If going on a bloody search and rescue mission to rescue his girlfriend wasn't enough to put him on edge, stepping foot into a hospital had more than made up for it. As much he would have preferred to avoid coming, he couldn't deny that Mikayla would probably be in dire need of medical care that took more than bandages and his lackluster field stitching abilities. At that moment, Niko had been sitting outside of her hospital room while the doctors were checking her out, unable to help the way his foot tapped impatiently watching the minutes go by -- when he suddenly heard the sound of someone rushing down the hall towards them.

"Penny --" Niko greeted, somewhat surprised to see the Beaumont matriarch before deducing that she was most likely the emergency contact on file. "They're checking her out for a concussion," he explained, standing then, "but she's okay."

The day had been long; between making sure the deli was up and making his daily visit to the hospital, he’d almost been relieved at the prospect of just going home and sleeping, but, then he remembered how he was playing ‘single dad’ while Angel was back in Georgia and had to pick Abel up from his mother. Not that he dreaded spending time with his son -- finally getting to see him was the highlight of his day, but it meant that he’d be up and about for at least a couple of more hours. Luckily, by the time the two of them got back to the empty apartment him and James usually shared, Abel was out like a light, so after tucking him in the crib he’d set up in his room, he decided to camp out on the couch and watch Sports Center.

It was a little after two in the morning when he found himself waking up in that very same spot, the sound of knocking on his door stirring him from his sleeping position. He wasn’t exactly presentable -- clad in only an old pair of UNCW sweatpants and a white t-shirt that was about two sizes too big for him -- but that didn’t quite matter given the circumstance. Who the hell would possibly be knocking at his door at this hour? His mind immediately went to James, wondering if the worst had happened; if behind his front door, there was Colleen, teary-eyed and sobbing into her blouse. So, despite how bleary-eyed he felt, Owen immediately sprung into action, quickly walking towards the door and opening it up without hesitation.

But who he found there was far from who he expected.

“Pen?” he squinted, brows furrowing at her presence. Was he dreaming? “What’s going on? What’s wrong?