It was a quick 'surgery,' if one could even call it that. All Law did was take out the piece of bullet still in her body and stitch up the gunshot wound in Lexi's side enough to stop the flow of blood, then bandage it with the dwindling supply they had left, thanks to Tara's carelessness in treating the wound properly the first time. There was now a pile of bloodied bandages on the ground, far more than was necessary to fix the injury the first time, and they had little left for future procedures. Law would deal with that at a later point, however.
Once he was confident that the wound was as properly cared for as it could be given the circumstances, the doctor inspected the rest of her person for any other wounds they may have missed. The collar around her neck left chaffing marks and red skin that looks cracked and dry, on her lower legs and feet were scratches and cut marks, most likely from plants and trees in the forest as she walked or ran barefoot through it, and the malnourishment that was evident in her too-skinny figure. Besides the superficial wounds, there was little else wrong with her.
By the time they finished working on Lexi, it was dark outside and about time for dinner to be served. Tara left the trailer first, going to find her plate of food, leaving Law and his still-unconscious patient in the trailer alone. The exhaustion of the day was beginning to fall on him. With a sigh Law shucked off the rubber gloves he'd donned earlier and tossed them into the trash nearby, sliding to a seat on the nearest chair. A long day of walking plus the impromptu and unexpected operation at the end of the day definitely wasn't the most taxing thing he'd done while on a shift, but it certainly had worn him out nonetheless.
His eyes scanned Lexi's form once more, just to be sure there was nothing else wrong. He smiled a little, seeing that her wound from long ago had healed nicely. Albeit, there was a long, jagged scar running from her thigh down through her kneecap and a short distance down her shin, but at least it didn't appear infected or otherwise damaged. He wondered how long it had taken for her to get back on her feet after that incident.
For a while, Law simply sat there staring at the brunette, not realizing he was doing so. Not that he could help it, given this was all a bit surreal. The frequency at which Lexi was surprising him, both intentionally and without meaning to, was becoming all too often these days. And predictably he had a lot of questions for her if- once, she woke up.
Where in the hell had she come from? That was the most prominent, but others lingered dangerously close to the brim of his mind. Why was she dressed like that out in the middle of the woods? Lexi was sensible, not one to put herself in danger by wearing clothing so skimpy and revealing, especially when all it took was one scratch or bite to kill you. Who put this collar on her? They hadn't been able to remove it while treating her wound, but perhaps they could cut it off with bigger tools. Had something happened? Who had she been with? What had they done to her? There were no physical signs, but when it came to mental and emotional scarring…
As much as the worry about whether she was safe or not had been satisfied, seeing that she was 'safe and sound,' using that term loosely, in the camp with them, Law couldn't help but fear something else was brewing that he didn't know about, and Law didn't like not knowing.
Alas, there was nothing to do now but wait for Lexi to awaken, given she was the only one to possibly know the answers to those questions.
Some time later, Tara returned from getting her dinner, and returned to sit beside Lexi with a sigh. "Still hasn't woken up yet?" She ran a hand through her red locks, twisting the ends in her hand to smooth out any kinks.
"No." Law answered shortly, feeling like the question was all to redundant, considering she could see the answer right before her eyes. Thankfully he was able to push the urge to roll his eyes down enough to not show it. "It may be some time before that happens."
"Dang. Wonder what happened to her." She remarked, tilting her head to look at the brunette easier. "Like…what's with the collar?"
"I'm not sure…but it makes me uneasy." Law squinted into the space between them, feeling this nagging sensation at the back of his mind, like he should know the answer to that particular question. Something about it seemed familiar, but he couldn't quite place the reason why. Shaking his head, he stood and smoothed down his clothes.
"If anything happens, come notify me." He ordered, pleased to see her nod without question, and turned to leave the trailer for his own food.
It came as no surprise, of course, when Margaret ambushed him while he was outside eating. What he didn't expect was for her to act as though their little spat earlier that day had never even happened, something he was immensely grateful for. Law didn't have the patience to try dealing with a bitchy woman in addition to all this exhaustion.
The black-haired woman sat in the chair beside him, crossing her arms and leaning back in the seat. "So, is she going to make it?"
"I believe so, given she hasn't lost too much blood. It's hard to tell exactly how much she could have lost before the scavenging team brought her here, but her wounds have been closed."
"That's good. Has she woken up yet?"
Law shook his head. "No. Judging from her condition, it may be another day or so before that happens."
"God…can't imagine what happened to her." Margaret slowly shook her head with a sympathetic frown. "I talked to the team that brought her in, they all say she looked like hell when they found her. I guess she was just lying out in the middle of the woods, bleeding from her side. There wasn't anyone around that they could see."
"No doubt, she's been through hell." He agreed, knowing much more of the brunette's character than the woman beside him. Just the amount of hell this woman has had to go through, he'd only seen a small glimpse of it, but she was certainly not without her demons. If Lexi had been found so broken, especially with her will to live and fight as strong as he knew it was, there was something bad brewing, he could feel it.
"Mmm…" Margaret muttered, staring off into the fire before them. For several minutes, Law waited for her to say something else, watching her out of the corner of his eyes as she simply stared unendingly into the flames of the pit, until finally, she broke her silence. "Back there…did you intend to kill Zach right from the beginning?"
Without hesitation, he shook his head. "I don't know what kind of man you think me to be, but I am not a heartless killer. Only after I knew what condition he was in did I take those actions."
"Well, I know exactly what kind of a man you are." She implied with a bitter tone, glaring minutely into the space between them. "But for the sake of this camp, I'm letting it go. Albeit with much reluctance."
"Hmm." Was all he replied, knowing that nothing he said or did would change her opinion of him at this point. What was done was done.
"God, why couldn't you have had a more pleasant personality? A doctor was just who we needed, but not an asshole." Margaret settled back into her chair, letting out a pent up breath. "And as much as I loath you, I can't help but listen to your advice. You're smart. Cunning. And a much better leader than I."
Curiously, he glanced in her direction, seeing the pained expression, as if simply saying those words hurt her. Hmm. Perhaps she was more mature and clear-headed than he'd first thought. "What makes you say that, hmm?"
"Don't be coy, bastard." She hissed. "I'm not inflating your ego any further."
"Aw, what a shame." He chuckled softly, pleased with the frustrated expression she sent his way. This didn't help her mood any, which he couldn't care less about. She went quiet, most likely glaring a hole into the back of his head if he were to guess. Several seconds of silence passed between them, until she cleared her throat and shifted in her seat.
"I've been thinking about what you said before, and unfortunately, you're right."
Her attempt at turning the conversation in another direction was not lost on him, but he let it slide this once. He was, after all, curious about what she meant. Law turned to her and raised a brow. "About what?"
Margaret shrugged, not looking his way. "I can't save everyone. And…doing so isn't a good way of repenting for what I've done." Her eyes took on a clarity they had lacked before. "And I've gotta start somewhere, right? I can't keep accepting everyone into our camp if I want the people we have now to survive. You're damn right about us almost starving…"
Fucking hell…
The grin he'd sported before quickly vanished and a seed of worry and tension began to pool in his stomach as he began to see where she was going with this line of conversation. Damn him. Damn him and his penchant for saying quite the wrong thing. He should have waited to say anything at all. Maybe it would have prevented this…
Despite Law's internal dialogue, she went on with her line of thinking, and it was exactly as Law feared. "It's not what I'd prefer to do, but it's about time I started turning people away. We'll start with her," Margaret gestured behind her to the infirmary, "and I'll let the rest of the camp know that we aren't accepting anyone else from here on out, at least until we can support more people."
She continued to talk about how she'd changed her mind, but he wasn't really listening. Law said nothing, simply stared out at the fire. This was not how he intended this situation to go. If he were to say anything now, about either knowing Lexi or wanting her to stay with the group, he'd be quite the hypocrite. And, knowing Margaret's opinion of him now, that may just sway the decision to oust the brunette anyway, simply out of spite. Though he felt Lexi was an exception from the rules, seeing as she could actually support her weight, and that of a few others, should they keep her around. Knowing her, she'd be out there looking for supplies and food, pulling her worth and then some.
Shit. This wasn't the ideal situation at all, but refuting Margaret's decision now would probably cause further problems down the line that he didn't want to deal with. So he remained silent, internally cursing his own stupidity and Margaret for deciding now of all times to change her ways and see reason. Perhaps he could solve this problem later on, but now was not the time to oppose it. After all, Lexi was still unconscious and he saw a way to buy himself some more time.
Margaret seemed to notice his lack of an answer, and looked over at him. "Is something wrong?"
Forcing that calm facade to remain intact, even as he shook his head no, Law gave a noncommittal shrug. "No, though I don't think it's wise to release her before she's well enough to fend for herself. Once she's healthy enough to live on her own, then we can send her on her way." He heard himself say those words, when all he wanted to tell her was 'We shouldn't be turning Lexi away.'
There was a second or two of silent thought, before Margaret reluctantly nodded. "It'll take up some more resources, but you're right. Even if we can't let her stay, we'll help her gain her strength back. That is, if she's strong enough to do so." The woman beside him took on a thoughtful expression, scratching underneath her chin. "What if she doesn't become healthy enough to leave?"
Law sighed, closing his eyes. At least he'd guaranteed that she'd stay as long as she could gather her strength. Still, it wasn't the perfect outcome. "Then we kill her." He said, knowing that he'd never go through with the suggestion, nor would he allow anyone else to do so. He owed that damned woman too much. There was still a major debt to repay, and Law's pride as a man and as a person was hanging on the line, at least in his own mind. "Though I doubt it'll come to that. She's a strong woman."
"Eh? You say that like you know her or something." A spark of suspicion crossed her face, but Law pretended he didn't notice, shrugging off the presumed accusation.
"Of course I don't, but someone her age, and considering what she's already survived through, I doubt a little blood loss would kill her now." Hopefully the familiarity didn't bleed through the lies he spoke. "If she weren't strong, she wouldn't have survived this long in this world."
Nodding a few more times in silent agreement, Margaret finally rose and brushed down her clothes with her hands. "Well, we'll see won't we? Let me know when she wakes up, or if she's too weak to let her leave by herself. After a week, though, a decision should be made." And with that positive talk finished, she left Law to finish the rest of his food, which had remained uneaten up to that point. Though, now he doubted he had the appetite to eat it anymore.
Shachi and Penguin were already in the trailer when Law returned to their shared space for the night. He'd moved back in with them a few days before, and he knew that they'd be asking him endless questions once he got back. Predictably, the moment he set foot through the door, they were already alert and bombarding him with questions.
"So, who's the girl that they brought in?" Shachi turned to look at their leader as he lay on his own bed.
"We were out building the fence for the garden and didn't get to see her." Penguin supplied, stretching out his back on his mattress. Ruefully, Law gave a grin and shook his head slowly.
"You'll never guess."
"Eh? Is that a challenge?"
Law chuckled under his breath, stretching to pop the kinks in his back. God, he hadn't realized how stiff he'd been feeling until give the opportunity to relax for once. It felt like it'd been too long since he'd sat down properly. "Take it any way you like." He replied, knowing that's exactly how they'd see it.
Obviously not ones to turn up a challenge, especially when they felt like their manhood was in question, which Law knew they did, Penguin crossed his arms and sat up a little straighter. "What, is it Courtney Love? Emma Stone?"
"Ooh! Ooh! I know, it's Angelina Jolie, right?" Shachi joined in, hopeful that he was correct.
"Nah, no way would she be all the way out here…" Penguin scratched at his chin in thought, seriously taking it upon himself to guess who had shown up. "Hmm…what about Becky Feltman? That chick that this dumbass dated back in high school?" He stuck a thumb at Shachi, who looked completely offended.
"Hey! I didn't date her, technically. We only went out once." Shachi clarified with a glare, holding up his palms defensively. His deadly stare did nothing to deter Penguin, who laughed at the man's distress.
"Yeah, in which time you still managed to mistake her for her sister. Twice. Smooth going."
"Damnit, Penguin, how many times do I have to tell you? They were twins!"
"Well? Is it Becky, or her sister, uh…Sasha?" Penguin tried again essentially ignoring Shachi's defense, grinning over at Law, but he shook his head in amusement.
"No." Law replied with a smile, sinking into his own bed with a sigh of relief. These two would never change. "It's Lexi."
Their innate amusement quickly turned to expressions of shock and disbelief.
"What!? Lexi? How'd she get here?"
"Can we see her?"
"Is she alright?"
"Where'd she come from?"
"Alright, alright, enough." Law chastised with a frown, rubbing away at the headache that threatened to form at their endless questions. God, if he could go a single day without a question directed at him, he'd have died and gone to heaven. "She's unconscious, and she'd been shot, but she'll recover. First she's got to wake up, which may take a day or so."
"Ah man…I wonder what happened to her…" Penguin whispered, feeling very deflated at the less-than-positive news. "Whoever shot her better hope they don't show up here."
"Damn right. We owe her our lives, we can't allow her to just die like that." Shachi agreed, popping the joints in his knuckles in what was supposed to be an intimidating fashion. "Hey, we can finally thank her for saving our asses that one time."
"Heh, which time? She's inadvertently saved us a few times already."
"There's something you two have to know first." Law started, gaining both of their attentions. "Margaret cannot know that we know Lexi, understand?"
"But...why?" Shachi asked in confusion, not seeing the connection.
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Margaret means to send Lexi away once she's healthy enough to be on her own."
"What!? We can't let that happen!"
"No way! Lexi's been gone so long and she's a friend. We can't just let her leave like that again."
"I don't like it either, but Margaret has already made the decision." Law growled, omitting his own involvement in the way things turned out. He'd tell them another time, but not right now. "At the moment, I'm not on good terms with Margaret, and if she knew that Lexi was a friend, she may send her away prematurely to get back at me."
"Why, what did you do?" Shachi questioned with a raised brow, but Law only shook his head.
"It doesn't matter, just don't act too familiar with her. For all intents and purposes, Lexi is a stranger, understand?"
They reluctantly agreed, and the conversation thankfully shifted elsewhere.
Shachi and Penguin talked about the brunette for awhile longer, making Law promise to allow them in the infirmary the next day to check on her. He reluctantly agreed, as long as they don't stay too long. He didn't want the small trailer to be overly crowded. Satisfied that they'd get to see their friend after so long, the two of them finally slipped off to sleep, leaving Law alone in his consciousness.
It still worried him that Margaret was ultimately going to send the woman away. All thanks to Law's own counsel, of course. If he'd have known Lexi was going to show up, he'd had kept his fucking mouth shut, but no, karma just had to come back around and spit in his face. How was he going to explain to Margaret that Lexi should stay, especially after his sound reasoning in not taking any more survivors in? And, lest he forget, how was he supposed to explain the situation to Shachi and Penguin?
He sighed gently, vowing to figure everything out once his newest patient had awoken. Unbeknownst to him, of course, Law's problems were only just beginning.
ns 15.158.61.8da2
