my baby ryro is thirty today :')

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"Sir? You can come in now. He's woken up," the nurse smiles.

"Thank you so much," I say, standing up and giving her a weak smile.

I walk into Dan's room and try to hold in a gasp as I see him leaning against the back of the bed, his skin, pale and his hair, curly. I look over and see the doctor, who asked me questions before, sitting in a chair next to his bed.

As soon as I walk in, Dan's head looks over to me and he gives me a forced smile.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" I say, sympathy lining my voice.

"Alright, I guess," he sighs, attempting to sit up a little more.

"I'll give you two some time alone," the doctor smiles, running a hand through his blonde hair and walking out, closing the door quietly behind him.

"So, how are you really feeling?" I ask, sitting on the edge of the bed, next to him.

"I don't know what to do, Phil. They're sending me back."

"No - They... They wouldn't. I won't let that happen to you. I can't bear to see you get hurt, again," I say, placing my hand in his.

"You still have your phone, right?" I say, rubbing my thumb, back and forth, over his hand, "Text me everyday and tell me how you're feeling. It'll be okay. We can work something out."

"But I'm so scared of him, Philly. I just, I-" he sobs, cutting himself off.

Suddenly, I hear the door open and I snap my head round to it. In the frame, stands a tall man with brown, disheveled hair and his hand in his pocket. Judging by Dan's reaction, I assume this is his Dad.

"And who might this be?" the man barks, pointing right at me.

"His n-name is Phil," Dan stammers, "I've been s-staying with h-him." I squeeze his hand, lightly and give him a reassuring smile, before turning back to the man.

"Well not anymore, you're not. You're coming back with me, boy. Now," he snarls.

"He's nowhere near a state of recovery yet, sir," I say, beginning to explain.

But he quickly cuts me off, "You're in no place to say that, young man. I've spoken to some people and they've agreed to let me take him early. So keep that mouth of yours shut, or you won't hear the end of it."

But, before I can do anything, the door opens and the doctor walks in, reading something from his clipboard. "So you're aware of all of Daniel's symptoms, Mr Howell?" he asks.

"My name is Mr Johnston, actually. Howell is his mother's name," he says, slightly angrily, "And yes, I am."

"Great, so Daniel can leave whenever he wants," he smiles, before leaving and shutting the door behind him.

"Come on, queer. Hurry the hell up," he groans, grabbing Dan's arm, roughly, and pulling him out of the bed. I just sit there, in complete shock, unable to do anything.

Mr Johnston shoves Dan forward and out the door, before flipping me off and slamming the door behind him.

As soon as the door shuts, I burst into tears, overwhelmed with emotions. Dan's gone. I could've saved him and he's gone.

Suddenly, I feel a pair of arms wrapping around me and a comforting voice, in my ear, "Hey, hey... It's okay, it's alright."

I lift my head to see the doctor, from earlier, a sympathetic smile plastered onto his face. "It's okay," he says, again, rubbing his hand up and down my arm, "It'll be fine."

"I don't know what to do," I cry, "What do I-"

"Mikey. My name's Mikey," he smiles, holding onto my shoulders, "Can I tell you something?"

"Y-Yeah," I nod, attempting to wipe away some of my tears.

"My brother, Gerard, used to be a lot like your boyfriend. He hated his body so much that he wouldn't eat for weeks, just to try and be skinnier. He cut himself, burnt himself, you name it. He was on the verge of suicide. It was horrible, and I never knew what to do. Then, one day, he came home with a big smile on his face - something I hadn't seen in years. He told me all about this amazing boy he met, called Frank, and how he was going to meet up with him again. Frank saved Gee's life and I could never thank him enough. They're married now and they live in a house together, on the coast. Gerard's bad thoughts come back once in a while, but Frank is always there to calm him down," Mikey sighs, before looking back up at me, "Basically, what I'm trying to say is, you can save him. You can save Dan and you can stop anything more from happening. What you two have is real love, and that's something you should treasure forever."

I wipe the tears away from my eyes and look up at Mikey. "Thank you," I smile, sniffing.

"But be careful, Phil," he warns, as I walk over to the door, "Don't get caught in the crossfire."

"I'll try," I say, before shutting the door behind me.