He was in the hospital for quite awhile, but Christine visited him as much as she could manage. Sometimes he was a little more prone to drifting off but that was only early on during his stay. When they finally released him, they finally had a plan outlined, a diet change suggested and a medication that he would be starting.
The car ride home was silent. She sat in the passenger side despite her better judgement, clutching his things. Neither of them had turned on the radio and she wasn't sure she should despite the temptation. She was not looking forward to getting home because she'd have to start enforcing these changes. She just knew that he wasn't going to take it gracefully for whatever reason.
Perhaps because she had already expirienced him trying to hide something like this from her for reasons that he'd yet to actually explain to her. She hadn't pressed at the hospital as she didn't want to get kicked out and banned from visiting him. That would've happened had she upset him because it would've set off the heart monitor without a doubt. Especially when one considered Erik's temper. She would most definitely be bringing it up again when she has the opportunity.
When they arrived, Erik hopped out and hurried around to open the door for her. Christine climbed out and shoved his things into his chest as she passed him. She'd had plenty of time to dwell on everything and it had made her angry all over again. She could almost visualize his eye roll when he didn't immediately follow after her.
She knew she wouldn't have to wait too long, though. She was proven correct when the car door slammed. She didn't turn around to look at him at all, simply entering the house. She didn't bother to hold it open. That was something that probably left him scrambling to catch it with his shoulder seeing as his hands were full.
The door was slammed and the things were dropped to the floor with a dull thump.
"Christine." She whirled around to glare at him when he used that demanding, irate tone on her. What right did he have to be upset with her? She wasn't the one hiding things.
"Don't take that tone with me, Erik. You're the one that needs to explain." She found herself demanding, crossing her arms under her chest. This did nothing to brighten his mood, but then again she didn't quite expect it to. That was fine by her, though. At least both of them would be in a mood now.
"Explain what, exactly?!" Erik shot back, brows furrowing in something akin to confusion. She truly wished that he wouldn't make her spell it out for him. It was such a hassle to do such things when they both knew what the other was talking about.
"Why you hid your condition! It was stupid of you to do such a thing." She exclaimed, throwing her arms off to the side.
She almost felt guilty when he flinched and immediately became somewhat closed off. He shifted his weight from foot to foot and she waited as patiently as she could manage.
"Because i didn't want you to know, dammit! I know it was stupid, but I also know that I'm significantly older than you. Even if you say that ten years isn't much, other people wouldn't agree with you. I just... I don't want you to feel like you're saddled with me." Erik exploded, though he lost steam half way through. He raked his hands through his hair.
The two of them gazed at each other blankly for a few moments before he shook his head and tried to move past her. But she wouldn't let him. She grabbed onto his arm, stopping him. He turned around to gaze at her inquiringly.
"Why do you think I'd feel that way...? Did I do something..?" Christine asked hesitantly. Her tone was nothing more than a whisper. She found that she was almost scared to hear the answer.
What would she do if she was actually to blame for what he'd done? She would never be able to forgive herself. Especially when they were supposed to communicate these things to each other in the first place.
"You did nothing... Let's just say that my past has done quite the number on me..." Erik sighed, using her grip on his arm to pull her towards him. Once she was against his chest, he immediately wrapped his arms around her.
She didn't fight the motion, clinging to him slightly. Now that she had a fairly understandable explanation, she wasn't all that upset. How could she be now that he was finally communicating with her? What he was talking about at this moment wasn't entirely clear.
However, despite this, she had a few good guesses. She knew for a fact that his mother hadn't been the greatest towards him.
On top of that, she recalled Nadir making some snide comment about abandonment issues towards Erik during one of this many, many arguments as friends. So using these clues, she was sure that the guesses that she could make were fairly accurate.
"Well, I could never think that. You mean far too much to me, Erik. I love you." Christine assured, burying her head in his chest. He stroked her hair and pulled her even closer.
"I believe you. You've never lied to me before. I love you too, more than anything. You know this." Erik murmured, burying his face in her hair with an almost content sigh.
Erik sat at the table the next morning, gazing mournfully at the coffee maker as she unplugged it. How was he supposed to get through the days without caffeine? He wasn't entirely sure. Maybe he could sneak in some bacon for breakfast? It was worth a shot. He'd been craving it since he'd come to in the hospital.
He stood up and headed towards the fridge, pulling it open. He searched for it, brows furrowing when he realized that their pack was missing. They'd just bought one before his hospital trip. There was no way it had gone bad already.
"Baby...? Where is the bacon?" He asked, peering over at her with his bed kicked puppy expression.
Christine did her best to remain strong but it was hard. Extremely hard. She felt bad enough taking away his caffeine before he could even have a cup. But it was for his health.
"I threw it out. But we could still have crepes if you like...?" She offered, biting her lower lip. She hoped to appeal to his sweet tooth.
"I suppose that's just as good..." He relented, shaking his head slightly. There was the faintest of smiles on his lips. At least she cared enough to try, even if he thought she was implementing the dietary changes a little too soon. He definitely wasn't ready.