Welcome to Gaia! ::

He didn't get it. He had felt fine - just fine - until he'd come back to this place. When did it all go wrong? Stupid D-Corp...had Reese been more coherent, he probably would have thought that they'd injected him with something when they gave him that "vaccination" shot.

Instead, his clenched his eyes shut trying to shut out the horrible pounding sound...he just didn't realize it was his heart that he heard. He felt so cold, so terribly, terribly cold...and in his semi-lucid state he grabbed for anything to try and cover himself.

"P-pop-pa," he whined, his whole body hurting. "POPPA!" he shouted when the call wasn't answered, his tail giving a sudden and destructive thrash.

All the muscles around Reese's eyes hurt from clenching them so tightly shut. He was shaking his head vigorously, shuddering again as his body hit the bed. His tail had coiled its way tightly around the good doctor's leg...and it wasn't letting go. It was almost like an involuntary reflex; his DNA's ancestors were stuck in a violent storm, being tossed about in the waves and when they found one solid thing to hold on to, they stuck to it for dear life. Doctor Acklin was the only solid thing in Reese's world right now.

"Wilbur," Reese whined again pathetically. If Poppa wouldn't answer him, surely Wilbur would. Wilbur was always there for him when his father wasn't. His hands continued to look for something solid, managing to grab handfuls of Acklin's shirt sleeve.



Meanwhile, out in the waiting room, Edge and Wilbur sat side by side on chairs. After an outburst upon their first arrival, the two men waited solemnly for news about the boy. Anytime a tech hurried past, they'd look up with apprehension...only to collectively sigh and go back to whatever it was they'd been doing before.

The younger man, Edge, sat with his elbows on his knees, wringing his hands together as a person might twist a towel to dry it out. His light eyes were distant, lost. The other man, dressed in a butler's uniform, had one arm comfortingly around Edge's shoulder, slowing looking around the place. He seemed a little more fixed, as if he was inspecting every nook for dirt.

Edge was counting the cracks in the tile floor. Wilbur was thinking about how he just wanted to go clean every office in the building.

Reese's hand clutched at the sheet of the bed with his fists, trying to hard to keep his grip on the object that his tail had clung to. When the doctor finally managed to pry him free, his mouth opened in a wail that could be compared to that of a banshee.

He tried curling into a ball, clutching himself...tiny nails leaving ugly, red scratches across his arms as he turned away from the doctor on the bed. He was lost in the ocean, going with the currents...just wanting something solid to keep him from slipping away forever. He wanted his dad. He wanted Wilbur.

Soon it was the young seahorses turn to receive the vaccine. Just like with every other child Acklin rushed into the boys room, gave him the life saving shot and then rushed right back out.