Poison (Frerard)

The Hospital

"Sir, I'm sorry, but I have to ask you to wait here," the matron said gently, lifting her hand in a gesture for him to stop.

"But--I need to stay with him. Please, I can't--" Frank pleaded, the woman sadly shaking her head.

"The doctors need their space if they want to help him, you want your--er, boyfriend, right?--to get the best possible care, don't you?" she said pointedly, Frank nodding his head sadly. "We'll let you see him as soon as he's stable, okay? Just take a seat in there."

"Thank you," Frank said quietly, chewing his lip.

"Of course. I'm sure he's going to be fine," she said, smiling reassuringly at him before returning to her desk.

He sat down in one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs, bouncing his leg as he waited. He anxiously looked around the room, wanting anything to distract him from his worry.

"Hey, buddy, you alright? You look like you're going to faint," a nearby stranger remarked, a lighthearted chuckle in his tone.

"Oh, uh, yeah. I'm just worried about him," Frank replied absentmindedly, his mind preoccupied with worries about Gerard's condition.

"Well, I'm fucking terrified if that makes you feel any better," the stranger replied, a hint of a smile on his lips. "I'm Ryan."

"Nice to meet you--well, not exactly under these circumstances, but pleasant nonetheless. I'm Frank.... Why're you here?" Frank asked, his companion in the waiting room giving him a secretive look.

"Why're you?" he retaliated, laughter in his eyes. "I got hit in the head at work a few weeks ago, and they spotted something weird in the x-ray. They think it's a tumor..."

"Oh, shit, I'm sorry," Frank replied softly, smiling sadly at the man.

"I'll be alright," Ryan said dismissively, focusing his attention on Frank. "Now, why are you here?"

"My, er, friend--well, he's more than a friend but technically not my boyfriend--was passed out in his apartment and I couldn't get him to wake up. He's had problems with substance abuse in the past and I'm just so fucking scared he overdosed or something..." Frank said quietly, fiddling with his hands in his lap. "God, I love him so much and he doesn't even know."

"Ryan Ross?" a nurse called from the doorway, Ryan standing to follow her.

"I'm sorry, buddy. I hope he's going to be okay," he said quietly, ruffling Frank's hair before following after the nurse.

"Good luck," Frank replied, briefly smiling at Ryan before his worry consumed him once again.

"Fuck, Gee, please be okay... Please be okay," Frank mumbled, his elbows resting on his bouncing knees and his face in his hands.

"Is there a man named Frank here for a Gerard Way?" a nurse called a few minutes later, Frank practically jumping out of his seat to go with her.

"What happened to him? Is he going to be okay? Is he awake?" Frank bombarded her with questions, the nurse just shaking her head.

"He was drinking alcohol with acetaminophen in his system; the combination of the two can sometimes be deadly. He is stable right now, but he hasn't woken up yet, so we're unsure of what damage was caused by his fall," she replied informatively, her stiff attitude towards the conditions of the patients oddly calming.

"Thank you," Frank called after her once they'd reached Gerard's room, the nurse simply nodding and heading back to the nurses' station. He took a deep breath before entering the room, the medicinal antiseptic smell found in most hospitals present there as well.