Chase gave a gasp as his limbs unfroze and breath returned to his lungs. Unsteady on his legs, he stumbled sideways and fell against something hard, which he used to prop himself up. He felt the cut on his head, which had been bandaged. He felt no pain from it. Frowning, Chase unwound the bandage and felt his forehead. There was no blood. There wasn't even a cut. It had healed completely.

Chase stood up straight and looked round, trying to remember what had happened. He had escaped the senate building…and then what? He'd obviously made it into the West, since he was now by the abandoned medical supplies cabin about a kilometre away from the town. Nobody else was in sight.

He wondered what had happened to him. After the whole senate debacle, he meant. He hadn't been able to move his limbs or his head or anything. He had felt like he was becoming a statue.

But now he seemed to be fine.

As he began to walk towards town, he caught sight of his closest friend running across the dust from the direction of the plaza. "Caleb!" called Chase. "Hey!"

Caleb skidded to a halt and saw Chase. "I can't talk," he panted as Chase ambled over to him. "Wait…what are you doing here?"

Chase frowned. "Ya gonna have ta be more specific."

"Why aren't you in town?" Caleb asked, a worried frown on his face. "Jed's been injured, why aren't you helping him?"

Chase stared at his friend in dismay. He couldn't believe he hadn't remembered that Jed had also been in the senate building during the attack. "Where is he?" Chase demanded.

Caleb pointed towards town. "He's in his and Melody's room up there. I'll come with you."

Caleb resumed running, and Chase fell behind him. Chase was cursing himself; as a doctor, he should have been thinking of his patients first and himself second. He hadn't even considered that Jed could have been hurt. Instead, he had run away like a coward and left Jed and the other leaders at the mercy of a psycho with a sword and magic powers.

When they reached town, Caleb took Chase to the small cabin. As they approached, they saw Melody and Nikki standing in the entrance. Chase automatically sidled to stand behind Caleb; both women looked like they were about to hit him.

"Where've ya been?" demanded Melody. "Mah boyfriend is hurt! Get in there and help him!"

Chase, however, did not move. He stared with a frown at Melody, who snapped, "Ya got a problem?"

"Did ya have a wound on yer head?" Chase asked. "There's dried blood on yer forehead but no sign o' a wound."

"Really?" Melody put her hand to her head and rubbed off the dried blood. "Huh…I did have a cut there. Wonder why an' how it's gone?"

"The same happened wit' me when I-," Chase began.

"Less talky, more helpy," interrupted Nikki, jerking her thumb towards the inside of the cabin.

"Oh. Right." Chase started inside the building. "I need Nikki and Caleb ta check round with the Romans and see if they need help wit' their general."

"Why not me?" demanded Melody. "Ya got a problem wit' me?"

"No, I just assumed ya would rather be here with yer boyfriend," said Chase pointedly, causing Melody to scowl.

"Fine."

As Nikki and Caleb departed, Chase led the way into the bedroom. Jedediah was lying on his bed, eyes closed, face pale, forearm across his upper stomach. Chase quickly moved to his leader's side and examined the wound on Jed's head.

"Well?" demanded Melody, her slightly shaky voice being the only thing that betrayed her worry.

"He has a concussion," Chase diagnosed. "Perhaps brain damage."

Melody's facial expression and body language both immediately changed. "Will he live?"

"There's not much I can do," admitted Chase. "I can give him some medicine ta ease his pain a bit but other than that, it's up ta him ta survive."

"Ya hear that?" Melody swatted Jed's shoulder. "Ya better decide ta live, ya hear me?"

"I hear ya," muttered a woozy voice.

Chase immediately ran round to the other side of the bed and began a new examination as Jed's eyes slowly opened.

"How ya feeling?" Melody asked. "More ta the point, are ya gonna leave me or are ya gonna survive?"

Jed frowned. "I-I'm not sure I understand the question. I…I guess I wanna survive."

"Right answer," said Melody fiercely.

"Ya might wanna change up yer tone and language a bit," Chase said from the other side of the room, where he was mixing medication. "Otherwise he's gonna think ya don't wan' him ta live."

"O' course he knows I wan' him ta live," snapped Melody. "Right?" she demanded of Jed.

The sheriff raised his eyebrows and weakly held his hands up in surrender. "I didn't think ya wanted me ta die."

"I don'."

Someone knocked on the door. "Chase?" came a familiar, differently-accented voice. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," said Chase in bewilderment, as the young lady came into the room. "Is everything okay?"

"Who's this?" demanded Melody. "And why's she dressed funny?"

"My name is Ambrosia." The Greek woman gave a bow. "And I came to tell you that-."

"How'd she know yer name?" Melody demanded of Chase, who scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"I-I've kinda met 'er before."

"Chase," Ambrosia tried again. "There are two Romans outside who wish to speak with Jedediah."

"Romans?" Jed asked. "Who?"

Chase's nurse-like nature took over before Ambrosia could reply. "Yer not receiving visitors in yer state," he said firmly. "Ya need lots o' rest to recover from such a bad head injury. I thought ya were gonna die at firs'."

"I feel better," said Jed, sitting up in bed.

For once, Melody was on Chase's side. "We don' wan' ya exciting yerself too much," she said, displaying an uncharacteristically kind side. "We'll see what the Roman guys want."

"I feel better," Jed insisted. "I can receive 'em."

Melody scowled, slipping back into her fiery nature. "Fine. But if ya die of shock, I'm gonna find ya in the underworld and kill ya again."

Jed's lips twitched but Chase knew he dared not smile in front of Melody when she was in this mood. "Understood."

Jed looked up at Chase for confirmation. "Sure," Chase said. "But I'll need to be presen' at all times."

Ambrosia nodded and disappeared back outside.

"I'm gonna need ya to wait outside," Chase told Melody, who glared back at him.

"I'm stayin' with mah boyfriend."

"It's doctor's orders," insisted Chase.

"I defy doctor's orders."

"Fine. When ya inevitably get into another fight and hurt yerself, I won' be as sympathetic as I am with yer boyfriend."

Melody glared. "Is that a threat?"

"It's a promise," retorted Chase.

The two held their angry gazes for a while, before Melody finally looked away. "Fine." She stormed outside.

Jed looked up at Chase. "Not many people can match her fire," he said. "Nice job."

"When yer a doctor dealing with stubborn patients who insist they don' need help when they clearly do, ya learn stubbornness very quickly," Chase grinned. "Now let's see what those Romans want."

...

Caleb belongs to Nightflame203