Chapter Text
Floyd's eyes flew open to chaos. Nurses and doctors were flying around him. A beeping alarm was sounding to his left.
There was something going down his throat that made him gag and begin to panic. He felt a slight pinch on his head where his mother had kissed him.
Floyd's heart was racing as a nurse shined a light in his eyes. He slammed his eyes shut at the intrusion and turned his head away.
"Floyd you're intubated. You need to calm down so we can remove the tube." A nurse said to his left.
Floyd stilled his body to be calm. He gagged again as the nurse removed the tube from his throat. He took in some breathes.
The beeping alarm was slowing down as the chaos came to a stand still.
"Floyd?" Dr. Plimsy asked from his right. Floyd opened his eyes and looked up at her. "Do you know where you are?"
Floyd looked around at all the nurses and the room, seeing medical equipment and an I.V. that he followed down to his arm. He looked back at the doctor and nodded.
"A hospital." His voice came out hoarse and dry. He began coughing.
His bed was moved into a sitting position. He was passed a small cup of water. He sipped greedily from it until it was empty. A nurse took the cup and Floyd looked up at the doctor.
His forehead felt itchy and he reached up and found that there were bandages.
"What happened?" Floyd asked the doctor lowering his hand back to his lap.
"We are not entirely sure." Dr. Plimsy said. "Your brother Clay brought you here three days ago from passing out from a panic attack. Your colors were all over the place. We've never seen that before. We got you stable and you slipped into a coma. We had to intubate you because you stopped breathing. Your brothers alerted us when the alarms went off. You coded."
Floyd nodded knowing he had died again and came back.
"Wait my brothers were here?" Floyd asked. "Wait where's my son? I need Asher!"
Floyd attempted to get out of bed. The nurses stopped him.
"Whoa take it easy. They are all outside in the waiting room." Dr. Plimsy said. "Let's make sure you're stable first and then they can come in."
"Please. I need to see my son." Floyd said. "I was having a panic attack in the first place because I was trying to get to him."
Dr. Plimsy looked at him with a serious face then it fell into understanding.
"Alright." Dr. Plimsy said. "I'll let them in for one hour. Then you need to rest. You literally came back from the dead. We were about to call it when you came back."
Floyd leaned back in relief as the nurses filed out, followed by the doctor.
Floyd had almost been dead dead this time. He really needed to give his family a break. Luckily he had his mother's angel kiss. The only thing that hurt at the moment was his head.
He was only granted a moment of quiet before it was chaos again. His brothers burst into the room followed by Viva and Poppy. All of them looked like they had been crying.
Asher practically jumped out of Bruce's arms onto the bed. Tears pouring down his face.
"Daddy!" Asher cried as he crawled up the bed and into Floyd's arms.
Floyd sighed in relief after his baby boy was back in his arms. Shushing him quietly. He looked up at his brothers who were looking at him like they couldn't quite believe he was alive.
"Hi." Floyd said quietly, his voice still scratchy.
Branch was the first to speak. Stepping forward. His eyes red and puffy.
"Hi." Branch squeaked out. He wrapped his arms around Floyd and Asher. Floyd could feel him trembling as Branch cried again.
This prompted the other brothers to step forward and hug any part of Floyd they could reach.
"You're going to give me a heart attack one of these days damn it." John Dory said gripping Floyd's arm with one hand and wiping his eyes with the other.
"Sorry to scare you guys......again." Floyd said.
"Scare?" Clay said stepping back. "Try down right terrified us."
"I'm glad you're okay Floyd." Poppy said stepping up beside Branch and rubbing his back.
"What happened bro? How did you end up here?" Bruce asked straighten up to stand. Floyd was sure that Bruce had returned to Vacay Island. So he must have come back once he knew of Floyd's condition.
"It all started about an hour after Boom left with Asher." Floyd said adjusting Asher in his hold. Branch stood up again but was gripping the side of the bed tight.
"It was the first time since we had been reunited that we were separated for more than a few minutes. I finally decided to lay down to make the time pass faster, but my brain starting making up all these scenario that Asher was in trouble. So I got up to go to the studio just to check." Floyd explained. "I had a flare up and my head started hurting this time. Then my thoughts started going wild, that Asher was in danger."
Floyd left out the part where his thoughts sounded like Creek.
"I started to panic. So I moved during the flare up. It was excruciating, but all I could think about was Asher." Floyd said stroking Asher's hair. He had fallen asleep on Floyd's chest.
"Why didn't you send your buzy bee?" Branch asked. "I would have brought Asher right home."
"I didn't even think of that. My brain was telling me Asher was in danger, even though I knew he was with you and Kismet." Floyd said looking over at Branch. "I made it to the middle of the Village before the pain was just too much."
"That's where I found you." Clay said patting his leg. "A troll came and got me from my book club. When I arrived you were gripping your head so hard you made yourself bleed and then you passed out."
Floyd reached up to touch the bandages again.
"When I woke up I was back in that bottle." Flod said quietly lowering his hand back down to hold Asher closer. "I thought that I had dreamt all this up. Reuniting with you and getting Asher back. It felt so real. Even Velvet sucking my talent out again felt real. Then you guys were in bottles all crystallized. Except for you Branch."
Floyd looked over at Branch again as tears welled in his own eyes.
"I realized it was all a dream when the version of you in the bottle was the baby I left behind. I was yelling at myself to wake up. Instead I ended up in the white nothingness again."
"White nothingness?" John Dory questioned. "Again?"
"Yeah. It happened back at Mount Rageous after the diamond shattered. When I died. I was all alone in nothing but white all around me. I heard all your voices and I prayed to the Muses to come back." Floyd explained. His voice got quieter as he spoke again. "This time though, I wasn't alone."
"What do you mean you weren't alone?" Branch asked almost hysterically. Poppy grabbed his hand to ground him.
Floyd stayed quiet for a few minutes before he looked up at his brothers.
"I saw Mom."
"Mom?" Bruce said his hands going to his chest. John Dory gasped and Clay teared up and Viva grabbed Clay's hand. Branch looked indifferent. He had never met their parents. Floyd could tell he didn't know how to feel.
"She was so beautiful and warm." Floyd said. "She told me she love us all and thay we have lovely lives ahead of us and not to waste a second."
"Bruce, she wants you to know you made her a grandmother too early." Floyd said looking at Bruce with amusement.
Bruce flushed then laughed out loud. The atmosphere shifting slightly to a lighter tone.
"What can I say. Starting a family at nineteen isn't uncommon amongst trolls." Bruce said laughing again.
"Nineteen? So Bruce Jr is sixteen right?" Branch asked wiping his eyes with his free hand.
"Almost. His hatchday is next month." Bruce said smiling at Branch.
Floyd laughed then looked at his other brothers.
"She also said to tell you three." Looking at John Dory, Clay and Branch. "To take the leap. Whatever that means."
Instantly they all flushed and looked away from Floyd. Which made Floyd laugh. Whatever they were thinking must have struck something with those words.
Floyd was about to say something else when Dr. Plimsy walked in and cleared her throat.
"Alright everyone! It's been an hour. Floyd needs rest and we need to check him over." Dr. Plimsy said.
Everyone quickly gave Floyd a hug as the doctor was ushering them all out the door.
"I'll let the guys know you are okay." Branch said. "They've all been worried sick about you."
Floyd felt appreciated that Branch's band mates care so much about him. They were all like little brothers to him.
When Bruce went to take Asher off his chest, Floyd's anxiety spiked.
"No!" Floyd said glaring, his hair flaring out to cover himself and Asher, making Bruce jump back.
"Whoa bro. I was just going to take him so you could rest." Bruce said holding his hands up.
"I think you should leave his son here. Not having him with him is what set all of this off in the first place." Dr. Plimsy said.
"Okay Floyd. I won't take him. Just make sure you get some rest." Bruce said walking to the door.
It took a few minutes after everyone left but the doctor and some nurses for Floyd to relax and retract his hair.
With just holding his hair like they for a couple minutes it exhausted Floyd and he collapsed back into the bed holding Asher tight.
"Alright Floyd. I'm just going to check your vitals and then you can rest for the remainder of the night.
Floyd just nodded and started to stroke his son's hair again. He would have to apologize to Bruce tomorrow. He hadn't meant to do that, but he didn't want anyone to take his son away.
No one was going to take his son away ever again.