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The man the Eridians picked up out of a blood-filled submarine—Grace was still trying to wrap his head around that—was severely injured. Barely alive, really. Missing arm, radiation poisoning, broken bones: the works. Armando and the Eridians spent nearly a full day getting the man stable. Then, they cleaned him up as best they could.
Grace insisted on being nearby for the whole thing. This was the first human he had seen in literal years, and he was going to be there when the other man woke up. He was the closest thing to a familiar face that this stranger was going to get.
Of course, Rocky only accepted this request if he was there too. The Eridian apparently didn't trust a strange human near Grace. Overprotective, but Grace allowed it.
When the man finally stirred, he was still delirious on anesthesia and painkillers. The man moaned, jerking and twitching.
Worried that his IV would dislodge, Grace rushed to his side. He used his gentlest voice to say, "Hey, hey, it's okay. Everything's okay. You're safe now." Taking the stranger's hand in his, he repeated, "You're safe."
Tears gathered in the man's eyes as he gazed up at Grace. Awe was written all over his face. He slurred, "Angel?"
"Um," Grace's face flushed. "No, that's—I'm just a guy. My name is Grace."
Those tears started to flow down the man's face, and he squeezed Grace's hand like a lifeline. His voice trembled as he asked, "Does this mean I'm forgiven? Does He—am I—?" He didn't complete his sentence and started to sob.
While he didn't know what the heck this guy was talking about, Grace said, "Yeah, you're forgiven. Everything's okay now: you're forgiven."
That only seems to make the man sob harder, cling to Grace tighter. But, that was okay. You just needed to cry sometimes, and Grace could hold his hand.
For a few minutes, the man's body was wracked with sobs. Whatever emotional ordeal he was going through tired him out, and the man fell back asleep. Grace wiped the last tears from the unconscious stranger's face. He could probably use a warm washcloth to clean up what was left of the tear tracks.
As he was about to go get that, Rocky chose that moment to speak up, "All humans this leaky?"
"It varies person to person. It's hard to say with this guy though because he's under the influence of a ton of drugs and looks like he's been through hell. Anyone would be emotional with all of that," Grace explained softly. "And, lower your voice. He's sleeping."
"Grace will get along with new human. Leak together."
"Sure, we can be leak bros," Grace said dismissively. He was still holding the stranger's hand. It was warm and calloused. The fingers were thicker than Grace's. God, it felt good to touch another human. "I really do hope we get along."
"If no like Grace, Rocky send him back to space," the Eridian promised.
"In a spaceship headed back to Earth."
"Maybe."