Jack staggered into his apartment looking worse for wear. He had taken a tumble on the slick streets and had soaked his jeans, as well as his jacket, and he’d scratched his right wrist when he had landed. But that was the last thing on his mind right now. His mind was on Katelynn, laying in that hospital bed, wired up to all those tubes and machines like some kind of science experiment.

His worries didn’t clear even when Roxy, barking and excited, to see her daddy home came racing around out of the bedroom and ran circles around him, yapping noisily. There was a note on the fridge, from Minion, saying he’d fed, watered, and walked her and hoped that his friend was all right. 

The blue man scooped Roxy into his arms, needing to feel her wriggling weight, to try and distract him.

He hated feeling so useless when he was finally beginning to feel useful. He was being braver, wasn’t he? Was this a challenge, or a punishment, for going outside after years of swearing he wouldn’t? Jack didn’t know, all he did know was that he didn’t like this. He didn’t like it at all.

He set Roxy down before grabbing a sketch book and some pencils, crayons, markers and erasers. He even grabbed his guitar case, and slung it over his shoulder. They said that people under can hear music, so he might as well… and he was going to save it, too, for New Years Eve when they would have stood out in the fields and release lanterns together.

Thankfully it was after the Christmas season now, meaning all the work this time of year was done with. No doubt he probably had some orders already sitting in his inbox but he didn’t bother turning on his computer at all.

After gathering his supplies he quickly got into the shower and cleaned, got into a fresh change of clothes, gathered up his things again and left. Not before giving Roxy a loving pet, telling her she was a good girl and he’d be home soon, and headed out back towards the hospital.