Chapter 11: Stand By Me

"Ruptured kidney," the nurse explained briefly to Francis and Arthur as Matthew was frantically wheeled away. He still hadn't regained consciousness, having passed out from the pain.

The only other words Lars was able to catch before the nurse scurried away were "open surgery". The only ones left in the hallway were Lars, Francis and Arthur. Arthur was glaring daggers at Lars, still furious. He made several accusations towards Lars and his character. Stubbornly, Lars refused to any sort of response.

Not being able to stand their presence any longer, Lars hurried back to the nurse's station. He sat at his chair in the corner and waited for his sister to come back. The other nurses gave him a wide berth, seeing the obvious tension in his stance.

In his head, Lars recalled the last things Matthew had said to him. He was bold and defended Lars against his parents. Lars smirked to himself. Matthew had finally called out his fathers' shit. Just in time for the life or death surgery Matthew faced now. Nervous hands ran through his hair again.

Shit.

There was always the possibility that Matthew wasn't going to make it. Matthew himself had said that he didn't think his chances of survival were high. But Lars never considered that he would be present at the critical moment. He practically watched his only friend die.

No, he stopped that train of thought. There was nothing he could do, so it was best to remain calm and prepare for the fact that Matthew may not survive the surgery. Damn it! It wasn't fair, but there was nothing that could be done. Matthew had been handed a crapsack life. At least Lars was able to have some time with him, make him happy before…

Hell, there was that line of thought again. Matthew wasn't dead yet. It was just a simple surgery to repair the ruptured kidney. Lars was already getting sentimental and emotional.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Lars glanced up to see Feliks standing before him. His expressive brow was quirked with concern and he stood with one hand on his hip. In no mood to deal with anyone, least of all Feliks, Lars gave him his best glare in hopes that he would go away.

Feliks only rolled his eyes. "I heard about Matthew," he stated. When Lars looked away and didn't reply, Feliks sat himself down beside him. "It sucks, but everything will be okay."

Those words set something off in Lars and he turned fiercely to face him. Feliks looked calm as ever and unaffected. The hands fisted on Lars's knees clenched even tighter. He really just needed to hit something.

"It's okay to be upset. Your friend's in troubled," Feliks stated. "You don't need to keep up your tough cool guy routine."

Lars blanched as the words sank in. Feliks opened his arms and before realizing what he was doing, Lars leaned in and let himself be comforted. The nurse patted his back and made quiet shushing noises. Lars surprised himself by crying quietly onto Feliks's shoulder. The embrace didn't last long and Lars pulled back after a few moments. He felt oddly peaceful, sitting beside Feliks, waiting for news. As soon as Bella's shift ended, she joined Lars. The mutually understood the need to wait to hear about Matthew.

It wasn't until hours later that a doctor came by, looking for Lars himself.

"I was sent by Mr. Bonnefoy," he explained. "He wanted me to inform you about Matthew's condition."

Lars felt his heart race, but he kept his face blank and waited for the man to get on with it.

"The surgery was successful and Matthew is currently in post-op rehabilitation. He's not stable, but if he can survive the night he should make it."

The news gave momentary relief, but also prolonged the stress. Bella thanked the doctor, while Lars sat quietly with his thoughts. After several minutes, Bella tapped his knee to get his attention.

"Lars, we should get home," she said softly.

He nodded in agreement and stood up. There was one more thing he wanted to check before they left. Lars was confused that it was Mr. Bonnefoy who requested the doctor to give him the information. Otherwise, Bella and Lars could've very well been left in the dark, due to patient confidentiality (though many had been making an exception for Lars over the past several weeks). It was thoughtful of Francis, particularly as someone who'd made it clear he didn't like Lars.

"I'll meet you at the car," Lars told Bella quickly, before heading toward Matthew's room.

As he guessed, he found the Bonnefoy-Kirkland family waiting anxiously in Matthew's empty room. Alfred must have been called in the meantime and he sat between his fathers on the bed. Lars hesitated at the door, unsure he was completely welcome. It was Alfred who spotted him first.

"Hey Lars," he greeted. His voice was distinctly less cheerful than usual. The whole lot of them looked tired and drawn.

At the greeting, Francis and Arthur turned to the door. Arthur immediately looked away, while Francis offered a small apologetic smile.

"Thanks for keeping me informed," Lars said quickly. Not expected more, he turned to leave, but was stopped by Francis's voice.

"Please stay a moment," he requested.

Hesitantly, Lars acquiesced and stepped into the room. The fathers shared a look, before Francis stood up and approached.

"My husband and I would like to apologize," he began. There was a small grumble from said husband, which Francis silence with a quick look behind him. "Your sister explained everything to us. Arthur and I may have overreacted earlier. On several occasions actually."

Lars blinked in response. With a small look of embarrassment, Francis ran his fingers threw his perfectly wavy hair.

"After what Matthew said," Francis continued, "We realized that we were causing more harm than good. Even if we did have his best interests at heart."

"I helped convince them you were cool," Alfred piped up from the bed. Both parents smiled at that and Arthur nudged his son affectionately.

"Didn't you have something to say dear?" Francis pressed, looking at his husband.

With a blush, Arthur reluctantly nodded. "I apologize for letting my temper get the best of me earlier. It wasn't very proper."

Lars nodded in acceptance of their apologies. He wasn't sure what else to say, so he settled with, "I'll come back in the morning, if that's okay."

Francis nodded graciously, and Lars left. On his way out, he was nearly bowled over by a silvery haired man. A handsome burnet followed behind, apologizing for 'Gil'. Lars watched perplexed as the odd pair hurried towards Matthew's room.

The next morning, Lars found a small crowd of people in the hallway in front of Matthew's door. There was the odd pair from the night before, as well as Alfred and Francis. Lars was quickly introduced to Gilbert and Antonio (Gilbert greeted him with, "Hey, you're that punk I ran into yesterday!" His friend Antonio apologized for him again) who were Matthew's uncles, apparently.

"How's Matthew?" Lars asked when the pleasantries were over.

"He's back from post-op. He's stable now, but sleeping still. Arthur's with him now," Francis explained. "The doctors say it'll take several days before they can be sure he'll be fine, but he's out of the woods for now."

Relief washed over Lars and he peaked into the hospital room. From the window he could see how pale Matthew looked. Arthur was seated beside him, holding a hand in both of his own. He was okay for now, Lars told himself. There was still dialysis and Matthew's general weakness, but he was alive for now.

"Do you want to go sit with him?" Francis asked softly.

Lars didn't feel comfortable taking any time away from the family, but as he glanced to others around he only saw encouraging faces. At his nod of agreement, Francis lightly tapped on the window to catch Arthur's attention and waved him over. As Arthur and Lars crossed ways at the door, they shared an understanding looking. Neither felt comfortable in the other's company, but both cared enough about Matthew to put up with each other.

The room was unusually quiet, with only the sound of Matthew's breathing. Lars had spent time with Matthew asleep before, but this felt much different. The air in the room was solemn and Matthew looked more fragile than ever before. But his face was calm and peaceful. Lars shook himself of his sentimental, sappy thoughts and sat himself down.

Lars wasn't sure how long he stayed. It was only until Francis knocked on the door and it was Alfred's turn to sit. Lars left feeling relieved. He knew it was silly, but he felt strongly that Matthew was going to be okay. Eventually.

3 ½ Weeks Later

"Oh, be careful cherie," Papa fussed as he assisted Matthew out of the car.

"I'm okay," Matthew reassured softly as he straightened himself up. He kept a hand on his father's outstretched to keep himself steady.

Lars climbed out of the car after him and Francis handed him over. Matthew let Lars keep a steadying hand on his back and helped him towards the house. They made their way slowly, since Matthew was still getting used to walking around again.

"You're arthritis isn't too bad, right?" Arthur asked from the doorway of the Bonnefoy-Kirkland household.

"I'm fine," Matthew replied as he took the steps.

As soon as he made it into the house, Alfred attacked him with a bear hug.

"I'm so glad you're back, Mattie!" he cried.

Matthew laughed and hugged him back. "I'm glad to be home too, Al."

"Don't suffocate him, Alfred. He just got out of the hospital," Arthur teased as he maneuvered in to give him a hug.

Lars stood awkwardly to the side as the family continued their embracing. Frances quickly joined Arthur and put his arms around his son as well. Matthew laughed again and motioned for Lars to join. As someone who never had much physical affection from his parents, Lars didn't feel comfortable joining and looked away awkwardly instead.

Eventually Matthew fought his way out of the arms of his family and he gestured for Lars to follow him. Matthew moved fairly easily toward his bedroom down the hall, but Lars stayed ready to offer any assistance if necessary. Matthew's room was neat, clean, and nondescript. It suited him just fine.

"I missed this bed," Matthew sighed with contentment as he sat down on it. "Come sit," he commanded Lars, patting the space beside him. With a small smile Lars sat down (he noted that the bed was indeed very comfortable). "Thank you," Matthew said softly.

"I don't mind?" Lars said with confusion. Was getting thanked for sitting down?

Matthew caught the confused look on his face and laughed. "No, I mean, thanks for helping me. Today, and the last few weeks and before that."

Lars lifted his shoulders to shrug, but was stopped by Matthew's hand. "You always stayed by me. Don't just shrug it off," Matthew commanded.

He moved his other hand to Lars's other shoulder hesitantly, before wrapping both arms around his neck in an embrace. It was returned immediately by Lars, who placed his own arms around Matthew's small waist.

"You're welcome," he murmured pulling Matthew closer.

Lars could feel Matthew's cold nose press against his neck, and his silky hair brushed against his cheek. Though Matthew's frame was small, it was warm and soft. Lars breathed in slowly, enjoying the slowness of the moment. The embrace lasted longer than was typical between friends.

But then again, their friendship was far from typical.

AN: And so it ends with fluffy hugs. Because I just can't resist.

I hope you enjoyed the ending. I hope all the angst and suffering was worth it in the end. From the very beginning I planned on keeping Matthew alive, so you had no reason to worry dear readers! Though, I won't lie, halfway through I seriously considered letting him die- but I'm too soft to let that happen.

The song that our title and chapters were inspired by: Stand by Me, by Ben E King. I listened to that song 101 times while writing this (no joke, I kept track). It's an oldie, but a goodie, so I recommend listening to it if you haven't heard it before.

Thanks so much for all your wonderful support. You've been the sweetest readers an author could ask for!

Next up I'm planning a fic featuring Denmark and Norway based off on of my favorite fairytales and another fic with Poland and Lithuania. If you're interested, look out for those.

Thanks again! I love every single one of you who took the time to read, follow, favorite, and leave a review for this fic.

Much love,
Allie