The next day, Kate took Pal for a walk while they waited for the rest of the family to get ready to visit Arthur. They came across Pal's mom Perky and her owner Mrs. Wood.

"Hello son, good to see you again." Perky smiled.

"Hi mom." Pal said unenthusiastically.

"What's wrong dear?" Perky asked.

"Remember the fire from yesterday?"

"Oh yes, I heard about it."

"Well Mr. Read got stuck in the building on fire and Arthur ran in to save him. Arthur is now in the hospital unconscious." Pal said sadly.

"Oh no, and such a good boy too. You know he took great care of me back when he dogsat me before you and your siblings were born." Perky said sympathetically.

"Yeah, I know, I lost count of how many times you told me that story."

Meanwhile, Kate was telling Mrs. Woods basically the same story and Mrs. Woods also expressed sympathy. A few minutes later Kate and Pal headed home to head for the hospital.

The Reads weren't the only ones there of course, Arthur's closest friends were there too. They already knew that Arthur had a really good chance of recovery thanks to calling the Reads the night before, so they weren't worried. They were just there to deliver Get Well presents and cards. It'll still be a while before Arthur wakes up.

The next week, he woke up and was also allowed to have the bronchodilator off. Since he was still a little weak the Reads and Arthur's friends took turns saying hi. The Reads went first.

"I'm so glad you're okay." Mrs. Read said with relief.

"Yeah, just a bit tired." Arthur smiled.

"Arthur, not that I'm ungrateful for you saving me that was still a foolish thing, running into a burning building." Mr. Read said sternly yet gently.

"I know, but...after that last fire...even though you survived..." Arthur almost teared up.

The Reads mellowed, realizing that even though Arthur stopped being paranoid he hadn't completely gotten over his fear of losing his dad. Especially to a fire.

"Well, I understand but next time let the professionals take care of the rescues okay?" Mrs. Read smiled.

"Sure." Arthur smiled back.

"Hey come on, Arthur's a hero!" Kate smiled. "That was awesome bro, even though it was also scary. I almost thought I lost you."

Arthur just continued smiling. He and Kate had become even closer over the years, which was a good thing for him considering his past relationship with D.W. Even though Arthur and D.W. get along now they still had their quarrels, but he and Kate never quarreled.

Oh, and even though Kate was only around seven or so she always had been pretty smart so she had been able to learn a few words that were beyond most other kids her age. Despite losing her ability to understand Pal she hadn't seem to lose her connection to him, including having wisdom that was beyond her years.

D.W. was just quiet at first, not knowing what to say.

"Arthur..." She began hesitantly. "Even though we never really get along, it doesn't mean that I'd want to lose you to anything. I may not like a lot of the things you do, but you're still my brother and I care about you. Oh, and thank you for saving our dad."

"Hey, no problem." Arthur smiled.

Now Arthur's friends took turns seeing him. Basic conversations with most of them, though Buster obviously told Arthur a few jokes. Including this one:

"Why do crazy people like playing with inflatable round objects?"

"I don't know."

"Because they're ball-lunatics!"

Buster and Arthur both laughed at that one.

A.N. I thought of that joke while I was writing this.

Sue Ellen went last. After the risk of losing Arthur to smoke inhalation she decided that she had waited long enough to tell Arthur her feelings.

"Hey Sue Ellen." Arthur smiled.

"Hi...Arthur, there's something I have to tell you." Sue Ellen took a deep breath and sat down at the chair next to Arthur's hospital bed.

"What is it?"

"Well, it's something I've been keeping a secret since we were eight."

"Since we were eight? Is it that you're really an alien?" Arthur joked good-naturedly.

"Arthur!" Sue Ellen protested, even though she actually was a little amused.

"Sorry, couldn't resist." Arthur smiled apologetically. "Even after all these years I can still remember Buster's irrational fear of you being an alien. It actually turned out to be amusing since you're an alien in the sense of being from another country. Lots of other countries."

"True." Sue Ellen chuckled. "But my secret has nothing to do with that. Remember when I lost my diary in the library and you, Francine, Muffy, and Binky all found it?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Do you also remember that I said that I wrote some really nice things about you?"

"Yeah...you're not going to tell me them now are you?" Arthur looked surprised.

"No. I don't have my diaries with me. Besides, that one got lost in that fire at the school anyway." Sue Ellen remembered.

"Oh yeah, forgot."

Sue Ellen had a lot of diaries now, so they were hard to keep track of. Unless you were Sue Ellen herself that is.

"Actually, what I'm going to tell you is what that nice stuff I wrote led to." Sue Ellen explained. "Arthur...I love you."

Arthur was really shocked now, he even had his mouth open.

"Really?" He couldn't believe it.

"Yes, actually I had feelings for you since we were eight but I knew you weren't into dating then so I kept them secret. I did tell Francine, Muffy, and Fern though, and Francine has been pressuring me to tell you recently. However, I was scared about how you might react so..."

"It's okay." Arthur smiled. "The truth is I don't know how I feel about dating. All I do know is that I don't believe in cooties anymore...and that you wouldn't be a bad girlfriend for me."

Sue Ellen smiled.

"I think us practice dating wouldn't be a bad idea." Arthur continued. "I could get used to having a girlfriend, see if us being a couple could work...maybe even find out if I have feelings for you or not. If I don't I hope you don't take it hard though."

"No, you can't force someone to love you." Sue Ellen shook her head. "I can settle for practice dating. I'll also try not to get my hopes up to high. So, how are we going to go about this?"

"I think mostly hanging out as friends, with some differences." Arthur thought it over. "I'm not sure about, uh, kissing." He blushed. "But I think I can handle holding hands and hugging later. I'm used to that from my family anyway. The only thing I'm really worried about is how Buster would take it. We hang out so often that we're practically brothers, so he might be unhappy at first."

"Well, I don't want to get in the way of your friendship with him." Sue Ellen was now thinking. "How about we tell him first, when the three of us are alone, and work out schedules with him. Maybe he'll even agree to the three of us hanging out together now and then since we won't be officially dating."

"Sounds good to me." Arthur smiled; at this point his voice was kinda weak.

"Sounds like you need some rest." Sue Ellen got up. "I'd better go, me and your other friends will see you tomorrow."

"Sure thing. Can you tell my parents that I'd like Pal to keep me company for a while?"

"Sure."

Mr. and Mrs. Read let Pal take a nap on Arthur while they and D.W. and Kate left to run some errands. They came back around closing time to take Pal home.