Opening up (Danny, open to Rachel, Cai and Zoe)

[daniel_marlow]

Since waking up, Danny hadn't allowed anyone other than his mother and Zoe in to see him. He did feel guilty keeping his girlfriend and his brother out, but there was a part of him which just didn't want to see the pity and pain on their faces when they finally laid eyes on him.

Zoe had been there to see what Greg had done to him firsthand, though there was more to it too. Danny saw Zoe as fiercely strong, whether she saw herself that way or not. He worried that he might have to pretend to be okay for Cai and Rachel, while he knew he didn't have to act for Zoe and he didn't have the energy to try anyway.

He had to face them sometime, however, especially since he was fairly sure Cai and Rachel had been waiting outside his room from time to time, as if keeping some kind of silent vigil for him. Danny was still struggling with whether he wanted to stay alive or not, as well. Could he really leave them without giving them a chance to see him? He didn't think he could.

Hesitantly, Danny told the nurse his friends were allowed in. He told his mother he wanted to see them on his own, however, though he had a feeling she was going to hover right outside his door. He was really okay with that. Then he steeled himself for their reactions to the state he was still in. He knew he looked terrible. He felt terrible. His hopes were that they felt better than he did.

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[runrachelrun.insanejournal.com]

She smiled gently, as if she would ever make fun of him for anything ever again, and, not entirely confidently, started to sing. She knew the first verse, but one verse wasn't enough. But Cai knew; Cai knew all the words, and wasn't bad at singing besides, and picked up the song effortlessly when Rachel couldn't go any further.

Zoe knew it too; she'd learned it growing up, but she didn't join in. It would take a lot to get her to join in, she thought, but she did find herself anticipating each verse before Cai sang it, and listening, but not watching, to hear how he handled it. He had a good voice. Not perfect, but unafraid. Fear had tinted his voice for such a long time, it was... something else, to hear him singing. Made her nervous, and she wasn't sure why.