The whole room stared in complete and utter silence out of shock and awe over the scene that just unfolded before them. Alfred and his father had previously been arguing when the older man collapsed in a fit of struggled gasps and clutching at his chest. It took a few milliseconds for things to process in Alfred's mind, but once his mother started screaming that was all it took to jump into action. Francis walked back in the door with his cake just as Alfred, Kathleen, and Matthew all circled Lou's unmoving form. The Frenchman instantly abandoned his hard work on the floor and rushed over into the fray. Francis kneeled down by Lou's head and stuck two fingers under his chin, his expression grim and serious.

"He has a pulse, but it's sporadic and faint. Call an ambulance, now!" With tears welling up in the corners of his light violet eyes Matthew heeded the command and rushed up to retrieve the telephone. "Roll him onto his back, I'm going to try and stabilize him." Alfred nodded absent mindedly and just went through the motions he was told, a surreal fog surrounding his mind as he did so. Francis worked expertly as he laced his hands together placing them on top of Lou's chest and pressing down in between his ribs at a fast yet steady pace.

Matthew's frantic telephone call could be heard from the kitchen, "Y-yes, hello? Please m-my father just had a heart attack... h-he's unconscious...okay... p-please hurry!" Alfred stared down at his father's slack face. His usually tanned skin was so white and pale it was almost as if he was a ghost. Was this truly happening? Alfred found it hard to believe, but at the same time it felt so horribly real that it made him sick to his stomach.

Charlie's cries echoed in the small room along with the frantic and panicked shouts of the family as the snowflakes slowly drifted down from the sky outside in silence.

Hospitals… why was it always hospitals? One of Alfred's most hated places in the world yet he found himself there more and more often in the passing year. At least last time he was here it was when Charlie was born so there was a reason to smile. But this time around the stale scent of death lingered in the air around them. It was unbearable.

Once the ambulance arrived Lou was swiftly carried away into the cab of the truck with his faithful wife right behind him. The white vehicle sped down the street wailing its mournful cry to the people. Letting them know tragedy has once again struck. Alfred and the rest of the crew all piled together in the car and chased after the ambulance with just as much haste as the truck itself.

So this is where they all came and this was where they still remained. Kathleen was busily talking with Lou's doctor off to the side while the other's sat on the uncomfortably stiff waiting room chairs. Matthew's eyes were puffy and red behind his round lenses as he stared off blankly and held fast to Francis's hand for comfort. Alfred sat hunched over himself with his face buried in his hands as he wallowed silently in the fact that he had given his father a heart attack. Arthur tried to comfort his distraught husband as best he could; rubbing soothing circles into the American's back and whispering calming sweet nothings. Charlie slept soundly, worn out from the day's earlier chaos, in his carrier just at Arthur's feet.

"I can't believe it…" Alfred muttered mindlessly, his voice dry and strained in his fight to keep the tears back. "… I killed my dad… I just know I did…"

"Now, love… you didn't do anything of the sort. He's going to be fine, you just have to patient. Lou caused himself the stress by getting so angry at Matthew." Arthur soothed as he continued in his comforting ministrations.

"But I kept egging him on… if I hadn't gotten angry back then he wouldn't have gotten angrier…" Alfred argued, pushing full weight of the blame on himself.

Arthur pressed his thin lips together and he was about to counter argue against Alfred's claim when Kathleen thanked the doctor and began walking back over to the somber quartet. Everyone perked and looked to the blonde Texan woman with expectance and anxiety in their eyes. "W-what'd the doctor say…?" Matthew inquired timidly.

Kathleen looked at her sons, eyes clearly not of their usual brightness. "Well he had a pretty bad heart attack, but he'll be okay thanks to Francis." She said, sending a small grateful smile to the Frenchman. Matthew squeezed his partner's hand tighter. "Apparently he's had high blood pressure as well as high cholesterol for a while but… he never told me even though he was just at the doctor last week." It was obvious Kathleen was hurt by her husband's lack of confidence in her, but she continued. "He just needs to rest for the next few days as well as start takin' pills for the blood pressure and stuff. He should be able to come home tomorrow afternoon."

The news of his father's state was relieving to Alfred, but still his guilt was just as heavy a burden as it had been before. "… It still happened because he was stressed... didn't it?" Alfred questioned his mother.

The woman looked down tenderly at her oldest son. "Well… it was a factor in it, but it wasn't the only thing either." She explained.

Alfred sighed heavily and once again hunched over himself and buried his face in his hands, shaking his head slightly with his grief. "It's still my fault… I shouldn't have gotten so angry at him… he could've died because of me…" Alfred said, voice continually straining.

"Alfred," Kathleen called to her son. "Alfred, look at me baby." Kathleen said again as she kneeled down, taking her son's face within her hands and tilting his head up so their matching blue gazes met. "You did not cause this. Your father was already sick and was a ticking time bomb for a heart attack. Consider ourselves lucky that it happened when it did because we had someone around who knew what to do for him. If it had happened any other time he would've been gone before the medics even got to him." Kathleen explained sternly yet softly, knowing full well her son was thick headed and it always took a few tries to get something through his mind.

Alfred stared into the stern, similar blue gaze of his mother's eyes. "I'm still sorry mom…"

"Alfred Fielding Jones, don't you dare blame this on yourself, do you understand me?" Her voice was purely stern this time; she even jerked Alfred slightly with her proclamation. Alfred's cheeks burned softly with embarrassment out of use of his full middle name (It was an obscure thing that his mother came across in her quest for baby names). "It is not your fault, not one bit. I don't want to hear you blaming yourself one more time. Got it?"

Alfred gently nodded his head in understanding. Though the weight of the guilt lifted slightly it still bared down on his broad shoulders with a good amount of force. "Now you're father's conscious again, but we have to stay very calm and be careful not to rile him up," Kathleen explained.

"Then perhaps it is for the best that Arthur and I stay here." Francis suggested, only trying to be helpful to the cause.

"Yes, I wouldn't exactly say we're Lou's two favorite people." Arthur agreed. It partly was because of Arthur and Francis's relationships with Lou's sons that this whole fiasco started. Alfred and Matthew sent their significant other's similar apologetic looks before they followed after their mother like loyal ducklings.

The room Lou was kept in was nice as far hospital rooms went. It was decorated generically of course with window close to his bed overlooking the busy town below. Lou lay in the bed propped up on a small stack of pillows. IVs and monitors were plugged into his arm while a small clear tube around his nose supplied fresh oxygen into his system. The older man stared blankly out the nearby window, his steely eyed gaze now not so threatening anymore." Lou?" Kathleen called she stepped inside the room, her sons in tow.

Lou briefly glanced over in the small group's direction, but quickly turned his grey eyes back to the window and tried to look interested in the snowflakes still drifting down from the sky. Alfred felt very uncomfortable and from the pained expression on Matthew's face the twin felt the same way. The air in the room twisted and shifted causing so much friction that Alfred could swear he felt the burn on his arms. "Honey, the boys came to see how you were." Kathleen proclaimed as she walked in, not even paying any mind to the tense atmosphere, and sat gingerly on the edge of Lou's bed.

He gave a low grunt in response, but that was all. Not a single word passed through his lips. Matthew dared to take another step forward while Alfred lingered in the doorway, for once not having more guts than his much more timid brother. His feet seemed to be planted on the floor with no intentions of stepping forward. "Al, c'mon and see your father." Kathleen prompted her oldest. With more than a little hesitation and reluctance Alfred took a step into the room so he was on par with Matthew. "Little closer, both of you." The two exchanged glances with each other before each took another step forward. "Alright…" Kathleen sighed, still not full satisfied with the spacing between the family members. "Now… as calmly as we possibly can, let's all just work this nonsense out. Matthew, you first. Is there anything you want your father to know?"

The timid man turned his violet gaze to the white tiled floor, his hands nervously clenching and unclenching. "Well…. It really isn't a secret now, but… Dad, I'm gay too. And I love Francis, very much and I… really want to be with him."

Lou said nothing. "Very good Mattie, anything else?" The blonde shook his head. "Alright, then Alfred, you're next." The American shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans and rocked back on his heels, cheeks puffed out in a small pout. "Alfred, c'mon now. You're twenty five years old, stop pouting." Kathleen scolded lightly.

"Fine…" He breathed out reluctantly. "Dad… I'm… I'm not happy. I'm not happy with the way you're not happy because I'm happy with Arthur…." If that even made sense, but it sounded logical enough in Alfred's mind. "I love Arthur… I really, really love Arthur and there's no way I could've ever loved any woman more than I love him. And now we have Charlie and… everything is just so amazing. When I'm at home there's hardly ever a time when I don't feel like smiling. Life is so great for me now. I have a job that I love, a husband that loves me, and a beautiful son to love and raise and… I just don't get why you can't be happy for me with all of that…" Alfred finished.

Lou remained silent once again.

"Dad… I want you to be a part of my life. I want to be with you and mom on Holidays. I want you to see Charlie and watch him grow up. I want you to not glare at my husband every time you see him. I want you to not just stare mindlessly at Charlie when you hold him. And I just… I just want you to be happy for me…" Alfred's voice was slowly becoming strained. "Why can't you do that? Why can't you do this one little thing dad?"

The room was uncomfortably silent for what seemed like eternity and over. The small beeps from the monitors were the only things letting Alfred know that time hadn't frozen over. He swallowed thickly and drew in a short breath, "Well… if you can't do that… then I can't let you be a part of my life…. I just can't deal with it anymore."

Alfred hesitated a bit before he turned on his heel and began to walk towards the door. Oh silly he had been. For a moment Alfred had thought that maybe, just maybe, that Lou would stop him. That his father, the man who helped bring him into this world, would stop his oldest son and tell him he was happy for him. But no. He didn't. Alfred bit his lower lip hard with his frustration as he left the room. Kathleen attempted to stop him, but Alfred had had enough.

As he entered the waiting room again Arthur stood from his seat, he had previously been gently rocking Charlie in his carrier. The Briton stood and approached his husband, "Alfred, what happened? Is everything alright?" He asked in concern for his partner.

"I've had enough for today. Just… please let's go home. I just can't be here anymore." Distraught burned heavily and Alfred blue gaze. Arthur couldn't do anything, but agree with his husband. "Will you and Matt be able to get home okay?" Alfred asked Francis.

"We'll get a taxi to take us back to the house and we'll get my car. You two just head on home. You don't want to keep your little one out too late." Francis replied, his gaze understanding of Alfred's pain and confliction. Alfred gave an appreciative smile towards the Frenchman. Alfred grabbed Charlie and Arthur grabbed the bag and together the two left the hospital.

Arthur drove this time seeing as how in his depressed and out of mind state driving on busy highways wasn't the best thing for Alfred to be doing. The ride was very silent save for Charlie's happy babbling if he woke up. The sky was dark as oil by the time Alfred and Arthur arrived home. Little Charlie was out cold from the day's excitement and was promptly placed in his crib for the night. Alfred and Arthur, exhausted themselves, headed for their bedroom once Charlie was safely tucked in.

"Alfred…" Arthur said softly as he took off his wedding and engagement rings and placed them safely on his night stand. "What exactly happened back there? You never did tell me and it's obviously bothering you very much."

"I don't really wanna talk about it Artie… it's been a long day and I just don't want to deal with it anymore." Alfred said as he rolled onto the bed, still in his clothes, layering his forearm over his eyes.

Arthur pressed his thin lips together, not satisfied with Alfred's answer, but still not questioning it further. Arthur eyes glanced over the telephone sitting on the nightstand (A wonderful thing they couple had finally invested in) and saw a little red '1' blinking on the screen. Someone must have left a message while they were embarking on their journey. Arthur pressed the 'listen' button as he gingerly sat himself down on the edge of the bed. The machine's speaker gargled a little before the voice came through. "You have one new message, message one…"

"Alfred…" Alfred perked up at the sound of the voice resounding from the phone's speakers. "It's uh… it's your dad… though you probably knew that already…." A long pause hung in the air. "I… I just wanted to say… well I'm… I'm happy for you, Alfred…. Even if the life you have now isn't what I wanted for you… as long as it's what you want then… then… I guess it's okay by me…. That's it. So please don't stop comin' around, it'd break your mom's heart… and I'd really like to see Charlie again…. I… I love you son… even if I don't say it often…."

The message stopped after that and the little voice came up again asking if they would like to erase the message. "… I think that's one we should keep." Arthur said softly, turning his green eyed gaze to his husband.

Alfred turned onto his side away from Arthur so his face wasn't visible. Still he couldn't keep the trembling of his broad shoulders a secret from Arthur along with the sounds of his choked sobs. Arthur smiled tenderly at his partner and leaned over to hold him tightly.

After twenty five years Alfred's father had finally accepted him even if it wasn't in the best way, and it felt oh so good.