Author's note: Matt has seen Hal unconscious so many times in canon, I started thinking about what Hal's reaction might be if the reverse happened.

Slowly regaining his senses, Hal pinpointed the familiar feeling rushing through his body. He must have been unconscious.

This felt different, though. Normally, he heard voices calling out his name, but this time there was only the crackle of electricity and a weak wheezing sound. He tried to guess what they could be coming from, but the last thing he remembered was walking down into an abandoned bomb shelter on a supply run.

Hal hoisted himself up on his elbows, slowly, and finally opened his eyes. The ceiling lamp was broken and the demolished hatch door obstructed most of the sunlight, but he could see enough to piece together what had happened. Someone had tried to blow up the bomb shelter with them in it.

Them...

A rush of panic swept over Hal as he remembered that he was on a routine mission. Low risk. With Matt.

"Matt!", Hal yelled as loud as his dust filled lungs would allow him. "MATT!"

The only reply he got was from himself, coughing violently. The busted lamp was still crackling, but he couldn't hear the wheezing anymore. He prayed to whichever god he could think of that it had been his own, and not Matt's.

Hal kept screaming Matt's name and coughing as he wiggled to free himself from the rubble on top of him. He wasn't sure if it didn't weigh much, or if his adrenaline was giving him superhuman strength, but it only took one try get it off himself.

Hal's eyes darted across the room, frantically searching for anything that could be Matt. His eyes hadn t fully adjusted to the darkness yet, but squinting at what looked like a toppled over cabinet, he thought he could make out a head of curls sticking out under it.

"Matt..."

This time, Hal's voice was quiet and careful, as if not wanting to disturb his little brother, but the way he climbed frantically over the debris separating the two of them said something different.

"Come on, buddy", Hal pleaded, kneeling down on a patch of broken glass without even registering the pain. "Come on."

He reached out and brushed Matt's wild mop of hair out of his eyes, swallowing thickly when he noticed they were closed. He held his breath as he checked for a pulse with trembling fingers.

A big part of Hal wished Ben had come with them on this supply run. He would have never wanted both of his little brothers to be in danger, but there was no denying Ben was the brains of the bunch. Ben would have payed attention when they learned about CPR. Ben would have known what to do if he couldn't find a pulse...

As if on cue, Hal felt something thump against his fingertips. It was far too faint for comfort, but it still had him praising and thanking the world under his breath. He also made a mental note of appreciating Ben's intelligence more in the future.

"I'm gonna get you out, buddy. Don't worry."

Hal had a sinking feeling Matt couldn't hear him, but he kept talking anyway as he tried to figure out how to get him out safely. It was a way of forcing himself to hold onto hope.

"Hey. I don't know if you remember this, but when you were little you were the master of bringing things down on yourself", Hal laughed hollowly. "Mom had to bolt the bookcases to the wall because you kept climbing them."

What small smile those memories invoked was wiped from Hal's face when he realized how heavy the cabinet on top of Matt was. Hopefully not too heavy to lift, but definitely heavy enough to be crushing Matt's tiny body.

"If you can hear me-..." Hal whispered, bracing himself. "Take a deep breath and lie still. I'm lifting in 3... 2... 1... Now."

Summoning every ounce of strength in his body, Hal performed not only the heaviest lift of his athlete career, but the most important one as well.

Somehow, by sheer willpower, Hal managed to get enough space between the rubble and Matt to wedge himself in there. Wasting no time, he scooped up Matt's limp body with one arm, pressing him close to his chest as he painstakingly held their escape route open long enough to get free.

The sound of the cabinet coming crashing back down just inches away sent shivers down Hal's spine. He stood there, cradling Matt close for a second, until the faint ragged breaths tickling Hal's neck snapped him out of his reverie.

Carefully making their way out of the demolished bomb shelter, Hal continued to carry Matt back towards camp. It wasn't until then he had time to really look at his banged up little brother, and he realized it was the first time he'd seen him knocked out like that.

Matt's face was completely void of expression. In a way, he looked more relaxed unconscious than when he was sleeping. Their family had always sworn Matt slept with a mischievous smile. Not until now did Hal know how unsettling it was to see him without it.

Hal picked up his pace, pushing through the crushing feeling inside, and solemnly wondered if this was how Matt had felt every time he'd seen him unconscious...