"I can tear this right off, huh," Archer says.
He holds up a pair of pants provided for Maddy to change in to. Their press plane departs in less than an hour and they're getting ready to leave the UNICEF camp to return to New York. Maddy, who's sitting on the cot filling a canvas bag with her's and Archer's things, looks up at Archer with confusion.
"Tear what off?"
"This," he says, tugging on the right leg of the pants.
"Why would you do that, Archer?"
"Why not?" He frowns.
"I can wear normal pants, my leg isn't swollen."
He shakes his head. "It's better to keep the bandage out in the open, huh," he tells her.
"I'll just ask for a pair of shorts, then," Maddy tells him. "Put those down, I'm not going to let you tear apart a perfectly good pair of pants."
Archer tosses the article of clothing towards Maddy. She catches and folds them before putting them down beside her. She's been wearing nothing but a t-shirt and panties for the past few days, but neither she nor Archer seem to mind. Archer has been far too preoccupied acting as Maddy's crutch to look at her with anything other than concern in his eyes.
"Done packing that bag?"
Maddy peers inside and feels its contents as she goes through a mental check lists. Diamonds, diamonds, diamonds, pistol, diamonds, pistol, notebook, camera, pens, and more diamonds. She nods to Archer, who's taken to chewing on a piece of wood.
"You're going to splinter your tongue."
He dismisses her comment with a wave of his hand. He removes the wood from his mouth and spits to the side. "We can get going then, huh."
Another nod from Maddy sets Archer's feet in motion. He takes the bag and puts the strap over his shoulder before bending over to scoop Maddy up. She looks at him suddenly and puts a hand against his chest.
"What are you doing?"
"What's it look like I'm doing?" he cocks his brow.
"I'm not ready."
"Why not?" He stands up straight, arms hanging down by his sides.
"I'm not wearing pants, Archer!"
"So?"
"So? I'm not leaving this tent without pants."
"Why not?" He asks again.
"Because I like wearing pants when I go out," she says, cheeks tinting slightly red.
Archer shakes his head.
"Go and get me the nurse, Archer. I'll ask if there are shorts to wear, otherwise I'll just put these on."
She puts her hand down from Archer's chest to rest it on the folded pair of pants on the cot near her hip. Archer looks down at them and back up at Maddy. He shrugs the bag off his shoulder and returns it to its place on the cot before putting his piece of wood back between his teeth.
"Are you going to go get the nurse for me, Archer?"
He looks at Maddy for a moment and nods. "Ja, ja," he says absently as he turns and strolls out of the tent.
Gnawing on his branch still, Archer walks between tents looking around in search of the nurse who has been tending to Maddy for the past couple days. He finds himself inside a product tent before he finds the woman he's looking for. He scours the shelves of clothes and food stuffs until he finds a pile of khaki shorts. He scans the sizes and grabs the smallest pair for Maddy before leaving. He returns to her tent waving the shorts like a trophy.
Maddy's face lights up. "You found a pair!"
He nods and tosses them towards her. She picks them up and checks the label for the size before holding them up. Archer watches her examine them, and before she has a chance to stand on her own, he's in front of her with both hands extended for Maddy to grab.
"I've got this, huh," he says from behind the bark in his mouth.
"Will you spit that out, you're making me nervous," she frowns as Archer takes the shorts from her.
He spits the wood off to the side as he drops to one knee. "Feet up."
Maddy lifts her feet. Archer holds her ankles as he puts her feet through the shorts. He pulls them up to her knees before standing up to let Maddy hold his forearms to help her stand. Balancing herself on her good foot, she puts her hands on the top of Archer's head when he kneels back down. He pulls her shorts up completely and buttons them at her waist. He then grabs her shoes from underneath the cot and puts them on, lacing them up securely.
He lets his hand fall to the back of her thigh against her bandage. He tilts his head slightly to the side to press his lips against the thickest part of her bandage, where underneath, he knows her injury is. Maddy looks down at him with surprise when she feels the scratch of his bearded chin against her skin. She begins to run her fingers through his hair, but Archer is standing stiff and upright before the moment can develop into anything more intimate tha a superficial touch.
"A'right, Miss Bowen, you've got your pants."
She nods with a flustered smile on her face.
"We can go."
Another nod, and then quickly, "I can walk."
"Can you," he says with a scoff, stating more than asking.
"Yes I can," she motions to the two crutches propped against the side of her cot.
"Suit yourself."