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Nate had never been particularly good at multitasking. It was part of what had made becoming a single father so difficult for him, as being a single parent required almost constant multitasking, but he had gotten better at it over the years. He was pretty sure that that prior experience that was the only thing that kept him firmly holding his own sanity as he juggled an irrational Zoe and a hysterical Ethan while he kept his phone pressed against his ear so that he could call Bree.
Thankfully, she answered within the first couple of rings. "Hello?"
"Thank god. It's Nate. Zoe's brother-in-law."
"Oh, right,"Bree replied, although she sounded confused as to why he was calling her. "What can I do for you, Nate?"
"I need you to come and get Zoe. I don't want her driving," Nate answered, ignoring her when Zoe opened her mouth to argue, trying to tell him that she didn't need to be babysat. Turning away from her, Nate continued, "She decided to be an idiot and didn't wear her helmet. She fell off her skateboard and hit her head."
Bree cursed. "Did she lose consciousness?"
"For a second, yeah," Nate replied.
Bree muttered something under her breath, something that sounded suspiciously like more cursing. "Realistically, she needs the hospital. She could have a concussion."
"I know, but you know what she's like. I suggested it and she just about went for my head," Nate said. On the other end of the line, Bree sighed, but she conceded, agreeing to come and get Zoe as soon as she could. Nate thanked her, hanging up the phone and turning back to Zoe. She was sitting on his couch with Ethan burrowed as close into her side as he could get, legs that were a little too long for his body twisted underneath him. Annoyance was etched into the lines of Zoe's face as she looked up at Nate, but her hand was gentle as she ran it through Ethan's hair. It was a motion that was intended to calm him, but there was nothing that could be done about the already-shed tears that glistened on his cheeks.
"I'm not a kid. I don't need you to look after me," Zoe said, doing the best that she could to keep her annoyance out of her voice. It worked, a little bit. It was enough that it didn't cause fresh tears to flood Ethan's eyes, but not quite enough for Nate to not hear it in her voice.
"You hit your head. You're lucky I'm not dragging you to the hospital kicking and screaming."
Zoe's jaw tightened and this time, she couldn't keep her emotions out of her voice. "I said no hospital."
Nate said nothing, watching as Ethan turned his head to press his face into Zoe's shoulder. Zoe shushed him softly, twisting her body so that she was resting her back against the armrest so that she could pull Ethan into a hug. The movement caused Zoe's head to throb, but she ignored the pain as she curled her arms around the boy, resting her chin on top of his head.
"I was so scared," Ethan whispered against Zoe's neck, his little fingers gripping at her back tightly. "When you blacked out, I thought you weren't going to wake up."
