Chapter Text
Chris got extremely excited when he had been told that Piers was still alive.
But his heart weighted when he found Piers lying on sickbed of ICU, deep coma.
Chris could hardly recognize him. He was thin as skin and bones, seemingly like a skeleton. A catheter attached up to his nose. The progress on ECG looked slow and slight. You could not even detect if he was still breathing. There covered gauze upon his right eye and in which a large scar could be seen vaguely through it, eyes socket deeply sunken. Due to coma, he could only maintain his life by infusion of nutritive solution. The worst of all, his right sleeve been made to be a tie and wrung like a heap was left about on the sheet.
“We have tried our best to take control over the virus in his body, but we could not keep his right arm and eye…And we could neither make sure if he should survive, upon his situation.” This was how doctors told Chris.
“Piers…” Murmuring Chris when he saw Piers lying on sickbed through the window, but Piers could no longer respond to him. Chris felt melancholy sting in his heart. “It’s been a while, Chris.” Here came a familiar voice from behind. Chris turned back, it was Jill.
“Jill, you just come back?”
“Yeah, but I can’t foresee that my first task when I come back is to deal with…your man.”
“You, deal with?”
“I’m the manager of recuperation process for Piers. Guys of BSAA have found him when doing submarine clearing out. Everyone’s thought he was dead but when he was brought up to shore it was found that his heart was still beating…But he kept going on in this situation. We couldn’t know if he could wake up. And…” Jill wore serious expression. “Even if he woke up, we can’t confirm how it will be his mentality.”
“I wish he would wake up, no matter what happened.”
“We’ll try. But his thing is still a secret. Don’t tell anyone, including your teammates and his parents.”
“I see. Anyway, I have another request. May I come to see him during this period?”
“Why? He is not awakened. You can’t do anything for him, if only seeing him.”
“I just…” Chris turned again to Piers. “I just want to make sure he is still alive.” Even Chris himself, though, could not make sure whether it should be called “alive” that Piers’s condition.
It seemed that Jill knew what’s in Chris’s mind. “This man, very important to you, right?”
“Yes, he is my…He became this because of me, I must take responsibility for him.” Jill could find that Chris’s affection to this man called Piers was not just guilty. But she didn’t ask more.
“OK, I know. It would be impossible for others, but by your position it would not be difficult to apply for a special authority for you.”
“Thanks! Please.”
From that day on Chris would come to see Piers by chance only if he was spare. Sometimes he would say something to Piers, gapped by window. But Piers, as always, showed no hint to revive. Usually Jill stood aside to look at Chris. She noticed that Chris sometimes would stare at the faint ECG on the monitor, touching softly pocket upon his own chest simultaneously.
Several years passed, by a blink of eyes.
“Piers, I gotta go, Louisiana, this time.”
Still there was not any reaction from Piers in ICU, only “click, click” sound from the monitor.
“It won’t take long. I’ll come back to see you once my mission is finished. Stay here for me.”
“Chris.” Jill stood beside Chris, two arms crossing upon her chest. “Years passed, he hasn’t gotten any better…Are you going to persist? What if he won’t wake up for a lifetime?”
“Then I’ll await him for a lifetime.”
Jill put down her arms and puffed. “Things will not always do as you wish. Someone has suggested breaking off this case.”
“No! It must be some ways…”
“But we have tried all the ways we could try. I can’t figure out what other way may exist there.” The hurt muscle tissue had been healing well but Piers still didn’t wake up.
“Would they be useful my reports and samples submitted before, by countable mission. Or just wait for me to finish my investigation this time in case there would be some new data…”
“Chris, you really don’t have to do this.”
“I’ll never give up.” Chris turned back to see into the patient ward, forehead touching the glass gently, to sleeping Piers. “I’ll never leave him along anymore.”
“That’s not your fault.”
“Jill, please…”
Chris was not a person who would beg to others.
“I see. I’ll submit an extension application for it.”
“Thank you, Jill. My great appreciation to you…It’s about time. I have to go. We’ll talk later.”
“Anyway, take care of yourself. Don’t be too hell-bent, you are not a superman.”
“Relax, I will.” Chris patted again on his pocket on chest, then left.
By the time Chris had returned to camp after once more time his mission was over, he received a phone call from Jill.
“He woke up, Chris.”