Disclaimer: I do not own Wolfblood.

Episode Seven, Part 2 - "Visitors"

Tom pedaled on his bike faster than ever before, Shannon sitting behind him with her arms wrapped tightly around his waist.
They had just received a call from Maddy telling them what had happened; she'd tried to reassure them and tell them that Rhydian was fine, but they still needed to go and see him and make sure that the rest of their pack was okay. On the way they'd stopped at a little corner shop to grab Rhydian some chocolate; they wanted to help at least a little bit, and buying Rhydian's favourite chocolate was sure to make him feel a little better.

Shannon's heart was beating fast as the pair climbed off the bike outside Maddy's house. Tom looked down at Shannon whose eyes were wide and scared, and her hands were shaking slightly.

He looked in to her eyes and offered her a sad smile, leaning down to take her right hand in his. His other hand came up and cupped her face, smoothing her cheekbone softly with his thumb.

"It's alright, Shan," he said calmly, "Rhydian's fine, remember? Maddy wouldn't have told us he was if it wasn't true."

Shannon exhaled, looking Tom in the eyes. She found it hard to maintain eye contact when she was this worried about one of her best friends, but she also didn't want to look away. Tom's brown eyes seemed to comfort her, somehow, and for a moment she felt at peace.

"I know." She nodded, and Tom smiled slightly before leaning in and leaving a kiss on her forehead. For a moment, Shannon closed her eyes and leaned in to him, but then they heard the front door of Maddy's house open.

And then out walked Maddy, clad in some black jeans and a red T-shirt, along with a big bandage wrapped around the top of her arm and a few plasters dotted on her wrist and forearm.

"Maddy, you're hurt too?" Shannon gushed, horrified, running over to check on her best friend.

Maddy nodded. "But I'm okay. Really."

For a moment Shannon looked Maddy all over. Then she sighed and brought her in for a hug, holding her tightly. So tightly that it stunned Maddy at first, but she soon reciprocated.
Even with mere human senses, Shannon could still smell the blood on Maddy, mixed in with a faint smell of the forest.

"Mads, are you alright?" Tom asked worriedly, approaching the two girls.

Shannon let Maddy go and turned to her boyfriend, taking his hand.

Maddy nodded. "I'm fine."

"How's Rhydian?" Tom questioned. All three of them were frowning.

"He's okay," Maddy shrugged, "not great, but…okay."

"I'm so sorry, Mads," Shannon said softly, giving her best friend's non-injured arm a comforting squeeze.

Maddy went to shrug, but then she inhaled and smelled something sweet. Sniffing the air more intently this time, a small smile broke out on to her face.

"Do I smell chocolate?" She asked.

Finally, both Shannon and Tom smiled and Shannon brought out a bag of chocolate buttons and a bar of chocolate. "You do."

"Mmm…" Maddy reached out to take it but Shannon snatched it away playfully.

"Ah-ah-ah, it's for Rhydian, Mads. Sorry." Shannon grinned.

Maddy pouted and stuck her tongue out at her best friends before turning around and walking inside. Shannon and Tom followed.

When the three friends got in to the house, everyone but Rhydian, Jana and Aran was in there. Shannon looked around and saw Gerwyn, Ceri, Emma and Dan, all dotted around at different places in the room, hot drinks in their hands.

"Emma, Dan," Shannon said, a small smile appearing on her face as she ran over to hug Maddy's parents. It'd been months since Shannon had last seen them.

"Hey, Shan," Emma smiled softly. "Good to see you. And you, Tom." She leaned in and hugged Tom, and then turned to the rest of the room.

"Good to see you guys, too." Tom smiled, addressing every person in there.

"So…where's Rhydian?" Questioned Tom after a few seconds of silence.

"Upstairs," Maddy answered, heading for the stairs. "Come up, if you want."

"Are you sure?" Shannon asked warily.

Maddy nodded. "He's pretty groggy and can't really move, but I think he'll want to see ya."

When the door to the spare room opened, Rhydian opened his eyes just a crack to see Shannon and Tom walk in carefully, followed by Maddy.

Rhydian managed to let out a sleepy smile. "Hey, guys." He said, his voice croaky.

"Rhydian," Shannon sighed in relief, running towards the bed and looking him all over. His bandages had let through a little blood and his hair was flat and dirty, unlike his usual gelled-up style.

"Shan." Rhydian smiled a little wider when she leaned in and quickly kissed his cheek. And then she brought out the chocolate from her bag, and soon Rhydian's smile was showing his teeth.

"We brought you your favourite chocolate," Tom said, "to make you feel better."

"Awesome," Rhydian smiled, watching as Shannon placed it on the table beside the bed. "You guys are legends."

Shannon and Tom grinned, Shannon perching on the edge of his bed as they spoke to each other. Maddy smiled and watching from the doorway. Rhydian's eyes kept flicking to Maddy to check she was okay, and every time he checked, she was.

Tom and Shannon seemed so glad to see that Rhydian was okay, although they did both look a little alarmed when Maddy began to explain what exactly had happened.

"…And then…Rhydian jumped in front of me to save us from the wolf, and…that's when it happened. He couldn't even stay in wolf form, it was that bad." Maddy explained.

Shannon reached out and took Rhydian's limp hand in hers, her forehead wrinkled in concern. Rhydian offered her a sad smile and squeezed her hand.

Maddy continued, "and we brought him back here – he was unconscious – and then mam and Ceri somehow managed to save him."

"And now I'm in agony and can barely stay awake because of the painkillers that aren't working." Rhydian concluded, a playful but pained smirk on his lips.

Tom laughed, and Shannon giggled a little, but it was still remorseful. They talked for a while longer, and although the circumstances weren't the greatest, it was still good to have the pack together and alive.

"We'll go," Shannon offered ten minutes later, "if you want to rest. We understand. We just wanted to see that you're okay."

"I am. I'll be fine, at least." Rhydian replied.

His friends smiled softly, Shannon leaning forward to kiss him on the cheek one last time, and stood up in unison.

"We'll come by tomorrow." Tom said.

"If that's okay, anyway." Shannon added.

"That's fine. I'll see you guys then. Thanks for coming and, you know…bringing me chocolate."

Tom smiled and they both waved before walking out of the room, leaving Maddy standing just in front of the door.

"You alright?" Rhydian murmured sleepily, his eyes barely opening.

Maddy nodded, her arms folded over her chest as she stepped towards him. "Get some rest."

"I'm fine, Mads." He said, but he was holding back a yawn and his words were beginning to slur.

"You're not fine. You need to rest."

"I'll rest in a bit. Just lie with me for a bit, yeah?"

"I've been lying with ya all afternoon," Maddy smiled, sitting on the edge of his bed and smoothing some of his hair back with her hand. "I'm sure you'll manage without us for an hour or so."

Rhydian shook his head like a three year old, reaching up with a weak arm and attempting to touch her face. It failed. Too tired, too weak.

Maddy chuckled, taking a hold of his hand. "I'll be back up in an hour, okay?"

Sighing, Rhydian nodded reluctantly. "Fine."

"Love you," Maddy said in a sing-song tune, smiling playfully and leaning forward to kiss his forehead.

"Love you too, Mads."

A/N: Hellooooo. So, my laptop was off being repaired for a week, adding an extra week on to the update time. Sorry about that!

This chapter is pretty short, but I guess that's the way sometimes :') Only a couple more chapters left! :(

Please let me know what you think in a review; your reviews always make me so happy and I love you all soooo much :)

Love :* xxx