I'm back! here's the next chapter!
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~Havii's POV
"Oh, Morgan..." I repeated as I looked at the mess that used to be her back. A very clear and deeply branded Decepticon symbol took up most of the area from the back of her shoulders to her lower spine. I shook my head in disbelief at the seared skin, blisters, and blackened edges of the brand. I'd seen branding wounds before in the Army, but none this severe or large. Thank the Lord that monster hadn't taken my pack...
Whipping it off, I flipped it open and stuck it next to me. I noticed with worry that Morgan was very pale, and leaning down, I pried open one of her eyes to see the pupil widely dilated, even though the cell we were in was well lit. I tried to take her radial pulse, though I found it was too weak for me to find. I switched to the carotid in her neck, frowning when the beat turned out over 100 bpm. I cursed, tapping Moran and leaning down so she could hear me.
"Morgan, listen to me. You're in deep shock, most likely from the pain. I'm going to give you some fluids, you're dehydrated, okay?" I said. Morgan at least seemed to comprehend what I was saying, which was a good sign. I pulled out a bag of IV fluids from my bag, connecting it to a vein in the back of Morgan's hand, I set the fluid bag on top of my pack so gravity could take care of the rest. I muttered to myself, that 'Con had done a number on Morgan, and so soon after we fixed her from being tortured! I kept telling myself over and over that this brand wasn't fatal, but the one called Starscream could have helped me out by not pouring a bucket of water on Morgan. All that did was intensify her shock reaction...
"H—Havii..." Morgan whispered. I leaned down.
"Yes? What is it Morgan?" I said. She looked at me helplessly.
"I'm thirsty..." she trailed off. I nodded.
"I know. It's a symptom of the shock. I'll give you something to drink in a little bit, as long as you aren't going to throw up." I said. Morgan simply nodded, half-closing her eyes. Normally, I wouldn't give a patient water, but I didn't know when I'd be able to get her proper medical attention, and she had lost a lot of fluids from the burn... There was also something I'd have to do that Morgan wasn't going to like.
"Okay, Twiggy, listen." I said. She shifted her gaze to me, managing a very weak grin.
"Been a while...since someone's called me that..." she whispered.
"I have to remove the dead tissue in the burn, that in itself shouldn't hurt, but I apologize ahead of time if I hurt you." I said. Morgan frowned, trying to drag herself over but hissing as soon as the muscles in her back irritated the brand.
"N-no..." she pleaded. I looked at her in sympathy, I knew her injury must hurt like nothing else, but I had to.
"Morgan, if I don't, your burn will get infected. If it gets infected, I don't know when I could get you to a place that has strong antibiotics, and you could get something as bad as gangrene. You don't want that do you?" I said. Morgan sighed, saying nothing, and I fished out a hemostat from my pack and a pair of scissors, sterilizing them even though they already were. I went to work removing the dead skin and tissue from around the brand, and Morgan did very well. She grimaced only once or twice, and only twitched once, though it was my fault. I cut a little too far down and hit a nerve when I was removing a small, blackened bit of tissue.
I finished, digging out my canteen as I did. I, very slowly, sat Morgan up. Handing her the canteen, I removed a roll of white bandages from my bag.
"You can sip that while I bandage you up." I said. Morgan was still slightly in shock, though she was coming out of it quickly with the small amount of treatment I'd given her. She looked a bit uncomfortable and confused as she held the remnants of her shredded shirt over her chest. I smiled gently and looked her in the eye.
"You're fine. I'm your teammate and your medic. It's nothing I haven't seen before. Besides, it'll help once you're wrapped up and when we're done you can have my T-shirt." I said. Morgan nodded, slowly releasing the remnants of her shirt. Like I told her, it didn't bother me, but for her sake I wrapped the bandage quickly. I kept it fairly loose so the wounds could breathe, and tied off the end of the bandage so it wouldn't slip.
I pulled off my camo overshirt, then the white T-shirt under it and handed that to Morgan. I gave her a 'just a second' gesture as I pulled my camo back on, then I helped her into the new T-shirt. I laid her back on her stomach slowly and she turned her head to look at me.
"Thank you, Havii." Morgan said. I put everything I'd used back in my pack, though some of it went into a biohazard bag.
"You're more than welcome, Captain." I said, saluting her. Morgan softly smiled, then closed her eyes. Her breathing quickly fell into a deep, slow rhythm, telling me she'd drifted off from exhaustion. I let her sleep, she more than deserved it.
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Phew...another chapter. Sorry it's short... I am MORE than welcome for ideas in this or any of my stories. I'm struggling for a solid conflict in this one, so fans, put your evil side to work! Mine's been a bit overused lately...