Lost And Then Found (Ib Fanfiction)

The Hospital Smell

Ib fumbled for her phone, her hands shaking as she dialed her mother's number. "Mom! Mom, Garry's alive! He was missing and they found him at the gallery!" Her mother's end was silent for a few seconds. "Are you sure? Where did you hear?" Ib told her mother about going to the gallery and then the news. "We have to bring him here! Who knows what's happened to his place after so long?" Ib's mother laughed softly at the other end. "Ib, I'm going to come home, and then we can call the police station and the hospital to find him, okay?" Ib forgot that her mother couldn't see her and nodded. "O-oh, right. Yeah. Please hurry, mom!" Her mother disconnected and Ib stared at the television screen. Garry's eyes were a lavender color, Ib realized, and she laughed breathlessly at the simple fact that she'd been wondering about this morning. He was wearing his tattered blue coat, and she could see the light green sleeveless shirt he had on underneath. His hair was just as purple as Ib remembered it, and even with the bad news station's lights, she could see the darker streaks of purple in it. She drummed her fingers against the table and then gasped, looking at the grape juice that had spilled on the floor. She hurried to clean it up, but even still, there was now a maroon-colored stain in the wood floor. Frowning, Ib inched the carpet closer to hide a large part of it. She waited for a few minutes, as stiff as a wooden board. There was a knock on her door and she jumped up to answer it. Her mother hurried inside, putting down her purse and taking her phone out. "Ib," she began, searching through her phonebook for the police number, "Where do you think Garry has been all this time, then, if not here? In this world, or this dimension?" Ib swallowed nervously, thinking. "I don't know... I think that the gallery dragged him back somehow, and he just didn't know it until it was too late." Ib's mother held up a finger for Ib to be quiet, and then she cleared her throat. "Hello? Yes. I'm a friend of the boy who was found. His name is Garry. Do you have him with you? No? He's at the hospital right now, did I hear correctly? All right. Thank you, sir. Have a wonderful day." She ended and then began skimming through the book again. "They said he was down at the hospital, Ib. Let me call them." She dialed several numbers and then nodded once. "Hello! I'm a friend of the boy who was found recently, Garry. I was wondering if you are holding him at your hospital? Okay. I can go there right now, if it's all right. He's a dear friend of my family. No, I don't believe he has any other relatives. Yes, I'll be there in twenty minutes." She ended and Ib looked up worriedly. "They have him. He's in good health, Ib, and they said that I could go and pick him up from the hospital today if I have time. Do you want to go-" Ib interuppted. "Yes! Come on! We have to go now!" She ran to the car and hopped into the backseat. Her mother started the car and they began the drive to the hospital. "We do have that empty guest bedroom, I think, so long as your father hasn't started using it for storage yet. If Garry needs a place to stay at he's welcome at our house." The rest of the ride was silent, except for Ib bouncing in her seat and tapping on the window. When they reached the hospital, Ib practically ran to the front doors. Her mother followed behind her. They reached the front desk. "Miss? You must be here for Garry, from the phone?" Ib's mother nodded. Ib fidgeted impatiently and the lady chuckled. "If you're wondering, he's in Room 23." Ib looked at her mother to let her go and she nodded. "I'll be there in a few minutes, Ib." Ib walked quickly to the room and stood outside, just waiting. What if it wasn't Garry? She took a nervous swallow, put her hand on the doorknob, and opened it.

Ib bit her lip as she looked inside, and then she stood still, her mouth frozen in a small 'o' shape. Garry was laying down, his eyes closed. She took another step inside the room and his eyes opened slowly. He turned his head a few inches to look at her. He squinted and blinked several times before speaking. "Do I...do I know you?" he finally asked. Ib felt panic rising inside of her, and then she realized that she might not have recognized him if she was the one who had been missing for nine years. "Because you look familiar. Almost." He shook his head and waited, staring at her. "Ib," she said softly. "What? Ib?" He sat up and winced, laying down just as fast. His eyes snapped open. "Ib?!" he exclaimed. She nodded. "So it really has been nine years. Wow." He motioned for her to sit on the bed. She looked at his face. He had a few scrapes and a small bruise underneath his eye, but otherwise he appeared fine. "The hospital smell here is horrible.How've you been, Ib?" he asked calmly. She looked at him in the face. He looked fine, but his eyes were dull. He was drugged, she realized. Pain medications. "Garry," she whispered. "Where were you?" He shrugged and she realized he was pressing down hard on a button. He sighed as he released it. "Stop pressing that!" Ib finally said, realizing that it was injecting him with pain medication. "Garry, nine years. Nobody knows where you've been, or how you came back, or why, or-" Garry cut her off with a gentle cough. "Ib, I don't think I know half of those question's answers." Just then, Ib's mother came in. She smiled softly at Garry. "Hey, purple," she teased gently. "Ib's mother. I remember that nickname," Garry said. He smiled and the nurse walked in. "All right, Garry. Time to be out of here. Other people want a bed as comfortable as yours has been." Garry nodded, chuckling. The nurse disconnected all of the wires coming off of his body and he sat up, swaying slightly and wincing. "Ah, Ib? I need to... to change..." She stared at him, confused, and then her eyes widened. "Oh! Right. Okay. Let's wait in the hall, mom." She left the room and her mother came out with her, a sly smile on her face. "He's not so much older than you anymore, Ib." Ib looked at her, raising one eyebrow, and then gasped. "Mom!" she exclaimed, feeling her face go hot. Her mother laughed at Ib's mortified expression. "I remember you looking up to him, Ib. He was your hero. You can't forget your daughter asking 'Did Garry call?' ten times a day, either." Ib shrugged, embarassed. Garry stepped out, almost tripping on the doorway border because he was still woozy from the medication. Ib's mother put her hand on his shoulder to steady him. "I'm terribly sorry that I don't feel up for conversation right now," he apologized, rubbing his eyes. "They gave me pretty strong medicine and already I'm hurting." 

When Ib, her mother, and Garry finally returned to the house, there was another car in the driveway. "Oh, great. Your father's home, Ib. Better run inside and tell him what's happened while me and Garry get his stuff from the trunk." Ib opened the door and saw her father reading the newspaper again. "What's happened?" he asked before she could even say a word. "What?" she asked, startled. "I see the stain by the carpet. You spilled a drink and I know that you're always careful. What's up?" She let out a breath. "Garry was found at the gallery today. He's been missing and he hasn't aged since we've last seen him." Ib's father had put down his newspaper at Garry's name. "And where is he now?" Just then, Ib's mother and Garry walked in. "Sir," Garry said, holding out a hand. "Apparently it's been a while since we've seen each other." Ib's father, always so composed, looked confused and amazed. He took Garry's hand and shook it once. "Ib, I thought you already ate since there was leftover bread on the counter, but I could order a pizza for tonight." Ib nodded, her stomach rumbling at the mentioning of food. "I could use a slice, too. Cheese pizza?" Garry asked hopefully. Ib's father nodded as he dialed the number and began speaking. Ib's mother said softly, "Ib, show Garry the bedroom." Her father's eyes widened at the mention of the bedroom. "Ah, honey, about that room..." Ib opened the door and sighed. There was boxes everywhere. "I guess you'll be sleeping on the couch for tonight, if that's okay, Garry." He nodded, yawning. "We can just put your stuff right...well, err, I'm not quite sure where." She set the bag down and pushed some boxes to the corner of the room, careful not to spill anything. She took the bag and put it on the cabinet that she had just discovered behind all the boxes. "You can deal with all that later. Tomorrow I'll move all of these boxes up to the attic." Garry nodded again. "I'll help you." She shook her head. "You don't need to-" Garry held up a hand. "Say no more. I'll be helping you even if you don't want me to. You're letting me spend the night here. It'll be the least I could do, Ib." She looked at him and he smiled uncertainly. "Fine. It's be your spine that'll be damaged." He chuckled smoothly and then they were both quiet, just looking around the room. "Ib! Pizza's here," Ib's father called up after a few minutes. She motioned for Garry to follow her. "Your mother's gone to bed, Ib. I'll be following her. Pizza's in the living room." The door closed to their bedroom and Ib sat downstairs on the couch with Garry after giving him a plastic plate and a can of Coke from the kitchen. "Play some movie," he suggested. She nodded, looking through the shelves until she came upon a horror movie that she never got around to watching. "Do you mind? I've watched most of these other ones, 'cept for the documentaries." Garry eyed the cover warily. "It's scary?" Ib nodded. "Oh, all right." She put it in and sat down a little bit away from Garry. The movie began and they both took a few slices of pizza. Ib hardly jumped at a particularly scary moment. "AH!" Garry screamed, clapping a hand over his mouth. He was breathing heavily. "You want to watch something else?" Ib asked him, trying not to smile at how scared he was. "N-no. It's f-fine." Ib ran to the closet to grab two blankets. Garry pulled his own blanket close to himself and lay still, practically paralyzed by the movie. After it finished, Ib was sitting still. "Play something nicer," Garry finally whispered in the dark. Ib jumped up and looked at all the movies, finally settling on The Titanic. They weren't even fifteen minutes into the movie when Garry let out a soft snore and Ib realized he was asleep. She blinked slowly and rubbed her eyes, yawning. She hated leaving a movie hanging. Deciding to stay in the living room until the movie finished, Ib fell asleep as well before another five minutes had passed.

Little Note From Sorry:

(So I realize that this is a lot of writing for two days or so, I started on this one earlier today and now I'm finished ^.^ I hope people don't get upset when I start updating them slower, because I normally don't ever have such inspiration/motivation/inspomotivation to write so much. This might be temporary for me to  write so much, although I hope not xD)