Warmness encircled Fletcher as consciousness ever so slowly returned. He couldn’t quite explain the feeling, but there was a certain softness around him and within his body that he was sure wasn’t natural. But after noticing the warmth, he also became aware of the aching, from his right arm and legs and from a dozen other places across his body.

  There was a sound nearby, someone was talking, but he couldn’t make out any words. His eyelids were heavy, and it took a great amount of effort to get them open. He quickly closed them again as bright light poured in, burning his eyes. But he caught a glimpse of something off the side.

  Fletcher mustered another bout of energy and called out to whoever was nearby.

  Only his throat didn’t cooperate, so it was more of a quiet mumble.

  More sound, and then someone grabbed his hand. Opening his eyes again, Fletcher endured the pain of the light as his father’s face came into focus above him.

  Smiling, he tried speaking again. “Hey.”

  “Hi, Fletcher,” his dad said, using his other hand to smooth Fletcher’s air. “Good to see you again.”

  “You… too,” Fletcher murmured. His words were muffled and there was something on his face. Releasing his father’s hand, he reached up and discovered an oxygen mask, but as he attempted to remove it, Sebastian grabbed his hand and pulled it away.

  “No. You need the extra O2, okay? Just try to relax. We’re going to get a doctor to come see you,” his dad.

  We…?

  Turning his head a little more, Fletcher blinked as he realized his mother was also there. She kept her word. She was there when he woke up. He hadn’t expected her to hold to her promise.

  “Hey, Mom,” he said, giving a little more push to his voice.

  Hazel came over to him. “How are you feeling?”

  He thought for a moment. “Floaty.”

  His parents both laughed.

  “That would be the medicine,” his dad said, still holding his hand.

  “How long…” Fletcher began.

  “About three days,” his mother answered before he could finish.

  He nodded. Three days. That was a long time to sleep, but the strange thing was that he was still absolutely exhausted. Then again, he supposed he was still pretty injured. He obviously didn’t get back in time for them to use [Heal], and he should just be grateful he was alive. When he passed out originally he’d been certain this moment wouldn’t come at all.

  As his father promised, a doctor did come to check on him along with a nurse. He didn’t enjoy all the prodding and questions from the personnel since he was eager to see his dad and maybe catch a quick power nap or something, but he endured it the best he could.

  The doctor adjusted the oxygen mask on his face. “Your O2 levels are looking better, but I want to keep you on it for another day or so, okay? Are you hungry? I want you to eat something before you sleep again.”

  Fletcher did his best to shrug. His mind was sluggish so he was willing to do whatever it took in order to get back to sleeping. Deities, how was he still so tired?

  The doctor and nurse left, and his father returned to his side, taking his hand in his once more.

  “I’m glad you’re home, Fletcher,” his dad said quietly.

  “Me too,” Fletcher admitted. He still couldn’t quite believe everything that happened in such a short amount of time while he was at Vesi. It was strange to think that he hadn’t seen his father in over eight months, the longest amount of time they’d ever been apart.

  “Your things from Vesi arrived. I’m storing them until you’re back on your feet,” Sebastian continued.

  “Thank you,” he said, suddenly remembering that he asked his mom to deliver all those letters he sent. At the time he didn’t think he’d live so it was his way of saying goodbye, but now that he was still alive, it meant he might have to face some awkward conversations given how heartfelt he’d made some of them.

  The nurse came in with a tray which she put on a table that she pulled over to Fletcher. The aroma of the meal made Fletcher’s mouth water. Okay, yeah. He was definitely hungry.

  His father removed the oxygen mask and helped situate the plate so Fletcher had easy access using only his left hand. His mother remained in the room, watching without speaking.

  Fletcher had a lot of questions he wanted to ask, but the food took his full attention. Unfortunately after five or so bites, it became abundantly clear that his stomach didn’t have room for all the food, so he only ended up finishing half his plate. The food did wonders for his energy though, and he was a lot more alert after getting something to eat and drink.

  “You haven’t eaten in days, Fletcher. Come on, at least finish,” his father encouraged him.

  He shook his head. “Can’t. I’m stuffed.”

  Sebastian frowned. “Just a few more bites.”

  “I’m not a little kid,” Fletcher said.

  “I know.” His dad sighed and rubbed his hair. “You need to keep fuel in your body. It’s going through a lot right now.”

  Fletcher leaned back, careful about not dislodging the IVs in his arm. “Tell me about it.”

  The doctor returned at that moment, frowning as she noticed his half-eaten food. “Not hungry?”

  “I ate as much as I could.” Fletcher was definitely not enjoying the excessive worry everyone else in the room had about his dinner. He just woke up from a three day nap. He couldn’t magically have a huge appetite.

  As the doctor reached to take his tray, he asked her a question.

  “So what’s my recovery timeline looking like?” He’d been conscious in the hospital bed for about twenty minutes, and already he was desperate to get out. He wanted to walk and run and take care of himself and not be a bed-ridden invalid.

  “Depends on how long it takes to clear the infections and pneumonia all the way,” she began.

  “And the broken bones?” Fletcher nodded towards his two legs in full casts.

  The doctor glanced at his parents and then back at him. “That’s up to you. Since you’re already Hexed, you have a couple options.”

  “Okay…” He already didn’t like where this was going.

  “You can go the standard route of letting your body heal them naturally which will take about nine months to get you back to full activity, though I can’t promise you’ll ever be able to exercise the way you're used to in that case.”

  “Or…”

  “You can take on more Hexing radiation. Increases in Hexing percentage are known to trigger self-healing in the body since the Hexing is trying to return your body to perfect health in preparation for the conversion. In that case you’d heal perfectly and be back in action in a matter of hours after the process. The cost is more Hexing, anywhere between one to five percent, as well as the pain of nearly instantaneous healing,” the doctor explained.

  Fletcher nodded. “Not great options then.”

  “There’s no easy way to recover from injuries like these,” she agreed. “But there’s no need to make any decisions yet. You can’t go for Hexing until you have more strength back. For now, just focus on resting.”

  “Right. Thanks.” Fletcher gave her a tight smile as she left the room with the tray.

  His dad grabbed his shoulder. “It’s going to be okay, buddy. It’s not as bad as it sounds.”

  “So you think I should take on the Hexing?” he confirmed.

  Sebastian made a face. “Yeah. I do, though I understand why you wouldn’t want to.”

  “I mean, it’s just losing a bit more of my Humanity. It’s not that big of a deal.” Fletcher rubbed his hand down his face. Yeah. Not great news, but he expected bad news from the start after the whole torture thing.

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  “It’d heal your hearing too,” his mother added casually from the side.

  “My hearing isn’t that bad,” Fletcher replied, the ringing such a constant part of his life that he hadn’t really noticed it until she brought it up.

  She smiled. “Keep telling yourself that.”

  His dad released his shoulder and grabbed the oxygen mask back from where he hung it up. “Here. Put this on and then try to get some more sleep. Like the doctor said, worry about this later. You don’t need to decide anything yet.”

  Fletcher sighed and nodded. “Yeah. Okay. I am pretty tired.”

  His father helped place the mask back around his head and then assisted him in lowering the bed so he could properly sleep.

  “I’ll see you later, okay? Just rest up.” His father patted his hand one last time, and then he and Hazel left the room.

  Fletcher shifted in the bed, uncomfortable with all the casts and bandages and sensors attached to him, but the exhaustion still managed to win out and he quickly dipped back into a dreamless sleep.

  ***

  When Fletcher woke again, it was to the doctor and the nurses coming to check on him, which meant more prodding, but at least they officially took him off oxygen for the time being. After they took some blood, the doctor sent a nurse to bring him a meal.

  “I’m not really hungry,” Fletcher said.

  The woman frowned. She was mostly [Goblin] with her pink eyes bearing down on him. “You’re underweight. You need to be eating.”

  “I haven’t lost that much weight,” he argued. He’d gained a fair amount of muscle by joining the military and going through training, but the aftermath of the attack at Vesi kept him from eating regular meals so he was aware he’d shrunk back down.

  She cocked an eyebrow. “You’re down over forty pounds from your last checkup before leaving for Vesi Station. That’s bad.”

  He bit his lip. Okay. Maybe he lost a little more than he thought.

  The doctor recalled his attention. “It’s important you keep your body fueled. And I won’t allow you to take on Hexing unless you regain a good amount of what you lost. Conversion, especially when using it for healing, takes a big toll on the body.”

  “Yeah. Yeah. I get it. I’ll try to eat,” he said, realizing he wasn’t getting out of it.

  “Good.” She smiled at him and then left the room just as his father entered.

  “Hey, buddy. How are you feeling?” Sebastian asked, taking a seat in the chair closest to the bed.

  “Fine. Tired still,” Fletcher answered.

  “I’m sure that’s the pain meds and the pneumonia and the infection…”

  “I get it, Dad. I’m a mess.”

  His father smiled. “It’s not your fault, Fletcher. But I am sorry you have to go through this.”

  “How long was I out this time?”

  “About twelve hours.”

  Fletcher made a face. “So what time is it right now?”

  “About 2 am.”

  “What are you doing here? Go to bed, Dad. Jeez.” Fletcher shooed him away.

  Sebastian laughed and leaned closer. “I asked to be alerted every time you woke up. I want to be here, Fletcher.”

  “I’m just going to eat something and then go back to sleep. It’s not like there’s much to do,” he pointed out. Now that he knew to look for it, he saw how tired his father was with bags under his eyes. His father was being a bit overprotective, but Fletcher wanted to ensure he still took care of himself.

  “Then I’ll get back to sleep soon.” His father continued to smile. “Do you really want to eat alone?”

  “No,” Fletcher admitted. “Thanks, Dad. Sorry. About everything.”

  “You have nothing to apologize for, Fletcher. I’m sorry that any of this happened, but I’m happy you’re back, mostly in one piece.”

  Fletcher chuckled. “Doesn’t feel like it.”

  His dad laughed as well and ruffled his hair. “I’m sure it doesn’t, but it’ll get better. Just give it a few more days.”

  “I might die of boredom before then,” he murmured.

  “I’ll see what I can do about that,” his father promised.

  The meal arrived, and Fletcher did his best to eat what he could. He still only cleared about the half plate before he felt stuffed, but at his father’s urging, he ate a couple bites beyond that, even if the entire experience reminded him of being a picky child at dinner again.

  With that taken care of, his father took the tray and urged him to sleep a little more. Fletcher was happy to comply, and he was out before his father even left the room. He had no idea how much time passed before he woke again.

  His father was nearby, sitting in the same chair with his laptop on his lap.

  “Morning, sunshine,” Sebastian said.

  Fletcher yawned and sat up. “Morning. What time is it now?”

  “About 1 pm.”

  “Not bad,” he said. “How long have you been here?”

  “A couple of hours. I wanted to be here when you woke up next. The doctor said you’ll probably be staying awake for longer stints from now on.”

  Fletcher nodded. He did feel less exhausted, but the idea of sitting around in a hospital bed for hours sounded very unappealing.

  “I got you some things.” His father bent down to his backpack and then produced a stack of paperbacks. “It wasn’t the easiest to find, but I figured you’d want a little more variety.”

  Fletcher eagerly accepted the stack, glancing through the beaten up titles. They were old and a bit ragged, but they were books he either hadn’t read in a long time or hadn’t read at all, which sounded incredible after months of only the same four options.

  “Thank you. I can’t believe you found some,” he said, flipping through the first of the books.

  “Consider it a late birthday present,” Sebastian said.

  Fletcher made a face. “I guess that happened a while ago. I’ve been so busy, I didn’t even think about it. I didn’t even remember given how busy I kept myself at Vesi.”

  “Well, I hope you at least had a good Christmas.”

  He scoffed. “It was just like any other day. I wish I’d been able to come back for it.” He paused. “It was the first year we weren’t together for it.”

  “Let’s agree it’ll be the only year,” his father said.

  Fletcher nodded. “I’m sorry I left. And I didn’t respond to your letters. But I appreciate you writing to me still. They helped a lot.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” His dad smiled at him.

  As he expected, another meal was brought to him, and he was in the midst of forcing it down when the door opened and Nora came in.

  “If it isn’t the world’s least favorite Anders,” she said with a grin.

  “I won’t argue that with you,” Fletcher said around the food in his mouth.

  “Ew,” Nora said, taking the chair next to their father. “How are you feeling? Hopefully better than you look ‘cause yeesh.”

  “Nora,” Sebastian chided.

  Fletcher laughed. “No, she’s right, Dad. I’m in rough shape. But yes. I do feel better than I look. You should see the other guy.”

  Nora raised an eyebrow. “An imaginary friend perhaps? Mom told me that you didn’t do a single thing on the mission other than get hauled around.”

  “Dang. I guess I’m ratted out.” Fletcher snapped his fingers on his left hand, but he wasn’t as well practiced with it so it didn’t turn out all that well.

  “Stop distracting him. He needs to eat, Nora,” Sebastian said.

  “Boo. Stop being a killjoy, Dad.” Nora waved him off. “I want to hear about the battle, Fletcher. Sounds like you took out quite a few freaks. I bet that felt nice.”

  Fletcher’s mouth went dry as uncomfortable memories flashed in his mind. “Uh, yeah. No. I don’t know.”

  Nora gave him a gentle shove. “Come on. Details. Let’s hear about it. You were in a full assault. You’ve got to have some cool stories.”

  He shook his head, his mind still dredging back up every dead body, a reminder of all his crimes. “No. I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Just one story, Fletch.”

  “No!”

  Nora leaned away. “Are you alright?”

  Fletcher’s breathing was shallow, and he felt hot. “Fine. Just stop talking about it.”

  “Sorry,” she said in a not-so-apologetic voice.

  “Addy and Jeric wanted to come see you when you feel up to it,” his dad said, changing the topic.

  “Yeah. Okay,” he muttered.

  “Well, I’m going to go. This was fun. Let’s never do it again.” Nora clapped her hands and stood up. “Bye, Fletcher.”

  “See you.” He picked up his fork and prodded the food on his plate, but his stomach was a giant knot and he couldn’t stand the thought of even one more bite. His first thought for taking his mind off things was to smoke, but given he was in a hospital, that didn’t seem likely.

  “Why don’t you read to relax a bit? You can try eating more later,” his father offered.

  Fletcher nodded. “Yeah. That sounds nice. Thank you.”

  “Do you want me to stay or go?”

  “Stay, if you don’t mind.”

  Sebastian patted his arm. “I’m your father. I never mind. But uh, there is something I wanted to talk about…”

  Fletcher sighed, waiting for another uncomfortable conversation.

  “Your mother mentioned you took up smoking. I’m a little surprised,” his dad admitted.

  “Yeah. It’s not a big deal. I’m not an addict or anything. It’s one or two a day, alright? It’s just to take the edge off things,” Fletcher huffed. Everyone and their dog wanted to comment on his newest hobby it seemed.

  “Well, you’re going to have to quit. Luckily the healing from the Hexing should take care of the physical addiction aspect, so it shouldn’t be too bad,” his father said.

  Fletcher nodded. He should have known it was coming. No. This was a good thing. Smoking was bad for him. He wanted to quit.

  “You should eat. The doctor is eager to see you gain weight,” his father reminded him.

  “Yeah.” Fletcher stabbed at his food without taking any bites.

  “I’m sorry, Fletcher. I’m sorry any of this happened to you, but I am so happy you’re home. I’ve missed you.”

  “I missed you too, Dad.” Fletcher looked at his father’s caring face and smiled.

  It was good to be home and away from Vesi and the memories there, though Fletcher had a feeling that those memories weren’t going to go away as easily as he originally hoped. This was going to be a long recovery, and he was not looking forward to it.

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