Hey guys, welcome back. So sorry for the lack of updates, but spontaneous trip to my moms happened and well here we are with three updates for you guys as my apology.

I know I've mentioned it before, but this chapter IS based off the song Hold On by Chord Overstreet. It's really pretty and a bit sad.

WARNING: This chapter is kind of rough, Stan is back. There isn't much detail, like always, but more of the aftermath.

Ch 25- Hold On. Monday, October 29th- Tuesday, October 30th.

Kai's phone went off repeatedly as it vibrated against the top of his desk, ignoring every text that kept pouring in as well as the calls from the others and let each call go to voicemail. Natasha had come to tell him Ray was at the door but he said he didn't want to talk to him, how could he face him now after being lied to? That was four hours ago, it was nearing eight now and Ray hadn't tried again. Kai wasn't sure if he was happy about that or not now.

He loved him, had opened up to him in a way he never had to anyone before and had that shoved in his face more times than he cared to count. Of course he was foolish to have believed him at the party, Ray and Mariah had been dating for a year. He and Brooklyn had jumped in the sac six months into them dating, why would those two have held out this long?

That didn't stop the hurt, the anger and the jealousy he felt bubbling in his stomach every time he thought about it.

Ray was right, had been right all along. You couldn't put two broken people together and think it would work out, apparently they were just that broken it would never work out for them and he was an idiot to ever think that.

The love he felt for him was still overpowering, the memories of what they had done and had felt at Oliver's party coming back at the worst time. Bringing tears to his eyes that he refused to let fall, this year just kept getting worse it seemed.

He had texted Brooklyn, needing to get the taste of Ray out of his mouth but hadn't received a text back and he didn't try again. That was definitely for the better, and before he got caught up in him again he deleted and blocked the number from his phone.

He needed to take steps forward, not back, and those steps were just going to have to be without Ray by his side.

"Hey Skittles." Tala said as he stepped into his room, carrying a plate of food for him as he entered.

Kai looked over his shoulder, looking like he had just been brought back to reality with the appearance of his brother. He let Tala come in, sitting on the end of his bed where he was close to his desk and sat the plate of food down beside his laptop that Kai had opened and was just staring at.

"What's going on?" Tala asked after a short silence had come over them.

Kai shook his head, he didn't want to talk about it now. It wouldn't do him any good, it never got him what he wanted in the end so what was the point? Tala heaved in a heavy sigh, this was getting tiring and more so than usual.

"Look, I don't know what's going on but this needs to stop. I thought you two were doing fine, what the hell happened and I want an answer." He said firmly, bringing his left leg over his right.

"Fuck off will you?" Kai growled out, putting his forehead in the palm of his hand as he leant his elbow up on the top of his desk.

Tala barely blinked at him, not giving him a second glance at the comment. "I will when you talk to me Kai."

Kai's eyes snapped towards him, a firing behind them but Tala never flinched when he saw that look in his eyes; it had worn out it's power his first year living with them.

"Fine, you won't talk to me then let's go talk to him." Tala huffed as he stood, grabbing Kai under the arm and pulled.

Kai jerked back, "Let go!" He yelled.

"No! We're doing this now Kai. I'm so sick of seeing you moping over him, either he's not worth it at all and you give up right this second or you keep fighting. Pick one though because I'm at the end of my rope here, with the both of you!" Tala shot back, grabbing under Kai's arm again and pulled harder where he forced Kai to his feet, his desk chair getting shoved back as he was pulled out of it.

"Why does it matter to you what I do or don't do? If you like him so much why don't you date him!?" Kai yelled, getting pulled towards his bedroom door.

"Because you're too blind to see how perfect the two of you are for each other!" Tala bit at him, his grip getting tighter on Kai's arm.

"He never wanted me! I was just the easy rebound and I fell into it!" Kai yelled, digging his heels into the carpet of his room halting the two for a second.

"You knew you would be the rebound once he called it off with his girl, so don't give me that." Tala said, tugging him towards the door again.

"Well he never did and he wasn't going to! She's pregnant!" Kai shouted, finally prying Tala's fingers off his arm and stepped back from him quickly.

"Didn't you say she was cheating on him?" Tala asked, looking bored with him.

"That's what he told me, but how the hell do I know if that was the truth?!"

"Has he ever lied to you before?" Tala asked, shaking his head slightly.

Kai faltered for a second, "No…"

"Then why would he lie to you about this?" Tala sighed out.

Kai's mouth opened but nothing came out.

Tala shook his head again before he grabbed Kai's arm, yanking him out of his bedroom and into the living room. Natasha and Micah gave him an encouraging wave, whether it was for Tala or Kai neither of them knew as they hadn't really been paying attention to them.

The second they stepped outside and the cold air hit them in the face Kai was jerked back to what was going on, kicking and trying to ground himself to stop Tala from pulling him closer to Ray's house just down the sidewalk that was less than a two-minute walk.

Tala knocked on the door, Kai going stiff as a board as they stood on the front porch of Ray's home where he couldn't even find it in himself to turn and run again. They waited for a few minutes, getting no answer. The truck was in the drive, Ray had only been over less than four hours ago.

Tala knocked on the door harder, the wood shaking under the pressure of his hits. His own heart was racing in his chest now, he had seen Stan coming home when he got home from school himself two hours ago.

Finally the door creaked open, Stan's round face poking through and staring heatedly at the two teens standing there on his front porch. He didn't like either of them, even if they had only met once each.

"The hell do you want?" He asked roughly.

"Ray!" Tala called past him, not even giving Stan a second glance.

"He's not here." Stan said, going to shut the door when Tala's foot wedged between it.

"Yes, he is." Tala said, his own icy blue eyes getting a fire behind them.

"Get your foot out of my house!" Stan bellowed as he tried to push the door closed, regardless of Tala's foot there.

"TALA?!" Ray's broken voice called out from the back of the house from his bedroom, the door was closed but Tala and Kai heard the desperation behind it clearly.

"Move your ass, NOW!" Tala bellowed, shoving the door open with Kai helping him.

Stan stumbled backwards into the armchair that sat in the living room, the two running past him to Ray's door only to find it locked.

"Get out of my house!" Stan yelled at the back of the two of them, Tala ramming his body against Ray's door to get it open.

"I can't get up…" Ray cried from the other side, watching his door bend with the weight.

Kai's heart plummeted to the pit of his stomach, reeling on Stan as he had come walking down the hall to stop them. In a blinding fury Kai grabbed the short man by the neck and threw him up against his own bedroom door, his fingers curling around his neck tightly as the door bent with the force.

"Kai, don't do anything stupid!" Tala shouted, aware of what his brother was doing while he stepped back and kicked at the door to get it open.

Kai didn't move, holding Stan up off the floor by his neck as Tala finally broke Ray's door in.

"Tala!" Ray cried again as the redhead stumbled into his room.

He could hardly hold his head up long enough to look at him, the room was in disarray. Glass was broken all along the floor, more of his things had been broken and he was left laying there in the middle of it all. His shirt was torn, some of his hair had been pulled out and laid around him in the rest of the mess. His blood had soaked through everything, and there were cuts on the backs of his arms and some on his fingers that were seeping.

Tala swallowed the bile as he stepped in over the mess towards him, kneeling down beside him as tears came to his eyes.

"Call the cops Kai!" Tala called out to him.

"Don't, don't you dare!" Stan yelled in a panic with what little air he had left in his lungs.

"You give me one good reason why I shouldn't?!" Kai yelled in a tone none of them had ever heard before, his grip around Stan's neck getting tighter leaving the man panting and gasping for air.

"KAI! Now's not the time!" Tala called back, his own body shivering from that tone his brother had used.

Kai released his grip on Stan's neck, letting him fall flat on his ass on the ground where he was left rubbing his neck. He moved to go into Ray's room, seeing red no matter where he looked.

"Don't come in here!" Tala said, hearing Kai's heavy footsteps on the hardwood floor. "Just call the cops and the paramedics, get mom and dad!"

Kai froze for a second, he wanted to go see him. See if he was at least alive. He didn't know why but he felt responsible for this, maybe there had been a way to avoid this. If they hadn't come when they did… He didn't want to think about it.

"Kai, hurry up!" Tala called through the room at him.

Kai was pulled out of his daze as he heard Ray's truck start up outside, the front door having been left open in Stan's escape. Kai growled in the back of his throat, storming outside just in time to see the taillights disappear in the distance as the tires squealed as the truck made a right turn down the end of the street.

Kai forced himself to keep going, pulling out his phone as he called 911 while he stormed back towards his house. Natasha and Micah jumped from their spot on the couch, seeing a different look in Kai's eyes that frightened them and worried them at the same time.

"What happened?" Natasha breathed, already getting up and scrambling for the door with Micah behind her.

Kai moved aside, letting them run out towards Ray's house down the sidewalk as the operator finally picked up on the other end. Kai sat down on the steps of his porch, running a hand through his bangs as he relayed the situation out to the operator as quickly and as well as he could. Not even realizing that he had started to shake and tears were running down his face.

When the operator had hung up with him he didn't even realize Tala had come and sat down beside him, pulling him close and holding him against his side. The tears were running down his face harder, his shaking to the point it wasn't controllable now. Tala rocked him a little, trying to soothe him while he fought to get the images of what he had seen out of his head. As much as they wanted this to be a bad dream, both of them knew they weren't going to wake up any time soon.

When Natasha and Micah had gotten there they forced Tala outside, already appalled at what they had seen and it was hard for them to stomach it all just the same.

Twenty minutes later the darkened street was alight with the blues and reds off the ambulance and police cars, a fire truck had pulled up before them and the firemen had rushed into the house quickly. It was all becoming one large blur for the two, not even sure who was coming and going now and it wasn't until the paramedics had pulled Ray out of his home, laid up on a stretcher, did the two of them get up from the steps of the porch.

Natasha and Micah were busy trying to tell everything they could to the cops that were there as their sons approached them, Kai glanced inside the ambulance quickly once he got around behind it just before the doors shut and it was enough to knock him backwards.

"No no no, Kai." Tala called as he rushed to catch him before he hit the ground.

Micah went over to help pull Kai back on his feet, only feeling slightly dizzy from the sight and the anger bubbled forth ten-fold like he had never felt before.

The ambulance rushed down the street, the sirens blaring as it went and they watched it until they could no longer see it in the distance. Over the walkie-talkie the officer was wearing on his breast came a call for an out of control vehicle, the description matching that of Ray's truck that Stan had fled in.

"That's him…" Kai growled out.

The officer nodded, relaying back what was going on quickly through his walkie-talkie before turning back to the others.

"Any one of you want to come with me to make a report?" He asked, pointing at the four of them with his pen.

"I'll go." Micah stepped up away from his sons.

The officer nodded, "You three can follow the ambulance, I can't guarantee that they'll let you see him but it's worth a shot."

"Thank you." Natasha gave him a quick nod back, turning back to her boys and motioned for them to come with her.

Tala pulled Kai along with him, rushing over to their mothers car and got in while she ran inside to grab her purse. Micah met her back outside, kissing each other goodbye quickly before they parted ways.

"Is he alive?" Kai asked, forcing the words out of his mouth as he sat in the back with Tala.

"Yes." Natasha answered as she backed the car out of the drive, throwing it into gear and sped off down the road.

Kai didn't know what prompted him to do it but he pulled out his phone and went to Tyson and Max's contacts, pulling them in a group chat together to let them know what was going on.

Quickly their replies came, all frantic and scared but promising to be there one way or another and that they would meet Kai at the hospital. Kai felt a small sense of relief, he may not have been close to them like Ray was but felt like he needed them there. He knew Ray needed them more than he did though, and them being there for him was all that mattered even if they wouldn't be able to see him right away or at all.

Ray blinked through the pain and the blinding lights, his head rolling slightly with every turn the ambulance made until it reached the hospital and rolled up to it's emergency doors. He didn't know what was going on, his head was blurry and dizzy. All he knew was that everything hurt, they had covered him with a heavy blanket because he had been shaking so hard and he had bit his tongue several times.

They had tried talking to him once he settled down but he couldn't force the words out, feeling tired on top of everything else that was going on. The voices and the pain kept him awake, his body begging for sleep that they denied him. He hadn't lost enough blood to make it life threatening but he had a concussion from hitting his head on something, the back of his hair was caked in nothing but blood so whatever it was he had fallen on was sharp enough to pierce his skin.

As he was rushed down the halls the lights got worse as they moved overhead but they yelled at him to keep his eyes open, trying to get a name out of him that he could only incoherently mumble out.

Finally the moving lights stopped and he was put in a room, immediately getting more people around him and poking and prodding him with questions and needles while others worked on cutting him out of his clothes. He was too weak to fight back or tell them to stop, he hurt too much to care at this point and just let them do what they needed.

Natasha pulled up to the hospital and found a parking space as quickly as she could, Kai and Tala hardly waiting for her to cut the engine before they were already out of the car and running towards the hospital. She got out and rushed after them, not needing them to get themselves kicked out in their panicked state. She reached them just in time as they got inside, pulling them back quickly from stepping in further.

"I need the both of you to calm down, if you go off they won't let you in." She warned quietly, looking between the two of them.

Tala and Kai nodded to her, letting her step in front of them to the receptionist to ask where they could go to wait. They were directed up to the third floor then directed to another waiting room where other people were sat, looking no better than her two boys were.

A nurse had come and gone to give them an update on what was going on, it wasn't protocol but the boy had no other family they could contact. When the nurse left Tyson and Max were rushing down the hall towards them, Grandpa and Max's parents coming down behind them.

Natasha stood up to greet the other adults, finally being introduced to the three of them as the three boys got wrapped up around each other quickly. Holding on to each other like their lives depended on it, before they went off to another corner together while the adults sat down to talk about what was going on.

"You know, I've always had my suspicions but he never said anything…" Grandpa mumbled out low, hanging his head just as low.

"He's always been such a bright and happy boy, no one would have really guessed." Judy said as there were tears in his own big blue eyes that looked like her sons.

Natasha nodded, she might not have known Ray as long as they did but she felt it too. She had always liked him, even from their first meeting that seemed so far away now.

"He and I were working on getting this settled last week, he had yet to make the official report or anything… I feel responsible for not having him do it right then and there."

Judy reached out and touched her shoulder, "This isn't anyone's fault but that… That…" She couldn't even finish but they all knew who she was talking about.

Natasha nodded, her own eyes going towards Kai in the corner where the boys had sat down. In that moment she felt the weight of what she had been through the past four years with him, knowing that if he hadn't gotten the help he needed then he probably wouldn't be there with her now. She didn't want to imagine him in that room and on that bed like Ray was, but she couldn't stop the images flooding in her head. It didn't matter who it was, no child or person deserved this.

"I will be more than happy to help, when he's recovered." Judy said after the pause between them all, pulling her hand back down from Natasha's shoulders.

"Thank you, he will live with us." Natasha said as if it was already cemented.

"If you can't burden the weight he is always welcomed with us." Taro said on the other side of Judy.

"Hiro is still kickin' it back in college, we have a spare room that no one's usin' if that's too much for anyone." Grandpa said before meeting Judy's eyes, "You have to prepare for that little one, I have the room."

Judy nodded, rubbing her stomach a little. "We'll leave it up to him in the end. Wherever he feels more comfortable."

The others nodded again, that was only fair. Their attention was pulled to the nurse coming towards them, stopping short in front of them all.

"Mrs. Ivanov?" She called, looking between the adults.

Natasha stood up, going to follow her down the hall.

"Mom." Kai shot up from his chair, stepping forward to follow.

"Not yet honey." She said back to him, stopping with the nurse.

Kai nodded and sat back down, pulling his bangs from his face as he felt all of his nerves snapping at once all over again. Tyson and Max put their arms around him again over his shoulders, Natasha following the nurse towards Ray's room again.

"He's going to be okay." Max said, rubbing Kai's back a little.

The three of them going in silence again, not knowing what to say or do at that moment. Kai didn't think opening up to them about the past few days was a good idea, not without Ray there to explain it with him; they were his friends too.

The silence started to feel too thick and suffocating, Tyson hadn't wanted to be the one to break it but his mouth ran off without his brain.

"Who do you think it could be, the father?" Tyson asked, finally pulling his arm away from Kai as he sat back in his chair.

There wasn't much else to discuss and the distraction was more than welcoming for all of them. Tala was left to talk with the adults, having left to call Bryan up and let him know what was going on and came back once their call had ended.

"Well it wouldn't be someone who likes Ray, that's for sure." Max said as he followed suit, tucking his legs under himself to get more comfortable.

"Well that knocks out almost everybody at school." Tyson mumbled, "Why would she lie about it though?"

"Because it was easier to pin the blame on him, than to take the fall on her own. Also, they were together a year." Kai said in a dark tone, pulling his arms around himself like he always did.

"Well it's not his, regardless of what she says." Tyson said as he puffed out his cheeks, stretching his legs out in front of him.

Kai and Max nodded, the three of them going quiet again and the silence was interrupted with Tala's phone going off again where he sat. Quickly he got up, answering it on his way down the hall.

Kai rose a brow watching him leave, it was Bryan's ringtone and more questions as to what was going on flooded his head. The silence coming back to all of them this time as they sat there for what seemed forever, finally Tala came back looking more pissed than what he had been before he went to take Bryan's call.

"What's wrong?" Judy asked, looking up and meeting the redheads eyes.

"They got him… But…" Tala paused, looking around and seeing all the eyes on him waiting. "He wrecked the truck in the process, it's totaled now. He got away on foot for a good mile till the dogs took him down, he's in custody and being processed now but Ray's truck is beyond repair."

"Are you serious?!" Tyson yelled out from where he sat, his grandfather turning on him quickly.

"Now isn't the time Tyson!"

"But Grandpa, we all know how hard he worked for that." Tyson whined out, but really there wasn't anything any of them could do about it.

"I know Tyson…" His grandpa nodded solemnly, "We'll figure something out for him."

"What about the insurance?" Kai asked, shifting where he sat as all the eyes landed on him.

Max shook his head, "He didn't have full coverage, he had to lower it because he wasn't making the full payments on the truck itself. He's always been a good driver so he never thought he'd need it, if it's totaled then it's not going to cover half of what it would need."

"There's other important things to worry about right now boys, and that's Ray's safety." Judy reminded them all.

"We're not saying it's not, it's just… Out of everything else his uncle has done to him, this is just like one last blow and it really sucks." Max said quietly, still shaking his head.

"I know honey." His mother sighed.

Tala took up his seat again, the collective anger between them all could be felt in the entire room around them as they went quiet again. Natasha eventually stepped back into the room, all eyes going to her quickly.

"He's alright, for what it's worth… They put him on some heavy pain medication to help and stitched him up where he needed it…" She stopped, biting into her lower lip to keep herself from crying.

"They said one at a time, if anyone wanted to go in and see him with an adult present."

Everyone turned back towards the three boys in their own little corner while Max and Tyson looked at Kai, who shifted in his seat again.

"One of you two go first."

"Are you sure?" Tyson asked, his mouth dropping a little.

Kai nodded, "Yeah…"

Tyson and Max looked up at each other, "I'll go first." Max said as he pushed himself out of his chair.

Taro got up to go with him, putting his arm around his sons shoulders as they went down the hall once Natasha gave them his room number. She sat back down beside Tala, pulling out her phone to let Micah know what was going on. Tala told her quietly in Russian about the truck issue that he just learned about from Bryan and that they had Stan in custody now, getting a nod from his mother as she sat there watching the screen of her phone for her husbands messages.

Max held his breath, his body tensing under his father's arm as they stepped into the room. The second they were in and the door shut behind him it was like he got punched in the gut, his father not faring any better as they looked at the boy they knew for the past several years laid up on that bed hooked up to several different machines. His hair was pulled back and out of his face that had yet to be washed of the blood in it, his hands and fingers were stitched up, and bandages wrapped everywhere on just about every patch of skin they could see that wasn't covered by the hospital gown.

"Ray?" Max stepped forward on shaking legs towards the end of his bed, putting his hands on the plastic end.

Ray's eyes cracked open, his head still spinning and even more so with the pain medication coursing through him but gave Max a sloppy smile all the same.

"Maaaaax." He said, his voice coming out broken and slurred.

"You're going to be okay." Max choked out.

Ray nodded, "I tried…"

"Tried what?" Taro asked as he stepped behind Max, putting his hand back down on his son's shoulders.

"Fight, run." Ray mumbled incoherently as he shook his head slowly, the drugs making everything feel heavier.

"That's good, you like to run." Max said and Ray's lips upturned into a small smirk.

"Pretty good, too." Ray mumbled out before his head rolled back onto the bed.

"You are, you're the best runner I know." Max said, feeling tears at his eyes.

"Ty?" Ray asked.

"He's here, Kai too." Max answered, wiping the tears out of his eyes.

"Sorry…"

"For what son?" Taro asked as Max had gone quiet.

Ray tried to lift a hand, intending to gesture towards them but it just flopped back down at his side.

"You have nothing to be sorry about here, we're sorry we couldn't help you in time. You know you can always trust us though, with anything."

Ray nodded best he could at him, feeling tears prick at his eyes.

Taro squeezed Max's shoulder before pulling him back, there were others that wanted to see him still.

"I'll see you soon, okay Ray?" Max said as he backed away towards the door.

"Kay." Ray said as he watched him go, trying to smile at him as he went.

Max rubbed his eyes as his father led them back down the hall, Tyson and his grandfather already up and waiting to trade places with them. Tyson's stomach dropped and twisted as Max came up wiping the tears from his eyes and he grabbed his grandfather's hand, Grandpa squeezed it reassuringly before they stepped down the hall.

"Hey buddy!" Tyson stepped in, trying to paint on a big smile for him looking everywhere but at the machines hooked up to him or anything else but Ray's hazed over golden eyes.

"Ty!" Ray smiled at him wide, maybe too wide but that only made Tyson laugh.

"They got you on the good stuff I see."

Ray nodded, he didn't know what good stuff Tyson was talking about but there was a purple duck in the corner of the room that was dancing so it must have been good.

"Want some?" Ray slurred.

"Maybe another time." Tyson choked on a laugh, stepping up where Max had stood with Grandpa beside him.

"So, how long they got you in for?" Tyson asked and Ray's hazed over eyes widened slightly.

"I paid that parking ticket."

Tyson held back the laugh as did Grandpa, "Didn't even know you got one, what was it for?"

"Don't member, was stooped." Ray grumbled after he looked to be in thought for a minute.

"Probably was." Tyson chuckled.

"Hey, Ray my man, you want us to bring you some hamburgers later?" Grandpa asked.

Ray nodded, quicker than he thought he could with how heavy it felt. "Want a milkshake too."

"You got it." Grandpa gave him a warm smile out from under his mustache, "We'll bring it to you tomorrow, if that's okay?"

"It'd melt." Ray frowned.

"Nah, we'll bring it fresh for ya." Tyson said quickly.

"Chocolate."

"You hate chocolate." Tyson reminded in a laugh.

Ray shook his head a little, "Kai likes it."

"We'll get him one too." Grandpa reassured, "We'll bring you a banana, what you like okay?"

Ray nodded again.

Grandpa put his hand on Tyson's shoulder and gave him a gentle tug back, Tyson waved at him and Ray tried to wave back, but his hand had just plopped back down at his side from where it lifted off the bed barely an inch.

"He's gonna be alright." Grandpa reassured as he kept his hand on Tyson's shoulder.

"I know, he's tough son of a bitch." Tyson said as he wiped the tears he had held back and were now falling down his face.

"That he is." Grandpa said with a proud smile on his face as they met the others in the waiting room.

Kai was standing there with Tala beside him, being eighteen made him a legal adult and Natasha was in conversation with Micah over the phone now in the back corner of the room where the boys had been sitting previously.

As Tyson walked past Kai he quickly reached up and patted his shoulder, hoping to give him the strength he'd need in order to go in and see him. Kai didn't miss the friendly gesture but that didn't help his nerves any, Tala was ready to go in and see him and pulled Kai along once Tyson and his grandfather were sitting down again.

They both froze at the door for a minute, each taking in a breath to calm themselves before Tala pushed the door open and stepped in. Like the others it was as if they got punched in the gut, Tala feeling it all over again but it was a better sight than what he had previously saw back in Ray's bedroom.

Ray clocked the two newcomers coming in, tears in his eyes as he saw them through the haze the drugs had created and now his tears.

"M'sorry." He cried out.

Tala's face fell, "What for?" He asked sweetly.

Ray shook his head, it being the only thing he could seem to move at this point. "I tried, I tried."

Kai went over to the side of the bed where there wasn't anything blocking his path, quickly taking up Ray's hand and felt him trying to grab hold but couldn't completely.

"We know, you were trying to get help." Tala said as he took up the spot at the end of Ray's bed.

"I fight, I run." Ray mumbled, fighting back sleep that was now desperately calling his name.

"You fought back?" Tala asked, his eyes bouncing between Kai and Ray for a second before his wolfish grin took over his mouth. "Twizz, that's great."

Ray shook his head, "He knows."

Tala frowned at that as did Kai, "About?"

"Baby… S'not mine." Ray choked on a sob.

"We know…" Kai said, rubbing the top of Ray's hand and drawing his attention towards him.

"Why don't you get some sleep, we'll come see you tomorrow?" Kai said, even though he wanted to stay there for as long as he could.

Ray shook his head, "Don't go."

"I can't stay all night with you. You know I would if I could."

"And you need to sleep, you'll feel a lot better if you do." Tala added, smiling softly at the two of them.

"If he comes back?" Ray choked out.

"He won't, you're safe." Kai told him, his thumb still rubbing against the top of Ray's hand gently as he took in the stitches he had on his fingers.

Ray took in a deep inhale, as if he had been waiting to hear those words all night. Letting his eyes finally slip close, getting lost in the drug induced sleep and Kai's warm hand holding his.

"C'mon, he needs to sleep." Tala said quietly and Kai nodded, not taking his eyes off him slowly drifting off beside him.

Tala turned his back, going to the door to give them some privacy. Kai was a little grateful for the gesture and took the chance to kiss the top of Ray's head, not missing the slight upturn of Ray's lips when he pulled away.

"I love you." He whispered.

Ray mumbled something back to him, it coming out slurred like most of his words.

Kai let go of his hand and went back towards Tala who was holding the door open for him now, the two stepping back out and going down the hall to join the others.

"They're going to hold him tonight and most of tomorrow, if they feel he's good to come home than he's free to choose where he wants to stay." Natasha said once her sons had come back and joined them, locking eyes with Kai quickly.

Kai simply nodded, he didn't have it in him to protest. He wanted Ray comfortable wherever he wanted to live, he wouldn't hold it against him if he picked Tyson's or Max's place over his.

The adults all got up with their respective kids, the small group walking out together and saying their goodbyes outside in the parking lot before they all drove off to their own homes.

Kai's head was pressed against the cold glass of the window beside him, watching the lights of the street lamps roll by overhead. When he got home and ready for bed he laid there unmoving, although he was tired sleep never came to him.

Tala came in less than an hour later, carrying his own pillow and blanket and laid it down beside Kai's bed. Automatically Kai reached down where Tala lay, his brother reaching up and grabbing his hand and giving it a gentle squeeze to let him know he was there before they let go and rolled over. Kai's eyes finally slipping closed on him.