Karkat was lying in his hospital bed. He could not move, as per usual. A shadowed figure stood above him, the only defining feature on its face was the glowing white grin; the smile of a maniac. He struggled against his invisible bonds, but to no avail. The creature slowly, ever so slowly, reached out a hand and pressed it to Karkat's throat. He shook his hands and arms, trying to break free, but the bonds held him still. Then, his attacker spoke.

"Did you really think you could escape me? Did you really think that I wouldn't find you? You are going to DIE!" A silvery blade appeared in its hand, already dripping blood. He pressed it to Karkat's throat and slowly drew it-

"Karkat, wake up! It's just a dream!" Kanaya's voice brought him out of the nightmare. He opened his eyes and saw no shadowed figures or knives, and his limbs were unrestrained. "Karkat? Are you okay?"

"Y-y-yes." You're so stupid, Karkat. It was just a dream. No need to be losing your shit over it.

"I'm sure. Do you want to talk about it?"

"No! It was just a stupid dream, nothing to get worked up about."

"And that's why you had a panic attack while you were asleep? You certainly got worked up about it."

"Fine," Karkat sighed, "I had a dream where my dad was in here."

"Is that all? He was just… present in the room?"

"No… he was… well… strangling me and about to… slit my throat when you woke me up."

"Karkat, that's… awful!" Kanaya looked rather pale, although she wasn't crying. This was nothing compared to what she'd heard earlier from him. "Do you need someone else to talk to? The hospital has a really good psychiatrist."

"No, no, I'm fine." Don't want to be even more of a bother than I already am. God, such a waste of space.

"Karkat, this is actually really serious!"

"Don't worry about me; I'm safe from dad here."

"That's what I thought last time, but he still got you and did…that… stuff to you."

"He won't come for me in here. That's not how he works."

"How are you so sure?"

"When he comes for me, he won't do it in the same way. That would be predictable. He may be a monster, but never let it be said that he's a fool."

"Actually, Karkat," the female doctor interrupted, just coming into the room, "You don't need to worry about him anymore."

"Really? How do you know that?"

"A few hours after the ambulance picked you up, two police officers went in to investigate the apartment. They found him in your room. He was clearly dead."

"What?" Karkat asked, numbly, "What from?"

"Suicide. Short noose and two knives in his eyes. Very clearly dead."

"Do you have any pictures of him? So I can know that he's actually dead?"

"Are you sure you want to see them? They're rather gruesome…" she trailed off as she realized who she was talking to. "Well, alright, but don't say I didn't warn you." She pulled out a picture of the dead man's face, and showed it to Karkat.

He studied the picture for a moment, his face going white. "Th-that's… not him. That guy's face is too fat. Dad's face is thin. Also, this guy's teeth are yellow and chipped. Dad's teeth are perfect white. He actually killed someone…" he trailed off and his breathing became short and ragged. Kanaya went over and placed her hand on his shoulder and massaged gently.

"Shhh, shhh. It's alright. Calm down. He's not going to get you here." She gently spoke to Karkat until he calmed down. "There's a police guard outside the door when there's visitors in here, and he's in the room when you're asleep or when no one else is in here."

"Sorry. I just… I just wish that he'll get his soon."

"Oh, he will Karkat," the doctor assured him, "We already have out best people on the case. By the way, I don't think I ever introduced myself. I'm Dr. Piexies."

"It's nice to know the name of the woman who saved my life."

"It wasn't just me. There were a number of other surgeons that worked on you. I'm the one in charge of this section of the hospital."

"Okay."

"Well, I do have to get going. There'll be a nurse along in a few minutes with some food. You must be hungry after getting fed through IV for three days."

"Well, now that you mention it, I guess I am."

"Good!" Dr. Piexies turned around and left the room, leaving a strange silence in her wake.

Kanaya finally broke the quiet, "It's good to know that you'll be getting fed here. One of the nurses said that you were barely above 90 pounds."

Karkat was not surprised by that. "Up until you bought me lunch on the first day of school, I hadn't eaten for about 30 hours. And even then I only had an apple and a granola bar."

"That's just horrible. It seems like he was giving you just enough to survive, but nothing more."

"Pretty much. I was full from lunch for nearly twelve hours. It's been a while since I ever really had an appetite. I suppose my body was used to that little food?"

"That may be. I just can't understand how you could go that long without any food. And then you were locked in the trunk for nearly four days."

"That was possibly worse than anything else. I was so hungry I honestly thought about trying to eat the cloth of the hospital gown. Instead, I used it to absorb my sweat. I wrung it out a couple of times to drink it."

Kanaya shuddered in horror and disgust. That's not even the act of a human. Karkat's dad is just a beast that happens to look like a man. "I can't even imagine what that must have been like. I'm so sorry about what happened to you."

"There's no need to blame yourself. It wasn't your fault and you didn't know. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine." He stopped, tears leaking out of his eyes. "Kanaya, don't blame yourself, blame me! This was my fault!" His voice rose to a frantic tone and his body shook slightly. She'll tear herself up over this and I'll lose the one friend I've ever had.

"No, Karkat, this was not your fault. It was the thing that calls itself your father's fault." Don't do this Karkat. Don't talk about yourself like that. "Listen to me. Blaming yourself is not going to solve anything."

"I wasn't blaming myself for that. This whole situation is on me."

"What do you mean, I don't understand."

Karkat looked up at her, his eyes were wide and full of so many emotions: fear, pain, but above all was a self-hatred that made Kanaya take a step back. "I- I killed my mother."

Kanaya was stunned. "W-what?"

"She died giving me life. I was a big baby and she was apparently a small woman. The strain killed her. I killed her." Tears were flowing freely out of both eyes now, soaking the bandages around them. His entire body shook with his sobs, silent but powerful.

He's silent because he's still afraid his dad might punish him for crying, probably. I can't even imagine living like that. "Karkat, that wasn't your fault. Sometimes that happens. There's nothing you could have done to prevent that!"

He eyed her miserably. "I could have not been born," he mumbled, almost under his breath, "then everyone would be better off."

Kanaya just stood there, dumbfounded, watching the hopeless figure in front of her. He hates himself so much. He actually believes it was his fault. I need to go get the psychiatrist. She walked over to where her friend laid, tears still leaking from his eyes. She noticed with alarm that he was trying to move his arms, though they were encased in full-length casts. His hands were clenched in tight fists, the already pale skin going whiter at the joints.

She bent over his bandage-wrapped face and kissed him on the forehead. She stood back up and looked at his eyes again. They were still full of his self-hatred, but it was tempered by a new emotion. Love. With a start, she realized that this was probably the first kiss he had ever received. He had no mother growing up and his father wouldn't. She was about to leave when the door opened and a nurse came in bearing a tray of food.

She set it on the small table next to Karkat's bed. "Well, here's dinner!" she said brightly, dispelling the cloud of misery, "I'll let your girlfriend feed you, how's that?" She flashed a winning smile at the two. Karkat made some choked noise and Kanaya felt her face flush a deep red. The nurse gave one final laugh and left the room again.

"…not my girlfriend." Karkat finally managed to say.

"Hmmm? I rather thought we might be."

"WHAT?" Karkat spluttered, "You're just my friend! My only friend. I have no idea what that entails, much less a real… relationship."

"Oh, stop it, I'm just teasing. You're so cute when you're angry."

Karkat said nothing, but his face grew to a shade resembling a tomato.

"Well, she was right that I have to feed you. You can't do it yourself yet."

"Fine," Karkat spat venomously. Then, he looked at what was on the plate. His mouth dropped open.

It stayed open for a long time. Kanaya decided to take the opportunity and shoved a forkful of mashed potatoes into it. He automatically chewed and swallowed, then looked at her. "I certainly won't be able to eat all of this. You should have some too."

"Are you sure? You ate more than this when-"

"That was different. I had had nothing for a long time. Now, I've had nutrition pumped in via IV. I'm hungry, but less than I was. Eat what you want."

Kanaya nodded, but continued feeding him until he said he was full. "Oh, man, that's the best meal I've had since… lunch on the first day of school. Actually," he added with a wry smile, "that's the only meal I've had since then. Unless you count the granola bar I had the next morning."

"Wait a minute. You mean to tell me that this is the first meal you've had in a week?"

"I guess so… Anyways, you look hungry. Eat." Kanaya did as ordered. Karkat's tone offered no room for argument.