This chapter is a songfic. Lylla is Rocket's otter girlfriend in the older comics and their past relationship will be discussed. We know she exists in the MCU since she's on Rocket's rap sheet.

Rocket's whole body ached as he awoke with a groan in the Milano's medbay. Groot perked up and smiled. "I am Groot?" The now-small tree asked worriedly.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." He wasn't fine, it hurt to move or even breathe, let alone his wounded left foot. The mammal noticed the short crutches leaning against the bedside table. "Hey Groot, can ya hand me those pills and get me a glass of water?" The tree cheerfully left to perform his duty.

Rocket swung his legs around to sit on the edge of the bed. Groot returned with the water and handed him the pills. "Thanks." Peter had walked in behind the tree, far too excited about something this early in the morning. As the cyborg carefully descended from the bed, a pile of shiny things caught the corner of his eye. He used the crutches to hobble towards the pile and couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"WHOA! Where did you get this? This is a Mantlon cortex! And a Valerian blaster! I'm gonna make weapons like you've never dreamed!" Rocket grinned ear-to-ear, just imagining what destructive devices he could create.

"In the market. Glad you like them." Quill pretended to be taking it in stride, but he was obviously giddy, though Rocket wasn't sure about what.

"We're cool Quill, just know that next time you screw up you can't bribe me like this every time…but it might help."

"So am I the best gift-picker-outer or what?" Peter grinned, proud and beaming.

"Don't push it." Rocket warned half-jokingly.

The Terran, bouncing with energy, assembled the group in the common area. They sat on the couch, speckled by the shine of the disco ball. "We should listen to the music on this and make an Awesome Mix Vol. 3! Everybody pick 2 songs you like. This screen'll show the song and band name so you can remember it." Rocket almost felt miffed that Peter had hooked the device into the Milano's sound system without needing his help.

The songs on the player were mostly of the genres Quill called pop, rock, and folk. The Terran's obvious favorites of the new songs were hardly distinguishable from what was on his mixtapes. Perhaps the affliction of nostalgia was much more widespread than Rocket thought. Quill and Groot danced like idiots to many of the songs, trying to get Gamora to join in, but she refused to do more than sway from side-to-side. Drax was confused by most of the lyrics as always, and seemed generally disinterested.

Rocket hoped no one heard him humming to If I Were a Rich Man, which was from a musical called Fiddler on the Roof. He didn't understand many of the lyrics, but the ones he got really spoke to him.

They quickly discovered that several of the songs had lyrics that hit far too close to home.

[Natives, Blink-182] I'm like a cat in a cage, fucked up and battered and bruised. I am the prodigal son, a shameful prodigy too. There is desire to fight, but I have nothing to prove…Do you have something to hide? 'Cause I think that we all do. I am a child inside, back up and give me some room. I'm just a bastard child, don't let it go to your head…So let me go, go. Just let me go, go. I'd rather go it alone. I'm never coming home.

One by one, the Guardians stared grimly at the floor as the song ripped their wounds open. "Skip this one," Gamora suggested to everyone's relief.

It almost became a game as to who would say skip next, or if they could get through a whole song without needing to skip it. Somewhat surprisingly, even the seemingly carefree music-loving one was saying skip relatively often.

[Space Travel, Yellowcard] Did I get lost while I was gone? I traveled space for much too long. But there's a planet I have found, and you are far away.

"Skip." Quill waved it off.

[Mixtape, Butch Walker] But you gave me the best mixtape I have, and even all the bad songs ain't so bad. I just wish there was so much more than that about me and you.

"Skip. I'll also be skipping any song that starts whining about daddy issues." The Terran could be a bit defensive about denying he had daddy issues. Rocket wasn't in the mood to push it at the moment, so he kept quiet.

"That reminds me friend Quill, I am disappointed by your lack of initiative in finding your biological father. Family is important, and if I had been separated from my relatives, I would seek them." Drax stated coolly and crossed his arms.

Peter shrugged. "He left us. As far as I'm concerned, Yondu's as much of a dad as I have."

[Rocky Raccoon, The Beatles] Now somewhere in the black mountain hills of Dakota there lived a young boy named Rocky Raccoon, and one day his woman ran off with another guy.

Rocket's ears twitched and he snarled, hopping on his crutches to the medbay. "I got bombs to work on." He barely masked the anger in his voice, but it wasn't directed at Quill, or any of them. Groot followed behind. He could still hear the rest of them from the other room.

Rocky Raccoon checked into his room only to find Gideon's Bible.

"What is Gideonsbible?" Drax's voice carried far even when not intentionally shouting.

"Religious book, you guys would hate it. 'Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not covet...'"

Rocket tuned everything out as he sat on the floor of the medbay, fixated on his tinkering. His injuries prevented him from working as quickly as usual, and his muscles were screaming, chest tight. This only managed to make him more defiant in trying to prove that he could work through it. Groot sat beside him, ever patient. Occasionally the mammal would ask for a tool, and the tree would get it for him. Groot was the only one he was comfortable asking for help from, and even then it hurt his pride.

The tranquility of constructing explosives was shattered when the tattooed lummox entered the room. Drax took a long look at his furry companion. "The song is about you, yes? I do not understand how a Terran song describes you. The song is older than both you and friend Quill."

"Hell if I know. I thought Quill made the song himself to make fun of me but it's not his voice."

"Is Lylla the woman spoken of in the song?" Drax asked softly.

"How do you know that name?" He glared at the large man and his ears flattened.

"You shout in your sleep." Drax made it sound like a simple fact. To Rocket, it was like he was airing out his dirty laundry for all to see, without even being aware of it. He had nightmares often, and he knew Groot heard everything, but didn't think the others did. "Would you like to discuss it?"

"No." He tried to go back to making his weapons.

"I have informed you much about Hovat. Among my people such knowledge is reserved as a privilege for close friends." Was that really the case, or was Drax being unexpectedly manipulative?

"So?" Rocket shrugged.

"I hoped the companionship was mutual, I was mistaken." Drax stood up and turned to leave the room.

"Wait." If it had been Quill, he wouldn't have given in to the guilt card. The Terran would never understand, he seduced every other woman he saw, he'd never been in love. But Drax understood.

The giant turned back around and sat on the floor. "When you said that we all have dead people…"

"No, she's alive."

"Then who?"

"Drop it, Drax." The cyborg bared his teeth.

"I am not holding anything."

"I mean shut up about that." Rocket huffed.

"Tell me about Lylla, then."

"…She's fierce, kind, brilliant, a great shot with a sniper rifle, beautiful. Well, you probably wouldn't consider her beautiful."

"I'm certain she is lovely." The man spoke gently.

"She's short and covered with fur." Drax let out a hearty, booming laugh. "What did you expect? I guess I'm just wired different, okay? Lylla is the heiress to a huge toy company. Don't ask me how 'cause the genetics there make no sense. Long story short, jerks were out to marry her for her company. One of them hired a merc, Blackjack, to kidnap her. Me and her were soulmates, ya know? But she married Blackjack. I got jealous and messed things up, she ain't speaking to me right now, hasn't for a while. End of story." Rocket wanted to give him the abridged version as quickly as possible and be done with it.

"I believe you should attempt to reconcile with her." The man's judging eyes gazed down at Rocket.

"I am Groot." The tree agreed.

He scowled. "Well I don't. Can we talk about something else?" Drax nodded slowly, his face expressionless. The ringtail absently scratched at his ear, and then exhaled large breath. "Yesterday some jackass tried to eat me, and it got me thinkin'. You said you've eaten…raccoon before?" Rocket struggled over that word, admitting he was some dumb animal. "Where do they come from?"

"They originate from Procyon. Friend Quill insists your species hails from Terra, but he is incorrect." The maniac seemed to wonder why his friend asked.

"Procyon." The raccoon repeated, memorizing it. He wasn't even sure why he cared. Maybe thinking of somewhere other than Halfworld as being his birthplace wouldn't hurt so much, or maybe having a species would make him less lonely. Or perhaps it was just morbid curiosity of what he used to be.

Drax had gone off to sharpen his knives or something, leaving Rocket and Groot in the medbay. The medicine was beginning to wear off, and it was probably a little past time for his next dose. Rocket felt a dull pain in his chest, and clutched at it with a paw. "Pills." Groot hurriedly grabbed the bottle and the glass of water, and after taking them the raccoon sighed with relief. It wasn't instantaneous, but he almost felt less pain just knowing the meds were in his system. They sat there in silence.

[Thistle and Weeds, Mumford & Sons] Spare me your judgments and spare me your dreams, cause recently mine have been tearing my seams.

He wondered what else he had screamed during his nightmares. Probably just yelling at the scientists to stop, or yelling at Groot to not sacrifice himself.

Corrupted by the simple sniff of riches blown, I know you have felt much more love than you've shown.

"I am Groot."

"You do? I'm surprised, this song's kinda sad."

But plant your hope with good seeds, don't cover yourself with thistle and weeds. Rain down, rain down on me.

The lyrics were Groot's kind of metaphor, and the meaning cut through Rocket like a knife.

"I am Groot." The tree pulled his best friend into a hug.

And I will hold on, I will hold on hope.

"C'mon ya big sap." Rocket protested, but didn't try to get out of the embrace.

"I am Groot." He said gently.

"I know. Me too." Rocket allowed himself to smile. Groot smiled back, freed his friend from the hold, and walked back into the common room.

[Survive, Rise Against] Somewhere between happy and total fucking wreck, feet sometimes on solid ground, and sometimes at the edge… Life for you's been less than kind, so take a number, stand in line. We've all been sorry, we've all been hurt, but how we survive is what makes us who we are.

Rocket never thought the lyrics of some Terran song would so accurately mirror his own philosophy. The song itself was up his alley too. Rock was his favorite genre, but the lyrics of the heavier stuff tended to remind him of things he'd rather forget.

Once they had skipped or listened to all the songs, they sat in the common room to actually put the playlist together. "I've put on Get Lucky by Daft Punk, and Treasure by Bruno Mars," Peter announced to the surprise of no one.

"I am Groot!" The flora colossus said cheerfully.

"Why'd ya have to pick those? The one's annoying and the other's mopey." Rocket frowned.

"I am Groot!" The tree wasn't angry, but definitely annoyed.

"Fine. You didn't have to bring my mother into it. He wants that stupid Happy song by Pharrell, and Thistle and Weeds by Mumford & Sons. For me, Survive by Rise Against, and If I Were A Rich Man." The others looked at Groot in disbelief.

"Survivor by Destiny's Child-" Gamora was interrupted by coughing.

It suddenly became harder to breathe, and the raccoon began coughing. When he pulled his paw away from his snout, there was some blood on it. "Shit," he whispered.