Hana

Edelweiss

Lance slowly opened his eyes, adjusting to the lighting. The first thing he felt was a heaviness on his chest and a sore throat. Every muscle in his body felt sore, like he had run a mile then drowned in a lake. He felt tubes in his mouth and slowly brought a hand up to his face. He felt around, his fingers hitting plastic. His lungs moved on their own, and Lance realized that he was on a ventilator. There were several tubes attached to his body, making sure he was alive and stayed alive.

His eyes finally adjusted to the light enough for him to look around the room. He was definitely in the hospital. The walls were white with a little wood to make it look professional and less like a prison. One wall was all glass, which meant he was in the ICU. He rolled his eyes in annoyance and looked at the ceiling.

The sound of the door opening made him jump, and he looked back. A girl in scrubs walked in. She flashed a smile and came up to his bedside, "Welcome back Lance."

He read her name tag: Mary. He looked back at her eyes.

"You're in the hospital. Do you remember anything about coming here? Blink once for yes and twice for no."

Lance hesitated for a second, then blinked once.

"Good." She wrote something down, "Right now, we've got you in the Intensive Care Unit. We are going to monitor your lungs to see if we can take you off the ventilator. I was told that you hated it."

Lance blinked once.

She chuckled, "Alright. I'm going to grab a nurse you're familiar with and have her check you over." The lady exited his room. Lance found her annoying, all of her perkiness was fake and she talked to him like he was five.

After getting checked and set up, Lance felt his strength return. It was amazing what being able to breathe did for him. He had the tv on with subtitles since he couldn't hear well over the various noises of machines and the hissing of the ventilator. Nurses came in periodically to suction it and make sure it was working properly, which Lance hated with a passion.

The door opened once more, and Lance rolled his eyes, tired of dealing with people adjusting and poking and prodding.

A familiar voice sounded, "Well, look at you!"

Lance looked at Dr. Martin with an unamused expression.

"You almost died on us," he rested his hand on the bed rail, "that wasn't funny."

Lance shrugged his shoulders to say Well, I'm still alive aren't I?

"So with your disease, as you know, using a ventilator is a last resort. We think now that you're stable, it's best to just put you on oxygen. How does that sound?"

Lance smiled as much as he could and blinked once.

"Now your aunt Julia is waiting to see you, is it alright if she comes in?"

Lance blinked once.

"Good, good." Dr. Martin paused for a moment and Lance gave him a confused look. He took a breath, "Alright am I gonna get to hear the story of that boy in the waiting room?"

Lance tilted his head to ask Who are you talking about?

"The boy that brought you in. He's been here all night waiting anxiously to see if you survived."

Lance squinted his eyes in thought and look around the floor, then he remembered. It was Keith. He turned his head to look around for a notepad.

"Do you need paper?" Dr. Martin asked.

Lance looked at him desperately and nodded his head. Dr. Martin pulled out his memo pad and a pen, handing them to Lance. He took them and scribbled out a note. Don't let him in.

"Is he dangerous?"

No, just a guy I don't want to be involved with.

"Oh," Dr. Martin relaxed, "a potential lover."

No. Never.

Dr. Martin smiled understandingly and let out a small chuckle, "I will go get your aunt."

Lance grabbed his sleeve and held up a finger telling him to wait. He wrote down Go home on one piece and ripped it off, folding it up.

Give this to Keith. He handed Dr. Martin the folded up note.

"And, Who is that again?"

Lance rolled his eyes, The guy that brought me in.

"Gotcha. When I get back, we will go over legal stuff and then start weaning you off that ventilator."

Lance shot him a thumbs-up and he exited the room.

When aunt Julia came in, she had been crying and hugged Lance gently. After the reunion, Dr. Martin and a couple nurses came in and explained everything, and had Lance and aunt Julia sign some papers. Then, they started weaning him. After a trial run, they started the extubation. As they adjusted settings Lance squeezed aunt Julia's hand. She was the most nervous since this would be the first time seeing him being extubated. Lance had been through the routine a couple times before and was confident in it. This certainly wasn't the first time he had stayed in the ICU.

A nurse undid the adjustments around Lance's head and face, "Alright, I'm going to suction you one more time, then I will remove the tube."

Lance relaxed as much as possible through the process, but it was still extremely uncomfortable.

"Okay, now when I pull this out, I want you to cough."

Lance did as he was told and the tube came out. Lance continued to cough a couple times, and slivers of pink exited his lungs.

"Is he alright?!" aunt Julia asked frantically.

Dr. Martin was at Lance's side monitoring the whole time, "Yes, this is normal with his condition."

The coughing fit didn't last long and Lance quickly got used to breathing on his own. The hospital staff clapped and high-fived each other. The nurse from before slipped a nasal cannula over Lance's head, and he pulled his hand from aunt Julia's to guide it in. Lance took a deep breath and smiled.

Lance was moved to a regular room and spent five days in the hospital until his voice returned, and then was discharged. He thanked the hospital staff and waved them goodbye clutching a stuffed bear he received as a gift. He had to be on oxygen at home for a while, so he wore a nasal cannula and had the oxygen tank in a backpack. Aunt Julia opened the car door for Lance and he climbed in, then she went around and got in as well.

Lance set his things between his legs and yanked a mask out from his backpack, "Fucking hospitals."

"Hey!" She softened her voice, "language."

Lance rolled his eyes and put the mask on his face, twisting the straps to make Xs and snapping them around his ears. He pulled the front of the mask apart and adjusted the metal nose piece, "I fucking hate hospitals."

"You're alive, aren't you?"

Lance rubbed his forehead in annoyance. "Of course I am," he said sarcastically.

Aunt Julia dropped Lance off at his apartment. Once he reached his floor, he pulled out his keys and separated his house key from the others. As he unlocked his door, he heard a door next to him open and shut. "Oh my fucking god," he said to himself.

He jumped at the sudden bang as Keith slammed his fist into the wall right next to him.

Lance pried his mask from his ears and balled it up in his fist, "What the fuck dude?!"

Keith pulled Lance into a tight hug, cradling his head in one hand. Lance let his hands stay limp in confusion.

"Are you okay?" Keith whispered in his ear.

Lance pulled away, "I'm fine, but tired." He shoved his door open and slammed it behind him, making sure to lock it.