"Chap? Can you hear me?" I ask, as calmly as I can, receiving no response. "Chappo. Listen to me lovely. You're okay. We're safe. We're together and we're safe." He still mumbles, far away from me. "May your tears come from laughing, you find friends worth having, as every year passes they mean more than gold, may you win but stay humble, smile more than grumble and know when you stumble you're never alone." I sing softly and somehow it starts to bring him back to me. His movements slow and I take his hand. "We're safe.." I mutter as his eyes open slowly.
"They're back.. They're always back.." He's shaking, terrified. "You have to help me Brooke, we have to stop them. They'll kill me."
"There's no one here but us. We're safe. What happens in the nightmares?" I ask, unsure if I really want to know. He shakes his head and pulls me closer.
"Not yet. It's too dark. I can't.. It's not real. It is not real." He curls up, burying his head into me, making himself smaller and it scares me. Usually he looks after me but now he can barely look after himself.
"No, your nightmares aren't real. This is real, us, here and now." I try to help him but fear I only make it worse.
"You should sleep too.." Even when he's ill he still tries to look after me but I can't leave him on his own.
"Nah I'm okay. I slept earlier, remember?" He smiles slightly, seeming more like himself.
"Does it hurt still?"
"I'm okay Chap."
"I know. You're amazing. Thank you. Sing again? What you sang a minute ago." His fear seems to dispel as I sing every word, looking deep into his eyes. As I finish, he holds me close, kissing the top of my head. "It's been good hasn't it?"
"The best. And there's so much more to come. Go back to sleep. I'm right here, I'll look after you." I don't want him to get worse because of me. He nods.
"We both need to sleep Brooke." I agree but only to pacify him. There's no way I can sleep when he's still upset. He hugs me carefully as he falls asleep. His arms fall away and I maneuver back into the chair. He isn't himself, no matter what he tries to pretend to be, it's not him. I need someone I trust, who hasn't changed through all of this. I call Jake, hoping he isn't out with the guys, I don't want to make him leave. He's so young and I know I shouldn't be putting on him but I can't trust anyone else and Whip needs a break. "Hey Brooke, I'm on my way. Do you need me to bring anything?" I'm surprised by the tears tracking down my cheeks.
"No.. I'm okay.."
"I know, Brooke. I'll be there in a few minutes. Don't worry." I hang up and begin pacing the chair back and forth, trying to fight my pain and fears. I don't even notice him come in until the chair stops moving. "You'll exhaust yourself doing that. Are we staying in here?" I nod as Jake hugs me carefully. "How's the leg?"
"It's bearable, obviously been better but I should be okay. Whip says it's probably fixed so I don't need surgery."
"Good. How's Chap doing?"
"I'm worried.. He's not himself and he's having pretty serious nightmares.."
"Whippet said he was doing better?"
"Yeah.. Well, he's trying to pretend.. Obviously it doesn't work too well on me but I think he thinks it would make him seem weak. Just make sure the guys are aware of it so they don't push him."
"They wouldn't Brooke, we all know the injury and what he's capable of. But he is recovering, he's not getting worse now. It was a big trauma and it's only been a week. He's doing better than anyone expected and you're obviously helping him a lot."
"Yeah.. I think we'll need to talk about what happened though.. I don't know if I'm ready yet but he needs to.."
"Well, I'm guessing you'd want Jesse and Reidy to come, so they can talk more. I'll stay with you and we can leave if it's too much."
"Thank you.. Not just for this but for everything you've done for us." He smiles and hugs me carefully.
"Get some rest Brooke." He says, leaning my head against him. "I'll wake you if he wakes up." I nod, knowing that I won't sleep.
After a while, I hear loud noise but I can't lift my head. "Brooke..? Can you sit up?" He looks to me nervously "Right, okay.." I can hear his panic but I can't do anything. "Chap? Hey, can you hear me? It's just a nightmare, it's not real." He sighs and lifts my head. "I need to see to him okay? Just sit here." He rests me carefully against the chair as I watch him go to Chap. "Hey mate. You awake now? It wasn't real. You're okay. It's just us here."
"Where's Brooke?" He cranes his neck and I see his panic as his eyes rest on me. "What happened?"
"She's okay. Just tired I think."
"Brooke?" Chap asks. They both sound scared but I can barely keep my eyes open, let alone talk. "Come here.." Jake moves closer and tries to lift me. He struggles to support my leg and head but eventually places me on the bed. "We're okay now. We're safe here." Chap mutters, seemingly trying to convince himself as much as me.
My shoulder slips but I have no energy to even attempt to fix it. "You're okay. We can sort that." Chap mutters and I can almost see his thoughts as he tries to remember what I usually do. He maneuvers me until I'm leaning against him and places his hand on the joint. "Jake? Can you help?"
"Is that a good idea?" he sounds scared still and I don't like to think that it's my fault.
"No I think we should just leave her with a dislocated shoulder all night, don't you?" Chap states, obviously upset.
"I didn't mean that. We're in a hospital, can't a nurse do it?"
"She'd hate that. We've done it before and it's not too difficult really since her pain tolerance is so high." I hear Jake sigh before I can feel pressure on my arm. "Just relax and breathe okay Brooke? We can do this for you." I can't even help as they maneuver it slowly, pushing it back to place. It pops back suddenly and I can almost hear Jake jump back in shock. My vision fails and I have to force myself to focus on Chap's reassurance. "You're all good now. Just rest and it'll be okay. We'll talk in the morning." I can't fight any longer and I fall further into the darkness.
