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“Doctor, the Experiment is awake sir.” Says one of the interns pulling Doctor Hyunjin’s attention. “The Clone is no longer sleeping.”

“I’ll be there right away,” responds Doctor Hyunjin as he raises from his seat and follows her into the lab topped floor to ceiling with four massive tubes. The doctor soon comes before the one holding the successful clone.

“Ah, I see you’re awake,” says Doctor Hyunjin with a grin. “Do speak to me, Clone.”

“Why are the others not awake, Appa?” Complains the Clone. “I’m lonely. I’m so so lonely.”

“Well, your siblings were failures, died in the tube,” responds Doctor Hyunjin, “but not you. You fought. You survived. That’s what’s most important. Stop worrying about them. They don’t matter. You do. They mean nothing. You mean everything, all my hard work was not in vain thanks to you, my boy.”

“Then what am I to you, Appa?” Inquires the Clone.

“Simple,” responds Hyunjin with a cold dead empty stare, “you’re my perfect clone. Nothing more.” He then walks out the laboratory leaving the Clone alone.

Once back in his main lab away from the tubes and out of earshot of the Clone, Doctor Hyunjin and his intern talk. “As your only clone that has survived, don’t you think you should give him a name?” Inquires the intern of her boss. “You got lucky with him, so why not base a name around that?”

“Okay,” responds Doctor Hyunjin with a groan. “I will go bestow my Clone with a name.” He gets up and returns to where the test tubes are and where the Clone is still awake.

“It took you long enough,” responds the Clone. “When can I get out of here?”

“Not for awhile yet,” responds Doctor Hyunjin, “but I have decided on one thing. As the only one that’s survived, you are being given a name.”

“Oh!” Responds the Clone. “What have you decided to name me then, Appa?”

“Felix,” responds Doctor Hyunjin. “Because I got lucky with you.”

“Okay,” responds the Clone. “I’ll accept it. Will I ever be free, Appa?”

“Yes, eventually,” responds Doctor Hyunjin, “but not yet.” Doctor Hyunjin then leaves the room once more leaving Felix alone in the tube with his own thoughts.

Now alone, he goes back to sleep because he has nothing else to do, no one to talk to, because all the other experiments that surround him are just dead husks, motionless, empty, and oddly terrifying to him. He shudders trying to block them out of his brain. After hours of finally blotting them out of his brain, he falls asleep, stirring, twisting and turning as he sleeps. It’s the furthest thing from restful. As he sleeps, no matter how hard he tries, he can’t block the screams and agony of the other clones from entering his head and taking over his brain. As it continues to torment him, he calls out for the Doctor.

“Appa! Appa!” Cries Felix. “Appa!”

Doctor Hyunjin coldly ignores the cries. “Sir, don’t you think you should check on him? He sounds quite tormented.”

“Fine,” groans Doctor Hyunjin bregrudgingly, “I’ll go check on him.” He gets up from where he’s sat and goes and checks on Felix, soon finding him fighting his wires in the tube.

“Wake up!” Says Doctor Hyunjin in panic. “Come on! Wake up!”

Upon hearing the distraught screams of his father, Felix awakens. “Appa,” cries Felix as tears stream down his cheeks, “Appa. Why do these nightmares torture me so? Why can’t I get the screams of my siblings out of my head? Will they ever go away?”

“I…I don’t know,” responds Doctor Hyunjin as he reads the brain scan still in shock. “I…I don’t know.” He’s absolutely fascinated by the readings as he lets the meaningless comfortings leave his lips. “But maybe, we can find out together if you agree to stay in the tubes a little bit longer.”

“Okay,” nods Felix. “Okay.”

Chapter Text

Across the following hours, Doctor Hyunjin hooks Felix up to even more EEG wires among other bits and bobs. “Okay,” says Doctor Hyunjin, “when you’re ready, tell me what happened in that dream.”

“Okay,” responds Felix as he lets out a sigh, “okay. I heard the tormented screams of the dead experiments, of my siblings. They were calling on me to help them but I couldn’t. They pulled at me as I did my best to push them away. I fought and I fought and I fought. As I did, they continued to scream my name. Still, I couldn’t help them.” He begins to cry once more. “They were all too long gone, too far gone, but they didn’t realize that. I pushed on, past their grabbing arms and legs, but alas, I still couldn’t get free. That, that’s what my dream was before I finally awakened.” He’s bawling at this point. “I…I hope that helped, Appa. I…I hope that helped.”

“Yes, very much so,” responds Doctor Hyunjin. “Thank you, Felix.”

“Mmhmm,” sighs Felix quietly, “anytime, Appa.”

“It seems all their consciousness has ended up in you, somehow,” says Doctor Hyunjin as he looks over the results, “it’s absolutely fascinating!”

“No it’s not, Appa,” complains Felix, “it’s damn miserable. I just want it to stop.” He continues to bawl. “I…I just want it to stop.”

“And I will do what I can,” responds Doctor Hyunjin, “I promise, my son. I promise.” With that, Doctor Hyunjin takes the results and leaves the room.

As he does, he is greeted by his intern. “So,” she says, “do you know what is wrong with him? With Felix?” She inquires.

“Yes,” responds Doctor Hyunjin, “somehow his brain holds the consciousness of all the dead clones atop his own. It’s quite fascinating actually.”

“Sir, you could pretend to be less cold. Maybe hear him when he says he’s hurting, not just brush it aside,” responds the intern with concern.

“And I do hear him,” responds Doctor Hyunjin, snapping at his intern. “And I am doing what I can to help him!” With that, he walks away leaving his intern in the dust. Eventually, she catches back up.

“But sir,” responds the intern, “when you’re in there, I see you more focused on the results than on his actual pain. Don’t act like you don’t.”

“I am doing both, I promise,” responds Doctor Hyunjin, “I can reassure you that much. Now please just chill and go run his vitals. Please.”

“Okay,” responds the intern. She then goes in to check on Felix per his request. “Hey, Felix,” says the intern, “are you alright?”

“Honestly no,” responds Felix with a sigh as the tears continue to roll down his cheeks, “I never asked to be tormented by my dead brothers and sisters. Never wanted any of that. Never consented to any of that.”

“I know,” responds the intern, “but you very much are his pride and joy and he does worry about you, deep down.”

“Really?” Inquires Felix. “Am I really more than a lab experiment to him?”

“Yes, even if he doesn’t realize it,” responds the intern. “I can assure you. Your vitals are heightened by the way. Your heart rate is through the roof.”

“Yeah, because I haven’t been sleeping, the nightmares are too much so of course my heart would be racing,” responds Felix.

“Fair enough,” responds the intern. “Fair enough.”

“When will Appa be back?” Felix then inquires.

“He’s in a meeting with his superiors, so I honestly don’t know,” responds the intern with a tender smile, “but once he’s done, he’ll be back. Don’t worry.”

“Okay,” responds Felix. “Thanks for being nice to me by the way.”

“You’re welcome,” responds the intern with a smile before she leaves the room, “you’re welcome.”

Chapter Text

Not long after the intern leaves the room, Felix, absolutely exhausted falls back asleep. Once he’s fully asleep, in the deepest phase, the nightmares begin once more and this time, one of the clones speaks to him.

“I am 01,” Says the female clone. “What’s your name?” She inquires of Felix.

“Felix,” responds Felix. “Because I got lucky.”

“Yeah, you sure did,” responds 01. “But you know Appa doesn’t really care about any of us, right?”

“What?! That’s not true!” Responds Felix shaking his head. “That’s not true.”

“Oh but it is,” adds 02, “we’re just experiments to him. Nothing more.” He comes up behind Felix. “You’ll realize that soon enough. Why do you think he never lets you leave that cell of a tube of yours?”

“He does that to protect me,” responds Felix. “You know nothing.”

‘No, you know nothing,’ signs 03. ‘You know nothing.’

“The Mute is right,” adds 01, “you are oblivious to it all. You’re a lost cause.”

“No, you just misunderstand Appa,” Felix shoots back. “You all do. He’s doing it all to protect me.”

“Believe what you want, but you’re mistaken,” responds 02. “You’ll learn the truth with time, hopefully.”

“Yeah, hopefully, but I doubt it,” adds 01. With that, the voices of the other clones go silent in his head once more and he jerks awake.

“Oh good, you’re awake,” says Doctor Hyunjin to Felix. “What happened in this nightmare?”

“The dead clones, they talked to me,” responds Felix. “They told me that I shouldn’t trust you.”

“And why would they say that?” Inquires Doctor Hyunjin as he raises an eyebrow.

“I…I don’t know,” responds Felix. “They didn’t give me a full explanation. They were all rather vague. Oh, and I almost forgot, one of the three others, she was a Mute. She only spoke in sign language.”

“She was experiment three,” responds Doctor Hyunjin, “the first to mess up. She was strangled to death by her own vocal cords while in the process of forming in her tube. She never made it past day three in the tube.”

“Oh,” responds Felix as a tear forms in his eye, “that’s so sad.” It rolls down his cheek. “Poor 03.”

“Yes, sure,” responds Doctor Hyunjin flippantly, “was there anything else from that dream other than the conversation itself that you wish to tell me?”

“No,” responds Felix shaking his head, “no. No…”

“Okay,” responds Doctor Hyunjin before taking his new notes and data records and walking off, “okay.”

Chapter Text

Meanwhile in his office, Doctor Hyunjin continues to look over the scans of Felix’s brain and talking to himself. “My poor boy,” says Doctor Hyunjin to himself, “I think I’ve found the cause. Somehow there is a tumor in your ear. It’s leading to the voices.”

“Sir,” says the intern, “stop saying that aloud to yourself and go tell him already. Please.”

“Okay,” responds Doctor Hyunjin, “I’m going.” He runs off to give Felix the news.

“My son,” says Doctor Hyunjin, “I found out why you think you hold all their consciousness in your head.”

“Okay, Appa, do tell me,” responds Felix in tears, “please.”

“You have a tumor in your ear. It showed up on the recent scan,” responds Doctor Hyunjin, “it requires surgery.”

“Okay,” responds Felix, “anything to make it stop.”

“Okay, we’ll do the procedure in the morning,” responds Doctor Hyunjin, “until then, please do try to get some sleep.”

Felix nods and bows his head as the doctor leaves the room. Early the next morning, Felix is awakened, taken out of his tube, clothed, cuffed, and led to the operating room, and put under. Once he’s under, Doctor Hyunjin begins the surgery and several hours later, the tumor is successfully removed and Felix is sewn back up. A few hours after that, he comes to and sees himself cuffed to the bed but he doesn’t care.

“Am I better, Appa?” Inquires Felix of Hyunjin. “Please tell me, I’m better.”

“Yes, you’re better, my son,” responds Doctor Hyunjin. “We have one more set of tests tonight but that’s it. I promise.”

“Okay, Appa,” responds Felix. “Okay. Thanks so much, Appa.”

“Of course, son. Anytime,” responds Doctor Hyunjin, a smile actually on his face as he hugs his son, “anytime.”

Later that night, this time on a bed and not in his tube for the first time ever, Felix is hooked up to a final set of tests, all which come back normal. For the first time in all the time he’s been alive, for the first time ever, he’s fallen asleep with no issue and no voices. About two hours later, he awakens with a stretch, well rested.

“So, how are you feeling?” Inquires Doctor Hyunjin of Felix.

“I…I didn’t hear the voices, I don’t hear them anymore,” responds Felix with a smile. “Thank you, Appa.” He jumps up and hugs Hyunjin, “thank you so much!”

“Of course,” responds Doctor Hyunjin as he pats Felix on the back, eventually loosening up and hugging him back, “you’re so welcome, my son. You’re so, so welcome.”

“Please don’t tell me I have to go back in my tube,” says Felix once the two let go of the hug. He gives Hyunjin puppy dog eyes. “Please.”

“No, you don’t have to go back in your tube,” responds Doctor Hyunjin. “Not tonight.”

“Thanks Appa,” responds Felix hugging Hyunjin again, “thank you so so much.” Once he lets go, he goes and sits back on the bed in the secondary lab away from all the tubes and wires. For the first time in his life, he’s outside of the tube and absolutely loving his freedom. For the first time ever, he’s free of the voices and wouldn’t have it any other way. A few minutes later, he falls fast asleep, for the first time ever, sleeping the calmest he’s ever slept.

Chapter Text

Over the following days, Doctor Hyunjin continues to let Felix roam free throughout the laboratories. He even gives Felix some responsibilities of his own. “So, how do you like being free of your tube?” The intern inquires sweetly of Felix as he helps her with something.

“Honestly,” responds Felix with a smile, “I love the freedom! Thanks for asking! What’s your name by the way if you don’t mind me asking?”

“It’s Anna Claire,” responds the intern with a smile. “Thanks for asking.”

“You’re welcome,” responds Felix with a smile, “and that’s a very pretty name by the way.”

“Thanks,” blushes Anna Claire with a smile.

“How long have you worked for Appa?” Inquires Felix curiously.

“Only about two years now,” responds Anna Claire. “I enjoy it, mostly.”

“Mostly?” Inquires Felix confused.

“Yes, he’s not the nicest person in the world,” responds Anna Claire. “I guess you haven’t noticed.”

“But he loves me, calls me son,” responds Felix confused. “He’s nice to me.”

“Yes, because you are and because he does in his own weird way,” responds Anna Claire with a sigh. She then goes on her way to get back to work leaving Felix alone. Now alone, Felix returns to the room of tubes and looks at the failed experiments that were at one time his brother and his sisters.

“I wonder why you guys failed,” says Felix with a sigh, “I wonder. I doubt Appa will tell me though. He doesn’t tell me a lot of things.”

“What do you want to know?” Felix soon hears a voice behind him say. He turns to face the voice. It’s the doctor.

“Hey Appa,” says Felix, “I didn’t know you were there. I was just curious as to how I was the only success is all.”

“Okay,” responds Doctor Hyunjin. “Are you really sure you want to know? It’s a lot.”

“Yes,” responds Felix. “Please tell me. Please.”

“Fine,” sighs Doctor Hyunjin, “fine. 01 was my first go,” starts the Doctor, “she formed faster than her other siblings. She seemed strong, resilient, well, up until the last week. Once she started to come to, she freaked out, got twisted in her wiring, and strangled herself to death. That’s how 01 died. Now let’s talk 02. He, like his sister seemed strong at first as well. He was intelligent, wise, inquisitive. Two weeks before he was to be finalized, however, he had a seizure and coded in his tube. You already know what happened with 03. She was strangled by her own vocal cords because they formed faster and separate from the rest of her body.”

“Wow!” Says Felix stumbling back in shock as he takes it all in. “Wow.”

“See, I told you it was a lot,” responds Doctor Hyunjin. “I’ll give you time to process it all. It seems like you need it.”

“Yeah,” nods Felix. “Okay.”

With that, Doctor Hyunjin leaves the room. As he leaves out, he is confronted by Anna Claire.

“You told him, didn’t you?” Anna Claire inquires of Doctor Hyunjin.

“Yes, but only because he wanted to know. He’ll be fine,” responds Doctor Hyunjin, “I promise.”

“Sir, he’s just a child, you didn’t need to humor him,” responds Anna Claire.

“But he was going to learn the truth eventually, now drop it,” responds Doctor Hyunjin annoyed. “If you don’t drop it, I will use your unborn baby as my next experiment and I always keep my threats.”

“Yes sir,” responds Anna Claire, “how did you even know I was pregnant?” She’s taken aback in shock a little bit herself.

“You’re starting to show,” responds Doctor Hyunjin. “It’s kind of obvious.” He then rolls his eyes and continues on his way. Anna Claire goes off to collect herself elsewhere. Once she’s collected, she returns home to her husband, leaving work early for the day. She’s rattled and he can tell.

“Honey,” says Anna Claire’s husband as he gets up to comfort his wife, “are you okay? What happened? You look rattled.”

“My boss has no boundaries,” responds Anna Claire in tears at this point, “he threatened me. Threatened our unborn baby.”

“Okay, that is a yikes,” responds her husband as he continues to hold her close to him. “Why don’t you quit? It’s just an internship, not a real job.”

“True, and I realize,” responds Anna Claire with a sigh, “but there is a child in the picture there to, the Doctor’s Clone, Felix.”

“Huh?” Says her husband confused. “What kind of lab is this even?”

“That of a madman,” responds Anna Claire. “That of a madman.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” responds her husband still dumbfounded and beyond baffled. “Your boss is definitely definitely insane!”

“Yeah,” responds Anna Claire with a sigh, “he sure is. He definitely definitely is, but it feels like, at times, I’m the only one that can keep him sane. That’s why I stick around.”

“Well,” responds her husband, “just know it’s okay to quit. After all, he’s not paying you, so it would be fine if you left.”

“Yeah,” responds Anna Claire as she continues to let her husband hold her, “I know. I know.” She lets out a long sigh. “I know…and I promise I will quit, right before the baby is born. Promise.”

“Okay,” responds her husband, “okay.” The two share a kiss. “Okay.”

Chapter Text

A few more months later, Anna Claire holds to her word and quits the lab so she can spend her time being a full time mom. Soon enough, Felix notices the absence of his friend. “Where did Anna Claire go, Appa?” He inquires one day of Doctor Hyunjin.

“She quit, son,” responds the doctor bluntly. “She has a child of her own now to care for. You’ll meet the new intern soon enough.”

“Okay,” responds Felix with a disappointed sigh, “okay.”

“You shouldn’t get attached to the interns, son,” responds Doctor Hyunjin nonchalantly. “They all leave in time. There’s nothing keeping them here. Nothing pinning them down to here. I hope you understand that now.”

“Yeah,” sighs Felix with tears in his eyes, “I do now.” He sniffles. “I…I do now.”

“Good,” responds Doctor Hyunjin coldly, “good.”

“Hey Appa?” says Felix.

“Yes, son,” responds Doctor Hyunjin.

“Will I ever get to leave the laboratory? It’s so lonely here.”

“Maybe someday, but not yet,” responds Doctor Hyunjin, “the world isn’t ready for your kind yet. Not ready for Clones.”

“Okay,” responds Felix. “Will they ever be ready for my kind?”

“Eventually,” responds Doctor Hyunjin with a sigh, “eventually. But for now, you have to stay here where it’s safe and where I can protect you. I hope you understand.”

“Yes, Appa, I do,” responds Felix with a sigh. “I…I understand.”

“Good,” responds Doctor Hyunjin. He rests his hands on Felix’s knees and stares him directly in the eyes, “good.” He gives him one more pat before heading on his way.

About an hour later, Felix is approached by a strange man. A bit startled, he scoots back into the corner terrified.

“It’s okay,” says the voice kindly as the man approaches Felix, “I’m a friend. I’m the new intern. I’m Derrick. What’s your name?”

“Fe…Fe…Felix…” says Felix, his voice shaking. He’s still so scared and uncertain of the man before him. “You’re not going to hurt me, are you?”

“No, never,” responds Derrick, “I promise. You’re safe. Everyone here has your best interest at heart.”

“Okay,” responds Felix. “Okay…” He slowly gives Derrick his hand and Derrick helps him to his feet.

“It’s okay to be scared of something new, something different, you know?” Says Derrick to Felix. “It’s what makes us human.”

“I…I’m Human?” Says Felix confused.

“Yes,” responds Derrick. “You are very much human.”

“But…but I’m a clone…” says Felix.

“Yes,” responds Derrick, “that doesn’t make you inhuman though. You’re still very much a human. I can assure you.”

“Okay,” responds Felix. “Okay. Appa’s never called me human. He just calls me by my name or calls me Clone.”

“Well,” responds Derrick, “it’s not a word used a lot when defining oneself.” He chuckles a bit. “It’s an inherent state of being. I hope that makes sense.”

“Um…yes,” says Felix thinking a minute, “yes, yes that makes sense.”

“Okay, good,” responds Derrick. How old are you? What’s your age?”

“What does that mean?” Inquires Felix confused once more.

“It’s how long you have been alive, often defined in days, weeks, months, years,” responds Derrick. “So how old are you?”

“I’m almost a year old then,” responds Felix. “What age do I look?” He then inquires curiously.

“You look like someone in their twenties,” responds Derrick with a chuckle. He cracks a smile. “You definitely don’t look your age. Not that that’s a bad thing. That’s actually a good thing, if I’m being entirely honest.”

“Okay, cool,” responds Felix, “cool. What’s the outside world like?” He inquires curiously. “I’ve never left the lab.”

“It’s beautiful,” responds Derrick with a smile. “There’s green grass. Beautiful colorful flowers. Blue skies. White puffy clouds. Animals of all shapes, sizes, and colors. Maybe one day, you’ll get to see it for yourself.”

“Yeah, maybe,” responds Felix, “maybe.” He lets out another sigh. “Maybe. After all, Appa doesn’t feel too keen on letting me leave ever. Unfortunately.”

“Yeah,” responds Derrick, “but don’t lose hope. You’ll see the outside world someday, I’m sure.”

“Yeah,” responds Felix, “I hope you’re right. Boy! Do I hope you’re right.”

With that, the conversation ends and Derrick goes off to work leaving Felix alone once more. In the silence, he replays his and Derrick’s conversation in his head and smiles. “He’s friend,” says Felix to himself with a smile, “I like him.”

Chapter Text

Later that night after the Doctor’s turned in for the night, Felix tiptoes off and sneaks into the sleeping pods of the interning staff. Once inside, he soon finds Derrick and awakes him. “What do you want, Felix? It’s late,” says Derrick with a yawn as he rubs his eyes. “That, and you’re not allowed to be in here. Go back to your room.”

“But I’m lonely,” whines Felix. “I’m so, so lonely.”

“I’m sorry, but you need to return to your room,” responds Derrick as he rolls back over. “Go back to bed.”

“Okay,” sighs Felix dejected. “Okay.” He then bows his head and leaves the room, returning to his room absolutely dejected.

Once back in his room, Felix stares blankly at the ceiling as he lays there on his bed. He lets out a sigh. “I wonder what outside is like,” he sighs to himself, “I wonder.” He moves his hand as if he’s scooping air. “I wonder. Hmmm.”

After several more minutes of being lost in thought, Felix lets out a yawn and finally falls fast asleep. As he sleeps, he dreams of what he imagines the outside world to be. In his dream, the outside world is just pure green with flowers on the ground below and a pure blue sky above with big poofy marshmallow shaped clouds. He smiles and coos as he imagines it.

Several hours later, around 6:00 the next morning, Felix awakens to the sound of a thud down the hall. Curious and a bit startled, he goes to check it out. Soon enough, he finds the doctor on the floor and rushes to his side. “Appa! Appa!” Screams Felix worried. “Are you alright?! Appa!”

“Stop screaming, I’m fine,” Doctor Hyunjin hisses at Felix. “Just help me up.”

“Okay, Appa,” responds Felix with a nod. He then promptly pulls Doctor Hyunjin to his feet. “Do you fall like that often?” Inquires Felix concerned.

“I have a bad leg, I’m fine,” responds Doctor Hyunjin shrugging it off, “I promise.”

“Okay, Appa,” responds Felix, “okay. I believe you.” He helps Doctor Hyunjin to the seat where he soon sits down. “What happened to your leg?” Inquires Felix still concerned. “You can tell me, Appa.”

“Fine,” sighs Hyunjin, “I got in an accident awhile back and lost my leg. Been on a prosthetic ever since. Im used to it, I promise. Sometimes I just lose balance and fall, that’s all. It’s nothing to worry about. I promise.”

“Okay, Appa,” responds Felix. “Okay.”

“Why were you snooping around last night, my son?” Doctor Hyunjin then inquires of Felix. “What were you up to?”

“I…I was lonely, same as always,” responds Felix. “Sometimes I get bored at night, so I wander. That’s all. I promise. Please don’t be mad with me, Appa.”

“Okay,” responds Doctor Hyunjin, “and I’m not mad. You’re not in trouble. I promise, okay?”

“Okay,” responds Felix, “okay.”

With that, Felix drops it and goes off to do some more exploring with the Doctor’s permission. After all, if he’s going to be stuck there, he might as well get used to every inch, nook, and cranny of the god-forsaken place.

Chapter Text

As Felix continues to explore the premises, Felix finds the first door ever that’s not a dummy exit door. It’s nonchalant, unassuming. “Back door,” reads Felix as he pushes on it. As it moves, he pulls his hand back startled. “Back door.” As he goes to reach for it again, his arm is grabbed and he is stopped. It’s the Doctor.

“Son, I think it’s time for you to go back in your tube. Your curiosity has gotten the better of you. Now, come with me.”

“No!” screams Felix kicking and screaming as Doctor Hyunjin and his assistants and interns drag him back to his tube. “No! No! No!”

“Son, stop screaming, it’s for your own good,” responds the Doctor with a death glare, “it’s a dangerous world out there and you’re not ready for it yet.” With that, Doctor Hyunjin loads Felix back into his tube, reconnects the wires to him, and puts him under. “I’m sorry, son,” says Doctor Hyunjin as he closes the tube, “but it’s all for the better. I promise.”

As Felix’s eyes close, the last thing he sees is the Doctor standing before him. He tries to call out, but alas, he is helpless and cannot. Soon enough, he’s out cold, comatose with no idea for how long.

Meanwhile back in his office, Doctor Hyunjin has a chat with his interns and his full time staff. “So, who told the Clone about the Back Door?” Inquires Doctor Hyunjin furiously. “There’s no way he’d find it on his own!”

No one makes a single peep. They all just stare at the Doctor with blank stares on their faces. They stand there cowering in fear of the irate man. “Come on! Do speak up! Someone!” Growls the Doctor angrily. “Please!”

“Sir, he’s a smart kid,” Derrick finally speaks up. “He was going to find the true exit eventually. Let’s just be realistic here.”

“I am being realistic!” Snarls Doctor Hyunjin now right up in Derrick’s face. “Now if the true culprit would speak up, I’d love to hear it!” Once more, it’s crickets as all the others go and hide behind Derrick, pushing him to the forefront. “Is there something else you want to tell me, newbie?”

“Okay! Yes!” Says Derrick coming clean. “I did tell him about the outside world but only because he asked. Felix is a curious kid. He loves to explore. He’s inquisitive. He’s literally acting just like a child would act because that’s just what he is, he is a child, so let him be one! Hell, let the kid go outside.”

“Absolutely not!” Says Doctor Hyunjin enfumed. “Absolutely not! Now go pack up your stuff! You’re no longer welcome here!”

“Yes sir,” responds Derrick as he bows his head. “Yes sir.” He then walks way in defeat, his head held low. A few minutes later, he goes to the sleeping quarters and packs up all his stuff before being escorted out of the building by the Doctor personally.

“Never come back, is that understood?” Says the Doctor as he snarls at Derrick.

“Yes, sir,” responds Derrick. “Understood.” And with that, he walks back to his old apartment, head bowed low in shame, absolutely dejected.

Once he’s sure Derrick is gone, Doctor Hyunjin returns back inside to go and check on Felix. “I’m so sorry, my son,” says the Doctor as a tear rolls down his cheek and onto the floor. “I never wanted to hurt you but you left me no choice. I do all this to protect you and I hope someday you’ll realize that. I really and truly do.” Another tear falls. “I really and truly do.”

A few minutes later, he is interrupted by a small peep. He turns around to find one of his assistants standing there. “What do you want, Hanna?” Inquires Doctor Hyunjin. “You scared me.”

“Sir, the investors are here for the meeting,” responds Hanna.

“Okay,” responds Doctor Hyunjin, “I’m coming.” He wipes the tears from his eyes. “I’m coming.”

A few minutes later, Doctor Hyunjin enters the conference room where he is greeted by the investors.

“It’s good of you to join us, Doctor,” says the first of the three investors, Mr. Gi. “We thought you’d forgotten about us. How are things going with the experiment?”

“There’s been a hiccup but other than that, it’s been fine,” responds Doctor Hyunjin, “everything’s fine. I assure you.”

“Okay, good,” responds the second, Dr. Xo.

“Can you show us the experiment?” Inquires Mr. Gi.

“Maybe in a week or two,” responds Doctor Hyunjin, “like I said, today we had a bit of a hiccup with the experiment. I do hope you understand.”

“We do,” responds the third, Mrs. Shi. “We’ll be back in three weeks.” With that, she and the other two leave the building and Doctor Hyunjin then returns downstairs to where Felix is once more.

“I’m sorry, my son,” he says as he runs his hand down the tube. “I’m sorry. I’ll wake you up in a couple of weeks, I promise.” He lets out a long sigh. “Just not, just not yet. Not until you’ve learned your lesson. Not until you’ve learned your lesson.” With that, he leaves the room and returns to his office once more. All the while, Felix’s near escape is the only thing still on his mind.

Chapter Text

Meanwhile at his apartment, Derrick begins to advise a plan to break Felix out for good. “I can raise you way better than the Doctor can,” he sighs to himself, “it’s for the best. For your best interest, my dear friend, my dear Felix.”

“Derrick, what are you doing?” He soon hears a voice behind him inquire. It’s his roommate and his brother.

“I’m planning to break back into work, Dan,” responds Derrick.

“Okay, but why?” Responds Dan confused.

“To save my friend,” responds Derrick bluntly. “That’s why.”

“Okay, so do you want the help of my Hijackmen?” Inquires Dan. “We’re all yours. Just say the word.”

“Yes,” responds Derrick, “I need your help, need their help. It’s the only way this is going to work.”

“Okay,” responds Dan. “I’ll go give the boys a call.” He then steps away to make the call, explaining the situation to his fellow Hijackmen.

“Okay,” responds Jack to Dan, “we’re in. When do we want to do the break-in to H.H. Labs?”

“Night after tomorrow,” responds Dan.

“Okay,” responds Jack, “we’ll see you then.”

Dan then returns in to Derrick. “It’s done, Little D,” says Dan to his brother. “Night after tomorrow, we’ll break in and save your friend.”

“Great,” responds Derrick with a smile, “thank you, big brother.”

“Of course,” responds Dan. “Anything for you, Derrick.” He pats Derrick on the shoulder. “Anything for you.”

Soon enough, the night of the break-in rolls around. Once they’re sure the Doctor is asleep for the night, Derrick scans his card and they all enter the building. Derrick then leads them to the room of tubes. There, Dan and Jack disconnect the alarm system attached to the tubes. Derrick readjusts Felix’s vitals until Felix awakens.

“Derrick?” Says Felix confused. “What are you doing back? Didn’t Appa fire you?”

“Yes, so shhh,” responds Derrick. “Shhh.” Felix nods. A few minutes later, the tube rises and Derrick detaches Felix from the wires. He then helps a drowsy Felix get dressed in his secondary set of lab clothes as well as a beanie cap. They then all bear the weight of Felix and carry him out of the building and into Derrick’s truck, soon taking him to Derrick’s house.

Once at the house, Derrick plops Felix down on his couch. “Ow! Gentle!” Screams Felix. “I’m not some rag doll.”

“Oh, sorry,” Derrick apologizes. “But on the bright side, at least you’re finally free.”

“Yeah, but for how long?” Inquires Felix. “As soon as Appa realizes I’m missing, I’m actually a goner.”

“Okay,” responds Derrick. “But you can’t go back, not now. You’re actually free now. Like actually, actually free.”

“Yeah, I know,” responds Felix. “I know. And I will enjoy it while I can. Hopefully.”

Meanwhile back at the lab, the secondary alarm system finally kicks in, alerting the Doctor and awaking him. “Oh no!” Says the Doctor in a panic. “Someone has broken in!” He jumps to his feet and rushes straight to the room full of tubes where sure enough, he finds Felix missing. “Someone’s stolen the Clone! Stolen my son! And I need to get him back!”

“Yes sir,” responds one of his security guards, “we will find him and bring him home, we promise.”

“Okay, good,” responds Doctor Hyunjin, “good.”

Chapter Text

With that, the security guards get to work on searching the premises for clues and for Felix. Soon enough, they find the cut wires around the tube as they’re shining around their flashlights. “Sir, over here,” says the head of the security guards. “Those wires are newly cut.”

“Yes, they sure are,” responds Doctor Hyunjin. “Good job, Seong.”

“Thank you, sir,” responds Seong before he gets back to searching. Soon enough, he finds familiar finger marks on the panel that controls Felix’s tube. “Sir!” Hollers Seong. “Come look here!”

“I’m coming,” responds Doctor Hyunjin. He comes to where Seong is. “I know those prints,” says Doctor Hyunjin, “they’re Derrick’s. The intern I just fired. They’re his. Looks like it’s time to call the police and report a kidnapping.”

“Yes sir,” responds Seong. “You do that.”

Doctor Hyunjin nods and dials 9-1-1. “Hello, 9-1-1, what is your emergency?” Inquires the lady.

“We had a break in and kidnapping at H.H. Labs,” responds Doctor Hyunjin, “I’m the owner, Doctor Hwang Hyunjin.”

“Yes sir,” responds the 9-1-1 dispatch lady, “do you know by chance who kidnapped your son or daughter?”

“Son, and yes,” responds Doctor Hyunjin, “it was one of my former interns, Derrick, just to spite me for firing him.”

“Okay,” responds the 9-1-1 dispatch lady, “the cops are on their way to you now. They’ll be there in five minutes.”

“Okay,” responds Doctor Hyunjin, “thank you.”

Five minutes later, the police arrive and the Doctor lets them in. They then sit him down and talk with him. “Do you have a description of your son and of his captor?” Inquires the officer, Captain McLoud.

“Yes,” responds Doctor Hyunjin. “My son is about my height, black hair, brilliant green eyes. His name is Felix.”

“And the captor?” Inquires Captain McLoud.

“His name is Derrick. He’s a taller young man, in his twenties, thirties, used to intern here. If I recall, the last name is Dean.”

“Okay,” responds Captain McLoud. “We’ll get on that right away.” The police then leave, going off in search of Derrick and of Felix.

Chapter Text

Several hours later, while out on a morning walk, Derrick and Felix are spotted by one of the patrolling police cars. “Sir,” says the officer as he gets out of the car, “you’re under arrest for break-in and kidnapping from your place of prior employment. Put your hands behind your back.”

“Yes Officer,” says Derrick as he bows his head. The officer then promptly cuffs Derrick and puts him in the car. He then helps Felix into the car.

He then radios his boss, Captain McLoud. “Sir,” says the officer, “I have the suspect in custody and the kidnappee secured.”

“Okay,” responds Captain McLoud, “good job, Rosas.”

“Thank you, sir,” responds Rosas before hanging up the radio. About fifteen minutes later, he pulls up at the station and leads the pair inside. Once inside, they throw Derrick into a holding cell and take Felix to one of the interrogation rooms where Hyunjin is waiting on him. There, they begin to ask Felix a bunch of questions.

“No, I never asked for any of that,” says Felix to the officers, “I was still partially unconscious as it was happening. It all happened so fast.”

“Okay,” responds Captain McLoud, “okay. I have no more questions, you can go home now, kid.” Felix nods and is led out by Doctor Hyunjin. They then hop in the Doctor’s truck and return to H.H. Labs.

“I was worried about you, my son,” says Doctor Hyunjin as he leads Felix back into the halls of the labs. “Now let me show you to your new room.” Felix nods.

“Okay, Appa,” responds Felix timidly, “okay. I never wanted to break out. I promise you, that.”

“I know, my son,” responds Doctor Hyunjin, “I know. Here we are.” He motions into the empty room with nothing but a hospital room table and miscellaneous wires on the wall. “This is your new room. Go inside.” Felix nods and goes inside. He then lays down on the table per the Doctor’s request.

“Appa,” says Felix confused, “this is nothing like my old room. What’s going on?”

“I’m sorry, son,” responds Doctor Hyunjin as he presses on the button of the remote he has hidden in his pocket, “I’m so, sorry.”

“Appa,” cries Felix as the wires come toward him, “I’m…I’m scared. Why? Why are you doing this to me?” Soon, he hears the metal click around his wrists and ankles. He’s soon cuffed up in the air, off the table below. “Appa, why are you doing this to me? Appa? Appa?” He continues to cry, absolutely terrified. “Appa? Appa? Appa…”

“Shhh, quiet my son,” says Doctor Hyunjin as he rolls in his chair and sits down. As he does, the wheels tuck away and two legs come out and latch to the floor. “You know it’s all for your own good. It’s a dangerous world out there.”

“No, it’s really not, Appa,” cries Felix, “it’s really not. Outside it’s sunny, happy, there are birds singing, nice smelling flowers, nice people. It’s the furthest thing from dangerous.”

“I forget,” responds the Doctor, “you’re still a child. You only focus on the ideal things of the outside world, but there’s more to it than the happiness, the sunshine, the flowers, the butterflies. I wish you’d realize that. Maybe in time you will. Maybe.”

“Appa,” cries Felix, “please let me go. They hurt. The cuffs, they’re hurting me.” He continues to bawl. “Why are you hurting me? I did nothing wrong. I did nothing wrong.”

“I know, son,” responds Doctor Hyunjin, “I know, but I also can’t risk you escaping again. I’m sure you understand.” He then leaves the room locking the door behind him, leaving Felix alone in the darkness to cry on his own.

Chapter Text

Meanwhile alone in the darkness, Felix continues to call out but with no use. “Appa!” He cries, tears pouring down his cheeks, “Appa! Appa! Appa! Please answer me, please. Please… Appa! Appa! Appa! Let me down! Let me go! Please. Please… Please… I’ll be good, I promise! I won’t escape! I don’t want to escape! Not, not anymore! Please just let me go! Please. Please… Please…” After several more hours, he bows his head in defeat as well as because he’s absolutely exhausted.

Upon him putting his head down, the contraption registers it, reconnecting the electrodes forcibly to his forehead causing him to scream out in pain. “Ow!” Screams Felix. “Ah!!! That hurt!” He continues to whine, cry, and wale. He also continues to scream out for his father. “Appa!” Felix continues to cry. “Appa! Please make it stop! Please! Please… I’m begging you, please… please.” The tears continue to roll down his cheeks, “Please. Appa… Appa… please.”

Meanwhile in the room on the other side of the door, Doctor Hyunjin just stands there coldly, one of his assistants at his side. “Sir, why do you torture him so? He’s done nothing wrong. If anything, you’re confusing the poor thing and not teaching him anything like you think you are,” says Hanna to the Doctor.

“I think you may be right,” says Doctor Hyunjin finally letting out a sigh of defeat. He reaches into his pocket and hits the buttons to turn off the machine.

“Huh?” Says Felix as he watches the wires fall off his forehead and the cuffs fall away, “what’s going on? Did Appa finally come around?”

“Yes,” responds Doctor Hyunjin as he opens the door with another button and goes inside, “I’m sorry about earlier. I was just so mad and overreacted, taking it out on you. I’m sorry, my son. Please forgive me.”

“Okay, Appa,” says Felix as he hugs Doctor Hyunjin around the waist, “okay. Can I go back to my old room now? Please.”

“Yes,” responds Doctor Hyunjin. “You may.” He then leads Felix back to his old room, tends to his wounds, and tucks him in for the night. “I really am sorry,” says the Doctor with a sigh, “and I promise never to hurt you like that ever again.”

“Okay, Appa,” responds Felix as he hugs the Doctor. “Okay.” The Doctor then stays with Felix until he finally falls fast asleep. Seeing him now peacefully slumbering, he smiles and kisses him on the forehead before leaving the room and turning in for the night himself. As he sleeps, he can’t get Felix’s agonizing screams out of his head, and as he hears them play over and over in his head, tears begin to stream down his own cheeks. It’s the first time the Doctor has cried ever and maybe, just maybe it means he truly is changing for the better.

Chapter Text

The next morning, the Doctor awakens about 3:00 AM, as he cannot sleep. Felix’s agonizing screams haunt him too much. As he cannot sleep, he goes and makes himself some coffee before going and checking on Felix, who is still fast asleep. As the hours continue, Felix still doesn’t awaken and the Doctor begins to worry. He immediately hooks Felix up to an EEG, and as feared, he’s in a constant seizure state. “Oh my poor boy,” says the Doctor in tears, “this is all. This is all my fault.” The tears stream down his cheeks. “This is all my fault.”

“Sir, it’s time to call in a proper Doctor,” says Hanna to Doctor Hyunjin, “if not, his status epilepticus could lead to his death.”

“Yes, you go do that, I’m not leaving his side,” responds Doctor Hyunjin.

Hanna nods and goes off to make the call. Minutes later, an ambulance arrives at H.H. Labs and Felix is loaded onboard while the Doctor climbs in behind him. Felix continues to seize all the way to the hospital.

Once at the hospital, Felix is hooked up to an IV and Oxygen mask so he can breathe. Blood tests are run as are other tests, a CT and an MRI.

“His Brain has been damaged bad,” says the doctor in shock as he tells Doctor Hyunjin the news. “I’ve never seen anything this bad as far as status epilepticus cases go in my hospital.” He then explains what he’s doing next to Doctor Hyunjin. As he talks, he puts the anti-seizure medications through Felix’s IV. All the while, Felix is hooked up to a continuous EEG, so everything can be monitored properly.

The doctor continues to explain the situation to Doctor Hyunjin. “There’s a good chance he could die from this, sir. You do know that, right? His brain is extremely inflamed and he’s had massive head trauma in particular.”

“I didn’t realize it was that bad, no,” responds Doctor Hyunjin with a sigh. “Is there anything you can do to save my son?”

“Other than hope and pray the medications take, no not really,” responds the doctor. “I’m sorry.”

Over the following hours, Felix continues to seize. Eventually, about twelve hours later, he comes back to. “Appa…” says Felix weakly, “am I dying, Appa?”

“His brain waves have returned to a normal rate,” says the doctor to Doctor Hyunjin. “He is going to recover after all.”

“No son,” responds Doctor Hyunjin crying happy tears, “no, you’re not.”

The doctor then speaks directly to Doctor Hyunjin. “The meds that took and worked was the lorazepam. It just took a little longer than usual. It will be his current prescription going forward because he does have epilepsy from whatever caused that immense head trauma.”

“Okay,” responds Doctor Hyunjin, “thank you, doctor.”

Later that day, the two pick up the prescription from the pharmacy before returning to H.H. Labs. Once home, Doctor Hyunjin mixes the first dose into a one ounce cup of apple juice and gives it to Felix. Felix promptly drinks it. “One dosage down for the day,” says Doctor Hyunjin, “two more to go.”

“Okay,” responds Felix, “okay.” Felix then goes off to a corner now set aside for him in his room to draw and color in his coloring books to relax, unwind, and destress so as not to have another seizure.

Chapter Text

Later that afternoon, Felix takes his second dose of medication, once more with apple juice. He then gets back to his drawings. As he draws, he talks to himself. “So, so this is my life now. I will never truly be normal. Not in any way.” He lets out a long sigh. “Because not only am I a clone, but I’m also epileptic now as well. I never asked for any of this. No, not at all.” He shakes his head. “No, not at all.”

About an hour later, Felix hears the familiar voice in the doorway. “Hey son,” says Doctor Hyunjin as he walks over to the table where Felix is still sat, “how are you doing?”

“I’m okay, for now,” says Felix with a sigh. He looks up at Doctor Hyunjin. “What am I to you, Appa?”

“You are my son,” says Doctor Hyunjin with a smile as he puts his hands on Felix’s shoulders, “that’s what you are. You’re my son.”

“Okay,” responds Felix. He lets out a gasp. “Okay…” He begins to seize as his eyes roll back in his head. Seeing it, Doctor Hyunjin puts the pillow from the bed onto the floor and lies Felix in the recovery position and sets the timer on his watch for five minutes. The minutes tick away, three minutes later, Felix finally coming back to. About three minutes later, his eyes flutter and he opens them. “Hey Appa,” says Felix with a smile. “What…what happened?”

“You had a seizure, my son,” says Doctor Hyunjin as he pushes the hair out of Felix’s face, “but you’re okay now. It only lasted three minutes, so it wasn’t too big a deal.” Doctor Hyunjin messes with Felix’s fingers, playing the finger tapping game with the boy. After a few more minutes, Felix is finally able to sit up. Once he’s up, he pulls himself into the Doctor’s lap and curls up there.

“It’s going to be like this forever, isn’t it, Appa?” Felix inquires as he looks up at Doctor Hyunjin.

“Yes, most likely,” responds Doctor Hyunjin, “there’s no cure for epilepsy like there is for other things, my boy.”

“Oh,” responds Felix disappointedly. “Okay.”

“But you will have me to help you through it all, I promise,” the Doctor reassures Felix as he plays with his hair, “I promise.”

“Okay,” says Felix as he lets out a yawn and closes his eyes, “okay.” A few moments later, he’s fast asleep on the Doctor’s lap. All the while, the Doctor just smiles at his son and runs his fingers through the boy’s hair. He has absolutely no intention of admitting that the boy’s current condition is partially his fault, absolutely no intention of that whatsoever.

Chapter Text

Later that night, Felix is given his meds in his bedtime snack of chocolate pudding. “There,” says the Doctor to the boy, “last dosage of the day is done now.”

“Thanks, Appa,” says Felix with a smile. He stretches his arms as he lets out a yawn. “Goodnight, Appa.”

“Goodnight, son,” says Doctor Hyunjin as he gives the boy a hug. “Goodnight.” He then turns off the light and leaves the room. As soon as the light is out, Felix is out like a light. The night goes by uneventfully.

Early the next morning, the Doctor hears a crash come from Felix’s room followed by a loud thud. Upon hearing the loud noise, he runs into the room where he soon finds Felix on the floor about to seize. He promptly grabs the pillow and once more gets Felix in the recovery position. He then puts on the timer on his watch as he sees the boy begin to seize. “One minute, two, three, four,” counts the Doctor before Felix finally comes to again. A few minutes later, his eyes flutter once more as he reopens them.

“Hey Appa,” says Felix weakly, “hey…”

“Hi, son,” says Doctor Hyunjin. He helps the boy lean up on him. He then hands Felix the cup of apple juice. Felix promptly downs it and with it, his medication.

“I had another one, didn’t I?” Inquires Felix of the Doctor.

“Yes, son,” responds Doctor Hyunjin, “you did.” He brushes Felix’s bangs out of his eyes. “But you’re alright now. I promise.”

“Okay, Appa,” responds Felix. “Okay.” As Felix raises his arm and hand into the air, Hyunjin sees the cuts and bruises.

“From the fall?” Inquires the Doctor of his son.

“Yeah, most likely,” responds Felix. Doctor Hyunjin then promptly gets up and gets the materials needed to treat the cuts and bruises. A few minutes later, he sits back down near Felix and tends to his wounds.

“Do you know how you fell in the first place?” Inquires the Doctor as he wraps up Felix’s wounds. “I need you to try to remember.”

“Got dizzy, must’ve passed out and rolled off the bed,” responds Felix. “Came to about two minutes after I hit the floor.”

“Okay,” responds Doctor Hyunjin as he finishes up wrapping Felix’s wounds, “okay. You need to be more careful, my son. I’m saying that because I love you.”

“I know,” responds Felix with a sigh as he looks up at the Doctor, “I know.”

“Okay, good,” responds Doctor Hyunjin smiling down at his son, “good.”

Chapter Text

“Hey son,” says Doctor Hyunjin to Felix, “do you feel up to a walk? Monitored, of course.”

“Yes,” nods Felix, “I think I can manage it.” He slowly pushes himself up and onto his feet. “Where are we going though? A walk through the lab? Outside?” He inquires curiously, hopefully. “Outside?”

“Yes, outside,” sighs the Doctor, “you’ve been through enough. You deserve just a little freedom.” Doctor Hyunjin takes Felix by the hand and leads him down the halls, through the dummy exits, and to the sign labeled “Back door”. Once they step through it, they’re outside at last.

“Whoa!” Says Felix taking it all in. “Whoa!” The two continue to walk down the wooded path behind the laboratories.

“I’m so sorry for keeping you locked up for so long, really I am,” says Doctor Hyunjin with a sigh as he and Felix continue to walk. “I hope you can forgive me.”

“Of course I do, Appa,” responds Felix with a smile, “you only did it to protect me after all.”

“Yeah, I sure did,” responds Doctor Hyunjin with a sigh. “I sure did… you’re right.”

“It’s so pretty out here,” says Felix as he continues to take it all in. “The music the birds are making is so pretty. The flowers are so colorful. The sky is so, so clear, so blue. The grass is so soft, so ticklish, so green.”

“Yeah, it sure is,” says Doctor Hyunjin, enjoying his son’s awe and wonderment at the world around him. “It sure is.” The two continue their walk down the path until they come to a bench where a slightly tired Felix soon sits down. They’ve only been walking for about twenty minutes at this point.

“Dizzy,” says Felix to the Doctor. Hyunjin nods and pulls the cup, juice box, and medication dropper out of his bag. He then promptly prepares the dosage for Felix, a few minutes later, giving it to him. Felix gulps it down.

“Better?” Says the Doctor still concerned for his son.

“Yes, much,” responds Felix with a smile. “Thanks, Appa.”

“You’re welcome, son,” responds Doctor Hyunjin with a smile. “You’re welcome.”

“Hey, Appa?” Says Felix as he kicks his legs back and forth in front of him.

“What, son?” Doctor Hyunjin answers him.

“I want to do sports,” says Felix. “When I’m not drawing, I’ve been reading a lot about sports, especially karate and I want to give it a go. Can I?”

“Not yet, but maybe someday when your seizures are a bit more controlled, I promise,” responds Doctor Hyunjin as he puts his hand atop Felix’s. “I promise.”

“Okay,” responds Felix a bit dejected but ultimately understandingly, “okay.”

“Thanks for understanding,” responds Doctor Hyunjin with a smile, his hand still atop Felix’s. “You’ll get to do more as time goes on. That’s one promise, I will not break. I can assure you that.”

“Okay,” responds Felix with a smile, “okay. Can we go home now? I’m tired.”

“Yes,” nods the Doctor. “We can go home now.” He helps Felix up and the two walk back down the trail and back into the lab. Once back inside, Felix goes to his room and curls up on his bed and falls fast asleep. He’s absolutely exhausted. He lets out a yawn before promptly falling fast asleep. An hour later, when he awakens, he takes his third medication dose for the day as the Doctor watches on. Once he’s done with his medication, Felix goes to his desk and begins to draw the figures from his karate books. All the while, doing it himself and what his Appa said about it is all that’s on his mind.

Chapter Text

Several months later, once his seizures are more controlled, Doctor Hyunjin finally gives in and signs Felix up for karate classes at the karate gym that is a block away from H.H. Labs. “Be safe, keep up with your meds, okay,” says Doctor Hyunjin as he stands outside the dojo with Felix.

“Okay,” responds Felix, “I will, I promise, Appa.” He gives Doctor Hyunjin a hug. “I promise.” He then happily skips inside. Once inside, Felix goes to the office with the sensei and explains his situation to him.

“Okay, that’s not a problem,” says the sensei to Felix, “I’ve had epileptic students before. It’s not out of the ordinary in a dojo actually.”

“Okay, cool,” responds Felix. “Cool.”

A few minutes later, he goes and puts up his bag and gets into his gi and white belt. He then comes back to the rest of the class which is mostly beginners like himself. There are two black belts there but only to help the sensei. Across the following minutes, the lesson commences and goes for two hours before it’s time for a lunch break. As soon as the break hits, Felix goes and gets his lunchbox from his bag. He pulls out his sandwich, his water bottle with his apple juice in it, and his vile and dropper of medication. He puts the drops in the bottle as per the instructions on its label and shakes it. He then flips the cap and uses the straw to drink his juice. Once he’s done with it, he happily enjoys his sandwich, ham and cheese on white bread. As he’s eating on his sandwich, Felix is approached by one of the other little boys.

“You’re new here,” says the boy to Felix. “What’s your name?”

“Felix,” responds Felix before taking another bite of his sandwich. “What’s yours?”

“Lyle,” responds the other boy. “It’s nice to meet you, Felix.”

“Thanks,” responds Felix. He finishes his sandwich. “It’s nice to meet you too, Lyle.” He smiles at the boy.

A few minutes later, all the boys finish up lunch and head into the final hour of the session. An hour later, Doctor Hyunjin is there right on time to pick up Felix.

“So, how was your first day?” Inquires the Doctor of Felix as he hops in the car and plops his lunchbox and bag on the seat behind him. He smiles at his son lovingly. “Do tell me.”

“It was fun, I enjoyed it!” Responds Felix with a smile. “Thanks for asking, Appa!”

“Of course, son,” responds Doctor Hyunjin with a smile. “Of course.”

A few minutes later, they arrive back home to the lab. Once back, Felix goes and puts his stuff up and lays down for a nap. He’s absolutely exhausted after the long day at the dojo. Three hours later, he wakes up from his nap and takes his second dose for the day with his apple juice just like always. He then promptly goes to his Appa’s office to tell him about all that happened at karate that day, including the friendships he had made with all the other boys and in particular, Lyle.

Chapter Text

Later that night after taking his third dosage of medication for the day, Felix has a serious conversation with his Appa. “Appa?” says Felix.

“Yes, son,” responds Doctor Hyunjin, “what is it?”

“Can I start school in the fall? I hear all the other boys in karate talk about how much they love it.” Felix takes a bite of his pudding. “Appa?”

“Okay,” says Doctor Hyunjin, “as long as you keep up with your medications, I’ll let you go.”

“Okay, I promise, Appa!” Says Felix as he excitedly embraces Doctor Hyunjin in a hug. “I promise!”

“Oh, and don’t forget, the school nurse will be your best friend,” responds the Doctor with a smile.

“I know, Appa,” responds Felix with an eye roll. “It’s kind of obvious given my condition.”

“Oh, and you’ll need a last name on documents,” responds the Doctor.

“I’ll just use your last name, Appa,” responds Felix. “Duh.”

“Okay,” responds Doctor Hyunjin. “Can you spell it out for me?”

“H-W-A-N-G,” says Felix, “Hwang. Done.” He giggles. “Did I do good, Appa?”

“Yes, very,” responds Doctor Hyunjin as he hugs his son. “You did very good.” With that, the Doctor goes off to get paperwork arranged for Felix so he can attend school in the fall alongside his karate friends.

Within the week, he has a pile of documents ready for Felix, everything from a birth certificate to an address that isn’t the H.H. Lab facilities. He goes over it all with Felix over the following days. “Tell me your address,” says Doctor Hyunjin. “The one on the paper, not the address of the lab.”

“143 Miroh Street,” says Felix, “Seoul.”

“Good,” responds the Doctor as he puts his hands on Felix’s shoulders, “good.”

“Thanks Appa,” says Felix proudly with a smile on his face.

Soon enough, the time to register for the fall rolls around, and Felix is soon enrolled. All his paperwork checks out and he’s good to go. He’s even put in a special education class because of his disability.

“Don’t worry,” Doctor Hyunjin assures him, “being in a class like that means the school has your best interest at heart. Your IEP is also all set and ready to go. You’ll be fine.”

“Okay,” responds Felix, “okay! I’m so excited, Appa! I’m so excited!”

“I know,” responds the Doctor with a smile as he ruffles Felix’s hair, “I know.” Felix giggles. He’s so extremely ticklish. A few months later, he starts his first semester of school ever in his entire life. Once he is dropped off, he goes straight inside and to the nurse’s office.

“You must be Felix Hwang,” she says with a smile, “I’m Nurse Sherry.”

“Hi, and yes, I am,” responds Felix.

“I have your file,” says Nurse Sherry with a smile. “Is that bag your medication?”

“Yes,” says Felix as he nods his head. “The way I do it is it mixed into one ounce of apple juice. It’s liquid lorazepam.”

“Okay,” responds Nurse Sherry with the nicest, sweetest smile. She finishes noting that down. “Go on and head to class. I’ll see you at lunch time for your next dose.”

“Okay,” responds Felix with a smile as he nods his head. He leaves her office and heads down the hall, soon arriving at his first class. There, he is greeted by a familiar face.

“Hey Felix,” says Lyle with a smile. “It’s good to see you, friend! I can’t believe we’re class buddies!”

“Yeah, me neither,” chuckles Felix as he puts up his bag and lunchbox and sits down next to his friend. Their teacher Ms. Song then begins the reading lesson. Felix smiles. He enjoys reading. It’s one of his favorite things. Every time the teacher asks for an answer, he’s the first to raise his hand, shooting it high up into the air almost automatically at times. With every question asked, he gets the answer correct. Ms. Song and his classmates are shocked. “What?” Says Felix with a shrug. “I like to read a lot. Appa is always busy so I don’t have anything else to do, so I read.”

Soon enough, a few more hours pass, and it’s soon lunch time. Felix promptly grabs his lunchbox and goes to the nurse’s office to take his medication. Once there, he unscrews the cap of his bottle and she uses the dropper to put the medication in the bottle. He then shakes it before drinking it along with the apple juice through the straw, soon finishing every drop. He then goes off to eat the rest of his lunch with his classmates. As he munches on his sandwich, he is approached by Lyle.

“So, how are you enjoying it so far? Fun right?” Lyle inquires of his friend.

“Yes,” responds Felix. “I’m having so much fun.” He cracks a smile. “So much so much fun.”

“So, when Ms. Song introduced you to us, she didn’t mention anything about you having a mom, so do you have one or not?” Inquires Lyle curiously.

“I did,” responds Felix lying to his friend, “but she died not long after I was born. That’s all. It’s just me and my Appa.”

“Okay,” responds Lyle, “cool.” Felix breathes out a sigh of relief. He can’t believe that actually worked.

Soon enough, lunch ends and Felix goes off to meet his special education teacher for the first time. Soon enough, he is greeted by a kind and warm, tender, caring smile. “Hello, welcome,” she says sweetly, “my name is Ms. Kim.”

“Hi,” says Felix before he takes his seat.

A few minutes later, they’re all playing the introduce yourself game known as two truths and a lie. Felix absolutely sucks at it, he begins to sweat bullets as the world goes blurry and fuzzy all around him. Sooner than he realizes it, he’s on the floor about to seize.

“Someone pull up a timer for five minutes,” says Ms. Kim. One of the students nods and does so. Ms. Kim gets Felix into the recovery position as the other students push the chairs out of the way so he doesn’t slam into any of them, same with the big table not far from where he is.

“One, two, three minutes,” says one of the students. “Four minutes, and he’s still not out of it.”

“Give it one more minute then call the emergency number,” responds Ms. Kim.

“Four minutes, thirty seconds,” says the girl who is keeping the time. Not long after she says as much, Felix starts to loosen up and stop seizing. A few minutes later, his eyes flutter open.

“What, where am I?” Says Felix as soon as he comes to fully. “Where’s Appa?” He’s confused, scared.

“You’re in your special education class,” responds Ms. Kim with a smile, “and you’re alright. You’re alright, Felix. I promise.” She smiles at him kindly, concern and sincerity in her eyes.

“Okay,” says Felix as he grasps onto her still confused. “Okay.”

A few minutes later, he’s regathered his surroundings and finally lets go of his teacher. It’s the longest one he’s had in awhile so his memory is still fuzzy, some blanks still missing and he doesn’t know what to do about that. He spends a good bit of the rest of his special education class huddled in the corner grasping his comfort toy, a small yellow duckling plush.

Later that afternoon, Felix goes to the nurse and picks up his medication before returning home in the truck with his father, not saying a word the entire time.

“If you’re not talking because you had a seizure today, you can drop the act,” responds Doctor Hyunjin.

“It was a bad one, Appa,” says Felix. “I was so scared. Ms. Kim was so patient with me. She’s so loving, kind, caring. She’s not pushy or overbearing in the slightest.”

“Okay,” responds the Doctor. “Do you feel up to continue going to school then?” He inquires.

“Yes,” nods Felix. “I do.”

A few minutes later, they arrive back at the laboratories and go inside. Once inside, Felix goes off to take his third dosage of medication before taking a much needed nap. He’s absolutely exhausted. As he sleeps, he cuddles up in a ball with his duckling plush. Doctor Hyunjin just stands there smiling in the doorway. He only worries because he loves his son, nothing more and nothing less. Nothing more and nothing less.

Chapter Text

The next day, Felix returns to school and just like his first day, he goes and drops his medication by the nurse’s office before heading off to his morning class with Ms. Song. “Good morning, Felix,” she says to him with a smile, “how are you doing today?”

“Good so far,” responds Felix with a smile. “Thanks for asking.”

“You’re welcome,” responds Ms. Song with a loving, caring smile. Felix then goes and puts up his bag and lunchbox once more before taking his seat next to Lyle just as he had the day before.

A few minutes later, Ms. Song begins reading the day’s book for morning story time. Once she’s finished, they all sit down at their desks to do their spelling tests. Felix does his best to concentrate and remember his words but alas, he cannot and the teacher soon notices. “Felix, you can go do it in Ms. Kim’s room if you may like. She has a copy of the words so she can sound them off for you if you’d prefer that.”

“Yes,” nods Felix. He then picks up his paper and goes to Ms. Kim’s room. As she reads each letter sound, he writes them down on his paper, soon spelling almost all the words correctly. Once he’s done, he hands it to Ms. Kim so she can return it to Ms. Song later. “I hate memorizing things,” says Felix with a sigh, “memorizing things is so hard.”

“Yes, I know,” responds Ms. Kim as she puts her hands on Felix’s shoulders and smiles at him kindly, “I know, but I have faith in you. You’ll get there someday, I’m sure of it.”

“Thanks,” blushes Felix as a smile peeps its way across his face, “I hope you’re right. I really really do.” He’s full blown smiling at his teacher at this point.

“Do you want a chocolate out of the candy box since you finished your test?” Says Ms. Kim with a smile.

“Yes,” responds Felix with a smile, “I would like that a lot.” Ms. Kim nods and goes and gets the candy box and pulls out a small chocolate and hands it to Felix. He promptly opens it and munches on it. It has cream and caramel inside. “Mm,” says Felix, “this is so good.”

“Yeah, they’re a class favorite,” responds Ms. Kim with a smile.

After another twenty minutes of talking, Felix returns once more to Ms. Song’s room where it’s now music time. Once back, he sits next to Lyle yet again and slowly but surely, he joins in on the song. After music time wraps up, it’s finally lunch time and Felix heads off to the nurse’s to take his medicine, his lunchbox in tow.

Once there, the nurse puts the droplets in Felix’s apple juice. He then closes the cap and shakes it before popping up the straw of the cap to drink it. Once he finishes it, he goes and eats the rest of his lunch with Lyle and his other friends. As he eats on his sandwich, he chats and jokes with Lyle and the two other boys, Ul-li and Paul. Once they finish up lunch, Felix and Ul-li head off to their special education class for the afternoon. This time, it goes off without a hitch. Felix doesn’t have a seizure the entire time he’s there, unlike his first day. Once he’s done with all his work, he sits and colors at Ms. Kim’s desk.

“You’ve had a good day today, haven’t you?” Ms. Kim inquires of Felix with a smile.

“Yes,” responds Felix with a smile, “absolutely! Any day without a seizure is a good day in my book!”

An hour later, Felix stops by the nurse’s office, picks up his medication, and heads home in the truck with the Doctor. “So, how was your day?” Inquires Doctor Hyunjin of his son.

“It was good, thanks for asking, Appa,” responds Felix with a smile. “I didn’t have a single seizure all day! Not a one!”

“That’s great!” Responds the Doctor with a smile. “I’m so glad to hear it. So so glad to hear it.”

A few minutes later, the two pull back up at the laboratory and go inside. Once back inside, Felix goes to his room and sits down with a coloring book. It’s been a good day and Felix wouldn’t have it any other way.

Chapter Text

The next day, one of the interns, Jun, takes Felix to school because the Doctor has an important meeting. He double checks everything with Felix before they leave the lab. “Lunchbox,” says Jun.

“Yes,” says Felix. “Got it!”

“Apple juice and your medication?” Jun then asks.

“Check and check, yes,” responds Felix.

“Your comfort toy?” Asks Jun.

“Crap! No! Give me a minute, I’ll be right back!” Says Felix before running back inside to get the toy. He returns with it a few minutes later. He then hops back into Jun’s car. They finish the checklist before heading to the school. Once there, Felix grabs all of his stuff and goes inside, heading once more for the nurse’s office. Once there, he hands the bottle of lorazepam to Nurse Sherry.

“Thank you, Felix,” says Nurse Sherry as she takes it from him, “now go to class.” Felix nods and heads off on his way. A few minutes later, he arrives in class.

“Sorry I’m late,” says Felix apologetically. “Appa is out of town for the day, so had a different ride.”

“It’s okay,” responds Ms. Song with an understanding smile. “Please sit down.” Felix nods and takes his seat next to Lyle just like always.

Meanwhile back at the lab, Doctor Hyunjin has a meeting with his investors. “Hello Mr. Gi, Dr. Xo, Mrs. Shi,” says Doctor Hyunjin with a bow. “It’s good to see you again.”

“And you as well, Doctor,” responds Mr. Gi. “What’s the current status of the experiment?”

“He’s been assimilated into the real world,” responds Doctor Hyunjin. “He’s in a karate class, in school. He’s thriving.”

“Okay,” responds Mr. Gi, “then why do you hesitate on that last part? Did something happen to him at your hands? What did you do to the Clone?”

“I may have tortured him after he was kidnapped,” responds Doctor Hyunjin, “and it may have caused epilepsy for the rest of his life.”

“May have or did?” Says Mr. Gi as he lifts an eyebrow.

“Okay, did,” sighs the Doctor finally coming clean. “I got so angry, I didn’t mean to intentionally hurt him like that. Please try to understand.”

“We do, but if you mess up with him one more time, we’re cutting our funding from you and taking the experiment off your hands. Is that understood?”

“Yes,” nods Doctor Hyunjin, “loud and clear.” He then bows and leaves the room, going to his office to break down in tears at long last. He has no plans of letting them take his son from him, no plans of that whatsoever.

Meanwhile back at the school, it’s finally lunch time, and as per always, Felix goes to the nurse and takes his meds before heading off to eat the rest of his lunch with his friends. Once there, Felix happily munches on his sandwich, not saying a single word the entire time. He doesn’t speak until he finishes his sandwich.

“Fe?” Says Lyle, “you’re not usually this quiet at lunch, what’s going on?”

“Nothing,” responds Felix, “I promise. I’m fine, I promise, alright?”

“Alright,” nods Lyle. “I trust you. I trust you.”

A few minutes later, lunch ends and Felix heads off to his special education class for the afternoon. As the afternoon drags on, he feels a slight tinge of pain, of heat behind his eyes. “Felix?” Says Ms. Kim, “are you okay?” It’s the last thing he hears as he falls from his chair onto the ground. Ms. Kim immediately gets him into the recovery position while the other students get the chairs and table out of the way once more. Four minutes later, he stops seizing and finally comes back to.

“Hey Felix, how are we feeling?” She inquires caringly of her student, concern in her eyes.

“Still a bit dizzy, but mostly fine,” responds Felix as he lets out a long sigh. “Thanks for asking.”

An hour later, he picks up the medicine from Nurse Sherry before hopping in his father’s truck and heading home. Once home, he takes his third dose and goes and lays down for a nap. He’s absolutely exhausted from the stressful day. That much is for certain.

Chapter Text

After awhile, he wakes up from the nap to the sound of crying. He soon notices the Doctor at the side of his bed. “Appa?” Says Felix confused. “Why are you crying? You never cry.”

“Well, son,” responds Doctor Hyunjin with a sigh, “the investors threatened to take you away from me. That’s all.”

“But why, Appa?” Inquires Felix.

“Because of me torturing you after you were kidnapped,” responds Hyunjin, “and the state that has left you in. They said if I hurt you again, they’d take you away from me.” The Doctor is still in tears. “That’s why I’m crying, son. That’s why.”

“Oh,” says Felix as he cuddles up to his father. “Well…”

“Don’t worry about it,” responds Doctor Hyunjin reassuring his son. “I don’t plan on letting them take you from me ever. I promise.”

“Okay, good,” says Felix cuddling up on his father even more, “because I don’t know where I’d ever be without you…”

“Yeah, same,” responds the Doctor with a smile and a sigh, “same.” He pulls Felix close to him and strokes his hair. “So, how was school today?”

“It was good for the most part,” responds Felix with a sigh, “had another seizure. At least it was in Ms. Kim’s class, I’m comfortable with her.”

“Yeah, I know,” responds the Doctor as he holds his son close to him, “I know.”

“Anything else?” He inquires of his son with a smile, his tears now gone.

“School play is coming up, and I am trying out. We’re doing Peter Pan.”

“Cool,” responds Doctor Hyunjin with a smile. “Good luck.”

“Thanks, Appa,” responds Felix with a smile, “thanks. I’m trying out for the lead role, title role by the way, Appa.”

“Nice,” responds the Doctor with a smile as he cradles his son, “nice.”

The next day after class, Felix goes to the auditions and tries out. However, he gets too nervous and falls into a seizure on the floor. Seeing it happen, Nurse Sherry gets him into the recovery position. Three minutes later, he comes to.

“Hey Felix,” says Nurse Sherry with a smile, “better?”

“Yes,” responds Felix.

Nurse Sherry then goes and talks to the people hosting the auditions, explaining the situation to them. “Okay,” says the drama teacher, Mr. So, “he can do it in a quiet room alone and away from his peers. It’s fine.”

She then goes and helps Felix to the locker room of the gym where he does the audition just in front of Mr. So.

The next day, the roles are handed out and Felix is officially the Crocodile. One, because it means he won’t have any lines to memorize and two, because he is good and agile thanks to his karate class as none of his karate buddies tried out for the play in the first place.

“Well?” Says the Doctor when he picks Felix up after the day the roles were handed out. “What part did you get?”

“I got the Crocodile,” sighs Felix. “At least, I won’t have to memorize any lines.”

“Yeah,” says the Doctor with a sigh, “but we both know it’s for the best.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” sighs Felix with a frown, “I guess so.”

“Well,” the Doctor reassures him, “I’m proud of you and know you’re going to rock it! I can’t wait to see you perform!” He cracks a smile. “I really and truly can’t!”

“Thanks, Appa,” blushes Felix finally cracking a smile, “thanks.”

Chapter Text

A few minutes later, the two return to the laboratory and go inside. Once inside, Felix goes to his room to take a nap. He’s absolutely exhausted.

Meanwhile in his office, the Doctor works on some paperwork he’s behind on. As he works on it, he lets out a sigh. “There’s not enough funding, not enough to do what I ultimately want to do, and I’m too much on a line with the investors.” He grabs his hair and buries his head in his palms. “Ugh, I don’t know what to do.” He groans. “I…I don’t know what to do. At this rate, I could lose my lab, lose my home, and that’s the last thing I need right now. That’s the very last thing I need right now.” He lets out another long sigh. After a few more minutes, he leaves his office and goes and checks on Felix, soon finding him sleeping peacefully with his duck plush in his arms. He smiles as he watches his son slumber. “Everything is going to be just fine, as long as I have you,” says the Doctor to himself, “at least, I know that much for certain.”

An hour later, Felix finally stirs and awakens. “Appa, is it dinner time?” Inquires the hungry child.

“Yes, son,” responds Doctor Hyunjin with a smile. “Come on.” Felix nods and follows Hyunjin to the kitchen where the Doctor gives him some dumplings along with his apple juice containing his third dosage of medication for the day.

“Dumplings?” Says Felix. He’s excited and confused.

“Yes,” says the Doctor with a smile, “because you deserve something special for getting a role in the play.”

“Thanks, Appa!” Squeals Felix as he hugs the Doctor before promptly turning to eat the hot dumpling before him, drinking his juice as he does.

“What’s the date for the play itself by the way?” Inquires the Doctor curiously, a smile on his face. He’s still oh so proud of his son.

“September 15th-17th,” responds Felix with a smile, absolutely beaming. He finishes his juice before promptly doing the same with his dumplings. “You are coming, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I wouldn’t miss it,” responds the Doctor as he comes over and hugs his son, “I promise.”

“Good,” responds Felix with a smile, “good.”

Several weeks later, it’s opening night, and as promised, Hyunjin is there to support his son. After it ends, he ecstatically hugs his son backstage.

“My boy!” Squeals the Doctor with a smile on his face, “I’m so so proud of you!”

“Thanks, Appa,” says Felix still absolutely beaming, “thank you so so much! I had so much fun! I had so much so much fun!”

A few minutes later, the mood switches, however. “Appa,” says Felix, “I’m dizzy. The lights are so bright.” A few minutes later, he collapses onto the floor, into a seizure. Doctor Hyunjin gets down by his side and gets him into the recovery position, his head resting on a folded up dog costume used by the girl who had played Nana. The Doctor watches on as his watch timer slowly inches to four minutes. Right before it hits five minutes, Felix finally comes to. A few minutes later, he’s given a water, goes and gets changed, and heads back home. Once home, he takes his meds in his pudding cup and goes straight to bed, absolutely exhausted. He has two more nights to go for performances, and the Doctor just hopes and prays that Felix will make it through those without a single incident.

Chapter Text

Over the next two nights of performances, when they end and all the students go back stage, Felix immediately goes and changes and heads right home. For him, it’s safest that way.

“So, how do you feel now that it’s all done?” Inquires the Doctor of his son with a smile.

“Both sad yet relieved, honestly,” responds Felix. “I need a break for awhile, though, I feel like.”

“Yeah, you sure do,” responds the Doctor with a chuckle and a smile, “you sure do. Just know, I’m still absolutely proud of you regardless though.”

“I know, Appa!” Responds Felix with a smile. “I know!”

A few minutes later, the two pull up to the lab which is surrounded by cop cars. “Appa,” cries Felix, “Appa, what’s going on?”

“Sir,” says the police chief, “you’re under arrest.”

“What for?” Inquires the Doctor, a blank look on his face. Deep down he knows exactly what for.

“Well, a laundry list of things,” responds the chief as he loads Doctor Hyunjin into the car.

“What’s going to happen to my son?” Inquires the Doctor concerned. “Who is going to care for him? He has epilepsy. He needs his medication.”

“He’s en route to a hospital with the social worker, don’t worry,” responds the chief. “He’s in safe hands, a lot safer than he ever was in yours.”

The Doctor bows his head and goes quiet. All he can do is cry as he worries about his son. He’s never been so scared and concerned in his entire life.

A few minutes later, he is led into the police station where he is booked on several charges including forging legal documents, illegal imprisonment and confinement, abandon and maltreatment to person, and most damningly, child abuse, four counts, three resulting in death.

“Anything you want to say?” Inquires the chief of the Doctor.

“No,” says Doctor Hyunjin as he bows his head in shame. “No.”

Meanwhile at the hospital, the social worker helps Felix with his medication before talking to him. “Why did the police take Appa?” Inquires Felix of the woman.

“Your dad has done a lot of illegal things, dear child,” responds the woman calmly, “it was only a matter of time until it caught up to him.”

“And what’s going to happen to me?” Inquires Felix looking up at her with tears in his eyes.

“Nothing too bad,” responds the woman, “your school nurse has agreed to be your foster parent for the time being.”

“Okay,” responds Felix perking up a bit, “I like Nurse Sherry. She’s nice.”

“And she knows how to treat your needs too,” adds the social worker with a kind smile. “Don’t forget that part.”

“Yeah,” responds Felix, “I haven’t forgotten. Will I ever see Appa again?” He looks up at the social worker with tears in his eyes.

“Not for a very long time, I’m afraid,” she sighs. “I’m sorry, kid. I’m so, so sorry.” She holds Felix close to her and cradles him. “I’m so, so sorry.”

A few days later, the Doctor gets booked for fifty years in prison. The news absolutely destroys Felix. His entire world is gone topsy turvy and he doesn’t know how to deal with any of it.

“I’m so sorry,” says Nurse Sherry as she holds a distraught Felix close to her, “I’m so, so sorry.” Felix just continues to cry as she continues to comfort him in her lap. He just doesn’t know what to do anymore and he definitely doesn’t want to go to school tomorrow either.

Chapter Text

The next day after school wraps up, Felix goes home to Nurse Sherry’s house with her and her daughter. “Hey,” says the girl to Felix, “are you okay?” Felix doesn’t answer her.

“He’s having an absence seizure, leave him be,” responds Nurse Sherry.

“Okay,” responds her daughter. “Okay.”

Four minutes later, Felix comes back to.

“Hey kiddo,” says Nurse Sherry with her always kind and warm smile, “welcome back.”

“Huh? What happened?” Inquires Felix confused.

“You had an absence seizure,” responds Nurse Sherry with that same warm, kind smile. “You’re okay now.”

“Okay,” responds Felix with a sigh of relief, “okay.” He begins to cry. “I…I miss Appa.” He sniffles. “I…I want Appa.”

“I know,” responds Nurse Sherry with a sigh, “I know. I can’t help you there, unfortunately.” She lets out a sigh. “I wish I could but I can’t, and I’m so so sorry.”

“Yeah, I know,” responds Felix with a sniffle as he wipes his tears, “I know.”

A few minutes later, they all arrive back at Nurse Sherry’s house and get out of the car. Once back inside, Nurse Sherry helps Felix take his medicine. He takes it from her and drinks it in his apple juice just like he has all those times before.

“Good job,” says Nurse Sherry with a tender, warm, caring smile. “Just one more time to go tonight.”

“Yeah, I know,” responds Felix with a sigh, “I know.”

“Hey,” says Nurse Sherry as she sits down in front of him and wipes his tears away, “you’re going to be okay, I promise. And besides, is living with me and my girls really that awful?”

“No,” responds Felix cracking a smile, “no, it’s not.” He hugs her. “You’re right. I do like it here.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” responds Nurse Sherry with a smile as she hugs him back, “now go take a nap. You look absolutely exhausted.”

“Yeah, I am,” yawns Felix, “absolutely.” He makes the way down the hall and into the bedroom where he soon plops down on his bed and falls fast asleep. He only awakens when Nurse Sherry comes and wakes him up for dinner. It’s a simple dinner, a quiet dinner from Felix’s end, not so much from her girls who are just talking and laughing and joking the entire time.

After dinner wraps up, Felix returns to his room where he’s soon greeted by Nurse Sherry. He sits down on the bed with her and curls up in her arms. “When can I see Appa?” Felix inquires as he looks up at her.

“We can go visit,” responds Nurse Sherry, “maybe Saturday. Okay?”

“Okay,” responds Felix with a sigh, “thank you.”

“Of course,” responds Nurse Sherry with a smile as she hugs Felix close to her. “Of course.”

Chapter Text

A few days later, it’s finally Saturday and as promised, Nurse Sherry takes Felix to the prison to visit his father.

“Hey Appa,” says Felix from his side of the glass with his phone.

“Hey, my son,” responds Hyunjin with a smile. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m alright, just missing you,” responds Felix with a sigh. He begins to tear up. “I miss you, Appa.” He’s full blown crying at this point. “I miss you.”

“Shhh, shhh,” responds Hyunjin trying to comfort his son. “Shhh. Shhh. Don’t cry. Please don’t cry.”

“But how can I not?” Bawls Felix. “My entire life got turned upside down in a split second.”

“I know, my baby, I know,” responds Hyunjin, “I know. But you’re strong, you can make it through this. I promise.”

“But I can’t, Appa,” whines Felix as he continues to cry, “I can’t. I need you. You’re my family.”

“And now so are Nurse Sherry and her daughters,” responds Hyunjin with a sigh. “You know full well I’m not going to be out anytime soon.”

“Yeah,” sighs Felix still in tears, “I know, Appa, I know.”

A few minutes later, their fifteen minutes is up, and Hyunjin is led away. Felix and Nurse Sherry are then shown out by the guards. Once out, they hop into her van and head back to her house. Once back, Felix goes to his room and breaks down in tears on his bed as Nurse Sherry watches on with a frown from the doorway.

“Oh Felix,” sighs Nurse Sherry, “my poor, poor boy. My poor, poor boy.” She closes the door to a crack before walking away. She can tell he needs the time alone.

A few minutes later, she sits down in her home office and works on some paperwork, paperwork to properly adopt Felix. She only stops when she hears a thud come from Felix’s room. She checks the room cam and soon sees him on the floor. She runs in and puts a pillow under him before getting him into the recovery position. She then starts the timer on his digital clock in his room. One minute, two, three. After three minutes, he finally comes to once more. A few minutes later, his eyes flutter open.

“Hey Nurse Sherry,” says Felix with a smile. “It’s good to see you. Is it lunch time? I’m hungry.”

“Yes, it is, Felix,” responds Nurse Sherry with a smile. She leads him to the kitchen and sits him down before fixing him a sandwich and the apple juice with his medicine in it. Felix promptly drinks it down before eating his sandwich. Once he’s done with it, he returns to his room and sits down on his bed and pulls out his coloring books. He begins to color and as he does, he begins to destress, relax, and unwind. With that, Nurse Sherry returns to her office and what she was working on beforehand. All the while, Felix is none the wiser.

Chapter Text

Meanwhile in prison, Hyunjin is having a hard time. Due to part of what he’s in for, he has many a target on his back. “You’ve been marked,” one of the other inmates says to him. “What all did you do to get such a long sentencing anyways? Most of us are only in here for between five and twenty years but you’re in here for fifty.”

“I did a lot,” responds Hyunjin with a sigh, “forged documents, but mainly killed three “experiments”. I’m a scientist. I do cloning experiments. Well, I did, before I was arrested.” He lets out a sigh. “I only had one success.”

“Huh,” responds the other man, “you really are mad!”

“Insane, yeah, I know,” sighs Hyunjin, “but I prefer the term genius. I used to be a doctor. My name used to mean something.”

“Well, titles mean nothing in these walls,” responds yet another inmate. “Here, we’re all numbers. Here, no one matters. Not a one.”

“Yeah, I’m starting to figure that out,” responds Hyunjin with a sigh. He buries his head in his legs. He lets out a gulp. “I’m definitely starting to figure that out.”

After a few more hours of being wary and on edge, Hyunjin loosens up and falls asleep in his cell. As he’s sleeping, he doesn’t notice the discomfort and pain or the fact he’s just been stabbed by one of his cell mates. Only once he wakes up, does he realize it and starts screaming in pain. “Ah! Ow! Ow! I’ve been stabbed!” Screams Hyunjin. “I’ve been stabbed!”

Upon hearing that, the guards come running. They lead him out, cuff him, and take him on a cot to the med ward. There, he is tended to by the prison’s hospital staff. “You shouldn’t be making enemies,” one of the nurses says to Hyunjin. “I hope you realize that now.”

“Yeah, definitely,” responds Hyunjin as he winces in pain. He’s coiled over in pain. “Now when will I be got to a proper hospital?”

“Ambulance is still thirty minutes out,” responds the nurse.

Thirty minutes later, the ambulance arrives and Hyunjin is taken aboard and taken to the hospital where his wounds are properly tended to with surgery and proper aid. A few days later, he’s returned to the prison, this time to a private cell. “For your own good,” says the guard as he locks Hyunjin in the cell. Once in the cell, Hyunjin slumps down in the corner and cries. He’s still in pain, not as much pain, but still pain nonetheless.

Chapter Text

A few days after Hyunjin’s return to the prison, Felix finally learns what happened to his father. “Your Appa,” says Nurse Sherry as she sits in front of him, looking him in the eyes, “he was stabbed. He’s okay, don’t worry.” She lets out a sigh. “Just know he’s still alive.”

“Okay,” responds Felix in tears. “But why would someone hurt Appa? I don’t understand.”

“Oh Felix,” responds Nurse Sherry, “yes you do, deep down. Don’t you realize that he abused you?”

“What, no?!” Responds Felix in tears. “Appa would never!”

“Really?” Responds Nurse Sherry as she raises an eyebrow. “How long have you had your epilepsy? What caused it?”

“Only had it ever since I was punished for being kidnapped,” sniffles Felix coming clean, finally realizing the truth. “When Appa took me out of the chains, I had repeated back to back seizures, he did an EEG. Once he saw the results, only then did he call the hospital and get me help. It scared him. He regretted hurting me like that. He did it because he got mad.”

“Okay,” responds Nurse Sherry. “It’s still his fault you have it in the first place though. Do you realize that now?”

“Yes,” sniffles Felix as he throws himself into Nurse Sherry’s arms still absolutely bawling puddles, “yes.”

“Okay,” responds Nurse Sherry, “okay.”

A few minutes later, Felix passes out exhausted in her arms and she goes and puts him down for a nap. She then returns to her work.

Meanwhile at the prison, Hyunjin continues to cry in his cell. “Oh my son,” he cries, “I’m so so sorry about everything. So so sorry. So sorry for hurting you. Sorry for bringing you into this cruel world. Sorry for torturing you. Sorry for all of it, absolutely all of it.” His tears fall onto the cold concrete floors. “And I’m so so sorry for causing your epilepsy. I’m so, so sorry for that the absolute most. After all, you did nothing wrong yet I punished you anyways, and I regret that every single day. I hope you realize that. Please, please realize that.” He continues to bawl. “Please, please realize that.” He buries his head in his hands. “Please…”

Meanwhile back at Nurse Sherry’s house, an hour later, Felix awakens, eats his sandwich and drinks his apple juice with his medicine in it, and then quietly returns to his room, not speaking a word to Nurse Sherry or her daughters. He doesn’t end up talking to them for the rest of the day.

Chapter Text

Meanwhile in his head, Felix runs over some conversations he has had in the past with his Appa in his head.

“Appa, what am I to you?” He rolls over in his head.

“My perfect clone.”

“Appa, what am I to you?” He rolls over in his head again.

“My son.”

“Appa, what am I to you?” He rolls over in his head once more.

“The lucky one.”

“Appa, what am I to you?” He rolls over in his head once more time.

“My world.”

A few moments later, Felix hits the floor with a thud. Hearing it from her office, Nurse Sherry runs to his room, gets a pillow under his head, and rolls him into the recovery position. One minute, two, three, four, five. Seeing the hand hit five, Nurse Sherry calls the emergency number.

“Hello, emergency services,” responds the lady over the phone, “what can I do for you?”

“My foster son,” responds Nurse Sherry, “he hasn’t come out of his seizure. He has epilepsy.”

“Okay, we’re sending an ambulance your way now. What’s his name?” Inquires the lady.

“Felix,” responds Nurse Sherry, “Hwang Felix.”

“Okay,” responds the woman on the phone, “the ambulance is five minutes out.”

“Okay,” responds Nurse Sherry, “okay.”

Five minutes later, the ambulance arrives and Felix is loaded inside and hooked up to a breathing apparatus. Nurse Sherry then climbs in alongside him and they make their way to the hospital, arriving ten minutes later. Once there, Felix is rushed inside. He’s then given more medication via IV, ten minutes later, finally coming back to. Once he does, a brain scan is run.

“Son,” says the doctor to Felix, “there’s a brain bleed. It requires immediate surgery.”

“Okay,” responds Felix. “Okay.”

With that, Felix is rolled away to surgery. There he is given more anti-convulsants among other medications. After several hours, the blood is successfully drained from Felix’s brain. When it is, however, a small tumor is found. As soon as the doctor pokes at it, Felix begins to seize once more. Seeing him seize, the nurse promptly gives him more anti-convulsants before putting him under. Several more hours later, the tumor is removed and Felix is gently put back together.

About two hours later, Felix awakens, absolutely exhausted. “What happened?” He inquires of Nurse Sherry.

“You had a brain bleed and a brain tumor,” responds Nurse Sherry as she holds his hand. “Don’t worry, you’re okay now.” She smiles warmly at him. “You’re okay now.”

“Okay,” responds Felix, “okay.”

“Yeah,” responds Nurse Sherry with a smile. She holds his head in her hand and rubs his hair. “You must be absolutely exhausted.”

“Yeah,” sighs Felix, “but I’m scared to fall asleep.”

“Why?” Inquires Nurse Sherry concerned.

“Because I can’t get Appa off my mind,” sighs Felix. “That’s all.”

“Oh,” responds Nurse Sherry. “Okay.”

She drops it and just sits there with Felix in the silence. Eventually, about two hours later, an absolutely exhausted Felix can’t fight the sleep anymore and he finally falls asleep. This time, however, it’s with a smile on his face and his hand in Nurse Sherry’s. He feels safe. He feels happy, and strangely enough, he feels home in a weird sort of way.

Chapter Text

The next day, Nurse Sherry goes and visits Hyunjin at the prison without Felix. “What do you want, Nurse Sherry?” Inquires Hyunjin.

“One, Felix almost died yesterday. He had a brain bleed and a tumor but he’s all better now, I wanted to tell you in person,” sighs Nurse Sherry, “and two, given you’re not getting out of jail anytime soon, I want to adopt Felix, truly give him the life he deserves.”

“He almost died,” says Hyunjin fighting back tears.

“Yes,” responds Nurse Sherry, “he’s recovering fine. He’s just going to be at the hospital for awhile yet for observation is all. Now, will you give me an answer on the second part of what I asked you? Please.”

“On adopting him,” responds Hyunjin, “sure.” He lets out a sigh. “I trust you, where do I sign?”

“The line with the x by it,” responds Nurse Sherry. She hands the papers to the guard who then takes them to Hyunjin. Hyunjin then signs everywhere he is told to, and soon enough, the deed is done and Felix is officially under the custody of Nurse Sherry.

“Take good care of my son,” sighs Hyunjin, “and tell him,” he chokes back the tears, “tell him I miss him and to get well soon.”

“Okay,” responds Nurse Sherry as she collects the papers from the guard. “Okay.” She then takes the papers and walks out. Hyunjin’s then led back away to his private cell. Once there, he finally breaks down and cries.

Meanwhile, Nurse Sherry takes the papers to the judge and is officially recognized as Felix’s new legal guardian. “Anywhere is safer for that child than the laboratory he was raised in,” says the judge to Nurse Sherry with a smile. “You’re approved as his new legal guardian.”

“Thanks judge,” responds Nurse Sherry with a smile. She then leaves the courts and returns to the hospital where she soon finds Felix still fast asleep. “How’s he been?” She inquires of his attending nurse.

“Two seizures, no longer than three minutes each,” she responds. “He just took his medication in an apple juice. Don’t worry. He just fell back asleep.”

“Okay,” responds Nurse Sherry. She looks at Felix and smiles. “I have something to tell him but it can wait until he wakes up. We can let him sleep. He needs it.”

“Yeah, he sure does,” agrees his attending nurse. She then leaves the room to quickly go check on her other patients real quick. Nurse Sherry takes a seat in the chair next to Felix’s bed. She strokes his hair and smiles.

“You’re mine now, baby,” she says with a smile, “you have two sisters now. You’re safe.”

About an hour later, he awakens. “Ducky?” He asks.

“Here it is,” says Nurse Sherry as she hands the toy to Felix.

“Thanks,” responds Felix with a smile. He holds it tight.

“Felix, I have something to tell you,” responds Nurse Sherry with a smile.

“What is it?” Inquires Felix.

“I’m your new Eomma,” responds Nurse Sherry with a smile. “I’ve adopted you. You’re not just my foster son anymore.”

“Okay,” responds Felix with a smile. He hugs her. “I’ve never had a mom before.”

“Well I’m going to be the best one I can for you,” responds Nurse Sherry with a smile, “and that’s a promise.” She smiles as she holds him close to her. “That’s a promise.”

“When do I get to go home,” he pauses a moment, “Eomma?”

“Next day or so,” responds Nurse Sherry as she holds Felix close to her. She runs her fingers through his hair. “Welcome to the family, Felix. Yu-Jun and Ha-rin can’t wait to have a brother!”

“And I can’t wait to have siblings,” responds Felix with a smile. “I can’t wait to have sisters!”

Two days later, Felix returns home from the hospital to his now forever home with Nurse Sherry and her daughters. Once home, he goes right to his room and falls fast asleep. He’s still absolutely exhausted.

A few hours later, Nurse Sherry’s daughters return home from school. “Hey Eomma,” they say as they hug her. “Why do you smile so? Did you?”

“Adopt Felix,” responds Nurse Sherry with a smile, “yes.”

“Sweet!” Exclaims Yu-Jun.

“Yay!” Adds Ha-rin.

“Yeah,” responds Nurse Sherry with a smile. “Yeah.”

The girls then change the subject. “When will Appa be home? He’s been gone for months.”

“He’s in Japan for another two months,” sighs Nurse Sherry, “but once that’s done, he’ll be home. Hopefully.”

“Okay,” responds Yu-Jun. She then goes off to her room followed close behind by her sister. They go quietly because they know Felix is sleeping. Once in their room, the girls sit down on their beds and just talk about their school day. After all, they have nothing better to do.

Chapter Text

A few hours later, Felix awakens and goes out into the main part of the house where he is soon greeted by Yu-Jun and Ha-rin. “Hey little brother,” says Yu-Jun with a smile. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yes,” responds Felix with a sigh and a smile. “Where’s,” he pauses a minute, “Eomma?”

“She stepped away to her office to take a call but she’ll be back soon, don’t worry,” responds Yu-Jun with a warm, welcoming smile not too different from her mom’s. “When are you coming back to school?”

“Hopefully Monday or Tuesday, it depends,” responds Felix with a sigh. “That surgery absolutely drained me.”

“Yeah, fair enough, you have been through a lot,” responds Yu-Jun with such caring in her voice as she looks at him. “Take all the time you need. Eomma will tell you the same.”

“Yeah, I know,” responds Felix with a smile, “I know.”

A few minutes later, Sherry’s phone call ends and she returns to the living area where she finds all the children.

“Appa?” Inquire the girls.

“Yes, he’s held up in Japan for four months now, not two, I’m sorry, girls,” she lets out a sigh, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” respond Yu-Jun and Ha-rin. Their frowns say otherwise. “It’s okay.”

Nurse Sherry then comes over to Felix as she’s noticed he’s zoned out again. Three minutes later, he finally comes to. “I had another absence seizure didn’t I?” He inquires of Nurse Sherry.

“Yes,” she nods. She then prepares him dinner and his apple juice containing his medication. He soon drinks the entire thing before eating on his noodles. A few minutes later, Nurse Sherry and her daughters do the same. The dinner table is silent the entire time. Once he’s done eating, Felix returns to his room and falls back asleep. The girls, however, when they finish stay behind at the table to work on their homework some more.

A few minutes later, Nurse Sherry takes another phone call. This time, it’s Ms. Kim. “When’s Felix coming back to school?” She inquires concerned. “What happened?”

“He had a brain bleed and a brain tumor,” responds Nurse Sherry. “He’ll be back when he feels up to it, don’t worry.”

“Okay,” responds Ms. Kim, “okay.” She then hangs up. Not long after she does, Nurse Sherry gets a call from Ms. Song which she also promptly answers.

“Will Felix be returning to school soon?” She inquires concerned. “We’re all worried about him. What happened?”

“He’ll be back when he feels up to it,” responds Nurse Sherry. “He had a brain bleed and a brain tumor.”

“Oh my gosh,” responds Ms. Song in shock, “is he okay?”

“Yes, just exhausted,” responds Nurse Sherry, “he’s quite weak right now. All he’s been doing is sleeping. It really took its toll on him.”

“Yeah, I bet,” responds Ms. Song. “Well, tell him to take all the time he needs and to get well soon. Tell him we all miss him.” She lets out a sigh.

“Yeah, will do,” responds Nurse Sherry, “will do.” And with that, she hangs up the phone. She then goes to check on Felix who she finds still fast asleep, holding his duck toy. She smiles. “You’ll be just fine, my baby boy,” she sighs, “you’ll be just fine…”

Chapter Text

Four days later, Felix finally feels well enough and returns to school alongside Nurse Sherry and her daughters. “You’re sure you’re good to be back?” Inquires Nurse Sherry of Felix as she takes his medicine from him.

“Yes, Eomma, don’t worry,” responds Felix with a whine. “I’ll see you at lunch time.”

“Okay,” responds Nurse Sherry, “I’ll see you at lunch time.” She ruffles his hair and sends him on his way. A few minutes later, he arrives in Ms. Song’s class.

“Welcome back, Felix,” says Ms. Song with a smile. “We’re all glad you’re feeling better.”

“Thank you,” responds Felix with a smile. He then puts up his stuff and sits down next to Lyle.

“I missed you,” says Lyle to Felix with a smile. “I’m glad you’re back.”

“Yeah, me too,” sighs Felix with a smile, “me too.”

A few hours later, it’s finally lunch time and Felix returns to Nurse Sherry’s office where he promptly drinks his apple juice containing his mediation. He then begins to munch on his cup of noodles.

“How’s your day been going so far?” Nurse Sherry inquires of her son.

“Been good,” responds Felix, “no seizures yet.”

“Well, that’s good,” responds Nurse Sherry with a smile. “I’m glad you’re doing alright.”

“Yeah, me too,” responds Felix with a smile, “me too.”

A few minutes later, he finishes his lunch and heads on his way to Ms. Kim’s class. There, he catches up on all the spelling tests he missed among other things. An hour and a half later, all the tests are completed and tucked away for Ms. Kim to return to Ms. Song later.

“Welcome back, by the way,” says Ms. Kim with a smile. “How are you feeling?”

“Better than I was,” responds Felix with a sigh, “thanks for asking.” He smiles at her. “Seriously, I mean it. I missed all of you a super lot.”

“Yeah, and we missed you,” responds Ms. Kim with a smile.

“Thanks,” responds Felix with a sigh.

“Hey,” says Ms. Kim as she gets down in front of Felix and wipes his tears, “why do you cry so? Did something else happen, Felix?”

“Mmhmm,” responds Felix, “after the final night of the play, when we got home,” he continues to sniffle and cry, “we were greeted by the police and Appa was taken to jail.” He breaks down bawling at this point. “He’s going to be in there for fifty years. He’s probably going to die in there.” Felix continues to bawl. “I…I miss him. I…I miss him so so much. I…I…I miss him so so much.”

“There, there,” says Ms. Kim as she holds Felix in her arms to comfort him. “I’m so sorry, Felix. I’m so, so sorry.”

“Thanks,” sniffles Felix through the tears as he clings to his beloved teacher, “thanks.”

Chapter Text

A few days later, with Nurse Sherry at his side, Felix visits Hyunjin in prison once more. “How are you doing?” Hyunjin asks Felix over the phone.

“Could be better,” responds Felix with a sigh, “that surgery absolutely drained me.”

“Yeah, I bet,” responds Hyunjin with a sigh. “You’ve been through a lot my baby boy, and I’m sorry it’s all my fault.” He begins to cry. “I’m sorry it’s all because of me.” He bows his head. “I’m so, so sorry.”

“I know, Appa,” cries Felix, “I know. I know. I just wish you weren’t behind bars.”

“I know,” sighs Hyunjin, “but I ultimately did it to myself. You and I both know that.”

“Yeah,” cries Felix, “it doesn’t make it not hard, it doesn’t make it not hurt nonetheless tho.”

“I know,” says Hyunjin as a tear falls from his eye, “I know.”

“Time is up,” they soon hear the guard say. Hyunjin says goodbye to Felix before he is led away once more.

“Appa!” Cries Felix as Hyunjin is led away. “Appa! Appa don’t go! Appa don’t go! Appa! Appa!”

“It’s time to go, Felix,” says Nurse Sherry as she pulls him away from the glass and drags him kicking and screaming out of the jail. A few minutes later, they’re in the car and headed home. Felix continues to cry and pout the entire way home.

Once home, Nurse Sherry follows him into his room. “How are you feeling?” She inquires of Felix. “You don’t do well when you get stressed or upset like that.”

“My head is pounding a bit not gonna lie,” responds Felix with a sigh, “and I’m just a little bit dizzy too, just a little.”

“Okay,” responds Nurse Sherry. She helps him lie down. “Okay. Do you think you’re about to have a seizure, baby?”

“Yeah,” sighs Felix.

“Okay,” responds Nurse Sherry. She pulls the pillow off the bed and helps him get into the recovery position on the ground. Two minutes later, he begins to seize. She sets her timer. One minute, two, three. Three minutes later, he stops seizing and another minute after that, his eyes flutter open once more. “Hey, Felix,” says Nurse Sherry as she greets him with a smile and strokes his hair, “how are you feeling?”

“Better,” sighs Felix. She helps him back up onto the bed, puts the pillow back under his head, and hands him his Ducky. He squeezes it tight. “I wish Appa wasn’t in jail.”

“I know, baby,” says Nurse Sherry as she holds Felix close to her and strokes his hair, “I know. I know.” The two stay like that for a long time until Felix falls asleep in her lap. Once she’s sure he’s fully asleep, she shifts him off of her and puts his blanket over him. She then goes to work on some things in her home office before her daughters get home from cheer practice at their school.

Chapter Text

Meanwhile at the jail, Hyunjin is just laying on his cot as it’s night and he cannot move because his prosthetic leg has been taken away. As he’s lying there, he soon hears a familiar voice next to him. “Hello, Doctor,” says the man.

“Hello, Derrick,” responds Hyunjin.

“I see you finally got done in, serves you right,” responds Derrick with a chuckle.

“Yeah, I know,” sighs Hyunjin. “It does serve me right.” He begins to cry a little bit. “It does serve me right and I regret doing all of it.”

“Really?” Inquires Derrick intrigued.

“Yes,” sighs Hyunjin as tears stream down his cheeks as he lays there helplessly. “Yes.”

“I’m glad you’re regretful and I’m glad you’re getting what you deserve,” responds Derrick with a chuckle.

“Gees, thanks,” responds Hyunjin with an eye roll. He then shifts onto his side and goes back to ignoring Derrick. A few hours later, he finally falls asleep. As he sleeps, all that is on his mind is Felix, his son.

Meanwhile at Nurse Sherry’s, Felix eats his last dose of medication for the night in his chocolate pudding just like always before going to bed himself. As he sleeps, he can’t get his Appa off of his mind. “Appa,” cries Felix in his sleep, “Appa…I miss you…Appa. I…I miss you…I…I miss you, Appa. I miss you so so much.” He squeezes his Ducky as he continues to cry. “I…I miss you, Appa.”

Meanwhile elsewhere in the house, Yu-Jun and Ha-rin turn in for the night themselves. “Do you think Felix will ever be alright?” Ha-rin inquires of her big sister.

“No, honestly,” sighs Yu-Jun. “He’s been through a lot, poor kid.” She then turns out the lamp next to her and her sister soon does the same. The two girls, 12 and 9 then fall fast asleep.

Meanwhile in her room, Nurse Sherry is on a call with her husband. “What do you mean it’ll now be longer than four months?” She inquires in tears. “How long now?” She cries. “How long?”

“Twenty months,” responds her husband with a sigh over the phone, “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I wish it was sooner but it isn’t.”

“Yeah, me too,” sighs Nurse Sherry through the tears, “me too.”

Chapter Text

The next morning, Hyunjin’s prosthetic leg is returned to him and he puts it back on. “How’d you lose your leg in the first place?” Inquires Derrick of Hyunjin.

“That is not the business of the man who kidnapped my son,” Hyunjin snaps back.

“Well, fine,” responds Derrick. “Point taken.”

“Just know I’m not some crippled old man, I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

“I never said you were, chill,” responds Derrick, “chill.”

“Sorry,” responds Hyunjin, “sorry.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” responds Derrick with a sigh. “It’s okay to be defensive.”

“Yeah, thanks,” sighs Hyunjin, “thanks.”

“I only hurt you because I was bitter that you unjustly fired me, you know?” Responds Derrick. “I was telling you the truth when I said he found the Back door on his own.”

“Yeah, and I unjustly fired you, he is a smart kid, I should’ve known better,” sighs Hyunjin, “I’m sorry.”

“Thanks,” responds Derrick with a sigh. “Now will you please tell me what happened to you?”

“Okay,” sighs Hyunjin, “as long as you promise never to use it against me.”

“Swear,” responds Derrick, “swear.”

“Okay,” responds Hyunjin, “okay.” He then begins the sad tale. “It was a normal day in the lab like any other. I was working on my experiments, specifically the Clones, go figure. As I was leaving, some wires got loose and I got tangled in them. I slammed into an empty glass tube and it shattered. It severed a lot of tendons and nerves in my leg to the point it was beyond repair. My head guard rushed me to the hospital and I was put under. I woke up to the leg amputated, gone. I was then fitted for a prosthetic and have had this prosthetic leg ever since. It’s really just as simple as that. It was a horrible, unfortunate accident. That’s all.”

“Oh gees!” Says Derrick in shock. “Gees.”

“Yeah,” sighs Hyunjin, “but hey, I’m used to it at this point. I’ve had the prosthetic for near three years now. It’s just part of who I am at this point.” He chuckles. “I hope that makes sense.”

“Yes, it does,” responds Derrick. “But does the kid know?”

“Felix,” responds Hyunjin, “no. And I don’t plan on telling him ever because he’ll take it as his fault. It’s just how he is. I hope that makes sense and I hope you understand.”

“Yeah, it does and I do,” responds Derrick. “I’m so sorry about everything, Doc, really I am.”

“Thanks,” responds Hyunjin, “but part of your apology you owe to Felix, not me. You hurt us both, not just me.”

“Yeah, fair enough,” responds Derrick, “fair enough.” He lets out a sigh. “I’ll talk to you later, Doctor.” He then waves goodbye to Hyunjin and leaves his cell to go elsewhere in the prison. Meanwhile in his cell, Hyunjin stands up to get his balance evened back out now that he has the prosthetic back on. Once he’s comfortable once more, he just does walks around his cell as he’s still scared to leave it on his own given he’s been attacked before.

Chapter Text

Meanwhile back at Nurse Sherry’s house, she and Felix get ready to go to the pharmacy to pick up more of his medication as he’s almost out. A few minutes later, they’re in the car and on their way, arriving at the pharmacy ten minutes later. Once there, Nurse Sherry takes the bag containing his liquid lorazepam and puts it in the holder console of her car.

“That’s done,” says Nurse Sherry with a smile, “now do you want to go visit your Appa?”

“Yes,” nods Felix, “yes.”

“Okay,” responds Nurse Sherry with a smile, “okay.” A few minutes later, they’re off to the jail. Once there, Felix is sat on one side of the glass and Hyunjin on the other. The two then pick up the phones and begin to talk.

“Hey Appa,” says Felix with a smile.

“Hey, my boy,” says Hyunjin with a smile. “Hey, it’s good to see you. Good to hear your voice.”

“Yeah, same for you,” responds Felix giggling a bit as he cracks another smile. “We’re talking about getting me a seizure alert dog. I’m so excited!”

“That’s good,” responds Hyunjin, “having an alert dog would do you good, my boy.”

“Yeah,” agrees Felix with a smile. “Yeah.”

After a few more minutes, the two finish talking and part ways. Felix goes off to the medical alert dog adoption agency with Nurse Sherry. Once there, they’re greeted by the owner, a young man named Daniel. “Hwang Felix, it says you’re here in search of a seizure alert dog.”

“Yes,” nods Felix.

“Okay,” responds the man. “How many seizures do you have per month?”

“Near 60-70,” responds Felix. “I have two-three per day, sometimes more.”

“Okay,” responds Daniel.

“How much is it going to cost?” Inquires Nurse Sherry.

“$15,000-30,000,” responds Daniel. “Due to how much time they take to train.”

“Okay,” responds Nurse Sherry, “okay.”

Felix looks up at Nurse Sherry. “We can afford it, right, Eomma?”

“Yes, baby,” responds Nurse Sherry, “we can afford it just fine. I promise.”

“Okay,” responds Daniel.

Eight months later, the dog is appropriately trained to assist with when Felix has a seizure. Two weeks later, they pick him up and bring him home. He’s a chocolate labradoodle puppy. “Pudding,” says Felix, “he looks like pudding.”

“Okay,” responds Nurse Sherry, “we can name him Pudding.” She giggles.

Later that day, Felix starts to show the signs of an oncoming seizure once more and right on cue, Pudding alerts Nurse Sherry before curling up under Felix’s head. Once in the room, Nurse Sherry gets Felix onto his side, into the recovery position and a few seconds later, the seizure begins. Four minutes later, Felix comes back to and a few minutes later, he opens his eyes. Pudding then promptly pushes his owner gently into a sitting position.

“Good boy,” says Felix with a smile, “good boy.”

“Yes, good boy,” says Nurse Sherry to Pudding, “good boy.” She then goes back to talking to her son. “So, the school approved you bringing him with you, so don’t worry about that. When you are about to have a seizure, he’ll press that button and it’ll alert my phone, and if need be, he also has one that will trigger 911. Okay?”

“Okay,” nods Felix. “Okay.”

“He’ll also alert you when you need to take your medication,” adds Nurse Sherry.

“Okay,” responds Felix with a smile. “Okay.” He goes back to stroking his dog to calm himself down. Having Pudding is definitely the best benefit to him for awhile, that much is for certain.

Chapter Text

The next day, that Friday, Felix takes Pudding with him to school for the first time. “Can I pet him?” Asks Lyle to Felix when he brings Pudding into class with him.

“No, sorry,” responds Felix. “He’s my seizure alert dog. He’s working.”

“Okay,” responds Lyle.

A few minutes later, their teacher enters the room absolutely beaming.

“Why do you smile so, Ms. Song?” They all inquire.

“My boyfriend proposed,” responds Ms. Song with a smile. She’s absolutely radiating.

“Congratulations Ms. Song!” All the students cheer. Felix ducks and covers his ears to avoid all the noise. Seeing his owner uneasy on his feet, Pudding begins to bark. He then gets right under Felix’s head. A few minutes later, Felix begins to seize. Three minutes later, he comes to and flutters awake.

“Hey Felix, welcome back, how are you doing?” Inquires Ms. Song sweetly, quite concerned.

“I’m okay,” sighs Felix. “Thanks.” A few minutes later, Pudding helps Felix sit back up. He turns to his dog and pats him on the head. “Good job, Pudding. Good boy. Good boy.”

A few minutes later, class finally begins with story time just like it always does. Felix, this time, just holds close to his dog and stays fairly quiet, letting the others answer questions for once. A little while later, it’s finally lunch time and Pudding alerts Felix to go get his medicine from Nurse Sherry. A few minutes later, he arrives at her office and goes in and takes his medication in his apple juice just like always.

“How are you doing so far today, baby?” Inquires Nurse Sherry with a smile.

“Just one seizure, Eomma,” responds Felix with a smile. “Thanks for asking.”

“Okay,” responds Nurse Sherry. “Okay.”

She then sends him on his way to enjoy lunch with his friends. After lunch ends, he goes straight to Ms. Kim’s class. It goes entirely calmly without a single incident. Later after classes end for the day, Felix takes Pudding and goes straight to Nurse Sherry’s office. “Are you ready to go, baby?” She inquires of Felix. “Your sisters are staying after school for cheer practice.”

“Dizzy,” says Felix. Not long after, Pudding begins to bark before he gets down on the ground. Nurse Sherry then helps Felix lay down atop Pudding in the recovery position. A few minutes later, he begins to seize. Four minutes later, he comes back to and two minutes after that, he finally opens his eyes.

“Hey baby,” says Nurse Sherry with a warm smile, “better?”

“Mmhmm,” sighs Felix, “can we please go home now?”

“Okay,” responds Nurse Sherry. “Okay.” She then grabs Felix’s medicine, puts it in her purse, and the two head to her car and head home. Once home, Felix goes and takes a nap with Pudding while Nurse Sherry goes to her office to work on a few things before she has to pick her girls up from cheer practice.

Chapter Text

Later that night, Felix awakens startled. “Eomma,” he cries. “Eomma.”

“What is it, baby?” Inquires Nurse Sherry as she comes running. She holds him on the floor close to her and comforts him.

“Scary noises outside,” Felix cries.

“That’s because there’s a thunderstorm outside, baby,” responds Nurse Sherry as she holds him close to her. “Do you not know what they sound like?”

“No,” responds Felix shaking his head. “The lab was majority soundproof. Anything concerning the outside world, some of it I’m still clueless on.”

“Yeah, you were pretty sheltered, weren’t you?” Responds Nurse Sherry with a sigh. “I assure you, there’s no reason to be scared of the storm. Go back to bed, baby.”

“No,” panics Felix, “no. It’s too scary.” He begins to cry. “No.”

“Will you if I let you and Pudding come in my room?” She then inquires of the distraught child.

“Mmhmm,” nods Felix as he grabs onto her and buries his head in her arms. “Mmhmm.”

“Okay,” responds Nurse Sherry with a sigh. “Okay.” Felix then grabs his Ducky and Pudding and the two join Nurse Sherry in her room. Once he’s curled up in her bed, he finally falls fast asleep. “That’s my boy,” she says as she strokes his hair. “You’re alright. You’re going to be just fine.” Once she’s sure he’s asleep, she falls asleep for the night herself once more.

A few hours later, Nurse Sherry wakes up to Pudding whining, curled up under Felix all the while. “He’s having a seizure in his sleep,” says Nurse Sherry with a sigh. She begins her watch timer. One minute goes by. Two. Three. Four. Five. With that, she calls the emergency number.

“An ambulance is on the way, don’t worry,” responds the woman over the phone. “Don’t worry.”

Five minutes later, the ambulance arrives at the house and Felix is loaded in and connected up to oxygen tanks. He’s then followed in by Pudding and Nurse Sherry. They then make their way to the hospital. A few minutes later, Felix is rushed inside and given anti-seizure drugs. An hour later, Felix finally comes to. “Appa?”

“No baby,” responds Nurse Sherry, “your Appa is in jail, remember?”

“I want Appa,” Felix continues to bawl.

“But you can’t see your Appa right now,” responds Nurse Sherry as she dries his tears. She holds him close to her. “I’m sorry, baby. Eomma is here, though.”

“Okay,” sighs Felix, “okay.” He curls up and clings to her arms. “Okay.”

Chapter Text

The next day, Nurse Sherry goes and visits Hyunjin in the jail while Felix remains at the hospital. As soon as he sees the look on her face, he knows something is wrong. “What happened to my son?” Inquires Hyunjin concernedly over the phone.

“He had an hour long seizure yesterday night,” says Nurse Sherry with a sigh, “surprised it didn’t kill him to be honest. His condition just continues to worsen. He’s still at the hospital so he can be monitored.”

“Okay,” sighs Hyunjin, “okay.”

Meanwhile at the hospital, Pudding stays curled up under Felix’s arm as he continues to sleep, still hooked up to the heart monitor and the EEG. “Poor kid,” sighs his attending nurse to his doctor, “poor, poor kid.”

“Yeah,” agrees the doctor with a sigh, “for sure. Poor, poor kid.”

Seven minutes later, Felix finally comes out of the seizure. “Hey kid,” says the doctor, “welcome back. I’m going to ask you some questions, okay?”

“Okay,” responds Felix weakly, “okay, but can I have my Ducky first?”

“Sure,” responds the nurse as she picks it up and hands it to him, “here you go.”

“Thanks,” responds Felix with a smile. “Thanks.”

“Okay,” responds the doctor, “are you ready for the first question?”

“Mmhmm,” responds Felix with a sigh, “Mmhmm.”

“What’s your name?” Inquires the doctor.

“Hwang Felix,” responds Felix.

“That’s right, good,” responds the doctor. He throws up three fingers. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

“Six,” responds Felix.

“No,” responds the doctor, “I’m holding up three.” He puts his fingers down and asks the next question. “How old are you?”

“Two,” responds Felix. “I’m a clone, don’t have the same age system as a normal human.”

“Okay,” responds the doctor, “that’s correct. One more question, I promise.”

“Okay,” nods Felix, “okay.”

“What’s your dog’s name?” Inquires the doctor.

“Pudding,” sighs Felix with a smile. “His name is Pudding.”

“Good job,” responds the doctor with a smile. “You only missed one question, kid. Good job.” He then goes off to file it for the record.

Back at the prison, Nurse Sherry and Hyunjin continue to talk. “How many long seizures like that has he had?”

“First one since I’ve had him,” responds Nurse Sherry.

“Okay,” responds Hyunjin, “okay. That’s all I needed to know.” He lets out a sigh. “My poor, poor boy. It’s all my fault. It’s all my fault.” He begins to cry. “It’s all my fault.”

“How do you mean?” Inquires Nurse Sherry.

“How I punished him for being kidnapped, that’s what led to his epilepsy,” sighs Hyunjin, “it’s part of the many reasons I’m now behind bars for so long.” He bows his head. “That’s how it’s all my fault.” He continues to cry. “That’s how it’s all my fault.”

“Oh goodness,” says Nurse Sherry covering her mouth as she’s taken aback by shock. “Poor kid’s been through the ringer because of you, hasn’t he?”

“Yeah,” sighs Hyunjin, “and I regret it every single day. I really and truly do. I’ve changed. I hope you know that. I care about the kid. I’d never do that to him nowadays. I just used to be a very angry man, but not anymore. Now, I’m just a sad, dejected twenty something that regrets everything he’s ever done.” He bows his head and continues to cry. “I never should’ve brought him into the world in the first place, but I was blinded by hubris. I really and truly was.” He continues to bawl. “I really and truly was.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” responds Nurse Sherry with a sigh, “no kidding…”

Chapter Text

Meanwhile at the hospital, an absolutely exhausted Felix slips into another seizure. All the while, Pudding stays curled up at his side, waiting for him to awaken. One minute goes by. Two. Three. Four. Five minutes. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Fifteen minutes later, he finally comes back to.

“Welcome back,” says his attending nurse. “The doctor will be back in a minute.”

“Ducky,” says Felix. He reaches out his hands with a grabby motion. “Ducky.”

“Okay,” responds the nurse as she hands his toy to him. “Okay.”

A few minutes later, the doctor returns. “Hey Felix,” says the doctor. “How are you feeling?”

“I’ve been better,” sighs Felix. “I’m very sick, aren’t I?”

“In a way, yes,” responds the doctor with a sigh. “Your seizures are extremely consistent and back to back. Your normal medication isn’t taking. We’re trying to find something that works. We just haven’t yet.”

Upon hearing that, Felix breaks down in tears. “I…I don’t want to die,” he bawls. He’s terrified. “I…I don’t want to die.”

“And we’re doing all we can to prevent that,” responds the doctor, “we’re working on it. I promise. Right now, though, it’s not safe for you to go anywhere that’s not this bed. Not school, not karate, not anywhere.”

“Okay,” says Felix as he buries his head in his hands and continues to cry. “Okay.”

Meanwhile at the jail, Nurse Sherry’s cellphone rings. It’s the hospital, so she’s allowed to answer it. “What’s wrong, doctor?” Inquires Nurse Sherry with concern in her voice.

“His medication keeps failing to take. We’re working on finding a replacement right now as he just had a fifteen minute long seizure,” responds the doctor.

“Okay, thanks for the update,” responds Nurse Sherry. She then thanks the doctor and hangs up the phone. She picks up the phone and tells everything to Hyunjin. “Felix may be near death because of you. I hope you’re proud of yourself.”

“Sherry, you know I’m not!” Hyunjin shouts back. “I don’t want him to die just as much as you do. You know this. You know this. Now tell me, what did the doctor say?”

“That Felix’s medication isn’t taking and that he just had a fifteen minute long seizure,” responds Nurse Sherry, “and that he needs to be on constant observation and watch. He’s not allowed to go to school anymore. Not allowed to go to his karate lessons and he was only a step away from a black belt as well.” She lets out a sigh. “He’s not able to do anything he enjoys anymore and it is all your fault.” She begins to cry. “It is all your fault.”

“I know,” says Hyunjin in tears himself, his voice shaking, “I know…” He bows his head and continues to cry. “I know…”

Chapter Text

A few minutes later, their time is finally up and Nurse Sherry promptly leaves to return to the hospital while a distraught Hyunjin is led back to his cell. Once there, he just lays on his cot and cries. “My, my poor baby…” cries Hyunjin. “My, my poor boy… I’m so so sorry for all of this. It…it’s all my fault and I’m…I’m so so sorry. I’m so so sorry…” He continues to cry for hours until he hears a familiar voice in the cell next to him. It’s Derrick.

“I told you you’d be the end of that boy but you wouldn’t listen,” says Derrick with a sigh.

“Oh shut up, don’t rub it in, Derrick!” responds Hyunjin with a snap. “I realize it’s all my fault, so shove it!”

“Okay, okay, fine,” responds Derrick. “Fine, but if he dies, just know you’re a murderer four times over.”

“Yeah, I know,” sighs Hyunjin in tears, “I…I know.” He bows his head and holds it in his hands. “I know.”

Meanwhile at the hospital, Nurse Sherry is back at her son’s bedside as Felix continues to seize before her eyes.

“We just tried the Keppra in his IV, so we’ll see if it takes,” says the doctor to Nurse Sherry. “We’ll see. Give it fifteen minutes to kick in.”

A few minutes later, Felix awakens. “Hey Eomma,” he says weakly once he awakens, “I’m tired. A bit dizzy.”

“Just an effect of the medication, you’re fine,” Nurse Sherry reassures him. “You’re fine.”

“Okay,” yawns Felix as he grabs his Ducky and falls sound asleep. “Okay.”

Twenty five minutes later, Felix’s state begins to improve. “It’ll be his new medication,” says the doctor to Nurse Sherry. “Initially it’ll be 10 mg/kg/dose PO twice daily. Then you’ll increase the dose every 2 weeks by 10 mg/kg/dose (i.e., 20 mg/kg/day) increments to the recommended dose of 25 mg/kg/dose PO twice daily. Okay?”

“Okay,” responds Nurse Sherry. “Do you still want to keep him for awhile in the hospital?”

“Yes,” responds the doctor, “and I still recommend pulling him out of school and homeschooling if you can too.”

“Okay,” responds Nurse Sherry, “that’s a bit less of a possibility. I’m with him everyday as is as I am his school nurse just as much as I am his mom.”

“Okay,” responds the doctor, “then he should be fine.” The doctor then leaves the room. Nurse Sherry remains there with him as he sleeps as does Pudding.

“You’re going to be okay, baby,” says Nurse Sherry with a sigh as she pushes his bangs out of his eyes, “you’re going to be alright.”

Chapter Text

A week later, Felix is released from the hospital and the following Monday, he starts back to school, this time with his new Keppra medication. “You sure you’re okay?” Says Nurse Sherry as she sits with Felix in her office that morning before school starts. “You’ve been through a lot these past few days.”

“Yes, I’m fine, Eomma, I promise,” he reassures her. “I have my medicine, have Pudding, I’ll be fine. I promise.”

“Okay,” responds Nurse Sherry with a sigh, “okay.” He takes the cup with his dose in it from Nurse Sherry and drinks it. He then promptly hands the cup back to her, takes his backpack, lunchbox, and Pudding and heads off to class.

A few minutes later, he enters Ms. Song’s classroom and sits down next to Lyle after he puts his stuff up. “Hey Fe,” says Lyle, “you doing better? We all know you’ve been out a lot lately.”

“I’ll be fine, promise,” Felix reassures his friend with a hug, “promise.”

“Okay,” responds Lyle as he hugs Felix back, “good.”

As the class continues on, Felix stays conscious and with it for the entire class. He’s not caught dazing off into space once. “Phew,” says Felix once class ends, “so glad I haven’t had one yet today. Let’s hope it stays this way. Fingers crossed it stays this way.” He lets out a sigh. He then makes his way to art class along with the rest of his class. There, he happily sits down with his paints and begins on his painting of his pet since it’s pet portraits day in his art class. He stays alert, focused as he paints. An hour later, the class ends and he makes his way to Nurse Sherry’s office before lunch just like he always does when he starts to get dizzy. Pudding begins to whine and gets down on the ground. A few minutes later, Felix falls down atop the dog. Pudding shifts until he’s right under Felix’s head. Four minutes later, Felix stops seizing as Nurse Sherry comes running from her office. Two minutes later, he opens his eyes and soon sees Nurse Sherry above him.

“Hey Eomma,” says Felix with a sigh. “I was just on my way to see you because I wasn’t feeling too well.”

“Yeah,” responds Nurse Sherry. Pudding pushes Felix up from behind until he’s back in a sitting position. “You don’t have much longer to go today. Go eat your lunch in my office then go to class, okay?”

“Okay,” responds Felix as Nurse Sherry helps him to his feet. “Okay.” He then follows her into her office and sits down on the bed there and eats his lunch. She hands him the cup with his second daily dose in it and he promptly drinks it. Once he’s done with the cup, he hands it back to her.

“I’m fine, Eomma, I promise,” Felix reassures her. “I’ve only had the one today and it was a short one.”

“Yeah, I know,” responds Nurse Sherry with a sigh, “I know.” A few minutes later, Felix gives her a hug and runs along to Ms. Kim’s class with Pudding in tow. His entire final class goes off without a single seizure.

Over the following weeks, as he gets used to the new dosages, he begins to have seizures less and less and they get more and more spread out when they do happen. Needless to say, both Hyunjin and Nurse Sherry are extremely relieved. They’re just glad he’s thriving once more. Alas, they don’t know how long that will truly last and that’s what scares them the most.

Chapter Text

A few weeks later, Felix and Nurse Sherry go and visit Hyunjin in prison once more. “Hey son,” says Hyunjin to Felix over the phone, “how are you doing?”

“Better than I was,” responds Felix with a sigh, “better than I was. Thanks for asking, Appa.”

“Of course,” responds Hyunjin with a smile and a sigh, “of course. I’m just relieved you’re doing okay, my boy.”

“Yeah, me too,” responds Felix with a sigh, “I’m just glad to still be alive at this point. I was so scared I was going to die.” He begins to cry. “I was so scared. So so scared.”

“I know, baby, I know,” responds Hyunjin tearing up himself now, “I know. I know…”

“I’m lucky I can still do school,” responds Felix with a sigh. “All my other stuff has been put on hold. I have no idea when I’ll be able to get back to doing karate among other things and it absolutely sucks.”

“Yeah, I can imagine,” responds Hyunjin with a sigh, “I can imagine.”

“I’m always so bored being stuck at home alone after school ends,” responds Felix with a sigh. “I wish I could be out and about doing something just like my sisters do.”

“Yeah, that’s fair,” responds Hyunjin with a sigh, “and I’m sure, with time, you might can again. Please don’t give up hope, my boy. Please.” He’s begging at this point. “Please.”

“I’ll try,” responds Felix, “but keeping up hope is hard. Keeping hope alive is hard.” He lets out a sigh. “Keeping hope alive is so so hard.” He begins to cry. “All I ever wanted was to be normal, but no, no. That was never possible. That was never possible and I absolutely hate it.” He continues to cry and complain. Hyunjin just listens on heartbroken until his time is up and he’s led back to his cell and Felix and Nurse Sherry are escorted out of the jail by the guard.

Once out of the jail, the two return back to the house. Nurse Sherry goes in followed soon behind by Felix and Pudding. Felix takes the dog and goes straight to his room where he passes out exhausted on his bed. It’s been a long day and right now, all be wants to do is sleep and absolutely nothing else.

Chapter Text

About two hours later, Felix awakens and sits down to dinner with Nurse Sherry. Once he sits, he promptly drinks his second dose of medicine before beginning to eat on his noodles and dumplings. “Eomma,” says Felix, “I’m doing better than I was, so can I please start back karate? I’m so bored being stuck at home.”

“You have a doctor’s appointment on Friday, we’ll ask then and see, okay?” Responds Nurse Sherry with a smile. “Okay?”

“Okay,” responds Felix. “Okay.” He gets back to eating his dinner. Once he finishes, he returns to his room with Pudding at his side.

“Poor Yongy,” says Ha-rin with a sigh, “poor Fe.”

“Yeah,” agree her sister and mother, “yeah…”

A few days later, it’s finally Friday, and after school ends for the day, Felix, Pudding, and Nurse Sherry head straight to the hospital to meet with Felix’s neurologist.

“Hello Nurse Sherry, Felix,” responds the doctor with a smile. “It’s good to see you. Have you had any seizures lately, Felix?”

“No,” responds Felix, “not a one.”

“Okay,” responds the doctor.

“Can I start doing karate again then?” Inquires Felix.

“As long as you’re careful, I see no issue,” says the doctor.

“That’s a yes, baby,” says Nurse Sherry to Felix.

“Good!” Responds Felix happily. “I can’t wait! I can’t wait!”

About thirty minutes later, the three leave the hospital and return home. Once home, Nurse Sherry calls the dojo and lets Felix’s sensei know he’ll finally be returning.

“I’m glad to hear that,” says Felix’s sensei over the phone, “we’ve missed having him in the dojo.”

“Yeah, and he’s missed being there,” responds Nurse Sherry with a sigh. “Will he have to go down a belt or no?”

“Not at all,” responds the sensei, “he’ll be just fine.”

“Okay,” responds Nurse Sherry, “good. And one other thing, is he allowed to have his dog in the dojo?”

“If it’s a medical support animal, yes,” responds the sensei.

“Okay, it is, so good,” responds Nurse Sherry. “Thank you, sensei.”

“Anytime,” responds the sensei with a smile, “I’ll see him Monday after school then?”

“Yes,” responds Nurse Sherry with a smile, “we’ll see you then.” With that, she hangs up the phone and goes to Felix’s room where she soon finds him drawing in the corner with Pudding on his lap.

“Hey Eomma,” says Felix looking up at her. “So, when do I start back?”

“For karate, you start again Monday after school,” responds Nurse Sherry with a smile. “And don’t forget your medicine or Pudding.”

“I know,” responds Felix with a smile, “thanks Eomma.” He gets up and gives her a hug. “Thank you so, so much!”

“You’re welcome, baby,” she responds as she hugs him back, “you’re so, so welcome.”

Chapter Text

That following Monday after school ends, Felix goes excitedly to Nurse Sherry’s office with Pudding in tow and the two head straight to the dojo where they’re soon greeted with a smile by the sensei. “Welcome back, Felix,” says the sensei with a smile as he leads Felix inside. “We all missed you.”

“And I missed being here,” responds Felix with a smile. He goes and puts his stuff in his cubby and takes his medication before going out to the mats to join the other students. They do a welcome back before they get to sparring. As Felix spars, Pudding sits quietly in the corner and observes his master. The entire day at the dojo, Felix is fine-no seizures, no alerts from Pudding. Later that afternoon after practice ends, Felix is driven back to Nurse Sherry’s by Lyle’s mother.

Once home, he hops out and thanks her before running inside followed close behind by Pudding. Once inside, he sits his backpack on the counter and pulls out his medication and hands it to Nurse Sherry. “How was karate?” She inquires of her son.

“It was fantastic! I had so much fun!” Responds Felix with a smile.

“And no seizures?” Inquires Nurse Sherry of her son.

“Not a one,” responds Felix with a grin. “Not a one.”

“Good, glad to hear it,” responds Nurse Sherry with a smile. “Dinner will be ready in an hour, okay?”

“Okay,” responds Felix with a smile, “okay.” He hugs her before running off to his room followed close behind by Pudding. Once in his room, he sits down on his bed, pulls out his sketchbook and begins to draw. He draws simple drawings of him and his Appa. “Appa, I miss you,” he says with a sigh as tears begin to form in his eyes. He sniffles. “I miss you, I miss you so, so much. I miss you so, so much.”

An hour later, he joins the rest of his family for dinner and Pudding curls up under the table at his feet.

“You’ve been crying, baby,” says Nurse Sherry to Felix, “you okay?”

“Yeah, just miss Appa is all,” responds Felix with a sniffle.

“Yeah, I know, and we’ll go visit him this weekend like we always do, promise,” responds Nurse Sherry with a sigh. “Okay.”

“Okay,” responds Felix with a sniffle before going back to quietly eating on his dinner. “Okay.”

Once he finishes, he takes Pudding and returns to his room. He doesn’t come out for the rest of the night and Nurse Sherry only enters his room when she hears Pudding begin to whine.

One minute, two, three minutes. Three minutes later, Felix comes to and a few moments after that, he awakens and is pushed up into a sitting position by Pudding before Nurse Sherry takes him in her arms. “Hey baby,” says Nurse Sherry as she dries his tears, “you’re okay now. You’re okay.”

“Yeah,” says Felix with a sigh as he holds onto her, “I know.” He lets out another sigh. “I know.”

Chapter Text

Soon enough, the rest of the week soon passes and with that Saturday, Nurse Sherry, Felix, and Pudding go and visit Hyunjin in jail once more. “Hey son,” says Hyunjin with a smile as soon as he sees Felix. “How have you been doing lately?”

“I’ve been doing good,” responds Felix with a smile, “started back at karate so I’ve been having a blast with that!”

“Yeah, I bet,” responds Hyunjin with a smile. “I know how much you love doing karate.”

“Yeah,” responds Felix with a smile, “yeah.”

“How’s school been going?” Hyunjin then inquires of his son.

“Good,” responds Felix with a smile. “It’s been good.”

“Any recent seizures?” Hyunjin then inquires of his son.

“Yeah, just two this week, luckily,” responds Felix with a smile.

“Good,” responds Hyunjin with a smile, “I’m glad to hear it.”

Fifteen minutes later, the guards come to escort Hyunjin away and Nurse Sherry, Felix, and Pudding leave once more. As they drive home, the two talk. “So, that was nice,” says Nurse Sherry. “I know you enjoy those visits.”

“Yeah, I do,” responds Felix with a sigh, “but you know I’d prefer it more if Appa wasn’t in jail.”

“Yeah, I know, baby,” responds Nurse Sherry with a sigh. “I know. But you have to remember, he’s the reason you are the way you are.”

“You mean disabled?” Responds Felix. “And yeah, I know. He’s still family though.”

“Yeah, fair enough,” responds Nurse Sherry with a sigh. “Fair enough.”

After a few more minutes, the two arrive home and Felix goes inside to his room followed by Pudding. Once there, he lies down for a nap before dinner just like always. Nurse Sherry, on the other hand, goes and spends time with her girls just doing normal mother daughter things with them as most of her paperwork for the day is already done.

Chapter Text

An hour later, it’s time for dinner, and Felix still hasn’t left his room, so Nurse Sherry goes to check on him. As she approaches his room, she hears Pudding whining, so she enters immediately to her son collapsed on the floor in a seizure atop the dog. “I’m here, baby, I’m here,” she says softly as she watches him seize on the floor. “And I’ll be here until you awaken.”

A few minutes later, he finally comes out of the seizure and a bit after that, his eyes flutter open. “Hey baby boy,” Nurse Sherry says with a smile as she takes her son in her arms. “You’re okay now.”

“Yeah, I know,” says Felix as he clings to his plush ducky and clings to her, tears in his eyes, “I know.”

“Are you hungry at all?” She then inquires of him kindly with a smile on her face all the while as she holds him close to her.

“Y…yeah,” responds Felix with a nod. “Y…yeah.”

“Okay,” responds Nurse Sherry as she helps him to his feet and to the kitchen, “okay.”

A few minutes later, they all enjoy dinner as a family, just the four of them, like they always do. In between bites, the girls talk about their days to their mother while Felix stays relatively quiet and just eats on his own meal as he clings to his duck toy with his other hand, Pudding curled up at his feet all the while. After awhile, he begins to zone out and Pudding notices and begins to whine.

Seeing him swaying in his chair, Nurse Sherry jumps right on it and helps him down onto the floor away from the table and onto Pudding. A few minutes later, he begins to have yet another seizure. “One, two, three, four minutes,” counts Nurse Sherry on her watch. Within the fifth minute, he finally comes back to and his eyes flutter open once more.

“I had another one, didn’t I?” Inquires Felix as he clings to his duck plush.

“Yes, you did,” responds Nurse Sherry as she holds her son close to her, “you did, but you’re okay now. Promise.”

“Okay is relative,” responds Felix with a sigh, snapping at his mother a little bit. “I’ll never really be okay.”

“Yeah, I know, baby,” responds Nurse Sherry as she continues to cradle her distraught son in her arms. “I know.”

“I wanna go to bed,” he then says with a whine and a yawn as he continues to cling to Nurse Sherry. “I’m tired, Eomma.”

“Okay,” responds Nurse Sherry with a nod as she lets him go. “Okay.” She then watches as he walks back to his room, holding firmly to Pudding with one hand and holding his favorite plush duck with the other. A few minutes later, he’s back in his room where he climbs right back up on his bed and falls fast asleep at last. As he sleeps, all that’s on his mind is his Appa and absolutely nothing else.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Nurse Sherry goes and checks on Felix in his room first. “Eomma, I don’t feel so well,” whines Felix as she enters the room. “It’s too bright.”

“Okay,” responds Nurse Sherry as she goes to the nightstand by his bed and pulls out the thermometer and checks his temperature. She then checks it. “You do have a fever. You’re not going to school today, baby.” She then tucks him back into bed and picks his duck toy up off the floor and hands it back to him. Felix promptly grabs it and cuddles it close to him.

“Are you going to stay home too, eomma?” Inquires Felix as he looks up at Nurse Sherry.

“Yes,” responds Nurse Sherry. “Someone has to stay here to watch you.” She runs her fingers through his hair. “Now get some rest. Okay?”

“Okay,” responds Felix with a nod as he curls up once more. “Okay.” A few minutes later, he’s fast asleep once more. Once she’s sure he’s asleep, Nurse Sherry makes sure her daughters get on the train to school before she heads into her office at last to work on her things. As she’s working, her phone begins to ring.

“Hello,” says Nurse Sherry as she picks up the call.

“Hello, it’s the principal, Mr. Wong. Are you and your kids coming in today? Or do I need to call the secondary nurse?” Responds the caller.

“Yes, call in the secondary nurse, Felix is sick and I can’t leave him alone. The girls are on their way to school on the train. They’ll be there soon, don’t worry,” Nurse Sherry reassures Mr. Wong.

“Okay, will do,” responds Mr. Wong. “Bye, Nurse Sherry.” He then hangs up the call and goes and calls the secondary nurse at last.

A few minutes later, she returns to work on her paperwork at last. She lets out a sigh. “My poor, poor boy. My poor, poor boy…” She looks over at the monitor in his room. A few minutes later, the alert on her phone from Pudding’s collar begins to sound so she heads to Felix’s room to check on her son, soon finding him having a seizure in his sleep. She stays with him until he stops seizing.

“Eomma,” he whines in his sleep. “Eomma.”

“Yes, I’m here, baby, I’m here,” responds Nurse Sherry as she hands his ducky back to him. “I’m here. I’m here… You need to get up and take your meds a minute, okay?”

“Okay,” responds Felix as he finally wakes up a bit more, “okay.” She smiles as she helps him sit up in bed and gives him his cup of juice with the medicine in it. Felix promptly drinks it before curling back up in bed with his ducky and with Pudding. Nurse Sherry stays with him until he falls back asleep once more.

She continues to watch him for awhile longer to make sure he doesn’t have any more seizures in his sleep, only leaving his room about an hour later, after another two back to back seizures.

Meanwhile at the school, Ms. Kim picks up all Felix’s work from Ms. Song. “I worry about the poor kid,” says Ms. Song with a sigh as she hands the folder of papers to Ms. Kim.

“Yeah, we all do,” responds Ms. Kim, “we all do.” She lets out a sigh as she takes the folder from Ms. Song.

Ms. Kim then takes the folder and returns to her own classroom.

Meanwhile back at their home, Nurse Sherry picks up a call from her husband. “Hey love, when will you be home? Is it still 20 months or longer now?” She lets out a sigh. “I’m having a hard time raising three kids on my own.”

“Yeah, I know you are,” responds her husband with a sigh. “And yes, it’s still only 20 months. I was just checking in. That’s all. How are our girls and your adopted son?”

“You mean our adopted son,” responds Nurse Sherry with a sigh. “And he’s sick, poor baby. As for the girls, they’re doing fine. They’re doing well in cheer. Ha-Rin’s doing well with cello and clarinet. Yu-Jin is enjoying her piano and ballet lessons. They enjoy having a little brother.”

“Okay, and I’m glad,” responds her husband, “and I’m so sorry to hear that the poor boy is sick. I really, really am.”

“Yeah, thanks,” responds Nurse Sherry with a sigh. “I’ll see you in twenty months. Love you.”

“Yeah, love you too, and hey, you’ve got this,” her husband reassures her. “Bye.” He then hangs up the call at last and Nurse Sherry returns to her paperwork at last before going to check on Felix once more not long after she finishes up on the remaining papers on her desk.

“Baby, are you hungry?” She inquires of him as she sees him sat up in his bed cuddling his duck plush close to himself.

“Y…yeah,” responds Felix with a sniffle. “Noodles?”

“Yes, baby,” responds Nurse Sherry. “I’ll be right back with those, alright?” She says as she kisses him on the forehead.

“Alright,” responds Felix as he clings tightly to his favorite duck toy once more. “Alright.” He then watches as Nurse Sherry leaves his room once more. Fifteen minutes later, she returns with the noodles and broth once more and begins feeding it to him. As she does, she begins to hum him one of his favorite lullabies. A good twenty minutes later, Felix finishes the noodles and lets out a yawn.

“Go back to sleep now, alright baby?” Nurse Sherry inquires sweetly of her son as she rubs his cheek and his bangs with her hand.

“Mmhmm,” responds Felix as he lets out a yawn once more. A few minutes later, he’s back out like a light. She goes to the chair in the corner of his room and continues her work there so that she can continue to keep an eye on him. As they go into the next hour, she hears Pudding begin to whine, so she gets up and goes to the bed to observe and count out Felix’s seizure.

“One, two, three, four, five,” she counts. By the end of the fifth minute, Felix finally comes out of it before promptly puking all over the floor and all over his favorite toy. He then begins to cry. “Oh, baby, I’ll go wash it, don’t worry,” says Nurse Sherry with a sigh as she dries his tears. She then takes the duck toy and throws it into the washing machine to clean it. She then grabs more towels and a vacuum to clean up the puke out of the carpet of his room. After several more minutes, about forty five or fifty, she has all the puke out of his carpet. She then overlays his floor with the towels and hands him a plastic bucket to puke into going forward. She doesn’t want to remove him from his bed unless she absolutely has to.

“When will ducky be clean?” He inquires of Nurse Sherry, tears still in his eyes. “I want my ducky.”

“Yeah, I know you do and it’ll be clean soon enough, promise,” responds Nurse Sherry with a sigh. She closes the curtain of his window. “Please at least try to rest without it.”

“No, I want my ducky,” says Felix as he shakes his head. “I won’t go back to sleep without it,” he continues to whine.

“Okay,” responds Nurse Sherry with a sigh, “okay. I’ll go check on it, okay?” She kisses him on the forehead. “Now please lay back down.”

“Okay,” responds Felix with a whine as he lets out a huff, “fine.”

With that, Nurse Sherry goes and checks on the plush in the laundry machine. Seeing the rinse cycle is over, she opens the laundry and checks on it. “Most of the puke is out. Probably one more wash before the dryer,” she says with a sigh as she puts it back in the laundry with more cleaner on a gentle cycle. She then watches as it spins once more. About an hour later, the second cycle ends and she throws it in the dryer at last. She wants to get it back to her son soon so he’ll actually fall asleep and get the rest that he desperately needs.

Fifty minutes later, it’s finally dry and she takes it back to Felix before tucking him back into bed once more. “There you go, baby,” she says with a smile and a sigh as she kisses him on the forehead after she hands him his beloved toy, “now will you go to sleep?”

“Mmhmm,” responds Felix with a nod as he holds his duck close to him once more as he curls up in bed once more. She then tucks him in comfortably once more. A few minutes later, he’s out like a light once more, cuddling his beloved duck toy close to himself as he slumbers.

Chapter Text

Meanwhile at the prison, Hyunjin’s laying stuck in a medical cot himself with a displaced shoulder as another inmate decided that it would be fun to twist his arm nearly out of its socket.

“Sir, you really should stop trying to make enemies in here,” says the prison nurse to him with a sigh. “It could end up with you dead one of these days. You do realize that, yes?”

“Yeah, I do,” responds Hyunjin with a sigh, “but I’m not trying to. People just keep attacking me. I have a target on my back around here. I know and I realize that and there’s nothing I can do about that, unfortunately.”

He goes back to just blank staring at the wall before him. “Am I allowed a phone call by chance? I’m worried about someone.”

“I’ll try but no guarantees,” responds the nurse with a sigh. She then leaves the room and leaves him alone with his guards once more.

Meanwhile elsewhere in the prison, the nurse is trying to talk the call block of the prison into letting Hyunjin have his requested call. “Unless his son comes here, we really don’t let them call out,” responds the head of the call station of the prison.

“Yes, but his son has a gambit of health issues,” responds the prison nurse. “It’s not always possible for him to come visit his father in person.”

“Okay, fine, he can have forty five minutes,” responds the head of the call block. He then hands the nurse a bugged cell phone. “Whatever he says, it’s going to be recorded. Make sure he knows that.”

“Yeah, I will,” responds the nurse with a nod. She then takes the cell phone and returns to Hyunjin.

“I got you your damn phone call,” responds the nurse as she hands him the cell phone, opened to the call screen with Sherry’s number typed in.

“Thanks,” responds Hyunjin with a nod as he presses the call button. A few minutes later, Sherry picks up.

“Hey Hyunjin, what do you want?” She inquires of him.

“How’s my son doing?” He then inquires of her. There’s a bit of concern in his voice.

“Not well,” responds Nurse Sherry with a sigh. “He has a cold. He’s sleeping right now, so you can’t talk with him. He needs to rest.”

“Okay,” responds Hyunjin understandingly.

“Yeah, and the fever especially has made his seizures more frequent. The poor kid is just exhausted. He’s had probably six across today alone.” Nurse Sherry lets out a sigh. “He can’t even keep his meals and his medication down right now.”

“Oh, my poor boy,” responds Hyunjin with a sigh, “my poor, poor boy.”

“Yeah, for sure,” responds Nurse Sherry with a sigh, “oh for sure. My poor, poor boy indeed.” A tear rolls down her cheek. “My poor, poor boy indeed.”

After another thirty minutes, Nurse Sherry hangs up on Hyunjin, leaving him cold as she goes back to tending to her son once more, soon finding him having a seizure in his sleep once more. After about seven minutes, he stops seizing and just goes back to sleeping, cuddling with his favorite duck toy once more as he does.

“Oh my poor, poor boy,” says Nurse Sherry with a sigh as she rubs her hand against his cheek and through his hair, “my poor, poor boy.” She then goes and pulls up the chair next to his bed and goes back to observing him as he sleeps, noting down each and every seizure he has had across the day just as a precautionary measure for the most part.

Chapter Text

The next day is the same as the first. Nurse Sherry refusing to leave Felix’s room. Felix’s fever getting worse. His seizures getting worse. More consistent. By the end of the day, they’re in the hospital once more so Felix can properly be monitored once more. “How long have the febrile seizures been happening?” The doctor inquires of Nurse Sherry.

“They started yesterday,” responds Nurse Sherry with a sigh and they’ve just gotten worse. “Been giving him Valium.”

“Okay,” responds the doctor with a nod. “You’ve been doing the right thing.”

“He does have existing epilepsy which is why I worry,” responds Nurse Sherry with a sigh, tears in her eyes, “my poor baby boy.”

“Okay, how many did he have yesterday and how long were they?” The doctor then inquires of Nurse Sherry.

“Six at fifteen minutes a piece,” responds Nurse Sherry with a sigh.

“Okay, we’ll do a physical exam, blood work,” responds the doctor with a nod. He pauses. “EEG and MRI too.”

“Okay,” responds Nurse Sherry with a nod. She looks at her son. “I just want him to be better. That’s all…”

“Yes, and we’re going to help at least calm the seizures and reduce the fever,” responds the doctor with a nod.

A little while later, when Felix is a bit more with it, the doctor does the physical exam and does the blood work, Felix squeezing his toy duck the entire time. He’s absolutely terrified.

“Okay,” says the doctor as calmly as he can, “we’re about to take you back and hook you up for an EEG, okay?” He inquires of Felix.

“Okay, I’m used to those,” responds Felix with a sigh as he continues to hold tight to his duck plush. He follows the doctor back to the room and lets them connect the nodes to his head while he just lays there and takes it, used to it. Nurse Sherry just watches on with a sadness in her eyes.

“Keep your eyes open, focus on your mom, okay?” Says the neurologist to Felix.

“Okay,” responds Felix with a sigh as he looks at Nurse Sherry, “okay…”

“Okay, we’re going to monitor how many seizures you have,” adds the neurologist’s assistant as well.

“Okay,” responds Felix with a nod. “Okay…”

About thirty minutes later, Felix goes into a seizure which ends up lasting a solid twenty minutes before he finally comes out of it. About five minutes later, he goes into a second, this one only lasting five minutes. He has another five before they detach him from the EEG at last and take him for an MRI. It also goes off without a hitch. It’s neocortical gliosis just like all his other MRIs.

“We’re just going to update his current dosage and add Rectal Diastat,” says the neurologist to Nurse Sherry. “He’ll just do it when he has the fevers and febrile seizures.”

“Okay,” responds Nurse Sherry with a nod. “Thank you.”

“Yes, of course, anytime,” responds Felix’s neurologist with a warm smile, “anytime.”

A few hours later, they leave the doctor’s and head home. Once home, Felix does all his medications and goes down for a nap with his ducky and with Pudding. Nurse Sherry, meanwhile, goes and picks up her girls before promptly returning home with them at last. Once they’re settled back in, she goes to check on Felix once more, soon finding him sleeping peacefully. At seeing that, she lets out a sigh of relief. She then heads to work on some paperwork before she has to start on dinner for herself and the kiddos at last.

Three days later, his fever finally breaks and his seizures calm down once more. “Eomma,” he says with a sigh as she comes into his room that morning to wake him.

“Yes, what my baby boy?” She inquires sweetly as she dries his tears and hands him his duck plush. “What do you need?”

“Do I have to go into school the rest of the week?” He soon inquires, still holding his plush close to himself.

“No, baby, you don’t have to. It’s Thursday, going in for just Friday isn’t worth it,” responds Nurse Sherry as she hands him his cup of apple juice. “Go on and take your meds.”

“Okay,” responds Felix with a nod as he drinks on the apple juice. Once he’s done, he hands the cup back to Nurse Sherry. “What’s for breakfast?”

“The strawberry milk and scallion pancakes are waiting in the kitchen,” responds Nurse Sherry with a smile. “Do you want me to bring you yours?”

“Yes, thank you, Eomma,” responds Felix with a smile as he continues to hold tight to his duck plush.

“Okay, I’ll be right back,” responds Nurse Sherry with a smile. She then leaves his room and returns a few minutes later with the fresh made pancakes and the strawberry milk. Felix smiles happily as he enjoy the creamy milk laced with chunks of fresh strawberries. Once he finishes it, he happily eats a few of the pancakes before calling it quits. “You feeling alright?” Nurse Sherry inquires of her son.

A few minutes later, Pudding begins to alert and gets under Felix’s head before Felix falls down atop his beloved dog in a seizure. Four minutes later, he comes back to and Pudding helps him sit up once more. “Better?” Inquires Nurse Sherry of her son as she brushes the bangs out of her son’s eyes.

“Mmhmm,” responds Felix with a nod. “Mmhmm.” He buries his head in his plushie once more. “Mmhmm.”

“Okay,” responds Nurse Sherry with a smile as she continues to cradle her son close to herself, “okay…”

Chapter Text

A few days later, with the Monday, Felix returns to school at last, his duck plushie, medication, and Pudding in tow. “Okay, if you start feeling sick at all, come right to my office, okay?” Nurse Sherry inquires of her son with concern in her voice. “I’ll see you at lunch time, okay?”

“Yeah, I know, Eomma, okay,” responds Felix with a smile as he hugs her before taking Pudding and his bag and lunchbox and heading off to class at last. Once there, he takes his seat next to Lyle.

“Hey, missed you last week,” Lyle whispers into Felix’s ear.

“Yeah, was sick,” Felix whispers back as he continues to squeeze tight to his favorite toy.

A few minutes later, story time begins and with it, so does their school day. A few minutes into the story, Felix begins to feel off and Pudding begins to alert before getting under his owner’s head. A few minutes later, Felix collapses in a seizure atop the dog. One minute goes by. Two. Three. Four. Four minutes later, Felix comes back to and Pudding helps him sit back up. A few more minutes later, the two make their way to Nurse Sherry’s office. There, Felix is greeted outside by his mother and brought inside. She then closes the door before giving him his second dose of medicine.

“Maybe I started back too soon?” Felix inquires of Nurse Sherry, a hesitant shakiness in his voice.

“I wouldn’t say that,” says Nurse Sherry as she takes the cup from her son, “as your mother at least. As your nurse, I’d say, maybe.”

“Yeah, I know,” responds Felix with a sigh, “I know. I think I feel up to going back to class.”

“Okay,” responds Nurse Sherry with a nod. She then watches as Felix and Pudding leave her room at last and make their way to the art room where the rest of Ms. Song’s class is waiting for them. Nurse Sherry, meanwhile, goes off to have a meeting with Felix’s special needs teacher, Ms. Kim.

“So, how much did he miss last week?” Nurse Sherry inquires of Miss Kim.

“Not too much,” responds Miss Kim, “I can assure you. Just two spelling tests, a poster project, nothing too major.”

“Okay, good,” responds Nurse Sherry with a sigh of relief, “good. I’m glad he didn’t miss too much.”

“Yeah, that’s fair,” responds Miss Kim with a nod. “He’ll be making up those tests when he comes to me this afternoon.”

“Yes, I am aware,” responds Nurse Sherry with a nod. She then thanks Miss Kim before returning to her own office in the school once more.

A few hours later, after lunch, Felix returns to Miss Kim’s where he promptly makes up both his spelling tests before beginning on his poster project at last. It’s a poster on favorite things, so it’s easy for him to work on much to his relief.

Two hours later, Nurse Sherry, Felix, Pudding, and his sisters return home before heading their separate ways throughout the house. Felix goes down in his room for a nap while the girls play catch-up with their mom, telling her about cheer, band, among other things as she listens on with a smile.