Hey guys, sorry this is out a little later than usual. I had to rewrite… well, quite a few parts of it before I was happy. This chapter and the next chapter are my favorite part of the fic and the very reason I wrote it.

I would also like to mention that the blood loss in the last chapter was in Finn's point of view, and therefore, may seem more than it is. That was done on purpose, and hopefully this chapter will describe in more correct detail how bad his wounds really were. However, server blood loss for a 13 year old kid is still very serious, and I hope I do a good job in describing the symptoms.

Chapter 4: Brotherly Comfort

His body was shaking badly but he managed to drag himself to the bathroom. His head was spinning and he used the remainder of the bandages Marceline left for him to patch himself up the best he could. His left shoulder where Marceline had first attacked him was the worst. It wasn't as deep as the wound he got from the Windigo, of which he prayed his stitches were still holding, but it was still pretty bad and at an awkward angle to bandage. He attempted to wrap as much cloth as he could around his shoulder and tied it as tight as his shaking hands could manage, just as Jake taught him. The scratches on his leg weren't as deep as he first thought, and neither was the puncture wound on his arm where Marceline had grabbed him. Finn wondered with an increasingly fatigued body if he should even bother with these, but in the end he forced himself to wrap a bandage around them, just in case.

When he finished his hands were shaking so hard he couldn't tie another knot to save his life. He propped his back up against the bathroom wall, and for the first few seconds he tried to fight the heavy urge to sleep, but he was quickly overcome by the appealing nothingness.

By the time Finn woke up it was bright outside. The dreadful feeling that his back was on fire was what had woke him up. He straightened himself up against the bathroom wall and the first thing he noticed was his back was stiff, like it was caked with cloth and dried blood. The bleeding most likely hadn't stopped completely, but it had definitely slowed. Finn must have been asleep for quite a while because even though he was still in pain his body felt stronger.

Carefully, Finn got back on his feet and cringed as the scratches on his back ached with every move. His leg throbbed a little, but it was the sharp shooting pain in his back that would hinder him the most. He walked into the living room slowly, testing his strength before he took on more than he could handle.

Finn had to get back home. He couldn't stay at Marceline's house; he couldn't stand the sight of the bloodied floor or the broken furniture she had smashed into during the fight. It reminded him of what had happened and what he had just done to her.

He wanted to go home… he had to see Jake. Jake would know what to do; he always knows what to do.

Finn remembered when he was little and something had gone terribly wrong, Jake would stretch a little bigger and allow Finn to crawl up onto his lap. He would tell Finn about astonishing, but possibly made up, stories about adventurers that were so strong they could do anything they wanted. The adventurers in Jake's stories were never scared; they never felt out of place or lost a single battle. For a small human boy living in the magical land of Ooo without any powers or any idea where he came from or what he was, these heroes in the stories were his idols. He would one day become strong like those adventures. He would save people like the ones who saved him, and he would never feel out of place again.

Finn could feel the back of his eyes stinging as he thought of his big brother. He needed his brother more than anything in the world right now.

Finn left the cave, his shoulder screaming at him as he rowed the tiny boat to shore. Finn was used to having to read the sun for the time, and it looked to be around ten o' clock. Jake may or may not have gotten back from Lady Rainicorn's by this time, and even if he was, Finn doubted his brother was worried about him. This wasn't the first time Finn had been hanging out with Marceline and had to spend the night, so Jake wouldn't start wondering where he was until later that day. However, Finn couldn't wait for Jake to come looking for him; he wanted to go home now.

On his walk home, Finn soon discovered that around five hours of rest was not enough to recover from severe blood loss.

He found himself alternating between shivering and overheating. His skin felt clammy, and his body started shaking uncontrollably, especially during the last leg of his journey.

By the time he reached his house he was drenched with sweat mixed with blood, and his body was so numb he could barely feel his legs. With some effort he swung the door to the Treefort open and stumbled inside, still trying to catch his raged breath.

Jake was playing video games on Beemo when he entered. His brother opened his mouth to great him, but when his eyes landed on Finn's injured state he froze, his controller dropping from his paws and his mouth fell open.

"Finn!" he gasped, jumping up in panic. He rushed to his brother's side, his eyes wide with worry, asking a million questions that Finn couldn't process coherently. In fact, Finn couldn't understand anything; the room began to spin.

Why was it so hard to breathe?

Finn's legs gave out beneath him, but instead of landing on the hard floor, he was cradled in the soft fur of his brother's arms.

"Finn? Finn, what happened? Are you okay? Finn!"

Finn choked as he tried to gasp for air. His whole body was weak, and it felt like a miracle he had made it home in time. It was like once he saw Jake he had no motivation left, and he finally gave into the exhaustion, but he didn't realize giving in would be so painful.

"Jake…" he croaked, burying his face in his brother's warm, furry chest for comfort.

Suddenly, everything that happened last night hit him, hard. The way Marceline looked when she attacked him, the feeling of plunging his sword into her stomach, the inability to breathe properly at the moment and the thought that he could die from blood loss. An overwhelming sense of fear began to consume him and he gripped his brother tighter.

"Shh, it's okay little bro, everything's going to be fine." Finn felt Jake stroking his hair comfortingly. "You're going to be okay, I promise."

His stomach wrenched painfully, and Finn gagged and threw up on the floor. His heartbeat pounded in his ears and he could feel himself slipping away into unconsciousness. The only thing he was aware of was Jake's grip on him tightening.

"It's alright, Finn; everything's going to be alright."

The room spun once more and everything went black.

Finn woke with a start. The first thing he noticed was his hat was still missing because his hair was in his eyes. He lifted his hand to rub the blond hair away from his face, but immediately retracted his hand when his shoulder felt like it was being ripped apart from the movement.

"Oww…" he groaned, and he waited for the painful sensation to ebb away before he tried to move again. His shoulder and arm had been bandaged up again in a much better job than he had initially done, and although he still felt dizzy and a little weak, he could at least think clearly.

He saw Jake curled up at the side of his bed, and Finn tried to sit up without alerting his best friend, but he barely moved before Jake's head snapped up.

"Finn! You're awake!" Jake engulfed him with the biggest hug he could, and with his stretchy powers Finn was lucky he wasn't smothered.

"Yeah, man…" Finn mumbled quietly, still trying to get his head around everything that transpired. He barely remembered the journey from Marceline's house to the Treefort, but the fight at Marceline's house was burned in his memory forever.

"Bro, you scared me half to death! What happened? How did you get hurt?" Jake was in his lap now, staring up at him with large, worried eyes.

Finn's throat closed up at the thought of what had happened. How Marceline had attacked him… and how he had stabbed her.

Finn pursed his lips and shook his head; the movement caused the room to spin. He didn't want to tell Jake. He was worried Jake would get the wrong idea. Marceline didn't mean to hurt him; Marceline would never hurt him on purpose. It had been an accident.

"What do you mean 'no', man? You have to tell me!" Jake was frantic. "What was so bad you can't tell me?"

Tears dripped from Finn's eyes and he wiped them away, ashamed. "She… she didn't mean it…" he mumbled.

"Who didn't mean it? Who did this to you?"

Finn knew he couldn't keep this from Jake; he never kept anything from his best friend, and this wasn't something Jake would be willing to drop.

"Mar-Marceline," Finn choked out before his whole body was wracked in sobs, and he clutched his wounded shoulder, wishing the pain would go away.

Jake froze, his eyes grew wide and he seemed to stop breathing.

"W-what do you mean? What do you mean…Marceline…?"

Finn shook his head, and managed to control his sobbing. "N-no, she… she didn't mean it. It was an accident! There was blood… we, we were fighting a Windigo and I got hurt. I-I didn't think- I forgot what Marcie was… I forgot to pack bandages in my bag and so I went to her house to fix my arm. She… was uncomfortable, I can tell now." Finn wiped a few stray tears from his face. Why didn't he realize how uncomfortable she was? He saw she was always floating a distance away from him and he thought that was weird, but he never stopped to think about why she was doing that. She was trying to protect him, he knew that now. "She didn't want to be around me because I was bleeding, and she's a vampire and of course she is going to want to…to…" He gave a shuttering sob. "But still, I was hurt and she wanted to help me. We made it to her house and I fixed myself up, but I think I got too close to her… I got too close and… and…"

Finn squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to remember.

"She attacked you!" Jake gasped, grabbing onto Finn's shirt as if he was still scared of having his brother taken away from him. "She almost killed you!"

"No!" Finn protested, "Marcie didn't mean it! Don't you get it? It's my fault!"

Jake didn't say anything as the two of them stared at each other for a long time, Finn's face wet with tears and Jake's jaw clenched in worry and frustration. Finally, he let go of this brother's shirt and stretched larger until he could lie alongside Finn. Jake pulled his brother's back and head up on his chest so Finn could rest against him comfortably. He couldn't see Finn's face, but now he could wrap his arms around him like he used to do when Finn was little. He could feel Finn already start to relax.

"It's not your fault, Finn," he told him seriously, and he could hear Finn sniffle. "It's not." Jake squeezed him tighter. "Marceline was the one who almost killed you. I knew being friends with a vampire was a bad idea, I knew it was dangerous. If anything it's my fault. But you're alive, and that's what matters. You don't have to worry about Marceline ever again, she won't hurt you anymore."

Finn twisted around, trying to look at his brother. "No, Jake, you don't get it. I have to go find Marceline and try and make this right!"

"What?" Jake stared down at his brother in astonishment. "She almost killed you, man! Do you know how messed up you were? You've been asleep for hours, and you lost so much blood! I bandaged you again and put you in your bed but I thought you were going to die, Finn!"

"I know, but she didn't mean it! It was an accident!"

Jake sighed. "How do you know that, man? Listen, she used to be my friend too, and I know you cared about her, but how can you say it was an accident? How can attacking someone be an accident?"

Finn settled back down, leaning against his best friend as he studded his hands. "You just gotta trust me, Jake, she wasn't herself. It was like she was possessed or something. I think the smell of my blood made her crazy."

"I do trust you, Finn, but I don't trust her. She should have done something! If she knew she might hurt you or lose control or whatever than she should have left!" Jake growled a guttural sound deep in his throat that Finn rarely got to hear. "I want to kill her. I want to kill her for hurting you." Jake held his little brother closer and nuzzled his golden hair with his snout.

"Jake…"

"I love you, little bro," the words caught a little in his throat.

"I love you too." There was a short pause and then, "Jake-"

"Don't you dare say it again, Finn."

"But it wasn't her fault."

Jake sighed and there was a longer silence between them. Finn was close enough that he could hear his brother's heartbeat.

"Okay, Finn," Jake breathed finally. "Okay, Marceline lost control, I get it. I don't forgive her, but I get it."

"Th-that's not the worst part." Finn tensed up as the guilt continued to pile up, making his stomach feel like a cold bottomless pit.

Jake ran a paw through Finn's hair in an attempt to relax him. "What's the worst part?"

"I…" Finn didn't want to admit it. Admitting it would make it real. He could handle being attacked by Marceline, because Marceline hadn't been herself, but this, this was all him. The tears began to spill over again and he tried to keep his voice steady so Jake wouldn't notice. "She was attacking me, and I was scared, I didn't know what to do!" His voice broke and his shoulders began to shake; so much for keeping his composure. "But I- I had my sword and when she jumped on me again I… I didn't want to but… I stabbed her, Jake!" Finn turned around and sobbed into his brother's fur, seeking any form of comfort, and Jake willingly obliged, hugging him tightly.

"Hey, hey, it's not your fault. You were keeping yourself alive."

Finn made a conscious effort to calm down by taking a few breathes. "After I… you know, did that, she seemed to turn back into herself again, and then she just left." He looked up at the dog. "What if I really hurt her, Jake? What if I killed her? It was really deep, and I didn't hold back. How could I do that to her?"

"Finn, Marceline's a vampire," Jake reasoned, "She's really strong and I'm sure one wound can't kill her, or unkill her... I'm not exactly sure how that works. But the point is she's fine. You have nothing to feel guilty about."

"But she left at sunrise! She might not have been able to find shelter. It's my fault if something happens to her!"

Jake groaned. "How in Globs name can you be thinking about her wellbeing after she just-"

"I have to go see her!" Finn decided suddenly, trying to climb off his friend and onto the floor.

"What?"

"I have to see if she made it home alright. I have to see if she's okay!"

"Finn, no." Jake grabbed his friend around the waist, careful to avoid his injuries. "You're not going anywhere! You passed out a few hours ago from blood loss, you're not okay. You're going to sleep here until I say it's okay to get up, and then we can discuss how you're never going to Marceline's ever again."

"Jake!" Finn struggled desperately against his brother's grip. "I have to go! I have to see if she's okay and apologize! This is my fault! Mine!"

Somewhere in the back of Finn's mind, he knew he wasn't thinking straight. Earlier this morning he had put all his effort into trying to get away from Marceline's house and back to Jake. Now, he wanted nothing more than to see Marceline. It was irrational, but Finn felt so guilty and worried for her he couldn't stand the thought of continuing to rest in his bed without knowing if she was alright. A part of Finn knew he didn't have the strength to travel all the way back to Marceline's house right now, but the way Jake kept saying he would never see her again just made Finn all the more desperate.

"You're being stupid," Jake chastised. "What makes you think she is even home? You're going to get there and no one will answer and you still won't know if she's alright or not. It's pointless!"

Finn froze, his breath catching in his throat. "So, you do think she might not be alright? You think it's possible I killed her?" he whispered.

"Oh cram, no I don't! I'm sorry, Finn, I shouldn't have said that. I'm sure she's fine! What I meant was she probably won't be home and you need to think about yourself first. You have to get better before we figure out what to do, and traveling while you're injured is just stupid. Please, Finn? For me, get some rest before you do anything stupid."

Jake was right and Finn knew it. There was no point in going to Marceline's house if she wasn't there, and Marceline probably wouldn't be able to travel again until nightfall without her hat or umbrella.

"Okay." He let out a breath. "I'll save the stupid stuff for when I'm feeling better."

"That's all I ask, bro." He ruffled Finn's hair with his paw, and just like that, the tension between them disappeared.

Finn huffed and swiped the hair out of his eyes with his good arm. "Jake, can you do me a favor?"

Jake laughed. "Let me guess; get you another hat?"

The human nodded happily. "Yeah man, thanks."

Jake shrank back to regular size and reached into Finn's closet for another bear hat. He handed the hat to Finn, and he then proceeded to curl up next to his brother. Finn wasted no time in pulling the hat over his head. He sighed in relief, feeling a little more like himself.

He would take today and tonight to rest, but he would travel back to Marceline's house tomorrow, even if he had to sneak out when Jake wasn't looking. It would be difficult because whenever Finn was injured or sick Jake always watched him very closely. He didn't want to go behind Jake's back, but this was something Finn had to do.

One thing that I find interesting in the show is Finn can be very mature for his age by facing life and death situations and making tough decisions that don't just affect him but also people around him. And then there are other times in the show where you are reminded he is just a 12, 13, 14 year old boy (depending on the season) when he acts his age. I wanted to show this range in my fic, especially when he is hurt and seeks out his older brother for comfort.

Also, I have a little announcement to make, because I don't want you guys to be surprised. The next chapter is going to be the last chapter. This is the shortest multi-chaptered fic I have written, so it feels weird to me to be ending it so soon, but nevertheless, this fic was just intended to be five chapters long. However, I am thinking of a sequel, and I hope that sounds like a good idea to you guys.