A/N: I might change the title but for now, Epic Nerds suffices haha!
Beetee woke up at the sound of a crash in his basement. He sat up straight on the couch and threw the blanket off himself. He turned on the lamp on the corner table and hurried down the stairs. Turning on the light in his workroom he gasped at the crumpled body of a young teenage girl laying on the floor. He put up the black-out boards over the windows and then knelt down by the girl. "Can you hear me?" The girl groaned. "You fell off the shelf it looks like."
"Titanium - get the -"
"Where?" Beetee asked.
"Toolbox." Beetee noticed his toolbox on the shelf under the window was pushed off to the side. He opened it and found the wire. "I have it." He held the cloth bag in his hand and placed her hand over it. "Now I need to tend to you." She gasped in pain as Beetee manipulated her ankle. "I'm sorry - I'm sorry, Wiress." Wiress turned her head and stared bewildered at Beetee.
"How do you know me?"
"Wiress the Wire runner." Beetee said quietly. "I knew you'd bring this wire." She smiled shyly at him. "I'll be back." He came back with a first-aid kit and a small cloth. "I don't know how much this will hurt." He said folding the cloth and offering it to her to bite on. "You have a bullet in your ankle. It's nearly out."
"Beetee -" Wiress asked, her large eyes widening in fear. She knew Beetee from her work as a 'wire courier' as well as the times he had spoken to her class at the Engineering Academy. She also knew him as the Victor who mentored the district tributes for the annual Hunger Games. Beetee removed his robe and folded it up so Wiress could lay on the floor and clutch it like a blanket or stuffed animal. He rolled up the sleeves of his pajamas and got to work. Wiress whimpered as he gingerly removed the bullet. She gasped as he cleaned the wound with a stinging burning liquid as best he could and then put in stitches. He wrapped her ankle in gauze and then in a sturdy bandage.
"It's over, Wiress." Beetee said taking her hand and holding it. He used the robe in Wiress' grasp to wipe the tears streaming down her face. "You're safe." Wiress nodded. "You lost quite a lot of blood, so you should stay here and not try and go out again." He placed the robe around her like a blanket. "Would you like another blanket or a pillow?" Wiress nodded. "Both?" another nod. Beetee returned and helped Wiress settle on the floor.
"Could you -" Wiress paused. "Stay?"
"Sure." Beetee said. He grabbed a blanket and pillow and came down. He lay a foot away from her. "Let me know if you need anything." Wiress nodded.
The next day Wiress woke up and wondered what she was doing in a dark room. She saw the sleeping form of the man who helped her the previous evening and remembered what happened. Standing up, she walked to the wall and turned on the lights. Her ankle hurt, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. "Wiress?" Beetee asked. "You must rest."
"I can't miss work. They'll get suspicious. You know that." Beetee nodded.
"Do you need any help?" Wiress shook her head.
"Thank you for everything." She said simply before climbing the stairs. She was thankful Victor's Village was close to the factories as she had to walk slower. She nodded to her parents before sitting at her station where she assembled circuit boards. She half-listened to her friend Melissa talk about plans for them to have a sleepover at their mutual friend Julie's house. Her mind was still on the mission. Beetee should take the titanium wire to the next stop on the underground contraband route and it would eventually go to Thirteen. She also knew he had to clean up his work shop of her blood in case the Peacekeepers came in to investigate. She wondered if she should stop by in a few days to see how things were.
"You're awfully quiet." Melissa said. Wiress yawned. "Were you reading again?" Melissa teased.
"Yeah." Wiress muttered.
"What did you do, trip over your book getting up? You're a bit gimpy." Wiress laughed and blushed.
"I was trying to take it downstairs and I fell down the staircase." Melissa laughed.
"Oh, Wiress!" Melissa giggled. "You're the smartest girl in our year at the Academy, but you're a klutz sometimes." Wiress let out a sigh of relief knowing that no one suspected anything out of the ordinary. She finished her work and walked with Melissa back to their apartment complex. No peacekeepers followed her, so she could enjoy a peaceful summer evening with her parents without worry.