Silence | Book 1

4-6: Awakening

"Hiya buddy, Valium is strong stuff, innit?" Killian gave Tristan's cheek a heavy pat with his hand as he groggily woke up.

"Huh?" He mumbled as he slowly came to, too tired to realise what exactly was going on.

"It's alright, ye'd a rough night." Killian replied, as he patted his shoulder. Now awake enough to recognise his friend, Tristan smiled dull and dim, just happy to see him there. Until he realised that he didn't even know where 'there' was, and he gave the strange room a look through.

"Am I in the hospital?" He asked, as he lifted his hand and saw the IV. Things finally began to dawn on him.

"Aye, did ye know ye've asthma?"

"Asthma?" Confused by the question, Tristan furrowed his brow and shook his head.

"Well, ye do. And it tried to kill ye tonight."

"It didn't though..."

"Ye donnae know that. Maybe yer in heaven."

"With you holding me hand luv?" Tristan said, falling back into his manchester accent as he gave Killian's hand a firm squeeze to get his point across.

"Well if yer not in heaven, then why are ye so high, eh?" Killian rebutted, quick to let go of Tristan's hand and instead give his cheek another pat. It took him a second to get the joke, but then an unbridled chuckle bubbled up from deep inside him.

Once the laughter had subsided and he had come to a bit more, albeit still heavy and tired, he sat up and took another look through the room.

"Where's everyone else?" He asked when he realised it was empty aside from two sets of coats.

"The girls are getting brew, they had a long night. They'll be proper pissed ye woke up now, they've been gone for only a minute."

"What about Hibiki?"

"What about em?" Killian shrugged. "Got no clue where he's gone, I don't even know what the fock happened to ye. Yer got a lot of explaining to do, buddy. Abduction? Seriously? How'd ye pull that one off?"

Tristan frowned as he recalled that evening.

"Everything was fine until we got to the parking garage. Then suddenly there were all these bobbies surrounding us. Turns out Hibiki ran from home, and they thought I'd done it. Next thing I know I'm on the floor of a cell, charged with abduction, choking on myself, and that's all I remember."

"If yesterday ye'd told me that'd happen today, I'd have called ye mad, and I'd be right."

Tristan shook his head and sighed.

"What time is it? I feel so dim... it's like I've been under for days."

"Quarter past eleven?" Killian guessed, before he'd even checked his phone and saw that he'd done so correctly.

"Really? God it feels like four in the morning." Tristan sighed as he fell back into the bed.

"Triss, buddy," Killian said, suddenly rather serious, causing Tristan to turn his head sideways.

"Yeah?" He asked a little confused.

"Fer focksake go see a psych."

Tristan blinked twice, and it took him a second to realise what had been said.

"Whatever t'is that's spooking in that brain of yers, we're not going to get it out with hugs and the power of focking friendship. I get that yer worried and ashamed, thinking that we're going to judge ye for it, but that's bullshite and ye know it."