When the adrenaline finally wore off - about a minute or so after Sir Justin's departure - Pat turned away from everyone and proceeded to start vomiting. The kids jumped back in disgust while a concerned Barbara started rubbing his back and leaned down to check on him. "Yeah, we're going to the hospital." She stood back up, gripping his hand. "Courtney, Mike - let's go."
"Is he okay?" questioned a clearly terrified Mike.
"He's going to be - I just want to get him checked out by some actual doctors, make sure his ribs are fine," Barbara assured her stepson.
"He's a badass - Pat's probably going to recover pretty quickly," Courtney told Mike, in an effort to not worry him any further.
"Fuck," Pat moaned, hoping they weren't in earshot.
"Sounds about right!" Barbara cheerfully responded as she and Courtney helped him into the passenger seat, Mike scrambling into the back as fast as he could.
They made it to the hospital in under five minutes and tried to rush Pat into the emergency room but he couldn't move as fast as he wanted them to. He zoned out as Barbara, Courtney, and Mike spun a lie to the nurses about a mugging and car accident within the span of two days. Pat was quickly ushered into the back for a battery of tests to determine the extent of his injuries.
After his broken ribs were taken care of, along with numerous cuts and other small injuries, Pat was admitted and given a room, where he was met by his family. "They say it's pretty likely I have a concussion," he informed them.
"We know - we talked to the doctor already. How are you feeling?" Barbara pressed.
"Well, the pain meds have kicked in so only slightly better."
Mike snorted, amused, but his lingering worry was still front and center - they all saw right through him. "They said they're keeping you overnight." He bit his lip, chewing on it a bit.
"Just for observation - they're going to release him in the morning," Courtney reminded her brother, quickly pulling him in for a half hug. She ignored his whining as she let him go.
"I'd say don't ever scare me like that again but I have a feeling you and Courtney are going to do so anyway." Barbara would worry every time they were out saving the world, although they hopefully wouldn't have to do this again for a long time. But she was a realist and knew shit would blow up in their faces again within a matter of weeks - her husband and daughter were superheroes so it was a fact of life now, apparently. She was both proud of and terrified for them, and knew those feelings would never go away. Leaving Blue Valley sounded like a wonderful idea but she'd never be able to talk Pat and Courtney into it, not now. And shit would likely go down in California too so there was no escape.
"Sorry." Pat flashed her a smile and patted the empty spot next to him. "Get in."
Barbara eyed him in concern. "I don't want to hurt you worse."
"I doubt I can feel any worse after this. Come on!" he encouraged.
She blew out a breath but carefully got up onto the bed. "These things aren't made for two people."
"Well, you don't have to stay up here long." Pat looked up at his kids. "How are you two feeling?"
"I'm fine - just worried about you," Courtney told him.
His eyes flickered over to Mike, who only shrugged. "I kicked ass and stopped a villain! You and Courtney and the JSA did mostly all the hard work."
"And you are an unofficial official member of the JSA now," Courtney teased, ruffling his hair.
Mike glared at her for only a second before his face broke into a smile and he fist-pumped. "Awesome!"
Pat grimaced after accidentally tugging on one of his injuries and then let out a moan when he jarred one of his broken ribs. Everything hurt. "I'm fine," he tried to reassure the three of them, but they remained unconvinced.
Barbara and Courtney exchanged a glance then seemingly came to a decision. "You hungry, Mike? We should leave Mom and Dad alone, and go grab some food since we're probably going to be here for a while."
Pat froze at Courtney indirectly calling him "Dad" and then realized she hadn't noticed her slip. He loved her like his own and still couldn't believe she had referred to herself as his daughter earlier. They had come such a long way since their first meeting, and he was so proud of her. "Go with her. You probably haven't eaten much today," he encouraged.
Mike sighed. "Fine, let's go. But text me if something happens," he said to Barbara.
"I will alert you if something happens," she promised.
Courtney tugged on his shirt and the two of them left their parents alone. Pat couldn't hold back his groan of pain this time and his hand went to his ribs. "Wasn't sure how much longer I could keep that in," he admitted.
Barbara quickly got out of the bed. "Pretty sure I'm not helping. You need a nurse? Or a doctor?" she questioned, worried out of her mind.
"Nah, I'll be over it in a minute." He took a few deep breaths in order to quell the rising nausea but it didn't help. Barbara quickly grabbed a garbage can, held it front of him, and pressed the button to alert a nurse. She came in about thirty seconds later to help Pat.
By the time the kids returned from their bland lunch, he was presentable and feeling only marginally better. Mike saw nothing amiss but Courtney figured out something was up and stayed quiet for his sake. "Why don't you two go home? I'll stay here with Pat." Barbara didn't want to go anywhere until he was safe and sound at home.
"Are you sure?" Courtney asked.
"You two don't need to be stuck here, waiting for me to go home. I'll be out by morning and then we can do whatever." Pat was in for a movie day and a nice dinner.
Mike wasn't convinced. "But what if you need me?"
"Mike, sweetheart, I'm here. You don't have to worry about your dad, okay? Leave that to me." Barbara squeezed his shoulders and hugged him.
Mike eyed them warily but they managed to convince him about an hour later. Courtney practically had to drag him out of the hospital anyway.
Pat would recover in time, and while his hospital stay sucked, he was set free the next morning, as promised. Courtney and Mike vibrated with excitement when he and Barbara finally made it home. The three most important people in his life made sure to dote on Pat, despite the fact that he insisted he was fine (his "fine" was different than most people's, and none of them believed him). He vowed to take it easy for as long as possible despite the fact that he had a hard time sitting still. They deserved this break, especially after the trauma they had experienced in recent weeks.