This was getting long, so I broke it into two parts. We're coming down to the wire on this fic, which means that we're getting closer to the behind-the-scenes episode as well as Season Two.

For this chapter, you will bare witness to something that I, oddly enough, haven't done before now: Ford and Starclops bonding time!

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Waking Up to New Beginnings (Part One)

When Ford woke up, the first thing he registered was how blurry everything looked. Where were his glasses?

"Looking for something, Dork Vader?" a familiar voice asked. Someone slid his glasses onto his face, and he finally recognized Starclops. "That probably looks better now, doesn't it? Despite the big crack, I mean. Seriously, it's a miracle those things are still in one piece."

Ford blinked twice and looked around at the white walls and took in the smell of sterilizer. He was in a bed, and his clothes had been replaced with a light blue gown-thing. The whole situation seemed familiar. Where was he?

Starclops casually rested her hands behind her top-point. "Tad and I brought you to Mighty Med, Goofus. You were pretty jacked up."

Jacked up? How was he- Then, he remembered. The explosion, Igneous's corpse - for lack of a better word - crushing him. His legs, oh God, his legs. He still couldn't make them move! Wait…

Ford sat up, panic sizzling in his stomach. "W-Where's Nadia? And, the baby? What happened to them?"

Starclops sat her bottom-points on his useless legs and crossed her working ones. "Relax, Sixy. Nadia's in the maternity ward, and your kid's in the nursery. Last I saw, they were both asleep."

Ford let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Then Horace opened the door. "Oh, good. You're awake." He walked in, carrying a strange white handgun-like device. "I was hoping you'd be up by now."

"Good to see you again, Horace," Ford greeted. "How are the girls?"

"Well, Skylar Storm still has yet to regain her powers, and Solar Flare is as big a gossip queen as ever."

Ford had absolutely no idea who he was talking about. "Um… I meant Nadia and the baby."

"Oh, those girls. Baby's healthy and so adorable, as newborns often are. We were a little worried about Nadia. She'd lost a lot of blood, and it didn't help that she's a small person who birthed a baby with a large head, but she's recovering quite nicely." Ford relaxed at the statement.

"Speaking of recovery," Starclops said, floating up to the doctor's level, "what's the deal with Ford's legs? I tried humping Ford when he was out cold-" Ford's jaw collapsed, but Starclops rolled her eye. "I'm kidding, Ford. Don't flatter yourself. Although, you do have a sexy ass; I'll give you that much."

...Was he supposed to respond? Because, he wasn't exactly sure how.

Starclops made a throat-clearing sound. "But, seriously, his legs feel weird." For emphasis, she poked Ford's leg in rapid procession until he smacked her hand away with an annoyed glare. "What's up with that, Diaz?"

"Yes, could you perhaps shed some light for us?" Ford requested.

Horace clicked his tongue. "Well, I wasn't there to see what caused it, Ford, but somehow your lower vertebrae was significantly damaged, causing paralysis from the waist, down."

Ford's stomach seized up at the word "paralysis." "But, you can fix that...right?"

Horace turned uncharacteristically serious. "No, Stanford. I'm afraid you'll never walk again." Ford didn't know if he would scream or throw up. Then, Horace burst out laughing, and Ford added punching to his list of potential reactions. "They fall for that every time!" Once his laughter died down, Horace cleared his throat. "I was just kidding, Ford." He spread out his arms to indicate the hospital itself. "Where do you think we are, Dimension 46ApostropheBackslash? They're medical technology sucks! No, you're in Mighty Med of Dimension JET98, where the medical technology does the opposite of suck!"

Ford scowled, not even trying to hide how much he despised Horace's sense of humor. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't do something very inappropriate to you, using that device in your hand."

Horace grinned and held up the white gun-thing. "Because this device is called a spinal stimulator, and it's specifically designed to cure paralysis."

"Well...good, then." Naturally, Ford was still pissed by the doctor's "joke," but he felt better knowing that he wouldn't end up crippled. "I trust you know what you're doing?"

Horace scoffed. "Of course I do. Who do you think I am?" He pointed to Starclops. "Her?"

Starclops gave herself a fifth finger just long enough to make certain gesture.

Horace made it right back and then continued speaking. "Now, Stanford, while I use this device, I need you to remain absolutely still. As still as you can possibly make yourself. You may feel a little pain during the procedure, but you must hold still regardless. Understood?" Ford nodded. "Excellent." Horace pressed a button, and the small lights on the top of the stimulator glowed yellow. Horace narrowed his brown eyes in concentration. "It takes a steady hand and intense focus…" He slammed the device down on Ford's crotch, and Ford squealed in pain and instinctively covered his injury with his hands and brought his knees up to his chest. Horace grinned and raised his arms gleefully. "Congratulations! I've cured you!"

Ford gritted his teeth, prepared to cuss very loudly...until he saw that his legs had bent. Suddenly forgetting his pain, he tested both legs and realized with a disbelieving laugh that they were working again.

Though, apparently Starclops wasn't over him being hit, because she grabbed the stimulator and threw it as hard as she could into Horace's crotch. The doctor let out an even less manly squeal and collapsed to the floor. In obvious mockery, she raised her arms and deepened her voice in a poor attempt to mimic Horace's. "Congratulations! I've cured you!"

Horace hoisted himself to his feet, grimacing and gripping the bed for support. "I hate you, Starclops," he wheezed. "Now...I'm gonna go lie down for a bit." He hobbled out of the room.

Once he was gone, Starclops said solemnly, "Now that we're alone, Ford, I need to talk to you."

Carefully pulling himself off the bed - and muttering an absent-minded, "Yes, yes. Good," in response to his friend's statement - Ford marveled at how well his legs could hold him up. He felt a little shaky, but that was to be expected, he supposed. He was confident that he would be as good as new in no time at all.

"I need to talk to you about Bill Cipher."

And, suddenly Starclops was the most important thing in the room. "Bill Cipher? Why do you wanna talk about that monster?"

"He's not a monster!" Then, seeing how taken aback the human was by her outburst, Starclops took a moment to compose herself. "He's not a monster. He's just...not himself." Ford raised an eyebrow, silently asking for an elaboration. Starclops sighed. "He wasn't always...the way he is." She couldn't bring herself to say "evil" or "crazy." "He used to be a good guy. Like, a lower-key version of myself mixed with a demonic version of you."

Ford let this information sink in and crossed his arms. "Go on."

"Before I say anything, I wanna make a deal with you." Ford's blood froze solid. "I know that makes you uncomfortable, but this is important. I need to be absolutely certain that you won't tell Nadia about this."

Nadia? What did she have to do with this? "What about Tad?"

"Tad already knows. But, I don't want Nadia knowing, because she doesn't know Bill like the rest of us do. She's only ever encountered him a few times, and none of them were pleasant. But, you, me, and Tad, we've seen Bill's better side. I know you have, because you never would have worked with him, otherwise." Ford couldn't argue there. Starclops's hand was engulfed in a mint-green flame as she held it out. "Do we have a deal?"

It was almost funny. Ford could remember a time when he would taken getting mauled by Manotaurs over making a deal with her. He shook her hand without hesitation. Her hand was hot, but not so much that it was painful. When she withdrew it and put out the fire, he sat on the bed and asked, "Now, what did you want to tell me?"

Starclops paced, meaning that she walked on the air in front of him, as she spoke. "Bill was an alchemist. He mixed chemicals and made potions and other things I don't understand for a living. One day, he made a special elixir that could cure any physical injury, no matter how deep or fatal."

Ford blinked in surprise and amazement.

"It did that, I think, but it had some, er, side effects. He tested it on himself, and-and…" Starclops stopped pacing and rubbed her arms, refusing to meet her friend's eyes. If Ford didn't know any better, he would have thought she was close to crying. "I don't know what the fuck happened. He wound up addicted to the shit and...he...changed." She took to pacing again. "Oh, Beelzebub, I just don't know how to help him. He's trying to get better and now he's getting worse and I don't know what the fuck to do and-"

"Starclops." Ford pulled her out of the air and held her close, wishing that she would go back to being the goofy pervert that she usually was. "Look, I don't know a lot about alchemy, but I do know something about addiction. Truth be told, I had alcohol problem a while back."

Starclops gazed up at him hopefully. "A-And, you recovered?"

"Well, yeah, but it certainly wasn't easy."

"But, there's hope for Bill, right?"

God, the last thing Ford wanted to do was lie to her - he honestly had know idea what Bill was addicted to or how powerful the stuff was - but she seemed so desperate and scared that he couldn't help it. "Of course, there is. I don't know what all is in the elixir, but I'm sure there's still hope."

Starclops wrapped her small arms around him as well as she could and sighed into his chest. "Thanks, Ford. Bill and I were...really close, back in the day, so I needed that reassurance. Even if you are just saying that to make me feel better, and don't try to deny it."

They sat like that for a moment, then Ford said, "You know, I think I've finally got you figured out."

Starclops looked curiously at him. "Oh?"

"Forgive me if I'm way off here, but you're a broken girl. You don't want anyone's worry or pity, so you hide behind a mask of silliness and general weirdness."

Starclops let go of him and floated up to look him skeptically in the eye. "How do you know I'm not just nuts?"

Ford raised his hands in mock surrender. "I never said that. I just meant that you're trying to hide how deeply hurt you are, and you forgot that Tad, Nadia, and I are your family and would gladly help you in any way we can, regardless of whether or not we truly understand."

Starclops crossed her arms and was silent for a long time, but Ford heard the watery smile in her voice when she finally said, "I love you, ya big dork."

Ford smiled softly and quipped, "Thanks, but I'm already married."

"Don't flatter yourself."

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Aw, how sweet! The next chapter will probably have some Tad and Nadia bonding, which is something else I haven't done yet. Review!