"Okay, Brian? I'm just putting this out there, but I'm a baby, and only dicks don't let babies win."

Stewie and Brian had just gotten back from the garbage dump, right after the time machine had been scrapped. Of course, since Stewie was the one who ordered its destruction, he didn't seem too upset about it. But Brian knew his friend, and that he did regret his decision a tiny bit. Trying to lighten the mood, he suggested the two of them play hockey in the street, and take advantage of the fresh air.

"God, look at this day, huh? You know, usually I'd be sitting inside, writing...you'd be working on one of your machines...but, here we are enjoying it."

"Yes, it is a nice change of pace," the infant replied, but pausing as soon as he remembered something. "Oh wait, I've gotta go grab my kneepads. I was using them for...for...this other thing. Anyway, I'll be right back."

Of course, there was no way in hell that Stewie would tell Brian that he stole Lois's bra while she was sleeping, and just replaced it with his kneepads so she wouldn't notice. The dog would keep on begging for Stewie to give it to him for his own sick sexual preferences, when he was going to use it as a disguise and plant bombs inside it.

The screeching noise of a car snapped Stewie out of his thoughts, and he saw that it was headed straight for Brian...who was too busy setting up the hockey nets.

"Brian, look out!"

He didn't even have to think about it, he knew what he had to do. Despite his brain screaming to stay safe and preserve himself, his heart was feeling the exact opposite. And acting on blind impulse, he had chosen the latter. Running as fast as his tiny legs would carry him, he summoned all the strength in his small body and pushed Brian to the side with all his might. The last thing he saw was a look of shock from Brian, as he realized what Stewie had done. The infant gave a sad smile, before he felt a blasting pain on his entire body, and he knew no more.

"STEWIE!"

It seemed to take an eternity for the car to pass, and by the time it did, Brian was already by his side. Stewie looked awful. Even though his head was protected by his hockey helmet, that didn't mean the rest of his body was protected as well. His entire body was covered with gashes and blood-spattered wounds. Brian would have thought he was already dead, were it not for the spasms of pain that wracked the baby's entire body.

"Lois! Lois, get out here!"

The entire Griffin family ran out of the house, and saw with horror what had happened to the youngest family member.

"Oh my god! Stewie! Stewie, can you hear me?!" She turned to Brian, despair written all over her worried face. "What the hell happened to my baby?"

"Not now, Lois! He needs medical care, I'm gonna call an ambulance right away!"

He ran inside as fast as he could, with a turmoil of thoughts running through his head.

He got injured saving me... If he doesn't pull through, I'll never forgive myself!

Quickly grabbing the nearest phone and dialing 911, Brian explained what had happened, and the woman on the other line said they would send an ambulance over immediately. Rushing back outside, he knelt beside Lois, who was crying, and cradling Stewie's wounded body in her arms.

"How did he even get like this? Brian, tell me!"

He sighed, not bearing to look Lois in the eye. "We...were setting up hockey equipment to start a game, and a car was driving down the road. I wasn't paying attention...but Stewie...he pushed me out of the way at the last second. H-he saved my life."

"M-my baby...he did that?" She couldn't help but smile slightly, despite the situation. "Stewie, I'm so proud of you. You'll get better...we'll get you to the hospital right aw—"

And paused, seeing two hockey kneepads fall out from under her shirt.

The Griffins waited anxiously at the hospital, with Brian pacing back and forth endlessly in front of the door. Stewie had been rushed to the emergency room about two hours ago, and the canine was nervously awaiting the news of his condition.

Please pull through, Stewie. You've surpassed greater odds before, you can get through this.

As soon as the thought was finished, Dr. Hartman carrying a clipboard entered the waiting room. Lois ran up to him, with tears streaming down her face.

"Doctor, how is my baby? Is Stewie gonna be okay?"

The doctor bowed his head solemly, and Brian knew what he was going to say just by seeing that one gesture. Already, his heart felt like it was going to split in two.

"I'm very sorry, Mrs. Griffin. Your son isn't responding to any of the medical care, and if we try anyting else, he'll probably die sooner from the treatment than his injuries. I'd recommend...that you go in and see him off."

Those words pierced through Brian's heart like a bullet from a gun. Stewie...dying? No...it can't be! It's not possible! Yet his mind flashed back to the infant's broken and battered body, and knew that the doctor spoke the truth. Lois was sobbing hysterically, and Peter, who was also shedding tears, embraced his wife in an attempt to comfort her. All of them got up shakely, and walked down the hall to where Stewie's room was.

Opening the door, Brian was met with a sight that utterly ripped his heart into shreds. The baby's blood-stained face was covered by an oxygen mask, and was hooked up to several machines in an effort to sustain his life. His small chest barely moved, and his closed eyes occasionally gave an involuntary twitch of pain. Walking closer to his friend's deathbed, Brian knelt down beside Stewie.

"Stewie...can you hear me? Please say something, a moan, a cry, anything!"

The dog's voice seemed to get through to Stewie, as his eyes stirred and slowly opened. Even his eyes looked weak, as the glaze of death was enveloping them more with each passing second. A look of recognition spread across his face, and a warm smile formed as he realized who it was.

"B...Bri...?" Stewie's voice was barely a whisper, it seemed to hurt him just to speak.

"Yes, Stewie. I-I'm here," Brian replied, struggling to keep his voice steady despite the tears.

"It...it hurts..." he whimpered, as another spasm of pain wracked his body.

"I know it does, Stewie," his voice shook with sadness, "Everything will be okay, it'll go away soon..."

"I...know...what it means..." He stared at the ceiling, not bearing to look at Brian. "I'm not...gonna make it...aren't I?"

Brian said nothing, all he could do was slowly nod his head. He couldn't bear to let those awful words of affirmation pass his lips. Stewie instantly knew what he was going to say, but he wasn't afraid. A serene and peaceful feeling was enveloping his body, the pain was slowly starting to go away. He looked back at his canine companion, wanting to reassure him that everything would be okay.

"Can you...come closer? P...please?"

Brian rested his head right beside his friend, wanting to be as close as possible during Stewie's last moments. Using all the strength he had, Stewie moved his hand over towards the crying canine and began to stroke his ear. The baby's fingers ran lightly up and down, and a calming sensation washed over Brian as he did this. The minutes ticked by, and the stroking motion slowed down with each passing one.

"L...love...you..." The quiet murmur from Stewie was almost inaudible. Brian watched helplessly as he saw his friend's chest rise and fall for the last time...

And was met with the heart-wrenching beep of the life-support system.

Brian dragged his feet up the stairs, grief weighing down his every step. He just couldn't believe it. How was it even possible? Stewie had cheated death before on multiple occasions, so how was it that he was suddenly...gone? What made it worse was the fact that he died saving him. Brian knew that if he had reacted faster, if he hadn't brought home the hockey set, hell, even if he allowed the time machine to be destroyed in the first place, none of this wouldn't have happened. Of course, if Stewie hadn't ordered its destruction, Brian could go back in time and prevent his death. But now...now there was only one way he could ever see Stewie again.

The grief-driven canine had made a stop by the bank after Stewie's death, and recovered something from his safety deposit box. His eyes rested on his escape, the very gun that he planned to use if life ever became too much for him.

"Brian...how come you have a gun?"

"I keep it...in case...I ever want to commit suicide, okay?"

Brian's mind flashed back to when he and Stewie were trapped in the bank vault, and the touchy subject was brought up.

"Well, I just don't know what to say! Wanting to kill yourself... Well, I think that's pretty selfish of you!"

Tears streaming down his face, he moved his hands to pick up the gun.

"You give my life purpose. And maybe...maybe that's enough."

Your life...you were the only thing keeping me going. If I no longer have a purpose, then I should just...

His hands shaking madly, Brian lifted the gun up to his head, finger on the trigger.

I'm coming, Stewie. I can't bear to spend the rest of my life without you.

Suddenly, the door opened, and a hooded figure with skeleton hands stepped into the room. Brian stopped, and instantly recognized the being."Death? You...you're here for me?"

"Well, my schedule said that you were gonna off yourself around 8:30, but I ended up arriving a little bit late. Also, there was an errand I had to do that involved coming here. But that's beside the point. Brian, think about what you're doing."

"Oh, so stopping suicides is something you do, but saving children who barely even got to live their lives is too much for you? He was one, fucking ONE! I swear to god, if you weren't already dead, I'd freaking kill—"

"Look, just calm the hell down, okay? I mean, don't you want to say hi to your friend first?"

Brian stopped in mid-sentence as he saw a bright light appear right beside Death. After adjusting to the light's radiance, the dog's eyes widened after making out who it was.

"St-Stewie?! You...it's really you?"

He flinched in surprise as what appeared to be Stewie attempted to slap him across the face, but his hand passed straight through. The spirit briefly stopped in surprise, before glaring up at Brian.

"What the hell, man? What the actual HELL? How can you even think about ending it after all that's happened? Killing Lois, world domination, I gave all of that up for YOU!" Stewie stopped, his eyes moistening from the emotional territory he was now entering. "I died for you, Brian... If you ended it here...wouldn't my death had been for nothing?"

"But...I can't do this. A life without you...I can't bear the thought of that!"

"Yes you can! You're strong, Brian, you'll get along fine without me. Besides, Lois and the fat man need you in their lives, so you can't leave them yet."

Brian looked crestfallen. "But...how can I? How can I continue without knowing you'll be there beside me? You'd always been there for me, to comfort me when I was feeling down, to lift my spirits when I needed it... You're the whole world to me, Stewie! I...I love you!"

Cocking his head to the side, the infant's eyes widened in surprise. "What the deuce did you just say? Am I hearing you right?"

Brian stepped closer to Stewie, reaching out his hand to the glowing spirit. "I love you, Stewie. I guess, I always have..."

"I love you too, Brian. That's why...I did what I did. With the time machine destroyed, and no way to bring you back if you had died, I had to do whatever I could to keep you alive. Yes, I am aware of the short lifespan of your species, but at least take advantage of the six or so more years that I've given you."

"But...what about you? You had your whole life ahead of you, don't you feel that it ended far too soon?"

Stewie sighed, and looked off into the distance. "It's true, I only got to live for about two years. There were many things that I wanted to do..." His eyes started to tear up, but he shook his head and looked back at Brian, a contented look in his eyes. "I may not have lived a long life, Brian. But, I can say without doubt that I had a full one. You...were the one who made my life so complete."

Brian smiled warmly, crying out of joy rather than sadness. He stretched his arms out, allowing for the baby's ghost to get as close to a hug as was possible, given his current state. It felt cold, like the air's temperature was significantly lower in the area Stewie's spirit occupied. But Brian didn't care, it was a kind of pain he didn't mind.

"Are you gonna be okay, kid?"

Stewie shrugged. "Who knows? I mean, I've been a bad boy, who knows how many people I ended up murdering in cold blood? Obviously that's not going to go down well at all. But I've been on my best behavior these past few months, and of course, giving my life up for you definitely tips the scales in my favor."

Death walked forward, placing his hand on the baby's shoulder. "Don't worry, Brian. I'll make sure this kid won't go to hell anytime soon."

"Thanks, Death," Brian said appreciatively, then remembering what he said earlier, "By the way, what was that errand you mentioned before?"

"Oh, that. You see, Stewie asked me if I could get Rupert for him, which he needs my help for, being a ghost and all." Death walked into the other room, in order to fulfill the baby's request. Reaching over to Stewie's crib, he grasped the bear, which instantly became the transparent and bright hue that Stewie now was. The demon walked back into Peter and Lois's room and handed the toy to Stewie, who embraced Rupert in a tight hug.

"It's okay, Brian. Until you've lived your life in full, I'll have Rupert to keep me company. But until then, I promise I'll stop by every now and again."

He reached his paw up to touch Stewie's hand, wanting one bit of contact before he leaves. Already, the baby's image was flickering and starting to fade, and was being dragged farther and farther away from Brian by the second. Wiping his eyes dry, Brian waved goodbye to Stewie, who disappeared in a flash of blue light along with Death. The next moment, they were gone.

I'll be here, Stewie. Once my time comes naturally, the two of us will be reunited...

His heart didn't feel whole again, Brian was sure it never would until he finally joined with Stewie for good, but the pain of losing him had definitely been lessened. Getting to say goodbye to him in person really helped, and Brian certainly felt a lot better.

He gave another glance to the gun, remembering why it was there in the first place. Brian instantly felt foolish, Stewie was right, how could he think of throwing his life away after what Stewie did to keep him alive? It would be an insult to his memory, he thought, picking up the gun, opening the window and throwing it as hard as he could out of said window. He didn't care that he was technically littering, or the fact that he didn't properly dispose of it. As of now, all he wanted to do was get the wretched thing away from him as soon as possible.

The canine slowly walked over to Stewie's room, utterly burnt out and overwhelmed from the day's events. Right now, all he wanted to do was sleep. Instantly, the moment he walked in, Stewie's scent washed over him, his senses taking in the familiarity. The sensory memory caused another pang of loss to go through his heart, but it was accompanied by a feeling of peace and serenity to take over.

Brian dragged his tired legs over to Stewie's crib and climbed inside, the soft feel of the bed relaxing his mind and he could feel his restless thoughts shutting down. The relaxing sensation of sleep was enveloping his body, and the scent of Stewie that still lingered in his former bed was helping to soothe him. The last thing Brian thought before finally descending into dreams was that he was going to sleep here from now on. The sensory memory of his friend was already starting to help him cope with that loss, and it was here in this room, after all, that so many wonderful times and memorable experiences the two friends had.

Well, this was my first oneshot. The reason why I didn't bring Stewie back was I felt that it would lessen the impact of his death, despite how hard it was for me to do so. T-T Anyways, I really hope you liked it, and I'll try to do more oneshots in the future whenever an idea happens to come to me. R&Rs are always appreciated, as I'd like to see how you felt about this one.

Actually, scratch that. I've gotten a couple of requests to make another chapter, so...I guess I'll make another chapter! I've got an idea on how I want to go about doing this, so I'm planning on updating sometime this December.