Taecyeon

Taecyeon had been up for hours when Nichkhun walked in with a steaming cup of coffee and a paper sack from McDonald's.

"You look like ." Nichkhun grinned "Good morning, Jun." Nichkhun walked up to the bed and squeezed Jun's hand before checking out the monitors that surrounded him.

"I didn't sleep well. The nurses were in and out all night and the beeping of the machines kept waking me up." not that Taecyeon minded being woken up. It was nice to know Jun was being so well cared for.

Nichkhun nodded "I figured that would happen. What time is his next CT scan?"

Taecyeon checked the display on his phone "Should be any time now."

Nichkhun sat next to Taec on the small sofa watching his friend as Taecyeon demolished his Egg McMuffin in about four bites "Good, huh?"

Taec nodded while he chewed the last bite "Thanks for bringing this for me. The last thing I had to eat was that bit of pasta last night."

"The CT scan is going to take a while. Why don't you go home for a bit?"

"I can't leave him, Khun."

"I'll be right here with him. I promise. Go home, have a shower and change your clothes. When Jun wakes up you're gonna want to look your best."

He knew Nichkhun was right. He should go home and clean himself up, but there was a part of him that was terrified Jun would die if he left the hospital "What if something happens while I'm gone?"

"Nothing's going to happen. He's stable and has been for hours. If you're that concerned, I'll go with him to imaging."

Taec snorted "You do realize you're a pediatrician, right? Your forte is runny noses and chicken pox."

"I'm a doctor, Taecyeon. The only difference between Jun and my patients is his height."

Taec snorted "Okay, I'll go. I want to check in on Gain too. You'll stay until I get back?"

"I sure will. I'll be with him every step of the way." Nichkhun pulled Taec in for a tight hug.

"You see that Jun? Nichkhun's putting the moves on me. You better wake up and kick his !"

Nichkhun started to laugh "You're taunting him into getting better? I've gotta say that's a first." 

"I'll be back as soon as I can. You take care of him, Khun. I can't lose him."

"You're not gonna lose him. Take your time. We'll be here when you get back."

Taecyeon had almost fallen asleep twice in the shower. It had been a bad week for him in terms of lying awake and staring at the ceiling before Jun's accident. Now, he felt like he'd never get a good night's sleep again.

He'd managed to grab a short series of cat naps at the hospital. More often than not, he'd been woken up by the nursing staff coming in to check on Jun. They'd all had an encouraging word or two for him on their way out.

There were a lot of decisions that needed to be made about Gain going forward, but with today being Saturday at least he didn't have to worry about her going to school. He'd texted Narsha first thing and asked if he could bring breakfast for them. Narsha had responded back that the kids wanted donuts. Taec took that to mean Jay must have spent the night with her as well.

Aside from Gain, there was no better kid in the world than Hwang Jaebeom. He was so kind and giving which he knew wasn't always the norm for kindergarteners. 

Taecyeon had grabbed two dozen assorted donuts, knowing he could eat a dozen on his own and headed over to Narsha's house. He could see Chansung's SUV in the driveway when he pulled in. He was thrilled that Gain had so many people around who loved her.

He could hear the raucous crowd inside when he opened the side door and walked into the kitchen.

"Taecyeon!" Gain ran to him, wrapping herself around his legs.

Taec handed off the donuts to Junho and picked up the little girl. Gain was wearing her favorite Elsa nightgown "I missed you, sweetheart. How are you?"

"I'm so glad you're okay after driving in the car."

Taecyeon hugged her tighter and looked over her head at the others. They were all wearing similar sad looks on their faces. He knew he was going to have to do something to cure Gain of her fear of riding in cars.

"How about a jelly donut, Princess Gain?" Junho asked, setting one on a plate for her.

"Okay." Gain pulled herself away from Taecyeon to climb up into her seat next to Jay, who had a chocolate ring around his mouth from his donut.

"How's Jun?" Chansung asked. 

"Still the same. Nichkhun is going with him to his CT scan, just to be there for him. That's how I was able to go grab a shower and get breakfast for my favorite kiddos."

"You're a teacher, Taecyeon. You're not supposed to have favorites. That's what my Daddy told me. Right, Daddy?" Jay beamed brightly at Junho.

"That's only in school, Jay. You can be Taec's favorite at home." Junho grinned at his son.

"Speaking of Nichkhun, he was really good to Ewon last night. Apparently he brought over pizza and stayed to marathon Moon That Embraces the Sun with him all night. I wonder whose idea that was?" Junho raised an eyebrow in question.

Taecyeon shrugged "I might have mentioned to Nichkhun that Ewon would need some support last night. I've got a heart. So sue me."

"I wanna go see Uncle Junnie." Gain interrupted.

"You do?" Taecyeon cringed at the sound of shock in his voice. Of course Gain wanted to see Jun, he just hoped she realized that seeing him meant driving there.

Gain shook her head "I can be brave enough to drive in the car for him." 

Taecyeon felt tears building up again. Instead of letting them fall, he stuffed a Boston cream donut into his mouth.

After all the donuts were eaten, it hadn't taken Gain long to get dressed. Before they'd gone out to the car, Gain had gotten a lot of hugs all around.

From the rearview mirror, Taec could see that Gain had her ratty baby blanket clutched in her fist and was rubbing it against the side of her face. Taecyeon could see the fear in her eyes "How about we play some Girls Generation? I've got them on my phone."

"No! We can't listen to Girls Generation in the car ever again." Gain sounded horrified.

"Why not?"

"Me and Uncle Junnie were singing Lion Heart when we got in the accident."

Taec's heart felt like an icy fist was squeezing it. How was Gain ever going to get over the memory of the accident? It was definitely a question he'd ask Nichkhun when they saw him later "Oh, honey. I didn't know that."

Gain nodded and buried her face in her blanket.

Taec decided they'd spend the rest of the ride in silence. He didn't want to do or say anything else. 

When he pulled into the hospital parking lot, Taecyeon easily found a parking spot. As they walked toward the hospital, Gain grabbed his hand in a death grip. Taecyeon couldn't imagine the anxiety she must be feeling. This was the hospital that had cared for Miryo until she died. He was sure Gain had nothing but bad memories about this place. He prayed today wouldn't bring more bad memories.

They walked quietly through the sliding doors of the hospital. The closer they got to the elevators, the harder Gain held his hand. It was a rare moment when words failed Taecyeon, but he had no earthly idea what to say to the terrified little girl. When they got in the elevator, Taec pried her little hand off and pulled her into his arms "I love you, Gainoo. No matter what happens I'll always be here for you."

"I miss Uncle Junnie. He always tries to make me laugh. I'm so sorry I was so mean to him."

"Why don't you tell him that when we see him, okay?"

"Okay. Even though he's sleeping, he can hear me, right?"

Narsha must have told Gain that Jun was sleeping. It was so much easier to explain than telling her what a medically induced coma was "That's right. Uncle Junnie is sleeping so that he can feel better."

Taecyeon walked into the ICU and waved at the nurse manning the desk. She was the same nurse who'd been sitting there when he'd left a few hours ago and had spent a little time with him this morning when she'd come in to check on Jun. He'd have to remember to send flowers or chocolates to thank all of the people who had taken care of Jun.

Taecyeon stopped outside Jun's hospital room "Now, remember what we talked about. Uncle Jun is hooked up to a lot of machines that you might think make scary noises."

"My Mommy was too. I won't be afraid."

Taec nodded, afraid that if he opened his mouth to speak, he'd end up crying. There was no way a five-year-old should be that matter-of-fact about the ICU.

He steeled his courage and walked in through the door. Nichkhun was sitting at the side of Jun's bed reading a story from the paper about the Taegeuk Warriors.

Taecyeon looked up at Jun and noticed instantly that he wasn't on the respirator anymore "Hey, Khun. Hi Jun! I brought a gorgeous woman to see you!"

Nichkhun snorted "Hi, Taec! Hi Gainoo!"

Taec set Gain down and she went to Jun's bed, not hesitating for a second before climbing up on the bed and kissing his cheek "Hi Uncle Junnie. You gotta wake up. I have to tell you about the funny thing that Blackie did last night and I have to tell you the dinosaur joke Jay told me. And I need to tell you that I love you." Gain took a deep breath. 

Without turning around, she said "Taec, I don't want Uncle Junnie to die before I can call him Daddy."

Taec's breath caught in his throat "Is that what you want to call him, honey?"

Gain nodded "Jay has two Daddies and they love him so much, just like Uncle Junnie loves me so much. I want him to be my Daddy."

That did it for Taecyeon. He couldn't hold back the flood of tears any longer. He and Jun had never talked about it, but he'd bet the house that Jun would love it if Gain called him Daddy.

"I think he'd love that Gainoo." Nichkhun said, wrapping an arm around Taec's shoulders.

"Me too." Taec managed.

"I've got some good news for both of you."

"Christ knows we could use some." Taec pulled away from Nichkhun to blow his nose and dig for the strength to stop crying. Hell, he'd cried more in the last two days then he had in the last two years.

"Jun had his cat scan while you were gone."

"A cat scan? Does he get to keep the cat? I know Uncle Junnie would love another cat." Gain giggled. 

Taec snorted. Knowing Jun, he'd love to get a second cat if it made Gain happy.

"That's just the name of the test. There aren't any actual cats involved." Nichkhun grinned.

"Rats." Gain muttered under her breath.

"After they got Jun back to the room, Doctor Seokjin came in to talk to me about the results. He's responded well enough to the treatment that the doctor wants him out of the medically induced coma and off the respirator." Nichkhun leaned in closer "I'm so glad you weren't here to see them take the breathing tube out."

Taec nodded. He was glad too. It was hard enough to see Jun like this in the hospital bed "Thank you so much for being here for us, Khun."

"That's what best friends are for." Nichkhun bussed a kiss against the side of Taecyeon's head "The doctor said he could wake up any time now."

"Did you hear that, Daddy! Doctor Khunnie says you can wake up now!" Gain turned around to Nichkhun and Taecyeon "Do you think if I kiss him, he'll wake up like Snow White and Sleeping Beauty?"

"There's only one way to find out, Princess Gainoo. Give it a try." Taecyeon knew nothing was going to happen when Gain kissed Jun. True love's kiss only ever worked in a Disney movie or in a cheesy romance novel. 

Even with as pessimistic as he was feeling, Taec said a quick prayer that it would work.

"Okay, Daddy, I'm gonna kiss you and you're gonna wake up, okay?" Gain puckered up and pressed a kiss to Jun's slack lips. She sat back and waited for the magic to happen.

"Hmm, nothing." Gain crossed her arms over her chest "Now you, Taec. You're Daddy's true love. It's gotta work when you kiss him."

"Gain, honey, medicine doesn't always-"

"Hold on a second there, Doctor Khunnie. Let's give it a try." Taec squeezed Nichkhun's shoulder and walked back to the other side of Jun's bed "Prince Kim Minjun, I awaken thee with true love's kiss."

"No tongue, huh, Taec." Nichkhun deadpanned.

Taec shot Nichkhun the middle finger and leaned over Jun "I love you so much, Jun. You gotta wake up." Taec pressed their lips together, praying harder than he'd ever prayed in his life.  Taec pulled back and smacked a kiss against the side of Gain's head.

"Come on, Daddy!" Gain clapped her hands.

Taec knew it was the longest of long shots that the kiss would wake Jun up. He just couldn't bear to dash Gain's hopes. He looked back over his shoulder at Nichkhun who was shaking his head. When he turned back to Jun, his eyelashes were fluttering.

"It worked Taec! You did it. Come on, Daddy, you can do it. Open your eyes!"

"Gain?" Jun said. His voice sounded hoarse. Taec figured that had to do with having had the breathing tube down his throat.

"Daddy! I'm right here!"

"Is this heaven?" Jun rasped.

"No, silly. We're in the hospital. Taec is here and so is Doctor Khunnie. Did you hear me talking to you in your sleep?"

Jun nodded "Taec?"

"Right here." Taec swiped at the tears freely flowing down his face "I love you so much. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I'm sorry I didn't fight for us. I love you. I just love you so much."

Jun's lips bent into a quick smile "Love you too, stubborn bastard."

"Taec! Daddy said a bad word!"

"I think we can let it go this one time'" Taec laughed. 

"Who's Daddy?" Jun sounded confused.

"Boy, you really musta hit your head hard. You're my Daddy." Gain giggled.

"Really?" tears slipped out of the corners of Jun's eyes.

"Yup! I love you so much too. Taec and I woke you up with true love's kiss."

"You sure did, Princess." Jun's eyes closed again as if keeping them open was too big an effort.

"You sleep, babe. I'll be here waiting for you when you wake back up. I promise."

Jun reached for Taec who grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze.

"I can't believe it." Nichkhun looked shocked "It really worked. You woke Jun up with your love."

"Of course we did, Doctor Khunnie! Love's the best medicine of all."

Taec couldn't have said it any better himself.