I woke up and everything hurt. My throat was raw, my head pounded, and damn my stomach hurt. I shifted in the bed trying to get more comfortable, but it was no use. I pushed the button on the bed for the nurse and waited. A nurse I hadn’t met before came in and introduced herself.  “Good morning, Lincoln, my name’s Carmen, and I’ll be your nurse this morning. Your brother went down to the cafeteria to get something to eat, but said he’d be back in a bit. Now let me take your vitals, and then you can tell me what I can I do for you. So let’s start with your pain level. On a scale of one to ten, one being no pain and ten being oh my god help me, how badly do you hurt?”

“Where? Cause I kind of hurt all over.”

“Well, that’s what you get for being a hero, a knife to the stomach and a stay at our wonderful hospital,” Nathan said from the door. “Matt and Spencer are on their way now. They’ll probably be here in about fifteen minutes.”

I rolled my eyes at Nathan and turned my attention back to Carmen. “I’d say on a scale of one to ten my head’s a five, and my stomach’s an eight. It really hurts.”

“Okay, I’ll get you something for the pain.” She finished up her examination and left.

“Nathan, when Matt and Spencer get here, I need you to take Spencer down to the cafeteria or somewhere. I need to talk to Matt so we can figure out a plan for Spencer.”

“Sure, I can do that, but what’re you thinking?”

“I’m not sure, but he can’t go back out on the street. He’s funny and smart and sweet, and he won’t last long like that out there.”

“Well, they asked Alex to bring over some of my things for him until Matt could take him shopping, so I’m pretty sure he has a plan. They should be here by now. Let me make sure they have the right room number,” he said pulling out his phone, and he started texting. “He says they’re on their way up.”

“What time are Mom and Dad getting here?” I asked.

“They should be here around lunchtime. Meg’s coming with them.”

“Wow, Meg in the city. That should be fun,” I said with a laugh.

“I know right.”

We chatted for a minute while we waited, but I was so glad to see Matt walk through the door. I knew he had to be with Spencer and that I told him to go, but I really could’ve used his arms around me last night.

“Hey, babe,” he said, a smile spreading across his face when he saw me. “You’re looking much better this morning.” He crossed the room and gave me a kiss, but when he tried to pull away, I wrapped my hand behind his head and held him in place.

“God, I missed you,” I said as he dropped his forehead to mine. When he finally stepped back, I saw Spencer hovering over by the door.

“Hey, Spencer, how are you this morning?” I asked.

“Good, your house kicks ass.”

“I’m glad you approve,” I chuckled.

“Hey, Spencer, I need to make a coffee run. You want to come with me?” Nathan asked. “Give these two a few minutes alone.”

“Sure,” Spencer said with a shrug and followed Nathan out the door.

“So, how’re you really feeling?” Matt asked as he came over and sat on the side of the bed and brushed my hair out of my eyes.

“Not too bad. Nice nurse Carmen brought me some pain meds and that helped.”

“Good, I was so scared when I got the call. I love you,” he said, and his eyes shimmered with unshed tears. I reached up and lightly brushed my thumb over his cheek.

“I love you, too, Matt. Now before they get back, we need a plan for Spencer. He can’t go back out on the stre—”

“Lincoln, I got this. I told you yesterday I’d handle it. Here take a look at these.” He reached into his bag and pulled out a large envelope. “Did you know that Miles is an attorney?

“What?” I asked. “Youth center Miles?”

“Yep, he put those together for me.” He indicated the papers.

I pulled them out of the envelope and began to read. “These are guardianship papers,” I said, stating the obvious.

“Yes. I had him put both our names, but if you don’t want to do it, then I can have him redo them in just mine.”

“So what exactly are you thinking?” I asked cautiously, trying not to get my hopes up or read too much into the papers. This could just be a temporary solution for Matt.

“I’m thinking we get his dad to sign those papers on the bottom there that relinquish his parental rights, and that he signs the top ones giving us custody of Spence, and that Spencer comes and lives with us and becomes part of our family. Like part of our forever family. We can’t do this, and then take it away, Linc. He’s already been through so much.”

I looked up at him tears in my eyes. “This, this is perfect,” I forced myself to say around the lump in my throat. “How are you going to get his dad to sign the papers?”

“I talked to Alex earlier, and he talked to Darren, and I guess there’s a plan brewing. I figured I’d hang out here with you guys until your mom and dad get here, and then I’d go get it taken care of post haste.”