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When the Doc came back in later that morning, he found the two boys fast asleep, Mr. Vincent's arm draped around Mr. Barr's shoulder, facing one another, Mr. Barr's hands lightly clutching Mr. Vincent's shirt. The Doctor felt a bit awkward to have seen them in such a state, but reminded himself that the relationship between the two boys, who just happen to be his students, was none of his business. Despite his inner chastising, part of his mind whirred at the sight and he couldn't help go over the facts:

1) Mr. Barr had been bullied, and severely so. Who the bullies were, was unclear, though he always had a sneaking suspicion that Mr. Vincent was involved. He often saw the Vincent boy grin in a menacing way when the young boy crossed his path, the smaller boy cringing in a way the doctor was all too familiar with.

2) As far as he knew, both boys had been part of the altercation yesterday. It seemed as if Mr. Barr was badly beaten, but he was untouched compared to Mr. Vincent. The boy had nearly drown, and had been stabbed twice. He had broken bones, stitches and a concussion that would all take a long time to heal.

3) Another nurse had informed him that Mr. Barr refused to leave the swimmer's side- even to the point of being hostile. The nurse had allowed it, saying she knew both of them were recovering from the shock and she thought letting them figure it out together would be wise.

4) They were now sharing a bed. If nothing, it showed that Mr. Vincent was kind enough to let Mr. Barr rest somewhere more comfortable.

It puzzled him to no end. From his experience, he knew that Mr. Vincent had been on the administration's watch list for his hostile and commanding personality. While they were all aware that students put on acts to gain respect from their peers, the doctor could sense that the swimmer was either determined to be who the student body thought he was, or he truly was the person many students feared.

However, given the circumstances, the doctor wondered if there was a different side to the angry young man. He found it no coincidence that the nearly defenseless Mr. Barr made it out with minimal injuries, while Mr. Vincent had literally given his life.

Strange. Strange indeed.

The doctor shook his head, reminding himself that curiosity killed the cat. He then walked up to the taller of the two and shook his shoulder lightly, waking him. The swimmer gasped, startled, looking up at the doctor with a confused glare.

"Hello, Mr. Vincent. How are you feeling this morning?"

The boy shrugged, not looking at the doctor as he slowly and carefully detached himself from the boy next to him, pulling the boy's hands from his shirt and setting them near the young boy's chest. The doctor noticed just how gently the swimmer moved, being careful not to wake his smaller counterpart. When he was free from the embrace, he sat up, watching as the doctor fiddled with a few of the machines next to him.

"Alright. Let me take your blood pressure," he said quietly, attaching a cuff to the tall boy's arm. After he did that, he asked the boy a few questions about his pain, knowing full well that the raven haired boy was experiencing plenty of it. He started a morphine drip, using a stronger dose than before. The shock was wearing off, and thus, the natural pain killing benefits of it would be gone very soon.

"Will I ever swim again?" the boy asked flatly, his voice dry and hushed. The doctor stilled his pen, lowering his clipboard to look at the boy. His eyes were downcast and heavily shadowed, his black hair pulled back and messy.

"I don't know- how badly do you want to?" the doctor asked, giving a reassuring smile. He placed a hand on the young man's shoulder. "It will be a rather slow process of recovery. However, I believe you will be back to your athletic self before this time next year. Right now, however, you should be very grateful that you are alive," he said, crouching slightly so that the boy could look him in the eye. "Mr. Vincent, there are not many people who could have survived what you did. Do you know what that means?" The boy looked at him, waiting for an answer.

"It means you are strong. It also means," he shrugged towards the sleeping figure slightly, "that you have something, or someone to live for. And that, Mr. Vincent, is a very rare thing indeed."

The swimmer boy's lip turned slightly upward, and he nodded. The doctor quickly finished his paper work, standing at his full height and returning to his business-like self. "Well, I will have breakfast brought in soon for both of you. I fear that Mr. Barr will refuse to leave for some time. Might as well get him eating again," the doctor said, smiling and exiting the room.

Edd watched him go, listening to the busy hospital for a minute or two. He hated hospitals- it was too bright, too shiny, too loud. He would much rather be at home. Thinking about it, he decided that he would need to convince Kevin to go home that day. The boy was in terrible need of nourishment, and Edd could only imagine how frantic his parents were. For now, however, he was perfectly content to watch his Pumpkin sleep.

About half an hour later, as the Doc had promised, food was brought in, and Edd reluctantly woke Kevin up. The boy blinked, taking a minute to wake up. They ate in comfortable silence, Edd still having a hard time speaking, and the ginger too tired to bring up conversation. Warm food seemed to help his mood, however, for when they were done, he was bright eyed and talkative.

"I wonder if I'll have any cool scars," he said, lightly running a hand over the stitches on his forehead.

"You might look like Frankenstein," Edd offered. Kevin glared at him, which amused the swimmer to no end. Edd knew he would have some serious scarring, but he wasn't as excited about them as the ginger next to him was.

While messing with his hair he had discovered that he had bald spots- places where the doctors had shaved his head to give him stitches. He also started to notice the bandages. Thick, white gauze was wrapped about his middle, his upper arms, knees and on one of his legs. He also had a cast around one ankle, and four of his fingers on his left hand. Bruises covered him almost completely it seemed-giving his entire body a dull ache. His swim trunks and hoodie were nowhere to be found, but he was pleased to find his dog tags on the table beside his bed. He slipped the metal back on his neck, the cold beads bringing him some familiar comfort.

Kevin watched him, cocking his head slightly and scrunching up his nose a little. "Y'know, I keep thinking about how funny you look in scrubs, but now that I think about it, you kind of just look like Doc without your hat on."

Eddward looked down at himself. He and the teacher did have similar features. They were both tall, with wavy black hair and blue eyes, currently dressed in scrubs. However, where the teacher was a round faced, thin, light blue eyed man, Eddward had more muscle, a set jaw, and darker eyes that were rimmed with black shadows. The teacher was taller, kinder looking, and often kept his hands clenched to his chest in nervous habit. The swimmer had a serious looking face and cracked knuckles when irritated. Edd also had two piercings and dog tags, and wore black clothing, very different from the light colored business clothes the teacher often wore

"I suppose. This may be the only instance that we will ever look this alike."

"What. Scrubs not growing on ya?"

Edd scoffed. "Hardly."

Kevin grinned. "I thought you were interested in medicine. You'll have to wear them then!"

"Its an interest. That doesn't mean I'll make a career out if it. Especially if this is the uniform."

Kevin burst out laughing, putting a hand on Edd's knee as he shook with it. "You're so vain! Here you are, in the hospital, with hair missing and everything, telling me that scrubs aren't good enough for you!"

The former bully was annoyed with Kevin's observation until he realized just how ridiculous it sounded and laughed as well. He shook his head because it hurt to laugh, but couldn't stop for a full ten seconds.

"Okay, I admit. That does seem a bit comical," he admitted. Kevin grinned, his stitches keeping one side of his mouth from lifting all the way.

"Y'know," Kevin said, shrugging, "I could always run by your place and grab you some clothes, seeing as you'll be here a few days."

Eddward shrugged. He did want his own things, of course, but something that had been nagging at him stopped him from outright accepting. Given the fact that he had been admitted to the hospital, especially under such extreme circumstances, he had no doubt that the medical staff would try and contact his parents, if they hadn't already. While he had no idea where they were, part of him wondered if they'd come back, if only to sign whatever paperwork for his release and treatment. He guessed that the probability was quite high if they were in the country, unlikely if they were outside the country but within the continent, and impossible anywhere else in the world.

That being said, on the slight chance that they would return for him, he would not risk Kevin running into them at the house. Not only would it be awkward and a bit impolite, the swimmer simply didn't want the boy to meet them at all. Kevin didn't seem like he would take their criticism well, and he didn't want to later hear of a shouting match between the people who should have cared about him and the only person who ever truly did.

No, he would endure the mortification and discomfort of the hospital garb until he was absolutely sure.

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The doctor popped in and out throughout the day, making adjustments to Edd's bandages and IV, doing his best to help the student be as comfortable as possible. He also spoke regularly with Kevin during such visits, who always seemed to have questions on hand about the teacher's second job and what he was doing.

"So, I know he's pretty beat up, but like, what exactly happened to make him like that?" Kevin asked, gesturing to the white gauze wrapped around Edd's middle as the swimmer slept, still exhausted from the day before. The Doc had lifted the boy's shirt to inspect the wrap, making sure the boy didn't bleed through them.

The doctor sighed, shaking his head slightly. "It seems that the people who attacked Mr. Vincent stabbed him in multiple places. This happens to be the worst of them. Based on the wound itself, I would suspect they were made with a pocket knife, as they aren't more than two inches deep. But this area," he gestured to Edd's middle, "was struck more than once. Perhaps six or seven times, actually. They aren't fatal wounds, and nothing major was hit, but I'm sure it was very painful."

Kevin stared. He had no idea it was that bad. Something dawned on him, and he began to worry.

"D'you think, after all of this, that he'll have nightmares?" Kevin asked, knowing that Edd was already plagued with sleeping problems because of his night terrors. The Doc's face turned to a solemn frown.

"Those affected by emotional trauma often suffer from nightmares, unfortunately. Mr. Vincent may not remember everything that happened, because of the concussion he received, and the brain often recovers part of the memories in dreams. Most of the time, however, they do not last for very long. A month, maybe two at the very most."

Kevin nodded. Seeing the boy's deflated expression, the doctor smiled, facing the small boy.

"Fear not, Mr. Barr. I am completely confident that he will recover, both physically and emotionally."

That gave the ginger hope, and he sighed in relief. "Let's hope s-"

"Dee?"

Both men turned around to see Kevin's father, in the doorway, his eyes almost bugging out of his head at the pair.

"Who-"

"Salutations, Kevin," the doctor said shyly, raising a hand in greeting. His nervous attitude was back, and he tucked a lock of hair behind his hear that had fallen out of his ponytail.

The junior of the two redheads looked from his father to his teacher, trying to understand what was happening. The Doc seemed to be blushing, an uncertain smile on his face. Kevin's father was in complete shock, his mouth hanging slightly open and his normally casual posture had gone totally stiff. Kevin gestured to the Doc, looking at his father questioningly.

"Y'all know each other?" he asked, trying to piece something, anything together.

"Why yes, Mr. Barr. Kev- your father and I went to school together," the Doc answered sheepishly, not taking his eyes off the man in front of him. Without warning, Kevin's father took two giant steps forward, making his son flinch in surprise as he wrapped his large arms around the thin doctor. The Doc was surprised as well, stiffening in defense at the sudden contact. He quickly realized that he was in no danger and calmed a bit, responding in kind.

"I thought you'd never see you again," Kevin senior said, his voice muffled. The Doc laughed, though there was hidden emotion in the sound.

"Well, here I am," he said, not knowing what else to say. The bigger man released him, holding the doctor at arms length, grinning. It surprised Kevin, to see his father acting that way. His dad was a nice guy, and he always loved a good laugh, but rarely was he so sincerely happy. He figured that he and the doctor must have been pretty close in school. He took a couple steps back, giving them room. He noticed that Edd was starting to wake up, the noise enough to shake him out of his medicated slumber. He went back to his seat next to the swimmer, quietly waiting for him to wake up properly.

The Doc bit his lip, feeling unsure and excited and confused all at the same time. His old friend had a similar feeling, though he couldn't help but grin at the face he hadn't seen in years.

"Wait," he said, raising an eyebrow, "you had to know that Junior was my son. We have the same name, for crying out loud. Why didn't you say anything?" he asked, feeling a bit hurt that Dee hadn't tried to find him, even after everything that they had been through. The Doc looked down, humiliation coloring his pale cheeks.

"I, well, I thought it would be better..." he stuttered, not wanting to talk about such things in front of Kevin's son. Even after so many years, Kevin senior understood what he meant, and nodded. He then turned to his only child, who was watching the boy on the hospital bed.

"Junior."

"Yeah, dad?" the boy asked innocently.

"Dee and I are going to go catch up, okay? It'll only be a few minutes."

The young ginger shrugged. "Sure. I'll just be here with Edd."

The two older men left, and Kevin started to wonder if things ended badly between them. It would seem odd that two friends would lose contact for a long time. He had never heard his father speak about the Doc, but that only convinced him further that they had split ways in a bad situation.

"What time is it?" a groggy voice asked him, startling him out of his day dreaming. He smiled fondly down at the swimmer, who still had his eyes closed, his brow furrowed in annoyance. The nerd checked his watch face- 1:54.

"It's almost two," he said, leaning against the bed and setting his chin on his arms. Eddward cracked an eye open, smirking at the boy currently slumped on his bed. He would never get used to when Kevin was comfortable around him. It was so strange, and so natural, and so different then how things had been before. He couldn't get enough of it. He closed both eyes again, taking a deep, painful breath. He probably wouldn't get used to the pain, either.

"You won't believe what just happened," Kevin said nonchalantly. Edd opened both eyes and looked down.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. The Doc was in here- checking the machines again and everything- right? And my dad comes in, all shocked and stuff. Apparently, he and the Doc went to school together sometime, or something. They weren't in here five minutes before they went to 'catch up'. How weird is that?"

"And your mother?"

Kevin snapped his head up. "Huh?"

"I'm assuming she came with your father," Edd said calmly.

"Oh. Uh, no," Kevin started, rubbing his neck, "it's just me and dad. Mom left when I was eight- dad says she wasn't ready to be a mom or something," he said, shrugging. He still struggled to come up with something more important than someone's own kid, but he liked to think she had her reasons. After almost losing his dad afterwards, Kevin decided he didn't want her back, but sometimes he wished he could ask her why she would leave them. It still hurt- at least, a little bit.

"Parents are overrated," Edd stated bluntly, a painful smile on his face. Only then did Kevin realize just how much worse Edd's family situation was. He thought about how they had abandoned him, and it hit him.

"They didn't even come to visit you," he said, gesturing to the boy lying on the hospital bed. Edd nodded, refusing to look at his dumbstruck friend beside him.

"No, they haven't. I don't suppose they will unless they have to, in fact. I don't know if they will need to be present to release me from here, as I do not wish to occupy this space any longer than absolutely necessary."

"Can't you call them and get permission or something? They can't like, keep you here or something, can they?"

"...I don't know how to contact them."

Kevin snapped his head back to Edd.

"You don't a phone number, or an e-mail?"

The swimmer shook his head.

"When was the last time you saw them, Edd?"

The taller boy closed his eyes, remembering.

"Almost three years," he whispered. He felt a hand press over his own, and he turned his palm up and clasped the small fingers, swallowing hard. It was silent after that, the two boys knowing that there was nothing to say concerning Edd's neglectful parents. The swimmer didn't feel ready to talk about it, and Kevin didn't want to pry, so they enjoyed the comfort they shared, hands clasped and mouths shut.

It was a few minutes later that Kevin's father returned, this time alone. He said that the doctor had other duties to attend to, but had wished both young boys his best. Kevin's father then gestured toward the boy in the bed, giving his son a pointed look.

"Oh! Right. Dad, this is Edd," he said, quickly letting go of the swimmer's hand. "Edd, this is my dad."

Kevin's father nodded, but Edd wouldn't look at him. He seemed determined not to acknowledge Kevin's father, confusing both of the Barr men. After a few moments of awkward silence, Kevin's father looked back at his son.

"I'll wait for you in the car. You're a mess and you have a lot of explaining to do," he said, his voice stern. He walked out, leaving Kevin to wince.

"Shit. This isn't going to end well," he murmured.

Edd said nothing.

"Hey. Hello, earth to Eddward!"

The swimmer looked up blankly.

"What's your deal?"

"What do you mean?"

"You just froze up."

Edd shrugged. "I don't do parents," he explained. Kevin nodded, mentally kicking himself for not putting two and two together.

"Right. Well, I guess I'm leaving. I'm sure my dad will let me come back once I've BS-ed my way out of being under house arrest for the rest of my life," he said nervously, not wanting to leave Edd alone. He pressed his forehead against the swimmer, both of them shutting their eyes.

"I'll be back," he whispered. "In the meantime, be nice to the nurses, and don't climb out the window, as tempting as it-"

"Hurry," Edd interjected.

Kevin smiled, nodding and breaking their contact. He gathered his things and walked out, waving to the swimmer as he left.

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So.

Surprise!

If you didn't catch it, Kevin's father, who Kevin was named after, is the NORMAL UNIVERSE KEVIN.

And the Doc, who we've met before, is NORMAL DOUBLE D.

And trust me, they've got a history. And I'm getting ready to start their story.

Thoughts?

THREE CHAPTERS IN THREE DAYS, GUYS. THIS IS A NEW RECORD AND HOLY CRAP, I'M TIRED.

I LOVE YOU

-Wiseyetharmless