Author stuff: It's been a bit of a week this week. I finished posting Noblesse Oblige, a Miraculous Ladybug fanfic that is pretty much a Robin Hood AU with some inspiration from the Scarlet Pimpernel. I'm working extra hours this week and will only have one day off (thank god we're training someone). I decided it was a good week to pick up running. And it's hot as balls out. Also, my dog got her stitches out today.

And I'm doing a back to back. Here's to me getting no sleep!


Chapter 25

In Which The Girlie Sort of Rebels

Almost everyone tried to make it into the Med-hut to check on Newt. Nick was forced to put the Baggers on guard duty until he, Clint, and Jeff had determined that Newt was fit for visitors. Only the three of them and Frypan – who would bring him food – were allowed in.

Flossy stopped by not to visit but to bring him things he might need in moments of lucidity. The Creators had been kind enough to bless them with quite the haul. More than half of the Builders were willing to take the medical supplies to the Med-hut, but she managed to convince them that she, Chris, and Archie could manage.

While she might have been an acting Med-jack during busy times, she almost always was in the Gardens. She could honestly count on one hand the number of times she'd actually joined them. And Newt's accident was… perhaps the biggest and most frightening.

As much as she wanted to, she had no intent on seeing Newt until she was told she could, just making sure that Clint and Jeff knew that they were being well stocked. She'd never seen the two of them look more relieved. Archie left shortly after he set the things down, but Chris lingered a bit before having to be shooed out by Jeff.

"Too bad they can't send an actual surgeon to take a look at him," Clint said, going through what they'd been brought and organizing it. Jeff started to put things away.

"Is he doing any better?" she said, looking at the curtain partition that seperated him from the rest of the room. She didn't stare too long, though. The thought of a friend lying miserable behind them made her heart ache.

"He stopped cursing me out, if that's what you mean."

She bit her lip, her eyes dropping to the floor. She had heard some of it. It'd been muffled, but the cries woke her up in the middle of the night and sometimes they would startle her in the late mornings.

Newt was angry with them. She couldn't comprehend why. They were doing all they could to make sure he was alive and could walk. It'd take some time, but he'd manage eventually. He'd never be a Runner again, though. That had to hurt worse than his injury.

"Flossy," Clint said, "would you mind checking to see if Frypan has some lunch for him ready?"

"Sure," she said, starting toward the Kitchens. Admittedly, she missed working there. Although she was loath to admit it, cooking had been nice.

They were all busy when she arrived – nearly shooting her out of the Kitchens with threats of impalement of various cooking utensils and being broiled alive. That was probably the only time they would ever be malicious to her. It was actually kind of funny.

"Clint sent me," she said, holding up her hands in surrender. "He wanted to know if Newt's lunch was ready."

Frypan looked at her exasperated.

"If it's not, I'll just let them know you'll bring it by a little later."

"It's not that," Frypan said, smoothing back his closely cropped hair. "I need to stay in here to keep an eye on these shanks."

"I could do that for you. They'd listen to my threats, right?"

Snorts and howls rose up from the peanut gallery.

"Do you think you could bring his lunch? I know it's not exactly Nick's orders, but…"

"I wouldn't mind," she said shrugging. "I'll just drop it off at the Med-hut and get back to work. Zart's probably looking for me anyway."

"Good that."

He handed her a sandwich wrapped in wax paper and a thermos with a spoon. She jogged back to the Med-hut. Clint and Jeff were still working when she returned. She held up the food in a gesture to ask where she could set it.

"On his bedside table," Clint said.

"But –"

"Don't worry too much about Nick's orders. I'll bypass them just this once. Newt's out of his mind with just the three of us. Seeing you will be like a breath of fresh air. Just bring it over to his table. He shouldn't be awake yet."

Cautiously, she made her way over, brushing aside the curtain. Newt was most certainly awake. He didn't look at her as she came in, however. Quietly she set his food down and started to leave. Before she could, she stopped herself.

This was Newt, her friend and confidant. Sure they'd both been too busy to really talk recently, but that didn't mean she didn't care. That didn't mean she stopped caring.

She turned around and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, leaning over the bed awkwardly to do so. After a moment, he returned the embrace, burying his face in her stomach.

"I'm so glad you're alive," she said quietly into his hair. She gave him a peck on the top of his head for good measure. "Without you, these boys would drive me crazy."

He didn't say anything, just pulled her closer. Her legs bumped into the sides of the cot, and she was forced to join him. She settled next to him, unwilling to break her embrace. Right now, he needed human contact. Something in the way he clung to her told her that.

To hell with Nick and his orders. She'd take whatever consequences he had set up with a brave face if it meant comforting a friend.

Jeff poked his head in, looking like he was going to say something to her. He snapped his mouth shut and walked away when she looked at him. He seemed to understand.

She was careful not to jostle his legs. She had a feeling that they could still bleed.

They didn't talk, not really. Just occasional whispers from her for comfort. They'd had to reposition once or twice so that they could both be comfortable, but it didn't take much.


When Nick came in later that evening, they hadn't moved from his cot. She'd made sure that he'd eaten – she wasn't going to keep him from that, and he needed the food for energy if he was going to recover – but she hadn't left his side.

"I ought to put you in the Slammer," he said when he saw her. He folded his arms and looked down at her.

"She hasn't done anything but sit by him all day," Clint said. "We didn't see any harm in it, and he ate more than he normally does. Thanks for that, Girlie."

"You're welcome," she said, patting Newt's arm. "I should go though."

Newt didn't let go of her right away. She'd had to coax him to let her go, promising to stop by in the morning – "We have fresh strawberries now," she said, "I'll bring some to you tomorrow, okay?" – and started out.

Nick grabbed her shoulder and stopped her.

"Girlie," he said, "I hate to say it, but you disobeyed my orders. If it was just up to me, I'd let this slide, but you know how those shanks out there are. If they catch wind of this, they'll all think that they can come in and see him. A night in the Slammer."

"Nick," Jeff said.

"Only a night. And after dinner – but only because she got him to eat."

And that was that.

It didn't take long for word to spread around the Glade – it never took long. A few boys – especially the Runners – were curious how bad Newt looked, but the majority just wanted to know if he was alright.

"He's tired," she said, "and healing. It's going to take a long time before he can go about the Glade normally again."

And they accepted that.

She ate her dinner slowly, hoping to put off having to be in the Slammer for too long. It wasn't that bad of a punishment. Billy – who'd informed her that he'd be guarding her cell that night – told her that he snuck in an extra couple of blankets and pillows, so she wouldn't be sleeping on the dirt floor and it would be comfortable. Gally had told her that he would be the one to retrieve her in the morning, so that wouldn't be so bad.

It was only him and Billy – something that she was thankful for – that escorted her there. Billy walked a bit ahead of them – to make sure no shanks were going to attempt to keep her out, he'd said. Her gut feeling was that it was so she and Gally could talk. They didn't, however. The silence hung heavily over them, settling about their shoulders like an uncomfortable sweater.

As he walked, his hand would brush against her arm. A trail of tingling heat was left behind. Her stomach muscles clenched and unclenched. She wondered if he was aware how she was feeling. Probably not. If he did, he would definitely stop.

Before she knew it, they'd reached the Slammer. Billy was holding the door open, waiting for them. Without hesitation, she hopped down. The door was closed softly behind her, and she heard the click of the lock. She tried to calculate how many hours until dawn, but her mind didn't want her to figure that out.

"Flossy," Gally said, making her turn back around and shuffle closer to the door. He reached through and took her hand. She felt her heart start to beat erratically in her chest, nearly drowning out the sound of his voice.

"Yeah?" she said, her voice a breathless whisper. She felt her world heat up and tilt as he smiled softly to her.

"Thanks for checking on Newt for all of us. It means a lot to hear from someone other than Nick or Clint or Jeff for once. He's one of the best shanks in this place, one of the first, too. Don't know where we'd be without him."

"You… You're welcome."

He gave her hand a final squeeze – her heart tightening with it.

"Night, Princess."

"Good night, Gally."

He patted the cell door and walked away, leaving her to herself and her thoughts. She clutched her hand tightly to her chest, an attempt to quell her pathetic, little heart. His hand had been so large and warm – calloused and dry, engulfing her own. She wished he had held on a little while longer.

Outside, Billy chuckled, startling her. He grinned down at her.

"You got it bad, Girlie," he said.

"Slim it."


Morning came and, true to his word, Gally came to let her out. He hauled her out with ease – which, upon seeing her reaction, Billy wiggled his eyebrows at her.

She wondered how long she would get in the Slammer for punching him in the face.

Breakfast was normal, and she went about the Gardens as she normally did, helping Zart with the strawberries. She had promised Newt that she'd bring him some after all. And Zart didn't seem to mind when she slipped away to the Med-hut.

Clint and Jeff were talking in low, quiet voices. They looked as though they'd been debating something. They stopped and turned to look at her when she walked in.

"Looking to spend more time in the Slammer?" Jeff said, his cheek dimpling as he smirked at her.

"No," she said, holding up the small basket of strawberries. "I promised to bring these for Newt. Can you make sure he gets them?"

"Sure thing, Girlie."

Jeff took them from her and set the basket on a nearby counter.

"Don't eat too many of them," she said, pointing an accusatory finger at him. "Zart only agreed to let me come here because I told him they were for Newt."

"You won't have to worry," Clint said, tossing his arm over her shoulder. He gave her a squeeze. "I'll make sure he doesn't ruin his appetite. Frypan was saying he was making BLTs today."

"Wait," Jeff said, a smile growing on his face and eyes glittering, "did he? We haven't had BLTs in a while."

Clint was about to respond when the curtain hiding Newt from view was brushed aside. Nick and Alby didn't look too happy to see her there, but Newt looked… less tired than he had the day before.

She quickly waved to him but didn't get to see if he'd waved back as Nick dropped the curtain, blocking him from view once more.

"Girlie," he said, nodding to her.

"Strawberries," she said, gesturing to the basket. "I promised yesterday to bring him some."

"Good that," Alby said, collecting the basket. She caught the smile on his face. "Strawberries are his favorite."

He nodded to her and ducked back behind the curtain again. In the quick flash she got to see of Newt's face, he gave her a sad, little smile.

She locked eyes with Nick and quickly looked down at her shoes. He really wasn't happy that she was here. Again.

"I," she said, "I should get back to the Gardens. Zart's probably wondering where I am."

She quickly turned around and walked out. Nick followed her. He stuck by her side for some time before speaking.

"Thank you," he said.

"What?"

"For yesterday. Newt's… Newt's a good friend. He's been doing better after you visited. So, thank you. For that."

"You… you're welcome."

He continued to walk with her.

"Newt's my friend, too," she said. "I was getting pretty anxious about him. I'm happy. That he seems to be doing better."

"You two talk. A lot."

"He's told me about some things." She peeked at him out of the corner of her eye to see him looking at her, intently.

"Usually people do when they talk."

"About him and Alby," she said, stopping. He stopped just a few steps ahead of her.

"Ah." He waited for her to continue. When she didn't, he nodded. "They are… complicated."

"Complicated?"

"It's not really my place to discuss, but yes. They are complicated."

They stayed there for a moment before she started walking again. He followed.

"Listen, Flossy," he said. "We… we don't talk much."

"No, we don't."

"And I need to make more of an effort. I'm sorry, alright. Whatever impression you have of me, it's… It's probably pretty accurate. I just want to get out of here and out into… the world, you know?"

She shrugged.

"I… never really thought about it much. I like it here, in the Glade. It's… it's nice. It's home."

"You spend a lot of time with the shanks here. More than I do, at least."

"I guess," she said, brushing a strand of hair that had worked its way out of the braid she'd done up that morning.

"You know them pretty well."

"Nick, what are you getting at?" She stopped the both of them and attempted to glare up at him. It was a little difficult because of his height and the bright light of the sun that was right behind his head.

"Minho and I spoke last night, and I was talking it over with Newt and Alby in the Med-hut. We're going to be doing tryouts for Runners."

"I don't want to be a Runner."

"I'm not asking you to. I want to know if you have any nominations for Runners. Who do you think is best suited for it."

Without missing a beat, she said: "Adne."

Nick's eyebrows shot up.

"Are you sure?"

"You didn't see her when Alby returned with Newt. She's… she's so fast, Nick."

"Speed is one thing. Endurance is another."

"She's got it in her, trust me."

"Alright," he said after a moment. "Anyone else?"

"Umm…" Her mind flipped through everyone she could think of. "Ben and… Archie. And maybe Chris and Harry."

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

"Good that. Thanks, Girlie."

He clapped her shoulder and jogged off. She sighed and finished her trek back to the Gardens.

"Hey," Chris said when he saw her. "Nick escort you back from the Med-hut?"

"Yeah."

"Because you tried to see Newt again?"

"He just wanted to talk about some things."

"Anything that would interest me?"

"Probably not." She gave a little laugh. "Now, how are these green beans doing?"


Author stuff cont'd.: I wrote this whole last scene because I needed… something from it. Just so it didn't seem sudden and out of nowhere. Like it did when I first read through what I'd written.