Alright SETTLE DOWN! (Hehe~) I knooooowwwww chapter 3 came so late, but I had a busy day getting ready for Thanksgiving with my mommy *u* I did write while we were in the car though, but my laptop wasn't charged enough so I didn't get to write that much throughout the day. GO FIGURE :I Anywho, here's chapter threeeeeeee~~~ Enjoy! ^0^

"Ah! Lion, not there!" Twitch said with a quivering voice. Her legs shook, weakened by where he had just grabbed her. "I'm sorry. Did it hurt?" he said trying to soothe her. "A little bit, but it's okay. Just be gentle..." Twitch said lightly panting. "Okay, I'll go slow.." Lion said pushing her shoe slowly onto her hurt foot. He had accidentally gripped her ankle too hard, and the thought of causing her any more pain made him nervous. Luckily, he was able to get her shoe on with no more complaints. He made sure to tie the laces loose yet snug in case her ankle were to have a flare up on the way to the air strip. "Thank you," Twitch said once he got her other shoe on and tied. "It's no problem. I'm always here to help you," he replied beaming her with a smile. Twitch returned the look, and sighed as she pushed herself to the edge of the bed for Lion to help her up. "What's the matter?" he asked as he pulled her up. "I just wish I had at least a crutch to lean on is all," Twitch pouted. Lion raised an eyebrow looking down at her. "Would you not call me a 'crutch'?" Twitch looked up at him unamused. "Stop being such a smart-ass, Olivier." Lion chuckled. He loved teasing her and getting under her skin. "Would you like for me to carry you again?" Twitch looked away, shaking her head and smiling. "Not as much as you would like it, but I would like to make it down to the first floor. I can hop the rest of the way."

Lion leaned forward and scooped Twitch up in his arms. He walked over to her door which she opened and shut for him to make it out the room. She held tightly onto Lion as they made their way down the stairs. There were no words being spoken between them, so Twitch just listened to his footsteps and his breathing. He was a heavy breather despite not being overweight, and Twitch had seen him dead-lift at least twice her weight before. Could it have been Asthma, maybe? No, he would be wheezing, or at the least breathing more rapidly. Twitch caught herself looking up at him a little too hard and for too long. It's just breathing. As long as he isn't dying, why should she be so invested in him? They were just very close friends who were on the same team, she shouldn't be so caught up in him. Although, she did have to admit, he had been great with wrapping her ankle and making sure she stayed off of it. Gustave would have just given her a crutch and sent her on her way. "Alright, here we are," Lion said stepping off the last stair and putting her down. Twitch moved her arm down to around his waist, and thanked him for bringing her down. "No problem at all, now let's get you out to the air strip."

Twitch panted trying to catch her breath. The air strip wasn't too far outside of the base, but it felt like going five miles on one foot- even with Lion supporting her. "Here," he said throwing his backpack onto the ground and handing her a bottle of water from inside. "Ah, merci Oli," she said twisting open the cap and chugging the liquid. "Oli?" Lion asked looking down at her. Twitch pulled the bottle from her lips panting rapidly. "I didn't have time to finish your name. Too thirsty." Lion gave her a short laugh as she began to slam the water down again. The sound of engines coming from over their head caught their attention. They looked up to see Rainbow's smaller private plane coming in for a landing. "If I could jump, I would do so!" Twitch cheered. She really was genuinely excited to see Doc, even though she had someone who was more tender with her by her side. It wasn't like Gustave couldn't be intimate or soft, he was just always occupied with his profession. Still, would it kill him to fondle her a little here and there? They had been dating for four years now, and Twitch was growing hungry for him. Or maybe, hungry in general...

The sounds of cheering from behind them caught their attention. They looked over their shoulders to see the rest of the GIGN, IQ and Blitz from GSG-9, and all of the SAS coming up behind them. "Hey guys!" Lion called out with his voice overpowering the sound of the plane. "Hey!" came scattered replies from the group. They all took a place around Twitch and Lion to watch the plane come in. When Twitch turned away from Lion to hug IQ it caught him off guard. She had decided to lean on IQ now as they talked amongst themselves. They were probably talking about her ankle since they kept looking down, Lion figured. IQ was Twitch's best friend here, so of course she'd go to her naturally; but deep down, Lion felt... Jealous? He shrugged it off turning to look back at the plane that was now circled around coming back towards them. He had to be realistic. He didn't own her, and she wasn't single. Maybe he should have relied more on Montagne in his time of need instead of slipping and letting his feelings get caught up in Twitch.

The plane came to a halt, and the engines died down. The stairs leading into the plane flipped outwards, and out came Doc. "Bonjouuuuur!" everyone called out to him waving their hands in the air. "Mes amis, je suis revenu! (My friends, I have returned!)" Doc replied waving one of his hands as he departed. Everyone began walking towards him to greet him with handshakes and hugs. Twitch hopped beside IQ behind the group, but still moving forward none the less. Lion just stood in place watching them all walk forward to greet him. Although they had set aside their differences (more like ignored them for the sake of Twitch), Lion still had his personal thoughts about Doc. What made him such a celebrity in the team? The fact that he was a healer? Finka was just as good as him, and nobody made a fuss about her. Lion sighed closing his eyes and shaking his head. He decided he'd greet Doc later, and turned to walk back to base. Nobody would miss him. It'd be no different than if Twitch were okay and down here by herself. He felt so out of place down here with everyone. He felt so alone again, and many more feelings he didn't know what to call. The only thing he didn't feel- was Twitch's eyes on him as he left the air strip.

Doc turned Twitch's ankle side to side tenderly wrapping his fingertips around it. Her small winces and sharp intakes of air let him know just how bad her injury was. "Did you ice it?" he asked breaking the silence. "Ouais. I even had Olivier put the anti-inflammatory crème on it, and I took a few of the pain pills." Doc nodded massaging his fingers over the swollen area. Twitch winced again. "Well, the crème isn't going to do much for a sprain. The pain pills you took were for mild pain, so they're not really going to help either. The ice and wrapping were your best bet. There's no heat although it's swollen, so that is a very good sign. You two did well." He put her leg down slowly and moved to sanitize his hands. "I'll be back with a shot of Cortisone and a compression sock," he said as he walked towards the door. "Sit tight, it won't take long." He disappeared through the door and Twitch listened as his footsteps faded away. The only sound in the room was the low buzz of the lights above her. She dreaded having to take a needle in her ankle, but she couldn't lean on Lion for a week.

Twitch shook her head thinking about Lion again. He wasn't the only person here at Hereford, why her mind went directly to him completely caught her off guard. Maybe because he was always there to fill in for Doc. She regretted that last thought. Lion wasn't just a fill-in, and it was rude of her to think of him that way. But if she didn't convince herself otherwise, then she could possibly land herself in his spot; and that would royally demolish her relationship with Doc if she slipped up. The door handle loudly turning scared her out of her thoughts. Doc walked in with a needle, wipes, a small vile, and a long sock on a medic tray. He reached over and pulled out two gloves from one of the boxes that hung on the wall. The sound of the latex being stretched over his hands and snapping to his skin made Twitch uneasy. She hated needles with a passion. When Doc picked up the vile and the needle to fill the syringe, she wanted to faint. Seeing that sharp instrument intrude the protective cap of the medicine to suck in the liquid made her stomach turn.

"Alright," Doc said placing the needle down to pick up one of the packs of wipes. He rubbed down the areas of her ankle he was going to inject before picking his needle back up and squirting some of the fluid out. He lifted up her ankle with his free hand, and pulled the skin upwards with his thumb. "On the count of three. One, two-" he stuck the needle in and squeezed a third of the medicine out. Twitch whined and cursed him under her breath. "Come now, Emmanuelle- it's not that bad," Doc said massaging the injection site before turning her ankle over. "Let me stab you in your swollen ankle and tell me it's not that bad," she spat back. Doc laughed to himself repeating the process on the side. He told her he would allow her to curse his name since injecting near more bony points of the body were obvious pain centers. "Now, the other side," he said turning her ankle once more. "Ready?" Twitch leaned her head back to close her eyes and take a deep breath. "Ouais." Doc slid the needle in a bit more carefully this time. This part of the ankle was basically bone and cartilage covered in a thin layer of flesh, he couldn't be so quick as he was with the other two. Twitch whined in pain as small tears forced themselves from between her eyelids. Hurry the hell up, Gustave! she yelled from inside her mind. "Alright, we're finished," he said turning to retrieve band-aids to apply on her punctures.

Twitch sat up and watched as Doc took the compression sock and slipped it over her foot. It fit tightly around her ankle, wrapping around the heel of her foot and leaving the rest exposed. "That will help the swelling," he said standing up to take his gloves off and dispose of them. Twitch wiped her eyes, but the tears kept slowly falling. Doc walked over to hold her face in his hands and sweep the tears away from under her eyes. "Here," he said reaching inside of his lab coat and pulling out a lollipop. Twitch giggled as Doc removed the wrapper and held it towards her. She opened her mouth and he placed the sweet inside. "That's my big girl," he cooed giving her a kiss on the forehead. Twitch popped the candy out of her mouth to speak. "Can I walk on it now?" Doc checked his watch and shook his head. "Sit here while I go fill you a bottle of Vicodin. When I return, the cortisone should have taken affect." Twitch nodded popping the lolli back in her mouth as he disappeared again. "My big girl" echoed throughout her mind. That was awfully sweet of him. Maybe he was finally coming around to being more intimate and showing affection.

"Here we are," Doc said as he re-entered the room. "Here is your Vicodin. Take them as needed, no more than two at a time." Twitch nodded taking the bottle from him and pulling the lollipop from her mouth again. "Gustave, while we're in here- I've been feeling empty." Doc looked at her with slight confusion. "Empty? Like inside?" Twitch nodded. "Have you been eating well?" Twitch nodded placing the candy partially back in her mouth and sucking lightly. "Vomiting?" Twitch shook her head 'no'. She held the lollipop away and motioned for him to come closer to her. "I feel empty between my legs." The look Doc gave her made her think he caught on to what she was hinting at. "It's been a while since I've done anything in the field of gynecology, but it sounds like your uterus shifted when you fell. I guess I could give you a quick examination," he said turning to get more gloves. Twitch giggled shaking her head as she slid off the table. She made sure to be light on her ankle as she sauntered towards him, wrapping her arms around him from behind. "Emmanuelle?" Doc said with a hint of surprise. "I think you know what I mean," Twitch said lifting a hand to run her fingertips down the back of his neck.

"Emma," Doc said breaking free of her embrace. He turned to face her, and the look he held on his face was something like disapproval. "It's just simple biology working," Twitch said placing the lollipop back in her mouth. "You already know how I feel about intimacy in the workplace. We're professionals here. If we were off duty or on leave, I'd be more than happy to do the things you'd like." The way he said it was so matter-of-factly, and Twitch didn't like that all. It was like a parent lecturing a child on behavior, or setting them a rule. "Emmanuelle," Doc said placing his hands on her shoulders. "I have to deploy again in three days. I wouldn't want to get too comfortable being showered in your affection. It'd just be that much harder having to leave after being back." Twitch's heart felt like it was collapsing in on itself. Doc placed another kiss on her forehead placing a gentle hand on her face. "Soon, Emma- I promise. You can go back to your room now. Elevate that ankle on a pillow while you're resting, okay? I'll check in later."

He turned to open the door for her, and she reluctantly walked out. He followed her down the hallway that led through the infirmary out into the pharmacy. "I have serums to gather and bottles to fill, I'll see you later tonight to check up on you," he called as she walked out. "Thank you, Gustave," Twitch said with false cheer in her voice. She was completely devastated that after nearly two weeks, she would only be able to be with her lover for three days. Even with him being back at base for three days, she would only get about maybe twenty hours to spend with him. It just wasn't fair. Twitch looked up at the sky as she made her way outside of the building. It was everything she could do to keep her tears of despair from falling from her eyes. She looked down at her feet, putting focus on her hurt ankle. If it wasn't for her injury, she probably wouldn't even be seeing him tonight she thought. She took the lollipop from her mouth and threw it to the ground, the hard circle of candy shattering into hundreds of tiny bits and pieces- just like her hopes.

IQ placed a pillow under Twitch's ankle to give it some elevation. It had been an hour since her visit with Doc, and the Cortisone was starting to wear off. "Monika, my pills," Twitch said reaching out a hand. IQ swiftly moved across the room to get Twitch her meds. She took a half drank bottle of water from Twitch's dresser and passed it to her as well. "Merci, mon amour," Twitch said popping two of the Vicodin in her mouth and washing them down. "Do you need anything else? A cold compress on top perhaps?" Twitch shook her head. "Gustave said all I need is the Vicodin and compression sock, everything else would work out in time." IQ looked skeptical, but she nodded anyway. Twitch lay down on her back and looked down at IQ who was folding some blankets at the end of her bed. "Thank you, Monika. You've done so much for me." IQ gave her a small smile and placed the blankets on Twitch's bedside table for easy access. "It's no problem, mein liebling. I'll see you later, okay?" Twitch blew IQ a kiss as she left. She looked up at the ceiling becoming aware of the drowsiness brought on by the Vicodin. Her mind raced a million miles a minute on how to make the most of her time with Doc before her thoughts shifted to Lion. Mainly, she thought of the way he left the air strip without saying 'hello'. In reality, she didn't need to wonder why- she felt like she already knew. Once again, guilt was setting in...

Loud knocking jerked Twitch out of her sleep. She looked over at the time and read 0900 a.m. 9 a.m.!? What time did I go to sleep!? Twitch sat up calling out to the person to come in. The door opened to reveal Gustave in his white lab coat. "Ah, you're awake!" he said enthusiastically as he walked in. He sat at the end of her bed and moved the pillow she rested her ankle on to place his thigh there. "I came to check in on you last night, but you were fast asleep. Monika said you seemed drowsy when she was visiting- I just came to make sure. I tried waking you, but you didn't stir. I'm happy to see you're keeping it elevated," he said slipping down the compression sock and gently checking the circumference for swelling. "Hmm, it's not so bad. How are you on Vicodin?" Twitch rubbed her eyes and leaned to grab her bottle. "It looks full still, but I know you had to take some to be resting as hard as you were." Twitch held up two fingers, "I only took two." Doc nodded as he pushed the sock back up, resting her foot on his thigh again. "That's typical when you mix it with Cortisone. Any pain now?" Twitch shook her head 'no'. "Good," Doc said.

He moved her foot off of his thigh and placed it back on the pillow. "How was everything while I was away?" Twitch's heart skipped a beat. She knew he didn't know the ordeal with Lion, but the anxiety that he did know something messed with her mind causing unnecessary worry. "Ahh, nothing much here. Everything is the same- we just don't have you here to treat our carelessness," she said with a weak laugh. Doc smiled nodding his head in agreement. "That sounds about right." There was an awkward silence between the two when Twitch asked him about Brazil. His face went vacant, staring past her back to Brazil. He sighed deeply before speaking. "There were more fatalities than rescues. The White Masks are starting to target corrupt governments. Once they become allied, they force the scientists to come up with biological and chemical weapons. I'm going to Yemen with Finka on the next deployment, they've taken over the military there. We're going to be working hard on developing vaccines in the next couple of days so..." Doc's voice trailed off as he noticed the disappointment on Twitch's face. He sat on the edge of Twitch's bed beside her taking her face in his hands. "Emmanuelle, I'm sorry. But you and I know that being a medic is a very busy task. This is what I wanted to do. I'm saving lives here." Twitch just lie back down facing the wall beside her bed. "You can't save the world, Gustave."

Doc stared at her. The truth of her words cutting him deep. He knew she was upset she had been missing time with him, and the time they had spent together so far was due to her ankle; but she didn't have to go that far. He knew he couldn't save the world, but he was trying to make at least some sort of difference. He wanted to retort, but he just couldn't find any words. He didn't even know if he could bring himself to say anything back to her if he came up with an argument good enough. He just responded to her with a long and heavy sigh looking down at his feet. He pushed himself up off of her bed and walked out of her room closing the door behind him. Twitch's bottom lip quivered as big tears crept down her face. She felt like Doc wasn't even trying to make time for her. Even if it were only two hours out of his day he spent with her. Was that too much to ask for? The sound of her door opening back up caused her to turn her head. She expected to see Monika, but Lion stood there instead.

"Oh.. Hey," Twitch sniffled wiping her face. She sat herself up and wrapped her arms around her legs. "Hey," he said walking over and sitting beside her on her bed. Twitch gave him a weak smile before turning her attention to her feet. "So, Doc is still going to be away even while he's here, hmm?" Twitch sniffled again and shook her head. Lion took a deep breath placing a hand on her left knee. "I'm sorry, Emma. I know you've been looking forward to his return for a long time." Twitch just shrugged shaking her head and glancing up at the ceiling. Her typical move when trying not to cry. "I just... I thought this would be different, you know? I'd be able to see him in the infirmary, or have lunch together in the cafeteria; but here we are: he's in the lab with his medicine, and I'm up here with a busted ankle." The distress in Twitch's voice caused guilt to weigh on Lion's shoulders with the force of a thousand suns. If only he had done like he said then Twitch wouldn't be so miserable.

The guilt Lion felt was written all over his face. Twitch sighed and placed a hand on his arm warranting his attention. "Look, it's not your fault. I don't want you to
think that me stepping in the hole and spraining my ankle is because of you. I should have paid more attention to where I was stepping." Lion shook his head placing a hand on top of hers. "Emma, if I had filled in the hole like I said then you wouldn't be trapped in your room. I can't help but feel guilty." The two stared at each other speaking silent words of comfort with their eyes. Twitch could feel butterflies in her stomach as the warmth of Lion's palm radiated from her hand down into her body. She forgave him, but he still carried so much of the blame. If only she could take it off of him... Lion let go of her hand and turned away. Twitch caught the faint blush creeping up on his face before he shied from her. "I- I should get going. Montagne probably needs a new bullet hole in his shield or something." Twitch giggled letting go of Lion's arm so he could walk to the door. "Oh," he said looking back as he gripped the door handle. "How's the ankle?" Twitch smiled tucking a few strands of her hair behind her ear. "It's doing better. Thank you." Lion smiled and gave her a quick nod, "I'm happy to hear that. Take care." The door closing behind him saddened Twitch to her core. She wished he would have stayed and kept her company. God knows when IQ would make it there to see her, and knowing her- it wouldn't be until almost nighttime. Luckily, the throbbing pain came back to give Twitch a reason to take her Vicodin and go to sleep. It seemed like her dreams would be her best company...

HA, I bet ya thought the beginning of this chapter was going somewhere else, didn't you? c: Nah, I did that on purpose c: I hate to push Doc and Twitch so far apart but... Meh, it's great drama ^^ Also, I am NOT writing Twitch to be an addict. She's just a little down is all :c Get well soon, Twitch! (CHAPTER 4 COMING SOOOOOOON!)