Lewis clipped his own bicycle helmet up under his chin and pushed down on top of it with both his hands to make sure it was on completely. If it were up to Gillian, she would wrap the kid up in bubble wrap before letting him go out on his bike. Cal talked her down from that ledge. He even refused to let her buy knee and elbow pads for the kid. A graze on the knee was part of childhood, he told her. Lewis couldn't be protected from everything. But even as it was, she didn't feel comfortable letting the five year old ride around the neighbourhood without her at least... keeping an eye on him. With the way their house was designed she couldn't simply stick her head out of the window from the living room and double check he was still there and still all right. She knew how easy it was to snatch a kid and just take off. And she knew how easy it was for someone to take someone she loved from under her nose, from her front yard.

"I go now?" Lewis asked, looking up at her like a little R2D2 with his helmet on his short stature. His blue eyes were earnest and excited. Now he knew how to ride his bike, it was his favourite past time.

"Yeah baby," she smiled. "Go for it."

Lewis raced to his bike, which was resting on its stand behind her car, waiting patiently for its owner. Lewis bent his knees to push the stand back out of the way with his fingers and then stood, taking the weight of his bike with both hands on the handle bars. He looked over at his mother, who had gone to where Owen was sitting in his car seat on the trunk of her car. She was fixing the blanket around him, making sure he was tucked in. It was starting to get cooler again and she was too paranoid about his immune system to even let him catch the hint of a chill. "You watch me," Lewis told her, pointing to his eyes.

"I will," she nodded, turning to give him her attention. "Go. Show me."

The driveway was short with a steep incline up to the house and even though there were times Lewis was actually scared of how much speed he could get on his bike rolling down it, it was also the most fun. He swung his leg over the seat and adjusted his stance with his right foot on the right pedal. He hopped a bit to keep his balance and shifted back and forth to get the most perfect position. Gillian waited patiently. Owen gave a little cry so she reached out with a hand to his chest, tucking beneath the top of the blanket, to remind him that she was still right there. Her finger pushed against the tab on his torso that kept track of his breathing. For a split second she wondered what it was and then, of course, she knew, how could she forget? She kept her eyes on her eldest boy, walking miracle number one, as she gave her youngest son a little nudge.

"You watch Mum," Lewis said again, turning his head to speak over his shoulder, point with his fingers again.

"I'm watching," she said, making sure her voice was a little bit louder so his hearing aids would pick up her words, pointing to her own eyes, then to him.

Lewis pushed off and wobbled while he gained his balance and brought his left foot to its pedal, but then as he reached the edge of the garage and started to descend the short sharp slope, he gained his confidence and rolled down it. He didn't pedal. He didn't want to go faster. He raced to the end of the drive, where it dipped down to the gutter by the street and eased on the hand brakes so he came to a relatively smooth stop, like his Daddy had taught him. He leaned to the left and climbed down and looked back up at his mother, grinning widely.

Gillian smiled and gave him a 'thumbs up'. She watched as he turned the bike in a wide arc to the footpath and aligned it again. He went through his little ritual before preparing to push off once more. He headed left to the end of the block, Gillian knew, even though she couldn't see. A few moments later he reappeared and went by the house to head down to the other block. Owen gave a little gurgle. Gillian turned her head to see him. He gave her a smile and she grinned back. "That'll be you one day," Gillian told him. "A big boy riding your bike up and down the block."

Cal was sleeping in. Considering Gillian had to get up anyway to feed Owen, she didn't mind also supervising some bike riding with Lewis on a Saturday morning. The sun was bright against a blue sky and it was going to be a beautiful day. Gillian had a coat on though, because it was still cold and she made Lewis put on a jacket. She watched him go by the house again. He attempted a wave, but it was brief, and his bike swerved erratically while there was less control. Gillian laughed lightly to herself, mostly at the expression of panic Lewis pulled before he got the vehicle under control again. So damn cute sometimes.

Most of the time.

Gillian waited for Lewis to go back the other way, to the right again, and turned to check on Owen. He waved a hand under the blanket and Gillian leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek. Gillian moved away and pulled open the back passenger door of her car. She fished around for rubbish; mostly Lewis's discarded wrappers from snacks, or tissues from wiping his face. She took them to the trash further down in the laundry, seeing Lewis go by out of the corner of her eye. She heard Owen give another cry, of discontent this time, and Gillian went to him again. "What?" She asked softly. She rocked his car seat back and forth a little. "Did I go too far away?" She shifted the blanket away from his face a small amount to see him better, or just make sure his mouth wasn't obscured. "Or are you just jealous your big brother gets to ride and you don't, huh?"

There was a sudden cry from the street and Gillian turned her head sharply to source the anguish. Lewis had reached the corner of their property. He must have made the turn into the driveway too sharply because his wheel had caught in the gap between the garden and concrete and the poor boy had spilled onto the pavement, his right leg caught under his bike. Lewis gave another loud wail but he hadn't completely lost it.

Gillian gave Owen another quick rock and headed down the driveway quickly to her other son. "What happened?" She asked when she was closer. She picked up his bike easily and surveyed the damage quickly while she leaned it against the fence. Lewis was moving all right, and he wasn't crying, though he didn't look at all happy, so nothing could be broken, otherwise he'd be really howling. Right? Gillian stooped to where he was sitting brushing off the palms of his hands gingerly. "Are you ok baby?" She put her arms around him in a side embrace, wanting to scoop him up but finding it harder now that he was bigger and her breastfeeding boobs set her off balance.

"My hands hurt," Lewis pouted. His lip quivered a little and his cheeks were red. He signed gingerly, like he didn't even want to move them into different poses.

"Come inside so I can have a look," Gillian moved back to see his face, giving a quick indication of the house.

Lewis slowly got to his feet. He winced again. "Ow my knee!" He wailed again, favouring his left side and gripping his right trouser leg to keep the material away from his skin.

"Let me have a look," Gillian reached for it.

"Be careful!" Lewis pleaded, singing a rapid 'K'.

"I will," Gillian carefully lifted his trouser leg. His knee was raw and bleeding. "Ok let's go inside to clean it up ok?" She told him, looking up into his face. He had tears in his eyes now and she felt the phantoms of his pain in her knees and groin. And an overwhelming urge to suddenly break into tears herself. She knew if she broke down Lewis would too. He was being so brave so far. And she really didn't want Cal in her face telling her she was mothering too much. Sometimes, that really pissed her off. Mostly because she knew he was right.

Gillian stood and guided her son back to the house. He limped slowly along just in front of her and complained and snuffled a little, but he was trying so hard to be so brave. Owen called out loudly from his car seat and Gillian hushed him softly, grabbing the carrier on her way by. In the living room Gillian made Lewis sit on the couch. She put Owen of the coffee table and crouched in front of her eldest boy. He was seriously trying not to cry. She unclipped his helmet to see him better and wiped the little droplets under his eyelids. "Hey it's ok," she told him. "It's just a scratch ok?" She didn't know 'scratch' so she used 'little' and 'hurt' instead.

"It's broken!" Lewis wailed, still holding on to his trouser leg.

"It's not broken," Gillian assured him, still trying not to cry, but also, trying not to laugh. "Wait here ok? I'll go and get the first aid kit and be right back."

"Will you fix it?" Lewis asked, looking up at her pitifully?

'Aw geeze,' Gillian thought. She told him 'yes', though she couldn't take his pain away. Bubble wrap. Really good idea. Cal totally jinxed it. Gillian went to the pantry and grabbed the kit from one of the higher shelves. She also got a bowl of warm water and went back to where Lewis was still sitting stiffly, as if even breathing was hurting him right now. Gillian put her tools on the table beside her and got Lewis to lift his leg to her knee. She rolled back his trouser leg to reveal his knee. The blood had started to run down his shin and he gave an almighty wince when he made visual contact and sucked in a few deep breaths quickly. He was really going to hate her for what she had to do next.

Owen gave a little grizzle so Gillian gave his car seat another nudge to get it rocking slightly. Then she found a bottle of antiseptic and added some to the bowl of water. She got a ball of cotton wool from the first aid box and dipped it in the water, squeezing out the excess slightly. She turned back to Lewis who was watching her carefully. His tears had stopped and he seemed wary. Gillian debated over warning him it was going to hurt. Would that really make it better or worse?

She told him it was going to hurt, but she also explained to him that it would help get any bugs out or bits of stone, even though the graze looked relatively clean in that respect. Lewis flinched and cried out when the sting of the antiseptic hit the open wound. He started crying again and Gillian felt the sting of tears in her own eyes.

Shit. This sucked.

She cleaned away the blood quickly and then blasted the wound with more antiseptic spray and applied healing cream, through which Lewis continued to cry quietly. Oh god it made her feel worse, that he was trying to be brave, when it probably stung like a bitch. She pressed a massive band aid over his knee and gently set his foot on the floor. "Ok?" She asked him. He nodded pitifully. "You're so brave," she told him soothingly. Interestingly, the sign for 'brave' was also the same as 'strong'.

Gillian made him hold out his hands next so she should see the damage there too. The skin wasn't broken, just a little raw and there were black flecks of dirt and concrete imbedded in his palms. "Aw baby," Gillian murmured. She smoothed her fingers against his tiny wrists and pressed a kiss against his forehead. Lewis reached around her arms to hug her and Gillian shifted her own around his small body to do the same. She gave him a squeeze and then had a panicked thought that Owen was too quiet for too long. She extricated herself from Lewis, hoping he wouldn't sense her urgency to get away from him. Owen had nodded off to sleep. And yes he was still breathing.

Gillian used another cotton ball to clean the crap off of Lewis's palms but that was about all they needed. He winced and tried to pull away from her. Gillian used her fingers to wipe the last of the little dots of tears that were under his bottom eyelids. She gave him a tentative smile and he looked up at her balefully. No wonder Cal caved so often under that expression. It could melt butter. In an arctic snow storm. The poor guy. Her poor baby. "Ok sweetheart?" She asked him again, ditching the dirty cotton bud to press kisses against his hands. "Better?" She asked.

He nodded but he said, "Me knee hurts," and smacked his right fist against his left index finger harshly.

"I know baby I'm sorry," Gillian offered. "Shall we go up and see if Dad's awake? You can cuddle up with him in bed for a while."

"Can I watch a movie?" He brought his right hand up behind his left, with the right hand fingers pointing up towards the ceiling, and his left hand with the palm down parallel to the floor. He moved his right hand fingers back and forth, like he was waving.

"Sure baby," she smoothed the hair from his forehead. Thank god he was wearing a helmet. But seriously, bubble wrap.

"I maybe pick a movie?"

"Any movie," Gillian promised.

Lewis eased himself to the edge of the couch and stood. He immediately shifted the weight off his damaged right knee and winced. He wasn't being overly dramatic, the poor kid. He turned back to look at her, one hand on the coffee table, as he used it as a prop to help walk towards the stack of DVD's beside the TV. "Shh Wen's asleep."

"I know," Gillian nodded. She made sure he was all right and resisted the urge to carry him, instead returning the first aid kit to its home on the shelf and putting the rubbish in the trash. When she was finished, Lewis had a DVD in both hands, reading the back of it, or staring intently at the pictures. Gillian went back over to him, rather than calling out. "Are you ready?"

"Uh hm," Lewis nodded.

"Ok. Let's go hop into bed." She picked up Owen and walked with Lewis patiently while the poor invalid limped and stumbled his way across the room and up the stairs. The stairs were worse. All that climbing and knee bending. When they reached the top, Gillian pushed on the master bedroom door and they both poked their heads in. "Hey," Gillian greeted Cal, who was awake, but still had the curtains closed.

"Hey." And then he sat up further as Lewis hobbled into the room, holding his DVD in one hand, his other gripped his trousers, even though the right leg was still rolled up past his wound now. "What happened?"

"I had accident," Lewis noted with a sigh. His demeanour was resigned: oh well, here I am, but I'm strong.

Cal looked to Gillian. "Lewis fell off his bike."

"Aw munchkin. What's the damage?"

Lewis reached is father and shoved the DVD at him. "We watch this one Dad." He used 'movie' again.

Cal noted the cover as Gillian put Owen down on the end of the bed. "Oh 'The Wizard of Oz'? Sure. Why not. Haven't seen it in ages." He handed it to Gillian who went to put it in the player across the room. He helped Lewis into bed carefully, shifting over to give the boy room.

"I got a sore on here and here," Lewis showed him his hands. "And here," he peeled back his trouser leg further to show his father his knee. There was a damp patch on the bandage now where the healing cream had soaked through.

"Poor guy," Cal kissed the top of his head. "You wanna hang out with me for a while huh?"

"Lewis needs to convalesce," Gillian told him.

"Course. Course," Cal agreed, settling back against the pillow, pulling his son against his side. "Are you gonna come and convalesce with us?" He asked Gillian.

"Sure. I'll go close the garage first."

"Right," Cal agreed.

Gillian gave him the remote, checked on Owen and started to head for the door.

"You need some tickle monsta?"

Gillian turned back to watch.

"No," Lewis pouted.

"Ok," Cal agreed. He lay still for a moment. Then reached over with his hand and wiggled his fingers. "Are you sure?"

"No Dad!" Lewis told him firmly.

"Ok," Cal caved again. "Just the movie then." He turned his head to plant a kiss against Lewis's hair. As he moved his head to face the TV again, he saw Gillian standing half out the door. He gave her a sympathetic quirk of his mouth and she returned it. Then she signed 'brave' and Cal looked to Lewis, then back to her and nodded. Gillian gave him a slight smile, pointed to him and then 'son' before she disappeared into the hall.