Otis wasn't exactly coherent as she stood by his bedside, but he was 'there' somewhat.

"Adi...?" He moaned.

"I'm right here, Otis." She took his hand, pressing a kiss onto the back of it.

"Wh...Where are we...?"

"We're somewhere in Louisiana, baby. We got into a car accident, remember?"

"No..."

She stroked his face, kissing his cheek. It worried her, but she knew that was par for the course- a bit of amnesia following a car accident as bad as they had. He leaned into her kiss and she smiled softly. Yeah, he was okay. "We were on a road trip, just out exploring like we do. Somebody ran us off the road and down into an embankment. Then this nice woman came and helped us. That's where we are now, is her house, sweetie."

He was quiet for a moment, letting what she had said process. He had kept his eyes closed through their conversation. She was guessing his head was pounding.

"Adi...is Adi...okay?"

"Yes, Otis. I'm right here. I'm okay..." She sighed. He more than likely had a concussion or he was just that disoriented from the infection raging through his body.

"You hurt...?"

"Yeah, but I'll be fine. You got the worst of it."

"Hn..."

She kissed his cheek again, and he turned his head to kiss hers. He missed, but the effort was there. She smiled softly, leaning down to let him kiss her cheek more successfully this time. "You're such a sweet man..."

"Just with you..." She felt him try to move to wrap his arm around her, but he just cringed and stiffened.

"Just relax, baby. I know you love me."

"Just...wanna hold you..."

"I know...But not right now, okay? I'd rather you be able to hold me sooner because you rested than be able to hold me right this second."

He nodded, dozing back to sleep once more.

"How long have you two been married?" Abram asked.

"Just a few months. We've been together 3 years before that, though."

He nodded. "He's pretty sweet on you..."

She smiled. "Yeah, he is. I'm pretty sweet on him, too."

"You should rest, too. Can...can I take you back down stairs? Now that he's asleep again..."

Her smile faded. She didn't want to leave him again. But she knew she had to rest, too. She nodded and Abram scooped her up into his arms again. Her heart panged. It reminded her so much of when Otis scooped her up and carried her around, leaving sweet kisses on her face and making her giggle until she couldn't breathe.

When she was gently laid in the bed again, she fell asleep almost instantly.

She awoke to the smell of a home cooked dinner, and she had to remind herself where she was. Mother Firefly always cooked like that.

She heard the older woman at the top of the stairs. "Abram? Can you go down and wake up Adoria? Dinner is almost ready. See if she's feelin' well enough to join us at the table."

She smiled to herself. These people were so kind. She saw Abram at the top of the stairs and waved bashfully. "I...I think I can come up." He helped her up the stairs and they chatted at the table casually, eating. Adoria felt herself growing weak and tired, however. Perhaps she wasn't quite ready for this.

"Oh, sweetie. You're exhaustin' yourself just to join us. You shoulda just rested, honey."

"No, I'm okay..."

"You wanna take a rest after dinner and then go up and see your husband? What was his name?"

"Otis..."

"A...Adoria...?" She heard Otis calling from upstairs. It broke her heart. He sounded fearful. She knew he didn't know where he was again. "Adi...?" She heard him groan in pain.

"Baby..." She murmured.

"Abram, can you go up and make sure he's not tryin' to get up? He's in no shape to be doin' that."

Abram hurried up the stairs. She heard Otis yelp in surprise and possibly pain. "N...no! P...please...don't hurt me..."

Adoria's heart sank. Was Abram abusing her Otis? Or was he just fearful because Abram was unfamiliar?

"Shhh, shh..." She hear Abram soothe. "I ain't gonna hurt you...Just relax..."

"Nn!" She heard Otis grunt. He had flinched away from Abram, she knew that sound. "Where's Adi...?"

God, he ripped her heart out. He sounded so scared and helpless.

"She's just downstairs. She's eating dinner right now. She's gonna come up and see you after she takes a rest. You just relax, now. You just take a rest, too, and when you wake up she'll be here."

Abram came back down the stairs, taking his place at the table again.

"He's okay. He's just missin' his girl." He smiled wryly.

"Thank you for being so patient with him..."

He shrugged. "I've got little brothers and sisters. He ain't nothin'. You said he was abused, yeh?"

She nodded.

"Yeah. You can tell. He's pretty skittish."

"He's usually not like that...It's because he knows he can't fight back. He's so strong...and so brave..."

She was escorted down the stairs for a nap, and then back up to Otis's room. Abram went in to check on him first.

"Adi...?"

"No, sorry. Just me again." She heard rustling. "Hey, relax. I said I wasn't going to hurt you..."

Otis moaned in pain. She peeked through the crack in the door to see what was going on.

Abram had peeled back the bandage over Otis's collarbone and was dabbing ointment onto the injury. He gently pat it back into place and moved on to check his leg. Otis outright growled in pain when he pulled the bandage off of it.

"I know, I know. It's alright. You're doin' fine."

"Addiiiii..." He moaned. "Hellllp..."

Abram chuckled slightly. "I know it hurts, but I'm just checkin' on ya. No need to scare your girl, now." He replaced the bandages and moved to Otis's arm, which elicited much less of a reaction. "There, now she's waitin' for me outside. You ready to see her?"

He nodded. Abram opened the door and helped her in, over to Otis's bed.

"Hi, sweetheart." She smiled. "How're you feelin'?"

He groaned, trying to force his eyes open. She stroked his face. He was still burning up. "Been better..."

She peppered his cheek with kisses, pulling a small smile out of him. "I love you."

"Love you, too..." He moved to kiss her cheek and missed again, whimpering in frustration.

"Here, is this better?" She kissed him gently on the lips.

"Yeah...That's good."

She nuzzled his face, enjoying the bristle of his scruff against her cheek. God, she missed that. And it had only been a few short days.