Jeonghan was woken up by the sound of the van doors sliding open. He hadn't even realized he had fallen asleep but he's guessing he dozed off after sharing his fears with Joshua which was rather exhausting after letting out all of those emotions. He quickly nudged the others awake and then he practically jumped out of the van, eager to walk through those hospital doors to where Seungcheol currently was. He looked to his right and saw the second van pull up behind there's and within seconds, the doors for the other vehicle slid open and the rest of s came out one after the other. 

Once Jeonghan had round them up, he did a quick head count and then led them to the front entrance of the hospital. He hadn't even bothered to thank the drivers for taking them, figuring that Joshua and Wonwoo would do that for him. Once inside, he almost crashed into the front desk with how fast he was pacing and he started the woman manning the desk. 

"Hi, I'm looking for Choi Seungcheol. Do you know where I can find him?"

"Name and ID please."

Jeonghan gave her his name and fished out his driver's license to show her and then turned around to tell the others to also fish out whatever ID they had on hand.

"And what is your relation to the patient?"

"We're his band mates. Look, can you just tell me where I can find him?" Jeonghan knew he sounded a bit rude but he was beyond frustrated and all he wanted to do was find Seungcheol and to see if he was alright. But this woman was delaying all of that from happening by asking him these all of these questions. Somewhere in the back of him mind, he knew he needed to be calmer and that all of these questions were part of her job but he told himself he didn't care. He just wanted to see Seungcheol.

He was brought to his senses when he felt Woozi kick him in the back of his leg and then whispering for him to "chill out." That got Jeonghan to take a deep breath and to try again.

"I'm sorry. We're all just tired and we really need to know if he's okay. Do you know where he would be."

The woman smiled at the change in attitude and was now more than happy to assist the group. "Alright sweetie, I just checked out our system and it looks like your friend was brought in about 15 minutes ago and was taken to our ICU for an emergency surgery."

"Surgery?!" The 12 were shocked, clearly not expecting Seungcheol's injuries to be bad enough to require surgery.

"Is he okay?" Seungkwan asked, sounding like he was going to cry.

"I can't give you any details but I can assure you that the doctors at our hospital are the best and I'm sure they'll do all that they can to make sure your friend is fine. He's in good hands, I promise....If you'd like, I can direct you boys to our waiting area and when the doctor is done with the surgery maybe he can tell you something."

They all smiled and followed her directions to the ICU's waiting area. Once inside, they saw their manager sitting on one of the seats, looking overly tired with a coffee in hand and his head hanging low. Wonwoo was the one to take a seat next to the man and let them know they had arrived by placing a hand on his back. 

"Hyung, how is he? Why is he getting surgery?"

"I don't know. They wouldn't tell me anything. I tried explaining that I'm his manager but they didn't care. Said I wasn't family or his legal guardian, which is bull because I've been looking after you kids since before your debut! You guys are like my sons!" Their manager's face was red at this point and Jeonghan wasn't sure if it was because the man wanted to cry or yell. Wonwoo was the one to sit down next to the man and told him that it was okay and urged their manager to continue.

"Well I already called his family while I was in the ambulance and they said that they were on their way. That was over an hour ago so they should be hear in another 2 hours if traffic is good. You kids should head back to the dorm. I know you must be tired after todays' events so you should head back and get some sleep. I'll wait for the Choi's to arrive and then I'm probably stay until I hear something about Seungcheol before heading home myself." 

"No way! That's my best friend in there getting SURGERY and you think I'm worried about getting some shut eye?! There's no way I'm going back to the dorm. Who cares if I don't get any sleep? I've pulled all nighters to write songs before so a little sleep deprivation won't bother me. What will bother me is being forced to go back home knowing that Cheol is in there! I'm staying!" Woozi said with a strong voice and he emphasized his point by marching over to one of the benches and making himself comfortable. The others followed him to prove their point that they were not leaving their leader. 

Jeonghan smiled at that and took a seat between Joshua and their manager. After a few minutes Jeonghan saw Minghao and Jun huddled close together with a notebook that he knew the two used for song writing. Jeonghan thought that was a good distraction and decided that he make himself useful and work in the lyrics that they all were supposed to write before the end of the week to submit to Woozi so that he could add them to the songs he was working on for their next album. But the task proved to be harder than Jeonghan first expected when he tried to think and all he could imagine were those few seconds before Seungcheol had pushed him and Dokyeom out of the way and then the horrifying image of Seungcheol covered in blood and under the heavy lighting equipment. Any lyric that came to Jeonghan's mind after those memories were all horribly depressing and not at all suitable for a love song. He looked up again and saw Jun and Minghao still scribbling words onto the notebook and he wondered how they were even able to come up with decent lyrics with all that had happened to them today. 

Deciding to kill his curiosity, he pretended to stroll over to their side to check on a sleeping Seungkwan and Vernon who were cuddled together beside the two Chinese members. As Jeonghan was draping his jacket over the sleeping boys, he caught a glimpse of a single line.

~ When we meet  again  after time passes, I'll know (you saved me) (you protected me), I'll know (I desired you) ~

Jeonghan felt multiple emotions rush through him: Shock, amazement, adoration, proudness. He knew Minghao was working on writing a song with Jun and Bumzu but he had no idea that the younger Chinese member would be so inspired by Seungcheol's actions to write something so touching. Jeonghan couldn't help the smile that broke on his face and he had to wonder if Seungcheol had the slightest clue about how much the kids looked up to him and appreciated him. They all cared their leader so much and Jeonghan decided that as soon as Seungcheol was out of the hospital, his new goal would be to let the elder know just how much he was loved.

Jeonghan lost track of time as he just sat in the waiting room watching over the others as they all slowly drifted off to sleep. Mingyu tried to get Jeonghan to sleep too but Jeonghan politely refused, joking that it would look rude if they were all asleep and the Choi's were to arrive. Mingyu laughed at his lame excuse and then left to somewhere else in the hospital. The taller member rely a few minutes later with a hot cup of coffee which he handed to Jeonghan. Jeonghan gladly took the drink and downed it quickly, already feeling the caffeine work its magic. 

More time passed and Jeonghan was reading some random magazine when the doors to the waiting room slid open and Seungcheol's parents frantically came through with Seungcheol's older brother, Seunggil, following close behind. Jeonghan was quick to greet them while the others woke up and their manager was quick to explain all that had happened to their son. Mrs. Choi almost fainted when she heard the word surgery and Jeonghan was by her side within seconds to prevent her from falling down. He hugged her and felt his own tears returning when he heard the distraught mother muttering "my baby" over and over again.

He led her to sit down on one of the benches and sat with her and Seunggil took a seat on his mother's other side. Seungcheol's older brother silently thanked him and Jeonghan just smiled and then they both tried to calm down the crying woman. Seungkwan, Joshua and Hoshi all joined them and they all tried comforting Mrs. Choi while Mr. Choi went up to the desk demanding for more information about his son. 

When things had finally calmed down, a doctor had come through the doors that led to where Seungcheol had undergone surgery. The man asked to speak with Seungcheol's family and was about to lead the 3 to his office when Seventeen's manager asked if they could all hear what was going on with their leader. His face fell when his request was denied.

"I'm sorry sir but this is confidential and I am only permitted to discuss this with the Choi's. Please understand that it is illegal for me to disclose any information about a patient's health with anyone besides the family or legal guardians. The Choi's are more than welcome to share whatever I tell them with you after we have talked, but right now I need to do my job and let them know the results of the surgery and what future steps need to be taken to ensure Seungcheol has a speedy recovery with no complications."

Dino was the one to lift up everyone's spirits by reminding them that the Choi's would obviously tell them all of the stuff Dr. Kim discusses with them and that a few more minutes of waiting wouldn't hurt them. Jeonghan agreed with their maknae and sat down on his seat, counting down the minutes and watching the door to Dr. Kim's office. And just like their youngest had promised, the Choi's waled out of the office in less than 10 minutes.

Mr. and Mrs. Choi has unreadable expression on their faces and it was Seunggil who approached them to inform them of Seungcheol's condition.

"Dr. Kim said that the impact from the lighting equipment caused a depressed skull fracture. That means that the blow broke the bone of his skull and that the broken pieces were pushed inwards towards the brain. The surgery was successful and they managed to put the broken pieces back into place in time before the any sensitive brain tissue was badly damaged. Dr. Kim said that now the skull should heal itself naturally with enough recovery time." Jeonghan felt bad for the other as he was explaining because the older looked queasy just thinking about it all.

"So that's it, right? Since the surgery was a success, does that mean Seungcheol can come home after he wakes up?" Dokyeom asked with his voice full of hope.

"I wish it were that simple. Besides the skull fracture, Seungcheol also has a few broken ribs and a broken arm to deal with. Not to mention the side effects from the skull fracture that he's going to be suffering from. He's going to need months of recovery time and tons of physical therapy."

"What type of side effects are we talking about?" Woozi was the one to ask this time, his voice sounding almost scared to know what his best friend would be going through.

"There are a few including: Trouble moving the neck, arms and legs, trouble swallowing, loss of balance, fainting, nausea, vomiting, blurred vision, trouble hearing or ringing in the ears, headaches, confusion, irritability and drowsiness. And those are just the common ones that aren't that severe. Dr. Kim said to watch out for bleeding, swelling and severe pain that Seungcheol may experience near the spot of impact. He said that if any of those 3 occur then we should rush him to a hospital to have it checked out."

"Okay...that's a handful. Did Dr. Kim say anything about how Seungcheol is doing right now? Can we go see him?" Joshua asked, clearly not wanting to think about all of those symptoms and side effects.

"They had him under general anesthesia for the surgery and they're just waiting for him to wake up. But I don't think you'd be able to speak to him even after he wakes up. They said that with the skull fracture and the broken ribs, they put him on a ventilator to assist his breathing. He's gonna be in severe pain the next 5-10 days and they want to keep him in the hospital during those days to monitor his health. You can visit him during that time but he may be too tired or in too much pain to even respond. However, after the 10 days he should be released from the hospital and then you guys can visit him in Daegu as much as you want while he's recovering."

"Hold on...what do you mean we can visit him in Daegu?" Jeonghan was taken aback but that last bit of information and wanted some clarification. He thought that Seunggil may have made a mistake because he was positive Seungcheol would be coming back with them to the dorms and that they would be taking care of their beloved leader while he recovers. Why else would Seunggil be telling them all of the specifics behind Seungcheol's recovery?

"Well yeah, mom and dad thought it would be best for him to come back home. They can take proper care of him and watch over him while he recovers during those months. Did you really think that we would let him go back to Seoul? Please, we all know Seungcheol and he would go straight back to those practice rooms as soon as he gets the chance. We can't risk that, especially when Dr. Kim stressed about Seungcheol avoiding all types of physical activities until he's undergone the physical therapy and he's fully healed. If he's home, then we can make sure none of that happens. Our parents will make sure Seungcheol gets the best medical care if needed."

"But the best care is here in Seoul! If something does go wrong then we can bring him back here! Daegu is 3 hours away and too far! Seungcheol should be back at the dorm! We can take care of him just fine!" Jeonghan knew he was acting like a kid and it was so unlike him, but something about Seungcheol being that far away from him for months was unsettling and he didn't like the feeling he had just imagining it. 

Seunggil sighed. "Look, Jeonghan, I get it. You care about him but so do we. Seungcheol is my little brother and we all just want what's best for him. You can visit him whenever you want during those months, I promise. Our doors will always be open to you 12. And as soon as he's healthy again, he will go back to the dorm and be with you all again. Just let us take care of him for now."

Jeonghan didn't like it but he knew that the Choi family would do everything for Seungcheol. He reluctantly dropped the subject and sat down again. 

More minutes passed and then a nurse walked out from the ICU's doors and informed everyone in the room that Seungcheol had woken up. The nurse called Seungcheol's family to come see their youngest and Seunggil was about to leave when he saw the eagerness in all of the members faces and promised that as soon as his parents were done, that they could all see Seungcheol. Jeonghan hated it but knew he couldn't argue. He just blew his hair out of his face and watched the clock tick by, annoyed and frustrated that he and s were all forced to sit outside and wait yet again.

Just a few minutes Jeonghan. That's what he told himself. Just a few more minutes and then you can see your Seungcheol.

A/N: Ahhhhhh I finally finished! This was so hard to rewrite after losing the original chapter. I legit almost cried when the first draft got deleted and I had to restart BUT I did it and here it is!! and omg I've just accepted the fact that my chapters are getting longer and longer lol 

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and please let me know what you think. For 2 reasons:

1. I spent a lot of time researching about the skull fracture since I'm not a med student but I really wanted this to be kind realistic? So please let me know how I did. 

2. I feel like the part with China line writing those lyrics was a bunch of fluff but I needed to stretch out how they spent their time waiting or else I felt like it would be jumping from scene to scene. I'm still debating if I should take out the lyrics. Btw those are actual lyrics from "My I" from Seventeen's album Al1. I really do love the song and I felt like those lyrics worked well with how the members would feel about Cheol at this point in the fic. 

I really hope you guys comment because that let's me know what you all like and it would give me ideas for what to add in future chapters. Any feedback is good feedback to me. I just want to know what I'm doing right or wrong, or even if you just wanna say "lol" or "omg". Seriously, anything is helpful and it would make me so happy. So please comment!

and yeah...I'm done (wasn't even planning to update bc my classes start tomorrow but whatever lol) Bye guys! I'll try to update again soon!!