The door whooshes open and the doctor peeks her head out into the corridor and glances at the two figures clothed in grimy red leather. They look to be Xandarian like her, but that's where the similarities end. One is slouched against the wall and the other is curled up in the fetal position. Both are asleep and both are looking pretty banged up themselves. She had known when she took this job at a rundown low-cost clinic that it wouldn't be easy, but usually it's the people she's treating who mess with her emotions. Whereas this time it's the relatively uninjured companion of a patient. Sure enough, one look is enough to confirm her earlier suspicions that the younger boy is a minor by Nova standards and probably has at least three years before he'll be a legal adult, at that. It's not exactly uncommon for young people from the rougher parts of the Empire and its outskirts to join criminal gangs in the hopes of escaping their shitty lives. It is a damned shame, though, and alerting the Nova Corps wouldn't do more than insure the boy is locked up in some prison full of scumbags where he'd learn to be an even worse menace to society. Maybe if this kid had had a better start in life he could have finished school and eventually joined the Corps himself. Instead, he's dozing in a dirty heap on the floor, waiting to hear if his boss has bled out or not. Next time it could be him in the hospital bed or, more likely, left to die in an alley somewhere. That's just how the universe works, she thinks with a sigh. Not everyone is destined to be a hero. She bangs her fist against the wall. "All right, you two. He's regained consciousness. You want to see him or not?"

The skinny guy comes alive first and he immediately shakes the younger one awake. "Hey Pete! Wake up."

"What the… wait, where's Yondu? He was hurt…the M-ship crashed. He got knocked out…" The boy is yawning and rubbing his eyes, which for a moment makes him seem even younger.

"The doc says he woke up," the older guy says. He looks over at her with a guilty expression. "And, um, Doc? Sorry about punchin' that hole in the wall earlier."

She takes a step closer to him. "Yeah, well, if it happens again I'm calling security and having all three of you arrested. Don't look so surprised; I'm aware of what those patches mean. You're lucky you were even allowed in."

Something flashes in his eyes, but he nods slowly. "Understood. C'mon, Peter." They push past her to the bed holding the injured Centaurian.

"Hey, you said he was awake." The teenager says, sounding slightly alarmed.

"What I said was that he regained consciousness and he did. He made the astonishingly perceptive statement that the nurse and I "ain't Kree" and drank some water. His vitals still look good so he must have drifted back to sleep. It's probably just the effect of the medication he's on."

The skinny mohawk-sporting kid leans over the sleeping man. "So, if he's gonna be OK like you say, when will he be able to come home?"

"Well, the treatment went as expected and without complications, so as soon as he feels like it, I guess. The burns from the crash are healing nicely. He'll need to take it easy for a while, but there's no reason why he shouldn't make a full recovery." As she speaks the patient's blue eyelids flicker open.

"What…" The Ravager captain pushes himself up and glares at the two standing over him.

"Yondu! You were out for hours," The boy says with a grin, but the Centaurian just blinks at him.

"There you are, boss. How ya feelin'?" The injured man grabs the skinny guy's jumpsuit and pulls him closer. "Um, wait, maybe not in front of-"

The captain looks him up and down. "You- you're… huh… It's Obfonteri, right? You look funny."

"Um, yeah, it's me all right." He looks over at the doctor who's started entering data into a wall screen. "You sure he's OK? Did something happen to his eyes?"

"I'm fine. Where's my arrow?" He asks, glaring down at his hospital robe.

"Uh, it's here, sir. I've got it." He says as he pulls out a single arrow out of a pocket and hands it to the Centaurian.

The captain sets it on the bed beside him and wrinkles his brow. "We need to get back to the ship. Where's Argen and Horuz?"

"Horuz is on the ship, but- wait, did you say Argen?"

"Yeah, Argen. My first mate. And what the hell is that?" He's pointing to the ginger kid lounging on an empty bed.

The kid just rolls his eyes. "Not funny, Yondu."

The other Ravager looks more concerned. "Hey, Doc, some help over here?"

She swings her head away from the screen with an irritated glance. "In case you can't tell, I'm busy. What exactly is the problem?"

"The cap'n, I dunno, he's confused or something. You see, I'm first mate."

"Oh dear. Well, that sounds like a workplace issue rather than a medical -"

He's next to her now and she'd feel threatened if he didn't look so worried. "No, you don't get it. Argen was his first mate. When I first came aboard almost seven years ago. He died a few months later in a fight with a Kree patrol," he says in a low voice looking over at the captain who has once again leaned back into the pillow and closed his eyes.

"A Corps patrol," the teen says as he slides off the bed and walks over to where she is. His compatriot shoots him a dirty look. "What? Tullk's only told me that story 58 times."

The doctor snorts. "I believe your friend was trying to make it more palatable for me."

"Oh," he says with a sheepish smile as he combs his fingers through his hair. "Anyway, I don't think Kraglin's my friend. I mean, maybe he used to be, but now it's like he's mad at me seventy percent of the time."

The Ravager they're speaking about ignores the boy completely, but aims a pleading look toward the doctor. "Did you hear what I said? Ain't you concerned about this?"

She sighs. "If what you say is true and he's expecting to see a person who's been dead for years, then yes, I'm concerned. I'll have to run some tests."

"Amnesia! I thought that only happened in movies and TV shows." Peter leans forward in his chair, eyes wide. The Xandarian woman had exiled them back into the hallway while she'd done more tests on Yondu and when she finished she dragged them to her office. Peter couldn't help but like the abrasive doctor despite the fact she talked down to Kraglin. Or maybe because of it. It's certainly a novelty. Nobody on the Eclector talks to Kraglin like that. Not anymore.

"It's rare, but it can happen. Frankly, I don't actually know enough about his species to say exactly what's expected after a trauma."

Kraglin is biting his lip and the concern is clear on his face. "What do we do now?" Is there medicine or-"

She shakes her head slowly. "No, you're just going to have to wait it out. It's likely that his memories will return, but I can't give you a timeline. It's important that you keep things as calm as you can for him, which I know might be difficult in your line of work, but you need to at least try."

Kraglin nods. "OK, got it."

"Don't try to force him to remember things. He'll likely be in a fragile state and it's best to just let them come back naturally. You'll want to keep things as stress-free as possible," the doctor says, though her expression looks doubtful. "Honestly, the best bet would be to have him transferred to a specialist hospital on Xandar or Krylor, but I assume-"

His shoulders slouch. "That ain't an option."

"Right, of course it isn't. Just do your best then." She says as she starts to stand up.

"Um, Doc?" Kraglin asks.

"Yes?" She stands up, but stays behind her desk.

"If- If, there's been some big changes that happened in the years he can't remember, is that gonna be a problem?" He asks, making eye contact briefly.

"Changes? You mean like the death of loved ones or a substantial shift in circumstances? Something like that?"

"Yeah, like that. That last one." Kraglin says with a quick glance at Peter.

"OK, well, you should take it slow. If these changes aren't immediately obvious it might be best to not surprise him with them right away. See how he reacts to things and go from there." She walks to the door and looks back at them. "I'll go explain the diagnosis to him first and then you two can come see him. Wait here and I'll comm you when I'm ready for you to come in."

Peter expected Kraglin to get up and start pacing around again, but he stays seated. The silence is uncomfortable so Peter decides to get up himself, only to have his arm grabbed so he's forced to sit back down. "Hey, cut it out, Kraglin!"

"You need to listen to me, Quill. You heard what that doc said-" Peter recognizes the look in Kraglin's eyes as something close to panic.

"Yeah, I heard! What's the big deal? She said Yondu'll probably get his memories back. And then things can go back to normal." Peter is pretty sure that in the TV shows the person with amnesia always got their memories back after a series of amusing hijinks.

"Right, but even so, he doesn't remember the last six and a half years! He doesn't remember, er, breaking ties with the other Ravager factions. He doesn't remember bringing you aboard-"

"You mean abducting me only minutes after my mom died!"

The first mate bites back a curse and shakes his head in exasperation. "Now ain't the time for this, Pete. Whatcha think will happen if the crew finds out? You just know that at least one of 'em is gonna see it as an opportunity."

Peter has to admit Kraglin is right. Half the crew is more opportunistic than loyal, if not more. "OK, fine. What do we do?"

"I have an idea. It involves telling him what he needs to know and hoping his memories come back before he finds out the rest. You're gonna have to follow my lead on this, OK?" Kraglin squeezes Peter's shoulder and gives him a small smile. "You think you can do that?"

Kraglin had said he wanted to speak to Yondu alone so Peter and the doctor stand awkwardly in the corridor. "So, do you have parents?" The doctor asks in a quiet, sad-sounding voice.

He shakes his head. "No, not really. I had a mom, but she died. I never met my dad and I guess it's too late now. I don't even know who he is."

"I see," she says in a way that makes it seem like she didn't expect anything different. "I'm sorry to hear that. You know, if there is anyone you want to call, you can use my comm. It doesn't look like you have one."

Peter looks down at where the rolled-up sleeve of his jacket exposes his bare wrist. "Oh yeah, it was on our ship that crashed. I'll get a new one when we get back to the Eclector."

The doctor looks at him with a hard-to-read expression. "You know, you don't have to-" But the door opens before she can finish.

Inside, Peter sees that Yondu's changed back into his leathers. They've been cleaned, but the overcoat is definitely charred in places. He approaches cautiously. "Um, you don't remember me, Captain, but I'm Peter Quill and I'm on your crew." He adds the Ravager salute as an afterthought.

The captain scowls and motions him closer. "That's what Obfonteri here said, he's been fillin' me in on the last, what was it? Seven years? But you're a little young to be a Ravager, ain'tcha?"

"Oh, you noticed that, too?" The doctor interjects with a raised eyebrow.

The captain ignores her. "Well, if I picked you up, I guess that's good enough. Let's get goin'." He directs his gaze at Kraglin who had just finished talking into his comm.

Kraglin looks up. "Uh, yessir. Tullk's on his way down to get us."

"Tullk? He's on Stakar's crew. That mean their ship's somewhere around here too?"

Peter gapes at Kraglin. "You didn't tell him?!"

"Tell me what?" The captain demands with a suspicious look at his first mate.

Kraglin grits his teeth and glares at the boy. "I thought we'd talk about that on the way up." Kraglin takes a deep breath. "Quill, go outside and wait for Tullk. We'll be out in a bit."

Peter rolls his eyes. Somehow, he doesn't think this plan of Kraglin's is going to go as smoothly as they thought. "Yeah, whatever," he mutters, but before he can turn to leave, he's met with a sharp whistle and a hovering Yaka arrow between his eyes.

"That any way to talk to the first mate?" There's a coldness in Yondu's drawl and no sign of familiarity on his face and for some reason that's far scarier to Peter than the immediate threat of the arrow. He's not sure why it bothers him so much because Yondu's an asshole a lot of the time anyway, but this feels different.

Peter carefully turns his head back toward Kraglin and in the process, he sees the pained face of the doctor who stands frozen against the wall. "I mean, yes, sir! I'm going now!" The arrow retreats and he turns and walks quickly out the door, not daring to look back. He can't see how this could possibly end well.