Amir was trying really hard to ignore the small stifled groans behind him but after about the third one he gave up.
"Let me fix that" he called back to her, stopping for a beat to force her to catch up.
Jaz's expressive face briefly showed surprise, then annoyance, then carefully went neutral. She quickened her pace and brushed past him with a curt "I'm fine" leaving no room or time for arguments, unless he wanted to have a debate with her back.
He lifted his eyes upward, sighing at the all too familiar brush off. It always seemed to be one step forward and two steps back with her. The logical part of his brain chided himself for hoping that today had maybe made a difference in that pattern. He knew she was tired and in pain, but he still couldn't help but be disappointed that she was so quickly back to closing him out.
They hadn't been as lucky with their exit strategy for getting off the train as they had with boarding it. When they had hit the designated spot for disembarking the ground had still been going by at an alarming speed. He had balked slightly at the door until Jaz had taken the opportunity to remind him that he had just forced her to jump off a bridge.
Hard to argue that point.
So he had gone first, absorbing the impact with several rolls that left him in a slightly dizzy and very dusty heap on the ground. He had straightened up just in time to see her follow his lead, obviously having waited to see how the first crash test dummy fared. The train's momentum had quickly taken her father down the track but even from his now distant vantage he could still see something go wrong as she jumped. A slip maybe, or maybe something caught on the way out. He wasn't' exactly sure but regardless the end result had been Jaz leaving the train off balance and at a bad angle that she couldn't recover from. He heard her cry out when she landed, a sound he wasn't accustomed to from the normally stoic sniper and he quickened his pace towards her. However by the time he closed the distance she had already straightened up, brushed herself off and was trying to pass it off as if nothing had happened.
He hadn't bought it. He wasn't McG but even he could see the tight lines of pain around her eyes and mouth and the awkwardly careful way she was holding her left arm tight to her side. His eyes had carefully traced up her arm looking for signs of swelling or bones protruding where they shouldn't be. All looked fine until he got to her shoulder and realized the left one was sitting a few inches lower than it should have been. Ouch.
She caught him looking, testily firing an "anytime you are ready" at him. So he had followed her lead and bit his tongue as they had set off on their trek. Only 10 miles or so now separating them from the small desolate field marked as their LZ.
She had held up well for the first couple miles but the terrain had gotten more uneven as they went and she began to lag behind. The extra bumping and jostling seemed to be making it harder for her to ignore the dislocated joint if stifled sounds of pain and heavy breathing were any indication
Still she stubbornly pressed on. And now, after his first failed attempt to broach the subject, she was walking ahead of him just to prove a point. He didn't push it again, moving to follow behind her as they followed a dusty trail through the Spanish easy conversation from the train feeling more and more like a distant memory as they trudged on in terse silence.
He brooded silently as he walked, ruminating on her stubbornness. Why suffer unnecessarily when it was a problem that could easily be fixed. Was it because she didn't want him to fix it? Did her lack of trust in him run so deep that she wouldn't even let him give her simple medical care. What if she had been bleeding out would he be allowed to make a tourniquet or would she rather die.
Jaz face planting disturbed his pity party.
She caught her foot on a errant rock. Normally the agile ninja would have had no problem correcting her course but with one arm ineffective she struggled to re-balance and tipped forward despite her best efforts. Unable to break her fall she want down hard for the second time in the last hour. She tried valiantly to shield her arm on the landing but despite her best efforts the jarring motion drew a moan from her lips. She lay for a second before trying to struggle to her feet.
Catching up to her, he offered a hand to help her back up. Refusing to look him in the eye she ignored his offer and tried again to make it up on her own.
Pulling his arm back in, his frustration boiled over "Seriously Jaz, this is ridiculous…
She looked up at him, eyes fiery with anger and... was that embarrassment? She gave up on standing and sat back on her butt with a huff. Quickly looking away from him to survey the horizon as if she meant to take a scenic break all along.
"If you really can't trust me to do basic first aid. Maybe I need to put in for a transfer. Because this…" he gestured emphatically between them " this, isn't healthy for anyone."
He copied her and sat down on the ground. There was silence for a long moment as they both watched the sun slowly setting in the distance against the mountains. When she spoke it was so quiet he almost missed it.
"It's not a lack of trust"
He turned to look at her but she still stared determinedly in the other direction. She took her time, appearing to struggle to find the right words.
"I'm just... used to taking care of myself. Having to always prove myself"
Her voice hardened slightly and she spoke with more conviction " Guy gets hurt... it happens, part of the mission. I get hurt ...people start questioning whether it was cuz I'm a girl, whether this is too dangerous for women, whether I should even be here. Whether they need to protect me."
Her cheeks reddened slightly, and he could see what the admission cost her even as she kept her face slightly turned away from him. He recognized how hard it was for her to admit to not being as perfectly confident as she pretended to be. To lay a tiny piece of her hidden insecurities out for him to see.
"I don't question that. I wouldn't have made it past my first mission with the team if it hadn't been for your aim. "
He caught her shifting slightly. Subtly turning so she could evaluate what he was saying. Determining the level of sincerity in his words.
"Besides don't you think of anyone on this team I would get it. Prejudice and ignorance follows my path too. Every decision I make is always more carefully scrutinized. Questions are constantly asked about whether my loyalty is to my country or to my religion."
She smiled ruefully at him, finally facing him again. "People are stupid"
"That they are" he agreed.
"So if I let you pop this sucker back in can we stop having this chick flick moment" and just like that her sarcastic mask was firmly back in place.
"I think that could be arranged."
"Fine, have at it" she shrugged her one good shoulder.
He moved forward quickly before she could change her mind. Feeling around to find the top of the bone and the shoulder socket and trying to be as gentle as possible.
"Do you even know what you are doing?"
She squirmed under his touch quickly losing patience and second guessing her decision.
He rolled his eyes and continued feeling the joint "I've done this before" he tried to sound confident.
"I'm not going to end up with it facing the wrong way am I? Cuz I will sue if I can't shoot properly after this." She said peevishly.
"I have malpractice insurance" He muttered distractedly, concentrating on what he was feeling. "Seriously though, take a couple deep breaths and try to relax. It will make this easier."
She took a deep beath and gamely tried. He appreciated it, but the reduction in tension was minimal. He started gently moving her arm but =the muscles unconsciously tensed, pushing back against the painful movement. This was not going to work, she was not going to be able to relax running on fumes at the end of a couple long days. No, he was going to need to get this done another way.
He gripped her elbow carefully, moving it into a ready position.
"Hey Jaz... " he said exceedingly casually, "so what's the deal with you and Dalton?
Her head snapped towards him as she choked out a startled "What/!?"
Taking advantage of the momentary distraction he quickly finished the rotation, twisting and pushing up until he felt her shoulder snap back into place before releasing her arm. She curled forward tucking in on herself in and breathing out noisily as she dealt with the pain. After a few seconds she unfurled and her eyes burned a hole through him.
"What did you say?" she hissed through clenched teeth, still rocking back and forth slightly.
Oh I just asked "so do you need to call Dalton?" He said, keeping his expression neutral with great effort. I was wondering if we needed to check in to let him know we may be a bit behind schedule? He held his hands up placatingly but she continued to eye him suspiciously.
He couldn't resist tacking on "Why, what did you think I said?" with an innocent smile.
She finally seemed to relax slightly, probably knowing full well he was full of shit, but accepting that it had just been a joke with no malicious intent. Teasing was still a new development between them and he had no doubt she would get her payback at some point.
"Nevermind… Thanks." She groused.
"Ready to head out?" He asked, extending his hand to help her up.
She nodded, and he felt a strange level of gratification when she firmly grasped it and let him pull her to his feet so they could finish their journey to the rendezvous point.
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*** PS I really don't think you are supposed to put shoulders back in like this. I don't have a medical degree but Dr. Youtube says slowly and gently is the way to go. But where is the fun in that? Anyways - please don't try this at home ;)