Branches slapped Ava's arms and legs as she ran. Gunner was running beside her, and she could hear his labored breathing. How could he not be in shape after doing this job for so long? She brushed the thought aside as she leaped over a log and lost her footing trying to avoid stepping on something sharp.

She swore as she went down hard. Gunner stopped a few steps after and moved to help her up.

"I'm fine," she said angrily, ignoring his hand. Her feet were killing her.

"Put your boots on," he instructed. "We've got a few seconds." He looked around as he said it, scanning for anyone chasing them. Ava pulled her boots out of her bag and threw them on. She wished she had just done it sooner. Her feet were still killing her even in the boots.

"Good?" Gunner asked, looking back at her again. She nodded, and they started to run again. Ava had no idea where the hell they were going. She didn't think Gunner knew either. She wondered if they would ever get out of here. She briefly thought of her sister, but she knew either way, she was probably never going to see her sister again; that was for Judy's own protection, though. Michael's too.

And their baby's.

Ava was going to be an aunt, and she felt a pang inside at knowing that child would never know her. It was the price of the job, though. Ava knew this.

"Hang on," Gunner said, coming to a stop again. She slowed next to him, and they stood side by side. He was still panting. She was barely breaking a sweat. She watched as he pulled out his satellite phone and frowned at it.

"No good?" she asked him. He shook his head.

"It got damaged in the crash," he replied. "Shit." He went to throw it when she caught his wrist, surprising him.

"Let's not trash it just yet," she suggested. "Maybe we can find someone who can fix it."

"Good idea."

He put it back into his bag, and they started off again. She didn't know where they were going, but she knew they couldn't stand still and be found. She just hoped that Barney was going to look for them.

Roughly 9 and a Half Hours Later

Toll was very worried. Luna had slept most of the flight, but she was struggling to breath and very pale by the time they landed and got to their designated hospital. The one thing about working for the CIA was that they gave an all access pass to a hospital with no questions asked. Luna held on to Toll's hand tightly as they wheeled her down the halls. When he had to stay behind the doors, she gave him a panicked look.

"You're all right," Toll assured her. "I'll be right here waiting."

"Promise?" she rasped.

"I promise."

Then she was gone, and he was left with a simmering Christmas who was on the verge of exploding at any given time (at least he'd left his knives on the plane...that would have been a bad combination). Toll sat down in the waiting room and rested his head against the wall. Lee paced. After twenty minutes, Toll had had enough.

"Stop," he ordered, opening his eyes to look at Lee. "Just stop bloody pacing, all right?"

"I can't sit still," Lee answered.

"Then go somewhere else. I can't take on your anxiety too," Toll snapped.

"We should not have left Barney," Lee said, his voice sharp.

"And what? Let Luna die?"

"We would have found help for her down there."

"And have all those guys track her down to the hospital she's in and kill her? No," Toll said, shaking his head. "We couldn't have done that. This was better."

"We gotta get back down there..."

"Lee, enough," Toll said, clenching his fists. Lee threw up his hands and growled angrily.

"Stay here, then," he said. "I'm going back."

"No, you're not," Tool's voice said, making both men turn their heads to see him standing there. Toll noticed that Tool looked smaller almost. He felt a flicker of fear. Was Tool unwell? He managed to breathe again when Tool walked closer on sturdy feet. Maybe he was imagining things.

"Who died and made you God?" Lee demanded.

"Barney called and gave explicit instructions for you to stay put," Tool answered. "There's enough of them down there to find Gunner and Ava. They're fine."

"Bloody hell, they're not fine!" Lee exploded. "They're running around in the damn jungle trying to find two people who are on the run! They need help!"

"Keep your voice down," Tool ordered. He looked at Toll. "You wanna help me out here...Toll?"

Blink and you miss it, but Toll caught the pause before Tool said his name. He had seen Tool's eyes and the slight panic that went through them before he said his name. The look Tool was giving him now was a pleading one and not because he wanted Toll's help to calm Lee down.

"Orders are orders, Christmas," Toll said, sliding his gaze over to Lee, who had missed the entire exchange. "Settle down. Go home and cool off. Get cleaned up."

Lee swung his fist into the door, making a loud banging sound that made the nurses jump at the station. Swearing and muttering, Lee walked away and left Toll and Tool alone.

"You okay, Tool?" Toll asked casually.

"Fine," Tool answered. "You call me when that girl comes out of surgery."

"Luna," Toll said softly.

"I know," Tool replied sharply. He turned on his heel and walked away too. Toll was left with a very sinking feeling in his stomach.

...

Barney's ears were ringing from the tongue lashing he'd gotten over the phone from his CIA handler, some young guppy called Victor. He honestly didn't know if Ava had successfully gotten the hard drive, but there was no way he could go charging into that castle and look himself. Security had tripled. The jungles were being combed. It wasn't safe.

He tried Gunner's sat phone and got the message that it was dead. He knew they were out there somewhere waiting for help, but he didn't know how to find them. His brain was too busy thinking about Tool to think straight anyway. He thought about their recent phone conversation.

"Tell Christmas to chill," Barney had said. "Make sure Luna is all right."

"I will," Tool had promised.

"Write it down."

"Barns, I'm not an invalid," Tool had said sharply.

"I know..."

"I have Alzheimer's. I'm not deaf. I'm not an idiot," Tool had went on, his voice hitching slightly. "I've got it. Tell Christmas to chill and make sure the girl is all right."

"Luna," Barney had said.

"I know!"

Barney worked to even his breathing now. Tool's shout echoed in his head. Finding out that his best friend was slowly going to forget everything they'd ever said or been through was squeezing the air out of his lungs. Knowing that, eventually, Tool was going to forget him, forget all of them, was making his heart twist so bad he was sure it was going to burst.

And he'd asked him to kill him of all things. Tool had explained that he didn't want to die that way, his brain rotting away and leaving him as an empty shell. He'd said he'd rather take a bullet. Barney had flat out refused. He was a lot of things and did a lot of things, but killing his best friend was not on that list. He felt tears burn in his eyes suddenly.

"Barns?" Doc asked, bringing him out of his reverie. "Anything?"

"No. His phone's down," Barney answered, clearing his throat. He hoped Gunner had the sense to hang on to the phone in case they could get it up and running again. He knew the Swede liked to throw shit that was broken.

"So what now?"

"We go for a hike."

...

Ava woke up to rain, and she groaned. They had gone as far as they could the night before until they made the decision they were safe enough to rest for a bit. Ava had changed out of her dress and into her cargo pants and grey t-shirt before bedding down for the night.

A noise made her turn to look at her sleeping partner. She had no idea how Gunner could snore so loudly at a time like this (and was even more surprised no one had found them because of it). She resisted throwing her boot at him. She stood and stretched, groaning with pain and trying not to panic. She had no idea where the hell they were. She pulled out her burner phone, already knowing it wasn't going to have service. She wasn't proven wrong.

She sighed, dropping her hand to her side. She fingered the phone absently. At least no one would be missing her.

Gunner gave a snuffling snort before opening his eyes and clearing his throat rather violently. He looked to see her watching him, and he gave a slight smile.

"Still alive...that's good," he noted.

"Do not underestimate me," she warned, moving to put her phone back into her bag. He chuckled.

"I wouldn't dream of it." He got up, joints popping and throat groaning as he did so. He rustled through his bag and found a power bar. Ava's stomach growled. She hadn't thought to pack food. She'd mistakenly thought she'd be on some plane heading for the other side of the world with airplane food to tide her over until she landed. Gunner pulled out a second one and offered it to her. At first, she wanted to refuse and remain self-sufficient, but they were in a jungle for crying out loud, and she needed to not be stupid.

"Thanks," she said, taking it from him. It tasted amazing. She couldn't remember the last time she'd eaten.

"It's no Caesar grub, but it'll do," Gunner said. Ava didn't ask for clarification. She wasn't going to be around this team long enough to get to know them all. She didn't want to ask questions.

"What's our plan?" she asked, crossing one arm across her stomach as she took another bite off the bar.

"Well," he said, his mouth full. "I know roughly where we are."

"You do?"

"I'm a bit of a cartographer," he said with a shrug. Then, a moment later: "I also have a map in my bag."

"Give it," she ordered, and he pulled it out and handed it to her. She opened it after stuffing the bar into her mouth and holding it with her teeth, the wrapper still on the end. She looked at the map, trying to figure out where they were. Gunner finished eating and went to stand next to her. He pointed with his finger.

"Here," he said.

"I got it," she replied irritably.

"If we follow this river, we'll get to this town," he said, continuing on. "There we can get a phone and call Barney."

"Okay," Ava agreed, folding up the map again. "Lead the way, Cortana."

"Halo reference," he said with a smile. "My kind of girl."

"I'm not your girl," Ava said quickly and abruptly. He held up his hands.

"I'm just kidding around," he told her. "Calm down."

"Unless you want to drink through a straw for the rest of your life, you will never tell me to calm down ever again," Ava warned. He laughed out loud at this, and she felt slightly horrified that she liked the sound of it and the way his eyes crinkled at the sides during it.

"Got it," he said, nodding. "All right, Kickass. Let's go."

Ava slung her bag over her shoulder and followed behind him. The rain was letting up at this point thankfully. She winced at the pain from her feet as she walked, but she pushed through.

Just like she always did.

...

Toll stood up when the doctor approached him. Lee hadn't returned. Tool hadn't either. Toll felt nervous. He wasn't usually the one to speak with the doctor. She had her hands in her lab coat pockets, so he thought that maybe it wasn't bad news. Didn't doctors have their hands clasped in front of them when they were delivering bad news? He couldn't remember. He held his breath.

"Mr. Smith?" she asked. Toll nodded. Fake names were just easier sometimes.

"Is she okay?" he questioned. He fidgeted with his fingers against his jacket.

"Miss Taffet is just fine," the doctor said with a smile. "She's a tough one. We removed the bullets. She was very lucky there wasn't any significant damage internally. She'll have a nasty scar, but her overall functioning will return to normal once she's healed. She is recovering in her room right now. She's not awake yet, but you can go see her. Room 224."

"Thanks, Doc," Toll said, sighing with relief. The doctor gave a bob of her head and then continued on to the nurse's station where she handed one a file folder. Toll went to Luna's room and paused in the doorway to look at her sleeping. Toll never had kids, but he felt almost a fatherly bond with Luna ever since she'd joined the team. He knew she didn't have the best childhood and a terrible relationship with her own father, so he got the sense she viewed him like a father figure too. Well, he thought she viewed all of them as fathers, really. He thought more of it and realized that wasn't true. Doc and Lee she treated more like little brothers, and Gunner was like that annoying cousin that came to visit, but Caesar, Barney, and himself she treated like father figures. Tool was the cool uncle. They were quite the dysfunctional little family.

He walked into the room and pulled up the chair next to the bed, sinking down into it. He rested his elbows on his knees and folded his hands, looking over at her. He'd never forgive himself if something happened to her or anyone on his team. He felt it was his responsibility to keep them all safe. He knew the feeling was mutual among the teammates.

Luna gave a cough and groaned, turning her head to face him. Her eyes were still closed, but they were wincing in pain.

"Luna?" Toll said softly. She opened her eyes then and stared at him.

"Hey," she croaked.

"You're still with us," he said with a smile.

"Ha," she said, wincing from the movement of chuckling. "I guess so." She shifted and made noises in her throat from the effort.

"Miss Taffet, eh?" Toll asked, smirking a little.

"Oh, God," Luna groaned. "I was hoping nobody would find that out."

"Luna Taffet," he said, trying it out.

"Absolutely no relation to the psycho who was burying children alive," Luna said strongly.

"Excuse me?!"

"Heather Taffet," Luna explained.

"Never heard of her."

"Well, she's dead anyway."

"I think that's a good thing by the sounds of it."

"Very good thing," Luna agreed. They shared another chuckle, and Luna moved so that she was looking up at the ceiling. Toll could tell she was in pain.

"You did a good job out there," he said after a moment.

"I didn't get the hard drive," she reasoned. "How is that a good job?"

"You came out alive; that's what matters."

"Barely," she muttered. She looked at Toll again. "Where's Ava? Is she okay?"

Toll didn't want to tell her that Ava was still missing and that Gunner was too. He didn't want her to worry about anything.

"What aren't you telling me?" she asked, reading his face. "Is she dead?"

"No," he answered. "At least, we don't think so. She's still missing."

"Shit," Luna groaned. She pressed a hand to her head, wincing again.

"Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.

"Just a headache," she answered. Toll stood up and went to stand over her.

"How bad?"

"I don't know. Just your regular, run of the mill headache," she answered. "It'll go away. Stop worrying about me, old man."

"Watch who you're calling an old man," he warned, but he was smiling. He reached to squeeze her hand, and she squeezed it back. It wasn't a hard squeeze, though, which made him frown and look at her.

"What?" she asked.

"Is that all you got?" he inquired. "Squeeze harder."

"I am," she insisted. A red flag was going off in his mind now. When she reached to press the palm of her hand into forehead and winced again, he just knew something was wrong.

"I'm going to get the doctor," he insisted, turning to go.

"Toll, I'm fi-" Luna started, but then she stopped. He turned back in time to see her eyes roll up into her head. Then she was seizing.

"NURSE!" he bellowed as he leapt into action. He moved to stop her from hurting herself, feeling her body jerk against him. "Shit. Shit! Hold on, Luna!" He looked up to see that no one had come.

"CAN I GET SOME HELP IN HERE?!" he roared. Within seconds, two nurses came running in, and they took over. Toll stepped back out of the way and felt his heart almost stop at the sight of Luna seizing. The doctor came not long after, and she started an examination.

"I think we have a intracerebral hemorrhage here," she said. "Let's get her taken care of."

Brain bleed. Toll tried to understand. How had she gotten that? Had she hit her head? If so, when had she hit her head? It had to have been during the fight, so it had taken all this time to show up. He felt very afraid for her as they wheeled her away. He reached for his phone as he hurried after them. He had to tell Barney. He was dreading what was going to come next.

...

Tool was wringing his hands tightly, over and over. Toll had called to tell him Luna had a seizure and was diagnosed with a brain hemorrhage. Tool was no doctor, but he knew those things weren't good. He hoped the girl would be okay.

Luna.

"Luna, Luna, Luna," he said to himself repeatedly. Why her name kept slipping his mind, he didn't know. They'd spent enough time together over the last few years to cement her into his brain. The fact that he was losing control over his brain was terrifying him. He wasn't quite at the place where he was unable to care for himself, but he knew it was only a matter of time. He was still in the early stages, but he'd done enough reading to know what was coming, what to look for. He looked at the pistol on his nightstand again. Barney had refused. It didn't really leave him much choice. He leaned forward to reach for it and then paused, leaning back again after a moment. Now wasn't the right time. He couldn't do that to Barns. He couldn't do that to the team, not when they needed him. He dreaded the day they wouldn't need him anymore, and he knew that with his progressing illness, they'd be forced to rely on someone else sooner than later. He wouldn't be needed anymore. The thought cut him like a knife.

He exhaled long and slow, closing his eyes. He decided to meditate for a moment before going to the hospital. He took cabs now. He didn't want to risk anyone's life should he forget how to drive halfway through his journey or where he was going to start with. It made him really miss his bike.

He got up and threw his coat over his shoulders. Toll and Luna needed him right now, so he'd be there for them. As long as he could be, he would be.

Simple as that.

I'm not a doctor. Anything in here I'm writing about medically involves research on Google. I apologize if it's wrong.