Okay, so this chapter took FOREVER to write and I don't even know why. Its a bit longer than most of the others, but not by too much. I have been having a really difficult time with Chapter 7. Jyou is not easy to write and I don't just want to leave him out of the story because he is "busy with exams", even though that would be so easy. All the kids will show up at some point.

Now, please don't think I don't love Natsuko and Hiroaki. I think they are wonderful, loving parents, but this is an incredibly stressful situation for them and they are handling it the best they can. There's a lot of talking with doctors and paperwork and technical crap that goes with having a kid in the hospital that Yamato isn't seeing.

Also, I am a total softie. I can't let my characters get too stressed before they get snuggled. My babies need hugs, and I will always provide.

NOTE: This is very exciting for me because this chapter marks the start of the oneshots that go with Skittles! The collection is called Strobe. You don't have to read them to understand what is going on in Skittles, but they give helpful insights into other character's heads, and what's going on elsewhere.

Over the course of the rest of the day, Yamato learned many things about morphine. One, morphine worked amazingly quickly when administered intravenously. Two, Takeru on morphine was pretty hilarious, though he was told most patients were not nearly as loopy as his brother became. And as he watched Takeru push away the rest of his lunch, he learned that morphine made people rather nauseous. Takeru had managed a few bland crackers and half a cup of applesauce before claiming he was done.

Hiroaki briefly returned to the room to explain that he was going to try to get in touch with Natsuko again, and catch her up if she wasn't currently on a plane. Takeru had nodded along drowsily.

"Do you want to take a nap? I'll stay here with you the whole time," Yamato offered, watching his little brother's head struggle to stay upright.

Takeru dropped his chin to his chest and bit his lip. Over the top of the mask, Yamato saw his eyebrows furrow for a moment.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," He added hastily, not quite understanding his brother's distress.

Takeru opened his mouth a few times, but kept hesitating.

"I- I'll wake up again, won't I?" He asked quietly.

Yamato felt like he had been punched in the gut. He reached out and grabbed Takeru's hand firmly.

"Don't you dare worry about that. The doctor told us last night that there was no chance of you slipping into a coma. You woke up naturally this morning and you shouldn't have any problems taking a little nap if you are tired. You slept while you had your MRI and you were fine. You need to rest," He said as reassuringly as possible.

The corner of Takeru's mouth twitched like he was considering smiling. After a moment he gave Yamato's hand a little thank you squeeze and settled back against the pillow. Yamato tucked the sheets up to his chest and sat back in his visitors chair, lightly putting his hand over Takeru's again.

The brothers were quiet for a moment before a thought struck Yamato.

"Everyone is going to want to know what happened," He said softly.

The injured boy groaned and Yamato might have heard a tiny, whispered shit.

Yamato couldn't help but chuckle the smallest bit.

"Ugh everyone's going to want to visit, and freak out, and I don't think I can deal with Daisuke right now, onii-chan. He's so loud."

The chosen of friendship snickered lightly.

"We could just tell him not to visit if he's going to give you a headache."

Takeru yawned heavily.

"That's not nice, Onii-chan," He frowned again, seeming thoughtful. "I don't think I can see anyone yet."

"Not even Hikari?" He couldn't help but ask. But his brother didn't blush or sputter. He just rolled onto his side and pulled the sheet up to his ear.

"Especially her," Takeru mumbled.

Yamato's eyes raked over his brother's form. The bruising on his face was still spreading, a mottled purplish blue. There were a few tender looking cuts on his ear and jaw as well. The mask covered some of the discoloration around his left eye, but he was still a mess. To be perfectly honest Yamato understood why Takeru would not want Hikari to see him. It was hard enough for even him to look too closely without getting a lump in his throat.

"What do you want me to tell them?" He whispered, not entirely sure his brother was still awake.

The room was quiet for a few moments before Takeru responded just as quietly.

"Just that I was in an accident. And that I'm going to be okay, but I'm too tired for visitors, I guess."

It turned out phrasing a message that simple was exactly the opposite. Yamato sat with Takeru until he was sure he was sleeping peacefully before pulling out his phone. He wasn't entirely sure he was allowed to use it in the hospital room, but he wasn't leaving anytime soon. The mass text was relatively long, despite the lack of details it contained. Of course now he had to deal with the backlash.

Koushiro had replied almost immediately, expressing his condolences and saying that when Takeru felt up to seeing people, he would come accordingly. Iori's was similar but contained an underlying sense of urgency and concern the other lacked.

If only they had all been that easy to reply to.

Luckily it had been Taichi who had asked if Takeru would allow Hikari to come anyway. Apparently she was too upset to type out a message herself. Yamato would have hated being the one that broke her heart. He sent what he hoped was a gentle rejection, and figured Taichi would find some nice way to explain it to her.

Miyako's all caps response was along the lines of Why the hell didn't anyone tell me sooner?! To which he responded that He had been kind of busy, thanks for understanding.

Ken sent a message from both himself and Daisuke, who had slept over at his house. They were guilt ridden that they hadn't checked to make sure Takeru had gotten home safely. They wanted to visit but would be waiting, rather impatiently it sounded, for Takeru to accept visitors. Yamato took a few extra moments to inform them that they were by no means responsible and that at the next possible free moment he would be checking to make sure the police charged the drunk driver appropriately. Note: severely.

Daisuke sent him a message from his own phone after that, filled with expletives Yamato hadn't been aware the boy knew and yelling about drivers needing to be more careful. He wasn't entirely sure he understood why Daisuke was so upset.

He sighed and leaned exhaustedly back in the chair as another message beeped in on his phone.

It was Sora.

"Oh my gosh! I know you said Takeru is going to be okay, but I can't help but worry. Please give him a big hug for me. Are you doing alright, Yamato?"

The young man was startled, then smiled fondly at the text. He knew that if Hikari was sick or hurt, Sora would be making sure Taichi was okay as well, but he couldn't help but feel a little flattered anyway.

He pondered about how to express his gratitude when another beep interrupted him. Sora's next text surprised him, why hadn't he thought of that? Typing back quickly, they started planning.

It was later that afternoon when Takeru woke up. Or really, his dad woke him up by stumbling into the room and dropping into a chair heavily. After a conversation with his ex-wife he was beyond exhausted, and the coffee was quickly wearing off.

"Sorry, kid. Didn't know you were asleep," Their father mumbled as Takeru stirred and blearily asked who was there. "Ugh, sleep sounds great. You mind if I head home for a little bit and get some shut eye? I have to call the office too. See if I can get at least part of tomorrow off."

Takeru yawned and rubbed at his face, wincing slightly.

"Is...Isn't tomorrow Sunday?" He asked hesitantly.

Yamato grimaced. Since when had that ever meant that Dad had the day off? He knew their mother worked nearly as much as Hiroaki, but always had Sundays off to spend at home with Takeru.

"Yeah, son. I'm sorry, but I was supposed to go in today and have to move my schedule around."

Yamato bit back a comment about how with all the overtime he worked, he must have a significant amount of sick time saved up. His child was in the hospital and he couldn't even use it then? No. He would not start an argument here. Takeru didn't need that now.

He watched as Hiroaki gave Takeru an awkward side hug, trying to avoid the worst of the injuries.

"I'll be back around seven for your eye test, okay? You won't even have time to miss me."

With that he gathered his jacket and hurried out the door, not daring to look at Yamato's disapproving stare.

The young man sighed and turned back to his little brother. Takeru was looking in the direction of the door with such a look of disappointment and longing on his face that Yamato had to look away again. How could he manage to be so expressive when he had that mask on? It wasn't fair. He took a calming breath and sat on the bed near his brother's knees.

"You okay?"

Takeru ducked his head and fiddled with the edge of his cast.

"My head hurts," He mumbled quietly.

Yamato could smell the lie a mile away, but for once in his life didn't call the boy out on it.

A sudden beep from his phone interrupted the brothers. Yamato quickly checked the message and put his phone back on the visitors chair.

"We'll be there in two."

Smiling at his little brother, Yamato couldn't resist teasing him a tiny bit.

"Hey, guess what?" He asked cheerily.

Takeru frowned at his abrupt change in attitude, obviously confused.

"What?" He responded a bit warily. Yamato almost laughed.

"Oh nothing, nevermind."

At that Takeru's mouth dropped open in shock, and Yamato could hardly blame him. Teasing wasn't really his style, but god, anything to get Takeru to smile was welcome today.

"Onii-chan, what?"

"What?" He played innocent. Okay maybe teasing was kind of fun.

"What do you mean what? You said 'Guess what?'" He sounded indignant.

"Ohhh. I guess I did, didn't I?"

Takeru was probably glaring at him under the mask. The thought made the smallest chuckle escape him. This was going to be good. Totally worth it.

"Yes. Now, what?" Oh my gosh was Takeru trying to sound stern with him? Because he sounded more like he was pouting.

"I have a surprise for you," The knock on the door was absolutely perfect timing.

As he got up to answer it, Takeru seemed thoroughly startled.

"But onii-chan! I don't want to see anybody yet," He said anxiously.

Yamato patted his knee comfortingly.

"I know, Teeks. Everything's going to be okay. I think you'll like the surprise," He said in a tender voice reserved for his little brother only.

Takeru bit his lip and Yamato opened the door a crack. Awaiting on the other side was Sora and one very impatient digimon.

"There's no nurses in there, go get him buddy," And he opened the door wide enough for an orange blur to fling itself into the room.

"TAKERU!"

"PATAMON!" Takeru called delightedly. Yamato saw his little brother throw his arms out to the little digimon and Patamon wasted no time in snuggling as close to his partner as he could.

"I knew something was wrong and everyone thought I was crazy and I was scared and I knew you needed me and are you okay!? I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you!" Patamon was squeaking a mile a minute, but Takeru didn't seem to mind. He was hunched forward, crushing his partner to his chest. Yamato wasn't sure if he was crying or laughing, but it was probably a little of both.

Stepping into the hallway and leaving the door cracked just in case, he looked at Sora gratefully.

"Thank you so much for bringing Patamon. It was just what he needed. Really. Thank you, Sora."

Sora blushed at the praise.

"I just thought that the digimon should know. And Patamon is small enough to still be taken as a stuffed animal, so there's no real reason he couldn't come see Takeru," She hesitated slight before asking, "How is he doing?"

A long breath escaped him and he suddenly felt the weight of the last twenty hours on his shoulders. How on earth had it only been a day? He had only managed to doze in and out for an hour or so last night, and all the stress made him feel like he was sixty, not sixteen. He leaned back against the wall and tried not to look at Sora's concerned face. Her hand was warm on his arm and he fought the sudden intense urge to cry.

"Are you okay, Yamato?" The soft question warmed his heart a little. He cleared his throat and managed to look Sora in the eye.

"I'm just really tired, thank you Sora. I mean it. I'm okay, but not really because Takeru's not okay. He- I just... He's hurt and I can't really do anything but be there, you know? God, he was just in so much pain this morning. And they had to do CT scans and MRI's and there's all this medical stuff and they explained it pretty well, but I don't totally get it all. And there isn't a ton they can do for him right now either and it just sucks. They've got him on morphine and it makes him all loopy, but nauseous too. Like he only managed a few crackers at lunch and I've seen that kid crush most of a pizza, and I know its normal and the nurse said she was surprised he ate anything at all...But I can't help it," He covered his face with his hands for a moment and took some steadying breaths.

Sora smiled up at him, but her eyes were sad. She looked like she was fighting with herself on something, but made up her mind and stepped towards him, slowly pulling Yamato in for a hug.

Yamato could honestly say he did not get hugged too often. His dad patted him on the shoulder a lot. Taichi would throw an arm around his neck and try to mess up his hair sometimes. Takeru hugged him a lot when they were younger, but even with him it was becoming less frequent. Gabumon had hugged him once or twice.

Yamato had not realized how much he missed it. He hesitantly returned the hug and buried his face in the soft fabric of her sweater. Smaller hands rubbed his back tenderly.

"Its okay to be upset, Yamato. It's a really terrible thing that happened and you're scared for him. Its natural to be overwhelmed."

A little part of his heart was soothed to hear those words. He was almost embarrassed, but he had to admit at least to himself, that he felt safe here. The knot in his chest loosened enough for him to start talking again.

"It's just, Dad had to go back home for a while, and he has to go back to work tomorrow. And Mom is somewhere between here and France, and talking to her is making Dad all stressed out," His voice was muffled slightly by the fabric, but Sora was nodding along so he was pretty sure she could hear him. "I think Takeru's trying to pretend he's okay when Dad's around, because he doesn't want Dad to be upset. But Dad is upset and I don't really know what to do to help. He shouldn't have to do that. He needs to just relax. The nurse mentioned that concussions can make people really emotional, but Takeru loves having people around and just now he seemed honestly scared that someone had come to see him. That isn't normal. Its just all very confusing."

Good lord, Yamato could not remember the last time he had talked that much. He was exhausted, but felt a little better. A little less full. More than a little embarrassed now that he was done talking. He pulled out of the hug, suddenly feeling awkward and sweaty.

"Sorry Sora. Um, I should probably get back in there," He let out a strange forced cough.

To her credit, Sora looked way too understanding, and maybe a little pink in the cheeks as well.

"Yeah, I should go. Let me know how he is later, okay?" She turned and started back down the hall.

Yamato opened his mouth to say goodbye, but was interrupted by a call from inside the cracked door.

"Onii-chan?"

The older boy jumped and hurriedly stuck his head back inside.

"I'm still here Teeks, I was just saying goodbye to someone," He wasn't even sure Takeru knew who had come to drop off Patamon, but he didn't want the kid worrying about who was around.

"Is Sora still there?" He asked curiously.

Yamato faltered.

"Um, sort of, I mean I think she was just leaving... Want me to get her?"

"Yes, please."

The older boy wasn't sure Patamon was looking so happy because he was reunited with his partner or what, but the digimon had a strange, smug look on his face that Yamato couldn't explain. Whatever. He ran a few feet down the hall, hoping he wasn't bothering any other patients.

"Hey Sora!" He called as quietly as he could. "Sora!"

The red haired girl spun around, nearly to the elevators.

"Takeru wants to see you," He jerked a thumb back towards the room.

He couldn't quite tell from this distance, but he could have sworn she blushed. Yamato waited for her to get back, and pushed the door open for her.

Sora took one step inside and paused, a hand over her heart.

"Oh, honey," She whispered, her voice thick.

Takeru shifted uncomfortably.

"I'm okay, Sora, really. I just look like crap."

The chosen of love quickly made her way over to the younger boy, sitting gingerly on the edge of the bed. Patamon flew out of the way, perching on the arm of the chair Yamato slumped into.

They watched as Sora scooped Takeru up for a soft hug, smoothing out his hair and fussing over him. Takeru hugged her back the best her could and Yamato was pleased to see a warm little smile creep onto his brothers face. If Natsuko couldn't be here for her baby, Sora was the best next thing. And if Yamato spent a little extra time watching how her hair fell on her shoulders and enjoying the sound of her voice, well, who was going to know?

Apparently Patamon.

"Sora looks pretty today, huh?" The little digimon whispered to him slyly.

Yamato felt the heat rush to his face, but refused to deny it.

"Sora looks beautiful every day."

To the guest who was wondering where Patamon was, there you go.

This turned out way more shippy than I ever planned. I even kind of prefer Taiora in general, but when it comes down to it, I need Takeru to have a big sister to fuss over him.