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Lanyon still didn't like Hyde, but he had grown used to dealing with his antics every time he examined how well the gunshot wound was healing.
But the young man wasn't too cooperative and Lanyon himself was neither the most patient, nor the most tactful person. And he was still sour about nearly dying after learning the truth about Hyde and Jekyll.
“How does it feel for someone like you to nearly die?”, he asked in a mixture of spite and curiosity.
Hyde shrugged. “Like it feels for others, I suppose. I mean … others, as in young people who want to live.”
“Fair enough.”
“You know, after passing out, when I was unconscious … some weird things happened to me in my mind and I realised a few things.”
Oh no, here it comes.
“The line between life and death is, at best, shadowy and vague. Who's to say where one begins and the other ends?”
Lanyon grinned. “Well, science. And medicine. And-”
“Shut up, you're ruining my dramatic monologue.”
The hoary doctor laughed. “I know.”
Hyde glared at him, then looked up to the ceiling pensively.
“I'm still afraid to die”, he admitted, “But … when I was unconscious, I met her …”
“Death?”
“Yes. And I don't know why, but … I wasn't afraid of her.”
Lanyon smiled, remembering his own encounter with the Angel of Death. “I met her too.”
The brunette looked at him in surprise. “You did?”
“Yes. Yes, I did. I nearly died too, remember?”
“Oh. Right. What did she tell you?”
The older man considered, how much he should tell the younger, before deciding on the essential.
“She told me to live.”