Hardly anyone knew it, but when Simon wasn’t on deployment, he liked to find peace in the woods. City life was too loud, too hectic, and—with all that he had seen—too busy for him to be able to relax.

So, he had a cabin in the woods. Lived there with his german shepherd, Riley. Every now and then he had visitors. Soap needing a place to run off his frustrations, Price needing some space to breathe, Gaz needing to be alone with his thoughts for a bit. Occasionally the odd lost hiker too, who usually hurried to leave once they saw his stature and scarred face.

But there would be no visitors in this weather, he was sure. It was a bad storm, had come surprisingly because of a sudden change in wind, but Simon had supplies and the cabin was sturdy. He laid back, the fireplace crackling, drinking tea and relaxing.

Riley seemed to think differently. For half an hour he had been whining at the door. And when Simon had finally opened the door a crack to let him out, Riley had not simply gone to pee and returned. Riley was off into the woods.

Simon could hear him barking as he followed through the storm, quietly cursing the dog for running off.

“Riley!” he yelled as he finally laid eyes on him, barking in Simon’s direction. “The fuck are you doing, you-“

He stopped as he approached. Riley was standing over a soaked figure passed out, judging by the mud they must’ve slipped off the hiking path.

“Fucking hell,” Simon groaned and kneeled down, checking your pulse. “Good boy, Riley,” he admitted begrudgingly and heaved you up to bring you back to his cabin.

So much for ‘no visitors.’