Author Notes - I am killing it with the chapter titles in this story. This chapter takes place entirely in the hospital room, where upon we get some interesting discussions between Gil, Nonny, and Zooli. Anyone furious at Dorson for his actions can rest assured that he will receive the proper punishment, but we gotta check up on the other Guppies first.

Also, can I be serious with you all? I'm more invested in this story than Get Ready for School. Granted, I think that's a given considering the subject matter of this particular story, but still.

A seventh favourite snuck in (thanks FanFiction for not sending me the email alert on that one...), so thanks to seanl1 for that!

CHAPTER FOUR - THE 'END' IN FRIENDSHIP?

The hospital room had been silent ever since Mr Grouper and most of the other Guppies left to go looking for Deema. The only thing that made any sound was the heart-rate monitor, a sound that was slowly becoming redundant as Gil's path to recovery became more and more clear. Bubble Puppy had woken up, but only for a moment. He had only awoken to cuddle up closer to Gil, before he fell back to sleep anyway.

It wasn't that Gil didn't want to talk. With the others gone, he was perfectly okay with talking to Nonny and Zooli. It's just that it didn't seem like they wanted to talk. Gil wouldn't blame them. What were they supposed to say? The both of them hadn't left his side. Zooli spent all that time watching him, while Nonny focused more on everything else. The bespectacled kid focused on the X-rays, the heart monitor, the phone on the bedside table right next to the dump truck...

Zooli finally broke the silence. 'Are you okay, Gil?'

Gil gave her a look, one that silently said 'what do you think?'.

'S-Sorry.' Zooli stammered, clasping her hands together. 'I-I should've known that was a stupid question.'

'Eh, that's okay.' Gil said. 'I'm not sure what you are meant to say.'

'But of course you're not okay! I mean... l-look at you! You're hurt. You're bruised. Your bones are broken. It's just so... awful!'

Gil smiled for the first time in a little while. 'Hey, it's not that bad. I'm alive, aren't I? Yeah, it kinda hurts just to move and I've got a tube attached to my... um... well, a tube that lets me use the bathroom from this bed,' This got disgusted looks from both his friends. 'But it could be a lot worse. So don't feel too bad for me. Once I'm all healed up, I'll be racing out of this bed and having fun like this never happened!'

One of the reasons why Nonny couldn't look at Gil that much was because his injuries made him feel ill. One look at all those scratches and bruises made his stomach churn. The other reason, however, was much harder to ignore by simply looking away. Nonny had no worries for Gil's physical scars. After all, Dr Apple had made it clear that he would be fine, if stuck at the hospital for a while.

Those weren't the scars he was worried about.

'A-Are you sure about that?' He asked when he finally worked up the guts.

Both Gil and Zooli gave him looks of confusion.

'Uh, yeah.' Gil answered, cocking an eyebrow. 'Why wouldn't I be?' His eyes widened. 'The doctors haven't told you something bad, have they?'

Nonny shook his head. 'No. I don't mean that. I mean... will we really be able to pretend this never happened?'

'What do you mean?'

'Think about it, Gil. Once you're healed and let out, will everything really be normal? You will not forget this incident. No one forgets an accident this bad. Even if your physical - um, outside scars heal, what about the inside ones?'

Gil and Zooli glanced at each other for a moment, before looking back to Nonny.

'Meaning?' Zooli asked.

'Well...' Nonny paused, thinking hard about his next few words. 'For instance, will you ever be able to go near boxes again?'

Gil chuckled. 'Nonny, I'm sure I'll be able to-'

'No. I'm serious. It sounds like a joke, but I mean it. While I can't be certain, it's possible you'll associate boxes with this accident, and the pain you felt while in the hospital.'

Gil wanted to joke about it again, as it sounded so silly said out loud, but while thinking about it he shuddered.

'But that's the least of my concerns.' Nonny continued. 'It isn't all that likely, and even if that happens you can still continue living your life like normal. What I'm really concerned with is-'

The phone rang, cutting him off. Internally breathing a sigh of relief, Nonny reached out for it with a quiet 'I'll get it' before Gil had to do it. He hoped that it wouldn't be Gil's family, or his own father, and relaxed only a little when it turned out to be Mr Grouper.

'I'm Nonny. Do you want me to get Gil?'

Nonny's eyes widened, just a little. The phone wasn't on speaker, so Gil and Zooli couldn't hear the person who was doing most of the talking, but they knew from Nonny's subtle change of facial expression that it wasn't good.

'W-what happened to her?' Nonny asked. After about a minute, he gasped. 'Is she okay?' He asked, with far more urgency than was usual for him. 'Yes, I understand.' He paused. 'Is that all? I need to discuss... something with Gil.' Another minute of silence... 'Okay. Bye, Mr Grouper.'

He hung up the phone and placed it back on its charger on the bedside table. Both Gil and Zooli, though silent, gave him looks that were begging for answers.

'That was Mr Grouper.' He said. 'He told me that Dorson has given Deema a black eye.'

'He did what?!' Gil cried.

That news was enough to get Gil to launch off his pillow, as painful as it was to his healing skin and bones. It jolted Bubble Puppy awake, and this time he didn't get back to sleep right away.

'W-Who's Dorson?' Zooli asked, jumping back a bit.

'Dorson's my older brother.' Gil replied. 'Oh man... when he came in to see me before you guys, he seemed pretty mad. I didn't think he was that angry, though!' He growled to himself. 'Why would he do something like that?'

Zooli shrugged. 'I don't know. Maybe he wanted Deema to feel the same way you do right now.'

'I don't WANT Deema to feel the same way I do! I don't ANYONE to! I know what it's like to be stuck in a hospital bed, your arm so broken you can't even lift it without it hurting. Do you really think I want to inflict that on anyone? Does my brother really think I want that? Yeah, Deema's the reason I'm even in hospital right now, but she doesn't deserve THAT! It was an accident!'

The room fell back into silence. Gil fell back down on his pillow with a sigh, and Bubble Puppy cuddled up even closer than before. The doggy just couldn't get to sleep anymore, and so gently licked his owner's face over and over.

'Sweet halibut...' He muttered. 'She might not be my friend anymore, but even I think that's going way too far.'

Even though he said it quietly, Zooli and Nonny heard him. He knew this because both their jaws dropped at the same time.

'I said that out loud, didn't I?'

'Deema isn't your friend anymore?!' Zooli cried.

Nonny wished that he could be surprised. He wanted to say that he was shocked, but he really wasn't.

Gil's hand met his forehead. 'Look, I-I...' He groaned. 'I'm still not sure about it, okay?'

'You've had to think about this?!' Zooli yelled back.

Gil rolled his eyes. 'Hey, I know. How about you think about this for a moment, huh? This entire incident made me realise that the way the others treated me wasn't right, and I've had to think hard about whether or not they're still my friends. Okay? And it isn't just Deema, alright? It's also Goby, and Oona, and... and Molly too.'

'But they're your friends, Gil. You can't just... just... disown them like that!'

'Friends, huh? Is that why they always laughed at me whenever I got hurt? Is that why they never bothered to help me? Don't act like you guys didn't laugh when those boxes fell on me. I know you did! IS IT ANY WONDER THAT I'M WONDERING IF THEY WERE-?!'

'STOP, PLEASE!'

That stopped Gil and Zooli's argument dead. Neither had ever heard their stoic friend scream out so loudly, and so passionately. Their attention snapped right to him, and they were horrified to find that Nonny had been reduced to tears. He rested his face in his arms as he wept to himself, keeping quiet like he didn't want to interrupt them any further.

'Oh no... Nonny!' Gil cried. 'L-Look, this isn't about you, okay? I know you're still my friend. Zooli too. You're one of the nicest kids I know. Your title is even 'Sir Nonny the Nice'!'

'Gil...' Zooli said. 'I-I don't think he's concerned about that. Remember when he mentioned those, um, inside injuries? And how we really wouldn't be able to move on like nothing ever happened?'

'Y-Yeah?'

'I think this is what he meant. I can't be sure but... d-do you think you'll be able to be friends with the others after this?'

Gil couldn't answer, at least right away. He glanced at the window, seemingly looking at the beautiful day outside when in reality he was staring into his own thoughts. He remembered all those fun times he had with his friends, but they seemed outnumbered by all the times he had been laughed at. Caught in the claw of a crane... chased by a ginormous sapphire... caught in a net that he himself set up... soaked countless amounts of times...

'Gil?'

Gil didn't want to say 'no', but he didn't want to say 'yes' either. All he wanted was to be able to come to a definitive conclusion. He didn't want to lose his friends, but he wasn't sure if they were ever his friends to begin with.

Eventually, he sighed. 'I don't know. It's been only, like, an hour since the check-up, okay? It's been a long day.'

'What are you going to tell the others?' Zooli asked. 'I can't make a choice for you, but... the others will have to know about this sooner or later.'

'Yes, I know. I didn't want you or Nonny finding out about this yet, but... here we are.'

Upon mentioning his name, both Gil and Zooli remembered the state of their stoic friend. In their little discussion, Nonny had moved himself over to the chairs. He had mostly returned to his usual stoic self, though his occasional sniffling made his emotional state clear.

'Nonny?' Gil called.

Nonny looked to him, with the kind of eyes belonging to a beaten puppy. He took his glasses off for just a moment to wipe his eyes, then rejoined the other two by the bed.

'S-Sorry.' He said. 'I-I was just a little...'

'I get it, Nonny.' Gil said. 'You don't have to worry about it. I know you were always a friend of mine. As for Zooli, well, I haven't known her for that long. It wouldn't be fair to just, you know, disown her so early.'

'Um... were always a friend?' Zooli echoed. 'Does that mean that you're...?' She paused for a few seconds. 'Not sure if the others were really your friends at all?'

Nonny gasped. 'Wait, what?!'

Gil's eyes widened. He had hoped this would be something for just him to worry about, until the inevitable moment when he would have to tell the others. Twice in ten minutes, however, had his big mouth led to it getting out before he had truly decided.

'Well, can ya blame me?' He cried. 'The way Molly and the others treated me... is that really how friendship should be? Friendly teasing is one thing, but... laughing whenever I get hurt? Doesn't sound like friendship to me.'

'B-But, what about all those good times?' Zooli asked. 'I-I know I wasn't there for most of them, but s-surely there's at least a few.'

'And that's why I can't tell! Like, I remember when I lost my library card. The others felt bad for me, and helped me find it again. They were good friends then! So why, that very same day, did Molly laugh at me when the Little Fish made me read a book to get me splashed with water?'

'... Huh?'

'Yeah, I don't know how it happened either. But it's why I don't know. They've done so much to convince me they really are my friends, but at the same time, it seems like there's even more times when they didn't. Maybe if it didn't seem so, um, targetted, it wouldn't be so bad. But when it's me every single time, I just... I just don't know what to think.'

He cuddled Bubble Puppy, who was seemingly the only friend in his life who he knew he could trust. Sure, that doggy had already spooked him hundreds of times and also got him hurt occasionally, but Gil couldn't possibly get mad at his own pet. Bubble Puppy was just a puppy, after all, and he was often the only one to chase after him whenever something went wrong. Still, Gil was going to give him a stern talking-to once he was out of that bed.

'I'm sorry.' Nonny said, without much prompting at all.

The sudden apology got both Gil and Zooli to look at him.

'For what?' Gil asked.

'For what I said earlier. You know, about how most of what happens to you is your fault. Even if it's true, it wasn't the right time to say that. Why would that matter right now? And... and it still doesn't forgive us laughing at you.'

'Nonny, it's okay. As much as I'd hate to admit it, you're not wrong. I'm not exactly the, uh, smartest kid around.' He paused. 'What do you mean, 'us'? You almost never laughed at me. Unless that stare is your version of laughter.'

'Well, I-I was just speaking for the others. F-For the most part. There was that one time...'

Gil groaned. 'I remember the dragon! Okay? Goby admitted that you were told to do that. And you weren't scary. The scare was entirely on me that time.' He chuckled. 'You know, looking back on that is hilarious. Seriously, I was scared by you in a dragon costume? Rarrgh, dragon. No offence, Nonny. You're a lot of things, but scary isn't one of them.'

Nonny tapped his fingers on the side of the bed in a rhythmic fashion. He still didn't have it in him to look Gil in the eyes.

'I-I was actually thinking about that bed-bug thing that we did one time.'

Gil cocked an eyebrow. 'The bed-bug th-? OH, that thing.' He sighed. 'Don't beat yourself up over that, okay? It was one time. One time. And everyone else did it too!'

'That didn't make it okay.'

Zooli felt so isolated as the boys conversed with one another. She felt like an outsider looking in through three-foot-wide glass. None of these incidents were familiar to her, and she was hardly familiar with the situation at all. She had witnessed a couple of 'Gil shenanigans' since transferring into this class, but otherwise she felt like a total stranger. Unable to comment, she remained silent.

'Don't fret about it, Nonny.' Gil said. 'What you did is nothing compared to what the others did. You'll always be a friend to me.'

'What about the others?' Zooli asked, somewhat forcefully as she leaned over the bed. 'Gil, you need to come up with an answer some time soon. I'm sure the others will be dropping by tomorrow to meet you again, and Nonny and I can only be here for so much longer before our parents come to pick us up.'

Gil stayed quiet for a few seconds. He looked down to Bubble Puppy, who wanted nothing more than to cuddle as close to his owner as possible.

'I've got a day to think about, then.' He said. 'Just don't get your hopes up.'

Zooli did not wish to continue this conversation any further, but still had a question nagging at her.

'Hey... how did you know we laughed when those boxes fell on you? Weren't you knocked out when you were crushed?'

He simply moved his eyes towards her, not bothering to move his head. 'I didn't, actually. Thanks for confirming.'

Author Notes - I actually forgot about that 'Bed-Bugs' scene in 'Guppy Movers' until I rewatched the episode the same day I added that little discussion about it in this chapter. I felt the need to bring it up as Nonny was smiling as he tormented Gil alongside the others, thus making him far less innocent than I remembered him being. Still, it was just once. As far as I remember, at least.

I have also rewatched a few scenes from Season Four in general, and I swear to the cods they've gotten more jerkish. Oona especially seems to be upping the ante, and considering that she's meant to be the sweet one, that is... concerning. It's still a step up from Season One, where Molly would often go out of her way to torment Gil because... abraca-Deema. But then there's the ending of 'The New Years Dragon', where all Deema did was basically say hi while inside a fake dragon's mouth, and for some reason that spooked him.

I'm starting to think the whole 'all those times he got scared has made him even easier to spook' thing I made up is actually canon.