"How long has he been unconscious?", Anne asked once the initial shock had settled. Matt was responsive enough to stir a little, but not much more than that.

"I don't know", Hal replied. "We weren't that far out, but I don't know how long I was blacked out for either." His face was harrowed, and he seemed deeply distraught by his inability to be of help.

"Judging from what you've told us, it was probably only a matter of seconds", Lourdes' soothing voice assured him. "Nobody who's been unconscious for an extended period of time would have woken up and reacted to everything as fast as you did."

It was clear that Lourdes was trying to assure Hal he'd done everything he could, and for that Maggie nodded appreciatively. Hal, however, just stared at Anne while she worked on Matt.

"Dad. And Ben", Hal said suddenly, but still not taking his eyes off his little brother. Maggie quickly located some spare personnel, and wasted no time sending them to find the rest of the Masons.

Meanwhile, Lourdes took the opportunity to bring Hal a chair.

"Sit down." She gently guided Hal into it. "We really need to examine you too. That gash is-"

"Fine. I'm fine", Hal insisted while getting right back up, only wobbling slightly. "Help Matt instead."

Lourdes sighed and nodded reluctantly. It could be a bit frustrating, but the best way to help a Mason was always to help another Mason first. Even so, she pressed some gauze to Hal's neck and instructed him to hold. Again, Maggie shot her an appreciative look.

"Well, he definitely has a concussion. I can tell that much", Anne stated once she had finished checking Matt's pupillary responses. "The rest is less certain, unfortunately. I'm gonna need a full set of scans to rule out any broken bones or internal damage-, that goes for you too, Hal."

Maggie placed a firm hand on his shoulder to keep him from protesting.

"And even the concussion... It's not behaving like your typical traumatic brain injury." The concern in Anne's voice was obvious. It had everyone listening intently. "He should be awake by now. Or completely unresponsive. But he's neither."

She squeezed Matt's hand demonstratively, and on cue, he groaned hoarsely.

"I don't understand", Hal said. "Isn't that a good thing? That he's reacting to stuff?" He grabbed Matt's other hand when it twitched at the sound of his older brother's voice.

"Normally, absolutely. It's a clear sign of brain activity." Anne sighed and rubbed her forehead. "It just doesn't fit with a normal concussion. Like I said, he should have woken up already."

Hal really tried to make sense of the information, but his head felt like a fuzzy mess. And it sounded like even Anne couldn't fully make sense of everything.

"Hal, I think you'd better sit down."

It was either Maggie or Lourdes. Or both.

"Hal."

Whoever it was, he wasn't listening.

"Hal?"

He stood firmly, in his opinion, by Matt's bedside. He didn't even turn around when he heard the rest of his family rushing through the doors. He only sighed in relief.

"Finally", Hal had just enough time to say before collapsing.