hymn

2

"Andy," Patrick whispers, shutting the hospital room door behind him quietly.

His brother looks over. "Hey. Come on," Andy says, moving over a little and patting the hospital bed. Patrick walks over and sits, leaning on Andy. "I'm okay. We just had a little scare with the chemo. It's okay, 'Rick," Andy whispers, setting his arm around his to younger brother. "I got approved to go on with the intensive chemo. They think it will work to get rid of this damn cancer."

"That's what they said four years ago and yet here we are," Patrick whispers, moving to kiss his brother's cheek. "Are you really okay?"

"Of course I am, 'Rick," Andy smiles. "I wouldn't ever leave you here alone. I plan on seeing you graduate, walking you down the aisle at your wedding, meeting your children. I plan to live so much longer, bub. Don't worry about me." Patrick narrows his eyes. They both know he's not gonna live that long.

"Its hard not to," Patrick bites his lip, laying his head on Andy's shoulder.

"How was school?" Andy asks, poking his arm.

"Uh, it was cool. I guess," Patrick shrugged. "There's a group of kids there that kind of took me in after one of them basically scared me to death. Two of them said I was attractive," Patrick blushes. "There's one girl, I like her. She's nice. I can tell she's the mom of the group," he laughs lightly.

"Awh. You'll fit right in, bub. I'm glad you already have friends," Andy tells him as the door opens and a doctor and nurse come in. The nurse bites her lip and looks towards Patrick. Andy nods and gets the hint. "Hey, 'Rick, why don't you go on home? You can grab the house keys. They're there in my gym bag."

"Okay." Concern crosses Patrick's features but he gets out of the hospital bed and gets the keys anyways. "I'll see you later. Love you," he mumbles.

"Love you too, bub," Andy replies.
-

Patrick sighs and leans against the door when he gets to their new, extremely tiny house. He feels tears come to his eyes and he slides down against the door to the floor. He sobs into his hands. He hiccups and coughs as the tears keep pouring down his face as he sits there.

The next thing he knows there's a hand on his shoulder and he's jerking away, gasping and sputtering out mumbles.

"Patrick? Is everything okay?" A soft voice asks.

"Wh-who?" He hiccups, wiping his nose and coughing into his arm to clear his throat.

"It's Gerard, and Pete is in the bathroom. Are you okay?" Gerard repeats, using his phone's flashlight to light up the area.

Patrick wipes his eyes so he can see clearly. "Gerard?" Patrick whispers. Gerard nods and watches as Patrick falls back against the wall behind him and starts sobbing all over again. Gerard gasps softly and takes Patrick into his arms, holding him tightly. He doesn't really know what to do. "Gerard," Patrick sobs into his shoulder.

"Shh," Gerard rocks him. Pete is suddenly by his side, looking absolutely confused and concerned. He awkwardly rubs Patrick's knee. "Patrick, it's okay. You're okay, shh."

"It's n-not ok-okay!" Patrick says into his shoulder, shaking harder from his sobs. "Please. Andy!" He cries.

"Andy? Who's Andy?" Pete asks softly. Patrick lifts his hand and looks at him, grabbing one of his and Gerard's hands. He holds them tightly as if his life depends on it.

"My broth-brother," Patrick hiccups. "He-he has cancer. He's ha-had cancer for six years. It goes and then come-comes back after a few months. I-I can't lose him! He's a-all I have!""

"Oh, honey," Pete whispers, still holding Patrick's hand as he awkwardly hugs Patrick. He rubs Patrick's back and rocks him back and forth like Gerard was. "It's gonna be okay, Patrick. Whatever happens with your brother. It'll be okay. I'm here for you. Gerard and I are here for you. Ashlee, Brendon and Joe are too. Don't worry about anything. We're here if you need us."

"Thank you," Patrick whispers, nuzzling his face into Pete's neck. Gerard scoots over and wraps his arms around both of them, kissing Patrick's shoulder and Pete's nose. "Our parents died years ago. As soon as And turned eighteen he got us out of the foster home we were in and he's taken care of me since. I can't lose him."

"I'm sure you won't," Gerard assures him. Patrick squeezes his hand as a thank you. "You're welcome. Where's your brother right now?"

"At the hospital. I think they planned to give him one of his new chemo treatments tonight," Patrick mumbles.

"We'll stay with you. Do you need anything?"

"No, I don't think so," Patrick replies and pulls his head from Pete's neck. He kisses the skin lightly and kisses the top of Gerard's hand before standing, letting go of both of their hands to pick up his backpack. "I'm gonna go to my room. I have a television, DVD player and DVDs. We can watch some movies."

"That'd be great, Patrick," Gerard says softly. "You go set it up and pick out a movie. Have you eaten yet today?" He asks.

"No, not since lunch," Patrick tells Gerard. "I'll be fine though. I promise," he says when Pete and Gerard raise their eyebrows at him. "I'll be in my room."

"Okay. We'll be right there," Pete says, pulling his phone out.

Fifteen minutes later, the two boys are going into Patrick's bedroom, as Ghostbusters is on Patrick's small television, with a pizza in Pete's hands.

"We both know that you're hungry. So we ordered a pizza. Is cheese okay?"

"Cheese is always okay," Patrick whispers, eyes watering. He's never had friends that care enough to do that. "Oh my god. Thank you so much."

"You're always welcome Patrick," the boys smiled. "Always."