the broken

Chapter 25

MAY, 2009

Phil

I yawn tiredly, curled up in a chair next to Dan's hospital bed, rubbing my eyes as I try to stay awake. I prop my head up with my hands, cradling my chin sleepily. Dan is curled up on the bed, sleeping peacefully, and I'd promised him I'd be awake when he woke up, so awake I would be. Today had been a particularly rough session for him. The walk back to the room had been quiet, and even though his fingers had been laced through mine, it felt as though he wasn't there, not really. We'd gotten back and the tired in his eyes looked dangerous, as if he was warning me to stay away. He'd crawled into bed and hugged a pillow to him, looking off in the distance, and the lightning in his eyes told me not to ask if he wanted me in bed with him, so instead I promised I'd be sitting right here when he woke up.

I often stayed up while he slept, so that if he woke up with nightmares or he needed me, I'd be able to help. I know he'd be mad if he found out, but he needed help getting through this, and I was going to be here for every step of the way, whether he knows it or not, no matter how tired I get.

I smile sleepily at his sleeping form, reaching over gently to brush a strand of hair out of his face. At my touch, he stirs, and I rip my hand back, biting my lip as he sits up, yawning.

"Oh, hey Phil," he says croakily, smiling at me, and I smile back, trying to hide the fact that my heart is beating all too fast.

"Hey sleepy head," I say, fondness creeping into my voice despite my best efforts to not sound like a lovesick idiot. The tired in his eyes has gone for the most part, and the storm had cleared, so I reach for his hand, and he grabs it, wrapping his fingers around mine.

"Good news! The doctors say you only need to stay here for a couple more days, and then you can come home."

"Really?"

Dans eyes light up.

It is freezing in this room but his eyes are nothing but warm.

"Hey, are you cold or something?"

"Um, yeah, a little bit," I say sheepishly.

"Well come here, then, let me warm you up."

"U..um, what?"

"I can't have you freezing to death, idiot, get up here."

"Oh...okay."

I push myself up out of the chair, shivering, and climb up onto the bed, sitting stiffly and shaking. Dan laughs and wraps his arms around me, resting his head on my shoulder.

"It's not even that cold in here, you polar bear," he mumbles through my shirt, and a shiver runs through my body that is definitely not from the cold.

"Seems fake."

My cheeks are red and Dans fingers trace circles on my shoulder. We sit there for a few more minutes quietly, before he lifts his head up slightly, staring straight at me with those big pretty eyes.

"Are you warming up, yet?"

"Not really."

Dan rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, right, sure, you feel pretty warm to me," he scoffs, and I cough, hiding a giggle.

"Yeah, well, maybe you're the polar bear here, because I'm absolutely freezing."

Dan unhooks his arms and sits back, looking at me silently, his face unreadable.

"Well, then, maybe I'll just have to fix that, then."

His face splits into a huge grin, and he dives on top of me, tickling me.

"Dan! What are you, five?"

He just grins mischievously and continues his attack. I grab his wrists and pull them off of me, but he is relentless, hands always finding their way back.

I manage to get out a plea for surrender in between breathless laughter, every muscle in my body tense, my lungs sore from laughing so hard, but before he can claim his victory, the door swings open and we both freeze, looking up to see a nurse standing in the doorway, eyes wide and eyebrows raised. Dan jumps off of me, face red, retreating into the huge jumper he was wearing like a embarrassed little turtle and shuffling backwards.

"Sorry, hope I wasn't interrupting something."

We both shake our heads furiously. She just laughs and bustles around the room, cleaning up. I sneak a look at Dan, and almost burst out laughing at the sight of him hiding, cheeks pink. I lean over and whisper in his ear.

"Hey, at least I'm not cold anymore,"

He looks up at me and giggles.

This boy, I swear.

He's too cute for his own good.

The nurse leaves, and we both settle back onto his bed, staring at the ceiling, lost in our own thoughts, tethered together with intertwined hands. The silence is quiet and comfortable and I fall asleep, for the first time in a long time.

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a/n thingy: woah this ones a short one, sorry about that. i just wanted a little bit of a filler for now because next chapter is going to be a big one. :-) it might be a little while until I can get it up, but hopefully it'll be worth it when i do. i'm rather busy this week and next, but i'll work on it as much as possible and hopefully i'll have it up by the end of next week ?? i want to say maybe friday but don't hold me to that, it might be more along the lines of saturday or sunday.