Anticipating an attack from Kat, Coop was standing near his shed holding a shovel, prepared to smack Kat with it when he inevitably ambushed him. He screamed when someone tapped him on the shoulder, and turned around and smacked the one behind him with a shovel.
" OW! " Coop gasped sharply at seeing Phoebe holding the top of her head in pain with her eyes squeezed shut, moaning in a daze. " PHOEBE! " he exclaimed, right before she collapsed on the ground, passed out momentarily.
Frightened, Coop cried out, " PHOEBE! " and threw the shovel back into the shed, afraid of getting in trouble. " Are you okay?! " Phoebe didn't answer. She was lying on her back in a daze, seemingly unconscious. Coop quickly kneeled beside her and reluctantly felt her head, checking it for blood. To his relief, he didn't find any, but what he did find was a bump hidden beneath her hair, surrounded by a nasty purple bruise.
" Oh, man! I'm so sorry! It was just an accident! I thought you were Kat! I, I thought you were gonna hurt me! " Phoebe groaned painfully in a daze. She was conscious enough to hear his entire apology. " Phoebe, please don't tell anyone I hurt you! "
Phoebe moaned, " Ohhh, my head... " feeling tired and dizzy. She slowly opened her eyes, and saw Coop sitting in front of her. She was seeing double, and everything was spinning around her. Feeling sorry for her, Coop said, " Come on, I'll get you home and come with you to the hospital! We'll just tell everyone that you fell down the stairs. "
Phoebe had a stinging and pounding headache, and her impact with the ground when she fell over didn't help. Overwhelmed with pain, she forced back tears, feeling incredibly dizzy and tired. The only good thing about her situation was that Coop was concerned about her, which meant that he cared about her enough to value her life. Unfortunately, she couldn't help but consider the possibility that he was just acting concerned about her and didn't genuinely care for her, only wanting to not get in trouble. Everything was still spinning from her perspective, but she wasn't seeing double anymore.
" Want me to help you up? " Coop reluctantly reached his hand out to her. He really didn't want to hold Phoebe's hand, even for a brief second, but after what he did to her, he felt that she deserved it. Phoebe grabbed his hand and allowed Coop to pull her up to a sitting position. She leaned back against the wall of the shed for support, and Coop quickly let her go. " You're pretty dizzy, aren't you? " Phoebe groaned, " Yeah... I don't think I can stand without falling over... Everything's spinning... " while holding her head in pain.
" Alright, that's it, I'm calling Dennis... I didn't want him to know about this, but clearly I need some help. Wait here, I'll get you some ice. " Coop said with concern, before going into the shed. He took an ice pack out of the First Aid Kit in the shed, and brought it to Phoebe. " Hold this to your head! It's really cold, but it'll get the swelling down. " He pulled out his walky-talky and turned it on.
Still in pain and extremely upset, Phoebe replied, " Fine, " and held the ice pack to the top of her head, trying not to pass out. She wanted Coop to hold the ice to her head, and she was really disappointed in him for letting go of her hand so soon when it was the only thing distracting her from her pain. Trying to distract herself from her misery, she listened in to what Coop was saying on the walky-talky.
" ...You've gotta come to my backyard! It's an emergency!... No! I accidentally hit Phoebe with a shovel, and now she's hurt!... I was expecting Kat to attack me from behind, and then Phoebe snuck up on me, and now she's hurt! I think she has a concussion! She can't even stand on her own! I need your help!... Thanks! Bye! " He turned off the walky-talky and sighed in relief.
" Why can't YOU hold the ice pack? It's really cold, my hand is freezing! And you were the one who hurt me in the first place! " Phoebe sounded more upset than usual. Feeling guilty, Coop replied nervously, " Okay, okay, give it to me, " and held the ice pack against her head. " Are you... are you mad at me? " he asked sadly, feeling confused.
After a brief silence, Phoebe sighed and said sadly, " No... I can't be mad at you... " She continued with her voice breaking, " It's all my fault! I startled you! I shouldn't have come up to you in the first place... " Coop felt extremely sorry for her as her voice started to crack. She was clearly on the verge of tears. " That'll teach me to say hello to my HERO... " Humiliated, she hid her face with her hands and started wiping away her tears. Coop felt sorry for her, and reluctantly put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her.
" Phoebe... you know it was just an accident, right?... I would never hurt you on purpose! I mean, even if I wanted to, I can't get away with anything! I'd get in huge trouble, and if anyone found out, they'd hate me!... And besides, it's not like I hate you!... I mean, sure you annoy me and we've never been close, but it's not like you constantly prank me and hurt me and go out of your way to humiliate me! I already have an enemy. And you're way better than him. I can't hate you when I've got a REAL enemy to compare you to. "
Phoebe quickly wiped away the last of her tears while looking away from him. She was shocked at what she was hearing, and was extremely relieved that Coop didn't think of her as an enemy, despite everything she did to him. It sounded too good to be true. " You do believe me, right? " Coop asked sadly, prepared for Phoebe to disbelieve him like everyone else did all the time. Instead, she nodded, and smiled. She was still dizzy, tired, and suffering from a severe headache, but Coop's kindness managed to distract her from all of it.
Just then, Dennis ran into the backyard, looking frantic and worried. " Sorry I'm late! Oh, geez, Phoebe, are you okay?! " Phoebe nodded in confusion, thrown off guard by how Dennis had actually talked to her for the first time in years. She couldn't believe that Dennis was concerned about her. She thought sadly, " Why would he care about ME? " as Coop explained,
" There's a bump on her head and a really bad bruise, but she didn't lose any blood. " Dennis helped Phoebe stand up, and put his arm around her so that she could lean on him for support. She was shocked and amazed that he was actually going to do that for her, even though she was still disappointed that it wasn't Coop holding her.
" I'm still really dizzy, and sleepy... I was even seeing double at first! But not anymore. " She found it heartwarming that the two of them cared about her so much, although she didn't dare tell them about this, because she didn't want to scare them away. " I bet she has a concussion! Phoebe, don't fall asleep, whatever you do! I'll bring you home and come with you to the hospital. " Dennis said.
" So... wait... You're both staying with me? " Phoebe looked confused on the surface, but she was actually really happy that both Dennis and Coop cared about her that much. Coop said, " Of course! " " We have to make sure you'll be okay! " Dennis said with concern. As they started walking, Coop told him, " Now remember, Dennis, if anyone asks, she fell down the stairs! I really don't wanna get in trouble. If anyone found out what happened, no one would believe it was an accident! "
Coop followed Dennis as he brought her home without saying a word. Phoebe's father was shocked to see his daughter holding an ice pack to her head and leaning on Dennis for support. He gasped and said, " What happened to you?! " Dennis answered nervously, " She fell down the stairs and bumped her head! "
Clearly ashamed of herself, Phoebe said sadly, " It was my own fault... " and was surprised when Dennis immediately reassured her, " No, it wasn't. Don't feel bad, it was just an accident, " still with his arm around her. At first, he had felt uncomfortable being so close to Phoebe, but by now, he had gotten so used to it that he didn't even mind.
Phoebe explained in pain, " My head is killing me... Ever since I hit it, I've been really tired... And dizzy, too! I can hardly stand without falling over! " Coop said, " We found her and gave her some ice, and we promised to come with her to the hospital to make sure she'd be okay. Can we please come along? " Phoebe's father replied, " Alright, you two can come with us. But don't let her fall asleep in the limo! She could have a concussion! "
So the three of them came with Phoebe on her trip to the hospital, with Dennis holding the ice pack to her head and comforting her the whole drive. At the hospital, they found out that she had gotten a minor concussion, and that there was no permanent damage. When they got home, Phoebe's father thanked Coop and Dennis for taking the time to help Phoebe and make sure she'd be okay.
After the two of them left her house, Dennis let it slip that he stopped feeling uncomfortable about being so close to Phoebe rather quickly, and actually looked back fondly on it. " It was actually kind of nice... " he said with a smile. He quickly lied that he was joking after Coop's shocked and disgusted reaction to it, and was relieved to find out that Coop had assumed he was joking the entire time.
And while Phoebe was still upset and ashamed that her sneaking up on Coop had gotten her hit with a shovel, she was so relieved to find out that he and Dennis cared about her, that it completely made up for it.