Chapter 2: Checking
The next day, Hal returned to the Infirmary, upon the notice that he hadn't received a message from IA about the creature's passing. Walking into the creature's room, he found Kilowog sitting on a chair beside it, alone. A little pot of Bolovaxian flowers sat on the bedside table, along with a small plush bear. An oxygen mask was drawn carefully over the creature's nose and mouth, pumping air into its lungs as it recovered. It still lie on its side, arms curled fetally into its chest, legs bent in a curled position. IA had administered medication to the small creature, and inserted gel blocks around its legs and arm to speed up its healing. The gel was comfortable to anyone, as Hal and Kilowog had had it before too, and used nanites to do extremely delicate work on the interior and exterior of the body. Hal stood in the doorway, silent, as he watched his best friend restrain himself from petting their charge. After a moment of watching the Bolovaxian struggle, he smiled and moved to sit next to him. "You can touch it, you know. You don't have to be afraid of contact, Kilowog." Hal said, trying to encourage the Bolovaxian to make the choice. Kilowog looked down at his hands before carefully reaching out to the creature's smooth dome, giving it a stroke. A quiet whine was the creature's response, its body refusing to move. Kilowog gave Hal a fearful look, of which Hal returned with a nod. "I'll take over your shift if you want, buddy. Take all the time you need." Hal said, standing up and moving out of the room. The rest of the day went smoothly by, and he found himself doing paperwork in his small office, without the company of Kilowog. Returning to the Infirmary, he found Jade, Yat, and Simon peeking in from the doorway. "What's going on?" Hal asked as he approached. "Kilowog fell asleep with it." Jade replied quietly. Peeking into the room, Hal realized that Kilowog had fallen asleep sitting beside the bed, his head resting on his arms. The creature lie immobile beside him, arms curled around the small plush bear the Bolovaxian had brought in. If Hal could have taken a picture, he would have. Moving away from the room as to not cause too much noise, Jade, Yat, Simon, and Hal sat in the waiting room, discussing the day. "I came and checked on him during lunch. Not much different, except that the guy was awake." Simon reported. "I came in around two. The "thing" was holding the bear by then." Jade reported. "This is my first time in. I was busy with reports all morning. I wanted to come in during lunch, since I didn't get the alert that it'd died, but I didn't get the chance." Yat reported. "I came in the morning, with the big guy. It seems like he stayed the entire day, just watching over it." Hal reported. "I think he's getting attached." Simon stated. "Indeed." Yat added. "He's a big softie. You can't blame him if something like this really gets to him. It's so small, and he's so big, so at some point he was found to fall in love with it." Jade explained. "If it goes any further than this, its death could be devastating to him." Yat added. "I agree, but who's going to stop him from expressing his concern? Like Jade said: he's a big softie. I'll tell you guys what, I'll pop in on him every couple of hours and make sure it's still breathing and he's not going insane, okay?" Hal proposed. "Keep a close eye on his calorie intake, too. If he's not eating, that could be problematic." Jade added. "Got it, anything else?" Hal asked. "I'll do some research into identifying its species. Simon told me he could get into a meeting with the Guardians and ask, if we really needed it, but I don't think that'll be needed." Yat added. "Alright. Keep that space open. If there's nothing about it anywhere, then the Guardians will be the only ones who know anything at all. And we're going to need that, if it's going to get proper medical care." Hal replied. Everyone nodded in agreement at the plan, and split up for the night.