Morning had come all too soon for the Nocedas. Camila had fallen asleep while reading to Boscha, who was tucked into her arm. Luz was tangled up in her blanket from having shifted around all night. Gabriel was already awake, as he couldn't get to sleep. The news about his brother was nearly impossible to process, after all. He just laid on his bed, looking at a picture of him and Manny when they were kids.

'Manny... I'm sorry.' He thought, 'I'm so sorry.'

"PAAA-PIIIIII!"

Gabriel was jolted from his ruminating when he heard a small voice calling for his brother. He got up from his bed and peeked out of his room to see Luz roaming the hallway, checking every room, closet, and underneath the furniture.

"PAAAA_PIIIII! WHERE AAAARE YOOOOOU?"

"Luz?"

The girl turned around to see her uncle.

"Mornin', Tio Gabe! You see Papi anywhere?"

"Oh... he's still... he's at the hospital." Gabriel stuttered. "We're picking him up later today."

Luz made a pouty face.

"Why's he gotta be there for so long? My checkups us'lly last a hour."

Gabriel was ill prepared to discuss this subject so early in the morning, and so, he used the best explanation his tired brain could produce.

"It's just something that happens when you get older."

"Does it?" Luz's eyes widened.

"You are way too energetic in the morning, y'know that?" Gabe smiled. "This is why you can't manage to stay up as late as Boscha."

Speaking of Boscha, she was snoring on the floor, not a care in the world, dreaming about being in the NBA. Camila, on the other hand, was tossing and turning on the couch. Gabriel saw that she had an arm over her forehead and was wincing slightly. Gently, he took off her glasses, placed them on the stand next to her, then brought her an icepack. Though she didn't wake up, she did let out a sigh of relief as she held the icepack to her head.

"I have an idea, Luz." Gabriel said, "Why don't we make breakfast while they sleep?"

"Really!?" Luz asked, smiling widely.

After a while Boscha and Camila stirred when they caught the scent of bacon, toast and an indistinct burnt smell. Boscha's eyes opened when she heard Luz and Tio Gabe talking from the kitchen.

"Awww, why can't we have Nutella waffles, Tio? You have no-dairy milk, right?"

"Sorry, kiddo, it's the Nutella that isn't good for you."

"Neither is sharing a room with Boscha, but I do that." Luz said.

"Hey!" Boscha said.

"WAH!" Luz scurried to the other side of the room. "Mornin' Boscha! Howdja sleep?"

The three-eyed kid just grimaced at her.

"Please, Bosch, I need Luz alive so she can help with breakfast." Gabe insisted.

"We're havin' Nutella waffles!" Luz chirped happily.

Boscha forgot about everything else as all three of her eyes lit up.

"Luz, I told you..." Their uncle was interrupted when he noticed Camila walking into the room. "Hey, Milly, could you tell your kid that Nutella isn't good for her because it contains lactose?"

"It does?" Camila scratched her head. "Well, that explains a lot."

'I really should've read that label.' Camila thought.

The breakfast was enjoyed by all, despite only having plain waffles. After they finished, Luz and Boscha went to the living room to watch cartoons. Gabriel and Camila were putting dishes away, figuring they should discuss where to go from there.

"So, how are you feeling today?" Gabriel asked his sister-in-law.

"Just..." Camila struggled to find the right words. "... light-headed, I guess. Like I'm floating through some kind of surreal dream. I wish it was just that."

Gabriel sulked.

"I hear ya. And, Mil- Camila, I just wanna let you know, no matter what happens, I'm here for you guys. We're gonna get through this."

Camila wiped the tears from her face.

"Yeah. Gracias, hermano."

Luz was in the living room and confused on why her mom was upset.

"Boschy, why is Mami upset?" Luz asked.

Boscha shrugged.

"I'unno. They said Papi was sick, but if we're pickin' him up today, he's gotta be feelin' better."

"Is it cuz I woke her up too early?" Luz looked upset.

"Don't be silly." Boscha scoffed at her sister's reply. "Mami fell asleep 'fore I did reading me Goosebumps."

Luz quivered at that last word.

"Not those scary books. Why d'you like'em so much?"

Boscha shrugged once more.

"I'unno. They just make me feel... comfy. I kinda wanna live in'em. When I'm growed up, anyway."

"Your weird." Luz said, "I like it."

Boscha put an arm around Luz's neck... and pulled her into a noogie.

Camila could hear Luz's cries of protest and Boscha's laughter and sighed.

"The day really doesn't wait for anybody, does it?" Gabe sympathized.

The second they were unbuckled from their booster seats, Luz and Boscha made a beeline for the hospital entrance.

"¡Mijas, ten cuidado!" Camila called out to her daughters as she locked her vehicle. "I don't want to visit this hospital more times than I have to."

They didn't listen, they were already halfway across the parking lot. Camila rushed after them, thankfully making it to the entrance just around the time they did as well. She reached into her pocket and pulled out Boscha's headband and put it over her eye. To Camila's further annoyance, the two were running circles in the reception area as she was talking to the nurse at the front desk. She had to remind them to settle down as they made their way down the hall to Manny's room. Not that she could hold it against them, they were just excited to see their dad again.

'I should start looking for child leashes.' Camila thought, '... Oh who am kidding, they'd find a way to get out of those before I'd even use them.'

They finally made it to the room when they noticed the bed was empty. This made Camila's heart skip a beat, until she realized that Manny was on the other side of the room packing his belongings.

"Hey, fam!" He greeted with a smile. "I didn't think you'd get here so early."

"Papi!" The girls screamed, before hugging him.

"Careful, Girls, your father could still be hurt." Camila said, "And you don't want to hurt him, do you?"

"No, we don't want to hurt Papi!" Boscha said, "We're sorry, Papi!"

"Really sorry!" Luz said.

"No te preocupes, mijas." Manny hugged them back. "Just gotta take it easy when we're playing."

"Does that mean no more basketsball lessons?" Boscha started to tear up.

"Not on your life, Princesa." He kissed his daughter on her forehead. "We'll make a superstar out of you yet. You too, Luz, if you're interested."

As nice as that was, Luz had the coordination of a fish in the air. She doesn't even know how to tie her shoes yet.

"Uh... last time I broked a window." Luz said.

"Everyone makes mistakes." Manny said.

Camila put a hand on her shoulder.

"And few are brave enough to own up to it like you did."

"Tha's not how Misses Hopkins saw it." Luz sulked as she hugged her mother.

"Who cares?" Boscha got in on the hug. "We tried makin' up for it, an' if tha's not enuff, tha's her beef, right, Papi?"

"I'm sure there's a nicer way to say that, but yeah." Manny completed the group hug.

Camila was sure the ride home would be tense and awkward, but she found that her mind was too occupied playing story time with the rest of the family. Listening to the girls cracking up as Manny made up the most ridiculous storylines possible helped her to better understand what her husband had meant yesterday. Better to make the most of their time together and for her daughters to be happy for as long as possible. Still, she knew this wouldn't last forever, sooner or later... Manny would no longer be here. The mood had calmed once the Nocedas made it home. As Luz and Boscha happily skipped up to the house, Camila caught her husband in a hug, kissing him square on the lips.

Manny was flustered.

"Milly, I... uhhh, dang."

"Hey, gotta get'em in while the getting's good." Camila held him even closer.

"You always were a bit of a minx, you know that?" Manny asked with a smirk.

The two embraced further as Luz and Boscha scrunched their faces with cries of 'EEEwwwwwww.' The two parents just chuckled at the reaction of their girls. One day they would understand what love is.

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