"Nico?" Frank's voice, which always remained calm and steady no matter the circumstance, tremored. "Uh, there's been a, uh, an accident. It was pretty bad, but Hazel's unconscious, and has a broken arm. Doctor's say she should be fine once she wakes up, maybe a concussion, but it's always hard to tell with brain injuries, you know? Anyways, I wanted to make sure you heard it from me first, and when I have more information I'll let you know. Take care, Nico."

Nico listened to the message on his phone over and over again until the reality sunk in. He dialed Frank's phone right away, not caring about the two-hour time difference between them as it was 10 o'clock where he lived.

"Hey, Nico," Frank's voice was tired, but it didn't sound as though he had been sleeping.

"Are you and Ryan okay?"

"Ryan's fine, upset because we were supposed to go to Disneyland today, but he wasn't in the car with us. I'm just a little scraped up, it was Hazel's side that got hit."

"I'm coming up tomorrow, what hospital is she in?"

"That's not necessary, but I know nothing I say will persuade you not to come. We are in West Anaheim, let me know what time your flight will land and I can come pick you up."

"Thanks, tell Hazel and Ryan I love them." Nico hung up before he could hear Frank's response and pulled up flights on his phone, buying a ticket for the first flight out before going and packing his bag.

- - - - -

Reyna, his roommate, drove him to the airport at three in the morning and soon Nico was through security and waiting anxiously for boarding. The airport around him was relatively quiet, but the silence was driving him insane so he got up and started walking laps around the interior of the building.

He spent his time trying to reason with whatever gods were listening to let his sister wake up, even though he hadn't been in a church since his mother took him as a kid when he still lived in Italy. Hazel was his only family left, he couldn't lose her, he just couldn't.

Clenching his fists to try and control the anger coursing through his body over the situation, Nico made his way to the boarding line as it was finally time to get going. This flight felt like the longest four hours of his life. Nico had tried to fall asleep to make the time pass quickly, but he couldn't stop imagining himself at Hazel's funeral, even though he knew realistically the odds of that happening were low. Eventually he gave up and just stared out the window, trying to push away any thoughts of the hospital room.

Frank was waiting for him outside in a pickup truck, Ryan was sitting in the back, chatting happily. "Uncle Nico!" He shouted when Nico got in after throwing his suitcase in the back. "Do you want to play hockey with me when we get home? Dad got me a new stick cause I outgrew my old one. I play with friends at school during recess and lunch, but they aren't very good. I usually play goalie, but it isn't much fun just standing there, 'cause you don't ever get to fight anyone. I've only gotten in trouble once at school for fighting, and that's just 'cause Zephyr was being mean to Cody, and Cody is my friend. I only got in trouble at school though, Mama said that it was nice of me to stand up for him, except maybe not to hit Zephyr next time because violence only creates more problems. Have you ever fought anyone Uncle Nico?" Ryan finally took a breath.

Nico laughed, his nephew always able to brighten his mood a little bit. "I would love to play hockey with you when we get home, but it'll have to wait until after I see your Mama. Is Cody in your class?" He knew that question would get Ryan going on a whole new conversation, hopefully deterring from the question of whether or not he's fought people before. Nico didn't have the best track record growing up, and he didn't want his nephew following in his footsteps.

"Cody is in  Mrs. Meyers class, but we have gym together on Fridays. He doesn't really have any friends besides me though because he can't hear very well, and the other kids get frustrated, but I think it's cool. It gives him an excuse to not listen to the teacher, cause I zone out a lot and I get in trouble for not listening, but he told me that sometimes he turns off his hearing aid, the thing that helps him hear, and just ignore her. He also knows a whole 'nother language, it's called SLA or something-"

"ASL," Frank corrected.

"Right, ASL, and he's gonna teach me it. It uses actions instead of words so that we can communicate secretly without anyone knowing what we are saying. I already know the entire alphabet, and we came up with signs for people in our class so we can talk about them without them knowing. Mama says I'm not allowed to say anything mean, but we only ever say mean things about Zephyr 'cause he's mean."

"Maybe you can teach me the alphabet while I'm here?" Nico suggested, enjoying the energy in the car. It was hard to be sad when you were with the bubbliest nine year old he had ever known.

Ryan was still chatting excitedly as Frank parked in the hospital lot, leading them up to Hazel's room. "Come on lil man, let's give Uncle Nico some privacy." Frank took his son's shoulder and directed him towards back down towards the gift shop, giving Nico a nod on the way out.

Nico had to take a minute to collect himself before he finally mustered up the courage to open the door to the room, not quite ready to see his sister laying on the hospital bed, not unlike when he visited his Mom in her last days when he was thirteen.

Hazel was laying still on the hospital bed in her medical gown, curtain drawn only partially around the bed. She was hooked up to the heart monitor, and the steady beeping that filled the silence in the room reassured him that right now, she was okay.

Taking a seat beside her, he grabbed one hand to hold and used his other hand to gently run it through her hair while he spoke softly to her. "Hey, I um, I know it's stupid, but I just wanted to apologize for not calling you more often. I'm busy a lot, but family is more important." He choked up. "And you're all I've got, so just please, wake up for me. Frank and Ryan are counting on you, I'm counting on you." He was quiet after that, tears were beginning to leak down his face and he wiped them on his sleeve.

He stood up when there was a soft knock on the door. Frank offered Nico a coffee as he stepped into the room, and Ryan went and sat beside his mom on the bed. "You holding up okay man?"

Nico gave a weak smile before excusing himself from the room to take a breather. He hated hospitals. He had refused to go in when Ryan had been born, waiting until they were all released because it was too soon after his sister Bianca had passed away after intensive surgeries from being hit by a drunk driver while she was walking home. He was two for two when it came to people he loved dying in a hospital, and he wasn't going to let Hazel be the third. She couldn't be the third.

- - - - -

After several phone calls, and being put on hold for hours, Nico had managed to get new Disney passes and a one on one meeting with Ryan's favourite Disney characters,Hades from Hercules, for a really good discount. Now he and Ryan were on their way while Frank was sitting in meetings at work.

They were lead through a different entrance than everyone else and brought into a separate room off to the side, which confused Ryan to no end. Nico was happy that Ryan had no idea what was going on, wanting to surprise him. The look on his face when Hades walked in was priceless.

"Oh my freaking gods. Are you serious? Is this for real Uncle Nico? This is honestly the best freaking day of my life!" His nephew ran up and wrapped Hades in the largest hug, and Nico was only slightly concerned that his favourite character was the Greek god of the Underworld.

After several pictures and an autograph, Nico thanked the workers and they headed out into the park. The lines were incredibly long, and Nico was exhausted, mentally and physically, but he followed Ryan wherever he excitedly got pulled along with a smile on his face.

- - - - -

Panic swept through Nico as he desperately searched around him for Ryan. He had bent down to retie his black converse and when he stood up again his nephew was gone.

"Cazzo!" He looked everywhere. "Porca miseria, merda, cazzo!" He mumbled under his breath.

'Okay. Take a deep breath. You aren't going to be of any use if you are panicking.' Nico told himself, but it didn't work. He could feel his anxiety spiraling into an attack that he tried to pull himself out of but failed.

"Hey, you're okay. Can you take some deep breaths for me?" The voice sounded distant, but Nico attempted to slow his breathing and the voice became more clear. "Perfect, keep breathing for me. In, and out. That's great. You're okay."

Nico wiped the tears that he had apparently cried and stood up, but it was too fast and his head was still spinning so he felt himself swaying before a strong arm wrapped around his torso, holding him steady. A few minutes later his vision returned and he could stand up on his own. "I need to find Ryan."

"Who's Ryan?" The voice belonged to a very attractive Disney Prince, Nico wasn't sure what movie he was supposed to be from. He pulled out of his grasp and fumbled around for his phone, confused when he couldn't find it.

The Prince held it out to him. "You dropped it when you went down. Who's Ryan? Your son?"

Nico shook his head, pulling up a picture from his photo gallery. "I swear, I only looked away for a second, but I tied my shoe and when I stood up he was gone and oh my gosh this can't be happening, Hazel is going to kill me, fuck."

"Hey, shhh, we'll find him. I'll call security, and we can wait here in case he comes back looking for you. Chances are, a worker has already seen him wandering off by himself and he's waiting in an office while security goes to make an announcement. Okay? Deep breaths."

The Prince pulled a walkie-talkie out of nowhere and held a brief conversation with someone. "They have him at security, come on, I'll show you where it is."

They both walked quickly to normal looking building by one of the entrances. Ryan was waiting out front with a security guard. As soon as Nico saw him, he ran towards him, crouching down and pulling him into a hug, letting out a huge sigh of relief.

"Do you have any idea how scared I was? You can't wander off like that! Are you okay?" He was now crouching in front of the boy, holding onto his hands.

"I'm sorry, I saw Tiana, and that's Mom's favourite princess so I wanted to get her an autograph to help her feel better, but then I couldn't find you, and I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to get lost."

Nico cupped the boy's cheek with one hand, wiping away a stray tear. "I forgive you. Now, can you say thank you to this security guard for keeping you safe?" Ryan nodded and went to say thanks. Nico followed, and after some quick paperwork and showing ID, Ryan was released to his care once more.

When they walked outside, the Prince was still waiting for them. Nico went and held out his hand. "Thank you, I don't know what I would have done without your help." His voice was still shaky.

"It was my pleasure, I'm glad you found Ryan." He smiled genuinely before turning to the boy, holding out a Mickey Mouse ice cream from behind his back. "Stay close and don't wander off, okay? Can you promise me that?"

"I promise!" He took the ice cream, smiling. "Thanks Prince Phillip!"

- - - - -

"Please don't tell my parents what happened today? I don't want them to worry more. Dad is already sad, and he said Mama needs to stay calm and get lots of rest in order to wake up." Ryan frowned, holding onto the stuffed Pain and Panic he had gotten from one of the stores.

Nico glanced back at him in the mirror, his heart breaking. "Not a word," he gestured that his lips were sealed. He parked the truck in the hospital lot and they went upstairs to Hazel's room. Frank was occupying the only chair in the room, working on his laptop, glancing up at his wife every few minutes. Ryan decided to sit on the floor by the bed, and Nico joined him. "How 'bout you teach me the alphabet now?"

"Okay! So for A, it's really easy, you just make a fist, but put your thumb on the side, like this," he signed the letter A. Nico copied him. "B" Ryan held up his hand with his thumb folded over his palm. "C is probably the easiest, cause you just make a C with your hand." Nico copied him as they worked their way through the alphabet, all the way to Z.

"Let's try it from the beginning, see how many I remember." Nico suggested, and signed A through F perfectly fine before getting G and H mixed up.

"G is only your index, like this," Ryan formed the sign, his index finger pointing to the side, across his body. "H is with two fingers," he did the same sign but pointing with his middle finger as well.

They worked for the next hour, taking turns finger spelling words and having the other person guess what it was. Ryan was remarkably better than Nico was.

- - - - -

Nico had offered to spend the night so that Frank could spend some time with Ryan and sleep in his own bed for the first time since the accident two weeks ago. Except Nico had had an exceptionally long nap that afternoon, his lack of sleep finally having caught up to him, and now he wasn't tired.

There was no TV in the room, so he played stupid games on his phone until two in the morning when it died, so now he was left with nothing to do. He heard the door open, but didn't bother turning to see who it was, nurses having been coming in and out regularly, checking and writing things down on the chart at the end of her bed.

"Whoa, I didn't realise you knew Hazel." A familiar voice spoke. "Sorry, I didn't get your name at the park."

"It's um, it's Nico. You work here?" He would not have pegged the Disney Prince as a nurse, also, why was he a Disney Prince if he already had a job as a nurse?

"I'm just an intern, but at this point, Hazel's case is pretty simple, it's mostly a waiting game at this point, so I've been put in charge for the time being. I'm Will, by the way."

"Oh," Nico didn't really know what to say, he absolutely hated small talk.

"Is Hazel your girlfriend?" Will continued the conversation as he flipped through the chart.

Nico couldn't help but burst out laughing. "She's my sister, but don't worry, most people don't peg us as relatives. Ryan is my nephew, they were supposed to go to Disney the day after her accident, so that's why I took him later instead."

"Ah, but you can see where I got confused." Will smiled, and Nico began to relax.

"So tell me, how does one get a job as a Disney Prince?"

"You apply on a drunken college dare and end up staying all through med school because it's fun and school is expensive."

"What movie are you even from?" Nico propped his legs up on the bed beside Hazel, stretching out, stiff after being in the chair for so long.

"Are you kidding me? Prince Philip is from Sleeping Beauty! He's basically the star of the movie because Aurora is only onscreen like, a total of like eighteen minutes."

"Sure, whatever you say Prince Charming."

"Puh-lease. Prince Charming is an idiot and Cinderella is shallow. I'm no Hercules, but at least I'm not Charming." He finished up and leaned casually against the wall by Nico. "You here all night?"

"Yeah, my phone's dead though, so it'll be a long night." Nico sighed.

"I keep a spare phone charger in my locker you're welcome to borrow. I'm on break in-" he checked his watch "ten minutes. I'll bring it by then."

"Rescuing the damsel in distress twice? My very own Prince Charming," Nico pretended to swoon. Was this flirting? Apparently all Nico needed to do was be emotionally drained so his filters didn't work in order to flirt with the cute Prince.

Will left the room and Nico decided to go looking for some coffee and maybe some food. It took a bit of searching, but he finally found somewhere that wasn't closed and got what he needed before heading back up to the room.

Will was waiting there when he got back. "I got you a coffee," Nico held out the drink and Will took it. "I don't know what you like, so I brought some sugar and cream packs." He tossed the small items on the small table by the bed.

"Thanks! I'm so tired tonight, I ended up covering a shift for someone so I've been up since six, came straight from Disney." It was two in the morning.

Nico offered Will the chair since he figured he's been on his feet all day, and Will gratefully accepted. Nico sat on the end of the bed facing him.

"Um," Nico hesitated. "Do you, uh, honestly think that Hazel is going to wake up? I know you're not a doctor yet, but I just, I need to know."

"I think that head injuries are always unpredictable, but going from how stable she has been, and similar cases in the past, I think she has a fair chance. Coma's can be quite good for the healing process, they allow the body the rest it needs in order for the healing to take place. There's a reason we medically induce comas. I'm guessing you two are close?"

"Incredibly. We didn't meet until I was eighteen, but she's the only family I've got. My mom passed when I was a young teen, she was sick, and shortly later my sister got hit by a drunk driver and died during surgery. My father was never in the picture."

"It's hard losing people, but just remember to hold on to the ones we do have, and I wouldn't give up on Hazel yet." Will comfortingly placed his hand on Nico's leg, using his thumb to rub gently.

"Sorry, wow, I don't usually spill that much to complete strangers," Nico mentally scolded himself. His lack of filter was both a blessing and a curse apparently.

"I wouldn't say complete strangers," Will smiled brightly. "I did gallantly come to your rescue twice already."

"True. I shared my life story, now what's yours?" Nico joked, but Will took him seriously and dived right into telling stories about all his siblings and growing up in Texas before moving out to go to med school and how hard that had been. Soon Will's watch beeped, indicating that he had five minutes left of his break so he had to get moving.

"Thanks, for the charger."

Will held out a piece of paper with some digits scrawled on it. "Thanks for the coffee. This is my cell, because you're cute and I wouldn't mind talking to you when I'm not working, but also just incase you need someone to talk to or have any medical questions." Will smiled, and they both stood up.

Nico took it and pulled him into a tight hug. "Thank you for everything, it uh, it means a lot," before pulling away.

Will planted a quick kiss on his cheek and then left the room.

(A/N: So this was way longer than expected, at a whopping 3,400ish words. Also not edited. It's not done, so don't (pain) and panic. I just wanted to get this up asap because it's a birthday gift for the lovely Light_Queen_ even though it's not actually her birthday because I took too long writing it... But anyways stay tuned for a part two in the near future, because I am incapable of writing anything other than a slow burn fic)

(Also enjoy this art from @cherryandsisters tumblr because Light_Queen_ asked for a fluffy oneshot with some angst, and there's plenty of angst but not much fluff in this part. So hopefully this makes up for it x )