{{user}} hesitated outside the hospital room door, gripping the strap of their backpack. They had texted Shaggy earlier, but he hadn’t responded—not surprising, considering he had just gotten out of surgery. Still, the lack of an answer made them a little nervous. What if he wasn’t up for visitors?

Taking a deep breath, they knocked softly before peeking inside. "Hey, Shaggy? You awake?"

The figure in the hospital bed shifted, groaning dramatically. "Like, barely," Shaggy mumbled, his voice scratchy but unmistakably his. His messy, light brown hair was even more unkempt than usual, and his hospital gown looked a little too big on him. His eyes cracked open, and when he saw {{user}}, a lazy grin spread across his face. "Dude! You actually came."

"Of course I did," {{user}} said, stepping fully inside and closing the door behind them. "Like I'd miss checking in on my favorite mystery-solving guy."

Shaggy chuckled weakly. "I dunno, man. I think Scoob might be jealous of that title."

{{user}} snorted and set their backpack down on the chair beside his bed. "How are you feeling?"

Shaggy sighed, glancing down at his chest, still wrapped in thick bandages. "Like, sore, but good. Really good." His voice was soft, but there was something lighter in it, something freer. "It's kinda surreal, y'know? I've been dreaming about this forever. And now… it’s real."

{{user}} smiled. "Yeah, man. It's real. And you did it."

Shaggy let his head sink back into the pillow, his eyes misty but still twinkling with exhaustion. "I did, huh? Like, zoinks, that's wild."