For several weeks, Phil didn't leave the hospital other than whenever he would go home to shower, and occasionally sleep. He stopped going to school, he rarely saw his girlfriend, he rarely did anything other than cry and worry about Dan. Dan wasn't awake much, and only certain nurses would let him go back. That didn't matter to him, he just knew that he had to be there if Dan needed him. His parents weren't happy with his new life, it wasn't healthy for him, but Phil didn't care.

Little by little, Dan healed. It was a slow, treacherous process, but he did it. His days were boring, as ones would be if they were kept hooked up in a hospital dead all day, but nothing helped him through everything more than knowing that Phil was always there for him. He didn't see him often, and it was always only for short periods of time, but his parents assured him everyday that the other boy was still there. He was always there.

One day, almost a month after the initial accident, Phil managed to sneak into Dan's room whenever his parents had left for a little while.

Half-asleep, paler than usual, hair getting too long, Dan had managed to stay awake as Phil snuck into his room, "Hey," He greeted, the words getting gargled in his throat.

Pain ran through Phil as he sat next to Dan, putting a smile on, "Hey," He responded back, taking in the ghost-like look in the other boy's eyes.

"I haven't seen you-" Dan started to say, but nodded off before starting to speak again, "I haven't seen you in a while," He finished the sentence, eyes falling shut momentarily before he snapped them open again.

Phil's heart twisted, but he didn't let his face fall, "Yeah, no, they just don't want me to see you, I guess," He took in the exposed parts of Dan's skin, seeing the bruises that adorned it were fading. Some were still dark purple, but some were starting to look more yellow. He watched the boy fall in and out of consciousness as he spoke, "I can leave," He said softly, "I don't mind, if you want to get some sleep."

There wasn't much of a verbal protest from Dan, but he did whine slightly, reaching as far as he could trying to reach for Phil.

Phil reached back for Dan, doing his best to make the moving Dan had to do minimal, "Okay," He said, their hands meeting, "Okay, I'll stay," He promised, "But you can sleep," He promised, gripping his best friend's hand, in a way trying to make everything better. Trying to take back everything that had happened.

"'M fine," Dan said, his voice sounding almost like a child's, "I don't need to sleep."

Phil laughed, knowing that was a lie, but he didn't say anything, "Okay, if you say so." He went to talk again, but Dan was already asleep. Phil shook his head, reaching out, pushing Dan's hair off of his forehead. In his sleep, he looked younger, more innocent, and it hurt Phil even more to look at. To remember the boy he once knew that was so alive, so full of laughter and life. He knew what had dragged the life out of Dan, and he knew that after he was out of the hospital, everything would be worse.

Watching the even breathing of the boy in front of him, the rising of his chest, the way his eyelids fluttered, it made Phil's eyes start to tear up. Knowing that because of him everything in Dan's life had changed. It pained him to think about what they could have done together in the past month, the levels of games they could have beat, the amount of Chinese takeout that they could have consumed, everything that they could have done.

They stayed like that, hands clumsily intertwined, Dan asleep while Phil silently cried, then Phil fell asleep.

Dan woke up several times throughout the night, but he didn't ever disturb Phil. Several nurses came in and out of the room, but none of them disturbed the boys.

Phil woke up the next morning before Dan and before Dan's parents arrived back. He blinked a couple of times, trying to recall the events of the previous night before he realized that there wasn't much to recall. The words that had been exchanged could hardly qualify as a conversation. He didn't realize until Dan shifted in his sleep that they were still connected. He wasn't sure what he was feeling as he pulled his hand away.

The sudden movement woke Dan, who rubbed his eyes as he looked at Phil, "Are you okay?" He asked, voice coming out gruff.

"Yeah," Phil replied, standing and walking to the door without warning, "Yeah, I just have to go, have to go see my girlfriend," He didn't actually have plans with her that day, but he knew that he needed to see her.

Dan watched as Phil all but ran from the room, the same feeling he felt the day everything change dawning back on him. He was alone again, this time in a hospital bed. He huffed, turning over to the best of his ability, wanting nothing more in that moment to be back asleep.

By the end of the night, both boys ended up in their beds, staring up at the ceiling, everything and nothing racing through their minds until sleep finally overtook them.