The trip to the hospital this time around had been very frantic. Murdoc spent most of it back in his mind ignoring everybody. He blocked it out when Stu's mom screamed at him and when Stu's apparent girlfriend Paula came in to scream at him for nearly killing her boyfriend twice. After that he'd just been shoved to the side while they all took turns talking frantically to doctors about the blue haired boy's condition. He did notice that Paula would look at him almost with interest sometimes, but then it turned to hateful glares. The doctor's had let Stu's parents in to see him, but told them he was still asleep and that most likely he'd be like that for awhile. They never said anything about pressing charges, Murdoc was pretty sure they were just relieved that their son was alive.

They never let Paula in; they told her that his parents were the only ones allowed to see him until Thursday. She seemed rather angry about that and with one more insanely confusing glare towards Murdoc she was gone. He waited until all of the doctors and nurses were out of sight and slipped into the room where the boy was sleeping. He shut the door quietly and locked it behind him; he turned the bed side lamp on, and took a seat in one of the blue plastic chairs.

He sat with his hands stuffed in his jeans pockets just looking at him almost like he was guarding him. His mind was still filled with that image from the lot that look, that smile….He was like the living dead, something different, something that wasn't even from this realm.

The boy groaned and moved around a bit before finally opening his eyes and slowly pulling himself into a sitting position. He turned his head and looked at Murdoc; those eyes were so black and wet looking, could he see? He had stared at Murdoc, not at him, into him.

"Who are you, wait I remember you from te car lot or somefink." The boy said, he sounded confused.

Murdoc felt angry and mildly hurt that he didn't remember him, maybe he would. He thought he heard one of those doctors say he would slowly remember things, but not too quickly.

"I'm Murdoc; you were in the car wit me. Do ya remember who ya are?" He asked slowly, he wasn't going to scream at him for not remembering.

The boy thought for a bit then nodded slowly.

"Yeah I fink so anyways, unless I changed or somefink, but pretty sure I'm Stu, Stu Pot."

Murdoc smiled slightly.

"Well that's a start then, anything else then?"

He stared off for a while before shaking his head. Murdoc sighed then began to explain everything as slowly and carefully as he could. He tried to read the boy's expression as he spoke, but couldn't find anything there in those black holes. Once he was done he looked away feeling slightly ashamed, he remembered the first incident, that look, and that smile.

"So you kinda saved me life then."

Murdoc looked up at him confused, part of him wanted to scream at him.

"….Yeah mate, I saved yer life."

Why argue somebody who had that much trauma to the head?

"Fanks for tat, I really appreciate it…Have me parents seen me yet, are they okay?"

"Yeah they were in for a bit, so was yer girlfriend…They didn't let her in here though….They're not too happy with me though."

"I am, you took care of me, I owe you for tat."

There was going to be a day the kid regretted saying that.

"Do you um….Do ya know what you look like right now?" Murdoc asked trying to figure out a way to say it.

Stu tilted his head to the side looking more confused now.

"I've only been out fer a year right, ten I shouldn't be tat old lookin."

Murdoc shook his head and bit at his lip to keep from yelling at him.

"No mate I mean yer face isn't in….Hold on a second."

He got up and went into the connected bathroom. He found a small hand mirror on the counter; he looked at his own reflection for a moment. His red and black colored eyes, sharp green teeth, greasy skin, and too shaggy looking hair; he wasn't too brilliant looking himself if he was completely honest. He didn't know if showing the kid his reflection was the best of ideas, but it was better to get it over with than to have those idiotic doctors confuse him anymore.

He handed the mirror to the boy before sitting back in his chair. He watched him carefully and regretted his decision quite quickly. Stu's hands shook and his eyes went wide, he combed his fingers through his shaggy blue hair, touched the small cuts along his face, and finally pulled and pushed at the bruised skin around his eyes.

"I-I…No, no, this ain't me, no way….No, this is a trick den, I don't look like dis." He muttered as he angrily rejected his own reflection.

His dark blue eyebrows arched in confusion and anger as he tossed the mirror to the edge of the bed. He placed his hands over his face and pulled his knees up against himself as he began sobbing.

Murdoc pitied him; all of it was his fault. He got up and sat next to the shaking boy on the bed. He wrapped an arm around him pulling his body close to his own; Stu moved his hands from his face and wrapped them around the older man's midsection holding him tightly. He buried his face against his chest as he continued to cry. He wasn't good at these kinds of things, he rejected people with their emotions, but he felt like he didn't have a choice here. If he did have a choice he didn't want to know about it; he held the younger man close and ran his fingers through his hair.

"I'm hideous, I'm a fuckin' monster. Tat's what I am, I'm repulsive, nobody will want me…She's gonna leave me y'know, nobody will want me after this….I hate this, nobody will wanna look at me."

"Stop that, you aren't hideous alright? Stop saying that about yourself, you're fucking perfect, and if that bird of yours cares about you she'll stick around."

He remembered the way she'd looked at him in the waiting room; that mix of "I hate you" and "I want to fuck you, now". The truth was that girl was as good as gone the minute she saw her boyfriend's new look, but he'd already made Stu upset enough for one night, one lifetime actually.

"Fanks Muds, yer my only real mate y'know tat right?"

"I know Stu, same with you….You should get some sleep, alright?"

"Will ya stay wit me, I don't want ta be alone, and I'm sick of sleepin all the time. Feel like tat's all I been doin'."

Murdoc smiled sadly.

"I can't, those doctors, and your folks will flip their shit if they see me in here with you."

"They just don't get you saved me and all, they'll get it when I tell em….I don't wanna go back to school and work, I wanna live wit you…I kinda remember some fings…I remember you talkin' to me a lot, takin' care of me, and I was happy….I'm happy right now, I wasn't happy at that store though."

"I don't think your folks will like that much kid."

"Please Muds, I really don't wanna go back to tat. I just wanna be around yew, if you want me to tat is."

He thought over it for a moment, it was another mouth to feed…Well one, Murdoc rarely ate that much and from the looks of it Stu didn't eat much anyways.

"Sure mate, you can stay….Just I can't be here when everybody else is, alright? I'll come back when yer girl comes by to see you."

He slipped out of the boy's tight grip and leaned down kissing him on the top of the head before sneaking out of the room.