*beep* *beep* *beep* *beep*

Soft blips of a heart monitor kept the worried silence from becoming deafening within the recovery room. Sunlight provided a crisp natural light that made it serene as the large window opened to let in fresh air. The smell of convalescence was nowhere to be found. The wind had picked up throughout the early afternoon causing the thick curtains to ripple slightly. It seemed perfect…

Colleen was sitting at the foot of the bed where Hunter was finally resting. He had just dropped off to sleep after a very busy morning. It had only been a couple of weeks since Hunter regained consciousness and everyone was starting to worry. After the first initial panic attack when he woke up, Hunter had seemingly gone mute. The most anyone got out of him was a soft grunt of acknowledgement when they spoke to him. Most thought it was just Hunter processing all of the trauma in his own way, but the doctor's warnings of the severe withdrawal were never far away from their mind.

After breakfast that morning, which meant a tube feeding for Hunter since his throat was still very damaged and he hadn't shown any interest in feeding himself, Blitz and Exile had helped stretch his limbs with Professor Hubert's instruction to prevent any atrophy from setting in. Hunter grimaced as certain moves made pain take over his body, but he never said anything in protest. Blitz had become more observant and silently guided his and Exile's movements according to the pace of Hunter's breathing and the tightness of his face. It was like he was afraid to speak up.

Master Shepherd kept a close watch on his vital signs since they would most likely be the first line of warning that the withdrawal symptoms had begun. The doctors that had treated him initially had warned of increased heart rate, high fever, chance of seizures, and even a possibility of complete blindness. The only ray of hope seemed to be that if Hunter could be kept calm and in a quiet space, the severity of the withdrawal would be kept to a minimum.

Once Blitz and Exile had finished with his physical therapy, it didn't take long for fatigue to win. Colleen ran her hand across his face and softly kissed his cheek and lips. Seeing her usually bright, lively, and jovial husband become an unresponsive husk broke her heart. There had to be some way to break him out of this. She nuzzled into the bend of his neck as his deep breathing let her know that he was fast asleep. She stayed quiet for a few more minutes before realizing her face had become wet. Her silent tears of the entire situation ran silently down from her sapphire blue eyes.

Once she was comfortable that Hunter was asleep enough to not notice her departure, Colleen eased out of the recovery room, leaving the door cracked just in case. She made her way to the small bathroom that was next to Hunter's room and splashed her face with water to help calm her nerves down. As she dried her face, she looked at her reflection.

"My 'untie… I wish I knew what I could do to help you, my love… you don't even know that you're gonna be a daddy…" Colleen thought morosely.

She wrapped her arms around herself as she took in a deep breath only to feel a wave of dizziness hit her. Her hands scrabbled to grip the edge of the sink as she felt her knees buckle a little. The acrid taste of bile flooded her mouth as she struggled to stand. Thankfully, she was able to fight of the nausea as she continued to breathe slowly to regain her coordination.

"Blimey… you certainly are letting me know you're there aren't you…?" Colleen said with a small smile, placing a palm over her stomach.

The morning sickness had not been quite as present the last couple of weeks, but the stress was starting to make it kick back up again. The dizziness was new though. Colleen was a competent field medic, but still lacked in-depth medical knowledge. Perhaps it would be smart to go see Professor Hubert to see if there was a problem.

She made her way towards Professor Hubert small office while her own body began complaining to her of the overexertion inflicted upon it. Her back was very sore and most of her muscles felt tight like she had worked out for hours. The little one was barely present and already drawing a lot of energy.

"Wha' a day… maybe Professah Hubert knows somethin' safe I can take to 'elp me relax… that way I can rest with 'untie…" Colleen reasoned with herself.

*knock* *knock*

"Professah…?" Colleen queried from the doorframe.

"Oh, Colleen! Come in. Everything alright?" the Bloodhound asked as he looked up from the paperwork on his desk.

"I was wonderin' if you could tell me tha, Professah," Colleen began.

"What's wrong, dear?" Professor Hubert asked in concern

"The morning sickness is coming back. I'm startin' to get dizzy spells too. I had one a few minutes ago," Colleen explained before breaking off into a yawn.

"Hmmm… dizziness is not a good sign. Come on. Have a seat and let me check you two over," the canine doctor said as he rummaged around his desk for the supplies he needed.

Colleen sank down with a flop into the plush chair across from the desk. She didn't realize how exhausted she really was as she felt her eyes slipping closed to enter dreamland.

"Still with me, Colleen…? I need you to let me have an arm so I can take your blood pressure," Professor Hubert said with a nudge to her shoulder.

After the Velcro of the blood pressure cuff was secured, Colleen relaxes her arm as much as possible. Professor Hubert watched the dial as he released the pressure and frowned.

"Professah…?" Colleen asked, seeing the Bloodhound's face.

"Colleen, your BP is pretty elevated. I can guess why, but you need to understand that you have someone else's well-being to think about and not just your own," Professah Hubert stated.

"Oh…is the baby…?" Colleen whimpered in worry.

"For now, your pup seems fine. Looks like peace and quiet isn't just Hunter's prescription," Professor Hubert answered softly.

"What's going on you two? Is everything alright?" Master's voice asked from the doorway.

"Nothing major, Master… her blood pressure is a little elevated," Professor Hubert said.

"Well, you did help out a lot today… probably more than you needed to. You look exhausted, Colleen," Master said placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Blimey… right fine way to tell me I look awful…not like I can help it," Colleen quipped.

"Colleen, when was your last full night of sleep?" Master asked gently as he sat across from her.

"I… I don't know. It's been hard the past day or so…" Colleen began.

"I know that Hunter being unwell is not the easiest thing to deal with right now…" Master began.

"HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW…!" Colleen burst out as tears welled in her eyes.

"Know…? Oh…" Professor Hubert said.

"You haven't told him yet…?" Master asked.

"When have I had a bloody minute to tell him anything? When he's staring off into space not even seein' me in the room…? When he's struggling not to scream in pain when Blitz and Exile do his therapy…? When he's passed out from the effort…? When…?!" Colleen growled.

"Easy, Colleen! Easy… it's ok," Master soothed as he wrapped his arms around the Collie's shoulders.

Colleen returned the enforced hug as she sniffled in frustration. She was so tired of all the stress. Master Shepherd held her tight until he felt her body relax. He stepped back from her and handed her a handkerchief from his pocket to dry her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I want to tell him so badly. I really do… but what if he's not ready…?" Colleen said.

"Well, dear, it is your choice… but it may be hard to hide it for much longer. Hunter will figure it out sooner or later," Professor Hubert added.

"I know…" Colleen answered with a whine.

"Right now, you need to go relax. You have to take care of yourself in order to take care of your little one. Hunter will still be right here," Master coaxed as he led her from the office.

"Yes, Master. I'll come back after a bath. I'll lay down with 'Untie later," Colleen agreed as she left for her quarters.

Master Shepherd heaved a sigh as the fluff of her tail disappeared around the corner of the doorframe. He hated to see any of his precious pets hurting in any way, but emotional stress seemed the worst. Sure, they may be just dogs to some people, but he saw them as his family.

Back in the recovery room:

Man, he hated himself right now. Although it was not a poorly faked attempt, Hunter had feigned complete exhaustion until he sensed Colleen leave the room. He hated lying to her, but he just wanted to be alone without anyone asking him how he was for the twentieth time. Something else was going on and no one was giving him any hints.

It felt like the others were looking at him like spun glass, like he would break at any moment. Vulnerable… that's the word. It was not a comfortable place to be. Speaking was still painful and probably not the best idea so he couldn't voice his confusion at the change in everyone's treatment of him. He was still the leader of the primary Road Rovers squad for crying out loud!

A soft growl began to bubble in his throat until the painful stinging of the distressed wounds reminded him how bad an idea that would be. He settled for a small huff of frustration as he sat the bed up.

"Such a shame… isn't it…?" a mocking voice echoed around him.

Hunter gasped in surprise. He looked around frantically to identify the source of the voice, but found his warmly lit room unoccupied save for himself. Shivers went up his spine, but just shook it off as his imagination as he looked up at the ceiling.

Strangely, he saw the patterns in the ceiling tiles begin to swirl until a face began to form…

"Ray-Ray! Help me!" the face shrieked as the familiar voice sliced through his heart.

"Dawn! No… no… it's not real. She's… she's gone. Not here…" Hunter thought.

The beeping of the heart monitor picked up the pace of his increasing pulse.

"No thanks to you, Sunshine…" the mocking voice chuckled devilishly.

"Go away… you're not real," Hunter stated silently, laying his head back on his pillow.

"Oh really…? I wasn't informed. If I'm not real then, how can I do this?" the voice quipped as a hot burning sensation ran down Hunter's arms.

Hunter tensed and grimaced at the pain as he looked to see a bright orange light running in streaks down his arms and centering in his palms. Once the pain ceased, the ball of glowing energy began to reform until it resembled his beloved tennis ball, but engulfed in bright orange flames.

"Wh-what… is…?" Hunter stammered as froze in place.

He frantically looked from side to side to see a mirror on one side of his bed. At first, his reflection was normal, if a bit frazzled. However, he saw his image begin to reform into the horrific creature he saw in his nightmares before he had come out of his coma. A hellish canine-like creature with blackened furless skin with chunks of flesh missing all over its body. Red-orange fire emanated from the gaps giving the appearance that it was engulfed in flames but it was not being consumed. Slowly, the nightmare creature locked eyes with Hunter's and grinned evilly showing all the razor-sharp teeth contained within his jaws.

"Destroyer… Monster… Your fault…" the creature hissed.

"No! I didn't… I… AAAHHH!" Hunter protested until his screams silenced him.

Fire began shooting through his entire body as bright orange and red flames consumed him. He tried to twist and writhe but the pain froze him in place. He felt the burning pain shoot through his eyes as he felt the searing sensation race up his back and down his legs.

With a final guttural scream of pain, he felt his vision go black…

Hunter thrashed from side to side as his eyes moved frantically behind his eyelids. Raspy whimpers were the only sounds heard as the nightmare continued.

*Author's Note*

I know this is very short, but I am continuing this story. Please bear with me as my schedule is crazy with finals and such. Thank you all for reading this story and all the wonderful comments. Please R&R!