Hobbes waited at the door for Calvin to come home from school. He was crouched down close to the door with a smirk on his face. He felt excitement when Calvin opened the door and yelled,

"I'm home!"

Hobbes leapt toward him as usual. He tackled Calvin down with ease. He expected Calvin to attempt to push him off, but it didn't exactly end up the way. Calvin hit his head hard.

"Ow! Hobbes get off of me!" Calvin yelled.

"No!" Hobbes growled playfully. He wanted to wrestle, but as always Calvin was ruining the fun.

"Get off of me! I'm hurt!" Calvin cried. Hobbes immediately knew something was wrong. He immediately got off.

"Calvin?" Hobbes asked, all traces of playfulness gone. Then, and only then, did he notice the blood. He involuntarily stumbled back in fear. He felt himself shake realizing he'd done this. He looked at his paws and there were subtle traces of blood. He wanted to run, but he knew he couldn't. His best friend needed him. He hurried to Calvin's side and put his paw on his head.

"Leave me alone Hobbes!" Calvin said through the tears.

"Calvin?" His mom asked. Then she walked outside and saw the whole scene; Calvin laying there and his stuffed tiger stained with blood. She gasped and ran inside quickly. She called 9-1-1 and hurried back to Calvin. She picked up his stuffed tiger and handed it to him, hoping it would comfort him a bit. Calvin, however didn't want it.

Soon the ambulance sirens were heard and they got Calvin on a gurney. His mom stood by her son in the ambulance. She was still holding Hobbes, having no idea that this stuffed tiger could feel emotion, let alone sadness.

….

It had been a while since Calvin was admitted to the ER. Calvin's mother waited alone in the waiting room, well not exactly. To be fair she was holding Hobbes, but he was nothing, but a simple toy to her. A simple toy that she had no idea possessed emotions.

If she could of seen Hobbes like her son did, she'd be seeing the worst of him.

…..

A few hours passed and the doctors entered the lobby.

"Your son is in a critical condition..we might have to keep an eye on him for a while." The doctor said."We'll call you when he can come out of the hospital." She lead Calvin's mom into the room where Calvin lay unconscious. Calvin's mom felt her throat get tight. She approached the bed with the stuffed tiger. He had a large white bandage, stained with crimson on his forehead. His mother got teary eyed. She place Hobbes under Calvin's arms before leaving.

…..

Hobbes felt stiff as he lay next to Calvin. He saw the damage he had caused his friend and almost cried.

"I'm...sorry.." He sniffled. Then he fell into uncontrollable tears. Calvin woke to the sound of tears only he could hear. He looked over blankly at Hobbes.

"Calvin!" Hobbes said enthusiastically and gave him a tiger hug. Calvin scowled.

"Get off of me! This was your fault! If you did feel sorry you'd just leave me alone!" Calvin nearly growled.

"You want me to leave?" Hobbes asked sounding hurt. Calvin nodded once furiously. Hobbes couldn't control his tears again. At first he couldn't believe his best friend would do this! Then..he remembered the much worse thing he did. He heard the doctor, she said he was in "Critical condition." Calvin had every right to be mad.

"Okay..." Hobbes chocked. "But before I leave...I'm sorry...I didn't know I could hurt you like this. I'm sorry. I hope you get better soon. Good bye, Calvin..."

"Hobbes.." Calvin said, his voice barely a whisper. When Hobbes turned to face him, Calvin put his arms around him. Hobbes hugged him back. This simple gesture meant much more. Hobbes smiled and snuggled next to Calvin.

The end.

Epilogue...

"I'm home!" Calvin called as he entered the house. It had been a month and he was back in school. Hobbes smiled and gave him a hug.

"This is much better than you pouncing on me." Calvin chuckled. Then he felt Hobbes stop hugging. He looked up and saw Hobbes staring blankly into space. Hobbes was thinking about it again. "Oh...sorry..I forgot you're kind of touchy about that..."

In fact Hobbes was. He felt horrible for the longest time. It took him until this month not to keep thinking about it. Before, he had countless nightmares about it. He was also extra nice to Calvin (Even though Calvin thought it was rather annoying.)

Hobbes gave a gentle smile. "It's okay."

Not everything would be the same, but it was okay.