Phillip had to go home that night, though he went reluctantly. He spent the entire night worryong about his lover, not getting a wink of sleep. It didn't feel right to sleep without Terrance at his side. The next morning he skipped breakfast, heading straight to the hospital to see Terrance. He was outraged when he found the media there showing Terrance's sickly, sleeping form on worldwide TV, live. He quickly ushered the men outside the room and found himself alone with Terrance, the way he'd wanted it. He pulled a chair up to the dark-haired Canadian's bedside and just sat there, staring at him.
In the little town of South Park, Colorado, four boys sat on a couch, watching the TV intently. They were sixteen now, and their names were Kenny, Stan, Kyle, and Cartman. Kenny's eyes widened as he heard Terrance's name, and the four boys leaned in to hear better. The news reporter mentioned something called septic shock, and Kenny turned to his friends.
"What's... Septic shock...?" he asked slowly. Cartman and Kyle shrugged, but Stan quickly filled in for them
"It's like... something that can happen when you get an infection... It's usually fatal," the raven-haired boy explained sadly. The other three boys' jaws dropped.
"We've got to go see him, now!" Kyle shouted, just as Phillip was seen pushing the reporters out of Terrance's room. The other boys nodded in agreement and arranged for a ride up to Canada.
Terrance was awake now, having no clue what had happened while he was asleep, and Phillip wanted to keep it that way. He grasped Terrance's hand in his own, smiling down at his lover weakly.
"Are you... feeling any better, Terrance?" the blonde asked slowly. Terrance hesitated before replying.
"Not... really," he said quietly, being completely truthful. Phillip sighed, almost making it sound like defeat. He closed his eyes in thought, opening them a moment later.
"Terrance, my love, we will get through this. I promise." Terrance nodded, breathing in shakily and letting the breath out slowly, tears beginning to stain his cheeks.
"I love you, Phillip..." he whispered, and Phillip nodded.
"I love you too..."
After many hours of sitting in the car, the boys made it into the hospital. They quickly explained their mission to the receptionist, who was touched, and headed down the hall to the room where Terrance and Phillip were. They had been instructed to go in one at a time, so as to not stress out their two favorite celebrities of all time, and Kenny went first, shutting the door quietly behind him.
Phillip looked up, cocking an eyebrow at Kenny. He didn't recognize the boy. Kenny hadn't expected him to; he was sixteen now, and it had been seven years since they had last met.
"Kenny," he explained quietly. Phillip paused for a moment before remembering.
"Mc...Cormick...?" he asked slowly. Kenny nodded.
"Yeah. We saw you guys on TV." He didn't mention the fact that Stan had told he and his friends that it was likely Terrance would die. He eyed Terrance's and Phillip's interlocked hands and Phillip noticed this, quickly letting go of his lover's hand. Nobody except he and Terrance knew they were together, and he intended to keep it that way until they got married. Kenny pulled a chair up next to Terrance's bed and looked down at Terrance, who was sleeping peacefully. "Never would I have imagined..." He trailed off, shaking his head slightly.
"Imagined what?" Phillip asked, and Kenny looked up, hesitating before answering.
"Imagined that I'd see you guys like this. This is just-" He was cut off by Stan opening and shutting the door softly behind him. "Fuck..." Kenny muttered, getting up reluctantly and leaving the room. Stan sat in the seat Kenny had been sitting in.
"Are you all here?" the blonde Canadian asked. Stan nodded.
"Yeah... But we aren't going to let Cartman in, he might wake Terrance up..." Stan replied, biting his lip as he stared down at Terrance. "I do believe Kenny wanted to spend the night with you, the rest of us are going home..." Phillip nodded.
"I wouldn't mind that. It gets kind of lonely at home without Terrance around..." Phillip's eyes were brimming with tears at the mention of his lover's name. It almost seemed as if he and Terrance had never split up for a short period of time. Stan stood, walking around the bed to where Phillip sat and kneeling in front of the blonde Canadian.
"Listen, Phillip... I'm sure Terrance will be okay... and... if he... well, he'll be in a better place." Phillip nodded, biting his lip and turning away, tears staining his cheeks for what seemed like the millionth time since Terrance had fallen ill. Kyle stepped in and Stan waved a good-bye to Phillip, heading out of the room to stand with his friends.
Kyle sat in the one empty chair in the room as had Stan and Kenny before him. He glanced from Terrance to Phillip, not really having anything to say. It was insane, how could he not have anything to say? He felt like a total idiot, he and Phillip staring across the room at eachother. "Hi," the redhead said finally, realizing how retarded that must have sounded. Phillip nodded in response and stared at the wall directly in front of him. It was clear to Kyle that this was stressing Phillip out to a great extent, and he could understand that. After his time was up, he stood and left the room.
Cartman, Kyle, and Stan went home, but Kenny stayed behind, as had been planned. He entered the room again to find the blonde Canadain practically sobbing. THe American walked over quietly and touched the older man's shoulder gently.
"Phillip, we have to go..." he said gently. The normally happy, comical man nodded silently and stood. The two blondes left together, and Phillip drove home in silence, his newfound friend sitting quietly in the passenger's seat.