Okay, so I'm behind on both of my fics, and I'd like to blame it on school starting up, but I could just as easily blame it on writer's block and laziness. There are tons of people who have been pushing me to update (most of them Tumblr anons), but that last shove was from flaccidwinchester on Tumblr, so she gets a shout out. Hopefully you guys don't revolt over the wait, but if you're reading this, thank you for coming back.

- Eight -

It was probably the worst night of sleep Logan had gotten in years, but this time it was for all the right reasons. After forcing himself into bed, he'd laid awake thinking of the events of the night, and how finally, after a week of pure terror, he and Kendall were back on track. More importantly, they'd finally kissed, the feeling of Kendall's lips against his the confirmation he needed to truly believe that there was something there. And after the two - two - kisses on his stoop, he had no doubt.

It was almost too much to awake the next morning to a page from the hospital, and though his first instinct was to panic, a quick call to the hospital proved that good things came to those who waited, and that Charlie had begun to wake up, after weeks of being comatose. It took everything he had not to rush to the hospital, but he had to alert the masses, starting first with Kendall, as if the man wasn't already at the forefront of his thoughts.

He sat up in bed, leaning against his headboard as he called the man, nerves bursting with excitement to relay the good news after so many weeks of repeating the same appeasing details. Remembering almost too late that it was early in the morning, too early for most humans, he thought to hang up and call back later, but knew that if it were him he would have like to hear the moment the boy opened his eyes. On that premise, he called again, and this time he heard a humming sound into the receiver, as Kendall likely answered the phone blindly, still half asleep and groping for the device merely to stifle its vibration.

"Kendall?" he asked, trying to make sure the man was coherent before continuing.

He could almost hear the sleepy smile against the receiver as Kendall noted, "You really can't get enough of me can you?"

The voice was husky with sleep, and it took everything he had to focus on the situation at hand, trying to stifle his own urges to crawl through the phone line and into Kendall's bed. Instead, he relayed, "We'll talk about me later. But first, I've got some great news."

"The kind of news worth waking me up at-" he paused, probably to check the time before groaning. "Five? This better be good."

"Let me put it this way, you and I aren't the only ones waking up right now," he teased, hoping Kendall was quick enough to catch on, and there was a tense pause as the man fought the slowness of his recently-wakened mind and finally worked out exactly what the doctor was telling him.

Logan could almost hear the other man shoot up in bed, sleep forgotten, as he exclaimed, "Charlie! He's awake? Can I see him?"

The words lapsed in a rush, and Logan could only chuckle as he promised, "I still need to get to the hospital to figure out what's going on, but I had to tell you first. Was I right to wake you up?"

"Yes," Kendall answered immediately, before continuing, "When I told you to call me, I just wanted to talk, but holy shit Logan. This beats all."

"Let's see you try to beat that the next time you call me," he teased, before concluding. "I should get going, but I hope I made your morning. I'll call you later with an update. Get some sleep."

"You expect me to sleep after this?" he criticized, before following. "But you're right. The sooner you hang up the sooner you can check on our little fighter. I'll talk to you later."

Logan opened his mouth to respond, but was caught off-guard by the statement that almost made it sound like Charlie was their's. He cleared his mind as quickly as he could, "Don't worry, I'll be in touch. Bye Kendall."

"Bye Logan," he said, and Logan closed his eyes, picturing the smile he knew was playing across Kendall's lips. He took a moment to recover from that call, before standing, digging through his drawers as he made another call, this time to James, who didn't work this morning and would be out of the loop.

It took a few rings for the call to connect, and when it did, the voice on the other end wasn't James. Though it took him a moment, he recognized the voice that belonged to Carlos, his breath staggered in a strange pattern.

"L-Logan, uh, James made me answer the phone, because he can't- oh fuck..."

It took less than an instant for Logan to understand what was happening, "I would ask to talk to him, but I can assume his mouth is busy."

"Mmm," was Carlos's only response, before he gasped, and Logan could hear the scuffle as the phone was handed over.

"Logan, I'm kind of busy to be playing telephone hour..." his voice was impatient, and Logan noted that his focus hadn't completely changed, as he heard what he recognized as Spanish curse words in the background.

"I'll let you get back to business," he teased as he finally gathered his clothes together and entered the bathroom, stripping as he got to the point for his distracted friend, "But when you're done you should call me. Charlie's conscious."

"That's fantas-shole. Fuck! Logan, I'll...bye," he said before hanging up, and Logan let out a breath, used to his friend's straightforward attitude toward his sex life. It wasn't the first time he'd interrupted something, and he doubted it would be the last.

Though he bubbled over with excitement, both leftover from last night and the news this morning, he took his time showering. After all, he did his best thinking under the warm water, letting his mind wander and analyze what was going on in his life. Foremost at the moment was Charlie, who though awake now faced a new set of problems. He would still likely be out of it thanks to the painkillers, but probably not out of it enough to ignore the absence of his mother at his bedside. It was likely that Ellen had broken the news to him already, but it was equally likely that they would try to hide his mother's death from him as long as possible, as not to slow down his recovery. There was also the matter of his healing, which, though moving at a normal rate, still had a while to go.

He began to feel sick to his stomach with worry, a sensation he'd become used to when dealing with his favorite patient, and distracted himself with thoughts of his budding relationship. They'd kissed. They'd finally kissed. And it had been more perfect than he could have imagined. He let his fingers ghost over his bottom lip again, closing his eyes as he remembered the feeling of Kendall's lips against his, smiling at the thought.

With a sigh, he decided that he'd stretched his shower out as long as he could, and dressed quickly before heading for the hospital. Once inside, he found himself stalling, taking his time in the locker room, getting a cup of coffee in the break room, checking in on patients that he had no interest in monitoring. All to avoid the task of introducing himself to the boy that had become the biggest self-serving mission of his career.

Putting his fear aside, he finally approached the room, smiling at the nurse who excused herself as he walked in. There was another keeping him company, one of Logan's favorite nurses, who was teasing him into eating the green jello from the cafeteria.

"The orange is much better," he introduced, smiling as he picked up the chart hanging from the end of the bed. He assessed his patient as he felt the boy's eyes on him, noting that his face, which had been upgraded from its mummy-like wrappings a few weeks ago, was lit up. He was happy to be awake, even through the pain and circumstances that faced him, and Logan knew immediately that he'd been a good judge of the boy's determination all those weeks ago. "I'm Doctor Mitchell, but you can call me Logan."

"He was the doctor the night you came in," the nurse added helpfully, and Logan nodded in confirmation.

"Doctor Logan," the boy repeated, storing the information for later, before adding thoughtfully, "I think I've heard your voice before."

If it were possible to smile any harder, Logan did, before excusing the nurse to talk to his patient. She promised Charlie she would be back later, before smiling at the doctor on her way out of the room. He took the seat she vacated, pushing aside the tray that the boy had decimated. From what he could tell, it had been his first solid meal, the feeding tube removed under the approval of one of his other doctors. Logan trusted their judgement, willing to leave many responsibilities to the other specialists in exchange for times with the kid.

He felt the hazel eyes boring into him, willing him to speak, but patient, before he finally began, "You know, you've had us pretty worried for the last couple weeks. But you fought very hard. I'm happy to see you awake."

"I'm happy to see me awake too," the boy said, smiling as if his doctor was the most oblivious person on the planet. But the smiled disappeared as he admitted, "I thought I was going to die."

The admission stunned Logan, and he reached out, placing his hand over Charlie's bandaged arm, "But you didn't. You were strong and you made it. And there were a bunch of us here rooting for you, the whole time. Did you meet Ellen?"

"She's the social worker, right?" the boy asked hesitantly, finding it hard to keep so many names and faces straight when he was still in somewhat of a drug-induced haze. Logan confirmed his guess with a nod, and he continued, "She left right before you got here. After she told me..."

The boy couldn't finish his statement, and he looked up at Logan, begging him to make it better, though it was out of his control, "Your mom. We couldn't save her Charlie. It was too late. But she's been watching over you..."

"I know," he said calmly, though there was a sad edge to his voice, "I could feel her. Just like I could hear you. You...sang to me?"

He could feel his cheeks turning scarlet, and had anyone else asked, he would have denied it. But he'd sat at this boy's bedside for weeks now, and instead he nodded, "Sometimes. But if you tell Kendall that I'll know it came from you."

After a curious look from the boy, he explained, "Kendall's the firefighter who pulled you out. I talked to him this morning, and he can't wait to meet you."

He hoped he'd hidden his familiarity with the man well enough, but if Charlie had noticed, he'd ignored it, instead asking, "Really? He remembers me?"

It was amazing how little Charlie realized he was loved, how many people had lost sleep over him in the recent weeks. He probably believed himself to be alone in the world, with no mother and no family to come home to, but Logan was beginning to think of the few people the boy could rely on: Ellen, James, Kendall, and not least of all himself, to help him through the coming weeks of treatment, and in at least one case, to find him a home outside of these sterile walls.

"You don't know how much we care about you," he told the boy, hoping his eyes could prove his point more than words ever could. When Charlie looked shy all of a sudden, contemplating his words, Logan decided that they'd chatted long enough for the time being. "So much in fact, that I'm going to leave you so you can get some rest. I know you were out for a long time, but that's not how recovery works. Sleep for a couple of hours, and I'll be back to check in on you."

The boy agreed, if reluctantly, and Logan made sure his eyes were closed before leaving the room. Heading toward the break room, he checked his phone to see a volley of missed calls and text messages, both from James and Kendall. After pouring himself yet another cup of coffee, he sat down to answer them.

First order of business was James, who'd left him a voicemail, and he listened to it, smiling at the excitement in his friend's voice, "I just dropped Carlos off. I mean, wow Logan, just...wow. You can keep Kendall. I don't need him anymore. But Charlie? Are you serious? I'm on duty later tonight, so I'm sure I'll run into you then. I'm gonna get some sleep. Didn't get any last night. But yeah, just thought I'd tell you...wow."

Deciding that it was best to let his friend sleep, he texted him quickly to let him know that he'd see him later. Though he wasn't supposed to be working by any means, adding up the overtime wouldn't kill him. He pondered changing some of his shifts around so he could be here more days, when Charlie was actually awake, but realized that he was thinking too far ahead again and mentally changed subjects.

The series of texts Kendall had sent him amounted to a shopping list, asking what Charlie would need that he was now awake. Logan was reminded that the fire had claimed nearly everything the boy had once owned, and decided to call Kendall to see what he had decided.

He felt his heart beat a little faster as the phone rang, and when he heard the timbre of Kendall's voice answer, he immediately smiled, "You didn't go back to sleep like I told you to, did you?"

"I told you I wouldn't be able to sleep after that," he reminded him, before struggling with something. "I'm just getting back from the store now. I bought some kid essentials. You know, coloring books, candy bars, I think there's a bucket of army guys in here. I mean, it depends what suits him. I'm just trying to remember what I had as a kid."

"I bet you were into comic books," Logan surmised, settling against his arm comfortably.

Kendall wasn't willing to be outdone, and charged, "Yeah, well I'd bet money that by his age you were the proud owner of a chemistry set, a microscope, and telescope. Would I be correct in that assumption?"

"I got the telescope for my tenth birthday, if you must know," he responded, his voice teasing. "Anyway, when do plan on giving him the stuff? I'm planning on sticking around for a while..."

But he didn't finish, interrupted by Kendall's excitement, "You mean come today? I can see him today? I thought there would be some sort of waiting period or something where he was being monitored."

"He's always being monitored Kendall, it's a hospital," he reminded him. "Plus, you'd be amazed how far dating a staff member will get you around here."

There was a pause, and he was unsure if he'd misspoke. After all, there had been no official dates yet. But there had been that kiss last night, and the one that followed, and if that wasn't deemed dating, at least in a casual sense, he was more socially inept than he had previously thought.

Instead, he could hear Kendall's grin as he teased, "I forgot about the benefits of nepotism. Too bad you're too good to have selfish motives about getting me to the hospital..."

"Why don't you get here and we'll see how greedy I can get," he answered, wondering when he'd ever picked up the ability to flirt coherently. The thought crossed his mind that maybe he'd been spending too much time with James, but it was quickly interrupted by Kendall's voice.

"Pulling out of my driveway as we speak," was his answer, and he didn't give time for a response before telling Logan he'd see him in a moment and hanging up.

He made himself busy, consulting a few patients who had been waiting far too long in the emergency room, before finally making his way back around to the nurse's station, where Kendall had learned to wait for him. Sure enough, he was standing there, making conversation with the nurse that had attended Charlie earlier, and Logan smiled to see that he was weighed down with shopping bags. Looking up, he was spotted, and Kendall came toward him, hobbling with bags on each arm. He took some of the bags, and began to lead Kendall down the corridor toward Charlie's room, before the other man paused to lean toward him.

"Do you have a break room or something?" the other man asked, and Logan smiled, almost sure of his reasoning. Thankfully, the room he'd vacated not so long ago was empty, and they set their bags down on the table before Logan was being pressed against the edge, his head caught between the other man's palms and his lips caught by Kendall's, so intensely that it almost took his breath away.

He opened his eyes as Kendall pulled away, asking, "What was that for?"

"I could lie and say excitement," he explained. "But really I've been wanting to do that again since last night."

"Funny, so was I," Logan admitted, before letting his own hand press against the side of the taller man's neck. "Maybe we deserve one more for all that waiting."

Kendall smirked before leaning in again, and this time he pressed his tongue against Logan's lips, quickly gaining entrance to explore his partner's mouth. Logan's center of gravity was thrown as he was pressed into the edge of the table, held up by a pair of strong hands hold his waist. His own thumb rubbed distractedly at Kendall's pulse point, feeling his heart rate escalate, correlating with the intensity of their kiss. He faintly recognized the sound of the break room door opening, but rather than break apart, he encouraged the larger man, letting his own tongue join the fray as he worked to add fire to the flames bursting through his chest.

It was only when he was satisfied that he drew the kiss to an end, Kendall pulling back to straighten himself as Logan moved forward to stand of his own bearings. Realizing how quickly the kiss had escalated, Kendall began rubbing the back of his neck nervously, the words from last night sounding in both of their minds. After noting that whoever had interrupted them had backed out of the room quietly, Logan took his hand to show that there was no fault for losing control, and tried to change the subject, hoping the blood would disperse from his cheeks - as well as other regions.

"He should be awake again soon. I talked to him a little while ago; made him promise to get some rest. But I doubt he got any. He's too excited to be alive," Logan mused about his patient, a smile crossing his face as he remember the boy's ignorance to his circumstances. "He didn't think you'd remember him though. I don't know how to tell him how much he's changed all of our lives."

"Well he's certainly changed mine," Kendall grinned, catching the shorter man's eyes to leave no doubt as to the intention of his statement, before adding curiously, "So you mentioned me?"

"I might have, yes," Logan admitted, before adding. "But I mentioned a lot of people. I mentioned Ellen."

"I bet you didn't mention James," he challenged, and it was there again, the jealousy and possessiveness that always arose when James was brought up. He knew that if this was every going to work out between them, James and Kendall would have to resolve their issues with each other, but until they did he was content to bask in the attention, as Kendall leaned down to give him a persuasive kiss.

"He slipped my mind," he teased. "But you don't have to worry about James anymore. He's set his sights elsewhere. I have to ask, have you talked to Carlos since last night?"

After a look of confusion, he explained, "Because he answered James's phone this morning. They seemed to have hit it off last night."

"Really?" was all Kendall could manage, for the first time piecing together the events of last night. "I'm not sure I like that. No offense."

"You don't like James at all," Logan noted, sensing that Kendall wouldn't argue it. "But whatever happened last night was consented to by both parties. James doesn't need to seduce men to get them to sleep with him. He's so charming they hop in of their own accord. I'd be lying if I said I thought James was looking for a relationship, but you never know."

Kendall nodded, as if he was prepared to think on the subject before declaring his feeling about it, and impatiently picked up a few of the bags that had been forgotten on the table. Logan took a few of the others, and together, Logan led them to the room where Charlie, as expected, was wide awake.

The doctor stepped in first, and was immediately recognized with an exultation of, "Doctor Logan!"

He couldn't help but smile at the excited boy, before glancing behind him, where Kendall had paused in the doorway. Calling him forward, he placed a calming hand on the larger man's back, moving his thumb in circles and reminding him to breathe, before introducing him, "So Charlie, this is Kendall, the guy I was telling you about. He was the firefighter that..."

"You saved my life," Charlie interrupted, and sure enough a glance at Kendall showed tears welling up in his green eyes. As predicted, he dropped the bags on the linoleum floor, before closing the distance between himself and the bed. As Logan looked on, Kendall embraced the boy, careful not to press too hard on any of his still-healing tissue. Charlie closed his eyes to hug the larger man back, and when he whispered something into Kendall's ear, the man chuckled, tears still shaking the muscles of his back.

Observing all of this, it only took a moment for Logan to realize what the boy had said.

"Thank you."