Chapter Title: It's Like I've Been Awakened
Chapter Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Friendship
Chapter Rating: PG
Chapter Notes: Long time, no see ;)
Takes Place: At the end of Snakehead
Song: "Halo" by Beyonce
Disclaimer: not mine!
"Everywhere I'm looking now
I'm surrounded by your embrace
Baby I can see your halo
You know you're my saving grace"
It took thirty-two minutes and twelve seconds for Astrid to officially confirm she didn't have a loose tooth—it was just sensitive from where she'd been hit in the face. Her nose was definitely broken however and she had a very mild concussion, as well as an incredibly bruised stomach from where those Triads had worked her over. She really wanted to cry and go home and get cleaned up and go to bed…
But Astrid was a good agent, always a team player. There were bigger things than the fact she was in pain and scared—she had no right to complain about her own problems to Olivia and Peter when there were things to do. That was one of the reasons anything got done in the lab—she simply pushed her emotions, stress, and frustration down to focus on mindless tasks such as keeping inventory of supplies, scouring and sanitizing every surface that got used, keeping everything neat and tidy. If she could control what was going on in the lab then she could certainly control what was going on inside her mind.
So it was very hard for her emotionally to let Walter see she hadn't gotten anything back to normal as she stood in the centre of the lab, looking around her. She'd had, like, three hours to get this pace ready, for Christ's sake!
It felt nice to just rest her forehead against his as they stood close.
"Oh hey, don't cry," she murmured, rubbing the back of his head reassuringly.
"You're bleeding." His voice sounded just devastated.
"Walter…" She wanted to lie and say she was fine, but she couldn't. Walter would rather have brutal honesty than a lie. "They hurt me pretty bad."
His lower lip trembled further and his hand cupped her face, his thumb tracing over unfortunately tender skin. A hard knot formed in her throat.
"But I'm okay now. And I'll be sore tomorrow and probably the next few days as well, but I'm alive. And safe. And okay." She started to pull away, a shaky smile on her lips. "Hold on and let me get you a tissue for your boogers."
Walter, however didn't seem to think he needed to clean up any mucus and he pulled her into a tight hug, crushing her throbbing ribs. She couldn't help but return the hug, so happy to be close to someone who cared about her right then and there.
"I missed you, too," she said softly. She pulled her head back to look him in the eyes. "And you know what? I wasn't worried about me. I was worried about you."
He wiped away the thick tears running down his cheeks. "I was being so foolish! Like a magpie that sees some shiny bauble, I allowed myself to be drawn away."
"I'm just glad you're okay." Her eyes watered once more and she buried her face into his neck. "God, I'm so glad you're okay."
