Disclaimer: I don't own RvB. I do own Marley. My characters have the tendency to pull a Deadpool, even when I'm the one writing them. Borrow at your own risk.
Episode 63: Aftermath
The next morning, the Reds waited in the field for the Phantoms and Blues to arrive. "So... what do you think training's going to be like today?" Rick asked. Dex shrugged.
"Who knows, man. I'm just hoping things can be... more or less normal," he said. Marley and the rest of the Phantoms emerged from the caves not long after the Reds settled in to wait.
"Ah... " Rick began, only for Marley to hold up a hand.
"I'm only going over today's schedule once," she said.
"Fair enough," the tech allowed. Thankfully, the Blues didn't take long to arrive.
"Alright. Here's the plan," Marley began. "Rick, Red, Dex, and Tucker will be with Clear until he says you can go. Eagle and Caboose will be with Steel and Hippie. Kai, you're with Niner and I'll be working with Frank here for the foreseeable future. Questions?"
"What will the rotation cycle be?" Dex asked. Marley shrugged.
"Eh, today's kind of laid back. Those who weren't assigned to teach this morning, grab whoever you want when their teachers let them go. Or join a group then hijack it later. I don't really care, since I've got my hands full helping Frank," she answered. Dex nodded and clapped a hand on her shoulder.
"Best of luck," he told her seriously before walking off with his training group. Marley sighed, her head dropping slightly in weariness.
"Yeah... I think I'm gonna need it," she said softly.
/*/
Frank didn't want to get up. He didn't want to face reality. With a deep moan, the medic pressed his head deeper into the sorry excuse for a pillow the army had supplied Blue Base with. It was a futile attempt at returning to the realm of dreams, he knew, but at the moment he didn't care. The demons in his past had clawed at his psyche all night, screaming and wailing. A full eight hours had passed since he fell asleep, but Frank still felt exhausted. "OI! What do you think you're doing, Lemon Head!?" Rick squawked.
"I'm. Orange. Tomato Can," came the shiver inducing drawl of Dex, the Weapons Handler and Designated Driver for Red Team. Frank moaned, idly wondering how he'd been able to hear Dex's drawl so clearly from such a distance and through concrete.
"I'm asthmatic, not blind, Dex," Rick snapped back. "But I'm starting to think you might be. Can't you see those are two completely different patterns?"
"If this were easy, everyone would be doing it!" Dex snarled. Frank sighed and acknowledged that he was truly awake.
"It was a nice dream, while it lasted," he muttered before pulling himself out of his bunk and into the shower. Five ice cold minutes later and he was toweling his hair dry while glaring at his boots.
"You missed group assignment, Frank," Marley drawled from the doorway. Frank grunted, more concerned with getting his blasted armor on. Both boots secured, he was reaching for the thigh pieces when Marley hummed with an oddly sympathetic tone. "Wishing you'd taken my offer of sedatives now, aren't you?" she asked. Frank froze. What? That... that had been part of his dream last night! Before the old nightmares came. Had... had he really... ?
"Last night," he began before horrified shock closed his throat. Marley hummed again and circled around to kneel before him. She looked up into his slack face, straight into his eyes, and took his hands in hers.
"You told us the bare bones of your childhood. Of how you became Doc," she said slowly, watching the growing horror in his eyes, the shame and self-loathing. "I told you it was time to face your past... and that I'd help you."
"The tv shows," Frank breathed, eyes going wide. Marley tilted her head while Frank came to the beautiful realization that he hadn't dreamed his acceptance into Blue Team. Marley hummed, but left it alone.
"Do you... need a few moments?" she asked. "We can begin training in half an hour if you do." He shook his head and gave her a small smile.
"Yeah... just let me put my armor on, okay?" he asked. She retreated with a nod, leaving him to his thoughts. Slowly, he put on his heavy armor, thinking back on the parts of the night before that had seemed too good to be true. The way the Blues, and even the Reds and Phantoms, had gotten mad on his behalf, had cried on his behalf. How they had all listened and understood and stayed. The warmth that had surrounded him as Blue Team boxed him in and plied him with soda and popcorn in front of a sad little tv, watching old shows and laughing. 'Welcome to Blue Team, Frank' echoed in his head. It hadn't been a dream. He clicked his helmet into place and stood, only mildly shaky. It was time he faced his new reality.
/*/
Marley wanted to start off easy, but when Frank walked out of Blue Base, she got the feeling he could handle her usual training. "Alright Frank, we'll start with anatomy practice," she said, pulling out sharpened acupuncture needles.
"Uh... why the extra sharp needles?" he asked.
"Well, regular acupuncture needles don't work too well with the manikins I can get. Plus, these can be thrown," Marley answered, spinning around and throwing the needles. Each one perfectly hit an acupuncture point. "It's actually rather difficult to kill with these, so I thought they might work for you if you find yourself in a bind." Frank nodded, though Marley noted he seemed a little unsettled. "Come on. No time like the present~!" she sang out, bouncing over to pull the needles out of the stiff manikin. Frank was by her side when she turned around, causing her to smile. "You can work your way up to throwing them." He nodded and held out a hand. Marley passed over the needles and the lesson began.
/*/
Dex brought the two 'doctors' their lunch, then refused to leave, sinking to the ground and opening his own lunch. "Dex?" Marley questioned. He swallowed then looked up before trailing his eyes over to Frank.
"I didn't like you," he said bluntly, causing Frank to flinch. "You were loud, annoying, and naive." Marley frowned and considered speaking when Dex lowered his head again and took another bite before sighing. "But just like these rest of these idiots, you wormed your way in," the man said. Marley blinked and sat up a bit straighter. "I didn't want to like you guys. The army wasn't my choice and the soldiers here... Sarge hated me, Simmons was an annoying little suck up. And the Blues? I was supposed to fight them. But then Marley showed up, told me the truth behind Blood Gultch, and trained me. She forced me to move on, to grow beyond what my birth family had made me. She gave me a team." He paused to take another bite, then looked up at Frank. "I'm a big brother, Frank, and Marley reminded me of what that meant. This team? They're my new family. You're a part of it now, whether you like it or not. That means I'm not just a big brother... I'm your big brother." Marley smiled and relaxed, pleased with the outcome. Frank blinked at the man, obviously still confused.
"He means, he'll look after you and teach you," Marley said. "Like a big brother should." Frank looked between her and the silently eating Dex, uncomprehending.
"Eat your food, Frank," Dex grunted, nudging Frank's leg with his foot. "You're sparring with me after lunch."
"You sure that's a good idea?" Frank asked. Dex looked up and smirked.
"I'll give you a few minutes to finish digesting, and I'll go easy on you to begin with," he said. "Really, it'll be more like a wrestling match than actual sparring. Just like how I started out with Rick and Eagle."
"Dex... you had Eagle cursing your name before the end," Marley pointed out. Dex blinked at her.
"Did I? Thought the kid decided I wasn't so bad."
"Ah... okay, he wasn't happy with you in the middle there." Dex shrugged.
"Still. I'll go easy at first," he said. Marley chuckled while Frank frowned, but eat his food all the same. Maybe, just maybe, this rag-tag group really could pull together into something greater than the sum of its parts. Maybe... they could become family.
/?/
A/N: I am... so sorry this took so long. It really didn't want to be written and then Life happened and then I got bit by a radioactive plot bunny that wouldn't let me go! So... I started a new story and have been more or less stuck on it for the past... several months? If you like Star Wars Fix-It stories, check out 'Don't Freak Out!' That story, and it's second installment, have been hogging my attention.