these wildfires grow and grow

Christian wasn't planning on going anywhere. If things went his way, he would have all of the time in the world to make up the lost time from Cohort Five, to his people and Corinne. Soon enough, he hoped to give her some time away. He had a lot to think about, after everything that had happened. Of course, he didn't leave. How could he? He needed to be here. If something happened to Liam, and he wasn't around, he would regret it.

There was mostly silence in the room when the doctor left. Helmer and Rowan both had their eyes shut, and Christian felt sure they were asleep. He was relieved that they'd both felt safe enough to sleep. That they wouldn't wake up to their brother having passed. He could feel the gentle pressure of Rowan's head on his shoulder. He wasn't going anywhere. Not for a while. To help Rowan even a little was more important than anything else right now.

He was alone, with three people out of consciousness. He guessed now was as good a time as any to say what he wanted to to Liam Davenport. "I'm not good with this stuff. You know, I don't really have family. Not family I can see anymore, anyway. But um, you know, some people say you can still hear the outside in a coma. It's just stories. Some people say they're true. Some people say they're not. Either way, I never got to tell you some things." Christian opened up in a whisper. He didn't want to wake the other Davenports.

"You wouldn't believe it, but, I know what it's like for a parent to put you down." Christian continued. It was weird, to take the hand of Liam Davenport. Surely, the two hadn't been close at all. Their bond was strange and inconsistent. But Christian did so anyway. He wanted the man to live. Medically, this probably wasn't helping. But it wasn't hurting either. "I know you saw me spray paint his car." Christian admitted. "It was so long ago, but for years, I was terrified that it would come back. I know you saw it. And you didn't tell anyone. Thank you. I became a Centurion after. I get to help people everyday. I get to be a part of something. You could have taken that from me, taken everything from me, but you didn't." Christian could feel tears dwelling in his eyes. He knew that rationally, it was normal. He was tired, and the emotional roller-coaster of the last week had been horrifying. Not crying at this point would be crazy.

"I wasn't here for this one. But I almost wish it was my fault. To have your dad turn on you like that. How do you get passed that? Rowan's going to have to keep moving on after this. All of you will." But it wasn't so bad, was it? "They still have you though. It's weird to have a brother for a dad, but much better to have Liam than Michael." The thought was bittersweet. He knew this night would stay with everyone in the Davenport family forever. There was no fixing that. All that could be done now was to move forward. "Wake up, Liam, whenever you can. This isn't you. You're not done here yet."

Christian let go of his hand, after a few minutes of silence. Liam would pull through. He had to. He was reminded of the gentle weight on his shoulder. A smile broke through on his face. How great this weight felt over the weight of yesterday, he couldn't even comprehend. He brought his hand up to part Rowan's hair. His tired eyes finally shut, when his head rested against hers.