"Do you think he'll even consent to the surgeries?"

Mikey and Gerard had been arguing for awhile. Gerard had finished talking to Dr. Ross for about 30 minutes, explaining things and writing down numbers so large that they made Gerard physically choke on the air he was breathing.

"I don't know, Mikey." Gerard huffed. He was beyond exhausted and he couldn't wait for Mikey to shut up so he could find a way to sleep in the uncomfortable waiting room chairs. "I highly doubt he'll want to live with uncontrollably shaky hands for the rest of his life."

"He won't let you spend that much money on him, I'm telling you this now." Mikey replied. They both went silent. The waiting room was empty besides another lady sitting in the far corner of the room. She was sleeping pretty heavily, a frown on her face as she did so. She'd come prepared too. She was wrapped in a blanket and looked pretty comfy. Gerard would've killed for a blanket at that very moment, he just wanted some comfort.

Gerard yawned and rubbed his temples. He looked up when he noticed his brother was staring at him, "What?"

"You can lean on me and try to sleep, if you want. I know you're emotionally drained as hell. Who wouldn't be in a situation like this?" Mikey laughed bitterly. There was a certain edge in his voice that made Gerard feel even more sad. His brother was hurting just as much as he was. He nodded and gave him a sympathetic look before lowering his head on to his boney shoulder and tucking his knees into his own chest.

"He'll be okay." Mikey said

."I know."

"No you don't. You're scared."

"You're right. You're scared too."

"I'm scared as fuck, Gee. I usually depend on you to be the brave one but I can't even do that in this situation."

"I love you, Mikey."

"I love you too. Go to sleep. You'll need it before you see him in the morning."

That's all Gerard needed to hear before he closed his eyes as Mikey's slow breathing somewhat soothed him to sleep. Mikey always made him feel safe. He acted more like a big brother than Gerard ever could, but it was okay. He was more than thankful to have a brother like Mikey, he thought as he finally let sleep completely overtake his mind.

---

Gerard woke up on his own. He was in the same position, the only difference was Mikey's head tilted back as he stared up at the ceiling. "What time is it?" Gerard asked with a raspy voice and sat up.

"Seven."

"Do you know if he's awake?"

Mikey nodded. Gerard nodded back. He didn't know what to say. "We can see him in awhile. I just wanted you to wake up first." Mikey finally said.

"Has...he been talking at all?" Gerard asked with little hope in his voice. "Like, even a little?"

Mikey nodded again, his eyes still fixated on the ceiling. "Dr. Ross came out and talked to me about forty minutes ago."

"And?"

"He said Frank's been asking for you."

Gerard's heart stopped. "Then why the hell didn't anyone wake me up? He's probably terrified out of his mind! He needs me and you didn't even wake me up?"

Mikey shrugged. "I'm sorry Gee. You're stressed and the last thing I wanted to do was wake you up. You need to be healthy too."

"Who gives a fuck if I'm stressed? Frank is injured, that's a bigger deal than fucking stress and sleeping-"

"Stop fighting with me. That's the last thing we need at the moment." Mikey snapped. "I was trying to do you a favor so excuse me for being such a fucking awful person."

Gerard was about to protest before someone cut him off as he opened his mouth, "You should listen to Mikey."

Gerard jolted his head to see where the oddly familiar voice was coming from. His face broke into a wide smile when he saw Lindsey standing in the doorway of the waiting room, a nurse next to her who was holding onto her elbow tightly."Please don't fight guys. Especially if you're coming with me to see Frank-"

"Wait are we going now?" Gerard interrupted. He was baffled by Lindsey standing there, but even more baffled when she mentioned Frank's name.

"Yea, if you want. Dr. Ross gave me an okay to come and get you guys." Lindsey forced a soft smile and gestured her head for Gerard to follow her. Gerard scurried out of his seat and rushed over to Lindsey, pulling her into a hug as the nurse warned him to be careful as she was still a bit shaken up. Mikey followed through, giving Lindsey a light hug and wishing her better.

Gerard hadn't seen Lindsey like this before. Her black hair was pulled into a greasy, messy bun. Instead of her usual skinny jeans, they were replaced with black sweatpants that her mother probably brought her along with one of their high school's sweatshirts. She didn't have any makeup on either, but she still looked just as beautiful and Gerard admired her for that.

The four walked silently down the hospital hallway, Frank had been moved to a regular hospital room since he didn't need to be watched like a hawk anymore and have a machine help him breathe. The nurse stopped in front of a door, giving a light knock while the three teens watched her. "Come on in." A voice said rather cheerfully. Gerard knew instantly that the voice belonged to Dr. Ross. Gee felt a warm hand place itself between his shoulder blades as the nurse pushed the door open. He knew the hand was Lindsey's, he could sense that she was worried for his reaction.

The nurse stepped in first, then Mikey, then Lindsey. Gerard stood there, thinking for a minute before Mikey offered his hand which Gerard took, and walked in letting the door shut behind him. Dr. Ross was sitting in a chair beside a window in the hospital room where the bed was placed in front of him.

"Frank, I think some people you're very fond of are here." Dr. Ross patted the bed and stood up, walking to Gerard and grabbing his shoulder. "Try to be as positive as you can, okay? He's doing fine at the moment, he's responding as if he isn't hurt but he's in extreme pain." Gerard shook his head. He looked in front of him to see Lindsey and his brother standing at the end of Frank's bed, soft smiles on both of their faces.

Gerard hadn't brought up the courage to look at Frank yet, he was nervous and thinking of the worst possible outcome. Lindsey looked over at him and gave him a welcoming look meaning for him to come closer. Mikey was sitting on the edge of the bed next to Frank's blanket covered legs now. "It hurt much?"

"Yes."

Gerard's heart melted for the fifth time since he walked through the damn door. That's was definitely his Frankie's voice, but it was...different. It sounded so breathless and worn down, somehow hopeless. Gerard held back the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes yet again and forced a tiny smile onto his face. He walked closer to the bed until he was in Frank's view and Frank was in his.

"Hey baby." Gee said softly as he sat on the opposite sides of Frank's legs. Frank's eyes instantly lit up, Gerard could tell. A smile spread across Frank's face but you could tell how much pain he was in.

The image of this made Gerard overwhelmed with emotion. Frank's face was awfully bruised, his right cheek was completely black and his bottom lip was busted. His long brown hair was pushed back behind his ears, it looked sweat filled and sticky. Frank's right arm was bandaged up and elevated in a sling that was hanging from above him, strange wires were sticking out of the bandages. Gerard assumed those were pins that were keeping his smashed hand together. There must have been a million tubes sticking into Frank's left arm, one an IV and the others, Gerard had no idea.

"Hey." Frank croaked out.

Gerard smiled sadly at him, his hand coming up to stroke a few fringes out of his pale face. Mikey looked at them, his heart aching as Gerard stroked Frank's bruise softly as small drops of water came from their eyes.

"You're gonna be okay baby." Gerard whispered. Frank looked up at him with wide eyes. "You don't need to say anything if it hurts, Frankie."

Frank slowly reached his left hand forward, Gerard held it softly and never broke eye contact with him. Gerard could feel all four pairs of eyes in the room were all on him and Frank.

"Please...kiss me." Frank said as best as he could. It was kind of slurred and low sounding, but Gerard didn't care at all.

"I don't wanna hurt your lip, honey." Gerard said.

Frank cleared his throat, "Softly."

Gerard looked around the room, pretty much everyone except the nurse looked teary eyed. It was like a scene from a movie, a tragic one.

Gerard gently placed his hand on Frank's bruised cheek, leaning forward and pressing the softest kiss he could manage to Frank's cut up lips. He pulled away after a few seconds and stroked the bruised cheek with his thumb, "I promise you're going to be just fine."

"I already am. You're here." Frank choked out. His lips curved into a plain smile.

"Fuck." Lindsey breathed out behind them. She was crying.

Gee sniffed, "We're gonna get you the best care that we can, okay? Don't worry."

"I'm not worried." Frank replied.

"I know. You're brave."

"Hardly."

"I love you."

"Love you more angel." Gerard smiled, his tiny teeth flashing. He looked around and noticed that both the nurse and Dr.Ross had left the room. How had he not noticed? Mikey had gotten up and stood by Lindsey, comforting her.

"You should sleep, Frankie." Gerard told him quietly, still stroking his cheek.

"Don't leave me. Please."

Gerard's stomach dropped at the amount of urgency and anxiousness in Frank's voice. "I'm right here, sweetheart. I'm not going anywhere."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Okay."

"I'll always be here, alright. Through sickness and through health? That's a thing, right?" Gerard smiled sheepishly.

"We're not married though." Frank sighed out sadly , his eyes drooping.

"One day, yeah?"

"Of course."

"I love you, now get some rest."

Frank let his eyes close, "I love you more."

"Impossible." Gerard said a little above a whisper, kissing Frank's forehead as he watched him begin to fall asleep. The room was filled with complete quiet. Nobody dared say anything, everyone was too emotionally drained. In all honesty, nobody really even knew what they were supposed to say to each other. They decided to keep it that way, letting the quiet embrace their emotions.

Notes

honestly im just updating fast and sloppily because im trying ti get this done due to the fact that its fucking boring and nobody likes it. you get five more chapters kiddos sorry. also give me comments even tho im dumb and this sucks literal ass