Author's note: I hope you enjoy this and I'm sorry for any OOC-ness. Reviews are lovely and I love construtive critism!
Thirty minutes after Ari arrived at the nearest hospital Peter and Lucas were silently waiting in the waiting room of the hospital. Lucas was busying filling out forms about his younger brother for the nurses to file while Peter contemplated how he had wound up in the waiting room of a hospital, waiting for news about his babysitter.
After the paramedics had taken Ari away Peter walked numbly back to the apartment complex and asked one of the older ladies that had babysat for him to bring him to the hospital. At first believing that the boy was joking the woman tried to turn Peter away, but after seeing the shock in his eyes the woman began to question Peter. After telling her all that he knew the old woman agreed to bring Peter to the only hospital close to the scene of the accident: St. Sebastian's.
After arriving at the hospital and walking into the waiting room Peter found Lucas sitting in a plastic chair near the corner of the room as the old woman asked the nurse at the counter for any information about Ari.
After being met with a polite, 'I'm sorry Ma'am but I don't have any news about him yet. We'll be sure to tell you if we do.' From the nurse at the desk the old woman turned to Peter and let out an exhausted sigh,
"Sorry kid, it looks like they don't have any information about him yet. Is there any one that can stray here with you? I have to go home soon to take care of my own kids." The old woman's face creased deeply as she added, "Of course you're welcome to stay with me until your parents get back."
His parents? Peter hadn't even thought of them in the time between Ari getting hurt and himself arriving at the hospital. And going home with this old lady? Peter wouldn't even think twice about leaving the hospital, what if Ari woke up? Peter wanted to see Ari as soon as possible so he could apologize to him. Peter always liked to get things like saying sorry over with as quickly as possible, that way it would be quicker to get everything back to normal!
Remembering Lucas on the far side of the room Peter told the older woman "No… that guy over there," Peter stuck his index finger toward Lucas, "That's Ari's older brother. I can stay here with him 'til they tell us something."
Even though Peter had only seen Lucas in passing he knew that Ari lived with him and that Lucas worked menial jobs in order to take care of the both of them. Peter remembered his parent's discussing why no one knew anything about these two mysterious boys.
His mother had guessed that their parents had kicked them out of their family home; while his father guessed that the two boys merely wanted a taste of the world for themselves and left home. Peter himself did not care about his new babysitter's origins and never cared to ask Ari either.
"Alright", the older woman said in a voice clearly expressing doubt, "Let's go ask him if he'll look after you." Peter quickly turned to walk briskly through the waiting area filled with the worried families of other patients.
Lucas looked up from his forms as a twelve-year old with an old woman in tow stopped in front of him.
"Hello young man, this boy says he knows you and your brother and that he would like to stay here in order to get news about his friend. I'd take care of him myself but I have my own affairs to sort out." The old woman said with as good as an imitation of a charming smile as she could muster from her wrinkled old face.
Lucas said nothing but nodded and Peter sat down in the empty seat next to the expressionless young man. The old woman said goodbye and Lucas went back to completing his forms while Peter sat thinking. They stayed in complete silence as Lucas turned the forms in and Peter soon fell asleep in his chair.
Finally after what seemed like hours a young doctor came to stand in front of the two, Lucas gently shook Peter's shoulder to rouse him from his sleep.
"Hi, I'm Doctor Jones. I've been working on Ari for the last few hours. He's quite the lucky boy. He's sustained no permanent injuries from what we can see. His MRI's were good and we could find no brain damage; of course we'll have to wait until he wakes up to see if there has been any damage."
Dr. Jones smiled as he spoke to the pair. The only thing that seemed strange to Peter about this doctor was the strange piece of hair that stuck straight up from 's head like an antennae. Lucas on the other hand found himself growing annoyed with the young doctor's cheery attitude.
"Can we see him now doctor? And just what injuries has he sustained?" Lucas said in a tired yet clearly frustrated tone.
"He's probably still asleep but yes you can go and be with him. And I believe that he has a broken leg, some broken ribs, and some superficial cuts and scrapes. All in all he is extremely lucky not to have any injuries to his spine." Dr. Jones took a moment to beam down at Peter before turning around and saying "Let me check with the nurse for his room number and you'll be able to see him."
Lucas and Peter stood as they saw the cheerful doctor walk to the nurse, conversed for a moment and then walk back all with a cheerfully stupid smile on his young face.
"All right he's in room four-thirteen on the fourth floor, but he won't wake up for quite awhile so be prepared for a pretty long wait. Have a good day!" Dr. Jones waved as Lucas and Peter walked to the silver elevator doors near the end of the hall in front of the waiting room.
As Lucas and Peter boarded the elevator Peter began to try to make conversation,
"So… where are you all day? Do you have a job? Why do you and Ari live alone? Do you make a lot of money?" Peter continued to babble on asking all manner of questions about the young man beside him as the elevator stopped and they walked the whitewashed hallway.
At times Peter was met only with silence as his answer, other times he was meet with a quiet 'Hm' sound. Overall Peter's attempts at conversation with the cold man were failed. By the time they had found room four-thirteen Peter had fallen silent, running out of things to ask Lucas as well as not wanting to provoke the icey man.
Lucas is even more boring than his brother!' Peter thought in exasperation as the pair finally found the room and entered it. Peter gasped at the sight within.
There laid Ari on the hospital bed his leg in a cast and his chest white with bandages wrapped tightly around it. On his arms were gashes and cuts that had been stitched shut but blood covered gauze still covered some parts of his arms and legs. A patch of skin on Ari's right cheek had been torn to shreds, a flesh colored butterfly suture pulling the straining to pull the skin together.
Lucas sat down in the chair closest to the hospital bed and rested his face in his hands.
Peter walked to the bed on the opposite side of the room and sat down looking at the clean floor below him. After only a few moments he laid down on the plastic cushions and concentrated on the door opposite to him. Minutes later Peter was deeply asleep.
At first Lucas did not succumb to sleep as easily as Peter but as the afternoon light disappeared into the dimming purple of twilight and eventually into the black night Lucas gave into sleep.
As Lucas slept Ari began to stir in his sleep. At first he only swiped his hand unconsciously at the IV stuck under the skin of his arm and then fluttering his eyes open and closed repeatedly. He didn't come to full awareness until a nurse with a flower clip in her long brown hair quietly walked into the room to check on him.
"Oh good, your awake! You had me and some of the doctors worried with how long you slept. Hmm… can you try to speak for me? Do you want any ice?" The nurse spoke in a quiet whisper seeing the two other occupants of the room asleep.
Ari did not see the younger of the sleepers in the room due to being too exhausted and pained to turn his head from the side of the room that the nurse had entered.
At first all Ari could do was move his jaw silently, and then after what seemed like an enormous effort he was able to stutter out to the nurse:" W-Where's Peter? My son, Peter, d-do you know where he is?"
Immediatly after he asked this unusual question for a boy so young, his eyes closed again and he fell into a troubled sleep until his brother and son awoke.