Carlos stayed by his side until TK was discharged two days later. The hospital wanted to make sure there were no lingering side effects from the liquid he ingested and to see if he could stomach some bland foods. TK passed everything with flying colors. Part of it was due to the fact that he was so eager to go home.

TK was curled up in Carlos' biggest hoodie in the passenger's seat of the Camaro as they drove home. He was so ready to be back in his own space again. It felt like so much time had passed since he'd been there, even though it had only been a few days. TK noticed that Carlos didn't take the way they usually would, so he could avoid going past that house. He wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to go for a walk that way again.

"Home sweet home," Carlos murmured as he pulled into their driveway. He reached over and squeezed TK's leg, giving him a supportive smile. Carlos had been nothing but compassionate and encouraging this whole time and TK loved him for it. Although all the care he was being shown made him feel like he could burst into tears at any moment. And he had, a few times. Carlos had held him through them all.

"Feels nice," TK sighed, closing his eyes to relish in the moment for a few more seconds. Moving still caused him pain, even though the hospital had prescribed him the strongest painkiller available for someone like him. It was basically Tylenol, but better than nothing. He'd gone without during his last concussion, but he hadn't had other injuries to worry about then. At least this still ranked lower than the gun shot, but it was sad that he had so many things to rank at all. He missed when his most typical injuries were things sustained on the job, like a tweaked muscle or slight burn.

"How about we get you inside and into bed?" Carlos suggested, undoing TK's seatbelt for him.

"Normally I would make some sort of innuendo, but I think I'm too tired for that right now," TK groaned, pushing open his door.

"Wait! Let me help you with that," Carlos insisted, rushing around the car to meet TK on his side before he could climb out.

"I can walk, you know. My legs came out of this ordeal completely unscathed," TK reminded him. He still let Carlos practically lift him out of the car. While he really was able to use his legs just fine, his concussion was still making things look a bit wobbly. And they probably shouldn't risk him falling and making things worse.

"And I thank you for humoring me," Carlos said with a smile, wrapping an arm around his waist and supporting his weight. TK sighed and rested his head on Carlos' shoulder, breathing in the scent of his love. Even after days in the hospital and probably a few less showers than necessary, he still smelled like home.

"I'm not about to walk into a welcome home party, am I?" TK asked, waiting as Carlos unlocked their front door.

"Fortunately I talked your dad out of it, but everyone is chomping at the bit to come over," Carlos chuckled, opening the door and guiding him into the thankfully empty house.

"I just saw them all at the hospital. They are probably sick of visiting me there," TK snorted. Maybe they should have a room on standby, with how often he was admitted.

"It may not be their favorite place, but they'll never stop showing up. They all love you," Carlos pointed out, kissing him on the temple.

"They love you too. I'm glad they were there for you through everything," TK said. He'd been told everything that happened, although he was sure it was the sanitized version of events. They were all very careful to not bring up anything that would be an obvious trigger, which he appreciated. There was still the matter of giving the police his full statement about what happened, but his hospital stay had granted him a reprieve. That was tomorrow's problem though.

"Speaking of families, my mom has fully stocked our kitchen. I don't think we'll have to worry about cooking for a whole month."

"She really shouldn't have gone to all that trouble for me. I'm still not sure how much I can stomach at the moment," TK said regretfully. He still got hungry and was able to keep food down, but the thought of eating made his stomach churn from the memory of Lorna's poisoning.

"Oh, she already thought of that. There is a whole tiered system, with labels from extra mild to spicy. You can gradually build up your tolerance again," Carlos explained with a grin.

"She did that for me?" TK asked softly, feeling his eyes burn from the thought of the effort she put in for him. "Even her corn salsa?"

"She made so many jars of it, your dad is storing some at his house."

"Oh," TK sniffled, wiping a hand under his eyes.

"Babe."

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm crying again," TK groaned, internally cursing his mental instability.

"There is nothing to apologize for," Carlos insisted, cupping his face between his hands.

"It just keeps hitting me how close I was to losing all of this. All of you."

"But you didn't lose us. And we didn't lose you. We're okay and we're going to get through this together," Carlos soothed. This had become the routine, with TK breaking down and Carlos talking him through it. He still didn't know how he'd gotten so lucky. "Let's go to bed."

"Okay," TK agreed, glancing at the stairs warily. They should've gotten a place with one level. Maybe they would, if they decided to move again soon. TK wasn't sure how realistic of an idea that was, but he also wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to feel truly comfortable here.

"I've got you," Carlos murmured, ducking down and lifting TK off his feet.

"Babe, you don't have to do that," TK sighed, wrapping his arms around Carlos' neck. Carlos shushed him fondly and carried him up the stairs as if he weighed nothing. His boyfriend's strength was so sexy. He couldn't wait until he was healed up and they could really connect again.

"I want to," Carlos replied, peppering the top of his head with kisses. He was mindful of the still tender wound on the back of TK's scalp. He really hoped it wouldn't scar and be obvious for the rest of his life. Any reminders of this would be hard to deal with. Carlos carried him into the room and gently set him on the end of the bed, bending down to help him out of his shoes. TK was basically holding on by a thread at this point, but what he saw on their nightstands really pushed him over the edge.

"The flowers. You got me flowers?" TK choked out, staring at the bouquet of lilies that were on his side of the bed. He'd completely forgotten about the roses that were sitting on Carlos' side.

"I did," Carlos confirmed, rubbing his hands up and down TK's legs while he was still knelt down in front of him. "I brought them home from work when, you know…"

"Why didn't I just stay home? None of this would've happened if I hadn't left," TK cried, digging the heels of his palms into his eyes.

"Hey, none of this was your fault. You're allowed to go wherever and do whatever you want and no one has the right to hurt you for it," Carlos insisted.

"But I should've called someone or made a different decision or-"

"None of the blame for what they did is on you. You were just being the amazing man I love and trying to help someone. Don't ever let someone change you or make you question yourself," Carlos said firmly.

"Will you- will you keep reminding me of that?" TK asked quietly, sniffling as the tears kept rolling down his cheeks.

"Of course," Carlos nodded, and TK leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Carlos' neck, holding on for dear life. Carlos moved them so they were laying side by side on the bed. There was no space in between them and Carlos was rubbing his lower back gently. It was exactly what TK needed.