Otis continued to gain strength, and eventually was mobile enough. His wounds still stung, and still oozed infection, but he was getting better.

"Good morning, Otis." Katie sat down next to him.

"H...Hey..."

"How are you feeling today?"

"B...Better...Still sore, but..." He shrugged.

She nodded. "That's gonna be for a while, sweetie." She paused for a moment. "What do you think about getting a nice hot shower?"

Otis's eyes lit up. God, it sounded so good. He could already feel the warm steam dulling the aches and pains in his body. But would she want to help him? He was still weak and injured. Would she INSIST on helping him?

"I see that face. Sounds good to you, huh?"

He nodded.

"I'll stay close if you need me, but I know how skittish you are. I won't stick around in the shower, but I'll help you there. There's a seat in there so you don't have to stand the whole time. I'll get some clean clothes from your things for when you come out, okay?"

Otis sighed in relief, nodding.

She helped him out of bed, gently resting her hand in the small of his back. He flinched, grimacing at the sudden movement.

"Shhhh...You're alright. Just put one foot in front of the other...There you go...You're just a little stiff and sore."

Once they had gotten to the shower in the shelter, she shut the door, leaving it unlocked, and standing outside.

"Just yell if you need anything."

"Okay." He undressed, tossing his clothes aside. Looking in the mirror, he grimaced. He had really gotten the hell beaten out of him. He noticed his hair was longer than he usually kept it. He contemplated asking Katie for a razor, but decided against it. He was going to reclaim his body. And he had to start somewhere.

He turned the hot water on and stood under the spray, sighing in delight as it coursed over his body. He let it warm his face, goosebumps rising on his skin. The water stung on his wounds, but he didn't care. It felt so good.

Shame hit him in a tidal wave as he remembered what had happened to him in that alley. The homeless man had pulled his pants down and...

Otis shuddered, tears threatening to spill. Why? Why him? Why was he damned to this miserable cycle?

He sobbed openly in the confines of the shower.

Katie heard the desperate, pained cries. Her heart ached for him. This scared, sweet young man. She knew all he wanted was to be loved, to be accepted. She could see it in his eyes, could see it when she talked to him. But he was terrified. Absolutely petrified of letting anyone get close for fear they would hurt him, just as his parents had. The people who were supposed to love him and care for him unconditionally. What hell had he gone through? What terrible things had been done to him as a boy? She shuddered to think. People could be horribly creative when it came to torturing others, and she hated to think what could have been done to this sweet boy.

Otis lathered himself liberally, relishing in the cleanliness of his skin as the blood and dirt mixed in the water as it drained. He hated to leave the little warm heaven he had, but he knew Katie would begin to worry, so he stepped out and dried himself off with the soft, warm towels she had placed for him.

He carefully put his clean clothes on, and stepped out.

"Woooooow look at you." Katie smiled.

Otis blushed. "W...What?"

"All clean and handsome. You'll be quite a catch for someone someday." She helped him hobble back to his bed, and helped him settle again. "We'll leave your wounds dry out a little. Just to make sure all the water is out of them before we wrap them up again. Okay?"

Otis nodded. "Th...Thank you."

"It's my job, Otis. It's a homeless shelter. It's what we do."

He nodded. "o...Okay..."

"I did manage to get you something, though."

"W...What? No, I-"

She pushed a notebook and pencils into his hands. "Do what you enjoy doing. I'd love to see you smile."

"N...No I can't...I can't take this! I-"

"Calm down. I just found it. I didn't buy it. Okay?"

"O...OKay..."

"Like I said, I would love to see a smile on that handsome face, young man." She smiled at him. "Oh! I do have one thing to ask that you draw for me, though."

"W...What's that?"

"I want you to draw me what you want to look like. That way, I can help you get there. Okay?"

"O...O...O-k...kay..."

"Can you do that for me?"

He nodded.

"That's something pretty secretive to you, huh? That's a pretty deep desire?"

"Y...Yeah..."

"Well, just draw it like you're drawing it for you. I'll find it later so you don't have to make a big deal out of showing me, okay?"

Otis nodded again.

She left him to create, and he spent most of the day doing so, working through his thoughts and emotions through the art work, allowing his mind to run free and his imagination to come out on the paper.

Finally, he set to drawing what he had asked her too. It was surprisingly easy for him. He hadn't given much thought to it, but he had an imagine in mind as soon as he set pencil to paper.

When Otis was asleep, Katie snuck over to his bed and pulled out his notebook. Flipping through the pages, she had to hold back a gasp. His sketches were absolutely beautiful. Figures and faces with such amazing detail she couldn't believe. Finally, she came across one she knew was him. It had that nose, that jaw structure. It was a simple portrait. Not as much detail or love was put into it as the others. She could sense an outright disgust at the image as he had formed his own face. But his portrait wore a dashing smile, and seemed to exude confidence. He had long, cascading hair and was not clean-shaven.

"I think I can help you with that, Otis..." She pressed the book shut and pulled his blankets higher, smiling softly as he slumbered.