First Time For Everything [WangXian FF]

31

The ride to the hospital was a somber one. 
Wangji dropped Wuxian at the entrance and went ahead to park the car. Wuxian hurried inside and went straight to the reception.
"My friend, Nie Huaisang. He was in a hit-and-run case. Where is he?"
"Just a minute, sir." The receptionist said, as he swiftly entered the details on his computer. "Mr. Nie Huaisang is in surgery now. Second floor, straight down, please follow the red line on the floor."
"Thanks!" Wuxian thanked him quickly and ran towards the elevator.
 He was fidgeting nervously as he forced himself not to cry. When he felt a hand holding his, gently, he looked up to see Wangji had joined him.
"Breathe, Wei Ying."
Wuxian nodded as if on auto-pilot. "It's taking too long!"
"Let's take the stairs." Wangji suggested.
They ran towards the stairs and reached the second floor in no time. Following the red line on the floor when they finally reached the operating room, they saw Nie Mingjue sitting on the cold metal bench with Lan Xichen holding his hands and murmuring something softly to him.
"Da-ge."
Hearing the voice, both Mingjue and Xichen looked up. Wuxian could tell Mingjue had been crying, so he ran to him and hugged him.
 "Da-ge. I am here. The others are coming."
Mingjue hugged Wuxian back as his eyes found Wangji's. "Thank you!" he mouthed.
Wangji nodded back in acknowledgment and then turned to his brother to talk.
Jiang Cheng and Wen Ning soon joined them. His brother's friends were like family to him. He had seen them grow up and if it was any one of them in Huaisang's place tonight, he would be equally worried. They were huddled together hugging each other as they waited for the surgery to end.
Sang, look. Your best friends are here. Don't make us worry anymore. Please be OK, little brother.
 
-----
 
 
LXC: Guys, i have some bad news.
JYL: What's wrong, Xi? Are you OK? Is Ming OK? Please don't scare me like this.
LXC: We're fine but Sang got rushed to the hospital. He was involved in a hit-and-run.
JYL: Oh no!! That poor baby... is he OK? How hurt is he?
JGY: Hit-and-run?
LXC: We're driving to Yunmeng now. Ming's with me. And yes, Yao.
JYL: Have you informed, Cheng and Xian?
LXC: I informed Wangji. He's with Wuxian so I think they informed Cheng as well.
JGY: I will be there, ASAP.
JYL: Me too. I will bring Qing along.
LXC: Li, you need to rest.
JGY: I agree with Xi-ge, Li. You  shouldn't be stressing now.
JYL: Like hell I will. It's my best friend's brother and not just that, he's my brothers' best friend as well. We're practically family. So no.. i can't stay home and rest. I am coming over. 
LXC: Li...
JYL: LAN XICHEN!!! You do not want to mess with me right now... ahagshdh
JYL: This is Wen Qing. I took away her phone. She is upset and almost on the verge of crying.
LXC: I'm sorry Qing.. it's my fault. I shouldn't have let her know about the accident?
JYL: Accident?
JYL: Oh never mind, i scrolled up and read. Xi-ge, Li is right.. even if I force her to stay, she won't rest easy. So it's better if we come. 
LXC: OK, Qing.
JGY: See you in sometime, Er-ge.
LXC: Thanks, guys.
JYL: Qing gave me my phone back. I will see you soon too.
 
-----
 
It had been a long 5 hours and there was still no update on Huaisang's condition. The surgery was still going on and everyone was worried sick. At some point, Jiang Yanli and Wen Qing had joined them as well and were now sitting with Mingjue between them.
Wuxian sat with his hands running soothing circles on Jiang Cheng’s back. He knew it was worse for his brother.
“Wei Ying”
Wuxian looked up when he heard his name being called out. Lan Wangji was crouched in front of him, one hand resting on his knee, the other holding his free hand. “It’s almost morning, bunny. Do you want me to get you something to eat?”
Wuxian shook his head. He couldn’t eat, not when he was worried sick for his best friend and his brother who had seemed to go into a shock ever since he had gotten news of the accident.
“Let me get you some coffee then.” Wangji patted Wuxian’s knee as he got up.
“I will come with you.” Lan Xichen said.
He nodded at his brother and then the Lan brothers left to buy some coffee for all of them and some juice for Yanli.
“What do you think about this situation, brother?” Wangji asked.
“The Hit-and-run case? I need to investigate it. There will definitely be some sort of evidence left behind by the perpetrator.”
“I will help you, Er-ge”
Hearing that voice, Xichen felt relief wash over him. He turned around to greet Jin Guangyao. “Yao, thank you for coming on such a short notice.”
“Xi-ge, you know Ming-ge is important to me as well. Of course I would have come.” He smiled sadly.
Yao walked to Xichen and hugged him. The older man enveloped the smaller man into his arms, taking comfort from the other. He breathed in his smell as the other rested his head on his shoulders. They were in the embrace for a couple of minutes when they heard Wangji clear his throat. They quickly parted feeling embarrassed.
“Shall we go back?” Wangji asked.
“Yes.. let’s go” Xichen nodded.
“Xi-ge what’s the update on Sang?”
“That’s the thing Yao.. He’s been in surgery for the last 5 hours and there has been no updates yet. Everyone is on edge about this. Plus the hit-and-run thing.” Xichen ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.
“I understand.”
They entered the waiting room loaded with coffee. Yao rushed to Ming as soon as he entered and hugged him. The bigger man felt cold to the touch and Yao worried he was falling into a pit of despair. He turned his head towards Xichen who seemed to understand what he needed. He handed over the tray with the coffee cups to Wangji, walked over to where Ming and Yao were hugging and enveloped them into a hug. All three of them then looked at Yanli who would have joined the group hug had she not fallen asleep with her head resting on Qing’s shoulder.
“Sorry guys, she was already tired when you messaged but she still insisted on coming over. And now she has fallen asleep.” Qing chuckled.
“Yeah, she’s like the mother hen to all us boys.” Ming said, eyes soft. The boys detached themselves from the group hug and sat down beside Yanli as they conversed in low tones and waited.
 

On the other side of the room, Wangji had walked back to Wuxian’s side after handing the others their coffee cups.
“Drink a little Wei Ying.”
Wuxian looked reluctant so Wangji came closer and whispered something into his ears. Wuxian blinked as if coming out a trance and took a sip. Wangji sat back satisfied as he drank his coffee and held Wuxian’s hand in his. As he looked around he noticed none of them seemed to be in the mood for anything but had forced themselves to drink the bitter concoction, anyway.
Finally, the doctor came out from the operating room still in his surgical gown. Mingjue stood up so fast he dropped the coffee, but no one seemed to notice. He walked closer to the doctor with hope on his face, but it shattered when the doctor looked at him with regret.
"My brother…?" Mingjue grabbed Xichen's arm for support as Yao held his other hand. He was unable to speak anything more than those few words, worry creeping into his voice.
"Mr. Nie, your brother is out of danger for now but he fractured his left leg in three places and one of his ribs punctured his lung when it broke on impact. I'm afraid he lost a lot of blood, and he fell into a coma. We have to wait for the next 48 hours to find out more and to think about the next move. Till then we will keep him in the I.C.U." The doctor looked at Mingjue with sad eyes. "I am sorry to say this Mr. Nie but you should contact your family to come as soon as possible."
“No, don't say that. Don’t say it like my brother would not wake up from the coma. He will, I know he will. He has to wake up.”
“I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news, Mr. Nie. I am not saying you should lose hope but please prepare yourself. Even if he wakes up from the coma, he will need a lot of physiotherapy and rehabilitation.”
“I am ready to do everything. Please doctor…” Mingjue was sobbing now.
“We will try everything we can, Mr. Nie.” Having said that the doctor had retreated into the operating room, letting them know that they would transfer Huaisang to the I.C.U in sometime. All of them were still standing in the same place, unwilling to believe the news. Nie Huaisang in a coma. The bubbly, mischievous guy whom everyone loved.
Yanli had also woken up when the doctor came in. She was quietly crying as Qing hugged her.
Jiang Cheng had stopped moving altogether. He didn’t cry, he didn’t shout, he didn’t collapse like Mingjue. He just stood there like a statue, unable to feel anything. He had gone completely numb. His hands felt cold and his heart colder. He refused to acknowledge the stark reality. It was like his world had crumbled around him.