It had been three days since the rescue and Daniel was struggling. His only hope was to make it to Matthew and Celeste's house. He had traveled only when he thought it was safe which meant mostly at night or early morning before too many capitolites were awake.
His body was weak because of exhaustion and hunger, not to mention his injuries. Daniel really wasn't sure if he could make it. He didn't know how much more he could walk. His hand was shaking as he gripped the top of the pipe which he used as a crude cane. More blood was seeping through the makeshift bandage covering the palm of his hand as he pushed himself to take a few more steps.
The sun was just beginning to peek through the gap between the trees. When Daniel leaned against a fence to rest for a moment he let out a muffled gasp. He pressed against the spot on his shoulder where the bullet was still lodged and closed his eyes trying to shut out the pain.
As he rounded the corner, he felt a small surge of energy fill his tired body as he saw the house he had been so badly trying to reach. Daniel noticed many of the houses along the block had for sale signs in the yards of long overgrown grass. A few of the houses even had broken windows. He closed his eyes for a moment concentrating on the task at hand. He had to make it to Celeste's house.
When Daniel finally limped up the steps of the familiar porch he leaned against the house. His body slowly slumped down to the cold cement. His eyes traveled to the handle on the door. He reached for it longing with all his being for the door to open. His hand fell about four inches too short. Daniel let his hand sag onto his lap as his head rested against the door and his eyes began to droop closed. He was so exhausted he honestly didn't know if he could even will his hand to knock on the door.
When Lilia finished serving the girls their breakfast of oatmeal and brown sugar she waved to them all. She hurried to grab her bag, as she was late in heading over to Celeste's father's house. She knew the man would not care but she still hated to be late no matter where she was going. She slung her purse over her shoulder then opened the door.
Celeste came running when she heard the yelp that escaped the young Avox. When she looked down the hall she saw the girl knelt down on the floor. "Lilia, what's wrong?" she asked as she looked over the girl's shoulder. "Daniel," she gasped out dropping to the floor next to the avox girl. "Daniel," she repeated as she brushed back the matted blond hair from the man lying limp in Lilia's lap.
"Momma?" questioned Ocean poking her head out the kitchen door. Oceana pushed the door open more when her mother didn't answer. "Is that Daniel?" asked Oceana as the other girls looked out the door also.
"Yes, it is," answered Celeste before turning to Lilia. "Let's take him upstairs to the bedroom. We can clean him up there," Celeste spoke to the avox girl. Lilia nodded as she lowered his head gently to the floor before getting to her feet.
The man groaned when the two women lifted his body. Then he cried out in pain as Lilia moved his shoulder to try to get his arm around her. When she lowered his arm Celeste took a few steps back trying to balance her body against his weight.
"What happened to Daniel?" Stella asked when the three girls all came hurrying down the hall as the kitchen door swung shut.
"I don't know, sweetheart, but he needs our help."
"Daddy?" spoke Frost quietly. Daniel's eyes looked to his daughter as he tried to push his feet underneath himself. Celeste wrapped her arm around his waist as she pulled his uninjured arm around her shoulder. Lilia moved in close to his other side but was leery of his injuries. Daniel took a few deep breaths then moved his arm to go around Lilia's shoulder. He had to bite his lip to keep from crying out as the pain radiated from his shoulder.
The women were able to slowly make it up the stairs and into the spare bedroom. Once they had lowered Daniel to sit on the bed Celeste asked Lilia to get some water and towels. "I want to help too," said Frost from the door. Both Stella and Oceana looked around from both sides of the older girl.
Celeste nodded to Frost as she walked over, "You can get the first aid kit," then she knelt down to look at her own two little girls. "Momma needs to help Daniel. I want you two to go read books in the living room."
"But we want to help too," Oceana said glancing over her mom's shoulder to see Daniel slumped forward but his soft blue eyes stayed on the girls.
"The best way you can help is by being good. I'll let you come see Daniel soon." Both girls nodded and took another quick glance at Daniel before heading back down stairs.
Frost sat with Daniel leaning against her side as Lilia gently washed his leg. Although the wound was quite long the bullet had only grazed the skin. Celeste carefully unwrapped Daniel's hand. She sucked in her breath when she saw the round mark on his palm left from where he had pressed so hard against the top of the pipe. She cleaned it quickly.
By the time she was done Lilia was just putting ointment on Daniel's leg before covering it with gauze. "Now comes the worst. It might be easier if we take your shirt off, Daniel." Frost watched as Celeste helped Daniel remove his shirt. "Oh my," she gasped at the sight of his wound. Celeste sat on the edge of the bed behind him so she could get a good look, "Is the bullet still in there?" Daniel winced when she pressed on it and nodded solemly. "I think we should clean it up a little before trying to get it out."
"Why don't you just call Gavin? He's a doctor and he helped dad before."
"Because he left with some others and went to District 13."
Daniel sat hunched over with his eyes clamped shut and his hand gripping the cover so tight that his knuckles had turned white. "You're hurting him," Frost whimpered again, for what seemed to Celeste as the millionth time.
"Frost!" Celeste's voice came out very firm. The girl looked from the man's bent head to the woman's violet eyes. Her words had startled the girl as she had never heard Celeste raise her voice like that.
When she kept her eyes on the woman's face she noticed for the first time that Celeste's eyes were brimming with tears as she looked at her. "I know it is hurting Daniel, but I am neither a doctor or a nurse. I am doing the best that I can," her voice trembled as she continued, "Please…go downstairs with the others…now."
At first the girl straightened her back defiantly but then she caught Daniel's soft gaze as he too was now looking at her. He nodded and let go of the blanket to pat her hand lightly. "Okay," she whispered. Frost took one more look at her dad before leaving the room.
Once the door was closed Daniel readied himself for the next wave of pain but it didn't come. Instead he looked over his shoulder when he heard a ragged sob. He saw the tweezers drop from Celeste's shaking hand. The woman's head was bowed and she covered her face with her hand that was not covered in blood. "I…I can't do it. I don't know what I'm doing."
Danile slowly turned on the bed to face her. He reached over with his bandaged hand to take hers that was shaking in her lap.
When Celeste lifted her head tears streaked her face as she spoke softly, "I don't want to hurt you, Daniel." She watched as the avox carefully leaned down to retrieve the tweezers then placed them in her hand. He gently closed her fingers around them before catching her eyes with his and managing to smile weakly. "You really think I can do it?" she whispered. He nodded then turned back around so his exposed shoulder faced her. "I'll try," she said softly before letting her other hand rest lightly above his shoulder blade.
Celeste let out the breath she had been holding as she let the bullet drop onto the night table next to the bed. She then turned to look at Daniel. He still sat with his head bowed. Sweat trickled down his face. The muscles in his arm were protruding from being tense for so long.
"Daniel," Celeste spoke softly as she came to kneel in front of him. As he lifted his head and slowly opened his eyes, Celeste saw the glistening of tears on his cheek. "I'm so sorry," she said as she gently brushed them away, "I need to bandage up your shoulder then we'll be done." Daniel nodded as he slowly straightened his back. It took only minutes to finish.
As Celeste picked up the dirty towels and put all the items back in the first aid kit she noticed Daniel sitting motionless on the bed. His eyes seemed so sunk in and the skin on his back sagged over the bones of his spine. It was the first time she really noticed his thin body and his torn and bloody pants. She glanced over at the tattered shirt that had been discarded on the floor. Not really sure what to say she muttered, "I'll get you something to eat. Do you want to clean up first?" Daniel nodded slightly but didn't look up. "I'll find you some clothes you can wear."
Celeste disappeared out the door. She returned with a pile of clothes pushing the door open with her shoulder. "Here, these should fit you…" her sentence trailed off as her eyes fell on Daniel, who was curled up on the very edge of the bed. His eyes were closed and his chest rose and fell softly. Celeste smiled when she noticed his shoes hanging off the edge as if he were purposely trying to not get the bed dirty. Not wanting to wake him, she set the clothes in the chair by the night table then quietly left the room pulling the door closed.
"Where's Daniel?" Stella asked as soon as Celeste came down the stairs.
"He's resting."
"Did you get the bullet out?" Frost said looking up with a worried look.
"Yes," Celeste answered as she came over and sat down next to the girl, "He'll be alright, Frost. He'll just need time to heal."
Frost checked on Daniel several times during the day. Celeste even allowed Oceana a chance to peek in on him once or twice. Then she left for a while to pick up Lilia. "I want to see Daniel," pouted Stella as Frost slipped back into her spot between the couch and the coffee table.
"You can't because you're too noisy," Frost said looking at the girl with a slight air of coldness.
The little girl pouted with her arms over her chest and glared at the older girl. "I can be just as quiet as you," she huffed.
About an hour later Celeste came home. "Where is Stella?" she asked as she came into the living room with Lilia right behind her.
"I think she went to play in her room," Oceana shrugged.
When Celeste couldn't find her she began to look in the other rooms upstairs. Last was the room Daniel had been sleeping in. She carefully opened the door and peeked in. She smiled when she saw Stella kneeling next to the bed. Her arms rested on the edge as she silently watched the avox sleep. Celeste quietly slipped in and brushed some of Stella's curls from her forehead.
When the little girl looked up at her mother she expected to see a look of disapproval but instead mirrored the smile. "Let's get supper ready," Celeste whispered and held out a hand to the little girl. Stella nodded and took her hand.
The next morning all the girls were down in the living room. Celeste and Lilia were reading while the others were drawing pictures. Stella's head popped up when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. "Daniel," she squealed and smiled instantly.
All eyes turned to see him slowly making his way down the stairs. Celeste noticed that he was limping slightly and had to depend on the railing, but his eyes were clear. His hair was damp and he wore the pair of Matthew's pants and shirt that Celeste had left for him. They were nearly hanging off his slim frame. Matthew had been larger to begin with but Celeste doubted his time in the prison had helped.
As soon as he was at the bottom of the stairs Stella ran over to give him a hug. He smiled and lifted the small girl into his arms. Only Celeste noticed the small wince.
"I missed you so much, dad!" Frost said as Daniel sat next to her and she curled up against his side. He gently kissed her forehead and gathered her into a hug.
Soon the girls were back to coloring. "How is your shoulder?" Celeste asked quietly, "Are you feeling better?" Daniel shook his hand back and forth but smiled. "Well, I'm sure it will take time to heal. I hope I took care of it right."
When all the girls were in bed, Celeste brought out a cup of hot chocolate for both Daniel and herself. Once comfortable on the couch next to Daniel she reached over for the screen on the coffee table and turned it on. Daniel was sure he could almost see the questions already forming in her mind. "Where have you been since the quell? And where is Onyx?"
Daniel took the screen and began to type. He wrote of the day Onyx escaped to 13. Then he told of his time down in the prison.
"You must know your way around there, so why didn't you just escape?"
I thought about it but Annie was there.
"Finnick's Annie?"
Yes, I couldn't leave her. I did what I could for her. I only hope that Finnick is doing the same and taking care of Onyx.
Daniel's blue eyes looked up at Celeste as if asking if she thought Finnick was. Celeste smiled, "I'm sure Onyx is doing fine. I know Finnick will look after her."
Both were quiet for a while before Celeste asked another question, "Why did you decide to leave the prison now?"
District 13 rescued Annie and the others. There was no reason for me to stay.
"Why didn't you go with them so you could be with Onyx?"
I tried but the peacekeepers attacked and I couldn't make it.
Another silence before Daniel typed a question for Celeste. Where is Matthew?
Celeste stared at the screen then let her eyes fall to her hands in her lap. "Matthew…Matthew…" she trailed off. When she didn't continue Daniel waited patiently for her to answer. Something inside of him said the answer was bad. As he watched her he saw a large tear rolled down her cheek. Soon her hands came up to cover her face as her body began to convulse with huge sobs.
Daniel pulled Celeste into his arms where she curled into a ball. He held her close and gently smoothed her hair. After she had calmed she slowly raised her head from his chest, her violet eyes shimmered with tears as she spoke softly, "They killed him because he helped the rebellion." Celeste laid her head back on his chest as she whispered, "I miss him so much." Daniel nodded in understanding as he closed his eyes. He felt a knot form in his own throat as he thought of how much he missed Onyx.
Daniel and Celeste walked down the sidewalk each carrying a bag of groceries. Daniel used the cane that Frost had used for while. As they neared the house Celeste noticed Missy sitting on her porch. The woman had her head bowed so that her blond curls frizzed out all around her. Her red sequined dress was torn and hanging loose from one shoulder. Celeste could see one of the heels on her ruby red shoes was broken. From the porch they could both hear her loud pitiful wails.
"I better go see what is wrong." Celeste set her bag on the porch and headed over. Daniel followed a few steps behind.
"Missy?" Celeste questioned as she neared the woman. She let out one more pitiful wail before lifting her head and wiping at her puffy eyes only succeeding in smearing her makeup even more. Celeste managed not to react at the almost clown like sight as she pulled a Kleenex from her purse and dabbed at her neighbor's eyes. "What happened? Are you alright?" Celeste asked as she sat down next to her on the porch.
Missy pooched out her large pink lips and shook her head as a huge tear rolled down her already streaked face. "I was attacked," she blubbered.
"Who attacked you?"
"Some…" Missy looked at Daniel before scooting closer to Celeste and continuing, "avoxs."
"How do you know they were avox?"
"They said they were. They tried to grab my purse. When I started to run away, they grabbed me. Then they said if I didn't give them my purse then they would cut out my tongue like the doctors did to them." By the time Missy finished her bottom lip was trembling and a few tears had trickled down her cheek.
"But Missy, Avox don't speak," Celeste said handing her another kleenex with which she loudly blew her nose.
"But these ones did," Missy insisted her voice coming out with a slight squeak.
Both women turned when a garbled string of sounds came from Daniel. "What did he say?" Missy said sitting up and turning back to Celeste.
"I'm not sure, but I think he's trying to show that is what an avox would sound like if they spoke to you."
Missy turned back to Daniel who nodded and held up hands while shrugging his shoulders. "Well, maybe they just pretended to be avox," Missy said softly as she picked at one of the sequins that hung from a string on her dress.
Celeste nodded patting Missy's hand, "I'm sure it is an easy mistake, and I'm sure your husband can just replace your purse." This sentence brought on another round of ear splitting wails from Missy.
Daniel looked over at Celeste with wide brown eyes. "I don't know," Celeste answered his obvious question as she leaned over to gather the sobbing mass of curls into her arms. Celeste patted the woman's back. After a while she had quieted to little sobs. "Missy, what's wrong?"
"Markus left me," she said dabbing at her eyes. Her expression went from pitiful to calloused in a matter of seconds, "Because of those despicable rebels I can't get my treatments. And without my treatments, Markus said he can't possibly love me anymore. So he ran off with that little secretary of his."
"Well…Markus doesn't know what he lost," Celeste said taking hold of Missy's hand and squeezing it gently, "And at least you still have the house." These words sent the woman into yet another fit of tears but this time to Celeste and Daniel's relief it was much quieter. "Now what's wrong?"
"He did leave me the house but I still have to pay rent," the woman sniffled.
"Well, maybe you can sell off some of your dresses or jewelry."
"That's what I had just done when those boys stole my purse."
Celeste sat quietly for a moment trying to think of a solution then she finally let out a long sigh, "Why don't you come stay with us, at least for a while."
"You would let me?"
"Sure, we have extra rooms."
"Okay." Missy seemed to cheer almost instantly. She stood and started to follow Celeste and Daniel. "You can have your avox bring my stuff over."
Celeste froze in her tracks. "Missy, I don't have avox servants."
"What about him," Missy said motioning to Daniel.
"He's staying with us as a guest just like you."
"Oh," Missy answered with her brows knit together as if trying to comprehend having an avox as a house guest.
Celeste sighed before answering. "I'm sure we can all make a few trips and get what you need."
A few hours and several trips later Daniel set down his last arm load of clothes. Celeste set down her own load onto the bed and flopped down next to it. Missy stumbled in almost tripping over the long blue gown that dragged on the floor. "I never realized I had so many clothes before. I still have three more closets."
Celeste let out a groan as she sat up and looked at the woman with the neon purple pants and jewel studded tank top, "Missy, you do realize you only have that closet and this room to put your stuff in."
The blond woman had her hands on her hips as her eyes traveled around the room, "Hmmm, I'll have to think about that."
Celeste just rolled her eyes as she stood and headed for the door, "I need to make supper and Daniel is going to mow the lawn." With that the two left.
The more the merrier, right?