A/N: I own nothing you recognize. Just having fun.

A/U: Johnny and Shannon have two children. Robby and Laura.

******************Trigger Warning: Violence Described****************

"Laura is our friend," Miguel replied, respectfully, but didn't back down from Robby.

"Not anymore she's not," Robby shot back.

"You can't tell her who to be friends with, Robby," Johnny half laughed.

"Watch me," he replied, never looking away from Miguel.

"We just want to be here for her," Miguel interjected, trying to defuse the situation.

"Okay, you probably could," Johnny conceded, "But right now Laura needs all the support she can get. Let them stay. You can decide if they can be her friends later." If she still needs friends later was left unsaid but thought by both.

Robby didn't say anything but walked back to his seat. Miguel led everyone to a row of chairs across the room from Robby to give him space. Yeah, one day he, and Robby, and Hawk would have to talk about what happened but tonight wasn't the night.

"We need to tell him," Mac whispered to Aisha, motioning to Johnny.

"We will," she replied. "But look at him. We can't tell him now. As soon as we know Laura's okay, we'll tell him. Sensei looks ready to break now, finding out that it's been an ongoing thing that he could have stopped might drive him over the edge. It'll be better to tell him after he at least knows Laura is okay."

"And if she's not?" Mac questioned.

"We'll tell still him."

"Okay," Mac agreed reluctantly. She didn't know Mr. Lawrence like his students did. If Aisha thought it best to wait, she'd agree.

In the time that passed, the small room filled up. First with the other Cobra Kai students, Virgin being the last, bringing word that Bert's parents wouldn't let him come out so late and that Bert had made him swear to let him know as soon as some news came out. Aisha smiled at that. She knew Bert must be having a fit, not only did he have a crush on Laura, (probably just because of her proximity to Sensei who he had an unadulterated admiration for), but he hated to be reminded that he wasn't as old as the rest of the Cobras. He'd just turn twelve while the rest were in high school. Then Johnny's cobras came in one at a time. All of them hugging Johnny, then Robby.

First Jimmy who was a physical therapist there at the hospital who had come down just minutes after Dutch had called him. He'd taken a look at the way Robby was holding his arm and reset it, then put it in a sling. After his bout of trying to fight Johnny, he'd managed to dislocate it again but he had to admit it felt better when Jimmy was done. That was a blessing and a curse as the pain had given him something physical and real to focus on instead of his thoughts.

Then Jerry and Tommy had come in at almost the same time, followed closely by Dutch who had made the hour and a half drive from his home in Santa Barbara in an amount of time that made Bobby incredibly nervous as a police officer.

The last person to come in was Hawk if you could still call him Hawk. His signature Mohawk had been washed out and combed down. He was dressed simply in jeans and his Cobra Kai t-shirt and some of the bravado seemed to be gone as he slipped into the room with his head down.

"Welcome back," Demetri said, moving down to give him the seat next to Miguel.

"What about Moon?" Aisha asked.

"You were right about her," Eli admitted. "Everybody was right about everything, except I do care about Laura. I care about her more than anything, I just lost sight of that." He looked at Demetri. "You were right, my friend. I had gone too far."

"Well, keep the hair," Demetri shrugged. "Just lose the dickhead attitude and you should be fine."

"Thanks, man," Eli nodded.

It seemed to Shannon that they sat in the little room for hours. To be so full, especially since half the room was kids, it was unnaturally quiet and she couldn't help but feel helpless as she stood against the back wall, twisting on her heels, unsure what to do with herself. Despite the young officer's best attempts, she'd still made it to the hospital too late to see Laura before surgery. At least that's what she told herself. Johnny and Robby had come back almost as soon as she'd reached the waiting room.

She looked around at the sea of faces, those who were supposed to mean the most to her daughter, to her family, and recognized less than half of them. She knew the kids had to be friends from school, recognizing the two girls who were huddled together from Laura's pictures. Ryan Brown kept going back and forth between his friends and his family as though he didn't know which side he belonged to. The dark haired boy Robby had threatened was alternately worrying a rosary in his hand and trying to comfort his friends. Laura's sweet boyfriend was sitting next to him, his head down, a pained look on his face except when he looked at Robby. Then his expression became one of shame and he would touch his lip and quickly look away. That was the boy that had gotten Laura into a fight? He didn't look like he'd even know how to make a fist.

Johnny, of course, was beyond reaching. Bent over with his elbows on his knees, his head down, eyes closed, and hands clasped as if in prayer in front of him, everyone seemed to know it was best to not even try to speak to him. But she knew that Johnny didn't pray anymore. Not since his mother's death. No, she knew by the slight shaking of his hands that he was fighting a different battle. She could tell that he was probably desperately missing his nightly bottle of Jim Beam or six-pack of Coors. Bobby was sitting on the arm of the sofa next to Johnny with his hand on Johnny's back. He would occasionally reach down and silence the radio on his hip as if the chatter on it was breaking a holy silence. Standing behind them in a line, as if still in their old karate formation, was Jerry, looking tall and distinguished with his white collar shining in his black suit, a gold cross pressed to his lips as he whispered prayers over and over. Tommy, in his security uniform, was fiddling with a key ring in his hand. Jimmy, having just left his own shift to come to Johnny's side, kept walking to the triage window and back again when his co-workers had nothing new to report. Finally, a stocky guy with curly hair was bouncing on his heels, occasionally reaching out and grasping Johnny's shoulder or whispering a prayer while clasping the Saint Christopher's medal around his own neck. Shannon was half surprised that they didn't all have their fist thrust out in front of them, still waiting for Johnny's commands after all these years.

Tucked between Johnny and Daniel LaRusso, who she only recognized from TV, was Robby. Her baby, her boy, looking more broken then she'd ever seen him. His face seemed completely devoid of emotion after the angry outburst at Laura's little friends. Unless he looked at her. Then his eyes would fill with a hate and fury she'd only ever seen him use on Johnny before. No. It was worse than what he'd used on Johnny. Johnny had only missed soccer games and school plays. He hadn't brought an abusive asshole into Laura's life. Every so often that LaRusso man would murmur something about breathing and Robby would nod and regain his normal composure for a few minutes but soon that broken look would fall back into place. The LaRussos needed to remember that they were Robby's bosses, not his family.

Robby had given up on his phone. Apparently, Trey wasn't going to text him. He pulled Laura's phone out of his pocket and began flipping through the pictures. It had been the only thing she had on her that was salvageable. Hopefully, it was just her clothes that were too far gone to recover. He stopped on one of the pictures and looked up at the boy in front of him.

"Huh." He flipped through a few more pictures of Laura and the boy cuddling and kissing.

"He normally has a Mohawk, but his mom wouldn't let him wear it like that to temple." He remembered Laura saying after their first date.

"Well, fuck," he said suddenly. No wonder the guy had gone so psycho when Robby had needled him about his hair. "You're Eli, aren't you?" His tone was almost accusatory, as though he expected, or maybe wanted, Hawk to deny it.

"Yeah," Hawk nodded, his hand flying to his lip, then added, humbly, "I'm sorry I kicked you today."

Robby nodded and shrugged as if accepting, then dismissing the apology as unimportant. He'd noticed that the boy had done that lip touching thing when he'd said his haircut was stupid. Given what Laura had told him about the boy, that tracked, but he wasn't ready to admit that maybe, maybe he'd hit Hawk's berserk button causing his overreaction. "I'm sorry that I didn't kick you harder now that I know who you are." His lips twisting into a smile as the boy's face flushed red, and he ducked his head, once again covering his lip. Yeah, Laura probably wouldn't have liked him saying it, but Hawk/Eli had made his sister cry and this adversary he could attack, unlike the one who had put her in surgery.

Bobby watched Johnny with growing concern. Johnny was starting to go through alcohol withdrawal and one look at Shannon's face revealed she knew it too. Of course, she would. She always knew Johnny's faults and how to twist them to her favor and right now, she needed a whole lot of favor.

Bobby caught Dutch's eye and motioned for him and the others to follow him outside. "We'll be right back," he told Johnny but he was pretty sure that he didn't even hear him.

"We have a problem," he said as the other Cobras gathered around him. "The DT's are about to hit Johnny hard. We can't let that happen. He's already shaking and sweating."

"So get him a drink," Dutch said.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Jerry replied. "We all know that Johnny has a problem with the bottle."

"I agree," Jimmy spoke up. "I'm not too keen on giving a drunk a drink besides, there is a no alcohol policy at the hospital. If he's caught with it, he'll get kicked out."

"Is there anything else we can do besides giving him alcohol?" Tommy asked, scrolling through his phone. "I mean, is being drunk going to be better than going through withdrawal? Says here you can beat a mild case by drinking a lot of sports drinks and water."

"Normally, I'd be right there with you," Bobby admitted. "But you all don't know that woman in there like I do. I can guarantee that she's just waiting for Johnny to screw up so she can use it against him. I'm not saying we should let him get drunk but maybe a drink or two to stave off withdrawal until he can handle it wouldn't be a bad thing."

"This is stupid!" Dutch declared, clenching his fists. "Why are we even discussing this? The man's kid is dying. None of you can know how that feels. I do. I can tell you that right now, he's in a place none of you could even imagine. I'm getting him whatever he needs. If you tell me he needs a drink, I'm getting him a drink. Hell, if you tell me he needs a hooker and a line of coke, I'm getting him a hooker and a line of coke. Screw that bitch. Screw the policy. I'll make sure no one knows but I'm getting him what he needs!" He stomped off a few feet away and threw a few punches at the air.

"Oh, shit," Tommy breathed out. "I forgot."

"Me too," Jimmy agreed.

The men were silent for a moment remembering another nightmarish night when they'd gathered at a hospital around Dutch when a boating accident had claimed the life of his oldest son. It was the main reason Dutch had moved away and rarely came back. It had been so long ago that Johnny hadn't even met Shannon much less had Robby and Laura.

"Look, you all go back to Johnny. I'll talk to Dutch," Bobby said. "And he's right. Jerry, Jimmy, I get what you're saying and we'll deal with that later, but for right now we just need to take care of Johnny."

Bobby walked over to Dutch while everyone else went back inside. "How you holding up?"

"Obviously not as well as I thought," Dutch answered. "I mean, I just offered to buy Johnny a hooker and coke."

"I'm sure he'd appreciate the offer any other night," Bobby replied with a grin.

Dutch chuckled despite his mood.

"I shouldn't have asked you here," Bobby continued, apologetically. "I wasn't thinking."

"No." Dutch held up his hand to stop him. "I would have beat your ass if you hadn't. It's not being here that got to me. I want to be here. It's seeing him like that. I've been there. You know, it doesn't matter what we do, nothing is really going to help him except for that little girl to pull through."

"I know," Bobby replied. "I don't know what we're going to do if she doesn't."

"You know, I never told anyone this and judging by the fact that you all were looking at me like I'm insane, I'm guessing Johnny never did either, but back then, when Mel and I lost Jonathan, Johnny stayed with me for days at a time, pulling me back from that edge too many times to count. He kept me from fucking up my marriage, kept me from doing anything I'd regret long term. He'd pull me out of the bars on Saturday night, clean me up, and have me on the pew next to Melissa and the kids on Sunday morning time and time again until it stuck. I don't know what I would have done without him. The least I can do is get him a damn jack and coke."

"I think we all owe him at least one damn jack and coke," Bobby replied, looking at his feet and kicking at a rock by his shoe. Then he pulled Dutch into a quick hug before letting him go and saying, "There is a liquor store about two blocks south of here."

"Dude," Dutch scoffed. "I have a flask in my car. And while we're talking, can I ask, just so we're all on the same page, are we ignoring the fact that that's Daniel LaRusso holding Johnny's son in there?"

"That is a story too long to tell right now, but considering that for now, he's keeping Johnny's little juvenile delinquent from going off the rails, yes," Bobby said with half a smile. "Yes, we are ignoring the fuck out of that."

"Just so we're all on the same page," Dutch grinned. "Get back to Johnny. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"I'm outside if

you still want

to do this."

"I'll be out

as soon as I

can get away."

"I'll wait."

Robby stuffed his phone back in his pocket and put his hand on Johnny's arm.

"I need some air, Dad. I'll be back."

"Want me to go with you?" Daniel offered.

"Nah, Mr. L. Nothing personal but I need some air without people in it," Robby said.

Daniel nodded. "You know where to find me."

He nodded and slipped outside. He looked around and finally spotted Trey leaning against the side of the building a couple of yards away. He jogged over to him and leaned against the wall beside him.

"She gonna make it?" Trey asked. That was one thing Robby had always like about their 'friendship'. There was no need for niceties.

"Don't know. No one has told us anything in two hours," Robby replied, with a shrug. "Got the stuff?"

"I got it," Trey answered. "Enough to fuck you up for a few days or enough enough."

Robby nodded. "How much I owe you?"

"Don't worry about that. I called in a few favors owed to you," Trey replied.

Robby nodded.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry this is happening," Trey said, breaking their usual banter. "Lou's a good kid."

"Yeah," Robby nodded. "Better than either of us anyway."

Trey nodded and regarded his younger friend in the sickly yellow lights of the parking garage. He thought briefly of the skinny little twelve-year-old he'd taken under his wing years before. He had been the picture of innocence in an oversize hoodie, too big jeans, and Harry Potter glasses sliding down his nose. No one would have guessed that he was using that little lost boy look to get away with stealing the corner store blind, stuffing the pockets of that hoodie with what he and Laura would need for the day before slipping up to the counter with a cheap pack of gum and walking out without anyone suspecting him of anything. He'd seen him at the skate park, and the playground, sitting outside the Master's Arms apartment building, almost always with that little blonde girl following him like a shadow. It hadn't taken long for fifteen-year-old Trey to recognize the 'mom has a new boyfriend' routine. He was an expert at it himself, his own two little shadows finally old enough to do their own things that summer. Trey began to look for the little blonde girl to be alone, knowing that meant Robby was doing some shady shit nearby that he could catch him on. At first, he'd just wanted to take advantage of the innocent little boy scam the kid was running but soon came to a begrudging respect for the kid. His insistence to never steal more than he needed and dislike for straight cheating people was oddly endearing if frustrating. The too big clothes and Harry Potter glasses were long gone, but the kid still had some of that virtue about him.

"You should keep doing that straight and narrow thing, JobKid," Trey grinned. "It looks good on you."

"Yeah? You should try it sometime," Robby replied with a smirk.

"Well, maybe one day I'll find my dad's nemesis and get him to take me under his wing," Trey replied. "Of course, I'll have to find my dad and find out if he has a nemesis first."

Robby laughed and shrugged. "It could happen."

"Yeah, yeah, anyway, I got to get going. Bring it in, man." To the outside world, it just looked like two friends hugging as Trey slipped a bag of pills in Robby's pocket. "Let me know how your sister is." He started to walk away, then turned back and said, "Hey, Kid, if you get to that enough enough mark, give me a call. We'll go to some delinquent shit first. The world always looks better after you blow some shit up."

"I will," Robby nodded with that little half grin of his.

He had just reclaimed his seat between Johnny and Daniel when a nurse came into the room.

"Mr. Lawrence? Ms. Keene? Dr. Schwarber would like to speak to you privately," she said. "If you'll follow me?"

"Can I come, Dad?" Robby asked.

"Just the parents for now," the nurse said.

Robby's hand clenched into fists at his side. Of course, it wasn't the nurse's fault. She couldn't know that he was more of Laura's parent than either of them. He wanted to argue, wanted to set everyone in the room straight, but at the same time, if the news was bad, he didn't want to know. Not yet. He wanted to believe she was still here, even for just a few more minutes.

"It's okay, Robby," Johnny said, gently pushing him back down in his seat. "I got it now."

Robby nodded as Daniel put his arm around his shoulders and Dutch took Johnny's seat taking Robby's other hand, both men murmuring soothing words.

Johnny and Shannon followed the nurse to an office. Johnny leaned against the desk while Shannon walked over and looked out the window. As Johnny stood there staring at the door, it occurred to him that for the second time in his life, his whole world could fall apart just by the words Ali had to say. It had to be some twist of irony that she was the one delivering this news.

Please R and R.