A/N: Hopefully the site will cooperate better today :) As always thank you all for your support!

"The daycare presentation went well."

Jo nodded without looking at her husband, her gaze focused on Mattie's vitals. The silence stretched, the only sound the whistle of the ventilator that Mattie had been unable to come completely off of yet. Jo had taken up a 24/7 vigil since family members had returned home, no longer feeling comfortable leaving Mattie in anyone's else's care. "Jo?"

She then turned towards him. Mac was sitting in the chair across the hospital bed from her, his elbows resting on his knees as he looked at her expectantly. She turned back to the monitors, "Link sent me a video, I'll watch it later."

Mac stood and paced toward the door before turning back to her, "I get how scary it is to leave her, but Ian was excited about having a part in the play. You should have been there, Jo."

She licked her lips and sighed, "Don't do that. Don't make me feel guilty for choosing to be here. What if something had happened while I was gone? What if the sedatives had worn off and no one was here? What if there was a dip in her blood pressure…"

"Jo…"

"Or pulse or an irregular heartbeat?"

He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, seemingly amused, "You really think that little of the staff here?"

"Don't twist my words. And don't patronize me." She rubbed her forehead as she leaned back in the chair, "Do you really think I didn't want to be there?" She then cut her eyes at him, "And for the record, this is the first daycare program I have ever missed. And I don't think others standing in this room can say the same," she bit off sarcastically.

"I had an emergency!"

Jo motioned at Mattie's bed, "And we don't have one now?" Mac rolled his eyes before making his way back to the chair he had vacated, "I know we as surgeons get used to the tubes and wires and machines, but having your kid in the ICU is a big deal, Mac."

"I know that!"

His voice boomed off the walls as the door slid open with a bewildered looking Alex holding a tablet and frozen in the doorway, "I'm sorry. If I'm interrupting something, I can come back."

Liam came waltzing in, passing Alex nonchalantly, "It's Tuesday, my man. That's all this is." He looked back and forth between Jo and Cormac, "They're always like this."

"Don't address adults so casually," Hayes reprimanded his oldest, who had made his way to Mattie's bedside and was already too focused on her to hear anyone else. Cormac looked back at Alex, who was still frozen in the doorway, "Sorry about that. I thought some of those behaviors would get better after high school."

"It's fine," Alex interjected as he looked at Jo warily, who was back focused on Mattie's vitals as if nothing had happened.

Cormac looked between the two before checking his phone and standing, "I have to go." Jo gave a barely noticeable nod. Mac made his way around the room to her side and reached down to place a hand on her shoulder and rubbed her muscles slightly, "I'm sorry, Jo. I just don't want you so focused on Mattie you forget about everything else. Life does continue on for everyone outside of these walls."

Jo reached up and squeezed his hand, her eyes closed briefly before looking up at him, tears threatening to fall, "I know. I'm sorry too."

With that, he left the room and Alex inched his way towards the head of the bed to begin examining Mattie, "Any major changes?"

"No."

Alex continued his assessment in the silent room for a couple of moments before Liam turned towards Jo agitatedly, "You shouldn't let him talk to you like that. Guilting you for staying focused on Matt." He shook his head with gritted teeth as he stared down at his sister, "It isn't right."

Jo smiled softly before leaning forward and reaching for the boy's hand, causing him to look back at her, "You should cut him some slack. He's jealous I get to spend so much time with Mattie just like I'm jealous he gets to spend so much time with you, Austin and Ian." He signed and looked away from her, causing Jo to shake her head in frustration, "It's….warped and I know that, but it's real. He's just as worried about Mattie as we are."

Liam shuffled on his feet before glancing back at Jo with a small smirk, "I wouldn't be jealous of missed time with Austin, he's the same annoying twerp as ever."

Jo smiled softly and scooted towards the end of the pull out chair, her posture more rigid, "Speaking of being a twerp…isn't this the second time you've been here when you should be in Calculus?" When Liam looked back at her in surprise, she raised her eyebrows, "Mmmmhmm."

"Don't tell Dad, I just…I can't focus. When I'm there, all I think about is what may be going on here."

"Oh Liam…"

He glanced back at her, his eyes wide, "Do you think he'd rather me fail or drop out?"

Jo looked at him with concern, "Is it just the one class or…"

"That and Anatomy….I just couldn't hear lectures on all these body parts that I had to learn a few years ago with Mum or the new ones I've learned the last few months because of…" His voice cracked as he gestured wildly at Mattie's still body, causing Jo to stand and wrap him in a tight hug, her hand running through his hair in an effort to calm him. "I couldn't focus, I just sat there thinking up crazy ideas about changing out body parts or donating some of mine to her."

Jo stepped back and placed her hand on his shoulders squeezing them lightly, her eyes filled with unshed tears as she grinned at him, "Hey, don't dismiss your ideas as crazy. Crazy, farfetched ideas have won me a few awards in my time." Jo noticed over his shoulder Alex looking down weirdly at Mattie with his stethoscope limp in his hands causing her anxiety to peak. She reached in her pocket for her ID badge, "Would you mind grabbing me a coffee from downstairs? I could really use the pick me up."

"Extra whip?"

Jo smiled guardedly, "You know me so well. Get something for yourself too."

She waited until he was out of the room and the door closed before she tentatively stepped closer to the bed, "What is it?" Alex didn't move, he just kept staring down at Mattie, "Alex! What's that look?"

"He just gave me an idea." He looked at Jo excitedly, "What if we, when it's time to do her marrow transplant instead of…"

"Oh no," Jo interjected with her hands raised, "No spouting off ideas with me. You are to treat me like a regular mother, remember? Go run it by someone and do some research and if you think it will work call a meeting with Mac and I."

Alex smirked, "Right." He placed the stethoscope back around his neck and grabbed the bedrails, "Her numbers look good so we'll go ahead with trying to wean her some more today. I think it will be more successful this time."

Jo nodded silently as she wet Mattie's lips with the available sponge, "Anything I should be worried about right now?"

"I don't think so. I believe she's right on track given how extensive the surgery was and her history and the complications of the procedure." He watched her fuss over Mattie's cords and apply lotion in spots she thought were too dry, almost transfixed by her movements, "What about me?"

"What about you?" she asked without looking up.

He looked down at his knuckles that were white from gripping the bedrails so tightly, his voice quiet but firm, "Is there anything I should be worried about right now?"

Jo's shoulders immediately slumped, "No."

"Cause it sounded like…"

Jo looked up and shook her head, "Healthy couples fight. They actually bring up issues with each other instead of keeping secrets and slinking off in the night." Alex looked down, knowing he didn't have a counterpoint for that. Jo sighed, frustrated at herself for getting terse with him again, "But I guess I appreciate the concern."

Alex looked up, meeting her eyes with an earnest gaze, "I'll always be concerned about you, Jo. Always."

Jo bit her lip, not liking what his tone and presence was doing to her, realizing once again just how much she had missed him. She stared silently at Mattie, not moving until she heard the sliding door shut behind him.