Dave stared at the unconscious boy, holding back tears. He was thankful for the barricade of his shades in that sense. Seeing John, his friend hooked up to so many machines made his stomach twist and turn.

"Oh Jesus fuck John...I didn't want you to throw yourself into a fucking coma..." He swallowed hard. "Please wake up soon I don't know what I'd do with out you...and you still have to meet Bro." He smiled weakly . "Bro really wants to meet you man, so you gotta wake up...and besides...I didn't get to apologize."

John, in a way, could only hear jumbled versions of what Dave was saying. He could see nothing, he couldn't move, nothing mattered other than where he was and that Dave was talking to him. He tried to respond, but found it impossible. He couldn't move, not at all.

"Dave?"

A knock could be heard from the other side of the room, tentative and soft through the quiet room of medical beeps and Dave's quiet hushes.

"Dave, the doctors told me I could come in…" The voice continued, sounding a bit shaky itself. "May I?"

Dave looked up, blinking away the tears. The voice was one he didn't recognize, but he answered anyway "Yeah...go ahead." He said, glancing at the door before looking back at John.

Frankly, he didn't care who was at the door he was more worried about John at this moment. The doctors had told him that it would be a miracle if John woke up.

"I'm sorry John." Dave whispered before the door opened.

"...Hey."

An Australian accent suddenly filled the empty room, and a man with dark skin and black rimmed glasses stood behind Dave. He was dressed in green cargo pants and a matching button up that was open to reveal his skull-logo'd shirt. He wore a mixed, torn expression as he cleared his throat.

"...You probably dont know who I am, um, oh Gosh I hate to introduce myself in person on such horrible terms, and with John's situation too..." He sighed, forcing a smile. "I'm Jake English..." He paused. "Dirk's fiance." He shrugged, looking up at the ceiling as if distracted.

"Again, sorry to just, um, pop-hop right in here like this..."

"Dirk's fiancé?" he repeated, blinking slowly. "You mean you're Bro's fiancé...I've heard a little about you from Bro." He said as he turned to stare at the new male.

"Where is he? Did you come with him?" He asked, hopefully. He swallowed hard, "Uh...where is he? I really need to speak to him." He stood, heading to look in the hallway.

Bro was the only one who was going to make this better for him. He was the one that had gotten Dave through the initial shock of John's coma and had even gone out of his way to come see him. He peered out in the hallway, looking both ways. He frowned.

"...Where is he?"

Jake's smile faded, and he suddenly couldn't keep his eyes on Dave any longer. He stared up at the ceiling again, taking a deep breath as he tried to find proper wording. 'You gotta be brave, Jake English. Don't cry in front of the lad… You gotta be there for him.'

"Dave, I'm afraid there was an accident-" He paused, hiding a quiet, suppressed sob behind a cough not-so cleverly. "…There was an accident and Dirk, your brother, was…involved." He muttered quietly, running a hand through his hair nervously. "Oh Gosh I-I don't know how to do this…" The dark-haired boy admitted, sounding guilty. "How does one even bring about such horrid news to such a young man?"

Jake finally peeked his eyes open to see Dave staring at him, expectantly, needy… alone. Jake understood that feeling; he knows it all too well now. Gulping down a lump in his throat, Jake took another deep breath in preparation for not only Dave, but himself, before continuing.

"…" Jake sniffled, finding this much harder than he figured initially. He took a few cautious steps forward before whispering, "Dirk is dead, Dave… He didn't make it to the hospital after the crash…"

His voice cracked, and he was then forced to look Dave in the eye. /Be a man, Jake. Dirk would have expected that much…/ "I only just found out yesterday, and I jumped on the first plane I could get, David I am so sorry…" He whispered politely, trying his best to keep the boy calm as well as himself.

Breathing suddenly became really fucking hard for the youngest- no, -the…only Strider. He swallowed hard. "B-Bro... He's dead?" He asked, glancing around the room. Everything felt like it was closing in on him: The walls, the ceiling, reality itself. Nothing seemed to make sense anymore.

The blonde haired boy dropped to his knees, grabbing at his already matted hair. "Oh God no..." He whimpered, eyes wide staring at the floor beneath him. "Oh no no no no no- NO!" He was losing it. He couldn't do this without his brother- his brother coming was the only thing keeping him out of another episode! He squeezed his eyes shut, "FUCK! This is my fault... He came because of me- I called him! Oh, God." He swallowed hard.

Jake's eyes widened, tears that he was holding back in an effort to be brave slowly began to leak out as he dropped to his own knees and instantly moved to hug Dave affectionately. He was never good at breaking bad news to people, let alone children and let alone further a child who's best friend and boyfriend was just placed into a coma. Alas, Jake had to try. Dirk would have wanted this; He would have wanted Dave to have someone here to make it a little easier on him…

Jake wished there was someone here to make it easier on HIM, too.

"Shh- Dave I know it's hard... I-I loved him too, don't be afraid of your emotions mate, let em go." He whispered, holding the teen closer despite a few tugs and refusals coming from him. "It's not your fault... Dirk would, um-, your brother would have come for you in a heartbeat regardless of the phone-call you two shared. You know that… He was always is…always was…protective of you like that." He tried to reason, trying to remain calm and remember everything he could of what the police relayed to him, remembering only one thing specifically other than the obvious...

Dave inhaled deeply. Bro, dead? No...Bro was stronger than that. Dave laughed lightly, shaking his head and standing up slowly. His knees felt weak, like jelly or something fucking cliché like that. He swallowed hard and grinned.

"This is a fucking lie, right Jake? A fucking joke?! It's a fucking terrible one. Bro...he's stronger than death. He's always made it fucking out. There's no fucking way he's dead." He screamed at the older boy in denial.

He glared behind his shades, wiping his tears off his cheeks. "This isn't fucking funny Jake and Bro won't think so either when I tell him." He muttered, crossing his arms.

Jake closed his eyes, inhaling deeply to keep himself composed for both their sakes. "I'm terribly sorry, Dave…" He whispers, standing to his feet as well to match Dave's position. "…but I would never joke about Dirk's death, it is just as upsetting for me as it is for you, I promise you." He almost bit, but softened his words to hold onto any solace he still had with Dave. "I'm afraid…" He looked away, taking a deep breath and clenching his fists. "I /assure/ you it isn't a joke." He clarified.

After a moment of silence, Jake took a step forward and took Dave's hand.

"Apparently… Dirk had, oh fiddlesticks- you'll have to forgive me of that- It's a force of habit…" He muttered, letting Dave's hand go. "…anyway…" He sniffed, pulling out a phone that wasn't his shakily from his pocket and placing it into Dave's hand. "…the police gave this to me; it…was your brother's phone. It is to my understanding that Dirk left you a message on it, as he was… I suppose, on his death bed, if you could call it that." He made a strong effort to remain calm as he handed it to the grieving boy. "We can listen to it now… if you'd like, or I could leave you alone to do so."

Dave's heart shattered for the third time that day. He felt suspended, like he couldn't move for some time before he reached out to grab the phone. He stared at the familiar phone and flipped it open to stare at the smuppets background that Bro had.

Dave almost broke into tears again. He looked up at Jake before walking out of the room and shutting the door behind him. He slid down the wall until he was sitting. The blonde directed himself to Bro's recorded voice messages. The top one read FOR DAVE. He inhaled deeply, hesitating before playing the recorded message.

Jake sat beside John on the bed, looking down at the boy as Dave sat outside in the hall, alone.

"I wish I could help him, John... I have a feeling youre the only one who can, anymore..." The dark-skinned man sighed, taking off his glasses to wipe his tear-stained eyes, finally letting the tears fall. "If you can hear me, John... You have to fight this. You're...You're all he has left."

With that, Jake let himself go, face falling into his hands as he finally gave in to the tears he had been holding back.