Gerard's POV

I wake up feeling sleepy and I wriggle to get the stiffness out of my joints but something's wrong. My arms and legs won't move. I lift my head, flicking my hair out of my eyes and see Doctor Green sitting on a chair at the end of the bed.
It's night time, I'm strapped to the bed and there's something tickling my throat. I try to make a sound but nothing comes out.
"I gave you some medicine to relax your vocal chords, you won't be able to make a sound."
No! Mikey, Frank, Bob, where are you?

Green stands up and slinks over to me with a disgusted expression on his face. "You ruined my chance at being with Donna. You did this and I want you to know exactly what that pain felt like."
My eyes widen as he pulls his battery out of his coat pocket and sets it as high as it will go before touching the probes together to create sparks. My breathing hitches and suddenly he swoops down, pressing them against my neck.
My back arches, pain exploding down my spine and radiating out into my limbs. As soon as it starts though he's pulled the probes away.

"Try and move," he instructs me. "Go on." I try to do as he says and find myself completely immobile.
No, let me go!
He looks at me calculatingly and then undoes the straps around my wrists. I try to move my arms again but nothing responds. I whimper to myself as dark shapes begin to move across the wall, bony hands forming from the shadows just long enough to scratch my cheeks.
"What the hell?" Green mutters as my fear gives me enough strength to combat the drugs and my vocal chords vibrate.
"The shadows," I moan, "they're in here, they're back."
He looks at me in disgust. "You're a sick fuck, Way," he says. "I can't believe somebody so pathetic managed to screw up my entire life."
The horrible biting probes gnaw at the back of my neck again and my body spasms. The hurty purple pain swats the shadows back but I don't know if it's any better than them. Maybe I would prefer the shadows, I think absently as the pain fades. At least I know they're not real.
"You're never going to get away from me, Gerard," he promises darkly, snatching up his battery and jamming it into his pocket. "You stood in the way of my greatest ambition and I've only just started returning the favour."
He buckles my hands back up and stalks out. I can't move, can't talk, can't cry. I do the only thing I can do and let the blackness hovering on the edges of my vision close up with a soft 'thwup.'


"Gerard, wake up. Oh God."
An alarm begins to sound and footsteps rush around my head. Pain in my earlobe as somebody pinches it but I feel too sleepy to respond.
"...electric shock, see, on the back of his neck..."
Leave me alone, nothing hurts in here.
Movement, the cuffs are gone, the bed is flat and I'm on my side. Somebody tilts my chin back so I can breathe easier.


"Mr Way, please calm down."
"When can I see him?" That's Mikey's voice.
Mikey, I'm so happy you're here.
"Once you've calmed down, Mr Way," the nurse tells him, exasperated.
I hear Ray's low murmur and there's a pause as Mikey takes a deep breath. "Okay. I've calmed down. May we now please go in?"
"You may, I'll call nurse Bryar along - he wanted to talk to you."
Two pairs of footsteps approach and Mikey's long fingered hands stroke my hair.
"Hey, Gee, it's Mikey."
I know that, Mikey. If I could roll my eyes, I would.
"I'm so sorry. I know what he's been doing to you but Bob's coming down right now and we'll sort it out. It won't happen again, I promise."
A tear leaks out of my eye and rolls down my cheek. Mikey gasps and wipes it away with a gentle finger. "Can you hear us, Gee?"
Yes, yes I can hear you. It wasn't your fault, Mikey, it was all my fault. Please don't worry.

There's a knock on the open door and somebody walks in.
"Still sleeping?" Bob asks, shutting the door behind him.
"Yes."
"Good. We've found signs of electric shock burns on the back of his neck but for the life of them the can't find anything that would cause such a thing. That's why I brought this."
He puts something down on my bed and it creaks. "This is the video footage from Green's last visit - fifteen minutes before I came to check in on him."
Okay, so it's a laptop and there is a CCTV camera in my room. This much I've gathered. There is a creaking of headphones being adjusted. Then silence.

For a few seconds they all sit there while I lay on my bed, unable to wake up. "There he is," Ray says.
"Gee's still asleep," Mikey says worriedly.
"He's probably still got his evening medicine in his system mind you, looking at that time stamp I suspect he'll wake up soon. There, his hand moved."
"No way, look, the bastard's putting cuffs on him." Ray sounds angry.
They watch the rest in silence apart from Mikey whose breathing becomes more and more shallow. Half way through he reaches for my hand where it's laying against my stomach and holds it tightly. His hand is shaking.

When their footage finishes they all take off their headphones and sit in silence. Bob stands up and goes to the phone on the wall.
"Ward C9 please...Iero. Frank, it's Bob. Get your arse up to Gerard Way's room right now." He hangs up and leans against the wall.
Mikey hangs on to my hand but rests his chin on it, his breath warming up my knuckles. A few minutes later Frank arrives. Without any explanation they sit him down and make him watch the video.

"Hmm," he says at the end of it after making a noise which suggests he's trying not to be sick. "That's all the proof we need to get that sick fuck out of here. How's Gerard doing?"
"We don't know, he hasn't woken up yet. We think he can hear us though because he was crying a little earlier when I told him I was sorry."
Mikey...Mikey... "Mmm..."
Everybody goes quiet and I feel Mikey's lips curl into a smile against my hand.
"That's right, Gee. I'm staying right here until you wake up."
"Mikey..." I manage to whisper with a tiny smile.
"Gerard," he breathes in relief. "It's okay, he's gone, he's never going to bother us again."
"Thank you," I whisper sincerely.

He leans in to hug me but I can't stand him touching me and I flinch away.
"Oh God, Gee, I'm so sorry, I didn't realise."
I open my eyes a little way and see his worried face. Behind him is Ray, standing with one hand on Mikey's shoulder. Bob is leaning against the wall by the door and Frank is smiling at me.
"It's okay, Mikey," I assure him. "I want a hug, but I can't stand it. Not after..."
"It's okay, I understand."
I relax and yawn. It suddenly dawns on me that I haven't seen the purple man in five days now. I laugh suddenly and they look at me like I'm crazy.
"The purple man," I snicker.
"He's not back, is he?" Bob groans. The others look at him for an explanation but I shake my head.
"No, and I don't think he's going to be."

Notes