“Ugh,” groaning, I rolled over in bed, Hobbes staring at me from his normal spot at my side, “good morning,” my voice cracked as I scratched his head, my hand shaking, “Hobbes. I think I’m sick again.”

Hobbes meowed softly and rubbed against my hand. After aggressively rubbing himself along my arm, Hobbes cuddled down near my chest and I started coughing, trying to breathe again but struggling. Rolling over, I grabbed my phone and called 911, knowing I was running out of air rapidly.

“St. Joseph County Dispatch, do you need paramedics, police, or the fire department?”

“Para…medics,” I gasped out, ripping at my chest, “I can’t… breathe well. They c-can kick my door in.”

“Sir, what’s your name?”

I couldn’t reply, coughing louder than before, my chest tight, and before I knew it spots started to form in my vision, signaling that oncoming unconsciousness I knew would hit me.

“Sir!” the dispatcher yelled as I finally passed out, my heart racing.

I woke up to a feeling of warmth in my left hand, beeping from medical monitors, and the gentle sound of a few people whispering. Opening my eyes slowly, I looked to my left to find Alexander, his head resting against the back of my hand.

“Alexi?” I croaked out, running my free hand through his hair and he shot up, looking at me with confusion and relief.

“Oh thank god,” he laughed, a tear rolling down his cheek, “you scared all of us so badly. You’ve been asleep for a day and a half.”

“Really?” I whispered, rubbing my throat, “I knew something was wrong when my chest got tight out of nowhere.”

“You have pneumonia,” a shockingly familiar voice called and I turned to find my parents, Teodoro smiling gently, “Alexi called us to tell us you were in the hospital. You and Cruz always end up here in the winter. You probably should have mentioned that you get pneumonia when it snows and end up here until you can breathe on your own. So as soon as he called, we jumped on a plane out here. Merry Christmas, kiddo,” he came over and kissed my forehead, “we’re spending it in the hospital.”

“You should be home with the family,” I whispered, my eyes wide, “it’s the first one with Camden.”

“No,” Remington shook his head, “we should be here with you. It’s more important than watching people open presents. Caelan, your lungs are weaker than any of us realized. Dr. Murphy has made a few suggestions. You need moisture first and foremost so you need to have a humidifier in your bedroom. Living in an environment like Indiana or Montana isn’t good for you either. The cold air is too dry. They recommend, when you can, moving to a warmer climate. Somewhere it’s humid. It should lessen the amount you end up in the hospital. He also wants to give you a rescue inhaler that you keep with you at all times. You scared the shit out of us,” he sniffled, moving Teodoro away to kiss me on the forehead, “you’d think we’d be used to you ending up in the hospital. But you’ve never passed out and had to be sedated this long.”

“They sedated me?”

“Mhm,” Alexander nodded, rubbing the back of my hand, “every time you woke up you’d start freaking out. Trying to rip the intubation tube from your throat or IV’s out. Look at your arms, babe.”

I looked down and saw that both of my arms were wrapped at the elbows, meaning that I had successfully ripped my IV out multiple times. It was now settled in the back of my left hand and I realized Alexander had been protecting me from myself by guarding it with his face.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, my throat clenching from my emotions, “I feel selfish now. I’ll be fine, you can go back if you want.”

“No,” Teodoro kept his tone firm and sat down on the hospital bed, “Do you really think we’d just leave like that, Cae? You aren’t being selfish. You had a severe medical emergency. If you hadn’t called 911, you might not be here anymore. That is so much more important. Don’t you remember that weird dream I had the day we lost Maddox?”

“Oh yeah,” I laughed, gripping my chest as it was incredibly painful, “you told me not to take the bus anywhere because you thought I was going to die.”

“It happened again last night. Maddox came to me in my dreams. I haven’t seen him in a long time… He warned me that you were sick and could die. But that you would save yourself and I should get to you. I’m glad I did.”

“God I hate that dream stuff but… thank you. For being here. I guess you three got to know each other when I was asleep?”

“Yes,” Alexander laughed softly, “Delaney was here too with Serena but they’re at your place getting Hobbes and his things so he can stay with Laney at our house until you’re cleared to go home.”

“When will that be?”

“New Year is the goal,” he whispered and I nodded, looking down at the blankets, “and you won’t be here alone. I already got clothes, my laptop, my chargers, and a bunch of your stuff so you aren’t bored. Oh as well as a small box that was gift-wrapped on your dresser and had my name on it.”

“It’s your Christmas present. Am I allowed to eat?”

“A little, yeah. Do you want lunch?”

“Mhm.”

“Why don’t I go to the cafeteria and get it for you? I work here after all. They all know me.”

“Oh, we’re at Memorial?”

“It’s the closest hospital to your house so yes,” Alexander kissed my forehead after moving my hair off my face, “I was so scared, Cae. You have to tell me this kind of thing, okay? Anything that messes with your health. We’ve been dating for almost three months, I have to know what to do in emergencies.”

“I… had no idea you would need to know that.”

“I know,” he laughed softly, rubbing the side of my throat, “but you do now and that’s what’s important. I’ll be back soon. Spend time with your parents. They’ve been waiting for you.”

“Okay.”

Alexander left the room and I slowly sat up, my hair knotted and stuck to my back from sweat. Teodoro smiled and had the hospital bed lay back before he climbed onto it behind me and carefully started combing out my hair. The gentleness of it made my eyes grow warm and I started to cry quietly.

“It’s okay,” Remington whispered, squatting down next to the bed, “kiddo… why are you crying?”

“I just… I’ve been sick like this every year. You dealt with that when I was a kid and would stop it from getting too bad by taking me to a doctor. But I don’t go to one myself. So every year I’ve lived here, I ended up in the hospital. No one knew except Delaney. I forgot how loving you two are. I… I was such a bad son, wasn’t I?”

“No,” Teodoro whispered as he started to braid my hair, “No you weren’t and you absolutely aren’t. You’ve always been highly independent, thinking you can take on the world alone. But you never had to do that, Caelan. We’ve always been here, wanting you to reach out and ask us for help. When Alexi called from your phone, I was so confused. But he decided that rather than hide this from us, we should be here. Don’t be mad at him for that. From what he’s told us, he has an incredibly strong bond with his parents. They’ve called him four times since we’ve been here just to talk about things. His little brother even video-called to tell Alexi Merry Christmas. He did this, called us, and had us come here because he wanted us to fix things. I don’t think there’s much to fix actually. We just need to hear you, see what’s going on in your life, and remind you how proud of you we are. You need us to be here, to accept you and your life. We always have, Cae. I just don’t think we showed that enough and we will do whatever we can to make up for that.”

“This is enough,” I smiled at Remington and he patted my cheek softly, “just being here right now. It shows me that I was probably wrong to think you didn’t love me as much as Cassian or Cruz. I wonder if it was jealousy.”

“Probably. I was the same way with Auggie,” Remington shrugged.

“Yeah I did that with Silveria,” Teodoro snorted, hugging me tightly from behind, “I think it’s a totally normal thing for younger siblings. But you also ended up having younger ones and felt lost in that.”

“It’s okay. We’re okay now. God, my chest fucking burns!” I groaned, ripping at my skin, “why the hell is my skin burning like this!”

Remington helped me pull my hospital gown to my hips and we all let out a startled gasp. From my collarbones to my hips I was covered in hives that were now starting to spread onto my arms and neck. He quickly hit the call button and Teodoro scrambled from behind me, helping me lie on the bed. I tried to scratch at my skin again and Remington grabbed my arms, holding them down and making me panic.

“Cae,” he lowered his tone and I stared at him, “Baby, relax. I’m not trying to hurt you. If you keep scratching, you’ll tear your skin open. I have to do this, okay? I’m sorry.”

“Baba,” I pleaded and Remington shook his head, “it hurts!”

“We know. It’s okay. Just try and breathe.”

The door opened and a larger nurse came in, a gentle smile on her face before she noticed what was happening and ran to a medical cart at the other side of the room.

“Dr. Murphy,” she called into her walkie-talkie, drawing some kind of medication as she did, “the patient in room 213 is currently reacting to the antibiotic we prescribed. Please advise. I am currently going to push 10 mg of diphenhydramine.”

“I’m on my way,” Dr. Murphy’s voice came through as she administered the medication into my IV tube.

“Here,” she placed an oxygen mask on my face and I took a small breath, gripping the blankets, “your O2 levels are plummeting, Doctor.”

I nodded, unable to catch my breath and that was the exact moment Alexander finally returned, concern flashing on his face as he set my lunch on the table near the door and rushed over to be near Remington.

“Cae?” Alexander sniffled and I smiled as best I could, trying to breathe, “Honey…”

“He’s allergic to the antibiotics, Dr. Bennett,” my nurse nodded to acknowledge Alexander, “and struggling to breathe again. Dr. Murphy is looking over the CT he did this morning to understand if it’s fluid buildup or scar tissue.”

“Thank you,” Alexander nodded, “what did you give?”

“Diphenhydramine.”

“No, I meant the antibiotic.”

“Penicillin intravenously as well as ampicillin due to him being sedated and unable to take amoxicillin orally.”

“N-no,” I stuttered, looking at Teodoro who immediately understood why I was panicking.

“He’s severely allergic to any of those! You’re killing him!” Teodoro shouted and she froze.

“Shit,” Alexander jumped into action, running to the cart and grabbing a vial of something as well as a new needle, “Where the hell is Nico? Get him here now, Alandra.”

Alandra ran from the room and Alexander came to my IV, injecting whatever medication he had grabbed into the tube with a shaky breath.

“What is that?” Remington called, gripping Teodoro’s shoulder.

“Steroids first. To try and counteract the reaction to it. I can’t give you epinephrine without Nico here. I’m not allowed to treat you since we’re dating. But this should help you breathe.”

“Thank you…” I croaked out, now giving up my urge to scratch as my strength had disappeared.

“Alexi you can’t just give my patients medicine,” a deep voice called and I flicked my eyes over to find Dr. Murphy. I recognized him from the last time I brought Alexander dinner here at the hospital due to him covering a late shift. Nico Murphy was a bit shorter than me, his hair deep brown with bits of gray running through it as I had gathered he was somewhere in his mid-50s, “but thanks. So, Alandra told me you’re allergic to all Cillin-based antibiotics. We had no way to ask since you were unconscious and your parents didn’t get here until this morning. We’ll switch to azithromycin as soon as the rest are flushed out of your system. You gave him prednisone?”

“Mhm,” Alexander nodded, squeezing my arm.

“Good. I won’t tell anyone and neither will Alandra. Just don’t do that again. Caelan, I’m going to use an Epi-Pen on your thigh. It’s not going to feel great but it should help you breathe,” he grabbed the device from the same medical cart everyone kept using and moved my blankets away, immediately slamming the injector point into my thigh and making me gasp, “there we go. Now, once you can take a solid deep breath in the next minute or so, I have something to tell you.”

It took a few minutes for my lungs to open up but once I felt the pain start to ease up I nodded and looked at Dr. Murphy.

“Due to the amount of times you’ve had pneumonia, your lungs have scar tissue on either side. But it isn’t spreading which is good, it shows that it’s not some other underlying issue. We’re going to put you on medication from here until the day you die, to be honest, that will keep it from spreading. You also need to keep physically active as much as possible to keep your lungs strong and move the hell out of Indiana or you’ll just be back here again. Okay?”

“Okay,” I nodded, “thank you.”

“Of course. It’s nice to see you again since Alexi talks about you constantly. Drives me insane!”

“Alexi,” I sighed and he shrugged, kissing my nose, “you’re so embarrassing.”

“Shut up and let me gush about you.”

“No.”

My parents started laughing as Dr. Murphy left the room and I relaxed, nothing burning or itching anymore. My stomach growled loudly and Alexander smiled, bringing me my lunch.

“Your appetite is going to be fierce. But I got your favorite foods,” he helped me to sit up so I could start eating, “Remi? Teddy? Thank you.”

“For?” Remington laughed, sitting in one of the chairs now that I was stable enough for them to not hover over me.

“Nothing in particular I suppose. Just wanted to tell you thank you. I wouldn’t have Caelan without you two after all. He means a lot to me. I hope… that you’ll allow me to keep dating your son. I’m a bit old-fashioned, I need to have your permission to take things any further with him.”

“Duh,” Teodoro laughed as well, “you never really needed it. We see how much you care about him and that’s all we wanted. So, please. Keep treating our son well. Take care of him for us.”

“I absolutely will.”

“Alexi,” I pulled onto his sleeve and he nodded, “open your present.”

“Oh right, it’s Christmas!” he smiled and grabbed the gift box, opening it quickly before gasping, “Caelan…”

“You broke the other one and I know how important it is for your job to have a smartwatch. So that’s what I got you. It should be all set up with your email since I have the info for that.”

Alexander smiled and gently kissed my cheek before putting the watch on happily, “thank you, honey. I love it. It even has the same band!”

“I ordered the same one. You’re picky about things like that.”

“Here,” he reached into the pocket of his coat and set a tiny box on my chest, “it’s nothing too fancy.”

I opened it immediately and smiled, caressing the small silver bracelet nestled inside. It was a simple chain with two tiny round disks. One disk had an A and the other a C and settled between them was a heart.

“It’s precious. I can’t wear it at work but I’ll wear it everywhere else. It matches the necklace.”

“I’m glad you like it. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas, babe.”