It isn't often that Sebastian actually gets hurt on a mission, let alone hurt bad enough to warrant a week's stay in St. Bart's. After a deal gone bad, Seb had been shot clean through the abdomen and again in the shoulder, meaning he'd need an actual doctor to check him out and probably a strong man to sit on his chest until the anesthetic kicked in and knocked his ass out.
It was the second day after he was admitted that Jim brought Thalia to see him, the three year old obediently holding her daddy's hand as he led her through the maze of halls and elevators to the best room money could buy. It was private and had an amazing view of the city, but the curtains were drawn and the smell of disinfectant stung Jim's nose. And there was Sebastian, lying in the hospital bed, sound asleep with all kinds of wires hooked up to him and machines beeping. To be frank, he looked awful; bruised knuckles, bruising around his eyes from where his nose had been broken and reset, white gauze covering the shoulder wound while the hospital gown covered the abdominal one, all color drained from his face.
It was a tug on his trousers that made Jim tear his gaze away, brown eyes resting on the little girl standing next to him. She looked horrified to see her papa in such a state, blue eyes wide and filled with tears. Of course, she would react like this, her papa was supposed to be invincible, a superhero that beat up the good guys and occasionally came home with ice cream.
Her little chest was heaving as she readied herself for a hysterical fit of sobbing and snot, but Jim quickly scooped her up and brought her over to the window so she couldn't see Seb. "It's alright," he murmurs against her hair, taking comfort in the familiar scent of strawberries," it's going to be just fine, Honeybear."
"But Papa," she says, voice all shaky from the tears she was gallantly fighting back.
"I know, but your papa will pull through this just fine. All he needs is rest and hugs." She buries her face in the crook of his neck and Jim rests his cheek against her head, opening the curtains just enough for a strip of sunlight to stream into the dark room. His Honeybear didn't like the dark quite yet and there was no point in scaring her more than she already is.
"I don't like this place."
"A little bitty baby in a little bitty gown," he begins to sing automatically, the only song that really calms her down," it'll grow up in a little bitty town. A big yellow bus and little bitty books, it all started with a little bitty look." Just a few words in and her trembling has stopped, but the wetness sliding down his chest was undoubtedly her tears. "Well, it's alright to be little bitty, a little hometown or a big ol' city. Might as well share, might as well smile, life goes on for a little bitty while."
"I thought you hated that song." Jim whirls around to find Sebastian staring at them with a fond smile, though he still looked exhausted. What was that saying Seb's ex-wife was so fond of? Oh, that's it, like he went ten rounds with a twister and came out on the losing end. She may be an annoying bumpkin, but Kelsey spouts out some interesting sayings from time to time.
"Our daughter doesn't." Seb's smile turns into a grimace of pain as he attempts to sit up, eventually just relying on the remote control to raise the upper half of his bed. "How are you feeling?"
"Pretty much how I look." His blue eyes focus on the little girl resting on Jim's hip, softening in a way they never did for anyone else. Sure, Sebastian definitely let his guard down around Jim, even loved him, but it wasn't the same as when he looked at his daughter. "And how's my little Honeybear doing?" Thalia slowly raises her head to look at her papa, bottom lip wobbling again. "Come here, darling."
"Are you sure?"
"Do you really have to ask that, Jim?" Rolling his eyes at the attitude, he gently deposits his daughter on the bed and watches as she immediately launches herself against Seb. She may be a whirlwind on most afternoons, but she was also the world's greatest cuddle monster and no amount of wires would stop her from curling up next to her papa. "Hey, sweetheart, don't cry."
"You look bad," she says around a sob, wrapping her thin arms tightly around Seb's neck. "I don't want my papa to be hurt!"
"I'm not too fond of it either." Seb wraps a protective arm around her and keeps her close, completely relaxing into the hug. Jim had a theory that Thalia's hugs were addicting; after all, why else would he of all people adore them? He was a man that went without hugs as often as possible, but then this little blonde entered his life and he couldn't get enough of them.
"Promise me you'll always be okay." There was a moment of silence where Seb and Jim shared a look of understanding, both of them knowing he would never be able to keep that promise, but she was their little girl and how could he not try to reassure her?
"I promise you that I'll always find my way back to you." That seemed to pacify her fears, her grip still tight on him, but the desperate sobbing abating. "Isn't it your naptime, young lady?"
"Daddy said I could skip it today." Honestly, Jim figured she would fall asleep on the way to the hospital, but she had stayed wide awake and clutching his hand like a lifeline. Kids always knew when something wasn't right, it was like a sixth sense they had, and no amount of diamond-studded jewelry would put Thalia Moran off the scent of trouble when people she loved were involved. Now that she knew her papa would be alright and that the danger was over, her eyelids were beginning to droop and she was yawning more frequently.
Seb smiles down at her, rubbing her back soothingly like he used to do when she was just an infant. Jim was tired as well and it wasn't long before he pulled the chair closer to the bed so he could hold Seb's hand. The bed wasn't nearly big enough for all three of them, so Jim would make due until Seb came home. "You know you got a job and a little bitty check," Seb picks up, voice soft and comforting," a six pack of beer and a television set. Little bitty world goes around and around…."
Jim barely registers his own eyes closing or the fact that he was drifting off into dreamland, only focused on how great of a singer Sebastian was when he put his mind to it.
"…. Little bit of silence and a little bit of sound."