When Blair's eyes fluttered open, she stared at the white ceiling as she listened to the rhythmic beeping from nearby.

She had no idea how she got to the hospital, but she'd spent far too much time in them to have any doubt where she was.

That was all she could process, though - her head was swimming and a sharp, radiating pain from her entire left side was pulsing through the fog like it refused to be ignored.

She had no idea what was going on, but she knew it was bad.

"Blair, we're right here."

Jackson's voice soothed a panic that hadn't truly begun to form in Blair, and she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

Turning slowly to the side, Jackson and Ezra were the first face she saw... then her eyes went wide.

"Connor?"

Ezra and Jackson both blinked, turning as one to stare at Connor who - despite working on Blaise and Blair's cases the last 4 days without pause - never once mentioned they knew each other.

"You look like shit," he said casually, a smirk tugging at his lips.

"You don't look much better," Blair croaked, though the smile betrayed her, "The fuck you doing in a wheelchair?"

"It's a long story. The fuck you doing here instead of drinking wine with diamonds in it, or whatever else you rich people do?"

Blair snorted, though the tears rushed to her eyes despite her best efforts.

"It's a long story."

"... you can catch me up later," he said more gently.

"Blair," Jackson said, making her eyes snap to his, "You and Connor are acquainted?"

"Of course we are," Blair choked, "He was Jack's best friend."

"We, uh... lost touch... after the accident a few years ago," Connor admitted, his eyes never leaving Blair's, "Mostly because Blair disappeared, but I digress."

He wasn't wrong. Blair had to cut all ties after everything happened, or else it could risk her mother finding her. Connor was just one of a few people she'd been heartbroken to cut off.

Interestingly, the first thing she'd planned on doing after getting married and announcing her identity was pulling out that dead phone she'd kept all these years. She'd kept it for a single purpose - the contacts stored inside.

Fate brought them back together before that, it would seem - even if she had a lot of questions about whatever left him wheelchair bound.

Which led Blair to a whole new line of questioning.

"Why are you here?" Blair asked, furrowing her brow, "Why am I here? What's... what's going on?"

"We were in a car accident, Blair," Ezra explained, the bruising on his face their own form of evidence to his statement, "It was really bad. You've been in a coma for days."

"Coma," she murmured, her eyes snapping to Connor.

His eyebrow raised in question, but her eyes had already moved to Jackson.

"Was... was it her," she whispered, the heart rate monitor beside her giving away her returning anxiety.

Connor frowned, studying the clear fear and suddenly having a lot more questions about her disappearance.

"It doesn't look like it," Jackson said softly, rolling up and placing his hand on her unbandaged shoulder, "We are investigating, though, and I have security at your door. No matter what, she can't get to you here."

"I have to leave," Blair rasped, shaking slightly, "I-I have to get out before-"

"Blair," Jackson said firmly, studying her, "I want you to breathe with me."

Ezra and Connor watched Blair spiral into a very dark place very quickly, and wisely kept silent as Jackson walked her through an exercise he clearly had experience in walking her through. It took time, and during that time no one existed in the world beyond the two of them.

Yet, the two men watching from beside them learned a lot in those moments.

Connor pulled out his work phone and ordered meds to help her, realizing that her condition was even more complicated than he realized before.

"Dr. Shire," she was telling Jackson quietly, "I need to call... Dr. Shire..."

"I'll take care of it."

"Don't leave..."

"I promise, I'll be right here. Just like the good old days."

"Should I try and get gin? Make it a proper trip down memory lane?"

"You keep that nasty shit to yourself. I'll stick to whiskey."

"Big baby."

"Firey little shit."

"Old coot."

"Is this normal?" Connor asked, watching the two of them exchange insults like they'd scripted the routine.

"Apparently," Ezra scoffed quietly, still not used to the way his grandfather and Blair bantered - but already finding it comforting.

"Who is Dr. Shire?"

Ezra paused, his face falling as he turned to Connor.

"She, uh... she works at General. Blair volunteers there. I don't know much but... I do know that she treats Blair when Blair is... struggling with her mental health."

"... I'll reach out to Dr. Shire and get the records sent over."

"Thanks, Connor," Ezra muttered, turning his eyes back to where Jackson had managed to calm Blair back down enough that she was able to breathe more normally.

"No need to thank me," Connor said quietly, "I'd have done it for Blair regardless."

Ezra turned back to the man, a little surprised given how cold Connor notoriously was.

"Were you two close?" Ezra asked carefully, studying the doctor closely.

"Yeah," he admitted, "I was closest with Jack, of course. He'd never met a stranger, but it took a lot for him to really let someone in. There were only a few of us that were among his real friends. He and Blair were always incredibly close, so it wasn't unusual for him to bring her along. Out of all Jacks friends, she and I were the closest... but she always kept us all at a bit of a distance."

"She seems to do that with everyone," Ezra chuckled, "Most people in her life don't even know her real name."

"What do they call her?" Connor asked, furrowing his brows in confusion.

"Amelia. That's the fake name she's been living under these past few years. When you reach out to Dr. Shire and get her records, you'll need to use that name - Amelia Foster."

"I have... a lot of questions," Connor admitted, rubbing his temples, "but we'll have plenty of time to catch up. For now, we need to focus on her recovery. Her left side is in pretty terrible shape and... transparently she wasn't in very good shape to begin with. She's got a long journey of healing ahead of her."

"Yeah," Ezra said stiffly, his eyes darting toward where she and Jackson were still talking quietly, "When you get her records from General, you'll probably see it's... it's worse than you think."

Connor's gaze darkened.

"Is that why she left?" he asked lowly, trying to keep his emotions in check and remain professional.

"Yes," Ezra said just as lowly, "It's her story to tell but... you should know she didn't have a choice if she wanted to survive. She had to leave."

Connor's jaw tightened and something dangerous flashed behind his eyes that Ezra understood without a word needing to be spoken.

"I'm going to stay local for a while," he said sharply, his attention snapping back to Blair, "and I'll take Blair's case on personally. She and Blaise's recovery will be my primary focus."

"Thank you," Ezra said softly, "I'll cover every bill, every fee. Whatever it takes."

Connor just nodded once, no longer young enough in his career for money to be a real concern.

Ezra knew that of course, but still wanted to ensure Connor knew that he had everything he needed.

"Do you want to stay with me for now at the penthouse?" Ezra asked, looking at him thoughtfully, "Once Blaise is recovered enough to leave, I'll probably have him brought there too. His family means well, but they can't possibly oversee the care he'll need. There's plenty of space for both of you, and you can oversee all of the home healthcare that way."

"I prefer my own space," Connor said honestly, shaking his head, "I'll probably find a place nearby, though. Send me your address... and Blair's. I'll find a place halfway between."

"They're the same address."

Connor froze, his eyes snapping to Ezra and narrowing in a way that made Ezra raise an eyebrow.

"What do you mean... they're the same address?" Connor asked slowly, studying Ezra closely.

"I mean, Blair is my fiancé," Ezra said plainly, "and she lives in the penthouse on the floor beneath my own."

Connor blinked repeatedly, and for half a second Ezra wondered if he'd short circuited.

"You seem to have opinions about that," Ezra finally mused, "Do you have feelings for Blair that I need to be worried about?"

"What? No, don't be ridiculous," Connor said sharply, "She's my best friend's little sister. I'd never cross that line," then he added at a slightly more normal octave, "besides, she and I weren't close like that. We are just friends."

Ezra studied him for a long moment before nodding, just once.

"Are there available apartments in the same building you two are living in, then?" Connor asked, rubbing his nose as he looked toward Blair.

"Yes. I own the top three floors. I can get you an apartment on the one below them if you're interested."

"Send me the details. I'd like to look at it before I decide that. I can be a bit particular about my living arrangements."

Ezra's eyes flicked down to Connor's wheelchair and he just nodded, pulling out his phone and sending Connor all the relevant details for the most accessible options in the building.

As the two of them sorted arrangements, Jackson was focused on keeping Blair from that place that drove her to do something reckless. She slipped her hand into his, squeezing just a bit too tightly as they bantered like nothing was wrong.

It was just a distraction, and they both knew it - but it worked to keep the fear at bay until the nurse walked in and injected something into the IV.

"What's that?" Blair asked nervously, studying the nurse warily.

"It's something to help you rest your mind, Blair," Connor said gently, "I arranged it for you while you wait for Dr. Shire."

"She's coming?" Blair asked hopefully, her eyes sliding away from the nurse and back to meet his.

"Yeah, I'm taking care of everything," he nodded, "For now, you need to rest. You have a long journey ahead."

"I'm getting married next week," she said even as her eyes started to droop and the world started to blur, "There are plans and... I-I have to..."

"Rest, Blair Bear."

"Okay, Jackie."

Connor didn't have time to react as Blair drifted to sleep, and all he could do was close his eyes and try to rein in the emotions that were threatening to spiral out of control.

"Blair Bear?" Ezra mused.

"Jack... called her that," Connor said quietly, his eyes still closed, "Any time he needed to coax her into something... and she'd always give in right away and behave. He was really the only one she listened to, other than her Dad."

"Never heard her agree to something so fast," Jackson huffed, "Little shit argues just to argue."

"She's really good at that, yeah," Connor agreed, his voice just above a whisper before his eyes snapped up to Jackson, "Why does she need security?"

Jackson's jaw clenched, and his eyes darkened - which only stood to confirm Connor's fears that it was bad.

"She'll tell you her story when she wakes up... if she wants to," Jackson finally said, "but know that they're there for more than just her peace of mind."

"One step at a time," Ezra breathed, rubbing his face roughly, "When she wakes up, we'll talk. For now, let's focus on everything else. Now that she's awake and talking, we can start preparing for what comes next so we can get her discharged and back where she'll feel more comfortable."

Murmurs of agreement and glances at the now sleeping Blair were all it took to pivot the conversation to Blair's recovery plan and next steps.

--

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