The others were still loitering in Reginald's study, catching up on one anothers' lives a bit (Klaus was… Klaus, and Diego obstinately refused to say what he'd been up to) when Vanya slipped into the room.

There was something in the way Vanya held herself that had changed since they were kids. Vanya stood tall, now (which didn't say much- She was only, like, 5'3). She wasn't desperately trying to take up as little space as possible and didn't look like she wanted to apologize simply for existing anymore.

While Allison's heart swelled at the sight of her sister, however, Luther and Diego both stiffened with distaste.

Vanya gave the boys a tentative wave before noticing Allison. Her eyes got big as saucers when they met with Allison's and immediately flashed with recognition. In a strangled sort of voice, she cried, "Three!"

Allison crossed the room in one, two bounds and hugged Vanya. Annoyingly, Allison was reminded of Lila. No— This is my real sister, Allison told herself firmly. Three and Seven hadn't been close, but hopefully, Allison and Vanya could be.

Vanya pulled away and studied Allison, questions written all over her face. "Where have you..?" she started to say.

"Oh," Allison said, waving an awkward hand in the air. "Here and there. Came here as soon as possible, though. I promise." Never mind that it took this fucking long.

Klaus arched an eyebrow.

Vanya shifted her foot from one foot to the other, still unsure what to make of this situation. "Uh… how long have you been back?" she asked hesitantly.

"Like, less than two hours,"Allison replied.

Vanya's face went blotchy. "Sorry I missed the initial reunion." She sounded surprisingly bitter.

"Always the victim, aren't you?" Diego sneered.

God, it was like they were 11 years old all over again.

Allison quickly assured Vanya that they hadn't intentionally left her out. "We were just talking about you, actually," she added. Change the subject, deescalate the situation, show that you care about her. "You have a girlfriend now, I hear?"

Vanya, who had been trembling with emotion, stilled. "...Yeah."

"Well, what's she like?" Allison asked encouragingly, hoping that she'd succeeded.

A small smile appeared on Vanya's face. (Yup— success.) "When I'm looking at her... it's like I'm seeing colors that no one else gets to see," Vanya said easily.

"Like shrimps," Klaus added.

Everyone in the room looked at Klaus with confusion. "Shrimps can see more colors than humans can," he explained.

Vanya's eyes crinkled. "Like shrimps, then," she repeated, unfazed by Klaus's weirdness.

Luther, however, was still hung up on the shrimps business. "Isn't the plural of shrimp just 'shrimp'?"

Diego looked annoyed with Luther's comment for a moment, but then his brows shifted in thought. "Like… moose and moose?"

Luther gave Diego an appraising look. "Like moose and moose," he agreed.

"'Shrimp' doesn't sound right," Klaus objected. "And I always thought that 'mooses' would be a better plural than 'moose'."

Cue outrage from Luther and Diego.

Allison, frustrated by the wasted time, decided to put a stop to this nonsense, in spite of being mildly amused by her siblings' antics. "Look, there's still a lot I need to discuss with you guys. I'm putting you guys in danger by being here. Can we please drop the 'shrimps' business—?"

"Shrimp!" interjected half of the room.

"Shrimp doesn't even sound like a word anymore," Vanya murmured.

"Shrimps, shrimp, whatever!" Allison exclaimed.

"Both are technically correct," proclaimed a wheezy voice. "It… depends on the context."

Everyone whirled around just in time to see the new speaker, a small skinny boy in a comically oversized suit, crumple to the floor of Reginald's study.

Luther inhaled sharply. "Is that..?"

"Five," Allison and Vanya exclaimed at the same time, hurrying over to the unconscious figure.

"Oh God," Vanya said faintly. "Is that blood?"

It was. "Looks like he did get caught up in the fighting at the Commission," Allison said grimly. "Someone go get Mom."

As heavy footsteps from behind clomped away— She didn't bother looking, but she guessed Luther— Allison knelt and carefully peeled Five's blood-soaked blazer away from his skin.

Somehow, she wasn't appalled by the gruesome sight that greeted her underneath. Allison was no stranger to this sort of stuff, after all. Only, it had never been someone she cared about before. But she couldn't afford to get sick with concern, so she didn't.

Vanya backed away uncertainly. Her face was white as a sheet.

"I thought that Lila chick was going to help him get out safely," Diego said accusingly.

"Look, we don't know what happened yet," Allison shot back, instinctively defensive of Lila. "I'm sure she did, she just…"

"Got mortally wounded?" Klaus said helpfully.

Allison ignored that comment, instead focusing on applying pressure to the wound. Five had lost a lot of blood. Don't think about him dying, don't think about Lila potentially being dead, too, don't think—

"—in here," came Luther's urgent voice.

Allison turned— Luther had just reentered the room, and Grace was with him this time.

The android took one look at the boy (old man?) on the floor and told Luther, "Number Five needs immediate medical attention. Please carry him to the infirmary."

Allison wanted to punch herself. Why hadn't they done that in the first place? Stupid, stupid. Every second counted. If she had wasted too many of them with her foolishness...

"Um— Allison?" Luther said awkwardly. "Can you..?"

"Oh." Her knee was still pressed against Five's gunshot wound. "You carry him, and I'll walk along and keep applying the pressure." Allison removed her knee from Five's stomach and immediately pressed both hands over the wound instead. At this point, she was just as soaked in blood as Five.

Luther nodded and stooped down to slip one arm underneath Five's back. The other went under Five's knees. Gingerly, he lifted the boy.

"Be careful," Beth gasped unhelpfully. (When had she come in?)

Out of the corner of her eye, Allison noticed Diego and Vanya were both rooted to their spots, swaying back and forth.

Klaus, on the other hand, wasn't squeamish, but even he looked extremely perturbed.

As Luther and Allison followed Grace down the hall and to the infirmary, Allison heard Beth say to the others, "...I'll make tea."