Chapter Text
George was rudely awoken by a knock on his front door. Who could possibly need him? These days no-one needs him, so what changed?
With a grumble he stood up, grabbed his red cape from the chair and walked to the front door. Aggressively he swung it open. "What do you want?" he yelled. In front of him was Sapnap, fully packed and ready to go. "Where the fuck are you going?" "The prison." "What are you doing over there?" George said, confused.
"Sam called me and asked me for help. Apparently Dream got badly hurt but they don't have enough people to subdue him. So, I am going over there. And while on the way I thought I would ask you along. Because you were always really good with comforting and calming Dream. So, that would probably help a lot."
"Why would I care about him? He left us, remember!" George snarled.
"Yeah, I am also mostly doing it for Sam. But Dream used to be our buddy. Don't you want to see him? Not even a little bit?"
George started at the wall of his house. He hadn't told anyone... But he did miss Dream. But was he ready to see Dream in the prison again? And apparently badly hurt? What if it ruined his view of Dream?
"Fine." George responded with a sigh. "Let me get changed and I will come with you."
George walked back into his house and changed his pajamas for his regular clothes. It has been a while since he wore this. He was just constantly sleeping. But now he was ready to go to the prison with Sapnap.
George went outside and went over to sapnap. "I am ready to go."
Sapnap nodded. "Alright. Let's go to the prison then."
And the two friends were off towards the prison. On the way, Sapnap explained as much as he knew at the moment.
"Sam told me that Dream had gotten injured and he tried to get Dream down with Bad and ant. But they weren't strong enough and Dream somehow pushed them off while being very injured." Sapnap explained.
"Do they know what caused the injury?"
"Sam didn't tell me. So, I don't know."
"So we'll just have to see, I guess." George said.
Sapnap nodded.
After quite a walk the two of them arrived at the prison. Sapnap pushed a button on the side of the entrance portal. "Sam should open the portal any minute now." He explained, and George realized that Sapnap knew this because he had visited the prison before.
Together they went through the first portal. The second they got in the little box, George noted how immensely hot it was in the room. “Where the fuck is this box?” George asked.
“The nether.” Sapnap said as he seemed very comfortable with the temperature.
Soon Sam told them they could go through the portal again.
Sapnap pulled George along and then they were in the entrance hall of the prison.
Sam was waiting for them behind the desk, Antfrost and Bad by his side.
“Thanks for coming this quickly, Sapnap. And I see you brought George along.”
“Yeah, better to have more people around.”
“George will have to sign the waivers before we continue.” Sam said.
And so George signed the books that needed to be signed, while Sapnap put their stuff away in the lockers. Then Sam lead the entire group to the main cell.
“I should warn you guys. He is really agitated. He tries to fight us the second he sees us. So, I was thinking Sapnap and George go into the cell first, like it’s a normal visit. Then when Sapnap thinks Dream is calm enough and doesn’t expect a thing, he messages us and we come in with ender pearls and we take him down.” Sam explained.
Sapnap nodded. George didn’t like the idea, but he didn’t feel like saying something about it.
So, Sapnap and George went over into the prison. George stayed close to Sapnap, not sure what to expect.
The first thing George noticed about the cell was how dark it was. The only light coming from the lava, and a faint light from a broken lamp in the corner.
Sapnap pulled George closer. “I can’t see Dream and I don’t want him to attack you suddenly.” He whispered.
George rolled his eyes. He scanned the room and soon his eyes adjusted to the dark. In the corner behind the chest he saw what looked like a human form.
Carefully, George let go of Sapnap’s hand and he walked over.
“George, what are you doing?” Sapnap hissed, but George kept going.
“Dream?” George asked carefully.
The figure perked up slightly.
“George?” A raspy voice said back and George’s heart shattered. That was the voice he used to hear. The voice he loved to hear… The nice voice, that always knew exactly what to say. And now it just sounded so broken…
George carefully stepped closer and knelt down in front of Dream. “Yes, it’s me. Sapnap told me to come visit you.”
Dream didn’t move. “I-is Sapnap also here?”
“Yes, but he won’t hurt you.” George said, cringing at the fact he knew that was a lie. “Can I touch you?”
Dream softly nodded and carefully George touched Dream’s cheek. He put his fingers under Dream’s chin and made him look up.
The sight hurt his heart. Dream looked so sick and weak. His once beautiful eyes were dull and empty. His face had fallen in from malnourishment and his skin was pale as can be.
“Oh, love…” George whispered as he cradled Dream’s face and Dream leaned into the touch. “What happened to you?”
“You don’t want to know..” Dream grumbled.
“Come to the center of the cell, that way I can look better at you.” George said and he slowly stood up, extending his hand to help Dream.
For a second Dream hesitated, but then he grabbed George’s hand and stood up. He stood unsteady on his legs and as soon as he took one step he almost fell down again. But George was there to catch him. “Be careful.” He said.
“I am sorry. My leg is just not working with me…” Dream said and when George looked at Dream’s leg he saw that something was wrong with his knee.
Carefully he guided Dream to the middle of the cell and sat him down again. He sat down behind Dream and slowly pushed Dream down so he would lay in his lap. “Close your eyes my love. Sapnap and I will look out for you.” George said while he played with Dream’s hair.
It took a little bit but eventually Dream trusted them enough to close his eyes. George kept comforting him, while Sapnap just looked on.
When George felt Dream relax more into the touch, he nodded towards Sapnap.
He didn't want to betray Dream, but he also had promised Sapnap and Sam that he would help.
So Sapnap messaged Sam, telling them to enter as quietly as possible.
George saw the ender pearls land, and soon Sam, ant and Bad appeared. Sam looked at Dream, who was still blissfully unaware, and scoffed. “Good job, George.” Sam whispered.
Sam took a pair of handcuffs and a muzzle out his pocket and knelt down next to Dream and George.
“What are you doing?” George asked.
“Ponk is coming to examine what is wrong with him. But I am not going to let him attack Ponk. Now let me put these handcuffs on him.”
And honestly, what could George do? So, he carefully lifted Dream up, which went way too easy btw, and Sam put Dream’s wrists in handcuffs.
By that time Dream slowly started to wake up, but George rubbed circles on his temples to soothe him and soon Dream was asleep again.
Sam decided to put the muzzle on Dream’s face. But as soon as the metal touched Dream’s face, he shot up and tried to shove the person in front of him away.
Upon finding out his hands were locked together behind his back he all but crawled into George, eyes wide in fear.
“George? "George?!" He screamed.
George grabbed his shoulders. “I am here.”
“George, I trusted you!” He cried as he whipped around and stared at George.
“Dream, I am sorry… It’s for your own good. They want to help you.” George tried to explain.
At that moment Bad and Ant grabbed George by his arms and pulled him away, while at the same time Dream got tackled to the ground by Sapnap.
“SAPNAP, stop!” George shouted from the corner. “He is just scared!”
But Sapnap didn’t listen and just kept Dream against the ground, while Sam wrestled the muzzle on.
Dream was kicking, squirming and pushing in a weak attempt to get Sapnap and Sam away. He tried to bite Sam once, but Sapnap saw it happen and grabbed Dream’s hair and pulled on it, rendering him immobile. That was the moment Sam got the muzzle on.
Dream glared at the two of them, while Sam grabbed another set of chains. “I did not like that kicking. So, just to be sure I am gonna chain his legs together as well.”
George was still in the corner, being held back by Ant and Bad. “Let me go to him! He is scared! I want to help him! This is not going to help.”
Bad looked at George with sad eyes. “We can’t… I am sorry, George.”
Dream was basically kicking and screaming at this point, trying to keep Sam away.
“Sam, please! I promise I will be good! I won’t hurt anyone ever again!” Dream cried and George’s already shattered heart broke even more.
Sam grabbed Dream by the neck and squeezed, making sure to put more pressure on the nerves in his neck.
This shocked Dream so much that he stopped struggling and Sapnap could chain his ankles together.
Sam and Sapnap stood up and walked away from Dream, who could do nothing anymore now.
“Thanks for helping.” Sam said. “Ponk will be here later today, so you guys can go home now.”
But George didn’t make an effort to move.
“George, we have to go.” Sapnap said.
“No. I am gonna stay here.” George said.
“What?” Sam snarled.
George walked past them, dodging around Sam’s arm and knelt down next to Dream.
“I am so sorry. I am not going to leave you now.” George whispered.
Dream just glared at him and let out a low growl.
“George, get away from him.” Sam warned.
“No! He is acting like this because he is terrified.” George snapped back. “I am going to stay here while Ponk examines him. To keep him calm.”
Sam looked like he wanted to snap at George, but eventually he sighed. “Fine. But I want you to leave the cell for now. When Ponk gets here, you will be allowed to join him again.”
George sighed. “Let me help Dream sit up and then I will leave.” He said and Sam allowed it.
So, carefully George helped Dream sit up. “I will be back okay. Don’t be afraid, I will be here soon again to help.
Dream whined when George and the others left the cell.
It felt so good to see George again, but then he got betrayed by him and now they were all leaving again. Leaving him to fend for himself with his hands and ankles chained.
Dream woke up to the sounds of machinery again. He didn´t know when he had fallen asleep. George would be coming back now. If he remembered correctly. He tried to pull on the handcuffs, but to no avail.
The lava went down and he watched carefully as the bridge came over and George and Ponk entered the cell. A little later Sam also appeared in the cell, probably using an enderpearl again.
Dream coward at the sight of Sam. Ponk however stepped between them and looked at Sam."Sam, I know you want to keep us safe and all. But you are clearly scaring him and for me to do a good examination, I will need things like his heart rate and blood pressure to be as normal as can be. And that won't happen if you scare him. So, go over in the corner and let me and George do the work."
Sam huffed, but did as Ponk told him.
George had knelt down next to Dream, who looked at him with fear in his eyes. "It's okay, Dream. I am not going to hurt you. And Ponk is here to help you."
Dream looked at George, asking with his eyes how he was so sure.
"I trust Ponk. Do you trust me?" George asked and eventually Dream nodded softly.
Ponk had explained to George what kind of exams and tests he had planned. So George decided to explain them to Dream as Ponk got his stuff ready.
"Dream, Ponk is first gonna test your blood pressure, heart rate and temperature. You know how all of that works, right?" Dream nodded.
So, while Ponk performed the tests and noted down the results Dream sat quietly, leaning against George and keeping track of his own breathing.
George gently moved his fingers through Dream´s hair and whispered sweet nothings in his ear.
“Temperature seems to be slightly higher than usual, but not enough to break a fever. Is it okay if I check your head and scalp for wounds?” Ponk asked.
“Don’t ask him, just do what you have to do. He doesn’t have a choice.” Sam said from his corner where he was still standing.
Ponk whipped around and glared at him. “Did I ask you?!” Sam huffed and looked away, while Ponk looked back at Dream. Dream only nodded in response.
Ever so carefully, Ponk checked Dream’s face and scalp for wounds or things that could cause something like a fever.
The longer the examination went on and Ponk still didn’t find anything important, the more Dream started to lose patience. George tried to keep him calm, but it didn’t go as easy anymore.
But at that moment Ponk got to Dream’s knees and he immediately sucked in a breath.
“That is a dislocated knee if I have ever seen one.” He said as he pointed to the leg that Dream could barely use.
“Can you do anything about it?” George asked and Ponk looked at Sam. “Has it happened before?”
“Yeah, had to push it back in place a few times for him because he just kept on whining about it.” Sam explained.
George stared at him in absolute confusion and fear. Why hadn’t he said anything about it?
Ponk looked at Dream and George. “Best thing I can do for you is an operation where we realign the knee correctly and make it so it’s less likely to dislocate again.”
“Surgery?” George asked, while Dream looked terrified. Not because he was afraid of surgery, but surgery meant anesthetic. And anesthetic meant not being able to register where you were and who was with you. Long story short… It meant danger.
“It’s the best option. The other option is pushing it back in place, but that is painful and the chances of it shooting out of place again soon are very high.” Ponk explained.
George looked at Dream. He noticed how scared and hesitant looked. "Ehm, I think I need to talk to Dream about it a bit more." George said and Ponk nodded. "That's okay, I have a few more things to check. So then Dream can think about it a bit more."
In the end the total of Dream’s injury was: a dislocated knee, several infected wounds, shards of glass that were stuck in his feet, and two rotting teeth.
Ponk looked at George and Dream. “The best idea is probably to do one big surgery where I take care of the knee, the glass in his geet and the rotting teeth. But it is up to you of course, I just heavily advise you to do it.”
George looked at Dream. “I think it is for the best as well. You will feel a lot better afterwards.”
“Are you gonna be by my side the whole time?” Dream asked.
“If Ponk allows that, then I will be there.” George replied.
“Of course, if that helps you Dream.” Ponk said. “I will have to look when I have time for the surgery. But I believe I had some time in 2 days.”
Sam grumbled something under his breath and Ponk whipped around. “What was that?”
“Why can you not do the surgery now?”
"Here?!" Sam, I have told you several times that I need a clean room for the surgery. This is not it. And then there are several things I need to prepare. So, in two days Dream will be at my base where I have all the necessary rooms and spaces for the surgery.”
George made sure that Sam took off all the chains and handcuffs before they left the cell. George quickly promised Dream that he would be there for the surgery. Dream whined that he didn’t want George to leave, but he also understood that George couldn’t stay.
“I will be at Ponk’s base in two days. You better bring Dream there safely, or I will kill you.” George growled.
Sam huffed. “I am not afraid of you, you are like a hissing kitten.”
George growled and walked away angrily.