THE ASSASSIN - AU/CC/Adult - Epilogue - 11/6/16

[keepsmiling7]

Lots of rest is needed by everyone.
Thanks,
Carolyn

[Eva]

Tess, girl, without you they would all be lost. It's going to take a very long time before each and everyone of them will be ok again. If that's even possible, that is. Seeing every wounded person through the eyes of Tess was very dramatic. Let's hope they will get the time to heal, in every way possible.

[sarammlover]

I LOVE TESS!!! No bullshit and smart as a whip! Love her. I am glad she has been able to patch as many of them as she can. My heart is hurting so much for Max and Liz right now.....poor guys. Excited for next week. I am glad they are all together again!

[Double Trouble]

Roswelllostcause: Yep, they’re gonna need to rest.

keepsmiling7: Yes, it is. There’s plenty of recovering to be done.

Eva: They’d be in a very tight spot without Tess there to put them all back together. Yeah, it’s gonna be some time before they’re okay again. Some of them will need more time than others.

sarammlover: She’s pretty great! She’s had her hands full, that’s for sure. Max and Liz really have a hurdle ahead of them. It won’t be an easy recovery, but they have each other and they’ve never let go of that.



Part 66

Kyle ran a hand through his hair, leaving it standing up in short wet spikes, as he dragged the towel over his chest half-heartedly. He was exhausted, mentally and physically, but the thought of crawling into bed with the filth of the mission clinging to him had been unbearable, so he’d pushed himself to stand through a shower. He ran a hand over his face, mindless of the stubble that rasped against his palm.

His leg was throbbing but the pain had dulled and he figured it was a small price to pay anyway. He braced his left hand on the counter and leaned in close to the mirror to inspect the scratches where the wood had splintered from a stray bullet and ended up embedded in his face. He frowned at a few of the wood fragments that he hadn’t been able to pull out, knowing they were in deep enough that he wasn’t going to be able to remove them himself.

“You just couldn’t wait, could you?” Tess chastised when she came into the room and caught him.

He shrugged. “Hey, makes your job easier if I’m already cleaned up.” He stared at his reflection for several long moments. “Besides, I was ripe enough to knock you over.”

“Not funny, Valenti.”

He held a hand up before she could tear him a new one. “I was careful, made sure none of that shit got into the wound.” He finally broke the staring contest he was having with himself. “I had to get that filth off me.”

She didn’t ask for clarification. She understood what he wasn’t saying. It wasn’t just this mission he was trying to wash away. It was the memories that it would’ve dredged up. “C’mon, get over here so I can see how much damage there is.” She paused to appreciate the view when he turned and limped over to the bed without bothering to cover up. “At least we don’t have to go on a treasure hunt to find the bullet.”

“I’m just glad that asshole didn’t have better aim. Little higher and to the right and it really would’ve fucked my shit up,” he tried to joke. He nodded and sat down when she just arched a brow and motioned to the bed.

“If he’d hit your femoral artery it would’ve fucked your shit up too.” She knew what he was trying to do, but she just didn’t have it in her to joke about this situation.

“Hey.” Kyle reached out and cupped her chin, bringing her gaze to him. “I’m okay, babe. And I’m sorry. I know it’s not funny.”

She turned her head to place a kiss in the palm of his hand. Apology accepted. “Lie down.” She moved back and pulled a prep pad out of her bag, carefully lifting his leg and sliding the pad under his thigh.

He watched her as she began to work, checking the wound for debris before starting to clean it. Her skills never ceased to amaze him and if her hands trembled on occasion as she put him back together he didn’t mention it. Every movement was deliberate and methodical. “How’re our rescues?”

“They’ll survive.” She glanced up at him. “Were you able to take Janus down?”

“No, he wasn’t there.” His hands clenched into fists. “He won’t make it to trial. This thing can be brought to light and the major players will be flushed out, but he won’t be one of them. Oh, what he’s done will come out, but,” he shook his head, “one of the people he turned into a killer’s gonna turn on him.”

“You think Bane will take him out.” It was so natural to slip back into calling him by his codename when referring to him as the cold-blooded assassin he had been trained to be.

“It’s not enough that he stripped away their identities, their humanity, and turned them into killers.” He tensed. “He’s the kind of maniac that does shit like that for fun. There were people in the cells in that compound that had been there for a long time, caged like animals, and tortured just for the hell of it. There was no information to be gained by his actions. What the hell did Evans and Parker know? Nothing. And it’s not like torture was needed to determine that, but that’s what he did. It’s like he did it for the pure enjoyment of it.”

Tess was quiet as he talked, knowing that something that had happened had really stuck with him and if he didn’t get it out it’d keep him from sleeping. His sleep wouldn’t be peaceful and most likely it wouldn’t be very restful, but his body needed the downtime. Sometimes her presence helped to ward off the nightmares, but after a day like he’d just had, it was unlikely that anything would keep them at bay.

“There was one prisoner…” his eyes dulled as he found himself back in that cell. “A crumpled wreck of a man. His body was broken, his spirit in shreds.” He was so lost in the memory that he wasn’t even aware that she’d finished with his leg and had started removing the splinters that dotted the skin around the side of his face. “I’m not sure but I think his back might’ve been broken. They’d left him just laying on the floor a couple of feet from the open door, dangling freedom in front of him. It was cruel. He just wanted to die, wanted the pain, the suffering and the degradation to stop.”

Tess had to bite her lip to control her own emotions. She knew what that scene would’ve done to him, knew it would’ve taken him right back to his own hellish experience. She focused on the abrasions on his face; finished removing the splinters and cleaned the small wounds before sitting back to let him finish what he had to say.

“I went to check on him and I knew.” He rubbed his hands over his face, completely unaware of the stinging sensation when he roughly brushed against the abrasions. “I knew he was as good as dead. He knew it too, but he’d known it for a long time.” He drew in a shaky breath. “He begged me to kill him.” He looked down at his hands, watched them curl around the broken man’s shoulders. “All he wanted was a way out…” he shook his head. “And I couldn’t give it to him. I never made it that far, but I know what it’s like to want it to stop… to be so desperate for the agony of another round of torture to end that the thought’s there, picking at you and making you wonder. I don’t know who he was or if he had anyone wondering what had happened to him, wondering if he was ever coming back home. No one should have to die like that.”

It hurt to hear what he was saying. It wasn’t anything she hadn’t suspected and there was no blame and no shame. He’d spent a significant amount of time in counseling after being rescued and it had taken a long time before he could talk to her about what had happened. She knew there were things that had happened during that time that she’d never know and she’d long ago accepted that. “Kyle,” she said softly, not wanting to startle him.

He blinked when her voice pulled him back from the edge. “Sorry,” he muttered when he realized what he’d just admitted. “I didn’t mean to say all that.”

She shook her head. “No apologies, Kyle. We’re only human and the only fault lies with the people who commit those atrocities against others.”

He nodded and shifted around to lie down and get comfortable. “I could sleep for a week.” He didn’t want to talk about it.

“I’ll bet you could,” she agreed and stretched out beside him. “Wouldn’t hurt if you did.” She reached for the covers and pulled them over them. “Leave the lamp on, would you? Just in case I have to get up in the middle of the night to check on one of the others.”

He sighed and pulled her tighter against his side, relieved that she understood. There were times he couldn’t handle the dark and tonight would be one of them. “All I could think about was getting home to you,” he mumbled tiredly. “S’all I wanted.”

She breathed a sigh of relief when he dropped off to sleep. There was no way of knowing for sure if the demons locked up in his mind would find their way free of their prison tonight. Over time he’d learned new methods of controlling the memories and most of the time it worked. On occasion they reared their ugly heads and got away from him, but if they did he wouldn’t be alone.

“Never,” she whispered as she stretched up to kiss him, hoping like hell this wouldn’t cause a setback in his recovery. She smiled at his response, recognizing the sleepy mumbled declaration. “I love you too.”

He nodded and slipped into a deep sleep, secure in her love and clinging to the knowledge that he was safe and thousands of miles away from his own hell.

*****

Maria shifted her head from one side to the other while her eyes stayed on the painfully slow coffee making progress. Every muscle in her neck hurt from the uncomfortable position in the armchair she’d spent the night in.

All night she had been in the same room with Michael, but he hadn’t really had said a word to her yet. Well, in his defense, he hadn’t been conscious after the strong meds he’d been given anyway and she hadn’t dared to climb into bed with him – afraid that she would somehow hurt him more.

Instead she had camped out in the armchair, dragged as close to the bed as possible, so she would be able to hear him breathe. Tess had said that his condition would be critical overnight so sleep hadn’t come at all. She had only dared to leave his side for a quick bathroom visit and then this morning when the other girl had told her to get lost and stretch while she checked on him.

“You don’t look like you slept at all.” Tess walked into the kitchen and set her medical equipment on the side of the counter.

Maria just shrugged. “How is he?”

“Considering the amount of blood he lost I’d say he’s doing really good.”

“And will he survive this?”

“He’ll live to fight another day.”

Maria frowned. “What’s that mean?”

She smiled tiredly. “He’ll live, Maria.”

“Okay,” the other girl breathed a little easier.

“He’s gonna be a bear so I hope you’re prepared.”

“I’m sure I’ll soon regret my wish for him to be conscious.” She rolled her eyes.

“We’ll all be regretting that, believe me.” A wounded bear had nothing on Bane this soon after an injury.

“How are the others?”

“Luckily Val’s injuries aren’t as serious as his so while she’ll be unpleasant to be around, she won’t be as bad as he’ll be. Something we can all be thankful for. Alex will be fine and so will Kyle.” She pulled mugs down and lined them up on the counter just to have something to do. “Your friends,” she looked at the other woman, “it’s gonna take time. Physically, they’re already on the mend, but mentally and emotionally,” she shook her head, “the damage has been done. It takes longer to recover from that side of things.”

Maria nodded dumbly and swallowed. “This mess... it just...”

“Don’t say it’s your fault because it’s not.”

“I know, but it all started with me.”

“It started with a man who’s money and power hungry.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Yeah, I do. You think because you started asking questions people you care about are getting hurt. Yeah, maybe that’s true, maybe if you’d just chosen to stay hidden away in your sheltered little world none of this would’ve happened. But let me ask you this, Maria, and answer me honestly. Given the opportunity, would you go back to that? Knowing what that organization is capable of now, knowing with certainty that they murdered your family and that your uncle stood by and allowed it to happen, knowing that they weren’t even given a fighting chance to get out alive, could you let it go? Knowing that they kill at will and for their own reasons, knowing that they sanction torture, knowing that they’ve fucked up how many lives in their climb to power and that they’ve turned so many people into assassins by removing their pasts and recreating them into their tools. You’ve had the opportunity to know two of those people. Could you honestly go back and let it go?”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right...” She looked at the other girl and smiled. “Can’t change it anyway, right?”

“Nope, there’s no going back and changing it.”

“How much did Kyle tell you?”

“He told me what I needed to know.”

“Were they able to hack the signal?”

“Yeah, the mission was successful.” She filled her mug with coffee. “The assassin network is no longer under the Circle’s control.”

“Thank God, that’s good news.”

“Now we get work on recovering and get everything together so we can present it to the attorney general.”

“Do you think they’re trying to get the signal back? Or attack us?”

“They’ll try but Alex is pretty confident about the protocols he’s put into place. And for now, we’re safe. We’re off the grid. On the off chance that our location was compromised at least we have a way out and we have people we can call for backup.”

“Right,” she agreed, hoping they’d be safe for now since a few of them weren’t even able to move around very well at the moment.

“Well, I’d better get breakfast started.” She shook her head when Maria started to offer to help. “Nope, you’re off to check on that man of yours. Chances are good he’ll be coming around here pretty soon.”

“You think?”

“Yeah. His vitals are good and he’s breathing without any help. Trust me, he’ll be coming around soon and he won’t be quiet about it once he’s conscious and the pain registers. I left pain meds on the nightstand. Try to get him to take them because he’s a stubborn ass.”

“Tell me about it,” Maria chuckled. “I’ll do my best.”

“That’s all I ask. No need for him to start yellin’ the house down and disturbing everyone else.”

“I agree.” She took her coffee from the counter and wandered down the hallway, entering the room quietly and closing the door.

He still laid there the same as he had been when she had left. Eyes closed, breathing even.

After watching him for several long moments, she went to take her spot in the armchair again, wincing when it squeaked.

The sound was loud and grating to his barely conscious brain and it dragged him out of the darkness. As he came closer to consciousness he became aware of the pain that increased with every passing moment. He fought to control his breathing and his features, knowing he needed to identify his location.

Maria felt the change in him and sat up, her body taut while she looked at him expectantly.

He could hear movement but he couldn’t identify it yet. The motions were all wrong for a soldier. Come to think of it, the atmosphere was all wrong. He frowned internally as he tried to remember what had happened and where he was. He shifted slightly and pain shot through his leg, sharp enough that he couldn’t stop the sudden indrawn breath.

“Easy,” Maria said and placed a hand over his arm softly.

He tensed at the touch, his mind scrambling to identify the person who had spoken. The fog surrounding his current situation slowly began to lift and he opened his eyes, blinking as he looked around. His vision was blurry and he reached up to rub his eyes.

He showed all kinds of signs of disorientation, so she let go of him to give him some space and time. “Do you know where you are?”

That voice. He recognized that voice. He struggled to bring it into focus, frowning when it finally came to him. “Maria?” He rubbed his eyes again, relieved when things started to lose their blurry edges.

“Yes, it’s me.”

His hand dropped to the mattress below him, his fingers curling into the blankets, the motion serving a dual purpose: anchoring him and fighting the pain. “Everyone make it back in one piece?” he asked, his voice sounding like gravel.

“Yes, everyone’s here and alive.”

He closed his eyes. He couldn’t explain the feeling of relief that washed over him at her affirmative answer. “The two civilians... what’s their condition?”

“They’re physically okay and healing, Tess said.”

“They survived Janus, they won’t let this beat ‘em.”

She nodded dumbly and leaned a bit forward. “Your leg’s been hurt pretty bad. How much do you remember?”

He shook his head. “I know there was an explosion.” He struggled to remember. “Grenades. Damn building came down around us. When the dust settled I had an iron rod in my leg. Don’t remember much after that.”

“Well the rod was still in when you got here. It was gross.”

He had to smirk at that. “You blow chow?”

“I was close,” she snorted.

He pushed himself up, grunting at the pain that exploded in his shoulder. Sweat beaded up on his brow but he ignored it. “Janus... did they get him?”

“I don’t think so.”

“We’ve gotta find him before he goes to ground,” he wheezed as he tried to sit up so he could swing his legs over the side of the bed.

“Hey, where you tryin’ to go?”

“I...” The pain was clouding his mind. He needed to go... somewhere. There was still work to be done. His brow furrowed as he tried to push past the pain to make sense of his objective.

“They’re all in their beds resting. Let’s just do the same. It’s early.”

“No!” His mind slipped back into mission mode as the pain worsened. “He has to be stopped. We have to...” he shook his head weakly as his damaged body continued to protest his every move.

“We don’t know where he is and for now, no one’s able to fight, Michael.” Maybe if she pointed out that it wasn’t just him, he’d take it better, she hoped.

“No one...?” The pain was excruciating but there was truth in her words and he latched onto them as he slumped back against the bed. “Have to... have to fight.”

“Soon,” she said, “but not yet.” Reaching over she grabbed the painkillers from the nightstand. “Here, take this. Tess said they’ll prevent infection.”

“Tess? Harding’s here?” The edges of his vision were graying out and he fought against it. Get your act together, soldier! He could hear his old commanding officer screaming in his face and he tried to straighten up. “What is it?” he asked as he stared at the pills.

“I don’t know the name. But it should prevent any infection of your wounds.”

He nodded. Infection was bad. “Probably don’t want her to have to open it up again.”

“Yeah, I can live without that too,” she made a face.

“Guess she had her hands full,” he mumbled around the pills and took a drink of the water she held out to him to chase them down.

“You can count on that. And she was on patrol all night.”

He nodded after a moment. “Valenti and Val down for the count too?”

“I’d say Kyle’s okay and Val has some heavy bruising that’ll keep her down a few days.”

“Whitman?”

“I think he got something in his leg, but otherwise he’s fine.”

“Good,” he grunted.

“Yeah, I guess you were pretty successful all in all,” she nodded. “The signal was hacked, so Tess says they don’t have any control over the assassins now. That’s a plus.”

He nodded, his head starting to hurt from all the thoughts rattling around. “We wouldn’t have made it without the help of Brody and his men.” Turning his gaze towards here, he took in her appearance clearly for the first time since they had returned. Her features revealed exhaustion, but she was alive and that was all that mattered in the end. “Any trouble while we were gone?”

“No, it was all quiet.”

“But you didn’t sleep much.”

She smiled weakly. “Obviously.”

“Well, I’m sure it won’t be long before Harding comes through that door to force food of some kind down my throat and then she’ll be on my case to get more sleep so as soon as she goes away again you should climb over here and do the same.”

“You’re kinda... beat up right now.”

“So?” He shrugged without thinking and winced when the movement made his shoulder start throbbing.

“That’s why it’s probably not a good idea.” Even though she knew she’d sleep a lot better beside him she didn’t want to hurt him.

“You won’t hurt me. I’m tough enough to handle a little pain if I get jostled around a bit.”

“A bit,” she snorted. “And I think Tess would wait a bit before-” her voice quieted when there was a knock on the door – then a short silence – and then someone came in slowly.

As soon as Michael’s gaze landed on the little tray of breakfast Tess was carrying he shot a look at Maria. Told you so!

“He took the meds for infection,” Maria told her with a pointed look.

“Oh,” Tess said after a second of confusion, “good.” Her gaze wandered over Michael. “How are you, soldier?”

“You tell me.”

“You did a pretty good amount of damage to that leg but I don’t imagine it’ll keep you down for long.”

He shook his head. “Can’t afford to be down for long.”

“You’d better stay down long enough for it to heal.”

He motioned for her to come closer. “What’d you bring me to eat?”

Tess rolled her eyes. “After you eat I wanna take a look at that leg and shoulder, make sure there’re no signs of infection.”

“Whatever,” he muttered, scanning over the food on the plate when she settled the tray over his lap. He frowned as he picked up the fork, poking at one of the items. “What the hell’s this?”

“Half a grapefruit. Eat it.”

He made a face and picked up a slice of the bacon, sniffing at it before dropping it back on the plate. “And that?”

“Turkey bacon. It’s better for you.”

“You burnt the toast,” he grumbled.

“It’s not burnt; it’s whole wheat.”

Maria had to pinch her lips between her teeth to control the laugh that wanted to escape in response to his offended expression. He poked the wide strip of bacon again before finally abandoning it to tentatively prod the scrambled eggs as if there might be a scorpion hidden inside.

“What’s wrong with them?”

Tess propped her fisted hands on her hips. “Excuse me?”

“Fake bacon, grapefruit, whole wheat toast… it’s obvious you have a theme: how to fuck up what could’ve been a decent breakfast. So what’s wrong with the eggs?”

“There’s nothing wrong with my eggs, you ingrate.” She had to remind herself that it would be wrong to kill him when she’d just put so much effort into saving his ungrateful ass.

He scooped up a forkful of them and shoved it into his mouth, chewing for just a few seconds before pausing to make a face. “You run outta salt, Harding?”

“There’s salt in them. Too much is unhealthy.”

“You know what’s unhealthy? Letting me starve because all you’re feedin’ me is crap.”

“Well, you’d think soldiers who camped out in the wilds of Afghanistan for more than a month wouldn’t be as picky with food, eh?” Tess looked at Maria and shook her head. “Kyle told me they ate all kinds of crawling things.”

“Ew,” Maria made a disgusted grimace.

“You’re comparing this,” he gestured around the room, “with the fuckin’ desert of Afghanistan, Harding?” Well, for sure both were hell for him, just different kinds, but at least with this one – where he was trapped in a bed for maybe days – there should at least be decent meals as well as running water and a toilet.

“Well, based on your attitude it might as well be the same,” she said and rolled her eyes. He could bitch all he wanted but it didn’t take long before he was wolfing the food down.

“Not eatin’ that crap,” he muttered and poked the grapefruit, making it wobble slightly.

She looked at Maria. “That attitude right there? Can you imagine what children with his genes would be like?”

Brats? Michael shuddered at that thought. Hell no! He glared at Tess. He sure as hell didn’t need her giving Maria any ideas in that department!

“Hell on two feet for sure,” Maria said and laughed.

The horrified look on his face was priceless, Tess mused. Would he really as bad a father as he imagined himself? There was no doubt that Michael had never even considered it or given it a thought and she had a feeling that it would be a long road to convince him about something huge like that. Maybe he would never be ready. It was a difficult subject – even for Kyle and her.

“Well, since you’re done,” she pushed that thought away, “let me check on your injuries before I take my leave again.”

Maria stepped in to help and took the tray. “I’m gonna take this back to the kitchen while you’re doing that.”

Tess knew the girl just didn’t want to have a look at the wounds that were sure to look just as bad as they’d looked the night before and smiled. “Sure. There’s more coffee if you want.”

“Sounds good.”

“What the fuck are you doin’?” he hissed as soon as Maria was out the door and on her way down the hall.

[Roswelllostcause]

Michael is awake and being a big grump! He really just needs to eat what he is given. There are worse things to eat then what Tess gave him!

[keepsmiling7]

Men (Michael especially) never change.
Thanks,
Carolyn

[sarammlover]

How is the hell is Michael even moving?? Seriously. That man needs to be under a heavy dose of pain killers!!!! And Kyle and Tess are so damn sweet together. I love them! Great job ladies! You are crushing this story!!

[Eva]

Michael was very much himself. His attitude gave me hope that he will be ok. His will alone will get him eveywhere.

It's good that they are all paired up. Just being with each other will help to heal all wounds, the physical wounds as well as mental ones. You see it with Kyle & Tess and it will be the same way with the others. And certainly with Max & Liz.

[Double Trouble]

Roswelllostcause: Lol, there are definitely worse things, but he’s in a lot of pain on top of not liking the food that was given to him. His grumpy mood will ease given time.

keepsmiling7: Lol, that one’s not a quick process for sure!

sarammlover: Well, he’s not moving far but his mouth seems to have no problem operating. Kyle and Tess... ah, what can we say? They’re so cooperative. Thanks!

Eva: That surly attitude will keep him pushing forward. He doesn’t know how to do anything else and that’s a good thing right now.

Yep, having that connection is so important, especially with the mental and emotional healing that will have to be done.


Part 67

“Checking your wounds for signs of infection.”

His hand locked around her wrist in a warning grip that was tight but not painful. “I have no intention of stickin’ around an’ you know it, so stop puttin’ ideas in her head.”

“Ease off, soldier.” Her eyes flashed, letting him know she wasn’t going to allow him to manhandle her. “There was no suggestion behind that comment.”

“It’s in her head now.” He released her and ran his fingers through his hair roughly. “She can’t be allowed to have any hope that I’m gonna be here when this’s all over. You got it?”

“Yeah, I’ve got it.” Tess removed the dressing on his shoulder so she could examine the wound. “Just not sure which of us you’re tryin’ to convince.”

“There’s only one person to convince,” he growled.

Yeah, whatever lie you’ve gotta tell yourself, she thought. “Uh-huh. Well, there’s no indication we’ve got any issues with infection here.”

“That’s good.” He couldn’t wait for this to be over. All this fussing was too much.

She cleaned the wound and covered it with a new bandage. “I can feel your impatience, you know.”

“So?”

“So you might as well get used to being stationary for a while.”

“Stationary?” he grunted.

“Yeah, you know... being still? Not moving?”

“For how long?”

“Your shoulder’s the least of your worries. That leg wound’s gonna keep you off duty for a few weeks at least. You’re not gonna be in any kinda shape to be mobile.”

He pressed his back teeth together. Weeks? Was she insane?

“You wanna walk with a permanent limp the rest of your life, be my guest. Or you could significantly injure it to the point of killing yourself.” She shrugged when he glared at her. “Not great options, are they?”

“We can’t wait weeks.”

“Yeah, and I can’t magically heal your leg.”

The air escaped audibly through his nose. “Guess we don’t have to discuss that now.”

“No.” She carefully peeled back the bandage on his thigh, frowning at the skin around the edges of the wound.

“I don’t like that look.”

“Yeah, I don’t like it either,” she muttered as she probed the area with expert fingers. “I’m gonna flush the wound with an antibiotic solution just to be on the safe side.” She straightened up. “I’ll be right back.”

“Yeah,” he sighed and let his head fall back against the bed. That was just great!

Tess made quick work of gathering her things, thankful she’d had the foresight to move her gear out of the kitchen. She didn’t want to alarm Maria and there was a good chance there was nothing to worry about but she’d rather be overly cautious than to miss something that could potentially kill him.

As soon as she entered the room again, his gaze focused on her. “Maria doesn’t need to know this.”

“Sorry, did I forget to put my stupid sign away?” She rolled her eyes at him.

“Funny, Harding.”

“Glad we got that outta the way.” She tugged on the ends of her hair before focusing on his wound. “It’s a hair color not a mental disorder.”

“And yet you’re a woman and women like to chitchat.” He made a face

“Oh, that’s right,” she mocked, trying to inject a note of understanding as he pointed out what he felt was the obvious, “I forgot we’re all alike.”

He gave a short shrug with his good shoulder.

Yeah, nothing to say to that? She smirked as she carefully lifted his injured leg to slide a pad under him to catch the excess fluid. “This’s gonna sting,” she warned as she liberally poured the antibiotic solution into the wound.

“I’ll survive it,” he hissed.

“Yeah, you’re too damn stubborn for anything less.”

“Too stubborn to die?” He snorted.

“That too probably, which is a good thing.”

“No one’s too stubborn for that.”

She chuckled and shook her head. “Maybe, I dunno. You should’ve been dead before you got back here with this wound.”

“If Brody wasn’t there, we’d all be dead.”

“Yeah, well, I’m glad he was there because it would’ve been very bad to lose any of you.”

“I know I didn’t want Kyle to come along,” he rasped while she worked on his leg. “It was good he was there though.”

“You’re not alone there.” She dabbed at the edges of the wound, checking the stitches and studying the area for signs that would indicate it needed to be reopened. “You couldn’t have stopped him though.”

“Yeah, stubborn prick.”

“Call him what you want,” she said and shook her head. “I’m gonna open up a few of these stitches. I’m seeing slight signs of infection up here,” she pointed to the area. “I’d rather play it safe than sorry.”

His eyes dropped to the wound. “Do what you have to do.”

“I can give you a local... or not,” she nodded when he shot a glare at her.

“Just do it.”

She opened the wound and started cleaning it, gauging his level of pain by the sound of his breathing. “Sorry. I’m almost done,” she said a few minutes later.

“It’s okay,” he hissed between clenched teeth.

“Yeah, I know, tough guy.” She stitched the wound closed again and gave it another antiseptic wash before bandaging it up. “Okay, let’s give it a break and see how it looks after 24 hours.”

He couldn’t say that he wasn’t glad she was done. “Yeah, sure.”

“With any luck we caught it soon enough and it won’t spread.” She cleaned up and went into the bathroom to wash her hands. She was drying them on a hand towel when she came back to get her things. “You need anything?”

“Not at the moment.”

“You want me to give Maria the all-clear or you need some time alone?”

“She can come in whenever she wants.”

“Y’know,” she said as she paused at the door, one hand on the knob, “it might not be a bad thing if you stuck around.” She shrugged. “Just a thought.”

“Tess,” he said warningly.

She pulled the door open with one last look at him. “I’m just sayin’ there are options.”

He didn’t reply to that. Options, yeah. But would they work out? No.

“You never know until you try. Hell, you went into a compound that was armed like a fortress and you survived that.” She nodded and ducked out of the room before he could reply.

Damn nosy woman!

Maria glanced up from her third cup of coffee – the first two had gone cold while she stood there and stared down at the dark liquid. “How is he?”

“He’s alright. Had to flush the wound. I saw a little hint of streaking and rather than wait I decided to open it up and clean it out. He’ll probably be grumpier than normal for a while.”

“Grumpier?” She snorted.

“No anesthesia,” she said by way of explanation.

“He’s too damn stubborn for it.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “He has his reasons and I do understand them from his perspective. From a medical perspective, it’s a little more difficult.”

“He’s just always prepared for anything. Or at least he tries.”

“Would’ve served him right to pass out,” she grumbled but there was no heat behind the words.

“I’m gonna go and see what I’m facing.” Maria waved shortly and wandered off, not sure what was waiting for her this time.

Michael shifted, bracing his weight on his uninjured hand and trying his damnedest to sit up. He hated being injured, hated feeling like an invalid; dependent on others. His head shot up when he heard a floorboard squeak and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He knew without question it would be Maria and he reached up to rub the area, wondering why her presence drew such a reaction from him.

She opened the door slowly, but not so quiet she might surprise him and looked at him. “Hey, can I come back in?”

“If you think you can handle me.” His response was surly but in spite of sleeping the entire night and then some he was exhausted and his body hurt like hell.

“If not I can always flee quickly.”

He grunted in response and shot a sideways look at her. “You eat somethin’?”

“Yeah, I had something while Tess was lookin’ at you.”

“How’re your friends doin’?” Maybe if he kept her distracted she’d stop staring at him like she was afraid he was gonna disappear at any second.

“They’re as good as they can be I guess. They’re still resting and sleeping. I haven’t talked to them.”

“Trauma has a tendency of bein’ exhausting.”

“I’ll look in on them later.” She closed the door and stepped further into the room.

“How’re you doin’?” Had he even asked once?

“I’m okay. It’s been a lot to take in.” She smiled weakly. “But it could be worse.”

Hell, it could always be worse. “You should probably try to get some sleep.”

“Yeah, maybe a bit wouldn’t hurt.”

“C’mon,” he patted the mattress next to him, all the while questioning his own sanity for keeping her close.

After a moment of hesitation, she nodded to herself and went to climb into the bed next to him carefully.

“I’m not gonna break, Blondie. If I can handle Harding’s poking and prodding I can handle you. Besides,” he muttered tiredly, “you’re a helluva lot softer than her needles.”

“I am,” she smiled and snuggled a little closer – still careful though.

He growled under his breath and wrapped his good arm around her, pulling her snug against his side.

Maria pressed her nose against his side and inhaled, taking in the familiar scent and the feeling of home that came with it.

“See? I’m still here.”

“Yeah,” she smiled against him. Not sure for how long though.

He sighed and closed his eyes as he settled back against the pillows. “Looks like I’m gonna be outta commission for a few days.” It wouldn’t be weeks, it couldn’t be.

“Yeah. Seems like it.” She couldn’t think of it being a bad thing. If he had to stay in the safe zone for a while she was perfectly fine with it.

“Guess we’re gonna be stuck here over Christmas.” She’d probably like that.

“Yeah, seems like.” Damn, she hadn’t even remembered it was that time.

“Maybe you can take Harding out and find a tree. There’s plenty of them around. Make her chop it down. She’s deadly with a blade.”

“Good idea,” she chuckled. A normal Christmas? Sounded surreal.

The quiet sound of her amusement was like music to his ears. It was so much better than the somber tone he’d heard in her voice since waking up. “I know there’s trees and decorating involved. Beyond that, not a clue.”

“Cookies, music and some presents,” she helped out. “Oh, and good food.”

“Food’s good. Good food’s even better,” he muttered agreeably.

“Not sure how much we have here for a proper Christmas meal though.”

He cracked one eye open to glance at her. “What’s considered a proper Christmas meal?”

“Well, goose maybe.”

“Goose?” He closed his eyes again and considered that. “Does it taste like chicken?”

“Not at all.”

“Well, maybe Valenti will go out and hunt down a goose for dinner.” Hell, he’d eaten bugs and small desert rodents so goose couldn’t be any worse than that.

“He’ll be happy I’m sure,” she laughed.

“He’s a proficient hunter,” he said with a grin. “You should’ve seen him in the desert.”

“What’d he hunt?” Her eyes travelled over his upper body and after a moment of consideration she placed one hand over his where it rested on his stomach.

“Weasel, hedgehog, jerboa... that last one’s kinda like a rat that hops around like a kangaroo. It was entertaining as hell watching him try to catch that damn thing.”

She giggled. “Sounds like an adventure.”

“Yeah. Too bad I don’t have video of him makin’ a big fool out of himself.”

She giggled. “Well, he caught it in the end?”

“Mostly,” he agreed.

“So you always had something to eat. Although I really don’t wanna know what all that stuff tastes like.” She made the face at the thought.

Michael chuckled and the sound vibrated against her cheek where it was pressed to his chest. “Well, it would be a lie to say it all tastes like chicken.”

“Yeah, I guess it wouldn’t.”

“No, some of it’s pretty bad.” He shrugged. ”But if it’s that or starve, well...”

She made a face. ”I’d rather not have to find out.”

“You sure? Maybe you’d like to try some of the insect cuisine the desert has to offer.”

“Insects?” She lifted her head to look at him. “Hell no. That’s... gross!”

He chuckled at the face she made, wondering if she knew how adorable she looked. “If you’re facing starvation anything’s good enough, really.”

“I think we should not talk about disgusting stuff at the moment. I’ve already seen enough of it lately.” Hell, she’d seen enough for her whole life, but then again... her life had taken a serious one-eighty for the second time in just a month.

“You sure?” he teased. ”Get a little bit of everything with bugs. Crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside.”

“Disgusting.”

He chuckled, silently agreeing with her. Insects weren’t a delicacy he was fond of.

“At least here you get real food.”

“Real food with no flavor.”

“You didn’t exactly look like you were suffering when you were shoveling it in your mouth.”

“I was hungry,” he shrugged. “Men need food.”

“Huh-uh. You just always pretend that the healthy stuff’s bad. Cooked right it’s pretty good. It just takes some effort.”

“I don’t have time for that shit.”

“Well, maybe one day you will.”

He grunted. There was no point in pursuing that train of thought. “I wasn’t counting on getting injured this badly.”

“You were expecting to be injured?”

“To some degree, yes. Going up against the odds we were facing it was unrealistic to think we’d walk away clean.”

“I’m just glad it wasn’t worse.”

“Yeah, it’s bad enough to slow us down though,” he said, frustrated.

“There’s really no point obsessing over all the negative points though,” she pointed out. “You all made it back alive and your mission was successful.”

“We didn’t get that motherfucker.”

She frowned. “Which one?”

“Janus,” he snarled.

Maria rubbed her hand against his chest in hopes of calming him. “But we have the information to have them all charged and brought to trial.”

“It’s still a long way until then,” he grunted and moved a little to get more comfortable. His hand came up to run over her hair unconsciously. “We have to be even more careful and attentive now. They’ll be onto us. They know how much we have against them now.”

She tried to ignore the fear that spiked through her at his statement. “How long do we wait before we take what we have to the Attorney General?”

“Soon,” he sighed. “As soon as I’m able to make sure you’re gonna be safe as the witness.”

She wanted to tease him about being unable to stay away from her but she knew he’d stubbornly go quiet or change the subject again if she did. “I guess even without the assassin network they can still recruit someone to kill me, can’t they?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I won’t lie, Maria. There’s always the possibility. You should start over somewhere new with a new name an’ all. I won’t be around, but I’ll keep my eyes open for any signs of danger – that much I can promise.”

“So I’ll have to go into like Witness Protection?”

“We’ll make sure you get a name not even Witness Protection knows.”

Great, and then she could live out her life in some random corner of the world alone. “What about Max and Liz?”

“About the same. Goes for Whitman too.”

Was it even worth it for them to be completely alone and separated? “You don’t think Val will want him to stay with her?”

He was about to say no but snapped his mouth shut at the last second. What did he really know? It was unlike her, but then again Val had never let anyone close before Whitman and they seemed to get along well. “We’ll see.”

She nodded at his non-answer. It was more than she’d ever get from him about him and her. She looked up at him when a thought occurred to her. “You wouldn’t try to separate Max and Liz would you?”

He snorted. “No, there’s no point if neither of them wants it.”

“Maybe I could stay close to them? I mean, if they wanted that.” They might not after the nightmare they’d just been through.

“No, I wouldn’t recommend it.”

No Michael, no friends and no family. The thought of what was going to happen once this was finally over was depressing. “Yeah, I guess not.”

“I know you won’t believe me now, but it’s gonna be okay. You’re a likeable person, you’ll find new friends.”

“Yeah, but what about my old friends? It just sucks for any of us to be alone after everything that’s happened. I know,” she said before he could interrupt, “it’s for our own safety, but it sucks.”

“It sucks, but it’s better than bein’ dead, isn’t it?”

She just shrugged as her thoughts drifted, imagining what life would be like once this had ended.

“It is,” he gave her a little squeeze.

She sighed quietly. Why couldn’t she just have been one of those people who won the lottery or something? Why did she have to be so inquisitive? Life would be so much simpler if... well, if THIS wasn’t her life.

“Take life as it comes, Maria.”

She nodded. There wasn’t much other choice, was there?

“Good. Just don’t let anything make you give up.”

“I won’t,” she promised. It wasn’t the life she wanted but she wasn’t a quitter.

“That’s my girl,” he muttered tiredly.

Maria smiled sadly. She wanted that to be true more than anything else, but she knew it wasn’t. He’d called her that more than once but it obviously didn’t have any real meaning to him. If it did he wouldn’t be able to just walk away when this was all over.

[Roswelllostcause]

Great part!