….
"Block S - Corridor 9." - the receptionist said, her voice clipped but not unkind. "...and about their condition, the doctor will be present there to speak to you shortly."
Regal didn't wait to hear the rest, as his eyes read through the signs of layout, but other than that nothing seems to be processing in his mind.
He bumped into many stools, shoulder brushed against a gurney someone had left too close to the wall, but he didn't stop.
Rock trailed just behind, slowing only when the hallway thinned out near the ICU entrance.
A glass wall separated them from the dimmed interior, through it, Regal saw movement - nurses, soft beeping, a figure on the bed with tubes and wires branching out like fragile roots.
Seren.
She looked impossibly small, that was the first thought that gripped him.
Smaller than he remembered, thinner, a single bandage traced the side of her forehead, and her arms lay still by her side, slack, like she had simply… forgotten to be awake.
Regal froze.
His hands found the edge of the glass and pressed flat against it.
A doctor finally approached from the far side of the ward, clipboard in hand, white coat swaying lightly, she looked like she hadn't slept either.
Her name tag said "Dr. Niveda."
"Is Mr. Reeves' family here?" She asked, gently.
"No, but they should be on their way, someone's reaching out to them." Regal replied.
"And what about the other patient, Seren Seraphsail?" The doctor paused, studying Regal's face, she had assumed he was here for Keanu, given what she had heard about having a celebrity patient. Not his agent then?
"I am her brother. Regal Seraphsail."
"Mr. Seraphsail." Her voice grew even softer. "About your sister - we have managed to stabilize her for now, but I need to be honest with you. Her injuries are severe, she has blunt trauma to her right side, two fractured ribs, and a partially collapsed lung. There are also signs of a head injury, and she hasn't regained consciousness since she arrived."
Each word hit Regal like a physical blow, but he fought to stay focused.
Rock stepped in. "Is she in a coma?"
"Not medically induced," Dr. Niveda explained. "Her body shut down naturally, it could be a protective response, we won't know the full extent of any cognitive effects until she wakes up." She paused. "We need to get her into emergency surgery immediately. The surgical team will be out to speak with you in a few minutes, and we'll need your signature on the consent forms."
"Of course." Rock nodded when Regal couldn't find his voice.
Trying to hold onto something hopeful, Regal managed to ask. "What about Keanu?"
"Mr. Reeves is awake and talking. He's banged up and shaken, but alert. He keeps saying he lost control on a curve, the road was wet, and he swerved to avoid something, though he's not sure what. His injuries are mostly minor." She hesitated. "He's been asking about her constantly."
"Overall, his injuries are more about mental rather than physical."
Regal nodded, once, then turned back to the glass.
"I want to see her before the surgery can start."
The doctor hesitated. "She is non-responsive right now."
"I still want to see her."
Unable to stop him, Regal was allowed inside.
The room was too motionless and silent - to the point he wanted his movie set like this.
Within a few steps, Regal stooped near the bed.
He reached for her hand. It was warm, but limp.
He sat.
"Hey." He whispered, eyes locked on her face. "It's me, you are gonna be okay, alright? You don't need to do anything, just rest, I am here, I am not going anywhere."
No response, but he didn't care.
The only thing that moved was the line on the monitor tracing her heartbeat - steady, but slow.
….
Minutes passed by and Regal signed the 'consent form' but chose to stay inside.
Outside, behind the glass door, the other people arrived and are trying to cope up with information Rock shared with them.
"She got the worst of it," he said, his voice heavy. "Mr. Reeves walked away with a dislocated shoulder and some hairline fractures in his leg."
Everyone went dead silent.
Gwendolyn's hand shot to her mouth, Darren rubbed his forehead, muttering something no one could catch.
"What about Regal?" Maggie asked quietly.
Rock just nodded toward the glass. "Aside from signing papers, he hasn't moved since they let him in there."
Further down the hallway, Simon sat alone on a waiting room bench, absently turning a car key over in his palm.
Around him, the typical hospital chaos continued.
Just a few seats down, some young guy had his phone propped awkwardly in one hand, earbuds in, staring at the screen with glazed eyes. He was watching, or rewatching, the Golden Globes livestream, something he had been looking forward to all week.
Yeah, he was stuck in a hospital, but for what? His buddy had broken a finger or something, nothing serious, the guy was probably off somewhere right now flirting with a nurse instead of getting it looked at.
What mattered to him right now, is the so many announcements he was so looking forward to.
Right then, the screen cut to the Best Director segment, making the youth deeply interested.
Not later, Regal's name was announced.
But the man wasn't present?
However, just than–
He caught a figure's movement from the corner of… his eyes.
He blinked.
Regal?
Right there, still in his expensive black suit, unbuttoned, his shirt wrinkled, and more over his pretty face was fully covered in sweat.
The youth's fingers loosened around his phone, a small gasp caught in his throat, but he swallowed it.
He looked back at the screen, where the buzz was growing around Regal's sudden absence from the award show.
Twitter was on fire.
Reporters speculating everything from illness to scandal.
But never this.
Never him… in a hospital waiting room, the sharp lights casting shadows on his face that made him look even more distant.
Even more unreachable.
He wanted to say something, ask, offer a hand.
But he couldn't, because something told him - this wasn't the moment.
And as time passed, more eyes started to notice, one by one, they turned.
A few nudged each other, murmured in confusion, but quickly second-guessed themselves, maybe it was someone who looked like Regal.
That would make more sense, because what the hell would a man who was supposed to be standing on stage in Los Angeles be doing here - in a hospital in this part of the city?
Most of them brushed it off, understandable, even expected.
But the weight of that moment wasn't lost on everyone.
Because there he was.
Still.
Still sweating.
Still not moving.
Still waiting for someone to come out and tell him that his sister will be alive.
….
[Next Day]
UCLA MEDICAL CENTER – 9:30 A.M.
….
A long white painted, lightly dimmed hallway of the hospital.
It was dead silence, except for the humming with the occasional distant beep of monitors within the closed doors.
The emergency surgery room had a soft red glow from the light over the operating room door - still lit - indicating the ongoing operation.
Eleven hours had passed.
Regal sat slouched in one of the waiting chairs, looking completely defeated - contrast to the online praises he was receiving.
He had long before switched off his mobile.
Gwendolyn sat beside him, trying to stay strong, as her hand hadn't left his shoulder for almost eight hours.
She squeezed it every now and then, reminding her presence and support.
Every time her fingers moved, he gave the smallest nod.
He knew she was trying, and he appreciated it.
But his thoughts kept slipping.
They were cruel, loud, and unwelcome - shaking his heart to its core.
His mind kept drifting toward the edge of something cold, memories of his father's crash three years ago…. and his death after a couple of days.
Now this… his sister.
Regal forced himself not to imagine the worst.
But it clung to his ribs like frost.
Gwendolyn glanced at him, even in his quiet, Regal was far from composed.
She had never seen him like this…. devastated, edge of breaking down, just… suspended - as if one wrong sound could shatter him.
And then, out of nowhere:
"Keanu…"
Regal's voice broke through the sterile air.
??It startled her.
Across the hall, Keanu Reeves sat slumped in a wheelchair.
His leg was elevated, wrapped in clean white gauze up to the knee,two fingers splinted and a sharp line of red along his left eyebrow where the stitches had set in.
He looked up slowly.
"Yeah?"
"…Is Seren pregnant?" Regal asked, almost too quietly.
Keanu blinked, stunned. "No - why?"
Regal's eyes flicked away. "Forget it."
Gwendolyn stared at him, trying to figure out the question behind the question.
Keanu didn't press either, he was in no state to, the guilt on his face was thicker than some random question, which was eating him away.
And Regal felt it - that horrible flush of guilt at the bottom of his throat.
Keanu was in that crash too. And yet here he was, sitting patiently, barely complaining, even though his body was wrecked.
Still, Regal couldn't help it. That question had somehow come to his mind, as he found it quite similar.
In his past life, he had read about a tragic accident - Keanu Reeves had lost his long-time girlfriend.
…also, she had been pregnant, almost eight months in.
The details which he had long forgotten came back, haunting him now for hours.
Regal rubbed his face, trying to scrub the thought out.
What are you thinking? He scolded himself. This world isn't the same, you don't believe in fate, this isn't written. Nothing is…
But how could he ignore it? He had met so many people from his past life already - some wildly different, others eerily similar.
Some had succeeded in ways they never had before, some had lost everything.
He looked up at the red light glowing above the emergency door.
Still on.
Gwendolyn reached over and clasped his hand this time.
"I am here…." She whispered.
"Right…" Regal tried to calm himself down.
….
After one more hour, the red light above the door finally blinked off.
Everyone - Regal, Gwendonly, Simon, Stephen Jr., Kenau - now gathered in the corridor heightened their senses.
No one said a word, as their nervousness peaked, and just then the same female doctor stepped out.
"Mr. Seraphsail?"
Regal stepped forward, Gwendolyn with him.
Behind them, the others followed in a semi-circle, as if afraid to hear from the back.
The doctor glanced at the group and then spoke directly to Regal. "She is stable. It took time, but we managed to stop the internal bleeding. A few fractured ribs, a minor concussion, and some lacerations… but nothing life-threatening."
Gwendolyn gasped, covering her mouth. Regal just stood there.
"Overall, she is out of any immediate danger. If things progress normally, she will regain consciousness in about a couple days. However, for safety we will monitor her in close quarters for the time being."
The weight in the hallway lifted like fog.
Out of danger… Regal exhaled a breath, as his knees almost gave away in relief. Gwendolyn buried her face in his chest, and he finally wrapped his arms around her.
"Thank you…" Regal said to the doctor.
The man nodded and disappeared back inside.
From his wheelchair, Keanu closed his eyes.
Simon slumped back onto a chair and muttered. "Holy hell…"
Samantha looked up at the ceiling, blinking furiously to keep her tears from falling.
Stephen Jr. wiped his face with his sleeve and muttered. "I need to call Deonte before the press starts guessing wild shit."
Rock, who had been leaning silently by the far corner of the hall all this time, gave a small nod.
Relief flickered across his otherwise expressionless face.
.
….
[To be continued…]
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