Disclaimer: I don't own anything here (except for Al) and am just doing this for fun and to pass the long months until Season 4.

Tim took a deep breath and looked around the room, feeling like it was somehow both too big and too small. It was exceptionally large for a hospital room and filled with all sorts of furniture you don't expect to see in a hospital. You could feel lost in a room this size. But, at the same time, residual panic made it feel like the room was closing in on him.

"Okay, Nicky, I've just got to keep it together for another hour, 'til Uncle Billy gets here. I can do this," he whispered to the baby.

Tim sat down in the rocking chair, hoping the motion would be soothing, more so for him than for the baby, who was still sleeping. Noises filtered into the room, the happy sounds of grandparents coming to meet their new grandchildren, the rattle of a cart, the scratchy and distorted voice paging doctors over the intercom.

The rocking was soothing for about ten minutes, then Tim knew he needed to find something to distract him. He got up, located the remote control for the television, and sat back down.

"I sure hope we get some decent channels in this place," said Tim, flipping through the stations. He was relieved to see that there was at least some sort of cut-down basic cable service that included ESPN.

"Here we go, Nicky, SportsCenter. This is perfect. All we need is a couple of beers."

He wasn't able to completely stop worrying about Al, but at least the television made him feel a little more calm and a little less alone. And when Billy arrived, he'd nearly be able to pretend that it was just another day, hanging out with his brother, the way they had before wives and kids came into the picture.

A nurse came in with a bottle for the baby, so Tim fed him, apologizing softly for inferior substitutes. Tim was getting a little edgy, hoping that Billy would arrive soon and that someone would come in and tell him what was going on with Al. The nurse had been very pleasant and kind, but she hadn't known anything. He tried to remember what the doctor said about how long the whole thing would take, but he could barely remember having the conversation at all.

When SportsCenter went into its repeat, Tim wondered where the hell Billy was. Probably got stopped by the cops for speeding, maybe. Tim half-smiled and rolled his eyes. Billy and cops wasn't a good mix, not under the best of circumstances. Tim had never understood how his brother, who could sweet-talk and charm anyone when he was selling something, could always say exactly the wrong thing, in the wrong way, to a cop.

Tim heard a hesitant knock on the door and stood up, expecting to see Billy and Mindy.

"Lyla?" It took time a few seconds to remember that she was working in the hospital.

She took a few steps into the room and seemed extremely uncomfortable. Tim supposed it could be awkward, coming up to visit an ex-boyfriend's baby, but Lyla, Six, Al, him, they were all friends. Something else had to be going on.

"Do you know something about Al?" He closed the space between them quickly, causing Lyla to take a step back.

"No, it's not that..." Her sentence trailed off and the way she was looking at him, eyes big and sad, was seriously freaking him out.

"Then what is it? Six? I can tell something's wrong."

Lyla shook her head. "You need to come down to the emergency room with me. Billy and Mindy....they had an accident on the way here."

Tim heard what she said, knew what she said, but was having a hard time really understanding what she said.

"Tim, did you hear me?"

"Yeah, I heard you. I heard you." He looked around the room, even though he didn't even know what he was looking for. "I can't take Nicky with me."

Lyla stepped out of the room and returned with a nurse. Tim reluctantly handed him over, his chest feeling cold and empty without him. Tim followed Lyla out of the room and over to the stairs, since she said they'd be faster. He was relieved that he didn't have to stand still, that he could keep moving. He buttoned the top buttons of his shirt as he walked, wishing that he still had Nicky with him.

The emergency room was quite different than the birth center, noisier and scarier. Anxiety hung in the air and Tim felt his panic returning. He saw Landry's dad down the hallway, talking to a couple of doctors and looking very grim. He tried to tell himself that Officer Clark always looked that way. Lyla pointed him to a room and then waited in the hallway while he went in, covering the distance in long strides until he was right next to the bed.

"Billy, are you okay?" Tim looked at his brother, who looked pale and shaken, but at least didn't seem to have any visible injuries.

"I'm sorry, Timmy, I messed up." Billy's voice was hoarse and shaky.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I guess. The doc said they might have to take my spleen out. I don't even know what a spleen does." He shrugged and tried to smile. "How's Mindy? No one will tell me anything."

"I don't know. Lyla just brought me down and sent me in here. What happened?"

Billy shook his head sadly. "Guess I missed a stop sign not too far from here. A truck hit us, on Mindy's side and then we spun around and hit a telephone pole on my side. How's Al?"

"I don't know, still in surgery. No one's told me anything either."

"Tell me about your son. I don't even know the kid's name."

"Nicholas William, Nicky. He was a bit over eight pounds. He's....I don't know....perfect, really." Tim's voice cracked and he looked down.

"She's going to be fine, Timmy, you've gotta believe that." Billy's voice was gentle and reassuring, reminding Tim of all the times he'd gotten scraped up and Billy had cleaned out the wounds and patched him up.

"Tough as nails and twice as sharp?" Tim tried to smile.

"Exactly. Now seriously, get out of here. Go be with your son, wait for your wife."

"But -"

"But nothing. They're going to be taking me out of here soon enough." Billy motioned for Tim to lean down, closer to him. When Tim did, Billy hit him in the arm. "Go."

"I know you're hurt and everything, but still, my wife hits harder than that."

"Yeah, well, my wife could kick your wife's ass."

"No way. Like Al always says about Wolverine, Mindy fights angry and that leaves her open to being tricked."

Billy smiled and messed up Tim's hair. "Get out of here, Little Brother. Go be with your family."

Tim wanted to protest that Billy was his family too, but he understood what his brother was saying. He squeezed Billy's hand and then stepped out into the hallway. He leaned against the wall, trying to get his bearings and pull himself together.

"You must feel like your whole world is falling apart right now," said Lyla.

Tim shrugged and tried not to meet her eyes. Something about Lyla always made her seem like a mistake he was about to make. Al had this expression she liked to use for a little thing that made it easier for things to snowball into a great a big mess – the slippery slope. The combination of Lyla and grief was his own personal slippery slope and he didn't want to go careening down that path again.

"Billy was asking about Mindy. I need to find out how she's doing."

"I'm not going to lie to you Tim. It's bad. She's in way worse shape than Billy."

Tim raked his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath. "Thank you. Can you please come tell me if anything changes? I've got to back to my family."

Saying the words grounded him, made him feel safe and protected, even though he knew how fragile a family could be.