Arcadia 11

Twenty-Four

Keeping his eyes open was becoming increasingly difficult. His tummy was full of yummy beef broth, his Baba was cuddling his side, the itchy hospital blanket had been replaced with a warm quilt from home (he had no idea how it got there, but his brain was too fuzzy and warm to care), and he had both stuffed animals tucked into his arms. Then Jaebeom started singing and Markie lost the battle his eyes slipping closed a content sigh leaving his lips. Without much thought, he blindly reached his hand out grabbing his leader's hand. This was the warmest he'd felt in a long time.

Jaebeom felt his eyes fill with tears, Mark just looked so freaking adorable and they were holding hands while he sang to the precious little thing. Normally his Hyung was putting walls up, keeping his thoughts in, not allowing the others to see when he needed help, but this, this innocent, sweet, trusting side was something entirely new, and not unpleasant. He found himself smiling widely whenever the Little's hand squeezed his in his sleep. He felt the stress of this situation melting away, just from Markie's presence alone. If this was as good as it got, screw being a singer in an internationally famous band. He was perfectly content to hold the blonde's hand as long as he needed. It was as if Markie's existence had filled that hole in his soul he didn't know was there.

After finishing all the lullabies he knew, he just started singing their songs, not wanting to break the spell cast over the room. It wasn't even late in the day, just barely one in the afternoon, but the soft snores and sweet singing had lulled the entire room. The nurse coming to check on Mark couldn't hide the smile on her aged face, seeing the sickly male sleeping so peacefully. It was such a great image, both his younger friends holding him, smiling down at him with nothing but adoration, the blonde's one hand occupied while the other fisted in the shirt of the male laying in bed with him.

Something she knew they would never show in public. They were known for being quite masculine and had kept their skinship down compared to most groups. Their image holding still, making it hard to not melt at the sight, no matter how much she wanted to. Checking his vitals, changing out his IV fluids, and adding a small dose of pain meds, all while humming along under her breath. Typing a few notes into the computer on the wall, readjusting the screen to keep it from shining on the three. Surprising both (now) wide awake males. Giving a wink she walked out of the room, bopping her head to the song that was now no doubt stuck in her head.

"Well, I didn't expect that." Jisoo said as he walked in, looking over his shoulder at her. Jaebeom snorted, but kept singing, attempting to stand, but finding his legs asleep. Jackson sat up the best he could, Markie whining, his nose scrunching up at being jostled. "No, no, don't get up. It's alright." He said, his smile warm as always. "I'm so glad you got him to sleep, he didn't sleep very well last night."

"Thank you for staying with him." Jackson whispered, running his hand through Markie's unfortunately, greasey hair. They needed to get him a bath soon. "How did his tests look today? Is he doing better?" Jaebeom's singing cut off, his mouth snapping shut with an audible click. Both young men had their wide dark eyes focused on the physician. The tension in the room palpable.

There was a light knock on the door, then a new man walked in. This one wore a pair of tan pants and a pale pink button up, that he'd tucked into his pants, with a pair of Doc Martin's, he was much shorter than Jisoo, his hair was cut short against his head, showing off his round face. He bowed to the occupants of the room, before quietly standing behind Jisoo.

Jisoo sighed, the calm spell broken. He could only imagine how truly upset Jackson must be feeling, having been the one to tell him the truth of his friend's condition. It didn't help that the man coming in was new. "I wish I could say he's miraculously healed and free to return to life as usual, but... he did quite a number on his body. The muscles in his left calf are so strained we suggest he doesn't walk for at least a week, then he needs to take it easy, for another two. His lower back is sprained, the ligament is torn, it's amazing he was able to walk, let alone sit up on his own. His shoulder was dislocated and put back incorrectly more than once, so now he'll have a definite problem with it for the rest of his life. The oxygen issue isn't as bad as we thought and he should be able to leave with a portable tank used on in emergencies. We found that the malnourishment has caused strain on his heart and as a result he will be exempt from anything that could potentially trigger a heart attack, nothing strenuous, no concerts, no exercising. Absolutely no stress. The burns he'd been recovering from are barely healed and could open if he's not careful." Taking a deep breath, he looked to the man now standing beside him, before looking at the unconscious patient, his professional mask on. "His mental health is also something we need to take into account. From the small interactions I've had with him, he's in a very vulnerable state right now. I understand he's in headspace, but the fact it was due to trauma is what's worrying." Motioning to his colleague, "This is Dr. Lee, he is a specialist in Little Space and luckily a Caregiver himself." focusing back on Jackson. "I understand you already know another idol group with a Little, and that's great, but maybe having someone specialized in the area would help the transition better."

Jaebeom balked at that, Jackson knew someone else like Markie? Markie had felt comfortable enough with a different group to regress and not his own? When had he even met them? When had they found out? How long had his Hyung been hiding this? How could he not have noticed sooner?

"Stop." His band member's raspy voice cut through his thoughts. "Stop with the depressing thoughts. We can't change anything now. It's best we gain the proper knowledge and move on. It does no one any good to wallow in self pity." He said, his eyes hard and leaving no room for argument. Jaebeom could only nod, it was rare for the younger to display this side of himself, but when he did everyone listened to what he said. Despite his stage persona, Jackson Wang was quite observant and wise, in private he chose his words carefully and thought everything through, it was why he and Mark worked well together.  Both rather watch than join in the mayhem that was the other's in their group.

"So..." Clearing his throat at the mass caught there, unsure if it belonged to the unshed tears, or the growing ball of self hatred choking him. "What's the next step? Do we need to keep him here, should we send him back to L.A.? Are his parents coming out here?"

Dr. Lee spoke, his voice was light and soft, like his eyes nothing but gentle. "No, it's not in his best interest to separate him from his primary Caregivers. Besides from what I've heard, his family had no knowledge of his headspace and that could be detrimental to his healing. We need to help him cope and like he said, we can't stress him out further."

"Caregivers?" The leader asked, his confusion quite adorable for the adult. He looked like a startled kitten, his eyes widening with a slight tilt to his head.

"Well, judging by how tightly he's holding your hand, along with Mr. Wang's shirt. I'd assume he's grown attached to you." He answered.

Jaebeom looked down at the Little. "But he's only met me once?"

He was surprised when his band mate chuckled. "So had I, now I'm Baba." He admitted, "Plus you got him a toy, something I have yet to do." shooting a sweet smile at the barely older man. "Now you really are an Appa." He joked, finally seeing the tension leave his leader's shoulders.

"It doesn't take much for Littles in his situation to latch onto the people his 'Big Side'," Dr. Lee began, using air quotes. "finds comfort in. He obviously trusts you enough to allow you to see this side of himself."

Jaebeom blinked a few times. All the information being given him was making it nearly impossible to think past Mark needing extra care and their comeback potentially being cancelled. "How is this going to work? Will Mark always be in headspace? Do we need to worry about things like potty training or re-teaching him languages? Will he have to go to school? What about dances, has he forgotten any of that? Ho-"

"Hyung, breathe." Jackson cut him off. He knew Jaebeom was just overwhelmed, but there was no need for all the extra stress. "Why don't we have Dr. Lee explain what Little Space is, then he can answer questions."