Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ Burn ❯ Chapter 28 Demyx ( Chapter 28 )

Burn

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy nor am I making any money by writing this.

Chapter 28 Demyx

Axel woke up at last.

The day started off normally enough. I got up after having been sedated the night before because of Axel's screaming fit. Roxas was sitting by Axel's side in a chair Aerith had brought in for him so he wouldn't have to stand all the time. He had stayed up all night with Axel for the third time. He's barely left Axel's side. Talk about a dedicated kid.

Shaking my head, I turned away and got dressed. It was a bit uncomfortable getting dressed while Roxas was right there, but I had gotten used to it. It wasn't like he was really paying attention to what I was doing—his attention was focused on Axel. I really admired his dedication.

After I finished getting dressed and put my pajamas away, I turned around.

“Why don't you go and get some breakfast and then go get some sleep?” I suggested. “You look incredibly worn out.”

“I don't know,” Roxas replied uncertainly. “I don't really want to leave Axel by himself.”

I thought for a few moments. “After breakfast, I'll sit with him, okay?” Roxas looked startled “I insist. You really need to get some rest. It's important you take care of yourself. I understand that you're really worried about Axel. All of us are worried about him. But you can't take care of him if you don't take care of yourself.”

“All right,” Roxas finally agreed. I smiled and gently patted him on the shoulder.

After breakfast, as I promised, I went back to the room with Aerith and sat by Axel's side. He did make a bit of an improvement yesterday—he was conscious enough to mumble that he couldn't breathe. But then he had another screaming episode and had to be sedated. Now he had a high fever that had everyone worried.

I dipped a washcloth in a bowl of cool water Hannah had brought in and gently washed Axel's face. He mumbled something incoherently and turned his head with a quiet sigh.

I stayed by Axel's side all day, only leaving to eat. Roxas wasn't at lunch so I assumed he was sleeping. When I asked Zexion, he nodded.

“Roxas has been asleep all day,” he said softly. “Nothing's been able to wake him up.”

“Good.” I smiled. “Roxas really needs the sleep. He hasn't slept in three days.”

After lunch, I went back and sat by Axel's side again. All of a sudden, he started having another screaming fit. I wasn't prepared at all. It was completely out of the blue. He started screaming and wildly thrashed around as his restraints would let him.

I toppled over in my chair. I lay on my back, trying to calm myself down. I had to be strong. For all my life, I had been weak. Well, no longer. I wasn't going to be a coward anymore. I wouldn't let Axel's screaming fits affect me.

Taking a deep breath, I picked myself up off the floor and fixed my chair, just as Hannah and several other nurses came running in. Axel was quickly sedated.

It took a few minutes, but the drugs finally kicked in, and he fell silent. I waited until I was sure he was out before sitting back down.

“Well, that wasn't so bad,” I said to Axel. “I think I can honestly say that you're getting better. You didn't freak me out nearly as bad as usual. Sure, I guess a bit of it was me, but I noticed your screaming fit wasn't as intense as it usually was.” I laughed nervously. “I probably sound like a complete idiot right now. Not that it's weird for me to sound like an idiot.” I sighed softly. “You'd better wake up soon, you hear me? Roxas, Zexion, and I have done enough worrying to last a dozen lifetimes.”

Several more hours passed. I just sat there, staring down at Axel's still form the whole time. Then, he started stirring. I froze, afraid that he was going to have another one of his screaming fits, but he didn't. Was it just me or was Axel trying to return to consciousness?

“Axel?” I asked, hardly daring to believe it.

Axel shifted slightly, his eyelashes lightly fluttering against his cheeks. He opened his mouth and let out a quiet sigh. Finally, his eyes opened. Emerald orbs glazed with fever stared at me, confused. Oh my god, I think he's lucid.

I smiled and got up from my chair, taking the washcloth from its place in the bowl. I wrung it out and bathed Axel's face.

“How are you feeling?” I asked once I had finished.

Axel tried to say something, but nothing came out.

“I'm…thirsty. Dry,” he said at last in a raspy voice. I could barely understand him.

“I'll see if the doctor will let you have some ice chips,” I said. I put the washcloth on the table and let. I still couldn't believe it. It seemed too good to be true. I found Hannah down the hall.

“Yes Demyx?” she asked when she saw me coming toward her.

“Where is Dr. Xemnas?” I asked. “Axel uh…well he's awake. I mean really awake. As in he's aware of his surroundings.”

Hannah stared at me for a few moments. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” I nodded.

“I'll go get Dr. Xemnas,” Hannah said.

She hurried off. I stood there, not sure what else I should do. A few minutes later, Hannah came back with Dr. Xemnas, Dr. Wise, and Dr. Xehanort. Xemnas was an actual doctor and Xehanort was Axel's psychiatrist. Both of them were really creepy.

“Demyx, tell me what happened,” Dr. Wise said calmly.

“I was sitting by Axel's side after his last screaming spell and after he had been sedated. I realized that he was starting to stir and at first, I thought he was going to have another screaming spell,” I answered. “Then I realized that he was trying to wake up. It took a while, but he finally opened his eyes. Not only that, he was also lucid. His eyes were glazed with fever, but I could tell that he was aware of where he was. I asked him how he was and he said he was thirsty so I came to find Dr. Xemnas to see if it'd be okay for Axel to have some ice chips or something.”

“What do you think, doctor?” Hannah asked, turning to Dr. Xemnas.

“I think it would be wise to let Axel have some ice chips,” Dr. Xemnas said slowly. “We cannot allow him to become dehydrated. Hannah, can you fetch a cup of ice chips for Axel?”

“Of course.” Hannah nodded.

I went back to Axel and my room. Neither of us said anything as I took my seat again. Hannah came in with a cup that she handed to me. Then, she checked the machines Axel was hooked up to and said he looked good. Then, she left.

I got up and took a piece of ice. As carefully as I could, I put it in Axel's mouth.

“Suck on it,” I said.

Axel nodded. He was silent for a while.

“Where's Roxas?” he slurred.

“I sent him off to get some sleep a while ago,” I explained. “He was staying with you almost constantly and it was starting to take a toll on him.”

Axel frowned. “Dem, how long have I been unconscious?”

“I don't know,” I answered. “It's been a really long time, though.”

“If you had to make a guess, what would you say?” Axel asked.

I thought for a few moments. “A couple weeks, maybe? I don't really know. I don't have access to a calendar so I don't know how long it's been since you were last lucid. I don't even know how long I've been in this place.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,” Axel interrupted. “Did you say `weeks' as in more than one?”

“Yeah.” I nodded.

“What the hell was wrong with me?” Axel demanded.

I shifted uncomfortably at Axel's harsh tone. “I…I don't know. I'm not a doctor.”

“Yeah, I know that,” Axel said impatiently. “But you must have seen what was happening.”

“Well, yeah,” I said hesitatingly.

“Just tell me what was going on!” Axel snapped.

I sighed softly. I really didn't want to be the one to tell him this. “You were completely out of your mind. You screamed incoherently and thrashed around violently. You were sedated and restrained almost constantly and you had several seizures. It was scary as hell to watch.”

“Fuck,” Axel whispered. “Where's Zexion?”

“He was here earlier, but he had to go to his session with Dr. Wise and Reno. Zexion and Reno have been having weekly sessions with him.”

Axel swallowed his ice chip and I gave him another one.

“Thanks,” he said quietly.

We were silent for a while again.

“I remember,” Axel suddenly said. I stared at him. “I remember what happened to me as a kid and I know why I'm so fucked up. My father would drag me by the arm and lock me in the basement whenever I did something wrong.”

I was stunned—Axel had shared this very personal piece of information with me, of all people. I didn't know how to respond to this. What could I say?

“I'm sorry,” I finally decided to say.

Axel shrugged. “It's not your fault I have terrible parents.”

I didn't know how to respond to that either. Fortunately, I was spared from having to say anything because Dr. Xemnas, Dr. Wise, and Dr. Xehanort came in. I got shooed out so they could do an examination.

I decided to go find Zexion and Roxas and tell them that Axel was awake. I met up with Aerith and the two of us went to Roxas and Zexion's room. When I got there, I found that Roxas was peacefully sleeping. Zexion was sitting up in bed reading a book. He heard me come in and lowered his book, looking at me curiously.

“What's wrong Demyx?” he asked softly so he wouldn't wake Roxas up.

I smiled. “Axel is awake.”

To be continued…

A/N: This has been a busy week. I've been overloaded with homework and assignments that are all due at roughly the same time. The only thing that's keeping me sane is the fact that I work on my homework and other assignments for half an hour and then take a half hour break and write. That's the only reason I'm still sane right now. If there are any typos, I apologize, because I haven't gone back through and proofread any of it. Not in the mood.