Chapter Text
"Ah," the Doc had said, careless, "don't forget the pet."
John wouldn't, even if she hadn't told him. He remembers the cockpit, he remembers the alien's stark, soul-deep terror when John started dragging him out of the cockpit, nononodon'tforgetherno I'lldoanythingplease.
He remembers how it tingled, when he cupped his hand under a limp little beast's belly, how much deeper they --
He doesn't forget the pet.
His alien boy is stretched out insensible on a bed. In the far corner there's a wire cage like at the vet's, padlocked, and inside there's a curled up animal, not quite cat-sized, with a short, fat-jowled muzzle and long back legs like a dwarf rabbit and short quills peeking out of its iron-gray fur, a fluffy trailing tail ending in mace spines.
It's shuddering, like it's cold. Its eyes are vague, half-open but unseeing. John taps on the bars; no reaction.
Last time he touched it, on the island, they freaked out, the alien and his pet both.
He twists the thin bars open, pushes his hand inside. Offers his fingers to be smelled, but there's no reaction.
"Well at least dog and cat stink don't bug you, that's good. Umm."
He trails his fingertip up the hedgebunny's forehead; its little nose twitches, it whiskers flip up a bit. John smiles and strokes up its back, down its far side, pulls it closer.
It shudders under his hand but it allows the handling, not like last time at all. It feels all empty, too exhausted for terror. John extracts it from the cage and drapes it on his shoulder like Rose and Roxy do their cats, and gets to freeing the alien.
He's a bit careless getting him off the examination table and they end up sitting on the floor, the hedgebunny tumbled limply into John's lap, and the alien's eyes blink, turn to the little beast like for once he's seeing her.
He'd love giving it back to the alien, but the dude's hands won't keep a hold for crap and the hospital gown doesn't make for a good sling. "Does it have a name? Yeah, you'll tell me later, okay, how am I going to, hm. We're not forgetting her, see, I'm just putting her in my shirt. She better not burrow in my gut meat or anything!"
He looks pregnant now. Hehe. It tickles and prickles both, this is going to be distracting. Oh well.
Okay, now that the guards have had time to take place outside, they should make their escape.
This is going to be interesting.
--
They're back home by the time he can finally dig the hedgebunny out of his shirt. His stomach is scored with scratches and needle-thin punctures and little blood smears, though most of the holes are closed already; the animal better not be venomous. In the end he has to awkwardly kneel up beside the limply sitting form of the alien and pull the bottom of his shirt out of his belt; he manages to catch her with one hand before she tumbles down too hard.
It looks dead. He lowers it onto the alien's lap, brow knit; aw, shit.
The alien's breath hitches. Shit, shit.
"Uh -- I'm sure it's fine!" he tells him, and flips the animal onto her other flank so he can touch her soft, quill-less belly and check she's still breathing.
The alien starts crying -- big, wet, horrible sobs, and he curls up around the beast in his lap, hands crawling up to cup her, and John sits with his hand trapped there. It's so awkward, it's horrible. Did he kill her or something -- fall on her, maybe, when Jade dumped them out of Remington's hand? Was she so unhealthy that the stress finished her off? Aw, hell. John's free hand finds its way to the alien's back, pats awkwardly. His throat feels a little tight. He remembers how much the alien boy needed her, was terrified of John forgetting her, leaving her behind.
"Crap. I'm -- I'm sorry. I'm sorry, okay, no, stop crying, we'll get you a bunny? Aw, man."
He doesn't even get why he's so sad. It's just a pet, it's nothing, it's...
The little fluffbelly expands in his hand, just barely.
John sits beside the alien, an arm around his back, and doesn't say anything when the alien turns to lean on him and soak his shirt in hot tears and his prickly little pet weakly burrows between their sides.
They both have their hands on her back, fingers overlapping some, so that no hint of fur can be seen.
"Yeah," he promises quietly. "I'll keep you guys safe."