AN: Thank you for the especially sweet reviews on the last chapter. I wanted to let you know that Taiga is indeed the nii-san. :D Japanese school years go from April to April, with years being based strictly on age at the starting date. So when their first year at Seirin began, Kuroko and Kagami were both fifteen. Then Kagami turned sixteen August 2, and Kuroko turned sixteen January 31. They're both sixteen now, in early spring when the story is set, but Taiga is almost six months older. So it counts. :D

Being sick was frightening.

Tetsu didn't want to sleep. His dad and his brother kept urging him to, wanting him to close his eyes and drift away. They meant it kindly, and he knew that. They thought that sleep would bring some relief, that even if it couldn't heal him completely, it would at least assist his body in some way. And they thought that while he slept, he wouldn't be suffering. They thought sleep was an escape.

Tetsu knew better. When he closed his eyes and let his mind drift, a rush of images came to meet him. He didn't really understand why they hadn't, before, but now they did. Before, sleep truly had been a relief. He had slept as much as he could and had been sorry when circumstances dictated that he remain awake.

Maybe it was because, before, the images had been present when he was awake. Even after he left the place of fear, he had carried the fear with him. It colored his perception and tainted his movements. He had startled at loud noises and quick gestures, hesitated before opening doors, and shrunk from the eyes of the world. But when he slept, all that went away, just as it sometimes did when Taiga-nii hugged him, or Hiroshi-san smiled at him, or someone on his team sat just close enough to him that he knew that he was sheltered but not so close that he felt trapped.

So being sick was frightening. It was mixing everything up in his head. He could feel his mind being heated to an unbearable boil, melting all of the things he had put away and pushed aside and done everything he could to repress, stewing them together and pouring them out where they could not be contained.

If he retained a shred of consciousness, he could keep some control of the mess. He knew he was sick. He knew fever was rattling his bones and shaking his brain. He could feel Hiroshi-san's presence surrounding him, Taiga's hand on his arm. He could hear their voices and knew that they loved him, and he knew that they would keep him safe.

But when he lost that shred, when he started to drift away... It all rose up around him and wrapped him in folds of black, hot and suffocating, vast quantities of thick velvet that tangled his arms and smothered his face. His father's face rose up before his eyes, twisted in hatred, spittle flying as he screamed at Tetsu from centimeters away. He felt blows against his body, heard the crack of the strap, but the pain was not as hard to bear as the hatred. He forgot that it was over. He forgot that Taiga had taken him away from that place and his father would never be permitted to touch him again.

So he shivered, and struggled, and pushed himself back to waking even though he could not open his eyes. He endured the heat of the fever and the ache in his body, the dryness of his throat and the headache pounding behind his eyes. All of it was easier to bear than the images.

"Tetsu-chan." A cool hand touched his cheek, and Tetsu raised his head, just a little. It took enormous effort. "No, it's all right, don't open your eyes. I'm going to give you some water, all right?"

Tetsu hummed his understanding. A cup was set to his lips. He drank in tiny sips, feeling the cool liquid spill out the sides of his mouth. It hurt to swallow. Everything hurt.

"Please, Tetsu-chan, a little more?"

He tried, but it hurt. He choked. Water went everywhere, spilling down his front. He convulsed against the arms that held him, panicking, eyes flying open. The cup disappeared, and Hiroshi-san cursed and gathered him up on his chest again.

"Shh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Calm down, Tetsu-chan, did some go down your windpipe? Shh, it's all right, it's all right."

The room was too bright. Tetsu blinked, but he couldn't take it in. Everything was a painful blur, the colors washed out, sharp and piercing. It hurt his eyes and worsened his headache.

"Tetsu-chan, are you okay? Can you talk?"

Tetsu shivered. "It hurts," he whispered. His eyes fell shut again.

"I'm sorry." Strong fingers carded through his hair. Tetsu leaned into the touch as much as he could. "What hurts, Tetsu-chan? Your throat, from the water?"

"Everything." His breath rasped in his throat.

"Dad." Taiga's voice. He sounded too far away, standing somewhere to the left instead of sitting next to Tetsu the way he used to be. "I told them that his breathing is more labored and he's less responsive." The words had the rhythm of recitation to them, as if Taiga was repeating exactly what his dad had told him to say. "I think someone finally might be doing something."

"Good job, Taiga." Hiroshi-san's voice rumbled against Tetsu's ear. He leaned closer, wanting to hear more of it. Wanting to fall into it and vanish. "Why don't you come sit with us again?"

"Can't." Taiga's voice got closer, then farther away. He was pacing. "Sorry."

Being sick was frightening. Tetsu knew that if he lifted a hand, if he reached out toward his brother and said his name, "Taiga-nii," no matter how soft or rough his voice was, or how hard to hear... He knew that Taiga would come right away. He would take his hand and lean in next to him, big and strong and solid. He would control his anxiety, his need for movement, and answer Tetsu's smallest request for his presence.

Because he knew this would happen, Tetsu didn't need to do it. He leaned on Hiroshi-san's chest and listened to Taiga pace the floor. He was frightened, but he was safe.

The last shred of consciousness was beginning to elude his grasp, no matter how desperately he tried to hold on to it. He was just...so tired. This didn't feel like going to sleep, though. It was more like passing out. Maybe that was why the images weren't rushing at him, this time. He felt like he was sinking into a hot, sticky swamp. It dragged at his limbs, slowly and inevitably sucking him under. Everything was fading. Everything was going away. He couldn't hold on.

Just before it all vanished into thick, gray mud, Tetsu was aware of a stranger's voice, a stranger's hands on him. It made his heart jump, sluggish even in alarm, but he didn't have the strength to respond. The stranger's voice seemed worried, though, and Tetsu was sorry for that. He didn't want to worry anyone...

Being sick was uncomfortable. A cool hand touched his cheek, and it felt so nice against the heat that Tetsu longed to lean into it, but he didn't have the strength to move. "Tetsu-chan. Tetsu-chan. Can you open your eyes?"

Hiroshi-san's voice. It sounded different. Tetsu couldn't figure out why. His tone was the same as it had been since they arrived at the hospital, quiet and soothing but with an edge of anxiety hidden beneath it. Tetsu shifted his head. He was still in Hiroshi-san's arms, still cradled against his chest. It was exactly where he wanted to be, so he felt no need to move or speak.

"Tetsu-chan, are you awake? Please respond if you can."

"His breathing seems to indicate that he's regained consciousness." Another stranger's voice. Male. Mature. Too close. Tetsu tensed up, curling into Hiroshi-san's hold.

Hiroshi-san's arms tightened around him in response. "Tetsu-chan? It's a doctor. We're in an exam room now. Can you answer some questions?"

Oh. That was why Hiroshi-san's voice had sounded different. They were in a smaller room now, no background noise, no echoing emptiness of a large waiting area. Tetsu forced his eyes open, though he still couldn't make out much more than a confusing blur that shifted when Hiroshi-san did, adjusting his grip on him.

Kuroko blinked. He saw a dark red blur over a pinkish-white blur against the wall nearby. "Taiga-nii?" His voice sounded slurred.

"I'm here." Taiga scooted his chair closer and reached out to take Tetsu's hand.

Tetsu sighed and closed his eyes again. He couldn't bring himself to care about the doctor. As long as Hiroshi-san and Taiga were with him, he would be okay.

"Tetsu-kun," the doctor said. He kept his voice low and kind, mirroring Hiroshi-san. "I know you're not feeling well. I just need you to answer a couple of questions to help me figure out what's wrong with you, all right?"

Tetsu hummed his agreement, but refused to open his eyes again.

"Have you been having body aches and muscle soreness?"

Well, yes, but Tetsu didn't see how that had anything to do with his sickness. It was true, so he managed to make an affirmative noise. The sound was somewhat muffled against Hiroshi-san's shirt, but the doctor seemed satisfied.

"Sore throat? Difficulty swallowing?"

Affirmative noise. That had just started today, but it was true, too.

"Coughing or sneezing?"

No.

"Sinus congestion?"

Tetsu hesitated. He wasn't sure what that meant, and he couldn't muster the energy to figure it out.

"That would be a painful feeling around your nose and eyes. It might feel as if someone punched you, even though no one has."

Another affirmative noise, this one surprised as well. Tetsu hadn't known that that feeling was a symptom. He figured that he felt like he'd been punched because...well...he had been punched. Not in the face, though, so it had seemed odd when his cheeks and eyes started aching.

"Your ear looks a little swollen. Has that been paining you? Especially inside the ear?"

Yes. His father had slapped him there a while ago. It never quite stopped hurting. It might have even started hurting more lately, though Tetsu didn't know why.

"Your friends here said you were roughed up recently. Did you have any cuts or scrapes that didn't heal right, that seemed red and inflamed?"

Taiga piped up for that one. "Yeah, he has."

The doctor was quiet for a moment. When he spoke, he didn't seem to be talking to Tetsu anymore. "Well, it's no wonder he's so ill. Infected wounds, an ear infection, and the beginnings of a bad case of influenza. And that's just off the top of my head."

Tetsu's family said nothing. Then Hiroshi-san spoke. "What now?"

"We need to get him a bed. IV antibiotics and fluids, to start with. We'll do some blood cultures to figure out exactly what's going on in that sick little body, and we'll attack it with everything we've got."

Hiroshi-san's hand flattened against the side of Tetsu's head, pressing him close to his heart. "So we're talking multiple infections, then."

"Plus the flu, which is viral. You have a very sick young man there, Kagami-san. And I'm to understand you were waiting in emergency for over two hours? That is unacceptable. I will speak with the nurses."

Hiroshi-san made a dismissive noise. "They didn't realize how serious it was. None of us did. Tetsu-chan is very talented at hiding just how much distress he is in."

"Yeah," Taiga said soberly.

"Never mind that," Hiroshi-san said. "I'm more worried about the future. What's the prognosis, doctor?"

"If we can keep the infection from moving to his lungs and becoming pneumonia, we'll be in good shape. As I said, we'll attack this with everything we have. We'll keep Tetsu-kun tonight for observation and to give him a good boost with the IV. If all goes well, you'll be able to take him home tomorrow or the day after to finish his recovery, but he will need a lot of care."

"That won't be a problem. He'll have both us attending to his every need and desire, I can assure you of that."

"Yeah." Taiga squeezed Tetsu's hand.

The doctor made an amused noise. "I see. Well, hold tight. I'll see about getting a gurney for you."

There were rustling cloth noises, the opening and closing of a door, and the stranger wasn't in the room anymore. It was just Tetsu and his family now, and he was finally able to relax. He went limp on Hiroshi-san's chest again, a relieved sigh wheezing out.

"Tetsu-chan?" Hiroshi-san's fingers ran through his hair. "Did you understand that? You're going to be all right. Just a day in the hospital, two at most, and we'll get you home and take care of you there."

Tetsu made a noise of understanding. He shifted where he lay, trying to find a comfortable spot, but it was impossible. He was still hot and achy and exhausted. And he was not looking forward to two days in a hospital, where he knew he would be continually examined and bothered and stared at by people he did not know. Being sick was extremely uncomfortable.

They seemed aware of his discomfort, somehow. Hiroshi-san stroked his hair. Taiga continued to hold his hand.

"You won't be alone," Taiga said. His voice was firm and decisive. "I know you don't like being alone, especially when there are strangers around. So don't worry. Me or Dad, or both of us, will be with you the whole time you're stuck in here."

Tetsu forced his eyes open and gave him a smile. "Thank you, Taiga-nii."

He still wasn't happy about it. But that helped. It helped a lot. When the swamp started to suck him down again, Tetsu decided not to fight it.