Prompt: Kick them while they're down.
THINGS LEFT UNSAID
Darius barely registered the idea that there was a gun pointed at him before he felt the bullets impact with his chest; He never imagined that such a small projectile could pack so much strength behind it.
Like the arms of a bully at school, the bullets pushed him backwards and he stumbled, feeling all of the air leave his lungs as the floor met his back. His head, unprotected by anything, hit the ground harshly and Darius was out even before anyone had stepped towards him.
Grace watched, petrified beyond belief, as Darius fell back lifelessly. She remained motionless while the psychopath stepped forwards, his weapon still pointed at the prone scientist. Despite her shock, she was immediately shaken out of her reverie when he kicked Darius even if the scientist didn't respond to it.
Apparently, she wasn't the only one who had frozen. The room seemed to suddenly explode with activity as the guards stepped into the fray. However, their presence didn't seem to deter the man's main goal - He kneeled over Darius and before she knew it, he was pummelling him mercilessly.
She tried to hurry forward, to somehow save Darius from his current plight, but the swarm of people kept her back. She could hear the sickening sound of flesh hitting flesh, of shoes scuffling on the ground before delivering a kick, but couldn't hear any signs of life from the scientist.
Was he dead?
She couldn't see any blood.
Why weren't the police restraining the other guy?
"Everybody step back!" The gun was back in his hand and pointing at Darius' form.
Grace stared openly at his chest, trying to determine whether or not she was imagining the rise and fall. From her angle, she couldn't see anything except for part of his blazer.
"Are you all just going to follow this imbecile? He is leading us all to our deaths! First, he couldn't stop the asteroid and now he is telling us to defy RESYST; the one group we know will keep their word and annihilate us from the face of the planet if we don't listen to them. I thought that this room was filled with brilliant scientists, not blind sheep!" His tirade was punctuated with spit flying from his mouth and Grace found herself disgusted. She didn't even comment on his degrading words regarding Darius.
"I would strongly advise you to lower your weapon, sir." One of the guards said, tentatively stepping forward.
"Fine. I'm unarmed, you can't shoot me." The guy said once the weapon hit the ground. A collective flinch went through the room as the loaded weapon bounced off the carpet and Grace was immensely relieved when it didn't go off again.
The next few minutes passed blurrily. The guy (she never did get his name) turned to vent out his anger on Darius once again but the guards managed to jump him, dragging him bodily away from the scene as the other scientists and politicians crowded around Darius.
"Move, let me through!" She pushed her way through, uncaring of ruining her reputation or having people think that there was something romantic between them. Her only concern was getting to Darius.
The people gracefully parted and she fell to her knees next to him, blinking repeatedly to remove the image of Claire laying there, accusing her of coldblooded murder and promising to be avenged.
"Darius?" Grace hated how her voice quivered, weak with emotion. Her hands fluttered over his face, scared to touch but needing to feel the (hopefully) warm skin beneath. She inhaled shakily, trying to force away the tears and remember her training as a first aider.
Take a deep breath, calm down.
You can't help anyone if you're panicking yourself.
She had to stop the blood flow - three bullets had hit his chest yet there was no blood she could see. Had they hit his back or side? There weren't any blood pools on the floor either; they would have been visible.
No blood meant that the heart wasn't working. It wasn't pumping the blood around. A meek whimper escaped as the possibility that she was touching Darius' corpse dawned on her. She rested her fingers against his throat just in case and could have wept in relief when she felt the slow beats.
Move on. The man had kicked Darius a few times if she recalled correctly. She probed his sides, checking for broken bones. However, she barely started before he suddenly jolted beneath her - chest rising harshly with his inhale.
She reflexively put her hand around his shoulder to support him when he propelled himself in a half-sitting position and ripped his shirt, gingerly touching the marks left there by the bullets. Simple burns and bruises, nothing more.
Bulletproof shirt, of course.
The sudden change in position, no matter how slight, prompted a coughing fit that left Darius breathless. Grace laid him back down on the floor while he attempted to even out his breathing and she found herself whispering soothing nonsense as she brushed his hair back, offering what comfort she could.
It was then that she noticed the blows that he had sustained to his face; his cheekbone was bruising and blood was dribbling from a cut from where the assailant had nicked Darius with his ring.
"I called an ambulance. It should be here soon." Rosetta's voice broke the silence that had fallen and Grace belatedly realised that there was no one except for the three of them and Darius' own security guard in the room.
"Thank you, Rosetta." Grace smiled at her for a fleeting second before she turned her attention back on Darius. He seemed to be focusing way too intently on his breathing and she frowned worriedly. "Darius? What's wrong?"
"Breathing hurts." He grunted and tried to curl on his side but Grace stopped him.
"He probably cracked your ribs; just wait for the paramedics to get here." She barely finished the sentence before she heard the sound of sirens. Darius seemed to pale before her eyes and his discomfort was evident in the way he tried to sit himself up before giving up when both women forced him back to the floor.
"Stay down, Darius. You need to get checked out." Rosetta said; her stern tone somewhat subduing the otherwise stubborn scientist. "I'll go show them in." The woman dusted off her skirt before leaving the room with one last firm glance towards the prone figure on the floor.
Darius despised getting checked out, especially when he didn't know the person checking him out.
He remained quiet out of respect for the paramedic as she eased the shirt off and checked his vitals and a number of other things that he paid no attention to. Grace remained close by, hovering over everything without having anything to do. Her worry was almost tangible and Darius yearned to tell her that he was fine; that all of this was for nothing.
"We need you to come in for some x-rays, just to make sure the ribs aren't broken." The paramedic spoke as she packed up her instruments.
"I've had broken ribs before and I can assure you that they're not broken now." Darius huffed, drawing the line at being admitted in hospital and wasting even more precious time.
"Sir, it would be best for you to get checked out." The paramedic insisted, frowning at her patient. Darius resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
"Darius; you should get the x-ray, just to be safe." Grace pitched in, biting on her nails in a rare show of nervousness.
"We don't have much time, Grace. I'll make sure to get checked out once we make it home." Darius stated as he slipped on the t-shirt that Grace had graciously fetched from his bags. He fought hard to suppress the wince when his bruises protested against his movement.
"You need to sign an AMA form in that case. I can give you painkillers for the road if you want." The paramedic said as she got out the necessary papers.
"I'm fine."
"He'll take them."
Grace and Darius spoke simultaneously and the paramedic raised an eyebrow when Grace glared at Darius, successfully managing to shut his mouth before he even thought of starting an argument there and then.
"We don't have time to argue Darius. Give him the painkillers, he needs them." Grace ordered, her tone brokering no other possibility.
"Sir?" The paramedic prepared the syringe but waited for Darius to give her his consent.
"Don't knock me out." Darius said as he offered his arm to her, subtly looking away as the syringe slipped beneath his skin and the medicine was injected. "Thank you." He smiled at her and she nodded grimly before leaving the room.
"We need to go, sir." Their guard spoke up, tapping his watch in emphasis.
"Of course, I just need to talk to Rosetta before I leave." Darius struggled to his feet, taking a few deep breaths and accustoming himself to the pain before trying to take a step. Thankfully, he didn't collapse.
Less than an hour later they were back on the jet, fully exhausted by the events of the day. Darius was completely pliant, clearly fighting hard against the drowsy effects of the medicine. At least he didn't seem to be in pain even if the buckles put pressure on his bruised ribs.
"Darius, sleep for a bit. You need it." Grace said when his head lolled forward for a second before he straightened his neck again.
"I'm fine, Grace." His words were spoken around a yawn and barely intelligible, let alone believable.
"You nearly died today, Darius. You earned yourself some sleep until we land." Grace kept her voice soft, knowing that confronting Darius wasn't an ideal way to deal with him. Even if she did try to confront him, she doubted he had enough strength to argue with her at the moment.
A hum was the only answer she received and Grace saw him remove the headset before his head fell against the partition between them. It was undoubtedly uncomfortable, but he was seemingly out like the lights the second he allowed himself to fully relax. She couldn't help her smile; he had been more shocked than he let on by the idea of being killed so abruptly.
There was no way around it; the bullets would have been fatal.
He was still bruised (thankfully less bloody) and aching, but she had no doubt that nothing would stop him from continuing his work to prevent the total annihilation of humankind due to some meteor.
He released a small snore before slipping into a deeper sleep.
All heroes needed some rest, right?
She found her gaze settling on his chest, relishing the movement of his inhales and exhales. The simple proof that he was still alive; still there. The adrenaline was crashing now as they got closer to home and far away from the dreadful experience of being almost murdered.
She would never forget her absolute fear at having seen him so still after being pushed backwards by the bullets, and had no doubt that the nightmares would plague her for nights to come.
Quite obviously, the outcome in her nightmares would be immensely different from what the real outcome was.
But she'd worry about those when they came.
For now, she too needed to get some rest if she were to focus on their problems once again after they landed.
She grasped Darius' wrist, letting the steady beat there (and the warmth of his skin) lull her into a nap until they arrived.
If anyone saw her standing a little bit too close to Darius when they arrived, nobody commented. Obviously, nobody commented on his pallor (or his new bruises) or his winces of pain when he thought nobody was looking. Or how he kept supporting his ribs when he was left standing for too long.
If she saw Harris pushing two painkillers and a bottle of water into Darius' hands in a corner of the corridor, she didn't say anything either.
Some things were better left unsaid after all.
Hello! If you made it down here; it means you decided to stick through with this little ficlet!
I admit this was just to amuse myself and compliment Santiago Cabrera for actually showing Darius still in pain even after they landed in USA - subtly holding his side and moving gingerly was golden.
Anyway, I honestly could have done better in the whump but this was just a small indulgence which I decided to share; hope you enjoyed nontheless? I'm still on ep 8 of season 2, so hopefully I find some other tag to write XD Most likely I'll write him when he escaped, that scene was glorious.
Feel free to leave your thoughts below!
Kudos,
Chrisii.
PS: Disclaimer; I do not own Salvation nor am I making profit from this.