"You wanted to see me, Dave?" Carter tried to look cheerful. Damn, he hated seeing his friend like this.
"Yeah," Dave rubbed his eyes. "I wanted to thank you for saving my life."
"Luka helped." John smiled, expecting Dave to respond comically to his characteristic modesty.
"John?" Dave's voice was serious and John's smile faded to a frown. "Can I ask you a favor?'
"Sure," he sat down and crossed his ankles.
"Can you feed my dog for me?"
John smiled. "Of course."
Dave swallowed, clearly not comfortable. "His name's Comanche and he's just a puppy. I've never been away from him for as long as I'm going to be. The food's under the sink-" he coughed.
"Do you need some water?" John grabbed the glass.
"No, I'm okay."
John slowly set the glass back down suddenly wanting desperately to leave. It was too much to feel this pain again- not so soon.
"Could you ask the little girl in 16A to take him out for walks? Her name is Amanda."
John nodded. "You have a key? I know where your apartment is, I just don't want to have to climb in the fire escape…"
"I dunno… I had one… I dunno where you guys put my stuff but there's a key on my keychain-"
"Okay, don't sweat it. I've got the rest."
"Are you sure?"
"Don't worry about it, just get some rest."
Dave slowly nodded. "Okay. Thanks Carter, I owe you one."
"You bet you do," John pointed at him playfully as he strode toward the door.
"Hey, and tell Luka thanks for me."
"Of course. Pleasant dreams." He shut the door.
Dave sank his head into the pillow, wishing it were all over.
Abby quietly slipped into Dave's room, tiptoeing over to the pair of key's she'd left behind. She paused on her way out, noticing Dave's peacefully sleeping form. She approached him and noticed that his breathing mask was still beside his head rather than doing its job. She gently slipped it into place and slipped out.
"You must fight!"
"No! I will not fight against that!" he pointed into the distance.
"Then you are a disgrace to your people!"
"I will not fight a battle I cannot win! Our people will be dead!"
"You are a disgrace to your fathers!"
"As you will be to yours if you fight today."
"I curse the day we became blood brothers!" He spat on the ground. "You are a coward!"
"I will not fight the White Eye. Not like this. We must know our enemy before we engage in battle!"
"I know my enemy!" He paused. "Have you forgotten who killed my father?!"
"You speak with your heart, not your head!"
"At least I know what is in my own heart!" He stalked off into shrouded forever.
Dave awoke, troubled and upset until he opened his eyes and sighed. Another stupid dream. His nose hurt again and he pulled off his breathing mask. This time he was getting fed up with it and it's inexplicable re-appearances. This time he knew he'd taken it off before.
"Damn key," John muttered, trying to open the door to Dave's apartment. He triple checked to make sure he had the right one.
"You have to juggle it." John turned at the pleasant voice from behind.
"The locks are old, like the building. May I?" John handed her the key and watched as she expertly unlocked the door, then extended her hand. "Esperanza Dominguez."
"John Carter," he shook her hand. "I'm a friend of Dave's… I'm supposed to feed his dog for him."
She nodded. "He hasn't been home in a while. My little girl went to visit yesterday and said that no one was there. He's always home Monday nights so she can visit…" John had no idea that Dave hung out with kids when he got the choice. "… Is everything all right?"
"Umm… not really. Are you from apartment 16A?"
"Yes- my husband, daughter and I."
"Dave was attacked at work the other day-"
"Attacked?" Mrs. Dominguez was suddenly angry. "By who? Why?"
"Umm… we're not sure, but he's gonna need hospitalization for a few days." John thought it was best to keep details to a minimum.
"Dios mio…" Esperanza mouthed as she distressfully rubbed her temples. "Is he going to be okay?"
"He should be… in time. He just needs his rest right now."
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
"I think so. Is your little girl's name Amanda?"
"Yes."
"Dave wanted to know if she could walk his dog for him."
"Of course. We'll keep him at our place. Amanda owns his sister," she strode into the apartment. "Comanche! Here boy!" Nothing. She turned back to John. "He's probably sleeping somewhere. If he's anything like his sister, he'll sleep through a freight train crashing next to him."
John waited in the doorway as Esperanza went into another room. "There you are. Little dog," she came back into the room with a squirming fluff ball.
"Hey Comanche," John grinned as he ruffled the puppy's fur. Comanche turned his head to catch John's hand in his mouth and started to massage it with his needle teeth. "Hey!"
Esperanza laughed. "Don't worry, he won't really bite. He's just being a puppy."
"John wiped his hand on his shirt. "Yuck. Puppy slime."