'Mich…' He heard Selene call, followed by a lot of coughing.

He turned around and found her sitting on the ground. Her hand and mouth were covered in blood and her breathing was heavy.

'Shit' Michael hissed. He immediately checked the bullet wounds. The one below her collar bone was bleeding quite badly now. 'It's getting worse, why didn't you warn me sooner?'

Her eyes were fluttering, she was fighting to stay conscious. He scooped her in his arms and started to move faster. He needed to get her to the safe house and treat her wounds before she would bleed to death.

Michael continued to move through the streets with caution to avoid patrols. He reached the edge of town quite fast and raced into the woods. Here he could increase his speed without too much worry of being followed.

'Eve.' Michael called while nearing the safe house. 'Eve, please open the door.' He didn't have to shout as his daughter would be waiting and listening for their arrival.

Michael slowed down a few meters from the door when Eve opened it. The spark of joy in her eyes was immediately replaced by worry when she saw him carrying her mother. The sight must have been awful, Selene's face and clothes and his hands were covered in blood. He felt sorry for her, in her short life she had already experienced too much trauma.

'What happened?' Eve exclaimed when he entered.

'We were attacked. Grab a bag of blood and make sure your mother drinks it.'

Selene moaned as he put her on the examination table. Good, at least she is still conscious. Michael methodically opened every drawer and cabinet in the room to find as much medical supplies as possible. There was still some left, but only the bare minimum.

In the corner of his eyes, he saw Eve struggle getting Selene the much needed blood. 'Sit behind her and lift her head on your knee. Fill her mouth with blood and close her mouth and nose, she will be forced to swallow. Then release her to take a breath and repeat.' The terrified look on his daughters' face said enough. 'I know, dear, I'm sorry. You're doing a great job.' Michael tried to reassure her.

He continued his search, grabbing everything he could find and went to Eve. She managed to get Selene to drink half a bag, but Selene wasn't looking better at all.

When he wanted to take over, Eve spoke as if she was 100 years old instead of 20. 'You take care of the wounds. I will keep at this.'

As he stuffed his feelings down, Michael's medical training kicked in and he went to work. The best he could do for now, was to stop the bleeding by stitching the wounds. Every time he put the needle in her skin, Selene would moan softly and stir just a little. She's still alive.

He was glad she didn't wear her normal Death Dealer outfit. He had to rip up her clothes to expose the wounds and she would always go bare underneath her leathers. As she was wearing a more casual outfit, Michael knew she was wearing a top underneath so she wouldn't be too exposed in front of their daughter.

After he sutured and bandaged everything, he saw Eve had managed to let her drink the whole bag and even cleaned her face. She looked lovingly at her mother and Michael could barely tear his eyes away from the two most beautiful women in his life. Michael gave himself a couple of seconds to take in the view and to find the courage for what he had to do next.

'Eve…' He could barely look her in the eyes. 'I need you to go to the car and stay there.'

'But… why? Just tell me what is happening!' Eve exclaimed when he dropped his eyes.

He never heard Eve raise her voice. She deserved to know what was going on.

'During the fight, your mother got attacked with a knife and the blade was left inside.' The memory of seeing Selene leaning against the wall, covered in blood, made him shudder. 'We think the blade was coated with something causing her healing power to stop.'

He waited for the words to sink in. Eve only needed a second to connect the dots.

'You need to get it out.' Eve said with a sigh.

She slowly got up and went through the room to grab their stuff. Michael felt horrible, he didn't mean to send her off, but she shouldn't see him hurting her mother. He would talk to her later and explain.

Eve walked to her mother on the table. She stroked her hair and gave a kiss on her forehead. She turned to Michael and he expected to get a glare. Instead, she looked at him with loving eyes and squeezed his hand before she left.

Michael only felt love at that moment. His daughter really was something else. He waited until she closed the door before he had to get back to business again. Selene was slightly stirring on the table, still fighting for her life. However, he hoped she would pass out soon and didn't have to go through the pain. Michael took one last look at her face before he started.

Palpating her stomach, he found the piece of blade. Selene let out a loud moan as he was trying to feel the size of the blade and possible damage. Since there were no gloves anywhere near, he sterilized both her stomach and his hands. Normally he wouldn't need to, but he didn't know how long the toxin would linger in her system and prevent her from healing quickly.

He grabbed a scalpel and palpated one last time. Closing himself off from the women laying on the table, he started. Selene responded instantly when the knife sliced through her skin. A loud cry escaped her mouth and her muscles tensed up. He had to press on her stomach to keep her in place. Going in again, her cry intensified into a scream. Please pass out, please pass out, PLEASE PASS OUT!

He was about to stop when she stopped moving all together. Her head fell to the side and her arm was hanging from the table. Relief and worry were battling inside him. He placed the clamps on the incision and started searching for the blade.

It didn't take him long to find it. Michael pulled it out with tweezers making sure not to be cut by the blade himself. He threw the blade aside and started to stitch up the incision as fast as possible. It wasn't his best work, but it would have to do for now.

After he bandaged up her stomach, he wrapped her in a blanket and scooped her up in his arms. Her body was completely limp and her face was paler than normal. With Selene in his arms, he walked out the door.