Cartman was taking a little walk trying to get his thoughts together when Tweek Tweak ran up to him wildly waving his arms in the air. He was about to turn around when he felt the crazy boy crash right into him and knock him to the ground.

"Tweek! The hell dude?!" He shouted.

"S-sorry Cartman! I got s-some n-news from Craig!" His eyes twitched and he shook with anxiety.

"What does he want?"

"He says," he twitched, "he says," again he twitched, "h-he says,"

"Come out with it soldier!" Cartman grabbed his shirt and yanked him around. "What is it you need to say?"

"Auugh! So much pressure! I-I can't take it!" He ripped away from the harsh grasp of the dictator. "Craig wants you at the m-mall r-right away, it's urgent."

"Very well, tell your leader that I'll be there at 1631."

"R-right!" He scampered off.

At the time he said he would be there, Cartman stood waiting for Craig to arrive and looked at his watch. It was now passed 4:50 and he had been waiting there for at least 19 minutes or so. People looked nervously at the teenage boy dressed as a Nazi soldier and didn't dare pass by him, keeping as far as possible from him. Eric snapped his horse whip on a nearby bench and was about to kick over a nearby plant when he saw an odd sight. Wendy happened to walk by with Bebe and another person carrying multiple bags in their arms. They laughed and gossiped to each other when he found a familiar being among them. Shay Frost. Worse yet, one of his henchmen, Wendy, was with him. He rapidly did a drop roll to the plant and hid so he could watch for where they were going next. To his amazement they strolled into a fancy dress store giggling like girls do. He pulled out his binoculars and scoped inside the store to get a better view.

"This looks like a nice one!" Bebe took a dark blue strapless dress with frills on the bottom.

"That's so pretty!" Wendy took it from her friend and held it out to Shay. "Do you like this one?"

Shay nodded eagerly and Bebe came running back with some make-up.

"I found some matching stuff to go with it too!"

"Dressing room!"

They gently pushed Shay towards the dressing area and would come out every once in a while to get more things. Cartman shook his head and laughed to himself.

"Poor guy."

Everyone were now more freaked out by the Nazi boy spying on the girls. He had to double take when Shay came out with the outfit on. Her black hair was rather untidy and stuck out a bit, her pearly white skin standing out against the blue, and her icy eyes shining brightly in the light. The dress fitted her form perfectly and was long enough to touch the floor. The other two girls fawned with enchantment and wrapped their arms around her.

"This looks so nice!" Bebe squeaked.

"Very nice!" Wendy agreed.

"You think so?" Shay blushed slightly.

"You're totally ready for the Snowflake Ball!"

At once what color was on her face drained and she was noticably paler.

"You mean a dance?"

"Yeah! You're going with Kenny, right?"

"I...I don't know..."

"Come on, he likes you everyone can see that."

"But, there's a problem." She turned away.

"What is it?" Bebe put her hand on her shoulder.

"Kenny...doesn't know."

"Oh, I see."

"Well he'll be in for a big surprise won't he?" Wendy winked. "Surely he couldn't resist in a pretty girl like you."

"Really?"

"And how! Now, let's get these paid for and we'll take you back before it gets nightfall."

Cartman growled and threw his binoculars onto the ground, cracking the lenses, and kicked them to the side. Wendy had proven him wrong. He really was a she. Immediately he stormed out of the mall and went straight home before anyone spotted him eavesdropping on them (not that it mattered anyways, for most already saw him). At home he flew open the front door to be greeted by his mom with a plate of cookies in her hand.

"Hello my little plumpkin, how would you like some cookies? Fresh out of the oven."

"Are they chocolate chip?" He growled.

"Of course."

He took the entire plate and marched upstairs to his room. Once inside he sat on his bed and angrily ate the cookies. How could he have been so stupid? How couldn't he have seen it before? The girls knew more about new students than he did, why didn't he ask him about Shay when she first arrived? Because he was stubborn, was his conclusion. Pigheaded and proud. In a second he was on the floor trying to hack up a piece of chocolate chip that had become lodged in his throat. He gave himself the heimlich maneuver and after four tries it came out coated in saliva on his floor. Words echoed in his head when that exact thing happened a few years ago.

"If you keep trying to eat while you're mad, you won't pay attention to what you're eating and end up choking, fat-ass."

Eric searched his mind for who said that and when he found the name a black hole opened up in his stomach, making him feel empty inside even though he had already eaten half of the cookies. Kyle. He was the only one who would try to teach him something that could help better Cartman, but he has never listened until it happens twice. That's also what Kyle pointed out to him. He got to his feet and glanced at the rest of the cookies on his bed, having scattered due to his attempt to breathe again. Sighing, he unbuttoned his uniform and took off the hat, ruffling his brown hair so that it wasn't so smoothed down. He changed into his red jacket and pulled his blue hat on his head, gathering the cookies back on the plate, and walking back downstairs with the plate in his hands.

"Where are you going now, sweetie?"

"To a friend's house."

"Okay, well be sure to be back before dinner's ready."

"Yeah, mom."

Out in the cold he didn't feel the breeze and only noticed that it was really cold when frost began forming on the cookies. He breathed on them hoping to stop them from freezing over and resorted to stuffing them under his jacket. While it took only a few minutes to reach the Broflovski residence, it felt like an eternety to Cartman. He shook out the cookies from his coat onto the plate, arranging them so that they looked like his mother had done, and rang the door bell. Nobody answered. Again he rang the bell, but again no one came to answer. He banged on the door until he almost his Gerald in the face.

"Yes, Mr. Broflovski, is Kyle home?"

"You mean you haven't heard?" Sadness filled his voice.

"What?"

"Kyle went to see Stan Marsh in the hospital."

Cartman was silent.

"The doctors said that Stan had gotten sick, but they don't know what he's got. All they know is that it isn't the usual cold." Sheila nodded.

"Stan...in the hospital?" Cartman couldn't believe his ears. "Please, do you have a paper bag or Ziplock?"

"Of course, wait here and I'll get one for you." She went back into the house and returned with a plastic bag.

Cartman poured the cookies into the bag and sealed it tight. After thanking them he took off to the edge of town. Kenny had been waiting for Shay to get back home (his clothes had dried and he had his parka on as usual) when he saw Cartman in the distance. For some reason he knew that it was urgent if he were to visit at such a time.

"Kinny! Kinny! Is Shay home?" He weezed.

"No, why?"

"Kinny, it's Stan, he's in the hospital."

"Why?"

"I don't know, the doctors don't either, but we need to see how he's doing."

"I can't, not until Shay gets home safely."

"Wendy and Bebe will return her! Come on!"

"Her?" Kenny looked at Cartman like he had said he got pregnant.

"Him, right."

"Look, I won't be able to see Stan until he's home."

"Fine...I'll wait with you."

"What?"

Cartman didn't say another word. They waited for what seemed an hour before the girls were seen and the two boys ran up to them. Wendy had taken the bags to her house before they arrived and was startled when they rushed up to them.

"Thank you Wendy, but I need to take Shay from you."

"What why?"

"No reason, come on Shay."

Shay nodded and went eagerly to Kenny's side. Wendy crossed her arms and blocked their path.

"Wendy! Get out of our way!"

"Not until you tell us what the rush is for."

Cartman growled in frustration. "Stan is in the hospital for who knows what and we need to see him. Kyle is already there and I just feel that it would be appropriate for all his friends to be there for him."

"But you guys broke up." Bebe commented.

"Stan's in the hospital? Why?" Wendy covered her mouth in horror.

"We don't know that's why we're going there to find out! Now move!" Cartman pushed passed them.

"Wait! I'm going too!" Wendy stopped him with her hand on his shoulder.

"Grrr, fine just hurry up!"

"Bebe, you can go home if you want."

"No way, I'm going too!" She pouted.

"Hurry up no time for chit-chat!" Cartman shouted.

They all broke into a sprint and got to the Hell's Pass in no time at all. They didn't run out of air until they got through the entrance and held on to each other to catch their breath.

"Yes, may I help you?" The receptionist smiled.

"We...we need...we need the room number to Stan Marsh." Cartman shook his head to clear the dizziness.

"You must be the ones he's been expecting. Yes, he's right this way." She led them down the halls.

She stopped at a nearby door and knocked before entering.

"Mr. Marsh, there are some more people here to see you."

"Thank you." A feeble voice came from inside.

They flooded inside to see Stan hooked up on life support and Kyle with his head down on the bed. He lifed his face as their footsteps clicked on the floors. Cartman couldn't come up with a rude insult when he saw the Jew holding Stan's hand.

"Hey Stany." He tried to smile.

"Hi guys," Stan's cough shook his entire body, "I'm sorry you have to see me like this."

"Shhh, i-it isn't your fault." Kyle's own voice shook as well.

"He's right, Stan, it's our fault." Cartman came up and put an arm around Kyle. "We're the ones who put you in this state."

"That's right, you were just caught in the cross fire, and we're sorry."

"It's...it's alright."

"No, no it isn't. You know what, I learned something during these passed few days." Kyle held onto his hand tighter and stopped himself from crying. "I discovered the true extent of friendship. We all have our problems, but when you're with friends it makes a long trip short. When you have friends you learn to cope with each other and learn from each other's mistakes. I love you, Stan, and I don't want you to be taken from me. You're my best friend in the whole world."

"Yeah, look Stan, I even brought some cookies my mom made to share." Cartman held out the bag. "Sure, they may be a bit crumbly, but I had to get down here as quick as I could to get them to you before they went cold."

Shay hid her face in Kenny's jacket and he comforted her all he could.

"You have to stay strong, like you did when Kyle was in your place." Kenny spoke up.

"Stan, you can't leave us now." Wendy was the only one who was bawling.

Bebe stayed quiet. She couldn't think of anything to say. This was an intense moment and she felt like she might make things worse. After all, they knew Stan better than she did. Instead she tried to calm Wendy down and cried beside her.

"The dance...it's tonight isn't it?" Stan's voice was failing.

"Yes, it is." Wendy wiped the tears from her face.

Stan used all of his strength to face Kyle and Cartman. He squeezed Kyle's hand and it trembled with the force of his grip.

"Kyle, promise me that you'll save the last dance for me."

"I will, Stan, I will."

"And Cartman, say you'll make things better."

"I'll try."

"Don't try, Cartman, do."

"Children, Stan needs to sleep now." The nurse said.

"I'll set things right, Stan, you can count on me." Cartman vowed and they left.

As they began to leave Stan called out once more time.

"Shay." He coughed twice.

She made sure that everyone was out of the room before she approached Stan's bed. Kneeling down she put her hand on his shoulder.

"Shay, if I somehow don't make it, promise me you'll take care of Kyle."

"I will." She said in a calm, mature voice.

"Even if I do survive, I still want you to be there for him. It's you who we need right now. God's angels have been watching over us all this time, but we just didn't know there would really be one who would show themselves to us. All the while it was you who brought us together like this...and for that I thank you. If it wasn't for you they wouldn't have stopped with their fighting. Even though deep inside I admit that I feel like the scapegoat of this all, I now know why you chose me. I know." His eyes closed and before he fell asleep he whispered out his last words. "You fell to protect us as we fall to protect ourselves."

Shay made sure he was in a deep sleep before she left, taking one last look at Stan before leaving. In his time of urgency he saw through the veil at what she really was. His final sentence swirled around her as she recalled what he had said.

"You fell to protect us as we fall to protect ourselves."