Andy couldn't help but feel a rise of disappointment in him. He turned his back, walking over instead, to Phineas. He sat on the edge of his friend's bed. He peered down sadly at the darker haired boy and grabbed his hand. Phineas stirred. Andy managed a small smile.
"Hey." He murmured, his voice low.
"Hey." Phineas replied, his voice hoarse. Andy could see the wince that Phineas had as he shifted in the bed. He could see the pain build up in the other's eyes and that broke Andy more than anything.
"You have to let them operate on it, Finny." Andy said pleadingly, his voice in a soft whisper so the other's wouldn't be able to hear.
"It's my leg. It's my life, Andy."
Andy squeezed Phineas's hand tighter. "You might die!" He said, his eyes frantically trying to gauge and expression from Phineas.
There was a moment of silence, but Phineas replied slowly, "I'm not going to die." Andy gave out a half-exasperated chuckle, weary. "Yeah, I'm so reassured. Finny, Finny the pain you're going through is intense. Why won't you let them operate? You'll probably get full use of your leg back. And if all else fails, I bet they can get you a prosthetic leg."
"S'not as pretty, is it?" Phineas replied, trying to break the tension. Andy shook his head, willing himself not to cry in front of his friend. "Weirdo..." Andy murmured, his voice strained. "Would you give up your leg to save mine?"
"Of course." Phineas muttered.
"Then why won't you do it for yourself? Why do you think that your life is more worthless than mine? Why don't you want to be happy? Why're you doing this to yourself? Even if you keep your leg, the pain itself will drive you crazy."
"I know. I know." Phineas replied, his voice fading. "It's a funny thing, Andy." He murmured. "You tell someone that they're dying...and then..." Phineas took in a shuddering breath, composing himself. He swallowed, trying to steady his heartbeat. He looked up and searched to find Andy's eyes. Their eyes met and locked. Phineas opened his mouth to speak.
"It's a basic truth of the human condition that everybody lies. The only variable is about what. The weird thing about telling someone they're dying, is it tends to focus their priorities. You find out what matters to them. What they're willing to die for...What they're willing to lie for." He lowered his eyes again, but then Phineas's body seemed to arch in pain. He let out a soft groan of pain and Andy subconciously gripped his hand tighter.
"Finny, wha-"
"They need to up the morphine or whatever the hell it is they're using to stop my pain."
"But...you just...they put it to nearly full. You just got out of a nasty incident, you can't think straight, it's the pain."
"That's why I need the damn thing." Phineas muttered, his eyes flickering. But after a moment however, Phineas's breathing seemed to have eased up again. Andy slowly let go of Phineas's hand, eyes darting from his friend's face to the affected thigh.
