Chapter Two

Seth led Amara through the dark alley, keeping his hand on her arm. Though he didn't rush her, she struggled to keep up with his pace. The damn shoes, he thought as she splashed through a puddle. He stopped at what appeared to be a dead end, ducking into a small space behind an empty building.

"It's alright," he told her when she hesitated. Gently tugging on her arm he squinted in the near darkness. "Stay right behind me." He waited for her affirmation. It came in the form of a nod. Turning, he stepped forward, stilling when he felt her hand creep along his sleeve until she grasped his hand.

Her grip tightened with each step she took. Her shoes weren't meant for traversing the back alleys and hidden passages. He could have taken her on a gentler route, but they would have run the risk of being spotted by soldiers. She had no bag, nothing to prove she was who she said she was. He only hoped she hadn't been chipped.

"Almost there." He kept his voice low, barely audible above the rain. A hole in the cement fence, one of the many remnants of the war, was just ahead. Seth pulled his hand free of hers and went through, gaze scanning the immediate area before turning to help her down.

She was already climbing through, though, picking her way down the rocky bank.

He shouldn't have brought her. He should have gotten her out onto the highway, made sure she got a ride home. Wherever that was. Deciding it best that he not know, he reached to help her the rest of the way.

"What is this place?" she asked, looking at the remains of the building ahead of them.

"It used to be a school." He knew that if he closed his eyes he'd see it as it had been. They were in what had been the playground. The support beams for the swings were still there. Now they were ghastly steel spikes pointing to the sky but he could remember them in their glory days. He turned to her. "My friends don't take kindly to strangers."

"How do you mean?" She pushed a lock of damp hair from her face.

"They're suspicious. If the wrong person finds us, we're all dead." He saw her quick, understanding nod.

"I'm not going to run to the soldiers and tell them about your hideout." Though her voice was soft he caught the determination. "Your friend that was hurt. What happened?"

"He had a run-in with a soldier." He began to cross the barren lot to the rear door. The other doors had been sealed shut, the windows boarded up from the inside. Anyone who glanced at the building would think it unused, falling into decay.

He looked up to the roof, saw the figure in the shadows. Making the sign so his comrade would know he was safe, he approached the door to wait. Amara followed closely, ducking beneath the overhang to get out of the rain.

"Was it the same soldier?" she asked after a moment.

Rain dripping down the back of his neck made him move closer to the door. Listening closely he was able to hear the approach of footsteps. "Yes," he finally answered. A knock sounded on the metal door and he responded in kind.

"I'm glad you killed him."

He looked to her as the door open. The shaft of light illuminated her face. Not surprised to see no remorse for the man she'd watched die, he motioned for her to enter before him. Wet shoes squeaked on the flooring as the door was closed and locked behind them. Able to relax – if only just a little – he began unbuckling his vest.

"Who's this?"

"This is Amara." Seth shook his arms to rid them of excess water. "Amara, Dean. Dean, Amara. She was with Heyman."

Dean narrowed his eyes as he looked over Amara. "Oh?"

"Not like that. She was..." The words were right there, why couldn't he say them? "She's a nurse. She said she'd help. How is he?"

"About the same." Dean sighed, glancing over his shoulder. "Nikki's with him right now. Did Heyman give you any trouble?"

"No. I caught him with his pants down." Literally. He flinched at the poor choice of words and looked to Amara. "Come on."

The hall was cold, causing goose bumps to rise on his bare arms. He led the way to what had once been the teacher's lounge. The small attached kitchen was barebones but served the needs of the group. Checking the coffee pot he was relieved to see it was relatively fresh. "Want some?"

She nodded, removing her jacket and hanging it on the back of a chair. Immediately her arms folded over her chest. Seth muttered a curse as he poured the brew into a mug. He'd completely forgotten that her clothes were torn.

Dean was in the doorway, arms folded as he regarded their guest. His face was devoid of emotion; it would be impossible for anyone to try and figure out what he was thinking. Amara caught him staring and looked back, head high. He gave her a nod, obviously deciding she wasn't an immediate danger. "I'll get Nikki to bring you some clothes." His eyes met Seth's over her head. "The bleeding stopped about an hour ago."

He left them, calling out his girlfriend's name. Seth handed the mug over to Amara and filled another. He took a sip – it was bitter and strong.

"The soldier – Heyman? How did you know where to find him?" she asked after a tentative sip from her cup.

"I didn't." The small sink was filled with dirty dishes. The trash needed to be taken out. He knew without looking that the contents of the fridge were getting low. Thankfully he'd remembered to lift Heyman's credits. "He was a polished rat. He had a nice apartment in the city, a new car, a shiny uniform. But he was still a rat. I mentioned his name to a couple other rats and I was pointed in the right direction." He gulped down more coffee. "The first one had me checking down by the river. If I had trusted my instincts, I would have gotten to him quicker." He looked up to see her shiver. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'm just glad you got there when you did."

"How… You probably don't want to talk about it."

Approaching footsteps kept her from replying. The door opened to reveal a woman with a tentative smile. In her arms was a selection of clothing. She placed them on the chair nearest the door then rested one hand on the swell of her abdomen, smile widening as she looked to Amara. "Dean said you were about my size. I brought a larger shirt though, just in case. Seth, get out so she can change and take care of Roman."

Knowing better than to defy her orders, Seth moved towards the door. As soon as he was within her reach, Nikki grabbed his arm. "Yeah?"

"Thank you for coming back in one piece."

"I live to keep you happy." He patted her hand, leaned to kiss her forehead.

"Bullshit but I'll take it. Now go."

He almost gave her a mock salute but refrained. Now wasn't the time for levity. So he gave a curt nod and left, pulling the door shut. Counting to five in his head, he nodded just as she began questioning Amara.

The man lying on the bed was pale, despite his olive coloring. Amara gave her head a shake to clear her mind of her own worries and approached, wishing for brighter lights. "How long has he been like this?" she asked, looking across to Seth.

"Couple hours. Give or take."

She nodded as she carefully removed the gauze pads that had been placed over the wound at the man's shoulder. Hands shaking, she looked for a place to dispose of them. "Knife wound?"

"Gunshot."

The bandages fell to the floor. "Oh god," she whispered, backing away from the bedside.

"What's wrong?"

Hand over her mouth, she stared at the hole in the man's shoulder. There was a small trickle of blood coming from the wound and she could see a dried trail a few inches over. At some point he'd been lying down. She felt bile rise in her throat and turned, stumbling from the room.

Seth was right behind her, hands catching her shoulders before she could go far. Spinning her around, he held her against the wall. "I need you to save him."

"I can't," Amara gasped, shuddering. "He needs a hospital with proper equipment and trained doctors to make sure there's no critical damage."

"If he goes to a hospital, they'll kill him." He pushed her tighter against the wall, forcing her to look at him. "You're a nurse. You can help."

"I've never worked on a gunshot. I was trained on broken bones and the occasional knife wound. Even when I was doing my hours in the hospital I never saw a gunshot. They don't let those people live!" Her voice was panicked despite her attempts to calm herself. Looking into the eyes of the man who had saved her, she shook her head. "I can't do this."

"You have to." His hands tightened. "You became a nurse for a reason. You wanted to save people, right? Help the wounded, comfort the sick. You may have even wanted to save the world. Now's your chance."

She closed her eyes, pressing her lips together as she recalled the words she'd recited at her small graduation ceremony. But that had been before... "I—"

"You have to," he said again. His voice was even and sure. "I'll help if I need to, but I can't stand here and let him die without trying to save him."

Opening her eyes, she glanced to the room at the sound of a pained moan. "I'll try."

When she returned to the room she kept her fists clenched so her hands wouldn't shake. Her voice wavered, though, when she asked Seth to find another light. She forced herself to focus, grateful there were at least a few rudimentary supplies she could use.

"The biggest worry is how much blood he's lost. There's a danger of hypovolemic shock." She rattled off the words, on automaton now as she examined the wound. The giant of a man on the bed tensed when she eased a finger into the hole left by the bullet. Giving him an apologetic look, even though he couldn't see it, she felt around, breathing a small sigh of relief. "There aren't any fragments left that I can feel."

Amara glanced down and grew nauseous upon seeing her gloved finger inside the man's shoulder. She drew in a deep breath to calm her nerves, carefully withdrawing her finger. Tearing the glove from her hand she turned to look over the supplies Nikki had brought in, arching a brow. Several of the items had the hospital's name emblazoned on the packaging.

"What do you have to do?" Seth was standing right behind her.

"Clean the wound. I'm going to swab inside to double-check for fragments." Gathering what she would need, she turned back to the bed and glanced to Seth. "Someone may need to hold him."

"Just do it and get it over with."

The deep voice startled her; she'd thought him to be unconscious. Hands trembling, she placed the supplies on the table by the bed. "You're doing just fine. It won't be too long before I'm finished."

He nodded, eyes closing again. Sending up prayers to the God she wasn't sure she still believed in, Amara went to work.

She was scrubbing her hands. The water pouring from the spigot was steaming, the soap long ago had rinsed away. The brush she used had to hurt. Maybe she was tougher than he'd thought. Or maybe she was too shocked to feel pain.

Watching from the doorway, Seth considered turning and leaving her alone. Instead, he entered the small bathroom when her shoulders began to shake. Just as he touched her arms her hands flailed, sending drops of scalding water onto his face. "Sorry."

Amara plunged her hands under the water again. "How is he?"

"He's coming out of it." He watched her continue to scrub at her hands. Catching her wrists he pulled them out of the water. "Calm down."

"I could have killed him."

"But you didn't." Seth grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her hands, holding it in place as he turned off the water. "You saved his life."

"It could still get infected. Or I may have—"

"Stop." He realized that being harsh with her would do no good. "You did great, Amara. Really." Pulling away the towel he glanced down at her red hands. "Thank you."

"He'll need someone to keep an eye on him. Just in case." When his fingers brushed over hers she pulled away.

"We'll work something out." Her shirt had splatters of blood on it and he hoped she wouldn't notice right away.

"Keep the wound clean. If you can get some, use tea tree oil. It's a natural antibiotic and antiseptic. Clean with peroxide. Don't let him get up and move around too much, because..." She released a breath and looked away. "I'm sure you can figure it out."

"You could stay and help."

"The… There's four of you, right? You seem to have everything under control. He'll be fine."

"Where will you go now?" he asked when she'd turned on the cold water. She pushed her hands beneath the flow for a moment.

"I don't know." Turning off the water, she shook her hands in the basin and reached for the towel. "Everyone at the restaurant saw me leave with him. When he's found dead, they'll think it was me."

"They will," he agreed, leaning in the doorway. "They're probably already questioning people. Do you have any family that can take you in?"

"Just my uncle. But he… He's a soldier." She looked down at her shirt and turned her back to him.

Seth took in the expanse of her back as she removed the shirt. It would do no good to let himself be attracted. Or attached. He had a feeling he already was, though. "Friends? What about the people you went to school with?"

"I think it's obvious I have no one." The shirt hit the floor and she leaned to take one off the hook on the wall. She pulled it on, once more concealing her back, and faced him again. "You don't want me here, Seth."

"Don't I?"

"I'd be dead weight."

"Bullshit. You're a trained nurse."

"I doubt you need the expertise of a nurse on a daily basis." The sweatshirt she'd pulled on was several sizes too big. She began to roll the sleeves up. She looked down, a lock of dark brown hair falling from behind her ear.

"Nikki's pregnant," he said. Just in case she hadn't noticed on her own. The look she gave him told him she'd gathered that fact already. "She cooks and cleans for the three of us – and deals with Dean when he's on a rampage. And she's going to pop soon."

"How soon?" she asked warily.

"A month or two. I don't know. To be honest, it feels like she's been pregnant forever."

Amara smiled. "Okay. So I stay and help her with cooking and cleaning, then when the baby comes I help with that. What's in it for me?"

"Protection," he said softly.

A/N: Thank you to Nikki, CelticPrincessx3, Lou, Jojo, Anon, charmedbyortonbarrett, ThatGirl54, and dashinginconverse for the reviews! :)

Also a special thank you to DixieWildflower for her help with the medical stuff. If it's anything more than a Band-Aid or some aspirin it's over my head.