A/N: First: I'm so, so sorry I haven't posted in quite a while, but here it's just really stressful at the moment and I don't think I'll be able to update again in the next at least week. I won't be at home from tomorrow on for a couple of days, but therefore I thought it's time to post a new chapter.
I'm sorry it's mostly Michael, Tyler, Alex and Lewis, no Mark or Jackson yet, but I promise, with the next chapters they are coming all back. We just felt like it was important to do those chapters before the surgery =)
We hope you like them!
Have a nice start of the week you all!
And thanks for the support and that some of you are still here! That means a lot! =)
Michael Holt POV:
Michael was just checking on Jackson's latest lab results. He wanted to be ready for tomorrow and he wanted Jackson to be ready. He didn't want to take any risks and so Jackson needed to be stable. But so far it looked like he was, and Michael just hoped in the end everything would be fine.
He was just putting the folder down when he saw her coming. Saw them coming.
At first he saw only Addison and his face lit up immediately, but then he saw the woman behind her and literally froze in place.
Catherine Avery.
Not that he was afraid of anyone or such, but Catherine Avery was definitely a person someone should respect. One of the things Michael had learned very early on when he started being friend with Lewis.
He assumed Lewis had called her after Jackson's accident. Of course. Who wouldn't? She was their mother after all. Still, her mere presence sent shivers down Michael's spine.
"Dr. Holt, can I talk to you for a second? If you're not too busy," Catherine said once she approached him, and her tone was somehow patronizing. But maybe Michael was imagining things.
Inevitably, Michael asked himself if Lewis had told her about him being the one that had run Jackson over and he felt a flutter in his stomach. If he had Catherine would probably tell him that she was going to press charges against him. As if things weren't bad enough as they were.
"Sure, of course," he finally replied, clearing his throat, sending Addison a pleading look.
"Wanna come to my office?"
"Sure," Catherine nodded. "I'm sure you can imagine why I'm here..."
"Yeah, I can," Michael gave back, leading the two women towards his office and closing the door afterwards, when Catherine turned to Addison.
"Can you give us some privacy, please?"
Immediately, Michael felt a strong fear inside of him, but he tried not to show it.
"Yeah, of course," Addison replied, looking at Michael.
"I'll be right outside, because I need to talk to you afterwards, too, okay?"
"Okay," Michael said, watching her walk out so he was alone with Catherine.
He rounded his desk and sat down, offering Catherine the chair in front of his desk.
"What can I do for you, Dr. Avery?" he asked politely.
He still wasn't sure how she felt about him but Michael had always assumed that she didn't like him very much. Lewis had once told him that she didn't want them to hang out so much but he never found out the reason for it because whenever he was at Lewis' place and she was there she treated him with respect. Not utterly friendly or sincere but also in no way like he wasn't welcome. So he couldn't say anything bad about her at all.
"I heard you're doing Jackson's surgery tomorrow..." she started.
Nodding, Michael looked at her. "Me and Dr. Shepherd."
"Derek Shepherd?" she asked, looking at him in surprise. "I didn't know he was already back at work."
"No. Dr. Amelia Shepherd. She's his sister and she's just as good. As far as I heard..." Michael replied.
"Don't worry, Dr. Avery, I assure you I will do everything in my willpower to save your sons life but this surgery is his best option."
"What exactly is wrong with him? And how did it even happen? I mean, I would ask Lewis, but... but that's not an option right now. I can't even look at him," Catherine admitted and her words did something to Michael.
He was more than concerned for Lewis, and his first instinct was to find him and be there for him because he was sure Lewis needed someone. Needed him. But that wasn't an option. He couldn't run out on Catherine like that. So he composed himself, looking at her.
"Two cars collided at a traffic light. The police are still trying to find out if it was a technical issue or if it's Jackson's fault or the one of the other driver," Michael explained, trying his best to not give anything away.
Catherine would find out eventually anyways, but Michael just wanted it to be after the surgery. He didn't want another person to tell him he couldn't operate on Jackson. He didn't need another obstacle.
"Jackson hit his head pretty bad... he was coding on the way to the hospital, but the doctors here managed to bring him back... but he's in a coma since then, and there is a swelling on his brain... a swelling we need to get rid of... That's why I suggested the surgery..."
"Is there any other way the swelling could go away?" Catherine asked, and Michael nodded. Of course it was understandable that she wanted to know every option.
"There is... there is medication that could maybe reduce the swelling, but there is no guarantee it's gonna work. And if not he could die or it could cause some serious brain damage... he could lose the ability to talk or eat or even move..." Michael replied truthfully.
Shocked, Catherine looked at him. "But the surgery is a risk, too, right?"
"Right" Michael confirmed. "But I've done it a thousand times... it's his best option, and I know what I'm doing. Please, Dr. Avery, trust me in this. I know I can save him, and if it works out he could wake up already in a couple of days... with the medication... even if it works, god knows how long it takes..."
"Okay," Catherine nodded. "But I wanna be in there."
"In where?" Michael asked, tilting his head.
"In the OR... I wanna be there when you operate on my son..." Catherine said.
"You mean you wanna assist?" Michael bit his lip. The mere thought of Catherine Avery standing there and looking over his shoulder, watching every little thing he did, made him nervous.
"No, not necessarily assist, but I wanna be there... I wanna see what you're doing to my son... I get that you're my best option," Catherine said, getting up from her chair.
"But I don't trust you."
Her words were like a punch in the stomach, even though Michael couldn't blame her.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Michael finally said, but he already knew that there was no way to keep Catherine Avery from being inside that OR. She was just as bull-headed as Lewis sometimes.
"I don't care what you think. He's my son and either I'm there or you're not operating on him at all..." Catherine replied, and it was clear that this thing was not up for discussion anymore. "I don't know what exactly happened between Lewis and Jackson, but don't think I'm stupid... I'm pretty sure you played a part in this whole story as well..."
"I never meant for this to happen, and neither did Lewis... And Lewis knows he has made a mistake," Michael tried to say, but was cut off by Catherine mid-sentence.
"A mistake? You call this a mistake? He almost killed Jackson." Shaking her head, Catherine made it to the door.
"I better leave now, or I might change my mind about the surgery. See you tomorrow, Dr. Holt."
And with those words she was out of the room, and Michael let out a desperate sigh.
Great. Now that went well. Now he had to operate on Jackson while his mother was standing next to him watching his every move, and Michael just hoped, he would be able to perform the surgery the way he wanted and needed to with her inside of the OR. The thought made him really, really nervous, but he didn't think there was a way out of this mess at all. So he just had to find a way to deal with it.
"What happened?"
Addison's voice pulled Michael out of his thoughts and when he looked up, she was standing next to him with a very concerned look in her eyes.
"Catherine Avery happened..." Michael replied, getting up, so he was standing right in front of her.
"She will be in the OR during the surgery..." Michael explained. "And I highly doubt I can keep her from doing exactly that. I just..." he looked down at his hands. "I don't know how I can... do this with her being there... what if I make a mistake?"
"But you won't..." Addison disagreed, grabbing his hands and stroking the backs of them with her thumbs. "It's gonna be okay, Michael..."
"I sure hope so..." Michael whispered, looking directly into her eyes.
Once again he felt his heartbeat quicken, like always when he was close to her, and with every moment it became harder to resist her. Resist his feelings.
It was like there was something between them, but maybe he was imagining things. Maybe she didn't feel it, and maybe she only wanted to be nice... still, he felt a strong attraction and when she let go of his hands, Michael took his chance. He grabbed her by the hips and pulled her close.
"I'm... I'm gonna kiss you right now, and if you don't want this, you have to tell me now, before it's too late. Before I can't control myself any longer..."
He leaned his forehead against Addison's, feeling her hot breath against his skin and it sent shivers down his spine. He just hoped, she wouldn't back out, but if she did, he wouldn't blame her either. He still was sure he didn't deserve any of this, and maybe this was a bad idea after all.
Addison Montgomery POV:
Addison was pacing back and forth outside of Michael's office as he and Catherine Avery talked inside.
Addison considered herself someone who could read people fairly well and there was no doubt that Mrs. Avery was someone who could intimidate almost anyone.
Michael Holt was not in a position to stand up to someone like her, not in his current state. The guilt still shone through like a homing beacon and if Catherine dug hard enough Addison knew she would get Michael to spill everything.
Addison knew that Michael and Lewis would have to pay for the things they put Jackson through, but not the night before the surgery that could save the man's life. That would do nothing but make a bad situation that much worse.
"Well, if it isn't Ms. Montgomery," Derek said as he walked up behind the woman and turning around swiftly her eyes showed the fear that had gripped her by Derek's sudden appearance.
"Derek!" she said while holding a hand over her heart "You scared the hell out of me."
"Never knew you were so jumpy" he smiled as he approached her "What were you so deep in thought about?"
She couldn't tell him the truth. She was pretty sure that at the mere mention of Michael Holt Derek would probably go off on a tangent.
"Thinking about Jackson's surgery tomorrow" she told him "of course I'd be hard pressed to find someone who isn't"
The news of Jackson gave Derek a sombre expression "How is he?"
"No change yet" Addison said "which is why he needs this surgery so badly"
"Well now that Mark has been made to understand how important it is I thought everything was a go?"
"Mrs. Avery arrived this evening" Addison spoke.
"Oh" and in two short letters Addison knew the complications that arose by the woman's presence "I can't imagine she's making things easier.
"Not at all" Addison said "she's already reprimanded Lewis and now she's in Holt's office giving him the third degree"
Another smile from Derek "And here I thought she was going to call problems"
"Derek!"
"What?" Derek asked "Jackson is in that hospital bed for two reasons and that's Lewis and Holt, so if she's going to set those bastards right then I say more power to her"
"You know it's not that simple" Addison said.
"Are you serious?" Derek asked incredulously "They've been torturing that poor kid for months and now they get to be the ones who get to play hero with his life. I would never tell Mark this, but I completely understood why he was against Holt working on Jackson"
"Holt is a great doctor and if he can save Jackson then I don't see why so many people are against that?"
"You don't understand, because you weren't here when Holt was at his prime" Derek said "the man took pleasure out of spreading misery around"
"He's told me"
"He told you?" Derek questioned "I wasn't aware you and Holt were so chummy"
Addison felt like this was turning into an interrogation and Derek wasn't going to be reasonable about anything Michael Holt.
"He feels sick about the things he's done Derek" Addison told him "I'm not going to pretend that I'm anywhere near perfect to condemn someone who wants to make up for the things he's done"
Derek looked at her and she could see the question forming in his head, but before he could speak it Catherine Avery walked out of Holt's office and upon seeing Derek gave the man a smile.
"Dr. Sheppard" she smiled "you have no idea how happy I am to see you, can we talk?" The question was a moot point, because just as she spoke she looped her arm into Derek's and pulled the man down the hall.
Thank you Mrs. Avery Addison thought then turning around she walked into Michael's office.
It was clear he was lost in his own thoughts and for a moment Addison considered walking back out, but she knew she couldn't.
"What happened?"
"Catherine Avery happened..."
The statement told Addison all she needed to know and when Michael told her that Catherine had insisted on being in the OR during the operation she could see the terror that lay in Michael's eyes.
"I don't know how I can... do this with her being there... what if I make a mistake?"
"But you won't" she believed in Michael and knew that if given an honest chance he could do amazing work.
"I sure hope so"
Addison could feel it the second Michael looked in her eyes. It was the moment the two had danced around for days, hell. Probably since the moment they met.
Feeling Michael grab her around the waist and pull her close against his body she felt a heat wash through her body as she looked up and saw the lust that lay within his eyes.
"I'm... I'm gonna kiss you right now, and if you don't want this, you have to tell me now, before it's too late. Before I can't control myself any longer..."
She wanted it. She wanted it so badly that the truth was it kind of scared her.
Addison's breath came out small and choppy as Michael's grip on her tightened and leaning up it was her who captured the man's lips. He seemed surprised for just a second before he gave just as good as he got.
Wrapping both arms around her Michael traced his tongue over her lips and once Addison opened her mouth to allow access he plunged in without hesitation.
Leading her over to the desk Michael knocked everything off and lifted her up to sit atop it.
Addison felt unable to control herself as she ran her hands up and down Michael's back. Breaking away from the kiss Michael looked at Addison "You're so beautiful" he told her as his right hand travelled up the woman's thigh.
"You're not so bad yourself" she smiled and when he leaned down and kissed her collarbone she closed her eyes.
"I want-" Michael whispered in her ear "I want you"
She could feel his hand move under her skirt and his fingers play over the cotton of her underwear.
"I want you too"
That had gotten the first genuine smile from Michael Addison had seen since he was wheeled on with Jackson.
Taking his hand from under her skirt he put the index finger on his tongue and swirled it around. Putting his hand back under his skirt he pushed the white garment to the side and taking a deep breath Addison felt the man breach her.
It had been so long and the feeling was almost foreign, but the pleasure overwhelmed her senses.
"Michael" she whispered as she grasped two firm hands on his shoulders.
"So beautiful" he said as he gave her another searing kiss and added a second digit to join the first and as he worked them in and out of her body she could feel the rolling in her body that signified an oncoming orgasm.
"Michael-" she warned and quickly taking his fingers out the man got on his knees and buried his head under her skirt. The feel of his tongue on her most private area made her thrust forward. The wet pressure went inside of her and as she felt the man move with such talent she tangled her fingers in his head.
Michael was relentless and Addison felt like he wouldn't be satisfied until he had exhausted her completely. Looking down at the man's head bobbing as he ate her out Addison knew she could no longer hold back.
Another whisper of his name and Michael grabbed her hips to bring her forward before the world exploded behind her eyes and she felt Michael lap everything she had to offer up.
It had taken several minutes for Addison to come back down and when she did she found Michael Holt looking at her.
"That was amazing" she told him.
"You're amazing" he responded and gave her another kiss and if she looked hard enough all she could see in his eyes was gratitude.
She went to reach for the man's belt, but feeling him grab her hands Michael shook his head no.
"I just want to see you like this" he told her as he brought her close "knowing I could make you feel good"
"You did that and more" she smiled "now how about we go and get something to eat"
"I guess I could go for some dessert" he chuckled and Addison knew in that moment she had fallen for Holt and fallen hard.
Lewis Avery:
Lewis didn't know how long he had slept. Heck, he hadn't even planned to fall asleep in the first place and at first it had been a very uneasy sleep that had him moving from one side to the other and back again. Until there had been the warmth of a body and somehow his consciousness must have decided that this other person was a safe place and had him drifting into a deeper sleep. Until right then.
When Lewis opened his eyes he needed a moment for orientation. He was still in his office.
All of a sudden there was a movement underneath him and when he looked down he recognized Alex, who looked back up at him sleepily.
"Hey" Alex greeted him, letting out a yawn.
"Hey" Lewis gave back, tilting his head.
"What are you doing here and why are you lying here on my couch with me?"
When they had last seen each other they hadn't been on best terms, but having him here felt really... really good. Better than Lewis wanted to admit.
"I... I wanted to talk to you and when I found you here you were asleep," Alex replied.
Raiding an eyebrow, Lewis watched him very closely.
"So you decided 'why not just lay down next to him and sleep a couple of hours' or what?"
"It was actually Tyler who made me approach you," Alex admitted. "You seemed to have a nightmare when I came in and Tyler told me he couldn't calm you down."
"I understand" Lewis said, feeling a wave of disappointment wash over him, before he sat up and looked around.
"Where is Tyler?"
"When he left he said he wanted to check on Jackson, but that was..." Alex took a quick look on his watch. "...about four hours ago..."
Without being able to prevent it, Lewis felt panic rise within him.
"Then why isn't he back by now?"
His heartbeat quickened and he gasped for air. "Where is he?"
"Lewis, hey, calm down. I'm sure he's not far gone. Maybe he's in the cafeteria." Alex tried to help by rubbing Lewis' back.
"He has left me again, hasn't he?"
Lewis eyes started burning and he knew he was on the verge of yet another panic attack. He knew that Alex was probably right. Deep down he knew, and he also knew that his fears were completely irrational but he still couldn't stop his body from shaking violently.
"Lewis. You have to stay with me, do you understand?" Alex' voice sounded in his ears, but it sounded so distant all of a sudden. Like it came from very far away.
"Lewis, please. Try to focus. You're scaring me, man!" Alex' voice. Again. And now he sounded like he was about to panic as well.
"Where is Tyler?" Lewis asked again, still breathing heavily.
"I don't know... but I'm gonna find him and I'm gonna bring him here, okay?" Alex suggested, getting up from the sofa.
Immediately, Lewis grabbed his arm and held onto it.
"No! Don't leave me, too, please. Please don't leave me," he literally shouted, causing Alex to fall back down next to him.
"Okay, I'll stay... but let me... at least try to call or page him..." Alex said, grabbing his mobile phone while Lewis closed his eyes and tried to get out of this haze he felt he was in.
This was completely insane. And ridiculous. But still Lewis couldn't do anything about it. He needed to see Tyler. Now. He needed to know that he was okay or he wouldn't be able to calm down again at all.
"What if something happened to him?" Lewis asked, his fear once more overcoming him. "What if he had an accident or something like that?"
His eyes started watering and the mere thought of not only losing Jackson but also Tyler shook him up pretty bad.
"Hey... listen to me, Lewis..." Alex grabbed his face, making Lewis look directly into his eyes.
"Nothing's gonna happen to Tyler, I promise you. I'm sure he hasn't even left the hospital... so please... try to calm down... let me look for him."
"No!" Again, the fear of another person walking out on him took the best out of Lewis and he clung to Alex even more than before.
"Okay, fine..." Alex let out a sigh. He obviously was more than overstrained with Lewis right now and Lewis couldn't even blame him. But he also wasn't able to snap out of this nightmare he felt himself caught in.
All of a sudden the door swung open and a heavy-breathing Tyler showed up. He had obviously rushed into the room.
"You paged me SOS. What happened?" he asked, trying to catch his breath, but even before Alex was able to answer, Lewis had already jumped off the sofa and literally thrown himself at him.
"Tyler! You're okay," he whispered, his feelings once more overwhelming him.
He pressed his head against Tyler's chest and held onto him very tight.
"Of course, why wouldn't I?" Tyler sounded pretty confused, when he put his arms around Lewis and patting his back.
"You can let go of me now, I can't breath..." he pressed out, but Lewis only held him tighter.
"I can't..." he whispered, not looking up at him.
"I don't know what's wrong with him," Alex voice' came from somewhere afar. "When he woke up and you weren't there he started panicking... I couldn't calm him down."
Even though they were talking about him, it felt nothing like it. It felt like they were talking about someone... anyone... who wasn't even in the room.
"I tried everything, but I couldn't get him to even look at me... it was like he looked right through me. I'm sorry I paged you, but I didn't know what to do... I still don't," Alex explained and he sounded really worried.
And Lewis couldn't blame him.
He was pretty scared himself, and he had no idea what was happening with him.
"Everyone leaves me..." Lewis finally managed to say, burying his fingers into Tyler's back.
"Please don't leave me again, Ty... I need you..."
It was obvious, that he was still not really "there" in the room. He was, physically, but his mind was somewhere else. Trapped in some kind of twilight zone and for Lewis it almost felt like he was watching three people talking but not being a part of all of this. He just wanted out of there, but all he could do right now was holding onto Tyler and letting the warmth of his body radiate over to him.
"Lewis... hey, Lewis... you really need to let go of me, or I am gonna leave you, because I'm gonna black out from not getting enough air..." Tyler's voice sounded in Lewis' ear, but even though it should be pretty close - he was still hugging him after all - it felt like it was miles away.
"I can't..." Lewis whispered, feeling Tyler's hands at his face and then Tyler was looking at him.
"Please come back to me, Lewis... I'm right here, okay? I'm standing right in front of me... you need to get out of there... wherever you are..."
Tyler's voice was soft and his touches were gentle, and closing his eyes, Lewis tried to concentrate on them... and on him. Only on him.
He let go of Tyler a little bit, but his hands were still on his hips when he opened his eyes again.
"You're here..." Lewis finally said, and he heard Tyler's relieved sigh.
"Yes... yes, baby. I'm here... I'm not gonna leave you... do you understand?" Tyler said, gently caressing Lewis' face.
Lewis didn't know how exactly he meant it, but he knew that he did mean it. And that Tyler was really worried about him. And that he wanted to help him.
"Please come back to me, too, now... look at me..."
And Lewis did.
All of a sudden he knew where he was again and taking a deep breath, he looked up at Tyler.
"What happened?"
Tyler Browning POV:
Tyler had left Alex with Lewis. It was a simple enough phrase, but the truth behind it still seemed somewhat unreal.
Tyler knew he and Lewis were over, or at least as over as the two could ever be. He also knew that Alex wanted to make him and April work and that being alone with Lewis wasn't going to change that.
Still, in the back of his mind there was a small nugget of doubt that imagined Lewis and Alex would fall back into old habits just because it was comfortable and familiar.
Tyler couldn't worry about that now, though. Jackson had to be his first priority and making him well had to be all that mattered. Walking down to Jackson's room the first thing he saw was a maintenance man repairing one of the windows.
"What happened?" Tyler asked urgently and turning his head the guy simply shrugged his shoulders "I got paged to fix a window so I'm fixing a window"
Before Tyler could respond he heard Eli approach him from behind.
"It was Karev"
"What?"
"Karev" Eli repeated "apparently some guy named Gary came to visit Jackson and this guy and Alex have a somewhat negative past"
Tyler tried to think of someone named Gary, but came up blank "Do you know who this Gary dude is?"
"Alex said he was the one who supplied Jackson"
That would give Alex reason enough Tyler thought it would certainly give Tyler reason enough.
"Where is he now?" Tyler asked Eli.
"Alex" Eli said "I told him to get out of my sight"
"No, not Alex; Gary" Tyler questioned.
"I don't know" Eli responded "Mark took him towards the receptions desk and I haven't seen the two since"
"Thanks" Tyler said and bolted towards receptions just in time to see Mark push some guy and then storm off towards the back.
That had to be the Gary guy, if those bruises on his face were any indication. Jogging up to the man Gary was just about to walk out of the main doors when Tyler gripped his collar firmly and all but yanked him back inside.
"The hell?" Gary said as he swatted at Tyler, but in this state Tyler was far too angry and far too strong to be pushed away.
He had taken Gary to one of the spare on-call rooms and locked the door before the man could even decipher what was happening.
"What's your problem?" Gary asked angrily
"Are you, the drug dealer, really going to ask me that?"
Gary rolled his eyes and took a frustrated breath "Great, another one"
"You come to see the guy you helped put in a coma and you really didn't expect anybody to take issue with it?" Tyler asked "how dense can you be?"
"You tell me?" Gary asked "I take it you're Tyler, right?"
"How'd you know that?"
"Jackson told me that when you get angry you have this psychopathic look in your eyes" Gary told him and Tyler felt a wave of shame go through him at the comment.
Did Jackson really think that about him?
"If you're here to lecture me you can save it" Gary said "I've been made very aware that my presence isn't wanted" and he made his way towards the door but was pushed back by Tyler.
"Not until you explain why you came here?"
"Because Jackson is my friend and when he didn't return to New York and didn't answer any of my calls I got concerned"
Realization dawned on Tyler "He went to New York with you?"
"Yes" Gary said "I don't know why that's so fucking hard to believe"
"Because nobody knows who the fuck you are, besides a lowlife junkie that is"
Gary gave a bitter laugh "Is that what you call Jackson too?" he asked "When he pisses you off and beating him into submission no longer works?"
"I have never hit Jackson" Tyler said angrily.
"Then you're one of the few" Gary responded "because the last few weeks here he had a new bruise along with an interesting story. I'm sure that pit bull Karev took his fair share and his brother practically made a career of it"
"You don't know anything about what he put us through"
"So is that it, Dr. Browning?" Gary asked "It helps you deal with your complete failure to keep him safe by putting the blame on him? Do you know why I and Jackson became friends?"
"A mutual love of cocaine?" Tyler asked sarcastically.
"He found someone he could talk to" Gary said "he told me everything you and your gang of wannabe heroes put him through"
"You mean trying to save his life?"
"Job well done on that front" Gary said and in an instant Tyler had him pinned against the wall "You are going to stay away from him, you hear me?" Tyler asked "if I even think I smell you around him I can't be held responsible for what I'll do"
"I'd rather see you dead than like this" Gary choked out and the line had sent a cold chill down Tyler's spine. It was the same line Jackson had told him at the intervention. The same one Tyler had told Jackson all those years ago.
"You all kept such a tight leash on him" Gary said "treated him like an animal who had to do what you said, when you said or he would be punished. I'm going to let you in on a little secret, Dr. Browning". Gary stepped closer to Tyler "One night after one of you threatened him with whatever you threatened him with he told me about his dad"
Tyler suddenly felt the room grow to small to breath.
"Told me that sometimes...when he thinks of everything he lost he understood why his father did what he did" Gary said and Tyler could hear the man's sadness in his voice.
"He needed someone on his side, Dr. Browning, and whether you want to believe it or not, that was me" Gary walked around Tyler and unlocked the door. "I can't force any of you to let me see him, but I can tell you that if you all don't start seeing that Jackson isn't the only one with a problem it's going to end badly for all of you"
Then with that Gary opened the door and disappeared down the hallway.
Looking down at his hands he could see they were shaking. Gripping them firmly he closed his eyes and counted his breaths. That conversation did not go like it was supposed to. 10 minutes ago Tyler would have sworn that he knew Jackson better than anyone, but now? He wasn't sure he knew Jackson Avery at all.
'Tyler Browning to receptions...Tyler Browning to receptions'
The call came from the loud speaker and in an instant Tyler's heart seized in his chest. Was it Jackson? Did something happen to him?
Racing to his location Tyler got there and asked why he was paged.
"Dr. Karev needs to see you in Dr. Avery's office...he says it's SOS"
Then like a shot Tyler was gone and taking the stairs two at a time he reached Lewis' level and ran over to the man's office.
Bursting into the room he saw Alex and Lewis sitting together "You paged me SOS, what happened?" and before he knew it Lewis was hugging him. Tightly.
Tyler was trying to decipher what was going on, but Lewis was babbling and all Tyler could make out was something about not going away.
After a few moments Tyler could start to understand what Lewis was saying. The man had been scared that something had happened to him.
Although now Lewis' grip around his body was only getting tighter and he found it hard to breathe "You can let go of me now, I can't breath..."
That only made Lewis pull tighter.
"I don't know what's wrong with him," Alex said "When he woke up and you weren't there he started panicking... I couldn't calm him down."
Whatever was going on with Lewis was serious and Gary's words popped into his head once again "I can tell you that if you all don't start seeing that Jackson isn't the only one with a problem it's going to end badly for all of you"
Everything was turning out so much worse than Tyler ever thought it could. Having his own panic attacks Tyler knew the signs, but this thing with Lewis was definitely not that. It was almost as if Lewis was a completely different person. In all the years that Tyler had known the man he had never seen him this needy.
"Please come back to me now... look at me..." Tyler said holding Lewis' face in his hands and forcing the man to look at him. A cloud had come over Lewis' eyes and with a few rapid blinks Lewis was back. Looking around the room he let go of Tyler and looked at Alex then back at Tyler.
"What happened?" Lewis asked "When did you get back?" he asked Tyler and the cold chill of fear was back as Tyler looked at Alex and could see the same look of fear in his eyes.
"What's the last thing you remember?" Alex asked Lewis as he approached the man.
"I don't-" Lewis thought "I woke up with you and then you mentioned something about Jackson being okay and then...now, I guess"
Looking at Alex Tyler could tell by the man's heavy breathing that he was very close to panicking and the last thing Lewis needed was something else to worry about.
"Lewis" Tyler said "I need a favour from you?"
"What is it?" Lewis asked.
"I need you to go find Michael and bring him here. I want to discuss Jackson's surgery tomorrow"
Lewis looked at him concerned "Are you sure that's a good idea?" he asked "I don't think putting pressure on him-"
"No pressure" Tyler told him "me or Alex aren't going to ask him to change his operational plan, we just want some piece of mind"
Lewis looked at him suspiciously for a moment "Okay" he said and turning around he caught sight of Alex "Are you okay?" Lewis rushed over to him.
"He's fine" Tyler said as he stood in-between Alex and Lewis "could you get Holt... please?"
"O-okay" Lewis responded and looking at Alex one last time he made his way out the office and to the elevators. Once Tyler saw the man enter them and heard the elevators moving he grabbed Alex by the shoulders.
"Get a hold of yourself" Tyler said "we can't freak him out anymore then he already is"
"What was that?" Alex asked breathlessly "he doesn't even remember having that episode"
"I don't know" Tyler told him "I've never seen him like that"
"Me either" Alex said "what do we do?"
"For now this just stays between us" Tyler told him "the last thing we need is his mother finding out and really going berserk"
"This isn't good, Tyler"
"I know Alex, I know"