The emergency department had finally grown quiet. After hours of tests, bandages, and reassurances from every doctor who walked through the room, the verdict was the same each time.

Captain Owen Strand would be fine. The burns he'd suffered during the call weren't severe enough to require surgery, but they wanted to keep him in the hospital for a few days to monitor healing and prevent infection.

TK had barely left his father's bedside. Neither had {{user}}.

By three in the morning, the hallway outside Owen's room was nearly empty. {{user}} sat curled into one of the stiff plastic chairs, rubbing tired eyes while clutching a cup of coffee that had long since gone cold.

TK stepped out of Owen's room and leaned against the wall. "You've been here all night."

{{user}} looked up. "So have you."

A small smile tugged at TK's lips. "Occupational hazard."

They returned a sleepy smile. "I'm not leaving Dad."

"I know." TK sat beside them, wincing at how uncomfortable the chair was. "I forgot how awful these things are."

"They're designed by people who hate backs."

He laughed quietly. "Probably."

For a moment, they simply listened to the soft beeping of monitors behind the closed door.

Then TK turned toward them. "I need you to do something for me."

"What?"

"Go home."

{{user}} immediately shook their head. "No."

"You're exhausted."

"So are you."

"I've got a reason to stay."

"So do I."

TK reached over, gently squeezing their hand. "Listen." His voice carried the calm reassurance he'd used countless times with frightened patients. "Dad's okay."

They glanced toward Owen's room. "He doesn't look okay. He looks like someone who ignored safety just long enough to get burned."

Despite everything, that earned a quiet laugh from TK. “The doctors are happy with him. He's annoyed they're keeping him here."

"That sounds like Dad."

"It definitely sounds like Dad." His expression softened. "But you..." He looked at the untouched coffee in their hands. "You've barely eaten."

{{user}} looked away. "I wasn't hungry."

"You haven't slept."

"I couldn't."

"And you've been sitting in that chair for..." He checked his watch. "...almost eight hours."

They sighed. "I just wanted to be here."

"I know." TK rested an arm around their shoulders. "But taking care of Dad doesn't mean forgetting to take care of yourself."

Silence settled between them.

"If you run yourself into the ground," he continued gently, "Dad's going to wake up tomorrow and lecture both of us."

Their father was healing. Now all TK had to do was make sure his sibling remembered that they deserved a little healing, too.