Chapter 2 Safety

"Martha!" Father Ed called up the back stairs and Phineas grabbed a dishtowel off the back of a chair and pressed it against Jeff's head to stop the bleeding.

"It's gonna be okay," Bogg whispered as he held the towel against the cut.

"I didn't know it was..." Jeff said softly as he stared at his blood-covered hand, a shocked expression on his face.

"Shh, it's okay," Bogg whispered.

"Let me see," said a woman's voice and Bogg allowed her to approach from Jeff's other side and pull his hand away from the cut so she could view it. It had stopped bleeding. Then she moved to his knee and tore his pants to get a good look at it. "I can take care of this," Martha said calmly.

"It's all right," Father Ed said when Bogg glanced at him uncertainly, "she raised 6 sons, she knows what she's doing."

Phineas leaned back, allowing her easier access to Jeff, but still keeping one hand on the boy's shoulder.

Father Ed filled a basin of water for Martha and paused to look at the two newcomers. They were an oddly dressed pair, and he could see they were close, probably father and son. When he'd exchanged glances with Bogg, he had seen the worry in his eyes. He doubted that could be faked, at least not so as to fool him, he had seen a lot of different people in a lot of different situations, and these two seemed genuine.

"Ow," Jeff whispered as Martha cared for the wound on his knee.

"Just a bit longer," she said comfortingly, but didn't stop working.

Bogg squeezed his shoulder, "hey, it's gotta be better than the Amazon, huh?" he said, trying to distract him.

Jeff smiled as he grimaced again and a tear leaked out of his eye, "that's not saying much."

Phineas smiled back and motioned with his head to the kitchen, "better than a hut."

"Yeah," Jeff answered and winced, moving his knee away from her.

As Father Ed reached for Jeffrey's leg to hold it still, Phineas put his hand on the top of Jeff's head and stroked it with his thumb. "Just a little longer," he whispered.

Martha glanced up briefly from her work to examine the newcomers and exchange a glance with the priest. After what seemed like forever to Phineas, she finally said, "well, that's that," and moved up to Jeff's head. She gently pushed his head to the side so he was looking at Bogg's chest, and set to work.

As Phineas sat in that unfamiliar kitchen and realized they were safe, his heartbeat slowed down. His own reaction to Jeff's injury became apparent immediately and he was surprised by it. As he stood beside Jeffrey, he felt physically ill, even dizzy. The wounds were not in any way the worst ones he had ever seen. But his reaction couldn't be denied. It was at some very deep, visceral level, in his gut, and his brain. This was Jeff, and because of that, it was different from anything he'd ever felt. He reached to pull a chair toward the table so he could sit down, half-afraid he might faint. He'd never dreamed he could feel this way.

"So when were you in the Amazon?" Martha asked Jeff as she cleaned the cut on his head.

"Not too long ago," Jeff answered and winced again.

"Hold onto me," Phineas said, taking his hand and immediately feeling Jeff squeezing hard. A tribe in the Amazon had captured them during their most recent mission. It had been particularly difficult because the omni had been taken and they were kept apart and left to fear the worst about each other. Though neither of them had been physically injured, emotionally it had been very draining.

"Do you have a place here, to stay?" she continued, straightening up, indicating she was done.

"No, we just got into town," Bogg said, then leaned down and whispered in Jeff's ear, "it's over." As he straightened up he got a good look at Jeff. His head was turned to the side and his eyes were open, but he stared straight ahead at Bogg's shirt as if in a trance. "How bout a drink?" he asked and Jeff looked at him and nodded. Martha was already pouring some water into a cup when Phineas started trying to locate one, and he accepted it gratefully. He smiled as Jeff raised himself up on one elbow and took it. He drank it all.

"You were thirsty, huh?" he said, and Jeff nodded. Phineas slid his arm under Jeff's neck as he lay back down, so his head could rest on it instead of the hard tabletop. The contact felt good. He didn't like it that Jeff hadn't spoken to him. It wasn't like Jeff at all. Still, he had been through an awful lot, having this injury occur on the heels of their last mission. It might be too early for him to be acting like himself again. A good nights sleep was what he really needed. He squeezed Jeff's hand again, and when Jeff squeezed back, he saw a little smile play on his lips and felt better.

"That cut is deep and I don't want him walking very much on that leg for at least a day," Martha's voice interrupted Bogg's thoughts. He watched as she stood up and addressed Father Ed, "I'm not lettin em leave Father," and Bogg realized just how tall and imposing she was as she stood there, but her voice was soft.

"Martha, I wouldn't dream of taking your patient away," Father Ed told her and smiled.

"You can put him in the downstairs guest room," Martha said to Phineas as she walked down the hall.

"Time for a ride kid," Phineas said as he lifted Jeffrey, secretly glad for a chance to give him another hug.

"I can walk you know, or hop," Jeff started, reaching up to wipe his eyes with the back of his fingers.

"Just enjoy the ride, she looks pretty tough, I don't wanna get on her bad side," Phineas whispered with a grin as he carried him into a bedroom off the hall. He laid him down on the bed where Martha had turned down the covers.

She put a towel on the dresser next to a basin filled with water. "You should get washed up, have you eaten?"

"We'd appreciate anything you have," Phineas answered, thinking that Jeff would have answered first if this hadn't happened. He turned and picked up the basin, and placed it on the bed between Jeff's legs and helped him wash his hand and neck.