everything. | wilbur soot au

16

Y/N was shaking as they stepped off of the train and onto the platform. They now knew their father was in stable condition, but they were still terrified of arriving to the unlikely news that he'd taken a turn for the worst. Wilbur tried to comfort them the best he could on their way to the hospital but it didn't really help much. When the two of them were dropped off, they walked through the automatic doors of the large building. "I can hold your bags while you talk to the desk," Wilbur offered. "Thank you," Y/N said, handing him their bags. 

Y/N walked up to the woman at the front desk. Wilbur followed and stood behind them. The woman typed away furiously on her keyboard then looked up at them. "Hey, hun, how can I help you?" 

"I'm here to see Archie Y/L/N," Y/N said. They started violently fidgeting with the rings on their hands. "Yes, I've got you right here. He is in room..." The lady's eyes darted around the screen. "807. Room 807." 

"Oh, thank you so much," Y/N said in a rushed, but relieved voice. They and Wilbur started to walk in the direction of the elevator when the lady called after them. "Wait! I have to give you both these visitor stickers!" They both walked back towards the desk. She looked at Y/N. "What's your relation to the patient?"

"I'm his child," Y/N spoke. The nurse typed into her computer then looked at Wilbur. "What about you, sir?" He looked over at Y/N as he struggled to find something to say. They spoke for him, saying, "He's a close friend of mine, he's not related to my dad." The woman stopped typing. "He can go up there with you, he just can't go into the room with you. He can still wait outside though. We have plenty of large couches up there in case you both plan on staying the night here." She handed Y/N a yellow tag to put on their shirt, then gave Wilbur an orange tag to put on his own. "Have a nice day, you two," the nurse said, then they were on their way up to room 807. 

The elevator ride to the 8th floor was silent with the exception of Wilbur whispering in Y/N's ear, "Everything is going to be okay." He put his arm around their shoulder as he said this. It gave them a bit of comfort, but they were still very anxious. They both stepped out of the elevator and started to walk down the hall towards the 7th room. Across the hall from Y/N's dad's hospital room was a large leather couch. Wilbur sat their bags down on it before walking back over to Y/N.

He embraced them in a warm hug which Y/N returned. "You're so strong, I believe in you." He pulled away and looked them over. "Thank you, Wilbur, for everything. You don't know how much it means to me." He nodded at them before saying, "I'll be right out here if you need me."

Y/N knocked on the door before opening it and walking in. They closed it behind them, leaving Wilbur in the hallway alone. He walked over to the couch and sat down. He opened his phone for the first time in a good while, being greeted by what seemed like a hundred messages from Tommy checking on him. 

"Y/N," Archie exclaimed in a weak voice. "Hey, Dad," they said while walking over to him. They wrapped their arms around his neck and gave him the best hug they could while there were wires and tubes attached to him. "I'm sorry you had to travel all this way, I really didn't want you to, but your mother said you were." 

"Y/N turned to see their mother sitting in a chair in the corner. "It's really no issue. You're my dad, I'm going to be here for you." They turned to face their mother. "Thank you for calling me. I really appreciate it," they said to her. "Why didn't you get here sooner? You said you were going to be on your way at two o'clock this morning."

"Well, we got to the train station an hour before the train left and-" Y/N started. "Hold on a second, who's 'we'," their mother interrogated. "My good friend Wilbur came with me because he was worried about me traveling alone and he also wanted to give emotional support. He's currently waiting outside the room." This got mixed reactions from Y/N's parents. While their dad said how sweet it was, their mom was going on about how they should have told Wilbur no and they should have been independent. "Why are you even here," they said, cutting her off. She just looked at them with a blank expression. "I mean, all you're doing is trying to start an argument. If you're not going to be here and be supportive and provide comfort, then leave. It's that easy."

Their mother didn't say anything, but instead looked out the large window in the room at the night sky which was polluted by the bright lights of the city below. "Dad," Y/N started, "Do you need me to do absolutely anything? I can stay here as long as you need me."

"I do have a request for you, can you and your friend go take care of the animals at the house and just take care of the house for me while I'm gone? That would be the most helpful thing you could do right now. They're telling me I could be out of here within the next few days if I continue to stay in stable condition. Is there any way you could go tonight" he asked weakly. "Yes, sir. Of course. I'll leave here in just a minute. I love you, Dad. So, so much."

"I love you more, Birdie."

They tried not to burst out in tears when he called them their childhood nickname. They nodded and walked out of the room. A few tears escaped when they closed the door behind them and as a result, they quickly wiped their eyes. Wilbur heard the door close and he looked up from his phone. "Hey, are you okay?" 

"Yeah, I'm okay. Dad wants us to take care of his house while he's here. We'll probably be staying there instead of here for the next few nights, and if I'm being honest, I'm pretty glad. It's depressing here," Y/N stated. "That sounds good to me," Wilbur said. With that, they grabbed their bags and made their way back to the elevator. 

On the way back down, Y/N gave Wilbur a tight hug in the elevator. "You're the best. Thank you for everything," they said. "Anything for you," he replied. 

[WC: 1196]

[Written: 12/28/23]
[Published: 01/02/24]

AN: Hihi everyone. I hope you're doing well! Happy new years!! I hope you all had a great holiday season! Be sure to take care of yourselves. Eat well, drink plenty of water, and get an adequate amount of sleep (I say, as I'm writing this author's note at 1:10 am...). Have a great 2024! I hope you enjoy this chapter. Until we meet again! <3