Hey guys! Here's another short chapter. I'm still pretty sick and to top it off, I got food poisoning lmao. Oh Jesus what is happening. XD Anyway, I finally revealed John's illness in this chapter, so enjoy!

"Dave, what the hell were you thinking?" Ms. Lalonde yelled at her son as he sat in front of her in the kitchen. She had been yelling the same question over and over again, but he hadn't answered her. Hell, he didn't know what he was thinking.

"Dave, answer me!" she yelled again. "What kind of mind were you in! Are you doing drugs again?"

Dave rolled his eyes; she had no right to tell him that. After all, who was the one wobbling around the house, drunk out of her mind? Certainly not Dave. "Jesus, I'm fucking sorry, alright? Get off my case!" he shot up from the kitchen seat and brushed past her, heading upstairs. He could hear her yelling after him, but he didn't care. He was horribly anxious and just wanted to sleep it all off.

John had a high fever; that was why he collapsed. That was what the nurse told him. When they had brought him inside, he was sure he'd heard the nurse say the collapse was going to give him bruises. He didn't fall that hard, Dave thought wearily. But… there was something else Dave heard while they were practically pushing him out of the hospital—something he didn't quite understand.

He had heard the word before; knew it wasn't good, but he never knew what could happen because of it. If he did, he never would have taken John outside. Never.

A knock on his door forced him to come out of his angst. "What?" he practically snapped.

"It's me," Dave recognized Jade's voice anywhere. "Can I come in?"

Dave sat down on the edge of his bed, "Yeah, sorry."

She gently pushed the door open, peeking her head through. She was wearing her hair up today, Dave noticed. He remembered complimenting her when they were still together, about how her hair looked nice when it was up. "Dave, I heard about what happened," she said, entering his room and standing by the door.

"Yeah, it seems everyone has. Bad news travels fast."

She walked over to the bed, sitting down next to him, "It wasn't your fault."

"Yes it was," Dave leaned forward, frustrated, pulling off his shades and rubbing his eyes.

Jade put a comforting hand on his shoulder, "It wasn't. I don't care how much you think it is, it isn't and never was your fault. You couldn't have known that about the patient. You couldn't have unless he told you. Did he tell you?"

"No," Dave sighed, "but I should have known. The symptoms… they always showed. He was always tired, weak, and every time I visited him, he seemed like he was getting thinner. I should have known."

"Dave, there are a lot of diseases that those symptoms can come from. Leukemia isn't the only one," she extended her arm, pulling him closer. He rested his head on her shoulder, sighing.

"He could have died."

"But he didn't."

"You don't know that… I don't even know that. As we speak, he could be dying."

"Stop thinking like that, Dave. He survived all this time with chronic leukemia, okay? It's not acute—he has a chance of surviving a while, right?"

"Because that makes me feel so much better," Dave said.

"It should! You took him in as soon as he collapsed, right? Dave, I'm sure he's absolutely fine." Jade pulled Dave back up into sitting position and stood up in front of him. "Don't even think about going back to the way you were before, okay? You can't help these things. This is the doings of the world, not you. The last thing I want to see from you if moping around blaming everything on yourself."

"I know," Dave said. "You always tell me that."

"I always tell you that because it's true!" she smiled, heading back to the door. "Rose and I are going out to watch a movie. Do you want to come? It'll help get your mind off of things."

"No thanks. I think I'm just going to sleep it off," he said.

"Alright, well… take care," she smiled softly, but behind her eyes were a world of worry. She knew how easily Dave could go back to the way he was before—smoking, drinking… but Dave wasn't that person anymore. Why did no one believe him? Sure, he was still a jerk sometimes and he gave everyone a hard time, but he wasn't about to lose everything all over again.

When Jade was gone, Dave did his usual routine: brushing his teeth, changing into his boxers and taking a piss… but with one added item.

Dave never prayed. Never. When he saw people praying, he would usually laugh and think that those prayers will never be answered. But today was different. If there was a God out there, Dave would pray to it. He bent down on the side of his bed and mumbled, "Okay, Jesus or God or whoever the hell is up there, here's the deal: I made a mistake today. A huge ass mistake and to be honest, I'm worried about what the outcome will be. I know I don't usually do this kind of shi… I mean, thing, but if you are up there, can you do me a solid and make sure that John Egbert of Skaia Hospital is okay? Thanks… Oh and, uh, Amen and all that."

He pulled himself back onto his bed and let out a long sigh. Tomorrow he was going to be back at Skaia, probably getting yet another lecture from his probation officer and the nurses. He would just have to face up to it.

Dave wasn't sure which he was more upset about: the fact that he had caused this for John or the fact that he might not be able to see John ever again.