Re-entry

The return to St. Jude’s wasn't a triumph. It was a tragedy.

Leo sat in a plastic chair in the hallway outside the ICU. His cast was wet with melted snow. His phone had been confiscated by a furious Dr. Evans. His parents had been called.

He was in trouble. But he didn't care.

All he cared about was the door to Room 412.

Raf had been rushed into emergency surgery. The valve repair couldn't wait until Thursday. His heart had given out on the hill.

"It’s my fault," Leo whispered to the floor. "I killed him. I wanted to be a hero, and I killed him."

Brenda sat down next to him. She looked tired. She handed him a cup of lukewarm coffee.

"He’s stable, Leo," she said softly.

Leo looked up, tears streaking his face. "Stable?"

"They had to operate immediately. It was touch and go. But he’s alive." She sighed. "You’re an idiot, Varras. You know that? You risked his life."

"I know," Leo choked out.

"But..." Brenda paused. "When they brought him in, before the anesthesia took him under... he was smiling. He told the EMTs he saw the stars."

Leo put his head in his hands and wept.

Epilogue: Connection Restored

Three days later.

Leo was back in Room 402. He was grounded. No books. No leaving the bed. He stared at the ceiling tiles, counting the dots.

The door opened. Brenda walked in.

She didn't say anything. She just placed a cell phone on his chest.

"Dr. Evans said you can have this back. Only because your vitals are depressing him."

Leo grabbed the phone. He powered it on.

It buzzed immediately.

**Gatsby:** *Hey, Old Sport.*

Leo let out a breath that shook his entire body.

**Leo:** *You’re alive.*

**Gatsby:** *Barely. My chest feels like a construction zone. But the plumbing is fixed. The valve works.*

**Leo:** *I’m so sorry, Raf. I shouldn't have taken you out there.*

**Gatsby:** *Shut up. It was the best night of my life.*

**Gatsby:** *Wait. Look out your window.*

Leo sat up. He looked across the courtyard to the West Wing.

In Room 412, the lights flickered. One, two, three times.

**Gatsby:** *I see you.*

Leo fumbled for his light switch. He flicked it. One, two, three.

**Leo:** *I see you too.*

**Gatsby:** *Doctor says I’m out of here in two weeks. Then rehab. Then... maybe I switch my major.*

**Leo:** *To what? Architecture?*

**Gatsby:** *No. Something with less math. But maybe I need a tutor. Someone who knows how to build things.*

**Leo:** *I might know a guy.*

**Gatsby:** *Good. Because I still owe you a date. One where we don't almost die.*

**Leo:** *Deal.*

Leo looked out the window. The rain had stopped. The campus was bright and alive. And in the palm of his hand, the signal was strong.