This is slowly starting to come together. I think. There are some vague ideas of what I want to happen in this story and hopefully we'll get there. Enjoy the ride in the mean time.

I hope you enjoy!

Warnings: Violence, Choking, Angst. Still in the process of writing so check here for new warnings as I go!

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Taking in a deep breath Street stared at the wall opposite of him trying his best not to notice how drab the painting looked. What was it about hospitals that always made everything in them look sad and off?

He was sure that it was actually a beautiful painting of a sunrise, or a sunset, he wasn't really sure which it was. Yet having spent the last few days looking at it he couldn't find anything beautiful in it. Even the colors had begun to blend into what he could only describe as mush.

"Good," Dr. Wells cut in sliding the somehow still icy stethoscope across his back, "And another."

Redirecting his eyes to look up at the ceiling he forced himself to take in what felt like his hundredth deep breath that day. He knew that all she was doing was trying to find out just how much damage had been done to his throat and lungs, but it was starting to get on his last nerve. Not that that was surprising. Everything was annoying him at the moment.

Like the fact that it was still difficult to breathe. It had only been two days since the whole incident with Baylon and he was very much aware that he wasn't in the best condition. Even if the man hadn't choked him he had gotten the shit kicked out of him well before that.

He knew that his doctor had spent a lot of time explaining to him exactly what it was that was currently wrong with him, but he was tired and just done enough that he didn't care. It wasn't as if he could do anything about it anyway. He was in the hospital. Everything was being done for him. If he had to keep the nasal tube in for any longer though he was going to scream. Precaution or not.

That sounded a lot whinier than he meant it to. That was something of a bad habit with him when he wasn't feeling well. Everything and everyone just got so damn annoying and he wanted to be left alone more than anything.

At the same time though he understood. If it had been anyone else he would have been right there too; being annoying. It wasn't anyone else though. It was him. He was the one that had gotten hurt and was in the hospital. He was the one that just wanted them all to stop.

Street loved the team with all of his heart and having them in his life was something he would always be grateful for. At the moment though he didn't need them constantly looking over him as if they thought he was going to break at any moment. All it did was make him think that he had missed something.

He hadn't though. He remembered in full detail exactly what had happened between him and Baylon in that warehouse. It was doubtful that he was ever going to be able to forget everything that that man had said and done.

He just couldn't understand what had happened. Under any other circumstance he wasn't the type of person that let people get under his skin like that. He had learned a long time ago that letting people see they had that type of power over you never ended well.

Somehow though Baylon had. It was almost as if he had seen right through him without even trying. One look and that man had basically seen to his very soul and, for some reason, Street had fallen hook, line, and sinker for everything he said.

"And one last deep breathe for me, Mr. Street," Dr. Wells instructed again causing him to close his eyes as his thoughts were once again interrupted.

That was the main reason he found himself so annoyed recently. All he wanted to do was stop and think and figure everything out. That was the last thing he could do though. Mostly because he hadn't been left alone since he woke up. Sure they tried to be sneaky about it, but he could tell that they were afraid to leave him alone. It made him wonder what it was that Tan had seen when he found him.

At the moment Luca and Hondo were hanging out with him as the doctor tried to figure out if he was well enough to go home. Which was all he was going to be able to do. Hell, he was going to have to carry around an inhaler for a time while he continued to heal up.

"Well, Mr. Street," Dr. Wells offered pulling the stethoscope away and moving to stand in front of him, "You're lungs are getting better. Slower than I'd hope for, but they are getting better."

"Does that mean that I get to go home?" Street offered hating how his voice sounded so rough and broken.

"I'd like to keep you a few more hours and repeats the tests. If you're still improving we'll sign you out. Anyway, it's almost lunch time. Do you remember the rules we went over for eating?"

"Foods that are easy to swallow. Nothing that involves too much chewing or is too rough. I remember."

"Good. I'll see you in a few hours."

Street forced himself to smile as she gathered her things and left. In that moment all he wanted to do was stand up and walk out of there. It wasn't as if there was anything they could actually do. The only thing that was happening now was his body healing itself. He didn't need to be in the hospital for that.

The only problem with that though was the fact that both Hondo and Luca there. Out of everyone on the team those two were the ones that he had the hardest time dealing with. Hondo was like a parental figure that he had no idea how to handle and Luca was… Luca. There was no chance of getting out of there without a huge fight.

Under any other circumstance he would be arguing up a storm to get out of the hospital. He'd do practically anything to be able to go home. He was so tired and no amount of sleep seemed to be helping. Although if he was being honest he hadn't actually been getting all that much sleep. Not that that was an uncommon occurrence.

All of his life sleep had been difficult to capture. It was something that he had actually grown used to. Some of his best ideas came when he was simply laying in bed waiting to either fall asleep or start the day. It was such a part of him that he truthfully quit even questioning it.

This was completely different than his normal inability to sleep though. Any other time he felt like he was in control. In his bed he was able to think about everything and anything he wanted. It was almost peaceful in a way that he had come to enjoy.

Ever since he woke up though it wasn't his own voice trying to talk through everything that happened. It was Baylon's voice that was in control. Pushing him in directions he didn't want to go. Asking questions he didn't want to ask.

As much as he didn't want to admit, even to himself, that anything was wrong it was really starting to get to him. The mans voice wouldn't go away no matter what he did. It felt as if he had completely taken over his thoughts.

Street was well aware that everything about that was worrying. Having someone like Baylon, a man that could manipulate people into murdering others, in his head could only end badly. A person like that should never be able to get to him.

That was actually a part of the reason he was ready to be out of the hospital and left alone. He couldn't let his mind wonder to Baylon and figure out what the hell had happened that night. He felt like he couldn't really do anything.

"Street!" Luca's voice suddenly broke through his mangled thoughts causing his head to jerk towards his friends.

Shutting his eyes tightly Street forced himself to swallow the bile that was in his throat as pain coursed through him. A voice in the back of his mind reminded him that he wasn't alone and that he was worrying his friends, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

Feeling something strong and solid rest on his shoulder the young man looked up and saw Hondo staring down at him. He could see his bosses lips moving, but the only thing he could hear was his blood rushing through his veins.

Before he could realize what was happening Luca took over his view. The mans hand took a hold of his own and placed it against his chest. A wave of something he didn't want to try to explain crashed over him as his friend took in a deep breath and held it for a moment before exhaling. It took longer than he liked to admit to understand he was trying to get Street to copy his breathing.

Nodding his head slowly Street let his eyes slip shut and follow his friends lead. Slowly the pain started to ebb away once more and breathing started to get easier again. The nasal canal that he had thought he'd gotten rid of was on his face once more and for the first time he felt relief for it.

The hands slowly let go of his before moving to his back to help him move so he was reclined on some pillows. It took everything in him not to react as they fully pulled away leaving him feeling cold.

Blinking a few times Street let his eye adjust once more before looking up at the other men. He wasn't exactly sure when it happened, but he noticed both Dr. Wells and one of the nurses slowly moving away from him.

A part of him wanted nothing more than to hide under his blankets at that. Any dream he had of going home later that day was dashed. After what just happened she was never going to sign off on him leaving the hospital.

"Jim?" Hondo questioned placing a hand on his shoulder, "You with us, kid?"

"Yeah," Street replied his voice breaking painfully, "Sorry. Moved too quickly."

"Are you currently in any pain, Mr. Street?" Dr. Wells asked moving closer to the bed.

"A little pain, but it's fading now."

"And your breathing? Have difficulty?"

"I- I guess."

Nodding her head Dr. Wells looked over the machines he was hooked up to turning to mutter something to the nurse. In that moment all Street wanted to do was curl up in a little ball and hide away from them all. He didn't have to guess what she was telling him and, though he knew he wasn't going to go home now, he didn't want to hear what she was about to say.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Street," she started smiling down at him, "I know you want to go home, but I don't feel comfortable signing off on that just yet. If you have no other problems tonight we'll try again tomorrow."

"Yeah," he croaked out trying to smile back, "Okay."

The room was completely silent as Dr. Wells headed out of the room leaving him with Hondo and Luca. He had been doing everything in his power to get the team to stop worrying about him, but as he sat there he knew he had failed. Hell, based off the looks he was getting they were even more worried than they had been before.

"Luca," Hondo started turning towards the blond, "Why don't you grab some lunch for us?"

Rolling his eyes to look up at the ceiling Street did his best to ignore the ball forming in the pit of his stomach. Of course Hondo was trying to get him alone to talk to him. He was the boss after all. That was what he did.

In truth it was probably something that he should be doing given everything that had happened. He needed to know where Street's head was at the moment. Even if he didn't know where it was himself.

All in all he just wished that this conversation had been put off for a little while longer. At least until after he had some time to think about it himself. Everything was just too raw and close to the surface. He needed some time.

That was the last thing he could say to Hondo though. Hell, he couldn't say it to anyone on the team. Not after everything that had happened before. They needed to know that he wasn't going off on his own and hiding like he had with his mother.

The problem with that was he wanted, needed, to be alone. He needed to think. He needed to understand what had happened. He needed Baylon out of his head so he could finally catch up on the sleep he needed.

Looking at Hondo he knew that was the last thing that was going to happen though. They were worried about him and that meant he wasn't going to be able to be alone until they decided that he was okay enough for that. It was a never ending cycle.

It was also something he doubted he would ever get used to. Having people that loved and cared about it just sounded wrong in his head for some reason. That didn't stop him from wanting them to never leave him.

In the end though it wasn't just someone that was talking to him. It was Hondo. As soon as he had met the older man he had known not to mess with him. Okay, so he was still actually afraid of him. He felt the same way about Deacon. The two of them were like no one he had ever met.

He doubted that anyone was surprised by that. The two of them were the parental adults in the team. The idea of disappointing them always loomed over him. Something that he had already done fairly spectacularly. He never wanted to do that again.

"What are you thinking, Street?" Hondo asked pulling one of the chairs over and sitting in front of him.

"Nothing," he replied too quickly before noticing that Luca wasn't there anymore, "I'm fine."

"Street."

"I'm fine."

A soft sigh fell from the older man and for a split moment Baylon was standing in front of him. There was so much disappointment and anger rolling over the man. He could practically feel the mans hands wrapping around his throat cutting off his air.

Without thinking he reached up running his fingers across the bruises on his throat hating how the shot of pain grounded him back down. Baylon was dead. He was with Hondo in the hospital. Everything was going to be fine.

Over and over that repeated in his head as he tried to force the images of the killer out. He could still hear the mans gentle tone as the loss of oxygen slowly started to take over. It was just so peaceful and wrong.

"Street?" Hondo called out leaning forward his elbows on his knees, "Talk to me."

"There's nothing to say," Street muttered not looking at the man, "I'm just tired."

"You haven't been sleeping okay?"

"About the same as always."

"Is that right?"

"Yeah."

"Because Dr. Wells has been talking to me about your progress. She's worried."

Street forced himself not to flinch at that. Of course he knew that Hondo and Dr. Wells were talking about him. Both Hondo and Hicks had full access to his medical files. Just like they had access to everyone else on the team.

Dr. Wells couldn't give out any real details on him, but there were a lot of things that she could say. Like the fact that he wasn't sleeping. Not that it was new information. It was something that Hondo knew. If he thought that he was sleeping even less though… Nothing good was going to happen.

"Jim," Hondo started once more, "What happened with Baylon?"

"He was a better fighter than me," Street offered his eyes dropping to his lap, "That's all."

"Is it?"

This time he couldn't stop from reacting as his whole body flinched. He knew that the older man could see through his lies. That he was just waiting for him to slip up. That was how he worked. He waited for the other to give him an opening before going in. It was smart. He hated it.

"What do you want from me, Hondo?" Street questioned softly just as Luca walked in with a plate in his hand.

"Alright," Luca said in lieu of greeting a large, fake grin on his lips, "Lunch anyone?"

Smiling slightly at Luca Street let the man ramble about the food he had gotten as he closed his eyes trying to calm his racing heart. He had no idea what Luca had heard but he doubted that it was going to stay that way for long. If there was one person that he couldn't deny it was Luca. He meant too much to him.