Caught and Released

Breakfast

The first thing Daniel noticed was softness. He felt like he was on a cloud. The only thing bothering him was something uncomfortable in his left arm. Then his memory started to come back. He forced his eyes open, trying to figure out where he was. It looked like he was on an oversized bed; surrounded by mesh screens he definitely wouldn't be able to get over. To his left was a massive amount of pillows in many shapes and sizes. Beyond the screens to his right was a large room. Many of the furnishings were scaled up for something much bigger than him. Some things were tall, but otherwise the correct size. He then noticed the pillow he currently had a death grip on.

As he was about to set it aside, he heard a noise. The sight of the door opening sent him scrambling to pull the blanket over himself, screwing his eyes shut. A gentle voice got his attention.

"Hello little one. Are you awake?" A second of silence before Daniel heard a small laugh. "Oh, dear, are you hiding? Oh, sweetie, you do not need to be scared: I will not hurt you." The voice was soft, like whoever this is was talking to a frightened child. "You can come out. It is alright."

Daniel cautiously poked his head out from under the blanket. His eyes widened as he recognized the figure on the other side of the screen. It was the same one that took him out of that horror room. He smiled once he saw Daniel's face, "Hi."

"H-hello. Um, who- who a-are you?"

"My name is Amarvus. What is your name, dear?"

"Um, Daniel."

"It is very nice to meet you, Daniel. I have some breakfast for you. Would you like to come out so you can eat?"

His stomach definitely thought that was a good idea, judging by the growl it let out. Daniel slowly pulled the blanket down and nodded. As he tried to sit up, he finally took a good look at his left arm. He looked down to see that there was a needle in his arm attached to an IV drip. He started to panic at the sight. "What- what did you-?" He tried and failed to get a full sentence out.

"Hey, it is alright." Amarvus stopped him from trying to pull the needle out. "It is just something to get some fluids back into you. It is just a saline solution. It will not hurt you." Daniel started to calm down. "I can disconnect the tube from you to take you to the table, but the needle should stay in."

"Why does the needle have to stay in?"

"If I take it out, I will just have to put it back later. I know that this is uncomfortable, but it is less painful than me having to poke you over and over again."

"Um, ok."

"Come on. It is alright. Are you hungry? I can get you something to eat." Daniel nodded. He sat up and pulled the blanket off of himself to see that he was wearing pale green pajamas. There were bandages wrapped around the places the restraints had rubbed raw.

"I will need to pick you up to get you to the table. Is that alright?"

"O-ok." As Daniel watched Amavrus lower the screen the rest of the way, he abruptly noticed the extra pair of arms. He gently disconnected the IV from the needle in Daniel's arm and started to pick him up.

"And up we go!" Daniel turned red as he was easily lifted and placed against Amarvus's chest. Being held with four arms instead of two was strange, but it felt more stable. He walked across the room towards a tall table and placed Daniel in the accompanying chair. "I have to go heat up your breakfast, but I will be right back." He walked over to a counter not too far away, opening a cabinet and grabbing something similar to a water bottle. He shook it before placing it in what looked like a microwave, closing the door, and pressing a few buttons before a sound started. He leaned back against the counter before turning back to Daniel. "It should be ready in a minute."

"Ok."

"How are you doing?"

"Um, ok. Can I- can I ask you something?"

"You may ask me anything you like."

"Um, ok. Where are we?"

"We are on a veterinary ship."

"Like, a spaceship?"

"Yes, we are on a spaceship."

"Ok, um, what do you want with me?"

"I am going to be taking care of you until we can get you home." A beep sounded, causing Amarvus to turn around and take the bottle out. He walked over to Daniel and placed it in front of him. "Here you go."

"Thank you."

"You are very welcome." Daniel started drinking the warm, slightly sweet drink that was given to him. Apparently, he was hungrier than he realized, because Amarvus stopped him shortly after he started. "Hey, Daniel, slow down. It is not going anywhere."

"Oh, ok. Sorry." He started drinking again, slower this time.

"It is alright dear. You do not need to apologize. I know you are hungry. I just do not want you to make yourself sick."

"Ok, I understand." He continued drinking until a thought occurred to him. "You said you were gonna take me home?"

"Yes, we want to get you back to your home."

"Why can't I go home now?"

"Well, we do not know where you are from."

"Oh, I'm from Earth."

"I am sorry dear; I do not know where that is. We have people that are very good at finding places. You can go home once we find it, but I promise to make sure you are comfortable in the meantime."

Something still wasn't sitting right with Daniel. "Wait, if you don't know where I'm from, how did I even get here? What was with that room I was in anyway?" He rubbed his throat at the memory.

Amarvus's expression shifted to one of sympathy. "You were taken away by bad people. I do not want to even imagine what would have happened to you if we did not find that ship. I am so sorry you had to endure that horrible treatment. I promise that you will not be hurt here."

"So, not only was I abducted and had to go through all of... that, but there isn't even a guarantee I can get back home?"

"There... is a chance they will not be able to find it, yes. But it will be alright. I promise you will be alright- whatever happens." Despite himself, Daniel started tearing up. Everything started to hit him at once. "Oh darling, may I hold you?" He nodded. Amavrus picked him up and walked over to a big chair. He sat down and started rocking back and forth.

"It was so awful! It was so dark. I was so cold. I just want to go back home! I can't even let my family know I'm alright. They're going to be freaking out!"

"I know darling. I know it. You can let it out. I am here for you." Daniel had his head buried in Amarvus's shoulder, shaking slightly with sobs. "Oh, darling. How I wish I could fix it. I will do whatever I can to help you feel better. I am here for you." They stayed like that for several minutes. After a while, Daniel started to feel a little better. His tears gradually stopped flowing and he leaned more comfortably against Amarvus. "There you go. You just relax. I have you." Daniel felt his eyelids getting heavy. He let out a yawn and cuddled into Amarvus further. "Aww. Little cuddle bug. Would you like to go back to bed? You seem tired." After the last few weeks, he was exhausted.

"Yes please."

"Alright then." Amavrus carried Daniel over to the bed, setting him down gently. He hooked the IV back up to the needle. "Would you like to hold the pillow again?" Daniel nodded. Amarvus handed him the pillow and pulled the covers over him. "Sleep well, Daniel." He started to pull the screen back up.

"Wait. Could you, um, stay for a little bit? I don't- don't want to be alone right now."

"Of course, I can. Let me dim the lights for you and I will be right back." After he turned most of the lights off, Amarvus kneeled by the bed and took Daniel's hand, stroking it with his thumb. "Is this alright?"

"Yes, that helps. Thank you."

"My pleasure, dear. Now get some sleep." They stayed like that until Daniel nodded off.