Luhan pushed through the crowd of people loitering around the restaurant and bar, and his eyes searched for who he was meeting. The space was loud and humid, with too many people bringing up the temperature in a contrast to the rain and chill outside.

If Luhan had had his way, he would have been home right now, hopefully with Xiumin, the two of them eating a late dinner and watching Korean dramas that Xiumin pretended he wasn’t obsessed with. Luhan had seen his DVR. Luhan knew better.

But instead he as here, doing what needed to be done. And he wasn’t leaving until he got what he wanted.

Squeezing past a couple of men, likely coworkers, who were already completely drunk, Luhan finally found Baekhyun at one of the corner tables, halfway through his meal.

“I’m here,” Luhan said, sliding into the chair across from him. He didn’t apologize for being late. He’d had to take the bus, not that he’d mention it to any one of the paranoid people hovering around him now, and the bus always ran slower when the weather was bad.

Baekhyun gave a nod to the bag Luhan was carrying with him, more like a briefcase that was now tucked into his lap. “You have your machete hidden in there?”

Luhan pulled a smile of his face. “Don’t worry, Baekhyun, if I ever decide to deal with you, it’ll be in a back alley where no one can come to your aid. I’d never hurt you in public, knowing I’d get deported to China for killing someone.”

Baekhyun, who looked to be having black bean noodles, actually returned a smile to Luhan. “At this point, Sehun would probably volunteer to drive the car that runs me down in that back alley.”

“Can you blame him?” Luhan crossed his arms. “You were a total to me.”

Next Baekhyun laughed. “I might have been completely wrong when I told Chanyeol you were spineless.”

“You’re really not racking up any points here.”

And no matter what Luhan got from Baekhyun with his attitude, he reasoned that having so much tension between them wasn’t ultimately what Baekhyun wanted. More than that, Baekhyun probably wanted his friend Sehun back, and there was no way Sehun was budging until Luhan proved that he’d forgiven him. Considering Luhan needed them all to be a unified force when Youri came into the world, everything had to be dealt with and soon.

“I believe,” Luhan said, “you left me quite a few messages saying that I was a lying, cheating, backstabbing, no good, sorry excuse for a human being. And those were the nice ones.”

A little defensively, Baekhyun said, “I believed at the time, as you very well know, that you were trying to steal one of my best friend’s kids out from under him.”

“And now you know I’m not?”

Baekhyun set his chopsticks and fork to the side and gave somber nod. “Sehun set everyone right. Or more like he ripped everyone a new .”

“Then what’s your problem now?” Luhan asked. His stomach was rumbling in some kind of hunger, but he’d only eaten a few hours before and he wanted to hold off. His delivery date was coming up soon and the last thing he wanted was to pack on an extra baby weight that he’d have to work off afterwards. “All your other friends apologized.”

Baekhyun wondered, “Did that take away from what they’d done to you?”

After a moment’s thought, Luhan admitted, “No. I still look at them and see people who were irrational and hurtful to me. But they still apologized, and I won’t always see them that way because of that. More than that, it means something to Sehun that they humbled themselves and apologized. Haven’t you heard, Sehun’s talking to all of them again. He’s going out to spend time with them, and he eats with them. But not you. You’re the lone man out. Sehun’s forgiven them, because they apologized and are trying to make amends. What’s your problem?”

Irritated, Baekhyun said, “I don’t know why I should have to apologize when this happened during a time period where Sehun did something even worse.”

Luhan felt frustration in him risking. Baekhyun had never been the easiest to get along with, but now it was downright impossible.

“You don’t have to apologize,” Luhan snapped. “That’s not what I’m here for. Honestly, I don’t personally give a damn about your apology. You’re not my friend, Baekhyun. I’m not going to cry myself to sleep over how much a you are. You’re not worth anything to me in that regard.”

Baekhyun looked away quickly.

Breathing in deep, Luhan said, “But I love Sehun. I am very much in love with him, and while we’re still recovering from something that rocked us hard, all I can see in my future is Sehun. There’s always a chance things will change, but for right now, I’m planning on raising my daughter with Sehun. I plan on loving him for decades more, maybe living with him, possibly getting married, and who knows, there might be more kids eventually. My point is, Sehun is a priority to me in my life, and so is helping him deal with things that are impeding his ability to deal with the anger and hurt he’s been feeling for a while. You’re a speedbump. His issues with you are a speedbump.”

“So you’re here to make nice with me for Sehun?”

Luhan nodded. “Because I love him, and there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for him. Can’t you say the same for Taeyeon?”

Baekhyun’s features softened at her mention, and Luhan supposed he’d won a victory of words at least.

“No matter what I think of the person you are now,” Luhan continued, “you were there for Sehun during the worst moments of his life. You supported him and cared for him, and loved him like a brother would. That’s invaluable. So I’m going to propose a deal. I’ll tell Sehun that you groveled, and that I accepted your apology for being absolutely wrong and a heinous at that, and in return, you do something for me.”

Reaching once more for his utensils, Baekhyun questioned, “Why should I care about making a deal with you?”

The restaurant was only getting louder as more people poured in, and the ones near the front who were already drunk, began playing a drinking game. Luhan couldn’t wait to get out of the stuffy building.

“Because Sehun matters to you.” Luhan held Baekhyun’s gaze easily. “Sehun is like a brother to you. You care about him more than you’ll admit to me, which means it’s an awful lot. And I know that you wouldn’t care about him so much if you hadn’t tried to attack me in the only way you knew how when Sehun and I had our misunderstand. It must be hurting you terribly to know Sehun cut you out of his life so easily, and that to him right now, you don’t even exist.”

Baekhyun asked sullenly, “What kind of deal?”

At that cue, Luhan reached into the bag and pulled out a heavy folder that he’d kept sheltered from the rain outside. He set it on the table and said, “I’m five weeks away from delivery now. So naturally, my doctor and Sehun and I have been discussing some … delicate matters that haven’t been easy on Sehun. Mostly about the delivery and the possibility of complications.

To his credit, Baekyhun went pale in almost a second. “There’s going to be complications?”

“It is major surgery,” Luhan said patiently. “And I have other risk factors going for me right now. I won’t get into any of them, considering they’re one of your business. But suffice to say, if there’s any major bleeding, my blood may not clot as well as anyone hopes, and my blood pressure is steadily creeping up, which is never good.”

“But you’re going to be okay with the delivery, right? And Youri?”

Baekhyun was so damn complicated he made Luhan’s head ache at times. He was radiating genuine concern and it was baffling.

“Sehun and I have been discussing if the worst case should happen and either my vitals drop, or Youri goes into distress. Sehun and I have been deciding about what kind of choices need to be made if it comes down to either myself or Youri being prioritized.”

Almost angrily, Baekhyun asked, “How can you talk about that stuff with Sehun? Didn’t he suffer enough with Jae and Seoyoung?”

“I have to talk about this with him because of them,” Luhan said peevishly. “Sehun said that the doctors tried to save Jae first, after the accident. They thought there was little chance for Seoyoung because of the trauma associated with the type of accident, so they wrote her off and focused on Jae. I need to make sure that doesn’t happen. I don’t want a doctor to make the decision for me. I want to decide beforehand.”

Luhan put his hand gently on the file as Baekhyun asked, “What did you two decide?”

Offering Baekhyun an encouraging smile, Luhan said, “That Youri has to come first. If there’s a choice to be made, Sehun and I have agreed to prioritize Youri.”

Baekhyun sat back in shock. “Sehun agreed to just … risk you like that?”

“Don’t get me wrong,” Luhan chuckled out, “I want to live. I want to live very badly. But I don’t want to live at the expense of my daughter, and I won’t live in a world where I had to sacrifice her in order to have that life. If I wanted to put myself first, I could have terminated the pregnancy the moment I found out about it. And seriously, Baekhyun, stop looking like I’m headed towards a death sentence. I have all the faith in the world that things will go perfectly fine, but just in case, I want to have a contingency plan.”

“I just …” Baekhyun shook his head slowly. “I can’t believe Sehun agreed to put you second, even for Youri. You’re …”

“I’m what?” Luhan asked.

“He loves you,” Baekhyun said flatly. “And it’s just as much as he loved Jae, or maybe even more. I know what Sehun looks like when he’s in love, and you’re practically shining the sun out of your , as far as he’s concerned.”

“This relates to the deal I want to make with you.”

Baekhyun pressed on, “If Jae had lived, and only Seoyoung had died, I think Sehun would have been okay. He wouldn’t have hit rock bottom like he did. I can’t believe for a second he’s willing to risk you, even if it means losing another daughter.”

Holding up a protesting finger, Luhan said, “I think you’re wrong. Seoyoung living would have given Sehun purpose and determination to get through each day. She would have kept him sane. That’s what I told Sehun about Youri. Even if I die, he’ll have her. It’s important that he has her. There’s no one more important he can have after that.”

With his food forgotten, Baehyun shook his head. “Are you honestly telling me that he agreed to put Youri’s life ahead of yours if there are any complications?”

Luhan tipped his head. “He said so. But I don’t believe him.”

Baekhyun grunted out, “Neither do I.”

“And,” Luhan said, “I am not going to be laying on that operating table, scared and in pain and worried, thinking to myself that at any time things could go wrong and Sehun might go back on his word. So I’m getting insurance against that.”

Baekhyun’s eyes flickered down to the folder. “What kind of insurance?”

Opening the folder, Luhan pulled up several sheets of paper. “Sehun I think, if it comes down to it, will be too afraid to lose the person he allowed himself to love again. And I think Suho might also support him in that. I can’t trust Xiumin to put Youri first because he’s my best friend and he’ll likely prioritize me. So that leaves you.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you.” Luhan had spent days thinking his decision over. “You’re the one who likes me the least, and I think I can trust you to recognize that if Sehun loses Youri, there won’t be any coming back from the place he’ll sink into. There won’t be a third chance for Sehun. And honestly, I think you care more about Youri than you do me.”

Unsure, Baekhyun asked, “So you want me there when you deliver … to do what? Convince Sehun that if there’s a problem, to forfeit your life for Youri’s?”

“Please,” Luhan laughed out, “you’re Sehun’s friend, but not even you could convince him of that.”

With that he handed over the first of the paperwork to Baekhyun, then he sat back and waited.

There was confusion on Baekhyun’s face first, his eyes skimming the words, and then outrage. “Are you serious?”

“Very.” Luhan reminded, “I don’t expect anything to go wrong. This is me just being careful, given that I’ve had cramping and early contractions, and dealing with both blood sugar issues and now blood pressure, I want to be sure. I trust my doctor, and I trust that I’ll come through just fine and this is for nothing. It just never hurts to be cautious.”

Baekhyun shook the papers held between his stiff fingers. “You have got to be kidding me!”

Luhan raised an eyebrow. “You understand what I’m asking of you?”

Incredulously, and probably too loud, Baekhyun asked, “You want me to have … some kind of medical authority?”

“I want you to be my medical proxy,” Luhan clarified. “For the next couple of months, at least. It means that if I’m incapacitated, and unable to make decisions for myself, you get to make them for me.”

“But me?”

Firmly, Luhan said, “I want to know that when I go to the hospital, anything and everything is going to be done to give my daughter the best fighting chance to survive. I am not coming home without her. I am not going to let the doctors sacrifice her life to try and save mine. That is not going to happen, and I know you’ll make a call that puts her first. No one else will.”

Baekhyun’s eyes were a little wet as he asked, “How can you give this kind of power to me?”

“Because I’m desperate,” Luhan said dryly. “Because I want you to listen to me in all seriousness when I tell you that if Youri dies and it’s so I can live, more than one soul is going to be gone from this world. You can interpret that however you want. But if you want to save lives, you’ll sign the paper and be prepared to make the call to put Youri first if you have to. I do truly love Sehun, but I can’t trust him with this. I don’t believe he’ll save Youri first.”

Voice shaking, Baekhyun demanded, “Is this even legal? How can I have priority over Sehun in any medical situation? Even if I sign these papers, Youri is still Sehun’s daughter.”

“You think I didn’t make sure I knew what I was doing before I came here with this?” Luhan was a little insulted. “Korean law stipulates that I’ve got final authority over the baby before she’s born. And I can dictate that authority to anyone I want during that time. So technically, that control defaults to Sehun the moment she’s born, but before then, if I sign you on as my medical proxy, you supersede Sehun. And I don’t care if Sehun has all the authority and power in the world after she’s born, as long as before that, he isn’t in charge.”

Baekhyun pointed out, “You know he’s going to be pissed as hell when he finds out about this, right?”

Hope soared in Luhan’s chest. Did that mean Baekhyun was going to agree?

“Chances are,” Luhan said, “with some luck as well, he’ll never need to know. I’m not just rambling when I say I have faith in the doctor who’ll be delivering Youri. I believe everything will go well during the surgery, and afterwards I’ll have you taken off as my medical proxy, and everything will go back to normal.”

Baekhyun asked, “This is the deal? You tell Sehun that I made things right with you, and in return, I remain silent about this unless I have to tell the doctor to try and save Youri first?”

“Exactly.”

Baekhyun snorted. “If I have to say something to the doctor, and that’s how Sehun finds out, I’m the one who’s going to be in danger of dying.”

“Maybe at first,” Luhan allowed. “Then the doctor will put Youri in Sehun’s arms and nothing else will matter to him.” He retrieved a pen from his bag and set it near Baekhyun’s hand. “Now, do we have a deal?”

Baekhyun reached slowly for the pen, and posed the question, “How you do you know that if, god forbid something happens during that surgery, I won’t pick you like everyone else would? Maybe this means nothing and I’ll do the opposite of what you want. You don’t have a guarantee.”

The crowd of drunks gave a roar of something pleasing in the background and Luhan said, “I suppose you’re right. You could pull a fast one on me. But I’m trusting you won’t, because I think even you can see how important Youri is for Sehun, and how no parent ever wants to outlive their child. Some can’t stand it.”

In a flash Baehyun snatched up the paper and signed his name at the bottom. There were more pages to sign as well, and the whole thing, between the way Baekhyun hastily read the information, to how he paused to make his signature legible, took almost ten minutes.

Then finally Baekhyun had signed the last page and he put the pen down, saying, “If your delivery of Youri goes fine, you and I will never speak of this again. And if something goes wrong, and the doctor wants to know who to try and save first, I’ll tell them it’s Youri. You have my word.”

With shaking fingers Luhan took the papers back and tucked them safely away in his bag. “Thank you, Baekhyun. I’ll make sure Sehun knows that things are better between us. I know he’ll want to hang out with you. I can tell he’s wanted to for a while now, he just hasn’t been able to bring himself to call you up. That’ll change.”

Baekhyun’s lips pressed tersely for a second, then he asked, “You want to stay for dinner?”

Pulling the bag’s strap over his head, Luhan shook his head. “I should get going, and you’re almost finished anyway.”

Baekhyun was beyond complicated, and Luhan wasn’t certain he’d ever fully understand the man. He only knew that they’d done more than just reach a business agreement that night. Now Baekhyun was looking at him somewhat softer, and with more patience. It almost seemed like they’d actually repaired the tentative friendship they’d had going before. Or at least started down that road. If so, Luhan had to be pleased. Baekhyun was important to Sehun, so he’d be important to Youri. In some way, that meant he had to be important to Luhan. Or at least bearable.

“Luhan,” Baekhyun said, catching his wrist suddenly.

“Huh?”

Shoulders falling, Baekhyun said, “I’m sorry for being an to you. I’m sorry for constantly being an to you even after you constantly prove yourself.”

Frowning, Luhan said, “You don’t have to apologize. We have a deal.”

“This isn’t about the deal,” Baekhyun shot back. “This is about me being mad at myself.”

“Mad?” Luhan asked.

“Because I keep telling myself you’re this certain kind of person,” Baekhyun said, “and you keep proving me wrong.”

Luhan pulled his wrist away from Baehyun with a smile. “If it makes you feel any better, just when I think I have it pinned down what kind of person you are, you constantly make me rethink myself. Baekhyun, enjoy your meal. I’m sure Sehun will call you soon, and thank you for making sure that my daughter has the best chance at survival possible.”

Baekhyun gave a short laugh. “You’re going to be an amazing dad, Luhan. Give me some pointers one day, okay?”

It was kind of ridiculous how likable Baekhyun could be at times, when he wasn’t busy being an .

Weaving his way through the tables, and ducking past even more inebriated people, Luhan couldn’t help but feel like he’d completely accomplished what he’d set out to do. Baekhyun had agreed to be his medical proxy in case of an emergency, and Sehun and Baekhyun were back on their way to being good friends.

Luhan was absolutely contemplating stopping by a nearby bakery and picking himself a congratulatory sweet up when there was a roar of sound, and then something akin a wrecking ball slammed into him.

The air was knocked immediately from his body with a painful tug, and his feet slid out from under him. Arms flailing madly Luhan tried to brace himself on the nearby table, shouting with panic and fear.

A second heavy weight toppled against him, and with that he smashed into a nearby table of patrons. It was only momentarily, however, as the weight on top of him dragged him down quickly, squishing him onto the floor and knocking his head against a chair with a definitive thud.

Disoriented and unsure, Luhan curled in on himself, his thoughts hazy, his mind drifting. He couldn’t figure out what had happened, why he was in so much pain, or how he’d gotten on the floor.

That was the ceiling above him, he recognized.

And all around him he could hear intense, almost guttural screaming going on as chaos broke out.

And painful ripples of white hot pain were stabbing at him from his head to his legs. The pain was so intense he could only moan a bit and barely move, his fingers scratching at the scuffed hardwood floor.

Baekhyun came out of nowhere, barely in Luhan’s periphery, red faced and fists like furry.

There was a fight going on around him. The sounds and yelling finally made sense, as did the sight of tables flipping, people stumbling around, and Baekhyun kicking viciously at someone who’d stepped dangerously close to Luhan’s splayed fingers.

With his vision going blurry, then dark around the edges, Baekhyun dropped down in front of him, downright terror on his face.

“Luhan!”

Luhan blinked sluggishly at him. “Baekhyun?”

Baehyun pressed in close. “There’s an ambulance on the way. Just hold on, okay?”

Oh, god. Luhan felt the pain in him for what it was. “Youri,” he managed, wondering why there were two Baekhyun’s in front of him all of the sudden. “Baekhyun, I can’t …” There was so much pain in him, but he couldn’t feel her, and that wasn’t like her at all. She could scarcely let him go five seconds without making her presence known.

Baekhyun’s hand pressed down against his stomach and when Luhan arched out in pain, Baekhyun choked out, “I’m sorry! Luhan, I’m so sorry.”

“Youri,” he tried again, because he had to tell Baekhyun something was wrong with her. He had to let Baekhyun know that she wasn’t moving. He couldn’t feel her at all, and that meant something catastrophically bad.

With pins and needles prickling across his skin, Baekhyun wrenched Luhan’s hand up into his own and swore once more, “You are going to be okay. The ambulance is on the way.”

There were people staggering around them, some of them bleeding, more of them looking scared and unsure.

Baekhyun’s face blurred out after that, meshing into a blob of skin and hair.

And finally, after what seemed like an unbearable amount of time, the pain started to recede as well. It faded until he couldn’t feel anything, not even Baekhyun holding his hand.

This wasn’t how it ended, he told himself. This wasn’t how anything ended.  He wouldn’t allow it, and no one did stubborn like Luhan did.

But one more shuddering breath later and Luhan lost complete control of his body. One more after that and he was out like a light.

When he woke up again it was to the sharp fear of blindness. Everything was dark.

But his eyes adjusted a moment more and he realized there was some moonlight streaming in from the nearby window, and there was a steady glow from the machines next to his bed.

Hospital. He was clearly in the hospital, if the starchy sheets underneath him, to the sting of the IV at the back of his hand, meant anything.

“No, I’m serious, don’t come down here.”

The voice was at a whisper when Luhan heard it, and he traced the sound to the corner of the room where Sehun was standing. And he looked utterly defeated, shoulders hunched in and his back to Luhan. He had his left arm braced up against one of the walls and a phone pressed to his right ear.

“Mom,” he sighed out. “The waiting room is already full of people who refuse to go home. Yes … yes, I know you’re not them. I know you’re Youri’s grandmother. But Luhan is out cold and it won’t make any difference if you come down here and wait with the others right now or if you come tomorrow when the sun is up.”

Luhan looked from the IV lines at the back of his hand to the drip hanging nearby, and the extra monitors that he’d never seen before. But then he did recognize one, and he knew what it was all too well. A fetal monitor. There was a machine tracking Youri’s heartbeat, which was beautiful in how it was beating even if Luhan couldn’t currently feel her. The numbness and panic was gone, which was all that mattered.

“Mom,” Sehun said, sounding absolutely weary. “I honestly don’t want you down here. Don’t take this the wrong way, I don’t want anyone. I just want to sit next to Luhan and hold his hand tonight and deal with how scared I still am. Can you come tomorrow? I’ll need your support for when I talk to the police.”

Luhan frowned. “Sehun?” His mouth was dry and almost felt swollen, but he managed to get the word out barely.

“Luhan!”

Luhan wasn’t sure Sehun had even hung up properly with his mother. But a second later Sehun was at his side, kissing his mouth chastely but desperately, one hand cradling the swell of Youri with his long fingers.

“How are you feeling?” Sehun had tears in his eyes. “I’m going to get a doctor.”

“No.” Luhan barely managed to snag Sehun’s sleeve. “I’m … just me and you, please. For now.”

“Okay.” Sehun’s forehead pressed against Luhan’s softly, hand not letting up from Luhan’s stomach for a second. “I know you must be scared, but you’re going to be okay. You’re okay and so is Youri.”

“What happened?” Luhan asked, happily accepting a small glass of water from the nearby table. Sehun helped him lean up just enough to take a few sips. “I can’t …” Luhan cleared his throat and bit and it saved him from having to admit that his mind was almost completely blank.

He remembered meeting Baekhyun, and he remembered Baekhyun agreeing to become his medical proxy. But then? Nothing.

“The way I hear it,” Sehun said with a frustrated huff, “there was a fight at the restaurant you were at. Some knocked into you and you fell. You hit your head, it was a mild concussion, and you bruised some ribs. But, thank god, there’s no permanent damage and Youri stayed safely right where she is. Your protected her, Luhan.”

There were sudden glimpses in his mind and he told Sehun firmly, “No, Baekhyun protected me.”

Confusion flooded Sehun’s face. “Baehyun? What?”

Luhan managed one more sip of water and nodded. “I remember … something hit me hard. I fell on the ground.” The events were so murky, but Baekhyun was now in his mind. “Baekhyun pushed people away from me. He kept me from getting hit again.” More like punched and kicked people away, but Luhan had absolutely no doubt now that without Baekhyun he’d have gotten stepped on or worse.

“Baekhyun?” Sehun asked again.

Luhan nodded surely. “Thank him, Sehun. He stayed with me. He held my hand. That means more to me than anything else.”

“Why were you with Baekhyun?”

Not to lie, Luhan said simply, “We were working our differences out. Coming to an agreement, if you will.”

Sehun pressed forward to lay his head against Luhan’s stomach, and when he did, Luhan felt the first blissful movement from Youri since the fight. Maybe she’d just been sleeping.

Sehun said, “I wondered why he was already in the waiting room when I arrived. I expected him to be the last to arrive, or maybe show at all.”

Luhan put a hand on the back of Sehun’s head, holding him close to Youri. “Waiting room?”

“Everyone is there,” Sehun said, and his voice rumbled against Luhan’s skin with only a thin hospital gown between. “No one wants to leave, just in case.”

“Well,” Luhan insisted, feeling the strands of Sehun’s soft hair pass through his fingers, “they can wait if they want, but I’d feel better if they went home and rested.” He just wanted Sehun, and he wanted to stay with him like this forever … sans the hospital, of course.

“I thought the world was ending,” Sehun said quietly, his skin so pale under the moonlight. “When the hospital called me … when they said you’d been admitted and it was serious, I thought the world was ending.  I couldn’t stand up straight, I couldn’t think or move or talk, and I still don’t know how Chen got me here. Suho must have helped.”

“Sorry,” Luhan said, voice still a little scratchy. “This is the last thing I wanted to put you through.”

Sehun grumbled, “It’s not your fault some drunken plowed into you. And when the police get here tomorrow to take your statement, I’m going to make sure they do something.”

Luhan wasn’t sure that was what he wanted. “They were just a bunch of drunks, Sehun.”

“And they could have cost us everything,” Sehun said, his fingers tracing Youri’s movements. “If you’d fallen just a little different, or hit something the wrong way … you could have lost Youri, and I could have lost you both.”

“But no one set out to hurt me maliciously. It was an accident.”

There was such disagreement on Sehun’s face. He looked severe and angry and like this was something he’d fight Luhan on until the bitter end.

Shaking his head a little, Sehun asked, “Will you let me put you in bubble wrap now? I can go to the post office the first thing in the morning and--”

Luhan tugged Sehun into a soft kiss. “Accidents happen, Sehun. You know this better than anyone. But sometimes we get lucky like we just did. Let’s be happy for that, okay? And no bubble wrap, I don’t want you to roll me down the street.”

Sehun gave a chuckle and then rose to finally find a doctor to look Luhan over.

By the time the doctor arrived, who was Eunji with a stern look, Luhan was starting to drift back into sleep. His whole body was achy and from the burn in his chest when he breathed, Sehun had to be telling the truth about his ribs.

“You know I’m only interested in seeing you here when we have our scheduled appointments,” Eunji said.

Through heavily lidded eyes, Luhan said, “I’m actually trying my best here.”

He heard her say, “You’re going to be okay, Luhan.” Then he was sleeping again.

The morning brought a whole slew of people to his hospital room. He had heard rumors that he’d be released the next day, but until then he was enjoying having a private room and plenty of company.

Well, for the most part.

Because there was also a lot of lecturing to endure, mostly from Xiumin, who declared quite purposefully, “You’re never going anywhere without me again.”

“You do seem to attract trouble fairly easily,” Suho said, and Luhan wasn’t sure how to reply. There was still a great deal of awkwardness between them. Luhan didn’t know how to put from his mind the fact that he’d felt more betrayed by Suho, than he had Sehun.

“Your call,” Baekhyun prompted.

He was sitting at the end of Luhan’s bed, legs crossed and playing cards spread out between them. He’d been there since Sehun had stepped out of the room a half hour earlier to speak with his boss. It was a selfish thing, but Luhan hoped that Sehun was asking to take his paternity leave earlier. All Luhan wanted was for the last month or so of his pregnancy to go well, and for Sehun to be there with him for each moment.

“Luhan?”

“Sorry.” Luhan looked down to the cards in his hand. There was no telling what the river held in terms of cards, not yet, but he had a two pair in the same suit, so he was confident enough to raise. He slid a handful of pretzels and peanuts, their poker chips for lack of another option, towards Baekhyun. “I’ll raise you.”

“Confident?” Baehyun asked with an arched eyebrow. “You shouldn’t be.” He called immediately.

Luhan tried not to be distracted by all the people in the room. All of his and Sehun’s friends had either been there since the previous night, or trickled in that morning. They were probably breaking a dozen hospital rules, having twelve people in the room at once, but it was nice to have such strong support. No matter where Luhan looked, he had people who cared.

“You didn’t have to stay,” Luhan said. It was a little different with Baekhyun. It was unclear where they were in terms of friendship.

“Do you know what happened last night after you passed out?”

Luhan sighed, “I wish you wouldn’t say it like that. I went to bed. I was sleepy.”

Baekhyun continued, “Sehun came out into the waiting room and he squeezed me so hard with appreciation that I thought I’d burst a blood vessel. Apparently you told him I saved your life?”

“Isn’t that what you did?”

“Debatable,” Baekhyun said, keeping his voice low with so many ears nearby. “Anyway, I think it’s safe to say that I’m forgiven. So other than the fact that you’re carrying around my friend’s kid, and that means I have an invested interest in you at the moment, I had to be here just in case.”

Luhan looked up from his cards. “In case of what?”

The door to the room opened up and Sehun came back through.

Quickly, Baekhyun said, “In case I had to make a call.”

“Oh,” Luhan said, Baekhyun’s words registering.

Then the younger man added, “I’ve got your bag, by the way. The one with our agreement in it.”

Sehun came easily to the side of the bed, half sitting on the edge as he observed, “You guys are playing poker?”

“Texas Hold ‘em,” Baekhyun clarified, and it was as if the previous conversation Luhan had had with him, had never happened. “You want in?”

“Sure,” Sehun said, an arm coming around Luhan’s shoulders casually. He called out to the rest of the room, “Anyone else want to play?”

Reclining in a chair near the window, Lay said, “I don’t know how to play.”

It was Kai who looked downright offended and said, “Okay, we’re fixing that right now.”

Sliding his shoes on, Kris announced, “I’ll go find another deck of playing cards.” Chanyeol went with him and Luhan smiled.

“What?” Sehun asked quietly into Luhan’s ear.

“Nothing.” Luhan smothered another smile down as Baekhyun reshuffled the cards. He didn’t want to jinx anything, but as far as he was concerned, with Sehun by his side and their friends clustered around, this was as perfect as life got.  “We’re going to need more snacks to play with.”

Sehun pressed a quick kiss to Luhan’s temple and said, “Got it. Give me two minutes.”

Sehun rolled off the bed to hunt down the treats and Baekhyun said, “You two are disgustingly sweet.”

“Thanks,” Luhan said, throwing a peanut at him.

Baekhyun gave him a sour look, but Luhan could only laugh.