Dipper's heart stopped. The patient was awake. Bill was awake. Bill was okay. Dipper felt himself nod, but didn't really register what was happening. For the second time that night/day, he blindly followed a hospital official through the halls. He knew Mabel was behind him, even without looking. He could feel it. The hospital was sterile and white. Being not pure white made him feel like he wasn't supposed to be right there right then. It would've been different if Bill had been with him, but he wasn't. Not right then. It was the weirdest feeling, knowing Bill was in the building but not being next to Dipper. Too quickly, but much too slowly, they reached Bill's room. He was just barely awake, and not quite in a state to have visitors, but this wasn't the world's best hospital, even if Dipper wished it was.
"Hey Bill..." he breathed from the doorway.
"Pine Tree." Bill addressed him, but it was weird. Bill didn't have the biggest presence in the room anymore. He felt tiny and delicate. Dipper walked over to him and put a hand on his arm. He was dressed in a hospital gown, the really shitty kind you'd see in any old movie, and there were bandages all over him, as well as an IV taped to the arm Dipper wasn't touching. Bill looked terrible, with large bags under his eyes and a little bit of dried blood on his forehead. Dipper rubbed it off with his middle finger gently.
"How are you?" Dipper asked, knowing it was a stupid question.
"How do I look?" Bill asked him back, and Dipper stopped himself from saying something rude.
"You look... like you fell off a building."
"No, I look like I jumped off a building. I'm miserable, Pine Tree." Bill said, closing his eyes for a moment. "I know that Weirdmaggedon is going to happen again. I know I'm gonna cause it. But despite all my crazy, all my sadomasochistic behavior, all my me, I don't want to hurt you or your world again. I love you, Pine Tree, and I forget that sometimes. I know that's what's gonna happen. I want to die so it doesn't." Dipper stood statue still, staring at the man before him. He was beautiful, and it hit Dipper almost as hard as it had hit him when Bill was getting ready to jump. Even pale and burnt out, even in a shitty hospital and their shitty gowns, Bill was stunning. Bill was the sun and the moon and the stars and every little piece of space dust that turned into a shooting star.
"Well, Bill, you've got to consider me too. What will I do without you? Who will I be without you? I don't care if you cause Weirdmaggedon again, because I'm sure we can fight your crazy. Together. I promise whatever you do can be undone. I mean, look at Gravity Falls now! We're basically healed."
"I'm not dumb, Pine Tree. I can see how much damage I caused."
"That doesn't matter, Bill. What matters is that you don't want that to happen again."
"That's not true."
"C'est vrai."
"You know French?" Dipper shrugged.
"Sometimes." Bill at Dipper smiled weakly.
"Hey, I want some rest now. I'll be out of this joint by tomorrow, I'm sure."
"Okay, I love you," Dipper said, kissing his forehead softly.
"I love you too, kid."
Dipper walked back to the waiting room, leaning on Mabel. As she guided him back into his chair, she looked at him. He had dark circles under his eyes and looked like he was getting ill.
"Maybe you should rest, too, Dip. I'm gonna get some coffee and food. Do you want anything?" Dipper shook his head and thanked her, then closed his eyes. He fell into a deep dreamless void of sleep before she could even walk away. His mind was permeated by the hope that Bill would be okay. Everything was dripping in that thought.
When he woke up, it was sunny outside again and his back hurt. He also had a headache, but all of the pains were unimportant. He needed to know how Bill was. He shook Mabel awake and asked her for his room number. Dipper wished he didn't have to wake his sister, but he needed to see Bill more than almost anything else.
"It's room 618," she slurred softly. Dipper thanked her and stood up. He set off to Bill's room and was there before five minutes had been up. Bill looked alive. He was breathing shallowly, but he was breathing, and his eyes were closed. A little bit of warm hope bloomed inside Dipper's heart. Maybe everything would be okay. Bill's eyes flickered open.
"Hey Pine Tree," Bill murmured. Dipper walked over to him and smiled.
"Hey," he answered back. "When are you coming home?"
"I don't know."
"How do you feel?"
"Bad, but I'll be okay soon."
"I want you to know something."
"Yeah?"
"I love you no matter what happens."
"I love you too, my Pine Tree. No matter what I do I love you." Dipper sat down in a chair across the room from the bed and sighed.
"I don't wanna move until you can come home," Dipper said, looking at his feet.
"We're both tired of resting. You should go out, do something you love to do. Run around, explore the forest. Live a little bit for me, will you?" Dipper shook his head vigourusly.
"I can't do that Bill, I can't do things without you. It makes me feel sick to even think of this summer being over, and I want to spend as much time with you as I psyically can."
"That's sweet," Bill said, and smiled. Stronger this time, like he really had the will to. They lost each other for a little bit, then, in the sea of thought that happens when you're silent with the one you love. Dipper stood up, a glitter of determination in his eyes.
"I'll find something for us together. I'll bring something back here for us to do together, and that way I can be with you and we can both live a little!" Dipper exclaimed. Bill smiled even wider and nodded as much as he could.
Dipper dashed out of the room, out of the hospital, his mind racing for things, anything he could do with Bill while he was bedridden. Suddenly, he had an idea. It would be perfect, Dipper was sure. Bill would love it.