Scott
The hospital in town was clean, quiet, and calm. Yet it ached with pain, each injury etched into the walls. There were memories here. Sterile white floors, blue plastic gloves. It all reminded Dae-hyun too much of a time long ago. He hated hospitals— all of it placed him back to a moment in time he wished he could forget. However, this time he was lucky to be a visitor and not a patient. 

His cane tapped against the floor with each step. It echoed down the empty hallways. Over his shoulder rested his bag, in his free hand was a bouquet of flowers. Hopefully Basil wouldn't mind. 

The boy had already checked in at the front desk, done with the small talk and shallow conversation. He had been told by Hayley which hospital Basil was placed in, and was given the go ahead to speak to him. Despite all the emotions that pressed against his ribs and made his chest ache, Dae-hyun knew more important things lay ahead. He did not have time for anger, or frustrations. Every action had an explanation. Levi was human, Basil was human, Hayley was human. Dae-hyun could not hold anything against them. Forgiveness was all he could give, laid out bare and vulnerable in his shaking hands. 

The room he was instructed to find by the front desk appeared in front of him after a few minutes of walking. The door clicked open, and there rested Basil, silent and unmoving. Hooked up to IV drops and various other things Dae-hyun had long forgotten, Basil looked almost peaceful, if not pained. A proper rest at last, one that was indeed overdue. 

Dae-hyun hovered by the door, politely waiting to see if Basil was awake or if by walking over he was interrupting anything. After a few minutes, he decided it was okay.
_ _

As quietly as he could, the boy walked over to the empty side table beside Basil's bed. He leaned into his cane, reached into his bag, and pulled out a small glass vase. He then filled it with water from his water bottle, and placed the flowers inside. Lily of the Valley. They hung over the rim sorrowfully, but with a certain type of beauty. The white matched the clouds that hung in the summer sky outside; the sun made small rainbows reflect onto the table through the glass and water. Dae-hyun thought this would bring a sense of hope into an otherwise dreadful room. A small card was placed beside the vase. 

With deep blue eyes, the boy looked over towards Basil. Letting out a sigh, Dae-hyun pulled a small seat away from the wall and moved it closer to the side of Basil's bed. This moment felt familiar. Waiting by the side of a friends hospital bed, wondering if they'd wake up. Dae-hyun hoped it would work out, just how it worked out with Fennel. 

Silence. He didn't know what to say. Maybe he would know in a moment. For now, he just wanted to hand some support to Basil. He had enough people against him.
Patrick
Funnily enough, Basil hadn't dreamt much, since he'd been in the hospital. His mind had been running almost nonstop for so long, it seemed it was finally getting some well deserved rest. The entire time was spent asleep, in a heavy slumber, only the heart monitor keeping time with the plastic clock on the wall.

It was, assuredly, a few more minutes spent of waiting before Dae-hyun would notice the first signs of life. A pitch in breathing, a smidge of movement from a thumb or the corner of his mouth. One eye opened, just a bit, before a strangled whisper asked,

"Levvy?"

The smell of flowers, the cold against his skin - they had no idea where they were, and if they were even alive. Had death come? Had Basil been let loose? Pounding pain throbbed behind one eye he dared not open. His throat was dry. It was strange. But he still had a single, reasonable question, to the blurry figure at the edge of his vision.

"Are we dead?"
Scott
Dae-hyun's breath caught in his throat at the sound of their voice. They were okay. Basil was okay. Relief washed over his tensed shoulders like a cool ocean breeze, a cracked sigh escaped his lungs. 

"Its, Dae-hyun, Basil." His voice was soft, quiet. He spoke calmly as to not startle or frighten the other. They were just waking up from blacking out after all. "Dont worry though— Levi is okay, not here right now but he is okay." The boy reassured Basil.

A small smile pulled at the sides of his mouth, a sort of bittersweet one. He knew that the fight was far from over, but this was a turn in the right direction.

"You aren't dead, thankfully." Dae-hyun found himself subconsciously leaning towards the other, with a quick realization he pulled back so he was resting against the chair once again. 

"Its all over though, you're out. No more black hole."
Patrick
Basil's eyes opened fully, and he attempted to straighten up, or sit up, in the bed, without much luck. He hissed in pain, and sunk back down, a hand coming up and holding at his side. 

"Dae-hyun?" Basil asked. He looked over at him, finally, dark eyes glossy and a little unfocused, but there, and not gold or green or anything else. Just a deep, dark shade of brown set in a tan, scarred face, and long black hair all askew and knotted. "Oh. You're–... You're real." 

Disbelief clung to their voice as his head sunk into the pillow. 

"I'm glad," He said. "That, I'm not dead."

Basil held up their hand, bound by the IV drip and a blood pressure monitor tabbed to their thumb. Everything was hazy. Everything after Levi left, and the talk with Sig. From there, it all turned into slush. 

"What–... What happened? Where are we?"
Scott
Dae-hyun gave an empathetic sort of look to the other. Seeing them in such a state was, relieving of course, but also saddening. On one hand, they were alive, and on the other they seemed to be in quite a lot of pain. He was there once. Dae-hyun was in the same situation. Locked to a hospital bed, wondering if maybe... *Just maybe he shouldn't be there.* 

He hoped Basil was more hopeful about the situation, but Dae-hyun knew how hard that was. 

"Yeah, I'm real. I was always real." A soft smile. 

"Well, you're in the hospital in Isakstad, the town just beside Newtons Cradle. Its been a couple days since Sigrún pulled you out. Before that, the black hole you were trapped in kind of almost destroyed the facility." He paused. "Maybe the facility deserved it. Im not sure... A lot of people were put in danger." 

Dae-hyun took a breath. He knew how this all sounded. Easy bait for Basil to guilt himself for the rest of his life, rot away deep within his mistakes. Dae-hyun knew no one deserved that, definitely not a kid a year younger than him who hadn't seen the sun in ten years. 

"I know it's not your fault. I hope you know that too, Im glad you're okay now."

Dae-hyun did not feel the need to tell him the way everyone else was not so quick to forgiveness. He knew from experience that Basil surely already knew.
Patrick
Basils eyes softened. They knew it was their fault – had to be. But Dae-hyuns words were kind, and he barely remembered a thing about the entire ordeal (too fuzzy. Like his brain was still filled with static. It had made it so hard to communicate for so long), so he accepted the good graces in hand, and nodded.

"Thanks," He said, though it sounded a bit lackluster. Words wouldn't come, not out his mouth, so he laid his head back against the pillow (were they always this soft, before?) and looked at the ceiling. The pockmarked design above his head reminded him of static.

It was almost comforting. 

He rested his eyes closed, thinking of Levi. He'd gotten out some weeks earlier – what was he thinking about all of this? How strange, to never be at a loss for someone's existence, and then to then exist entirely without it (if temporarily). It had been so jarring, at first. 

"How long have I been here?" They finally asked Dae-hyun, eyes still heavy and closed, though they turned their head to the sound of his voice. "Is everyone okay?"