Frank had no idea how he ended up in the hospital, but somehow, there he was. Perhaps Pete's mother had driven him, or the police officer, maybe he had taken the car himself? It didn't matter at the end of the day. He was here, in one piece somehow. Water dripped from his clothes and gathered in his shoes as he shuffled awkwardly into the room, his eyes fixated on Pete's mother. The pink hood of her jacket guided him forward, its bright color becoming a beacon of hope in the darkness of Frank's mind.

Frank followed her blindly. A shiver wracked his soaked frame when she stopped in front of a desk situated at the front of the room. Chaos was erupting around them, but Frank barely noticed the screaming children or the other people pushing past him in search of help. A part of him wanted to look around, to focus on someone else's distress besides his own, but if he did that, he might lose the tenuous hold he had on his emotions.

Not only that, but the fact that Gerard might be here hadn't escaped Frank. This was the same hospital that Frank had taken Mikey to, which meant that Gerard could be in this very building right now. The string attached to his heart that always seemed to be tugging in Gerard's direction begged Frank to go look for him. Gerard would know what to do, or at the very least, Frank could seek comfort in his arms until this was over, but no, he couldn't do that either. He wasn't allowed to run away from this, especially not when he was the one who had caused it.

And even if Gerard was here, he would be with Mikey, and he didn't need to deal with Frank's drama on top of his own. This was something Frank had to deal with alone, no matter how much it hurt. Pete had run away from him, he had hurt himself because of him, so Frank wasn't allowed to try and brush that off in his boyfriend's embrace, no matter how badly he wanted to.

"This way." Pete's mother tapped on his shoulder, dragging Frank out of his thoughts which he had been lost in. "They took him to ICU," she added on before Frank could ask.

Frank nodded dumbly. He had no words to say to her, but at the same time, he felt that he owed her so much more than silence. Her son was in the hospital because of him. He had jumped off a bridge because of him. How could Frank ever make this right? If he lost Pete, he not only lost his best friend, but he lost his true family as well.

"Did they say how he's doing?" Frank managed to croak out after they entered a deserted elevator which he assumed was going to take them to where Pete was.

"No...the nurse said I would have to ask on this floor."

"Oh," Frank answered softly. He kept his mouth shut after that, allowing the two of them to stew in their own worries as the elevator carried them higher by the second.

When the doors opened with a ping, Frank was reluctant to get out. As badly as he wanted to see Pete, he was so afraid that they were about to receive news that neither of them were ready to hear. Frank was trying to think positively, but it was difficult to do so while in this place where so many tragedies happen. 

Pete's mother didn't seem to share his hesitance. She strode out as soon as she had the space to do so, her quick steps inspiring Frank to push his cold body into motion once more. Despite his earlier promise, Frank couldn't help it when his eyes danced around the less crowded waiting room searching for Gerard. Mikey was in the ICU at one point, and although he had probably been moved by now, Frank's hope still rose momentarily before plummeting back down when he didn't see Gerard anywhere.

Frank slumped down in a chair close to the desk where Pete's mother was currently speaking with another nurse after their conversation carried on for a few minutes. Mrs. Wentz didn't seem as frantic as she was earlier, which Frank took as a good sign, but he was too exhausted to continue trying to eavesdrop with little success. His wet jeans clung to his thighs as he tried to find a comfortable position. He was fighting a losing battle, but it was better than breaking down in tears, which he was on the verge of doing if he didn't keep himself distracted.

"He's okay - at least, he should be," Frank's mother announced before she took the seat next to Frank. He hadn't noticed her walking over, but her voice came as a relief even if her sudden reappearance did startle him more than he was willing to admit. "They have him under observation and they're doing some tests to make sure his brain didn't suffer any damage from being oxygen deprived, but he's awake and apparently coherent. He's got a broken arm and some bruises and scrapes, but he's lucky all things considered."

"Oh thank God," Frank heaved out. "When can we see him?"

"She said a doctor would be out to talk to us soon, then they'll decide if he can have visitors once his scans come back. The nurse said it shouldn't be too long though. She's going to page his doctor and let us know we are here."

One of the bands of tension wrapped around Frank's heart unraveled itself at hearing the good news. Pete was alive, he was awake and breathing. This was better than Frank could have hoped for. Yet at the same time, now that he wasn't so worried about Pete's condition, his guilt welled up even higher than it already was. Pete shouldn't be in the hospital at all, but he was, all because of Frank.

"I'm so sorry," Frank blurted out before he could stop himself. "This is all my fault. I know you're going to say it's not, but it is." Frank curled around himself as if he could lessen his internal pain with his action. "Pete did this because he loves me...maybe not all of this, but I've been pushing him away. I care about him so much, but I don't feel the same way, and in his diary, he said he had been hurting himself because of me. I - I drove him to this, and I'm so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen."

Frank sucked in a huge rush of air as he tried to compose himself. He hadn't planned this impromptu confession, but now it was out in the open, and at the very least, his mother deserved to know the truth. Whether or not he was entirely to blame here, he was partially at fault, and he wasn't going to lie to the person who was more of a mother to him than his own mom.

"Frank, darling," Mrs. Wentz sighed. "Don't do this to yourself. Pete...he's got a lot going on right now. This isn't your fault, or anyone's really. If you want to blame someone, it should be me. I knew Pete was struggling, but I didn't want to pry. I thought it was something he would snap out of on his own, and if I interfered, he would only pull away more. Now I know how wrong I was, but thanks to you, my son is still alive, and we have a chance to fix things. If you hadn't gotten me when I did, who knows what would have happened? Pete made a mistake, maybe we all did, but it's not too late to get him help, which I plan to do."

"How can you not hate me right now?" Frank whispered without truly meaning to. He didn't want to hear her answer, but a part of him had to understand why she was attempting to comfort him instead of telling him to politely fuck off. He knew Mrs. Wentz cared for him, but he had hurt her son, he had driven him to try and take his own life. He didn't deserve her forgiveness, but he craved it more than anything.

"I could never hate you. You are my son, Frank, both you and Pete mean the world to me. I know why you think I should be upset, but I'm not. I'm upset with myself for not noticing how bad Pete was getting, but none of that is on you. If it wasn't for you, we might not have found Pete in time, but we did. He's going to be okay, and so are you. You are a part of this family just as much as Pete is. I love you so much, never forget that."

Mr. Wentz's kindness crumpled the last of Frank's defenses, and before he could stop himself, tears began pouring down his cheeks. His sobs wracked his small frame as he allowed himself to cry for the first time all night. Seconds later, he was enveloped in a warm embrace. It might not be Gerard, but being held by Mrs. Wentz was just as special to him at that moment. He couldn't believe he was so lucky to have this wonderful mother figure in his life. His own mother might be awful, but Mrs. Wentz more than made up for that. Even now when she had every right to spurn him, she was loving him and protecting him instead.

And as horrible as everything was around him, Frank believed her words. He was going to be okay. No matter what happened next with his and Pete's friendship, it was fixable. Pete was alive, and Frank would do everything in his power to make sure he healed in both mind and body. With a mother like his, anything was possible, and Frank had faith that together they could mend this mess and come out stronger on the other side. 

Hey look who only took a month to update this time instead of a year?

This is progress...sort of. But yes okay here is the next chapter and the plot is moving along so hopefully my motivation will stay with me and I'll have this story knocked out sooner rather than later.

I love all of you who still read this. Thank you so much for sticking with me. 

Chapter dedicated to Edgy-veggie

Just a few more months and we'll be fine

- starr