Adoria sent the rest of the Firefly family home to rest. She was extremely grateful that they had stayed with Otis while she was gone, and knew they were all exhausted from the ordeal.

She stroked his arm, murmuring how much she loved him in his ear.

"I missed you, you silly man. And you went and did this to yourself." She tsked him. "You're so stubborn. You're not even the Taurus here, I am. You're a Capricorn. You're not supposed to be as stubborn as me. But I guess you had to be stubborn to survive what you did..." She kissed his hand.

She heard his door open and the curtain jerked back. Cutter stood there, the faded white of his clown makeup still clinging to parts of his face.

"Oh, hey. You're home."

"Yeah...? What're you doing here?"

"I was the night shift. Stayed here all night in case he needed anything."

"R...Really?"

Cutter shrugged. "Whitey and I have had our differences, but he's still family."

Otis's eyes flew open, widening when he saw Cutter.

"Shhhh, relax. It's just Spaulding."

"He didn't know I was here when I was. They kept him pretty well sedated."

"Shhhhh...Relax. Relax. I'm here. Don't get yourself all worked up."

"He uh...He gets real freaked out with strange people touchin' him..."

"Yeah, he does..."

"Even as sick as he was, he put up a real fight with a nurse. Didn't hurt her, just needed someone to hold him down. Guess it shouldn't surprise me, though. I've seen him fight for his life before and struggle like that. He's a fighter. He'll go down swingin', that boy."

"Hmm..." Adi stroked Otis's arm, calming him. "You're okay."

Cutter sighed. "He still gets all winged out about me bein' around when he's incapacitated..."

"Can you blame him?"

"No..." Cutter smirked. "Now that your girl is here think you can calm down?"

Otis managed to give Cutter the middle finger.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." He chuckled. "If you don't mind, I'm goin' home. Or do you want me to stay with you?"

"No, I'll be okay. Thanks, though." Cutter left, leaving the two alone again. "Baby, your heart is racing. Don't get yourself all worked up. You'll be fine, sweetheart. You think I'd let anyone hurt you?"

Otis shook his head, closing his eyes and willing his heart to stop pounding.

"Just relax. I'm here. You're going to be okay." she kissed his cheek. "You've gotta get better...We've got stuff to do together. We were gonna go on a ride on the motorcycle when it got nice enough. We were gonna go to the lake again, which I understand you hid at in an attempt to avoid the hospital." She looked at him pointedly. He rolled his eyes so hard it had to hurt. "I missed you so much..." She dozed off, holding his hand.

The next day, they took him off of the ventilator. She was overjoyed that he was beginning to recover enough that they could take him off. He would be able to talk to her.

"Alright, cough for me..."

Otis hacked. She knew this wouldn't be pleasant at all. She had done it too many times herself.

She heard him retching. Oh, yeah...He had a really bad gag reflex...

Once they let her back in the room, she rushed to his bedside again. She could tell he was exhausted from the ordeal. He was clutching the side the chest tube was inserted in, wheezing.

"Ohhh...Baby..."

"Hurts, mama..."

"I know, sweetie..." She stroked his hair, pulling his head against her abdomen.

"I want it out..." He croaked.

"I know...But you're still draining a lot of fluid...You've still got a bad infection."

Otis coughed. "Tell me about your trip...?"

"Oh, it was fine."

He looked at her expectantly, turning away for a moment to hack once again. "Well? What else?"

"Baby...You're not feeling good."

"No...But tell me about your trip."

"Sweetie..."

"Adi...come on..."

She sat and talked to him about the conference, watching him cautiously.

"Quit lookin' at me like I'm gonna break..."

"You're kind of already broken, babe."

"Mm..."

"Do you want anything?"

"Nn...No..."

"How about some hot tea?"

"Mm...That actually sounds really good..."

"Ok. I'll get some for you.

"Thank you..."

She left and returned with a steaming mug, sitting it on his bedside table. "It's a little hot."

"So're you, mama." He smirked.

She rolled her eyes, smiling back at him. She let the tea cool, and then held it for him.

"I got it." He protested.

"Nn...You're still really weak, babe." She helped him take a sip, then sat it back down. "Taste good, sweetie?"

He nodded, beginning to cough again.

"Ohhh...You're so sick..."

"Mm...I think I gathered that."

"Maybe don't run off into the woods next time?"

"It was by the lake."

"I love you so much, but you're a fucking stubborn asshole sometimes."

Otis nodded. "I know that, too."

They heard the door click open and paid no mind, expecting mother Firefly or Baby, maybe even Rufus.

"Hey, whitey, how're you doin'?"

Despite willing himself not to react, Otis bristled. His heart began to pound, and both Adi and Cutter noticed it on the monitor.

"Hey, chill. I just stopped in to see how you're doin'."

Otis glared warningly. "I'm fine..."

"I don't really call almost dying on us again fine. You might wanna keep an eye on those lungs, kid. They don't seem to hold up very well to much."

"The fuck do you care, anyway?"

"Hey, in case you don't remember, I stayed here all night with your ass to let the others get some sleep."

"Only because mom made you." Otis spat.

Cutter stepped toward the bed, making Otis's heart rate climb and his blood pressure shoot up.

"Jesus Otis, calm down."

Otis nervously glanced away from Cutter to Adi.

"I just came to check on you, Otis. We're cool, yeah? I just came to see how you were doing." He sat down in one of the chairs, watching Adi let Otis sip from his tea. "Scared the shit out of Eve again...Scared the shit out of all of us..."

Otis quirked an eyebrow.

"Why do you run away when you're so sick like that? You know it would kill all of us if something happened to you. 'Specially your girl."

"...Some things never leave your mind..." Otis muttered.

"Yeah, I know. 'Bout like you bein' scared of me, huh?"

"Ain't fuckin' scared of you, old man."

"Right." Adi and Cutter both said at the same time. Otis crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at both of them.

"Maybe try that one again when you're not hooked up to a bunch of machines spelling your lies out in front of us, baby."

Otis grumbled, taking his tea into his own hands. Adi was right, he was still extremely weak. The cup felt like lead in his hands.

"You'll learn some day, whitey. You'll learn."

The fuck was that supposed to mean?