"...Ok...His eyes are open..." someone said in the darkness, as the darkness gave way to blinding light. The voice sounded distant and muffled.

Jason's head pounded with the most splitting headache. His vision swirled and he couldn't focus on anything. All he saw was white light and some movement in the corners of his vision. His breathing was harsh and something was on his face and blocking his nose.

"...ake off the mask...doesn't need...more oxygen..."

"Wh-where?" Jason slurred as he felt the oxygen mask lifted from his face.

"...Hold on sweetie...we're going to help you...can you see me?..."

Jason wanted to shake his head, but he was too weak and it would've hurt too much. Instead, he just groaned. He felt something prick his arm. It wasn't very painful because he was already sore and numb.

"This will help you wake up...just hold on."

Jason was so confused. He needed answers. He tried to move. All he could do was move his fingers, and even that hurt like heck. "Where am I?" he asked with a sore and dry voice.

"East-Coast Hospital. You've...in a coma...day."

Jason struggled to make out the details in his vision. Something moved in front of him. "How many fingers do you see...?"

"Uhhhh...th-three?" Jason answered, squinting at the giant logs before his eyes.

"Mmhmm...Ok, sweetie, can you tell me your name?" the voice asked again. It was getting clearer and Jason wasn't straining so hard to hear it anymore.

"U-uh...Jason."

"Mmmhhmm..."

Jason blinked a few more times to clear his vision. He saw an Inkling doctor in a white coat towering over him. She was writing on her clipboard and looking down at him, checking to see how he was doing. A nurse in blue clothing was also tending to him

"Ok, Jason, do you remember anything?" the doctor asked.

Jason remembered everything. From meeting Thea for the first time, to playing their first game of turf war, to getting her a job at the dinner, to fighting a crazed psycho all the way up till blacking out on the ground in a pool of blood and ink. "O-oh my Cod! Where's Thea?!"

"Hmmm?" the doctor raised an eyebrow.

"Thea! Is she ok?! I have to see her! Where is sh-COUGH COAH CAPPUGH" Jason whent into a coughing fit.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down." the doctor said raised her hand. "Let me finish your checks first, then I can see if she-" She smiled sweetly and spoke in a soft voice.

"No!" Jason said in a raspy voice. "No, You don't understand! I need to see her!" Jason tried to get up, but the sudden movement sent waves of pain through his body. His ears rang and his headache grew worse.

"Jason," the doctor spoke more sternly. "you have been in a coma for nearly twenty hours. You were stabbed in the chest last night. The knife cut through part of your lung and heart. You were in a critical condition for most of the morning have been unresponsive to our attempts to revive you for most of the afternoon." the doctor kept her smile but her tone of voice said that she really didn't want to deal with a grumpy patient.

"So," the doctor continued. "I suggest you stay calm and let me do some checks to make sure you don't die in the next few hours. How does that sound?"

Jason nodded slightly but still persisted. "Is she here? Can I see her when you're done?"

The doctor nodded. "I'll take care of you first, then I'll see if anyone is here for you. Ok?"

"Ok." Jason said with a knot in his throat. "Umm...Doctor?"

"Call me Dr. Raivel." the doctor smiled as she looked over the monitors of the machines hooked up to Jason.

"Ok, Dr. Raivel...umm...Why am I not dead?"

"As I said, part of your lung was cut open and several arteries around your lung were also damaged. We had to do immediate surgery to patch you up and stabilize you. You're also chock full of drugs right now so that's why you'll feel drowsy." Dr. Raivel put her hand to Jason's forehead to feel his temperature. "Ok...temps good." she said quietly as she jotted something down on her clipboard.

"Ok...Then why does everything else hurt?"

"You've got stitches in your chest from surgery. Your right arm is also cut up badly, one of your shoulder muscles is torn and your nose is a little bashed in." the doctor said as she continued to look Jason over.

"Oh..." Jason gulped, realizing the extent of his injuries. He wasn't in a good state, but he was alive, and breathing was more important to him than walking.

As his mind began to clear, Jason grew more and more aware of the severity of his wounds. As the pain medication wore off, he felt more of his scarred body. His right arm lay on top of the bedsheets that covered him. It was bandaged up all the way from his hand to his elbow. He felt more bandages on his shoulder and some on his face. He felt a lot of bandages and strapping around his chest and waist. He didn't even want to know how bloodied they'd be. Everything ached and he didn't dare move anything.

Dr. Raivel performed her checks on Jason with amazing efficiency and diligence. She checked every bandage and strap. She checked out Jason's blood pressure, breathing, heart rate. She took a blood sample and gave him more pain medication. She asked him many questions and listened to what he had to say. She smiled as she ticked the last box and wrote the last note.

"Alright! You're in pretty good shape for someone who's been in a knife fight! Well done!"

"Wooooooo." Jason groaned, unenthused.

"I'll take these down to the office to be added to your report," Dr. Raivel said, tapping the clipboard with her pen. "then I'll see if there are any guests waiting for you. A nurse will be around shortly if you need anything." The doctor spun on her heels to leave

"Ok...Dr. Raivel?" Jason called after her.

"Yes, Jason?" the doctor turned back to him.

"...Thank you...so much. Give my thinks to the entire team."

Dr. Raivel smiled wide. "I'm sure I can figure out how to do that." With that, she left Jason's hospital room.

"Ok..." Jason sighed. He was probably going to be there for a while. What a mess! What a fool he was, to go after Harry all alone! What the shell was he thinking?! He could've died!

He wasn't thinking. He had let his anger and rage take over. His selfish desire for revenge. Revenge against someone who had hurt his friend. Was that righteous revenge? Jason knew in his heart the answer was no. He knew better than to go off at someone over petty things, or to get even because of small issues.

But Harry was different. Something had stirred inside Jason like never before. A drive. A hunger. To find the one who had caused all the pain and suffering. He wanted Harry to hurt. Bad. But then, was he any better than the mugger himself? To want to see him suffer, to be defeated? Yes, Harry was definitely guilty, and he may have even hurt more people than just Thea. But was it right for Jason to exact revenge on him? Was it his place?

Jason wished he had asked for back up. He could've asked for someone to help confront Harry or to make sure things didn't get out of hand. He could've at least told someone what he was doing. Now he was paying the price. In a hospital bed, with stitches in his chest and several other places patched up. And he was also in pain.

All these thoughts swirled in Jason's mind. He didn't really want to think about them, although, he really was going to have a lot of time to think in bed. But he decided to focus on something else. What in the world was he going to say to Thea? Or his family?! To his boss?! Jason was in deep squit. There was going to be a lot of damage control after he got out.

Jason lay in the hospital bed for a while. A nurse came in at some point to check up on him and bring him some water but they didn't stay long, they had a job to do after all. So as the minutes ticked by, Jason's head cleared up more and more and he could take a good look around the room. Simple white hospital room with bright lights and a clean floor. Through the thin curtains at the windows, the city's night lights were visible. Apartment buildings and skyscrapers and moving points of light on the highway glimmered in the late evening.

Jason saw an IV line running from a bag suspended above him into his arm. A thin tube from another machine ran into one of his nostrils. That felt really weird. Heart rate and respiration monitors and a bunch of other machinery he didn't recognize surrounded him.

Jason felt gross and sweaty. Having all this stuff inside made him feel queasy. He was hungry. In pain. He just wanted it all to end. But he was so thankful he was still alive. He was sure he was done for in that alley. Jason knew he'd never take his life for granted again.

Jason had his eyes as he listened to the sounds of the busy hospital. Announcements coming through the PA system, People walking past his room, children crying or laughing, chatter about patients and doctors. Jason heard the sound of someone running past his room, then double back. He opened his eyes with a twinge of hope.

"Jason!?" an Octoling with turquoise tentacles and eyes appeared in the doorway.

"Thea!" Jason perked up.

"Jason!" Thea's voice cracked.

Thea ran across the room and collapsed at the side of the bed. She wrapped her arms around Jason and hugged him tightly. "Oh my Cod, you're alive! Oh my Cod, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry! This is all my fault, I'm so sorry- Thea's frantic words slurred into nonsensical babbling. She cried into Jason's chest, getting the sheets soaked in tears.

"Thea, Thea!" Jason wheezed. "Ow, ow, ow!"

Thea quickly pulled herself from Jason and sat on her knees. "Ah! I'm sorry! That must've hurt!"

Jason winced and smiled a little. "It's fine! I'm glad you're here!"

Thea wiped the tears from her eyes. "Me too." I-I mean I'm glad you're ok! I thought you were going to die!"

Jason bit his lip. "Me too actually...Did the doctor say anything to you?"

Thea sniffed and nodded. "Yeah, she said that you were awake and were going to be ok." she said as she looked Jason over. She cringed at the sight of Jason's arm bandaged up like a cast. His tentacles and face were scratched and bruised and his nose was also bandaged up. He was in a worse state then she was when he had found her. "How do you feel?" she asked.

"Like a truck ran over me." Jason smirked and shook his head.

"Are you in a lot of pain?" Thea asked.

"Well...yeah. It hurts a lot...but I'll live."

"Ok." Thea nodded. She pulled up a chair from the wall and brought it closer to the bed. She sighed and sat down.

"So." Jason said. "What's happened while I've been asleep?"

Thea hesitated to answer and her face showed that she was thinking about what to say. Her eyes were red from lack of sleep and crying. "Well, Natalie and Caleb did what they could with the med-kit. An ambulance was called quickly to help take you to the hospital."

Thea took a deep, raspy breath before continuing. "I sat next to you all the way to the hospital, but I couldn't come with you into the emergency room. So I stayed in the waiting room all night. Arthur heard what happened and came as well. I couldn't sleep, so Arthur stayed with me to keep me company."

Jason saw the tears coming back to Thea's eyes but she just wiped them away. "I did get some sleep during the day. Arthur brought some blankets and pillows so we could sleep on the chairs. We spent a lot of time just talking. But...oh Cod!" Thea's voice cracked and she covered her face with her hands. Sniffling, she said, "I'm sorry! I was just so worried! I thought I was going to lose you!"

Jason's heart ached for Thea. It must've been so hard to wait so long and feel so helpless to do anything. He tried imagining what it must've felt like to lose a friend and not be able to help. It wasn't a pleasant thought. He was touched that Thea cared that much for him to stay at the hospital.

"Jason?"

Jason looked up to see Arthur poking his head into the room. "Arthur!"

"Hey, Jason!" Arthur smiled at the sight of his friend awake. He frowned when he saw that Thea was upset. He came into the room and took up a seat next to Thea. "How are you?"

"Everything aches and I feel sick and tired. So, I'm doing fine, you?" Jason chuckled, then winched and groaned from the pain it caused in his chest.

"I'm ok, just a little bit tired." Arthur shook his head and yawned. "The seats here are really uncomfortable" he whispered loudly. Thea nodded and yawned too.

I'm so sorry I wasn't there to help, Jason." Arthur said looking dejected. "I just didn't know what was going on."

"It's not your fault, Arthur." Jason countered. "I was stupid to confront a mugger without backup, or letting anyone else know where I was. I wasn't thinking straight. So I'm sorry for putting you through this. Both of you."

Thea smiled just a little. Arthur nodded thoughtfully. "Well, you did give us quite a scare."

"Arthur, thanks for sticking around for me...and Thea."

"It's the very least I could do." Arthur smiled. "You guys are my friends. And I don't want my friends to ever feel lost or alone.

"What about work at the dinner?" Jason asked. "Since all of us are here...Natalie can't do the shift all by herself, can she?."

"No, the dinner's closed now." Arthur frowned. "The police are investigating what happened."

"Oh..." Jason bit his lip. He realized what that could mean for them. Jason had come storming into the Nautical Dinner angry and asking for Harry and left out the backdoor only to be discovered later in a fight. From the perspective of someone in the kitchen, it would seem that Jason started the fight and that Harry was acting in self-defense.

The only witness to the way Harry had stabbed Jason was Thea. An illegal immigrant who had yet to prove herself as trustworthy. Who was going to believe her? The only evidence they had was a knife with Harry's name etched on it and there were definitely more people with the name 'Harry' in Inkopolis. Other than that, it was Jason and Thea's words against Harry's. Jason was known for having a bit of an anger issue too. He feared that this whole thing could be turned against him and he'd end up being the one behind bars.

"What happened to Harry?" Jason asked.

"Emily got her hands on him and he was arrested." said Arthur. "His injuries weren't too bad so he was taken directly to jail until the police could piece together what really happened."

Jason's face grew serious. "Arthur, Thea, I promise you, I did not attack Harry first! He came at me with the knife!"

"And I believe you, Jason." Arthur leaned forward in his chair. "I know you wouldn't provoke him to do this. It's just not like you."

"Yeah, and until last night I thought it was unlike Harry to mug an innocent girl." Jason huffed. "If we're not careful, his lawyer is going to squash us in court."

"I believe you, Jason." Thea said with a sad smile.

"I know, Thea, and I'm so grateful for that. But this isn't just about what happened last night." Jason shook his head in frustration. It made him dizzy. "You're still an illegal immigrant here and a wanted criminal back underground. If the police find out about you, or even a whiff that you were involved in this, you could be deported back to the very same facility you only just escaped from! And I'd be in even bigger trouble for harboring an illegal immigrant and Mr. Kepton would be in really big trouble for hiring an illegal immigrant!"

Everyone was silent for a few seconds. Thea stared at the floor and fidgeted with her fingers. Arthur rubbed his eyes and sighed then leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head. Jason watched them and tried to come up with something to say.

Suddenly, Arthur remembered something to brighten the mood. "Oh, Jason! Your parents are on their way here!"

"Wait, what?" Jason's face lit up again.

"Yeah!" Arthur said. "The hospital called them after you arrived but they've been out of town, so they've been driving all day to get here quickly."

"Ok, good. Hopefully, they'll be here soon!" Jason smiled. It had been a while since he'd seen his parents or any of his family. It would be great to see them again and for them to help him through this tough time. Jason may be living by himself, but he was still only just seventeen and he sometimes missed his mummy and daddy.

Jason gave a big yawn, wincing at the pain it caused in his chest. "Oh boy! I've only been awake for a little while and I'm already tired!" he groaned

"You should get some rest." Arthur said, getting up. "Recovery is tiring."

Jason nodded. "Mmm...You should get rest too. You've got time off work after all. All of us do!" he smiled.

Arthur laughed and Thea forced a nervous giggle.

"Thea?" Arthur asked his fellow Octoling. "You can come with me back to my place if you'd like. It's been a while since you last ate."

Thea stood up too but her face showed conflict. Go with Arthur and get some much-needed sleep and food, or stay with Jason? "Uhhh..." she looked between Jason and Arthur.

"You should go, Thea." said Jason. "Go get some sleep. It's been a stressful day."

"Well...I'm still worried about you." Thea said sadly.

"You don't need to worry about me." Jason reassured her. "The doctors here will take good care of me. We can talk more tomorrow."

Thea nodded, but she still looked disappointed. "O-ok." She and Arthur walked to the doorway to leave.

"Goodnight, Jason." Arthur waved to his bed stricken friend. "I hope you get well soon. And don't worry, we'll figure out how to fix this mess."

"Thanks, Arthur." Jason smiled. And thank you both for sticking by me."

Thea waved goodbye with a sad smile. Jason weakly returned the gesture with his good hand. Then, Thea and Arthur disappeared from sight.

Jason lay motionless in bed for a few minutes, thinking about everything they had talked about. Just the previous evening he thought he knew how to fix everything, but now everything was falling to pieces. Jason had told Thea not to worry about him, but he himself was worried about him, and everyone else.

Looking around him, Jason thought again how amazing it was he was alive. Still breathing, heart still beating. Yeah, he was in pain, but the pain would only be temporary. Death is eternal. Jason didn't know what eternity felt like, but it probably would be pretty long.

Jason yawned again and decided to go to sleep. He was a little afraid that he wouldn't wake up again, like this was all just a dream right before he actually dies. Everyone always says you can pinch yourself to tell if you're dreaming. Jason thought about doing that but decided that he was already feeling so much pain that he really was awake and alive.

Jason looked around for a way to turn off the light. He found a small control panel at his bedside. With heavy eyelids, he pushed a button and the lights in the room dimmed but didn't completely turn off. Jason made himself as comfortable as possible and fell asleep, listening to the sound of his own beating heart.

AYYYYYE! Jason lived! Everything's gonna be ok! Right? RIGHT?!

Sorry again for the wait on this one. I'm not going to talk about why it took so long since no one actually cares about that. Just know that I'm still going to do my best to finish this story. What's important is that another chapter is done...Aaaaaand I have to add another to the list. Yeah, I had to split chapter 14 in two. Frustrating, I know. But hey! More Jason and Thea goodness!

Darth Nominatis, sorry but I'm not doing requests at the moment. Especially for franchises I've never heard of. I may in the future though. I also couldn't send you a reply because you need to be logged in when posting your review for me to have the link to your PMs. So again, sorry about that.

Thank you to everyone else who sent their messages of encouragement. It really means so much for me, you have no idea! I'm sorry I didn't reply to all of them like I usually do. I'll try to stay on top of that from now on.

Youtuber plug time! Follow me or the story for updates and review for caramel slice (and my sanity). PM if you'd like a link to my little discord server where I can give more regular updates and we can chat about...stuff I guess.

Thanks for reading. Until next time,

Dashanerocket