The first thing they saw was the familiarity of the room. They always tried to come see him at least once a week but sometimes, with work, that was complicated. Karine stopped trying to count the number of hours she spent at her office these days. For Mary it was the same issue plus the country trip she was forced to make for the company.
The second and most important thing they saw was their son wide awake, smiling slightly at them, which made their hearts beat with joy. Approaching each side of the bed, they barely managed to restrain themselves from jumping onto the bed and hugging him. They settled on taking both of his hands and caressing his hair.
"Welcome back sweetie" Mary said with a loving tone.
"We missed you so much" Added Karine with emotion in her voice. Tears streaming down her face.
Hearing that Nathaniel almost said he missed them too, but that would give rise to more questions that he wasn't willing to answer as of yet. For the moment everyone thought that he was in a coma, unconscious, and it was better if everyone kept thinking that for the time being. His moms suffered enough, nobody needed to know what really happened to him. Something else was happening to him that he wasn't willing to discuss or even think about right now in the fear to be overwhelmed.
"I …. love… you.." He said finally, looking at both of them.
Mary and Karine exchanged a delighted look, their worry turning into nothing. They knew that there were risks of permanent brain damage after his coma and the hemorrhage but looking at his smile and gentle beautiful eyes they were beside themself with happiness. Their son was still their son after all this time.
"Mom… what… happened .. in.. the… last … 4 years…" Asked Nathaniel with difficulty.
Upon seeing his moms entering the room he noticed that the clothes they were wearing were much more expensive than what they could afford before. Adding the medical costs for him something was not right. Karine was an appointed lawyer while Mary was a musician. There was no way they could afford all of these things with their salary.
"Hush honey, don't talk you need to rest. We are going to tell you everything." Said Karine.
Then they began to explain what happened in the last 4 years. After the accident they were both startled when Mary's mom and dad appeared in the emergency department. Her parents were both conservative and never approved of their relationship. Since that time they stopped talking to each other, something that Mary always felt sorry for. In fact, except for some passing remark he wasn't supposed to hear, Nathaniel never heard his mother talk about her parents, his grandparents.
After the accident and the grim expectations for Nathaniel, Mary couldn't continue playing music anymore. It was as if something broke inside of her and a part of her was missing. She then accepted the proposition of her father to work in their family company. The father of Mary was the founder of Universal Lyndon Records, one of the best labels in the country that signed artists like Dido, Timbaland, Cristina Aguilera, Katy Perry and many more.
Karine began working like a maniac as a means to fight the sorrow in her heart. All the people she met in court were crushed by her, saving the lives of countless innocent people in the process. Until last year when she was recruited to the DA office as a prosecutor. She specialised herself in criminal law and started putting murderers, drug dealers and crime lords behind bars.
Pride shone in the eyes of Nathaniel as he listened to their story.
"Your grandfather is in Europe, he's coming back right now. Having a personal jet is useful sometime I guess." Said Mary in a wry tone. "Your Grandmother is coming, she was in the Hampton so in a few hours she will be here."
Nathaniel was thrilled. He had never met his grandparents so he looked forward to it. Smiling and surrounded by love, he fell back asleep. For the first time in years, he felt at peace.
*****
Two days later, Nathaniel woke up to the sound of people arguing in his bedroom. He was still inside the hospital despite the fact that he was relatively in good shape because his doctors continued to have him pass test after test. He could still not move despite getting medication against the pain but that was expected and didn't seem to worry anyone. He would need physical rehab which also was the subject of arguing if he could trust his hearing.
He could hear that his moms were here together with his grandparents and two doctors. He had met his grandparents and they were lovely people even if Nathaniel could tell they were not like that is their day to day life. They were kind to him which could be a result of him being hospitalized or the fact that he was their only grandson, that remains to be seen.
He made two huges discoveries these last few days. The first was that he could see the soul of people around him. He was startled at first as he was trying to read the name of the new nurse on her name badge when something clicked in his mind. Second later, he could see a blue ball of light in the center of her chest. It was looking a lot like the form he was trapped in for the last four years except that it was tinier and weaker. Looking at his own chest, he could see his own soul nested in here. Contrary to the soul he had seen so far, his own was vastly different as it was composed of two colors and in the form of a Ying Yang where the others were simply in a ball form.
He didn't know why it was the case but could tell that was relevant. Blinking his eyes, he canceled the 'sight' like he was calling it and was immediately assaulted with a huge feeling of fatigue. His body was so weak right now that he couldn't activate this sight more than twice a day and he would always feel tired after using it.
The second discovery that he made in the last couple of days was that there was something wrong with his memories. He was remembering things that he never did, places where he never went. At first, he thought that there was something wrong with his head and then he understood what he was. It was Marc's last gift before passing away. He had given him everything he knew and everything that he experienced in his life. Unfortunately, everything was coming to him in flashes without context and was giving him huge headaches.
For the moment, he chose to block those foreign memories. It wasn't really the time to try to incorporate memories while you were in a hospital bed getting every test known to man to judge your mental health and cerebral fonction. Shaking his head, he try to overcome his fatigue and focus on the people talking around him.
According to what he was hearing his grandpa insisted for him to go to the best rehab center in the EU, in Switzerland to be precise.. His moms and grandma wanted to send him to a private rehab clinic in the state while the doctors insisted he was doing rehab in the hospital. He decided to open his eyes when the arguing began spiralling out of control.
"I would like to say what I want if it's okay with you guys." Said Nathaniel in a tired voice, cutting through the conversation.
Getting the attention of everyone present, Karine walked next to him and started patting his hair.
"Sorry for waking you up dear" Said his grandma, smiling apologetically.
"That's alright grandma" He said with a smile.
"First of all, I would like to thank you doctor, without you and the care I received from this hospital I would never have woken up." He said nodding to the two doctors. "But I spent the last 4 years in a hospital and to be completely honest, I'm starting to suffocate here. So no, I don't want to stay here, nor do I want to go to a private clinic."
Seeing people wanting to argue, he continued before they could interrupt him.
"Grandpa, you said that you had a fitness room in your home in Hampton, right?"
"Yes, I have but it's not adapted for your condition." He said in a stern voice.
"I know but we could rent the missing equipment and hire a specialist to help me for the time I need to get better. Like that, I could be away from the hospital with grandma. You and my moms could come visit for the weekend and see me." Said Nathaniel with a little smile.
"I like it!" Said his grandmother almost instantly.
"Me too!" Said Marry followed by Karine a second later. Only his grandfather was not convinced by the idea.
"Young man, you are not understanding your current situation. Let me explain it to you. You will need extensive reeducation and treatment if you want to be able to walk in the future and even then there is a risk that you will not be able to. It's possible that complications arise and this is why you need to be in a controlled facility where you can be taken care of quickly."
Nathaniel trusted their advice but he had another idea in mind. He was in a situation where he couldn't afford to be around specialists or controlled in a hospital or clinic. He had seen it in the last couple of days by looking inside his own body. He was healing fast, faster than he should be possible and too fast for any doctor to not find something abnormal was happening. This was why he had offered this idea.
"I respect your opinion doctors, I really do but I just passed four years in this bed. I'm convinced that I will not improve if I'm not allowed to leave this place. I need fresh air and more importantly I need my family to be with me. I know the odds are stacked against me but I believe I will make it. I'm a Lyndon after all." He said, looking at his grandfather.
To the surprise of everyone in the room his grandfather exploded into a raucous laughter. If people who worked with him could see him at this moment, they would never believe their eyes.
"Alright grandson, show me what you got. I will be watching. Doctors, I believe we are done here, thanks again for your care." Said his grandpa, turning to the door and exiting the room.
"Mister Lyndon, I urge you to reconsider. Your grandson is in a serious state that needs constant care." One of the doctors pleaded.
"Don't worry about it Doctor, I will hire the best that money can buy. Now, I need to make some phone calls, excuse me." His grandfather said before exiting the room.
Seeing there was no room to argue, the two Doctors sighed before leaving as well.
"Excellent closing argument sweetie." Karine praised.
"I learned from the best," He said with a proud smile.
His mother kissed him on the cheek for saying that.