Start the song. It's Hearing by Sleeping at Last.

Tyler gently combed his fingers through Josh's hair as he slept soundly against his chest. His husband was developing a slight fever, but the doctors were being very careful to monitor it. They assured Tyler that it would go away as his body began to heal.

The doctors had made it a rule that no one could show Josh or Jordan the news today until they were of sound mind. Tyler was grateful. Josh didn't need to know how the world was reacting to the knowledge that a cult leader's children had survived. He especially didn't need to know what was being said about what he and Jordan had tried to do.

Speaking of Jordan, he was doing much better than Josh right now. Granted, he hadn't used a butcher's knife. Still, every couple of hours, he'd wander in to check on his big brother. Sometimes he'd climb into bed with Josh and take a nap with him. Other times, he'd ask Josh for stories. More commonly though, he'd stand in the doorway and try not to cry as he watched his brother's chest rise and fall in his sleep.

At the moment, he peeked his head in, holding tightly to the bar of the contraption holding his IV drip. As always, he'd never outright ask Tyler if he could take his place on the bed, but Tyler could see that he really wanted it today.

Feigning relief, Tyler smiled at Jordan. "Thank God. My legs are falling asleep. Can you lay by him so he won't wake up?" Tyler asked the younger boy.

Jordan's eyes lit up, but he tried to keep his expression composed. "Yeah! Um, sure. I can maybe hang out for a while."

"Awesome," Tyler said, sliding out from beneath Josh and allowing Jordan to slide into bed instead.

Instinctively, Josh wrapped a bandaged arm around Jordan's waist in his sleep. Jordan watched his big brother, looking much calmer than he had when he'd come in. That was normal too. Josh and Jordan had been worried sick about each other. Their heart rates only seemed to stabilize when they were together, which was why the doctors allowed Jordan to roam. Josh wasn't well enough to return the favour yet.

Tyler walked over to where his backpack sat across the room, digging through it for his phone. He listened to Jordan whispering to his sleeping brother. "I had a dream last night that we were back in the old house, except Grandpa lived there instead of Dad and there was no fence. It was so cool. I wish that's how it had really been."

"Me too," Josh replied sleepily.

Tyler looked over his shoulder to find that Josh was awake, despite how exhausted he appeared to be. His arm remained around his little brother as he struggled to keep his eyelids open. Jordan pressed his palm over Josh's forehead.

"You've still got a fever, Bubba," Jordan told him.

That was another development to come from this. According to Mrs. Dun, Jordan and Abigail had both called Josh that when they were little, but Jordan had stopped around ten years old when his father had told him to grow up. Now he was using it again. The on-call psychologist suggested that it was a way of reconnecting to his past without reconnecting to the parts that hurt. He was trying to find comfort in what being a little kid should've been like. Josh hadn't questioned it once, accepting the nickname easily.

"Mmhm," Josh mumbled. "Head hurts."

His body was already relaxing again from exhaustion, but Tyler didn't allow him to fall asleep. "Honey, where does your head hurt?"

Josh yawned as he reached a hand back to touch the place where the base of his skull met the tip of his spine. "Here."

"Okay. I'll tell the nurse when she comes back in. Can you drink some water for me?" He asked as he picked up the small cup of water by Josh's bed and held it out to him.

Josh sat up slowly, looking embarrassed when Tyler had to help him when he almost put pressure on his palms, which put him at risk of ripping his stitches. He sipped the water carefully, allowing Tyler to kiss his overheated forehead before laying back down.

"Thank you," Tyler said softly.

Josh smiled at him tiredly. "I love you so much."

Tyler smiled back. "I love you too."

Josh yawned as he wrapped an arm around Jordan again. Jordan buried his face against Josh's shoulder before closing his eyes. After a moment, Jordan cut through the silence with a nervous whisper.

"Bubba?" Jordan asked quietly.

"Hm?" Josh mumbled out sleepily.

"When can we go back to grandpa's house?" He whispered.

Josh shook his head, letting his eyes slip shut like Jordan's. "I don't know, Jordan. Remember what Tyler said though? They'll let us go home when they know for sure that we're going to be safe when we get there. We have to heal a little first."

The acknowledgement of what Tyler had told Josh the night before when he'd asked his husband the same question made Tyler smile. Even when Josh had a million other things to be focused on, he still remembered the things Tyler told him and took them into consideration. He loved that about his husband.

"I miss Ash and Abigail and Liv," Jordan confessed. "I really want to go home already."

Josh sighed. "I know. Me too. I'll be here to help you out until then, though, okay? Don't worry. I'll always protect you."

"Til the end?" Jordan asked, his body beginning to relax.

"Til the end," Josh promised him.

"I love you, Bubba," Jordan reminded him.

Josh smiled, keeping his eyes closed as his body relaxed even further into the mattress. He was seconds away from sleep. Tyler could see it all over his face.

"I love you too, buddy," Josh replied easily. "Get some sleep. I'll keep you safe until you wake up."

"Okay, Bubba," Jordan mumbled drowsily, allowing his big brother to pull him in closer as they both began to slip away from consciousness.

The two boys drifted off quickly, and Tyler knew that was mostly due to not having to worry about each other, and not just the sedatives still swimming in their bloodstreams. Josh pulled his little brother closer in his sleep, making Jordan mumble something and bury his face against the pillow. Even when his conscious mind was resting, Josh was still protective of the people he loved.

Tyler took his phone out into the hallway to call Ashley. She'd been worried sick about Josh, and she was going to want to know if Tyler would be back at school today. Tyler's parents had dropped his stuff off for him to take to school, but Tyler had made it pretty clear that Josh was his priority. One look at the sleeping boy had Tyler's parents nodding their understanding and telling him to call if he needed anything. Tyler really loved his parents.

-----

Tyler warily eyed the two men in suits walking down the hallway. They stopped at Jordan's room first, looking surprised to find that no one was there. Shrugging it off, they approached Josh's room.
Pulling the door open and slipping inside before they reached the room, Tyler hurried over to his husband.

"Josh," Tyler whispered nervously. Thankfully, living in a cult had sharpened Josh's instincts and made him a light sleeper. His eyelids drifted open sleepily. "There are men about to come in here, and I think they're going to ask you about the cult. You guys have been on the news all day, so they're probably coming to ask you about it."

Josh blinked in confusion. "Why?" He mumbled.

"Because you survived mass suicide and then tried to kill yourself," Tyler replied quickly, too anxious to think to be gentle with his words.

His husband nodded tiredly, reaching out for Tyler's hand. He took it instantly. "It's okay, princess. Just relax."

Josh kissed the back of Tyler's hand softly before letting his eyelids drift shut again. The action made Tyler's heart flutter. Of course he hadn't believed Josh when he'd said all of those terrible things. How could he? This was the Josh he knew. His husband was kind and protective and gentle and a little bit broken. Tyler loved every molecule of this boy.

Josh's eyelids opened again when there was a quick knock at his door before it opened slowly. The two men from before came in. Mrs. Dun was with them now. She looked stressed, but it was hard to tell if that was because of these men or from recent events.

"Honey, these men want to ask you some questions about-"

"I know," Josh told her quietly. "That's okay."

Mrs. Dun nodded anxiously, her eyes flicking across Josh's bandaged wrists. Tyler couldn't imagine how hard it must have been for her to not be able to be the one who stitched him up. For seventeen years, she'd been expected to be in charge of things like that for her family. It had to be hard to see someone else taking care of her sons.

"Does Jordan have to answer questions too?" Josh asked, looking back down at his sleeping brother.

Tyler's heart fluttered again when Josh's thumb softly rubbed circles on the back of his hand. Despite how overwhelming this must be for Josh, he was still trying to protect Tyler and Jordan first.

"We'd actually prefer to speak with you alone if possible," one of the men informed him.

Tyler felt Josh stiffen beside him. Being alone with other men had never equated to something good for Josh. It made sense for him to be scared.

"I'm not leaving him," Tyler told the two men without hesitating. He felt Josh relax again before his thumb resumed its previous task of rubbing the back of Tyler's hand. "I haven't left him since I found him, and I'm not going anywhere now."

"For the sake of his privacy-" The man began.

"They're married. Joshua's privacy is Tyler's privacy," Mrs. Dun explained.

That seemed to surprise the men, but they didn't comment. Instead, they nodded. "Okay. Can we speak to the two of you alone then?"

Josh nodded, nudging his little brother awake. "Hey, you've gotta go back to your room for a little bit. Come back later, okay?"

Jordan yawned, sitting up sleepily. "Okay, Bubba."

The younger Dun boy climbed out of the bed, grabbing the pole on his IV drip and pulling it with him as he went to the door. His mother held the door open for him, following him out of the room. She glanced over her shoulder at Josh, looking worried. The look she gave Tyler said only one thing: protect him. Of course he would. He'd almost lost his husband twice now. That was never going to happen again.