Wren nodded.
Teddy knew Wren wanted to say more, but he held his tongue for Teddy’s sake, probably knowing he wasn’t ready to talk so lightly about it. About how he deserved worse. About karma being a bitch. About how no one would miss him.
Teddy needed to be able to not flinch at the sound of a phone call first. He needed to not fear headlights in the dark or figures around the corner. He needed to feel that Wren was safe and no one was going to take him away. He needed to let the bruises fade until they didn’t hurt anymore.
Wren leaned forward and placed a kiss on his cheek, then kept going, placing kiss after kiss all over him. “I’m so happy you’re safe. I was so worried. I didn’t know what he would do.”
Teddy wound a hand through his hair. “At least I finally got to know why. I think sometimes it’s harder when you don’t know. Why you, you know? What did you do to make them single you out? I questioned everything about myself at one point or another, wondering how to get him to stop.”
Wren pulled back to meet his gaze. “Avery was looking at his research. He found…” He shivered. “Teddy…”
“I know,” Teddy said. “It didn’t happen. You found me in time.”
“If I hadn’t—”
“But you did. I don’t want to live in what-ifs anymore,” Teddy said. “I want to live with you. Right here.”
Wren snuggled into him, careful of the wires, and Teddy squeezed him as tight as his body would allow.
An indefinite amount of time passed before there was a soft knock at the door.
“Knock, knock.”
They turned to the doorway to see Fix standing there, Echo hovering behind him anxiously with one hand in Sable’s fur. In Fix’s hands was a tray with a steaming bowl.
“Echo heard voices, so we thought we’d prepare a little something for Teddy like the doctor suggested,” Fix said.
“Do you want to try and eat?” Wren asked Teddy, sitting up and looking so hopeful that Teddy wouldn’t have been able to say no. It didn’t matter that he had no appetite.
“Sure.”
Wren helped prop him up as Fix and Echo stepped into the room, Sable prowling after them and walking up to butt Wren in the leg affectionately. He even gave Teddy a small lick on the back of his hand.
“How are you feeling?” Echo asked anxiously, wringing their fingers together under the sleeves of their cardigan. “The doctors said you might not wake up, but Wren said they were full of…that stuff.”
“Getting better every second.” Teddy smiled to ease their worries. “I just needed to catch up on some beauty rest, that’s all.”
Echo smiled back, easing their grip on Sable.
“Is everyone else okay?” Teddy asked, and Echo nodded.
“They all got called in on cases last night,” they said. “Well, other than me. But they keep texting me every three seconds to ask if you’re awake, and they should all be coming back soon.”
“Good,” Teddy said. “Thank you for having my back.”
“You’re our brother, Teddy. We’ve got each other’s backs. Always. Just no more gunky machines and animals that could be carrying viruses or bacteria or, like…”
Teddy smiled at them, shaking his head as they launched into a lengthy list of all the animals they’d seen and all the potential diseases they could have contracted from them.
“Teddy, huh?” he asked when Echo stopped for a breath.
“It suits you much better,” they said. “We all voted and agreed.”
“Well, I second that motion,” Teddy said, and Wren smiled.
Fix passed the tray to Wren, who set it on the bed next to him, grabbing the bowl in his own hands instead of handing it to Teddy. He took the spoon and brought it up to his own mouth to blow on before bringing it to Teddy’s lips.
The care and affection made Teddy’s heart monitor skip a beat, the sound loud in the room. He flushed as they all noticed.
