"Hopefully at least half as good as it feels to have you here," Derek replies in a thick voice, swallowing hard and leaning in to give Barry a soft kiss on the mouth. He puts his hand on Barry's cheek, letting the kiss linger, and wipes at the corner of his eye as he pulls back.

"You need to eat so you can heal," Derek says with a nod, and it takes great effort to let go of Barry and stand up. "I'll be right back."

He goes into the kitchen and eats up some soup and toasts some bread, trying to start off with something easy on the stomach. As soon as he can, he returns with a big bowl of chicken soup, a few pieces of dry toast, a sleeve of crackers, and a tall class of water on a tray. "Here, this is just to start. Let your stomach adjust."