Stress over the previous night had only just started to drop, with the major damages upon Sanctuary Stadium, it was surprising to learn that almost no one was injured. Having evacuated the entire site before anything serious occurred, the civilians were all fine and well. There were really only two animals that sustained anything that could be called injuries, and now they were being hospitalised. Since the staff needed the space to check up on Daisy, it left her friends and family waiting outside. When it became clear it would take until morning for them to see her again, Frankie had offered a small visit to his home, something that the other three animals agreed upon. There wasn't much to say in regards over what happened for the next few hours, no one could really sleep at all for the night.
Instead, the remains of Frankie's home was just enough distraction they needed to temporarily focus on other things. "This is where you lived all these years?" "We're so sorry you felt the need to stay here in hiding from the city." Both Daisy's father and mother parents noted, he was quick to know that their names were Caleb and Elise respectively. While it was obvious they were trying to help out, their words didn't exactly accomplish that for the old croc. This place was much better before it was burned down, and it had everything he needed up to that point. Ronda had explained that soon afterwards, hoping to ease the tension between the others.
"Besides, we can always fix this place and spend some nights out here." Ronda finished, her plans making for a good compromise. It wasn't easy knowing that eventually this wasn't to be his true home anymore, but the idea of taking the time to come back out here would be something to enjoy. Seeing the sky made it all the more clear when daytime came around, allowing them the opportunity to get in the hospital as soon as possible. Heading inside there was little sign that anything was out of the ordinary, and until they entered the room it almost felt like they weren't even meant to be here.
Upon visiting the room however it became very clear that they needed to be there. Daisy for the most part looked fine and peaceful, but seeing that she wasn't awake even in the light was not a good sign. It didn't take long for each of them to make the connection that Daisy was in some sort of comatose state. "Nothing is too severe, however her fall as caused some mild head injury. It may take a few days to weeks for her to recover fully, but we'll give you any information if anything happens when you're not here. Since there's little treatment to be done physically you are all able to visit at any time during her recovery. Is there anything you need while you're visiting?"
Tuning out the conversation, Frankie took a prolonged glance to his friend. A sigh of relief knowing that she was okay, but at the same time it wasn't something he knew how to deal with. With Jerry he couldn't even visit, and didn't even know he had recovered until his first visit back to the city almost a year later. Seeing Daisy in that state was a new experience even for him, and it was going to be difficult seeing her like that. By the time he focused back on everything else, it appeared as if the doctor had already left the room, leaving them to rest by her side. Ronda had looked over his way, and motioned for him to sit down next to her. Following her command, there was for a brief amount of time where everything became quiet, but the tranquility that would normally be here was replaced by anxiety.
It wasn't long before even that was broken, as a knocking on the door forced them all to look at who had came in. "Sorry to interrupt you all but, there's a delivery here for uh... Daisy Quokka?" A look of surprise bestowed them all, leaving Ronda to be the only one to respond to the delivery guy by motioning to the quokka that was currently unconscious. "Oh! Oh I'm so sorry for the misunderstanding. I'll just leave all of this here." Their surprise only increased when it was evident just to how much was sent just for her. They had all expected maybe just a couple of items, but with the size of the bag it was more like dozens of gifts.
"You don't happen to be Frankie Scales, right?" Frankie swiveled around upon his name being called out, to find that for the strangest reason a package had been given to him. "Really, you recognise me of all animals but not Daisy?" Ronda elbowed him for the sarcasm, but at that point he couldn't care less about it. Daisy had become the focal point for the games, whereas the only time he was in the spotlight was when he had been revealed by Jerry. Surely Daisy was the more famous animal out of the two, but here was someone that seemed to go against that logic. "What can I say, you made the headlines for saving Daisy and Ronda."
While Frankie raised a single brow, his daughter looked severely miffed that she was talked about as if she wasn't there. The delivery guy soon made his way out of the room upon noticing her, not wanting the extra criticism from them all. "This is quite the mail Daisy's received. We may want to send most of these to Quokka Rocks to avoid this place getting flooded." Caleb noted, earning both a laugh and smile from Ronda and Frankie respectively. Barely hours had passed by, not even half a day, and already Daisy was getting fan-mail from the city and possibly beyond. If her recovery took weeks, then her condition would be the least of their worries at this rate.
For now, it was easier setting aside the gifts and instead opening the letters, which somehow had amounted to almost fifty. Reading them aloud one after another, the city's support for Daisy had only gotten stronger over the course of the night. What became notable however, was one letter in particular that was read out by Ronda. "Dear Daisy Quokka, hope you make a steady recovery from the accident last night. I've also sent a bouquet of lavenders your way to help keep the room fresh. If by any chance she is not reading this, I give my respects to her friends and family for helping such an aspiring athlete achieve their dreams. See next page?" Upon her confusion, Elise helped out, revealing that there was in fact a second page.
"Thank you... to her friend and team athlete Ronda Saltie, I commend you for understanding and aiding Daisy's perspectives, and amending for your first impressions. To Elise and Caleb, you two must be so proud of seeing your daughter come this far and to have proven how even the most unlikely of us can do great things. Lastly and most earnestly, I want to give my deepest apologies to Frankie Scales. While I knew that altering the final course would give you the edge needed to express your part of the incident, I was not fully aware of how deeply you felt towards seeing it once again. Had I known that, I would've found a better way to aid you in allowing the city as well as your respected rival to forgive you. I would like to meet up sometime to talk more about your history, in hopes that you may fully recover from such mental stress. Kindest regards, Yarra."
The lively tone within the room had gone completely silent as more of the letter was read out, until by the time she had finished there was not a single peep from anyone else. Frankie slowly opened his gift once he realised his daughter finished reading. From the package a small tape recorder landed in his other hand, along with a small note. "Use this whenever you need to voice your thoughts out, then play back in the future to see how far you've come... huh." It was clear who it came from, and he appreciated the lizard's offer of helping out, but at the same time he saw little usage in the tape recorder. Frankie thought back to the moment when he first got near to the Star of Desire. How much Yarra heard was unknown to him, but from everything that the lizard offered he knew enough to know how troubled the former champion was.
Frankie's brooding didn't go unnoticed by his friends and daughter, who by now were no longer focused on Daisy. "Do you... think you don't deserve these lovely offers?" Daisy's father said aloud, to which Elise quickly hushed him up. "Dad, is that true?" Between Caleb and Ronda, Frankie was at a loss on what to say. He didn't hate the gifts, quite the opposite in fact, but at this point he just wanted to let the past go. With everyone else bringing it back up, it merely reminded him of the times when he thought he was the worst of the city, and that alone lowered his current spirits. But that one question alone had struck a nerve, and the more Frankie thought about it, the worse the situation came to be.
His lack of a response was the only answer they needed, as Elise spoke up in the more heartfelt ways. "Oh Frankie... you are the most deserving of these gifts. Animals across Sanctuary City have realised how much you've endured from your self-exile. They're trying to make it up to you, and Yarra is among the first to give you something. It's likely you'll only get more gifts as the rest of the city recognises your contribution to Daisy's dreams coming true, and like it or not you'll have us by your side to remind you just how much you mean to everyone."
Smiles from Caleb as well as Ronda proved they were in agreement with what she said. Frankie eventually returned the gesture, truthful as always. "You're right. I guess after twenty years suddenly receiving stuff like this can be a little hard to adjust to." Giving a small chuckle, Frankie looked at the recorder once more, unsure of what the first recording should be about before thumbing on the main button. "I-, I'm not exactly sure what to talk about in these messages, but this is a start. It's been almost half a day since the games ended last night. Daisy's been hospitalised and is currently in care by her parents, Ronda and I. Sanctuary City has delivered many gifts and letters for Daisy, and even a couple for me too."
"I... I'm not sure what to think of knowing the city is willing to send me stuff. I've been told by everyone lately of how I mean so much to them and I appreciate those sentiments a lot. However, I still have certain doubts over the future, and it will take more time for that to go away. In the meantime, Daisy is likely to be in a coma for some time, and I've yet to show how much I appreciate what she's done for me. So as a compromise, I want to be by her side until she recovers for as much as I can. This won't mean I'll be around all the time but, I think her parents would rest easy knowing Daisy has someone with her for however long she's in the hospital for."
Clicking on the button again, the recording stopped as he set the device aside. "Dad, you don't have to do that." Ronda comforted, however the look he gave her was enough to put both of their minds at rest. Perhaps Frankie didn't feel as if he deserved the city's support, but being with Daisy as she recovers would give a good incentive to make him feel deserving. Hearing the idea, Elise and Caleb both glanced at each other before nodding. "Frankie, we would be delighted to have you here, and we'll also be around for her as well." Hearing their approval, Frankie boldly smiled knowing that the near future was going to be a lot easier to deal with.