Hetalia Under The Big Top

Act 15: Ivan And The Nurse

A/N Please give a warm welcome to tonight's special guest ship. It's one of my favorites and I hope it's one of yours. Also if anyone is wondering where Ivan's accent went, it disappears when he is speaking Russian. Just FYI.

The wait wasn't that long, but to Ivan it felt endless. Arthur had already joined them by the time the doctor came to give them the news. They were lucky that this hospital had a doctor that spoke English. Her accent was still thick but the crew was used to this from Ludwig and Gilbert. Actually, this doctor rather resembled Ludwig, with the same short blonde hair.

"Considering the severity of the accident, Mr. Vang is doing very vell," she explained, "He has no broken bones and only minor scrapes, aside from the laceration on his head. However, this blow to the head has resulted in moderate svelling of the brain. This will likely cause amnesia until the svelling goes down."

"Oh, no. Poor Yao," said Feliciano, his grip on Ludwig's hand tightening.

"This is often not permanent. If he does show signs of memory loss, the best thing to do vould be to return him to as normal a routine as possible to help him restore the memories lost," said the doctor.

"And how are we supposed to do that-a when our circus is a fiasco?" Lovino demanded, more from worry than anger. His hands would have been waving if his wrist wasn't in a brace.

"If he does forget anything it vill be recent events. Anyvhere from moments before the accident to a few years."

"Years?" asked Ivan, and the doctor nodded.

Ivan Felt his heartbreak. He had joined the circus only a couple of years ago. If Yao lost more than 2 years of memories, he wouldn't recognize Ivan. His closest friend would go back to being a complete stranger.

"I brought some literature on the matter, but I am afraid it is all in German."

"I can read it," said Ludwig, stepping up to take the pamphlets from the doctor.

"Ve vould like to keep him overnight. If you vould like to go home ve can call you if anything progresses."

"Can I stay wid him?" Ivan asked.

"You can, but there is a fee for staying after visiting hours."

Arthur nodded and turned to the rest of his crew. "You lads can start on home. I'll finish things up here."

"I can help you at the front desk," said the doctor and she started to leave.

Antonio, Ludwig, and the brothers filed out of the room and Arthur turned to Ivan.

"Will you be okay on your own, Ivan?"

"Da."

"Alright. Just call myself or Gilbert if anything happens. We will be back by morning."

"Da." Ivan nodded, keeping his chin up although the rasp in his voice betrayed his confidence.

Arthur Looked down at the hospital bed where Yao lay.

"Ivan... are you and Yao...?"

"Nyet , we are friends." He looked down at Yao. "Only friends."

Ivan felt a surge of regret. The man he loved had almost been killed and all they would have ever gotten to be was friends.

All day and into the night Ivan remained at Yao's side. He sat in a chair beside Yao's bed, resting his elbows on the bed and head in his hand. He just wanted his friend to wake up and tell him everything was okay.

"Zdravstvuyte," said a voice at the door and Ivan looked up at the familiar language, "I am Toris, Yao's nurse."

"You know Russian?" Ivan asked in his language, as the nervous man in blue scrubs approached and he nodded.