𝕎𝕚𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕎𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕄𝕖 - Ⓓ Ⓝ Ⓕ

~20~

When George woke up for the first time after his surgery, he was exactly what the lady before had described – unresponsive.

His eyes were open and unmoving, but he would blink, and then fall asleep again. Dream talked to George about random things, trying to fill the silence in the room even though he knew George wouldn't reply, and probably couldn't hear him, anyway. Lacy and the doctor had already started his blood transfusion, and the machine whirred annoyingly, blood moving in and out of thin tubes. 

Some colour had returned to George's cheeks, and he wasn't as pale as he usually was, thanks to the blood transfusion. It was nice to see the soft pink on his cheeks, knowing that it was a sign that the brunette was getting better in some way. The blood transfusion helped flush out the infected blood cells in George's system, stopping any serious symptoms of blood poisoning and the spread of infection, which means that George's immune system wouldn't be struggling as much as it would have during recovery if George did have blood poisoning.

He kept his hand in George's, encouragingly stroking his knuckles with his thumb. After a few more hours of waiting, he lied down beside George, being careful to not move the other boy, and rested his head gently on his shoulder, hugging his left arm carefully, George's right being occupied with wires and tubes. He pressed soft kisses into his temple and murmured stories into his ear, trying to keep him company in his sleep.

When it became half-past seven, Lacy entered the room and told Dream that visiting hours were over, and that he'd need to leave. Dream explained that he needed to call his friend so he could get picked up, since he wasn't aware of the visiting hour times, and Lacy said that it would be okay for him to stay until eight, but he had to be quiet when walking past patient's rooms. Dream was thankful that she allowed him to stay for an extended period of time, and quickly messaged Sapnap, asking him to pick him up as soon as possible. It would be twenty minutes until Sapnap arrived, and Dream spent those minutes wrapped around George, his face pressed to his hair which smelled faintly of cinnamon, now, the smell twanged with the sterile smell of the hospital.

When Sapnap messaged Dream, saying that he was waiting outside, and Dream struggled to pull himself away from George. He gently cupped his coloured cheek, caressing it softly while being cautious of the oxygen tube. He silently begged that George wouldn't wake up while he wasn't there, and pressed a kiss to his forehead again, whispering a gentle goodbye into his ear, and that he'd be back first thing in the morning.

Dream silently walked through the hospital, trying to keep his footsteps as quiet as possible so he didn't disturb anyone like Lacy warned. When he reached the front desk, he saw a figure waiting outside the hospital entrance, the wind lapping their hair as they hunched over, trying to warm themselves in the cold.

Dream hesitated before he stepped outside, the doors opening automatically when it sensed Dream near, and the figure turned, a wide smile on their face, and gently took Dream's hand, pulling him into a comforting hug. Dream's nose instantly filled with the scent of watermelon and strawberries, and felt something painful tug at his heart. Vanilla would have mixed so well with the other sweet smells, and Dream realised that he was going to suffer without George next to him, and wished he could run back into the hospital – that he could run back to George.

Karl tenderly tugged Dream's arm, bubbling about something Dream wasn't listening to while he lead the younger but taller boy towards the car, where Sapnap was waiting in the driver's seat. Karl motioned for Dream to sit in the front passenger seat as he sat in the back, and he did, closing the door behind him and sinking into the seat warmer. It had gotten cold outside, and dark clouds were covering the sky – a warning of what was to come.

Dream curled into himself on the warm seat, not responding to either Sapnap or Karl as they asked about how the surgery went. He pressed his forehead into the cool glass of the window, watching as the sky started to cry, and raindrops spattered against the glass, running trails down the clear material. Dream watched them as they slid one at a time, each drop moving in different patterns, until the colour changed, the clear liquid becoming red, and it was running down polished skin, not cold glass, and Dream watched as one drop turned into two, and then two turned into thousands.