Welcome to Gaia! ::

Rory looked up when he heard footsteps coming towards his bed. He was surprised to see that the footsteps belonged to Shadow; he figured with all the time he had been stuck in the brig, the medics would have had him attached to his own bed like the rest of them.

"Hey," he greeted the younger man while he struggled to sit up. One thing was for sure, he'd definitely gain a bit more upper arm strength with his legs being out of commission. He nodded his agreement at Shadow's comment about the former Galactic that had been on the mission with them.

"Yeah, he should be thankful we didn't give him back after all of the noise he made trying to get to you guys," Rory chuckled slightly as he recalled the incessant noise of the guy's head hitting the metal pipes.

Rory seen him pull up a chair and gave his consent when Shadow asked if he minded. It wasn't like he would have too many visitors down here; he was still relatively new and hadn't had a chance to form close bonds to anyone before he signed up to be part of the team that went to bring the missing team members home.

When Shadow said thanks, Rory looked down at the fabric of the scrubs he was in. "Someone had to help bring you guys back, my name was just one on the list," he shrugged. He hadn't done too much after all, what with the fire ball leaving him unable to get up and fight like he wanted. "Besides what better way to try to mix with the others than full on battle and war wounds huh?"

The disbelief was noticeable in Shadow's voice. Honestly he didn't think any of the Rockets would have believed it if they hadn't seen it for themselves. Rory heard the grunt come from the teen and noticed the rough breathing; looks like he wasn't the only one suffering because of that stupid bug.

Rory continued to look at the fabric of the pants and started picking at a loose strand of thread. "It didn't feel right, not doing anything," He smiled slightly had the compliment for his pokemon and placed a hand on top of her pokeball. She was extremely devoted to him, probably too much some times.

"Yeah, the battle probably set her back but she wouldn't let me down. Probably still angry that I made her take me back though," he should probably let her out to have someone check her out but he didn't want to take the medics away from the other injured Rockets.

At Shadow's comment about being stuck in the cell, Rory grinned. "Yeah that would work." The younger guy was right though, both of them had gotten more out of their first raids than they expected. "At least we're prepared for the worst next time, huh?"

Something at the edge of his bed caught his eye and turned his attention from the thread. He caught sight of the yellow and white head of Shadow's Jolteon. He reached over and petted the top of her head.

"Trust me, I don't know how we managed that," Rory said as he shook his head; it was crazy though, the rescue team got hurt more in the one battle than those that had been held captive by the other group for a month.

After a shower he felt more human, and after a shave he looked it too. The warm water was soothing, refreshing, almost unfamiliar after all this time but he didn't linger, only stayed long enough to get what he could clean and that took half an hour in any case. He had somewhere to be.

It was a much more civilized-looking Hayes that returned to the recovery ward. His clothes hung on his frame a bit and his hair was spiked with moisture, but he looked - and felt - considerably better. Refreshed. Like he'd returned through a watery door to normality, or as normal as this place could be. There was also a Jirachi clinging to his shoulder like a limpet; Alphard had woke up when he opened the door and had been ecstatic. He'd slept through the whole time the rescue mission had been going on, wrapped up in his streamers in the long-darkened room.

Hayes saw what he was looking for being wheeled in about the same time he entered, glancing around to see if Aulus had arrived, if Faleen was still around. He followed the medics and stayed out of the way, giving a little wave and a half-smile to the clipboard-woman who'd removed his I.V. earlier. See? Back by curfew. Then he moved in, approaching the chrome railings as Aulus shifted and sighed.

"Hey." It was a different 'hey' than he'd given Faleen, not as quiet and successfully casual. "Y'wake?"

There was another figure present in the room, although she seemed to be hovering - metaphorically speaking - in one corner, waiting for something, or more likely someone. As soon as Aulus was wheeled in she shifted, immediately moving to follow wherever the medics put the bed. Claire was vaguely aware of the fact someone else was there, but when Aulus was so blatantly injured and looked terrible, she really couldn't be bothered to focus on anything else.

She stood next to the bed, slender hands gripping the metal rails so hard her knuckles were almost white, although she didn't seem to notice. Her attention was pulled from the agent when someone spoke, and her eyes - purple this time - flicked to Hayes. Oh, he was back to. Something in the back of her mind told her she should probably have spoke to him, said it was good to see him back safe and sound (and alive), but her focus again went to Aulus, and any words that at one point might have formed in her mind completely disappeared. The worry and concern were almost tangible at this point.

Claire had a similar pokemon affixed to her shoulder - a purple and white little Jirachi, whose mouth formed a tiny circle when she saw the other of her kind. "Alphard!" One tiny white hand waved excitedly, but when she saw Owlus on the bed, looking absolutely nothing like himself - was that actually him? - and seeing how concerned Claire was immediately subdued her excited demeanor.

Azdeif! Alphard piped up in response, and Hayes home! No waving on his end; he was fused to the fabric of the blond's shirt and wouldn't be removed for love, coloring or cupcakes.

Hayes glanced up when Claire did, gave her a short, solemn nod of acknowledgment. That was it. They didn't really know each other; they were there for the guy in the bed. He smiled. It was tired and worn, but a genuine one that turned his eyes up at the corners and made its way into his voice. He laid a clean hand over the darker one twisted in the covers.

"Hey man. Y'know you drool in your sleep?"

Aulus blinked dazedly. He was being teased. By Alex. That meant things were alright, right? A hand on his hand. Alex, right? He gripped the hand as tightly as he could and never wanted to let it go, if he let him go then his partner might not be here and safe anymore. That was a crazy thought pattern but he couldn't banish the feeling of panic. Keep him close. Look after him. Had to.

For some moments Aulus squeezed his eyes tightly shut against aches and pains and confusion, but when he opened them again the shapes above him were clearer. Alex - his partner got at weak smile - and....

"Claire?" He blinked again, trying to focus and fix his mind in the present not the past. "That you Claire?" Were they really home? Was she really here?... Why hadn't she come on the rescue mission? What had he done wrong?

"I'm sure with time you will learn more about it's energy source." Xander said with confidence. "You're good at what you do and you have a passion for it. Maybe if he does end up helping he could try to help you understand it more." Not that it was likely the childlike man would help them. It was about as likely as Tethys going sweet and not have not so hidden psychopathic tendencies. He didn't mind that Frost was doing one of his mild rambles, it was soothing after the, month he said? "That's good, I vote for something more streamlined and black." And nothing pokemon related on the outside besides maybe a R but that's a given.

He glanced slightly away when a nurse walked by the gap in the curtains and it made him wonder how the others were doing and if there was any word on Jerome. He made a mental note to ask soon before looking back to Frost.

They were holding hands. Why were... No, no; they'd been through a lot together, and she didn't need to imagine all the horrible things Tethys must have put them through. Hell, she could see most of that woman's handiwork right here. She didn't want to think about her though. All their teammates were back where they belonged, safe and sound, all in one piece and very lucky to be alive. Really, she shouldn't ask for anymore than that.

Hearing her name snapped her back to the present, and her purple eyes searched his crimson ones. "Yes, it's me," she affirmed, taking the question as an invitation to slip her hands down to briefly brush his fingers. The touch was hesitant, questioning; she wanted to take his hand but was unsure if he wanted to, or if he even could. He looked terrible all over, she didn't know what hurt and what didn't and didn't want to do anything that might accidentally hurt him. "...how do you feel?"