Kendall sits in his room he shares with his husband. There's a picture in it's frame that he holds in his hands. What happened all those years ago? Why is his lover not here beside him tonight? Christmas is less than a month away, will detective Garcia make it home in time? Reruns of The Polar Express, The Santa Clause, and Christmas with the Cranks seem to loop in a despairing way now. He finds himself unable to even pretend he's in a festive mood.

Out into the kitchen he goes where he pours himself a glass of wine. The night is young and the boys have only been home about an hour- minus one. Poor Ander is in recovery and Kendall is sure the other two will only be here long because they'll want to be there when Ander wakes up. Kendall, as he recorks the bottle of Moscoto California, decides he wants to be there too.

With a heavy sigh he runs a finger along the photographs on the fridge of him and the man he loves. It's the season so of course the pictures of them together on this special holiday are most of what makes up the collage. He loves Carlos so much.

The lights in the window are so dim; the fire place seems like it's always dying; the music is so cold and unforgiving. He's so lonely. Kendall Knight-Garcia is just a man and he feels pain too.

The wine gets poured down the sink and he begins to boil some water. If it's to the hospital he's going this late he doesn't need alcohol. He needs a cup of hot tea. Green. Gensing and honey. He's to be a good father to these boys and he wouldn't dare poison his mind when he's to protect them. He presses his back to the sink as he waits for Polo and Guzman to finish with their showers and show up with their over night bags. He sips his tea.

The front door swings open and Carlos Garcia walks in, shaking off the snow, and looking at his husband with hopeful eyes. The only sound besides the silence of unspoken conversation is the wind of the nights storm and then detective Garcia begins to cry. His face is strong and sullen as he weeps. Kendall moves like a ghost across the floor and wraps his arms around his husband.

Carlos cries until he watches his own tears drip down the pleather of Kendall's jacket. Then he takes a breath and pulls back with a confident brow, "How are the boys?"

"Ander had surgery today with Dr. Sheppard. She says he pulled through. Polo and Guzman are getting ready now. We were going to head back." Kendall examines his husband intently.

Carlos is covered in dried blood; he has cuts all along his body; his hands are shaking as they clutch Kendall's face. He needs medical and psychological attention but Kendall would only have ever hoped his lover would come home first after what ever he'd seen. They hold one another. What Carlos Garcia had been through the past couple of days is unfathomable. The fact that he still appears as a father figure and a husband is why Kendall hasn't pulled away yet.

Carlos breaths, "Baby he hurt me. I need help; my friends need help; let's get to Miranda and Logan."

Kendall realizes, almost immediately what his role has just become. Carlos played the more masculine in their relationship as he took on the Las Encinas massacre. Now, as the one who stayed behind to look after the kids, Kendall must ensure his family is strong, healthy, and protected. So he's moving swiftly.

He uses a damp rag to clean the less immediate wounds on his husbands face and arms and takes Carlos to the car. He switches on the engine and turns the dial to empower the heat. The vehicle hums as he waits on Polo and Guzman.

The young boys come out clean and ready to spend the night at the hospital and while Guzman gets into the back seat Polo, Carlos' nephew, has a slight exasperation. He races to the passenger side door and pops it open with a confident ease. A smile spreads across his face.

"Uncle Litos! You're home!" He cries and he wraps his arms around the injured man.

Carlos presses into the young boy with a warm smile and says, "I'm here Polito. I caught him. I caught the man who hurt you."

It's frightening how quickly Carlos falls asleep. Polo is still holding him with the weight increases- luckily the seatbelt is there to keep the adult from falling into the snow beside the young man. Polo looks up at Kendall expectantly.

Kendall nods, "He needs Dr. Sheppard and Dr. Mitchel. Let's get to the hospital okay, Polo?"

Polo listens to his uncle's husband. He's able to shut the passenger door without hitting Carlos in the head and he's crawling in beside Guzman. Their hands find each other in the dark as the car begins it's journey down the highway. Polo is looking at Guzman's strong face all the while Guzman is looking straight ahead; always so protective. For just a moment Guzman Nunier looks down at sweet little Polo and kisses his cheek but then, just as quickly as it appeared it went away. Polo didn't feel alone. He pressed into Guzman more and together they looked to uncle Kendall for safety, love, and trust.

Kendall drove just about five over the speed limit. He kept a hand on Carlos's thigh as much as he could while he was driving. His husband had just been through something traumatic and as much as he wanted to crumble he refused. The kids in the back seat needed him to be strong and so he would.

They pull into the parking lot of the hospital. He's out in a flash, keys removed from the ignition, lights off. The kids follow suit. Their sounds of stepping out of the car muffled by snow.

He tells them, "Get upstairs. I'll handle Uncle Carlos. When I'm done I'll come talk to Amelia with you."

That's all they need to hear. He really does feel like a guardian. He's made them feel so important. He's given them responsibility; entrusted them with the truth; and always spoken to them in a way that makes them feel human.

Guzman practically leads Polo into the building; Kendall sees that they really love Ander. Then he's lifting the body of his husband into his arms. With a bold arch in his brow he walks in through the emergency doors. The people who work behind the desks notice him almost instantly and call upon special forces to help him.

When Dr. April Kepner, a major trauma attending, gets to him Carlos is stirring. Detective Garcia groans as he says, "Dr. Parker. Where is he. I need... to... see him."

Dr. Kepner nods, "I'll try. He's been awal-"

"I'm right here Dr. Kepner." The young man appears, as if from nowhere, on the other side of the gurney they're setting him down on. He's got a look of determination written over his face, "I got him. I'll have him triaged. You page Dr. Bailey."

She's almost stunned as she backs away. They all know something chaotic has been happening but the return of Parker has something cryptic behind it. They're all looking at him and the detective. All the patients who'd just suddenly come flooding in from the chopper are taken away with similar wounds and complications as Garcia and she steps back into the chaos of the ER as Carlos is taken away.

Kendall is saddened, "This is the first time I've seen him in two weeks. Please, Dr. Kepner. I'd be really dragged under if I have to go much longer without him. I got my boys waiting upstairs so I'm going to go. If you could send Dr. Bailey to Ander Munoz's room, that would be great."

She nods and as he stalks away to the elevator down the hall she looks around. This is going to be a long night. On either side of her appear two thirds of the residents they'd been missing most of the night. Dr. Schmidt and Dr. Helm move quickly to handle the situation. Dr. Kepner takes a breath and approaches the gentleman at bed three; James Diamond.