A/N: Man they've been doing a lot of comforting each other lately. Between nightmares and cases and old demons, they really can't catch a break. I promise to give them one soon. For real. Oh and hi, how is this chapter 56 already? Insert gibberish here.

"Okay little man, it's time for you to go night-night," Adam said, tucking Colton into his crib. It was a little early to put him to bed, but he was looking pretty tired, and Adam had a special night planned anyway. Colton grimaced and swiped his fist across his nose, then grabbed the arm of his stuffed Wookie and settled down into sleep. Adam left the room quietly, making sure the door was only open a crack before he went into the kitchen.

The rice was almost done and the water for the chicken was boiling rapidly while the broccoli stood in wait to be steamed. He was attempting a dinner from a recipe, and he wasn't sure how it was going to go. And he was worried because he had cut the recipe down from eight servings to two, and in his haste he may not have done his math right.

He put the chicken in the pot to boil, then started the next load of laundry and set the table. Lindsay was going to be home soon, and he wanted everything to be perfect as soon as she stepped in the door. He scurried around the kitchen, finishing up the dinner and sticking it in the oven, then wiping down the counters to erase all evidence of how big his mess had gotten.

"Hey, I'm home," Lindsay greeted, stepping through the door.

"You're early."

"You're mad?"

"No, I just expected you in like," he checked his watch. "Fifteen more minutes. Guess you're not that early. Time got away from me."

"What do you have goin' on in here?"

"I made you dinner. It won't be ready for a while though."

"Well then," she said, sliding her arms around his neck. "Guess that gives me time to change and wonder what in the world possessed you to put candles on the table."

"Don't tell me you forgot our anniversary."

"It's not our anniversary."
"Is too. Three years ago this week, we started dating. Two years ago today I asked you to marry me."

"That was today?"

"Yeah. You don't remember?"

"I remember that very vividly, I just didn't realize that was today."

"So if I forget our real anniversary?"

"You get one freebie. I'm gonna go change."

She gave him a quick peck and went into the bedroom, changing into more comfortable clothes before peeking in on Colton. He was breathing heavily in sleep, nearly snoring. She smiled and suppressed the urge to reach out and stroke his rosy cheek, as it would most likely wake him up. Instead she slipped from the room and joined Adam in the kitchen.

"So how was work?"

"Remember that case a while ago? The old lady in her closet?"

"Yeah. Did you guys get a suspect?"

"No. It's been officially put on the back burner."

"I'm sorry, honey."

"It's okay. Sometimes once we take our eyes off something it becomes more clear. What did you guys do today?"

"We went to the store to find something for my mom's birthday, took a short walk in the park, cleaned up the mess of toys in the other room, played Flack over xBox. Did you know his gamer tag is FlackDonFlack?"

"How suave. What were you playing?"

"Call of Duty. I won."

"Successful. You put a coat and hat on Colton when you went out, right?"

"Yes, I did."

"Sorry. You know how neurotic I am about that."

"I do know. And you're neurotic for reason, so it's not really a neurosis as it is a parental concern."

"Some might say they're the same thing."

"You should only care what I think."

She grinned as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her soundly.

"I do only care what you think but I sometimes worry about your barometer for insanity."

"And just what does that mean?"

"I'm just sayin', between you and me, there's a lot of weirdness going on."

"Heaven help our offspring."

"I pray that prayer every night. So what did you make?"

"Curry chicken. I'm not sure how good it will be, but in light of this evening, I am going to call it an adventure."

"My favorite kind of life."

Two hours later they were cuddled up on the couch watching an old Alfred Hitchcock movie and riffing on it because quite frankly, it was one of their favorite pastimes. She dropped her head to his shoulder and sighed, lacing their fingers together.

"I could never do this with anyone else," she whispered softly.

"Me neither. At least not anyone who would still respect me in the morning."

She chuckled and pulled the blanket off the back of the couch.

"Can we move a little bit?"

"You gettin' tired?"

"It's been a long day."

"You want to turn this off and go to bed?"

She smiled and was just about to answer him when they heard a pathetic cry from the bedroom.

"Sounds like someone else is vying for my affections."

"You want me to get him?"

"No, I've barely seen him today. I'll get him."

She stood up and stretched then walked slowly into the bedroom, kind of hoping he would settle back to sleep on his own.

"Hey little boy," she greeted, leaning down to pick him up. His cries didn't let up like they normally did when she held him, and she kissed his cheek gently, finding it pretty warm. She pressed her hand to his forehead, startled at how warm he was. A handful of panic swept through her as she made her way to the chest of drawers and opened the first one, finding the thermometer. Carefully, she placed it in his ear and pressed the button, taking a deep breath before looking at the read out.

"Adam?"

"What's the matter?"

"We've got a fever."

"How high?" he asked, peeking in the doorway.

"Hospital high," she replied, handing him the thermometer.

"Okay," he said, taking a breath. "What did the doctor tell us to do if he got a fever?"

"Um, fluids for half an hour and check his temperature again. His mouth is kind of dry," she said over Colton's cries. "Can you check and see if his ears are red?"

"They look a little pink, but not infected. Do you want me to call the doctor?"

"It might make me feel better."

"I'll be right back."

He left the room and Lindsay sat down in the chair, not sure exactly how to comfort her son. He was still crying, high pitched but not loud, and she leaned down to listen to his chest. There wasn't the crackling that she expected, but his breathing was a lot faster than normal.

"Poor baby. What's the matter? Did you catch a cold?"

He whimpered and squirmed in her arms, discontent with the way he was laying or how he was feeling or something. She sat him up and he snorted a few times before resuming the crying.

All sorts of things flew through her head- pneumonia, RSV, allergies, the flu. None of them made her feel any better, no matter how common they were. The fact of the matter was that he was a preemie, and every illness was exacerbated by that. Her heart pounded in fear and she could feel her hands start to shake.

"Hey Linds, I think we should take him to the hospital."

"Are you sure?"

"Just to be on the safe side."

Colton's body tensed once again than lurched forward as he threw up. It wasn't much, but enough that it couldn't be written off as spit up, and they both looked at each other in shock.

"Alright, we should go. You want to change his clothes and I'll clean this up?"

"Yeah."

They worked quickly and as best they could, then bundled him up and put him in the car seat.

"I'm freaking out," she admitted, sliding into her jacket.

"You're not the only one."

"We've never freaked out at the same time before."

He drew her into his arms and kissed her forehead, holding her tightly until her shaking lessened.

"It's going to be okay, sweetie."

"I know."

"Let's get out of here. We'll be home soon."

"He's pretty dehydrated," the doctor said with a sigh. "I'm going to have the nurse start a line."

"You mean an IV?" Adam asked, his own skin actually aching in sympathy.

"Yes. I know it's not ideal, but we need to get fluids into him quickly. A bottle isn't going to help much, given that he's vomited twice in the last hour. It will be fast, he won't be uncomfortable for long. I'll send the nurse in."

He left the room and Adam looked down at Lindsay who was sitting in the rocking chair next to Colton's bed. She was biting her lip and brushing Colton's curls back from his forehead repeatedly, to the point that they almost stood up.

"Honey?"

"I don't want him to hurt," she whispered.

"I don't either sweetheart, but we need to get him better."

"I know."

Adam crouched down next to her and crooked his finger under her chin, forcing her to look at him.

"It'll be over soon. He won't remember. And then he'll be better."

"I know."

"I hear there's a sick little boy in this room," the nurse said as she entered. "Mom and dad, are you ready for this?"

"Yeah, we're okay."

Colton screamed as soon as the nurse touched him, as if he knew what was coming. The cry was so loud and shrill that Lindsay could feel it in her chest, and she wanted to grab him and run.

"Mom could you hold him for me? We're going to put this IV in his foot."

Lindsay nodded and turned her face away. Colton twisted in her arms, his breathing becoming desperate.

"Mama!" he wailed, arching his back in fear. Tears sprung to her eyes; it was the first time he had said her name, but it happened in such a horrible moment that she didn't know what to do.

"Okay, all done. I'm going to find him a cold compress and I'll be right back."

"Mama. Mama. Mama," Colton whimpered, trying the word out on his tongue and asking desperately for comfort.

"I know baby. I know. It's all done. It's okay."

His breathing slowed at her voice and he buried himself against her, death gripping her shirt. She lifted him from the bed and sat down in the chair, rocking him gently until he calmed completely. She couldn't deny the little thrill she felt, knowing he wanted her and her only to make him better, that she was his safety. He hurt and cried for her. No one else. Just her.

"Babe, are you okay?" Adam asked, squeezing her shoulder. She looked up at him and nodded, finding a sea of calm in his eyes. "I'm going to go ahead and call Mac so he knows what's going on. Want me to call anyone else?"

"No, not for now. He's fine."

"I'll be right back."

Lindsay rocked the chair slowly and closed her eyes, wishing this whole evening away. She knew that getting sick could sometimes be a good thing, as it strengthened the immune system and made it practice fighting off infections later. But she hated to see him miserable like this.

They rocked quietly for several minutes, holding hands and watching each other. Colton sighed and closed his eyes, and Lindsay let hers close as well, still awake, but resting. She wasn't sure how long they sat there, but all too soon she felt a hand on her forehead.

"Hey sweetie."

"Hey."

"You wanna let me have him for a while? Get up and stretch your legs?"

"Yeah."

They made the switch relatively easily and she rubbed her eyes and yawned.

"Did you talk to the doctor?"

"Yeah. He wants to keep him for the rest of the night just to keep an eye on him. They have cots so at least one of us can stay."

"I don't want to leave him."

"Okay. You can stay and I'll go."

"Do you have to?"

"I don't think so. They'll probably let us both stay."

"Okay. I'm going to walk for a few minutes and I'll be back."

She left the room quietly and wandered the halls, not really seeing much, just getting her breath back. She took the stairs slowly, her feet making very little noise on the tile floor. She found herself in the emergency room, the same place she had been just over two years ago, worried sick about someone she loved, not sure what tomorrow was going to hold. She leaned back against that same wall, closing her eyes and wishing this would be the last visit to this place. Hospitals with their specific smells and sounds reminded her of the diner; sitting in the hospital in shock. It reminded her of her very first case in Bozeman, a child beaten within an inch of his life by parents who refused to flip on each other. It reminded her of that too hot July night when her grandfather had clutched his chest and fallen down on the front porch, an event which had changed his personality greatly. And it reminded her of Adam, beaten up and broken, laying in that bed, eating Jell-o as if nothing was really wrong, as if her heart wasn't nearly shredding in her chest.

She wanted to cry and she needed to cry, but she couldn't really do it right now. She had to tuck it away and wait until she was alone or at least not in public. If she let go a little, she might let go all the way, and as easy as that was to do in front of Adam, she wasn't ready to let anyone else see her like that.

She made her way back up to pediatrics and opened the door to find Adam and Colton both asleep in the rocking chair. She smiled and reached over to dim the light, then reached down and gently picked Colton up, making sure she was careful of his IV tubing. He grunted and she bounced him a little so he wouldn't wake up, then laid down on the hospital bed. She kissed his forehead to check his temperature, finding it a little lower than it had been. Satisfied that he was going to be fine, she took one last look at him and closed her eyes.

They were released the next afternoon, tired both physically and emotionally, cranky, and in need of showers. They had each slept a grand total of fifteen minutes off and on through the night, as the sounds of the hospital and the comings and goings of the nurses kept waking them up. Colton was better though, his eyes brighter and his smile permanent, and that was worth one bad night in the hospital.

They arrived home and put him straight to bed, not so much because he was tired but that they were. He stuck his thumb in his mouth and was out for the count.

"You know what sounds good?" Adam asked as Lindsay turned up the baby monitor to the highest sensitivity. They'd practically be able to hear his mind working.

"Hmm?"

"A real mattress. With blankets that don't itch. And more than three feet to move around on."

"I'm so in."

They didn't bother changing clothes, just shed their coats and shoes and crashed onto the bed. He wrapped his arm around her waist and she rolled over to snuggle into his side.

"You okay sweetie?"

"Yeah, I'm okay."

"Are you sure?" he asked, tipping her chin up. Tears flooded her eyes and she sighed, feeling the weight of the last day press down on her.

"I just need some sleep and I'll be alright."

"It's not wrong to feel it, you know," he prompted, running his fingers through her hair and gently releasing the tangles.

"I'm not trying not to. I just feel like I cry all the time for some reason or another and I don't want to do that. I don't want to be that blubbering woman who is sent into a fit every three days."

"Lindsay."

That was all it took for her breath to hitch in her throat and the tears to spill over. He let her cry softly for a few minutes, shedding a tear or two of his own before he spoke again.

"We're all okay. We're just fine."

She nodded and breathed deeply, grateful that he took her as she was, no matter if that changed every day or not.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Go to sleep."

She leaned up to kiss him, then settled back into sleep, glad they were all happy, healthy and home.