Dot hurried down the hall with a steaming mug, moving as quickly as she could without spilling any of the liquid. It was six days now since they had brought Wakko home, and even though she couldn't be happier to have him back, she was worried too. The middle sibling might be home and safe, but he wasn't better yet. Physically he was recovering well, but mentally… that was another thing. Everyone else was worried about him too, she knew… concerned looks and sympathetic words followed the siblings everywhere. Dot tried to appreciate them, but to be honest, how she felt didn't matter much to her. She just wanted her big brother to smile like he did before, to be happy again.

She did her best not to treat him like he was fragile, both because she knew she wouldn't want that in his position and because they'd been warned that might actually make things worse, but it was hard when all she wanted to do was never let anything bad happen to him again. Not only that, but there was the ever-present fear that he would never really be the same. Strangely, it was Jayna who'd given her the advice that stuck with her most.

"You can't change what happened, but you can help him heal. It might take a long time… most likely he'll never be able to forget it completely. But you've all been through heartbreak before and gotten past it. The best thing you can do now is be patient. Don't pressure him and let him know that you're here for him."

Dot's thoughts returned to the present when she reached Wakko's room, and she shifted the mug to one hand before opening the door. A smile tugged at her face when she found both her brothers sitting on the bed with cards in their hands, looks of concentration on each of their faces. Both looked up as she approached, and she saw Wakko's eyes brighten.

"Hey," she said cheerfully, walking over to him. "I want you to try this, okay?"

She held out the mug, and her brother cocked his head.

"What is it?"

"It's tea," Dot replied, shooting Yakko a warning glare when he wrinkled his nose. "Chamomile… Marsha said it helps with stress."

A curious frown on his face, Wakko set down his cards, took the mug and sniffed it.

"It smells nice."

"There's honey and lemon in it," Dot said.

"Hope that helps with the taste," Yakko muttered, earning another glare from her.

"Don't listen to him, it's good," she said. "Go on, try it."

Wakko sniffed the mug again, then took a cautious sip. He blinked, then took a longer one.

"It's pretty good," he said softly. Dot's smile widened as she sat on the bed too.

"Told ya." She glanced at the cards. "So what're you guys playing?"

"We're trying t' learn bridge," Yakko replied with a grin. "Figured with the down time it's a good time to try something new."

Wakko took a few more sips from his mug before nodding.

"It's not too hard."

His voice trailed off, and he gazed into the remaining liquid with a distant look in his eyes. That had been happening a lot over the past few days; even if he didn't seem as sad as before, he would still sometimes drift off with that solemn expression, and his siblings had a good idea of what he was lost in thought about. Concerned, Dot reached over and gave his arm a gentle pat.

"Hey, you okay?"

Wakko blinked, coming back to reality, and looked at her. A somewhat embarrassed look came to his face.

"Yeah… sorry."

There was a brief moment of hesitation, then Yakko spoke up in a tentative but patient tone.

"You wanna talk?"

Wakko shifted a little but didn't brush it off. Dot looked at him hopefully, until he finally spoke.

"I just…" He lowered his eyes and sighed, rotating the mug in his hands. "I just wonder if any of this would've happened if I was… well, stronger."

Dot felt her throat tighten at that, but before she could say anything Yakko reached out and placed a hand on the middle sibling's shoulder.

"Wak, you were strong. You are strong. Half the stuff you've been through, anyone else would've just given up. But you didn't… you kept fighting, you made sure that guy wouldn't do what he did to you to anyone else."

Wakko shifted again, still looking down.

"Yeah, but… I still let him…"

"Now you can stop right there," Dot said in a stern voice, poking his chest and prompting him to look up. "You didn't let him do anything. That jerk knew what he was doing, and he took advantage of you. He knew it was wrong, and he did it anyway. He's the weak one, not you."

"You've got nothing to be ashamed of, sib," Yakko added, then a smirk tugged at his face. "If ya ask me, he should be ashamed… he had five guys with him and still got beat by one kid."

Dot smiled and nodded, her smile widening when that brought a small smile to Wakko's face too. He took another sip from the mug before looking up at them again.

"You should've seen the look on his face."

Dot giggled, and Yakko chuckled before speaking up himself.

"We did, actually… he looked like someone just pantsed him. Looking back, it was pretty funny."

A soft, short chuckle escaped the middle sibling before he took another sip from his mug. His face grew more solemn again, and his voice was soft when he spoke.

"He said it wouldn't be hard to get what he wanted."

Dot bit her lip before glancing at Yakko, and she saw the same concern in his eyes. But he smiled and shrugged.

"Yeah, well… he was dumb enough to think you were the easy target."

Wakko glanced at him, then looked back down as he rotated the mug in his hands again.

"It was weird, though," he mumbled. "I don't know why, but I couldn't think straight most of the time. I don't even know how long it was before…"

His voice trailed off again, and Dot saw him swallow hard. Yakko's smile faltered, and his voice was quieter too when he answered.

"A couple days. We only just got there when you were takin' those jokers down."

A frown crossed Wakko's face as he kept gazing down. Dot exchanged another glance with her oldest brother, but before either could say anything the middle sibling looked up with an expression of slight curiosity.

"How'd you even know I was there?"

Dot leaned forward, resting her chin in her hands.

"Jayna, actually," she said. "She used her bending to do some mind-reading thing on a guy… it was kinda weird, but neat too."

Wakko cocked his head, looking quizzical, but he didn't ask for details. Instead, he spoke in a hesitant, almost nervous voice.

"She's not… mad, is she?"

Dot blinked at that, and she heard the same confusion in Yakko's voice.

"Why'd she be mad?"

Wakko looked down at his mug again, but he couldn't hide the shame on his face.

"I did what she told me not to," he said softly. Dot heard Yakko let out a quiet sigh before he reached out and patted their brother's head.

"Wakko, that wasn't your fault… it's like you said, you weren't thinking straight. We know that, and she knows that."

The middle sibling kept gazing into the mug as he sighed.

"She hasn't come by much."

Yakko ruffled his cap, drawing his attention.

"That's not 'cause she's mad," he said gently. "I think she just feels bad."

Wakko blinked, looking confused.

"Why?"

A small, sad smile tugged at Yakko's face as he replied.

"Because she couldn't protect ya."

Dot nodded, but her eyes scanned her oldest brother. Something was telling her Jayna wasn't the only one feeling guilty about that. Wakko had apparently reached the same conclusion, because he gave his brother a small smile of his own.

"It's okay, Yakko… really."

"Yeah," Dot said. "So quit with the self-blame schtick already."

Their older brother shrugged, looking sheepish.

"Sorry, sibs… force of habit." He then gave Wakko a grin. "Tell ya what… if you promise not to feel bad about it anymore, I promise I won't either. Deal?"

The middle sibling gave him a small grin in return.

"Deal."

Yakko ruffled his cap again, then gave him a searching look.

"Ya know, that reminds me… she wanted us to ask if you felt up to doing some exercises."

Wakko blinked, cocking his head.

"What exercises?"

"Mind ones, mostly," Yakko replied. "Meditation and stuff. She said it helped her a lot when she lost her mom and dad."

Wakko hesitated a moment, looking down again. He looked a little doubtful but nodded.

"Okay."

Dot smiled, but felt some concern… he was getting better, sure, but was he really ready for something like this? She kept that thought to herself, though. The last thing Wakko needed was to feel like his siblings doubted him. She just hoped Jayna knew what she was doing.