Dan was barely able to stay upright as he stood there in shock, just staring. It had to be a dream. Phil couldn't have just been missing for six months, two weeks and six days, and then suddenly be standing here before him. Was Dan supposed to just forget the months of torturous worrying –days of hoping and nights of praying?

Phil was very clearly hurt, so Dan tried to push his confusion to the back of his mind. He couldn't tell whether or not he should reach out and touch him, but he needed to know that he was real or if he was really starting to go crazy. For a moment, he almost wished that he wasn't. Every visible inch of Phil's pale skin was painted with red and purple and green and yellow bruising; his hair was longer, dirty and matted; there were deeper bruises on his nose and under his eyes, and there was a scar slashing from his ear to the bridge of his nose, straight through his right eye.

His breathing was ragged and through a forced smile, he looked like he was going to pass out any minute, like it took all his strength to get here. Dan reached out for the crook of his neck to try to steady him, but his heart sank to his stomach as he pulled his numb fingers away: blood.

Panicked, Dan grabbed Phil's shoulders to steady him and checked where he was bleeding from. He almost vomited at the sight of a small but deep hole in the right side of the back of Phil's neck. Feeling his boyfriend shaking in his grip, Dan lowered him, gently as possible, to lay on the floor. He tried to call for help, but his voice cracked and no sound came out as silent tears flooded down his cheeks.

There had to be dozens of people around. Why was no one calling for help?

Dan couldn't drag his eyes up away from Phil, but everyone around was in too much shock to do anything but stand by, watching in horror. After one bystander's shock wore off, they managed to pull their phone out and call for an ambulance. When the operator confirmed that someone was on their way, the caller stepped cautiously forward and tapped Dan's shoulder. "Dan…? An ambulance is coming. You- You both just hang in there, okay?"

Dan wished he could do something to comfort those who had to see this –so many of his fans here knew and really cared about what had happened to Phil, and now he was back, but they might lose him all over again. But Dan was too lost in maybe losing the love of his life again to do anything but nod, silently grateful.

Blood was starting to pool on the floor under Phil's head, and he was already drifting in and out of consciousness. Dan shakily stroked his face.

"Don't leave me, baby. Not again…"

Phil had completely lost consciousness by the time the ambulance arrived. The paramedics let Dan go with him, even let him hold his boyfriend's hand. Phil was laid out on his side, and Dan knelt beside him, staring at his beaten face and praying his eyes would open up.

Dan paced in the waiting room for an agonizing half hour, biting his nails down to the nub. A nurse offered him coffee and a comfortable seat, but he turned down both as politely as he could in his state.

When he couldn't stand the anxiety anymore, he coped just like he had for months now. He turned on his phone camera and started recording.

"So this looks like shit but I'm in the hospital waiting room. I don't know what's happening with Phil yet, but he's back and he has to be alive. He's… He's back. I can't wait to get him home. I really can't believe, after all these months… I thought he could be dead. I was starting to believe he was dead, everyone was. But he's alive, and until someone drills otherwise into my brain, that's what I'm going on."

The video was shit, but he stopped recording when a doctor came in, asking for him. Yes rushed over, eyes wide and begging for answers to questions he couldn't voice.

"He's alive. Blood transfusion was successful and he's conscious again, and expected to recover. We're going to examine him further once he's more lucid. In the meantime, he's been asking for you."

A/N: Reviews = quicker updates!