Chapter 2: A New Beginning
He didn't know how long he was out, but it must have been a while. He opened his eyes and there was a nurse on his bedside checking the machine he was wired to.
He turned his head to face her and must've made some noise because she turned around and smiled when she saw him.
"Jay, can you hear me?" she asked.
Jay? Who was that? Wasn't his name Julien? He was getting his priorities mixed up.
"Wa...ter" he croaked.
"Of course, here, easy though." she held out a cup with a straw that was sitting on a nearby tray.
He swallowed a mouthful, it was painful, but it helped. He swallowed another and that was it, he couldn't muster anymore strength.
"Done?" she asked and he nodded.
"Do you know where you are?" he shook his head no.
She hesitated a bit then asked, "Do you know... who you are?" he hesitated but still shook his head no.
She let out a sigh, "Do you remember anything from before the car accident?"
"No... I don't... I don't even... remember the... acci- cough!" he tried to sit up but started coughing before he could finish, damn it hurt.
She hurriedly pressed down on his chest, "Easy, easy it's okay, you have all the time in the world to figure things out, you should rest for now, your body is in the weakest state it's ever been. Your muscles are in a state of atrophy right now."
"Yeah... no kidding..." he grunted. Figures, if his body had been laying there for so long then it made sense. Hmm... wait a minute. They said he was 9 when he fell into a coma, but his thought process... didn't seem to belong to a kid? Then something hit him and he hastily asked, "Year?"
"Sorry?"
"The year, what year is this?"
She looked at him with sympathy before answering, "It's 2010, February 11th 2010. You had your accident on the 25th December 2003."
He couldn't see his face but he was pretty sure he blanched a little. Because he remembered. Not anything about Jay Aslan or the accident but the date, he remembered. It was February 14th 2026, Valentine's Day, he was 32 years old, he came home from the studio early to surprise his wife and found her in bed with her "best friend". Then his chest had started hurting, he had heard noises and then... Then nothing. He... had he died..? He had, hadn't he. He died. Of what, heartache? Was that even possible?
Ugh his head hurt...
"Jay? Jay are you okay?" the nurse started to get frantic, "I'm going to get the doctor, I'll be right back."
She left in a hurry and he almost blacked out again but managed to endure. He wanted to know exactly what condition his body was in and get information about his new family.
It didn't take long until he heard hurried footsteps and the sound of muffled voices in the hallway. He straighten up a little when the nurse came back with a middle-aged man that he recognized as Dr. Philips and a very attractive woman wearing a black skirt, white shirt and black blazer.
"Jay, can you hear me?" Dr. Philips asked.
Jay nodded.
He came close to him with a lamp thingy that doctors use. "Does it hurt anywhere? Open your eyes wide. Look left, now right... good. Your eyes are responding just fine. Can you talk?"
"Yes... It's... painful... all over my... bo... body" he winced.
Dr. Philips let out a sympathetic smile. "Yes it's absolutely normal, your body muscles have been in an atrophied state for too long, it'll take weeks of rehab to get you back on your feet all new and shiny." He paused and grinned. "But you've done the hardest part by waking up. This is nothing short of a miracle Jay, you being awake and talking to me, is a miracle."
Jay let out a chuckle at the doctor's obvious excitement.
"Ahem", Dr. Philips coughed to hide his embarrassment. "Jay this is Dr. Keys, she's our hospital's chief psychologist and is here to make a primary assessment on any collateral damage that you might have suffered."
Jay let out a smile. "You mean... to make sure... I'm not... crazy."
This time, Dr. Keys chuckled. "Well if you can deduce that much I think it's safe to say that you're probably in the clear."
She proceeded to ask him a few questions and showed him a few pictures; the "What shape are you seeing?" kind.
When she asked him what he remembered of the accident, he hesitated. Should he play the amnesia card? Probably, huh.
"I don't remember anything. Not just the accident, I mean my name, my family... everything." he said. She had given him a sort of throat antiseptic and it was helping his speech abilities.
Dr. Keys and Dr. Philips exchanged a look.
"Okay Jay, well Mrs. Jetson, that's your nurse, will fill you in on as much as possible. The rest should probably come from your close kin. You should rest, we've already notified your parents and they'll be there first thing in the morning."
Jay nodded and thanked him and Dr. Keys. Dr. Philips gave him an encouraging pat on the shoulder while Dr. Keys offered a soft smile before they both left.
Mrs. Jetson who had been fiddling with the machines nearby gave him the low down on his new life.
His name was Julien "Jay" Aslan. He was the son of Helen and Lee Aslan, and the brother of 5 year-old Lou Eleanor Aslan.
Helen Aslan (née O'Malley) was a painter, a well-known one apparently given the fact that she had her own gallery.
Lee Aslan was a well-connected Korean-American lawyer who had made generous monthly donations to the New York Presbyterian Hospital ever since his son's accident (that would be him). That was all she knew, oh and there was also the fact that his younger sister was "absolutely adorable".
Jay got really tired after all the talking and she most likely sensed it because she told him that she would come to check on him later and that he should rest now. She left and he was out as soon as his eyes closed.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Elawn
Elawn Let me know if there's any typo, any constructive feedback is appreciated ~
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