AN: I am back with a new update (obviously)! I want to thank everyone who has given me a chance and especially thank the people who have provided me with some constructive criticism that I will definitely think about in chapter 3. This plot was at first only an idea; something that I only expected to get 5 views on, but after seeing the sheer number of people that have viewed it, I see that there is plenty of interest in the story, which gives me that much more incentive to write.

Fox sat in the waiting room of the hospital waiting for any news on the lupine. Upon arriving at the hospital, the doctors quickly wheeled Wolf away and a nurse showed him to the waiting room. Fox didn't like being in crowded public places, but for now he would make an exception. The rest of the furs in the large room were giving him odd looks, but he paid no attention to them. He was too busy trying to sort out the turmoil going on in his mind.

"I don't get it. I should hate Wolf, so why am I helping him?" Fox couldn't seem to think of an answer. Sure, he could just say that Wolf was a person in need and that he would have helped anyone in his position, but he knew that wasn't it. There was something more to it; a deeper meaning. It didn't feel like an obligation, but more like a sudden urge to protect him. Did he care for Wolf?

"Mr. McCloud?" Fox was snapped out of his thoughts and his attention was brought to a feline nurse in front of him. "Are you here for Mr. O'Donnell?"

"Yes I am. Is he okay?" Fox tried to remain calm, but must have gotten a bit too close since the nurse took a step back and gave him a look.

"He is doing fine at the moment," Fox's tail began to wag in happiness and released a huge sigh of relief, unaware that he had been holding his breath, "but the doctor wants to have a word with you." Her voice grew very serious with her last remark, causing his tail to slow and and a frown to appear on his face.

"If you would come me, I can show you to his room." The feline quickly turned around with the vulpine following closely behind.

On the way to the room, Fox grew increasingly worried. His mind began drifting to the possible states that he might find Wolf in: ventilator forced down his throat, tubes going everywhere, blood everywhere... Fox shook the picture from his mind and tried thinking about the positive: Wolf was alive and that was what mattered.

After walking for a few minutes, the feline suddenly stopped in front of a door.

"Here he is, room 436." The nurse opened the door and walked in. Fox took a deep breath and stepped into the room.

The room looked like any other. It had white walls and a tile floor. There was a large window on the far side of the room that overlooked the courtyard. There was a bed in the middle of the room with its headboard against the wall. On the wall in front of the bed was a TV.

Fox looked at the occupant in the bed and his breath hitched. The frail looking lupine had bandages completely covering his chest with the occasional one around his arms and legs. The chest bandages had large pink rectangles scattered across him that Fox could only assume was from where his fur and top layer of skin was removed. He had several tubes connected to him providing drugs, nourishment, and blood. There were a few electrodes attached to him that connected to the heart monitor.

"How could this happen?" Fox looked at his face. His eyes were squeezed shut and he kept releasing quiet whimpers that tore Fox's heart into pieces. He felt pure fury at whoever did this. He sat down in the chair beside the lupine's bed and caressed his cheek with his thumb. At first Wolf flinched away from his touch, but after a few seconds, began to relax into it. Fox could feel the nurse's gaze on him, but he could care less at the moment. The only thing that mattered to him right now was helping the lupine. Fox continued to stroke his cheek until the whimpering subsided.

"Mr. McCloud?" the nurse said. "I am going to get the doctor now." She gently shut the door behind her, leaving Wolf and Fox alone in the room. Fox gave Wolf a gentle smile and began to pet the fur on the top of the lupine's head.

"Oh Wolf, what am I going to do with you?" Fox continued to pet him until he heard a knock on the door and saw a brown dog enter.

"Hello there. You must be Fox McCloud. It's a pleasure to meet you. I am doctor James." He held out his paw.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Dr. James." He stood up and reached out to shake the dog's paw.

"As the nurse has probably already told you, I am here to discuss Mr. O'Donnell's condition with you." The dog pushed his glasses up. "When he arrived, he was highly malnourished and dehydrated. He had a few broken ribs, large areas where his skin was ripped off, several lacerations, a concussion, and some internal bleeding. We treated all that we could, but it will still take time to heal." The dog gave a grim face. "However, I am concerned with his mental condition..."

"Mental condition?" Fox did not like where this was going. The last thing he wanted was for the doctor to confirm his suspicion.

The dog sighed. "It isn't everyday that you see someone with these kinds of injuries and the only time I have seen injuries like these are in prisoners of war. In other words, it is highly likely that your friend was tortured." That confirmed Fox's suspicion. He tried to keep his feelings under control, but was failing. Tears began to flow from his eyes.

"Because he does not have any family to watch him, we will be sending him to the psychiatric ward to-"

"NO!" Fox roared and grew quiet "...I will watch him. He can stay with me"

The dog looked at him with sad eyes. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that. You aren't his family." The dog opened his muzzle to say something else, but a death glare from the vulpine made quickly made him shut it. Fox continued to glare at him and spoke in the most menacing voice he could manage.

"He. WILL. Stay. With me." The two stared at each other until the doctor slumped his shoulders and sighed in defeat.

"Alright fine, you can take him once he is well enough to leave" Fox smiled with glee.

"That is all I wanted to talk to you about and I have plenty of other patients to see, so I will be going now." The dog walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. Fox slumped and sighed.

"What has gotten into me?" Fox walked to the window. "First I yelled at Peppy; now I yelled at the doctor. Why am I so protective over Wolf all of a sudden?" Not long after he thought this, he heard a low groan. His head snapped to the bed and saw that Wolf was waking up.

"Wolf!" Fox said as he ran to the lupine's side. "How are you feeling?"

As soon as Wolf saw Fox, his eyes widened and he pulled his legs close to his chest.

"NO! I'VE B-BEEN A G-GOOD BOY! I PROMISE! P-PLEASE DON'T HURT M-ME ANYMORE!" Wolf continued to beg for mercy, tears pouring from his eyes. Fox looked on in horror as he watched the scene unfold. The door opened and a nurse ran in with a syringe in paw. Fox didn't know what had happened, but the next thing he knew, he had the nurse pinned against the wall with the syringe on the ground. She stared at him in fear.

Fox gave a menacing growl. "Don't touch him with that thing. I can handle this, so LEAVE!" The nurse quickly nodded and left the room.

Fox ran back to Wolf and decided to listen to the voice in his head providing advice. He climbed into the bed and pulled Wolf tightly into his chest with the lupine's head buried deeply in Fox's neck.

"Shhhh...It's okay Wolf. I've got you now. No one can hurt you anymore," Fox spoke in a gentle voice. Something must have clicked in the lupine's mind because he stopped struggling. Fox could, however, feel that the lupine was very tense.

"F-Fox?"

Fox smiled. "Yeah. It's me." This answer must have satisfied Wolf because he immediately relaxed into the vulpine's hold. The two decided to enjoy each other's presence, each for a different reason.

Some time later, Wolf decided to break the content silence with a yawn.

"Tired?"

"Y-yeah."

"I'll just go so you can get some rest." Fox was just about to move when Wolf grabbed the vulpine's wrist. Fox tilted his head at the action.

"Could you...could you s-stay with me?" Wolf shyly asked.

Fox had to think about this. It was Thursday, so he had work in the morning. "To hell with work," he decided. "I'll just call in sick."

"Sure." Fox waited for a response, but never got one. "Wolf?" He then heard the sound of gentle snoring, causing him to chuckle. Fox gently put Wolf beside him and pulled the sheets up to their necks.

"Goodnight Wolf." He then kissed the top of the lupine's head and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

An hour later, Dr. James looked into the room and smiled. Wolf's head was buried in Fox's neck and Fox had his arm and tail wrapped protectively around Wolf. Both of them had a smile on their faces.

"Sweet dreams," The dog whispered.

AN: Wow, what a doozy this chapter was to write. It went through many revisions. While I do have a general story plot in my mind, transferring it from my mind to a screen is an entirely new challenge for me. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed chapter 2 and I am very thankful for the people that have made it here. I will hopefully see you in the next chapter!