Will peeled into the parking spot in front of Hank's house and sprinted to the front door, banging forcefully. Hank had called and sounded close to freaking out, saying that Kate was bleeding badly and that he needed his help. He rapped on the door and seconds later a frantic sergeant whipped it open, wordlessly gesturing to the living room where his granddaughter sat. Hank was holding a wad of bloody paper towels in his hands that Will could have sworn were shaking. "What happening?" he asked, quickly crossing into the living room and sinking down in front of the frightening little girl.
"She was sleeping and I came to woke her up and there was blood everywhere," Hank managed, standing awkwardly beside the sofa. Kate was holding a paper towel to her face, but it was crimson with blood.
"Can I take a look, Monkey?" Will asked, tentatively removing Kate's hand from her face. The little girl wasn't crying but appeared confused as she regarded her uncle.
"It's my nose," Kate explained, her tiny nose continuing to gush with blood.
"And in her mouth," Hank said, now kneeling beside Will as he tilted Kate's chin up, "There was blood coming out of her mouth."
"Well, the nose and mouth are connected," Will explained, "I think she's just got a nasty nose bleed. Have you been outside today?"
"We went sleddin'," Kate told him, "But I didn't get hurt."
"Sometimes in the wind and air can dry out your nose, and can make it bleed," Will pressed another cloth to Kate's face, "I know it looks horrible, but she's totally fine."
Hank exhaled and sat back on his heels, "So I called you over here for nothing?"
"It's all good," Will smiled and brushed some of Kate's hair off her face, "I'm glad you did call me, because I haven't seen this one in a few days."
Kate smiled despite the towel still pressed to her nose, "How come my mouth's all bloody?" she asked, sticking her tongue out in disgust, "It don't taste good."
"Your mouth and nose are all connected," Will informed her, "That's why it looked like you were spitting up blood, but it's really just blood from your nose, not like the last time."
"You scared me, kiddo," Hank said honestly, rubbing his chin with his calloused hand, "I'm glad everything's okay."
"I think the bleeding has stopped," Will said, removing the paper towel from Kate's face. While her nose had stopped streaming blood, her mouth and cheeks were tinged pink. "Do you have a cloth for her?"
"Mm," Hank rose and returned with a damp washcloth, "Can I wipe your face, kiddo?"
"Uh-huh," Kate nodded, allowing Hank to gently wipe her mouth and cheeks with the warm cloth, "Uncle Will, you gonna stay and make pizza with me and Grandpa Hank?"
Will raised his eyebrows in surprise and glanced over at Hank, "Uh..."
"You should stay for dinner, you came all the way out here," Hank ceased wiping Kate's face, "And we have more than enough pizza dough."
"Yes, stay, Uncle Will!" Kate exclaimed, the brief drama from the last few minutes now completely forgotten, "We got pep-ronis and I know you like those!"
"It's true. I do love pepperoni," Will smiled, "Alrighty, pizza sounds delicious."
"Thank God that's over," Erin exhaled, flopping down on the hotel bed, "I'm beat."
Jay perched himself on the side of the mattress and ran a hand through Erin's hair, "I noticed that you kept closing your eyes. Does your head hurt?"
