Christian half-smiled to himself as he cleared his own breakfast dishes away. Even after the accident, when he was so unsure of himself, of anything, Syed still liked his sleep. It was getting on for 10am, so he would have to go and wake his sleeping husband soon. That this one trait of Syed's was still there despite everything else that was going on was strangely comforting.
The dramatic shift that their lives had once again taken had really thrown Christian. It sounded cliche, but they really did have the perfect life. Christian had a great PT job at one of the local gyms, Syed had finally finished his massage diploma and was working at the gym with him part time whilst also helping Amira and Naveed, her new husband, with taking care of Yasmin. Despite everything that had happened, they finally had a good relationship with Amira, and Syed had everything that he'd ever wanted. He was able to be true to who he was, was getting more and more confident with his sexuality, and he had a good relationship with his daughter. He was even somewhat accepted at his new mosque, by some of the younger generation of Muslims at the very least. They had even been thinking, once again, about starting a family of their own, now that they were once again settled down.
And then everything had changed, and Christian had once again experienced his world turning upside down and inside out. He didn't know whether he was coming or going, he didn't know what to do for the best. He desperately wanted to help Syed get better. Desperately wanted to get back to how they'd been before. But at the same time, he was starting to feel as if he was putting too much on Syed. That his desperation for Syed to come back to him was starting to suffocate him. He didn't want to inadvertently push Syed too fast and end up pushing him away. Christian was in turmoil.
Shaking his head and breaking out of his reverie, Christian made his way upstairs. If he let Syed sleep much longer, they were going to be late for Syed's next check-up at the hospital. Christian was desperately hoping for some good news, but at the same time was trying - and failing - to get his hopes up too much.
Reaching the door to the spare bedroom, Christian gently knocked before he opened the door. Although he completely understood why Syed felt the need to sleep in here for the time being, Christian ached for him to rejoin him in the master bedroom. But out of respect for Syed, he'd never pushed the matter.
"Sy, I know how much you love your sleep, but we really need to -" Christian stopped in his tracks as he realised that the room was empty. Frowning to himself, he padded across to the bathroom, listening for the sound of the shower. Hearing nothing, he gently knocked and opened the door slightly. "Sy?" Again the room was empty.
Christian was frantic as he scoured the rest of the house, looking for a trace of his missing husband. Whipping his phone out of his pocket, he hit the first name on his speed dial, hearing Syed's familiar ringtone calling to him. He found the phone lying abandoned on the bench near the front door, and realised with a start that one set of house keys was missing from the hooks above.
"Oh Sy, where are you?" Christian called the hospital in a vague hope that Syed had simply left to go to his appointment without him, but let out a groan of frustration when he was told that they couldn't give him any information whether Syed had turned up for his appointment due to 'hospital policy'. He'd even rang Amira, hoping that some of Syed's memories had come back, and that he'd gone to see his daughter, but he hit yet another brick wall. He punched the wall in frustration, which only angered him more now that he had pain in his knuckles to deal with, on top of everything else. He flew back upstairs, tugging on a jacket and slipping into his trainers. He didn't have a clue where Syed could be, didn't even know where to start, but he had to find him. He just had to.
His phone rang as he reached the front door, and only seeing his sister's name on the screen made him answer. She was going through a rough time, too, and his innate need to help others meant he couldn't decline her call.
"Jane, I'm sorry but this really isn't a good time. Syed's -"
"Christian," somehow, despite everything, hearing his sister's voice did seem to calm him slightly. "That's why I'm calling. It's Syed. He's here. In Walford."