Ungolden Silence
Who: Danny and Tim (NPC) Where: U of M Hospital When: Various times are implied, but the actual action part of the post takes place Tuesday morning. We'll say 8ish because I didn't bother to decide a true time.
Hours had passed since Danny had been informed that his father had been cursed. Truthfully, he wouldn’t have believed what the doctor was telling him if it wasn’t for the fact that the man did whatever it was that he did. Danny still didn’t know what was done. There weren’t that many things that he did know about. What he knew was that magic was involved and that he couldn’t help. It didn’t take long for Danny to reveal to the doctor at the clinic in Scarlet Oak that he too could harness the powers of magic, albeit reluctantly. That reluctance went away when knowing what to do could mean helping his dad. Unfortunately, Danny’s complete and utter lack of magical training meant that he wouldn’t be any help in lifting the curse. This, in essence, meant that Danny had failed his father. Such information did not sit well with the young man.
Tim was transferred to the University of Michigan hospital for observation as a precaution. Danny rode in the ambulance with his father. The decision left him stranded at the U of M hospital overnight, but that didn’t bother the boy because there was no other place that he would have rather been than with his father.
The sedative that the doctor had given Tim before he worked his magic (it was hard to concentrate when a grown man was fighting back screaming fits at seeing things that didn’t exist, after all), didn’t wear off during the night. That gave Danny a lot of alone time. Time to think. Time to shed a few tears (that part made him grateful that Tim was still asleep, because Danny hated it when his dad saw him cry… rare though it was). Time to take out some pent up frustration on a vending machine that wouldn’t drop that bag of hot tamales in the middle of the night. His hand still hurt a little bit.
Most of the time, Danny continually thought about what had happened, and just how baffling the turn of events was. His father had been cursed. His father. The doctor asked him if he knew of anyone who would want to do something like that to Tim, and Danny couldn’t think of anyone. His father didn’t seem to have any enemies. There was a part of him, a small part of him, that briefly pondered if it was his mother’s family getting some long plotted revenge on the man. That didn’t make much sense. Nothing really made that much sense…
The only part that really made sense was the way that Danny’s own stubbornness had ultimately landed his dad in the hospital bed… because if he hadn’t been so hesitant to embrace the magical heritage that was his birthright, he might have been able to know that his dad had been cursed. More importantly, Danny could have lifted the curse before Tim landed in the hospital.
Eventually, the younger Montgomery fell asleep, unable to remain awake after the entire ordeal. The last thing that he thought about was still how it was all his fault.
When the light pierced through Tim’s window and hit Danny’s eyes, he awoke. At first, he didn’t know where he was. That bliss was shattered moments later and the memories came flooding back to him. Danny attempted to nudge his father awake, but it was to no avail.
The teenager took a few moments to make a couple of calls. The first one was to Sarah’s, where he quickly explained his situation. It might not have been the best job in the world… in fact, Danny pretty much hated it, but they were very accepting of his situation and hoped that Tim would get better soon. In that respect, Danny was grateful to work there, if only momentarily. The second call was to his dad’s work, since Tim wasn’t in a position to do it himself. They, too, were more concerned than anything else. But Danny knew where he got the gene for complaining about his job. Compared to Tim, Danny was an amateur. That statement could be true in so many ways.
It was during one of those longs bouts of silence that the noiselessness of the room was shattered by the sound of Tim’s moaning. Danny snapped out of his near state of exhaustion and made the quick step over to Tim’s side. “Dad?” He attempted to not sound like some scared little boy afraid for his father’s wellbeing. Somehow, Danny doubted that he was entirely successful in that respect. Did Danny care? Not so much. Well… maybe a little.
Still groggy, Tim looked at his surroundings. They were unfamiliar, save the sight of his son. “Where… where am I?”
“U of M. They transferred you from the clinic. You’ve been out all night.”
The man sat up in his bed, slowly, the drugs making him sluggish. “The last time I remember was seeing… I don’t even know.” He turned to Danny, “What happened to me?”
There was a long span of time where Danny didn’t say anything. Each time he attempted to say something it just didn’t want to come out. Danny found himself looking away from his father, unintentionally. This was almost always a sign that he was guilty of something. Or, in this case, felt guilty.
Tim knew that look. He just wasn’t sure what had caused it. “Danny?”
“You…” he stumbled. “You got cursed, dad.”
The words didn’t make sense. Tim just blinked a few times. “What?”
“The doctor was a witch, too… but he knew what happened to you. He told me that you were cursed. Whatever it was that you were seeing, whatever was happening to you, it was because of that. The doctor had to sedate you because you were freaking out before he did what he did. I don’t even know what he did. I wanted to help, but I couldn’t do anything. If I could… I could have…”
Fatherly concern took over in place of a medical haze. “You got me to the clinic last night, son. You got me the help that I needed.” Tim noticed that Danny’s eyes were still anywhere but on him. “Hey, look at me. I’m fine. I’m not seeing things. Head’s still spinning a little… the sad part is that it’s an upgrade from before. Bed’s more comfortable than the one I have at home, too. Craftmatic?”
Danny smirked, Tim’s humor finally breaking the ice. “I don’t know. We’d have to ask the nurse.”
“She cute?”
“Male nurse.”
Tim sighed. “And just like that, my dreams are crushed. Because being cursed wasn’t enough, God just had to throw another curve ball my way. I knew he’d get revenge on me for not going to church as soon as we moved out of mom and dad’s house.”
The teen chuckled, releasing a wave of emotion that made him wrap his arms around his father, utterly grateful that Tim was going to be okay. And as relief pulsated through his slightly trembling body, Danny knew that he would not allow something like that to happen to his dad ever again. Whatever the cost.