Stumbling through the dark

I Think You Need My help?

"Niall, you haven't eaten your breakfast? Are you not feeling well?" the nurse looked concerned as she studied the pale face of the young man before her. Niall shrugged dejectedly but didn't answer, choosing instead to curl up into a ball facing away from her. She immediately started checking his  IV to make sure it was working correctly then took his temperature and blood pressure, frowning at the results. Niall was still curled up , ignoring the activity around him. The Nurse quietly left the room and returned to the nurses station to call the doctor.

The doctor stood by the bed ,looking down at the huddled form of the young man. He sighed to himself. He had been afraid that Niall at been slowly slipping into depression and now it looked like his fears were being confirmed. He spoke quietly to Niall, keeping his tone gentle  yet firm. Eventually Niall responded,rolling to rest on his back. He stared up at the ceiling, unwilling to met the doctors gaze. The doctor sighed again as he pulled up a chair to sit and face the blond Irish man. "Niall?". Niall slowly pulled his gaze back and looked at the doctor, and seemed to study him carefully before helooked away again. He was in no mood to talk but there was no escape. He was really captive. He looked down at his hand which was beginning to fidget with the cannula in his other hand. The doctor reached out and stilled the restless movement. "Niall, we need to talk".

The doctor spoke at some length, explaining just what he thought Niall was mentally dealing with. "Remember I mentioned  some additional medication?" Niall nodded in response. "Well" the doctor continued " I think that you would benefit from taking something to help raise your mood". He finally got a reaction from Niall who shook his head. " Niall, depression is quite a normal Response to what you are dealing with and medications can help"

"No! I'm not crazy" Niall shouted.

"No, you're not. Please let me explain. You are experiencing quite a bit of pain. This ,combined with the accompanying emotional stress,  causes depletion in the hormones that control our moods. All the medication does is raise those levels up. It really would help, Niall. Look, I can't force you but I'm hoping you will see the sense of it. At least think about it? Mean time, You either need to eat or we will feed you via a tube. Your choice." He looked at Niall expectantly.

"I'll eat". Niall said and got a smile from the doctor who promised to send in the nurse with some food. "And I'll take the medication "

"Good lad. I promise it will help"

Louis stared at the headlines of the newspaper he was holding and shook his head in disbelief. He could hardly take in what he was reading. He threw the paper down and picked up his phone that was constantly pinging, indicating Twitter notifications. He read the tweets in open mouthed astonishment. Management had taken no time in carrying out their threat. He logged out quickly and scrolled through his contacts, quickly selecting the one he needed.

"Hi Louis, I was expecting your call. I think you need my help?"

" I take it you've seen the papers? So yes, uncle Si