Was watching one of the old PTXvlogs where it shows Scott almost biting it and then this happened... Dunno where it is gonna go, but we shall see. 

_______

It was bright, too bright. He had to shut his eyes again as the light assaulted his sensitive eyes.

He could hear voices... lots of them.

"Oh my God, he's waking up."

"Is the ambulance here? Where the hell are they!?!?!"  

He could feel hands holding his own. The one on his left was tiny and cold, but the hand holding tight to his right was warm and familiar. He felt drawn to it and tilted his head to the right as he attempted to open his eyes once again.

"Scottie?"  A new voice whispered through the din and he opened his eyes to see where it originated from. It took a few tries, but finally he looked up at a young man, haloed in light. He was beautiful.  As his eyes adjusted he noticed that the man's eyes were shiny with tears as he looked down into his own eyes.

"You scared the shi† out of me, you know that?"

He tried to crack a smile, but everything was so fuzzy and hazy. He wanted to ask where he was, what was happening, but as soon as he went to open his mouth chaos erupted. He nearly began to panic when the warm comfort of that hand was pulled away from him and the young man was maneuvered out of the way as new people surrounded him. He could barely focus as he was touched and poked and prodded. He could hear them asking questions, but he couldn't focus on them, he was too busy trying to find the young man again. He'd barely caught sight of him standing way too far away when someone grabbed his chin and his face was turned and a flashlight shone into his eyes.

"Mr. Hoying? Do you understand what I'm saying?"

He just looked at the gruff looking man above him.

"I'm a paramedic. You fell down some stairs. We're going to take you to the hospital. Do you understand?"

He just wanted to close his eyes again to get away from the bright lights, but instead he turned his head towards the young man again, watching tears slide down his cheeks as he stood there watching, fingers splayed over his lips.

He turned his head back as he felt someone squeeze the tip of his finger. He tried to pull it away, but he just couldn't get it to do what he wanted it to do.

He closed his eyes, ignoring the voices directed at him.

~~~

Mitch felt like he was in one of his nightmares. He was all alone in a large waiting room, waiting for the rest of the gang to make it, waiting for news on his friend, waiting for his heart to stop aching. The doctors and paramedics had practically asked him Scott's entire life story over and over. His eyes ached from all of his tears. His throat burned. He was glad he had a sweater, but he was still freezing.

He tried to think positive. He tried, but failed miserably. He'd seen Scott trip, stumble, but never actually fall. He couldn't get the visual out of his head.  He put his head in his hands as he recalled it all.

They were about ⅔'s through sound check when it happened. He'd started to make his way down the ramp, but he saw it coming in his peripheral. It wasn't graceful, it was an awkward blur of limbs bouncing off of the hard surfaces. Then his head cracked down against the edge of his own ramp, the sound causing his heart to literally skip a beat. It bounced off like a rubber ball as he continued his fall.  

Everyone else stood frozen in shock, but Scott hadn't even reached the bottom yet when he had torn down the ramp, nearly falling himself in a haste to get to him. He wasn't moving, wasn't doing anything but laying motionless in a tangled heap. He didn't know what to do at first. Didn't they say not to move people who fall or get injured? But everything had settled at such an awkward angle that he just had to get him laid out, which he did carefully while keeping his head and neck stable.

Avi and Kevin had joined him not too long after that, arguing over what to do before Esther appeared on stage, phone in hand as she dialed 911. Kirstie was still standing on her ramp staring down with wide eyes. She spotted his leopard snapback which had flown off mid fall and then she just started to cry.

So many people were yelling,

He checked for a pulse, relieved when he felt something, but his heart sank as he checked his breathing and realized that he wasn't.

"No. No! He's not breathing!"   He wished he'd taken CPR or something, wished he'd been more prepared. 

Avi pushed forward. "Mitch, please."

"No. I can't leave him!"

"You have to let me help him." Avi was gentle, but firm as he got Mitch to move back so he could help their friend.

Mitch watched as he put his cheek close to Scott's mouth and nose, waiting for breath, but his jaw clenched as he confirmed there was none.

He too was terrified that something had been broken or damaged in the fall, but he did what he had been certified to do and began to tilt Scott's head back and began CPR.

Mitch felt like time was slowing down at first, but as he listened to Esther talking to whoever was on the other side of the phone he began to worry as one minute turned into two and two began to approach three.

Avi looked determined as he worked, sweat beading on his brow.

"Please don't leave me." He whimpered out to no one but himself as he watched his friend lay there.

Finally Avi froze as he heard a small intake of breath. He stopped to lean in, face relaxing in relief as he felt the breath on his skin. He remained, just making sure it kept going and sure enough his chest began to rise and fall on it's own.

Just over the three minute mark.

There was a collective exhale as Avi moved aside to rest, but remained nearby in case things went downhill again. Mitch rushed back to his side, taking his hand in his, trying to whisper encouragements.  Kirstie appeared on Scott's other side, taking his other hand in her own. Mascara ran down her cheeks in ugly streaks, but no one cared.

------

He looked up as the group hurried into the waiting room, bombarding him with more questions, but the truth was he didn't really know much. Kirstie had called Scott's parents and Kevin had called Alex. Mitch couldn't bring himself to do anything but sit there and wait and hope and pray.

It was hours later before anyone found out anything. Thankfully Scott had some insurance info and had Mitch indicated as his emergency contact on a card in his wallet. Until his parents arrived he was the only one that anyone would talk to. He'd had to sign off on all sorts of things that had acronyms he didn't understand. He was completely overwhelmed, but if it helped Scott...

Thankfully it wasn't him who had to make the big decision. Scott's parents had finally arrived just minutes before the doctor explained that the swelling of his brain was not going down. They needed to put him into a medically induced coma to try and get it to recede. Mitch stopped listening after that.  He felt like he was drowning.

He would have gone outside but he was afraid he'd get lost on his way back. This couldn't really be happening. It had to be a nightmare. He just needed to wake up.

___

6 days. It took 6 days to get Scott to a point that they could reassess all the damage. More tests, more acronyms, more waiting. 

They finally agreed to take him off of the medication that had kept him sedated, but Scott didn't seem to want to wake up.

Mitch looked a mess. He barely ate, barely slept. Every time he closed his eyes he could see his best friend tumbling down, could hear the loud slam of his head against the edge of the ramp. He couldn't ... he just couldn't.

____

Day 7

He felt like he was swimming, or maybe just that he was underwater for some reason. Had he fallen asleep in the bathtub or something? He tried to open his eyes but they didn't seem to want to listen. It was a struggle, but finally he managed. It was dark, but a yellowish glow lit the room. He tried to focus but it wasn't easy. It took ages, but he finally was able to distinguish a figure curled up in a chair next to him in a position that could in no way be comfortable. An image came to mind of a young man in a halo of light.  He kept his eyes on him as long as he could before he was too tired to keep them open any longer and sleep took him away again.

___

Day 8

"Alex is coming today. I know you'll want to see him. And your mom called, they're on their way back with breakfast." He held Scott's hand gingerly in his own. He always felt so cold, he just wanted to help warm him.

"So today would be a good day to wake up, right? I really think you should. You can have my toast." He watched his face, hoping against hope for something, anything  to indicate that he was in there, that he was still his best friend and not just a shell, but just like always he got nothing.

"Please don't leave me here by myself. I need you. Please be ok." He whispered to him, thumb caressing the back of his hand. He sighed as he got up to retrieve the large bag of letters that Esther had brought from fans. The room was full of flowers and cards and stuffed animals. Scott would have liked all the colors. He took the bag and placed it next to his chair and sat back down. One by one he took them out and began to read them out loud, trying not to let the words bring him to tears. He knew if they started again he might not ever get them to stop.

____

"You really need to get some sleep, Mitch."

He shook his head. "I'm fine. I promise. I'm getting enough."

"Son, you know Scott wouldn't want you doing this to yourself."

"I'm ok. I just want to be here when he wakes up. I don't want him to be scared."

Scott's mother pulled him into her arms. "You are an amazing man, Mitch Grassi. Thank you for caring about my son the way you do."

He wanted to cry again as she held him against her, but he knew he had to be strong again so he just blinked them away.  "He's worth it."

"We brought lunch." Avi and Esther appeared with bags of food. Thankfully they had moved Scott into a large room to accommodate their growing numbers.

Mitch tried to pick at his salad, but most of it ended up in the trash. He was just too worried to eat. Everyone talked, laughed, tried to keep their minds off of the worry and stress that was laying right there in their midst, but Mitch just couldn't. He sat quietly, eyes locked on the still, motionless form of his best friend, just like always.

____

Alex was there when he and Kirstie came back from their quick coffee run to the cafeteria.  Kirstie had stopped in her tracks when she spotted the man sitting in the chair right next to Scott on the opposite side of his parents.  "That's Mitch's chair!"

"It's ok Kirst."

She wanted to protest, instead she opted to just glare at him when he wasn't looking..

Mitch made a space by the window so he could still keep an eye on Scott, but stay out of the way. Alex had every right to that chair. 

He would stand on the sidelines and watch from afar just as he always did.

_____

Something felt wrong.

It was loud again, not uncomfortably, but enough that it disturbed his peaceful slumber. Well, honestly that wasn't really what woke him. What had roused him was the fact that the hand in his felt off. This wasn't the warm, soft hand that had given him such steady comfort, even when he couldn't find the strength to open his eyes. This hand was cold and clammy. This hand was far too large and didn't fit right. He needed to see...

He tried to focus first, listening to the voices, waiting for them to become clear, waiting for the sounds to become actual words. Finally he opened his eyes just a crack, letting them adjust a bit before finally finding the strength to get them fully open.

"Scott?" The voice broke through his haze. It hadn't been part of the existing cacophony. That small voice caused sudden silence. His eyes rolled around a bit in his head before he actually got them under control. He looked around, trying to focus on something. A woman next to him burst into tears as she grabbed his free hand.  

"Son? Baby are you ok?"

"I'll get the nurse" Another voice drew his attention away from the woman and he looked around the room. There were so many people, so many strange faces. He tried to pull his hand away from the man on his left, but apparently he wasn't quite strong enough for that yet.

Then he saw him. It was the same young man from before, sunlight streaming in behind him created a halo so bright it was almost hard to look at him, but he refused to look away.

"I" He tried to speak but his throat hurt horribly. "I know you"   It was a whisper, but at least he got it out.

The man's lips pressed together in a smile, but tears slid down his cheeks as he nodded.

"Y-you're ... my...  angel"

The man's grin widened, teeth white, cheeks dimpled. He felt the beginnings of his own smile.

"Mr. Hoying. I'm glad to see you're finally awake."

A new voice tried to get his attention, but he didn't want to look away from the smiling man. He didn't have much of a choice. There was a lot of movement happening now, people shifting to make room for the newcomer and his view was blocked by other bodies.

He finally turned to the older looking man.

"My name is Dr. Garner. Do you know where you are?"

He took in his surroundings very, very slowly. "The hospital."

"Good. Now I know this is going to be bright, but i'll be quick I promise." The man held open his eyes and shown a flashlight into each of them.  "Very good.  Now, do you remember what happened to you?"

He tried to think. He remembered the man holding his hand and someone pulling him away, but that was it.  "No."

"Can you tell me your name?"

He opened his mouth to say it, wanting to, but his mind was blank. "I don't... "

"Ok, that's alright. Can you tell me how many fingers I'm holding up."

"4"

 "That's right. Now, do you know who this is?" He motioned towards the man and woman standing there.  

"No."  They looked so upset. He wanted to apologize, but how was it his fault he didn't know who they were.

"He said he knew Mitch."  a small, pretty girl chimed in.

Dr. Garner turned to the young man and motioned him forward. He looked nervous.

"Do you recognize this man?"

He nodded.  The man chewed on his lip. He wanted to tell him to stop.

"Do you know your relationship with this man?"

"He's mine."  

"Your...?"

He thought for a minute trying to figure out what he wanted to say. "I don't know, but he's mine."

The man's head tilted as he looked at the blonde. He smiled a bit, tears still falling, but he nodded just a bit all the same.

He smiled back the best he could.