Hospital Bed

After receiving the call from Ray, Gerard immediately phoned Brian and explained to him the situation. Although Brian was unhappy about Gerard missing another shift, he couldn’t fire him, because he knew how to get the job done when he was there. But having to drop a lot of shifts for Frank was starting to show on his paycheck and he was beginning to struggle with bills here and there. His mother helped him out when he absolutely needed it, but otherwise refused to take her money. Frank’s parents had also been no help in his medical bills either, leaving it all to Gerard. And even though Mikey had to pay most of the rent these past few months, he was just happy to take some stress off of his older brother, who seemed to be slipping into his depression once more. Gerard depressed was the very last thing he wanted.

He arrived at the hospital and quickly ran up to Ray, who was standing in front of Frank’s room.

“Ray, what happened?” He asked, frantic. He’d been dreading this day. He wasn’t sure how Frank would react and he wished he never had to know.

“The nurse called me in. He wanted to see me. It turns out that he’s convinced we’re all lying to him. He wants to know the year,” the doctor explained. Gerard calmed his speeding heart, taking deep breaths, before opening Frank’s door and stepping inside. Loud, heartbreaking sobs of Frank’s slammed against his ears, making his newfound confidence cower away, but he willed his feet to his fiancé and they cooperated. Frank glared up at him with swollen, red teary eyes, clearly angered by the situation. Gerard took a seat on the edge of the bed and the two stared at one another for a few moments. Just as Frank were about to speak, Gerard beat him to it.

“You’re curious about the date?” He asked calmly.

“Yes. Now tell me. I deserve to know!” Frank yelled. Gerard stared at him one more briefly before sighing, realizing there was no last minute excuse he could use to delay telling the love of his life the truth.

“I won’t tell you the date, but-“ Frank cut him off.

“Why not?! Tell me or-“ Gerard raised his finger to his own mouth, demanding Frank to be silent.

“But,” Gerard continued, “I will tell you how long we’ve together. We’ll take it from there.” Frank was tense, afraid of the information Gerard was about to share. Taking a deep breath, Gerard knew he should just come right out and say it.

“Tell me,” Frank demanded.

“We’ve been together for eleven years, Frank, in total.” Gerard said, holding himself back from spilling his heart out and holding a breath, yet feeling a weight lifted off of his shoulders. For the past three and a half months, he’d been dying to tell Frank, but he was afraid of the outcome. What would Frank’s reaction be? He’d soon find out. The taller man watched as his fiancé worked out the math.

“Five…Five fucking years?!” He screamed. Gerard flinched, but let his breath go.

“Yes,” he answered. Frank’s breathing became more shallowed, and Gerard watched as his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell to the side. Gerard lunged forward and caught him before he fell from the bed.

“F-Frank?!” He stuttered out, but got no response. He repeatedly pressed the nurse’s button, calling for help. In almost no time at all, nurses and Ray piled into the room. They quickly pulled Gerard away from Frank and got to work in seeing what was wrong. Gerard leaned against the wall opposite of Frank’s bed, holding his head in his hands and willing the sobs to subside, but they didn’t. He cried and cried until he felt a pair of arms around him, startling him. He raised his head to see his younger brother holding him tightly.

“Mikey?”

“Brian told me. He’s going to be okay, Gerard,” he assured him. He was about to turn his head to look at Frank, but Mikey blocked his view of him by turning them around.

“Don’t look.” Was all he said. Gerard didn’t question why. He was thankful. The first time Frank was hurt, Gerard himself wasn’t awake to see, but this time he was. He shut his eyes tight and buried his face in the crook of Mikey’s neck, his tears staining his brother’s skin. Staining him with all of his pain. Ray’s voice interrupted Gerard’s moment of weakness and he found himself scared to know what’s happened.

“He’s fine. As expected, the information was too much for his brain to handle. As a result, it has started repairing itself once again.” After the information sunk in, Gerard whipped his head towards Ray.

“A coma?” He whispered. Ray nodded his head, almost dejectedly.

“I-I don’t even know how to react,” he mumbled, feeling himself become bubbled with anger, but succeeded in keeping it down and hidden from the others. He was angry with Frank. Angry that he could do this to him once again. He was in pain, too. He wanted rest, too. He needed it. But he couldn’t do that. Not when it was his fault. Even if it wasn’t his fault, because he loved Frank with all of his being and a coma (or two) wouldn’t change that. It never could. Gerard would, as obvious as it’s become, spend the rest of his life waiting for Frank. He liked to think his waiting would be like that episode of Futurama with Fry’s dog Seymour (?) waiting for him for that long in the same spot. That would be Gerard, because Frank is the love of his life.

“We’ll just have to wait it out again,” he sighed.

“Are you okay, Gerard?” His brother asked. He nodded, wiping away the tears and straightening himself up.

“I’m fine. Go back to work, Mikey; I’ll be fine here,” he told him. Mikey seemed to hesitate.

“I’m serious, Mikey. I’ll be at work tomorrow and work a double to make up for my missed hours today. Tell Brian. I love you.” Then he kissed him. After finally complying with Gerard, Mikey left the hospital with his mind on the kiss his brother gave him. It didn’t feel like reassurance. It felt like Gerard was broken into a billion little pieces that he didn’t know who he was anymore. It felt like his heart was broken.

Notes

I apologize for the length of the chapter and my lack of updates but there is a reason! My friend, who is pregnant, has been staying with me for a couple of weeks now and will continue to stay with me until the weekend of April 8th. During that time, I will be returning to my hometown to attend our annual festival. I promise to write my ass off and have some good updates for you all (I hope >.<), so wait for me!
-I love you all!
*Feedback would be some very good motivation! <3
-I'll be handing out Pokemon to those who comment, subscribe, and rate! cx

Much love,
OAIF <3