Sunday.
He followed through with the same routine, waking up and rushing down the stairs.
And again, he was greeted by his father, and not his mother.
His father had his nose stuck in his favorite book once again, Ben wasn't even certain that he noticed him coming down the stairs.
Ben. That's what his mother always called him. It was strange, yesterday, his father calling him by his birth name. With him it was always 'Hawk' or 'Hawkeye', very rarely was he ever Ben. Ben was usually heard coming out of his mouth only when he was in trouble, which wasn't too often.
"Why don't you sit down, Ben."
It was Ben today. And it was strange.
Sitting down, he looked at the plate before him. The delicious aroma filled his nose; and the entire kitchen.
Scrambled eggs and bacon.
It wasn't a first. But it had been a while since mother had made scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast. It had been even longer since his father had made it. But he had to admit, it looked wonderful, even if it wasn't his mother's cooking.
"Is Mom still not feeling good?"
Daniel looked up from his book. He kept his voice as calm and as steady as he quietly spoke the words:
"Mother's in the hospital," and as he said so, he could see the fear wash over his son's youthful face, so he quickly covered it up with, "but there's nothing to worry about."
"You promise?..."
Daniel nodded. "She'll be okay."
She had to be. Not just for his sake, but for Hawkeye's.