The Mercenaries:
As Paris was strung up by his wrists, he looked at the two men in front of him. The tallest of them was Colonel Krim, brown eyes, dark skinned with a black beard and halfway bald head, which they were to get the gold from. The other man was a few years younger, light skin with blue eyes and lightest brown hair. Paris had come with Jim and the others for one thing, steal the gold that Krim had stolen and return it to the rightful owners. However that meant at least one of them had to be labeled as a guy from one of the old regiments. The regiment that had supposedly left more gold hidden. While Paris knew that wasn't true, they still had to believe that he knew where this missing gold was.
Since Barney and Willie would be the ones to get the gold out of the vault, Jim and Dana were to distract Krim. Paris was the lucky one to be able to strung up in midair by his wrists while they did all of this. Jim had asked him before the mission if he would be alright with this, and he had agreed. There was no way they could have let Dana go through this, and Willie was too heavy to stay for as long as he could. They needed Barney to be able to work the machine to melt the gold and put the liquid gold back into the bars. And Jim was to be the one to sell the firearms to Krim, so it left Paris. Paris told them he could hold out for about six hours and he hoped that was the truth. He had been tortured in previous missions but being strung up with just his wrists was going to be challenging.
When he heard the door shut, he realized he had spaced out. It had only been about ten minutes and his arms were already starting to feel the strain. He knew if he focused on the time, he wouldn't last the six hour his team needed to get the gold out. After some breathing techniques he had been taught, Paris was able to relax his entire body and think about stuff other than the pain. For a while it seemed to help but soon the man watching him would push him to see if he would get a rise out of him. Paris remained silent not wanting him to get the satisfaction of making him cry out. As an agent, he had been taught never to cry out unless it was part of the plan.
The guard soon grew tired of trying to make Paris scream, and sat back down pulling out a newspaper to read. Paris watched him for a while before he went back to his breathing technique. He was able to space out for a while but soon came out of it wondering what was going on. Upon seeing Krim in front of him, Paris stared at him not wanting to give him any satisfaction that he wanted to be free. A quick glance at his watch told him he had an hour to go before he could give in. His wrists were numb where the ropes were attached and his muscles burned from the strain of holding his body up.
"Where is the gold?" Krim questioned.
Paris remained silent as Krim spoke again, "I must admit you are brave. Most of my men would have begged to be released within an hour but you have lasted about five so far. I'll tell you what, you tell me where the gold is and I'll release you."
"There isn't any gold." Paris spoke not surprised his voice cracked from having no water the past five hours.
"You're lying." Krim stated, "But perhaps soon you will remember."
Before Paris could question what he was talking about he felt his shirt being stripped off his back. It was then he realized the guard that had been in front of him was now behind him with something he couldn't see. Although with his shirt stripped off, it didn't leave much guessing to know he was about to be whipped. Several thoughts crossed his mind in a flash. When had Krim started to whip his prisoners? Why hadn't they been notified by IMF? Perhaps Krim was using the whip on him because he wanted that gold bad enough. Whatever the reasons, Paris knew he had to keep strong and not give in until it was the proper time. Before he felt the first swing of the whip against his back, he tried to prepare himself. Luckily when he felt it strike against her back, he clenched his teeth to prevent himself from crying out in pain.
When Paris counted ten strikes against his back, he began to question if he could hold out any longer. A glance at his watch told him he still had about thirty minutes to go. Although that was hard to see since his vision was blurry with sweat. He heard Krim speaking, but it took a moment before he realized it was he who Krim was talking to. Not trusting his voice, he remained silent, his back screaming out in pain at the fresh cuts he felt. As Krim grabbed his chin to force him to look at him, Paris tried to pull away but realized his vision blurred worse than before. Krim smirked commenting that he would give in before he left the room.
The next thirty minutes were agonizing for Paris, so much that his breathing technique wasn't helping. Finally as the hour was up, he looked at the guard who had gone to reading the paper. He knew he would plead with the guard to let him down and then he would take them to the gold that Barney and Willie had planted.
"Cut…me down…" Paris pleaded his voice barely above a whisper.
The guard put down the newspaper as he looked up, "Ready to talk?"
"Yes…yes please cut me down." He pleaded once again.
The guard nodded leaving the room to grab Krim as Paris felt his vision going black. When he felt water splash onto his face, he knew he had passed out. With Krim and the guard standing over him, Paris tried to move back but realized his hands were still tied and his back was screaming at him to stop. He knew he had to act scared so he ignored the pain and backed away until he hit the wall. Krim loomed over him with an evil smile as if he knew he had won the battle. Paris looked up at him frightened but in his mind knew he had him right where the team wanted him.
"Now are you ready to tell me where the gold is?" Krim asked.
Paris nodded, "There is gold, we hide it."
"Where?"
"Will you share it with me?" Paris questioned although he knew Krim wasn't going to do any such thing.
"Of course." Krim lied, "Now where is it?"
"I'll take you to it if you promise to share it." Paris stated.
Krim nodded before he turned to the guard, "Untie his hands and get him a new shirt. Can't have the other men knowing about this."
"Yes sir." The guard smiled before he pulled Paris to his feet.
Paris clenched his teeth at being pulled up quickly. His feet were unsteady not having held his weight for six hours, wobbled but he didn't fall thanks to the guard. Once he was sure he could stand alone, Paris took off the remains of his shirt and placed on the new one. At the touch of the material against his back, he couldn't help but wince. When they were ready he followed Krim and the guard outside to the jeep where he got into the front passenger seat beside the guard while Krim got into the back covering him with a gun. Remembering the directions that Jim had told him about where the gold would be hidden, Paris gave the directions to the guard. It only took a few minutes to get there from the small town they had been in. On the way there Paris continued to rub his wrists to get back the circulation knowing he had to be prepared to run soon.
After they parked in front of the abandoned building, Paris got out first followed by the guard and Krim. Inside, he looked around until he spotted the old fire place in which he knew Barney and Willie had hidden the gold at. He pointed at it telling Krim the gold was there. With the Krim at his side, they watched the guard go over to the grate and pull it up. Then he pulled out his knife and used it to scrap some of the old dirt away between the bricks before lifting them up. With enough of them removed he turned to Krim smiling. Krim rushed over to look in at all the guard that was hidden there. Paris listened to Krim and the guard talk before he looked at the door that would take him outside to the small pond. Suddenly he pushed Krim into the guard before he grabbed the door. He flung it open as he ran as quick as he could. He heard the first shot from Krim's gun but didn't feel the impact. He remembered Jim telling him the first two shots were blank. He just hoped Krim would shoot and hit his mark the second and not the third time.
Another gunshot rang out and this time Paris felt it hit his back. Instantly he cried out and fell into the pond remaining still as if he had been killed. He waited a few minutes to make sure they had gone back into the building before he climbed up the bank into the woods. He knew his part of the mission was done except to get back to the village and act like he was Krim once Jim and Dana was ready to leave with the gold. As he walked back he wished he had a jeep instead since his legs were tired and his back was hurting more from the impact of the fake bullet.
It didn't take him long before he got back into the village remembering a short cut that Jim had shown them on the map. He had used it to bring the truck to Willie and Barney and was thankful for it now. He snuck into the village not wanting any of the other men to see him soaking wet and question where he had been. Quick as he could he managed to get back into his room where he waited for the proper time to call the guard at the checkpoint and then the other man that would kill Krim once they realized the gold from the vault was gone. After that was done, he changed clothes and went to the room where one of the men of Krim's was guarding Dana. Explaining that Krim wanted her in the vault, the man nodded but Paris made sure to knock him out before they left the room.
Since all that was left was to meet Jim in the woods on the road out of the village, they both headed through the shortcut that would take them there. It didn't take long before Jim arrived in the truck dressed as a preacher. Barney and Willie were already in the back of the truck so they helped Dana in while Paris climbed up himself. Once they were all in there, Barney knocked on the truck to let Jim know they could head on. All of them held their breath as they passed the checkpoint, hoping they weren't stopped. Willie looked out the hole in the side giving them an thumbs up once they had passed through. Each let out a sigh of relief glad to know another mission was completed.
Jim drove them to the proper authorities where they handed over the stolen gold before they returned to the house they were renting for a few more days. That is until they got their next mission and were told where they were heading next. As Jim pulled up in front of the house, the team got out all going inside ready to have a few days of rest. Hot and sweaty Dana went to take a shower while the guys hung around the living room. Jim noticing Paris looked worn down sent him off to get some rest since he had been tortured for six hours. Glad of the order, Paris went to his bedroom pulling off the shirt wincing as he felt the shirt come free of his wounds. Although he knew he should get one of the team to look at his back, Paris felt sleep was needed first as he collapsed onto his stomach falling asleep soon as his head hit his pillow.
The next time he woke up he found the sun barely shining into the room. One glance at his watch told him it was around six in the morning. He groaned and fell back against his pillow not wanting to get up just yet. It took him a few minutes before he remembered that the mission was over and he could sleep in. He smiled and shut his eyes before he felt his bladder crying out for release. He groaned as he pushed himself up but cried out as he felt the pain in his back. Not wanting to wake the others, he clenched his teeth as he got into a sitting position before he stood up. The moment he stood up he felt the room spin around him forcing him to sit back down. It was then he felt his head hurting and his muscles felt sore. Since he had been asleep for so long, he figured it was due to not moving. A moment after he sat down he stood back up glad to find the room remaining in the same position. As he went into the hallway and found the bathroom, he relieved himself first before he glanced in the mirror at his back. The ten lashes he had received looked red but luckily they weren't bleeding.
Worn out from the short trip to the bathroom, he went back to his room about to lie on his back but decided against it. He lay back down on his stomach managing to fall asleep once again. A few hours later, the group all woke going into the kitchen where Willie made coffee and Dana worked on breakfast. Jim concerned that Paris wasn't awake yet thought about going to wake up but decided against it. Paris had taken the worst of the mission and could deal with extra amount of sleep. Jim sat back at the table knowing he would wake up soon. An hour later after they had ate breakfast, Jim began to get concerned. Since Dana was up, Jim asked for her to stick her head in and see if he was already. Glad to, she went out of the kitchen and into the hallway. She knocked on his door but when she didn't get a response she opened it up slightly.
"Paris?" She called out from the door.
"Hmm?"
"Hey you missed breakfast, Jim wanted to know if you were alright." She explained.
"Not hungry Dana but thanks anyway." He replied.
Dana concerned at his response opened the door a little more gasping at the sight in front of her, "Jim!"
Jim, Barney and Willie rushed to her side, "What's wrong Dana?"
"Paris was whipped." She pointed.
Paris hearing his boss voice sat up looking at their concerned faces, "I'm alright, just sore and tired."
"Paris, why didn't you tell us?" Jim asked.
"Was worn out, thought it was nothing." He remarked before he shivered and pulled a blanket around him.
"Paris, what's wrong?" Willie questioned noticing his friend was pale.
"It's cold in here, not used to the cold." He replied before he shut his eyes, "Room spinning again."
"Again? When did it do that the first time?" Barney asked.
"Morning, had to use bathroom." Paris replied before he stood up, "I'm coming for breakfast."
Jim the closest to Paris reached out to steady him when he almost collapsed, "Dana, get me a cold cloth. He's got a fever. Barney, Willie help me get him back onto the bed."
Barney and Willie nodded as they helped Jim get Paris onto the bed removing the blanket so they could take a look at his wounds. Upon the removal of the warmth, Paris cried out as he blindly reached for it but failed. He asked for them to give it back but Jim refused stating they had to take a look at the wounds first. Willie placed the blanket on his legs assuring their friend that he would get it back in a few moments. Although none of them were a doctor, they could tell the wounds were getting infected from how swollen and red they looked. Dana came back shortly with the cold washcloth which she handed to Jim. Jim wiped down Paris neck and face to try and cool him down.
"Jim, we need to clean the wounds before they get any worse." Barney remarked.
"Yes your right, get some water and soap. We should get some cream to put on them as well and bandages." Jim agreed.
Willie nodded, "I think we have some in the truck, I'll get them."
While Jim stayed with Paris, Dana and the guys went to grab what was needed. It wasn't ten minutes before they all came back questioning how he was. Jim explained Paris had been taken over by the fever. Dana set the bowl of water and soap down beside the table while Willie held the bandages waiting to help. Jim turned to put the rag into the bowl and get it lathered up with soap. Ringing out some of the water, he began to clean Paris back. Instantly Paris woke screaming and tried to fight whoever was causing him harm.
"Easy Paris, it's just me." Jim spoke putting the rag back into the bowl before he tried to get Paris to lie back down.
"What's…happening?" Paris moved then hissed in pain, "Hurts…"
"Paris, your back is becoming infected we have to clean the wounds." Jim explained.
Paris shook his head, "I'm fine…just let me sleep…"
Barney touched Paris shoulder but pulled back when his friend flinched at his touch, "Paris you have a fever and it's only going to get higher if you don't let Jim clean the wound."
"Don't make me….please." Paris begged.
Everyone looked at each other knowing Paris had never pleaded with them before. He was always the agent that kept his emotions in check and never let on to how much he was hurting. But they all knew if the wounds didn't get cleaned then the infection could get worse and his fever get even higher than what it was. Jim tried to soothe Paris and assure him it wouldn't take long but Paris was in between talking sense and delirious. He knew there wasn't anything to do besides get the task done quick as possible. One look at Willie and Barney, Jim motioned for them to hold him while Dana continued to speak soothing words to him.
While Willie sat on the edge of the bed to hold Paris legs down, Barney got a hold of his right arm knowing Jim was on the other side. Dana got at the head of the bed starting to talk to Paris and run her fingers through his hair which was soaked with sweat. Everyone nodded to Jim that they were prepared to start as he grabbed the rag once more and began to clean out the wounds. Paris tensed and tried to move away but found he was stuck crying out to be let up. Dana close to tears kept talking to him and assuring him it wouldn't be long before Jim was done. Jim trying to work as quickly as he could knew he could only do it so fast since he wanted to make sure he got them cleaned correctly.
Although it took a bit longer than any of them had liked, Jim finally announced he was done and put the rag into the water, now cloudy with blood and dirt. Paris having become still through the process was glad that it was over but he could feel nothing but pain emerging from his back. He tried to keep his face neutral but when he felt something brush against his face, he looked up to notice Dana smiling at him. He gave her a weak smile when he noticed she had tears on her face. As he tried to reach up and brush her tears away, he found his arm didn't move not realizing that Barney was still holding him down. Barney let go for a moment watching as Paris brushed the tears away from Dana's face. He placed a hand on her shoulder to assure her he would be fine.
"Paris, do you think you could sit up long enough to allow me to bandage you back?" Jim asked.
"Yeah." Paris remarked before he tried to push himself up but failed, "Might need some help."
Willie helped him sit up, "Easy Paris."
"Thanks…woah…" Paris remarked shutting his eyes reaching out to grab onto Willie.
"Paris?" Jim looked concerned reaching out to touch his shoulder.
"I'm alright, just room spinning." Paris replied opening his eyes to look at his boss.
Jim nodded, "We will get this done as quickly as possible. Barney hand me the bandages."
Barney grabbed the bandages and handed it to Jim while Willie held Paris upright. Although it only took a few minutes to get his back bandaged properly, it felt like hours for Paris. Even though they had cleaned his wounds, it seemed that his fever had risen in the short time he had been sitting up. Gently Jim and Barney laid Paris back down onto the bed, covering him up with a sheet to keep him from getting over heated. Paris grabbed the sheet and hugged it to him as if he was freezing, but the group knew it was due to the fever. Since it was getting late, Jim instructed them all to get some sleep and that he would check on Paris throughout the night. The group agreed but made him promise he would wake them if Paris took a turn for the worse.
Paris stood there with the gold Barney and Willie had planted. Krim stood there talking with the guard about what to do with the gold. He pushed Krim and made a run for the door but soon stopped when he heard Krim yelling at someone else. Paris turned to look at Krim noticing the guard held a gun pointed to Jim and the rest of the team. When had his teammates gotten there? Wasn't the plan to keep them elsewhere until he got back?
"Hold it there Paris, or your teammates get it." Krim ordered.
"What? You know my name isn't that." Paris shook his head.
"But we do, we know all about you and why you are here." Krim stated.
"Now tell us where the missing gold is or else they all die." The guard demanded.
"I don't know what you are talking about! You have your gold in there!" Paris shouted.
"Shoot them." Krim ordered.
"Nooo!" Paris screamed watching as the guard began to shoot his team.
Paris shot up in bed, "Noo!"
Jim rushed into the room reaching out to touch Paris but stopped when he flinched back, "Easy Paris, it's just me."
"Jim? What's going on? Where are we?" Paris asked before he remembered his nightmare, "The others, Jim. Krim shot them he was going to shoot you."
"It was just a nightmare, everyone is safe and sleeping although that scream might have woke them up." Jim said glancing towards the door to see Dana, Willie and Barney standing there.
"Sorry guys just felt so real." Paris remarked shivering and feeling his back protest the movement.
Jim grabbed his shoulders, "Let's get you back down, gently."
After Paris lay down he tried to get comfortable but found the pain in his back too much so he ended up lying on his side. Jim grabbed a couple of pillows to prop it behind him to ease the pain in his back if he moved. He told Paris to get some rest since he still had a fever. Paris nodded but flinched when Jim reached out to touch his forehead. About to apologize, Jim stopped him telling him it wasn't his fault for the fever. Paris nodded and shut his eyes as the fever took a hold. When Jim was sure Paris was asleep, he told the others to head back to bed. They each agreed but not until they took one last glance at their friend.
Jim placed a cold rag on Paris forehead in hopes to keep the fever down. Although Paris flinched at the coldness, he didn't wake up. Jim wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not but hoped he would sleep the rest of the night. Jim stayed with him for a while before he decided to try and get more rest as well. In his room, Jim left the door open before he crawled into bed hoping by morning Paris would be fine.
Paris hands felt numb however the many hours he had been hanging from the ceiling. He didn't know how long it was since they had taken his watch and his vision was too blurry to see anything anyway. All he knew was that he needed to hold out long enough for the team to get the gold in the proper place before he took Krim and the guard there. A door unlocked causing him to look up finding Krim was entering with the whip in his hand.
"Care to tell me where the gold is?" Krim questioned.
"There isn't any gold." Paris replied.
"Guess I will have to show you some manners for lying." Krim stated.
Paris tried to speak but soon felt the whip go against his chest drawing blood. After his chest was bloodied from many cuts, Paris found his body screaming for death or peace or something. As he felt the rope being cut, Paris felt his body fall to the ground unable to hold back a scream as his chest hit the floor. Krim stood over him with the whip asking once more about the gold. Again Paris lied stating he didn't know about it.
"No please…no more…" Paris pleaded.
"Paris?" Willie entered the room alarmed that Paris was on the floor instead of in his bed.
Upon looking up, he began to back up until he felt the wall behind him, "No…I don't know where it's at…"
"Easy it's just me." Willie held up his hands as he slowly approached his friend.
"No…please no….got hold out….yeah need to wait…." He began to mutter.
Gently as he could Willie reached out to touch Paris alarmed at how hot he was compared to earlier, "Jim!" Willie screamed before apologizing to Paris who had jumped from the loud noise.
Jim rushed in alarmed at what he saw, "What happened?"
"Don't know, came in and he was on the floor muttering. I think he's dreaming or delirious, but his fever is jumped up." Willie explained.
Jim knelt down, "Paris, it's Jim. Can you hear me?"
He looked up blinking a few times, "Jim?"
"Yeah it's me." Jim smiled.
"Did…did the mission go…good?" Paris questioned.
"It's over, we are on vacation now." Jim explained.
"I didn't….scream….I held out…." Paris told them.
Willie nodded, "You did great Paris. Jim what should we do?"
"Need to get him back to bed, and check the wounds." Jim said before turning back to Paris who was starting to shiver uncontrollably, "Hey is it alright if Willie gets you back to bed? We need to check your wounds."
"I…can do it…." He said trying to get up but failing, "Why…cold? Hurts….sore."
Willie and Jim didn't comment as they helped him up to sit on the edge of the bed. When they were sure he was alright, they began to take off the bandages not noticing that Barney and Dana had awakened and were standing at the door way. It was Barney's quick reflexes though that stopped Paris from taking a dive off the bed. Willie and Jim thanked him both having their hands full of bandages they had been trying to get off. Although Dana had seen worse wounds than what Paris had, Jim sent her off to get some more water hoping to spare her.
She agreed quickly as she grabbed the bowl and left the room right before they had taken off the last of the bandages. Upon the reveal of Paris back, each of the guys couldn't help but wince at the sight. Although the wounds had been cleaned yesterday, they were still red and looked slightly swollen. Jim realized that he must have not cleaned them properly and now Paris was paying the price. He looked at the guys who both knew what had to be done even though it was going to cause their friend more pain. Each hoped though Paris was too deep into the fever to know what was about to happen.
"Barney can you get me some Hydrogen peroxide? Willie help me get him onto his stomach." Jim instructed before yelling out to Barney, "Bring me some antibiotic cream as well if we have it and bandages!"
"Right Jim!" Barney yelled back.
Dana came in a few minutes after with the bowl of water. In trying to keep Dana from seeing Paris back, Jim took the water from her and asked if she could make them some coffee. Not having to be asked twice, she nodded and went out of the room to the kitchen. When Barney hadn't returned, Jim sent Willie to try and find him. It wasn't long before he came back passing along the bad news that they didn't have any more supplies in the van. Jim ran a hand through his hair as he tried to figure out what to do but soon realized there had be a town nearby with the supplies. Willie assured Jim that Barney had already thought of that and was on his way. Glad that they would soon have supplies to help their friend, Jim knew until then they had to try and get Paris fever under control.
"No…no…more…don't know…." Paris muttered in his sleep.
Jim took the rag from earlier and dipped it into water before he wiped Paris face off, "Shh Paris, it's alright. You aren't with Krim anymore. You're with friends."
"Jim…too cold….hurts…." He replied trying to get up but failing.
Willie held him down making sure not to touch his injuries, "Easy Paris, you got a nasty fever. Barney's gone to get some stuff to clean your back."
"No…don't want it…" He struggled against Willie.
"You have to stay still Paris your fever is going to get too high." Willie pleaded with him.
When Paris wouldn't settle down, Jim grabbed a hold of him as well, "Paris!"
At the loud yell, Paris calmed down but he tried to back away, "Sorry…"
Willie and Jim looked at him a little worried wondering why he was apologizing, "You shouldn't have to apologize. The fever is causing you to act like this."
"Supposed…be strong." He remarked.
"Even if you weren't an agent, I wouldn't want you to say sorry. This wasn't you're doing." Jim told him, "Now I want you to try and relax until Barney gets back."
Paris seemed to relax at his words as he shut his eyes going off to sleep. Jim and Willie relaxed for a moment but knew they had to stay on their guard in case he had anymore nightmares. Throughout the hour until Barney returned, they took turns wetting the rag and wiping off the sweat from Paris face and neck. Upon his return, Barney got out of the van rushing inside with the supplies he had been able to get from town. He passed Dana in the kitchen who was pouring coffee telling her to wait there until they were done. Dana, however, tired of waiting in the kitchen with the coffee brought it up but tried to avert her eyes that kept going to Paris back. Willie seeing her eyes fill with tears went to stand in front of the bed and took the coffee from her. He thanked her for the coffee before he told her she could go get some rest. Not sure if she could, she went over to the corner of the room stating she wanted to be there for Paris.
As Barney and Willie helped secure Paris to the bed, Jim grabbed the spare rag and poured some of the peroxide. Sure that they were ready, Jim began to wipe out the first of the many wounds Paris had on his back. Paris cried out trying to move away from the pain but found he couldn't move. Dana rushed to speak soothing words to him explaining Jim had to do what he was doing. Paris clenched his teeth trying not to scream but after a few minutes he lost the battle and cried. Dana wiped his tears from his eyes assuring him it would be over soon. Jim agreed that he was halfway done but wanted to make sure he didn't miss anything. Paris barely nodded before he became still. Dana looked at the others but Jim assured her he had passed out like last time.
It took a few more minutes before Jim was sure he had finished cleaning out all the wounds. Paris remained out cold only twitching slightly when Dana wiped the sweat from his face. About to start to get them to hold Paris up so he could bandage his chest, Jim decided against it wanting some air to get to the wounds in hopes it would help heal them. Barney agreed it was a good idea but suggested they rub the antibiotic cream on the wounds he had gotten from the pharmacist.
Willie and Jim agreed it was a good idea as Barney handed Jim the cream watching as their boss began pouring it onto Paris back and rubbing it in slightly. After it was all done, Jim went to wash his hands while Dana told everyone she would fix them some sandwiches to eat. Each agreed that was a good idea since they hadn't eaten anything since the day before. Although Paris seemed to be sleeping peacefully for the moment, they each agreed to take turns coming to check on him.
When Paris came to, he noticed a couple of things. First that the room didn't feel like it was freezing like it had been earlier. Second, that he was alone although he knew the team was around somewhere close by. Although he didn't remember much of the past hours or days, he knew they had been there with him. As he pushed himself up, he realized although he felt better than he had been, he was still stiff. It took a few tries to get up into a sitting position and attempt to stand up. Standing up with his full weight, he felt his legs buckle but he managed to catch himself before he hit the floor. He held onto the bedpost for a moment to allow his body to get used to his weight again. It had to have been at least a few days to where his legs felt so weak. Or the fever was so bad that he hadn't been able to move.
When he was sure he wasn't going to fall, Paris let go of the bed and began walking over to the door. A little unsteady, he used the walls to hold him up until he heard the voices of his friends. Not sure where exactly they were at, he followed their voices until he found them in the kitchen fixing what smelt like was pasta and chicken. At the smell his stomach growled loudly causing everyone in the room to jump. Upon seeing that he was standing, they all rushed towards him pulling him to the table where they sat him down.
Upon his back touching the chair, Paris winced but realized that his whole chest was covered in bandages, "How…long?"
"About three days since your back became infected." Jim stated handing him a glass of water to drink, "Your fever broke last night but we figured you should sleep as long as you could."
"Thanks." Paris drank the water loving how it felt going down his dry throat.
"How are you feeling?" Dana asked.
"Better, still sore but good." Paris assured her.
Willie went back to the stove, "Think you could handle some food?"
"I'm starving actually." He admitted.
Barney pulled out a can of soup, "I think you should eat something light for right now. If you can handle that then you can have something more solid later on."
"Fine by me long as I can eat." He chuckled before turning serious, "How long before our next mission?"
"A few days, I told IMF we needed some downtime before we head out again." Jim explained.
"How long will I keep wearing these?" He asked indicating to the bandages.
"Just until tonight, then I'll take them off." Barney explained, "The wounds are healing nicely, but you might have some scars I'm afraid."
"Paris, if we had known Krim was going to use that method, we would have found another way." Jim stated.
"Jim, it's alright. It's not like it hasn't happened before, but I hope it's a long time before it ever happens again." Paris admitted.
"Don't worry we are here to protect you." Dana smiled.
"That's not always easy to do Dana, even for us as agents." Paris told her.
"Doesn't mean we can't try." Willie chuckled.
Barney nodded, "Just admit it Paris, we are a family and if someone messes with one of us, they mess with all of us."
"And they will have to go through me first." Jim stated.
Paris couldn't help but smile, "I'm glad to be part of this family."
"Yes now let's eat I'm starving." Willie chuckled.
The End.