He was never the same after that night—the one where they found him naked huddled in the cage with chains on his wrists and scars on his back. It had taken them a week to track him down, one whole week to find those bastards who took him and do god knows what to him. Too long, in Doc's mind. By the time they got there, killed all the men, gave mercy to all the Zs, unlocked the cage, 10k—Tommy—their friend was gone, lost in the trauma that he had endured from the week he spent in hell. He looked at them with empty, shattered eyes and despite their many pleas refused to speak them, to tell them what happened. Doc knew better though, he knew what it was like to be wrapped up in your own personal hell, unable to stop watching the endless flashes of memories like a movie that would never end. He knew that it would just take time, and when the kid was ready to talk about it, he would. He was a strong kid, Doc knew he would pull through this and he tried as hard as he could to help him. It was hard though, when a single touch triggered a panic attack, or when a loud noise would make him shake and shiver to watch such a strong soul be taken over by fear. It made Doc''s heart ache just to think about it.

They had somehow acquired an RV, a fancy one with two separate bedrooms, a bathtub and a full kitchen. They had been ever more pleased when they found the storage of gas in one of the linen closets—two full containers! Not enough to get them to California, but enough for them to relax for the next couple of days.

"Man, this is a swanky trailer." Doc commented as he walked through the door, a 10k sized shadow lurking behind him.

Roberta smiled, "It must have cost—what $3 million?"

Doc nodded, "You can sit down here, if you'd like. No Z's anywhere as far as we can tell." He told the kid softly, pulling out a chair.

10k sat, wincing softly. Doc knew the whipping scars on his back still hurt him, and he hoped that this trailer contained a good first aid kit. They had ran out of bandages two days ago.

"$4.6 mill, man I would have killed for something like this. A mobile mansion." Murphy responded, then he sat down and put his feet up on the table. 10k winced at the bang they made as they hit the table.

"Get your dirty ass feet off of there. You may be the secret to saving humanity but that gives you no excuse not to be nasty." Roberta growled and shoved his feet off.

Murphy rolled his eyes.

"Fine…..I call the bedroom!" he shouted and then he darted up from the table and scrambled towards the first bedroom, nearly knocking Maddy over in the process.

"Slow down, jerk!" she mumbled, she looked up at Doc and gave him a small smile.

"How's 10k?" she asked

Doc shrugged, the kid had been as quiet and refrained as usual, "Today's been going okay." He said quietly, and he could tell how sad Maddy was to see her friend like his. She-like all of them-wished that he would speak to them, but he was as silent as ever.

"Find a first aid kit?" he asked her

Maddy shook her head, "not in the bathroom, but there might be one up here-." She opened up another drawer, and then the drawer next to it.

"Bingo!" she exclaimed, holding up the kit.

Doc smiled, "That's great, we were running low on supplies."

He walked over, took it and opened it on the table. "Whoa." He said

Inside—just like the RV—was everything a doctor would need and more. Doc saw several prescription bottles and two full bottles of aspirin. Best of all though, was a syringe and two tiny vials of penicillin—an antibiotic that 10K desperately needed. Some of the cuts were starting to get infected from the heat and lack of clean bandages. And there were other wounds, wounds that 10K fought hard to hide, that he was ashamed of.

Internal wounds.

"Oxytocin and Vicodin. We really are rich!" he laughed, shaking the bottles.

Maddy smiled, "Don't let Murphy see those." She whispered.

"Kid." Doc said, and he waited patiently for 10k to look in his direction—he rarely looked anybody in the eye anymore.

"Let's go patch up your back with these new bandages." He said, and again he waited for 10k to respond. 10k nodded and then slowly stood up, wincing again as he gripped the table.

Maddy looked up at doc, "He's getting worse"

He had been fighting a fever all morning, but now out of the sun he looked paler than ever.

Doc nodded.

"The penicillin will help." He answered.

Maddy nodded, "Let me know if you need anything."

Doc nodded, then lead 10k into the second bedroom. He motioned for the kid to sit on the bed, and 10k all but collapsed onto the white covers.

"You're going to be okay. We got you this far. It's going tot be okay." Doc told him. 10K nodded briefly before curling over on his side.

Doc quickly prepped the syringe for the penicillin, but he hesitated, hands hovering above the kid's sleeve. One thing they did know about 10k was that he hated being touched, and would flinch away from them. He hated being touched before he had been kidnapped, but now it was worse.

"I'm going to role up your sleeve, for the shot." Doc told him softly, and waited for a nod before he gently rolled the sleeve up, being careful not to touch the skin underneath. Doc winced at the still healing cuts and bruises that were left by the cuffs that had chained him to the wall of the cage.

"A little sting now, but you'll be okay. It'll help you get better." Doc told him as he gave him the shot. 10k winced, but remained still until Doc was done.

"Can you role on your stomach for me? I'm going to change the bandages on your back now." Doc said, and the kid did so. He would follow direct orders, most of the time without a fuss. Doc pulled up the thin shirt that was covering the kid's back. He tried not to wince as he inspected the dozen or so whipping lashes that were strung across 10k's back. Doc had managed to stitch some of them up and bandage them but that had been almost three days ago, the day they ran out of clean bandages. Now the once white strips were brown and bloody. Doc carefully pulled them off.

"Sorry, sorry" he mumbled as 10k winced.

Doc tended to the cuts as quickly as possible, knowing that the alcohol swaps and disinfectant creams stung like crazy.

"You're gonna be okay, kid. It's okay. Your okay." He kept up a steady stream of reassurances as he covered the cuts with new bandages.

Once he was done, and he had pull the shirt back down over his back, 10k rolled over onto his side, pulling his arms and legs in close to his chest.

Doc rummaged through the first aid kit and found another little vial with "Morphine" printed neatly on the label.

"One more shot, Kid. Okay? This one will help with the pain." He said quietly.

10k's eyes were closed, but Doc though he saw the kid nod just a bit. Doc quickly administered the shot and winced as the kid flinched at his gently touch.

Then Doc felt the rumble of the RV as the engine came to life, and then the sweet relief of air conditioner as it flowed through the vents.

"Ahhhhh god bless the wealthy." Doc sighed, feeling the cool air ripple past his face. He watched the kid for a second, 10k had felt the AC too and for the first time in a long while, was looking at Doc.

"This is a plush trailer, isn't it, kid? We're really living the life now." Doc asked softly.

10k nodded, and finally….finally since they had found him, he reached for Doc, grasping clumsily at his hand as the morphine took an affect on him and even though he didn't say a word Doc knew what he meant.

"It's going to be okay, Kid. I'm not going anywhere."

Doc sighed and stared out through the window, at the broken world passing him by.

They had a long way to go, but somehow they would make it.

888

Thanks so much for reading! I love Z Nation, especially the relationship between 10k and Doc. I'm so excited for the new season! Please leave and comment and tell me what you thought. Thanks!