A/N: Hello! I'm so sorry... I had to update my other story... then I got an idea for a one shot that wouldn't leave me alone, so I had to write the one shot and publish it. Then school got in the way (I kinda wish I could drop out... But I can't) and my stupid Stupid STUPID math teacher decided to be a b****. I really hate her. So, to sum it all up, I apologize for not updating in forever. But now I am back, so WOOHOO! :P

HEY! CHANELX IS MA MUSE SO BE NICE TO HER!

Cold. That was the first thing he noticed when he began to wake up. Everything was cold. His head pounded and acid coursed through his veins, bringing him back to the harsh reality that was his life. He was awake but didn't want to open his eyes. Didn't want to see Tyler's sadistic smile looming over him. Everything hurt, even the simple task of breathing. He vaguely remembered Tyler giving him another dose of poison.

No wonder everything hurts. He thought bitterly.

He shifted slightly, trying to find a more comfortable position and hoping to fall back asleep when pain exploded in his ribs and quickly spread throughout the rest of his body. He whimpered in pain and immediately froze, not wanting to cause himself more pain. His voice was raw and dry, feeling like sandpaper to his still half asleep mind. He heard someone move and his heart skipped a beat. He stopped breathing and laid there stiff as a board, waiting for something, anything to happen. After a few moments he began to wonder if anything was going to happen. His curiosity grew and grew until he couldn't stand to wait any longer. He slowly opened his eyes to slits and peered around the room, nearly jumping off the bed when he realized someone was beside him. Crippling pain spread throughout his body once more and this time he cried out, efficiently waking the person beside him up. The person, seeing that he was awake, straightened up as his eyes roamed up and down over Will, seemingly searching for injury. The person looked vaguely familiar but he couldn't quite remember who it was...

"Will, you're finally awake. Are you alright?" Malcolm asked quietly, well aware that he probably had a headache.

Will was most certainly not alright. He couldn't process a word of what Malcolm had said, so therefore had no clue as to what was being said by the man standing above him. Nor did he register the worried look in his older friend's eyes. He took no notice of the tears that were sliding down his cheeks from the poison that pumped through his veins at an alarming rate. Then, to make matters worse, the flashbacks returned. A side effect of the poison Tyler had given him. Malcolm turned into Tyler and torture weapons lined the walls. He whimpered and hid under the pile of blankets that covered him, tightly shutting his eyes as he did so, not wanting to see the smile that lit up 'Tyler's' face.

Malcolm was very concerned about Will's mental state. He seemed to be very skittish and afraid of every little thing. He felt bad for his friend. Will was 21 years old, but he currently looked similar to when he was 14. He slowly reached out and touched Will's arm, who flinched and cried out in surprise, leaning as far away from him as he could go while tied down to the bed. Malcolm was also surprised that Will hadn't noticed that yet. How can someone not notice when they're literally tied to a bed?! The last time Will woke up, he had freaked out and had a panic attack, and none of them were able to calm him down so they were forced to sedate him. In his panic, Will had accidentally torn some of his stitches and Malcolm had had to redo them. He didn't want that happening again because it increased the likelihood of infection setting in. And in their time, no matter how good a healer you had, infection was bad. In fact many people died from it. And Halt didn't want Will to leave (escape) again because that had ended really badly. So, therefore, they had tied Will to the bed (A/N: I know it sounds kinky and I apologize for that... but what else can you tie a severely injured/sick person to besides a bed?!) to prevent him from running away or further injuring himself again.

Suddenly the door opened and Gilan quietly inched into the room, eyes immediately going to Will.

"Is he...?" He asked, leaving the rest of the sentence unspoken while trying not to get his hopes up.

Malcolm nodded and said, his voice full of concern, "Something's wrong. He's upset over something and he won't stop crying."

Gilan sighed and shifted his gaze back to the bed on which Will was quietly crying into the blankets that covered him. He mouthed 'I got it' and walked over to bed, laying down beside Will and gazing intently at his face.

"Will? What's wrong?" He asked quietly, gently pulling the covers away from the younger man's face.

Will whined and clutched tightly at the blankets, pulling them back toward him and continuing to cry. Neither of them noticed Malcolm slip out of the room.

"Hey, what is it? It's okay... you're okay... Shhh."

Gilan slowly moved closer to him so as not to startle him and when he was close enough he wrapped the younger man in a hug. He was surprised when Will didn't freak out as he had expected him to. He simply laid there, not doing anything (although there wasn't much he could do... he's kinda tied up) Well, he tensed up, but besides that he didn't do anything. Gilan rested his chin on top of Will's head and sighed. He could feel Will shaking and his heart rate was a lot faster than average. But at least he was okay for once. For the first time in the past year, everything seemed almost peaceful. They stayed like that for a while, the older of the two whispering calm reassurances in the other's ear, hoping that he would eventually calm down enough to talk to him but not expecting it.

Will tried desperately to sort through his thoughts as his mind seemed to explode, thoughts being scattered all over the place. They all included Tyler. He was unprepared when a pair of strong arms enveloped him. He wanted to get away. To scream and fight back with everything he had because an alarm in his mind went off, saying *DANGER * DANGER * DANGER*. But another part of him wanted to lay there and accept the comfort that was being offered to him. There was something different about this. Something... almost warm, gentle that lead him to believe that this person wasn't Tyler. But that also kind of scared him. If not Tyler, then who was this? (A/N: Don't freak out, no, he did not lose his memory. He hasn't seen Gilan's face yet. And he's currently really upset and scared... so he's not gonna bother to see who it is...)

Neither of them knew how long they laid there like that, nor did they care. Eventually Will calmed down and his heart rate slowed back down to a normal pace.

"It... it h-hurts..." Will whimpered into Gilan's chest as another tremble ran through his body.

Gilan nearly jumped in surprise when he heard the small, unsteady voice. He hadn't expected the younger man to talk to him.

"What, Will? What hurts?"

"E-everything..." He cried, tears starting to form in his eyes once again.

"Shhh, it's okay. You want some pain medicine? It'll help..." Gilan said as he moved to get up.

"N-no! No don't l-leave me!" Will whined, grabbing at Gilan's shoulder, but suddenly realizing that he couldn't move.

His eyes went wide as they searched for the source of what was keeping him still, but he was unable to find it as the rope that tied him to the bed was hidden beneath the blankets. He gasped and pulled at his arms and legs, trying and failing to free them. Tears of fear sprung into his big brown eyes as torture weapons filled the room once more. Gilan turned to look at him when he heard the sharp intake of breath. He saw Will thrashing and realization crossed his handsome features. Will had noticed that he was tied down and freaked out. He went back to the bed and laid down beside Will again, this time quickly pulling him into a tight hug to stop him from rubbing his wrists raw or further injuring himself. Will immediately fought harder and started crying in fear that someone was going to hurt him. Between the rope holding him still and Gilan, he could barely move. But that certainly didn't stop him from trying.

"Shhh. It's alright, they're just to keep you still. I would never hurt you, I promise. Shhh..."

Will stopped moving after a while, too exhausted and hurt to continue. Even after he had stopped, Gilan stayed by his side, hugging him and offering whatever comfort he could. Eventually, he felt Will's body go limp in his arms and he knew the younger man had fallen asleep. He sighed but didn't move, not wanting to accidentally wake Will up or scare him. He reached up and gently ran his hand through the soft chestnut brown curls that sat atop his head. He wiped the remaining tears from Will's cheeks and put his arm back in its original position laying across Will's abdomen. He yawned hugely, suddenly realizing how tired he was. He hadn't gotten a good night's sleep ever since Will's disappearance. He tried to keep his eyes open, but his eyelids seemed to get heavier and heavier as time went by. In the end he gave in, letting his eyes fall closed as he fell into the waiting arms of unconsciousness.

Little did they know, Halt stood just outside the door, watching the entire scene with tears in his eyes.

A/N: That was the fluffiest thing I have EVER written. This is actually the first time I've written fluff. Please review and tell me if it totally sucked, if you want more, etc. If you guys want more fluff, I will write more fluff because I actually kinda enjoyed writing this chapter. It was adorable. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! I really need to know if I should put more fluff in this story... I probably should considering that like 99.9% of it is angst... oops...