After Kayn's bath, we returned to his room. I sat on the recliner, the hours ticking by slowly. K'Sante sat by me with a tablet, drawing up some kind of clothing designs. Nurses did their routine checks and upkeep. As the night grew later K'Sante ended up falling asleep. I still couldn't convince myself to close my eyes that long.
The morning sun started to rise beyond the window. K'Sante was relieved by Ezreal who brought a board game. We sat playing in near silence. After taking turns beating each other for hours, he decided to turn on a movie on his phone.
My eyelids felt so heavy. I fought with all of my might, but eventually, my body gave up. I slept for maybe a couple of hours before waking up in a panic. Ezreal was kind enough to get us some food. I felt bad for not talking much, but I'd gotten passed the point of not being able to find the words.
Once more day faded into night and back into day. Sett sat in the seat that the others had been trading. He'd brought food that Yone had prepared. I was told that Yuri had asked him to do it. Either way, it was a kind gesture. Sett convinced me to change for the first time since I'd gotten to the hospital. The nurses helped me by giving me the towelettes they used for sponge baths. I washed my hair with hand soap from the pump in the bathroom.
Wearing Kayn's clothes was almost comforting. While Jackson bathed Kayn Sett took me for a walk through the halls. He tried to get me to talk more, but I still couldn't get myself to say more than a sentence at a time. Dr Xavier came in at one point and checked a few things. He said that Kayn was showing good progress. Despite the good news I felt lost without him.
On day four Aphelios showed up with Aiko. They showed me pictures of Jim they had taken that morning. Aiko had to leave for work a couple of hours in. Aphelios used his phone to talk to me. We sat side by side, texting each other. It was more comfortable than speaking.
Dr Xavier walked in, looking over something on his laptop. "So," he spoke gently as he looked up at me, "We're going to start weaning him off of the anesthetics. His blood work isn't phenomenal by any stretch, but he has been showing some signs of improvement."
My heart raced as I sucked in a sharp breath. "I... are... ok, but..." I tried to speak.
"It'll take the better part of a day." He informed me with a smile. "He'll need to stay in the ICU, but we're hoping he'll at least be able to be awake. If we see any kind of sign that he's not ready we'll be putting him back under immediately."
"That's fine." I nodded quickly. "That's... yeah... ok... thank you."
Dr Xavier started doing a few things with the machines that were supplying Kayn with his medicine. As he left I tried to catch my breath. Aphelios smiled and gave me a thumbs up, telling me in the most basic form that everything was going to be ok.
Of course, we'd let everybody know what was going on. We sat, trying to pass the time. Bouncing between rock-paper-scissors, watching random shit on our phones, and chatting we grew a bit restless. At one point Dr Xavier came in to remove the respirator. Kayn was able to breathe completely on his own. Aphelios started teaching me basic sign language to distract me. hours felt like days.
A small groan caught mine and Aphelios's attention, pulling us from our game of chopsticks. Slowly, I held Kayn's hand in mine. I could feel him move his fingers weakly. Looking back at Aphelios, I nodded.
"Hey, sweetheart," I whispered gently. "Take your time." Kayn's eyes tried to open, but he was still too heavily medicated. "It's going to take some time for you to be able to do that." I sniffled as tears fell down my cheeks. "The doctors had you on a bunch of medications. Just relax, my love."
His body stopped its struggle. The feeling of his weak grip on my hand made my heart race. After a couple of minutes, it tightened slightly. Sitting on the bed, I brought his hand to my lips.
Kayn's eyes cracked open just enough for me to see their beautiful colors. "You're... safe." His voice was raspy. "Mika."
"I'm safe, baby," I whispered as I felt my tears come faster. "All because of you."
His hand shakily caressed my cheek. "Don't cry... it's ok." He slowly brushed away a tear. His head turned slightly, to look at Aphelios. "Have you been... taking... care of her?" Aphelios signed something. I was only able to understand 'today' the rest was beyond me. "Good." Kayn choked out before coughing harshly.
"Careful with the talking." I chuckled. "Don't push yourself."
Kayn's nostrils flared as he huffed. His hand lowered from my face to my lap. While he relaxed I ran my fingers through his hair. Dr Xavier walked in with his tablet.
"Are we awake?" He asked with a smile.
"Barely..." Kayn croaked.
"Awake enough." Dr Xavier chuckled. "How are you feeling, Kayn?"
"Like shit," Kayn grumbled quietly.
Dr Xavier's shoulders bounced as he laughed silently. "That will wear off over time. Once you wake up a bit more we'll see about getting you some water and maybe a meal." He explained as he checked on Kayn's IV and medications. "Mika, would you mind helping me?"
Already knowing what to do, I moved Kayn's blanket and gown so that he remained covered while the doctor looked over Kayn's stitches. Kayn's eyes followed me as I covered him sloppily. His bandages needed changed and the nurses were kind enough to teach me how to do it. As Dr Xavier left I changed the pad on Kayn's wound after ensuring that it had been properly cleaned and medicated.
"Gonna become a nurse?" Kayn asked with a faint smirk.
"Yeah right." I chuckled as I taped the pad in place.
