Reyna was the first to emerge from the woods, and Nico knew this was intentional. Then it was Jason, with Frank at his side, and the rest of the group stumbled out in random bursts. The last to step out was the brothers, and they were both weighed down with heavy duffel bags of supplies. The frizzy haired girl, surprisingly strong, carried one of the tents on her shoulders while the doctor and Piper both guided Mellie around branches and rocks that laid in the grass. The last girl - the one who had been helping the doctor - rushed forward to clear the path as best as she could. The rest of Nico's group sized them up, not yet walking forward to introduce themselves.
"Which one's the leader?" Nico heard Annabeth mutter to Percy.
"The girl with the braids." Percy answered quietly, subtly edging himself in front of Annabeth. By the way she returned with a shove, he wasn't as sneaky as he thought.
Jason lead the introductions, announcing each of their names and letting Piper do the same.
"We have three more people on a run. Is this everyone in your group?" Piper finished up with asking.
"We have one more man preparing the infirmary, we all call him coach." Percy answered, his voice even.
"Everyone calls me Leo, but you can call me whatever you want." Leo piped up, grinning and winking at Piper.
"I suggest Bolt Brain." Annabeth suggested dryly.
Piper laughed, and her laugh seemed to have a strange ability to calm down tense situations. Everyone stood a bit more loose, but Nico watched the others with suspicious eyes. Reyna stepped forward and flipped her braid over her shoulder, drawing the attention back to her.
"Annabeth, do you think you will be able to introduce them to the work schedule? And Leo," Her eyes flickered to him, "Could you please show Travis and Connor where they can place their items?"
Leo winked and licked his lips dramatically, "Anything for you, mi amor."
Reyna remained unfazed as he walked away, his hips swaying widely, and the brothers followed with laughter on their lips. Reyna turned, her eyes lingering on the doctor and Mellie, before focusing her attention on him.
"Nico, please help Will get Mellie to the infirmary. And check room thirty-two, there may be some extra mats in there." He nodded, winding his arm around the pregnant woman's shoulders in order to shift some of her weight. Will - the doctor - copied his movement and they pushed through the double doors held open by Percy and Piper. Piper gave them a lingering stare, as if she wanted to follow, but let them go after Mellie gave her a strong nod of her head.
Will asked her a few questions about her pain as they walked and, while Mellie's shuddering breaths stumbled through her words as she spoke, she was as clear as she was able to be.
"They're starting to pass." She told the doctor, leaning her head onto Nico's. "It's...not as bad."
"See?" Will grinned, "I told you they would pass. He's just gonna have to wait a few more weeks till he gets to meet his mom."
She smiled and, although it was weak, it was real.
The doctor made some short small talk while they balanced her between them, and Nico made no move to interrupt them. It wasn't until a loud crash - metal against metal - echoed across the linoleum floors when they both halted their conversation. Nico's other hand - the one that wasn't currently curled around Mellie's thin shoulder - had his gun pointed and at the ready.
"M...Mellie?"
Mellie froze in his arms, gasping so softly that only he and Will, positioned so closely to her mouth, could hear it. Nico lowered his gun slowly, and Hedge was standing a few doors away, his baseball bat spinning across the smooth tile from dropping it so suddenly. The other man stood loosely, like all of his bones had been turned to mush. He looked like he hadn't even noticed Nico's gun pointing for the headshot. Nico, realizing no threat, returned his gun to its holster before shifting Mellie's trembling body between him and the doctor.
"Mellie...you died. The TV said...your plane...it…" His voice broke and his face was pale as if she was a ghost. He made no move to come any closer, and honestly, he looked more like he was gonna take off.
Mellie shook their arms off of her, much stronger than she was moments ago. She took a wobbly step forward and Will dunked behind her in case she started to fall.
"Piper knew what was happening." She told him, big, gushing tears starting to run down her cheeks. "They - they attacked while we were on our way to the airport and she got us to safety. She's been taking care of me since. We went back to the house but you weren't..."
Hedge near sobbed, taking her into his arms, and it was the gentlest Nico had ever seen him. His hands ghosted over her pregnant belly as if he was afraid to touch her.
Nico jumped and turned away when a warm hand circled his elbow, and he was surprised to see Will's outreached hand. The other man nodded back to the doors, "Maybe we should give them some privacy." he suggested, hooking his thumb over his shoulder. Nico gave them both a lasting look, a little reluctant to dismiss his orders from Reyna, but complied.
"Mellie told me her husband was lost in the riots." Will tells him once they're standing a respectful distance behind the doors. Nico is unsure what to do, if he should inform his group or if he should make sure Mellie made it to room.
Will started walking back towards the others, and Nico was hesitant to follow.
Will eyed his lingering form, "C'mon." He hooked his thumb over his shoulder, "That guy - Mellie's husband, I'm guessing? He'll take care of her. I'll go check on her in a bit."
Nico gave the doors one last look and followed the doctor. After all, he trusted Hedge with his life, and the older man could take care of himself. And it wasn't like Mellie was going to be getting in any fights any time soon.
Reyna gave him a surprised look at being back so quickly, and she stared at Will for an even longer moment - probably even more surprised at the thought of the other man abandoning Mellie all alone in a classroom. Nico stepped forward and, bending close to her ear, quickly informed her. She blinked twice at him - the closest to being in shock that Nico had even seen her - before she smiled. The metal doors clashed open and Leo, talking loudly with the brothers, stopped to stare at her. He looked ready to make some sort of flirty joke - as he usually did - before Reyna stepped forward. She relayed the smile - and the news - onto the rest of the group.
Piper choked up, "Are you serious?" She directed this more towards Will, who nodded eagerly.
"I didn't even know Hedge was married." Annabeth mused from her place at the picnic table, papers covering every surface from assigning jobs.
"When Leo and I found him he was in the middle of a herd. He was in pretty bad shape." Jason reflected on, but there was still a happiness on his face from the recent news. "That was...weeks after it all broke out, I think. It was one of the strangest things I've ever seen. He was in tough shape, looked like he didn't even want to live, but as soon as he realized Leo was injured and we were alone he just...straightened up."
"We wouldn't have made it out if he hadn't helped us." Leo told them, his voice strangely serious. "He got us out and helped me bandage up my leg, found us shelter and food, and then...you guys came along."
A few of them nodded, others simply were lost in their own memories of being on their own.
"Mellie talked about her husband a lot." Will offered.
"We went back to look for him but…" Piper gave them a stiff grin, "We had to assume the worst." She said the words casually, but her eyes held a pain that had their own story.
Jason nodded, and Nico knew the other boy understood what she meant. "Let's give them some alone time."
"That sounds agreeable." Reyna said, her face more open then Nico had seen in awhile. "Perhaps we'll check on them once lunch is finished. Who is on cooking duty today?"
"Chef Valdez, of course!" Leo grinned, jumping up. "Who's in the mood for stir-fry?"
"This is really good." Piper groaned, shoving another bite into her mouth. "I haven't had food like this in months."
"Don't tell him that." Annabeth advised, "It only strokes his ego."
"You wanna stroke my what?" Leo yelled from the other end of the table, only earning himself a weak punch from Percy.
"Ignore him." Annabeth told her, loud enough for Leo to hear and start pouting. "He would flirt with a rock if it could winked back."
Piper laughed, and Jason looked up the sound with a smile of his own. "He and Travis will get on spectacularly."
Annabeth groaned, but before she could go on Reyna stood, her cup cradled in her extended hand. The table immediately quieted down, a bit of confusion of the side of Piper's group. Reyna waited until the table was silence before speaking.
"I'd like to make a toast." She spoke, "To our newest members. Not only have we reunited kin in the short time we've been together." Reyna casted a warm smile toward Hedge and Mellie, who were cuddled together at the end of the table, "But we've also brought together opportunity for friendship and loyalty." She raised her cup higher and clacked it against the others. Laughter and light applause sounded in response. They finished their meal in light conversation, and Nico spent most of the time watching their new members. The brothers seemed hardwired to each other motions, not even seeming to noticing how they shifted around each other. Katie, with her frizzy hair and awkward hands, seemed to be the most clumsy out of them all as she hurriedly tried to seep up the juice she'd spilled all over Piper. Piper, grinning, only reassured the other girl. Piper, from Nico's assessment, was the most guarded and dangerous of them. Twice through dinner, when the wind hit the metal roof at an angle that only caused a slight rumble, her hand was extended to the knife at her side. Her gaze shifted over each one of her people, counting them like dunklings, before she relaxed to a position without her hand cradled to her hip. Lou Ellen, who Nico had barely heard speak throughout introductions, muttered dirty jokes every few moments that had Percy and Jason in tears. Will, sitting beside her, only chuckled through the jokes as if he was used to her quiet, dark humor.
Nico met Reyna's eyes as she excused herself from meal and nodded, a silent agreement to meet with her later.
Slowly, they all began to excuse themselves. Leo first, to relieve Frank from guard duty, then Hedge with Piper, both of them guiding Mellie inside the building. The brothers followed Jason around the building as he explained the guard rotation, and Lou Ellen and Katie stood to explore more of their surrounding. Soon it was only Percy and Annabeth, along with he and the doctor. Usually, Nico would wait until the table was cleared after lunch and use the space to clean his weapons from his morning shift, and he was slightly annoyed by the time they were taking to finish their meals. Annabeth, with a slight pat on Percy's arm, stood on wobbly legs and limped towards the entrance, probably going to prepare for her shift on the roof soon. Percy went to follow her and took a long moment to brush off his pants, probably just so it didn't seem like he was fretting after her. Nico watched from the counter of his eye, as Percy paused, as if he were suddenly getting an idea. He hesitated before swinging his legs from out of the picnic table and walking over to the side where he and Will were sitting.
"You're a doctor, right?" Percy questioned, coming up beside them. He looked nervous, jumpy, like walkers were expected to attack at any moment.
"Well, I'm not pretendin for kicks." Will looked up and joked, a warm smile on his face. "What can I do for ya?" Will turned to face Percy, his eyes flickering down like he was looking for an injury.
"One of our group members, Annabeth, she uh, twisted her ankle a few days ago. I know it has to heal with time but do you think you could look at it when you get time?" Percy's eyes flicked back and forth, "We have some fish we can trade, you know, to pay you."
"Pay me?" Will looked incredulous, "That's ridiculous, of course not. Actually, I don't have to check in with Mellie for about another hour or two. Is she available right now?"
Percy gave him a surprised look, his mouth forming a perfect 'O' before nodding and grinning widely. "Yeah, she's uh, she's getting ready in the library."
"Perfect." Will grinned, jumping up and clapping his hands together. "Show the way?"
He stood, collecting his plate and utensils and placing them in the bin, and looked back to Nico. "Could you come along? I could use some assistance and I've no idea where Lou's gotten off too."
Nico glanced back to his weapons bag at his side, and at the hopeful look on Percy's face. "How long will this take?" he grumbled, frowning.
"I couldn't be for sure until I've seen it, but maybe an hour? Max?"
Nico sighed, making the sound audible enough for his frustration to bleed through. "Fine." He relented, tucking his bag under the table. He rested his hand on the gun at his side, a bit of security coming with the touch.
The visit didn't take long at all – as the doctor had predicted – but mostly because of the fact Annabeth was due for her shift. Will, with a nice smile and quick examination, had stated that she simply fell on it incorrectly and nothing was seriously damaged. He taped her up and raided their first aid kit for a bit of elastic before she was ready to go. It was a matter of minutes – and Nico was annoyed at being taken away when he wasn't even needed. Just as he was about to turn and leave, hopefully to get a few weapons zombie gunk free before Reyna was expecting him, the doctor called for him.
"Nico, right?" The doctor smiled, "I'm Will." He stated as if it wasn't already obvious. He continued speaking after a moment when he realized Nico wasn't going to respond.
"Your leader – Reyna? – she said something about mats earlier? I was thinking we could get them set up before dinner, if you don't mind."
Nico's sigh was a bit more concealed this time, "Why should I help you?" He questioned, his voice a bit more aggressive than Reyna would have approved. He tried again, "Why can't someone in your group help you?"
Will shrugged, looking unsure himself. "You don't have too. Although, I mean, I do need to be pointed in the right direction, but if you're busy I could do it on my own."
Nico thought about his very exciting plans of nothing he had waiting for him and – in a rare moment of consideration – nodded. "Follow me." He said in terms of agreement.
He led them down the short hallway, ignoring the bright colored paint that called for his attention.
"Was this a school?" Will breathed out in a question, side stepping a particularly darkened patch on the carpet.
"Yeah. Elementary school." He answered shortly, turning to face the room Reyna had reminded him of earlier. It was the storage room, from the looks of the numerous mats and wilted classroom decorations. Even though the building had been fully cleared out months ago, and there was no way a zombie could slip through their defenses only to end up in a classroom, he couldn't help his twitching hand from wrapping around his blade.
"Over here." He muttered, keeping his eyes sharp and noise to a minimum. Will, from the sound of his soft humming and the hit of his rubber soles against the concrete, had no such worries. He was turned away from Nico, instead focusing on a dusty bookshelf. Seriously, Nico couldn't help but thinking, how had this guy lasted this long in the apocalypse?
"Hey." Nico tried to get the other boy's attention, and rolled his eyes once Will looked back to him. "Let's get these out of here."
They doubled up, dragging the mats out by two, until there was a neat stack of them in the hallway.
"Ha." Will smiled, "This reminds me of that fairytale. You know, Princess and the Pea?"
Nico turned to him, blinking in confusion. "Princess and the…Pee?" Nico shook his head, "That's disgusting. That's a fairytale?"
"No, no it's-" Will laughed, just waving his hand through the air, "Never mind."
Nico only watched him for another moment, before flicking his gaze towards the stack. "Do you require anymore assistance?"
Will rubbed the back of his neck, "Uh, no. I can take it from here; maybe get Travis and Connor to help. Thanks, by the way. I would have been a sweaty disaster by the end if I'd had to do that myself." Will gave him thumbs up, grinning, before jogging off towards the double doors at the end of the hall, leaving Nico alone.
Nico sighed, looking around the empty hallway, and going to retrieve his bag.
Nico knocked on the door, waiting silently for her call. She did, and when he entered he followed his usual routine of setting down. He pulled off his fingerless gloves, then his jacket, his heavy belt, and then the removal of his weapons. Usually, he would lay them out in a neat pile, close to his side and easy within reach, but tonight he prepared them for the cleaning he missed out on earlier. He started with his pistol first, beginning with unloading the chamber and disassembling it carefully.
"New people." Nico stated after a minute of silence, "How are you feeling about them?"
Reyna glanced up, her face older than her young age should have allowed.
"The doctor, he's an asset." She began, the crumbling of paper as her only interruption as she smoothed out an old map, "And the pair of brothers, as well as Piper, are especially well fighters. That girl - Katie - says they have another exceptional fighter out on the fun."
"But Mellie - "
"Is a liability, I know." Her mouth straightened out into a thin line, "And after that baby comes, even more."
Nico listened to her quietly rant to him, knowing and trusting that she was doing just that - ranting about the group's troubles. He knew - as she knew - that they would both risk their own lives to keep the others safe, and they wouldn't ever let anything happen to Mellie or her baby. But Reyna needed to antagonise over the lack of baby formula and diapers, and shortage of necessary of medical supplies for her to feel like she had control. They were honest with each other, and they discuss the others with brutalness they had no trouble expressing about each other.
"You were stupid, this morning." Reyna frowned, "You're of no use dead, di Angelo."
"I was just taking care of it. I was careful." He worked on polishing his knife, scrubbing at a particularly stuck piece of zombie brain. "If I wouldn't have taken it down it could have gotten to the gate and make even more trouble."
"It was nowhere near the gate." Reyna reasoned, "It would have gotten distracted and turned around."
"And how do you know that for sure?" Nico snapped back, the piece of flesh finally giving way from under his rough cloth.
"And how do you know for sure that next time 'just taking care of it'" She mocked his voice, "Won't get you bitten through the shoulder, or a clawing to your face?"
Nico sighed, "Look, I'm going to go after a walker when I see one." He told her, cutting her off when she opened her month to argue. "But, next time, I'll let you know, okay?" Nico refused to look up and meet her eyes, "You'll cover me, or whatever."
Reyna sat in silence for a long moment, mulling over his words and trying to distinguish the honestly in the statement. "That sounds agreeable." She answered, "But, I need you to remember that I have the power to pull you off guarding shifts and stick you right into dishwashing."
"So don't lie?" He finished for her, taking time to carefully coat his blade in a thick layer of polish.
"So don't lie." She agreed. Her head tipped to the side, her ear exposing itself from under her thick braid, as she caught sound of Hedge's dinnertime whistle.
"C'mon." She stood, holding out her hand for him to grip onto, "You've got to let that sit for awhile, and I heard Hedge is making chili."
"Goodbye taste buds." He muttered, pleased with her low laugh.
"Like you've had any for months, after all, we all had to eat whatever Percy made last week." They both spared a shudder for that. Reyna continued, her face losing a bit of its smile with every step, and the stress from earlier was starting to cloud back into her eyes.
"Smile, mi cariñito." Leo teased as he rushed by, probably so he was out of range from whatever pain Reyna could inflict upon him.
"Want me to shot him?" Nico offered, the threat not serious, but also kind of more serious than a joke.
"Don't waste the ammunition." Reyna responded dully, although now there was a lightness in her eyes. "And honestly, he'd probably enjoy the attention."
Nico bite down his smile at that, and sat down with his group for dinner.