Control Alt Delete (A BH6 crossover)

Chapter Twenty Two: I'm right here.

The room Hiro woke up in was dimly lit. A TV was turned on in the far corner, hanging from the ceiling. Someone had turned it to some cartoon channel he didn't recognize. And there was a curtain pulled across part of the room, screening off what he thought was the door to outside, but he wasn't sure. The walls seemed to be painted in light pastel colors, with little cartoon figures added at random.

The bed he lay in felt huge, not that he wasn't used to using a large mattress, but it had been years since he'd needed guard rails to keep from falling out of bed. And there were guardrails on this one, shiny with metal and white plastic. And the sheets were scratchy. But he was somehow propped up, despite there only being one pillow.

A low beeping sound filled the air. At first he couldn't figure out what it was or what it meant. Then he realized there were wires trailing out from under his odd pajamas. When had he changed into those? He couldn't remember.

But there was more. His nose felt funny and he moved one hand to inspect the area. Someone had put a canola up his nostrils. Now that he thought about it, he could feel the air being forced up his nasal cavity, almost forcing him to breathe. That wasn't pleasant.

Tape pulled at his skin and he realized something was sticking into his arm, an IV. He blinked, his pulse quickening. What was going on? Where was he? Where was Aunt Cass? Where was anyone? He reached around frantically, not sure what he wanted, just that he didn't like being alone.

Movement from within the deeper shadows caught his eye and he forced himself to calm down. Someone was there. He wasn't sure who, just yet, but someone was there. He wasn't alone.

"Hello?" His voice came out all funny sounding, his throat as dry as a desert.

"Sweetie?" A shadow moved towards the bed.

Relief flooded through the boy as he recognized the voice. "Aunt Cass," Hiro croaked as he weakly reached out one hand. "I don't feel so good."

And it was true. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he felt small. His stomach felt funny. His head felt funny. Everything felt funny. And not in a good way.

"Shh," she said, moving to caress his face with a gentle finger. "It's okay. You're going to be okay. You just got a little sick is all."

Why did her voice sound strange? Had she been crying? It was hard to tell with the dim lighting, but he thought he caught the reflection of too much moisture in her eyes. "Have you been crying?"

The far door opened and a tall figure moved inside. Wait. Was that Tadashi? But how could that be Tadashi? He was dead. His heart skipped a few beats before returning to a somewhat normal rhythm.

"Aunt Cass?" Hiro rasped, letting his hand drop back to the sheets. "Am I dead? Because I think I'm seeing a ghost."

His aunt was crying for sure this time. "No, sweetie," she soothed. "You're not dead, and you're not seeing ghosts."

Then Tadashi moved further into the room. He looked rough, Hiro thought. Then again, that could have been the dim lighting. "You're not dead?"

Tadashi smiled, though his eyes held a hint of distress. "What gave you that idea, bonehead?" He affectionately ruffled his brother's hair. "I'm right here. I never left."

Hiro blinked in confusion, groaning as he shifted positions. "But I saw you die," he insisted. Then he coughed lightly. "Ugh. So thirsty. Why am I so thirsty? Feels like I've been eating sand."

Cass gave his hand a squeeze. "I'll go ask the nurse if you can have something," she said as she released his his fingers from her own. Giving one last worried look, she headed out the door.

Tadashi took up her vacated position. "Hey. Why don't you tell me how I died?" He ran a hand over Hiro's forehead, feeling for signs of a fever. Chances were good he still had one. If not, the drugs were obviously to blame, messing with his sense of perception. That or the fever before they'd realized what was going on.

Hiro had to close his eyes. He was so tired. "You ran into a fire," he answered, his tongue sticking to the roof of his mouth.

"And why would I do something like that?" Tadashi's voice was patient, his hand reassuring.

The younger boy tried to swallow. "You thought someone was still in there." Why did he feel so tired? And why did the scene in his head feel so wrong? Wait. Tadashi hadn't died by fire. He'd bled out after being shot in the leg and shoulder.

Groaning again, Hiro put a hand to his head. Everything felt just as jumbled up as they had the moment he'd woken up on the beach. Maybe more so. But had that really happened? Or waking up to be pummeled by Yama's men? What was going on? Was he losing his mind?

"I'm so dizzy," Hiro confessed. Had Jack managed to convince him to drink sake after all? Was this all just a drunken hallucination? Had he really met Jack Harkness and the Doctor all those months back? Or had it all just been a fever-induced dream?

"Hey," Tadashi said, realizing his brother's fever was still very much present. Maybe it was getting worse.

What had the doctors told them before they'd been allowed into Hiro's room? Oh yeah. Hiro's appendix had fallen apart in the surgeon's hands. There had already been signs of infection inside his abdominal cavity from some leakage caused by the inflamed organ. They'd decided to leave in a tube to try and drain it out.

Chances were good they had Hiro on some heavy duty antibiotics. That might account for some of his being out of it. At least they weren't taking any chances. They still had him attached to the various monitors. Tadashi knew those monitors would relay their information up to the nurse's desk for careful observation.

Hiro turned a groggy-looking face towards the direction of his brother's voice. "Hey what?" His eyes drooped, like he didn't have enough energy to keep them open.

"Try to get some rest," Tadashi admonished with half a sigh. "We can sort this all out later when you're feeling better, okay?"

Hiro nodded weakly. "Kay." Then his head lulled slightly to one side as he stopped fighting off sleep.

................................

Tadashi quietly closed the door to Hiro's room as he entered the hallway. He saw Aunt Cass coming down the hall as he leaned against the door's frame with a sigh.

Cass carried a cup of ice chips in one hand but paused as she saw the expression on her nephew's face. "Everything okay? I know that look." She placed one hand on her hip as she looked him up and down.

Tadashi momentarily closed his eyes as emotional exhaustion threatened to overwhelm him. "He thinks I died in a fire," he reported. "The only fire I can think of is the one that claimed our parents when they crashed. The fever must have confused him. He's sleeping now, though, so who knows for sure?"

His aunt placed a hand on his arm, a sad smile on her face. "I'm sure we'll figure it all out when he's feeling better."

Tadashi took off his cap and ran a hand through his hair. "I need a shower." Despite trying to clean up his shoes earlier, they still smelled. And he just felt gross in general. It had been a rather long day.

"Want to take the truck?" Cass dangled the keys. "Someone should be here when he wakes up again or I'd drive you."

The keys jangled as Tadashi accepted them. "Maybe I'll go work on my project for a bit while I'm at it. Clear my head." He couldn't forget Hiro's mentioning Baymax by name when he'd carried him down to the truck earlier that day. The question, however, was how had Hiro known about the healthcare robot? He hadn't shown him to the boy yet, though he'd planed to later that day. At least he had until Hiro's appendix went south.

"Don't take too long," Cass urged. "Even though Hiro's a bit confused right now, he still needs you."

Tadashi gave his aunt a kiss on the forehead. "I won't," he promised.