It was no surprise to Al that when he woke up Jamie was right there. He always had been, Al's entire life. Whether he was sick or hurt or just sad, Jamie was always the first person there for him. He squeezed the hand back, a crooked little smile on his face. He was trying very, very hard to ignore the complete lack of vision in his right eye. It was probably still bandaged. That's what Marlene had done, wasn't it? Bandaged it up and said they'd take a look when the poison was cured. He might not be half blind, she'd said his sight might come back... He didn't want to think about that now.
"I'm okay," he tried on another smile, this one a bit stronger. "Um, water, would be good though."