Gath’s chest still hurt, in fact, most of Gath’s body hurt, but at least they were still alive. Just about. Gath wasn’t quite sure, and it didn’t help that they had heard some scary words, things like “they need oxygen” and “life support on its way”, things like that.
Now Gath was awake though, they could have a look around. But all they could see was tinted glass and nurses running around, keeping an eye on Gath. They couldn’t see any family though. Relkir wasn’t there, neither was…
Gath immediately felt guilty. Litvir was completely right. Had Gath listened, they would have been in a better position right now. In a normal hospital room. Not like they were currently. Strapped to a bed, drips on both arms, a breathing mask strapped to Gath’s face, tons of small sensors and monitoring device, all beeping at them. Gath was also naked, and there were some nasty black splodges all down Gath’s chest, stomach and side that looked like burn masks.
At least Gath was alive. For a moment, Gath felt like the luckiest person alive. That joy was brief.
A blur drifted closer to Gath. Blinking their eyes, Gath tried to work out who it was. A doctor of some sort, Gath guessed.
“Kyr Gath, welcome back to consciousness. How are you feeling?”
Gath thought for a moment, then grunted. Their mouth was rather dry, making it hard to talk. “Bad.”
“Understandable. Kyr Gath, would you like me to tell you what is going on with your health?”
Gath nodded. They were concerned. Borderline scared. The doctor seemed to notice that fear.
“Well, I am going to start with the good news. You will make a strong recovery. With a little time, you will be back to full health. You are very lucky that little Litvir brought you here.”
“I will recover?” Gath barely managed to mutter.
“Yes. Heart problems are often dangerous for Rethans, but what happened to you is the most common type of cardiac arrest. We got to you nice and quick, located the problem and fixed it.”
A sigh of relief. Gath was feeling more and more guilty at being annoyed at Litvir though.
“There is some somewhat bad news though. Nothing too bad, but it does require a change in lifestyle.”
Gath tutted. They somewhat expected that. “How much?”
“The standard amount. A new diet, no drinking or smoking, do gentle exercise and take your tablets.”
“Is that all?”
“Mostly, yes. You will have to quit alcohol and eat better. Those two things will help a lot. The more important thing is that you will have to monitor your stress levels. You will definitely need to do more exercise, but that exercise needs to be gradual. Start slow, speed up, then slow down again.”
“I can do that. Is walking good?”
“Walking is good. When you are back on your feet, we will give you a list of activities that you should do or avoid. We will also give you a good diet to follow.”
Gath grunted some more. The conversation with this doctor was a very good distraction from how uneasy Gath was feeling. “None of that troubles me if it is to keep me alive.”
The doctor sighed. “Well, there is still some extra bad news. Because of the heart problems, but also because of your other, recurring illnesses, it is being recommended that you no longer go on excursions.”
“Are you… suggesting I step down?”
“No. You are the General of the Legion of Heroes. You cannot officially step down, as your position is a ceremonial one, until you pass away and join the Ghost Legion. But you-”
“Wait, what?” Gath suddenly had the strength to exclaim. “I cannot step down and retire?”
“No. Ceremonial positions are permanent.”
Gath grunted, then twitched briefly in pain, before returning to speaking to the doctor. “So what do I do? Pre-record things? Do live streams? My presence in person is better.”
The doctor shrugged. “I understand. But now is not the time to talk about this.”
“I guess…” Gath settled down. The soft blow of oxygen and nitrogen across Gath’s face was somewhat relaxing. “But I will recover, yes?”
“Of course. It may be slow, but you will come out of this feeling better. Perhaps even healthier than before this episode.”
Gath took a deep breath, calming down completely. However, they then heard something else. The doctor nodded at one of the nurses, then turned back to Gath. “I will be back in a moment. The two nurses here will keep an eye on you for a bit.”
“Very well.”
With no one talking, Gath decided to close their eyes for a bit. They didn’t want to sleep, but the recovery room was a bit too bright. Gath didn’t even know what time it was, as there were no clocks present, nor was there a window to look out of. More worryingly though, Gath was unsure what day it was.
Suddenly hearing footsteps, Gath opened their eyes and realised the doctor was back. They quietly spoke to someone just out of view, then stepped aside, letting the other person pass. Gath immediately recognised those footsteps.
“You bastard…” Relkir muttered as they stood by Gath’s side, holding their hand. “You terrified me…”
“I am sorry, my dear.”
Relkir gripped Gath’s hand tightly, probably too tightly. They were also trying to hide their tears, to appear calm and stoic, but Relkir wasn’t doing a good job of it.
“The doctors… they said… a lot of things… Scary things… I thought I was going to lose you!”
“I know. All I can do is say sorry…”
“It was all… so sudden…”
“It was, yes. I am still alive though.”
The doctor brought over a chair, so Relkir could sit down and continue holding Gath’s hand, then patted Relkir on the shoulder.
“General Relkir, do not fret, we are keeping an eye on Kyr Gath. They will recover from this. We just need a bit of time.”
Relkir settled down a bit. “Thank you for saving my gentle giant.”
“That is our job as medics and nurses, but really, you should be thanking your kid, who got Kyr Gath here in the first place.”
“Still…” Relkir sighed. “May we have some privacy? Or do you need someone in here at all times?”
“We can give you twenty minutes at a time.”
“Thank you…” Relkir muttered.
The doctor and nurses exited the room, but left the door open. Relkir sighed again, then turned back to Gath.
“Are you well, Relkir, my darling?” Gath asked.
“Not particularly…” Relkir sighed yet again, then lowered their voice. “I just… I want to push things along…”
Gath immediately knew what Relkir meant. “We can do that. Once I am back on my feet, we can start making arrangements. I promise, we will get these things done.”
“Pinky promise?”
“Pinky promise.”