disclaimer: I own nothing at all.

prompt: hospital stay.

music: my legs are weak – paloma faith

a/n: The disease Austin and Ally will talk about is called Addison's disease. It kind of causes fatigue and muscle weakness, along with other symptoms. The other things they'll talk about are some cures for it. You can look it up if you want to know more.

So yeah. Hope you like it. Probably more of these drabbles to come.

my legs are weak

:::

"You're so silly, you know that Ally?" She turns to look at him through weary eyes, but the glare is still visible in her gaze. "I mean, falling down the stairs? Really?"

"Yes, really." She says sharply and tries to remove her hand from his grasp. A deep whine comes from the back of her throat as he doesn't let go; only holding on tighter. "If you're going to be mean to me, then you can just leave."

She turns to lie on her back and he rests their interlocked hands across her stomach.

"Okay fine, I'll shut up."

Thank you, she mumbles and he gives her hand a gentle squeeze.

"You wouldn't want me to leave anyway." Austin says, breaking the silence. "Then I couldn't entertain you, look after you, sing you songs."

"I guess." She says quietly.

He looks at her for minutes before nudging her side, causing her to move over in the tiny hospital bed. He couldn't feel the warmth radiating off of her like he thought he should, so he placed a hand on her petite waist.

"God, Ally, you're freezing." He said, scooping her up in his arms, her back firmly against his chest. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Didn't want to bother you." She said tiredly, her voice quiet and croaky. He sighed and stroked her hair lightly with the hand that had previously been on her waist.

"Don't be silly Als, you could never bother me." She shifted slightly and turned to look up at from underneath her thick lashes.

"I hate hospitals." She whispered and his eyes softened. He wrapped the covers tightly around both of them, her in an overly large t-shirt of his that she insisted on wearing, and him fully clothed.

"I know, baby. You won't have to come back here for much longer."

"You can't know that." She said dejectedly. "The steroids didn't work – what if the androgen stuff doesn't?" He could see the fear in her eyes, clear as day. Austin figured this may not be the time to voice his own fears.

He kissed her forehead gently before he spoke. "The Addison's will go away, okay? You're not leaving me and I'm never going to leave you."

"Okay." She mumbled obediently before burying her head into his chest.

"I'm sorry I said you were silly, before, you know, for falling down the stairs." Austin whispered quietly. "You just act so normally sometimes I forget that I need to be worried about you."

He felt her crying through his shirt and held her tighter. "You shouldn't have to worry about me." Ally said, her voice cracking halfway through the sentence.

"I want to worry about you, Ally." He sighed. "God... you mean so much to me."

They lay in silence, listening to the faint beep of a heart monitor. Austin knew very well that he wasn't supposed to be here, with Ally, alone in the dark hours of the night. However, the doctors had been so used to seeing him with her, they didn't even bother anymore.

Austin wondered did they feel bad for Ally, that was why they let him stay.

He erased the thought from his mind, looking down at Ally to find she was already looking up at him. "What were you thinking about?" She questioned him with a sorrowful face.

"Nothing important." He said, leaning in for a kiss. With the little strength she had, she kissed him back, and the warmth from his lips was a small comfort.

She lay back on his chest, drifting into a drowsy sleep without even trying. Austin knew her signs of sleep and got comfortable, cuddling her to him even more.

"Sing me a song, Austin, please." Her voice was weak and small, so tired. He wished he could take the pain away, but he knew he would have to allow her small pleasure in the mean time.

"When I close my eyes I see you, the dimples in your cheeks, I forgot to thank you for the things," He sang to her. "Cause I didn't see you for weeks. Woke up this morning and hoped for a dream, but reality sat next to me and forced me to believe..." He trailed off.

The quiet sound of her rhythmic breathing filled his ears and he sighed for the umpteenth time.

"The treatment will work, Ally." He said to her sleeping form. "It's gonna work, and you're going to be as good as new. Until they give you the androgen, I'll do anything for you. I'll carry you everywhere, bridal style – I'll do anything."

He looked at the girl sleeping beneath him. She was curled slightly, into a little ball and he'd never seen anything more adorable. "I love you."

Kissing the tip of her nose, Austin drifted off to sleep.