Gamma was deep in thought about all he had been through. The frog figured he was a fairly lucky Keronian...despite the fact that he was currently in a hospital bed. After going up against Yellow Diamond, it was a miracle he was still in one piece. No amputations were needed either...although the stitches on the back of his left leg were somewhat painful and itchy under the temporary cast.
Not even an annoying cast could ruin Gamma's mood today though!
Today was special!
Today, Gamma was going back home! The frog quickly nabbed the plushie that had been watching over him. His good friend Toaster, (a Ruby from Homeworld) had insisted that her stuffed bread toy, Fred, watch the Keronian in her absence. Only his immediate family had been allowed to visit him in the hospital room. All alternative species (including Gems) had to wait in the medical branch's waiting room.
A human nurse entered the Keronian's room with a wheelchair. "Are you ready to go home Mr. Gamama?"
"Gamma- If you please...and I don't think the wheelchair is necessary-" as the Keronian put on airs, he attempted to stand up from the hospital bed, and immediately proceeded to fall over onto himself.
"ARE YOU OK?!" The nurse gasped in surprise!
"MMPH..." fortunately, Fred had cushioned most of the fall. The frog had forgotten in his excitement that his casted leg had 34 stitches, and he hadn't walked in several days.
"The wheelchair is...erm...required when leaving the hospital..."
"I can see why..." Gamma's speech was muffled through the floor.
After the human assisted the alien into the chair, she proceeded to wheel Gamma into the hospital waiting room.
"GAMMA!" A familiar voice shouted the frog's name before approaching the wheelchair.
"Toaster!" The frog smiled at the little Ruby. "Good to see you!"
The Gem was wiggling with excitement. It was obvious, however, that she was having to restrain herself from hugging her friend. Her excitement was creating an unbearable heat, and she was not wanting to hurt Gamma so close after surgery.
"Did...did Fred watch over you?"
"He did a fine job!" Gamma handed the stuffed animal back to Toaster. She hugged it with affection, before storing it back into her gemstone.
A doctor suddenly entered the room. "Mr Gamama?"
Gamma flinched slightly at hearing his full real name again. The doctor continued: It's time to take off the cast..."
A bit of finagling with the doctor's tools later, and the cast proceeded to crack open. The Keronian's leg looked unusually petite and malnourished compared to its brother.
Acapella stuck out her tongue in disgust. "UGH...it looks so...deformed?" The Yellow Pearl was obviously not terribly great at bedside manner.
The doctor explained: "It will go back to normal, as long as Gamama sticks to his physical therapy, and walks a little bit every day. He just needs to build up his stamina again."
At this statement, Gamma unconsciously began to itch the (now exposed) stitches on the back of his leg.
The doctor took notice of this behavior immediately. "Do not itch the wound Mr. Gamama! You could risk breaking the stitches!
The Keronian stopped immediately, looking quite guilty. Somehow, his stitches were itching even MORE now that he knew he could not touch them. The Keronian proceeded to scratch the back of his head under his hat with frustration. The doctor slightly smacked the hand in warning. There were stitches in this spot too- left over from some of the reconstructive skull surgery the medical team had to perform...
Gamma felt incredibly stupid. After failing to not mess with his stitches, the doctor ordered a massive plastic cone collar for the creature. His hat had been removed and handed to Acapella to prevent further irritation (and for safe keeping). Try as he might, Gamma could not itch the stitches on the back of his head through the massive cone! Frustrated, the frog began to scratch the stitches on his leg again...
Not only did Gamma feel stupid now, but his dignity had diminished. The medical team had found the most fluffy, thick, soft, human socks they had on hand, and proceeded to tape the socks onto all of the Keronian's stitch-free arms and legs.
The alien accepted defeat in frustration. As the doctor handed Acapella a packet of medical instructions.
The doctor explained: "You are lucky he is a Keronian. It will only take a week and a half for him to recover. Make sure he doesn't scratch his wounds, or they will risk getting infected or opening up. The stitches should dissipate on their own once they heal. Here-" The doctor proceeded to hand Acapella two tubs of something. "-one of these is filled with medical oatmeal. If you let him swim with the oatmeal in the tub, it will help the irritation. This other container is filled with aloe. Try to apply this on the wounds to speed up the healing. Make sure he gets plenty of liquids and food high in protein."
Acapella nodded in understanding.
Gamma attempted to swish his head every-which-way to get a better look at what was going on, however, the cone seemed to be excellent at blocking his view from everything.
Gamma drooped his head in defeat.
"Don't worry Gamma! It will only be for a little time..." Toaster attempted to give hope to the frog. Gamma proceeded to mumble to himself as he attempted to itch his leg through one of the fluffy socks...
Upon arriving back to the house, the Crystal Gems welcomed the party with a special surprise! They had bought a (slightly used) computer, and had successfully hooked up the device to a live chat room. The computer featured Gamma's parents...as well as his friend, Lilolo. Due to some of the MIB's legal mumbo-jumbo, the Keronians had decided to stay on Earth with Gamma, but were legally required to live in Japan due to certain contractual laws.
Gamma would have been much more happy to see his kin welcome him home...if he hadn't come through the door looking like a fluffy teddy bear with an upside-down lampshade on his head.
His father laughed! "What on Keron are you wearing son?! You look like someone who caught a Parasyte and had to be quarantined!"
His mother Prolulu piped up: "Oh HUSH dear! He's been through so much...I'm sure this look is only temporary."
"He looks ridiculous! I'm just trying to make light of a serious situation..."
Toaster piped up: "They gave Gamma this stuff to help him heal fast! He's super itchy!"
Gamma blushed, before attempting to change the subject: "So...how's Japan?"
"Oh! It's lovely dear! It's a bit rural for my tastes, but they have an entire community devoted to alien life...and it's far enough from any humans to not have to worry about cloaking! You should see the diversity in the neighborhood here! Puchuus, Cabbits, Amantos, Cybertronians, Cloudians...if you can name it, it's a neighbor of ours!" Prolulu chuckled to herself.
"Sounds nice...kinda dangerous though..."
"Oh POSH!" Gamma's mother waved her hand in the most calm of manners. "Don't stereotype Gamama dear! Even the seemingly most terrifying species that live here are in similar situations. Many escaped from their home planets due to a conflict of interest. Everyone is just trying to make a peaceful living."
"Well, thanks for checking in on me! I'm pretty bushed though...the doctor said I need some rest to recuperate."
"Oh! Of course sweetheart! Keep us posted! We love you!"
The Keronians all waved cheerfully before ending the call.
Gamma sighed in relief. Things had improved for everyone. His Keronian family and friend were now just a phone call away.
Both of the Topaz the group had kidnapped during the raid in Yellow Diamond's chambers had decided to take advantage of their new freedom. They had borrowed Lilolo's ship to see the entire wonders of the cosmos as they had always wanted.
The two remaining Yellow Pearls that the Crystal Gems had collected- Lucky and Iris were now working at the MIB itself.
Yup. Everything was better...EXCEPT FOR THESE DAMN STITCHES! The Keronian suddenly flailed in frustration as he attempted to itch his leg with one of the fuzzy socks again.
The Crystal Gems informed Acapella how to work the computer, before excusing themselves. Gamma was beginning to yawn with exhaustion, and they didn't want to overstay their welcome.
Thus the trio- Acapella, Toaster, and Gamma were left on their own, in their Earth dwelling, once more.
Gamma immediately attempted to scratch his leg stitches through one of his fuzzy socks again. The frog flailed with discomfort.
"Alright. That's enough of that..." Acapella dragged the frog by the cone, into the washroom.
The Pearl proceeded to fill the tub with lukewarm water, and poor some medical oatmeal into the brew.
"There! Now, stop complaining! Swim in oatmeal or whatever..." Acapella left the washroom and slammed the door behind her!
Gamma looked at the tub full of food with skepticism. Why in the world would swimming in food make him feel better? Humans were weird.
Still, he was willing to try anything at this point. The Keronian got into the tub and began to swim in circles. He neglected to remove his plastic cone first, so the activity seemed slightly awkward. Strangely enough, the water was easing the itching rather quickly. The Keronian relaxed.
Eventually, the bath water turned cold. The frog began to nod off, and drained the tub quickly. He climbed out and dried himself off. Gamma than noticed that the large bottle of aloe had been left on the counter. The Keronian squirted some of the odd green goop on his hand, and rubbed it on his leg stitches. It felt cool on the itch, and helped ever so slightly. The Keronian than hobbled into the living room, and fell asleep on the couch as comfortably as possible.
The next week was incredibly rough.
Gamma slept through most of it, and only woke up to use the oatmeal and aloe.
As it turns out, Acapella was the most annoyingly accurate caretaker EVER. Every four hours on the dot, the Yellow Pearl would wake Gamma from his slumber, make him walk in a circle 20 times, insist that he drink a large glass of water, force him to eat a plate of whatever she had made, and then sing him back to sleep again.
Toaster wasn't terribly helpful either. She didn't seem to grasp the concept of how long organic medical healing took. The tiny Ruby was incredibly impatient, and would frequently wake up Gamma wanting to play.
It got so bad, that the Keronian had to hide just to get a decent sleep. This was particularly difficult, because the hiding place had to be big enough to fit the annoying cone around his head. The Keronian finally settled on one of the houses larger closets. The space was free from any clutter, could be locked from the inside, and was genuinely dark and relaxing. The frog proceeded to move several blankets and pillows here, and would lock himself in if he needed an undisturbed nap.
Finally, the day came to remove the cone and socks. An MIB doctor gave the alien a house call, and nodded in agreement as he looked over the Keronian. The stitches had almost disappeared entirely. All the wounds were closed. It seemed that Gamma was almost as good as new! He still needed to exorcise his bad leg a bit, but overall, the treatment was over!
As the doctor removed the socks and cone, the Keronian naturally began to clean any part that had been covered by medical equipment. Like a cat licking its fur, Gamma began to violently rub his neck, arms, face, and legs with his own musk. He worked quickly to expand his glossy film so that the parts of himself that were most dry could be hydrated once more.
He also proceeded to itch all the irritated spots in comfort. Where the stitches had been, there were now only (nearly) invisible lines in the skin.
To finish up the facade, Acapella handed Gamma his hat back. The small, red Keronian put it on with pride. Gamma smiled, but immediately began to lose his footing through his fatigue. The frog proceeded to climb on the couch, and fall asleep again.
The doctor concluded: "I can tell you've been taking care of Mr. Gamama wonderfully! All he needs now is rest and exercise for his bad leg." The man nodded to himself. "Just be grateful It wasn't a human- it takes us at least several months to overcome surgery like this..."
Acapella thanked the doctor for his time, as the man returned back to his vehicle, and drove off into the distance.