Wildlands (rskde & BurningWillows)

[Risky]

Alex sniffs, rubbing his eyes. "Why is it always me?" He whispers. "They target me, but they don't have the balls to kill me, they always kill the ones I love." He says softly as he continues watching her sleep.

 

[BurningWillows]

Aryas heart broke for him. He wasn't thinking about just Serena - he was thinking about how Em had died too.

"Don't give up on her," Arya's voice was low, they're conversation private, "Serena looks up to you. As her hero, for the strength you have and the resilience to never give up. Show her that. Show her you love her unconditionally, give her the strength she's lacking. Don't let these assholes win. Don't let them take her away too Al."

 

[Risky]

He sniffs again. "I thought coking back to the States meant we were safe, that we wouldn't have to worry anymore.." He says quietly.

"I don't wanna fight any more, I don't wanna kill any more.."

 

[BurningWillows]

"I know. And we should be safe here. She should be safe here."

She was surprised at what he said next.

"Al...Alex," she corrected, wanting to get out of the habit of calling him by his ghost name, and because this was more personal than to ghosts chatting, "Are you saying your done with being a ghost? With the military?"

 

[Risky]

He shakes his head. "No.. I'm just tired of being their personal assassin, we knew that Narcos was bad, but what about the next guy? And the guy after that? For all we know they could be sending us after political targets." He says to her.

"I want to settle down, get a job with my skill set, maybe a police officer or something, I want to buy a house with Serena and get married.. I don't know if we're even getting another mission, the team is falling apart."

 

[BurningWillows]

She pulled up a chair beside him, placing her hand softly on his shoulder.

"I understand. I started feeling the same way when we got back from Bolivia. Honestly Al, I'm done with this. It's a chapter in my life, and I'm moving on to the next page. I have a phD in medicine and I'd like to focus on it. I have an interview this week in Washington, and another down south in San Francisco. You should be able to do this too - to move on to your next page. With Serena."

She listened carefully, nodding along, "I don't think I can imagine you as a cop. Maybe a SWAT member though..."

"Kyle is going back to the marines. I'm becoming a doctor. I think Katerina has plans to rejoin the CIA or move on to the FBI. At this point, I think the team is done. We are all moving on, and that's alright. Serena isn't a ghost Alex, she's not cut out for that life. Even if the team stuck together, Serena would be staying behind when we left again."

 

[Risky]

He nods as he continues watching his unconcious girlfriend. "Serena wants me to meet her parents in San Francisco, maybe I can go for SFPD SWAT team." He says, thinking to himself. "Im gonna miss it though.. The team, I mean."

 

[BurningWillows]

"If I get a job down there, then at least two of us will be close. Maybe Katerina and Kevin will join - I heard them talking about California."

She sighed, rubbing her face, "It's about time some of us got the chance to have normal lives. Don't tell Kyle...but he's leaving for Afghanistan next week and I don't want him to go. Because I know the chances of him returning to me are slim. Is this how our families feel? This anxiety, knowing someone I love is strolling up to death's door and knocking on it, gambling if the reaper is home or not?"

Arya wasn't so much looking for answers as she just wanted to spit it out, to be honest with someone.

"My parents faced this and now they think I'm dead. I never even considered their feelings when I joined, I just thought they'd be proud. And then there was Shrake...he had a wife and kid. Some of us get it so easy, and some of us get it so hard. Em was a good example; she had no family waiting for her back home. She knew no one was worried about her in the States."

 

[Risky]

Alex blinks, shaking his head. "Em lied, she had family waiting for her." He says quietly. "Serena is her sister, she didn't want to tell anybody." He explains.

"I trust you to keep a secret."

 

[BurningWillows]

Arya looked like she'd been slapped, her head snapping up to look at him.

"She...wait...what? She lied. Why would Emberly lie about having family? What's more important, Alex your dating Em's sister?!"

Of course she wouldn't tell anyone if that's what he wanted, but she was still blown away, not putting the dots together till now.

 

[Risky]

"Yes, I'm dating Em's sister." He says to her. "I figured if I kept focusing on Em I would die alone and old, and I know Emberly better than anybody.. Other than Serena, but Em wouldn't have wanted me to cry over her the rest of my life." He answers.

 

[BurningWillows]

"Alex,I'm not judging you. I'm just surprised. And still a little confused as to why Em lied to us. Have you asked Serena about it? Does she even know you dated her older sister? Does she know what happened?"

 

[Risky]

"She knows I dated Em, I completely forgot that Em told me that she had no family, honestly I have no idea." He explains. "I don't know what she knows, she's not exactly open to questions right now."

 

[BurningWillows]

She fell silent then. Arya's curiousity was in full force, but she couldn't wake the sleeping girl.

"I'll keep this to myself," she promised, "I'm glad we talked though Alex. I should check on the others. Keep strong for her okay? I'm sure she'll wake soon and need you again."

Patting his shoulder she got up and left, returning to the other three to give them an update. There wasn't much else any of them could do, and it seemed Alex wanted to be alone with Serena, so the four of them decided to go back to the hotel and strategize, Katerina ready to fill Arya and Kyle in on what she knew.

Hours ticked by before Serena woke again, this time gulping for air as if her lungs had stopped working. It was a panic attack, brought on by her ever constant nightmares mixed in with the pain searing her and the withdrawals she had yet to understand or fully grasp. The overwhelming emotions caused her to panic, her eyes snapping open as she hyperventilated, scared shitless. But she couldn't even more, could barely struggle against the nightmares still clinging to her thoughts. Her body felt frozen, pinned down by some unseen force. She didn't grasp that it was exhaustion making her bones lead heavy.

"Alex?!" she whined, her voice high pitched and terrified, the noise around her muffled by a low ringing, her hearing aid gone for the moment as the hospital had taken it out. Luckily she was beside him and her good ear was towards him, but Serena wasn't aware of that yet...all she understood was the fear gripping her.

 

[Risky]

He nods to Arya as she leaves, he watches Serena for the hours that it takes for her to wake up.

He grabs her hand when she finally wakes. "I'm here." He says to her softly, watching her. "How are you feeling?" He asks.

 

[BurningWillows]

Her hand shook in his, her lungs gulping in air as the nightmare began to fall away and she became more coherent then she had the first time she woke. It took a few minutes before she no longer felt that panic, soothed by his voice. She became aware of everything around her, including her missing hearing aid, and the fact they weren't in the hotel, and her hip was pain every time she tensed. Her neck craned so she could look at him, her cheeks flushed from the effort.

"Nightmare," she whispered, knowing he'd understand, "Thank you."

Her eyes peered around at their odd surroundings, then returned to the face she had fallen in love with, "Where are we?"

 

[Risky]

He nods, understanding her nightmares from the amount of times she woke up during the night in Bolivia.

"You're in a hospital." He says to her. "Don't panic, don't be afraid, you're in good hands here." He promises.

 

[BurningWillows]

Her hand squeezes his harder, her eyes imploring him to explain, "Alex why am I in a hospital. What happened?"

She tries to think back, but her last memory is meeting the president and trying her best to smile...because she felt sick. She felt like there were bugs crawling under her skin and her body was flushed with heat. Serena remembers them leaving the oval office, and just wanting to sleep...then it went dark.

"I can't remember," she whispered, "What did I do? Why am I here?"

 

[Risky]

"Somebody switched out your pain medication with cocaine." He explains to her quietly. "The doctors believe it was enough of a dose to get you addicted."

"But don't worry, I'm here for you." He says quietly, squeezing her hand.

 

[BurningWillows]

She looked horrified.

"I took cocaine?" she breathed, "But...but I didn't know."

She squeezed her eyes shut, thinking back to those two days she'd been taking them.

"When can I leave?" she asked, "Baby when will you take me home?"

 

[Risky]

Alex bites the inside of his cheek as he listens to her speak.

"The doctors want you here for two weeks I think, I didn't want them to keep you here but it's the best and safest option for you." He says to her quietly.

"I'll send you pictures on my phone, I might go house hunting while you're in here, I'll visit every day I promise you." He says to her while locking his eyes with hers.

 

[BurningWillows]

"Two weeks," Serena was obviously upset, "I don't want to spend anymore time in these hospitals. I just...I just want to go home with you. Alex..."

She reached for him, stretching her arms as far as it would go, trying to touch his cheek, "Why me? Why only me?"

 

[Risky]

Alex bites the inside of his cheek again. "Thats one of the perks of dating me, I guess." He says to her with a slight laugh. "You get a big red X on your back." He explains.

 

[BurningWillows]

"It's not funny," she sighs, finally touching his cheek before letting her hand drop, "I'm half deaf, my hip is broken, and now I'm some kind of addict. It's all pretty depressing actually."

She caught a look in his eyes. He was trying to stay positive for her.

Just then the doctor walked in, smiling warmly at her when she saw that Serena was awake.

"You've had a mighty crappy week," the doctor mused, checking the monitor, "I'm surprised you're even awake yet Serena. My name is Doctor Goodall. I'm going to be taking care of you in the next couple weeks as we get through these withdrawals and make sure your hip heals perfectly. Your boyfriend here, Alex, has asked for the best treatments available."

She nodded to Alex, "I'm sorry to do this but we do have a few tests to run. If you'd like you can come back in the evening or tomorrow morning."

Serena swallowed the awful feeling in her gut, hating being left in the hospital. But she knew it was needed.

"Go," she sighed, trying to be strong like he was, "I got this. I can do a few more weeks."

 

[Risky]

Alex nods to her before leaving the room, closing the door behind him. He approaches the door and gets into his rental car, driving back towards the hotel.