Seeing Colors

Chapter 19

March 1, 2022, 1:42 pm

The next day, the doctors and nurses took Stephen off his anesthesia, as well as the intubation. The only thing they kept on him was the bypass, which was circulating Stephen's blood for him. In less than half an hour after taking him off the anesthesia, Stephen opened his eyes. The first thing he sees was Dec crying onto his chest.

"Dec?"

"Hey," Dec sniffled, giving Stephen a watery smile. "You're in the hospital."

A far away look crossed Stephen's face as he thought back to the last thing he remembers. "The car accident...I'm sorry, Dec. I should have been more careful; I should have avoided the other car."

Dec shook his head and combed through Stephen's curls. "No, no, Stevie. None of this was your fault. It was an accident. It was the other driver's fault, not yours." He leaned in a kissed Stephen softly on the lips.

"How bad is it, Dec?"

Stephen's broken voice caused a new wave of sadness washed over Dec. Never in his life has he heard his husband sound so weak and broken. He put up a front and became strong for Stephen. "It's not good, pet. Your kidneys, liver, and all the other organs, even your heart, aren't working properly anymore. They're too damaged and the doctors can't do anything for you anymore."

Stephen's face crumpled as he started to cry. "I'm gonna die..."

Dec held on to Stephen and let him cry. Once Stephen fully digested his situation, he asked to see his parents, so that he can talk to them. Dec obliged to Stephen's wish and left him alone to be with his parents for a bit. He sat in the waiting area with Ollie cradled in his arms. Ant was across from him, with Mika asleep on his lap.

Later on, Stephen's parents walked out of the room, both looking drained out. "Stephen wants to talk to Ant," Chris said.

Ant looked over to Dec, wondering why Stephen would want to talk to him. Dec shrugged and just motioned him to go to Stephen's room. Ant got up from his seat and handed Mika to Chris.

He slowly opened Stephen's door and saw Stephen sitting upright in his bed. "Stephen, I'm sorry."

The other man smiled and shook his head. "It's not your fault." Ant quickly walked over to Stephen and embraced his friend. "Shh, it's okay, Ant," Stephen said when he heard Ant start crying.

When Ant kept on sobbing, Stephen held Ant at arm's length. "Man up, man!" He says sternly. "I need you to be paying close attention because what I'm about to say is very important, you got it?" Ant nodded his head while he wiped off his tears. "Okay, good."

"I need to ask you a huge favor, mate. When I...when I die, the kids are gonna need their Uncle Ant to be around, especially cos I don't know how Dec is gonna be once I'm gone. I'm asking you to help out Dec with them." Stephen took a deep breath. "I'm sure that Ollie's gonna be devastated, but not as much as Mika. You know how me and her are closer to each other," Stephen smiled as he thought back to all the fun he and Mika had gotten into. "She calls me her superman, you know."

With a wavering voice, Ant lightly teases Stephen. "Scrawny, you? Her superman?"

"Shut up, mate," Stephen laughs. "Anyway, I'm telling you this because she's gonna need a new superman. And just in case, Dec can't be that to her, I want you to be her new superman. Take care of the kids for me, Ant. Be my eyes and ears. Do you promise to do that for me, Ant?"

"Yeah, man. I promise."

"Oh and Dec - well, I don't really have to tell you what to do. I know you'll always be there for him; I don't have to ask you."