Andrew was confused. Had he been reborn into a TV show? What the hell was this? Was he now a character being watched by unidentified people? Was this real?
"Andrew, are you okay?" Cameron and Mitchell asked with worried faces.
It wasn't pleasant to think about these things. He could accept reincarnation or transmigration, but accepting it in a world that, to him, was fictional, was strange, and he needed more time to process it.
So, he stayed silent, watching Mitchell and Cameron, who were growing more concerned by the second as they received no answer and were met with Andrew's fixed gaze.
"Let me check him quickly," said the doctor, stepping toward Andrew with a professional but reassuring expression.
The doctor took a small flashlight from his pocket and leaned in toward Andrew.
"Andrew, I need you to follow the light with your eyes, please," he said gently, moving the flashlight from side to side as he observed Andrew's pupils to make sure they responded properly to the light.
Next, the doctor took his stethoscope and placed it on Andrew's chest, listening to his heartbeat and breathing. "Breathe deeply for me," he requested, and Andrew obeyed, filling his lungs with air and then exhaling slowly.
Finally, the doctor gently palpated around the wound on Andrew's head, making sure there was no unusual swelling or extreme tenderness. "Do you feel pain here?" he asked, watching for any reaction from Andrew.
Andrew shook his head slowly. "My head hurts a little... and I'm dizzy," he responded in a soft voice, still processing everything that was happening.
The doctor nodded, satisfied with the evaluation. "It's normal to feel some dizziness and a headache after a contusion like yours. It's important that you rest and avoid any strenuous activities for a while. We're going to keep you under observation, but it seems like you're recovering well."
Cameron and Mitchell sighed with relief. "Thank you, doc. He remembers us, right?" Mitchell asked.
The doctor adjusted his glasses again, adopting a thoughtful expression. "It's hard to say for sure at this moment. After a traumatic brain injury like what Andrew experienced, it's possible he has some memory gaps. Since he's only been with you for a week, it's likely that his recent memories are the most affected."
Cameron nearly fainted, but managed to grab Mitchell's arm, who winced in pain but said nothing.
"Let's let him rest," the doctor said, escorting Mitchell and Cameron out of the room. He then told the nurse to bring Andrew something to drink.
"This is a nightmare," Cameron said, collapsing into one of the ugly hospital chairs.
"The nightmare's over. Andrew is fine," Mitchell said, not worried about the memory loss.
"He doesn't remember us, Mitch! Our little one doesn't know who we are!" Cameron said, exasperated.
"What's the problem? He only lived with us for a week. Actually, he didn't even make it to a full week. 6 days, 23 hours, and 45 minutes," Mitchell said, glancing at the time on his wristwatch.
"We lost all the beautiful memories we made in that time!" Cameron said.
"Beautiful memories? The kid barely talks to us, he prefers to spend all his time playing alone in the yard..." Mitchell said, sitting next to Cameron.
"Are you okay?" Cameron asked, noticing Mitchell's expression.
"I don't know... Did we do the right thing?" Mitchell asked.
"What do you mean?" Cameron asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Adopting Andrew... He's already five, he was the youngest we could get. It was a miracle to adopt a kid as a gay couple..." Mitchell answered in a quiet tone.
"Don't get scandalized, I see your face changing," Mitchell quickly added, "I mean, the kid is so quiet, he barely makes a sound. I think five years is too much... I thought an orphaned child would be happy to be adopted, but now he has two dads, I guess that's weird..." Mitchell said.
"The kid is shy, it's normal. His life changed suddenly. He was only with us for a week, it's not enough time for him to feel comfortable and be more friendly with us. We need to give him time and approach him slowly, trying to be the best parents we can," Cameron said, resting his hand on Mitchell's.
"You're right. I don't know what I was thinking," Mitchell said. When he saw someone approaching them, he quickly pulled his hand away from Cameron's.
"Mitchell..." Cameron said, noticing that Mitchell still had difficulty showing affection in public. Actually, he showed no affection in public. No hugs, no kisses, no holding hands.
Luckily for Mitchell, at that moment, his sister Claire arrived with her husband Phil and their two daughters.
"What happened!?" Claire asked, having come as quickly as possible. She even brought Alex, who was a baby.
Ten minutes later, both Claire and Phil sighed in relief upon learning that their new nephew was safe.
"How could you let a five-year-old climb a four-meter tree...?" Claire asked, looking specifically at Mitchell with a judgmental stare.
Mitchell looked at Cameron and with his gaze seemed to say: I told you so.
"The kid is very adventurous, we got distracted for a moment and he was already up there. He's really good at climbing. His little arms have endurance," Cameron said.
"Have you told dad?" Claire asked.
"Seriously? I came out of the closet four years ago, and he still struggles to accept it. He'll never accept Andrew, an adopted child raised by a gay couple. He hasn't visited him once," Mitchell said, frowning.
"Don't be so harsh. It's only been a week since they adopted him, he probably hasn't had time to visit because of work..." Claire said, not very sure of herself.
"Where's the doctor!?" asked the same nurse from earlier, looking around with sweat on her brow.
"He went to attend another patient, I think..." Mitchell replied.
"Did something happen to Andrew!?" Cameron asked, standing up from his seat.
"Yes... It's hard to explain, it's better if you see it for yourselves," the nurse replied, and everyone returned to the room where the boy was resting. What Mitchell, Cameron, and the Dunphys saw left them frozen in place.
Even the little girl named Haley, who was five years old, stopped playing with her stuffed animal and looked toward the boy with jet-black hair.
Andrew was on the floor doing push-ups. His small face was covered in sweat as he counted the push-ups out loud.
"Ten! Eleven! Twelve!" Andrew exclaimed with determination, not noticing the presence of his new family.
"When I left he was on flex number five.... I tried to stop him, but he doesn't listen," the nurse said, unsure of what to do. She didn't want to grab the boy and put him back in bed; she was afraid of hurting his head or something and being blamed for it.
"Andrew, what are you doing?" Cameron asked, approaching.
"Thirteen!" Andrew exclaimed, stopping and holding the plank position for a moment before turning his head toward Cameron.
"Exercise to clear my mind," Andrew replied, and then resumed doing push-ups. He felt pain in his arms, which trembled like jelly, and a burning sensation in his abdomen.
The pain was real. He was alive.
"That's a good thing, but it's not the time..." Cameron said after a few seconds, not expecting that response.
"You better go back to bed, Andrew. You need to fully recover, and you're doing the opposite of what the doctor said," Mitchell said, taking on the role of the 'bad dad.'
"No. I still have eighty-six more push-ups to go..." Andrew said, returning his focus to his exercise.
Cameron and Mitchell exchanged nervous looks. They didn't know how to proceed. Should they scold him and put him to bed, even though he was exercising?
"Leave it to me. I have more experience dealing with kids, I know how to handle this," Phil said with a kind smile, patting Cameron and Mitchell's shoulders.
"Really?" Cameron asked.
"Yep, yep... Just watch and take notes. I'm the cool dad," Phil said, walking over to Andrew and crouching down to get closer.
"What's up, buddy?" Phil asked, looking at Andrew.
'Phil...' Andrew thought, glancing up for a second before going back to looking at the floor. He couldn't speak or he'd lose the energy he needed for his push-ups.
An awkward silence filled the room. The only sound was Andrew's labored breaths. Phil felt the weight of everyone's stares on his back, but he kept smiling confidently.
He kept trying to start a conversation with the boy, but none of his efforts worked.
"Why are you ignoring my daddy?" Haley asked, her cheeks puffed out. She didn't like at all that her father was being ignored. Andrew again ignored everything and continued with his push-ups.
"Bad! Bad boys get punished!" Haley exclaimed, puffing out her cheeks in anger for being ignored. Before anyone could stop her, Haley stretched out her little leg and kicked Andrew in the right rib.
Andrew lost his balance from the pain near his stomach and fell to the floor, his arms giving way. "Ouch!" he cried, rolling on the ground.
"Haley!" Claire exclaimed, horrified by what her little daughter had just done. Her nephew had just been saved from death, and now he was receiving a kick to the ribs.
"Andrew!" Mitchell and Cameron shouted, rushing to the boy who was rolling on the floor.
"I need to finish my training..." Andrew said, gritting his teeth and pushing the pain aside.
This had to be a dream. It couldn't be true that he was now living in a TV show. Once he lost all his strength, he'd wake up in his previous life with his friends, still a state champion. The scouts would have seen his incredible performance in the final game and would offer him scholarships from the best universities.
A university with a major sports program would give him a scholarship and he would soon play in the NFL.
"I'll be a champion, yes... yes... champion," Andrew muttered to himself with a half-manic expression.
"Of course not, young man! It's time to get back to bed and rest as you should," Mitchell said with a furrowed brow and an authoritative tone.
"Leave me alone! I'm fine!" Andrew yelled, struggling and trying to escape his parents' grasp.
In the midst of the chaos and the struggle, as Cameron and Mitchell tried to get Andrew back to bed, his head hit a hard part of the bed frame.
"Ouch!" Andrew exclaimed before losing consciousness again, going limp in Phil and Mitchell's arms.
The room fell into stunned silence for a moment before Cameron let out a nervous chuckle. "Well... Now rest well, Andrew..." he said as he gently laid him back in bed and covered him up.
"Haley, you can't kick people like that!" Claire said, trying to teach her daughter a lesson.
Haley crossed her arms, still upset. "Hmph! I was just helping!"
Phil sighed, looking at the doctor, who had returned just in time to witness the disaster. "Well, doc, can you do anything else for him?"
The doctor adjusted his glasses, looking at the unconscious child. "I think a little more rest should be enough this time."
"Can we wait here until he recovers?" Cameron asked with pleading eyes.
"Yes... As long as you don't cause him more harm than he already has," the doctor said, leaving the room after doing a quick checkup on Andrew.
Andrew slowly opened his eyes. He felt the pain in his head again.
'Everything is real...' he thought, with a strange look as he noticed Mitchell, Cameron, Phil, Claire, Haley, and baby Alex in the room. They were all sleeping uncomfortably in the chairs. The only one awake was Haley, playing with two stuffed animals.
Andrew thought it could all be a bad dream, and he would wake up after pushing his body to the limit and fainting.
'Looks like they've been waiting a long time,' Andrew thought, seeing everyone asleep. His new parents had their heads resting on his bed.
'Are they my new family?' Andrew thought with a strange look on his face. He had watched Modern Family, and it was a show that made him laugh a lot.
He had always been jealous of the family they showed on the show. He had always been alone with his grandfather. They weren't numerous. They only had each other.
"Next time, don't ignore my daddy or you'll see," Haley said, noticing Andrew had woken up.
'Is a kick not enough?' Andrew thought.
"Yeah. I'm sorry," he said after a few seconds, offering a slight smile. He hadn't ignored Phil to make him feel bad; he just thought everything was a strange dream after his premature and sudden death.
"Andrew, you're awake. Do you feel okay?" Cameron asked, standing up. Mitchell and the others also approached, looking at him with concern.
"Yes, I'm fine. I'm sorry, Dad. I'm sorry, Uncle Phil. I'm sorry for worrying everyone," Andrew said, trying to sound as natural as possible for a five-year-old.
Cameron became emotional hearing Andrew call him "Dad" for the first time. His eyes filled with tears as he smiled proudly. "Oh, Andrew, we're so happy you're okay," he said, hugging him tightly.
Andrew felt the warmth and sincerity of Cameron's hug. For the first time in a long time, he felt like he had a family again. A new chance to be happy, not just for himself, but also to fulfill the promise he made to his grandfather.
"Group hug!" Phil said with a smile, gesturing for everyone to join in. Mitchell, Haley, Claire, and he enthusiastically surrounded Andrew.
Andrew felt the warmth of his new family, but he was running out of air from being hugged by so many people.
"I can't breathe..." Andrew murmured, and everyone quickly separated.
"Oops, sorry, buddy!" Phil said, laughing nervously.
"Yeah, we don't want to suffocate you right after you recover," Claire added, patting Andrew's head.
Mitchell and Cameron exchanged glances, smiling at the scene. "See? It wasn't bad telling your sister. They're family," Cameron said, and Mitchell nodded with a slight smile.
The incident seemed to have improved their relationship with Andrew, their adopted son. Maybe not everything was negative today.
...
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