Fantasia

XCVIII

Eddy had been right. 

Brett's progress astonished every doctor on the station, let alone all the nurses who called out in delight whenever they saw Brett doing something more complex with his hands. Walking was still very difficult, so he was still bed ridden most of the time, except when he was doing his exercises. 

They were playing several duets every day now, getting more in sync the more notes their violins produced. Eddy loved to see how Brett sunk into the music, how he lost himself in their playing and yet could stay so focused that he could guide Eddy musically and at the same time listen to what Eddy wanted to do. Eddy's skills improved while he played with his best friend and sometimes, Brett gave him some advice too, like to loosen his tight bow arm wrist or to lower his elbow a bit in order to relax more. 

Brett's family visited whenever they could, their moods getting lighter and more cheerful as days went by, the shadows of the past six months slowly losing their grip, their terror. The doctors had recommended them and Eddy single therapy sessions so they could talk through that dark period with someone. Eric had taken that advice and was visiting a professional in Brisbane, but Brett's mum and Alan spent so much time at Brett's side, sometimes talking about what they'd been through as a family, sometimes updating Brett on what had been going on with their relatives, his friends and colleagues and sometimes simply bantering, joking around, enjoying their once almost lost family member, that this could basically count that as their therapy.

Speaking of colleagues, or sort of. On the fifth day after Brett had woken up, a thought shot through Eddy's brain like a lightening hitting a hundred year old tree.
"Fuck!", he yelled, making Brett almost jump out his bed. 
"Dude! What?"
"I totally forgot to call Hyung!"
Brett frowned in confusion. "Hyung?"
"Principal cellist from the QSO! The guy who told me about you being in a coma in the first place!"
"Oh! Of course!"
Eddy fished his phone out of his pockets and started dialing. 
"Wait!", Brett said. 
Eddy eyed him questioningly
"Let me talk to him."
The taller could already picture poor Hyung having a heart attack and tsked at Brett's mischievious grin. 
"Still the same."
"What did you expect?", Brett asked, his hand outstretched for Eddy's device. 
Eddy smiled. "Wouldn't wish for you to be different in any way!"

Needless to say, Hyung did almost get a heart attack. The good kind, of course. 

Monday of Eddy's second week in Sydney rolled around in a blink of an eye. His mum was about to land at two in the afternoon, but since she'd insisted on him staying at the hospital, they weren't going to see her for another few hours.
"How do you feel about seeing your mum?", Brett inquiered, fiddling with his bow.
"Quite looking forward to it, actually. I talked to her on the phone, you know. When you were still unconscious", Eddy filled Brett in.
"Oh, and?"
"I told her I quit my job. She apologized for pushing me doing things that I didn't want to."
"Really?", Brett exclaimed, clearly surprised. He knew her well when it came to her choices for her son. After all, Brett had been the one motivating Eddy to stand up against her.
"Yeah, unbelievable, right? She said she knew it was wrong to let me apply for studying medicine, but she didn't want to admit it because she was afraid she'd lose me."
"Quite the load you got."
"Tell me about it. I was pretty angry. I don't think I've ever yelled at her like this. But in the end, I forgave her."
There was a loaded silence in which Brett eyed Eddy carefully. 
"You did?", he then asked, "You went through a lot of shit because you couldn't do what you wanted."
"Yeah", Eddy said, "but I also just recently have been forgiven for something awful I did to a friend."
The smiles they shot at each other held nothing but fondness. 
"You did the right thing", Brett stated. 
Eddy nodded. "I know."

They played the violin after lunch, revisiting some of the old duets they'd practiced as teenagers. In the middle of the Prelude of the first piece of Shostakovich's Five pieces for two violins and piano, a small knock interrupted their playing. 
Eddy threw a glance at Brett. 
"It's gonna be fine", Brett mouthed, having sensed the slight unease rising up in Eddy despite his last conversation with his mother. Was that some sort of leftover anxiety or something? He gulped, put his instrument down and forced his legs to bring him to the door. 

But when he opened it and saw his mum standing there, half a head smaller than him now, whatever just had made him uneasy left the room with a swoosh. 
"Eddy, my boy", she exclaimed, the bright smile on her face contagious to say the least. And in spite of everything, Eddy felt his heart clench with how much he'd missed her! 
"Mum!", he stuttered and fell into her open arms, hugging her tight and taking in her familiar smell. 
"I missed you so much!"
"Me too, mum!"
They loosened their hug and looked at each other. 
"You've grown!"
"I haven't grown a centimeter since like eighteen", he jibbed with a chuckle.
"You've matured somehow. You look happy", she remarked with a smile. 
"I am", he nodded. 
She let go of him and glanced passed him at Brett who gave her a quick wave.
"Hi!"
"Brett!" Eddy's mum stepped over to the hospital bed and unexpectantly enveloped Brett in a tight embrace. 
"Uhm...", the smaller made, his arms half in the air in an unsure manner. 
"I'm so glad you're alright now."
Those arms closed around the small woman's frame. 
"Me too", Brett meant, his eyes closed, "Me too."
"And thank you, for everything you did for Eddy."
"Of course!"

A/N: Hi guys :-)! Sorry for the weird upload time again. I'm on holidays, so the schedule might be a bit off the next two weeks. Thanks for your patience!

Love, author-san