It is the late in the morning, and Leon can't help but look after the sleeping, innocent face of Dennis after eating. '*sigh* Cheeky. Bastard~'

 

*Buzz*

 

Her smartphone buzzing can only mean one thing with the current situation. She opens the locks on the screen and sees the message she just received. 

 

[Aunty Joanna] 

Leona, we're nearing his room. Are you sure he's awake? 

 

Typing in, she looks at Dennis' face again, while reminiscing about the couple of hours of fun she had today.

 

[Leon the Lion] 

Yes, ma'am, just now he's aching for breakfast. 

Well, since he just woke up after 3 months from coma, figured I can assist him eating his share. 

 

[Aunty Joanna] 

Owh, you feeded him? So sweet of you, hun~. 

We'll be there soon, so enjoy your time with him, sweetie~!

Don't be too rough on him~! 

 

 

Leon's cheeks are red yet again. 'W-What? Ugh, what the heck is that supposed to mean?!' 

 

She puts the phone back to her pocket, and feel it's displeasing that she needs to put him back to wake up. 

“Hey, Dee? Hey~, Dennis~?“

 

“Mmm, whu? What's up?“. The boy still tired, are such a mess without himself noticing it.

 

She almost lets out her giggles, though she's calmed herself down.
“Time to get out of the rut again, sleepy boy!“

Getting his bearing, he wipes the sleepiness out of himself by clapping his cheeks twice.
“Ngh. Did I hear you call me Dee just now? What's that supposed to mean?“

 

Knuckles of hers are cracked, and soon she gets up with her assets mildly showing, much to the boy's pleasure.
“Your pet name, that's what“

 

“...right...“

 

“Ahem. Good News! Your family is here, mind if I open the door for you?“

 

“Wait!“. He reaches out for her shirt before going off. “I, want to see them myself but my body's still all sore. Can you help me walk?“

 

She's shocked abit by his request, but seeing his unwavering eyes for a long-time reunion, she can't help but fulfill his wish.

She helps him by the shoulder, as his walk is a slothful, but deep inside she takes joy in assisting him.

 

Almost by the door, a voice outside asks for whether there is any presence inside or not.

“Leona? Are you inside, girl?“

 

Their steps stop just before the twist is to be opened by her.

“In a sec, aunty!“. She looks at Dennis, asking thw question. “You ready?“

 

With him nodding confidently, the door swing open to reveal his guest of a doctor from the looks of it.

“Ah, so the hero finally wakes up. How do you feel, kid?“. He said that as if it's quite a wonder he's up in the first place.

 

Dennis almost impulsively try to back away out of dodge, alas it's in vain with his frail body.
“Agh, sluggish all around, sir. Also, what do you mean by 'hero' ?“. The boy spoke in a more formal tone to one should when facing an elder in such situation.

 

“Heh, see them yourselves. I'll be back after a bit, so take your time, kid”. He backs off from the front of the door as he lets himself in. 

 

The boy notices the other guests waiting for him, in which they all come approaching him post-haste. Though it doesn't need to be said who they are, his family of 3 from Father, Mother, and Little Sister. 

“Dennis!“

 

As Leon let them enjoy this for a moment, they all hug him, kisses him, and hug some more for all the time they misses him while he's away at his bed.

“Son! Please don't scare off your Father like that, Ever Again!“

 

Dennis looks down, as he feel like this is necessary for him to say. 

“Sorry, mister but... I don't know any of you people”

 

His parents are mortified by this, as they faces Leon to confirmation, and she nodded lightly for this.

“It's kind of a long story. Let us get inside first”

 

. 

 

. 

 

.

 

Before they could chat, it's the time for inspection from the doctor. 

Firstly, the condition of his body. As he is just awaken, it can be deducted that he'll be having it rough the moment he's out of this room.

He said that, “I'm not sure what kind of a hero you were to deserve having their shoulders disjointed, but you're slowly recovering, rest assured”

 

Secondly, the condition of his mind. There are 3 variants of Amnesia after induced coma :

1. Anterograde amnesia. But as the patient does not remember past event but can gather the conversation he recently had with his friend Leon, this are not the kind he is suffering from. 

 

2. Retrograde amnesia. This type of amnesia causes a person to forget events that occurred prior to their injury, opposite of anterograde.

It may seem as if the patient are inheriting this one, there's the problem of him forgetting basically everything, in which unfortunately can only mean the last 3rd kind.

 

3. Dissociative amnesia. Though more rare, this type of amnesia can cause a survivor to not only forget their memories but also their identity. This most often occurs after severe traumatic events, but luckily as survivors recover they begin to remember themselves.

 

*Click-click-click*

 

The doctor puts his pen back to his chest pocket after writing a note. 

“... From the looks of it, my recommendation is to wait at least for a few days after his wake up from coma before going home, Ms. and Mr. Johanson”

 

The Father tries to speak up for a bit. 

“But he can-”

 

“I've yet to list the Last but not least, is that Thirdly, he needs someone to guide him through day to day, and that means sacrificing their time and need for the patient to recover slowly. 

I don't suppose you lots have such person available?”

 

The patient's family thinks for a bit, from getting his blood-related aunt to older and close cousin, to keeping him over to either the maternal or paternal grandparents, yet it's all a stalemate as it might burden them with their life or they might be incapable from handling it.

“I'll do it”. The one who lets out their voice just now, Leon, raised her hand as to volunteer for the assignment. 

 

The parents look at themselves in astonishment, and also a little bit of giggling, for reasons.

“Hmm, that also means around the same middle-school you two are attending, which means he must be able to carry himself for the lessons he has both been left out and will be chasing upon”

 

“Yes, it won't be a problem. We're in the same class, anyway"

 

“There's the matter of the parents' having to leave early for their own matters, and what about if they were to forgot making the share of the patient?”

 

“I'm close to his house, I learned cooking overtime so they won't be such a big deal”

 

“... “. The both are having a stare off, it's like a competition to judge who's the rightful owner of a pet. “... *sighs*. Have it your way. I'll tell the staffs to clean up this room in the next 30 minutes so gather everything up and don't leave nothing behind”

 

Dennis shakes his head from the result, though he feel that he should ask, “So does that mean, I can leave?“

 

“Yes, yes you can”. They all rejoice, and before the doctor go, he puts his hand on Dennis' shoulder. “And kid? You can try to save lives, but you can save more by treasuring yourself and your treasured ones first before anything else. Because when you're hurt, they're hurt”

 

The boy stays still, while the doctor finally gets out of their sight, and he thinks to himself. '... When I'm hurt?... '. He recollect the painful face Leon had early in the morning, and there he already has the answer. '... I do suppose others will be hurt too, huh?' 

 

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