Totally bowled over by the response to this! Thanks for all your comments and follows, I really appreciate it. I'm not as happy with this chapter as I was with the first but in the interests of finishing the story at some stage I have admitted defeat!
Hopefully it lives up to you expectations! Thanks for reading!

Owen had been in intensive care for almost two days. They'd taken out his ventilator but he remained hooked up to countless drips and machines. He was still covered in (now crusted over) red spots and, despite signs the infection was clearing, he was still very sick.

They weren't sure if the seizures had caused brain damage and they couldn't be until the swelling of his brain and spinal cord had been given time to ease. Natalie wasn't sure if he would wake up the same little boy that she had left the other morning. The one who was only just managing to find his mouth with a spoon; the one who smiled at her every morning over the bars of his crib where he waited to be picked up and smothered with kisses; the little boy who just weeks ago took his first shaky steps across the living room floor into her waiting arms. She could barely look at him without wanting to cry, she just sat by his side, holding his hand and stroking the soft, dark hair on his head.

"You can hold him, y'know."

She glanced up. Will was sitting on the other side of Owen. He hadn't left their sides longer than it took to run to the cafeteria for coffee and food. His was the reassuring hand she felt on her back her when the paediatricians came in on their rounds and they had to step away to let her son be examined. His were the arms that held her in relief when they took the breathing tube out and Owen breathed from himself. Just like the hours before her son was born, Will Halstead was her rock.

She smiled weakly. "I know, I just –"

"You won't hurt him Nat." Will stepped around the bed to stand beside her. "Let me." With gentle hands on her shoulders he guided her down into the armchair that had been doubling as her bed the past two nights. She watched as he gently, and careful of the many tubes and wires criss-crossing the baby, scooped Owen into his arms and passed him over. "There we go." He smiled, adjusting a blanket over the pair of them. "Better?"

Looking up, she offered him a real smile. She had never gone so long without feeling her baby in her arms since he was born and the relief she felt at the warm weight of him, the feel of his breath against her chest was unbelievable. "Thank you." He grinned back and moved to crouch beside them. He reached out and ran a gentle hand across the baby's head, pressed a gentle kiss to the crown. Natalie felt her chest tighten at the sight. "Will -" She trailed off, unable to articulate what she needed him to know, tears threatening again.

"Hey, don't cry. It's okay, he's gonna be okay." He reached up to brush a lone tear from her cheek. "I know it."

"I just –" She sucked in a breath. "I don't know how I would have coped without you these past few days." She stroked her son's cheek absently, not wanting to look at Will. "You have no idea how much it means to me, to not have to do this alone."

"You never have to be alone, Nat." Will raised himself up so they were level with one another. "I've told you before – there are few people I care about more. You and Owen mean so much to me, Natalie. I will always be here for you and that applies to more than just during a crisis like this. You know that if you ever need me, for anything, I'll be there." He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Her heart clenched. "Thank you. Thank you so much." She looked away, deliberating, before meeting his gaze again. "It makes such a difference …never mind, it's just, nice to have you here."

"No, don't be stupid, you can tell me anything."

Natalie stood so abruptly Will had to jump backwards. She placed Owen gently back down and gripped the crib bars, unwilling to face him for what she had to say next. "I thought that I had done the bulk of my grieving for Jeff before Owen was born, but that wasn't true. I think that being pregnant, having a pregnancy to focus on, distracted me. It wasn't until Owen was born and I had him home, alone, without Helen, that I really felt his absence." She looked up nervously. "When he was crying incessantly, when he was fussy or unwell I missed Jeff, I wanted him there to help me. To be with his son. And then I went back to work – back to you, and something changed. Instead of wishing Jeff was there, I wished that you were there with me. Helping me with Owen – and not just when it was particularly hard. When he was sitting, smiling, crawling. I wanted to share that with someone – I wanted to share it with you." She gave a shaky sigh and turned, leaning against the crib with folded arms. "It scared me Will, that I could feel so much for someone who wasn't Jeff –he hadn't been dead even a year and I was falling for someone else. Falling for you. And then you kissed me and you made it so real, not just something that existed just in my head. You wanted me as much as I wanted you and that scared me, I panicked. I should never have pushed you away." She could see the shock in his eyes, see him floundering for words. "I'm not telling you this to hurt you. I'm not telling you this because you're with Nina now because I don't want to screw this up for you. You deserve to be happy – it's all I want for you. I'm telling you because you deserve to know." She held his gaze. "You deserve to know that there's few people I care about more than you too."

Will's heart was thudding against his chest. Wordlessly, he moved forwards, reaching for her and tugging her close. She melted against him, head tucked under his chin, his arms wrapped tightly around her. He breathed her in, eyes squeezed shut.

"Natalie –"

"Dr Manning? Dr Halstead?" The jumped apart like they'd been scalded. A fourth year med student stood in the doorway. "It's time for rounds, Dr Kennedy needs the room, he's going to take your son for some scans."

"Of course." Natalie nodded. She turned to Will, already halfway across the room. "I'll get us breakfast."

He sighed and ran a hand over his face before moving to follow her down to the cafeteria.

"Will?" Oh fantastic.

"Heeeeey Nina." I plastered a smile on his face as he turned to face his girlfriend. "How's it going?"

'Was about to ask you the same question, handsome, you haven't been home the past two nights and we've barely spoken." Despite her upbeat tone and bright smile Will knew she was testing him.

"I'm sorry babe, Owen has been pretty sick and Nat's been a mess." He sighed, cupping her cheeks in his hands. "I just didn't want her to be alone."

Nina glanced away. "I get it. You wanted to there for your friend." She stood on tips toes and pressed a kiss to his lips. "I love that about you, y'know. How good a friend you are." She smiled. "Have breakfast with me?"

"Natalie just went to get us something." He could see the disappointment flicker briefly on her face. "But we should have dinner tonight."

"Dinner it is." She grinned and kissed him again before glancing across to where Owen was being wheeled off to MRI. "Have a good day."

"You too."

He turned on his heel and returned to Owen's empty room. Throwing himself into Natalie's vacated chair he ran his hands through his hair, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"There are very few people I care more about, too."

What was he going to do?

**CM**

"Sorry I took so long." Natalie was out of breath. She'd rushed not wanting to be away from Owen any longer than necessary but he still wasn't back. Will caught the panic on her face.

"An emergency came in, they've only just got him in the scanner – he's fine."

She let her breath go and smiled. "Oh, okay, good." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and handed him a coffee. "I was feeling brave and decided to venture outside for food. I thought we could do with something a bit better than what the canteen had to offer." She held up to Styrofoam boxes. "Nutella French toast or Belgian waffles with chocolate sauce?"

"Uuum, I'll take the waffles. I know better than to deny you Nutella." He grinned, Nat just shook her head at him and handed him the waffles before sitting down. "Thanks."

"Look, Will – I really think you should go home tonight." He looked up, confused. "Not that I don't want you here, because I do. I just think that maybe you should spend some time with Nina." She didn't want to tell him that she had narrowly avoided gate-crashing a conversation between Nina and a pathology resident whose name she couldn't remember.

"Am I expected to believe there's nothing going on? Dr Manning's son falls ill and he drops everything to be there –like she doesn't have a mother in law or any other friends who can help her out. He's insisting it has to be him. He even went to her apartment for god sakes …."

She would not be responsible for Will's relationship falling apart, especially when Nina seemed to make him so happy. Even though she knew that she would never have coped without him at her side, she could understand Nina's concerns. He knew her well enough to be able to get both her and her son clean clothes from her apartment and had refused to leave her side. That was more than Maggie or April had done – but was it because Will had gotten there first or because they knew Will would want to be the one who did those things for her?

Will washed down a mouthful of waffles with a swig of coffee. "You shouldn't be worrying about Nina and I. I actually planned to take her to dinner tonight – I'll come back after."

"Will –"

"Nat-"

"Dr Manning?" Dr Kennedy, Owen's doctor, had appeared in the door. "We're just bringing you son back down from his scan – I was wondering if we could have a quick chat about his results?"

"Of course," seeing the doctor slide a look towards Will she added, "Whatever you have to say you can say in front of Will."

The greying medic nodded his head. "Well, I'm glad to say that I've brought good news today. The swelling of Owen's brain and spinal cord has gone down and from his scans we can see no obvious signs of damage from the seizures. He's kept his temperature down and he's been supporting his own breathing for 24 hours now. So, if it's alright with yourself I'd like permission to take him off the sedation as soon as possible."

"He's going to be okay?" Relief flooded through her.

"It certainly looks that way. By the end of the day we aim to have him on saline only." Natalie stood to shake the medic's hand. "With any luck you'll have your son home in a couple of days."

Natalie couldn't stop grinning. Before she could stop herself she as hugging Will again. "I can't believe it." Will wrapped his arms tight around her without hesitation. "My baby's going to be okay."

"I told you – I told you he would be fine." Will was grinning too and she could swear he had tears pooling behind his eyes to match hers. "You named him well Nat, he's a real little fighter."

"Thank you for everything Will – really."

"Anytime." He grabbed her hand and squeezed before going back to his breakfast. "You'll let me stay until he wakes up?"

"Of course – hopefully he'll be awake in time for you to still make dinner." She looked across the room to meet his eyes. "You're going to dinner – no arguments."

"Yes, mam." He chuckled and Nat could only shake her head.

They waited for Owen to return in comfortable silence, eating breakfast side by side.

Thanks for reading! Let me know your thoughts in the reviews!