Before Sean could even get up off of the couch, a large white dog with curly white fur bounded up to him and began to lick his face in wild excitement.
Sean laughed despite the pain and gently pushed the dog off of him so it wouldn't hurt him further, his wound burning in protest as he stroked the dog's soft fur.
"Sorry about Cassie, she loves people." Joey apologized sheepishly as he jogged up to Sean to take Cassie away.
"It's okay, I love dogs." Sean assured him with a smile as he scratched Cassie behind an ear.
"Oh yeah, I wanted to tell you that food's ready if you want some. We usually eat in the room next to here." Joey explained.
"Sure." Sean nodded in appreciation, grimacing when he tried to move.
"On second thought, I think I'll just take the food to you." Joey spoke up hastily, darting out of the room.
Cassie yawned as she curled up by Sean, allowing him to reach down and pat her head as he waited for Joey to return.
He was surprised when a different man with dark skin and short raven black hair came in instead, a bowl of chicken soup in hand.
"Hey, I heard your name is Sean." The man remarked as he handed the bowl to Sean as well as a roll of crackers and a spoon.
"That's me. Matt told me a lot of names, so sorry that I don't know yours." Sean replied as he tore into the crackers.
"It's fine, my name is Bryan. I'm the gang's "doctor" of sorts since I went to college about sports." Bryan added proudly.
"Why are you all helping me?" Sean blurted, speaking the question that was on his mind since he had arrived.
"When Mark was distracted with you, the rest of his gang left and allowed Joey and I to leave safely. You saved our lives, so we figured we should return the favor." Bryan answered with a shrug.
"Oh, well thanks." Sean nodded in appreciation before slurping his soup.
"No problem, we're just trying to survive like you." Bryan replied before leaving Sean to eat in peace with Cassie as company.
Once Sean finished eating, Joey cane back in and took his dishes as well as the dog upstairs to let Sean rest.
No matter how hard Sean tried, he couldn't sleep knowing that his friends were probably risking their lives to look for him, at least if they hadn't died on the way back to base.
Sean winced at the thought and pushed it to the back of his mind, wishing his brain would shut up to let him sleep.
Yet he had that constant nagging worry that couldn't be ignored.
Sean sighed as he tried to get off of the couch, only to fall on the thankfully soft turf waiting below.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Matt frowned in concern as he rushed over to Sean.
"Take me to see my friends, please." Sean pleaded as Matt helped him back up onto the couch.
"I can't do that, it's too dangerous." Matt told him regretfully as he shook his head.
"Matt, you'd do anything for your family right?" Sean prompted.
"Yeah, and?" Matt countered uncertainly, unsure of where the conversation was going.
"And I'm willing to do anything for mine as well." Sean replied firmly.
Matt rubbed his face with his hands in exasperation as he weighed his options, knowing that either one would have consequences.
Should Matt take him to his base to check on his friends?
Or
Should Matt keep him and his gang safe by keeping Sean inside?
