it anyway. Thank you to those who reviewed, favourited, and followed. Your support means a lot.
'Till next time. x