Neil got the call at work, Rick sounded far stonier than he ever did on the phone with him; this was probably really bad, his parents were aging and now he was getting called to the hospital of all things. The man burst into the waiting room to see his Rick, looking older than he ever did, sitting in a chair with his hands clasped in his lap. His face was ashen and his eyes unfocused, staring at something on the ground.
"Rick-Dad?" he said softly as he approached. Never had he dropped the affectionate name for his fathers in his lifetime, he didn't plan on starting now.
The sound of his name startled him out of his eerily still pose and he blinked his green eyes up at his adopted son, "Hey squirt, y'made it," he murmured, a bare hint of the normal lilt he'd normally have in his voice still there.
"Is... he okay?" Neil asked tentatively, nodding toward the hallway where the hospital rooms assumedly were.
Rick mopped his face with one hand and sighed heavily before answering, "'S'jus' a heart attack', he's insistin'. Stubborn git dragged me in here th'other day for my damn back. Hell if I knew he was havin' problems with his damn ticker!"
His explanation was somewhat jumbled, but Neil understood. Seems like they were falling into the habit of worrying over the other, but never remembering to keep an eye on their own health. He reached out and squeezed his father's shoulder reassuringly.
"Can we go see him?"
"You prob'ly could, I can't. Kicked me out after I started yellin' at him," Rick sounded more than a little remorseful about that, "'m not really 'family' by that legal bullshit anyway."
One fucking annoying roadblock, Neil grimaced at the thought. He moved toward the receptionist's desk, but Rick grabbed his sleeve to stop him.
"Couldja... maybe tell'im 'm sorry?" he asked quietly, "I jus'... got real worried 'bout 'im 'n I dunno if..."
He trailed off with an odd hitch in his voice that Neil didn't like. The man nodded and squeezed Rick's hand again, half in encouragment and half to get him to let go again. Right now, leaving either one of them alone was probably a bad idea. He always knew they were entwined in a way no one could explain, it seemed it was a lot deeper than even Neil realized.
A nurse showed him to Craig's room, who was half-dozing in a gurney bed with an IV sticking out of his hand. None of the view made him particularly comfortable, Neil seemingly inherited Rick's distaste for hospitals, but he had to be here for Craig, who woke fully when he walked through the door and tried to stifle a smile to see his growing son walk through the door.
"He called you, did he not?" Craig asked in his clipped manner of speech, though it sounded a little hoarse.
Neil just nodded and shoved his hands into his jacket pockets to try and quell his discomfort, "What'd the doctors say? Are you going to be alright?"
Craig waved a hand dismissively, "Yes. Something about watching my stress levels and readjusting my medication, but fine. I am fine. My body is fine, everything is fine."
"Rick-dad's not fine," Neil piped up before he could stop himself.
That wiped the snide look off of the other man's face. Then a look that was more familiar on Rick's face flashed across Craig's: guilt; the kind of guilt for getting himself into trouble or getting hurt in some way, the kind of guilt that normally made Craig forgive him, even though it wasn't going to change. It looked foreign on the blond man's face.
"I'm alright," Craig insisted, muttering as though to convince himself more than his son.
They were silent a moment, the steady beep of the ECG the only noise in the room for a moment. Neil sighed and reached to grab Craig's free hand.
"You have to take care of yourself, Craig-dad," he began slowly, preparing himself for what he was about to say, "We need you and if anything would happen to you… well, let's just say that Rick-dad needs you a lot, a lot more than anyone else in the entire world."
Craig chewed his bottom lip, unsure of what exactly to say to that, "…Yes. You're… correct. I should take better care of myself, shoudn't I."
It wasn't a question, but Neil smiled faintly and nodded. Just so long as both of his fathers were alright, that's all that mattered right now.
"Can I go let him back in or is he still grounded?" Neil asked, stifling a giggle.
"Please do," Craig said, tightening his grip on Neil's hand a moment, "Thank you, Neil."
He went to go do that and actually stayed to watch as Rick awkwardly tried to figure out the best way to wrap his arms around his skinny partner without hurting him in any way. About the time apologies and kisses were being exchanged, however, Neil thought it was a prime time to give them privacy. Just like always.