Just Ian's luck that he came to the hospital to visit Mister Darrow while his friend was sleeping. It was awkward - he had come out to see him, and, while he did not want to disturb the librarian's recovery, the red-haired boy would also feel bad if he just turned right around and left.

Hospitals always made him a little nervous, though he could never say why. It was certainly reassuring to know that Mister Darrow was safe and cared-for, but the thought of having to spend days on end in such a place kind of unsettled him. The day he had been attacked and injured his shoulder, Ian had had to wait for a long time to get x-rays and then the sling and medication for the pain, and that had not even been overnight.

Being a thoughtful young man, Ian had planned to bring a gift anyway, and fortunately librarians could presumably be kept occupied with books. Ian had a doozy for his friend.

He could wrap a present if he put his mind to it, but, perhaps erring on the side of being too careful, Ian had simply slipped both hardcover volumes into a gift bag, and packed them in neatly with tissue paper. The weight tugged at the handles of the bag, but the boy was glad to see that nothing had torn on the way to the hospital. He took up a seat in the chair beside the bed where Mister Darrow slept, and set the bag down first on one side of his chair, then the other, then finally nudged the remains of a boxed lunch aside on the bedside table to leave the bag where he would be able to see and reach it.

And then he rested his elbows on his knees and felt awkward, wondering again if he should stay or leave.

The sound of the various monitors started to unnerve Ian after a moment, and he settled for talking, quietly, to his sleeping friend.

"Hey, you don't have to wake up or anything. Just wanted to come by and visit. Um." He knit his fingers together and studied them. "I don't know what all the numbers on your screens and stuff mean, but I guess if you weren't at least mostly okay, they wouldn't have let me come visit.

"I didn't hear what all happened exactly, but I hope you heal up soon. It seems like everyone's been through here at least once lately, with all of the monsters and things, and I'm kind of not even sure that the senshi are really here to help us anymore."

Ian lowered his voice conspiratorially and went on, "I was attacked a few days ago by a monster thing, and yeah, he helped, but he also went kind of out of his way to tease me, too." Hardly a new thing for Ian, truth be told, but in a life-or-death situation, it was really grating. He clenched his hands into fists. "So I guess I just really hope that you weren't hurt because some senshi was rubbing it in your face that you're just a normal person. It's not like any of us asked to be in this whole crazy magic war they're fighting. We just seem to be the ones to get hurt all the time.

"It's not like I was taking a risk or anything, either, I was just returning a book." He took a deep breath and sat up again, letting his anger fade. Then a small smile touched his lips. "In spite of it all, I'm still being good about my library books, at least."

Out of things to say, he lingered a few moments more. The red-haired boy jumped slightly when a machine suddenly started to take Mister Darrow's blood pressure. But then he figured that the librarian was best left to recover on his own. Maybe Ian could come back another time. Ask him how the books were going and all.

On a note shut inside one of the books, Ian
This is my favorite translation of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, I think. I don't know if you've read it yet, but I think you may like it. It's basically my favorite story. One rule, though - you're not allowed to finish it in the hospital! It's a long book, and I hope you will be better and out of there before you reach the end.

Enjoy and get well soon,
Ian Chen