(Ha! I see you there, behind the neighbour's magnolia tree! Stop stalking me! I don't own We Bought A Zoo! And if I did, I would have my security on you!)

*A/N StripedFuzzySocks - you are absolutely amazing. I DID IT! WOOHOO!

Grade III concussion was what they called it. He didn't know how they decided, but he had read enough Wikipedia to know that it was the worst grade.

To be fair, they had tried to explain it to him. And they probably knew more than Wikipedia. But it was all a bit of a blur and he couldn't remember what they had said.

Vaguely, in a small corner of his mind, he figured that it was probably night. That same corner of his mind informed him that he was tired, but he told it to shut up and let him get on with doing what he needed to do.

Things he needed to do like hold Dylan's hand, and whisper in his ear. Whispering anything, everything. Just as long as he knew that Daddy was here.

Dylan was staying in Intensive Care. Benjamin's hard blue chair had been upgraded to a squeaky black recliner that he could sleep on. The lights stayed off, and the curtains stayed closed. And Dylan kept his eyes shut, hardly even acknowledging his presence. Doctor Lucas said it was because of all the meds. He wasn't really aware of his surroundings. She said he probably felt like he was sleeping. Just out of it. Of course, she also told him to talk to Dylan because he could probably hear him. Goddamn conflicting messages.

When Katherine had been in hospital he couldn't remember it being this hard. It had never hurt this much to see her lying asleep in one of these flat, white beds. But maybe that was because whenever she had been in hospital, he had known that there was nothing he could have done. Now, now he wasn't so sure. He had fought with Dylan, yelled at him, never listened to him, and maybe if he had, Dylan wouldn't be lying there looking so damn small.
As he stared at his son, the hand that he held tightly squeezed back. Squeezed. Yes, it definitely squeezed. Not his imagination, not wishful thinking, it squeezed back. And again. Benjamin leant forward.

"Dyl?"

He squeezed again, and gradually opened his eyes.

"Dad?"

"Yeah. It's Dad."

"Hey"

Benjamin almost cried. His voice was croaky, and his eyes squinty, but to Benjamin, Dylan had never looked more beautiful.

"How are you feeling?"
He grunted, and gave him a look.

"That bad, huh?"

"No"

"No?"
"I can't feel a thing. I think I'm high. Is that clock green?"

Benjamin laughed. "Yeah. Fluorescent."

"Okay."

He shut his eyes again, and Benjamin contented himself with rubbing his hand. Up and down, and up and down. Comfort, in such a small routine as up and down. His eyes opened again.

"River?"
"What?"
"Was I in the river?"
"Yeah"

Was it just Benjamin, or did he shiver slightly? And was it just him, or did his face pale and his hand tighten?

"Dyl? What's wrong?"
"Daddy, I'm scared"

His voice was small, and he partially curled over onto his side. He kept his eyes closed, and Benjamin could see his little 5 year old son in his face, hugging a bleeding knee and crying on the concrete.

"Oh Dyl"

He got off the chair, and sat down on the bed, with his arm around Dylan's shoulders.

"It's all right to be scared. It was scary. But you are brave and you don't have to be scared of anything"

"But I am scared. Not brave"

You are brave. It's just that you've forgotten for a wee while. Don't worry, soon you'll remember again. For now, I'll be brave enough for both of us."

"Can you?"

"I can"

*A/N He. Like how I incorporated Wikipedia into there? Yeah.

I know Dylan seemed a little random in this chapter, but trust me, when you're high on morphine and all the other shit that they pump in you at hospitals, you do tend to make comments about clocks and start saying Daddy. True story.

Thank you to StripedFuzzySocks for her help; I have now copy-pasted that onto a word document that is constantly open on my computer. ; )

Thanks to everyone else who reviewed as well, you rock!

Also, what do you think about the pace of this story? Too fast? Too slow?

Love from Scooter