Hal was out of town on a business trip and Lois didn't get home from work until after 10:00. Dewey was already asleep and Malcolm and Reese were sitting on the sofa, watching TV.

"Boys, everything ok?" Lois asked the two suspiciously.

Reese answered. "Sure, mom. Dewey's asleep and we were just watching TV. The casserole you left was delicious, we ate at 6:00, we sent Dewey to bed at 8:30 and the house didn't catch on fire."

Lois knew Reese was lying about something but she was just too tired to figure it out. "Well, everything seems fine." Then she noticed the bandage on Malcolm's forehead. "What on Earth? Malcolm! What happened to you?"

"It's nothing mom, just a little bump." Malcolm wished she would just forget about it but knowing his mom, he knew that wasn't going to happen.

"Come over here and let me get a better look." Lois grabbed Malcolm's hand and dragged him to the kitchen, positioning him underneath the brightest light fixture in the house. She tilted her son's head back and carefully peeled away the sticky bandage. "Hmm, you didn't pass out did you?"

"No, I didn't pass out." Malcolm rolled his eyes.

"He didn't pass out but he was sure talking funny for a while," Reese chimed in from the sofa.

"Thanks a lot, Reese! I had her convinced it was nothing!" Malcolm glared at his brother, amazed at his stupidity.

"Reese, get over here! What did you mean he was talking funny?" Lois stared at the wound and began to consider medical help. The cut was only about three inches long but there was a nasty bump surrounding it and the whole area was starting to turn a revolting shade of blue.

Reese arrived and peered at his brother's head. "Wow, it didn't look that bad earlier. He was talking nonsense, mom, I asked him how many fingers I was holding up and he said Tuesday and he wanted to wax some corn."

"Were you two fighting? How exactly did he get hurt?" Lois was staring directly at Reese although her hands were still holding Malcolm's head. Both boys were scared to move.

"No, we weren't fighting!" Reese laughed, as if the idea of him and his brother fighting was ridiculous. "He was just helping me find a clean towel after my shower and he tripped and he might have bashed his head against the side of the desk when he fell."

Lois knew there had to be more to the story but let it go for once. "Malcolm, does your head hurt? Are you having headaches? Do you want to see the doctor?" She stared into his eyes and noticed his left eye, the one under his injury was a little dilated. "Did Reese do this to you?"

"No! No, I don't have headaches. No, I don't want to see the doctor and no, Reese did not do this to me. He was great, mom, he helped me up and cleaned the wound and put on the bandage and put me in bed, heck he even took off my sneakers so I could rest easier. Don't blame him for this, I was just clumsy, I tripped over my own feet." Malcolm lied about the headaches; his head was pounding even though he had swallowed a handful of aspirin.

"I want you to leave it uncovered, let the air get to it. You seem fine. I'll take another look at it in the morning. Now you two get to bed, it's a school night." Lois kissed both of her sons goodnight and thanked Reese for taking care of his brothers, even if one of them had somehow ended up with a head injury.

The Next Morning

Lois was half asleep as she sat at the kitchen table and sipped her morning coffee. Reese came running out of the bedroom wearing only his underwear. "MOM! MOM! MOM! MOM!"

"What in heaven's name? Reese? What is the matter with you?" Lois looked annoyed but was alarmed at her son's behavior.

"Mom! It's Malcolm, he won't wake up! Do something! Do something! He won't wake up!" Reese was hysterical, he was terrified that Malcolm was never going to wake up and it was his fault.

"My dear god," Lois said under her breath and ran into the boys' bedroom. Dewey was standing in a corner sucking his thumb, something he hadn't done in several years. He was staring at Malclom.

Lois raced to her son's bedside and sat next to him. She gently shook his shoulders. "Sweetie? It's time to get up." She shook harder. "MALCOLM," she screamed his name. "MALCOLM! Wake up! You're scaring your brothers! Wake up this instant!" The boy was completely unresponsive. Lois checked for a pulse and was relieved he had one and it was strong. She checked his breathing; it was slow but not labored in any way. She slapped his face hard. Nothing, he remained unconscious.

Reese was standing next to Lois, he was sobbing uncontrollably. His heart was breaking. "Make him wake up, mama! Do something!" Reese hadn't called Lois mama since he was 5 years old.

Lois took Reese's hand and pulled him next to her on the bed. "Sit down, sweetheart. Look, he isn't dead, that's what you thought isn't it?" Dewey heard the word dead and started screaming and ran out of the room.

Lois continued talking to Reese. "He has a good strong pulse and his breathing is normal. I don't know why he isn't waking up but we're going to get it fixed, ok? So you can stop crying."

Reese looked hurt at his mother's suggestion. He wiped his tears away with both hands and slowly got control of himself. His face was wet with tears and he had snot running out of his nose. "I don't cry, mom! You know that!"

"Of course you don't, honey, you're my big strong boy." Lois produced a tissue and held it to Reese's nose and ordered him to blow. "Now you sit here with Malcolm while I call 911."

Reese nodded and blushed a little when Lois kissed him on the cheek and patted his head.

2,500 Miles Away

Hal Wilkerson had been daydreaming during the boring business meeting. He was looking forward to wrapping up his trip and getting back home to Lois and the boys. He was dimly aware of something vibrating in his jacket pocket and realized at last it was his phone. He excused himself and quickly walked outside of the boardroom and down the hall towards the bathrooms. He looked at his phone. There was a glowing red icon which meant he had missed a call. He was about to hit callback when the phone started vibrating again, he recognized the number at once, it belonged to Lois. He answered immediately. "Hello sweetheart, everything ok?"

"Malcolm is in a coma, Hal. You have to come home right now."