There were times when Cal felt he was completely overstepping the mark. He could probably count them on one hand in his entire life but, still, they were there. And this was one of those moments. Interestingly enough, it wasn't because he was grilling someone for answers in the Cube with everyone watching and wincing away in the background because he was really pushing the limits on decency. No, this was because of Kent.
Kent had just come out of surgery. Cal didn't want the young man to wake up alone but the fight he'd had with his mother yesterday had left Kent so upset he had called Cal in tears and his mother had refused to come down today. Cal was there, because Kent had asked him to, but he was hanging out in the waiting room and he wasn't sure if the doctor was going to come by and talk to him about how it had gone or whether Cal was even going to be allowed in to see Kent today anyway. He wasn't family and he didn't get the chance to talk to Kent about it before he'd gone in to find out what the young man preferred.
Cal wanted to be there, but he didn't want to be stepping on toes. It was tense enough as it was. And Gillian was being no help. Her phone was on silent while she was with a patient and she had a full day booked. Cal had sent one tentative text to see if she would respond, but so far, nothing. It was going to be one of those things he was going to have to work out by himself.
Cal was actually still hoping Kent's mother was going to show up. Yeah she might be upset but Kent hadn't actually done anything to her. He hadn't gone out to... he hadn't killed someone or maimed her, or done something that was completely unforgivable. Cal often thought about the point where he would disown his boys, and even if they killed someone, he was pretty sure he'd be scheduling in weekly prison visits. His kids were his kids. And no matter what they did, or what happened, he couldn't envisage not talking to them ever again. Even if they really did go and do something he was totally against. What was he even totally against?
But Kent's mother did show up. And so she should. Cal saw her approach the nurses' station and ask about her son. Well he assumed she has asked about her son but he didn't approach her. Like he said, there were some things he got the impression he should just stay out of. So he watched a nurse take her to one of the recovery rooms and figured that was where Kent was. Or was going to be. Or something. The monitor in the waiting room said that Kent was out of surgery. And sure enough, as Cal kept an eye on the corridor he saw Kent being wheeled into the room. The young man was still unconscious, with a breathing tube still taped to his mouth and Cal had a sudden sickening realisation that this was exactly what Gillian had gone through once upon a time with him.
Cal left a message with a nurse to tell Kent that he had been there and would come back to see him. Then he returned a call from work, while he headed back towards the Lightman Group building. But he didn't stop in there. He parked a few blocks down, at Gillian's building. He headed up and sat in the waiting room for the next session to finish. The receptionist, he had forgotten her name, eyed him up from behind her desk; like that would intimidate him. Another man arrived and took a seat. He got a friendly smile.
Ten minutes of waiting and Gillian emerged to retrieve her next appointment. Whoever she had just been counselling got to slip out of a back door. Cal often wondered why Gillian hadn't simply slipped out the back door when that nut-bar with the gun had come in but he hadn't had the heart to ask her. She felt bad enough about that day as it is. She told Cal Kevin had known she was there, so maybe she was too afraid. Cal didn't blame her for that. Not at all.
"Cal," Gillian said surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"Can I steal five minutes?"
"I have an appointment," she lowered her voice and upped the insistency.
"Really need to talk to you," Cal went on, just as firm. "Five minutes. Promise."
Gillian's expression went to concerned and he knew she was thinking that something had happened to their kids. It was unfair of him to play on that, but he certainly didn't correct her, not if it meant getting him a foot in the door. He took her by the elbow and guided her back to her office, quickly closing the door behind them.
"Are?" Gillian started but Cal cut her off with a hug. A fierce hug. The air 'ooofffed' out of her. She attempted to embrace him back, but by the time she managed to raise her arms Cal let her go again. He paced away a few feet, then came back and cupped her face in his hands, looking into her eyes. "What happened?" She blinked at him.
"Kent's out of surgery."
Gillian's face flickered to scared. "Is he ok?"
"I dunno. His mum showed up and I kind of just bailed. I'll go back to see him."
"His mum came?" Gillian repeated, her eyes went a little wider in surprised questioning. She brought her hands to his and curled her fingers into the gap between his palm and her cheek.
"Yeah she did," Cal affirmed.
Gillian tugged down on his hands, pulling him away. "That's great."
"Yeah and I saw him go by, with the breathin' tube and it suddenly felt like I was you, watchin' me. From the accident?"
Gillian nodded as she lowered their hands to her stomach. He was obviously shaken. "Do you want to come and sit?"
"You've got a patient," Cal pointed out.
"I can give you a minute," Gillian countered.
"And I've had five. I just wanted to see you."
"Ok," Gillian agreed and opened her mouth to try again.
"I'm fine. It's fine. I just... I dunno," Cal shook his head. "Scary. Seein' someone like that sometimes. You know? Course you know," Cal went on without waiting for an answer.
Gillian pulled him closer, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. She gave him a full body press, then pulled back a little for a kiss. "Are you ok?" She asked, looking him in the eye. He nodded. Gillian kissed him again. "I'll call you for lunch."
"Yeah," Cal agreed. "I love you."
"I love you too," Gillian responded with a smile.
PJ
Cal did go back to see Kent, that afternoon, when he was actually allowed to go home. The implant surgery was an outpatient procedure. But Kent was pretty tired and uncomfortable so Cal didn't stay long. His mother was at least staying to look after him. Cal told him he would be back to see him in a few days. Kent nodded; he barely lifted his arms to sign. Cal bent to give him a quick kiss on the forehead and then walked away, feeling that strange mix of affection and confusion. Over stepping the mark?
It took a month of healing time for Kent's implant to actually be activated. Cal had to admit, he was pretty curious about how it worked. The criteria for receiving an implant was changing all the time. Lewis might be eligible one day. So Cal looked into it, did his research like he normally did. He thought an implant was a magical cure but in reality, it was more like an internal hearing aid. A cochlea implant wasn't going to restore every sound but it would improve hearing. What Cal didn't know was that Kent used to wear hearing aids when he was younger but he had given them up as they stopped being effective. Lewis would be a really good candidate if it weren't for the fact that his ears were damaged from his birth; he had oral language skills and practice with a hearing aid.
Cal went to see Kent in the afternoon. He had flowers from Gillian and cards from the boys and a little penguin soft toy from himself. He had text Kent ahead of time to see if it was still ok to visit. Cal pressed the door bell to Kent's little flat. He had had it wired to flash a light to indicate someone was at the door. And the same for when the phone rang. A few minutes later Kent came to the door. He gave Cal a grin and signed 'hello'.
Cal smiled back but his hands were too full for singing. He dumped the flowers on Kent and headed inside. Out of habit, Cal didn't speak to Kent until they were face to face. Kent put his flowers on the kitchen bench and faced Cal and Cal suddenly realised that maybe Kent could actually hear him. "So, should I stop swearin' unda my breath now?" Cal asked, still signing because he knew it would take time for Kent to understand words. His brain would have to re-learn sound.
Kent laughed and shoved his hand into Cal's, his way of saying 'shut up'. "I can hear your voice," he said, his speech still distorted from years of not being able to even hear himself. Then he burst into tears. Cal pulled him into a hug and rubbed his back a few times. 'Sorry, sorry',' Kent signed as he pulled away again.
"Don't be sorry," Cal told him, his hands on the young man's shoulders. As Kent turned his head to reach for tissues Cal could see the scars behind his ears. To be fair, he was looking, otherwise, they were relatively subtle.
Kent dabbed at his eyes and turned back to Cal. "I can hear things. Sounds and voices."
"Words?" He brought his hands up together, making a 'G' with his right and pressing it against his left index finger.
Kent shook his head. "Some words."
Cal gave him a smile. "It's nice to hear you talkin'." He twirled his finger by his mouth.
Kent gave a pleased smile in return. "I can hear my own voice." He made a 'V' hand by his throat and moved it forward.
Cal's grin went wider. "That's fantastic."
"I'm going to have someone help me. With saying words," Kent went on, using 'talk'.
Cal nodded, pleased and excited for his friend. "Good."