Whumptober 2020 Day 7: I've Got You—Support/Carrying/Enemy to Caretaker
Word Count: 657
Author: Katie/Ally (aquietwritingcorner/realitybreakgirl)
Rating: T
Characters: Riza Hawkeye, Kain Fuery
Summary: Fuery will make sure that Riza makes it out of here alive.
Notes: We need more Fuery being awesome in this world.
I've Got You
Fuery grit his teeth as he readjusted his grip on Hawkeye. He had one of her arms over his shoulders, his hand grasping it to keep it there, his other arm around her waist, a firm grip on her gun belt, keeping her upright. He could hear the sound of the literal firefight still raging behind them, somewhere, but at the moment, that wasn't his concern. No, his concern was getting Riza Hawkeye to safety.
She had taken a hit, a bad one, in the side and it was obvious that she needed medical help immediately—more than they could give on the field. Fuery had been the only one close enough to her. He had seen it all happen, rushed to her, render what aid he could, and then made the executive decision to get her out of there. He had hauled her to her feet and prodded her toward an exit.
At first, she had been working with him, albeit with a lot of effort. But now, just a minute or two later, he was supporting most of her weight and she was sagging more and more, her feet barely stumbling alongside him. Fuery grit his teeth. He was not going to let her die here! Not like this!
"Just hang in there, sir," he said. "I'm going to get you help. You need to stay with me, alright?"
He could feel the blood that was coming from her side, the stain on her own uniform already thick and wet. It was starting to seep through to his as well. He needed to stop and bandage it, but he didn't dare, not this close to the battle. They weren't far enough away yet.
They kept moving, time seeming to flee by and stand still all at once. It didn't matter. He didn't stop, not once, even as he started to bear more and more of her weight, and the slight mumbles and grunts of pain that he heard from her started to lessen. He wasn't going to stop. Not until he was forced to.
Suddenly, she stumbled, and her legs didn't catch herself, buckling under her. She made no move to even try to catch herself and, caught unawares as he was, the best Fuery could do was lower her to the ground in a controlled fall. He laid her down as best he could, noting how she almost didn't respond at all, except for the pained huffs her breathing had become. The blood had only grown worse as well. He made a decision.
"Hold on, sir, I'm going to try to bandage this before we go any further. I don't have proper bandages, but I'll do the best I can. I'm sorry if it hurts."
The cleanest thing he currently had on him was his shirt, and he quickly shed his jacket to take it off, leaving him in just an undershirt. He took out his knife—he always had a knife, you never knew when you'd need one—and quickly cut it into strips, and then sat about winding them around Hawkeye. She let out pained cries, weak though they were, as he worked, and he clung to them as a sign of life. But when he was finished, she was clearly in no shape to move herself. She didn't even seem conscious.
Carefully, mindfully, Fuery sat her up, and pulled her onto his back as gently as he could. She was heavy—she must be pure muscle—but he had carried heavy things before. Not a human, typically, but the radio equipment he lugged around weighed a lot. If he could carry those for fun, then he could carry the lieutenant in an emergency.
He started off with her again, heading towards help, gritting his teeth as he walked. He would not let her die! He would not give up! He would do everything in his power to make sure she lived!