Title: A Visitation (Part 2)
Characters: Vivian Brightman, Antonio Garza
Rating: T
Warnings: Zombies?
Notes: Vivian argues with the other side of the veil. He's still not sure if 'dead' is an entirely accurate description…
It was, all in all, a rather peculiar situation. Simultaneous to the debate he carried on with the extraordinarily confused cherub, Vivian Brightman was also arguing with the doctor standing beside his hospital bed, who was also insisting that he was no longer among the living. Of the two, the doctor seemed a great deal more upset than the cherub.
"Look, Doc, if I were dead, I wouldn't be talking to you, right? I'd be laying there like a good little corpse, and we could all get on with our day." Vivian voice betrayed his exhaustion and increasingly blasé attitude toward being undead. "However, I'm sitting up and speaking to you, so either you've gone quite thoroughly mad, or the equipment is broken. Or, you know, I could just be a talking corpse."
The doctor pushed his glasses onto the top of his head with a sound of distress. "Mr. Brightman, I can't just let you walk out of here with no pulse. Do you know what kind of freakish malpractice suits would ensue? You've been verified dead by two doctors and a nurse — and now, with no change in your vitals, you're sitting here, arguing with me about your own demise! This is ridiculous and thoroughly unheard of!"
The doctor continued to look strained as Vivian rubbed his chin, thoughtfully. "Well, we could see if you're crazy. I'm fairly certain you're at least as sane as I am, which might not be saying much, but we can prove it, definitively."
The doctor simply stared, uncomprehending.
"Call in the other folks who saw me dead. Have them bring their own equipment, and independently check me for life. If you all agree that I'm a talking dead man, then obviously none of you are crazy, ne?" Vivian crossed his legs and pulled the blanket across his lap, looking smug. "What do you say to that, Dr. Garza?"
The doctor nodded slowly. "Okay, Mr. Brightman. Maybe it is just the equipment in this room. Let's get Dr. Huang and Julia back here for another look. In fact, we'll check here, and then we'll check in another room, just in case there's something electrically or atmospherically wrong in here." Dr. Garza's eyes lit up with a strange, mad glow, as he reassured himself that he really was just crazy, and his colleagues would prove it to him. He picked up the phone and called the nurse's station, asking to have Robert Huang and Julia Torres sent back to room one twelve. 'Trouble with some paperwork', he claimed.
