I'd Choose You Again Tomorrow [L.S]

Chapter Four

City lights peering in from the windows greets him when his eyes blink open. The time on his watch reads 1:32 in the morning.

Anne had taken Lottie and Fizzy back to their flat for the night. With Dan and both pairs of twins there were far too many people to all fit inside their two bedroom London flat, instead they'd headed for his public London apartment. He'd offered their private home to Niall and Liam but they'd both declined, reasoning it was his own private space and in a time like this he'd need that familiar space to retreat too. Harry had been too exhausted to state that he wouldn't be leaving this hospital any time in the near future. No one had argued against him there.

Claire was the only one who'd put any real effort in trying to coax him home to get a proper night's sleep though she'd quickly halted in her argument when he hadn't so much as sent a wavering gaze towards the doorway.

The sound of footsteps is what rouses him from his light slumber, stirring awake just as the red headed woman angles around the corner to come into view.

"Morning petal." She hums to him, smiling as she steps up beside Louis' bed and begins noting down his charts.

"Anything?" He asks after a minute of silence.

"No significant change yet, we'll see how he is in another two hours."

"Do you ever sleep?"

"I'm secretly immortal, immune to the trials and tribulations of mankind." She jokes to him and it brings the smallest of smiles to his face.

"Thank you Claire." Harry says in earnest.

"Of course petal." She answers, glancing up to him briefly. "When I spoke to him yesterday, he did manage to speak you know."

"I thought Doctor Quain said actions such as speech are expected to redevelop later upon recovery?" He asks puzzled.

"Without consciousness it's really quite difficult to predict the extend of any brain damage, in general cases, a four year coma would leave any patient in a vegetated state. I tell you this because I know you're all too aware of the possible outcomes of Louis' mind state and I don't want you to go into the next few weeks blindly. But hope is needed at all times, especially in medical cases, and in this instance I think everyone involved in this young man's life could use another spark of hope."

"He really spoke to you?"

"He said only one word. I was talking to him, the moment I came into the room I sat beside him trying to coax a physical response beyond what alerted us to his change in condition. It took a while, but his hand flinched in mine and a minute later the first sign of movement in his eyes began. It took a few more minutes after that but he did it eventually." She pauses then, looking up from the chart towards Louis' face. "You were right about his eyes, they really are quite a magnificent shade of blue."

He chokes on a laugh, or perhaps it's a sob as he tears his gaze away from Claire to look at Louis' face.

"Harry."

His head turns towards her at the sound of his name.

"The word he spoke was your name."

"What." He states blankly.

"It was the only thing he said, looked at me and said Harry."

His grip on Louis' hand tightens once more without his knowing.

I'm right here.

Come back to me.

He screams silently towards Louis with everything he has. Louis doesn't so much as flinch.