Princess of the universe // Hardzzellee

Chapter 35

The days went by slowly. Physically Gwil was starting to recover. The bruises were all healed. The doctors had taken out the stitches. Which also meant that Gwil was finally allowed to shave the rest of his beard. They had only shaven the part where he needed stitches, but because of the stitches, he couldn't shave the remaining part of his beard and was left with half a beard. Although his bruised ribs weren't doing any better, his cheekbones were almost entirely healed. Which meant that he was able to talk more easily. Which was a blessing.

"Dad?" Addison asked while she tugged on Ben's sleeve.
"Yes, sweetheart," Ben said while looking up from the script that was laying in front of him.
"When will Gwilly come home?" Addison asked. Ben smiled at her.
"I don't know. He has to be at at least one more week at the hospital. Then they are going to take off the casts on his leg and his arm so the doctors can get a better look. We will know more when they have done that." Addison nodded before she quietly turned around. Ben watched her retreat into her own room. He contemplated what to do for a minute before he got up.

Ben knocked on the door of Addison's room. He waited for Addison to tell him to come in before he opened the door. Addison was sitting on the floor with a few dolls scattered around her. 
"Hey," Ben said while sitting down. Addison didn't respond.
"What is on your mind, sweetheart?" Ben asked. 
"Is Gwilly going to be not hurt?"
"Gwilly will get better. He just has a lot of injuries that take some time to heal. But he has a lot of doctors that are helping him get better," Ben said. Addison nodded slowly. She picked up a doll.

"Sweetheart, you don't have to worry about him. His injuries will heal. There are a lot of doctors and nurses that are looking after him," Ben said while he lifted Addison's head with his finger. Addison nodded slowly.
"What about we make another drawing for Gwil?" Ben asked.
"I know dad really liked the last drawing you made for him. He told me that when I visited him alone last week," Ben said.
"Let's do it," Addison said.

So, they made another drawing for Gwil. Addison insisted that Ben needed to help her. So, he took on the task of very slowly coloring in the sky while he let Addison do the rest. It was a typical kids drawing, but Ben was proud nonetheless.
"How do you draw the hospital?" Addison asked. Ben grabbed a second piece of paper. He quickly sketched a big building.
"You are going to add a lot of windows because a hospital has a lot of rooms. All those rooms have windows. And then you are going to add a cross like this," Ben said while drawing a big cross on top of the building. Addison copied the idea over to her own paper.

Addison showed Joe the drawing as soon he walked through the door.
"Is that drawing for dad?" Joe asked. Addison nodded.
"I bet he will love that. It looks beautiful, you did a really good job," Joe said.
"This is Gwilly," Addison pointed at a stick figure that was sitting behind a window.

"This is me, you, and Benny. We got Gwilly a balloon," Addison said. This time pointing at the three people that were walking to the hospital. Addison drew herself to be as big as Ben and Joe.
"Do you want to get dad a balloon tonight?" Addison's eyes widened.
"Can we?" Addison asked. Joe's expression softened.
"Sure, if you want to?" Addison nodded.
"What kind of balloon do you think we should get him?" Joe asked.
"A princess one," Joe chuckled.
"Like me shirt. He was sad that he was too big to put it on," Addison said. Joe smiled.
"Princess it is."

That is why they were walking through the corridors of the hospital with a sleeping beauty balloon. Gwil's head was already turned to the door when they walked in. He raised his eyebrows at the balloon.
"Look, this is for you," Addison said while she marched over to the bed with the balloon in her hand.
"Thank you so much, sweetheart."
"Like my shirt," Addison said. Gwil's smile widened, suddenly understanding why it had to be a princess balloon.
"I do love that shirt," Gwil said.

Addison took the drawing from Ben.
"Benny and I made this," Addison said while handing the drawing to Gwil. A smile spread on Gwil's face.
"This is really beautiful. Thank you, sweetheart," He waved her over to the bed. With the help of Joe, she climbed onto the bed. Addison gave Gwil a careful hug. 
"You are really good at drawing,"
"Thank you," Addison said while beaming with pride. 

Gwil chatted mostly with Addison. She told him all sorts of stories of things that happened at school. Gwil listened and asked questions, smiling at her in the process. When visitor hours were about to be over, Joe got up.
"Addison, it's time to go home," Joe said. Addison pouted.
"I want to stay here with dad," Addison said while giving Gwil a hug. Ben could see Gwil swallowing hard.
"That is not allowed, sweetheart. We will be here again tomorrow evening, okay?" Joe asked. Addison continued to hug Gwil while nodding.
"Goodnight," She said. Gwil placed a kiss on her forehead.
"Goodnight, Addison. Sweet dreams. Have fun at school tomorrow," Gwil said.
"Thank you."

Ben lifted Addison of the bed to give Joe a moment to say goodbye.
"Joey is going to take you to the car. I'll be there in a minute, okay?" Ben asked. Addison immediately nodded. Meanwhile, Joe shared a short kiss with Gwil.
"I'll be here again tomorrow morning, okay?" Joe asked. Gwil nodded.
"I love you," Gwil said while looking up at Joe. A big smile spread on Joe's face.
"I love you too. More than you'll ever know," Joe said. Gwil blinked a tear away while Joe turned himself around. Joe grabbed Addison's hand in his own. Addison waved at Gwil one more time before they left the room.

Ben turned himself to Gwil.
"What did the doctors say?" Ben asked.
"They are going to take the cast off this Thursday. They assume my bones should have healed by then. They are going to check that with a few scans just to be sure. If they are nicely healed I'll be in the revalidation center from Friday until I am fully revalidated," Gwil said. Ben slowly nodded.
"How do you feel about that?" Ben asked.
"I'm happy that I finally get to leave this bed. But I am also kind of nervous,"  Gwil admitted. 
"What are you nervous about?" Ben asked.
"What if they are not able to get me to walk again?"
"Gwil, these people are trained to help you. The doctors said it was very unlikely that your nervous system was damaged enough to be permanent. We are going to see what the doctors say Thursday and then we are going to see how we are going to deal with the situation. Whatever happens, we are going to find a way to deal with it, okay?" Ben asked. 
"Okay," Gwil whispered. Ben leaned to peck his lips.
"I love you," Ben said. Gwil smiled at him.
"I love you too."

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