They Rely On Hope. What Do I Rely On? - Tommyinnit Adoption AU

Chapter 65

TW: mentions of hospitals, unconsciousness, injuries and medication

The group sat, making meaningless conversation for a while. They all cheered and laughed when Wilbur was finally allowed to look up and let go of his nose. He cleaned up the blood, and luckily none of it was still dripping. Then he returned and the conversation fell back to a natural flow again, with them all just trying to pretend that everything was normal even though it clearly wasn't.

Tommy watched silently as the older people in the group discreetly made sure the younger ones were ok, without outwardly asking again. They made sure everyone was distracted in a way Tommy didn't think he ever would be. They were worried about their friends, but they made sure each other felt normal. It was something Tommy didn't expect to ever get.

Eventually Mr. Watson and Principal Sam arrived, and the group stopped talking, although no one stood to great them. They just looked at the adults with no apparent concern about standing up and behaving. Tommy followed their lead, not wanting to get in trouble because he didn't understand the way things were in this school. Maybe it would be disrespectful to stand up.

"Dream has been arrested, Tommy's social worker has been called, and Techno and Quackity made it safely to the hospital," Principal Sam said, his voice strained, clearly trying to sound as though he thought it was the most natural thing, even though he definitely didn't.

"Can we go to the hospital to see them?" Conner asked quickly, a sense of desperation in his words.

"Yes, I'm excusing you all from school today, on the condition that your parents approve. Either they can pick you up, Mr. Watson can take you to the hospital, or you can stay here, Tommy it's up to you if you stay here or go with Mr. Watson."

"Umm, I'll go," Tommy said after a second of thought. He was pretty sure Wilbur and Techno were Phil's sons, so they would probably both be going, and if everyone went, he didn't want to be left alone here.

"Kristin can you call their parents and let them know what happened and the options?" Principal Sam asked and she nodded, seeming ok with it, and also as though she knew what had happened. Someone must've told her while Tommy was in the other room.

"I'll take Wilbur with me obviously," Phil said and Principal Sam nodded. With the words, Wilbur seemed to relax significantly, as though finally reassured.

Kristin went through calling each parent, explaining the situation and calming them down when they asked frantically about their child. Each clearly knew Mr. Watson well, apparently his house was a common one for them all to spend time at, and everyone was given permission to be driven there with either him or Principal Sam, since they couldn't all fit in Phil's car, as long as Phil was with them while they were there.

Tommy went in Phil's car with Wilbur, Sally, Eret, Ranboo, Purpled, and Conner. It was mostly organised so that the youngest were with Phil, who they knew better. Tommy followed Ranboo's lead, hoping that he wouldn't mess up and get in trouble, and somehow it worked out. No one told him he was in the wrong place, they just accepted him as though it didn't make sense for him to be anywhere else.

The car ride to the hospital was filled with a similar type of conversation as had been before. Eret, Wilbur and Sally carefully distracted the rest from the worries of their destination, or well, Eret and Sally did, Wilbur seemed too on edge, and remained pretty quiet, getting even quieter the closer they got. Tommy knew Wilbur was worried about his brother, but he hoped the stress wouldn't get to the point where he had to take it out on Tommy. Those always seemed to hurt the most.

Mr. Watson pulled to a stop, finding parking outside the hospital, and before anyone could get out, he spoke.

"You all need to stay close to me while we are in there, I don't want to lose any of you and have to explain it to your parents," He chuckled, before becoming more serious, "I don't know how badly hurt the two are, and we may not be able to visit them yet, so be aware of that, tell me if you need anything, and don't go anywhere without telling me, ok?"

Everyone nodded, and Phil gave them a tired smile before getting out. They followed his lead as he headed towards the hospital entrance, where he was met with the rest of the group. He gave them the same instructions, and once they had agreed, Principal Sam left.

They headed inside, everyone nervous as to what they would find out. Phil talked to one of the nurses and then lead the group into a room as directed by the nurse. They found Quackity sitting up, a patch over the cut on his nose, but ok other then that. Quackity smiled when they arrived, beckoning Conner over.

"Hey kid, you ok?" He asked quietly, pulling the boy into a hug. Conner nodded, before asking the same question to Quackity, who nodded, "They gave me some painkillers, not enough to make me loopy though."

After a few seconds Quackity let Conner go, seeming calmer with the knowledge that Conner was ok. After that he scanned the rest of the group. He had been there and knew Techno was the only one who had gone to hospital with him, but still he checked.

"Are you ok Tommy?" He asked, meeting Tommy's eyes. Tommy nodded weakly, needing Quackity to not be mad. He had every right to be mad, after all he had gotten hurt and Tommy hadn't, when it was Tommy's fault Dream was there at all.

"That's good," Quackity said with a slight sigh, seeming to relax even more, instead of being angry. That was weird. People didn't like it when Tommy was ok. Maybe Quackity was just happy that Tommy had done a good job at hiding pain. Yeah, that was probably it.

"Techno?" Quackity asked, his voice tensing with worry.

"He's being looked at, currently in a CT scan. He'll be ok," Phil replied.

"Is he conscious?" Quackity asked and Phil shook his head.

"Not yet."

The words seemed to echo in everyone's ears, filled with the possibilities. Tommy had ended up in hospital unconscious a few times for different reasons, starvation, dehydration, injuries, exhaustion and so on, but he was still here. Techno would be fine. He had to be.

"Mr. Watson and Wilbur will get to visit him when he wakes up once the doctors check on him, but only family can," Tommy said quietly, hoping the words would reassure the group. He knew the theory was that when the patient wakes up the family will get to visit them, although for him it had only ever been Puffy when he ended up in hospital.

Phil nodded, knowing he was right, and Tommy relaxed slightly when no one got mad at him for speaking out of turn.

"The nurse knows we are here and that I'm Techno's family, they'll come get us when we can go see Techno, for now we have to wait," Phil sighed. The silence seemed to stretch for a cruelly long length of time, before finally someone spoke, breaking the silence.

"Did you have to get stitches?" Purpled asked Quackity, and it was clear he was just looking for a distraction, but Quackity smiled.

"No, they said I didn't need any, clearly I'm too cool to be hurt badly," Quackity laughed, trying to ease the tension in the room. Slowly everyone joined him, seeming tentative even as they laughed.

Tommy watched on, not quite sure what to do. He wondered if Techno really would be ok. He didn't know. Every time Tommy had woken up in hospital, Puffy had been there, saying how she hadn't known if he'd make it. Every time. Tommy knew people died from head injuries. He knew there was a chance Techno would never recover, but he wanted to believe that he would. He wanted to believe that Techno would be fine. That he'd brush it off and be ok.

Techno would be ok. He had to be. He was strong. Stronger then even Tommy. He'd survive. He had to...

Words: 1400

A/N: I have far too many google tabs open about medical stuff to make sure I don't sound like a complete idiot- XD