Kris could feel sleep pinning him to the bed like something from a child’s nightmares. Lethargic fingers wove into his hair and dragged him into a place he couldn’t even dream, and his blanket felt so much heavier than normal. He just wished the cold breeze on his face would go away - it was ruining an otherwise perfect nap. He twitched a little, trying to remember how to make his limbs listen so he could cover his face, but there was a weird feeling in one of his arms. It didn’t necessarily hurt, but there was something there in the back of his mind that was telling him not to move it. Unfortunately, he was too tired to really differentiate between his arms, so that left him with neither, and a repeated puffing of cold air on his upper lip and nose.

Kris scrunched his face a little bit, a quiet sort of whine escaping his lips, and he didn’t want to open his eyes yet. Everything was starting to feel familiar in a way Kris didn’t know if he could handle, and he wasn’t ready to find out. He felt raw and emotional, and kind of like he did when he was on painkillers after he sprained his ankle during the last basketball season. He wanted to roll onto his side and snuggle in, but that felt like a lot of work so he opted to just stay still until he could get back to sleep.

It would have been a lot easier if someone wasn’t talking right next to his head.

“He’s waking up.”

“I think he’s having a bad dream.”

“He’s fine. I promise. Just let him wake up on his own.”

Kris whined again, this time a little more intentionally and a little louder. He was starting to recognize the voices, but he wasn’t sure how he knew them, exactly. He wished they would be a little quieter, though. He was so, so tired.

Kris listened as quiet fell again, and he started to settle back down when he felt lips pressing against his cheek, and that was definitely something he wasn’t used to. He made a tiny sound before finally peeking one eye open and trying to focus on the mess of hair less than an inch from his eyes. The scent was familiar, too, but he was barely awake enough to process why. He leaned his head forward slightly, his eyes closing again as he rested his head on the person's shoulder.

Whoever it was, they were obviously worried about him.

“He opened his eyes.” There was a name, suddenly, lingering on the edge of his conscious mind. It made him think of chips, and he was more frustrated than anything as he tried to finish waking up. He’d never felt so lost in his life.

“They gave him a pretty strong sedative.” A woman’s voice. She was important, somehow. Important enough to make Kris try a little harder. “Even if he wakes up, he’ll probably just want to go back to sleep.”

“Umma.” Kris mumbled, too worn out to show any real excitement, but he thought he remembered her being far away. Wasn’t she far away?

Kris forced his eyes to open again, memories tumbling in and out of his head without his permission. Everything felt like a messy blur, and he was too confused and tired to make sense of any of it. He just wanted her.

“Umma...” Kris managed to be a little louder this time, his overly dry eyes searching the room for her. He could have sworn he’d heard her voice, and...wasn’t there someone else in the room with him? He started squirming around subtly, trying to free his arms from whatever insane heaviness had suddenly taken over.

“On the iPad, baby. Umma’s here.” Kris looked around again, letting out a frustrated huff when he couldn’t get his eyes to focus. “Just relax, YiFan. They’re taking care of you.”

Nothing Umma was saying made any sense, but Kris nodded anyway. He trusted her, even if he felt kind of like he was slowly drowning. He jumped a little when he felt fingers running through his hair, but  the jolt was enough to convince his eyes to actually look at the iPad in question. Someone was holding it. Someone with small hands.

“The grogginess will wear off soon.” Umma promised. “Maybe you should take a little nap until then, though.”

“Don’t go.” Kris found himself gasping out, reaching for the iPad. Whoever’s hands were holding the iPad were significantly more graceful, and they guided the iPad closer to Kris’ face, so he could look at Umma and Lay.

“I’m here, baby. Don’t worry, Umma’s here.” Umma looked distorted through eyes that couldn’t properly focus. Kris couldn’t help the tears gathering in his eyes as he shifted, curling into the person beside him.

“I’m here too. It’s going to be okay.” Kris slowly leaned his head back to get a good look at whoever the voice belonged to.

“Lu-ge?” Kris mumbled. Square white teeth flashed before his eyes, and Kris groaned quietly before letting his head fall back on Luhan’s shoulder. “Am I dreaming?”

“No.” Umma said, and Kris peeked one eye open at the iPad. He figured he had to be dreaming - none of them owned an iPad. “Go back to sleep, baby. We’ll explain when you wake up.”

Kris sniffed quietly, a few stray tears slipping out as he settled into Luhan’s side. Luhan’s fingers found their way into his hair again, and Kris was so confused he couldn’t make sense of any of it. He didn’t want to go back to sleep, in case Luhan wasn’t really there. He didn’t think he could handle waking up alone again, but he didn’t feel like he had much choice. He was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open.

xxx

Kris woke up to silence. The bed he was in was weirdly comfortable, despite the odd crinkly feeling when he shifted. He rubbed his eyes tiredly and sighed, sitting up a little to look around.

Everything around him was sterile and while, and his right arm had an IV linked up to it. He frowned, looking around and trying to remember why he would be here. He didn’t remember getting hurt, or being sick, or anything that could justify the hospital gown he was wearing. He sighed, closing his eyes and trying to think.

There was a flashbulb memory of Luhan, sitting in the bed beside him and comforting him, and Kris froze. He looked around again, a little more frantically this time, but Luhan wasn’t there. There was no sign of him, or Umma, or Lay, and even though Kris knew - logically - that it had all been a dream, his heart still kind of felt like it was breaking. He swallowed hard and pulled the blankets up again, starting to settle down.

He couldn’t help the little leap of hope in his chest when the door opened. He couldn’t help the crushing disappointment when he realized it was just the doctor coming in to check on him. He dropped his head back on the pillow.

“I’m doctor Moore. I know people aren’t usually happy about going to the doctors, but I don’t think I’ve ever gotten that reaction before.” The doctor said. Kris glanced up at him, and he saw the smile on the doctor’s face. He shrugged a little. “For a nurse’s son, it’s a little surprising you’re not more willing to talk. All of my nurses’ children are chatter boxes.”

“Nurse’s son?” Kris echoed, starting to roll a little bit. Doctor Moore nodded.

“Lee Haerin is your mother, right?” He asked, and Kris sat up, nodding quickly.

“Did you call her?” Kris asked hopefully. “What did she say?”

“We had her on skype earlier.” Doctor Moore said, nodding and looking a little bit relieved that Kris finally seemed interested in talking. “She told us about your heart condition, and your situation in the courts. We figured the combination of the anxiety attack and the mitral valve prolapse was what caused you to faint-”

“Meta-what?” Kris asked, his face scrunching in confusion as he shook his head. “Wait, I fainted?”

“Mitral valve prolapse.” Doctor Moore repeated. “Basically, there’s a valve malfunctioning in your heart. A lot of people who have it never even notice. It doesn’t have any major impact on their lives.”

“But I’m the weird case, right?” Kris mumbled, and Doctor Moore sighed this time. “Hey...is there any chance I can have my tablet while I’m here? I..I want to email my mom.”

“We don’t give out the wifi password. Hospital policy.” Doctor Moore said, then reached for something on the bedside table. “But you can use the iPad to makes skype calls and access social media, if you want.”

Kris watched as the doctor picked up an iPad from the table not too far from Kris, dumping an all too familiar watch off the surface and onto the table. Kris swallowed, looking at Doctor Moore and trying to bite back his excitement.

“Was there someone here earlier?” Kris asked suddenly, and Doctor Moore laughed before nodding. “Another Chinese guy?”

“Yes. I can’t remember the name exactly. Lou or something, but he went to get coffee. He should be back any minute.” Doctor Moore said.

Kris couldn’t help the grin on his face as he looked around, wanting to see if he could spot Luhan coming down the hall or something. Doctor Moore shook his head, amused.

“You don’t want to talk about your treatment plan?” Doctor Moore asked, and Kris shook his head.

“Not yet.” He said, finally spotting a familiar face coming down the hall. He could feel his heart beating wildly, but the uncomfortable murmur was blissfully silent. He’d never been so happy to see someone.

Luhan wrapped Kris up in the tightest hug Kris could ever remember receiving, and he let Kris hold on longer than necessary without complaint. He was quiet, but Luhan didn’t seem to mind that either. He didn’t mind the tears, he didn’t mind the sniffling, he didn’t mind Kris’ outright refusal to let go. He didn’t mind a single thing, and after a while Kris realized he was crying, too.

“What are you doing here?” Kris finally asked. Luhan laughed, shaking his head.

“It’s a long story.” Luhan whispered, running his fingers through Kris’ hair. “Scoot over, I’ll tell you.”