When I woke up I was very cold. I shifted and curled up closer to the warmth I felt on top of me, whimpering.

I heard something next to me and then felt myself get picked up and set onto something even warmer. I immediately cuddled into the warmth, shifting so my head was laying on whatever it was. My tired mind didn't seem to really care about what I was laying on, and I soon fell asleep.

When I woke up again, it was because someone was shaking me. I huffed a little bit, opening my eyes a little bit and looking around. I saw Ozzie's face above me, a bit blurry because I had just woken up, but I could sense that there were other people in the room too.

"Awe, he's so cute, look at him!" I heard a girl's voice say quietly. Ozzie turned his head to the side to make a face at whoever had said that, then looked back at me. He gently lifted me up a little bit, and it was then that I realized that I was laying on him. I blushed when I registered that, but I also didn't want to get off of him either. He was very warm, and I felt more secure with him like this than when he was just next to my bed. He sat me up on his lap, then set a food tray on my lap for me.

I leaned back on his chest, looking at the food on the tray before starting to eat. Today it was a pink yogurt and a small bowl of strawberries. I tried the yogurt first, then purred and ate more of it. Ozzie chuckled a little at me, and I looked up at his face behind me. He smirked down at me, and I pouted jokingly at him, looking back down at my food.

I ate most of the yogurt and one of the strawberries. Ozzie talked with the other two people in the room while I ate; I glanced at them out of the corner of my eye. The girl was dark skinned like Ozzie, and her black hair was in interesting knot-like braids. There was also another guy there; he was very pretty, and his skin was pale, though he didn't look sick or anything. His hair was short and curly, and black as well. His eyes were unique; they were red-orange and the sclera of his eyes was black. He looked taller than Ozzie, and he looked more muscled too. But I liked Ozzie better; the other man looked too scary.

I looked at Ozzie and held the tray up to him when I was done. He looked at me and took the tray gently, setting it on the small table next to the bed. He frowned a little bit, then picked up one of the strawberries and held it to me. "Can you eat one more?" He said.

I didn't want to, but he looked concerned so I nodded and ate the strawberry. "Thank you Fae," Ozzie said.

I purred softly, rolling onto my side on Ozzie's lap and laying my head on his chest, closing my eyes and pulling the blankets up over my shoulder. I felt Ozzie's hand on my shoulder gently over the blankets, like he was holding me to him. I blushed a little and smiled when I felt that, feeling more secure and enjoying the heaviness of Ozzie's hand on my arm. I soon fell asleep again.

-A-
I gently put my hand on Faervel's shoulder as he fell asleep again. His head was laying on my chest, his purring vibrating my stomach a little bit. He was asleep soon, when his purring stopped.

Lucielle smirked at me. "Soo, Ozzie, how are you feeling about the Little Elf here?"

I rolled my eyes at her. "You may was well ask what you're hinting at."

"C'mon!" she laughed. "Look at the boy! He's everything you have ever mentioned liking in a partner! He's adorable, he clearly likes you, I don't even know him but I can assume that he doesn't have a single bad bone in his tiny body."

Barzethomirr chuckled at Lucielle's reasoning. I sighed softly. "Luci, I'm not going to ask out a traumatized Elf that just got out of the sex trade, in the hospital. Besides," I looked down at Fae. I'd decided to call him that because it seemed like a good shortened version of his name. "I'd feel bad if I broke him."

Lucielle chuckled and raised her arms in surrender. "Fine, fine," she said. I gently rubbed Fae's shoulder with my thumb.

"But I do like him," I mumbled. Lucielle grinned.

"I knew it!" She said. "And even better for you, he's mostly immortal!"

I smirked. "His heart literally stopped, like, yesterday."

"I said mostly immortal. He won't die of old age before you."

Barzethomirr yawned a little. "Aren't young unmated Elves like him super vulnerable?" I looked at him for a second.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Elves that don't have mate marks are really vulnerable. It's like that omegaverse shit you see all over fanfictions; young Elves without mates are very vulnerable because their hormones are wack, so it makes other beings react to them recklessly. When they get their marks, their hormones calm down and they only affect the person that marked them, for the most part. That's probably why he was such a valuable slave."

I thought about that. "That would make sense," I said after a bit. I looked down at him, moving his hair aside to see the back of his neck gently. "His hormones seem to be regulated enough though?"

"It may just be because of the drugs and all the machines," Barzethomirr said. "Or, it could be because he considers you a mate-figure to him, so you are the one regulating them."

I sighed softly and chewed my lip a little. 'Hopefully not the latter,' I thought to myself. I do like the Elf, but I don't want to hurt him. If he's with me, he most likely will be hurt.

But I also want to help him. I know he won't have anywhere to go after he gets out of the hospital, so I don't know what they're going to do with him. I just hope I can keep seeing him, wherever he goes.