A/N: Hi guys! Here's chapter three! :D

Early the Next Morning...

As he began to wake up, Archer gradually became aware of something... a sound, almost like a high-pitched ringing. It was by far the most annoying thing he'd ever heard- and it wouldn't stop. His heart beat faster in his chest and his eyes snapped open.

Toad- who had been sitting beside him, waiting for him to wake up- almost had a heart attack when the heart monitor started going wild.

"Archer? Archer, are you awake? Doc! Something's wrong, he-"

Archer's hand squeezed his and he whipped back around.

"Hey, can you hear me?" He asked as Doc ran in.

Archer's eyes jumped from Toad to Doc and back. He could see their lips moving, but he couldn't hear them. Well, he sort of could... They sounded really far away and he couldn't make out what they were saying.

"I... I can't...Toad...?" He stuttered.

When he realized he couldn't even hear himself speak was when he really freaked out. The shock of not being able to hear wore off faster than a fire could start in a drought. It had already been hard for him to breathe, but now he really couldn't. Panic filled his lungs and made them stop working as tears filled his eyes.

He didn't understand what was wrong. The last thing he remembered was being on the mission and taking out enemies... But after that it got fuzzy. He felt completely and totally isolated- and the constant ringing was driving him insane. He could see a blurry Toad trying to talk to him, but not being able to hear him only made him more upset.

Toad sighed and carefully pulled Archer into his arms as he cried. It was the only thing he could think of doing to make him feel better. Seeing the person he loved more than anything so upset made him want to cry as well, but that would only make things worse.

"Breathe, Arch. It's okay... you're gonna be fine..." He said, wishing more that anything that he could hear him.

"I'm gonna have to sedate him." Doc sighed, digging around in drawers until he found a syringe.

Even though he knew it was for the best, Toad wasn't really a fan of the idea. He was so relieved to finally see Archer up and awake that he was almost scared to see him go to sleep again.

"Is he going to go back to sleep?" He asked, rubbing Archer's back.

Doc glanced at them as he filled the syringe, saying, "No, I'll just sedate him enough to keep him calm. He's gonna be a little out of it though."

"...How much is a little?"

"That depends on the person, although I assume he's just gonna be really tired and spacey. Most people are, but Roach... well, he's in a different category altogether." He laughed, injecting the sedatives into the IV port and jotting down a few things on his clipboard.

Meanwhile, Archer was still panicking. He couldn't make out anything Doc or Toad had said in the past few minutes. It was very disorienting, seeing people have a conversation but not hearing it. It made him feel like he was alone.

He couldn't calm down, not even with Toad holding him in his arms and rubbing his back. Usually that at least helped, but losing his hearing had freaked him out so much that even if he tried, he wouldn't have been able to calm down. The constant ringing in his ears certainly didn't help with his stress.

But after a couple minutes, all of that stress and anxiety seemed to float away. He could finally breathe again. His previously tense muscles relaxed and he slumped against Toad, who carefully laid him down and snuggled up next to him.

Doc quietly left the room, giving them some space.

Toad sighed as he gently pulled Archer closer. The younger man was always cold, so it was his never-ending task to warm him up. He went to say, 'I love you', but the words died in his throat when he remembered Archer couldn't hear.

His heart literally hurt.

He thought about the awful possibility of the hearing loss being permanent. He wouldn't be able to stand seeing Archer this miserable all the time, and not being able to talk to him would be absolutely terrible. Archer was his whole world. If he didn't have him, he didn't have anything. Of course, if the damage was permanent, he'd still love him just as much- but it would make everything much more difficult for both of them.

Archer rolled over and looked up at him, mumbling, "Toad."

He smiled and said, "Yes, I'm here."

The sniper watched him intently, trying and failing to understand what he had said. He sighed and pointed to his ear, shaking his head. So Toad tried something else. He pointed to himself, made a heart with his hands, then pointed to Archer. Archer- clearly understanding what he meant- gave him a small smile and made a heart with his hands as well. Toad leaned forward and gave him a peck on the lips, causing the younger man to blush and hide his face in his chest.

"Awww, no, don't hide. You're so cute!" Toad laughed, attempting to pry him off so he could see him properly.

Archer shook his head and mumbled, "Nooo."

He was still blushing like an adorable tomato, which made his boyfriend smile. Making the sniper blush was usually a near impossible task, but every now and then, Toad managed it. He had a feeling all the meds in Archer's system had helped some though...

They ended up just laying there and snuggling for a while before Doc returned.

"How are you two doing?" He asked, scribbling down notes as he looked at the machines next to the bed.

"Archer is feeling better now." Toad grinned, kissing said person on the nose.

Arch made a face and poked him.

Doc laughed and said, "I'm glad he's doing alright, but I asked about both of you."

"Oh... me? I'm fine."

"Okay, well I'm going to change your bandages, then Archer's, and after that you're both going to eat something."

Archer's eyes jumped back and forth between them, the growing worry obvious in his face.

"Hey, it's okay." Toad murmured, running a hand through his hair.

Doc wrote something on a new piece of paper and smiled warmly as he handed it to Archer. It read, I'm going to change Toad's bandages, then yours. After that, I'll get you two something to eat. :)

After a moment, Archer smiled and gave it back to him, feeling a bit better now that he knew what they had been discussing. For the first time since he woke up, he felt like he was actually included in a conversation.

"You good?" Toad asked, giving him a thumbs-up and looking at him curiously.

Archer nodded and returned the thumbs-up, making Toad smile.

"Alright, Toad, you're up. Come sit over here." Doc ordered, patting the bed next to the one they were laying on.

He sighed and slid off the bed, grumbling and complaining about annoying doctors as he went. Doc worked quickly with both of them- especially Archer. Despite the sedatives in his system, he was a bit jumpy, but having Toad there helped a lot. After about 15 minutes, they were settled back in bed with clean suture sites and fresh bandages.

"Now, what do you want to eat? And Toad, if you say 'nothing', I'm going to hurt you."

"Damn, well somebody's grumpy today." Toad mumbled.

"Shut up and tell me what you want."

"I can't tell you anything if I shut up."

"Toad." He groaned.

"Yes?" He replied innocently.

"I'm gonna knock you out for another day if you don't stop being a bitch."

"I'd like to see you try."

Doc rolled his eyes and said, "I already did. And I succeeded. Now tell me what you want to eat, or I'll pick for you."

"Fine, fine. I demand to have macaroni and cheese! And Archer..." He continued, glancing at him. "You can grab a strawberry protein shake for him, but I'll try to get him to eat some macaroni as well."

"Okay, I'll be back in a few minutes."

Archer was too tired to ask what they had been discussing. He sighed and laid down, using Toad as a pillow.

"Hey, you can't go to sleep yet." Toad whined, playing with his hair. "You need to eat."

Archer glanced at him and he made hand motions of someone eating.

Understanding crossed Archer's face, but then he shook his head and said, "Not hungry..."

Toad grabbed Doc's clipboard and put his notes aside, finding a fresh sheet of paper and writing, No, Arch, you need to eat. At least have a protein shake...

After several minutes of writing out reasons why Archer should eat, he finally caved and said he would. At that point, Doc returned with their food. Well... Toad's food, anyways.

"You make sure he eats." Doc said sternly, pointing at Toad.

"I will! Goodness! You're just like a mom. So damn strict..."

"If you ever behaved, I wouldn't have to be."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Now go away! You're making Archer nervous."

Doc sighed and left, saying, "You two get some rest after you eat! And call me if you need me!"

Archer looked at Toad expectantly and he shook his head, saying, "Nothing important."

Even though he couldn't hear him, he seemed to get the message. He nodded and sipped at his protein shake while Toad ate his mac and cheese. After a minute or two of them eating in silence, he picked up a spoonful of the cheesy goodness and put it in front of Archer's mouth. At first he made a face and shook his head, but after a few minutes of Toad bugging him, he reluctantly ate.

...But after eating one spoonful, he- being the stubborn and independent person he was- decided he didn't want to be fed by anyone else and scowled, taking the bowl from him. Toad laughed as he watched him try to eat with his left hand. He didn't mind him feeding himself- as long as he ate. And he certainly didn't mind Archer eating his food. He wasn't really hungry anyways...

After they finished eating, they laid down together and just relaxed for a while. Archer ended up falling asleep after about twenty minutes. ...Toad didn't have such luck. Just like on the helicopter ride home, he had too many thoughts in his head to sleep.

He thought about the mission and how bad Archer had looked a few days ago. He thought about how terrified he had been of losing him. He still was. And he couldn't help but think of future missions. What if something happened again? ...What if they weren't as lucky next time? He pulled Archer closer at the thought, continuously reminding himself that he was okay.

Eventually, his mind drifted back to his friends. He wondered how the mission had gone, and when they would be back. He hoped they hadn't lost anybody else... His thoughts shifted to Chemo and his heart ached. He felt terrible about it, even though he knew Doc was right.

There was nothing he could've done.

But there was one particularly disturbing thought he wasn't able to get rid of: How am I supposed to tell Archer?

He knew Archer would immediately blame himself when he told him. Then he would get all stressed out and try to think of ways he could've prevented it. Stress wasn't good for Archer, as he got bad headaches when he got too worked up. And Toad wasn't a doctor by any means, but he knew that large amounts of stress could cause serious setbacks in recovery. Archer would be pissed if he waited until he was in better shape to tell him... but he decided to wait until he could hear again, at least. And he would be able to hear again.

...But until then, he would keep him in the dark- for his own good.

A/N: I'm sorry this chapter took me forever to finish! I had testing on Monday and Tuesday, and I have more next Wednesday and Thursday, so that's kinda been stressing me out. I love the end of the year (...because it's the end of the year) and I hate it at the same time because of testing.

Anyways, please leave me some reviews and tell me what you thought! I love hearing from you guys! Thanks for reading! :D