Mild

"Freddie!" Sam yelled from the kitchen as she jumped up and down, stretching her arm up towards the top shelf of the cupboard as she tried to reach a box of cereal. "How many times do I have to tell you not to put my food up on the top shelf? Keep your disgusting health junk there, not my Frosted Sugar Smacks! Come get them for me!"

"In a second!" Freddie called from the living room. "I'm in the middle of an important email, baby!"

"Well you should've thought of that before you sabotaged my cereal plans!" she snapped.

"Sorry, I forgot how short you were!" Freddie called back, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Oh…you are paying for that one later," Sam sneered. "Great…now what am I supposed to eat?"

"Oh, here mom," Sam and Freddie's sixteen-year old son, Tyler, said, coming into the room. "I can get that for you." He easily reached up and grabbed the box of cereal and handed it back down to his mother.

"Thanks," Sam sighed. "I guess that's one plus side to you becoming taller than me. But you're tall enough now, so you can stop."
"Yeah, I'll work on that," Tyler grinned. "So anyway, mom, is it cool if I use the car tonight?"

"Why?" Sam asked.

"Kirby and I met a couple girls the other day at El Guapo Taco and we all wanna meet up and go to the movies," Tyler said. "And these girls are super hot, mom."

"Oh, well if they're super hot," Sam said, rolling her eyes.

"So can I go?" Tyler asked. "Please?"
"Yes, fine," Sam conceded. "Just be home by midnight."

"You're the best, mom!" Tyler beamed.

"Don't forget it," Sam smirked.

As Tyler ran out of the kitchen, Freddie stepped in.

"Alright, I'll get you the cereal down now," Freddie said.

"I don't need you to," Sam snipped, shoving a handful of the cereal into her mouth. "I have other ways to get stuff I can't reach besides you."

"Tyler got it?" Freddie said knowingly.

"Yes," Sam mumbled.

"Wonder how that kid managed to break six feet," Freddie chuckled. "I'm only five-eight, and we know he didn't get any tallness genes from you."

"Cool it with the short jokes, will you?" Sam sneered, aiming a kick at her husband's shins.

"Alright, alright," Freddie laughed. "I'll stop."
"Oh, by the way, I gave him the car for tonight," Sam said. "He's going to the movies with Kirby and two chicks they met at El Guapo Taco. You know, I wonder how he manages to get all these dates with girls all the time…he couldn't have inherited that skill from you."

"Cute," Freddie said, rolling his eyes. "But I managed to get you, didn't I?"
"For now," Sam shrugged.

"Ha, ha," Freddie said, wrapping his arms around her and leaning down to kiss her. "Hey, since it looks like we're gonna be on our own tonight, how about we have ourselves a little date night? We could order pizza and watch movies."
"I don't know…aren't I a little short for that?" Sam said playfully.

"Trust me," Freddie said, leaning down to kiss her again. "You're plenty tall for what I have in mind for us after the movie."

That night, when Sam's Pearphone rang on her bedside table, ripping her from her sleep, she instantly knew something had to be wrong. Maybe it was her mother's intuition, but when she pressed her phone to her ear, she knew this wasn't simply a wrong number or prank call.

"Hello?" she said, feeling Freddie stir next to her.

"Hello, is this Samantha Benson?" a woman's voice on the other line asked.

"Yes," Sam said, sitting up. "Why? Who is this? What's wrong?"

"Ma'am, I'm sorry to have to this hour, but your son Tyler Benson, was just rushed into our emergency room."

"What?" Sam exclaimed, shaking Freddie's shoulder. "Why? What-What happened? Is he okay?"

"He was involved in a serious motor vehicle accident," the woman told her.

"Oh-Oh my God…" Sam said, already, jumping out of bed.

"Sam?" Freddie frowned. "What's-"

"Is he okay?" Sam asked again anxiously as she grabbed a pair of sweatpants and began pulling them on with one hand.

As Freddie heard his wife say these words, he seemed to realize something serious was going on too, and jumped out of bed as well and began to dress.

"He was brought in in critical condition," the woman told her. "His vehicle was hit by a large SUV that ran a red light at the intersection of Koppler street and Weston avenue. His vehicle was flipped over."

"Flipped?" Sam repeated weakly, feeling the world around her stop.

"He is in surgery now, but we do need you to come to the hospital as soon as possible," the woman said.

"I-Yes, we-we're on our way now," Sam said.

"Sam?" Freddie said again as Sam hung up the phone. "What-What-"

"Tyler," Sam whispered. "He-He was in a car crash…the car flipped and-and he's in surgery and-and-"

She couldn't say another word.

"Let's go," Freddie said firmly, grabbing his wallet and keys.

….

"Did you get any news?" Freddie asked a short while later as he rushed into the emergency room waiting area. He had dropped Sam out in the front of the building while he parked the car.

"No," Sam said shakily. "No, the-the nurse at the desk just said he's still in surgery. But-But one of his doctors should be out to meet us soon to tell us more information."

"Okay," Freddie nodded, trying to stay calm for Sam's sake. He put an arm around her and led her to a hard, plastic chair. "Here, just-just try and sit and-"

"I cannot just sit while my baby's back there on an operating table and I don't even know what's going on!" Sam snapped, shoving his arm off of her.

Freddie sighed, knowing that there was nothing he could do to calm her down until she knew for certain that Tyler was going to be okay. "Alright," he said. "Well, I'm going to call Jason and the twins and let them know what's going on."
Sam nodded, but didn't reply.

Freddie put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "He-He's tough," he said, not knowing if he was speaking more to Sam or himself. "He'll pull through."

So for the next hour, Sam and Freddie simply waited in the waiting room, neither saying a word. Finally, a doctor, still wearing his surgical scrubs, stepped out into the waiting room.

"Is the Benson party here?" he asked, looking around.

"Yes, hi, we're here," Freddie said as him and Sam hurried over. "What's happening? Is Tyler okay?"

"He is still in surgery," the doctor replied.

"Still?" Sam frowned. "How-How bad is he?"

The doctor hesitated for a moment.

"Please, just-just tell us," Sam said softly. "We want to know."

"He was lucky not to have been killed on impact," the doctor said gravely.

Sam felt her knees buckle as she reached for Freddie's hand, squeezing it tightly.

"He suffered a very serious head injury," the doctor continued. "He fractured his skull in three different places and there was swelling in his brain. However, we were able to remedy that before any further damage resulted."

"So that's good then," Freddie said. "Why-Why is he still in surgery if that's fixed?"

"Your son suffered many different injuries as well," the doctor replied heavily. "And right now, what we are most concerned about is his spinal cord and his lungs. He fractured two vertebrate. Now we cannot fully assess the damage there right now, but I do want to warn you of the possibility of your son being paralyzed."

Sam's eyes widened. "You-You mean he wouldn't be able to walk?"

Freddie closed his eyes. That would devastate Tyler. He had just been made the captain of the football team for the next school year and was currently the star player on the basketball team.

"It's possible," the doctor nodded. "Again, we won't be able to fully assess that injury until he is out of surgery."
"What about his lungs?" Freddie asked.

"That's the most serious," the doctor said. "And what I wanted to really talk to you about. In the crash, your son's chest crashed right into the steering wheel, and the impact was so sudden that the airbag did not deploy until after the initial impact. Given this and the force at which the SUV hit his vehicle, five of his ribs have severely pierced his lungs."

Sam covered her mouth with her hand, feeling the sting of fresh tears.

"What does that mean?" Freddie asked.

"We are doing our best now to repair the damage and get his lungs stitched up," the doctor said. "However, there is a chance that we won't be able to counter all of the damage already done. If that's the case, he is going to need an emergency lung transplant as soon as possible."

"Lung transplant?" Sam repeated.

"The hospital's policy is to put him on a transplant list," the doctor nodded. "He'd be behind everybody who has already been on that list. We'd do our best to keep him strong enough during that wait, but it's highly unlikely that he'd be able to handle waiting that long."
"So-So what? That's it?" Sam frowned.

"No," the doctor said. "That policy only applies to anonymous donors. If, on the other hand, there is an outside donor that volunteers to donate a lung, and they're a match to yours son, we can perform the transplant right away. Which is why I'd like to suggest that both of you get tested to be donors. That way, in the event that we need to perform this procedure, we'll be ready to go."

"Yes!" Sam said at once. "Absolutely. We'll both get tested."

"Excellent," the doctor nodded. "I'll alert a nurse and she'll get you both started on the tests. Now, in the event that you two are not matches, is there any other family we could potentially test? Siblings, cousins-"

"We have three other children," Freddie nodded. "They-They're all on their way now."

"Are they over eighteen?"

"Yes."
"Then I'll have to address them separately, but if neither of you are matches, they'd be our next best chance," the doctor said.

"Okay," Sam whispered.

"I need to get back to your son now," the doctor said gently. "Someone will call you back soon and we can look to see if either of you will be a match."

"Alright," Freddie nodded. "Thank you."

"Oh my God…" Sam whispered as the doctor turned and hurried off. "Freddie, he-he-"

She buried her face in his chest, her shoulders shaking as she cried.

Freddie held her tight, but at the same time, he was just as afraid as she was. He didn't know how he'd even begin to handle it if Tyler wasn't able to pull through. This was his son.

"I can't believe this," Sam mumbled. "I-I shouldn't have let him go out tonight."

"You couldn't have predicted that SUV running the red light," Freddie told her.

Sam shook her head. "Whoever that driver is…I swear, I'm going to…you think they'll give me their name? They've got to know."

"Sam, just-we have to focus on Tyler right now," Freddie said softly. "Let's-Let's just keep hoping that they're able to get his lungs taken care of. And-And if we have to, one of us will-will give him one."
"What if we're not a match?" Sam asked softly.

"Then we have Jason and the twins," Freddie said. "You know all of them would do this in a second for their brother."

Sam nodded, wiping her eyes. "He has to be okay," she sniffed, looking more broken than Freddie had ever seen her. "He has to be."

….

"Mom? Dad?"

Sam and Freddie, who had just finished their tests to see if they would be a match to Tyler if they needed to donate a lung, turned around to see Emma hurrying into the waiting room.

"What's going on?" Emma asked anxiously, taking a seat next to Sam. "Is he okay?"

"I don't know, he's still in surgery," Freddie sighed as Sam put an arm around her.

"Still?" Emma frowned. "How long has it been?"
"We're going on six hours," Sam mumbled.

"You got here quickly," Freddie commented.

"Yeah, well, Oregon's not that far," Emma shrugged. "I-I had Quincy drive me because I didn't think I could. He offered to come in with me but-but I told him I just wanted to be with you guys right now, so he's going back to his place. Which I guess is good because he'll be able to tell Kirby and Huey…Um, Jason called me just as we were getting into Seattle. He picked up Ashton and the two of are almost out of California now. They think they'll be here around ten."

"Alright," Sam nodded.

"What did you guys do to your arms?" Emma frowned, looking at the bandages wrapped around her parent's elbows.

"They were testing us to see if-if either of us would be able to give a lung to him," Freddie replied.

"He needs a lung?" Emma exclaimed, her eyes widening. "It's that bad?"

"Yeah, um, it-it's pretty bad, honey," Sam said softly. "His ribs punctured his own lungs and they're trying to fix them, but-but the doctor said they might not be able to. And-And they're telling us he might not be able to walk and he has a head injury and-and-"

Emma wrapped her arms around her mother.

"Are you guys matches?" she asked, looking over at Freddie.

"We don't know yet. We're still waiting on the results," he told her.

"Well what about me?" Emma asked. "And Ashton and Jason. Shouldn't we get tested too? I-I'd give him one of my lungs. So would they. He's our brother."

Freddie gave her a small smile and gently squeezed her shoulder. "If your mom and I aren't matches for him then you three can get tested."
"Alright," Emma said. "But-But what if none of us-"

"We're just going to pray that one of us are," Freddie said firmly.

Emma opened her mouth to argue but quickly shut it again as Sam let out another sob.

"It's so weird, though," she said softly. "I-I was talking to him this morning. He called me to ask me if he could use mine and Ash's room to house some mechanical bull he was trying to sneak into the house. I-I told him to dream on and-and not to bug me with that stupid stuff."
A tear fell from her eye.

"Your brother is a fighter," Sam told her through her own tears. "He'll pull through this just so he can find some other way to get that bull into the house…"

"Mr. and Mrs. Benson?" Tyler's doctor said, stepping out into the waiting room.

Sam and Freddie both jumped up and hurried over to him.

"One of our daughters just got here and she wants to get tested too," Freddie said quickly. "Are our own tests back? Did we-"

"I have news," the doctor said, cutting him off. "Unfortunately, the damage done to both of your son's lungs is beyond repair. He needs an emergency transplant in order to survive."

"So what about our tests?" Sam asked shakily. "Can-Can one of us be the donor for him?"

"Mr. Benson was not a match, but Mrs. Benson, you were," the doctor told her. "With your consent, we can transplant one of your lungs into your son's-"

"Then do it!" Sam said at once. "I give my consent and approval and all of that! Just-Just help him!"

"Alright, I'll inform the operating team," the doctor nodded. "We'll need to start getting you prepped right away. We'll be able to perform the surgery in about eight hours and-"

"Eight hours?" Sam exclaimed. "Why can't you do it now?"

"This is very serious operation," the doctor explained calmly. "Doing this in eight hours is already putting a rush on it."
"Will Tyler be okay for that wait?" Freddie asked.

"Yes, he can handle that wait," the doctor nodded. "He's coming out of his surgery now. We've placed him in a medically induced coma, which he will stay in until this next surgery to get him the new lung. You can see him soon if you would like."
"Yes, we want to," Sam nodded.

"Okay, I'll have someone let you know when you can do so then," the doctor nodded. "And Mrs. Benson, a nurse is going to be with you shortly to begin discussing details and to get you settled."

"Alright," Freddie nodded. "Thank you."

As he stepped off, Freddie put his hands on Sam's shoulders.

"Okay," Sam said, her voice still shaking. "Okay, this-this is good. At least-At least he's going to get the lung."

"Yeah," Freddie said. "Thank God you were a match…are you ready for all of this, though? Like the doctor said, this is going to be a major surgery. And you're going to have just one lung for the rest of your life."
"I don't care," Sam said simply. "I'd give him both if he needed it. To any of them…"
"I know," Freddie said softly. "So would I."

"Look at him," Sam whispered sadly as her, Freddie and Emma sat around Tyler's hospital bed.

The teenager lay there, completely motionless, hooked up to several monitors.

Sam reached over and gently stroked his hair, which was cut clumsily from surgery.

"He's going to be so upset when he wakes up and sees what they did to his hair," she sighed. "He had been growing it out for months."

She wheeled the wheelchair that she was sitting in closer to her son. She had already started being pumped with several medications to get her ready for the operation.

"Sweetie, I know you're probably really scared right now, but-but you'll be okay," she whispered.

"That's right," Freddie said, squeezing his son's hand. "Your mom is going to give up one of her lungs for you. You-You're going to feel so much better once you have a functioning one in you. You-You can do this, Ty. We-We're all here rooting for you."

"Yeah," Emma nodded. "We all are. Jason and Ashton too. They're going to be here right when you wake up, okay? So-So just stay strong for us okay, you little dork."

"Everybody?" a nurse said, coming into the room. "I'm afraid I'm going to need you all to leave so we can bring him in for surgery again. And Mrs. Benson? We have your doctor waiting for you over in your room to do the same for you."

"Alright," Sam said, craning her neck to kiss Tyler's temple. "I love you, honey."

Freddie wheeled Sam out of the room, Emma behind them.

"Alright, Em, I guess you should say goodbye to your mom here," Freddie said. "I'll get her back to her room and then meet you back in the waiting room."
"Okay," Emma nodded. She bent down and wrapped her arms around Sam. "Good luck in there, mom. I heard a rumor around here that the doctors tape all their surgeries now to show to med school students, and if that's true, I'll make sure to get you a copy. I bet it will be ten times cooler than what you see on the surgery channel."
Sam gave a small laugh. "Thanks, Emma."

Emma gave her mother one last encouraging smile before turning and retreating back to the living room.

Freddie began wheeled Sam back to her room.

"You're so brave for doing this," he told her. "Tyler's really lucky that his mom is as strong as you."

"Yeah," Sam sighed. She looked up at him. "While we were waiting to go in and see Tyler, I-I actually looked up lung transplant procedures online. They-They're apparently really tricky. And-And a lot of the times there's more complications that take place after and-"

"Shhh," Freddie said, kissing the top of her head. "Listen, baby, we-we've just got to take this all one step at a time, okay. Let's get through this right now and-and then we'll take it from there."

Sam nodded. "Okay."

Freddie leaned down and kissed her again as they reached her room. "I love you."

…..

Seventeen hours later; seventeen long, nerve-wracking hours later, Freddie sat alone in Tyler's hospital room, watching his youngest child's chest rise and fall steadily.

The doctor had called him in from the waiting room moments ago, where he had been waiting with Emma, Ashton and Jason to tell him that, fortunately, the operation had been a success. He had also told him that Tyler would have a long recovery in front of him. That he was looking at another month in the hospital to make sure that his body properly adapted to the new lung. That he'd have trouble speaking for a while because of the head injury and that he'd have to go through physical therapy in order to be able to walk again.

But Freddie didn't care about any of that right now. All he cared about was that his son was here with him now.

Tyler should be waking up any moment, and Freddie couldn't wait to get undeniable evidence that he was okay.

He wished Sam would be there too when Tyler finally opened his eyes, and he knew she wanted to be as well, but she was still out from her own operation which, thankfully, had gone just as well as Tyler's. She would have to stay a few days to make sure she recovered properly as well, but Freddie knew perfectly well that she wouldn't mind in the least.

Suddenly, Tyler began to stir on the bed, and Freddie sat up anxiously in his chair.

"Tyler?" he said gently. "Tyler, come on, buddy, wake up."
Tyler slowly blinked his light, blue eyes open, squinting as the fluorescent lights hit him.

"Mmmm," he mumbled. "D-Dad?"

"Hey, Ty," Freddie said softly, blinking back tears as his son looked around, taking in his new surroundings. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you're awake. You really gave us a scare."
"W-W-What ha-happened?" Tyler frowned, confused as to why he was suddenly having so many problems forming simple words and why he was hooked up to half a dozen monitors.

"You don't remember anything?" Freddie asked.

"N-No. Why c-can't I-"

"I know, it-it's going to be a little hard for you to speak for the next few days, but that's just the side effect of your concussion," Freddie explained. "We're going to have someone come in and help you work on that, and you'll make a full recovery."

"B-B-But why-"

"You were in a car crash," Freddie said heavily. "When you were coming home from that movie you saw."

"I-I w-w-was?" Tyler said, looking startled.

"Yeah," Freddie whispered, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You-You got a little beat up there. Well…a lot, actually. But that's okay, because you're going to be alright, Tyler, and-and that's all that's important right now. We'll make sure that you get through this; all of us are here for you. Your brother and sisters are waiting to see you in the waiting room. They wanted to be here when you woke up, but the doctor didn't want to overwhelm you with so many people right when you woke up. They'll be in soon, though."

"M-M-Mom?" Tyler asked.

"She wanted to be here right now too," Freddie said. "So badly. But-But she's a few floors up right now, still knocked out from her surgery."

"S-Sur-Surg-ery?" Tyler repeated.

"Yeah," Tyler said, giving him a small smile. "Ty, your mom's the whole reason you're here right now, you know. See…um, in the crash, both of your lungs were damaged beyond repair. You had to have an emergency transplant and your mom wound up being a match to be a donor for you. So-So she had the doctors take one of her own lungs and they gave it to you."

"Sh-Sh-She did?"

"Of course," Freddie said. "She loves you. She'd do anything for you. Both of us would."

Freddie got to his feet and leaned down and kissed the top of his head. "I'm going to go tell your mom you're awake, though, and I can get your siblings in here to see you too if you're up for it?"
"Y-Yes," Tyler said.

"Alright," Freddie said, smiling down at him. "I'll be back in a second. If you need anything while I'm gone, though, you press that button and a nurse will come right in. I love you, son."
"L-Lov-Love yo-you t-t-too," Tyler stuttered.

…..

As Sam groggily opened her eyes, she felt as though an elephant was sitting on her chest, and she gave a loud, raspy cough as she struggled to let out a breath. It was like she was breathing through a straw, even though she could feel the plastic tubes of a ventilator attached to her nostrils helping her with the task.

As she got used to the bright lighting, she was surprised to see two figures sitting at the foot of her bed.

"C-Carly?" Sam muttered, trying to sit up. "Spencer?"

"Hi," Carly said gently as the siblings jumped to their feet. "How are you feeling?"

"Like a rhino is tap dancing on my chest," Sam replied. "But-But I don't care about me. Tyler…do-do you know-"

"Freddie came by about twenty minutes ago, while you were still out," Spencer told her. "He said Tyler just woke up and that the doctors say that he's going to make a long, but full recovery."

Sam closed her eyes again, letting out relieved breath, or as much of a breath as she could manage. "Thank God," she whispered.

"Does your chest hurt that much?" Carly frowned, concerned. "We-We could grab a doctor-"

"No, they-they told me it would be like this before the surgery," Sam said. "It's just my body adjusting to only having one lung. After a few days, I'm not even going to notice a difference."

"Well that's good," Spencer said. "Hey, I'm going to run down and tell Freddie and everyone that you're up. He-He wanted to be here with you, but-but he also didn't want to leave Tyler. That's why he asked Carls and I to sit in here with you; so you wouldn't wake up to an empty room."

"Tell him to stop worrying about me and to focus on Tyler," Sam said. She turned to Carly as Spencer headed out of the room. "What are the chances of you helping me sneak down to see Tyler myself?"

"Sam…you need to stay in bed for at least another few hours to rest," Carly said firmly. "Your doctor told Freddie that you can be wheeled down there in a wheelchair tonight."
Sam sighed. "You're sure he's alright?"
"Freddie said he's confused, but that's to be expected," Carly told her. "But he's sitting up and talking as much as he can. He's been asking to see you too, you know."

Sam gave a small smile.

"I'm going to get you some ice chips," Carly told Sam. "You can't have solid food for another sixteen hours apparently just as a precaution."

"Lovely," Sam said, rolling her eyes.

"But," Carly said, pulling a small bottle out of her purse. "I snuck in some cherry syrup to add to it. It will be just like eating a Sno-Cone!"

"You're the best," Sam said to her best friend.

She watched Carly hurried out of the room. Then she looked down and lifted the collar of her hospital gown, staring down at the long, staggered scar that was stitched across her chest.

She wouldn't have cared if her entire body was covered in ugly, gruesome scars though. Not in the least.

….

"Alright, hon, it looks like your temperature is normal," a young attractive nurse said to Tyler later that evening, sticking her thermometer back in her pocket. "And your vitals are looking very good too. You must be a real strong guy."

"I-I-I a-am," Tyler said modestly, using all his strength to shoot the nurse a grin.

"How sweet," the nurse chuckled, patting his shoulder lightly. "I wish all my patients were as charming as you. Now, I'll be back first thing in the morning to give you your sponge bath."
"G-Gr-Great," Tyler said, beaming.

The nurse turned to Emma, Ashton and Jason, who were all sitting around their younger brother's bed. "When your parents get back, tell them that he seems to be in good shape, and if he needs anything else, to call Nurse Jenna."

"Yeah, sure," Emma snapped.

"Totally," Ashton said, rolling her eyes.

As the nurse headed out, Jason jumped to his feet. "Dude!" he grinned, holding up a hand for his brother to high-five. "You've got it made here!"

"I-I-I kn-know," Tyler replied.

"Yes, getting hit on by desperate cougar nurses is really living the dream," Ashton sneered. She got up and began fluffing Tyler's pillows for him.

"She's a total skunkbag," Emma agreed, grabbing the nearby water pitcher and refilling the cup at his bedside.

"Y-Y-You g-gu-guys do-don't ha-"

"We know we don't have to," Emma said simply.

"But you better enjoy this while it lasts," Ashton smirked. "Because once you're better, you're back to fluffing your own pillows."

Just then the hospital door opened again and Freddie stepped in, wheeling Sam into the room as well.

"And now the gang's all here," Freddie said happily. "Look who's finally here to join us!"

"Mom! How are you feeling?" Jason asked.

"I'm fine," Sam assured him. "I've just got a giant scar, that's all."

"Can I see it?" Emma asked.

"Gross!" Ashton cringed. "Can we not? I've already almost puked today when they rolled all those blood bags past me in the hall."

"Alright, whoever wants to see the disgusting scar later can see it," Freddie said firmly. "But not now."
"That's right," Sam said as Sam wheeled her next to Tyler's bed.

"H-Hi, m-m-mom," Tyler said.

"Hey, sweetie," Sam smiled, taking his hand. "How are you feeling?"

"G-Go-Good," Tyler said. "Tha-Tha-Thanks t-to y-y-you. Ar-Are yo-you o-o-okay?"

"Aw, honey, don't you worry about me," Sam told him. "Just put all your energy towards getting better, okay?"

She glanced over at Freddie, who, reading her expression, nodded.

"Hey, Jason, girls…why don't you come down to the gift shop with me to see if we can find anything to spruce this place up?" he said. "Since Tyler's gonna be here a little while."

"Alright," the three older children agreed, getting the hint.

After giving their mom and brother each one last, quick hug, they filed out of the room after their father, leaving Sam and Tyler alone.

"Tyler, I'm so glad you're okay," Sam said softly. "You have no idea how worried we all were…You know if-if anything happened to you, I-I'd…"

She quickly shook her head. "Sorry, I-I just…Well, the point is, never scare us again like this, okay?"

"O-O-Okay," Tyler nodded, giving his mom a small grin. He squeezed her hand. "Y-Y-You g-ga-gave m-me a-a l-lu-lung."

"Ty, I'd give you anything you need," Sam told him, squeezing his hand back. "I love you so much."

"I-I-I l-love y-y-you t-too, m-m-mom," Tyler said softly.

A single tear rolled down Sam's cheek. "It feels so good to hear you say that, sweetie."

She reached up and gently rustled his hair. "Of course we'll have to figure out a way to fix this mess of a hairstyle the doctors left you with," she chuckled.

"M-M-My ha-ha-air?" Tyler frowned, slowly reaching up to feeling his head. "W-Wh-Wha-What d-d-d-did th-they d-d-o t-to m-my bea-beaut-beautiful ha-hair?"

Sam laughed, craning her neck to kiss his cheek. "Glad to have you back, Tyler."