A/N: SUPER SORRY for the LONG months with no new chapters. There will be one last chapter as soon as possible.

“Mr. Krabs, wake up,” SpongeBob said. “Mr. Krabs?” SpongeBob asked as he lifted his boss’ face up from his desk, drenched in tears. “Mr. Krabs? Mr. Krabs!”

“Huh, what?” Mr. Krabs asked as he woke up. “What happened?”

“I guess you were crying too hard and you just fell asleep or ran out of steam or something.”

“Well, this wouldn’t be the first time I cried myself to sleep.”

“I guess I should leave now, it is getting pretty late.” He turned his square head from the clock and back at his weary boss.

“No, no boy. I’m okay to continue my story, that is if you want me to.”

“Why yes of course, I just can’t stand to see you in so much pain.”

“I’m fine, now sit down, I’m not done!”

“Okay, continue.”

“Well, it was hard to deal with Penny’s cancer, those were harsh times but we were still together. So…after over a year of dating her, I finally bought a small diamond atop a round, gold ring, I was ready to pop the big question.”

“Wow, lucky man!” SpongeBob’s eyes were happily glistening as he hoped to see Mr. Krabs’ tragic story light up.

“I wasn’t lucky at all, lad!” Tears would’ve ran down the poor crab’s cheeks if all his body fluids hadn’t rushed out of his eyes earlier.

“Why, what happened?” SpongeBob’s glistening eyes became dull and his smile fell upside down.

“She was in the hospital at the time, according to her last check-up things were okay, but not very good. I was hoping that she would leave the hospital on the day of my proposal…”

- Thirteen Years Earlier -

The bell lynching over the door rang loudly as the door swayed open, in front of the open door frame and under the bell was Mr. Krabs. He moved towards the counter. The store owner smiled and welcomed him with a, “Why hello, sir. You’re Mr. Eugene Krabs, right?”

“Yes, that would be me. My ring is ready, right?” Mr. Krabs asked.

“Why yes it is, just give me a second to get it,” The turquoise cashier fish, dressed in a dark green, light jacket over a slightly lighter floral green shirt and light green pants said as she rotated to a door behind the register. She pulled a key out of her back pocket, secured the lock into the keyhole, twisted the knob and left the key in the hole as she turned the door open and walked inside the dark room in front of her. She flipped the switch on the right and shut the door.

Mr. Krabs stood in front of the register for a few minutes until the lady came back from the room. The flip was switched off and she descended from the once again dark room, the door was closed and the key pulled from the hole. She was holding a small, purple box in her hand. She flipped it open and pulled out a gold ring with a small diamond on it. “Mr. Eugene Krabs, right?”

“Yep, that’s mine.”

“Alright,” She moved to a pile of folders next to the register and lifted up two, spread them on the table and opened one, flipped through a bunch of papers, pulled one out, then put the folder away as she flipped through the next folder, pulled a piece of paper out, then set the folder back on the pile of folders, pulled a pen out of her pocket, set both papers on the counter and the pen. Mr. Krabs picked up the pen. “Just sign here,” She said as she pointed at a spot on the paper. “Initial here,” she said as she lay a finger on a corner of the paper. “Put the date here, phone number there and address here,” She said as her finger jumped all over the paper. Mr. Krabs jotted down the information needed, then her finger crossed over to the next paper and she said as her finger bounced all over the paper, “State your fiancé’s name here, your name there, and your payment information here, age right here, fiancé’s age over here, both your birth dates there, then estimate the year and cause of your death here.”

“Um…do I really need to estimate my death?” Mr. Krabs asked.

“Nah, that’s optional but much appreciated,” She replied.

“Okay…” Mr. Krabs said. Everything seemed awkward from there as he quickly scratched letters and numbers on the paper with ink, he then put the ring in the small box, and then quickly exited the shop.

- Thirteen Years Later -

“Uuuh…Mr. Krabs, sorry for interrupting but can you…uh…maybe speed it up just a little? I have to go home and feed Gary,” SpongeBob asked, looking at his watch.

The sobbing crab sniffled and sighed, “Alright boy, I’ll skip to the…the…”

“Yes, Mr. Krabs?”

Fighting back tears, the heartbroken crab replied, “The most horrid part…the…hospital…”

- Thirteen Years Earlier –

Mr. Krabs was running through the halls in the hospital and stopped when he found Penny’s room. “Oh Penny, I have a surprise for you!” Mr. Krabs said happily as he headed for the entrance to Penny’s room. He turned the knob and swung it open, a small box for the ring in the other hand. “Penny?”

The blankets were ruffled on the ground; all the chords for the machinery were unplugged. The pillow lying in the center was the only object on the empty hospital bed…