Sirius, closely followed by Remus, practically ran down the white halls of the hospital that seemed to never end. He was looking for someone. Severus, a nurse, a doctor, even a receptionist. Where was everyone? A receptionist should be the easiest thing to—

“Sirius.” Remus took hold of Sirius's arm, stopping him. He nodded his head over to something on the right side of the room. A clutter of chairs were there, with maybe two or three people in total sitting there. Severus was one of the people sitting there, looking unnaturally pale. Sirius felt his heart nearly stop beating. He swallowed, approaching the man. Severus didn't even look up.

“He's here?” Sirius whispered, letting himself collapse in the chair beside Severus. Remus slowly sat down in the one on the other side of Severus.

Severus nodded as if he were in a trance, saying nothing.

“Is he all right?” Sirius pressed.

Severus didn't say anything.

“God dammit,” Sirius suddenly yelled, causing several people around them to stare. “Stop acting like this and tell me what the bloody hell is wrong with him! What happened? You didn't even have the decency to call me or Remus. You told Erny to tell us that something happened and that you were here.”

“He was the first person I met on my way here,” Severus finally spoke up quietly. “I apologize.”

“You better damn well apologize. You took the only car, too.” At this point, Sirius was shaking all over. He tried to calm himself. “Tell me, Snape, what happened; I'm not going to ask again.”

Severus swallowed, his eyes becoming unfocused. The words came out with absolutely no emotion, no feeling. It was like he wasn't even there. “They were in an accident. There was an animal in the middle of the road, Taylor swerved, the car... well.” Severus cleared his throat. “Harry hit his head.”

“Hit his head?” Sirius echoed. “Is it bad? Does he have a concussion? Don't tell me he has amnesia.”

“No,” Severus said, looking down at the floor. “He does not have amnesia. Why are you always assuming someone has amnesia?”

“So?” Sirius scowled, ignoring the last comment. “Snape, tell me. What's the matter?”

“He has a concussion,” Severus finally said a little loudly, still no trace of emotion in his voice. “He's unconscious. They're not sure if he'll wake up.”

Sirius stared at Severus as if he didn't understand. He shook his head, trying to catch Severus's eye, but he kept it focused on the floor.

“They're not sure?” Sirius's frown became more pronounced. “No, no. They have to be sure. They're the doctors, they should bloody well know these things. Look, Harry'll wake up. Maybe in an hour, or two, or two and a half hours. He will.”

“I'm going to go,” Severus said abruptly, standing up. “I'll... see you back at the manor.”

“What?” Sirius stood up, too. “You can't leave. Your son is—you can't leave him here! Don't be so insensitive!”

“I know exactly what my son is,” Severus said slowly and coldly. “And I am not being insensitive. Do you not apprehend how difficult this is at the moment? Do you not realize that this is the third time, perchance, I could lose him? And, if it's somehow slipped your memory, the first time I did lose him. This time... I will not be so lucky to get him back.”

Sirius frowned, ready to say: “Get him back...?” But then Severus had finally made eye contact with Sirius, and as he did, Sirius saw the pain that Severus was feeling. The helplessness. It was probably the second thing they had in common at that moment; the other being how much they cared for Harry. Sirius's body deflated in the chair as he let out a long sigh. He said in a quiet voice as Severus began walking away, “I'll see you back at the manor, then.”

Severus froze, his back to Sirius. He didn't turn around, but his voice was clearly hesitant. “I'm going to get something. Coffee, possibly. I'm not leaving.”

Sirius nodded silently, and Severus continued walking away. Remus put a comforting hand on Sirius's shoulder. Sirius flashed his friend a not-so-genuine smile, squeezing his eyes shut, blocking the world around him.

--

Severus walked down the empty corridor, not sure where he was going, just knowing that he had to go somewhere. Of course, he wouldn't leave, what made him think of leaving in the first place? He just needed to be alone. To collect his thoughts, his feelings. It was just a little too much—he'd been so relieved, thinking that everything was fine. That everything would go back to, well, normal.

He rounded the corner only to come face-to-face with fifteen familiar faces. The one who was leading the group was Maddie.

“Oh, Severus!” The plump, elderly woman threw her arms around Severus's middle in a hug. “We just heard! How's Harry? Oh, Severus!”

Severus made a noise, staying as still as a statue until Maddie let go. He blinked, straightening his clothes. “Harry is unconscious right now.”

Maddie turned to the other fourteen people, her face a mask of horror. The rest of them began whispering to each other.

“He's in a coma,” Maddie whispered to someone behind her, as if Severus wasn't there. She turned around to face Severus again. “When will he wake up, Sev?”

“I don't know,” Severus replied briefly, aching to leave. “I really should g—”

“What about Evan?” a girl in the back asked. “Is he okay?”

“How did you find out about the accident?” Maddie questioned before Severus could answer the girl. “Did the hospital call you? How did they know who to call?”

“Evan Taylor was conscious long enough to say whom they should call. Right now he is most likely asleep, and I do believe that I—”

Maddie placed her hands on Severus's arms, staring deeply into his eyes. “Would you like us to stay with you, Severus?” she asked gently. “We're all here for you.”

“That's quite all right,” Severus replied softly. “Thank you, but—”

“What about Sirius? And that yummy chap he was with? Do you want me to tell them? Last I saw them, they were at the restaurant.” Maddie stopped, shaking her head. “Never mind, I forgot that Erny told them.”

“Thank you for coming down here,” Severus said, his voice firm. “We appreciate your concern, but staying is not necessary. Thank you.”

Colleen Prindle stepped forward, her brow furrowed together. “You'll keep us informed on how Harry's doing?”

“I certainly will.”

“If there's any changes? Anything like that?”

“I will.” Severus let out a small sigh. “If you'll excuse me, I need to get back to Sirius.”

He turned around, walking back the other way. He heard the chatter and shuffle of the people leaving, and he felt a little sense of relief. So many people here, smothering him with questions, it gave him a piercing headache that was like a knife in his head.

All he wanted was quiet. Maybe some coffee. Never really a fan of caffeine, Severus couldn't believe that he was actually craving it.

When would they let him see Harry? He was going to go out of his mind if he wasn't even able to see a glimpse of his son soon. But did he really want to? He pictured Harry laying there, unconscious, battered and bruised. It made him sick to his stomach.

He only wished that Evan Taylor was just as battered as Harry may be. And if he wasn't, it could always be arranged.

--

Severus sat in the chair again, holding an empty cup in his hand while Remus sat quietly beside him, hands folded on his lap with his eyes downcast on the floor, and Sirius on the other side of him, tapping his foot impatiently and fiddling with his thumbs.

“Would you stop that?” Severus snapped.

“I want to go in and see Harry.” Sirius scowled. “This is ridiculous. I'm in a bad enough mood as it is, so don't you go telling me what to do.”

“You're in a bad mood?” Severus growled, a single eyebrow raised. “What do you think I'm in?”

Sirius narrowed his eyes. “You're willing to go home. To leave your own son here alone. Don't get me started, Snape.”

“You have one thing right: he's my son. I give you permission to leave now.”

“Leave?! Like hell I'm leaving. You wanted to leave, so you leave!”

“I will not tolerate you speaking to me in that manner, Black. I think it's best that you leave. You still have that restaurant to take care of, am I wrong? You can sleep in there tonight, as well.”

“I am not sleeping at my restaurant!” Sirius yelled, jumping to his feet. “You can't kick me out of our house. It's ours. Don't be thick. I'm not leaving, either. You can leave.”

“Watch it, Black; I am certainly not leaving .”

“Neither am I!”

“I believe we've established that,” Severus said coldly. “Will you sit down? You're making a scene.”

“Me?” Sirius's mouth fell open. “You're a sodding git. You—”

“Sirius,” Remus spoke up, his eyes fixed on something behind the man.

Sirius froze, slowly turning around to face a doctor. His face was a bright red as he said, “I'm awfully sorry, Doc, I'll keep it down—”

“Mr Snape?”

Sirius shook his head. “I'm Si—”

“That would be me,” Severus spoke up, standing. He stood by Sirius, the empty paper cup still in his hand. He held onto it tightly, crumpling it in his hand, his knuckles turning white as he waited for the doctor to speak.

“You can see your son now,” the doctor said. “He's not awake, but we've done some—”

Maybe Sirius was listening to what he was saying. Maybe Remus was, but Severus certainly wasn't. He'd blocked out every other sound, every other thing going on around him. He followed the doctor into Harry's room. Sirius and Remus's presence brought very little comfort to him. What he did feel was his own heartbeat start to slow down as they approached Harry's bed. There the boy lay, not as bad as Severus had imagined. There was an awful, ugly bruise on Harry's forehead, little cuts and scrapes along his face. His cheek looked like it was starting to bruise, too.

Severus sat down on the side of Harry's bed, his hand pushing back Harry's bangs, letting his fingertip rest gently against the bruise. Harry didn't stir.

“That looks painful,” Sirius spoke up quietly. Severus blinked, momentarily unaware that there were the other two in the room with him.

“Where's the doctor?” Severus questioned, his voice cracking slightly. He cleared his throat.

“He left,” Sirius said. And that was it.

Severus lifted his finger, lightly brushing it against the bruise on Harry's cheek. He traced a cut on the other cheek, then let his hand drop to his lap. He was so still. So pale. It almost reminded him of the last time they were in a hospital, at Hogwarts, with the—

Well.

He averted his eyes, watching Sirius and Remus grab a couple of chairs from the other side of the room, bringing them closer to Harry's bed.

He caught Sirius's eye. “I'm not leaving.”

A sad look crossed Sirius's face. “Neither am I.”

That was all Severus needed to hear. He shifted his position to get a little comfier, not taking his eyes off Harry's unconscious figure.

--

Sometime while with Harry, Severus had fallen asleep. He didn't know how long he'd been sleeping for, but when he finally opened his eyes he saw that Sirius and Remus had fallen asleep in their chairs, too. His head was touching Harry's own head, and for a moment he wondered if even that light pressure might be hurting him. Wherever Harry was then, could he feel any pain?

Severus slowly turned his head around to look at Harry. He met the boy's bright green ones, open and staring at him. For a minute, Severus wondered if he was dreaming. Then Harry smiled, and Severus couldn't help but smile back.

“You scared me,” Severus said quietly.

Harry frowned. “I'm sorry.” His voice was hoarse and dry. “I didn't expect you to wake up just then.”

Severus shook his head. “No. I mean you scared me.”

His mouth formed the word, “Oh”, but he didn't say it out loud. Severus brushed Harry's dark hair away from his face, and Harry tried to smile again. It was a little painful.

“I don't know what to say,” Harry finally admitted. “I hurt a little, though.”

Severus looked alarmed, quickly sitting up. Harry shook his head, saying, “No, not because of you. Lay down again. I'm just sore all over. Sev.”

Severus frowned, his eyes flickering over to the dark window as he resumed his position. “What time is it?”

“Around eleven or twelve. Maybe one.” Harry coughed. “The doctors came in when I woke up, and they were going to wake you, but I told them to leave you lot alone. I didn't want them to make you leave. They let you stay, anyway.”

“You should've let them wake me up,” said Severus with a sigh. “I am usually a light sleeper. I can't understand why I didn't wake up when they came in.” He paused, asking belatedly, “When did you wake up?”

“Not too long ago,” Harry replied. He yawned. “Maybe an hour. It feels like an hour. The doctors were surprised; they didn't expect me to wake up so soon, or something.”

Severus stared at Harry, taking in every feature: his nose, his hair, those eyes. To never see those eyes look at him again would've killed him.

“When I was waiting for them to let me see you,” Severus started slowly, “I thought of everything I wanted to tell you.”

What was he doing? Severus stared into Harry's eyes, willing himself to stop talking. He couldn't. It was... Harry. It was Harry, in the hospital, and he didn't die this time. The words, which he thought of so carefully so long ago, came back to him as if they'd never left in the first place.

Harry frowned. “What did you want to tell me?”

“Too many things.” Severus gave a sad attempt at a grin. He swallowed, nearly stopping himself this time, but the words ended up just coming out. “But most of all, I wanted to thank you. You're the one thing that brings me the most joy in my life. You always have, and I could have not been more blessed. I apologize for every time I may be dreadful to live with, and I can be quite stubborn—I apologize for that, too. You're... my son. You came back to me. I never wish to argue with you again."

Severus studied Harry's eyes as the words came out of his mouth, soft like velvet, and so sure. He'd seen Harry's gentle eyes soon change, taking cognizance of the fact that he was no longer talking to Harry. He felt weighed down with guilt, especially since that look in Harry's eyes and on his face showed Severus that the boy knew he was talking to Harry Snape now, and not Harry Potter.

Harry shifted uncomfortably, a strange look crossing his face. Sadness? Pain? Severus wished he could take it away; he hated being the cause of it—what made him say that? What on earth possessed him, why couldn't he stop himself? Severus had meant to say that to Harry in the hospital wing, if he ever woke up... which he hadn't.

He was a horrible, terrible person.

Harry started coughing, bringing his hand to his mouth. Severus snapped out of his daze, asking, “Do you want me to get you something to drink?”

Harry shook his head, still coughing. Sirius stirred in the chair, his eyes fluttering open. As soon as his eyes were focused, and he saw Harry was awake, he jumped up.

“You're awake!” Sirius's eyes widened, looking at Severus. “Sev, he's awake!”

Severus raised an eyebrow, his expression somber. “I see that, Black.”

Sirius frowned. “He's coughing. Sev, why's he coughing?”

“Oh, I don't know,” Severus said irritably. “Why does anyone cough?”

“I'll get him something to drink.” Sirius looked conflicted, his eyes going back-and-forth between the door and Harry. It looked like he'd rather stay than go, but after he woke Remus up—loudly yelling in his ear that Harry was awake—he took Remus with him to go find water, flashing Harry a bright, happy smile before he left, and giving Severus a rather odd look.

“Sometime soon he'll get kicked out,” Severus mused as Harry's coughs relinquished. “How are you feeling?”

“Tired, actually.” Harry rested his head against the pillow again. He swallowed, not meeting Severus's eye. It looked like he was having a hard time ignoring Severus's speech. “How's Mr Taylor?”

“I'm not sure,” Severus said truthfully, his voice going hard. “I'm here for you, Harry, not him. Do you need anything else, other than water? Are you hungry? Do you need an extra pillow, possibly?”

Harry shut his eyes. “Just more sleep, maybe.”

Severus let out a small breath. “You'll wake up in the morning.”

It wasn't so much a statement as it was a question. Harry didn't grin: his mouth stayed in a straight, thin line, and his eyes remained closed.

“Of course I'll wake up in the morning,” he said, barely audible. “I need you, and you need—,” Harry faltered, not daring to open his eyes. “You need.... Uh, I'm knackered, Severus. I'll just see you in the morning.”

Sirius came back in the room holding a plastic cup of water. Sirius looked at Harry's still figure and set the cup on the table next to the bed. Severus let out a small breath, not quite believing what just happened.

“Is he sleeping?” Sirius questioned softly, sitting back down in the chair.

“I imagine that he is,” Severus replied. “Where's Lupin?”

Sirius shrugged his shoulders, letting out a breath. “Some woman caught him in the hall. She wasn't that dishy, and I think he wanted me to make up some excuse so that we could leave and she wouldn't have a chance to flirt. So I left him there.”

“How kind of you.” Severus paused. “Black, I did not intend to act so...” Severus trailed off, trying to find the right word to express what he meant. He merely stared at Sirius when he gave up the attempt.

A faint smile crossed Sirius's face. “I know, neither did I. Waiting for news if Harry would be okay, if he'd recover... it brought back a few memories, didn't it?” Sirius looked away, tilting his head back to stare up at the ceiling. “There's a lot of stress. Fear. Torture. It's not like this is the first time we started bickering after something happ—”

Severus frowned. “I know. There's no need to get into anything. Can we merely be thankful that he's fine and move on? I despise dwelling on the past.”

“I know you do,” Sirius replied. “You barely showed any emotion when Harry died. You just kind of... closed everything off....”

Severus made a face. Of course Black would bring up this conversation, out of all the times. “Because I made no public display of emotion you assume that I—”

“I don't want to get into anything,” Sirius interrupted hastily. “I'm just saying, Snape. You have to let go.”

“Let go?” Severus repeated. “Of what, Black?”

Sirius raised his eyebrows, giving Severus a look. “Of Harry.”

Severus's eyes fluttered shut momentarily in annoyance. “There's no need to 'let go' of Harry, he's right—”

“I heard you,” Sirius said quietly. “I thought for a minute I might've been dreaming, but I don't think I was. How could you do that, Severus? It was plainly blatant that you meant to say that to Harry Snape. Can't you understand how much that must've hurt this one here?”

Severus glanced down at Harry's immobile figure beside him. “Not now, Black, not now.”

“Yes now,” Sirius argued, he shook his head, his brow furrowing together. “What happened, Sev? You were fully aware that it was a different Harry, I know you were. And then you slipped, and it wasn't even a minor slip. It was... painful. What happened?”

“I said not now.” Severus scowled. “This isn't the most appropriate time for this. I'm well aware of what happened, and if I could take it back, I most surely would.”

Sirius sighed dolefully. “Goodnight, Severus.”

Severus slowly lowered his head on the pillow, next to Harry's. He was, admittedly, disgusted with himself. He turned to his left, staring at the wall, murmuring only the quietest, “Goodnight, Sirius.”