| CLAIMED part four by Saimone It was well into the afternoon before anyone returned to check on Darren. When someone finally did come, that person was a young red-headed nurse named Katie Boyd. She paused at the door to pick up the clipboard then walked into the room, and stopped short with a soft smile of surprise. Her patient wasn't alone, as she had expected, but neither he nor his visitor were awake. Nurse Boyd's smile grew as she watched both men silently. Her dark haired patient still hadn't moved since he'd been brought in, which worried her more than a little. By his side, a young blonde haired man knelt on the floor dozing, with his head resting on the mattress. One of the blonde's hands held onto the other man's hand protectively--as if he were afraid of letting go. Seeing nothing amiss, Nurse Boyd left the room quietly closing the door behind her. Out in the hallway, she encountered another one of her patient's protectors--a young woman who introduced herself as Anna Maria. Anna Maria stood. "How are they?" she asked with a knowing smile. "Mr. Hayes is still out and his visitor has apparently dozed off," Nurse Boyd answered. "Well, it has been a rough morning...." Anna Maria thanked the nurse, quickly glanced in at Darren and Daniel, then went off to find the rest of the guys in the cafeteria. * * * * * * * It was cold. That was Darren's first conscious thought. It was cold and his eyelids seemed weighted down. He felt as if his body were suspended in a vast sea of nothingness. He felt almost weightless, apart from himself, like he was floating. Slowly, the free, weightless feeling subsided and he became more aware. He could feel the cool air flowing into his nose and lungs; he could hear a steady, mechanical blipping sound; he could feel the afternoon sunlight streaming through the window, dancing over his closed eyes. He also became aware of the presence beside him. Most of Darren's body was still cold, but he noticed that one of his hands was quite warm. He could also feel the slight pressure of someting resting beside his left leg. Something firm and warm. With difficulty, Darren shifted to open his eyes and see a familiar tossled blonde head. Daniel was sitting on the floor with only his head and arms resting lightly on the bed. Darren, though tired and still groggy, managed a tiny smile at the sight and moved slightly to settle back more comfortably. At his shifting, Daniel began to stir and awaken, burrowing his face in the mattress. Then Daniel lifted his head, slowly, and blinked in confusion. He glanced over at Darren and immediately snapped to attention, the sleepiness gone from his eyes. "Darren?" Daniel's voice was heavy with sleep and surprise, but quickly growing more alert. Darren smiled weakly. "Sorry I woke you..." he whispered. "Don't be, I'm not! I'm so glad you're awake... How are you feeling? Do you remember what happened? Do you know where you are? Do you need me to fetch your doctor?" Daniel rattled off rapidly. "Woah, there Jonesy. I'm supposed to be the overly-excited one, remember?" Daniel chuckled at the lame attempt of humor, then seemed to notice that his hand was still clutching Darren's. He gave Darren's hand a reassuring squeeze and then let go, flushing a little in embarrassment. Darren immediately missed its warmth. "Sorry about the rapid-fire questions, mate. But how about answering the important one: How do you feel?" Darren's weak smile faded and his brows drew together as he thought of an honest answer to that question. Finally, at long length, he sighed and said, "I feel a bit knackered, actually and a little doped up." And cold. "Are you still cold? I could get you another blanket..." Darren was shocked--he knew he hadn't spoken his last thought outloud. "Darren?" His shock must have shown on his face because Daniel looked concerned. He needed to fix that. "Yeah, Dan. A blanket might be nice," Darren finally managed. "Okay," Daniel nodded. "I'll do run and find you one. And maybe I should locate your doctor and go and get the rest of the band..." That sounded like it would take too long and Darren didn't like that prospect. "Don't go away!" "Well, Daz, I have to go away to get you your blanket, don't I?" That was true, but he still didn't want Daniel to leave. "I'd rather have you than the blanket," Darren replied, not realizing the Freudian slip until it was too late. Daniel laughed. "I think I'd make a terrible blanket," he said, still chuckling. "Don't worry; I'll be back in two shakes..." He flashed Darren a smile as he opened the door and stepped out into the hall. There, he saw his fellow bandmates talking with Dr. Wallis and a young nurse he hadn't seen before. Clearing his throat loudly, Daniel got their attention. "Oh, you woke up, I see..." remarked Anna Maria with a smile. "Have a nice nap?" "Yeah, I'm awake...and so is Darren, in case you're interested!" "What? How long had he been awake?" Ben asked. "Only a few minutes," Daniel answered. "And you didn't tell us? How us he?" demanded Ben, rushing into Darren's room, not bothering to wait for Daniel's answer. "He's a little cold, actually, " Daniel answered anyway, looking pointedly at the doctor and nurse. The nurse--Nurse Boyd--nodded and went to get a blanket while Dr. Wallis went to go and check on Darren. Anna Maria, Karl, and Lee followed quickly behind. Last to enter the room were Daniel, Nurse Boyd, and the blanket. Daniel had to laugh at Darren's dumfounded expression as he was bombarded by questions and well-wishings. The dumbfounded look melted into a thankful smile as Darren carefully sat up and Nurse Boyd draped the blanket securely around his shoulders. "I'm fine, you guys..." Darren attempted to reassure as he burrowed into his new blanket. "Let me be the judge of that," Dr. Wallis chuckled, making Darren extract his injured and wrapped up wrist from the cacoon of blanketing. He closely examined the wrist to see if the swelling had gone down, jotted a few notes on a clipboard, then moved on. Next, Dr. Wallis shined a small flashlight into Darren's eyes and told him to follow the light as it moved. More notes ensued. Then he checked the stitches, looked over Darren's scrapes and bruises, poked and prodded Darren's scalp, and finally handed him an electric thermometer. Darren, with an exasperated sigh, took the thermometer, stuck in his mouth, and retreated back under his blankets. "Mr. Hayes, I don't believe that will give an accurate temperature reading." A muffled, unintelligible noise came from under the blankets in reply. Darren refused to come out. About a minute later, a muffled beeping sound was heard from under the blanket and Darren's good arm snaked out from under the pile, thermometer in hand. With an impatient gesture, he handed the device back to the doctor then the arm disappeared again. Doctor Wallis took the thermometer and read the numbers with a slight shake of his head. Then he handed it to Nurse Boyd and made a few more notes on his clipboard. "Well, Mr. Hayes...Your temperature has risen, but its still a few degrees below normal." "I think that's normal for him! Lee and Ben laughed at the same time. Darren extracted himself from his cacoon so he could stick his tongue out at them. The others laughed. "Mature, Daz. Real mature..." Daniel commented. Darren grinned. "I know!" he replied. Then his face grew serious and he turned to the doctor. "How soon can I get out of here?" Doc Wallis sighed--he knew no one would be thrilled with his recommendation. "Well Mr. Hayes, I think it would be in your best interest if you remained here overnight. We need to monitor your temperature and be on the lookout for Post-Concussion Syndrome." Darren looked stricken. "But what about tonight's show?" he demanded. The doctor's look turned severe. "Mr. Hayes, you were just in an automobile accident--a serious automobile accident! You barely made it out of there alive! I don't want you to be doing anything more strenuous than sleeping for at least the next few days. Energy-draining concerts do not fall under that criteria!" The others, sensing a fight, quietly and inconspicuously left the room. Only Daniel, Darren, and the doctor remained. Daniel then spoke up softly, "We've already called off the show, anyway. I phoned Leonie earlier and she's working to get the concert rescheduled for a few days from now." Darren looked shocked,"You did?" "Yeah, Daz. We did! We didn't know when you were going to wake up or how you'd feel once you did....We want to give you a chance to recover. I mean c'mon, Darren, you were in a CAR ACCIDENT for fuck's sake! We..." at this point Daniel grew choked up as a realization set in. In a tear-filled voice he finished, "...we came so close to losing you." As Daniel struggled to contain himself, Darren's eyes filled with tears. The seriousness of the whole ordeal finally caught up with him and he broke down crying. Daniel was by Darren's side in an instant, wrapping his long, wiry arms around his slighter friend's shoulders pulling him in for a close hug. He sat down on the bed beside Darren and held his friend tightly as he cried, whispering soothing words. Neither man noticed their bandmates standing, shocked, in the doorway. Neither man noticed when the doctor slipped out of the room and closed the door. All that mattered just then was the moment and the fact that they were both alive to share it... |