AN: This chapter is kind of slow and kind of predictable and so on, but hey, I'm sure some of you will like it. Hopefully...

...

All eyes were fixed on Doug as he reached for the dish, only to flinch in pain and lie back down. Doug then looked around and realised where he was and the company he was in. To everyone's surprise, he smiled, even as he looked at Dylas. "Morning Nancy!" He said, ignoring the other present party completely. "Man, I'm starving!" He said, not attempting to be the least bit subtle and eyeing the bowl of porridge lovingly.

"Oh Doug! How are you feeling?" She asked, clearly surprised to see him awake so soon.

"Hungry." He replied with a lame smile.

"Oh good, I'll get Jones to look you over." And she took off over the stairs to get her husband.

Doug whined quite audibly as Nancy left the room without passing him the bowl. He looked so saddened that even Dylas was moved to feed him. So the horse got up and held out the dish. Doug looked a little confused and suspicious at first, but he was too hungry to be snarky with his arch nemesis. "Thanks." He said, marginally moving his arms to take the bowl. His elation was obvious as he tipped the bowl to his lips. Within seconds the porridge was gone and Doug was left looking better than ever.

There was a nagging feeling in Dylas's mind. He had been wondering if what Doug did was intentional or not, but not enough to come out and ask. Instead, he stood there glaring at the dwarf contemplatively. Obviously, Doug didn't appreciate that. "What, am I really that sexy?" He said bluntly with a mischievous grin.

That comment snapped Dylas out of his musing. "Who'd find you sexy?!"

"Don't be so shy, you know you want me." He chuckled to himself. "Even in battle you couldn't take your eyes off me."

Dylas covered his mouth with his hand for a brief moment, before barking out an indignant "shut up!" and yet, he couldn't deny that he had been watching Doug rather closely during that time. Why was that? Because Doug was weak and scatterbrained, that's why! Just look at the damage he cause himself!

Either way, Doug seemed content and satisfied, even if he couldn't move very much. Just then Nancy and Jones appeared, both relieved that Doug was conscious. "How are you feeling?" Jones asked.

"I've been better." Doug joked. "Is there anything you can do to fix the pain?"

Jones then pulled the curtain as he mumbled something Dylas couldn't hear. There was a hushed rustling noise followed up by the sounds of liquids pouring. There was a moment of silence, in which Dylas sat on his bed, pretending to not be interested in what was going on. Nancy smiled sweetly at Dylas who tried to ignore her, until she too was called behind the curtain. There was another silent pause. All the suspense was killing Dylas. After what seemed liked forever, they drew the curtain back. Doug appeared to be heavily sedated. "Looks like he's going to make a full recovery." Jones said triumphantly.

"WOO!" Doug said in a lofty voice.

Dylas seemed relieved too, even if he'd never say it.

"Anyway, you're free to go Dylas. Your broken arm has healed nicely, and I didn't find any serious internal injuries."

"Thanks." He said simply. Nancy and Jones then left him and made their way to the door where a few people were waiting. Some were patients, others were concerned villagers worried about the two. Dylas sighed and looked at Doug, who appeared to have his eyes unfocussed. That didn't stop the dwarf from talking though.

"Dylaaaas." He cooed, giggling all the while.

"What?" He clearly wasn't in the mood to listen to his arch nemesis prattle on in a drugged up state. So why didn't he just walk away?

"I want to tell you something." He was still giggling. "Can I whisper it in your horsie ear?"

Such an odd request. So why was the stallion going along with it? Sure he was scowling the whole time, but he still leaned in.

Doug leaned in too, grabbing the ear rather roughly, and said, "I don't like bread." Then he giggled some more but didn't let go.

Dylas scoffed and tried to pull away. The dwarf had some kind of freaky kung fu grip on his ear and he couldn't pull away. "Let go!" He growled.

"I don't wanna." Doug giggled. Then, out of nowhere, he pulled the horse down and kissed him. It was only brief, lasting less than a second, but it was having a profound effect on the horse. Doug just kept smiling and said simply, "I always thought you were cool."

That was it, Dylas was getting out of this situation if he had to haul his ear off. He immediately took off and almost trampled Jones and Nancy and then almost burst through the door. Then he knocked over a patiently waiting Frey and almost trampled Porcoline and Meg as he bolted toward the forest.

"Oh my! That boy must be TERRIFIED of needles!" Porco said with a spin.

"Do you think we should go after him?" Meg asked, looking concerned.

"He OBVIOUSLY needs his space. I'll get to work cooking a dinner for him when he gets back!" and so the chef took off to make ten or so meals, with perhaps one of them being for Dylas. Meg just sighed.

Frey had managed to stand up and dust herself off in that time and offered a weak grin. "Well, at least he's feeling better." She couldn't help but feel partially responsible for what happened to them. Now she'd go check on Doug to make sure he was safe.

Jones and Nancy allowed for visitors now, and so a small crowd piled in to see if Doug was okay. Frey and Granny Blossom were among the first to see if he was okay. Doug had since nodded off.

"Will he be alright?" Blossom asked.

"He's fine now, he's just resting." Jones said, but didn't mention the medicine. "He was awake a moment ago, eating rice porridge if I'm not mistaken."

Frey and Blossom just sighed in relief. "That's so like my Doug." The elder said. She was clearly relieved that her absent minded grandson was going to live, and that he was up to his old antics only moments ago.

The only one who saw Dylas run out of town was Forte, and she didn't really think anything of it. He stayed out by Yokmir Forest for a few hours, not knowing if he was angry or flattered or something else altogether. After he just warded off what happened and reasoned that Doug was acting that way because of the drugs, he calmed down and allowed himself to go back to the restaurant.

-later-

"MARVELOUS hello!" Porco said as the stallion entered.

"Yeah, uh, hello." He responed. Clearly he was acting weird, but Porco didn't notice at all. He then ran to his room as quickly as he could, ignoring all other things around him. For a while he thought about writing a diary entry, but on the off chance of someone reading it, he decided against it. Luckily Meg and Porco didn't come knocking and ask if he was okay or anything. Perhaps they knew he needed his space, and that's what made them such great friends.

For a while he lay awake. He kept trying to rationalise that Doug was under the effects of medicine when he did those things. That didn't stop him from being bothered by it though. Most notably, Doug said that he didn't like bread, then said that he always thought Dylas was cool. The horse already knew that Doug didn't like bread, so that was true. What bothered him was the second statement, and of course the kiss. Then again, just because the first statement was true didn't mean the second one was. The whole situation was annoying, but perhaps he'd confront Doug about it tomorrow, when the effects of the medicine ended.

...

AN: I'll try to make it more interesting in the next chapter but no promises. Come back tomorrow, and let the action packed excitement continue!