A Hero, The Hero (Solangelo)

Baby Steps

It hurt like hell. I woke up and looked around. Why was I in the infirmary? I saw a tired Will gaping at me.
"What? Will, you ok?" I muttered just loud enough for him to hear me. His face went from scared to bewildered.
"Gods Nico! You're worried about me." He gave a dry laugh,"Nico. You talk in your sleep. You were begging for someone to kill you. You said-" he choked up,"it hurt too much." He struggled for breath again,"Does it hurt that bad?" He asked tearfully. I examined each streak of blue in his radiant eyes. I couldn't lie to him anymore. I let my defenses slip and snuggled closer into him.
"Si. But I can manage." I added, I've dealt with worse, that's a lie, but I had to stay strong. I pushed myself into a sitting position. Will tried to protest, but I had this battle won.
     "You said, Will." He solemnly nodded, obviously regretting his decision. He pulled a pear of crutches from behind a curtain and moved to the foot of my bed. His eyes seemed cloudier than normal. He slowly approached me, then lifted me into his arms. My good leg was set in the ground, two crutches placed under my arms, and Will's hands reluctantly sliding off my shoulders. I hobbled with my good leg, and then slid the crutches. I kept going. And going. And going.

Hop. Slide. Hop. Slide.
I lowered my other leg slightly.
Hop. Slide. Hop. Slide.
Struggling only a bit, I straightened out my knee a little.
Hop. Slide. Hop. Slide.
The tip of my toenail touched the white tiled floor.
Hop. Slide. Hop. Slide.
My toe rested on the ground. Painful jolts shot up my leg.
Hop. Slide. Hop. Slide.
The rest of my foot was lowered. I subconsciously cried out.
Hop. Slide. Hop. Slide.
I kept going.
Hop. Slide. Hop. Slide.
Will's gentle hand was on my back now.
Hop. Slide. Hop. Slide.

Only then did I realize the minuscule distance I had moved. I was only about a yard from my bed. I was panting. My leg felt warm, which was nice. But, it was unpleasantly sticky. I felt something dripping down and absorbing in my socks. Oh great, blood. 'I'm fine!' I tried. My voice didn't work. I felt Will's muscled arms wrap around me and place me into bed. I held his hand and hummed the Italian lullaby that he loved. He understood none of it, but he knew the tune. Managing a tight smile, he rubbed the backs of my knuckles and ran his calloused hands through my hair as the other doctor applied bandages to by stubbornly bleeding leg.