After making some calls, Doctor Early joined the DeSoto's again and allowed Roy to begin leading him and Jo into Johnny's cubicle. Before they could enter however, the nurse in charge of Johnny's care asked to speak with the three of them, away from where he might overhear.

"Dr. Early," Nurse Fitz began. "We tried to perform the nuero and vitals checks as asked, but we ran into a problem… If he was sleeping and we woke him up, or if he was awake and we tried to perform the checks, Johnny would just end up almost hyperventilating. It wasn't until we would back-up or even left the room that he would calm down. I was just about to call you when I saw you coming off the elevator."

"That's odd," Roy replied with a slight frown. "He seemed to deal with them just fine while I was there. Johnny wasn't too thrilled about them, but he cooperated at least."

"That's the thing though, Roy. You were there," Dr. Early explained. "It's what I tried to tell you. Right now, John is extremely confused, scared, worried, and he doesn't know what is going on. He is more than likely forgetting what he was told not too long ago and is struggling to take in everything. Those things alone are enough to throw off someone's emotional balance. On top of that, with his injuries and surgery, he is fighting the emotional and physical upheaval of that as well. It will take quite a while to regain his balance again, if he ever does regain his emotional balance fully.

"Johnny is also surrounded by what he believes are strangers, yet these same people are trying to tell him that they know who he is and who he is as a person. At the same time, his body is trying hard to recover physically and that alone would be hard enough with the numerous injuries, but when you consider his emotional state of mind as well," Dr. Early sighed heavily.

"Let's just say, us doctors will have to be more vigilant than normal to ensure he doesn't come down with any infections or complications. Anyone who does interact with him will need to remember to be patient with him and remember that this is not the John Gage we remember. Thankfully, from what I have observed in emergency and the ICU so far, for whatever reason however, it does seem that the deep bond that connects you two together still exists. Although Johnny doesn't seem to realize this, he does trust you more than anyone else. I don't believe he fully trusts you, but he is willing to give you the benefit of the doubt given the fact of this connect you two have. That is why I have wanted you around."

"I understand, and I will be here as much as possible," Roy promised. "I know I will need to stop at home soon, just to let my kids know how he is doing when they get home from school."

"That is more than understandable and you won't have to worry. I will probably be keeping him lightly sedated with anti-anxiety meds after running a few tests considering how he has reacted so far. With all the trauma his body has gone through, it shouldn't be hard for him to sleep much of the time. So, how about we see how Johnny is doing? And Roy, if you don't mind, why don't you take his vitals and after that, I'll just run a quick nuero check and exam to see where we are."

"Sure, doc, that's no problem. Ready, honey?" Roy asked Joanne.

"Yes," she replied, mentally calming herself down. She honestly had no idea what to expect or how to react and for someone who prided herself on being able to be strong for others, it was a bit of shock to feel so vulnerable.

Knocking softly on the doorway of Johnny's ICU are, Roy entered quietly. Seeing that Johnny was awake and just staring out the window, he asked, "See anything interesting?"

Shaking his head no, Johnny didn't bother to turn and see who was invading his space this time. It seemed as though someone was always bugging him, wanting to poke him or hurt him for no reason he could think of. They kept saying it wasn't because he was bad, but during the few times he had fallen asleep, Johnny figured they must be lying. He may not know why he was here or why he hurt so much, but he did remember that he was told that his parents couldn't be there with him before he went to sleep. Considering he was seven years old and if he 'membered right, it was almost time for Christmas, that meant his parents were both gone. Johnny just couldn't figure out why they were lying to him, especially that blonde hair man. He seemed so kind and gentle. Shrugging his shoulder, Johnny heard his name coming from the white hair man…a doctor, he believed, but not in time to figure out what he had said.

"Did you get that, Johnny?" Dr. Early asked patiently, seeing Johnny's attention had wandered when Roy introduced Joanne and then he taken over to let him know that there were tests he wanted to run.

"Nope," Johnny stated bluntly with a bit of an attitude.

"What were you thinking about, sweetie?" Jo asked.

"Who's hell you?" Johnny was starting to feel crowded. That doctor was near his feet and blocking the door, the blonde hair man- ROY! That's it, that's his name! – was near his head on the right side blocking the window and now this lady was between these two.

"Her name is Joanne," Roy explained as patiently as possible. "Please, don't swear. I know you must be frustrated, but maybe if you tell us why, we can help."

"Why you did not tell me mama and dad are gone? Why I here, whatcha want with me anyway?"

Joanne's mothering instinct took over at that point and she sat on the bed next to Johnny.

"Honey, no one told you about your mom and dad because we didn't know how to tell you. We also had hoped that when you woke up, you would feel better and remember things on your own. If you hadn't remembered, I promise you, we would have told you today."

"Really?" Johnny was still suspicious and looked to Roy for confirmation.

"Yes. We also promise that we will help you out as much as we possibly can since your parents aren't here, alright? I know you don't know us, but both Joanne and I are hoping you will give us a chance to get to know us. We would love to have you as part of our lives."

"Why? I just a half-breed…"

"So," Joanne waved it off. "I have a lot of different types of people in my background. So does Roy. I don't mind in the least about Roy or about you, or about anyone's color or background. Does that make sense?"

Shaking his head yes skeptically, Johnny decided he would have to keep an eye on what she did. He had already learned that what people said, wasn't always what they did and like his parents taught him, it was best to judge people by how they were, not what they said.

Seeing that it'd take time, energy and effort for trust to be built on the DeSoto's part, as well as anyone who came into contact with Johnny, Dr. Early decided to note that fact so one nurse would be assigned to him each shift. Hopefully, without different ones coming in and out, it would alleviate some of the stress and fear Johnny would feel when they had to check in on him.

"John, if it is okay with you, I'd like Roy to take your vital signs so we can see how you are doing. After that, I would like to run just a few short tests myself. We'll have to have the nurses take your vital signs every half-hour right now, but you can sleep in between them, okay?" Dr. Early promised as he witness Johnny yawned.

"What signs? And I didn't study for no test…" Johnny anxiously told him.

"It's okay, you don't need to study for these tests," Roy assured him. "Would you like it if Joanne stayed or would you rather that she leaves? She could always stop on by before we leave."

Overwhelmed by the information, Johnny couldn't process anything and his anxiety began causing him to hyperventilate.

"Johnny," Roy softly commanded. When that failed to capture his attention, he tried again. This time, he grasped Johnny's head lightly to turn it towards him so Johnny could concentrate on him. "John, look at me."

Glancing up at Roy, John reached out a hand, finally grabbing Joanne's hand.

"Take a deep breath in," Roy coached gently. "That's a boy. Now let it out. Take another breath in and hold it. Let that breathe out."

After a couple of minutes, Roy had successfully calmed down Johnny.

"I'm so sorry," Roy apologized, dropping his hand from Johnny's face. "I didn't mean to pile on so much on you."

"Why you saying sorry?" Johnny was confused. It was rare that anyone would say those words to him, unless it was his family.

"Because I know your head must hurt and you are having a hard time with everything. I forgot that for a bit. It was my fault."

"Okay…" unable to think of a good response, Johnny just let it go.

"Since you seem okay with Joanne, would you like her to stay?" asked Roy, seeing that Johnny still held her hand.

"Oh! I'm sorry…" Johnny stuttered, trying to let go of her hand. "Ma'am, I didn't know, sorry."

"It's okay, sweetie," Joanne smiled. "And you don't need to call me ma'am. Joanne is fine."

Blushing and ducking his head, Johnny shook his head and told her he couldn't.

Lifting up his face gently, Joanne asked, "Why not?"

"Mama and Dad always said I call adults by the last name or ma'am or sir. To respect to them. I don't know your last name so…" again, Johnny blushed and tried ducking his head.

For a few moments, there was silence while Roy and Joanne looked at one another. Both were clear: neither felt comfortable being addressed that way, no matter how long it may be for, yet they knew they had to respect how Johnny was raised.

"How about for right now, you just call us Uncle Roy and Aunt Jo?" Roy held his breath. It would be beyond odd for his partner to call him that, but it would solve both problems he and Jo had. Plus, that was the same solution Johnny had come up with when he grew close enough to their family that if felt too formal for Chris to call him Mr. Gage while calling him by his given name wasn't deemed appropriate or respectful in the adult's eyes.

"Really?" Johnny seemed to perk up at this news. Unfortunately, for him, it meant trying to move as well and that did not bode well at all for him.

As soon as he tried straightening in bed due to his eagerness, pain shot through his legs and lower back as the stitches were tugged. The burns rubbed against the blankets causing him to groan. Worst yet, the movement triggered a head rush causing even more dizziness. All in all, the result was more nauseous and if it wasn't for the NG tube, Johnny would have become sick. As it were, Dr. Early quickly stepped outside the ICU cubicle and let a nurse the medications he would need.

Stepping back in, Dr. Early saw the DeSoto's resettling him back on the bed.

"Johnny," he nearly whispered. "I know right now you are in a lot of pain. To help get rid of that pain though, I need Roy to do a vitals check first. Then I need to do some of my own tests. It won't take too long, but it needs to be done. Joanne will stay by you if you would like."

Hesitating, Johnny thought about it briefly. It wasn't long before he agreed to letting her stay however as she reminded him of his own mother.

"Alright, than, Joanne, if you could come stay on his right side. Johnny, the first thing Roy will do is take your temperature, the thermometer is going to need to stay in your mouth for about three minutes," Dr. Early nodded to Roy who already had everything laid out for the vitals check.

"While we are waiting for that, Roy is going to put what is called a blood pressure cup on your arm. It will tighten on your arm and he will listen to the blood flow in your arm as it tightens. It might hurt or pinch a bit, it may even make your arm a bit tingly but it will go away soon enough," he explained as Roy pumped up the blood pressure cup. "He is going to put his fingers on your wrists to check your pulse."

Again, Dr. Early waited a bit until Roy was done so as not to overwhelm Johnny. "Finally, he is going to put his hands on your stomach to count how many times you breathe. Now that all that is done, he just needs to pull out the thermometer and that is it. Was that too scary?"

"Nah," Johnny said, yawning. "Just boring and tiring. Nap time?"

"Sorry, I still need to run my tests," Dr. Early told him. "After that, you can sleep. Just remember, Joanne and Roy need to get some sleep too, so they will be going home after you fall asleep. They will be back tomorrow though, alright? There will be a nurse who will be checking in on you now and again, you just let her know if you need anything at all or if you need one of us.

"Now, for my tests, it may hurt a bit, which is why I didn't give you the medications that will help the pain right away. Plus, the medications will make you sleepy. Thanks, Roy," Dr. Early said as Roy walked over to the other side of the bed, knowing the doctor would need room to work.

"Alright, Johnny, first, I am going to shine this small flashlight into your eyes," Dr. Early lifted first the left eyelid and flashed the light over the eye a couple of times before doing the same with the other eye. Each time the light passed over Johnny's eye, he tried moving out of the way, but Roy was there to help hold him still while Joanne held onto his hand. As Doctor Early got out the otoscope, he made sure to explain that it was just a fancier version of the flashlight.

"Plus, this way, not only can I see really good up your nose, I can also see into your ears. Thankfully, I can't see through them, which is very good news," Dr. Early told him as he continued to demonstrate exactly what the otoscope could do, drawing giggles from Johnny, as well as Roy and Joanne. "I can also see into your eyes. I also can see what your mouth looks like inside.

"You did very well. Now, if you could hold your head still and follow my finger," Dr. Early asked. "Great job. Can you tell me how many fingers I am holding up?"

"Three?" Johnny asked, not quite sure that the answer was right.

Smiling, Dr. Early announced that Johnny was doing very good.

"We are almost done, I need you to take both of my hands and squeeze them as hard as possible," Dr. Early asked as he placed his hands by Johnny's. After he had done so, Dr. Early moved to the end of the bed and flipped up the covers to uncover his feet. Placing his hands flat against Johnny's left foot, he asked him to press down as hard as he could.

Trying, Johnny let out a sharp yelp of pain. When he had tried to do so, it had felt as though he was trying to rip apart his back. Becoming angry within mere seconds, he grabbed the closest thing near him, a glass of water, at Dr. Early. Considering that he tried throwing the glass with his right hand, he managed to rip out his IV of antibiotics that were piggy-backed to the fluids. Fortunately for Dr. Early, the glass didn't go far and basically tumbled out of Johnny's hand.

Shocked, Roy snapped, "Johnny!"

Ashamed, he turned his back to Roy and Joanne the best he could, pulling his covers up as far as they could go. He didn't care about the blood flowing down his arm from his blown IV or anything else. He just wanted to disappear.

"Roy, remember, you have to be patient," Jo whispered so quietly Roy could barely hear her.

Nodding, Roy joined Dr. Early on the other side of the bed to try to coax Johnny out from under the covers.

"Johnny, I'm not mad. I was, well, I was just surprised that you threw the glass. I guess I didn't think about why you threw it. Joanne reminded me and well, I get it now too. I would have thrown the glass too. Actually, I think I would have thrown something heavier and would actually have hit the doc," Roy joked.

Peeking out from under the blankets, Johnny's brown eyes looked wary until he saw Roy's look.

"Reallys?" he asked in wonder.

"Yeah, it has to hurt with all those stitches on your back."

"Why are they there?"

Looking at Dr. Early for confirmation that it was okay to tell him, Roy explained that he'd been caught in a fire and when he was trying to escape, something blew up, making him fly a bit, causing him to get hurt.

"Wow," Johnny stated.

"Wow is right," Roy repeated, thinking that was an understatement. "Now, you need this IV, it helps you from getting sick and that way you don't have to get a shot every time you need medication, so how about I put it back in for you?"

Pushing the blankets down to his elbows, Johnny moaned.

"Hate needles."

"Better one needle than having the nurses keep sticking you a lot whenever you need your medications. That would hurt a lot more," Roy reasoned.

Giving in, Johnny held out his right hand where Roy inserted a new IV needle and put a bandage over the old IV site. Once that was established, Dr. Early gave Johnny the medications for pain and to help him sleep. When he finally dozed off, the three of them exited his room as silently as possible.