I was so relieved and happy when Connor finally got the okay to come home. Dad would take me to his house after school for my shift before his mom got home. His grandparents took care of him and kept him company until I got there. The physical therapist came by in the afternoon to help him with walking and coordination.

"Hey Connor," I said as I walked into his room with a tray of fruit salad his grandma put together, with two bowls and forks. I would have made our snack, but Mom said to let his grandma be his grandma, so I never said anything and told her thanks. "What are you doing?" I asked, shocked and scared to see him in the corner of his room with his cello.

I walked to his nightstand to set the tray down. I didn't take my eyes off him as he said, "Hi Annie. I'm trying to-" he moved too much. Crash! His cello fell and papers scattered all over the place.

"Are you okay?" I said as I ran to him. I didn't care about the cello or the sheet music. I got a hold of his arm and looked him over, trying to see if he was bleeding anywhere.

"Annie! Connor!" I heard my dad's voice. When I turned around, he was right next to me. "Here-"

"No," Connor grunted. "I'm okay. I just need my walker." He pointed to the walker at the side of his bed.

"Annie." My dad gestured with his head as he picked up the cello and held out his arm for Connor to lean on. I got his walker and held it out to him. He took it from me and with Dad and I on either side of him, we walked him back to his bed.

"Is he okay?" Connor's grandparents came into the room. The golden mice came to Connor's bedside and looked him over. His grandparents lived across the country, so he didn't get to see them too often. When they heard he was coming home, they hopped on the next plane to come and help out. His grandma had short straight, light blonde hair that was turning white. She liked wearing skirts and dresses. She was short but still bigger than me. She moved about as well as anyone. Connor and his grandpa looked exactly alike. He kept his hair short and wore a big watch that was way heavier than it should be.

"Fine Gran. Fine Gramps." He told them as he got back in bed.

His grandma took his hand and held it in both of hers.

"Are you sure Connor? Do you need anything, anything at all?" She said like only a grandma could.

"I'm sure." He bobbed his body up and down. "I'm not completely helpless Gran. Go and take your break, it's Annie's turn now."

His grandma held his hand a little longer and looked at him.

"We're going to be fine Gran."

His grandpa took his wife's arm and said, "Let's go for a walk."

His grandma wouldn't let go at first but then she looked at me and tried to smile.

"We'll take good care of him, I promise." I crossed my heart.

She smiled at me and let Connor go. They left and Dad said he'd hang out downstairs until they got back.

I got on the bed with Connor and sat next to him.

"You know, you're not supposed to be getting out of bed without someone with you."

He held out a bowl of the fruit salad with the fork in it to me.

"I don't want to be a bother and it was like ten steps." I took the bowl and held it near my face.

"It's not a bother, that's why we're all here. To help you." I told him.

"It's the only way I'm going to get better." He shrugged. "I'm not delusional Annie. I know I can't leave my room without help but I'm fine in my room."

I took a bite and sighed. He was right. "Okay, but we're going to have a rule where you don't move unless someone is here to watch you."

He sighed and looked at me. I twisted my head and stared at him like my mom would at Dad sometimes.

"Fine."

We took a few bites before I asked him, "Sooo, what were you trying to play, anyway?"

"I don't know. It looks like I was trying to write something, but I'm not sure if I was trying to compose for my opera or something else."

He's shown me and played songs he's written for his mom before. Sometimes, he'd rewrite songs from movie soundtracks or musicals.

"Maybe I can help."

"Maybe…"

"How was your talk with Ms. Maria?"

He closed his eyes and he looked hurt.

"Connor? What's wrong?"

"Er, heh, she… knows how to put things in perspective…"

"What do you mean?"

"It's just," he sighed. "She had no one to come back to after she was rescued. It was just her. If it weren't for Mr. Shadow, her recovery wouldn't have gone as well as it did."

Ms. Maria went through a similar thing as Connor. She was one of the best agents GUN had until she an Eggman attack left her with amnesia. She was supposed to do some recon but something went wrong. She still doesn't remember all the details. Anyway, Mr. Shadow found her wondering around not knowing anything about herself. He didn't know her personally. Actually Maria wasn't even her name, she asked for a name and Mr. Shadow just picked it because it had something to do with someone he knew a long time ago. Turns out, she was an orphan. Her parents were spies too but they died while on missions. She still had a grandma who was alive, and she would see her every so often, but she wasn't in a state to care for Ms. Maria, let alone herself when Ms. Maria had her accident. She kept the name Maria when she remembered who she really was. She didn't want to be Star anymore, she liked the idea of Ms. Maria, the instructor instead. She and Mr. Shadow have been together ever since.

"Yeah, it's horrible what happened to her. Luckily, Mr. Shadow found her, and they fell in love."

"Yeah, that was only bright side to that whole thing."

When Caleb would visit, I made sure to have my homework done, have dinner and hang out with my parents for maybe half an hour before going upstairs to my room.

"How is he?" Caleb asked. We were hanging out on my bed while I was crocheting a set of slippers for Lily for winter. She loved the ones from last year, but she outgrew them.

"Better, now that he's home. He's still frustrated that he can't leave the house or do much of anything except being alive."

He nodded. "I'd be the same way."

"Mmm. I'd give you two days and you'd be back in the field, being the best agent GUN has ever seen."

He chuckled and smiled at me. It was nice having him around. I mean, after him sneaking into my room the first time, I couldn't imagine him not coming over for a visit. It felt weird we had to sneak him into my room and hide him anytime we heard footsteps or voices, but he said it was for the best and I trust him with my life. He'd never steer me wrong.

"You may be completely right about that."

"Hopefully, we won't have to test it out." For a second, I imagined Caleb in the hospital instead of Connor. Seeing him in bandages with machines attached to him. Having bruises, scratches, burns… I shook my head to get the thought out.

"Annie?"

"Huh?"

I looked up and blinked. He was staring at me with a worried look. His mouth was slightly open, and he was right in front of me. All I really saw was his face and I had a great view of his gray-blue eyes that changed with the season. They were getting less blue, the colder It got outside.

"Uhhhhh…" Suddenly, I was feeling a little weird at how close we were.

"Fine!" I squeaked. I cleared my throat and shifted away from him. "Fine, just uh…" I stared at the half-made slipper in my hands for a second. "I-I was imagining it, you in the coma."

"Annie." He took my hand that was holding the hook and squeezed it. I looked at our hands and then at him. He smiled sadly at me. His gray-blue eyes told me he was listening, and everything would be okay. I set my project down and kept going.

"It can happen. Not as an accident because you're going to go off on dangerous missions and stuff. You're going to get hurt and I know, I know you'll be fine. You're Caleb, you've trained for this your whole life, you heal super-fast, you're learning to use the chaos emeralds and… and you're ready." I looked at him in the eyes. "You're ready to protect us…" I took a deep breath. "But who's going to protect you?"

We stared at each other for a few seconds. Oh right.

"My team."

"Huh?"

He looked at me. His eyes stared at me as if I was the only thing in existence. "My team will do their best on missions, and I will not make a habit of running in blind and on my own."

"Really? I thought you'd have go in by yourself."

"Of course, I'm completely capable but I'm not an idiot. Granted, the likelihood of being completely alone is possible. I'll do my best to come back."

"And you'll come to see me, right?" I asked. My heart felt like it was being squeezed.

He took my hands in his.

"I'll come see you after every mission, after every attack. No obstacle will keep my away from you."

My eyes watered and he squeezed my hands. I sniffled. My chest was a little heavy even though I was relieved… still worried but relieved to hear that he'd come see me. I knew I wouldn't be satisfied, and I'd be worried until I could see him, see that he was okay.

I hugged him and held onto him tight. I still felt a heaviness in my chest, but it felt warm. I didn't want to let him go.

"We should have done this years ago."

"What?"

"Sneak you into my room." I let him go. "I still miss you, but the waiting isn't so bad anymore. And I have something to look forward to."

Caleb's POV

I opened the door to my dorm to find Roger sitting on his bed facing the flat screen we shared. He had a guest.

"Caleb? You're early!" They moved away from each other as I stepped in and closed the door.

"We have an exam in the morning. Hello Midnight." He was a fellow student who I never really interacted with outside of class. He was a black cat and an excellent pit pocket who could disappear into any role you give him. His silver hair, though relatively long when straight, looked jumbled on top of his head.

"Hi C." I never understood why he insisted on calling me that.

"Was I interrupting anything?" I asked as I looked between them. They were under a knitted blanket Nigel's mother made him. Before I completely stepped into the room, they were close together to the point where their sides were likely touching.

"No!" They both insisted.

I brought my hands up in defense. "Keep your voices down. It'll be all right."

"I…I'd better go." Midnight got up from the bed and turned his head to first look at me. "I'll see you guys tomorrow." Then he looked at Nigel as he, himself, stood up. I looked away from them, feeling… I believe the word would be awkward and walked towards my closet. They deserved a piece of privacy. I unzipped my sweater and placed it in the closet before I went to the bathroom to begin my nightly routine.

When Midnight left, Nigel cleared his throat and leaned in the doorway.

"Just so we're clear, this isn't actually anything."

I nodded, confirming that I understood the situation as I paused with my toothbrush in my hand.

"I really like him though."

I rinsed my mouth and turned to him.

"I'm… glad." I told him as I turned back. "How was your evening?" I asked before starting to floss.

"Pretty uneventful actually. We just binge watched an old sitcom I never heard of from like a decade ago."

"Uh-huh." I responded.

"Peaceful though. It was the first non-date I've had that wasn't so awkward."

"I see."

"What do you think of him?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, do you think he's a good guy?"

I continued to floss as I thought of my response. "We're all screened for anything that may-"

"Not a robot answer Dude, a real answer." I could hear the annoyance and seriousness in his voice.

"It's too soon for me to have an opinion." I responded.

"What's your first impression?"

I finished flossing and rinsed my mouth before turning to him and responding.

"He seems nice enough. However, I am concerned about his talents in faking emotion."

He chuckled. "Aw, you're worried I'll get hurt."

"Of course, I am." I said, ignoring his light demeanor. This was absolutely a serious manner to me.

He looked at me with the most surprised expression I had ever seen on his face.

"You're my friend and I want you to be happy. Any potential partner you may have needs to be of a certain caliber in order for them to be worthy of you."

He tried staring at me as neutral as possible, but I could see the slight growth in his eyes from surprise still there. I saw his mouth twitch and slowly, he stopped staring at me. He allowed himself to smile genuinely, appreciatively.

"Thanks Caleb."

I smiled back.

He looked away from me for a second before asking, "So how was Annie?"

I walked out of the bathroom with him behind me. "She was… more like Annie. She worries about everyone, she crafts… She was in the middle of crocheting a pair of slippers when I arrived." I sat on my bed, and he sat on his. "Above all else, she was happy."

"Happy in general or happy to see you?"

"Both." I responded.

"It can't be both dude, seriously." He shook his head. He was relaxed and slightly annoyed, staring at me in disbelief.

"Knowing Annie, I believe it can."