She bit her lip as she watched him from the top of the stairs. Lucky had been quiet ever since Patrick's fever started to break. He had managed a few words with Cameron, even a quick goodbye as they left his parent's house, but nothing beyond that since then. This was the quietest Elizabeth had ever seen him since Cameron's accident and it was starting to unnerve her.

He had changed into a pair of sweats and a white t shirt since they returned and was now sitting on the window seat, his head leaning against the glass. He looked so lost, that Elizabeth had an irrational image of Lucky as a young boy, looking for a lost puppy. Her heart broke for him. Not wanting to disturb him, but needing him to know she was there, Elizabeth set down the stairs. She kept her footsteps quiet, so as to not disturb either Lucky or the exhausted, confused three-year-old upstairs. Cameron still wasn't' sure of what all had happened beyond Uncle Patrick got sick and it was pretty bad according to his grandma.

Sliding down in front of him, Elizabeth took Lucky's hands from where they rested beside him and wrapped them around her shoulders as she settled back onto his chest. Kissing his hands gently, she rubbed her hands up and down his arms. "Penny for your thoughts."

"Only a penny?"

Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders. "Us preschool teachers can't afford to throw away bigger bucks."

A light chuckle was her reward for the rather lame joke. "Touché."

Sighing she rested her head back on his shoulder and let the silence cover them both. Stretching her legs out to avoid cramps later on, she weighed her options carefully. She could either press him to talk or just let him tell her what was going on in his own time. Or there was always option three, hint around it until he either told her or sent her back to her own home insisting he was fine. And since she already realized Patrick's sudden illness had started this, she could probably get pretty far with the hinting around.

Surprisingly, it was Lucky who broke the silence. "So did you enjoy your holiday?"

"I did." Cautiously she looked up at him. "You didn't tell me dinner with your family was so interesting."

"Lulu always throws a fit about washing the dishes. That's why we call her the Drama Queen."

"You didn't really think I was referring to that were you?" She arched her eyebrow at him. Apparently she chuckled silently she was going with the direct approach. How novel for them.

"I was hoping?"

"Well hope denied." Not really wanting to, but realizing this conversation would go much better if she could look into his eyes, Elizabeth detangled herself from his arms and turned to face him. Holding his hands lightly in hers, she squeezed them. "I can tell Patrick getting sick like that shook you."

Lucky laughed silently. If only it could be something as simple as being "shook". Ever since he had learned of Patrick's exposure, he had been focusing on everything else. He had been content to accept Patrick and Robin's assurances that Patrick was going to be fine. It was nothing to worry about. He would pass his six-month test and it would all be behind him. Tonight was a cold slap in the face that fine could very well be a relative term where his cousin was concerned.

As far back as Lucky could remember it had always been him and Patrick. Two peas in a pod, even before Noah had dumped Patrick on them after Aunt Mattie's death. They had successfully disrupted every family get together from the time they were five until they were old enough to cause trouble without getting caught. Patrick was the only one to know what a true geek he had been in middle school and high school. Likewise he was the only one to know the first girl to reject Patrick. Lisa Shelley, seventh grade, Matt Steven's party. Cruz had easily joined their bond in college, but as close as he was to his friend, the simple truth was their bond was different as his bond with Patrick. They weren't cousins. They were brothers.

And then there was Robin. He had been in such denial over Patrick's condition he hadn't even started to process the fact that Robin wasn't possibly HIV positive. HIV was her reality. She took medications and had been living with it for years now. And eventually Robin wouldn't be there. Shortstack would not be around to beat him up, harass him about doing the right thing, or just veg out and watch reruns of bad mid-nineties WB shows. Who else was going to help him hide his addiction to Felicity?

It wasn't fair. Patrick didn't get sick like that. Not ever. Even as a kid, somehow every virus, illness, or outbreak that happened at school managed to miss Patrick. Even mono in high school when he was secretly voted most likely to spread the disease. To see him just collapse like that was beyond unnerving. It was close to terrifying. And if Lucky let himself think about think about it too long, he realized that Robin too could potentially just collapse.

Patrick was his rock and Robin his touchstone. Trying to imagine any event in his life without either one of them was impossible. They were always there. First date. Getting his driver's license. Prom. High school graduation. College. Cameron's birth. Starting his career. His first major promotion. Even when he asked Robin to back off after Jess's death, he knew he still had her support. She always just knew when he saw her at family get-togethers, the big news in his life, and was happy for him. Contemplating any sort of future without them was impossible. He prayed to be shook. He longed for shook. This was terror.

"He's never really been sick. Not like that. Ever." Lucky shook his head as he spoke hesitantly.

"Dr. Quartermaine told Robin he would be fine."

"This time."

Elizabeth squeezed his hand harder. "You don't know that. He has his six-month test coming up and he'll pass it."

He barely met her eyes. "What if he doesn't? What if he doesn't pass his test? What then Elizabeth? What then?"

The barely disguised pain made her heart ache. "I don't know." She whispered. "I didn't go through this with Robin. I have no idea how I would have handled this if we knew each other then."

"How do you handle it?"

Elizabeth shrugged. "I don't know. I just try not to let it be her whole identity. I forget sometimes. A lot of the time really. And we both know how awesome I am at avoiding something if I am determined not to deal with it." Her small joke was rewarded with an equally small smile in response. "I'm sure a shrink would say denial isn't healthy but it helps."

"I don't think that's going to work for me."

"No." Elizabeth feigned shock over his answer. "The man who forces me to actually state what an issue is won't be able to use denial? You don't say."

"Be quiet." Lucky smacked at her hands.

"You'll find a way. You didn't know how to be a father and you figured it out. Then being a single father. And call me crazy but I have this feeling if, and it's a big if, if the worse happens and Patrick is HIV positive, you, Cruz, and he will find some way to handle it that will only make sense to the three of you and make the rest of us roll our eyes."

"Have you always been this smart?"

"Yes. But some of this is from a long talk I had with your mother tonight."

"Oh Lord. Just give me something else to worry about."

Aunt Laura must have decorated the playroom, Morgan figured, otherwise it would have been blue, just like Cam's room at home was. The bed was shaped like a race car, obviously Patrick's idea, and there was a Bob the Builder pillow behind Morgan's head. He couldn't sleep, or rather, he didn't want to. What if they weren't able to wake him up? What if something else happened while he was asleep? What if Patrick went into a coma like Cameron had, or what if Robin's "sickness"—as he had heard Lucky and Cruz talking about in the hallway—got worse?

What had Lucky and Cruz meant when they said Robin was sick too? That was the reason he couldn't sleep, he bet. He couldn't stop thinking about what could be wrong with her. Was she going to fall down too? Would they not be able to wake her up either? He didn't want to think about, didn't want to think it could happen, but closing his eyes never made anything go away.

Patrick should have gone to the hospital. Didn't he know about the candy they gave you there? Morgan couldn't ever remember Patrick being in the hospital before. Maybe Morgan would tell him about the lollipops and Patrick would want to go and get a check-up. He would leave out the part about the shots, just in case Patrick didn't know about those either. At least he always got Scooby Doo Band-Aids to show off at school.

What would his cousins do? Lance would get out of the bed quietly and sneak around, trying to find the best possible way out without making too much noise. Sometimes Morgan though Lance had come right out of a movie. Cameron would start crying and yelling for one of the grown-ups, probably Lucky. Morgan bet he could yell pretty loud and get everyone to come and see what was the matter. Maybe then they would tell him what he wanted to know. It was worth a shot. Throwing his head backwards, he took a deep breath and then let out a howl accompanied by a few tears. He had watched Michael cry enough to know just how to make it look real.

He heard scrambling bare feet a few seconds later, but it was impossible to know who was actually hurrying into the room. What if it wasn't Robin or Aunt Laura or Uncle Luke? What if it was a bad guy? He hadn't thought about that before. No way anyone else could have heard him and come this quick. Sitting up on his haunches, he launched from the mattress and landed in the arms of a very unsteady bad guy. They fell into a tangle of arms and legs and Morgan knew he had to tighten his fists if he wanted to get away. He felt a hand tug on the back of the nightshirt Aunt Laura had found for him and he was lifted off of his feet. Kicking and screaming, he noticed that his tears were becoming less and less fake. He was in trouble now.

"What's gotten into you, Rocky? Calm down." Morgan had never been happier to hear Uncle Luke's voice in his entire life.

"I thought you were a bad guy." Morgan told him shamefully.

"Well, I can see how you might think that." Uncle Luke carried him over to the bed and sat next to him. "I thought maybe a wild dog had gotten into the house with the way you were carrying on."

Wiping away his tears and sniffing instantly, Morgan met his uncle's bright blue eyes. "Is Patrick still sick?" He had tried lying to this man before and it hadn't worked. Uncle Luke was probably the only person he could actually talk to, the only one who wouldn't just look at him and see a baby.

"He's asleep. Robin said he's going to be fine. Is that what's got you so upset?" Luke asked his voice strained as if he was holding back a laugh. Or maybe he was about to choke. It was hard to tell with old people and, as Lucky and Patrick were always saying, Uncle Luke was so old he couldn't have birthdays anymore. Morgan wondered if Patrick would ever get that old and, if he did, if he could live without birthday cake.

"I got scared." Morgan admitted, ducking his head so that he could get rid of the leftover tears in his eyes before Uncle Luke saw.

"I guess it got kind of panicky there." Luke concluded, nodding in understanding. How many late nights had he found himself in this very room talking down a scared Patrick when he had worried his father didn't love him?

"It sure did. I thought everybody else might fall down too. Flu spreads you know." Morgan whispered.

"I know. It's enough to make you want to wear a doctor's mask everywhere you go. But not to worry. We're going to sneak out of here tomorrow morning and get our flu shots. Guys like us don't have time to be sick. Patrick's probably faking to get attention from your mom." Luke assumed.

"You think he was faking?" Morgan asked, his eyes going wide.

Realizing his mistake, Luke hurried to rectify it. "No, tonight Patrick really was sick. But he's going to be just fine now."

"What if Robin catches it?" Morgan wondered.

You are too smart for your own good, Luke thought to himself. "Then we'll get out the stethoscope and get her better like we did for Patrick."

"Promise?" Morgan goaded.

"Well sure. We've got a pretty cool thermometer you know." Luke reminded him.

"If I wear my Spider-Man mask, do I still have to get a shot?" Morgan wanted to know. Uncle Luke's answer was to ruffle his hair.

"Think you can get to sleep, or should I go wake up your mom?" Luke inquired instead.

"Guys like us are tough, right?" Morgan asked.

"Yeah." Luke replied.

"I'll be okay." Morgan nodded solemnly.

"I can stay with you until you fall asleep." Luke offered.

"Okay…if you want." Morgan agreed, sliding under the Bob the Builder sheets and closing his eyes.

The glow of her cell phone grabbed her attention in the darkened bedroom. Gently moving out of his embrace, she grabbed the phone and made her way to the hallway, not wanting to wake him up. Not tonight. Not after all they had been through today. She smiled when she noticed her best friend's name on the caller ID screen. "Hey you." She whispered into the phone.

"Did I wake you?" She never realized how good it was to hear her friend's voice until disaster struck. She sounded a lot less anxious than she had earlier.

"Nope. After tonight I didn't think I would be sleeping much anyways." She stretched her arms over her head. "How are you doing?"

"Okay. I've caught a little sleep, but only in twenty minute increments. I was worried about you."

"I'm fine. Nothing to worry about here."

"Are you taking care of yourself? Tonight was pretty stressful. You handled it like a pro. I guess that's what worries me. You internalize so much."

"I'm fine Mother Hen. I'll take my vitamins in the morning when I get home."

"I have an extra bottle for you that you dropped in my car yesterday. Speaking of the father of your child..." She doubted her friend would let the subject change so swiftly, but she had been pretty understanding up until this point. He had a right to know. Besides, her friend had enough to worry about without adding in what she thought he needed.

"What about him?" She wasn't stupid. She knew exactly what her friend wanted to know. Unfortunately she also knew what her friend's reaction was going to be when she told her.

"And I avoid? Please." She scolded her friend lovingly.

"I didn't tell him," she admitted in low whisper.

"He's not an idiot. Wouldn't you rather have him hear it from you than from someone else?" She pressed further.

"I was going to. Tonight after dinner. But after everything..."

"You've got to say something!" She whispered back harshly. "Don't you think he deserves to know? Last time I checked, it took two to make a baby."

"I'll tell him. Tonight wasn't the right time."

"Tonight would have been a perfect time. I can't think of a better time. You depended on each other's strength. But I'll quit judging you. I don't know if I would have handled it any differently...if I were in this position."

"Tonight was the perfect time." She admitted softly. "But then Patrick got sick..."

"There will always be a million excuses not to tell him. You can't spend the rest of your pregnancy waiting for that moment. It just might not come."

"I know that. I never thought this would happen to me and sue me for wanting everything to be perfect. You know I'm neurotic."

"If you're neurotic, what does that make me?"

"My best friend who loves me anyway?"

"Have you thought about how you're going to tell him?"

"Taking out an ad in the Insider?"

"I guess you can trust Cruz. I mean, after all, he came through for Lucky. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it for myself."

"He'd hate me if I told his best friend before him though." She sighed heavily. "Isn't there a book on this sort of thing?"

"Maybe Bobbie will lend it to you. She's got to have baby books, right?"

"It would stand to reason." She smiled slightly at the thought of actually having to use baby books. A week after she found out she really was pregnant and it still didn't seem real to her. "Making this his Christmas present would be way too lame wouldn't it?"

"I don't think so. I think that's a great idea."

"I thought you said I shouldn't wait forever."

"Well that's before you started suggesting holidays. Anything tops this one I think. It's about time we started focusing on the good instead of the bad. We have so much to be thankful for this year. Just think, next year there'll be two little babies sitting at the table with us."

She couldn't help but giggle. "Can you imagine his face when he realizes his child is going to be a few months younger than his new cousin?"

"I think you're going to show him that some surprises are worth praying for." She responded matter-of-factly.

"So does this mean you'll help me plan the perfect way to tell him on Christmas?"

"I think I can fit you into my busy life of inspiring young minds."