Roy arrived at the DeSoto's two story house ten minutes after Joanne did, having stopped to pick up a pizza from a local place. With everything that had gone on lately, it would mean more time for them as a family to discuss what was expected of them. It would also give him more time with his family before his crew came over to discuss what exactly was going on with Johnny and what the expectations were for his recovery.

Opening the front door, Roy took a deep breath and mentally prepared himself for a tough evening ahead.

Although, I'm not too certain that things are going to be easy for quite a while yet. Even Dr. Early has cautioned that despite the fact that from a medical perspective, everything is going well, we still have to take things slowly as the surgery to remove the excess blood was less than a week ago and the swelling isn't completely gone yet. Johnny could still suffer some sort of setback or the bruises could cause more swelling, especially if his blood pressure becomes too high or he suffers another head injury before they are healed. I just hope that nothing else happens because I am not sure how much more any of us can take, me, my wife, kids, him or his friends.

His daughter's cry of "Daddy!" freed him from his worrying thoughts.

"Hi, sweetheart," Roy gave her a weak smile. "So how was your day?"

"It was fine," Jenny shrugged her shoulders. "Mom and Chris are setting up for supper and she said when you got here, we could eat."

"Well, let's go then, shall we," Roy took her hand and let her lead him into the kitchen. By how silent the dinner was, Roy knew Jo had told the kids that they would wait until after dinner to discuss how their uncle was doing.

"Can we be excused, mom?" Chris asked for himself and Jenny after seeing she, too was done with her salad and pizza.

"Yes, you may. In fact, we'll all help clean up and go in the living room to talk about what is happening and what the plans are," Jo replied.

Nodding his head, Roy got up and followed the others as they silently and quickly cleaned up after themselves. Once that chore was done, Roy led the family into the living room and took a seat on the end of the coach. Joanne sat on the end table across from him with Jenny next to her while Chris sat next to his dad. This way, they could all see one another, yet be close enough as well. Both Chris and Jenny had been scared after the talk that morning and although both were hoping for good news, they knew that if there was any, they would have been asked to wait.

Preparing himself, Roy began discussing the situation with his kids.

"I really am not sure how to start," looking down at his hands, Roy exhaled loudly. "I guess I should say that the surgery done to remove some blood in Uncle Johnny's brain did what it was supposed to… The swelling of his brain has gone down and Doctor Early feels that a couple of days more on medications should help it go down the rest of the way. That means, there shouldn't be any problems from that.

"The brain still has bruises and at this time, they are pretty bad. You know how bruises get worse before they get better?" Roy asked and looked at his two kids. Both of them nodded yes.

He wished with all his heart that his ten-year old daughter and eleven-year old son didn't have to hear this next part. But he and Joanne promised to be honest with them if something would affect them-besides, how could he not tell them? John had been around them their whole lives and for them, they didn't remember a time when he was a part of the DeSoto family. Even knowing that his two kids were caring, kind and had an uncommon ability to not only accept others for who they were, but to help those in need, Roy still wanted to protect them. Protect them from what, he wasn't sure, as he had made sure his kids were well-informed about topics many parents thought they were too young for.

Maybe just protect them from the harsh realities of life. Just because of the skills and knowledge they do have, doesn't mean that they really understand how cruel life can be, Roy admitted to himself

"So, does that mean that the bruises are really bad right now?" Chris asked. "And how did he even get bruises there? I mean, I didn't think you could."

"It's possible, although it takes a lot of trauma, or force, to do so. In this case, when the explosion occurred, he was tossed around quite a bit and his head was basically shaken hard. That with the land, well, let's just say it was enough to do the damage," swallowing rapidly, Roy tried to get the sounds he had heard out of his head. Knowing it would take a long time to fade in his mind, he tried concentrating on the here and now. "Anyway, the bruises are most likely what is causing Johnny to have issues with his memory and in some other areas.

"Doctor Early noticed when he had asked Johnny some basic questions, such as age and where he was, it took him a bit to answer. So, it seems as though he is thinking a bit slower than he should be. Hopefully, that will clear up with time. Uncle Johnny is also experiencing some muscle weakness, meaning he just doesn't have the strength he should. Again, we have to wait and see if this gets better.

"I think right now, what your mom and I are most worried about, besides Johnny not knowing us is the fact that his moods go up and down. He can be calm and fine, then he just gets scared and acts out. Although, he can't do much yet as he is just extremely tired."

"Well, daddy," Jenny interrupted impatiently. "How could he not be upset and frustrated and scared? He doesn't know anything! Where he is, what's going on, nothing! I bet he is in pain and feels like he's been left alone. How would you feel then?"

Knowing that she was right, Roy and Joanne looked at each other. Sometimes, it amazed them how perspective their youngest was.

"You're right, dad and I didn't really think of that," Joanne told her. "And he does remember that his parents died, so that couldn't have helped."

Roy ran his hand though his hair.

"We really messed up," he stated.

"No, we were just more worried about other things," Jo countered. "Don't give me that look Roy Christopher DeSoto. You can't remember or do everything yourself."

"I know, but…"

"But, nothing," Jo stated firmly.

"Alright. Now, kids. I know you said that you wanted Uncle Johnny to come home here again to recover after he gets out. Knowing he thinks he is younger than both of you, that he has mood swings, and will need both your dad's help, as well as mine, do you still want this? I want you to think about this, there is no right answer. It's okay if the idea of him coming here, not knowing when or if Johnny will get better, is too scary or too much to handle. If either one of you doesn't want him to come here, that's perfectly fine. But this has to be a family decision. Take some time and really think hard. Ask us questions if you need to, although what we told you is what we were told and honestly, we aren't sure of much more. But we will try our best," Roy informed the kids

After a bit, Chris asked, "how long would it take for Uncle Johnny to get better?"

"First of all, Doctor Early told us that recovery would depend on how long it took the bruises to heal. If it takes too long for the bruises to heal or the bruises are too deep, than Johnny may not ever be back to how he was before. Doctor Early can't say what issues Johnny might have as it would depend on where the bruise is on the brain since different parts of the brain affect different things," seeing the slightly confused looks, Roy tried to come up with a comparison.

"Think of a rubber ball that you play with or a basketball. If you drop it in a bunch of colors of paint, you will find yourself with a ball where some of it still looks like it normally does, but where you dropped it has paint. Now, say you let the paint dry before trying to clean up the ball. Most of the paint might come off, but some of it may stick to the ball. The ball will then never be the same as what it was before the drop, right? It's kinda like how a brain works. When something happens, you can repair the brain sometimes, just like you can wipe off the paint of the ball right away in hopes of fixing it so it goes back to how it was before. Sometimes it works, other times, it doesn't. In other cases, you need to let the brain repair itself. The brain might be able to put itself back to how it was before, but in some cases, the damage is permanent. It just depends on where and how well it can be repaired. Does that help?" Joanne asked.

"So, the paint is like bruises and while the doctors try to fix some of it, now we gotta wait and see?" Jenny asked.

"Yes, that's exactly right," Jo answered.

"But that still didn't answer my question," Chris said. "Or are you saying that Uncle Johnny may never be like he used to be?"

"As much as we hate it, that just might be the case," Roy confirmed grimly. "No one knows right now though and we won't know until the bruises are gone. Since all bruises heal differently, we also don't know how long it will take for all of the bruises to go away completely. Doctor Early is using a new machine, called a CAT Scan which takes better pictures of the brain than an x-ray. That'll help him keep track of how Uncle Johnny is doing, but, well, the only thing the doctors can really do is try to help him deal with everything as it is as well as help him out with his medical needs. He did need some stitches, plus his ankle, foot and a couple of ribs were broken as well, so they are trying to make sure he isn't in pain from those issues. Those will heal just like any other times he has gotten broken bones or stitches."

Chris smiled at that comment, while both Jo and Jenny giggled. With the number of times Johnny had gotten stitches, he could have knitted his own socks after getting the stitches pulled. As good as he was at being a rescue man and a paramedic, Johnny also was great at being accident prone.

"I still say Uncle Johnny should come home. He's family," Chris firmly stated.

"What about you Jenny?" Jo asked.

"It'd be odd if we didn't have him here. He needs us, even if he doesn't know that or us," was her pronouncement.

Smiling, Roy was relieved. Despite the fact that he had told Doctor Early he was sure that this would be the final decision for his kids, he still wasn't completely sure in his mind. Looking at the clock on the fireplace mantle, he saw it was fast approaching 7:30 pm.

"I am proud of both of you for this decision. I told Dr. Early that you would likely want to and he isn't sure of our family's decision," seeing the almost mutinous pouts on both of his children's face, Roy held up his hand. "He did agree though that if we did agree to a few things, he would give it serious consideration. So, starting tomorrow, each of us has to go to see a therapist name Doctor Druthers. Dr. Early wants us each to go into this with our eyes open and with as much knowledge as possible, with I agree is a great idea."

Joanne took up from here, knowing despite his willingness to actually go to the sessions, he would not be the best one to prepare Chris or Jennifer.

"The sessions will be by yourselves so you can talk about any worries you have, or how you feel about things. This Doctor Druthers will have a bit of extra time set aside if you need it. These sessions will also help you to deal with what is happening and what it means by being willing to have Johnny at home with us. We'll have a family session after a few days and then have a session or so with Johnny included. I'll pick you two up after school and we'll go right after. Are you guys okay with this still? If not, you can say so. Neither your dad nor I would be upset or any less proud of you," Joanne reassured them.

Seeing them both shake their head no, Joanne smiled.

"Alright you two. One last thing and I know this will be hard, but from now until Johnny gets better, you need to practice calling him just Johnny. If it helps, your dad and I have to get used to him calling us Aunt Jo and Uncle Roy because he told us his parents would never allow him to call an adult just by their first name," seeing their looks and the laughter that threatened to break out, Joanne went on. "Now, I know its early, but since your dad's crew will be helping out as they can, they will be over in about twenty minutes, so I'd like you to get ready for bed."

"Can we at least read?" Jenny asked.

"Up until 8:30 pm. It's a school night," Jo reminded her.

"Thanks," Jennifer said with a smile, giving first her mom, then her dad a hug and a kiss, Jennifer bounced up the stairs into her room.

Chris hugged both of his parents as well, hanging on a bit longer than normal, before he too went to his room across from his sister.

Ten minutes later, the doorbell rang. Opening the door, Roy wasn't surprised to see everyone from Station 51 'A' shift already there. He knew that it was never easy for anyone when one of them got hurt and this was the most serious injury any of them had ever incurred. While the five of them settled into the living room, Joanne went to make coffee. As soon as she brought it into the living room, she gave Roy a kiss and told him she would check up on the kids. Knowing how close the crew was, she correctly thought it'd be best that it would be done just among themselves.

When Jo had disappeared upstairs, Captain Stanley cleared his throat.

"So, how is John? I called the hospital for an update and they just say he's in stable condition."

"Yea," Chet agreed. "It's frustrating. I told the nurse or whoever I knew that, I just wanted to know if he was still a kid and she got huffy with me. Is he doing any better remembering us?"

"No," Roy let a deep sigh. "He still thinks he a kid and what's worse now, is that he remembers that his parents are gone. We won't know if it's permanent until the bruises heal and there is no way to know how long that will take."

"Is his aunt going to come up and help at all?" Cap asked.

Shaking his head no, Roy told him, "She said that she wouldn't know how to deal with it. I guess she is mad at Johnny for even becoming a firefighter and said something to the effect of, 'I told him he'd get hurt doing such a job. Recklessness and stupidity must run in the family.' When I asked her what she meant, she just something about how her brother drove off the road on his 13th wedding universe, killing him and his wife. I guess, she feels she tried to raise John better, but failed somehow and now wants nothing to do with him. That's why Jo and I are the powers of attorney for him, as well as next of kin."

Amazed at the seemingly uncaring woman, Roy thought out loud, "I know Johnny mentioned they were never close after she found him but would never told me why. I am not even sure he knew.

"Either way, she's washed her hands of him. She cares enough that she would like to be kept updated, if possible, her words, not mine. Otherwise, it'll be up to me and Jo to decide what to do. We did talk to Jenny and Chris about bringing him here and of course, despite what I said about his memory and mood swings, they still want him here. Doctor Early isn't too sure about it, so he made, or will make, appointments for the four of us to see a Doctor Druthers separately for the next few days. Then, we will have family sessions without Johnny before ones with him."

"Well, pal, whatever you need, we will see what we can do to help. Other firefighters have heard what happened and are willing to step up as well. Just let us know. But, I think I speak for the four of us here, we don't want you and Jo to think you are Johnny's only family. He's been like a son to me and I want to do what I can to help. Plus, my wife Irene wants to help out, what with the girls gone to college or busy with high school all the time."

Mike, Chet and Marco all readily agreed.

"If you need a break and need someone to stay with Johnny, I'd be more than willing," Mike offered. "I've taken care of my older sister when my parents needed to get away."

"Whatcha mean, Mike?" Chet was curious, he had never known Mike to have an older sister. Younger, yes. By the looks on the other guys, none of them had known either.

"My sister has autism. It's not bad enough that she needed to be in an institution, but she still needs a lot of help. She has trouble with a lot of basic things. Cooking, cleaning, laundry, remember to food shop, things like that. I just never thought to mention it," Mike said.

"Thanks, Mike. We might just take you up on it. From what it seems like, at least until Johnny's brain heals, it'll be like having three kids around here. One of them with some problems, even though we aren't quite sure what yet," said Roy.

"Hey, what about me?" Chet felt offended. "I can help."

"Really," Marco raised his eyebrows at his friend. "By what? Teaching him pranks or pulling them on him?"

"I wouldn't do that!" Chet protested. "I'd…"

"Hold it," Cap ordered, knowing Chet all too well. "How about we talk about what we came here for? What can we do now, Roy?"

"As you know, my family and I need to see Dr. Druthers before Doctor Early even thinks of signing off on releasing Johnny to our care. He did say that if you wanted to help and learn how more about head injuries, you could come with us to New Dawn Adult Care Home. I guess there, we will be given more information and shown how we can help Johnny. I think Dr. Early might even set you up to see Doctor Druthers so that we know how best to deal with and take care of any issues that pop up."

"Sure, I think that is no problem," Cap said for everyone after looking at how his remaining crew was reacting. "Thanks for letting us barge in like this and for keeping us in the loop."

"No problem. Just glad you guys are here to help," Roy admitted as he stood with the guys and headed towards the front door.

"Just call us if you need anything," Marco said as he left.

"Any time," Chet added as he too exited the DeSoto's house.

"That goes for me too, pal. If you even just need the missus to whip something up, just give me or her a call. She'd be glad to and may just randomly drop by anyway with food," Cap warned before leaving.

Mike lingered a bit behind, unsure how best to let his crew mate and friend know what was on his mind. In the end, he decided to do something very uncharacteristic and just spilled out what he was thinking.

"My sister is 39 now. I can best describe her as a contradiction. Someone who struggles with the simplest tasks and finds joy in the small things like a young kid would. The next moment, she says something so profound, you wonder if she isn't older than her years. The moment after that though, you just have to hang on because something has upset her, or stressed her out, or disrupted her routine so she has a temper-tantrum like a two-year old. Despite all that, she is loving, caring and unfailingly honest. I love her despite the ups and downs, the frustrations and uncertainties.

"I know it has to be hard for you and your family to deal with everything. I know my situation is far from the same. But I hope that you can find some comfort from knowing that I will at least be able to understand fairly well. I think what you want to do is amazing and I fully support it. Let me know if I can do anything, even if you just need to talk. Day or night."

Stunned, at both the amount said and what was said, Roy just watched as Mike walked into the dark to his car. Closing the door, he realized how truly blessed he was. With that thought, he made his way upstairs to check on his kids one last time before turning in himself. It had been a long day and tomorrow wasn't going to be easier on him.