I don't own The Sorcerer's Apprentice, 2010.

The Final Chapter

"Balthazar, would you stop shoving water down my throat!" The frustrated young apprentice jerked his head away from the incoming tall glass of ice water. An exasperated glint sparkled in his eyes as he said, "I don't have a fever anymore, so no need for the constant-," he shoved the hand holding the glass away again, "water! I'm fine!"

Balthazar rolled his eyes at the couch-ridden Dave, covering his concerned look with fake amusement. His apprentice had been awake for half an hour, but the elder Sorcerer could still see the glazed eyes and the faintly flushed flesh of Dave's cheeks. He didn't have the fever- as his jumpy apprentice continually points out- however, Dave was still weak.

Sighing with resign, Balthazar put the water on the coffee table and swapped it with the bottle of a strengthening tonic. (At least, that's what he told Dave. His little apprentice didn't need to know it was just liquefied chicken noodle soup.) He jammed it down Dave's throat before the young man could protest.

Spluttering and coughing at the hot liquid scalding his throat, the young apprentice gave a fierce glare in his master's direction. As nice as the gesture was, he was getting pretty darn tired of Balthazar tending to his every unwanted whim, even though as much as he didn't want to admit it, Dave knew he was getting better only from his master's care. Not that it lessened the jagged glare he shot at Balthazar.

However, Balthazar just smirked in a purely Balthazar, I-win-you-lose way while he lightly hummed, 'If Looks Could Kill'. The older Sorcerer's humming granted Dave a small smile

"Aren't you a little old for pop culture references, Balthazar?" His apprentice grinned as he started with the playful banter.

But the Sorcerer of the seven hundred and seventy-seventh degree just shot back without censoring his words first, "Aren't you a little young for a life threatening illness?"

Damn. That was definitely not how he wanted to start the conversation. Inwardly wincing as he saw his apprentice freeze, Balthazar wished he could have been more tactful with his wording.

"Life threatening?" Dave's eyes had widened to irregular proportions as he demanded an answer from his master. "What do you mean life threatening? Sure I was out for awhile but it wasn't…"

In his defense, Balthazar had made a speech for this little conversation and the even more personal one, however, life liked to throw his curve balls and he improvised. Apparently for Balthazar, improvisation means be really blunt. He replied calmly as he mixed his tea, "You almost died." Off handily he continued as if he was conversing with him about the weather. "You had a low pulse, an extremely high fever of one hundred and five, a seizure, and you were unconscious for a few hours before you slept. Fever leads to potential brain damage, or you heart could have stopped, or even the seizure could have done something that I couldn't fix. You're a very lucky person Dave. I doubt you'd die even if I sent you into a battle ring in a Dreamworks film with several real dragons surrounded by real blood-thirsty Vikings. I think the most you'd get would be the hiccups."

However, Dave only gasped out a timid, "Good to know." He was shocked to say the least. It had never even crossed his mind that he could have potentially perished if it wasn't for Balthazar…. He was about to thank the Sorcerer profusely, but Balthazar –like always- had other plans.

Propping his apprentice up on several pillows, the older man initiated the awkward conversation he had been dreading. (He would have rather taken the 'Birds and Bees' talk…)

Balthazar took a deep breath as he thought of a good way to start this. He could apologize for invading Dave's privacy, but then again… He wasn't really sorry for that. He only did it for the health of his apprentice.

Well, he could start off with some heavy duty brown nosing. He could just make Dave some cookies… Balthazar would just have to keep that fire extinguisher nearby in case there was a repeat of his first cooking attempt with the nuclear explosions-

On second thought, skip the cooking.

He thought for a few more seconds in the odd silence he and Dave were sitting in before eloquently 'screwing it' and accepting his fate.

"I believe this is the part where you start yelling at me for invading your privacy, Dave."

Taken aback, the weak apprentice raised an eyebrow away from his wide eyes. He shot back a confused, "What are you talking about? Invading my privacy?" Dave stopped for a moment before giving Balthazar a panicked look. "You didn't see that, did you? I swear it's nothing, Balthazar! I didn't even buy it, I got it as a Christmas present-"

Balthazar's hand met his forehead as he did a face-palm. Abruptly stopping his apprentice, he spoke with an odd tone in his voice. "I don't think we're talking about the same thing Dave." His eyebrows lifted playfully as he asked, "But what is it that's in your room, Dave?"

Resembling a deer in headlights and a gaping fish, the younger man blushed in embarrassment. "Nothin- Wait, then what are you talking about?"

An idea popped into Balthazar's head, a glorious theory that he was sure had just gotten him off the hook. Testing his theory, the master sat on the other side of the couch and looked into Dave's chocolate brown eyes.

"Dave," he started, pushing his dirty blonde hair out of his eyes, "what is the very last thing that you remember?"

An internal grin started out on Balthazar's face as Dave looked confused yet again. Maybe his apprentice didn't remember the encounter in his dreams at all! Although, he wasn't quite sure how that would have come to pass. It wasn't like Dave hit his head or anything… Wait… the fever! It had been at brain damaging levels, so he supposed it could wipe out some memory…

"You were carrying me back here."

And instantly, Balthazar cheered inside. He was off the hook! And Dave had brain damage! Yeah! Everything would be fine. He didn't have to risk the relationship with his apprentice, and he knew more about the kid's childhood and home life!

However, that is when Balthazar's hopes and dreams went tumbling down like Long John Silver in a Michael Jackson moon walk contest. He still had to talk to Dave about his parents… That was one issue that he would not let go unchecked, especially after seeing that nasty looking scar on his apprentice's torso. (He guessed that it was done by a hunter's knife since it was the width that it was and how clean a cut it seemed to have been.)

Damn it, he wasn't in the clear at all.

"You know Dave, dreams are a funny thing." Balthazar warily said with a faraway glint in his irises, "They can be good, bad, terrify us, lull us to sleep or just have no effect on us; and there is a spell that can transport a Sorcerer into one of another person's dreams to calm the person from the inside." Balthazar gave Dave a knowing stare.

The younger man froze whispering a mortified, "You didn't."

One look at Dave's fear filled eyes was all he needed to get angry at those God-forsaken "parents" of his. How dare they make his apprentice so terrified of just talking about a dream! Holding in a growl of fury, the master regained his composure and replied with a shrug, "It was necessary."

"What did you see?" Barely catching the panicked murmur of shock from his apprentice, Balthazar turned to look at the swirling of emotions conflicting in Dave's chocolate orbs. He looked almost as frightened as he had when Balthazar had seen him resurrecting his master.

"Just the night at Battery Park, a class after the Arcana Cabana, "The older Sorcerer tried to down play it a little, if only to keep Dave from fainting in fear, however, it didn't seem to be working. "And Lucy and Nat Stutler. Really not -"

He stopped when Balthazar saw his charge tremble and tears well up in those lost eyes of his. Dave's lip quivered as if he wanted to say something, but as he met Balthazar's eyes, he knew there was nothing that needed to be said. The master wrapped his arm around the shaking youth's shoulders hesitantly, not sure if Dave would shake him off, but his apprentice only leaned closer to him.

Balthazar pretended not to notice when tears and breakneck sobs filled the room to conserve whatever pride Dave had left. So, he stroked the apprentice's soaked chestnut hair with the concern of a loving father.

They remained there for who knows how long, with Balthazar comforting Dave the best that he knew how and with Dave clinging to his master as if he feared drowning in his own tears. However, the young man soon cried all he had in him and quieted the sobs.

So without another word, a tear soaked Balthazar got up and left the room, leaving a mentally distraught Dave feeling a little abandoned until his master came back with a dry towel and a stack of dry clothes. He gestured to the apprentice's dripping figure and threw him the towel bundle of clothing all the while saying, "You'll get a cold if you stay like that. Take your time getting dressed; you are still weak from the fever."

Nodding half with surprise and half with understanding, Dave smiled with puffy red eyes at the blonde haired Sorcerer before choking out a soft, "Thank you Balthazar, really."

Sensing the deeper meaning than just the clothes, Balthazar replied with a small grin, "Anytime, Dave, anytime."

Dave moaned and groaned for the next few hours as he lay upon the couch in green fuzzy pajamas. The younger man was craving substantial food that would potentially upset his weak stomach, and to be honest, the constant blathering from Dave was getting tedious.

Dave said for the fifth time, "Let me have some solid food! I'm not toothless for God's sake!"

And yet again, it was all too easy to make fun of Dave. His master shook his head with a smile. "I never said you were a dragon, Dave."

Dave's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, taken aback as he replied, "Huh?"

"Nothing," Balthazar shot down with a knowing smirk on his face before he handed his apprentice a piece of lightly buttered toast. "Oh, and Dave? I went into your room to see what you were so defensive about."

He grinned manically as he saw his apprentice pale.

"I didn't know you really needed anti-itch cream."

And here is the end of our little tale here. I am pretty proud of myself, but what do you guys think?

Was everyone in character? Did you like it in general? What are your thoughts?

Oh, and thank you to all of my epic reviewers! I reread all of your (95!) reviews and I can't believe how nice you guys are. Thank you so much, it was definitely my readers that got me through.

Now, to study for midterms. *Groans*

kirby