Sometimes you just have to live

When Lucas woke up, it was noon. His first thought was about the previous night. He remembered the attack of the slasher and instinctively reached for his shoulder with his hand. Somebody had bandaged it. Then, he noticed he was not alone in his bed. He was wrapped in Alexandra's arms.

"Alex?"

"Mmm…"

"Alex…" He sighed.

"What?" She yawned.

"I can't move."

"Oh sorry I didn't mean… I… Sorry," she jumped out of the bed "I think I fell asleep and…" She was all confused, struggling to find a good reason. It made Lucas smile.

"What?" She said when she noticed it.

"Nothing," he smirked. He hardly sat up. Alexandra came next to him to help him. Lucas grabbed his head in his hands. He felt dizzy.

"How do you feel?" Alexandra looked worried.

"Like a dinosaur had sat on my head," he replied softly.

"Actually, it's nearly what happened," she tried to joke. He gave her disbelieving look.

"Sorry," she winced. "Do you want some water?" She didn't wait for his answer and brought him some. He drank it. It did him good. Lucas looked at his bandages.

"I did my best," she winced again, anxious. "But it's still bleeding. You need to see a doctor," she stated.

It made him chuckle. "Do you see a doctor anywhere?"

She didn't answer, feeling utterly stupid. Lucas started to take the bandages off. He winced in pain. Alexandra gently put her hands on his.

"I'll do it," she told him.

He nodded. He knew he could do it but it would hurt less if she did it. Alexandra tried to be as delicate as possible, going slowly, carefully. Her eyes widened when she saw the wound.

"It doesn't look good…" she said with anxiety in her voice.

"I need stitches."

"Stiches?"

"Yes stitches." He stated, looking intensively at her.

"Oh no, no I won't do that. I'm not a doctor," she suddenly said as she realized he was asking her to do it.

"You have to do it. I can't do it myself can I?"

"No," she firmly said, her arms crossed.

"Alex, go get a needle and thread. You'll find in the closet there," he gestured to her.

She didn't move.

"Go!"

She scowled at him but did what he asked her. She put the needle and the thread on the bed.

"Ok, come on," he said, patting the place next to him on the bed.

She shook her head, arms back crossed.

"Alex," he harshly said.

"No, I can't do that. I'm going to hurt you. It's going to be a mess," she wept, tears running on her face, her voice shaking.

"If you don't do it, it's going to get infected and I'm going to die. Is it what you want?"

"If I wanted you dead I would have left you there," she spat.

Lucas observed her for a minute. She didn't want to do it. Not because she didn't want to, but because she didn't want to hurt him. She looked panicked.

"Alex," he calmly said. "I need you to do it, please." He was not used to say please or to beg someone to do something he wanted to. But Alexandra needed him to be calm. He had to ease his temper.

She deliberated in her head. She knew she had to do it. Otherwise he was going to die. His wound was all swollen and dark. But she was so afraid to injure him more. She was not a doctor, she didn't trust her enough for that.

Lucas watched her while she was thinking. It was like she was struggling to decide what to do. She eventually looked back at him, her eyes full of concern, but determined. Lucas was startled again. Her eyes… Just like her mother the day she had saved him, chosen him instead of her. She was ready to help him even if it was clearly painful for her.

"Ok." She simply said. She sat next to him, crossed the thread into the needle. "Tell me what to do," she commanded him, ready.

Lucas explained to her how to stitch his wound. She took a deep breath and started to sew his skin. He clenched his teeth the whole way. She didn't look at him, too afraid to see his pain. She never stopped, even when he let escape a groan. When she eventually finished and bandaged his shoulder, Lucas lay down on the bed, struck with pain. Alexandra did the same, exhausted. Lucas's shoulder made him suffer greatly. The pain was so strong that he eventually fainted. He would wake up occasionally, but the presence of Alexandra next to him was something reassuring. He fell asleep again immediately. When he woke up the next day, Alexandra was sat in the corner of the room, watching him, biting her lips, fidgeting her fingers, anxiety and distress on her face.

"What?" He asked, his voice hoarse.

"How are you doing today?" She asked him, bringing him some water.

"It hurts. But it's better than it was." Lucas noticed two bags in a corner. Alexandra followed his gaze.

"I went looking for them. I have found them not far from where you had left them. Of course there was no more food in it. But I was able to save your notes. They were the most important, right?"

"Yes, they were."

Lucas had a hard time believing that Alexandra had done all this for him. She had returned in the jungle for his notes. He was grateful but did not know how to tell her or show her. He looked at her carefully, thoroughly. She didn't meet his gaze. Actually, Lucas thought she was avoiding it.

Alexandra had woken up before dawn that day. She had spent her night thinking about what had happened to Lucas, why it had happened. She had felt guilty. They had fought because he had lost his notes. She had to find them. It was her duty. Lucas was still asleep. She had enough time to go back where they had lost the bags and come back before noon. She was almost certain she knew the track to get there. She had discretely left him and had ran outside. When she had finally found them, she had been disappointed to realize that animals had torn the bags and taken what was in it. However, looking closer, she had seen that there was a pocket intact, she had opened it and jumped for joy. The notes were still there. The return journey was faster than the journey there. When she arrived, Lucas was still sleeping. She had silently sat on a chair in a corner, looking at him. He only woke up an hour after she had come back.

"You need to rest," she stated. "I'll go and grab some fruits for lunch." She left before he could reply. She had hoped the whole night he would wake up. She didn't want him to die. Now he was fine, she felt relief. But she hadn't thought about after. They hadn't really talked since their row. She wasn't sure she wanted to.

When she came back, Lucas was sitting on the bed, his back against the wall.

"I found some fruits. I do not know if they are edible, "Alexandra said, spreading the fruit on the bed, sitting at the end of the bed, staring at them.

Alexandra looked miserable. Lucas was not sure why. Maybe she resented him for having forced her to help him? Maybe she regretted saving him?

"Alex, look at me," he suddenly ordered her.

She bit her lips, unsure what to do. Lucas slipped beside her and lifted her chin with his hand, cupping her face, forcing her to look at him.

"Why are you avoiding me?"

"Because…" She stopped and took a deep breath. She was afraid to cry. "Because I've been afraid to lose you. I've prayed for you not to die. I… I didn't know what to do. I've never felt like this before. And now I'm afraid you'll ask me to go because it's all my fault."

Lucas could hear the distress in her voice. Actually, she had been so scared to lose him that she didn't know how to be with him now. She was not afraid of him, but afraid of his reaction. He put his hands on hers.

"You did your best and you did well. I'm glad I have you with me." He reassured her.

"So you're not going to leave me here, are you?" She asked sadly.

"No. I won't abandon you," he said firmly.

She smiled widely, throwing herself into his arms, happy. "Thank you!"

"Ouch!"

"Oh sorry," she said, looking quickly to his bandage.

"It's ok," he sighed. "How could I leave you there when you don't even know how to differentiate an edible fruit from a poison one."

She put her palms on his cheeks. "You are my savior," she teased, smiling again, her eyes bright, back to normal. He couldn't suppress to smile when she was happy like that.

"And anyway, I need my favorite doctor with me, just in case another slasher wants to play with me," he teased back.