When Kyle opened his eyes, he wasn't quite sure where he was right away. He stared straight up, blinking as his eyes slowly adjusted to the bright lights. He saw a white ceiling, which seemed both familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time. It only took him a second, however, to realize that he was in the hospital.

He felt a bit dull, as if he wasn't quite awake yet. He blinked a few more times, and without moving, glanced around. He couldn't really see much besides the ceiling, but he could sense someone's presence. He closed his eyes, feeling quite tired, but opened them again, fighting back the wave up sleepiness. No. Not now.

He remained still, thinking back to what had happened, and why he was there. It took him a moment to remember that he had been in a fight. Yes. A group of seniors had attacked him… they were calling him names like 'faggot' and 'queer.' He fought. Cartman had come. They continued to fight… he remembered someone twisted his arm. He then remembered the sudden crack as one of them slammed his head against the pavement… and how they panicked when they saw the blood. He remembered them running off, Cartman hot on their tails. Kyle had touched his head. He remembered it hurt. He looked at his hand, and it was red with blood.

He remembered Butters was suddenly there, his face pale and his blue eyes full of panic. Cartman was then there. Kyle knew he had gone over the edge with rage, and grabbed him. He had to calm him. He thought he did, but to be honest, the last few moments were a bit hazy. Cartman held him, and he could hear sirens in the distance.

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck…"

He realized his eyes had closed again, and so he opened them. He blinked, getting used to the lights again. His head ached a bit, but it seemed far away, like everything else. He took a deep breath.

He wiggled his toes and his fingers. Ok, that was fine… he shifted a bit, raising his hand weakly to touch his head. It was wrapped with some gauze. He shifted again. Everything seemed to be fine.

He decided to move his head a bit. It didn't hurt, but he felt a strange throbbing sensation. He glanced at his bed, and realized that Cartman was sitting next to him.

Cartman was in a chair. His arms were folded on the bed, and on top of them lay his head. He was dozing, making a soft snoring sound. Kyle carefully laid his head back down, wondering what kind of injuries he had sustained.

As if on cue, a nurse came in. She smiled warmly at him. "Oh, you're finally awake!" she said softly, obviously not wanting to wake Cartman.

"What happened?" Kyle asked, realizing for the first time how dry his throat felt.

"Well, you were involved in a fight. You hit your head, and you lost a lot of blood."

"Am I ok?"

"Yes," she replied, smiling. Kyle didn't really trust South Park Hospital, so he wasn't quite convinced. Hell, they gave Cartman AIDs on accident for Christ's sake. "I'll have the doctor explain all the details to you."

Great. He trusted that doctor as much as he trusted Officer Barbrady.

She checked a few things before disappearing. Kyle sighed, staring up at the ceiling again. The doctor came in, knocking on the door before he entered with a clipboard in his hand.

Cartman stirred.

"Kyle Broflovski? I'm glad that you're aw-"

"Kyle!" Cartman cried. "You're awake!"

Kyle looked at Cartman, who he could now see without lifting his head. "Hey."

Words couldn't really describe that moment. Kyle looked at Cartman's face, and there were so many different emotions flashing across it that he couldn't even begin to really explain. He understood, however, the fear and anxiety Cartman must have felt.

But the moment couldn't last, as the doctor wanted to tell Kyle exactly what had happened. To be honest, Kyle wasn't sure exactly what he was explaining. It had something to do with his head injury, and the presence of an epidural hematoma or something, which required surgery. He supposedly woke up earlier, but he didn't recall this. The doctor explained that in cases such as his, slight bouts of amnesia are common. He also said that he would have to come back to get the staples removed or something.

Yeah, he had no clue what he just said.

But he didn't care. He was ok, and that was all that mattered. The doctor said he was going to prescribe some pain meds, and after a few hours of monitoring, he would probably be ok to go home.

"Are my parents here?" he asked after the doctor was finished blabbing.

The doctor glanced at Cartman. "Well, we've been trying to contact them, but so far, we haven't been able to. We'll keep trying."

Kyle blinked. The doctor said a few more things that Kyle didn't understand and quickly left.

He noticed that Cartman was clinging, albeit gently, onto his hand. He looked back over at him and weakly smiled.

"So I'm ok."

"Yeah," Cartman said, his voice sounding hoarse. "You scared the shit out of me, Broflovski."

"Sorry… I'll try not to do that to you again."

"You better not."

Kyle squeezed his hand, and Cartman smiled a bit, squeezing back.

"So why can't they get a hold of my parents?"

"Well, there was a small fight in town tonight, or so we saw on the TV. Stan told me that your mom stopped the fighting… for now. Stan has been keeping me posted." He waved his phone in the air. "So I'm sure that your family will be here shortly, once they find out. Stan lost track of them after your mom gave a speech or something."

"What time is it?"

"Around nine-thirty."

Kyle pursed his lips. That meant that it had been around six hours since his fight.

"So… I'm really ok?"

"Yeah."

"Are you ok?"

"I didn't get hurt, so yeah, I'm fine."

"I had surgery?"

"Yeah… I wasn't too sure about you having it, since the doctors here are stupid as rocks, but they convinced me that you needed it. Plus, I don't think I could have stopped them. I guess it was necessary."

Kyle reached up with his free hand and gingerly touched the wrapping that surrounded his head. "It hurts."

"I'm not letting this happen to you ever again."

Kyle blinked, looking over at Cartman. He had that look on his face when he was determined to do something, and Kyle knew that changing his mind would be nearly impossible.

"Cartman… I'm fine…"

"Don't. Kyle, you could have died. I mean, shit, you hit your head! I was terrified. I'm going to kill those sons of bitches…"

"Cartman! You can't just kill them just because-"

"Just because what? Just because they almost killed you? I'm not going to let them get away with something like that!"

Kyle wasn't sure where he found the strength, but then again, he could be rather resourceful when he was fired up. He pulled his hand out of Cartman's grasp and pushed himself into a sitting position. He glared at Cartman.

"No. You aren't killing anyone! They certainly didn't mean for it to get as violent as it did. And killing is never the answer Cartman. I swear to god, if you try to hurt them…"

"Ok, ok, fine, geez!"

Kyle huffed. "Look, I know it scared the shit out of you, and I certainly could have died, but I didn't. Instead of getting revenge on those assholes, we need to figure out how to calm this stupid town down. You said that there was a fight tonight?"

"Kyle, before we talk business… can I say something?"

Kyle paused, studying Cartman's face. "Ok."

"I… " Cartman paused, obviously struggling with something. He shook his head. "I don't want you to infiltrate that group anymore."

Of course not. "Cartman…" he began to argue.

"You could have died! And seriously, you have the biggest target on your back."

"That fight didn't happen because I was with that group…"

"No, but still. You're in more danger than any of us. Kyle…"

Kyle blinked. Cartman was obviously struggling with something.

"Kyle… please. I… I don't want you to get hurt again." Cartman bit his lip, and then grabbed Kyle's hand again. "I can't handle it if you get hurt again."

Kyle stared, his heart feeling tight in his chest. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying, ditch that group and let me protect you."

"I don't need protecting…"

"Goddamnit Kyle! Can't you see that I… I…"

Kyle sighed. "Say it."

"I care about you, Ok? I don't want you to get hurt because I care about you!"

Kyle stared. "You… care about me?"

"Yes."

He paused. "What do you actually mean when you say that? Do you mean you care about me like a friend, or …" He trailed off, not really sure how to finish his question.

Cartman frowned, studying his face. "Oh, for god's sake, Kyle, sometimes you can be so stupid! Why do you think I kissed you? Why do you think I spend time with you? For fuck's sake, for such a smart nerd, you really are dense."

Kyle had known that Cartman had liked him… hell, he wasn't as stupid as Cartman was suggesting. However, he hadn't expected Cartman to actually ADMIT that he cared for him. Hell, they hadn't even talked about the kissing incident, let alone done it again. He was starting to wonder if the reason they had even kissed was because Cartman had been so upset about Kenny.

"Cartman?"

"Yeah?"

"I care about you too. I mean, I really like you…" He felt his own cheeks flushing in embarrassment. He noticed Cartman's cheeks were red too. He clung onto Cartman's hand, squeezing it firmly in an attempt to convey his true feelings without going too much into detail verbally.

They stayed like that in awkward silence for a bit, each boy feeling rather embarrassed at their situation. Kyle wondered where their relationship would go from there. Kyle was openly gay, but Cartman certainly wasn't. Besides, what exactly did Cartman want? He wasn't sure. However, he was sure of one thing – they he didn't want to ask Cartman about it just yet.

Kyle took a deep breath and decided to continue as if nothing had been said. "But. Someone has to monitor what that group is up to. I mean, what if they start planning something, and I'm not there to pick up on it? We need someone there."

"I think I can help with that."

Kyle's body tensed at the sudden voice, gasping in surprise and looking toward the door. However, his surprise only grew when he saw who was standing in the doorway.

"Wow, you two look like you've seen a ghost."

"Kenny!" Kyle exclaimed happily. And in fact, it was Kenny, alive and well. He was cockily leaning against the door frame, his arms crossed, his head tilted, and a big, goofy grin planted on his face.

Cartman got up and rushed over to Kenny. Kenny blinked in confusion, obviously taken aback. Cartman quickly grabbed onto his friend, hugging him tightly.

"W-what's this?" Kenny asked.

"Nothing," Cartman grunted.

It occurred to Kyle why Kenny was so confused. "He remembers. I mean… we remember. You dying," Kyle explained.

The blonde stared at him, obviously processing what Kyle had just said. Suddenly, a huge smile broke across Kenny's face. Kyle hadn't seen him look that happy in a long time. Kenny wrapped his arms tightly around Cartman in a brotherly hug.

"Welcome back," Cartman said, his words muffled into Kenny's shoulder.

"Glad to be back," he said softly, smiling over Cartman's shoulder at Kyle.

-.-.-.-.-.

After updating Kenny about everything that had happened, Kenny was quiet at first. The three of them sat in the room. Kenny was sitting in the chair Cartman had previously occupied, and Cartman was sitting on the edge of the bed next to Kyle. Once Cartman had gotten over the shock of seeing Kenny again, he had returned to grasping onto Kyle's hand protectively. However, Kyle also noticed that he didn't want to stray too far away from Kenny either. Kenny didn't mention the fact that they were holding hands, and kept strictly to business.

"Well," Kenny finally said, "Like I said, I think I can help. Kyle, I'll take your place in that group, and keep an eye out."

"It's going to be dangerous," Kyle warned.

"What's the worst that can happen?" Kenny chuckled bitterly. Regret flashed across his face the moment after he said it, though, when he caught the look on Cartman's face. "I mean," he quickly continued, "I'm not being targeted for starting all of this or for being gay, so that's two up on you, Kyle. Besides, I agree with what Cartman said before – I don't think it's safe for you at that school."

"I'm going to have to go no matter what," Kyle protested. "It's not like my mom is going to let me stay home forever."

"Yes," Kenny agreed, "But this way, you can stay close to Cartman. He can help protect you."

Cartman seemed to puff up. Kyle wanted to argue, but he could see Kenny's point. "Ok, you two make a pretty good argument. We'll switch positions for now. And I'll hang low for a little bit, at least until I recover fully."

Cartman squeezed his hand affectionately. Kenny grinned at them both.

"So, I guess you two are an item now?"

So much for Kenny not mentioning the hand holding. Kyle felt his face flush.

"What's it to you?" Cartman quipped back. Kyle was grateful for Cartman's choice of response.

Kenny laughed. "I'm just happy for you guys. I think you make a great couple."

"Shut up, Kenny," Kyle muttered.

"Wow, Kyle, I've never seen your face that red before. What an effect you have on him, Cartman!"

Kyle pretended not to notice the proud grin on Cartman's face.

He opened his mouth to try to say something to recapture his dignity, but he heard the sound of running footsteps. He turned his head slowly toward the door, and Stan came rushing in, his cheeks flushed from running. The raven-haired boy gasped for air, his eyes first falling on Kyle, and then looking over at Kenny.

"Cartman… texted me… that you were fine, Kyle, but… Kenny… Kenny, I'm so, so sorry…" Stan worriedly made his way into the room, hesitantly walking up to the sitting Kenny. "I'm so sorry, Kenny, so sorry… please forgive me…"

Kenny pursed his lips, slowly standing. "Stan… it's not like the first time one of you have accidently killed me. It's ok. I forgive you." Stan latched onto Kenny as if he would never see him again, clinging on for dear life.

"So sorry," he whispered again.

Kyle looked at Stan, a small smile on his face. For the first time since coming back from his language camp, Kyle felt like they were finally united once more. Nothing stood in between them any longer. Once again, they were a group. This made Kyle confident that they would be able to survive whatever else came their way.

Together, they would fix what Kyle had broken.