The twilight cast familiar shadows in the SWAT's parking lot; Luca, Tan, and Chris headed straight to their cars, trying to ignore the prickly air that tingled their noses. All that talking and worrying about Street hiding something from them had made Luca even more eager to see him than he already was.

"You think Street will still be awake?" Tan doubtfully said before the three of them jumped each in their vehicle.

"Of course he will" —Luca hit his clicker— "He's not a baby under strict sleeping routine."

Chris glanced at her watch. "You know how tired he is these days…"

"Nah, he's a night owl, just like me," Luca said, opening his truck's door. "Believe me, guys, I've lived with him long enough to know he won't be sleeping this early in the evening."

"Or we can always awake him," Tan added, drawing Chris's reproaching look on him. "Luca's right, Street's not a baby, and I'm sure he would be disappointed if we stop by and don't even say hi to him."

Luca smirked. "To not talk about failing to deliver him the pizza."

"Yeah, I'm still not too convinced you will succeed." Tan's eyes challenged Luca, then shifted to Chris. "Don't worry, we'll find out what's going on."

Chris stepped into her car. "Let's not waste other time."

As the sound of her engine resounded clear in the evening's air, Tan and Luca followed Chris's lead, but while the other two headed straight to the hospital, Luca had to make a quick pit-stop to his favorite pizza take-away.

While he waited for his order to be delivered to him, the doubts Chris had raised on Street's behavior and body language kept tormenting Luca. Once he had the warm slice in his hands, he started his car again and drove in the silence to reach his friends as fast as he was allowed to.

It had taken a while for Luca to feel Street a part of the team and to understand how deep his motivation and his loyalty were, but now he could not imagine 20-David's family without him. He missed him on the job, and he missed having him around at home more than he would have expected.

Chris and Tan were already there when Luca reached the hospital's parking lot. They welcomed him with impatient smiles, and the three of them quickly headed to Street's room. When they got in the sight, nurse Cindy greeted them. Tan immediately glanced at Luca, who was holding the paper bag containing the pizza slice.

"What's that?" Cindy put herself in the way, staring at Luca with impressive steadiness. "You know I can't let Jim have that right now." She stretched out a hand.

"Oh, come on!" Luca put on one of his best smiles and unsheathed his puppy blue eyes, but the nurse didn't move a muscle.

"You'll have it back when you get out."

Luca grunted, handing the nurse the paper bag. "Don't bother. You can eat it if you want. While it's still warm…"

Cindy thanked him but didn't move from the door. "You'd better not go in with that face," she reproached. "Jim's already had quite a hard day, he doesn't need to feel your disappointment, too."

At those words, Tan's I-told-you-so amused smirk broke.

Chris froze with scrunched eyebrows. "What happened?"

"It's not my job to tell you," Cindy said calmly, stepping aside. "Go ahead and ask him."

Luca swallowed. Was Street's mood something the pizza would have resolved, or something that needed doctor's Wendy intervention? His teammates' glances confirmed what he was thinking, Chris was right to be worried from the beginning.

"It's nothing too bad. You can relax." The nurse nodded condescendingly. "Just get in and show him your support. He needs it."

When Cindy left them, Tan was the first one to get in the room, shortly followed by Luca while Chris hesitated a little longer, as if she sensed something was off.

"Hey, guys." Street put on a smile. "Do you really have nothing better to do than spend the night here, uh?"

"You should be more polite, we just finished work," Tan retorted. "And it was a rough day."

Street abandoned his head on the pillow, his eyes up to the ceiling. "Welcome to the club..."

Tan, Luca, and Chris looked at each other. The nurse anticipated the attitude, they should have known what was coming, but when they got in, the atmosphere in the room didn't seem that much heavy.

"I was here to take you some real food," Luca broke the newly created silence, "but Cerberus out there confiscated it."

Street's eyes widened. "What food?" He licked his lips. "No... You know what? I don't wanna know. I've already eaten anyway. I—I wouldn't have taken it."

Luca and Tan both smiled. The Street they knew, the one always craving for a snack, was back. But Chris, instead, appeared unusually tense. When she opened her mouth, Luca already knew the atmosphere was gonna change again.

"Is there anything we need to know?" Her voice was full of impatience.

Luca shot her with a glance, meaning, damn straight to the point, uh?

Street exhaled while stretching his arms alongside his body, his hands clenching and unclenching. "Cindy really talks too much..."

"She said nothing, that's why we're asking you," Chris kept prodding him.

"Alright, since nothing can get away you SWAT guys..." Street failed to hide a whine. "I had a few more tests done in the last couple of days."

The guys exchanged an alarmed look, not just for the tests Street kept from them, but for he talked like he was not one of them anymore. It couldn't be a good sign, even though the sound of Street's voice didn't anticipate anything that dreadful.

Since it was clear he had something to say but not much intention to, Luca encouraged Street to go on talking. "What tests?"

"On my nerves." A little grimace appeared on Street's face as he slightly adjusted his position in bed. It was like despite most movements were forbidden to him, he couldn't stay still for too long.

"Do you mean to leave us hanging like this forever?" Chris's impatience gave voice to his teammates' concern.

"I apparently have some 'neuropath' or something that needs to be restored, or decompressed, or God knows what." Street exhaled while his eyes closed slowly, but fought to keep the appearance of a smile on his face. "I don't know, guys, talk to me about the tiniest part of a sound gun, and I'll know what it is and where to put it, but talk to me about the nerves and things in the human body, and all I hear is that this thing will take more time and effort than expected."

They all fell silent, trying to understand where that talk was going to end.

"Don't worry too much." Street laid immovable, but determined eyes opened to his friends while his lips curved in a more convincing smile. "It may take more time than predicted, but it's not life-threatening or anything else."

Despite Street's pained voice as those words reached Luca's ears, his heart started to beat again. "You made us worry."

Street sighed. "I feel you. They left me hanging for way longer than one minute."

Chris's eyes insistently scanned him. "You said this has been going on in the last couple of days. Why didn't you say something?"

Luca's heart skipped a beat as he realized how hard it must have been for his friend to not know what was going on with his body in the last two days and how hard it must have been to keep the secret with his them.

"I—" Street grimaced again, hinting a shrug. Then he took in a deep breath. "The doctor stated the feelings I'm experiencing weren't good and then vented about permanent damages being an actual thing. I—I guess I just took a big scare..."

"That's one more reason you should have told us!" Luca reproached him. The image of his friend freaking out all alone and trying to deal with it on his own was a punch in the stomach.

"I didn't want to make you worry for nothing."

Chris kept looking him straight. "Guess what? We did anyway."

"Sorry..." Street's begging eyes sparkled toward his teammates.

Luca's gears couldn't stop running, processing all the information. Street had reassured them about the absence of permanent damages. That was a great thing. He had admitted he was scared and he had admitted he was trying to act thought for them. That was almost heartbreaking. Street had shown them both his weaknesses and his strength, but there was still something he had not told them. Luca could sense that. A realization dawned on him. "You're suffering a lot, aren't you?"

Pain drew on Chris and Tan's faces, too.

"Oh... I'm trying not to think about it..." Street smiled weakly. "The best part is that the doctor said the new treatment will help with my sufferings, but when the therapist took a closer look at me, he predicted the healing will only come after a painful process" —his voice faded lightly— "And it was no joke."

Luca's heart lurched. "I'm sorry to hear that, man."

"It's okay. They say that if I can last only a bit longer, I'll see the benefits long terms."

Luca, Chris, and Tan stared silently. In the air, it hovered the feeling someone should say something to encourage him or to help him, but no one knew what, or how, nor would have been the one to say the wrong thing.

"And they have good drugs... which they are not afraid of administering to me..." Street sighed, looking up the IV pole. "I'm gonna heal… eventually... but I'm dreaming of the day I won't need morphine anymore..."

Eventually. Luca's stomach cramped. "If there's anything we can do for you, just name it."

Tan nodded while Chris added, "And don't keep such things from us ever again. You know, there are things called cell phones, and as long as I know, you have a perfectly functioning one."

"Don't worry, guys. No matter how long or painful this will be, I'll be back."

"Good to hear, brother, because I'm counting on that."

"Yeah," Tan said, "Luca's gonna kill Evans someday if you don't come back to your spot soon."

Luca knew Tan was only trying to lighten the mood, but actually, it was not so far from the truth. Despite the progress they had done lately, he still couldn't stand that guy.

Chris stood unusually quiet, flinching at every suffocated whine that escaped Street's mouth. She was just about to approach the bed and say something when the nurse entered the room.

"Alright officers, you may go now," Cindy ordered. "Jim has to rest."

Luca huffed. "One more minute, please, we're—"

"Sorry. It's time for Jim to sleep. Tomorrow he'll have a longer session of his new ultrasound therapy, and his physician will add new exercises to his current PT schedule." She turned to her patient and smiled. "It's a big day."

"We'll not get in the way then." Luca smiled, encouragingly, while trying to hide the weight that seeing Street suffering like that put on his heart. He knew he had to focus on his friend's positive attitude and not on the sufferings he was currently enduring.

Luca glanced at Chris's apprehensive expression; he usually was a positive person, and that was what his teammates needed now. "Sleep well," he added before the three of them headed out. Then he stopped by the door and smirked at Street. "I will for sure. You know, it's really quiet at home lately."

Once out in the corridor, away from Street's eyes, Chris and Tan's expression mirrored perfectly what Luca was feeling inside. They could do nothing for their suffering friend, and the fact that Street was Street, always trying to handle his pain by himself, didn't help them feel less powerless.

"You heard the nurse, right?" Tan said as they walked out. "He's making progress. He will be back on his feet in no time."

Chris paced silently, without raising her look from the linoleum floor.

"Yeah." Luca smiled. "And we all heard Street. He's positive, and he's keeping up. He will do this." His heart clenched while pronouncing those words. Luca wanted to believe them, he wanted to ignore the pain Street was hiding and wanted to focus on his positive attitude, but it was not the easiest thing to do, even for the optimistic person he was.

... ... ...


Author's note: I need to thank Ivedonestranger for the precious proofreading job and continue support he gave me until now. Unfortunately, these are exceptional times, and so, since last chapter (no. 16) I'm flying solo. But do not worry, I'm working very hard on this story and on making this isolation time productive.

That said, I know this chapter was pretty short compared to usual, but I'm thinking about making shorter updates but hopefully, more frequent.

Thank you for sticking with me, and stay safe everyone!