Chapter 2
John poured out a generous double and placed it into Quill's hand. "Don't drink it all in one-" He rolled his eyes as Quill tossed it back in one gulp, and waited for him to recover. " - go. Been a while, hmm?"
"Yeah. Uhm. SO. I don't really know why I'm here. I was on a distant planet - or what was left of a planet. I lost my girl, her father - her own father, not really her father, but he, - said that he killed her to get the stone - and my crew, Rocket - he went off with Thor in the pod with Groot - not sure what happened to them. Drax and Mantis. I watched them turn to ash - sorry, I know I'm not making any sense, you must think I'm totally out of my mind. And then, and then I open my eyes again and I'm standing in front of your place. I've never been to London, I'm from Missouri, originally, but it's been years since - sorry - I don't normally, I haven't spoken to a human being in years, I mean, a normal human, I don't really count Stark and Strange as 'normal' and my teenager - well, before he became a teenager, I spoke to him more, not that he ever says anything more than 'I am Groot' - Thor understood him, but then he's Thor, he's been around a few centuries, so he knows things - so. God, I'm exhausted, the other fella, the dark haired one, looks a bit like Strange? He told me I could crash on yer -"
"Three, two...one." John caught the glass before it shattered to the floor. "Sorry, mate." John groaned under Quill's weight, but managed to get him to the couch, then removed his boots and covered him with a quilt. "I'm generally against drugging, but you need to rest, doctor's orders." He turned to find Gamora wandering into the kitchen.
"Hey, Doc, did you make any -" she stopped short as she spotted Quill on the couch. "Peter? Oh, god - did you drug him too?" She crossed her arms at him and wished she still had her weapons; Mrs. Hudson had put them away for safe keeping, and she hadn't been able to leave the flat to search for them, as John or Sherlock or both of them were always around. She understood, and had been impressed with how well the two Londoners were dealing with everything, but she felt lost without her protection. "Does he know?"
John shook his head. "He believes you to be dead. On Titan - it's why - never mind. He needs time to recover, Gamora, and you must be starving. I was going to do a fry up, trust me, you'll like it. He'll be fine, it's a small dosage, he was nearly asleep on his feet. When was the last time he slept?"
She walked over to the couch and fell to her knees. She was afraid to touch him, in case she was in the middle of the weirdest dream she'd ever had, but she leaned over him and kissed his cheek, wondering what he had seen to cause such pain to crease his forehead and send tears down his cheeks. "I'm here, Peter, love. I'll be here when you wake up, just rest for now."