Chapter Text
Fang's heart pounded a tattoo against his ribs, he reached out to take Kara from the soldier but the man instead moved to enter. He stepped aside, following on the soldier's heels before he laid Kara gently on the gurney nearest the door.
Fang surprised himself by pushing the man away, desperate to get to her. He turned her face to him, alarmed by the blood and what it meant, he lowered his cheek to her mouth to feel for her breathing, and exhaled in relief.
'Salts. Top drawer... third from right.'
The soldier hurried over to the drawers Fang had indicated and the doctor slowly peeled back the blanket Kara was wrapped in.
She was naked. Her breasts were beginning to bruise and he suspected from the dark mark on her side that at least one rib was cracked.
He rounded on the soldier, who was rushing to him with the bottle of smelling salts.
X intervened then, flapping between them,
'Good! Help fight! Bad men gone!' He squarked, and Fang paused.
'He helped?' He asked X. X bobbed his head, pecking at the bottle, and Fang took it, pulling out the cork and holding it under Kara's nose.
She came to, slowly stirring at first, before she jolted upright and immediately grimaced.
'Kara.' He said, reaching a hand for her unmarked cheek.
'Fang?' She covered his hand with her own, leaning into it.
He bent at the waist, resting his forehead to hers, and they stayed like that for a short moment, drinking in eachother's presence.
The soldier coughed.
Fang looked over at him irritably, reaching for his coat and wrapping it about Kara's shoulders.
'What happened. Tell me.'
*
Fang had listened to the soldier - Stev, he'd realised - give his version of events whilst he tended to Kara's face. She'd stared off into the middle distance the whole time, clearly dazed, and seemed not to be hearing them. He'd cleaned the blood away, made sure the bleeding had stopped, and prepared to reset the bone. He felt sick, but she needed him.
He brought himself to her eye level and waited for her to focus on his face.
'Brace,' He warned, and she had murmured ascent, before he steeled himself and, with an audible crack, straightened out the break. She'd gasped in pain and he'd instinctively leaned in to her, kissing her uninjured cheek and stroking her hair.
'Sorry, darling. It's done now.'
Stev was staring.
Fang dabbed antiseptic on the broken skin at the bridge and gently dressed it.
'Splinted for now. May need more.'
Kara nodded her understanding.
'Is this standard doctoring around here or are you two together?' Asked Stev, earning himself another blistering glare.
Fang straightened, and the soldier raised his hands.
'She is my wife.' Fang said, bristling. Stev stepped back.
'Sorry, sorry, I'm new here, I don't know how... Wife, huh...' he trailed off, and Fang found himself grateful for the quiet. He returned to Kara, besides his name, she hadn't spoken a word.
She reached for him, and he held her as tightly as he dared.
'I'll uh... I'll keep watch. Sent the other two away, didn't want word getting round.'
Fang nodded without sparing the man a glance.
***
Kara stirred, sunlight streaming in across her face and disturbing the scant rest she'd been afforded.
She blinked bleary eyes, recognising her surroundings and wondering how she'd managed to get herself in Fang's bedroom. She moved to sit herself up and a sharp pain in her side sent her reeling.
The ropes, the knife, the men...
She fell back onto the pillow, feeling cold flood her body.
'Kara.' He was there, by her side in an instant, looking like he hadn't slept for a week and stroking hair from her face. She felt a wave of affection for him and managed a small smile, her cheek twingeing with a dull ache.
'Fang,' she murmured, reaching to cup his cheek, making absolutely sure she wasn't dreaming him.
She tried to ask what had happened, how she was there, but the words wouldn't come, all she could do was allow the blue of his eyes to soothe her.
Raised voices came from the door downstairs, but Fang didn't move, she furrowed her brow a little.
'Your guard is turning people away. Telling them no supplies left. We won't be disturbed.' She nodded, remembering Stev, she needed to thank him. If it hadn't been for him...
'X?' She asked, and Fang smiled with the corner of his mouth.
'X is also telling people to go away.' He reached into his pocket and extracted a small pot, opening it to reveal it contained a softly fragrant balm.
'For your bruises.' He explained, holding out a hand to her. He helped her sit up against the pillows, and took gentle fingers to her wrists and ankles, rubbing the soothing solution in and causing her to sigh with relief as some of the pain melted away.
Next, he peeled his coat away from her, exposing her torso, and began to apply the balm to her ribs.
'No break, bad bruising but no internal damage.' He explained, soothing her pain there.
She shivered a little, he'd always been good at keeping her at ease.
He paused before touching the balm to her breasts, she looked into his face as he tended to them, he was so gentle, so caring, and her heart ached with gratitude for him.
'Anywhere else?' He asked, and she felt herself nod, looking down. Something flashed in his eyes and his hand froze over the pot.
'Did they...?'
'Tried... X... in time...'
He nodded, and she watched as he took in a deep breath, dipping two fingers into the pot and bringing the balm to her, parting her lips before applying it around and just inside her. She'd grown to expect the magical things his fingers could do to her, but she'd never truly appreciated just how gentle he could be. She felt the pain there recede, and, looking at his face, she felt a great relief knowing that he was again the last person to touch her there.
'Is that enough?'
She nodded.
He reached up to tend to her cheek and she leaned into his hand, closing her eyes and murmuring softly. His fingers brushed over a particularly tender spot and she winced.
'Sorry.'
She nodded, whimpering, and before she knew it, the tears came and she was sobbing in his arms. She felt him rubbing her back, holding her close, and she allowed herself this moment. She knew she was safe here, in his embrace, safe to fall apart while he held her together.
***
Stev could have kicked himself. In fact, he planned to. Just as soon as he was away from Commander Lefu and this stuffy room. He'd been relieved of his post by the two men he'd sent away the previous night, and made his way directly to the Commander's makeshift office.
He'd made his report, and men had been sent to clean up Kara's house, as discretely as they could. This wasn't the sort of thing the Commander wanted becoming public knowledge.
Stev had been left to write up his testimony, but he was finding it harder and harder to recall the events. Seeing what had happened commited to the written word made it feel far more real than he felt he could stand. He was sure the papers would be destroyed, he didn't understand the point of the whole exercise at all.
He'd resorted to mulling over the discovery that the fiery builder was married to the taciturn doctor.
He'd had no right to be disappointed but he still managed it. He'd thought she had been treating him in a way he could consider special, but then he'd seen the two of them together and realised he had been very much fooling himself.
He came to the conclusion that he needed to spend more time with people, regular people, not hostages of an occupied state where he was the occupier, or other soldiers. He'd become out of touch with the world and indulged in a foolish fantasy.
'Be better, Stev.' He told himself.
'Soldier.' Commander Lefu's voice sounded behind him and he jumped from his chair in order to stand to attention. 'You can finish that later, I wish to speak to my Builder. Take me to the doctor.'
