A/N: Thank you guys for your continued support! As always, I hope this makes up for the delay! ^^
Milly set the tray on the lab's counter. She carefully discarded the syringes while Gretchen cleaned off the bottles. Milly released a heavy yawn and stretched her arms as high as possible. She rolled her head around and rubbed the back of her neck, her body aching from the stress of the day. Gretchen noticed her exhaustion and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Go get some rest. You've been up all night and half of today. I can take it from here." Milly's eyes lit up in gratitude and she smiled.
"Thank you. Call me down if you need help." When the door clicked shut, Gretchen removed her classes and pinched the bridge of her nose.
'I only slept half the night and I'm pretty tired. There's no telling how exhausted she must be.'
She replaced her glasses and finished cleaning up their supplies. She made her way downstairs to the infirmary. She gave the door a light knock and peered inside. She saw Isabella sleeping soundly, as if nothing ever happened. Gretchen sighed silently.
'Hopefully a sense of normality will return soon.'
She gently closed the door and continued on into the den. The girls were sitting around the sofa, chatting silently amongst themselves. The guys stood near the fireplace, watching the girls in boredom. The room fell silent as she made her way to the center of the room. Holly was the first to speak.
"Well, how is she?" Everyone leaned forward in anticipation. Gretchen gave the group a small smile.
"She's doing just fine. The worst part of the procedure is done, so there should be no problems. She's sleeping now, something she truly deserves after going through that." Simultaneous breaths of relief filled the room. Gretchen plopped down on the couch, leaning back and closing her eyes. She felt the couch dip beside her. She cracked open an eye to see Ferb's concerned gaze. She sat up and patted his knee.
"Don't worry, I'm just a little tired." Ferb nodded and smiled gently at her. He wrapped an arm around her and sat back, pulling her with him. She blushed as his arm made her rest against his chest. She felt slightly uncomfortable, but relaxed when he kissed her forehead.
"You can rest here if you'd like while Isabella is asleep." She looked at him in surprise, but he offered her a comforting smile. She pulled her legs under her, snuggling into him. She faintly heard the girls giggling before she fell asleep in Ferb's arms.
"Phineas?"
Isabella made her way through the bright forest, searching for a certain red-head. Her eyes scanned through the trees, stopping as a flash of red hurried off to the left. She ran between the trees as fast as she could, trying to catch the figure. She came to a small clearing covered in snow. He was standing in the center, blue eyes staring at her dreamily. She smiled and made her way over to him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and placed his forehead against hers.
"You kept me waiting. I thought you'd never come." She giggled at his words and brushed her nose against his seductively.
"I could say the same thing." He smiled at her and they leaned in. As they kissed, Isabella felt his hand slide slowly from her back to her stomach. Isabella blushed as he moved his lips to her ear. He chuckled lowly.
"Thought you could get away, didn't you?"
Isabella's eyes shot open as the hand pierced her stomach. She grunted in pain and pushed him away. She clutched her stomach, watching blood slowly cover her shirt.
'Wh-what's going on?' Her head snapped up as he began laughing manically.
He covered his face with his clean hand, his laughter sounding more delirious every second. As the shade of the forest expanded over the clearing, she saw his hair darken, losing its supposed color. Moments later, his laughter dwindled down to a sinister chuckle. He lowered his hand, dark eyes glaring wickedly at her. He raised his bloody hand to his mouth, running his finger across his tongue. Isabella felt something crawling up her throat and coughed. She gasped as small drops of blood dotted her hand, the taste of iron left in her mouth. Her eyes traveled back to the man before her as he stepped toward her. He smirked as she stepped back defensively.
"Are you afraid? Why don't you run away? Go ahead. Try and cling to your life. I've gotten you once before, what makes you think I won't again?" His words caused terror to grip her heart. She argued with her body for cooperation.
'I….I have to get away. Come on, run!'
She finally turned on her heels and ran. Pain racked her body every time her foot hit the ground. Each breath served to intensify it. She glanced back to see him still in the middle of the clearing, slowly fading from view. After a while, she slowed herself to a stop and hid behind a tree. She leaned her back against the tree, clutching her stomach harder.
'Back there, that wasn't Phineas. What in the world is going on?' She glanced around the tree in the direction of the clearing. She sighed in relief when she saw nothing but an empty forest.
"Looks like I lost him." She heard a low chuckle behind her. Her eyes widened as she turned to face the man.
"Guess again." She backed as far back into the tree as she could. Her mouth trembled as she spoke.
"Who-who are you? What do you want with me?" The man chuckled, bowing in sarcastic politeness.
"I am Rodrigo," He peered up through his dark bangs.
"And you, milady, are my prey."
He brought his hand up and sent it towards her throat. She slapped his hand away, only for hers to be caught by the other. He pulled her free hand above her head, the while her other one clutched her stomach desperately. He held her there against the tree. He swiped his free hand across her side, creating a familiar gash. Isabella cried out in pain. Tears started to fall as she lost her sense of dignity.
"Please…please stop. This…this is too much…please…I'm begging you."
He took his hand and wiped away the tears, leaving a small cut on her cheek. She winced and looked him in the eyes, hoping to find any hint of mercy in them. She was only met with hatred. His mouth twisted into a wicked grin.
"I'm going to enjoy this." Her eyes shook in horror as he pulled his arm back. She squeezed her eyes shut as his hand flew towards her chest.
"NOOOOO!"
Isabella gasped as she was flung from her dream. She shot up, the movement slightly painful. She wiped beads of sweat from her forehead, noticing her hand was a little pale. She felt herself shaking.
'Calm down, it was only a dream.' She took deep breaths to level both her heart rate and breathing. She rubbed her stomach, sighing in relief when her hand remained clear of blood. She eyed her wound. The bandage only had a faint pink line on it.
'Rodrigo. That man…something needs to be done. If this happens again…' The wound pulsed painfully at the mention of its creator. Isabella propped her elbows on her knees and buried her face in her hands. She sighed in frustration.
"What should I do?"
"Everything okay?" Isabella looked up at Gretchen and Phineas. Both looked refreshed and ready for work. Gretchen placed a tray of new sedatives and the same serum on the dresser. Phineas came to Isabella's side and rubbed her back.
"Izzy, are you okay?" She nodded, deciding to keep the dream to herself for the moment.
"Yeah, just thinking about how to handle Rodrigo. He broke the law, so he has to be punished legally. I just don't know how badly though, considering he injured a ranger AND tried to take his device back." Gretchen patted her shoulder.
"Don't worry about that yet. We have to get you healed first. When you are able to, you can contact Mrs. Feyersied." Isabella nodded in agreement. Gretchen began preparing the new syringes and medicine dropper. She turned back to Isabella.
"Ready?" Isabella nodded and positioned herself on her side, facing Phineas. As Gretchen removed the bandages, Isabella noticed Milly's absence.
"Where's Milly?" Gretchen chuckled as she placed a cloth over Isabella's chest.
"She's resting. She watched you all night and helped today as well. She deserves some rest. This time around, the serum won't cause much pain. The muscles are healed enough to where the sedatives will remain strong, so I'll be able to handle the application myself." Gretchen grabbed a syringe and set it against the muscle.
"Okay, get ready." Isabella held her breath as the sedatives were injected. Phineas squeezed her hand and she smiled.
"I'm okay."
After a while, Gretchen placed three of the light blue drops on the wound. The pain was greatly lessened. While she felt slight tugging, Isabella didn't feel any great discomfort. Every now and then, she would wince at a small stinging from a raw muscle. When that happened, she would squeeze his hand for support and he would stroke her head in response. After about an hour, Isabella noticed that the tugging had slowed tremendously. Gretchen readied the next syringe and injected a smaller dose of sedative. With another three drops, the faint tugging continued. Once the second dose began finishing up, Gretchen patted Isabella's back.
"Okay, I'll stop here. The wound is healed to the point where you can move freely around the cabin. Just be careful." Isabella pulled the sheet up as she sat up. She noticed the movement caused her no pain. She eyed the wound curiously. While still a little deep, over half of the wound was covered in new muscle. She looked up to Gretchen and smiled.
"That's amazing, Gretch. Thank you." Gretchen blushed and flashed an embarrassed grin.
"T-thanks chief." Gretchen readied the bandages and Phineas stepped behind the curtain. Once Gretchen finished wrapping her, he pushed the curtain back and returned to Isabella. She kicked off the sheets and flung her legs off the side of the bed. He rushed to grab her as she attempted to stand. She stumbled and fell into his arms. She pushed herself back and stood, her face a little pink.
"Thank you." Phineas smiled, keeping an arm around her for support.
"Like I said, I'm here to help you." Gretchen rolled her eyes at them.
"You guys are too cute. So, where are you off to first?" Isabella giggled and scratched the side of her face awkwardly.
"Well, I think it's time for a wardrobe change." She pulled at her pants for emphasis. They had dried blood decorating the side under the wound, along with a few specks of leaves pressed in from her landing. The three of them laughed at the pitiful condition of her pants.
"Yeah, that sounds like a good place to start." Gretchen turned to Phineas. "Would you mind helping her to her room? I need to clean up here."
Both Phineas and Isabella blushed at her suggestion. He looked down at her, rubbing his neck nervously.
"Are…would you…be okay with that?" Isabella stared at him a while before nodding, her face turning a darker shade of red. He looked to Gretchen and nodded. He and Isabella made their way to the door, him keeping an arm extended to her and her reaching out to it for support. When Phineas closed the door behind them, Gretchen let out a light laugh as she began cleaning.
'Hopefully they'll keep the love to a minimum up there.'
