Team Fortress 2
French Class Behind Tinted Windows
Chapter 10- Cover me
By, the Unlucky-Charm
A/N: This chapter is one of my favourites so far! I kind of just love it! I had a lot of fun writing it and I HOPE everyone enjoys. Any questions? Do not hesitate to ask. Suggestions? I'd love to hear them. Reviews? Don't be shy, trust me, DON'T BE.
BLU Scout
The room was small and packed with heavily breathing men, restlessly waiting for the two remaining minutes to pass and for the doors to unlock, signaling the start of a new battle. Amongst those nine men, was a new addition, increasing the group count to a rounded number, ten.
He watched that same addition intently, thinking about how comical she looked with that oversized medical gun latched tightly onto her back. It looked heavy and her tense posture said it all. She struggled to hold it up and Scout wondered how she planned on running with it hanging off her shoulders. It was obvious the weapon was a hindrance to her free movement, but despite that, she still made the effort to try to listen to the quick, last minute pep talk Soldier seemed to be giving her. Scout tried to listen in, but it turned out to be just the basics about where the sentries were usually placed, how to tell if a team member is actually a Spy and most importantly how to 'show no pity!', but Scout felt that Nurse wouldn't have time to worry about that last one. If what Engineer had deduced at that last meeting was right, at least four of the other team members would be aiming for her. That sucked seeing as she already seemed nervous as it is, but he had been too before his first battle.
"Oh God..." He mumbled to himself, remembering the first time he had respawned. It was a disgusting feeling: a splitting headache, cramps all over and the worst nausea anyone could ever have. It was overall a horrible experience that slowly diminished the more he died, but a bit too slowly in his opinion.
"Hey Doc," He called to Medic who stood only a few feet away from him. Scout held back a gasp when he noticed the Spy standing right next to him. "ya' think she's ready?"
'Mission begins in 10 seconds'
"Hm, yes, she vill be fine." The doctor nodded.
"First time respawning, eh? Should be fun for her." He chuckled sarcastically.
Medic smirked and arched a thick black eyebrow. For a second, he stared at Scout with a mix of pity and derision, before he too, laughed softly.
'5'
"Oh scout..." He said in between sinister chuckles.
'4'
"I'm afraid she vill not have to worry about that."
'3'
Scout's reaction time was slow, but it took his brain quite some time to process and actually come to understand and accept what the man had meant. By the time he did though...
'2'
'1'
The sirens rang and the men ran right past him, but Scout was frozen in place. He turned to yell, stop her, anything, but she was gone like the rest of them. He had to go after her, he had to find her because, unless the Medic was playing with him, Nurse was on her way straight to a suicide mission. He cocked his head backwards, trying to see as far as possible but there was no sign of her. Goddamnit! How fast can she possibly go with that thing strapped to her!
"Ahem." He heard from behind him. In his slightly disoriented state, he almost fell over himself while turning around. The Spy had apparently lingered a while longer for some reason.
"I will not say a word." He simply told him and disappeared into thin air.
Right. The man was right. He had to save her, no matter how pissed she would end up getting because Nurse is anything but a damsel in distress, he still had to do it. 'I just have to run' he told himself. He had to run as fast as he could, it was the only way. All he had to do was get past the REDs. He had done so before for a stupid box full of papers, so he could definitely do it again, especially with Nurse's life at stake.
He took a deep breath and braced himself for the wave of bullets that may or may not hit him. After all, he had one shot to get it right. After that, even if he did respawn, Scout had a sickening gut feeling that Nurse would not last that long.
He ran, but no one could even consider that 'running' anymore. It was like he was bolting through the air, faster than the bullets themselves. He felt like a blur travelling across the battlefield, untouchable and weightless. His ankles burned, but it felt amazing once he got used to the feeling. Despite his great speed, Scout's mind was having trouble keeping up with his legs. On one side, he had to find Nurse as fast as possible and on the other, he had to make sure he wouldn't get shot. But see... that's the weird thing.
There were none.
Shots, that is. Barely any, maybe some in the distance, but no sentries and not even a Sniper. Nothing. Sure, a few REDs charged at him, but they never even came close enough to attack. That huge Heavy got shot before he could even pull the trigger to his mini gun. As much as it didn't make any sense, Scout ignored it. Sure, this was too easy, making him very suspicious, but he had no time to inquire any further. He had a chick to save. Problem was, she could be absolutely anywhere. She could be up on Snipe's perch, healing him, or running after a Soldier, or a Demoman, or even an invisible Spy inside the enemy base. The possibilities were endless! He wasn't even sure where to start!
He was about to just give in to the panic and yell out her name frantically in hopes of an answer when he saw something; a red silhouette, flying around all over the place, almost as fast as him. It gave him an idea, a very desperate one, but an idea nonetheless.
"GAAAAAAHHH!" He heard from behind him. He turned around just in time to see the RED Soldier headed straight for him, only to get shot straight through the chest, seconds before he fired his weapon. That bullet had come from low ground, definitely not Sniper's work.
As if to answer to his questions, Spy materialised in front of him, a few feet away, behind the fallen corpse. He had his gun in hand, light smoke still rolling out of its nozzle. The man's shoulder was injured and bleeding, but he did not seem to be worrying too much. With one last nod, he disappeared again. Scout would have to deal with that later, but for now, he had a RED Scout to catch up to.
He saw him heading for the BLU base, bastard probably after their intel. Somehow, he would have to get to him, make sure he didn't shoot and get him to listen. If Engineer was right about all the classes of each team being the same, getting that kid to listen would be close to impossible. The best technique would be to get his attention from the start and maybe Engie's people skills would come in handy there too.
He found the RED Scout crouching behind a boulder, trying to figure out a way to get around the base without the sentries detecting him .This would be the perfect opportunity to pounce, since the target was unmoving at the moment. Scout simply jogged through the field, seeing as the sentries wouldn't shoot at him and jumped as high as he could, over the boulder and straight onto the other Scout.
"What the FUCK!" RED cried.
"NURSE!" The BLU Scout yelled, first chance he had. "Nurse, Nurse, Nurse!"
"What the hell man? I ain't your Nurse!" The disgruntled young man made a grab for his gun, but BLU had anticipated such a move and pinned him down to the dusty floor.
"HEY! Get off fag!"
"No listen to me –"
"Fuck you! I swear to fucking God –"
"Shut up for a second man, I –"
"No! Get off!"
The RED Scout squirmed underneath him, almost freeing himself if BLU didn't act fast. Having no other choice, he lifted his knee and ground it into the other young man's thigh as hard as he could.
"OW! What the fuck ass hole?"
"Listen to me, for a fucking second! I need your fucking help."
"Fuck you!"
"Nurse is going to die." He went on, ignoring the other Scout's comments and trying to keep him down, which was becoming harder and harder as the other boy squirmed and resisted.
"Duh, it's a war." The RED paused all his movements only to speak and roll his eyes, but that only lasted a second and he quickly resumed his kicking and screaming. "Let go, Goddamnit!"
With one hard kick, the BLU was pushed off his opponent and rolled off onto the dusty floor of the battlefield. The two of them were back on their feet in an instant, but the RED had been quicker in pulling out his gun. He pointed the weapon straight at the BLU's chest and held it steady.
"Listen." Scout could not afford to die now, not when Nurse's life was in his hands...sort of. The boy put aside his dignity for her sake and raised his hands next to his head defensively. "If you shoot me your going to regret it. Nurse –"
"What the hell are you going to do about it, if I do?" The RED sneered.
"Nothing. I'm going to try and save Nurse by myself after I respawn, but it might be too late."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"I fucking TOLD you man! Shut up and listen for a sec here! Our fucking crazy quack decided to let her out on the field so she can help out, but she's not in the system. One headshot, one critical hit and she's done for, do you understand!"
"Wait, how is she not in the respawn?"
"She's just not, I don't know, the fucking nutcase didn't put her in there." They were losing time. Scout was talking so fast, his sentences were starting to sound like one big word. The RED Scout didn't seem to be grasping the concept all to well. The boy was staring at him with an empty gaze, blinking slowly every now and then.
"If she gets shot, she's going to lie there forever. She won't disappear, she won't get better and fuck, I'm not going to be the one to dig her a grave out here." Scout spat at his rival as he lowered his hands. "If she dies, it's over."
"Why the hell should I care? She's a BLU."
"Oh come on! Are you seriously going to pull this bullshit right now? She is going to DIE! For good. Unless we do something."
"Why me? Ask someone else, jeez. Maybe someone from your own team!" The RED said and lowered his gun. "I'm too busy." He added and turned his back to him.
"You protect her from her OWN Heavy, but when there's an ACTUAL threat on her LIFE, your suddenly too busy? You weren't too busy last night, apparently."
It was no use. His words were all in vain. The only thing they brought was a single dirty glance shot over the RED's shoulder before both of them dashed off in opposite directions.
BLU was on his own.
/
/
He found her close to the RED base, standing back to back with Medic as their healing gun swirled around, reaching anyone who was in need of their assistance. Bullets flew past her, barely missing her head sometimes. Scout's stomach churned at every shot taken in her direction and decided that if he didn't move now, he would surely faint. He had been very lucky so far though. He found it even a little suspicious that there were no shots aimed at HIM, or even attacks of any sort. There were a few, but once again, the RED died before reaching him.
It all looked easy enough from his hiding spot behind one of the base's walls. He would just run, grab her and run out. There would be only a few obstacles, first, getting shot, but if he continued being as fortunate as he was earlier in the day, that wouldn't be a problem. Second, Nurse was not going down without a fight. She would most definitely resist him, unless she...
And just like that, she was gone.
"Fucking idiot!" Scout cursed under his breath.
A red shape, the same one he had spotted earlier, came flying into the scene, swooped her up with ease and dashed off, just as quickly as it had arrived, leaving everybody confused and lost. Scout acted fast and shot the RED Soldier, who had just recently respawned, in the shoulder, causing the man to shriek out his loud battle cry and shoot his rocket launcher all over the place. The chaos resumed and the BLU Scout slipped away unnoticed to catch up with the bastard who stole her Nurse.
"Too busy my ass."
/
/
It didn't take long to find them. All he had to do was follow the sounds of a very loud argument and there they were. Nurse sat on the ground, cornered against a wall while the RED Scout hovered over her. Every time she attempted to make a run for it, the boy would throw himself at her, landing them both back onto the floor while he straddled her hips. For a moment, they would both pathetically flush brilliant red before going back to their bickering. This happened a few times, like watching an awkward game of tackle football on a tiny field.
"Get off!" She yelled and sat up, the Scout still sitting on her.
"You'll die! What the hell is it that you don't get you stupid – OW! Stop kicking!"
The RED Scout was doing his best at containing her but Nurse would not have it.
"What the hell are you doing?" She was getting angrier and angrier, banging at his chest with tiny fists. He did not budge.
"Savin' your life. Be grateful."
"I didn't ask you to. Don't touch me." She hissed when he grabbed onto her wrists.
"I will if you promise to stop."
The BLU watched them with arched brows and amusement. The scene could almost be considered romantic, if they stopped glaring and growling at each other. Despite the very obvious tension being transferred from one to the other like sparks of electricity in the air, the BLU did not let the small details go unnoticed. The way he held her wrists was anything but forceful and when she pulled away abruptly, he gracefully caught them again before they were out of his reach. It was a very subtle move, maybe even done unconsciously, but the BLU almost giggled when he saw his rival's thumbs slowly glide up her wrists and slide underneath her clenched fingers only to end up gently pressed against her palms.
"Calm down, a'ight?" He said, a little more softly. "Your guy's here. He'll explain, so at least listen to him and please don't try and run off."
Watching him was like looking through a mirror and seeing a very adult version of himself. The RED had transformed in a matter of seconds, not completely, but enough for the BLU to notice. His voice was still annoying and his air still arrogant, but the way he worried about her made him look so... different.
He slowly let go of her and backed away, anticipating another attempted escape on her part. When she didn't move, he motioned for him to take over the spotlight.
"Nurse." The BLU crouched down to her level and pushed down on her shoulders before she had a chance to get up. "You gotta listen."
Defeated, she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the both of them. "I'm listening." She growled.
"Medic hasn't put you in the respawn system, don't ask why, but the quack just didn't, meaning if you get hurt badly enough or get one critical hit, you're dead, like, forever. So I came to save you and asked this guy for help and at first he said no, so I went alone. Then, next thing I know, he's got you in his arms, flying across the field." He explained in one big breath, inhaling loudly when he finished.
Nurse's face had gone from blushing to bleach white. The boys watched as the color rapidly drained from her face, like in the cartoons. Her body and her gaze froze and then, began to tremble horribly as the gut wrenching reality slowly dawned on her.
"I could have..." She gulped.
"Died." The RED Scout finished, receiving an elbow to the ribs from the other.
"Yeah..." The BLU glared at him. "It's a freakin' miracle you didn't."
"Or me." RED pointed out. "Was really lucky I didn't get shot. Even you, jack ass." He jerked his chin toward the other Scout.
Yeah... it was. But speaking of jackasses, that reminded him...
"By the way, dirt rat, what the hell ya' doin' changin' your mind last minute. Ya' could've told me you were gonna snatch her up like that."
"Whateva' asswipe. You were way too slow for my taste." He grinned arrogantly.
"Slow? That was YOUR territory. I had to be careful. Easy for you to run through with no questions asked."
"Yeah, yeah, excuses. Bullshit excuses. I don't DO careful, a'ight? I don't think, I jus –"
"You're a man of action? You thought 'I'm gonna save Nurse!' so you just did?" Nurse cut him off, rolling her eyes. She smirked and stood, giving the Scout a challenging look.
"Yeah. Exactly."
The two stared each other down, Nurse squinting and shaking her head and the RED giving her his best 'whatch'a' gonna do about it' look. Clearly, there was something the BLU was missing here, but there was no time to discuss their inside jokes, no matter how curious he was.
"Alright, alright, enough with the flirting. We need to hide you." He announced, waving his arms around and stepping between them.
"I am not –"
"Can't we just keep her here?" RED cut her off. "What if someone sees?"
"I don't know, but we can't just stay here for the rest of the battle. People are gonna wonder where the hell BOTH the Scouts went. Plus, almost everybody saw you taking her away."
"Stop talking about me like I'm not here."
"Then we should probably take her back to your base, you know, away from RED."
"Hey! Stop it!"
"That could work, but –oh."
The BLU's gaze went passed the RED's, where the BLU Spy had just rounded the corner, hoping to be discreet. The masked man did not seem surprised at all and simply looked over each and every one of them before nodding and walking past them as if there was nothing odd about it at all.
"Um...right." The BLU Scout cleared his throat. "I... I think we should just go."
"Oh yeah, 'cause the three of us running toward the BLU base doesn't look suspicious at all." She spoke up. "What the hell am I supposed to tell Medic by the way? You know, about the fact that the RED Scout sort of kidnapped me."
"Tell him I was ah...that I was tryin' to like, I don't know, disadvantage your team or somethin'." The RED scratched the back of his head and shrugged.
"Then he's gonna ask why you didn't kill me!"
"Trust me." The BLU sighed. "He won't." And grabbed her and ran, the RED following behind at a safe distance.
/
/
He didn't like leaving her there with him. He didn't like it at all, but the RED had some very valid points as why he should be the one to stay behind. Someone had to watch her, that was for sure, but to what extent could this guy be trusted? Nurse seemed comfortable enough with him around and even had the nerve to talk back to him; if she trusted him, he had no reason not to. Even so, the BLU Scout couldn't help but look back a few times while leaving them.
He didn't know where to go or what to do exactly, so he ran around aimlessly until he saw some members of his team. He pretended to be trying to get into the RED base, which he really wasn't, but he had to put on some kind of show so no one would suspect anything.
Eventually the time ran out. No one really won, but the BLUs had gotten pretty close a few times. On the way back, Scout still decided to keep a low profile and prayed that the RED Scout was too.
"You were pretty beat up back there, Spy." He heard the Engineer's voice close by.
"Yes, thank God for our Medic." The Frenchman replied.
"You're usually pretty slick when it comes to this, what the hell happened?"
Yes, why the hell WAS he beat up? Spy never gets 'beat up'. He gets shot, or stabbed and dies, that's it! There is no process of getting 'beat up'. Scout waited for the man's answer impatiently.
"Ah." He sighed. "I was all over the place today, my friend."
/
/
Rest was the last thing on Scout's mind when entering the base after the battle. On the contrary, he was running even faster than he was outside, his eyes darting left and right restlessly, trying to catch a glimpse of one specific BLU team member. The man always hit the showers last and never bothered going to the Medic or the infirmary, unless he was seriously injured, which he wasn't this time.
Dashing through the maze of hallways, he almost ran into a wall when he saw the lean back, clad in a blue pinstripe suit jacket. Scout dug his heels in, coming to a squeaking halt, rubber soles against tiled floor.
The masked man paused and threw an incredibly bored glance over his shoulder, before simply turning back and continuing to walk away with his hands tucked into his pockets.
"Hey!" Scout called, almost stumbling as he picked up his pace after him.
The man stopped again. He seemed a bit hesitant for a second but then was on his way again with a gentle shake of his head. Scout, confused and becoming angry, frowned and ran after him. When he reached him, he grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around furiously. The Frenchman did not resist.
"What is it you want?" He sighed at the boy impatiently, whose frown deepened, arms darted out and hands tightly held each side of the older man's face.
With one deep breath, he pulled and closed the distance.
Their lips meshed together into what was, obviously, not the perfect kiss. It did not last long and the participants were not very active during, seeing as one had no idea what he was doing and the other was still in the middle of recovering from the shock to be able to accept what was happening. It was all in the spontaneity of it because, let's face it, neither of them had seen that coming.
When it became clear that neither of them had any intention of making a move, Scout let go and pulled away slowly, already missing the feeling of having the other man so close.
"Thanks." He said sternly, trying to keep his dignity in tact. "For before" And ran off before the baffled Frenchman could muster a reply.
/
/
Blu Sniper
I'm always last to get fixed up, since I fall asleep in the waiting room every time. It used to piss Medic off like hell, but Nurse never seems to mind. Besides, I rather be woken with a gentle shake and a softly whispered 'Sniper' than a rubber-glove-slap to the face followed by a string of German curses. But this time, I could have sworn it was the Pyro waking me up.
"Bloody hell!" I jumped out of my seat, clutching my burning arms in my hand.
"Calm down." I heard. She was crouching by my chair, a tube of God knows what in hand.
"That stung, kid."
She smirked. "That means it's working."
I sighed. Goddamn crazy doctors, smiling at other people's pain... "Ya' could've warned me."
"I didn't want to wake you up. You looked tired." She sounded so calm and relaxed, it was contagious. I sat back down and let her continue.
"You're a saint, kid. I don't know what the hell you're doin' wastin' away in this dump." I snorted. "Didn't wanna wake me up... first time I'm hearing something like that aroun' here."
Nurse laughed, but I wasn't sure if it was genuine or if she was just being polite. I stared down at her tending to my burns (damn Pyro) and it hit me, just like it did every other time I looked at her, how out of place she really was. The girl was the definition of T.L.C., something this place noticeably lacked. It was almost impossible to believe that the other team's brat was into such a creature. Just the thought of them together in that way was ridiculous. It's not like she could feel that way about someone like that, but the question was, did she know about how HE felt? She seemed pretty oblivious about it when the 'Romeo' incident happened, at least that's what Spy had said. Yes, it's weird saying it like that, but that's what everyone started calling it (thanks to Heavy), so it just kind of stuck. In my opinion, it doesn't work at all; Romeo never reopened one of Juliet's stab wounds.
"Do you want something over this or should I leave it?" She asked.
"Nah, I'll be fine. I don't move around much so –"
"BUSHMAN!"
"NUR –AW SHIT!"
Outside the infirmary, the footsteps that had accompanied the voices came to a halt. They had yelled in unison, but the two separate voices were very easy to discern. I could tell by how surprised Nurse was that I wasn't the only one who recognized them.
We sat there for a few seconds waiting for something to happen. Nothing did. Nurse gave me a questioning look –to which I responded with a shrug- and got up to open the door. She moved slowly, like a hunter would, not to scare off the prey. She shot a glance through the slit she had opened and then turned to me with her lips pressed together, unsure of what to do next. I could have sworn she was holding in a smile.
She backed up, pulling the door open with her and revealing our very own Spy and Scout standing at the threshold.
"Bushman..." Spy cleared his throat. "We must speak immediately."
Ah, the awkward in the air. The two kept shooting uncomfortable glances at each other. They both seemed pissed off and nervous at the same time. Spy was red with frustration and discomfort, while as I believe Scout was just downright blushing. The tension between them could be cut with my kukri. I decided to make it worse.
"What, like, all 4 of us?"
"What! Non! Just you and I!" His eyes widened, horrified and panicked. I had never seen the Spook so flustered and the Scout so quiet. Jesus, they looked like they just got caught making out. I decided to make it worse.
"Right here?"
"No!" The Scout spoke up this time and then attempted to catch himself. "I mean uh... I need Nurse..."
"Okay well, you two sit there while I finish with him." She walked back to my side, unscrewing that tube of devil's cream again.
Like a couple of punished ankle biters, they went over to the sitting area. They left four empty seats between them and I never had to laugh so bad in my entire life.
"I though you said you were done with me?" I teased her.
"Oh shut up, this is hilarious and you know it." She whispered, darting her eyes behind her.
"Very true."
"What do you think happened?" She asked.
"Dunno. But by the looks of it, Heavy caught 'em pulling a Romeo."
We both puffed out some laughter, lowering out heads, trying to hide it from what could be considered, the most awkward pair of mercs ever.
/
/
Nurse
Everyone had gone to bed, but only 9 had actually fallen asleep. Nurse sat in her infirmary on one of the light blue loungers pushed against the wall parallel to the windows, legs crossed and book in hand. She had turned on only half of the halogen lights on the ceiling, giving the room a dim orange glow. She was comfortable and an odd feeling of safety had taken over her after what had happened during the battle.
A lot of good things had happened. For one, she was still alive, thanks to the BLU Scout. Sniper and her had bonded, Spy had apparently spent his day covering for Scout and most importantly, the Scout had kissed Spy, which flustered the both of them. A visit from Medic had interrupted Scout's story, but he did not scold her. He asked her if everything was okay and, just like Scout had promised, did not say a word about the RED who kidnapped her. He gave her her old post back and that way, there would be nothing to worry about.
The only mystery remaining was that of the RED Scout. He had stayed with her in the BLU base all day, pacing the room and checking the hall constantly. They didn't talk much because he was in battle mode and wouldn't sit still. She had so much to ask him, mostly why he was even doing this, risking his life to protect her, again. Even IF he could never actually get 'killed', he had no reason to do this, not that she could think of. Her Scout had been right when he chose him out of all people to help save her and he knew much that he wasn't telling her. In the matter of a few weeks, the RED Scout had become the number one, giant question mark drawn over her life.
And there he was, at least his head was, set on her windowsill watching her. With a loud gasp, she was on her feet, book on the floor and forgotten.
"What are you doing?" She mouthed.
The Scout was literally dangling from her window, his body held up by only one of his forearms that rested firmly on the edge.
"Help?" He mouthed back.
Nurse slid the window open and tried to help him up. All she really had to do was step back and give him room as he hauled himself up with one arm and hopped in. For someone who ran around all day, that was one hell of a display of upper body strength.
"We were together the whole day! What could you possibly want?" She whispered.
He made his way to one of the chairs and smiled over his shoulder.
"What, couldn't get enough of me?" She grinned at him.
"Yeah." He laughed. "How'd ya' guess?" His voice was terribly strained and his smile was forced. She didn't realize or even notice what was wrong until he chuckled at her again and the tears streamed down his face.
"Holy shit." She mumbled and sprang into action.
"How deep?" She asked him once she was by his side.
"Uh, like an inch? Maybe less, actually..." He groaned and it was a horrible sound.
Nurse ran around in her infirmary, grabbing everything she could find some use out of and dumping them on the table next to Scout. She only wished she had that stupid healing gun with her. The damn thing was left downstairs and would make a loud enough noise to wake everyone up, anyway. Would it even work on him?
"Why the hell did you let me blabber on like that? Say something when you're hurt!"
"You weren't tellin' me to get out for once." No matter how hoarse his voice was, she could still distinguish the smile on his lips. "I wanted to enjoy it."
"No. Don't talk now." She ordered even if she had asked the question.
"I was ready to beg for help, but I guess you don't need an invitation, huh?" he chuckled again, but it sounded like he was choking.
"Really? Do you think now is the right time to try and be cute?"
"I'm cute?"
"Shush. I need to work."
"A'ight, a'ight, just chill out, toots."
The boy was laughing an crying at the same time and his whole situation was an overall mess. Yet, he still felt the need to open his mouth and waste air and energy, two things he really needed at the moment.
She kneeled down next to him and got to work. Stopping the bleeding, disinfecting the cut and cleaning it up were all done in a blur, she was going so fast. Her mind was set on fixing him up before he lost too much blood, and God, that stuff was everywhere.
"I'm going to sew it shut, so try not to move. I need to be careful." She broke the silence that had stretched out for the longest time now.
"Does that mean you're going to slow down now?" He glanced down at her.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"You've been working on fast forward for the past half hour, since you realised I was bleedin' to death."
"Excuse me for wanting you NOT to bleed to death." She paused and looked at him. "I had no choice." He didn't say anything else and looked away.
"But yes, I'm going to slow down. We can talk now."
"Yeah? 'Bout what?" He grinned boyishly and sat up.
He seemed excited about it. Nurse didn't know why, she really wasn't that interesting to talk to.
"I have a couple of questions, actually."
"Shoot."
"Well the first goes without saying but," she jerked her chin toward the wound, "what the fuck?"
The Bostonian threw his head back and chuckled a few times.
"Second?"
"Are you aware that your team had its own Medic?"
"Anything else?"
"Yeah, but let's start with those, please."
"Okay. So, basically, they all thought I had kidnapped you, like, a prisoner 'cause you escaped an' all. So yeah, they were wonderin' where you were, I told 'em you got away."
"And they believed that?"
"No. I said your Scout attacked me and took you."
"Ah." She chuckled.
"Yeah, so they all bought it, so then when I was goin' back to my room after dinner, our Spy told me he wanted to show me somethin' in the cell where they had kept you, right? He told me you had left somethin' behind and maybe I would recognize it."
Nurse's hands froze. The Spy...?
"So I go, and this idiot pushes me against the wall."
Her eyes slide up to his face, praying that he was joking.
"He says he knows I'm lyin' about you and saw what really happened. Fucking sneaky bastard was probably followin' me 'round. So yeah, apparently, I deserve the same punishment."
"Same...?" Her breath hitched in her throat. "Oh God."
She let go of the needle and thread, clamping her hands over her mouth to hold back the gasp, the sobs or maybe even the vomit because she felt sick. She had been in a panic, there was blood everywhere and she had to concentrate, it never occurred to her until he mentioned it... but of course, it was right there in front of her. She had been working on it for the past 45 minutes, how could she have missed something so obvious this whole time!
It was his left arm. Starting two inches below the shoulder, going all the was down his upper arm and a bit less than an inch deep. It was the same knife too, she could tell. It was all the same.
Just like hers.
"Hey, you okay?" He asked her.
"How are you so calm." She hissed at him.
Nurse got up to her feet, holding on to the armrest because her knees were wobbling and were about to fail her if she let them. Her mind had gone hazy and her actions were not thought through. She just had to check and that's it. Nothing else mattered. She just had to be sure, the consequences or indecency of what she was doing did not register yet, not when she was in this state.
"Whoa, hey there, what do ya' think you're doin'!" Scout exclaimed with nervous laughter.
Nurse had trapped his legs in between hers, looming over the young man in his seat. She lowered herself down slowly, almost straddling him, but not quite. Her eyes were concentrated on the boy's abdomen, so she did not see the utterly shocked expression that played on Scout's face. No one could really blame the boy; the girl had gone from being calm and professional to feeling the need to suddenly mount him. With trembling fingers, she managed to gently grab onto the hem of his shirt with both hands and slide it upwards. She shut her eyes and held her breath until she felt smooth skin running underneath her wrists. Only then did she allow herself to actually look and exhale: flawless skin and strong abdominal muscles. Relief flooded over her and she replaced the shirt and calmly stepped off the boy.
"I'm sorry." She said. "You really didn't have to come after me and- "
"Yeah, but I did and that ain't your fault right? That was my own decision and I got caught, so what?"
Her eyes wavered slightly and fell back onto the unfinished needlework over the wound.
"He didn't cut me up like he did with you. I'm a RED, that would be like sabotaging his own team, right?"
"I...I suppose." She mumbled and went back to work, her fingers shaking more than ever. However, she didn't get very far. She couldn't bring herself to hold the needle still and kept dropping it.
"Hey." Scout poked at her forehead to get her attention. "We're even now, right? You got cut up because of me and now I got cut up because of... well me again, I think..."
"Don't say that." She said solemnly. "It makes it sound like he's innocent."
"Who? Spy? Nah, he's a jackass, kinda... goes without sayin', ya' know?" He shrugged.
Nurse's expression did not change. She still seemed to be scared half to death and was having incredible difficulty with closing the wound up. She could feel his eyes on her and tried to control the tremors. She couldn't look like a rookie in front of a patient, she'd loose his trust or something. Then again, he DID go to her instead of his OWN Medic. Which brought up another question he hadn't answered yet.
"Why didn't you go to your own Medic?" She didn't look at him, but she knew his gaze was still on her. With her teeth, she snipped the excess thread and the job was finished. "I'll get you a bandage. You talk." She added.
"Well what was I supposed to tell him? Our Spy stabbed me because he knows I rescued the Nurse? After that, the whole team would know and man, I don't even wanna know what would happen next!" He laughed that same nervous laugh. What was he so nervous about?
"What about a dispenser, or use the healing gun yourself?" She knew he couldn't use any of those without raising suspicion from another team member, but she wanted to hear what he had to say.
"I'd get caught, for sure. Plus I got to see if you were okay. I guess your Medic didn't react too badly?"
"No." She came back to him with some gauze and began wrapping it around the injury.
"That's good. Hey!" His face seemed to suddenly light up. "We match." He said pointing at his bandaging and then hers.
"I don't think that's a good thing." She chuckled and shook her head.
"I'm just tryin' to make you feel better."
She looked up at him and smiled. A genuine smile. "It's working." she mumbled and stood up.
"Good." He smiled back.
"You should get going."
"Yeah..."
"Your arm better?"
"Yeah."
He didn't move a muscle.
"You really should leave, Scout."
"Yeah, yeah, I knew this was too good to be true, you lettin' me stay here an' all." He said, staring at the ground and scratching the back of his head.
"It's all good. Thanks for everyting. I'll be back tomorrow!"
And with that, he was gone again, out of the window and out of sight. She only hoped they wouldn't ask about his arm and if they did, she prayed he would lie about it. Nurse picked up her book, put it back on the shelf, closed the lights and went to bed.
And only then, when she was laying between her sheets, did she realise.
"He'll be back...?"