"It's too hot!" Randy gasped as he barely opened his eyes and began to thrash around lightly as he was still heavily drugged in his hospital bed.

"Baby boy!" His mother, Donna, called out as she clasped one of his hands and then called for her husband and daughter to come back in the room as Randy had just regained consciousness after days of being in a drug induced coma due to his extensive car crash.

"It's too hot!" The injured young male squirrel pressed as he continued to thrash about. "I can't breathe! Help!"

Donna now stood up and ran out the door as her husband, and daughter, rushed back inside. She returned quickly with a nurse who started talking too fast for the young man to understand while then quickly placing an injection into Randy's IV causing him to go back into his deep sleep once again.

After what felt like a blink of an eye to Randy, he woke back up to groggily see his sister's friend, and his to a far lesser extent, Mei sleeping in a chair by his bedside. He just looked at her for a few minutes trying to pull his mind together, but without much luck. He was obviously in the hospital and had many tubes going in and out of him. He barely recalled his family in front of him what seemed like only a minute ago but now only to be gone and replaced with a woman who he'd gone far out of his way to impress but only failed with on multiple occasions. She was likely here to help Sandy, and her underling Shadow, out considering they were now newly engaged. The last thing the new soon to be happily wed couple needed was him, her twin brother, causing more trouble... although it seemed like he completely had unwillingly.

"I'm real sorry." Randy rasped out hoarsely only to find himself in shock as Mei opened her eyes and leaned over his bed to grasp onto both his hands.

"Randy!" She spoke tiredly yet with more than a bit of enthusiasm. "We've all been so worried!" She smiled as a few tears seemed to break loose from her eyes as she gripped down on their interlocking hands tighter. "NUSRSE!" She yelled while hitting his medical alert button that was resting near his right hand. "Everything his going to be alright! I promise." Tears continued to slowly steam down her face as she started to pet his face as the medical worker came in and started to take his vitals, and ask him questions.

Randy found himself almost unable to answers the nurse's question as he was so focused on his friend, and very brief lover from months past, as the feline woman babied him and acted as if his breathing along was giving her purpose to live. At that moment Randy realized he'd never stopped loving her, but also noted his male pride wasn't showing the same admiration for her that it always had before... in fact... he could barely feel his lower parts at all.

"I think something is wrong." Randy finally said not even caring that he cut off the nurse who seemed to have little interest in what he was really feeling.

"Mr. Cheeks, as I said before, your doctor will be in tomorrow after lunch. It's now 2:48 AM so as long as you're feeling overall fine, I need to insist that you tough it out until he comes in." The nurse turned to leave but stopped once Randy started to rip out his IV's and toss his bedding off him.

"I don't feel well!" He screamed as Mei stood up and tried to calm him down. "I don't know if I can feel my legs! Please help me!" Randy screamed as the medical worker shook her head and left the room only a minutes before a few others came in to hook him back up.

"Randy please..." Mei begged causing Randy to stop fighting as the needles were hooked back into him. "Let's wait for the doctor. Please." She pressed again as he calmed down... maybe due to the drugs injected into him once again. "We'll wait together." She smiled before bending over and kissing his forehead.

"I'm real sorry." He said again his voice still horse.

"Please don't be, Randy." She sighed still gripping onto him tightly. "I want you to be ok." She then sat down again keep him in her grasp. "I need you to be."

"Heh." Randy half laughed seemingly to find himself drifting off again, and likely to due with them loading him up with pain killers. "Dis has gotta be a dream... But I'll take all of ya dat I can get... Thanks fer..." He then breathed in deep while closing his eyes and gripping down tight on her hands. "Being... I love ya so much, pretty la-!" His smile kept up right before giving out a light cough and then drifting off again.

"Hey there little brother!" Sandy teased as Randy woke up and cast a smile in her direction, before seeing his mother and father seating right behind her.

"Hey." He coughed out as his twin sister pushed a water cup, full of ice, and sporting a straw, towards him. He took a long suck and then grinned back to his family with his eyes closed getting his family to cheer back happily.

"Nice ta have ya back boy." Dean, Randy and Sandy's father, sighed while tugging at his overgrown gray mustache.

"Where is Mei?" Randy couldn't help but ask.

"She has been watching ya at night da past few days" Sandy jumped in to likely try to smooth things over. "You've been in and out fer a while now, Randy..." She now leaned over and hugged him as their parents started to tear up yet again. "It's so good ta finally have ya back!"

"I miss her." Randy breathed heavily as his sister pulled away. "I really like her." He mused out loud as his family looked at each other more than a bit worried.

"She cares fer ya too, Randy, but don't go wishing fer more din what dis is." Donna chimed in getting Sandy to nudge her a bit upset.

"Mei loves ya ta death as a friend, Randy." She now stood awkwardly with her parents as Randy's dream fantasy was about to come to an end. "We all love ya... as family." His female twin pushed forcefully.

"It's ok." Randy now half laughed trying to hold back the pain he was feeling all over his body, and even the parts of him he could barely force to move. "She didn't want nothing ta do with me as an able-bodied man, so I know fer sure she want's less ta do with me as a cripple." Randy kept the fake smile on his face as the nurses came in to do more medical evaluations on him. It didn't matter anymore... he was so far gone he couldn't even call himself a man anymore... just a parasite. "Just let me die!" He prayed to the god he never believed in.

"Don't say dat." Sandy's voice stayed stern while she retook her seat. "Yer doctor was talking up some surgeries that'll likely make you right as rain again."

"It's true." His father jumped back into the conversation. "Yer just gonna have ta buckle down and push hard through some physical therapy."

"Some?" Randy questioned thinking back to the years of therapy his grandfather had had after falling off a ladder and still was unable to walk right again before his passing.

"It's gonna take time, darling." His mother sighed as she placed a hand on his knee. He could make out the weight on his leg but couldn't truly feel her touch. Not like he recalled the sensation being. "What's important is dat yer still here with us."

"It's truly a miracle after what little was left of dim two cars." Dean shook his head while taking on his cowboy hat and placing it over his chest as if paying respect to the demolished vehicles.

"What about the other driver?" Randy asked getting a cold sinking feeling in his gut as his family went silent and looked at the ground.

"Da fella and his lady friend didn't make it." Sandy finally spoke while giving her brother a sorrowful look.

"Oh Gawd." Randy mumbled as he gripped down on his bedding covering up to his midsection. "Was it my fault?" He asked with panic behind his voice as he honestly couldn't recall the last time he'd gotten in his truck to go somewhere let alone the crash itself.

"Not at all!" Donna reassured. "Dat man and his passenger were both drunk as can be."

"A real pity, but at least dey likely didn't suffer none." His father sighed as he placed his hat back on his head.

"Or take ya ta hell with 'em!" His mother added getting a nod of approval from her husband and a dirty look from her daughter.

"Ain't no need ta speak ill of da dead, ma." Sandy corrected noting the sad look on her brother's face.

"Just cause dey were drunk doesn't mean it wasn't my fault." Randy spoke up looking at his family feeling unsure of himself. He knew he was pretty bad about getting distracted while driving be it by music playing or his phone.

"It wasn't yer fault, Randy." Sandy reassured.

"Dat man was driving da wrong way on a one way." His mother scoffed.

"And going as fast as a bat outta hell." Dean Cheeks added.

"Can we please stop with all da Hell talk?" Sandy requested while standing up and pacing in their small half of the hospital room, separated from likely another tenant by a large curtain hanging from the ceiling. The young adult female squirrel started to roll her neck before starting to stretch her arms.

"Ain't no reason ta run from it, sis." Randy let out a dry laugh. "Seems I got my fair share instore fer a while at least, so might as well call it as it is."

"We are here fer ya!" Sandy pressed harshly as she looked down at her brother as he lay somewhat crippled in his hospital bed. "I know damn well I can speak fer da all of us when I say dat we're all gonna pull tagether and make sure ya get through dis as painlessly as possible."

"Hell is pretty painful, Sandy." Her brother corrected getting her to snap her finger at him and storm up to his bedside wagging a finger angerly only inches from his face.

"No more talk like dat!" She now yelled. "Ya hear?!" She then looked over her shoulder at her parents, after her brother rolled his eyes and nodded in agreement, getting the two elder Cheeks to also nod their approval with their most suborn child.

"What about Shadow?" Randy blurted even though he knew damn well he shouldn't test his sister like this, but he was Randy, after all, and couldn't help but wade eagerly into harms way.

Randy noticed their parents look at one another with uneasy, or was it distaste, at the mention of their daughter's choice in mates. "What about him?" Sandy asked with an edge in her voice that was calling for her brother to back off this topic.

"Were ya speaking fer him too?" Randy continued to press his sister. He wasn't sure if he was mad at her for trying to be so positive, or because she was the only one of the two that could stand on her own two feet at the moment. Either way the anger in him was boiling over, and he was never the type to avoid the biggest challenge in plain sight.

"Shadow ain't yer problem, son." Dean now stood up, likely in preparation to stop his children from becoming more confrontational with one another.

"Problem?!" Sandy repeated back to her father as a question while seemingly offended by his choice of words.

"Darling, yer sister's friends really don't got nothing ta do with ya getting better." Donna reassured her son causing her daughters angry glare to leave her father and then settle on her.

"He's, my fiancé!" Sandy corrected her mother.

"Well, if ya are gonna marry 'em I'd hope y'all were friends too." Her father pushed in defense of his wife.

"Of course, he is!" Sandy pushed back loudly at both her parents.

"Well, he ain't mine!" Randy chimed in to push his point that her soon to be husband was likely not happy about her so-called devotion to help Randy regain his footing in life again... literally.

"He's been nothing but supportive of me coming here ta see ya!" Sandy now looked at her brother with an overfull of anger on her face.

"Has he ever dropped by?" Randy asked causing his sister to turn her back on her brother and storm out of his hospital room without a word.

"At least he's letting her come by." Donna whispered obviously unhappy.

"Since when did Sandy ever need permission ta do anything?" Randy glanced at his mother, and father, whom obviously weren't very thrilled with Sandy's choice of direction she was taking her life.

"Well!" Randy slapped his knees and was pleasantly shocked to get a little pain out of it. "At least she's doing better den you're soon ta be homeless cripple son." He grinned at his parents getting an annoyed look out of both. "Still an improvement." He thought to himself.

"Ya ain't gonna be homeless, boy." Dean groaned.

"I don't have health insurance, and only had liability on my truck. Please tell me dah drunk was loaded." Randy teased knowing full well that was too unlikely for his luck.

"Was his daddies' car." Dean sighed. "That he wasn't allowed ta drive, but... We're lucky dey wanna settle." Donna then grabbed onto Dean and hugged him as she looked at her son hopefully.

"So, I'm gonna be broken fer da rest of my life but rich?" Randy teased again.

"Yer gonna get all yer hospital bills paid, and a modest settlement." Dean spoke matter-of-factly. "Yer sister's lawyer friend looked over the matter and said you'd be dumb not ta accept."

"Well, I am dumb." Randy grinned getting an angry glare out of his father. "You might have ta deal with medical bills because of dis fer da rest of yer life. You need to let them keep footing da bill and take yer 200k pain and suffereing."

"200k?!" Randy now perked up at hearing the so-called modest amount.

"Baby, it ain't dat much after considering ya won't be able ta work fer knows how long." Donna looked at her son lovingly. "Please just don't go crazy with it."

"I'd tell ya ta buy a home with it, but ain't none around these parts near dat price." His father sighed while crossing his arms in frustration.

"Well maybe he should looking inta moving bac-" Donna started before getting cut off by her husband.

"No!" Dean jumped in causing Randy no surprise at all. His father was who had kicked him out from his childhood home, and then inherited grandparents' home, on multiple occasions after all.

"It's ok." Randy stated causing both his parents to look at him surprised. "I'd like ta stay in dis area anyway." Randy now smiled happily as his mood jumped up more than a bit at the idea of getting a bit of a payoff for his lack of movement. "I made a lot of friends here. Like Mei." He continued to smile as his parents glanced at one another very unsure as their son picked up a remote next to his right hand and turned on the CRT TV mounted high up on the wall across from him.