FicWad

Chapter 14 – Resurrection

Mick sat with the others in the cafeteria, eating the place clean. He devoured a hamburger and chips, watching as the others laughed and joked. He didn't feel the need to talk; it seemed everyone else was doing enough for him anyway. He was glad his appetite was back; he'd missed food.

“Mick?!”

Someone was trying to get his attention, and he figured that same person had probably been trying for it for a while.

“Yeah?” he asked, looking around for whoever wanted him. Corey's questioning face hovered into view. He waited as Corey took another mouthful of macaroni cheese.

“Joey fucking scared us.”

The blankness of the statement shook Mick. “Yeahhhh..... I saw you two on the bus.”

Corey swallowed, and put down his fork, staring at Mick. “I thought he was dying. Just... the way he was moving.... like he couldn't stop himself....” Corey shuddered, and shook his head. “Fuck man. And you.... you looked so frightened. I've never, ever seen you frightened. I think that scared me most of all. Like you knew something really bad could happen.”

Mick stared into space. Corey's words hit him hard. There haven't been time when Joey was having that seizure to think about himself, but now, Mick was free to think. What if something bad had happened? What if there wasn't any medics with him? What if Mick had stayed behind on the bus, just him, and it had happened, and Mick hadn't had any way to get help? What would have happened? He shook his head, and held his eyes.

“You ok man?” Corey asked, concerned.

Mick looked up. “Yeah. I am now. Just thinking about what maybe could have happened... if you guys hadn't made me play, and kept a medic with Joey.”

“Fuck. Mick don't think like that. I know, I know I didn't help.... but it's over, Mick. He's going to be alright. Nothing awful happened. Look around.”

Mick did. The grins on everyone's faces brought him back to reality. He smiled tentatively.

“What happened after I left the stage?” he asked Corey, now curious.

The singer studied the rest of his macaroni cheese. “I guess, for a few seconds, we thought about playing on. But we couldn't, not without you, and not without thinking about Joey. Me and Shawn, we kinda ran after you, I dunno what the others did, but they followed. Shit man, we just left em there.”

He turned to Jim, next to him. “Dude, what happened after me and Shawn split the stage?”

Jim nearly choked on his burger trying to answer. “We weren't sure what we were doing. Then we decided to follow you. Sid was fucking awesome, he took the mic and told everyone we had an emergency and we were really sorry but we had to stop. I think he wants your job. Anyway, we kinda just left everything where it was and went after you guys.”

“Damn,” Corey said, shaking his head. “It kinda sucks that that had to happen, but Joey comes first. We just wanted to be with you two,” he said, looking at Mick. “We're all brothers. All for one, one for all, right?”

Mick just nodded. This band was fucking amazing. They could fight like tigers for hours on end, but at the end of the day, there was a bond and a love there that couldn't be broken. And Mick was so proud to be a part of it.

*

The nurse refused to let all of the guys in to see Joey. “It's far too late, and he needs to sleep. Tomorrow, you may see him, if he is well enough. You” - she pointed to Mick - “are allowed to stay with him. ONLY you. No funny ideas.” She gave the guys a stern look as she walked away, and even rebellious Corey didn't fancy being caught in Joey's room by her.

“I guess it's back to the bus,” Paul sighed.

“We'll stay around here,” Shawn said, taking charge. “When's visiting hours?”

Jim pointed out a sign. “11am to 4pm.”

“Fine. We'll be lining up at quarter to eleven. Make sure he's decent, Mick,” Shawn grinned at him.

Mick saluted their team captain. “Aye aye Sir!”

The others cracked up.

Mick turned to head back to Joey's room.

“Hey, Mick!” Sid called. “Want anything out of the bus?”

Shit! “Yeah, I do!”
“What? We'll bring it up. If we can get it past Madam there.” Shawn jerked his thumb in the direction the nurse had gone.

Mick smiled. “Joey's bag, and mine. And some pillows and a blanket... I don't fancy the hospital ones. Thanks.”

Now, it was Sid who saluted Mick. “Back before you know it!”

*

Mick spent an uncomfortable night hunched over in a plastic chair. He thought about curling up on the bed next to Joey, but was worried he'd pull some of the tubes out. And if that nurse came in... well, that wasn't worth thinking about. He'd slept ok, all things considered, but his back didn't appreciate it. He didn't think he'd ever say it, but it was worse than the bunks in the bus.

Mick woke up at first rounds. A nurse was bent over Joey, checking his temperature when he opened his eyes. She smiled at him. “How's your back?”

Mick groaned, as he tried to shift in the chair. “I think I might need a doctor.”

She grinned. “I'll see what I can do about getting a spare bed in here. I think we might have some folding beds stored somewhere. We'll find something.”

“Thank you! I don't think I'll ever walk the same again.” They laughed together for a few moments.

“How is he?” Mick asked.

“Still running a bit of a temperature. We'll keep an eye on it. He might have a secondary infection. Has he woken up at all?”

Mick shook his head. His sleep had been punctured by his mind waking him up 'just in case', but Joey hadn't stirred.

“Shouldn't he have woken up by now?” he asked, concerned.

The nurse pursed her lips. “He's probably very tired. We may try and wake him later on. If you want, give it a go. Just let us know if he does wake.”

Mick nodded, and she smiled before leaving for the next room.

He edged his chair closer to the bed. Joey had turned over sometime in the night, and now he faced Mick. He looked – dare he say it? - nearly angelic in his sleep. Mick's heart felt full. He lay his hand on Joey's head, sweeping his hair back. Carefully, he leaned down to kiss Joey's ear.

“Baby... you gotta wake up soon, okay? I'm dying to see you,” he whispered, before kissing Joey again.

Despite his desire to have a concious Joey, Mick couldn't bear to wake him up. A few more hours, he thought to himself. He tried to find a comfortable position on the chair, but it was fruitless.

Slowly, in case he broke from stiffness, Mick eased himself out of the chair. His first few steps were hunched over, and not for the first time, cursed hospital chairs. He walked around the room for a little bit, until he felt normal. The adjoining bathroom came in handy, and then he decided to venture out in search of coffee.

Hoping like hell he wouldn't get lost and need to ask that nurse for directions, Mick took note of the number on the door. He had seen a coffee machine on the way back from the cafeteria, and headed in what he thought was the right direction.

To his surprise, he managed to find it first try. Grabbing a few cups, since they were quite small, he took off in search of Joey's room. Only getting lost once, he congratulated himself when he made it back inside. He was getting better at this. By the time Joey would be able to check out, he might even figure out where the entrance was.

Joey was still asleep. Setting the coffee down on the table, Mick reluctantly took his seat again, but not before glaring at it. He sat for a while and sipped at his coffee, getting over the mediocre taste. He wondered about waving a cup under Joey's nose – he was fond of coffee – but that would mean another trip to the vending machine after Joey drunk all of it. And he wasn't sure coffee was on the doctor's list of approved food and drink.

Finishing the cups he brought over, Mick tried to throw them in the bin. The first two went in, but the third missed. Swearing, and decidedly annoyed at having to get up again, Mick went over to pick it up. The door swung open before he reached it. It was the same doctor who had seen Joey last night. Embarrassed, Mick quickly rescued the cup and tossed it in the bin.

“How's he doing?” the doctor asked, ignoring Mick's rubbish on the floor.

“Um.” Wasn't the nurse supposed to talk to the doctor, and all that? “He hasn't woken up. The nurse said something about a temperature.”

“Ah yes.” The doctor nodded his head, and consulted his notes. “The two could be related. There might be something else going on. Have you actually tried to wake him up?”

“No. Do you want me to try?”

“Yes, please. He'd probably rather wake up to you than me. And you might be nicer.”

Mick chuckled. He sat down on the bed next to Joey, and decided not to try anything too 'sweet'. He hadn't figured out how tolerant the doctors and nurses were around here yet.

Settling for shaking Joey's shoulder, Mick didn't see any signs of him waking. “Joey?” Mick said. He repeated his name, louder, but Joey still didn't rouse. Mick knew pinching people's noses usually woke them up, considering it stopped them breathing, but he also knew it wasn't very nice. So he shook Joey's shoulder again, a bit harder this time. Please, baby, wake up!!!

The third time, Joey moaned softly, and moved his head. Thank fuck! Another shake, and he opened his eyes, blinking. The light blinded him, and he shut them again. Mick was there, and he reached out for him, in the direction he thought he had to be. A larger, careful hand gripped his, and Joey knew it was ok to wake up.

He looked around. “Where am I?” The last he remembered was falling asleep on the bus, missing Mick.

“KU Medical Center, in Kansas City,” Mick said softly, cupping Joey's face with his other hand.

Joey nuzzled into him, closing his eyes again. “Why?”

“Because you got sick again. Do you remember?”

Joey tried to wade through his memory. He thought falling asleep on the bus was the last thing he remembered, but now, he thought he could remember something else. Mick was there, and so were some people Joey didn't know. He was hurting, and he couldn't stop himself shaking. Was that real?

“I don't know,” Joey said quietly. The memory didn't seem pleasant, so he decided to forget it.

He shut it out, opening his eyes to look at Mick.

“How long do I have to stay here?”

Someone moved in the corner of Joey's vision. A doctor came into view; Joey hadn't been aware he was there.

“You have something called gastritis. It means your stomach is inflammed, that's why you've been throwing up. You ended up with severe dehydration because of it. You're still running a temperature, but you're on the road to recovery.”

Really? So there was an answer to all of this. Joey looked at Mick.

“I've been so worried about you,” the bigger man said. Joey squeezed his hand and smiled. The doctor was changing the bag on Joey's IV, and while he was distracted, Mick leaned down for a quick kiss. Joey wanted more as soon as he sat up again.

“So how are you feeling, Joey?” the doctor asked. Horny? Like he wanted to be left alone with Mick? He guessed that wasn't the sort of answer the doctor was expecting.

“Um, tired. Kinda sore, I don't know why. But I don't feel sick. Or hungry.”

The doctor answered backwards. “You're not hungry because you're on a feeding tube. You've been getting nourishment all night. We'll take it out around lunchtime, and see if you can keep real food down. If not, it'll be back to the tube. That's good you don't feel sick. You are on medication that should suppress any nausea. We'll wean you off them in a few days and see how you go. You're probably sore because of the seizure you experienced last night. Your muscles will take a few days to recover. And I expect you to get plenty of rest. Your body needs to regenerate.”

So he had had that seizure? God, he felt better thinking he hadn't. At least it was over and done. Hopefully, he wouldn't be having any more of those. Thankfully, the doctor seemed done. Almost.

“Any problems, let the nursing station know. I'm off duty now, but another doctor will be round to see you at lunch.” He smiled and left the room, shutting the door behind him. Alone!

Mick didn't waste any time. His lips found their way back to Joey's, but he kept it tender and slow. As they broke apart, Joey smiled at him.

“Did you stay here with me?” he whispered. Mick nodded, and kissed him again.

”I would never leave you,” he murmered in Joey's ear. “Don't you ever think otherwise.”

Joey nodded, tears glistening in his eyes. Mick wiped them away carefully.

“You're gonna get better, and I'm gonna take you home. Be nice to stay in your own bed, right?” He smiled at Joey.

“Only if you're in it, too!” Joey said, raising his eyebrows at Mick.

“Sounds like a date,” Mick grinned.