So Little Time (Frerard) *New Version*

23: I'll Be Okay

Gerard was floating, suspended in a world of his own making, a land which consisted of soft planes of darkness that kept him safe, preventing him from feeling the pain his body was currently in, cocooning him away from reality for a short time.

But his hideaway wasn't perfect, and snippets of what was truly happening around him bled through; random images flashed before his eyes, his body on a stretcher, Mikey's tear stained face, white hospital walls, but they were gone as quickly as they came, and Gerard found it easy to simply ignore them, turning his back on whatever was occurring for just a little while longer.

The sounds were harder to block out though, and he was constantly assaulted with chunks of conversation, usually revolving around him, but Gerard didn't want to listen, he didn't want to hear Mikey's soft cries, or the doctor murmuring to himself as he worked. Gerard just wanted silence, peace, oblivion, but it didn't appear that he was going to get his wish.

Sinking down further into the blackness that was surrounding him, Gerard found that everything became slightly more muted the deeper he went, the outside word slipped away as he descended, so he concentrated as hard as he could, trying to bury himself in his dreamland until nothing could touch him. Gerard was tired - so very tired, and he just wanted to rest, was that too much to ask?

Apparently it was, because another voice reached Gerard's ears just when he had successfully eliminated the noise of the hospital, but this time, Gerard welcomed the intrusion, because this was the one person that Gerard would never turn away.

Gerard didn't even bother to question how Frank was here, because Gerard didn't even know where here was; his best guess was that he was in some sort of medical induced coma which had trapped him within his own thoughts, so in a way, it made sense that he would be seeing Frank, because the only place that Frank was still alive was in his memories.

"Hey baby," Frank smiled, his presence seeming to light up the suffocating darkness, and even though Gerard had been enjoying the sensation of being trapped in the void only seconds before, he found himself drawn to Frank's light, and he began moving closer to him without any conscious thought.

"Frankie," Gerard sighed happily, his head falling to rest on Frank's shoulder, and much to his relief, he didn't pass through him; Frank was solid, Frank was real, at least for now.

Gerard had so many things he wanted to say, so many questions to ask, but for some reason, uttering that one word had exhausted him. Speaking seemed to be a difficult task in this place, as well as moving, and Gerard was more than content to simply sit here and enjoy the feeling of being pressed against Frank's small body.

Frank's arm instantly encircled Gerard's waist, holding him close, and Gerard had almost forgotten how much he missed this, the contact, the smell of Frank, fuck - everything about him, but even though Gerard felt as if he should be weeping with joy at the fact that Frank was back, or babbling, or hysterical, or something, he wasn't for some reason.

Everything felt muted in this place, especially emotions, as if the calming darkness was leaking into Gerard's heart, soothing the internal pain that Gerard had been living with for the past few months, and even though his lack of reaction to Frank's appearance was a bit worrisome, he didn't want to fret about it right now, not when everything was finally perfect for once.

"Where am I Frankie?" Gerard asked after a few minutes of silence, his curiosity eventually overwhelming the part of his mind that didn't give two shits about what was happening to him.

"You are in-between life and death, a sort of holding place until you decide one way or the other," Frank replied, his arms tightening around Gerard minutely as he spoke.