"Nnnnnnhhhhh…."

Both of the twins turned their attention to Fiddleford. The young man's eyes had shut tight, and he let out another groan. His eyelids fluttered, then his eyes slowly opened.

"Fiddleford?" Stanford said softly. "How are you feeling? "

The young man closed his eyes again, then opened them. "S-Stanford? Where—where am I?"

"You're in the hospital, little buddy." Stanley told him, scooting his chair closer to the head of the bed.

"Unnnhh—the—the hospital? The last thing I remember—that odd fella in the red robe was going to…"

His voice trailed off and he closed his eyes again. Stanley and Stanford looked at each other; thinking maybe he'd fallen back to sleep, but Fiddleford blinked and opened his eyes again.

"He would have stabbed me in the heart." Stanford said, placing a hand on Fiddleford's arm. "You jumped in the way and he stabbed you instead. "

"You're one brave little guy. "Stanley added, beaming.

Fiddleford closed his eyes and his cheeks turned red. "Aw—'t'weren't nothin'. " He looked up at Stanford. "You're my friend. I couldn't let that guy skewer you. "

"Well, I owe you big, Fidds. "

"Me, too," Stanley chimed in. "You saved my brother's life. "

Fiddleford's face remained red. "No—you don't owe me anything. "

Stan looked over at Stanford, and the two had the same thought.

"Eh—since you're a minor, the hospital needed someone to sign some papers to take responsibility for you. "Stan said.

"Yes, so—Stanley and I did. "Stanford added.

Fiddleford's eyes went wide. "You—oh, my—you didn't have to do that. "

Stanford smiled. "Well, like I said, I owe you big." :)

Fiddleford's face went a darker red, and Stanley wondered how hard the kid could blush. "Well—"he yawned, then shook his head slightly, making the mop of hair on his head even more of a mess—"—I—I wish—I feel like I'm indebted to you, still. "

Stanford looked across the bed at his brother. Stanley had an idea of what was on his brother's mind, and shot him back a knowing smirk.

"Well, Fidds, "Stanford said aloud, "Stanley had an idea about what I could do after I'm done with school. I know it's a ways off yet, and I know you have your heart set on those computers, but hear me out, won't you…?"

.