This bond between us can't be broken. I will be here, don't you cry.

[noimpulsecontrol]

Della had been in Gobo's room twice so far, once with Lexi and once with Scrooge. It wasn't that she'd been unwilling to go see him alone, not at all. She'd have loved to have done so already. It just came down to timing, honestly. That is, until the day of Gobo's surgery, at which point Della decided timing be damned, she was seeing her boy.

She peered inside Gobo's room with a small but warm smile. "Hey... I just thought maybe you could use a mom."

Comments

[gobetween]

Gobo had been relatively awake and lucid for most of the past couple of days. It was an... experience being so, but at least he could see the different people who were spending their time at the hospital to see him. And the more he spent awake, the less time in the dreams he kept having...

Hearing a voice he glanced over, then smiled best he could and waved. Della was a welcome sight, even above her words.

[noimpulsecontrol]

Della returned the wave, then crossed the room to take a seat by Gobo's bed.

"Hi," she began, softly, before finding herself at a temporary loss for words. Of course, with Della, silence never lasted long. "I'm - so proud of you."

[gobetween]

For just a few moments the only sounds were the beeping and the clicking. Then he lifted his hands, signing weakly; nothing about the words, more his state of being. Moving was hard, but he could manage it.

"Thank you. Lexi's the one that really helped."

[noimpulsecontrol]

She shook her head. "Lexi told me what happened. You fought for your life that day, Gobo, and you haven't stopped since." A quick, gentle kiss to his temple. "Thank you."

[gobetween]

He suddenly felt like crying then, though he couldn't understand why. All he knew was that all of a sudden, he was blinking away a sting at the bottoms of his eyes.

"Sure." Though he didn't look convinced, if only because he didn't understand why she was thanking him, either. Did he?

[noimpulsecontrol]

Della reached out, gently, to take Gobo's hand. Sure, he didn't seem to understand, but he didn't need to. It would be a lot, to be thanked for staying alive. For be willing to put up the fight.

"It's okay," she said, in response to his blinking. "I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to."

[gobetween]

"No, it's..." He stopped, looking off in thought. It's what? He breathed deeply, as much as he could on that machine anyway, and let his eyes close.

"I'm afraid." He didn't elaborate, decided to let her try to fill in the blanks. As he sat there after those signs, he realized there was more than one thing anyway.

[noimpulsecontrol]

Della paused only for a moment - and that was just to figure out a safe way to do what she wanted to - then she carefully slipped one hand behind Gobo's back, and used the other to beckon towards herself, gesturing for him to come in close.

[gobetween]

The touch felt so good, and all of a sudden he realized no one had really come close like this. Not with all those machines in the way. Sure there might've been a little hug here and there, but only so much could be done.

Carefully, and not without a wince as pain went through him, he shifted as Della had motioned for him, leaning against her. Warmth. You could never stay warm enough in the hospital, he'd found...

[noimpulsecontrol]

She held him tenderly against her shoulder. "It's okay, Gobo. Don't worry about being brave, now," she whispered. "I've got you."

[gobetween]

He could almost believe that. Not that he doubted her, not at all. He knew, especially by now, that she would always be there for him. But as much support and love as she can give him, how much comfort she had, there would come a point where she would have to leave. And then it would be him alone in the room, waiting for the bad news, watching the machines count his breaths and his heartbeats.

He shut his eyes tightly, and leaned against her a little harder.

[noimpulsecontrol]

Della didn't - couldn't - know what Gobo was going through internally; the emotional turmoil. Still, she knew he needed her right now. Did anything else matter? Maybe one thing.

"I love you, squirt."

[gobetween]

He signed in return, the exact same ones he'd given to Lexi when he first saw her. Then after a moment he continued, as if unable to stop himself from it.

"I'm afraid of everything. Of the hospital, of the machines, of the machines staying, of the surgery, of going to sleep... I feel like I'm little again, scared of going out a tunnel just into a room. Everything is like that all over again, but way more intense."

[noimpulsecontrol]

"Well, sure," Della said softly. "Gobo, I know you've been through some serious things, but I'm guessing this is the most serious thing you've ever faced." She ran a hand through his hair, pushing it up and back. "I know it's not fun to feel so scared, but it... It's what happens."

[gobetween]

"I don't want it to happen!" The reply came fast and sharp, and one could almost hear his tongue lashing the words. "So what if this is the most serious thing that's ever happened? I don't WANT to be afraid!"

[noimpulsecontrol]

"Gobo, I didn't mean it like-" She wasn't even sure what he'd thought her intentions had been, though. A part of her - a very small part - felt frustrated and defensive at his snapping, but she was able to ignore it, and instead pay attention to how upsetting this all was for him.

There were so many things she could say. She could tell him that everyone felt fear in this situations, or reassure him that she was there, or... Countless others, but she knew they wouldn't help him, just as they wouldn't help her. They'd just feel like empty gestures.

Instead, she ducked her head a bit and looked right into his eyes, her gaze steady. "I get it. I know I probably can't make this feel okay, no matter how much I want to. So what can I do? Whatever you need from me, Gobo. You've got it."

[gobetween]

"I want it to go back." The tears came now, but he didn't want them to. They made his throat burn, a pain on top of everything else that was absolutely intolerable. "I don't want to keep thinking I'm going to die!"

[noimpulsecontrol]

She didn't trust herself to speak without crying, and that wasn't what Gobo needed just then. So, instead of saying anything, she pulled him in for another hug.

She didn't want him to die. She didn't want him to have to live with this fear, either. She didn't want this to have happened.