Part 6
(Third)
Smile and the others watched this exchange with great interest. Jeff was never one to be gentle and comforting. They were all used to him being arrogant and short-tempered.
'Could Jeff have developed feeling for Lili?' Smile thought, 'If that's true then I won't have to worry about Lili as much as I do now. In a way, they do suit each other.'
Smile watched as his best friend carried Lili to one of the few vacant chairs in the den area of the mansion. Jeff sat down with Lili in his lap. Lili curled up against Jeff's broad chest. Little Lili was still in pain. His wrist was completely shattered. Smile felt guilty. He should have been more careful. He blamed himself for his precious little Lili's injury.
"It' okay Daddy," Smile heard Lili say, "I know you didn't do it on purpose. I'll be fine. It was bound to happen sooner or later anyways. So please don't blame yourself."
"I won't Lili," Smile sighed then gazed at his youngest warmly.
Lili had snuggled back up with Jeff, who was keeping a firm but gentle grip on Lili's injured arm. Jeff whispered sweet nothings and cooed soothing words into Lili's ear. Everyone watched in awe at the sight of Jeff being gentle. It was never heard of before nor seen. They all knew then and there that if any of them were to mess with Lili, they would quite literally have Jeff at their throats.
Soon each one of the mansion's members returned to what they were doing before Lili's injury. They knew Jeff was very capable of taking care of Lili and it seemed to them that Lili had a favorite. Smile was happy. He didn't have to hide his pups anymore and knew that Lili would, somewhat, be safe as long as Jeff was around. The only problem was that Lili had nowhere to sleep. But seeing as how Jeff was handling things, Smile just assumed that Lili would be sharing a room with Jeff.
Jack stayed with Jeff and Lili as the others left. Then he led them to the medical room. He had already set everything up. He grabbed a needle that contained an anesthetic. Jeff held out Lili's right arm and Jack gave the tiny pup the shot. It would make him sleep so he wouldn't feel the pain. After Lili was asleep, Jack got to work. Jeff stayed by Lili's side throughout the entire surgery. He never once looked away, though it pained him knowing how much pain Lili was going to be in when he woke up.
After about three hours Jack had finally managed to rearranged Lili's wrist and set it to heal correctly. He put in a metal plate and screwed it into the bone. After he finished, he stitched Lili's arm up and wrapped it in a soft cloth, covering it with a few layers of black gauze. He wouldn't be able to use that arm for a while. And seeing as how Lili was left-handed, this meant a lot more work for Jeff. He didn't care though. He loved the idea of being able to take care of Lili. Maybe one day when Lili was older, Jeff would take him and they would go on a hunt together.
'Or maybe Smile with let me take Lili on as my proxy,' Jeff thought as he watched Lili sleep.
Jeff carefully picked up Lili, thanked Jack, and walked back to his room. He walked in through the already open door. Setting his future proxy down on the bed gently, he turned and closed the door, a sigh to the others that he did not want to be disturbed. He carefully maneuvered Lili into the middle of the bed. He changed his clothes and slipped on a black t-shirt. He crawled into the middle of the bed and, laying on his back, pulled Lili onto his chest. Lili's head and injured arm rested on Jeff's chest. The smiling boy's arms wrapped around the young pup protectively. Jeff was also starting to fall asleep. He took one more look at Lili before putting on his eye-mask and drifting into a world of darkness.