hacked title number 6

Lex nodded slightly then looked up, his eyes flicking back and forth between Layla and Ashton.  He kept looking back and forth, back and forth, his eyes staying closed a little longer with each blink until he was fully out of it.

Geena went to Ally's office, hoping to find her there.

The shy scientist was indeed there, finishing off some instant noodles as she shopped for some parts to fix one of the machines in the main lab.

Once Lex was out, Gaster wheeled him on the gurney to another room for the surgery. He prepped Lex while he waited for Geena and Ally, getting out the needed tools.

Geena tapped on the door.  "Dr. Ally?  Dr. Gaster requested I ask you to join him in surgery."

"O-oh!" Ally said in surprise. She hurriedly got ready, readjusting her glasses and scrambling to get her hair in a cap before darting past Geena to the operating room Gaster was in.

Geena followed, not sure if she was needed but wanting to be there if she was.

Gaster started talking to Ally, using a lot of medical terms as he washed his hands and put on a face mask and gloves. Ally followed suit and monitored Lex while Gaster performed the surgery. Ally adjusted the gases as needed, and got Gaster tools and took notes on Lex's condition throughout the surgery. It took a while, since Gaster was careful not to make any errors, but soon enough, he gently pulled out a ghastly looking contraption. Once it was on a tray, Gaster sewed Lex up and checked his condition himself. Gaster bandaged Lex up and gave Ally instruction to extract as much of the serum from the pump as possible, and for her to start a possible neutralizers for it. Gaster washed off his hands and forearms out of habit and gently wheeled Lex back into the room Layla and Ashton were waiting in and took Lex slowly off of the knock out gas.

Lex remained out of it for several hours.  Longer than he normally would take to come around, but slowly he began coming out of it.

Ashton, Layla, and Gaster were all there, waiting for him. Gaster had yet another cup of coffee, feeling he had to at least be awake for Lex when he woke. Gaster had even taken the time to change the oxygen from the mask back to the hose for Lex, and he had some medicine in the IV drip he hoped would be strong enough to at least numb any pain.

Lex took a long, slow breath as his eyes fell first on Ashton.  Then Layla.  He lingered there a moment, then found Gaster.  "Ow," he whispered.  "Get... it out?"

Gaster nodded. "The surgery was successful. Ally is extracting the leftover poison, and she and I will work to find a neutralizer for it." He updated Lex. "Other than pain at the surgery site, how are you feeling?" Layla reached out and held Lex's hand again.

"Woozy," Lex mumbled.  "Can't move head.  Don't want to?"

Gaster nodded and wrote those notes down. "It would be wise to move your head as minimally as possible for the next couple of days. I could have put you in a neck brace to ensure that, but I imagined you would not have been happy with me for doing that. The wooziness is just the aftereffects from the gas I used to keep you unconscious."

Ally scurried in and handed Gaster a small tray, stuttering that she extracted the serum out of it. Gaster nodded and thanked her before he turned back to Lex. "Want to see what was in your neck?"

Lex almost nodded then thought better of it.  "Yeah," he wheezed.  "See it."  What new torture device had been pulled out of him?

Gaster rolled over on his chair and used a pair of tweezers to hold the contraption to where Lex could see it. "Unless you want it for whatever reason, it'll be scrapped." Gaster said. "Ally and I needed the liquid inside to try and make a cure for the poison, but now we have no further use for it."

Lex stared at it emotionlessly for a long time.  "I want to keep it," he finally whispered.  "Please.  Give it to Ash for now?"

Gaster nodded and handed the device to Ashton, who set it aside for now. "I feel you should know... there is another device that seems at work in you, this one near your heart. It does not appear to be causing any damage currently, but if you want, I can try and find out what it is for sure." Gaster told Lex honestly.

Lex sighed, closing his eyes.  "'Course it ain't over.  Yeah, sure.  Figure it out before it kills me, too."  He just didn't care anymore."

Gaster nodded and stood to leave. "I am trusting Layla and Ashton to take care of you for now then. Do let me know if anything is needed."

Layla hesitated. Ashton looked at her and made a motion with his head as if Layla had something to tell Lex. Layla bit her lip.

Lex mumbled something and closed his eyes.  Sure.  Whatever.  It didn't matter anymore.

Ashton abruptly announced that he was going to get a drink and go to the bathroom, leaving Lex and Layla in the same room alone together. Layla whined a little and gently squeezed Lex's hand again. She looked at him and sighed, thinking Lex had fallen asleep again. "Lex... I know you're asleep, so maybe if I tell you this now, I'll build up the courage to tell you when you're awake, but here it goes. I like you. A lot. You're the first person who actually seemed to give half a sh-- about me, and I liked that. But then, as I learned a little more about you, I... I fell in love with you. I have this huge crush on you, but I've been so scared to tell you, because there's no way you like me back in the same way. You're strong and brave and smart, and I'm just a pretty face." She said softly, sighing some again when she was done with her monologue.

Lex slowly opened his eyes, studying Layla's face.  She was telling the truth.  How could she... Really?  There was no way...  He said nothing, just watching her.  He didn't know what to say.  What did someone say to something like that?

Layla had looked down at that point, and didn't know Lex was staring at her. Why couldn't she muster the courage to actually tell him? She was scared. That was all there was to it. She was scared of being rejected and left out on the streets again. She liked where she was, and didn't want it to end because she said the wrong thing.

Lex almost said something but instead closed his eyes.  He couldn't face this right now.  He needed to think.  It was hard to think through the pain.  He needed time.  Then he would figure out what to do.

Ashton came back in with a cup of water, and sighed softly when he saw Lex was asleep.

Lex heard Ashton return and waited a few moments before cracking his eyes open.  "Ash?"