~ Wings ~ Sanders Sides ~

~ Chapter Thirty-three ~ Patton ~

As I come to, the first thing I notice is a slight throbbing on either side of my neck. Slowly, I open one eye. There's a lot of black, dispersed with purple. I smile and open my other eye as well.

Virgil is asleep next to me, a small smile tugging at his lips. I ruffle his hair and push back the blankets. Virgil whimpers and reaches his hand towards where I was, catching me off guard.

I giggle, then grab a photo album and sit down next to Virgil, who immediately snuggles up against my leg. I place one hand on his head and the photo album in my lap.

About halfway through, Virgil stirs and his eyes open. "Patton, what are you—?" he starts groggily, but snaps to the moment we make eye contact. "Patton!" Virgil's eyes light up and he springs forward to wrap his arms around my neck. "Oh, Pat, you're ok!!"

"Yeah, kiddo," I reply, hugging Virgil back. "I'm okay. What happened, exactly? I remember you telling me to hang on, but I couldn't, and then I woke up and you were asleep next to me."

With a soft growl, Virge pulls back. "Well, Depression was the one who attacked you. He let you go once I confronted him, but by then you were already out cold." Virgil chuckles. "Also, Hailey asked for permission to break his arms."

"Denied."

"Thought you'd say that. Anyway, we should probably head downstairs."

I nod. "Lead the way, kiddo," I say before noticing the mischievous grin sliding across Virgil's face. Before I can ask what he's planning, he picks me up, wraps my arms around his neck, and takes off. "Virge!" I exclaim through laughter. "Put me down!"

Virgil doesn't let go of me until we're downstairs, where he deposits me on the couch. I look at his face, his eyes, and notice pure, unburdened, and unbridled joy in them, something I haven't seen in my dark strange son since... well, ever.

"Well, look who finally decided to re-enter society!" Roman exclaims before turning to me. "Glad to see you're awake, Patton. Virgil hasn't left your room at all since... the incident."

"Which was approximately three days, eleven hours, and twelve minutes ago," Logan adds in from the breakfast area.

"Aw, kiddo!" I say, heartwarmed but also concerned. "Did you eat anything?"

"Yeah, Logan came in every day to make sure I had at least one meal."

"You probably need to eat, too," Logan adds in. "If you would like, I can prepare a bowl of soup for you."

I open my mouth to refuse, to say I'm fine, but stop. There's something in the way everyone's looking at me, eyes full of worry and concern, that makes me say, "Yeah, some soup would be nice." Logan smiles and heads into the kitchen.

I eat surrounded by everyone and think maybe, just maybe, I made it out of the woods.