Disclaimer: Blah blah blah... you guys know I don't own this already, right?

Author's Note: This is a really short chapter but I didn't want to leave the story hanging out here any longer without some kind of an update. We had a recent death in the family so the inspiration tank is pretty low while the exhaustion and stress tanks are filled to the brim. It's probably not my best work in the world but I hope you enjoy it anyway.

Phineas hadn't moved from his chair at the hospital in hours and it was closing in on midnight. His back ached, his eyes burned and his head was throbbing as if the drum corps were practicing in there. Emilia had been brought up from surgery hours earlier but had yet to show any signs of waking. Jeffrey slept in the bed next to Emilia's in the ward. The boy exhausted himself from adrenalin and fear but he was physically unharmed. The doctor did, however, use the opportunity to bring Jeff up to date on his inoculations since being in the time streams did expose him to diseases he might not have antibodies against. He also suggested that Jeffrey stay the night in the next ward bed as Phineas didn't look as though he were leaving any time soon.

He hated the smells of hospitals. There was something unnatural about it and he wasn't finding it any more pleasant as he sat between the two kids. The night duty nurse stopped by to check on Emilia's vital statistics and Bogg nodded in acknowledgment. Jeff whimpered a little from a dream but a few soothing words sent him right back to sleep. He could only hope that his daughter would make some sort of noise to show she was coming back to life. It was strange. He never really considered her anything to him before but in the last week; his own mind started to betray him.

The reality was that he had a father, a son and a daughter. Without any effort on his part, he had a family. Jeffrey had been easy to love, even when he was not minding and insisted on doing things his own way. The boy became dear to him as they traveled through time together, fixing all the errors and misfires that happened in history. He got to understand that beneath those dark curls was a brilliant mind with a near encyclopedic knowledge of history, which came in damn handy after he lost his guidebook.

Then there was his newly discovered father, Albert Garth. When he was at school, Phineas never quite understood why the professor both favored him and rode him hard to do well. He loved Garth for it because he really brought the reality of Voyaging to life. With his recent confession, it made all the sense in the world but it must have been hard on the old man to keep such a secret and watch his son barely scrape through Voyager Academy. Of course, Garth had Emilia to counterbalance that.

Bogg had trouble getting past... well, the past when it came to Emilia but he had to admit that it wasn't entirely her fault. He was still a pirate when they first met with all the vices and foibles. He didn't even remember her mother since he bedded so many women. He was disgusted that he had a kid they were expecting him to deal with. After all, what good was a child to any self respecting pirate? Brown hair and blue eyes just like his and the first words out of her mouth were, "You're my Papa, aren't you?"

Seeing her now, he would give anything to take back the next words he said to her. "Don't call me that, Kid. I ain't your father."

Things didn't improve when Professor Garth gave him the news that he was indeed the child's father and that she'd scored eighty points higher than he did on the basic comprehension exams. Ultimately, he was told it was his decision if she was to join the academy or be taken to a child care center in the city. His understanding at the time only equated it to an orphanage and he didn't like the looks of those in his own time but he didn't want it to seem like he was taking an active interest in her either. All he said was "Do what you want. I don't care about her."

It was a mean thing to say to a little girl and, at the time, he was happy to see her enthusiasm doused even just a little. To his mind back then, a child, especially a girl, was useless. Now, as he looked at her lying pale and motionless in a hospital bed, he'd almost give anything to hear her call him 'Papa' one more time. The name worked to get her to come to in the forest.

"Emilia," he said softly, stroking her hair. It was one of the few places he could touch her that it likely wouldn't cause pain. "It's Papa. Wake up, please."

A weak groan escaped her lips as she licked them. Her lungs gurgled when she breathed. She tried to reach the nasal cannula feeding her a low amount of oxygen but he gently kept her heavily bandaged hand away.

"Don't," he whispered to her. "You need that. Are you in pain?"

She could barely speak but finally managed, "Yes. Is the little boy all right?"

Bogg smiled. "Yes, Jeffrey is fine though he might take offense at being called 'little boy'.

"He was so brave to risk his life to save mine, Phineas," Emilia said. "I can see why... you get along so well."

"Back to Phineas, is it? Jeff told me you asked for your Papa."

She looked up at him and sighed. "You can't hold that against me. I thought I was dying."

"You know, I might not mind it so much now," Bogg told her as he continued stroking her hair. She didn't say anything but the tears falling from her eyes spoke volumes to him. She was hurting and not entirely from the physical pain she was in. "I can't change the past, Emilia, but maybe I can do better for the future, if you'll give me the chance."

"You don't even like me," Emilia stated as if it were a perfectly acceptable fact.

Bogg shook his head. "That's not true. I don't even know you enough not to like you. Somehow you always seemed like just another adult in class, and one that was better than me. I didn't really understand that you were just a little girl. I talked to Professor Garth earlier this evening and he told me that the house was freshly cleaned and painted so it's all ready for a family to live there. I don't want to force you but I think it'd be a good idea to try it on for size."

She seemed to be appraising his sincerity, if he was judging her look correctly. "I will try."

Emilia was silent for a few minutes before she added, "I need to talk to someone in the city. Let him know I'm okay."

"A boyfriend?" Phineas asked.

"A very good friend who happens to be male," she clarified. "His name is Joel Bergstrom and he plays in a band called Rumors down at this place in South End. Elan's."

"This place wouldn't happen to be a bar, would it?"

Emilia rolled her eyes and sighed, "Technically, but they don't serve on Sundays which is when I go and listen. Can we talk later? I'm feeling kind of tired, Phineas."

"Go back to sleep, Em. I'll still be here when you wake up," Bogg assured her. She closed her eyes and before long, she was snoring.