More Than Human

Chapter 42: Sleeping On It

Gaz pressed his forehead to the shower wall and muttered to himself. The more time that passed the less he wanted to go through with this plan. Price had been quiet all evening, clearly thinking hard. The suspense was starting to kill him.

Gaz would do anything for Soap, but the more he thought about revisiting the lab the more scared he was. It was making him anxious to think about, and the displeasure of his Captain wasn't helping.

Most dryads served a deity or god. They were passed down through their families. Unfortunately Gaz was too young to begin practicing that art when his mother placed him in dormancy. So he wasn't even sure what god she had served. The closest thing he had to one was Price. Price was a human, he was mortal, so it wasn't particularly precedented. But Price had cared for him, raised him, and had managed to pull him from his dormant state.

Gaz was instinctually loyal to the man despite his insistence that he didn't have to be. So it hurt his heart that he had seemingly upset him with his suggestion. It went against his nature.

"If I'm scared and Price is upset, maybe this was just a bad idea all around." He muttered to himself quietly. He rolled his head to the side to look at his dandelion that he had placed on the shelf of the shower, "What do you think, Tara?"

He listened before replying, "Yeah, it's for the dog-man. But it might upset him too."

Another pause.

"Yes, I did want to help. But what if I just made everything worse?"

A few more heart beats and he sighed, "I know. You're right. He wants the help. I just get anxious when Price is, I guess."

A voice called out over the sound of the water, "You alright in there, Kyle?"

Price.

"Yes, sir! Just finishing up!" He let himself get drenched by the warm water one last time before turning the water off and hopping out to towel himself off. When he finished he grabbed Tara off the shelf and encouraged his roots to grow around the chain of his dog tags before slipping into his bed clothes. He exited the bathroom expecting the familiar dryness of leaving a steam filled room. Instead he found that Price had the humidifier running, so the room felt quite comfortable.

Price was working on something at the desk in the room and he turned around upon Gaz's entry. He popped up, grabbing a small plastic bag and a cup of water, approaching him and holding the cup out to him.

"Travel day. You got supplements to take." He told him.

Gaz huffed, accepting a couple of the pills. Price liked to give him extra supplements after being cooped up on a plane. He always wanted to complain, but he always did feel legitimately better after taking them. He popped a protein and a sugar pill first. Then Price handed him a little green capsule.

"Aw, c'mon. You know the chlorophyll makes my hair go all green." He complained.

"Not enough sun today. Green hair or no." Price told him sternly, watching intently as he took it. Price gave a satisfied nod before turning back around and going to sit back at the desk.

Gaz let out a quiet sigh. Cleary Price was still tense.

The man had said he needed to sleep on his decision, so maybe Gaz should just let him be for now. He turned toward his bed on the far side of the room and opened up the sheets so he could crawl in. Normally he liked to spread out his limbs, but the anxiety churning in his gut made him feel the need to curl in on himself.

He must have fallen asleep for a little while. His dreams woke him. The phantom feeling of straps on his arms, a blowtorch against his skin, woke him. The desk lamp was still on and Price was still seated there. Gaz could see that he had his hands on his face, rubbing at his forehead. The sight proved too much for him after his steadily growing tension throughout the day and his painful dreams.

A wheezy breath escaped his throat and he hurried to roll back over as Price lifted his head to look at him.

"Kyle?"

"S-sorry, sir. Didn't mean to upset you." He said quickly.

He heard the sound of the chair being pushed out and Price's footsteps as he approached his bed and crouched down beside it.

"You didn't upset me, Sprout. I'm sorry if I made you feel like you did." He placed a hand on his back and patted it a few times, encouragingly.

"Just forget it, Captain. It was a bad idea anyway." Gaz muttered quietly.

"No. No, it was a good idea. You were right, Kyle. I just need to get over myself." Price admitted, "When you wanted to join the military I told myself that I needed to be okay with you ending up in dangerous situations. This one just really tested me."

There was silence for a moment before he continued, "We'll take Soap, but you don't have to join us."

That got Gaz to turn around, "What?"

Price noted his slightly red rimmed eyes, "I'm not going to stop you from coming, but if it's too much you don't have to come."

Gaz shook his head earnestly, "I can do it. I'll follow you anywhere."

"I know you will." Price gave him a sad smile, "But you don't have to. Understand?"

"The place is empty, Captain. I'd hardly call this dangerous." Gaz told him.

"You and I both know there's more to it than that." Price let out a breathy laugh, "If you want to come, that's fine. But if at any moment it's too much for you, there's no shame in tapping out, son."

Gaz nodded after a moment, "Yes, sir."

Price gave him a smile, "Good man."

"Tomorrow?

"Tomorrow."