"Aww thanks for the healing, Doc. Both of ya!" the BLU Engineer said once he was awake and discharged the morning after surgery.

He embraced the BLU Medic in a bone crushing bear hug. The RED Medic smiled and held out his hand to Engie. The Texan eyed it then chuckled and hugged the enemy Medic tightly. He slapped the tall German on the back and walked out of the infirmary laughing. The Medic looked to his BLU counterpart in shock and surprise. The incredulous look on his face made the BLU burst into laughter herself.

"Vhat? Not ze hugging type?" she teased.

"Nein. Not from someone I don't know vell. And certainly not vhen I'm not expecting it."

"Ja, I vas ze same vhen I first joined. You get used to it after a while. Engie and Pyro are big huggers. Demo and Heavy started once zhey realized I stopped minding. It is hard to say no to Pyro."

"Hey, Doc! Am I ready to leave yet?" the BLU Sniper called out.

The BLU Medic went to check on the BLU Sniper while the RED examined the sleeping Pyro. She poked and prodded looking for tenderness before checking the cast was set properly. She upped the Australian's morphene drip and checked his blood pressure.

"So Doktor, vhat brought you to ze team?" the RED Medic asked.

"Ze Administrator contacted me once my previous contract was over. I assume it vas ze same for all of you," she shrugged.

"Vell vhat started you on ze path to becoming a mercenary?"

"I don't see how zhat is any of your business. Vould you answer if I asked you vhy you joined?"

The Sniper and RED Medic looked uncomfortable.

"Nien, I vould not."

"I dunno you well, Doc."

"Exactly. It vould not be fair if I told you personal information zhat you yourselves vould not answer, now vould it?" She cleared her throat. "It appears you can be transferred to ze temporary base tomorrow afternoon, Herr Sniper, as long as you do not try to help build in any vay. You need to rest vhile your bones heal."

"Yeah, nah mate. I ain't gonna sit 'round on my ass while the rest of you lot work."

"Vell if you really vant to vork, I could use a test subject," the BLU doctor shrugged.

"A test subject?"

"Ja! You are from Australia. Ze amount of dangerous creatures in your country is enormous vhen compared to everywhere else, except maybe ze Amazon. Ze possibilies! Your body could have built automatic responses, a strong sense for danger, unparalleled survival instincts! It von't hurt you much," she said excitedly.

Sniper looked nervous. "I'll think about it."

"So you are looking for projects?" the RED Medic said as he followed her out of the infirmary.

"Vell ze medicine does not take long. Ve vill need to do somezhing to fill our time during ze ceasefire. I can only train and read for so long."

"I may have somezhing. I vas going to ask Engie to help but if you are interested."

"Vhat sort of vork do you have in mind?"

"Come. Follow me to ze lab. It's chemistry, mostly. I'm trying to find a vay to make ze Uber last longer."

"Do you really zhink it can be done? You'd also need to know if ze body can vithstand it." she argued.

"Hmm...excellent point. I have ze perfect test subject. He helped create ze original mixture. I'm afraid he's permanently invincible as a result."

"Maybe we can fix zhat. Hard to test if ze new formula vill kill you if you can't die."

He led her to the refridgerator. "Vell, zhat und he's just a head."

He opened the door to reveal the severed head of a BLU Spy. The Spy blinked in the sudden light and grimaced. He then noticed the BLU Medic who was staring in shock and wonder.

"Finally! Are you here to rescue me from zhis madman?" the Frenchman cried.

She ignored him. "Incredible! How can he still talk vithout his throat? Vhat does he eat? Vhy does he still smoke? How?"

"I have no idea. I can't kill him either, no matter how much he asks. At zhis point I just keep him comfortable." the RED shrugged.

"No one noticed he was missing?"

"You heard ze Administrator. It didn't take long before he was replaced."

"I've been replaced?" The BLU Spy looked defeated. "Just put me back in the fridge and stop poking me, you bastards."

"Ve should start by having ze Engineer build a machine to keep him alive once ve fix ze invincibility." RED suggested as he put Spy back in the fridge.

"Good idea. How long has he been in here? Once we improve ze formula, we should let him choose if he wants to keep living."

He looked at her curiously. "You feel sorry for him?"

"You don't? Zhere's not much living as a head."

They each grabbed chemistry supplies and a list of the approximate substances mixed in the accident. The BLU Medic tried to talk to the Spy to see if he remembered anything but he refused to talk to her. She tried to recall the current formula and catalog what chemicals from the list would enhance the Uber effects. Suddenly, the RED Medic began singing in German while he worked. She smiled as she recognized the song. He was a little off-key but had a decent voice. She began to hum along and he stopped immediately.

"I'm sorry. I usually vork alone so ze singing is just a habit of mine."

"I liked it. Zhat song vas a favorite of my father's."

"Ja, my grandmother loved it too."

They worked through the day until very late at night and stopping only to check on patients every few hours. The RED Pyro brought them food and drink around suppertime and they took Spy's head out of the fridge to smoke. The only thing they managed to accomplish was create an acid or nothing at all. Eventually, they both retired to sleep around dawn.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"What would your tests include, Doctor?" the BLU Sniper asked days later as he was examined.

"Until you are healed, it vould just be testing your survival skills in different situations versus ze rest of ze team. Unfortunately, it vill be a flawed test as mercenaries have more survival skills zhan ze average person but it vill do."

"That's not so bad. What happens once I'm all betta?"

"Putting you through physical dangers via use of ze obstacle course."

"Now hold on! You lot think you can just throw us in all this crap and sit back with your clipboards taking notes? Nah, mate! Deals off!" he said angrily.

"Herr Sniper, I assure you I vill be running myself through zhis test several times. I vill also have ze RED team do it as vell. All of ze RED team. Now please, keep your voice down. ze other patients are sleeping."

"Just remember who's team you're on, Doc. These tests can't take too much out of us. Or else we won't be able to fight."

"Vhat on Earth are you implying?"

"You've been locked in that lab with the other Medic for days now. Have you forgotten you've got wounded teammates out here? Just check our bandages and get back to your lab."
"You seem to have gotten used to the Medigun, mon ami. Either that or you hit your head recently. Actual medicine takes time to heal injuries such as these. You also know the Medigun is shut down during ceasefire. Our good Docteur is doing the best she can. I could kill you and we could dig you out from under the ruined base if you prefer?" The Spy drawled suddenly.

The Sniper shot the Frenchman a dirty look and grumbled into his magazine. Spy smiled at Medic and added a fresh nicotine patch to his arm. The Medic stormed into the RED's laboratory where her counterpart had already been working. She ranted angrily in German, pacing and throwing her hands in the air.

"Didn't you tell zhem vhat ve're vorking on?" he asked.

She faltered. "No. Vhat if it doesn't vork? Zhey probably would keep asking for updates on our progress anyvays."

"At least zhey would stop being suspiscious of us."

The BLU doctor laughed. "Would zhey?"

"You're missing blood in your formula. There was blood on the floor." Spy's head said suddenly from the book shelf.

"Who's blood?" she asked excitedly.

"RED Heavy."

"I'll go get some samples!" the RED said standing.

They worked on for several more weeks, making sure to take more time away with the patients. The RED Spy was released after two weeks of bedrest. The BLU Sniper was ready to leave but had to be kept due to his insistance on building or training. A small building for sleeping had been completed and the builders now moved to clearing and rebuilding the new base.

Many possessions had been damaged or destroyed. The Administrator had to order new uniforms for a lot of the team. The BLU Medic had begun wearing some spare scrubs from the infirmary. She occasionally nicked some clothes from the laundry room for pajamas. So far, her collection included shirts from Soldier, Sniper, and Scout and shorts from Engie, Spy, and Demoman. She made sure to only steal from her own team, just in case she was caught.

There were few left in the infirmary as the base neared completion. Pyro stayed in the medical bay, insisting he was fine but the collapse had frightened him. He refused to let the Medic examine him, saying he was afraid a RED team member would see him. He often got visited by Engineer and Demoman or the doctors would wheel his bed next to Scout's. She shut down the lights for the night and climbed into bed.