Cold Hard Courage

[20] - Truth

[Beatrice Eaton]

     Tobias stares at Graham for a long while, his dark eyes examining the young boy. He parts his dry lips, looking over at me.

"Gr..." He stammers, his voice hoarse from the intubation. "Graham."

His voice is quiet, barely audible after all of this time. I smile, looking down at Graham. His dark eyes stare at his father in wonder.

"What's my name, Tobias?" I ask, taking his hand. "What is my name?"

His dark eyes lift to me and he just stares for a moment, a smile tugging at his mouth.

"B... Beatrice." He stammers, his mouth dry. "But... I call you... Tris."

I smile, nodding as I look down at him. I kiss his hand again, looking over at my Parents.

"Will you watch him? I need to go do something." I say.

They nod, taking Graham from my arms. I kiss Tobias' forehead and stand. I approach the door where David and Justin stand.

"I need to bring Zeke in to see Tobias. Can we bring him in in a wheelchair?" I ask.

David nods, looking across the hall at Zeke's room.

"He's been asking us about Tobias every waking minute. But I think you should give him the news." David says.

I cross the hallway, knocking twice as I enter the room. Shauna sits beside Zeke, their hands squeezed tightly together.

"Tris?" Zeke asks, pushing himself to sit up, a groan passing his lips as he does so. "How is he? Is he okay?"

I smile at them, nodding. I approach him, taking his hand in my own.

"He woke up, Zeke." I say, allowing that to soak in. "He's awake and talking. And it's all thanks to you."

Zeke's eyes turn glassy as he realizes what I'm saying. He looks at Shauna who covers her face with her hands.

"All of the pain we'll go through in the next months? Worth it. The scars we'll have? Worth it. The memories and trauma we've shared? All worth it. In the end, we brought him back—us. Not those know it all doctors, not the judges, the jury, or the executioner, US. We saved your Husband. We saved my best friend. We saved your son's father. We brought him back and all of the pain we will deal with later in life will be worth it because, today, we saved a man's life." He says.

I nod, smiling at him. We squeeze each other's hands, nodding at one another.

"Would you like to go see him now? David says you've been pestering them about visiting him." I say.

He nods, his eyes lighting up with excitement as he looks beyond the door.

"It's all led up to this—this one moment. The moment where we see our Best Friend Alive." He says.