"This is absolutely ridiculous. I don't need to be here," Chris growled as he threw off the blankets. He started to get out of the bed but the sharp pain in the middle of his chest stopped him.

Vin jumped up from the chair where he sat, trying to stop Chris from moving anymore. "Stay still. You heard the doc say you're lucky your sternum's just bruised and not broken. You tryin' to finish the job."

Chris sank back against the pillow trying to breathe as shallowly as possible. His face had gone as white as the pillowcase and his head decided to enter a contest with his chest to see which one could hurt more. The throbbing in it made him feel like a marching band had taken up residence in his skull. Unfortunately, it also reawakened the nausea that had finally settled down. He did not want to throw up again. He knew if he did, his chest would win the pain contest hands down. "I can't stay here," he forced out through gritted teeth.

"You can and you're gonna." Vin grabbed the blankets and pulled them back over Chris as if that would end the discussion.

"You don't understand," Chris growled as he lightly punched the mattress. He grimaced when that ramped up the pain in his chest.

"There's nothin' to understand. The doc said you need to stay here overnight and you're gonna even if I have to sit on you."

"Ezra is not...," Chris began but Vin cut him out before he could say anything else.

"Ezra will be fine. Buck and JD are on their way to pick him up and he'll spend the night with them. He's gonna be fine."

Chris tried to sigh, but even that made his chest hurt. "I've been there every night since he was released from the hospital. This is going to scare him and who knows if that'll set off a seizure."

"It's been months since he had one. Stop worrying about it, ok. Buck and JD'll take good care of him tonight. It's all gonna work out."

"What if it doesn't?" Chris asked. "You saw the first couple of nights when we took him to Disney. You saw how he got upset because his routine was changed. You don't think that'll happen tonight?" Again, he made an aborted attempt to push off the blankets and get up.

"Look, Cowboy," Vin said as he got up and leaned on the bedrail. "You could've been killed and right now the best way you can take care of Ezra is to take care of yourself and trust the rest of us to take care of him."

Both the headache and sternal pain quickly convinced Chris to stop trying to get up. "I always call him when I'm going to be late. I didn't even do that."

Vin reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "That I can help you with. I'll call your place and you can talk with him, ok? Will that set your mind at ease?"

Chris nodded morosely. "It doesn't look like I've got much of a choice."

M7 M7 M7 M7 M7 M7 M7

"I'll get it," Buck called out when he heard the phone ringing. He was surprised when he heard Chris on the other end. "What are you doing calling? You're supposed to be resting."

"I'm getting enough mother-henning without you adding to it," Chris growled.

"We just know what you're like."

"Whatever. How's Ezra? Did you tell him what happened?"

Buck pulled in a breath and let it out slowly. "We told him. He was a mite upset but we got him calmed down. He and Nettie are getting some stuff ready for him to bring with him tonight."

"Damn it," Chris hissed. "I knew he'd be upset. I'll talk with him…make him understand everything's going to be fine. Can you get him?"

"Yeah, sure." Cupping his hand over the receiver and holding it away from him, Buck called out, "Ezra. Phone."

"Geez," JD complained from where he was sitting on the couch. "Could you have bellowed any louder."

Buck shrugged, but before he could say anything, Ezra came running out of his room. "Is it Mr. Chris?"

"Sure is," Buck said as he handed him the phone.

Ezra snatched the phone out of Buck's hand. All his good manners went out the window in his desire to talk with his guardian. "Mr. Chris? I'm scared."

Chris let out a careful sigh. "I know, Kiddo. I'm going to be ok, though."

"But you're in the hospital."

"I know. It's going to be ok, Ezra. I promise." When the only answer was a soft sniffle, he prompted, "Hey, have I ever broken a promise."

"No, Mr. Chris," Ezra whispered. "You always keep your promises." He wiped his hand over his face brushing away newly fallen tears. "Mr. Buck and Just JD said I can stay with them tonight and you'll come home tomorrow."

"That's exactly what's going to happen. Now, I need you to make me a promise."

"Ok."

"I want you to be good tonight and listen to what Buck and JD say. And I know you're going to say you're not hungry, but I want you to eat. I know what you're like when you're scared, but not eating won't make it any better. And you need to take your medicine. Can you do those things for me?"

"I will," Ezra said as he nodded his head. He drew a X over his heart with his free hand. "I crossed my heart, Mr. Chris."

"Ok. And I need you to remember something import. You need to remember that I love you and I'll never leave you alone. I promise and I'm crossing my heart."

"I love you, too, Mr. Chris," Ezra forced out in a choked whisper. "I promise I'll be good."

Chris let out another careful sigh. "Ok. Why don't you go finish helping Nettie get your stuff together and give the phone back to Buck so I can talk with him. And have a good night and have fun with Buck and JD."

"Ok." Ezra held the phone out to Buck. "Mr. Chris wants to talk to you," he said in a subdued voice.

Buck took the phone from Ezra then watched as he walked back to his room. He nodded at JD to go with him. "Hey," he said once JD was following.

"God, he sounds so lost," Chris said as soon as he heard Buck's voice.

"He's gonna be ok, Stud. He's stronger than you think."

"Yeah. I know. You and JD need to make this easier for him, though."

"Chris," Buck said more serious than he'd been in a long while. "You know we're going to do whatever he needs. You're not the only one who cares about him. You think it isn't killin' us seein' him so upset and lost? He's our friend, too."

Buck heard Chris sigh over the phone. "I know. I'm just..."

"Worried," Buck supplied. "I get it."

"Yeah. I know he's safe with you and JD, but there's stuff you need to know."

For just a moment Buck was going to assure Chris that he and JD could figure out all they'd need to know, but stopped himself. Chris was with Ezra every day. It was almost a certainty that he'd have some wisdom Chris to impart that would make the night easier on all of them. "If I let you tell me, will you promise to get some rest like you're supposed to?"

"Yeah," Chris quickly agreed then launched into his dos and don'ts list. "We've got a nighttime routine. You're going to have to stick to it as much as you can or it's just going to throw him off. Have him take his meds at about 10:00, but you'll need to give him something light like toast or crackers or something to eat with it. And he's probably going to tell you he's not hungry, but it's important or he'll end up with an upset stomach. Friday is one of the night's he stays up late, but if he starts rubbing his eyes and gets really quiet, he should go to bed, no matter how much he says he wants to stay up otherwise he'll just get over-tired and he'll have trouble falling asleep. That's just make him miserable and you and JD by default…and it'll put him in a grouchy mood when he wakes up in the morning. When he does go to bed, make sure he has Floppy with him or he'll get up and look for it. And read to him for a little while. It usually doesn't take long for him to fall asleep. Reading helps."

"Ok. Toast with his meds, rubbing his eyes means bedtime, make sure he's got his bunny, and read." Buck nodded even though Chris couldn't see him. "I'm sure me and JD can handle that. Anything else."

"Yeah," Chris said sounding a little uncomfortable. "I know it's probably going to weird you out, but when you're done reading, you need to make sure you tuck him in and kiss him on the forehead even if you think he's asleep. If you don't, it's just going to make him insecure."

"Kiss on the forehead," Buck repeated. "We can do that."

"I mean it Buck. He's probably going to be out of sorts anyway since his routine's getting upended. You need to make it as normal for him as possible."

"We got this covered, Chris. Just stop worryin' so you can get out of there sooner and be with him."

"Yeah," Chris agreed after a pause.

"Ok, then. We'll talk to you tomorrow...unless you want to talk with him again."

"I better not. No sense getting him wound up."

The two men said their goodnights and hung up. As he walked away from the phone, Buck wondered what he and JD had volunteered for and started to think it may not be quite as easy as he thought. He heard JD, Ezra, and Netting coming back in the room and pasted a smile on his face knowing Ezra would feed off his and JD's emotions. "You ready? Got everything you need?"

"Uh huh," Ezra agreed as he hugged Floppy to his chest. In his other hand, he held the straps of his backpack that he lifted slightly. "Just JD helped me pick out some books and games and Nettie helped put some clothes in the other bag."

Buck slung an arm around Ezra. "Let's get this party going, then. I'm thinking some pizza, maybe play some of your games, a movie...heck we can do just about anything."

"Ok," Ezra agreed quietly. He put down the backpack and Floppy long enough to put on his coat and then gave Nettie a hug.

"Don't look so sad," Nettie said after she'd returned Ezra's hug. "You're going to have a fun night with Buck and JD and tomorrow you'll be back home with Chris. She reached up to rest her hands on either side of his face, and brushed a few silent tears away with her thumbs. "I want you to think about happy things for me. Ok?"

"Yes, Miss Nettie," Ezra whispered. Once she released him, he reached up to wipe any remaining tears from his face.

"You boys get going and I'll lock things up here for the night."

"Yes, ma'am," Buck agreed. He, JD, and a reluctant Ezra walked out to where JD's car was parked. After tossing Ezra's overnight bag in the trunk, JD opened the backdoor for Ezra, waited until he got in, then leaned in to help with the seatbelt. That was the point when Buck knew that, despite what he'd said earlier, things were not going to go easily.

"I can do it," Ezra said loudly. "I'm not a baby."

JD backed out of the car with his hands raised. "Sorry. I just wanted to help. I'll let you do it." He swung the door shut once Ezra had clicked the seatbelt then glanced over to Buck.

"Yeah. How hard can it be?" Buck said mocking his words from earlier.