Okay so, this was gonna mostly gonna be angst but like… things changed? We've got some but if you ask me, the rest is adorable and informative in a way. Research is difficult when you're bad at it, so don't judge my medical equipment skills, I'm not The Edward Kaspbrak ya know.


"Richie, I'm about t-to walk out the d-d-door to come see you. Can I b-bring Georgie now? He really w-wa-wants to see you." Bill said through the speaker.

"Uh, I don't know hang on," Richie replied and looked at his mom. "Is Georgie allowed... to come see me now? Since... I'm in a regular... room?" she nodded.

"Yeah, there isn't an age restriction down here."

"Okay cool. Yeah, Billiam, he can come."

"Richie said you can come Georgie." Bill told his ten year old brother, who Richie heard scream at the top of his lungs in excitement.

"Jesus Christ."

"He's missed you, it's b-been awhile since you c-came over, even before this ha-happened."

"Ah, yeah… Sorry about that, Big Bill."

"It's okay, R-Rich. We'll be there soon."

"Okay, be careful."

"We will."

They hung up and Richie sighed, putting his phone on his leg and drinking some of his drink. It was just he and Bev for a few minutes, Maggie and Eddie went to the vending machine, Went was who knows where making sure Bowers stayed right where he is, and Stan was going to the store for reasons they didn't know.

"You okay?" Bev asked. Richie nodded.

"Yeah, I want to go home." he said, biting his lip. "And I feel bad, because I've been... the worst friend to you guys... because I was trying to deal with... my own bull shit."

"You have not." Bev exclaimed quietly. "Richie, don't blame yourself for anything. You were having a hard time, and if anyone were bad friends, it was us because we let it go on for so long."

"You guys are the best." Richie shook his head. "I made you cry, Bev."

"Richie." Bev sighed. "Look, I cried, yes, because I was scared I really lost you as a friend, as a brother, okay? Because of something I did, not because you made me cry."

"You're just saying that." Richie shook his head, turning away from her. Bev stood up and sat on the bed next to him, making him look at her. He had tears in his eyes, ready to fall any second.

"Richie, honey, when you were in that operating room, I went to the bathroom by myself, and I cried harder than I ever have." she told him, cupping his face with her hands. "I was so fucking worried about you, you don't even know. I thought you were going to die. I really did. I wouldn't have been able to handle it, Richie, I wouldn't. So don't tell me you're a bad friend, and stop feeling like you've done us all wrong. You haven't, you've always made us happy, and whatever's happened these last few weeks was our fault, not yours. You were trying." she almost started crying too, wiping his away with her thumbs. "We're the Losers, Rich, the Lucky Seven, and without you, as cheesy as it sounds, we're incomplete. You hold the group together. You may not believe me, but it's true."

"You're a fucken… sap." Richie sniffed. "I feel like I-I'm just a fucken… burden. All I do is… annoy you a-and I'm never s-s-serious at the right- right times."

"Richie, you have never been a burden to any of us. I promise you. You're the groups annoying younger or older brother." she smiled at him. "And that's not a bad thing. Not at all. Rich, we can all be annoying fucks, okay, especially me, Eddie and Bill always being nosy and trying to see what you were doing on your phone, remember? You'd get mad at us, the same we would get with you. If I ask you a question, will you promise to give me the real, serious answer?" she asked.

"Promise." he muttered.

"Why do you try to be seen? To be loud, and annoying?" she asked. Her hands still cupped his face.

"I don't want to be forgotten." he whispered. "I don't like to be alone. My thoughts… are fucking… rude? They're horrible. I hate myself...an-and how I act." he shrugged a little, grimacing from the pain. He knows it'll hurt, but keeps doing it anyways. "Because how I act… embarrasses you. I don't want… you guys to be… ashamed of… m-me. I've cried myself to... sleep so mu-much over the ...last few weeks b-because of... how shitty I am to myself. I threw up one time. I feel like... everyone hates me... because I hate me."

"Well we don't hate you." Bev shook her head. "We don't, and we'll do everything we can to prove to you that we don't."


It wasn't long after Richie and Bev talked, Richie calmed down, and Eddie and Maggie came back in with snacks.

"We found a vending machine near the cafeteria that had that apple juice you like, so I got it for you." Maggie told her son, putting the bottle on his tray. "And grabbed a few cups of pudding since you can only have soft food for now." he gave her a huge grin and grabbed a chocolate one- he wasn't really hungry, but it had been days since he really ate anything, and it'd make them happy, so he'd eat it.

Rather than using a spoon, Richie just squeezed the bottom of the cup so it would be high enough for him to lick it off.

"You are so weird." Bev snorted, smiling at him.

"What, you've seen me do this before, and so have you." he made a face. She shrugged.

"Your dad used to do that when you were younger, and you watched him with a little baby spoon in your hand, and started copying him. You made one hell of a mess and I used to think you shit all over yourself to start with, but you eventually got the hang of it." she snickered.

"Dad doesn't eat pudding though?" Richie said, furrowing his brows.

"Because he and one of his friends had a pudding eating contest." she told him. "He won, but puked it all up in my car."

"Was this before or after Richie was born?" Bev asked.

"Richie was three and didn't understand why his dad wouldn't eat pudding with him anymore." Maggie smiled. "It was pitiful, how Richie stared at his dad with his big ol eyes, asking why he wouldn't eat any with him."

"Awe." Bev cooed.

"Shut up." Richie said, mouth full of pudding.

"Oh God there's pudding." Went practically gagged as he entered the room.

"Look, I'm eating baby... food for the next however long… cut me some slack, bro."

"Did he just call me bro?" Went pointed at his son very childlike, and said son stuck his pudding covered tongue out at his dad. It's a good thing it was chocolate rather than vanilla.

"You are a disgusting child."

"I'm your child." Richie replied. "Your point?"

"Ya got me there."


"Richie!" Georgie exclaimed the second he saw Richie, the teen trying to lick every bit of pudding out of the cup. "Oh my God, I'm gonna beat up the bad guy that did this." he huffed, rushing over to Richie's side.

"Don't say oh my God, G-Georgie." Bill said.

"You say it, Billy." Georgie replied, and grabbed Richie's free hand. "I missed you, Cheeky. I'm glad you're better."

"I missed you too, squeak." Richie said, smiling at him, chocolate around his mouth and all. "I'm glad too. I'll be up and... able to play games with... you in no time."

"Why did you stop coming over so much?" Georgie asked, blinking at the teen he considered a brother. Richie frowned a little, but reached up and squeezed one of Georgie's cheeks.

"I've just been having... a hard time, buddy." Richie told him softly. "I'm getting better, though, okay? I'm sorry... I haven't come... to see you."

"It's okay as long as you don't do it again." Georgie gave him a stern look and Richie chuckled, and instantly regretted it, his eyes screwing shut for a few seconds.

"Don't make me laugh." he whispered.

"Crap, I'm sorry Richie." Georgie said, letting his hand go and stepping back once.

"What, no, no, come here." Richie patted Georgie's head. "It wasn't your fault. I just hurt. A lot."

"Do you want me to get a nurse?" Went asked. Richie shook his head.

"That shit they… give me, makes me sleep… too much." he said. "I'm alright if I don't... move."

"That's no way to live. I'm gonna see if they can give you something that won't make you sleep." Maggie stood up and left the room before anyone could stop her.

"Lightning McQueen." Went muttered and Richie snorted, grimacing.

"Dad… stop."

"She's the queen to my Mick."

"That makes no sense."

"Jesus Christ." Bev face palmed and Bill and Eddie grinned at each other. Went just looked around the room with a shit eating grin on his face.

"Richie looks j-just like you when yy-ou do that shit." Bill said. "It's creepy."

"Thanks for… not stutter… ing on my… name." Bill just made a fart noise in Richie's direction.

Not long after, Maggie came back with a nurse who promised the medicine wouldn't make him sleep, and would start working soon. Bill's parents came to visit Richie and pick Georgie up, leaving a gift bag and a get well soon balloon and card. None of which he's got a chance to look at, because right after Georgie's voice faded down the hallway, someone came in.

"Wow, we have a full house this afternoon!" Dr. Alleyne exclaimed, walking in the room, pushing a table with stuff on it into the room. "I'm heading out soon, but I thought I'd come and get started on the breathing exercises." she said, putting a hand on her hip and looking at them all.

"Huh." Richie made a face at her.

"Do you really think not doing anything to help your lungs is gonna help your breathing?" Eddie said. "Of course you need to do breathing exercises you dipshit." Richie flipped him off.

"If you don't do these, your lungs won't heal properly and you'll get short of breath often, and talking a lot will result in those frequent pauses you've been doing, so… yeah. Breathing exercises!" she clapped her hands and lifted up one of the things on the table, holding it up for everyone to see.

"This, is an incentive spirometer. This is gonna measure how deeply you can inhale and can help you take slow, deep breaths to expand and fill your lungs with air. It also helps prevent more lung problems, like pneumonia." Dr. Alleyne explained. "I'll explain and show you how to do it with my own- you'll have a brand new one, of course." Richie nodded, staring intently at her.

Picking up the contraption, she said, "Hold this up straight, and sit up as straight as possible. Exhale, and then put this mouthpiece in your mouth and close your lips tightly around it. Inhale slowly and deeply through the mouthpiece to raise the indicator." she pointed to it. "Try to make the indicator rise up to the level- number- that's marked. When you can't continue to inhale, remove the mouthpiece and hold your breath for at least three seconds, and then exhale normally."

Those in the room watched as she showed him how to do it. She did it a couple times and handed him the other one, still wrapped in plastic.

"Uh." Richie held it up, and looked at his dad. He held it out to him. "Open this. Please." Went snorted and opened the plastic bag for him, giving it back to him. She and Richie did it at the same time, and he could only get the indicator up to about one thousand, two hundred and fifty. Which wasn't very high.

"That's good, all things considered. The more you do it, the higher you get it, and let's say… if you can get it anywhere between twenty five hundred and three thousand, you can go home. And if you get all three balls up."

"What balls? Where?" Richie asked, confused. Everyone laughed at that.

"I'm getting to it." she grinned at him and picked up one of the other contraptions. "This is another one, and it's much like the other one, but you exhale. You exhale through this mouthpiece, and the higher the little balls go, the stronger your breathing is. You have to sit straight, breathe normally for a few seconds. Inhale, put your lips around the mouthpiece, and blow. It's simple, really." She showed and all three reached the top.

"So what you're saying… is… I have to blow… balls?" Richie asked.

"There it is." Bill rolled his eyes and Dr. Alleyne chuckled.

"You could say that, yes." Richie wiggled his eyebrows. "You can make fun all you want, but it's very important that you do both of these at least six to seven times an hour each, when you're awake. The sooner these balls reach the top, the sooner you can get outta here, as I said.

"Really?" Richie asked. She nodded and he reached his hands out. "Gimme the balls."

Maggie shook her head at her son and Dr. Alleyne laughed, giving him the unused contraption, and placing the other one on the table over his bed.

"Look… I can talk about… balls all I want… now that I'm out, m'kay?" Richie said, glaring at everyone.

"No one said you couldn't." Bev grinned.

"Jesus Christ, I leave for thirty minutes and I come back and all I hear is ball talk." Stan huffed, arms filled with bags of food and other goodies. "Richie talks about balls enough as it is."

"You can never… talk too much… about balls, Stan the… man."

"I beg to differ."

"You beg… alright."

"Beep beep, you shit ball."

Richie couldn't help but giggle, despite the pain.