𝕎𝕚𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕎𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕄𝕖 - Ⓓ Ⓝ Ⓕ

~21~

It took eighteen hours for George to fully wake up after his surgery.

Dream was holding George's hand as he usually did at the time, and was talking to George about some random childhood memory. Dream was talking for a while, trying to fill in the absence of George's voice, when there was a small fluctuation in George's heart monitor. He didn't think much of it at the time, since it had been happening throughout the past few hours and usually before George 'woke up', only to stare blankly above him for a moment before falling asleep again.

This time, though, George slowly opened his eyes, blinked, and shifted his gaze, glancing towards Dream without moving his head. Dream felt excitement rush through him, and he stood after he grabbed his phone and started recording, standing the phone to the side. He gripped George's hand a little tighter, and moved closer towards George's face, discouraging him from moving his head.

"Hey there, Georgie," Dream warmly greeted, moving his other hand to gently wipe the area around George's eyes, rubbing his sleepy and troubled tears away. George blinked up at Dream again, an uncomfortable look in his eyes, and Dream felt him weakly squeeze his hand back in acknowledgement and recognition. "Don't move, okay? I'll call for Lacy now, and she'll check you over."

He felt George squeeze his hand again, and pressed a green button on the panel beside George's bed, calling for Lacy or their doctor. George's cheeks were still flaked with a splashed pink colour despite the fact that George's blood transfusion had finished hours before, but Dream was just glad that George wasn't sickeningly pale, instead. Until Lacy arrived, all Dream could do was keep George company and try to take his mind off the tube in his mouth. If it wasn't there, he would be asking George a bunch of questions about how he was feeling, but he also didn't want to overwhelm the brunette with his pestering. He's probably exhausted and feeling sore from his surgery despite resting for a while, but Dream knew George's body was still recovering, and that George was confused and maybe a little disorientated. George looked up at Dream with a silent question in his lidded eyes, and Dream struggled to wipe the memory of a scalpel slicing into George's skin from his mind.

He gave George a warm smile, and continued to swipe his post-anesthetic tears away. "The surgery went well. They removed the cyst and they also took the stitches out of your arm," Dream explained, knowing how nervous George was about having surgery. "You were unconscious for your blood transfusion, but that finished up a while ago. You just have to rest up, now."

George gave another weak squeeze to Dream's hand as Lacy walked into the room, a smile on her face as she approached George. Dream took a step back as she worked, not wanting to get in her way as she checked up on George and talked to him about how his procedure went. George stayed awake and attentive as she talked, listening to her in silent acknowledgement.

When lacy warned George that she was going to remove the oxygen tube, an emotion flashed through George's eyes that Dream couldn't label, so he held George's hand again in an attempt to comfort him. Lacy peeled off the tape that was holding the oxygen tube in place, and then slowly removed the tube from George's mouth. George's eyes widened and his grip on Dream's hand tightened impossibly, and he coughed frantically, practically heaving in the non-bottled air.

Lacy moved the oxygen tube away, and George covered his mouth with his hand, still gasping and coughing. Dream moved his hand to George's shoulder, holding him down so he didn't move too much while he caught his breath. Lacy handed Dream a bottle of water and a straw before she started to tending to George's IV, changing one of the bags, and Dream opened the bottle. He placed the straw in it before helping George hold the bottle, and put the straw between the brunette's lips. George drank from the bottle greedily, turning away to cough a few more times before continuing to drink.