From Your Wires to Your Core

The Fifth Time

The first time Gavin opened his eyes, he was in the back of the ambulance. Two paramedics were doing something to him, but he couldn't tell what through the searing pain. He understood what it meant when the high pitched beeping flatlined. A mask was pressed over his mouth and nose. He could feel it as air was forced down his throat. He couldn't even choke on it. His whole body was heavy and relaxed. It was almost like he was detached from it, though he could still feel everything. His lungs almost ached as they were filled. The shrill sound was constant. It was deafening. Pressure pushed against his chest. It fucking hurt! Air was squeezed in again. Why? Oh right, I'm not breathing. Did he forget how to breathe? He hoped he remembered soon. Nines would be upset if he forgot. Nines...Where was Nines? Sure would be nice to see him again. Maybe if he figured out how to breathe, he'd be able to see him again. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea...

The second time he opened his eyes, he was being rolled through blinding corridors on a gurney. Four nurses were speaking rapidly, and someone else...Someone familiar. There was shouting and swearing. Hank. It was Hank. He was telling them to take good fucking care of him. That he'd be angry if they let him die. That was nice. Hank didn't do that shit for just anyone. That meant he was important. Oh, hey! He'd remembered how to breathe! Good job me! See Hank? He was breathing, just like a normal person! Hank had stopped, and some doors clattered open. Phck, all this rolling around is tiring...

The third time he opened his eyes was the worst. Each breath sent a jolt of agony down his right side and the right half of his back. He didn't feel like he could fill his lungs up properly because of it. He was wearing an oxygen mask. It was helping him get enough air with his shorter breaths. He barely managed to force his eyes open. A loud beeping filled his ears as he roused. The room was dim. There was a gentle hand on his forehead immediately. Nines? Was it Nines? No. Too small. Too soft. Tina! Of course, Tina would be there for him. She was always there for him. She looked happy, but she was crying. Why is she crying? She was supposed to be happy to see him. Phck, I must have fucked up again...

The fourth time he opened his eyes was a little better. It still hurt like hell, but at least he didn't feel like a total train wreck. He groaned as he looked around the small private room. Shit, someone's paying bills. He never got rooms this good. A lithe figure was leaning over him seconds later. Large green eyes. They mirrored his own, right down to the red rims and black bags. For a minute he was confused, but then he remembered, he had a brother now! Wasn't that great? I have a big brother! Someone who cared if he wasn't around. Someone who worried when he was hurt.

"You are one lucky sonofabitch!" Elijah part sighed and part sobbed the words as he stood over him. He was too hesitant to touch Gavin's frail body, like the slightest brush would end him. Gavin couldn't get his mouth to work just yet. His lips were too tight, his voice too scratchy. He whined as Elijah pressed a button and the top part of the bed raised him to a higher position. He was almost sitting up. "Here...That's it," Elijah coaxed softly as he raised a plastic cup of water to his dry lips and helped him drink. He almost choked on his first sip.

"Thanks," Gavin managed to croak out, finishing about half the cup before he waved it away. Sitting was better. He could see the room now. Expensive machinery. A deluxe medical bed. A large sitting space with a plush armchair and a small cot bed set up beneath the window. The messed up sheets told him that someone had been sleeping there, and the long dishevelled hair told him it had been Elijah. "Is this a hospital or a hotel?" Gavin scoffed in a dry voice. It was so dry it almost tickled.

"A bit of both actually...Even has a sweet ensuite." Elijah's lips quirked as Gavin croaked out an impressed woo. A gentle hand reached out and stroked Gavin's stubbled cheek as soft green eyes regarded him with unveiled relief. "Only the best for my little brother," he teased, pulling back as Gavin's hand knocked his arm with a huff that almost matched his own.