Grandpa couldn't get back to sleep; so, he just decided to keep on resting. He kept his head on the floor and saw that Topsy was coming up carrying two treestars filled with water and set one down in front of him and the other in front of Lillian.
How'd he carry two treestars at once? Eh, maybe it's one thing that threehorns can do that longnecks can't; or maybe Topsy's just got a big mouth. Grandpa thought to himself.
"Hey there, I thought you might be thirsty," Topsy said.
"I guess I am; I'm not drinking as much as I should *sigh*," Grandpa replied.
Topsy sighed.
"Is your stomach still giving you trouble?" Topsy wondered.
"Yeah; I just wish my throat wasn't sore; it would make the vomiting less painful," Grandpa answered.
Topsy nodded and tried to cheer up the sick male.
"Well, at least you have your mother here to keep you company," Topsy told him.
Grandpa smiled weakly and then sighed again.
"I wonder how the children are doing," Grandpa said, his voice slightly shaky.
Topsy just shrugged.
"I'm sure they're fine," Topsy claimed.
Grandpa nodded.
"Anyway, long story short; Kosh has been trying my patience lately; and to top it off, he showed up at a meeting while still under suspension from the council," Topsy continued.
"That rock head! He's so much like his father; I knew his father when I was little and he used to call me a runt or a faggot; all because my father made it seem like I was a girly boy who would grow up to be homosexual and I've known since I was 18 that I'm not!" Grandpa exclaimed while starting to cough.
Topsy backed off since he felt the longneck's anger and that the cough caught him off guard. Now, there was a chance that Topsy might catch that flu virus from him.
"Jeez, Kenneth, cover your mouth when you cough," Topsy responded.
Grandpa managed to stop coughing and sighed.
"I'm sorry; if you get sick because of me; since you're willing to keep seeing if I'm okay, I'd be willing to return the favor; that's what best friends do," Grandpa explained.
Topsy nodded.
Grandpa then decided to drink some of the water from the treestar and saved some more for later. Just then, Topsy noticed that the treestars on Grandpa's forehead were drying up; so, he took them off, and replaced them with new and wet ones. After that, he did the same thing for Lillian; he then saw that she started coughing and was hacking up blood. Topsy looked away to prevent himself from throwing up.
"I'm getting Mr. Thicknose; she's not supposed to be hacking *gag* up blood," Topsy said.
He then felt some acid come up his throat with some bits of food.
"You're not getting sick, too, are you?" Grandpa wondered.
"Nah; I just threw up in my mouth; now I need a drink and maybe some of those mint leaves; I think I also have indigestion; hence the reason why I threw up in my mouth; too much acid in my stomach and not enough to eat," Topsy explained.
Grandpa nodded.
"Besides, I don't-"
"You know, all this time you're talking could be spent going out to find Mr. Thicknose and bringing him back here," Grandpa cut him off.
"Be back soon," Topsy said.
Once Topsy left, Grandpa sighed. This was the first time he lost his temper with his best friend in ages.
"Oh, Mother, please be all right," Grandpa pleaded.
After her coughing fit and hacking up blood, Lillian lost consciousness.
Meanwhile going to look for Mr. Thicknose, Topsy got a drink at a nearby watering hole and ate a mouthful of mint leaves to alleviate his symptoms of indigestion. Soon enough, he saw Mr. Thicknose approaching him.
"Please...you gotta help...Lillian...she uh...she's..." Topsy said, somewhat out of breath.
Mr. Thicknose stood on Topsy's left hand side and wrapped his right forearm around his shoulders.
"Take a couple of deep breaths; now what's this about Lillian?" Mr. Thicknose asked.
"Lillian started hacking up blood; she's not the healthiest longneck around, and she's pretty old," Topsy explained.
"She's only a year older than me; are you calling me old?" Mr. Thicknose demanded.
"No I'm not! Now stop hounding me with your goddamn questions and-"
After seeing Mr. Thicknose's expression, Topsy sighed and hung his head.
"I'm sorry, I'm just worried; Kenneth has enough to worry about with being sick; he can't afford to have his mother die of this illness," Topsy admitted.
Mr. Thicknose nodded and understood that Topsy was on a short fuse since he didn't want Lillian to die. So, he gave the threehorn a reassuring pat on the shoulder and indicated that he forgives him for snapping at him. After that, he gathered some healing flowers and headed with Topsy back to the sick cave.