They kept talking about everything, Helen had taken off her shoes and snuggled next to her son on the bed. Lou had of course joined them, though she now appeared quite shy, especially when Jay propped her up on his lap and kept caressing her hair. Her head was bowed and she kept fidgeting, her cheeks were tainted deep red.
Helen chuckled at the sight. Only a few minutes had passed since her daughter had been afraid of her brother snatching her dolls, but now she was practically purring in his embrace. Helen thought the little girl would probably willingly share them with him now if he'd ask.
She glanced at her husband who was sitting on a nearby couch, he was taking everything in with a faint and seemingly indifferent smile, but she knew him well enough to know he was just as touched and joyful as she was. He sensed her gaze and mouthed inaudibly the three words she had heard him say countless of times. She smiled brightly and mouthed it back.
Jay had caught their interaction from the corner of his eye, and he couldn't help but internally sigh in relief. It seemed like his parents were still very much in love so that was one less burden for him to shoulder. He had been afraid he was gonna join a malfunctioning family, thankfully his worries appeared unfounded.
Bringing his attention back to the little girl sitting on his lap, he bent down and gently kissed her forehead, amused at the different shades of red her cheeks could take. She had been quite chatty and forward when she had arrived, but as soon as he had started caressing her hair, she had practically turned mute.
Ah that was bad, he was getting addicted, she was just so impossibly cute.
He had always wanted a child, but his wife had refused him time and time again. The worst part was that he couldn't blame her since she had always made it clear she never wanted children while he had, however, stupidly thought he could change her mind later, so paid it no heed.
But as the years went by and his friends became parents, he had tasted bitterness. He had tried to persuade his wife – if she didn't want to give birth they could always adopt – but to no avail. She wasn't receptive to children, final. It had nothing to do with the process of childbirth.
Jay heard footsteps coming from the hallway and then someone knocked.
"Come in." he said, and Dr. Philips came in, accompanied by Dr. Keys and a middle-aged woman in white blouse and perfectly combed hair.
They all silently smiled at us and Dr. Philips started speaking, "I see that you have all met. We usually don't allow comatose patients to meet so many members of their family at once as they usually are prone to violent and irascible behavior, but..." he looked at Jay oddly and continued "It seems like your son is eluding that rule, and overturning common sense. I wouldn't be surprised if he straight up jumped out of bed and started walking to be honest." he chuckled and so did the ladies accompanying him.
He could see the mirth in Dr. Keys' eyes when she glanced at him.
Damn that was close, Jay broke out in cold sweat. If he hadn't found out about the system, wouldn't it have healed him completely before he realized it? Thankfully, he was out of the frying pan.
Dr. Philips smiled and continued, "This is Dr. Briziak, our chief physical therapist. She will be in charge of-"
"That won't be necessary." Lee interrupted, startling everyone.
Dr. Philips awkwardly smiled at the man, "Mr. Aslan?..."
Lee realized his bluntness and smiled apologetically. "One of my acquaintances is a board member on the Grand Resort Bad Ragaz in Switzerland. They specialize in physical rehabilitation and the environment is all a recovering patient could hope for. I'm sorry Dr. Philips, my wife and I are very thankful for all you've done and I'm not trying to undermine you or anything, I just want the best for my son."
Apparently Helen had not been privy to this information, she had frowned at first, but the last sentence had made her visibly relax.
Strangely, it was Dr. Briziak who came forward to dismiss the lingering awkwardness. "One of the best rehabilitation centers in the world, I would of course not hold it against you Mr. Aslan, myself being the mother of two." she softly smiled and turned to Dr. Philips and Dr. Keys "Alex, Jessica, I'll take my leave since I'm no longer needed." she bid everyone farewell and left.
Dr. Philips and Dr. Keys stayed for a bit but soon followed her out.
Helen wasted no time to start on her husband "Switzerland?"
"You know Henri is a member of the center's board. He was apparently visiting your parents when we told them the news and called me immediately to tell me that if I was interested he would make the necessary arrangements. I, of course, didn't refuse him."
Helen acknowledged his statement with a nod. "When are we leaving then?"
Lee sighed, there it was. "We... are not going honey."
Helen glared at him, her voice dangerously low, "What do you mean?"
"Jay needs a complete immersive experience in order to quickly get back to shape, we'd just be a hindrance. Besides, you have to stay here in order to take care of a lot of things, like school, his new bedroom..."
The last part was mostly an excuse, but he didn't want to outright come out and tell her that her motherly concern might become an obstacle to his recovery. "As for me I'm working on the new case for the district attorney, as much as I would love to go... Jay, what do you think?"
Jay paused, Lou was still in his lap and she looked up at him. He smiled at her and she blushed before lowering her head back down.
"How long would the rehab take?" he'd already asked the system but wanted to make sure.
"A maximum of 6 months. You would be just in time for school."
"6 months?!" Helen practically jumped out of bed, "Lee?!"
"That's mandatory Helen. Don't you want him to get better?"
Helen mumbled "But doesn't that mean we won't be able to see him for 6 months?"
"We waited 6 years, what're 6 more months?" Lee softly smiled at his wife.
Helen stared at her husband then turned back to Jay. "What... do you want to do?" she looked for any sign of hesitation or fear on her son's face, an excuse to overrule her husband's decision.
But Jay didn't have to think about it, this was a perfect opportunity for him to get away and put his affairs in order. He would also have more freedom to move about.
He looked straight into her eyes and said, "I want to go."