Family
😋Hello, hope you are having a good day. This a one-shot. Post-series. What if Leo got wounded but didn't tell anyone?
Leo was different after what happened. He became very quiet. He was angry and upset. It had been a year.
"Leo, please tell us what's going on inside you." Mia begged.
"I'm fine. We need to get moving." Leo replied.
"There they are." A man said.
"Run!"
So they ran. One of the guys fired his gun. The bullet hit Leo. Leo gasped but that was it. Then he was hit again. He looked down and saw that he was bleeding. Luckily he was wearing a black shirt. Mia, Max, and Leo ran till they were safe.
"We need someplace to charge." Leo said trying not to show pain.
"Laura gave me the location of an apartment. We can stay there." Mia answered.
"Then we should go."
So they went to the apartment. Leo took a roll of bandages and a stack of gauze and hid them.
"I'll be right back. I just need to go to the bathroom." Leo said.
"Ok. I'll get your cord so you can charge." Max replied.
"Thanks."
Leo went to the bathroom and locked the door. He pulled out the gauze and bandages. He took his shirt off and gasped as a very intense wave of pain hit him. He saw that he had been bleeding a lot. He washed the blood off with water. The wounds didn't stop bleeding. Luckily they were close together on his right side. He took some gauze and put it on the wounds. He looked into the mirror and saw that he was already very pale. When the wounds stopped bleeding, Leo bandaged himself up. Then he put his shirt back on. He washed his hands and then made it look like nothing happened. Then he left the bathroom.
"Leo, are you ok?" Mia wondered.
"I'm fine just a bit tired." Leo sighed.
"Go get some rest. You're so pale."
"Yeah, I must have caught something."
Leo went into his room and changed his shirt. Then laid down and charged himself. He tried to get some rest. He kicked his shoes off and covered himself with the blankets. Leo went to sleep hoping that he would fell better when he woke up. He was wrong. When he woke up, he felt worse. For the next couple of days, Leo didn't tell anyone that he was wounded. One morning, he had finished taking a shower. He looked at his wounds and saw that they were infected. He got dressed and went out. He felt so weak and tired. He didn't know that his wounds were bleeding again.
"Leo, are you ok? You're so pale." Mia wondered in concern.
"I'm fine. I'm just a bit ill." Leo replied.
"Eat your breakfast. Then go lie down on the couch."
"Ok."
So Leo ate his breakfast. When he was done, he went to get his laptop. He ran into Max.
"Leo, are you ok?" Max questioned.
"I don't know." Leo panted. He felt too hot. Then he collapsed.
"Leo, what's wrong?" Max ordered. Leo was too weak to answer. "Mia, Leo collapsed." Mia ran over and kneeled down next to Leo.
"What happened?" Mia asked.
"He collapsed. His shirt is wet."
They lifted Leo's shirt. They saw gauze covering the wounds. They removed. They saw that Leo was bleeding and had an infection.
"Oh, Leo." Mia sighed. "We need to get him treated. I'll get what we need. You need to get him to bed. Take his clothes off. We need to see if he's hid any other injuries." Max nodded and picked Leo up. He carried Leo to bed. He laid Leo on the bed and took Leo's clothes off. Leo started thrashing. Then he shivered.
"What happened?" Leo rasped.
"You collapsed. Just go to sleep." Max replied. Leo nodded. He grabbed Max hand and squeezed it.
"Please don't leave me."
Max squeezed Leo's hand and used his other hand to rub Leo's forehead.
"I won't leave you." Max whispered. "You have a fever."
"I'm so hot." Leo gasped. Then Mia came in.
"He's burning up. It's obvious why he collapsed."
"I got what we needed. Leo, were you shot?" Mia asked. Leo nodded. Max took the bowl of water and cloth. He wiped the sweat off of Leo's face. Leo tried to sleep but couldn't. "I called Niska. She's on her way."
"Why am I so weak? What's happening?" Leo whimpered.
"Shh, Leo, it's ok. Everything's ok."
"What's wrong? Something's happening? Mimi, Maxie? What's happening?"
"We need to remove the bullets now." Max said. Every time Max put the wet cloth on Leo's forehead, Leo would move his head so much that it would fall off. Eventually Max held the cloth to Leo's forehead. eventually Leo calmed down. He opened his eyes and then passed out. "His fever is too high. He doesn't have long."
"Then we should hurry." Mia answered. So they got to work. As they removed one of the bullets, they realized that Leo was barely breathing. Then Niska came in. "Niska, quickly. Watch over him. Make sure that he's breathing and that his heart is beating."
"Have you charged him?" Niska wondered as she went to Leo's side.
"Not yet. We're waiting tell we bandage him. You remember what happened last time." Max explained.
"I remember. I'm surprised he lived through that. Those seizures were intense."
Then Niska put her hand on Leo's forehead.
"He's burning up." Niska gasped.
"We know." Mia answered. When Max and Mia removed the bullet, Mia stitched Leo up. Then Leo stopped breathing. Niska gave him CPR.
"He stopped breathing."
Then Leo coughed painfully as he began to breathe again. Blood splattered out of his mouth.
"Oh no." Mia sighed.
"Did the bullets hit an organ?" Niska wondered.
"Most likely the liver."
Mia unstitched Leo and did what she could for his liver. When she finished, she stitched him. Then she bandaged Leo with Max's help. When they finished, Max covered Leo up but left his torso bare. Niska went and got a bowl full of ice and very cold water. She wiped the sweat off of Leo. She took a cloth and wet it. Then she laid it on Leo's chest.
"He's looks so weak and ill. How could we have missed this?" Mia whispered.
"We couldn't have known. Leo's not the kind of person to show weakness. He's trying to be strong for us." Max answered.
"I know. We should get cleaned up."
So Mia and Max got cleaned up. When they were done, they went to charge. That night, Niska charged Leo. Leo moaned and had a minor seizure. Niska put a hand on Leo's forehead and shushed him.
"It's ok, Leo." Niska whispered. She rubbed Leo's forehead.
"Hot." Leo croaked.
"I know. You have a high fever. You need to sleep."
Leo nodded weakly. He went back to sleep. Mia and Max came in.
"He woke up for a few seconds. He feels hot." Niska said. "I charged him. He was dying."
"Ok. He must be feeling really weak." Mia sighed.
"Yeah."
"I hope he gets better."
"I need to charge."
"I'll watch over Leo for the night." Max volunteered.
"Ok."
So Niska and Mia left to charge. Max closed the door and got on his knees.
"Lord, please help my brother. We all need him. Help Leo to be strong and healthy. Help him to know that he is cared for and loved. That he isn't responsible for what happened to us and his parents. Please give him strength and I will do what you want." Max prayed. Then Leo coughed. Max got off the floor and went to Leo's side. He wiped the sweat off of Leo's forehead.
"Maxie?" Leo mumbled.
"I'm here, Leo. You're ok."
"I'm so weak."
"We know. Niska's here. You're fine."
"I'm so sorry."
"For what?"
"For not saving Fred."
"Leo, don't ever blame yourself for what happened. Now get some sleep. You've lost a lot of blood."
Then Leo started crying. Max pulled him into a hug. Max held Leo as he cried. When Leo had cried till he couldn't cry anymore, Max gave him some water. Leo cried what he could.
"Thanks." Leo thanked weakly. "I'm sorry."
"Leo, you have nothing to be sorry about." Max said.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell that I had been shot."
"It's ok. Now get some rest."
"I can't. Please just hold me."
"Ok. I will."
"I'm so cold."
"Let me get a blanket or two for you, ok?"
Leo nodded. Max helped Leo lie down. He went to get Leo a couple of blankets.
"How is he?" Mia asked.
"He's awake. He wants me to hold him but he's cold." Max explained.
"I'll go get them. I should probably check on him while he's awake."
So Mia grabbed a couple of blanket and went with Max to see Leo. When they went in, Leo was in bed resting. He had the blanket cover his shoulders.
"Hey, Leo, how do you feel?" Mia wondered.
"Tired and cold." Leo mumbled.
"Any pain?"
"Yeah but I can handle it."
Max went to Leo and hugged him. He covered Leo up with the blankets.
"Warmer?" Max asked.
"Yeah." Leo replied. Leo groaned painfully and coughed. Max rubbed Leo's back and hugged him. "Where's my pants?"
"I'll go get them. We had to wash them." Mia sighed.
"Sorry."
"It's ok. Just tell us when you get hurt."
"I will."
Then Mia went to get Leo's pants. When she came back, Leo got changed. He climbed back into bed and tried to sleep. Max hugged Leo and covered him up. He let Leo get comfortable. Max looked at Leo's face and saw that Leo's face was pale.
"You're as white as a ghost." Max whispered.
"How much blood did I lose?" Leo mumbled.
"Enough to kill someone who doesn't have synth technology in them. Go to sleep. Your body needs to recover."
"I'm trying."
Max sighed. Several minutes later, Leo fell asleep. Max smiled when he heard Leo breathe peacefully. Mia went to Leo's side and kissed Leo's forehead. Leo moaned slightly and moved his head. Mia and Max smiled at Leo. A few days later, Leo slowly recovered. One morning, Leo woke up feeling very sick. He groaned and rolled onto his left side.
"Leo, are you alright? You look ill." Niska wondered.
"Yeah, I feel so good that I want to die." Leo groaned sarcastically. Niska slapped Leo in the arm. "Ow."
"Don't use sarcasm with me."
"Whatever."
Niska slapped Leo in the arm again.
"Will you stop that?" Leo asked.
"Not till you tell me the truth." Niska answered.
"My wounds hurt like crazy."
"They will for a while. Do you want anything?"
"No. It won't help."
Niska sighed and left Leo to rest.
"Is he any better?" Mia wondered.
"Well, he's being sarcastic." Niska replied.
"I guess he's better. Max, can you go help him out of bed. He needs to regain his strength."
"Ok." Max answered. So Max went to help Leo."Leo, you get out of bed now."
"Finally." Leo sighed. He got out of bed but collapsed.
"I should have said,'you can get out of bed but I need to be next to you'. Can't you learn that it's ok to be weak and unable to do something?"
"Sorry."
Max went to Leo's side and helped Leo get up and walk. After several minutes, Leo was able to walk on his own. For the next several days, Leo regained his strength. One evening, the four were sitting around the coffee table. They were talking happily. Even Leo smiled a few times. They talked about Fred.
"Remember when I was 11 and we went down to the lake to go fishing?" Leo wondered.
"Yeah." Niska replied.
"Well, I was playing in the water for a bit. I slipped on a slippery rock and hit my head. I must've fallen in the water because when I was woke up, I was wrapped up in a blanket. Fred was holding me. I remember I tried to move but every time I did, Fred would freak out. He carried me home. When he put me in bed, he stayed with me. I came down with a cold. Every time I breathed, he would come to me and just on me. He would freak out every time I coughed or move. When I recovered, he wouldn't let me out of his sight. Every time I was hurt or injured, he would be with me."
"He really cared about you. He loved you even when you picked on him and teased him." Mia said.
"When I called him the boring one, he just looked at me and reminded me why."
"Was that when we were with the Hawkins?"
"Yeah. I wish he was here with us."
"He is. Fred is always with us. He will always be with us. No matter what." Max explained.
"You believe that?"
"Yes. Like I believe that we are a family and we are meant to be a family."
"Thanks."
"We'll see him one day. That's something else I believe."
Everyone smiled at Max's words. Even Leo. Leo felt the weight of guilt and sadness left from his chest.
THE END
Hope you liked this story. 😋