Falling (Asleep) For You {Book Of Mormon/Churchtarts}

Chapter 6

Church lunged out of his chair and caught Poptarts in his arms, saving the smaller boy from a head injury. The effort pulled him off of his stool, into a sitting position next to the unconscious Elder Poptarts on the floor.

"Chris?" Church asked, but the boy didn't stir. "Chris!"

The only indication that Poptarts was even alive was the soft rising and falling of his chest. Elder Church repositioned Poptarts so that he was cushioning his head from the ground.

"It's fine, it's fine, it's fine," Church repeated aloud, not sure if he was trying to convince himself or Poptarts. "This happened before, he says he's fine, he'll wake up soon and it'll all be okay. Everything will be alright."

He sat there in silence listening to the sounds of the night in Uganda for longer than he expected, doing everything in his power to convince himself that Poptarts would be fine, that any minute he would wake up. He got more and more stressed by the minute, as Poptarts proved to be sleeping on. He was sure Poptarts would wake up soon.

But Poptarts didn't wake up. 

Elder McKinley wandered into the kitchen that morning to find a distraught and exhausted Elder Church cradling Elder Poptarts in his arms. The sun was just beginning to rise outside the window.

"Elder Church? What happened?" McKinley said, rushing over to his side. Poptarts lay on the floor, looking peaceful and asleep, his chest moving lightly with each breath. Church looked significantly more harried. His hair stood up in various places, like he had rolled out of bed without bothering to fix it, which wasn't too far from the truth.

"I don't know-" Church said, his voice breaking. A lump rose in his throat and kept him from speaking. All the stress from the past few hours built up.

"It's okay, just breathe," McKinley said softly. He motioned to Elder Church that they should pick Poptarts up and moved him to the couch, sitting on either ends.

The missionaries sat in silence for a moment, the house quiet except for the soft breathing of Poptarts.

"Can you talk now?" McKinley asked. Church nodded slowly, relaxing slightly with the company of the unofficial 'mom' of the mission.

"We were just talking, that's it, and out of no where he just..." Church broke into a sob, tears rushing down his face and soaking the collar of his shirt. 

"He slipped off his stool, and passed out, like he did the other day, and h-he-" Elder Church gasped for breath. 

"Oh, honey..." McKinley said, assuming his Mom-of-the-house role entirely. He put an arm around Church and rubbed his back lightly.

"He won't....he won't w-wake up..." Church managed to stutter out. "I-I tried...everything...but he won't wake up..."

"How long has it been?" Elder McKinley asked. Church looked at the clock on the wall.

"A-almost two hours."

"Shoot!" McKinley cursed quietly, earning a shocked look from Elder Church. "Sorry, Elder. It's just- this is not normal."

"What are we going to do?" Elder Church choked out, his voice barely audible.

"I'm afraid there's nothing we can do," McKinley said regretfully. "Narcolepsy can't be cured, and there's not much we can do to wake him up if he hasn't already naturally..."

He trailed off, startled by Church's astonished face.

"What?" McKinley asked uneasily. The other missionary struggled to find the correct words.

"You...you said narcolepsy...that's what's going on with Chris?" Church said slowly, like his tongue was numb in his mouth. "What's that?" 

McKinley looked like he would like to punch himself in the face. 

"Yes..." McKinley said reluctantly, drawing out the words. "Poptarts has narcolepsy..." 

Elder Church raised his eyebrows, waiting for more. When no words came, he asked, "And that is?" 

McKinley sighed, knowing the elder wouldn't give up on getting the information now that it was out. "Narcolepsy is a... sleep disorder. It causes Poptarts to fall asleep at inopportune times, usually due to a surplus of emotion, for him it's usually stress. It also makes it hard for him to fall asleep, and he doesn't usually sleep very well. 

Elder Church was quiet for a moment, processing. McKinley could nearly see his wheels turning as he connected what he already knew to what he had just been told. Poptarts rolled over in his sleep on the couch but didn't wake.

"So..." Church said finally. "Poptarts has a sleep disorder that makes him fall asleep all the time?" Elder McKinley resisted the urge to respond with a snarky comment.

"Yeah, that's kinda what I just said..." Well, almost resisted the urge. 

"Okay..." Church said, nodding. "Alright...I'm gonna just...go back to sleep." He rose from the couch. "Is that okay? Can I leave him here with you?"

McKinley nodded too. "Go get some sleep, Elder." Church shuffled away, weighed down by all the new information he had been given, and also a little bit of guilt.

He soon began to regret sending off the taller Elder though, when he realized how much of a dead weight Poptarts became when he was asleep.  

"Heavenly Father, Poptarts, how can someone so tiny weigh so much?" McKinley groaned, basically dragging Poptart's back to their room. He narrowly missed bonking Poptart's head on a table and cursed under his breath. 

"Remind me to never try to move you again, no matter where you fall asleep," McKinley continued, throwing Poptarts on the bed. He caught his breath, then tucked the small boy into his bed and sighed.

"Wake up, Poptarts. For my sake, and for his. He cares about you so much." McKinley said to Poptart's sleeping body. 

Probably too much, McKinley reflected as he headed back out to the kitchen. There was no point in going back to sleep so late in the morning, and besides, someone needed to make breakfast. 

A/N:

Lina? Finally updating? Not likely, but it happened. It's slightly shorter by like 200 words so sorry about that 

References:

The Last Five Years

Falsettos

Aw poor tart boy. He's gonna be fine, don't worry.

Also, I have no clue if cataplexy attacks can last that long, so bear with me because it might not be 100% accurate. I'mnotadoctorIdon'tknoweverythingI'msorry

Hopefully I'll get another chapter out within a few days, sorry that it took me three weeks to update...

(Friday, May 25, 2018 9:29am PST)