If going shopping felt weird to Isaac, it feels even more strange to him that being at the hospital with Maia feels normal.

He doesn't like that. He's gotten to a point where he and Danny spend so much time there with her that it's become the norm, and he doesn't think that it should ever be the norm for a little girl to be stuck in a hospital, but life is truly not fair, and this is proof of that.

"Hey sweet girl." Lydia is the first one to the bed side, because it's been longer since she's seen Maia. And besides, Danny wants her to have the dress, and Lydia so badly wants to give it to her.

"Lyd'ya!" Maia grins, because it's been awhile since a woman who wasn't her family or a nurse came to visit her, and Lydia wishes she'd been able to get there sooner, but she's been really busy lately.

"Hey there. Look what I brought for you." She holds out the bag, the dress wrapped in tissue paper.

"Presents!"

"That's right." Lydia smiles. "From all of us." She gestures back to Isaac and Danny, who are still clutching their packages tightly. No, it's not Maia's birthday, but she's been here long enough that Danny thinks it's okay to give gifts early. She's dealing with a lot.

Maia opens the dress and pulls it out, gasping.

"Pretty!" She sets the dress down, and throws her arms around Lydia with pretty much all of the minimal energy that she's got left.

"I'm glad you like it." Lydia smiles. "Now, Danny tells me you've mastered the art of crane folding. Care to show me?"

"Um…" Maia wrinkles her nose. "I can do it, but I dunno how to teach you. As Isaac. He taught Danny."

"Oh did he now?" Lydia looks behind her, one eyebrow raised.

"Yup, sure did." Danny approaches, and Isaac follows, hanging just slightly behind. They give Maia their gifts, and since Isaac involves origami paper, they spend some time showing Lydia how. Of course, being Lydia Martin, she gets it right away…and then still pretends to need tips from Maia.

It's adorable, and Danny looks at Isaac, at Lydia, and wonders two things: 1. How he got such amazing friends, and 2. How long it's going to take for Jackson to win Lydia back, because she really is the kind of girl he wants his best friend to be with, even if he has to fight for her.

"Hey, I need some coffee," Lydia states, almost suddenly, as Maia winces in pain. "Danny, come with me. I don't know where the coffee is kept around here."

That's a lie, and Isaac knows it, but Danny doesn't…just like Danny doesn't know that leaving Maia alone with Isaac is the best thing that he can do for her right now, because, well, Lydia knows exactly what Isaac can do.

"Yeah, okay." He looks concerned for his sister, but they won't be gone long, and Isaac will be there with her.

As soon as the two disappear, Isaac reaches out and takes Maia's hand.

"Close your eyes, okay? I'm gonna tell you a story that's going to make you feel better, you just have to imagine the pictures, alright?"

"Okay."

Maia does as she's told, and that very second, Isaac starts to seep pain from her small body.

He talks to her about a beach, and about unicorns on the beach, and he throws in some dinosaurs for the hell of it – after all, this is a story for Maia, it should be tailored to her interests. He holds on tight, taking as much pain as he can, not stopping until he hears the door opening, and by then it's already too late. He's taken too much.

"Who, Isaac…" Danny looks at him, frowning. "Are you okay?"

"What?" Isaac looks up, not realizing that he's gone pale. He, himself, is now in a great deal of pain, but he'd rather have it be him than Maia.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," he states.

"I'm fine. I just need some water." Isaac gets up, trying to hide a stumble as he heads for the door.

Lydia follows behind him, waiting until they're a considerable earshot from the door before speaking.

"Isaac, what the hell did you do?" she asks, her voice a low whisper. After all, they don't need to add to everything that's going on by having someone overhear what is about to be a very weird conversation.

"I took too much," Isaac states, wincing himself. "I couldn't help it, she's so small, and she's hurting so much, I just…"

"I get why you did it, but Isaac, you have to be careful!" Lydia reaches out, supporting him as he stumbles yet again. They both know that, in reality, he'll heal just fine, but right now, Lydia's worried about him.

"I know." Isaac nods, trying to hide the fact that he really is in a lot of pain right now.

"You really don't look well, Isaac," Lydia states, frowning as Isaac leans heavily against the wall.

"Hurts," Isaac admits, his voice strained and quiet.

"Okay, I'm taking you home," Lydia decides.

"No, what about Danny? You're his ride, and-"

"stop being such a god damned martyr, Isaac." Lydia shakes her head. "I'll take you back to Scott's, then come back for Danny."

"I…okay." Isaac nods and waits while Lydia goes to tell Danny that he's not feeling well, so she's taking him home.

When he gets home, Melissa is there, off from the hospital for the day. He doesn't have the heart to tell her why he's actually sick, because he doesn't want a lecture, so he just says he's not sure. He was out with friends and started feeling ill, so he came home.

It takes about 30 seconds for her to jump into mom mode, tucking him into bed. She makes him soup and tea, and when she comes up to give it to him, he's practically in tears.

"Honey, what's wrong?" she asks gently, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"My mom," he says softly. "She used to…when I was sick."

"Oh, Isaac…" she reaches out, gently rubbing his back. He's not crying much, just tiny sniffles, but to Melissa, it's enough to break a mother's heart.

"I miss her," he admits, his voice low and quiet.

Isaac doesn't really talk about his mother. She's been gone a long time, and he got so used to life without her that he doesn't really like to rehash the way it was, back before things were awful, back when his father used to call him "slugger" instead of slugging him. Back when his brother used to come home from school and ruffle his hair before running off to hang out with his friends. Back when his mother would lift him in her arms, call him her little boy, and read him books.

It's been a long time since that life was taken from him, and he doesn't like to think about it because it makes him sad, but right now, it's hard not to think about it.

"Of course you do, sweetie," she says softly. "I know that I can't ever replace her, but I'm here for you. You know that, right? You're family now, Isaac."

Isaac doesn't really have the words to respond to that, so he just nods and looks up at her as though she's just said the most meaningful thing he's ever heard…and in all honesty, that's not far off. He feels bad lying to her about why he's sick, but he doesn't want her to worry, doesn't want her to think that he's being self-destructive, and worst of all, he doesn't want her to tell him to stop taking Maia's pain, because he doesn't want to disobey her, but that's simply not going to happen.

He falls asleep with Melissa rubbing his back, exhausted from the pain he took, but feeling more accepted and loved than he has since he was a little boy.

A/N Alright, another chapter down! I hope this one was alright...definitely not as lighthearted as the last one, that's for sure.