Here Comes The Son (Ghost Band / Papa Emeritus fic)

'Tis the Night of the Witch

"And he's still in a coma?" Copia frowned deeply. "Even though I've woken up?"
"I'm afraid so," Stone replied. "I've called in a specialist ghoul doctor. I know quite a lot, but this is out of my wheelhouse and I need assistance. Right now, he's safe and stable, but I need more to get him to wake up."
"Thank you, doctor," Copia nodded gravely. "I really appreciate it. If you need anything from me or I can speed anything along, literally anything just let me know."
"Of course, thank you. As for you, I'm still waiting on some blood work but everything else looks good, so if you're feeling as good as you said, I can discharge you now, but I may need you to come by later when I get the results."
"Thank you, I'd like to go back to my chambers."
"You're going to rest, yes?" Stone asked.
"If you mean am I going to pray for Phantom, then yes," Copia shrugged.
"I guess that's low level activity," Stone rolled his eyes. "Your body's had quite a shock, let it recover. No excitement, okay?"
"That would be nice," Copia replied, with more than a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

As Stone left the room and closed the door to allow him to dress, Copia looked at his hands, and remembered the envelope. Pushing back the bed covers, he opened the envelope and read the note as he swung his legs out of the bed. Looking at the clock, he sighed. Picking up the phone sitting on the bedside cabinet, Copia dialled an internal number.

"Lydia Gardner," the voice replied.
"Hi, Lydia, it's Copia, I got your note. I'm not sure I'm ready for this. I just woke up in the infirmary again, my body's pretty weak and..."
"This is actually a better time to do it," she tried to explain.
"I don't... What? How is it better now?" He sighed.
"Copia, remember how easy it was for you at the oubliette?"
"Yes," he found himself nodding. "But this is worse and I don't feel great."
"I know, that's why I'm suggesting the crypt, not the old church where you were held. You're familiar with it down here, so even though it looks something like where you were held, it won't be so scary and not so much of a shock to your system."
"Oh," he sighed again. "I see. So, just to get a feel for it? Like a stepping stone to the real thing?"

Unknowingly, Lydia had said the one thing that lined up with what Stone had said about keeping the shock to his body as a minimum.

"Yes, that's right. If you can do this when you're feeling low, it's a great indication of how you'll face the real thing."
"What if I find it too difficult?" He asked with deep unease.
"Then we'll know you need to do more work but I genuinely believe you are ready."
"Do you really think going to the crypt will make a difference?" He asked tiredly.
"Absolutely," she replied, without hesitation.
"Okay, how long will it take? I need to get back to my prayers as soon as possible."
"Oh, not long at all, you'll have plenty of time for praying," she replied enthusiastically.
"Okay, I'll meet you there. I will have a ghoul with me, though, is that okay?"

Lydia paused momentarily.

"Who will it be?" She asked.
"I'm... not sure." He replied. "Cumulus is here now, but I actually don't know."
"It's okay," she replied. "It would be better if they would agree to wait outside, or at least not to interrupt you."
"I'm sure we can sort something out. So when?"
"I could meet you there in five minutes," she beamed into the phone.
"Oh..."
"Then the rest of the time is yours, rather than interrupting your prayers."
"I guess," Copia's shoulders sagged; it was probably best to to get it over with. "Okay, I'll see you in fifteen minutes. I still need to dress."
"Thank you. If all goes well, this could be life changing for you."

Placing the phone back onto the nightstand, Copia moved slowly to the wardrobe to find his clothes. It was never going to take long to dress, but he wanted to stop by Phantom's bed before he left.

Stepping from his room into the main ward of the infirmary, Copia located Phantom's bed immediately, and moved to stand alongside Mountain and Cumulus who were both there.