33

Adrian felt warm.

Very warm.

Too warm.

He could feel the weight of a blanket smothering him, and tried to remove it, but found he couldn't move his hands.

He tried to wriggle from underneath the blanket, but his legs would move no better than his arms.

He opened his eyes slowly, wincing against the bright white light flooding the room he was in.

Speaking of which, where was he?

His thoughts were fuzzy.

He lay quietly for a while, trying to remember what had happened.

The last thing he remembered was Jamie telling him about a butterfly he'd seen.

A copper, Adrian thought hazily.

What did a copper butterfly look like?

Come to think of it, he didn't think there was such a thing as a copper butterfly.

He lay in the warmth for a while, humming to himself; aloud or in his head, he couldn't tell.

A copper butterfly.

He pondered briefly, before it suddenly struck him. There was a copper butterfly, he remembered. The red and black ones he sometimes saw in the park with Rachel.

Rachel! He screamed her name in his mind.

He wanted to see her, to hold her.

He missed her.

The warmth overwhelmed him again, and he moved his arms and legs experimentally.

He felt his leg twitch slightly, and smiled to himself.

He felt something shift beside him, something heavy, which smelled nice.

Something familiar, he thought vaguely.

Shaving cream, and coconuts.

Dom!

Adrian tried wriggling his arms again, hoping to let Dom know he was awake.

If Dom was there, then he wasn't dead, Adrian decided.

If Dom was there, he was safe.

"Dom." He managed a low mumble, his throat parched.

The weight lying beside him shifted, half-rising off the bed.

Dom's face swam before his eyes, getting clearer and clearer with every blink.

"Dom!" Adrian managed to croak.

He tried to sit up, to reach for Dom, but a pain shot down his side, making him groan.

"Lie still." Dom's voice was gentle in his ear. "You were injured."

He heard Dom's voice wobble, and felt a rush of fear.

"Bad?" He whispered.

"You died in the ambulance. It took ten minutes to get you breathing again."

Adrian felt something wet hit his cheek, and realised Dom was crying.

"Your lung collapsed when Jamie stabbed you, and he nicked your kidney as well. You've got... got bruises... on your neck, where he choked you. The doctors don't think you'll have any long-term damage to your spine or neck."

Dom stopped speaking, his voice choked.

Adrian managed to reach up to pat Dom's cheek gently.

"I'm fine," he mumbled.

Dom smiled and kissed his forehead gently.

"I thought I was going to lose you," he murmured softly, before shaking his head. "Do you want anything? Some water?"

"Water." Adrian croaked.

Dom gently lifted a cup to Adrian's lips, and let him take small sips through a straw.

Adrian felt his throat ease up a little, and smiled at Dom.

"Better." He sighed thankfully.

He felt his eyes drifting closed again, and fought to keep them open.

"Rachel?" He asked.

"She's at my place. It was her birthday party yesterday. She's had a couple of friends over afterwards, for a sleepover. Freddie and Tom are watching her."

Adrian nodded gratefully.

"I thought I wouldn't tell her for a couple of days." Dom carried on quickly, seeing Adrian's look. "I don't want her to worry about you. You look like death, Aidy."

Adrian considered for a moment, before he nodded, his face awash with disappointment.

"I'll bring her as soon as you're better." Dom promised.

Adrian smiled at him.

"You don't look so hot yourself, you know," he said dryly.

Dom nodded.

"I know. I... haven't been sleeping well."

Dom sighed, and settled himself back down against Adrian's body. He rested his head beside Adrian's shoulder, his arm draped protectively around Adrian's waist, carefully avoiding his wound.

"I thought I'd lost you," he whispered again.

"I'm tougher than I look," Adrian said grimly.

He tugged Dom's ponytail affectionately.

"Nice to know you were worried, though." He smiled sleepily.

They lay in silence for a while, listening to the others' breathing, content with each other's company.

"You did very well, you know," Dom said quietly after almost an hour's silence. "Doing what you did in that shop..."

Adrian smiled.

"I had to do something," he muttered. "I had to get away from him... things were starting to go back to the way they were. He was... demanding. I had to..."

Adrian flushed with shame.

"I had to sleep... with him..."

Dom looked at Adrian, his eyes gentle.

"I didn't enjoy it." Adrian continued before Dom could speak. "It was... I had to. To make him believe I..."

Dom interrupted him quietly.

"It doesn't matter, Aidy," he murmured. "I know you didn't want it."

He stroked Adrian's cheek gently, before kissing his forehead.

"Go back to sleep, love. I need to make a call."

Adrian was about to protest, when he found his eyes closing with exhaustion.