Don't Worry, I'll Keep You Warm

(So a lot of you were upset about ending the fic so soon… so I decided to make it a little longer c:)

They were so much bluer than Vic thought they might be. They were beautiful. And without so many tubes covering him, he was beautiful. He didn’t say anything, he just looked around the room, struggling to breathe. Finally his eyes rested on Vic. They stared at him for maybe only a minute before closing once more.

The doctors and nurses kept working around him, taking down readings and doing all sorts of different things that Vic couldn’t keep track of. Mrs. Quinn and her husband were now standing in the room, still clinging to each other, watching all of this happen with wide eyes.

"Did… Did he just?" Mrs. Quinn finally asked, her voice cracking.

A doctor with the name tag ‘Dr. Adams’ turned to address her. “Mrs. Quinn, your son just woke up," he said, eyes bright.

"Then why’s he still sleeping?" asked her husband.

"Because. He was in a coma for two years. Typically when they first wake up, they only gain consciousnesses for a few seconds at a time. As he gets better, he will become more and more aware each time his eyes open. Just give it time. In a few hours, he may even be able to say something. For now, we need to run a few CT scans on his brain."

He turned away from them after explaining everything and went back to his work around the boy’s unmoving body. For a moment, they all watched what was going on. Kellin’s feeding tubes were removed and taken away by the nurse with the table full of other instruments.

"I’m going to have to ask everyone to clear the room out a little bit," said Dr. Adams while he messed around with some of his equipment.

That was Vic and the Quinns’ cue to leave. They stepped outside and as soon as they were in the hallway, the questions came.

"What in the world are you doing here, Vic?" asked the older male.

For a moment, Vic considered lying. He could say he came to offer emotional support after finishing the chores early, and just happened to be in the room when Kellin woke up. But that was too far-fetched, and he hadn’t actually gotten anything done back at the house.

The only way out was the truth.

"I’ll be honest," he started, lowering his eyes to the ground. “I’ve been snooping."

"What do you mean?" asked Mrs. Quinn. There were still tears dripping from her eyes. She didn’t know what to feel; a whole range of emotions were circulating inside of her and all she wanted to do was sob out of sheer joy that her son’s eyes had fluttered open once more.

Vic sighed and wrung his hands nervously. “I went in his room when you told me not to. I was too curious. I just looked at it and… and I learned what kind of person he was. I asked my guidance councilor about him at school. I even found the article written about the accident. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gone looking for so much, but I wanted to know him…"

He couldn’t meet their eyes. With everything out in the open, he realized how much of a fucking creep he seemed like. Damn it, maybe he could convince his parents to move away again…

"Why did you do that?" asked Mrs. Quinn. “You like my son that much?" She didn’t sound mad. And when Vic lifted his gaze to meet hers, there was nothing but curiosity staring back at him.

"Um… I guess," he said, staring at his feet again.

"You know, I meant it when I said he’d like you," said Mr. Quinn, forcing a small smile. “I like that his eyes rested on you when they were open.

"Wait so… you’re not mad?" Vic asked.

"No," said Mrs. Quinn shaking her head. “In a way, I’m kind of glad. Hell, I’m just ecstatic my son’s eyes opened for the first time in two years. I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long, Vic."

He smiled at her, feeling like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. “I’m sure. And I’m really happy its come."

It was true, he was.

—-

The following days were marked by victories. Each time he woke up, he stayed aware for more and more amounts of time. His parents were up there constantly until the staff had to force them to go home and get some sleep. In his spare time, Vic visited as well, sometimes going straight to the hospital after school.

The boy’s parents didn’t seem to mind his presence. In fact, they enjoyed it. He was funny and he would crack jokes and play with the rubber gloves. It lightened the mood, having him there in the times when Kellin wasn’t awake. And when the monitors went off and the eyes opened, that was a blessing. He would look around and just breathe, his eyes resting on his parents and Vic, too. Sometimes he’d groan or try to say something.

The doctors said it would take time before he was completely cognizant. But after running the scans, they said he was definitely going to recover a lot better than they thought. Hey may, however, suffer black outs and memory problems for the rest of his life.

It wasn’t until exactly a week after the first incident that something extraordinary happened. As of then, the longest he’d been able to stay awake was about ten minutes. Not this time, however.

The monitors started beeping, and everyone in the room smiled. Before, Mr. Quinn was reading the newspaper and Vic and Mrs. Quinn had become rather invested in one of the melodramatic soap operas on T.V. Their attention was immediately refocused on the stirring body, however.

"Kellin?" said the boy’s mother, brushing his hair out of his eyes. “Hi, sweety," she smiled, staring in his eyes as they blinked open.

"Mm… Mom," he croaked. Mrs. Quinn stared at him, shocked, and a grin broke out across her face.

"He said ‘mom’! Oh my God, Kellin!" She gently placed a hand on his cheek, grinning down and nearly crying again.

The door to the room opened, and Dr. Adams stepped in, a friendly smile on his face. He stood with his hands behind his back, watching them fuss over Kellin. “I see he’s awake. How are you feeling, Kellin?" he asked, speaking clearly, knowing he may not get any sort of answer.

They waited, quieting for Kellin’s sake. Vic’s eyes searched his face. For a moment, he looked confused. “Like… crap," he got out finally.

Dr. Adams was a man with bright eyes. They were blue and sometimes green, or both, depending on the day. When Kellin spoke, they lit up even more. “He’s becoming more and more aware. I think his speech will gradually get better over time," he said to the Quinn’s and to Vic. “Kellin, do you know where you are?"

"H-Hospital," said Kellin.

"Do you know why?"

"Car."

Dr. Adams stood over him, examining his eyes as he spoke and watching his every move. “Good. That’s really good. I’m Dr. Adams, by the way. Do you know how long you’ve been asleep?"

For a moment, Kellin’s mouth twitched. It was like he was trying to frown, but couldn’t completely manage it yet. “No," he said finally.

"Two years, Kellin."

Silence. Kellin’s eyes opened a little wider, and he looked at his parents, as if to ask them if that were true. Thy looked back at him, a serious expression on their faces. “Oh."

"If it’s alright, I need to speak with the two of you, in private," said Dr. Adams.

"Can’t it wait until he’s asleep again?" asked. Mrs. Quinn, reaching for her son’s hand once more.

But the doctor shook his head. “I really only have time right now, and I don’t know when that will be. It will only be a minute," he promised. Sighing, the boy’s parents got up from their seats, casting longing glances at their son.

"We’ll be right back, Kellin. Vic… um, you’ll keep him company, won’t you?" she said.

At her words, Kellin looked over at Vic, staring at him. Vic only nodded at Mrs. Quinn before the three of them walked out of the room and that’s when he realized for the first time that Kellin didn’t actually have any idea who he was.

"Uh… Hi," he started awkwardly. Kellin didn’t say anything, he just stared at him, waiting for him to do something. God, his eyes were so blue. “I’m Vic."

"Why are you… here?" Kellin asked softly.

"Well… that’s kind of a long story. How do you feel?" Vic asked, immediately feeling stupid. The doctor had just asked him that, its not like it was going to change in a matter of five minutes.

"Shitty," Kellin answered. “I thought I was dead."

It was almost surreal. Here he was, finally talking to the boy he had learned so much about in the past month, and he had no idea what to say. It was like meeting your favorite celebrity and not being able to thank them because you were too busy crying. He was just speechless.

"So.. who are you, exactly?" Kellin said slowly.

"Like I said, my name is Vic… I work for your parents."

"What.. like a slave?" Kellin cocked an eyebrow.

"No," said Vic, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. “Like a… more like a maid, to be honest. Just cleaning and stuff. I saw all your pictures around your house and they told me all about you."

For a moment, Kellin didn’t say anything. He flicked his eyes towards the ceiling, staring at it. “They haven’t been doing very well without me, have they?" he said softly.

"They came up to visit you multiple times a week. They uh… yeah. They were kind of a wreck. Which is why I’m really glad you woke up." Images of Kellin’s mother falling to the ground out of sheer despair danced across Vic’s memory. The amount of times he’d seen her cry was unreasonable, given how long he’d known her.

Kellin scoffed and weakly brought his arm up to his face, brushing a lock of hair out of his eye. “Of course that’s why."

Biting his lip, Vic wasn’t sure what to say. He wasn’t sure if he was quite ready to tell the boy about snooping through his room yet. God knows how he’d react.

"I’m sorry," said Kellin again. “That was kind of out of line."

"Oh, don’t worry about it," Vic assured him.

For a moment, they sat in a sort of comfortable silence. Vic sat there, just wondering all about this boy. In his journals, he was a deep, sensitive and sometimes very dark person. Could a coma change who you were at all? Hell, did Kellin even remember who he had been before the accident?

"I’m tired…" murmured the paler of the two.

"Go to sleep," said Vic.

"Mmm…"

He breathed out deeply and his eyes closed again as he promptly fell asleep. Vic knew in a little while the doctors and nurses would wake him up again, tell him he had to drink some water and take a few vitamins that his body needed. For now though, he could retreat back to sleep. It was a big deal, hearing him actually talk.

Things were looking up for him and for this family. It was evident that he was going to make a full recovery and the Quinns would even be able to take him home soon.

—-

"I’m getting really sick of being here."

"At least you were asleep for like 95% of it…"

"Don’t remind me. Two whole fucking years…"

"Language!"

"Sorry mom."

Kellin was sitting up now. He was feeding himself and didn’t have to take as many vitamins as when he had first woken up, which was two weeks ago. His father was away at work, so Mrs. Quinn and Vic were keeping him company. It was afternoon, a Saturday. Tomorrow was the day Kellin was finally scheduled to go home, although they had been warned that it would be difficult.

While Vic was at school, they had actually gotten the boy out of bed to assess his movement. He could hardly walk, even with help from two people on either side of him.

"So, question," Kellin said, talking much better now. When asked about it he said he almost had to remember how to use his voice, which was also very sore from the feeding tubes and other instruments that had been shoved down it. “Uh… what’s going to happen with me and like, school?"

"You’re really wondering about that now?" asked Mrs. Quinn. Her son nodded, looking at her curiously. “Well, you could go back and restart at the fall…"

"Please tell me there’s other options."

Vic tried hard not to scoff or laugh. He knew from the journals how much Kellin hated school; it was no wonder he didn’t want to just start all over again. He was probably already terrified of bullies making fun of him for being a 17 year old freshman.

"Summer school, and online classes. Even home school. Honey, if you don’t want to go back to public school, I won’t force you," said the woman, placing her hand over her son’s.

He looked rather pensive for a moment, considering her words. “I’ll think about it," he said finally. Then, looking at Vic, “Do you go to Southfield High? You mentioned you were a junior."

"Yeah," said Vic, nodding his head. “I do."

"Maybe going back there wouldn’t be too bad, then."

His words were nonchalant, but they made Vic smile. Maybe the boy’s father was right when he said that he would take a liking to Vic if he were around. And now he was around, and he hadn’t really given the impression that he didn’t want Vic around. Over the time they had spent together in the hospital, they’d become friends. They made each other laugh.

It made Vic feel good to know that maybe he was a point of positivity in Kellin’s life.