The sun rose over the St. Louis skyline, but JR didn't even notice the view outside his hospital window. He hadn't slept the entire night; every time he closed his eyes, all he could think of was how he would never see his parents again. It felt so surreal, as if the world had flipped upside down, and he wasn't even sure how to stand upright in this new existence.

Aron had gone back to his home for the night, saying that he would return after work today. He had left some clothing for JR in case he wanted to dress in something other than a hospital gown, tucked away in the middle drawer of the small dresser along the near wall. JR had been content to wait for him, and yet, after his sleepless night, all he could think of was how he had spent more than long enough in a hospital. When a nurse came in to check his morning vitals and begin removing his IV, saying that he no longer needed it, he had made up his mind.

"I want the paperwork started for my discharge," he told her after a quick morning greeting. The look of surprise on her face wasn't unexpected, but she merely told him that she would get on it right away. Not that he believed her, especially when Dr. Price entered the room less than half an hour later.

"I hear that you want to be discharged," he said, his eyes crinkling up in a smile behind his glasses. "Is the food that bad?"

JR forced a laugh at the bad joke, but he nodded his head at the doctor's main question. "Yeah. I want to go home and unless there is a reason that I need to stay, then I don't see why I can't."

The grey-haired man looked down at his clipboard, his brows drawing together into a crease over the thick-framed glasses he wore. "Well, JR, we'd still like to run those tests that I mentioned yesterday. It makes no medical sense that your cancer disappeared, and now that you're awake we can hopefully find some answers."

Remembering Aron's warning from the night prior, JR laughed briefly and shook his head. "I'm not running away, Doctor. You will have my address with my cousin and I will come back for testing, but for now, I just can't bare to be in the hospital longer than I must. Unless you think that it's necessary for my health to stay here?"

The doctor turned that question over in his mind before he slowly shook his head. "Well, no, all tests done previously say that you're in supreme health, if a bit of the thin side. Don't you overstress yourself, you need to let your muscles get used to working again." He added that bit with a critical eye at the young man. "So alright, provided that you set up an appointment for some tests to be run, I'll get the paperwork started on your discharge. Make sure you eat a lot of protein, alright? You have a lot of sickness in your past to make up for."

Did he ever, but he didn't say that. Instead he merely thanked the doctor for his concerns and watched as the elderly man left the room, mumbling something to himself that JR couldn't quite make out. Once the door was closed behind him, JR took a deep breath and made to move from his bed.

He pulled the blanket away from his legs, revealing long, thin limbs that he doubted would hold his weight. Then again, he had never been very muscular, and he surely couldn't weigh very much after a year in a bed. But how long would it take his muscles to work up to movement again? He had heard the doctor's warning, and he was pretty sure that comatose patients didn't just stand up out of their bed after being there for a year, and so when he swung his legs to the side and sat up, hands gripping the edges of the bed as if it was a lifeline, he was nervous. He knew he would fall and embarrass himself and have to have a nurse pick him up off of the floor, but at the same time, he felt strong, like he could do anything. Stronger than he had been in years, maybe ever. And so, with a deep breath, he pushed up off the bed and stood.

His knees buckled right away and he fell, crumpling to the floor like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Thankfully he didn't make any extra noise as he went down, and he was able to pull himself into a  more dignified position just as the door opened. Footsteps, and then Dr. Price's concerned face appeareed over