"Dad, we couldn't find Anne," came a voice from the doorway.
Ben was looking in, Matt standing behind him peering out from under his arm. The woman clearly in charge looked up and said, "I'm right here, you two."
"Is she gonna be okay?" piped up Matt in a worried voice.
Anne looked at him. "I don't know," she said. "What she really needs is a blood transfusion, but unfortunately I don't have the equipment to do that here. So we're just going to have to wait and see."
"Well, can't I give her some of my blood?" Matt offered hopefully.
"That's sweet, Matt," said Anne, smiling at him. "But I don't know what blood type she is so I could do more damage than help. I also don't have the tools I need to safely administer it to her, even if I did know you were a match."
Matt looked disappointed and he continued to look in the girl's direction. He wasn't quite tall enough to see over the table but Hal moved instinctively to block Matt's view. The man standing in the back looked at them and said, "Ben, take Matt and go find Maggie."
"She's still out on patrol," reminded Hal.
"Well why aren't you with her?" asked the man. "Weren't you supposed to be partnered with her this morning?"
"I was bringing her in!" replied Hal incredulously, pointing to the still form of the girl lying on the table.
"Wait, are you trying to get rid of us?" realized Ben.
The man looked tired. "Boys, just go. We should let Anne and Lourdes do their jobs and you don't need to be seeing this."
"Tom, it's alright," interjected Anne. "I've done all that I can. She's breathing more regularly and her pulse is steadier. We've halted the bleeding for now but I don't want to poke around her back too much until it's stopped for sure. I'm going to have Lourdes stay and monitor her but apart from that I can't do much until she stabilizes." Going to the sink, she rinsed her hands off and while she was drying them she said, "There's not much more to see, boys. You're welcome to stay if your father says it's okay, but nothing is going to happen for now."
Tom looked torn. He would have liked to say no to all three of them, but Hal was growing up and doing as much as any man in the 2nd Mass. He had also been the one to find the girl so Tom figured he'd seen everything by that point.
He sighed heavily. "Hal, you can stay if Lourdes says it's okay. Matt and Ben, out." He pointed to the door.
Ben looked like he was hearing exactly what he expected and turned around without a word, though not without one last glance at the girl. Matt followed, looking much more disappointed. Hal swung his gun off his shoulder and moved to sit down in one of the seats vacated by his younger brothers. Tom gave him a somewhat exasperated look and Hal rolled his eyes.
"Lourdes?" he asked in exaggerated gallantry. "Do you mind if I stay?"
The young medic smiled somewhat shyly. "Of course not."
Noticing the younger girl becoming somewhat flustered, Anne gave Tom a knowing smile. Tom suddenly looked at a loss for what to do.
"Tom, would you mind coming with me to meet up with Weaver?" asked Anne pointedly, realizing he wasn't going to say anything. "I need to give him a list of medicines I'm running short on."
"Of course," said Tom. He gave his son a look. "Hal, behave yourself and don't bug Lourdes."
"Don't worry, Mr. Mason. I think I can handle him," assured Lourdes, now organizing the surgical instruments.
"I don't expect anything to change while I'm gone," Anne instructed Lourdes. "The bandages we put in place should halt the bleeding for at least a little while. If she does start up again, you know where the gauze is."
Lourdes nodded. "I'll be fine."
"I know. But please don't hesitate to find me if you need assistance."
"We'll be back soon," promised Tom, he and Anne heading for the door.
"So," said Hal when they were gone. "First year med student, huh?"
"Yeah," said Lourdes in her soft voice. "Seemed like a good idea at the time." She laughed quietly. "Although I didn't think I'd be getting so much experience this soon."
"Well look at it this way. You're learning much faster than you would at school. And you don't even have to pay for it!"
"I do have to pay for it if I make a mistake," Lourdes reminded him darkly.
"Well you're saving lives and that is what's important," said Hal, giving her his charming smile.
Unable to help herself, Lourdes smiled back, glad she was in the shadows so he wouldn't see her blush.
Outside in the camp there was a bustle of activity.
"Maggie!" called Weaver.
The blonde was walking though the gates with the three men who had joined her in pursuit of the remaining Skitters. She said something to them before walking over to meet the Captain, still holding Hal's rifle.
"Status report?"
"We killed the remaining two," she said. "We found the three Hal and I killed and buried them with the others."
"Was anyone injured?" asked Weaver.
"No one," she replied. "How's the girl?"
"I don't know, I was going to find Dr. Glass and Tom Mason to see."
"I'll come with you," said Maggie.
"Speak of the Devil," replied Weaver, looking over Maggie's shoulder.
Anne and Tom were walking towards them as he spoke, so Weaver and Maggie went out to meet them.
"How's the girl?" asked Maggie, her face concerned.
"She's as fine as we can hope for," replied Anne. "I left Lourdes and Hal to watch over her. The bleeding has stopped but she's still unconscious."
"Is she going to make it?" Maggie looked tentative, as if she wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answer.
"I don't know," answered Anne. "I've done all I can for now. We'll just have to wait and see."
"Do you have any theories as to what happened to her?" asked Weaver.
"A few," said Anne, noncommittally. "I can't poke too much around her back until the bleeding stops. In a different situation I would never have picked her up in the first place."
"Hal didn't have a choice," said Maggie defensively. "The Skitters were coming for us and we had to run."
"I know, I'm not blaming anybody," said Anne reassuringly. "He did the right thing. You didn't have time to make a different choice, I understand. I'm only saying that it's a miracle she didn't bleed out on the way back."
"Miracle or not, I would still like to find out what happened to her," said Weaver bluntly. "Maggie, did you see anything of interest that would explain this?"
Maggie looked at the three adults staring at her. "There was a clearing with a tree in the center of it. There was a knife stuck though it. All the way, so that it was like a holding place for the blade. The blade came out the other side of the tree and there was blood everywhere. It was almost like a sacrifice," she whispered. "Hal and I think she went from there to the stream, the one a few miles down the road. And then she tried to turn around and head for somewhere else but she collapsed, where Hal found her."
"Wait, did you two split up?" asked Tom, interrupting her story.
Splitting up was about as ill advised as shouting on patrols in case there was a need for backup.
"There's a reason we send you out in pairs, Margaret," reminded Weaver, looking none too happy.
"We figured we could cover more ground that way," said Maggie. "We did make a mistake and I accept full responsibility for that, it was on my order. But if Hal hadn't found her when he did, the Skitters would have. And that would have been on us for not doing the right thing."
"Even if it was the stupid thing," said Weaver, but he gave Maggie a look of grudging respect that clearly said he forgave her.
Tom however, still didn't look too happy and Maggie would have bet just about anything that Hal was going to hear from his father later.
"Well," said Weaver. "Keep me posted."
"I will," promised Anne. "I should head back and see how they're doing, anyways."
"I'll come with you," said Maggie quickly. "I need to give Hal back his rifle."
"Hey, Maggie. Before you go…I almost hate to ask, but did you by any chance-" began Weaver.
"Grab the knife? Sure did." Maggie handed it to the Captain with a grin, along with the beer bottle. "Hal found some pieces of scrap metal that could be of use as well."
"I'll catch up with him later," said Weaver as he walked off.
"I'm going to go find Ben and Matt. Make sure they're fairing okay," said Tom.
"How is Ben, by the way?" asked Anne, concerned.
"He's fine," replied Tom. "I think he's just adjusting to his surroundings the same way we were when we first arrived."
"Alright." She didn't look convinced. "Well tell him if he has any question to come talk to me. I might not have all the answers but my door is always open. Lourdes is usually around too, if he would feel more comfortable talking to her," Anne reminded Tom.
"I'll pass the message along," assured Tom. "See you later, Maggie."
"Bye, Tom."
Anne and Maggie began their way back to the medical trailer together, Anne scanning the people standing around to make sure they all looked as healthy as possible. They passed by Pope's camp and Anne didn't fail to notice Maggie clutch her gun a little tighter. Anne didn't feel the need to carry a gun wherever she went, but privately she was always unsettled when walking by Pope and his Berserkers.
"What do you want, Pope?" asked Maggie in a low voice as the man himself came up to the two women.
"Oh. Why the gloom, Mags? It's a beautiful day, isn't it?" said the man, with an exaggerated gesture to the gray sky.
"It would be even better if you would get out of our way," said Maggie harshly, moving to push past him.
Anne watched the scene nervously to make sure it didn't escalate. She knew Maggie could hold her own in a fight and she didn't feel threatened because Maggie had her back. But she also wanted to avoid conflict all together because she was getting tired of having to patch up petty wounds which could have been avoided.
"Maggie, let's go," she said quietly, giving Pope a hard look.
"Ooo, where are you two ladies going?" asked Pope, sounding interested.
"None of your business!" replied Maggie, irritated.
"That's what your boyfriend told me too. I saw him earlier, carrying his new puppy thingymabober!" said Pope, waiting to get a reaction out of Maggie.
"He's not my boyfriend," she said angrily. "And that wasn't a puppy, you idiot!"
"Sure looked like one to me," he said, acting surprised. "First you, then his brother…it's turning into a little shelter for misfit toys up in Masonville, isn't it?"
The onlookers began to laugh and Maggie looked furious. Anne quickly took her arm and led her away from Pope.
"That's enough, Pope," said Anne. Maggie looked at her, surprised at the usually soft-spoken woman. "Also, when you're ready to be civil, come see me about that cut on your arm. It needs to be looked at."
"Yeah, I'll come see you," he said carefully, with a glint in his eye.
Anne swallowed and Maggie stepped forward again, but Anne continued in a sharp tone, "But don't bother coming unless you're ready to be polite. That goes for everybody, and I mean it."
She gave all the assembled people a stern look before walking away, Maggie close behind her.
"Go Anne," said Maggie in admiration.
Anne laughed nervously. "I have absolutely no idea where that came from," she admitted, making Maggie laugh along with her.
They arrived back at the trailer and went inside. Lourdes was alone, folding clean cloths they were using as bandages.
"Where's Hal?" asked Maggie.
"Not sure," replied Lourdes, looking up. "He said he was going to go check on Ben."
"That reminds me," said Anne, coming over to help Lourdes. "I told Tom to tell Ben to come speak to one of us sometime soon about what happened to him. I think he might be more comfortable talking to you. If that's the case, do you mind speaking with him?"
"No, of course not," said Lourdes. "I don't really know what to say to him though."
"Just answer his questions to the best of your ability if he has any. Be straightforward and tell him the truth. Hearing a bunch of lies is the last thing he needs right now."
"Okay," Lourdes nodded with a smile. "I can do that. Talk to him, that is," she corrected quickly. "Not…tell him a bunch of lies."
Maggie laughed. "Lourdes, I don't think you could tell a lie if you tried," she teased.
Lourdes just shrugged. "You might be surprised," she said, playfully mysterious but knowing deep down that Maggie was probably right.
Maggie only continued to chuckle before saying, "I'll leave you to your work. I need to go find Hal anyways."
"Maggie, I know it's not very cheerful in here but you know you're always welcome," said Anne. "Lourdes and I enjoy the company."
Maggie smiled. "Will you let me know if anything happens with her?" She nodded to the still form of the girl lying on the table.
"Of course," replied Anne. "I wouldn't expect anything for a couple days though."
"Do you need me to bring you anything?" Maggie asked at the door.
Anne looked at Lourdes, who shook her head. "We'll get some lunch soon," said Anne. "Thanks though."
Maggie nodded and left to find Hal.
