"Jesus Christ, we killed him!" Tweek screamed as Butters and Clyde both start to cry. Everyone skates over to check on Stan.

Token tries to pick Stan up, but he is out cold, eyes rolled back in his head. Kenny feels a sense of dread and holds back in case he needs to make a quick exit to chase Stan to the beyond again.

"Don't just stand there, someone call 911." Token says. Craig sighs and pulls out his phone.

A few minutes later an ambulance pulls up and the paramedics bring over the stretcher and starts to lift Stan onto it. "Want to tell me what happened, boys?" She asks.

Token steps back now to let them work. "He passed out; I think. We didn't really see it happen."

Kenny pokes his head over the group. "He just had heart surgery. He got out of the hospital a few days ago. He was just trying to pass the puck over to us and fainted."

Sabrina the paramedic tries not to look worried as she places oxygen on Stan and removes his jacket and cuts off his shirt to reveal the mess of bruises and cuts, much to the shock and horror of his friends.

"You know what kind of heart surgery?" She asks Kenny, "or can you contact his parents?"

Kenny points. "He lives just up the street there. I can run and get his mother."

"Go ahead, we're taking him to Hell's Pass. Anyone want to ride with him?"

Butters wipes his eyes. "I'll go." He holds Stan's hand. "Please don't die." He says softly.

Cartman is hiding in the bushes. He takes a picture of Stan being loaded into the ambulance with Butters and Kenny next to him and sends it in a text message to Kyle. He makes sure to include laughing emojis and the words 'fuck you, Kyle.'

Kenny runs as fast as he can to the Marsh house and furiously pounds the front door.

Shelly groans as she gets up from watching tv. That knock didn't sound good. She opens it. "How dead is he?"

"I don't know! He just passed out while we were- it doesn't matter. But he's being taken to the hospital right now." Kenny says frantically.

"Fuck, I was kidding. Okay, I'll tell my mom." Shelly slams the door in Kenny's face and goes to get Sharon.

Kenny takes off again, trying to think how to tell Kyle since he doesn't have a phone. He figures it's best to go over to his house too. He runs over and knocks on the Broflovski's front door.

"Please be home... please be home, dude." Kenny whispers. No answer. All Kenny can do now is go around town looking for Kyle. He couldn't have gone far.

This had to be a bad dream. Stan could feel something on his chest and the horrible, exposed feeling again as his eyes blink open to the chaos of the back of an ambulance. He looks over and sees Butters holding his hand. He's sure this is another nightmare and lets out a little cry as he wakes up groggily.

Sabrina the paramedic leans over him. "Hi Stan, how are you?"

"Ugh." Is all Stan can say back. Tears fall from his eyes.

"Don't worry sweetheart, you'll be taken care of at the hospital. It's a good thing you were surrounded by so many friends." The paramedic takes out a cuff to check his blood pressure again.

"Kyle?" Stan asks, confused.

"Who's Kyle sweetie?" She asks as she gets vitals on him.

Butters squeezes his hand. "We don't know where Kyle went. You don't remember fighting with him?"

"Ugh "Stan says again as the EKG he's attached to dings and beeps, his fear rises.

Sabrina looks over the monitors and gets her medicine kit ready. "Can you tell me what hurts, Stan sweetie?"

"Chest...right arm... lungs." He closes his eyes again.

"Is he gonna die?" Butters asks.

Stan's eyes open in alarm. "Am I gonna die?"

Sabrina shakes her head as she tries to soothe him. "We are going to take real good care of you sweetie, as will all the doctors and nurses."

"That's not an answer." Stan starts to cry again, as each breath he takes is excruciating.

The ambulance stops as Stan is taken out and taken into the hospital once again. He's not happy to be back. Stan is pulled away from Butters, crying even harder now.

Not long after Sharon runs in, frantic. "Stanley?! Stanley?" She looks around the waiting room, Shelley following not far behind.

Butters gets up from the waiting room and goes to hug Stan's mom. "I'm sorry." He starts to cry.

Sharon hugs him back, fear taking hold like nothing else. "What happened? How is he?"

"He got into a fight with Kyle and swung a hockey stick and couldn't breathe and passed out. He woke up in the ambulance but was crying a lot." Butters keeps hugging her.

"A fight? Hockey?" Sharon let's Butters go gently and runs to the front desk. "Please, my son was just brought in here! I need information!"

The front desk attendant looks Stan up in the system. "He is currently in unknown status, we'll let you know."

"Unknown? How can he-?" Sharon argues before Shelly comes up and places her hands on her mother's shoulders to steer her away.

"We'll find out soon, Mom." Shelly tells her as leads her to a chair near Butters.

Sharon tries to get up again. "But I need to- "

Shelly sets her mother down firmly now. "they'll tell us. You just need to wait until then. Jesus Christ, mom."

Stan is lying on a bed being told to stay still as he gets another chest X-ray. Hearing things and not liking them, thinking he's going to need more surgery or cardioversion. He shuts his eyes; he hasn't stopped crying or wishing Kyle or his mom was here.

"Please." He asks the nurse. "My mom works here; you should know her. Can you find or call Sharon Marsh?"

The nurse helps him back into his bed and reattached his monitors. "It's going to be okay, sweetie. We'll see what we can do."

"That's not an answer." He says back, angrily

The nurse is still fretting over Stan but picks up a nearby phone to talk to someone at the front emergency room desk. "Okay Stan, your mom is up front. She'll be on her way back shortly."

Stan rubs his eyes and nods. He closes his eyes, too upset and exhausted to argue as he is taken back to a little room to wait for his next test. He shakes his wrist at the electrode once again attached to it. Another twelve led. He stares up at the heart monitor, it's haunting him at this point.

A few minutes later, he hears a voice and feels someone grabbing his hand. "Stanley! baby, what happened?" Sharon asks him.

Stan opens his eyes and looks up at her tearfully. "I honestly don't remember. I blacked out watching my friends play hockey." He puts a gentle hand to his chest. "Something hit me, I couldn't breathe. Still can't." Gestures to the oxygen on his face as his eyes fill with tears. "Please don't let them intubate me again, mom."

Sharon hugs him from the side, stroking the right side of his face. "If you're breathing on your own you won't need to be intubated. But we need to do what the doctors and nurses think is best, Stan."

Stan draws a shaky breath. "Okay that's true. Still, I don't know what happened to Kyle and no one is telling me anything."

"Kyle?" Sharon suddenly takes notice that her son's best friend is not there. "What happened? I thought he went with you on your walk."

"No idea. I don't remember. That's what's scary. I remember people wanting to play street hockey and them telling me to go cheer... nothing. Oh god what's happening to me?" Stan takes another shaky breath, trying not to hyperventilate.

Sharon rubs Stan on the back. "Don't work yourself up baby. They'll find out what's wrong. You're in the best place to be after something like this. I'm right here, Stanley."

"I don't want to be back here. I was here for a month, and I almost died. What if I do die this time?" Stan starts to shake as he clings to his mom.

Sharon feels like she wants to cry. Her son can never catch a break. She takes a deep breath and puts on a strong face. "Stanley please don't get worked up. You're still healing. Please try to calm down. I know you're scared. So am I. But try to calm your breathing baby."

A nurse named Angelica comes in to check on Stan. "You have some visitors if you're feeling up to it."

Stan shrugs but says nothing. He hopes it's Kyle but tries to hide more disappointment at seeing Token and Butters appear at the door.

Token tries to smile. "Hey Stan. How are you feeling?"

"I don't know, scared and sick. What happened back there?" Stan tries to cover himself to try and hide the scars and burns on his chest.

Token shrugs. "I'm not too sure. Kenny said something about you shooting the puck our way then passing out."

Sharon gives her son a hard look. "Wait, you were playing hockey Stanley?"

Stan takes another breath in. "I don't remember. Was I? I remember sitting with you, Butters."

"No, we were cheerleaders, Stan. But after Kyle hit you, you weren't so cheerful anymore." Butters looks down.

Sharon is even more upset at this. "Kyle hit you?! What the hell are you boys trying to say? What happened, Stan?"

Butters shrugged as he rubbed his knuckles together. "I don't know. Kyle and Stan got into a fight and Kyle took off."

"Because I wanted to hold the hockey stick and just watch and then Kyle..." Stan took another deep breath and gasped as his machines dinged and went off. He could see the worry on everyone's faces. "Fuck him... mister concerned put me in the hospital." Stan's eyes filled with tears again.

Angelica came back in and went over Stan's vitals. "We're going to have to medicate you. You're not doing very well, and we want that oxygen and blood pressure to go up."

Stan says nothing but holds a hand out to his mom.

Sharon takes it, noticing Stan's hand shaking slightly. "Medicate him how? He doesn't need intubation, does he?"

Stan looks up scared as Butters starts to cry again.

"IV fluids for now with medicine to raise the blood pressure. Breathing treatment as we wait for the results of the chest X-ray. Waiting for another echocardiogram to be set up." Angelica explains.

"No, goddammit no. Mom, no..." Stan says.

Sharon looks at him. "It's for the best, Stan. If that's what the doctor ordered, then we need to follow through

"I don't want anyone touching my chest my... fucking Kyle hit me in the chest. Fuck." Stan yelled before he lay down weakly again as he took another gasping breath.

Sharon gets up and tries to get him to lay back down, holding his shoulders down firmly in place. "Stanley, please calm down. You can't keep doing this."

Butters comes to Stan's other side grabbing his hand. "You look how you did before you passed out before. I know you're mad at 'ol Kyle and I'm sure he's awfully upset for what he did but don't work yourself up before you faint again."

Stan yanks his arm away from Butters and kicks his feet a bit as the nurse returns with an IV. "Fuck you!" He yells at everyone.

Sharon struggles to calm him down again. "Stanley, I know you're angry with everyone now but you have to let the nurse do her job. Stop yelling."

Angelica looks to Token and Butters. "Can you boys help hold his arms down so I can get a line in?"

"Noooo fuck no! I'll kill you, Kyle fuck." Stan kicks again.

Token approaches gently. "I don't know. Stan? Do you want help?"

"Yes, help me kill Kyle. Fuck him!" Stan screams.

The nurse is trying to hold Stan down. "Young man, you need to calm down before..."

Stan's eyes flutter and he lays still.

"You pass out again." Angelica shakes her head, checking him over quickly.

Sharon sinks into a chair. "Damnit Stanley. Why do you do this to yourself?"

Butters grips Stan's hand tighter. "Is he...dead?" He cries.

Token rolls his eyes "Butters, you have to stop thinking Stan is dead."

Angelica looks up at Butters from taking Stan's vitals. "No, of course not. He's in a good position for his IV now." She scoots to the side to tie off and poke Stan with the needle. It's hard to get it in. "Has he been dehydrated?" She asked Sharon

Sharon nods. "He hasn't been eating much. Keeps saying he feels sick and tired. I don't know if that's normal after heart surgery. He only came home a few days ago."

Angelica goes over and pulls Stan's finger to check his blood sugar. "It's extremely low. That's probably aggravating his condition. Among other things. If we don't get him eating, he's going to need a feeding tube." She goes back to try and administer the IV to the opposite arm.

Sharon blows her nose, scared at this thought. Did she really want to force her son to eat?

Angelica is able to finally get the needle in and starts Stan on fluids. She also gives him medicine to raise his blood pressure. She takes some blood from the back of his hand after some difficulty to get some labs on him. She places a bandage on the back of Stan's hand and tucks him in. "We'll consult with the doctor on more tests and if he needs to be admitted back." She pats Sharon on the shoulder and takes off again.

Angelica comes in a moment later. "I know Stan is still sleeping but he has more visitors." She tells Sharon.

Sharon looks up from sending texts out to family and friends to inform them of the latest. "Okay, they can see him."

Angelica let's Craig and a terrified Tweek in.

"Oh Jesus!" Tweek shrieks when he sees Stan.

Sharon feels sad Kyle still hasn't shown up. Nonetheless she plasters a small smile on her face. "Hi boys. I'm sure Stan is happy you two are here."

Tweek is afraid to go near Stan. "Craig, what if I trip and unplug his wires and kill him. What if I startle him and make his heart worse than Kyle did? Oh Jesus."

Craig looks over at his boyfriend. "You Just need to be careful. Calm and present. Like this." He stands still. "It's not too hard."

"They find out what's wrong?" Craig asks, already eyeing the exit to the room.

Sharon sniffs and dabs at her eyes. "Not yet. They need to run a few tests. Thank-you boys for coming. Did you see what happened?"

Craig shrugs. "All I know is Kyle pissed him off and left the scene. I think Stan yelled in pain just before he left."

"We never fight that bad do we Craig?" Tweek can't sit still, he keeps grabbing and letting go of Craig's hands and shoulders. "Stan wanted to warm up and Kyle and he fought over a stick. Did Kyle do that on purpose? Oh god!" He hides behind Craig's back.

Craig looks back at him. "Not usually."

Sharon sighs. "I'm sure Kyle didn't mean it. But I still don't understand why Stan was there in the first place. Why would they fight over a hockey stick if he just got back from the hospital?"

Tweek is shaking as he nears Stan, looking over him. "Jesus, he looks awful. Kenny would know. Kenny was also right next to them." Tweek puts a finger on Stan's hand and shrieks as he retreats back to Craig

Sharon crosses her arms. "Where is Kenny anyway? I'd expect he would be one of the first visitors. No offense boys."

"I don't know. He left too. Maybe he's with Kyle." Craig says matter of factly.

Sharon sinks into her chair and puts her hands to her face as she starts to cry.

"Kenny said he went to get you. Gah why she cryin' man? I can't stand it." He grabs Craig's hand again.

Craig feels uneasy now. He's never witnessed a friend's mother cry in front of him. it's not like he was very close with Stan. He tugs on Tweek's hand. "We should go."

"Gah!" Tweek yells again, happy to be out of there. When they're out of the room Tweek gives Craig a big hug. "He looks so scary, Christ. He's gonna die and it's my fault!"

Craig sighs and hugs his boyfriend. "This isn't your fault. It's no one's. Except maybe Kyle's. Maybe he did something that messed up Stan's heart again."

"Don't mess up my heart, Craig. I know I'm annoying but, god, to be like Stan and Kyle." Tweek grabs his coffee and takes a big drink of it. "This place gives me the creeps, let's get out of here."

Stan moans in bed and coughs through his mask. He moves his hand around looking for his mom. "Mom...don't cry." He puts a hand to his chest which still hurts and looks in shock at the bandage and IV coming out of his right arm. "Dammit."

Sharon looks up. "Oh, Stanley... baby, why are you always in here?" Takes hold of his arm and continues to cry.

"I don't know. Someone out there hates me." He took in another wheezing breath. "Is this asthma? It hurts but it's different... oh god they're gonna keep me another month, aren't they?" He takes in another shaky breath, feeling lightheaded.

"At this point I don't know Stan. I still don't understand what happened. I'm getting conflicting stories. You really don't remember?" Sharon asks tearfully.

"From the doctors? I don't know. I'm scared why I don't remember. I know they started the game and I sat with Butters but then it's blurry after. I woke up in an ambulance." Stan starts to cry again, his chest heaving.

"All your friends are saying they saw something different. Stan, were you trying to play?" Sharon asks again.

"My...friends were here? I remember Butters and Token." Stan trails off.

"Craig and Tweek stopped by a few minutes ago." Sharon says.

"Oh god. I bet they were laughing at me. What a loser I am, passing out just sitting and watching a hockey game." Stan puts a hand to his chest again. He looks down for any new bruising or if something is different.

"I don't think they were. You have very good friends honey." Sharon kisses his right hand.

Stan yanks it away and cries out. "Sorry my entire right-side hurts. The nurse can't give me some pain medicine. I can't move and I get waves of pain when I try to breathe. Oh god they are gonna intubate me again." Stan curls up and wipes his eyes.

"You're breathing sweetie. As long as you're talking, you're breathing on your own. I don't think they need to intubate you." It was always a relief when her son awoke in the hospital, however sometimes it was nice when he was asleep or passed out. It meant he was calm and couldn't fight or argue with doctors or nurses.

"It hurts to breathe. That's why I'm scared. The pain will get worse, and they'll put me to sleep for a small procedure and I'll wake up with another huge surgery scar." Stan takes another painful breath and cries some more.

All Sharon can do is hold onto his shoulder as she cries with him. He was beyond distracting and too upset to talk any sense into. Sharon knew he had valid reasons to think this. All either of them could do was wait on news and see what tests had to be done to figure out what was wrong.

Angelica reenters to check on him. "Good to see you awake. How are you feeling?"

Stan looks up at her. "My entire right side hurts, bad. From my fingers across my chest. Inside and out. He lets out a cough

Sharon rubs his shoulder. "he's afraid he's going to be intubated. I'm trying to reassure him that it's not going to happen."

"I can't tell you anything. I'm going to give you some pain medicine and the doctor ordered a steroid to try and open your lungs. In about half an hour you have an echocardiogram scheduled. Make sure you don't suffer any additional heart damage before the doctor decides next steps in treatment." The nurse says, getting equipment ready.

"That doesn't help." Stan glares at her. "Oh, mom they're gonna make me have surgery again aren't they!"

"Stanley don't." Sharon says sternly. "They are doing all they can to find out what's wrong. She never said surgery. Trust the doctors and nurses, okay?"

Angelica comes back. She has a few syringes and Stan squeezes his mom's hand. She adds them both to the IV and leans over. "I'm going to put the stethoscope to your chest again, okay?"

Stan glares and doesn't move as she does so. He's scared she's going to give him bad news. She keeps the stethoscope on the right side longer.

Sharon brushes her fingers on the side of his face. "You're doing fine Stan. My good, sweet boy."

"Can you take a deep breath?" The nurse asks.

"No, I can't, it hurts." Stan says back weakly.

"Does one side hurt worse than the other?"

"Right." He coughed.

"Not getting as much lung function on the right side. Hold on." Angelica leaves again

Stan looks to his mom terrified. "Now there's something wrong with my lungs too? I am gonna die." He starts to cry again.

Sharon holds his left hand and hugs him. "Shhh baby. I'm right here for you. Good or bad I'm here."

Angelica returns and slips another mask on him. "Albuterol to try and ease that right side. Please just relax." She sets up the machine and leaves again.

"You're used to this Stan. It's just the standard asthma medication." Sharon tells him.

"It's probably a last-ditch effort before intubation. Well, if I'm going to die, I love you mom. I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused you." Stan turns tired weary eyes to her.

I "love you too sweetheart but don't say your goodbyes. You still have many many more years left." Sharon kisses him on the cheek, her own teardrop falling onto his face.

A/N: Sorry, this was late. I ended up in the hospital myself last weekend for emergency surgery (thankfully not on my heart) but I'm on the mend. This is the next to last chapter of this story and then expect Violet Place 3 in the New Year.