When Lily was told that she would be going on a week business trip she really did not want to go, Otis had been having a lot of nightmares recently of the horrors his parents had subjected him to and she didn't want to leave. She hated being away from him she loved every moment she could have with him. When she first got to know the grumpy, grouchy Firefly she could never have imagined that he would be so affectionate but after years of an abusive and neglected childhood he craved affection.

On the day that she had to leave, Lily procrastinated as long as she could lying next to him in bed, lying on his topless tattooed chest, she sighed happily and snuggled closer. It was amazing when she thought about it how much Otis had opened up to her and grown to trust her over the months, when they first started 'dating' if that's what you would call it, it had been impossible to snuggle up to Otis like this he had been embarrassed to let Lily know about his nightmares and had been scared to let anyone get close to him in case they hurt him again but it has all changed now.
"Mmmm morning mama" He grumbled sleepily as she nuzzled his neck, wiping his dirty blonde wavy hair out his eyes.
"Morning Otis" She smiled kissing his neck, making him squirm until yet again the obnoxious alarm started yelling at her.
"Yes ok I'm going, shut up!" She yelled at the alarm reaching over and turning it off.
"I got to go baby" Lily said sadly.
"Oh, gonna miss you mama"
"I'll miss you do but it'll only be for a week" Lily said getting out of bed, Otis's arms wrapped wrong her and pulled her back in bed "Otis come on I gotta go" Lily giggled swatting his hands to let her go, Otis shrugged his shoulders.
"Was worth a shot" He mumbled.
"Awwww my grumpy grouchy man" She laughed leaning over and kissing him on the cheek.
"Hay mama you're gone a week I need more sugar than that to keep me going" Lily giggled and passionately kissed him, he ran his hands through her hair.
"I'll see you in a week baby" She said kissing him again before grabbing all her things.
"Ok mama...Love you" He struggled to say.
"Love you too Otis, don't go doing anything stupid while I'm gone" it was still hard for him to say them words, being without love for so long the those words meant so much, he didn't just through them around, and if he did admit he loved her he was scared of being hurt again. Lily knew what Otis was like although he was very smart sometimes he lacked basic common sense in his actions which caused him to get into quite a few predicaments, like when he had the motorbike accident and didn't have the common sense to wear protective motorbike gear.

Otis said in bed to sleep for a few more hours after Lily left, before heading out to help Rufus in the garage. They were fixing up one of the cars that Rufus had scavenged from a victim, when they heard the crash of thunder and the sound of heavy rain. Then they realised the garage roof had sprung a leak.
"Fuck sake Otis all the tools'll rust in this rain we need to fix the roof" Rufus fumed running a hand through his hair.
"Yeah so? Go up there and fix it" Otis replied.
"I ain't going up there, my fucking weight'll bring the whole roof down, that's even if the ladder supports my weight"
"Shouldn't be such a fat ass then should you R.J" Otis chuckled winding up his brother.
"Get up on that roof you scrawny piece of shit before the whole place gets ruined" Rufus laughed teasing back.
"Yeah, yeah I'll give you get up that fucking ladder" Otis grumbled under his breath as he went out in the rain to get the ladder.

Otis easily got soaked to the bone in the rain, it poured heavily down from the sky. His grey vest when wet clung to his chest and stomach muscles and his hair hung in waves down to his chest. He leaned the rickety old ladder up against the garage wall before testing it with his foot to make sure it was steady before climbing up it towards the roof. It was an old and unstable ladder but that wasn't the problem, his shoes slid off the step of the ladder, Otis swore loudly as he felt his foot slip and he started to fall backwards, he grappled for the ladder to stop himself from falling but missed.
"Told you that shit ladder wouldn't hold my weight" Rufus laughed as he heard a loud bag as he walked out the garage to check on his brother, Otis was half of Rufus's weight and if the ladder had collapsed with Otis's weight he felt smug that he was right that the ladder would have supported him. He expected his brother to just bounce back he always bounced back he very rarely got severely hurt it was Otis's look that he survived what normally would kill him.

Rufus stopped dead as he saw his adoptive brother in a crumpled heap on the floor on his back, his head to the side his face covered by his mop of soaking wet hair.
"Fuck man you alright?" Rufus asked just thinking that he'd just fallen on his back and winded himself but Otis didn't answer. "Fuck Otis you hurt?" He panics running to Otis and finding him unresponsive on the ground. There was something about how Otis was lying on the ground that made him know that something wasn't right. "It's alright man we're gonna get you some help yeah?" Rufus said as he scooped him up in his big strong muscular arms as easy as if Otis were a twig, he wasn't sure if he was talking to Otis to comfort him if his brother could hear him or trying to reassure himself.

Rufus wished his mind would stop as he carried Otis to the house; although they didn't want to, they knew that he had injuries which wouldn't be able to be managed in the firefly household. He knew they would have to take him to hospital. He blamed himself, he should have gone up the ladder he was more robust than Otis, years of being starved and abused had made his bones fragile and although Otis wasn't a weak man the skeleton that built him was. Rufus knew if he'd fallen off the ladder he wouldn't have received any injuries anywhere near as serious as Otis. He felt sick he should have looked after his brother, should have protected him, he should have gone up the ladder not Otis, his gut churned as he thought this was his entire fault.

Rufus drove as though his car was on fire, they laid Otis on the back seat with his head on Mother Firefly's lap she cooed softly stroking his hair trying not to cry as Rufus hurtled down the road, Baby sat in the front with Rufus crying for her adoptive brother terribly worried if her brother would be ok but she also worried for Lily she knew nothing about what was happening while she was away, Baby knew how much he needed Lily by his side and craved her affection when he was sick or injured after so many child hood years without it. Baby knew it was going to be hard for him when he woke up to want his girl and for her not to be there.