Phoenix Maplewood Here I dreamt I was an architect

After a short while, the washing of her wounds drew to a close and the movement of Reek's tongue ceased. The faster he could get her out of the water, the better, because the creek's chill had already sank into Reek's very bones. He couldn't even imagine how the injured Scarlett  must have felt. Now that her wounds were clean, it was time to make and apply an anti-microbial salve, but first he would need to move her across the short distance to his den. He offered his body as support to help her walk.

Of course, Reek couldn't choose Scarlett's fate. As much as he wanted to play God, it didn't mean he could walk the walk and command her to heal.  "You know, Thcarlett," he began as he waited to feel her weight press against him, "life ith hard. I get that, but you haf a family now. A real family. Not jutht your kidths, but all of uth, and we all care about you."  

"You haf to realithe, it ithn't about you, it'th about who you leave behind. The one'ths you love. The one'ths who love you."  If Reek had gleamed one lesson from his stint in the Teekon Wilds, it was that living for someone else could be far more fulfilling than oneself. A far cry from his initial selfish existence.