Cigarettes and Sass (reupload)

Chapter 23

When Gerard woke up he was for a moment confused and disorientated. His head ached and the pain only increased when he tried to open his eyes and was faced with a blinding light. Immediately he squeezed his eyes shut again, groaning quietly as he lifted a hand and pressed it over his eyelids. His arms felt as if they were made of lead, his whole body seemingly ten times heavier than before. Every inch of him ached and the first thought that entered his conscious mind was that he wished he were dead.

"Gee?" The voice came to Gerard as if from a million miles away. As if it was separated from him by an ocean of water and then some triple glazed glass to boot. But he recognised it... He would always recognise it. It wasn't the voice of an angel or of God, it was the voice of someone much more important and Gerard forced himself to try and open his eyes again so he would be able to see his gorgeous face.

"F – Fra... Fr-an... Frankie..." He mewled, his lips and mouth were dry and he felt like his throat had been stuffed with cotton wool. His head thumped with more pain and he squinted through the blinding light for a long moment before it was blocked out by a dark shape. At first it was just a silhouette but the more Gerard looked the more he began to distinguish features and crooked smile lit up his face. "Frankie..."

"Hey Gee." Frank smiled; keeping his voice soft as he gently took one of Gerard's hands between both his palms and held it to his chest. "How you feeling lover?" He asked softly, trying to swallow down the lump in his throat and not let Gerard see how upset he had been.

When Gerard had passed out Frank had been certain he was about to lose him for good. He had been distraught and panicking, but the small crowd that had formed around them had managed to pull him away from Gerard's body just enough to give him some space as someone called for an ambulance. Frank had been comforted by someone, he didn't even know if they had been a man or a woman he had been so worked up at the time, but they had managed to keep him as composed as possible until the paramedics had arrived and carted both he and Gerard to the hospital.

Frank had been seen to quickly and after only an hour he had been good to go. His head had been checked over and he hadn't needed stitches, though there had been a lot of concern at the placement of the wound. Frank hadn't known being hit in the temple was so dangerous and the doctors had been very clear when they told him that if he had been hit any harder it could have ended much worse. As it was he had just needed a wad of cotton wool to get taped over his temple and he had been allowed to just wait for Gerard then.

Frank had known he should call Mikey or Elena, he didn't know Gerard's parents numbers or whether he even spoke to them, but he was sure he could ask a doctor to retrieve Gerard's cell phone from his pocket so he could call someone. He knew he should ask, but in the end he just didn't have the strength to call for them and make them worry, he could only bring himself to call the only person he could bear to see in that moment – Matt.

Matt had brought Brian with him to the hospital and the pair of them had sat with Frank in the waiting room as they waited to hear news of Gerard. The two men had comforted Frank as he had cried and shook, convinced that Gerard was going to die. Matt had been stern with him, gripping his shoulders and telling him firmly not to assume anything. It had been difficult for all of them, especially as hour after hour had ticked by.

In the end, after multiple police interviews where Frank had been delicately asked to tell in full detail what had happened; and Matt had finally taken the task of calling Mikey and Elena; a doctor had come to them in the waiting room to tell them how Gerard was doing...

"Mmph..." Gerard closed his eyes for a moment and groaned, considering Frank's question. "Like death." He finally decided, but the more he woke up the more he remembered and he began to realise he was lucky to be feeling anything at all. "Are you okay?"