A Healing Touch

"Cole?" A voice echoes in the darkness of her mind. Slowly luring her back to consciousness. Cole opens her eyes partway to see a worried young boy. Leaning over her with a plastic rod in his hand. He pokes at her thigh, as if she were a possum on a road. Checking to see if she was alive.

"Hey. Can you hear me?"

The patient tilts her head. Through foggy vision, she spots another entering.

"What the fuck happened, Tuck?" Eris says when he sees the patient.

"I don't know, doc. I just found her, I swear." Tuck says.

"Fuck, I don’t need this right now." She hears Eris grumble while he steps away. Cole thought both of them were going to leave, when he re-entered the bathroom with a pink throw blanket. "Hey kid." Eris speaks softly, despite the clear annoyance in his gaze. "Let me help you up."

Cole's gray eyes peek to see Eris extend his arm toward her. His tall frame shadows Cole's smaller form as her eyes fill with dread. Cole's heart beats out of control as he nears. Reeling to the surface, the memory of their first encounter, and the dark look in his eyes…

When he aimed a gun at her face.

"I don't mind losing another patient."

"Don't touch me!" Cole quickly sits up, hissing in pain when she does. She stiffened, tears surface as pain sting through her chest again. "Oh god." She shivers out.

Eris could tell that moving caused her great pain. "I guess that stuff wore off…" Eris observes as she curls her body in agony. Choked sobs echo within the bathroom. Tuck held a concerned look, while Eris just seemed impatient.

"Cole, you can stay on the floor. Or you can let me help you up and I can give you something for the pain." He offers.

"Go away…" Cole breathes out. "I don't want your help."

"I don't give a shit if you want my help or not, cão raivoso." Eris sighs, leaning closer to cover her with the throw.

“Get that off me!" Cole all-but snarls, kicking it off.

Tuck's eyes widen, after her movements cause the hem of her gown to shift up.

"Uh..." Eris turns to him. "Tuck, perhaps you should bring up breakfast for our patient."

Tuck gave a nod and left the room. While Eris knelt, looking frustrated as he noticed a crimson stain on the patient's gown. "Listen, Cole…" Eris starts when they are alone. "You're going to make things worse for yourself if you get an infection. Let me tend to you, and then I'll leave."

"No. Go away." Cole says quickly, clenching her teeth as she suffers another wave of pain.

When Cole dismisses him again, Eris swept her up from the bathroom floor. She wriggled at first, but he picked her up with ease and returned her to bed. "You weigh lighter than a bucket of apples." He remarks as he lowers her onto the bed. "Does Isla feed her patients?"

"Don’t talk about Isla." Cole defends weakly, laying stiffly in bed as Eris retrieves something from the nearby table.

"No." Cole says firmly when she realizes what he was about to do.

"Relax, it's not like that." Eris scoffs when she stops him from undoing her gown. "I need to change your bandages."

"No", Cole pushes away his hands. "Get out."

Eris looks at the writhing patient a moment longer. She shifts onto her right side, breathing feverishly as she grips fistfuls of the bedsheet. Clenching her teeth, Eris could see the tears spill. He was familiar with the pain all too well…

"Cole…" Eris was about to say something, when the door opened and a tall form entered.

"Eris". A surprised look shows on Vincent's face. He enters looking freshly dressed, a clean outfit, fresh pair of gloves and a mask. Both men were of similar height and build. However, Eris's skin was bronzer, and he had a head full of black curly hair; that's tousled over his forehead. A pair of thick black brows rest above his round eyes. Cole could not tell their color. Black eyelashes encircle his shimmering eyes. He has defined cheekbones, a dimpled chin, and a clean-shaven face with a freckle showing below the left corner of his mouth. Black ink of a tattoo shows near the crook of his neck. The rest of it trails beneath his shirt.

"What happened?" Vincent wondered, glancing between Eris and the patient.

"Not sure." Eris speaks honestly, "Tuck found her on the bathroom floor. I think she tried to go by herself, but her condition got the better of her…"

"I see…" Went Vincent. "Has she had a dose?"

"No", Eris shook his head, a defeated look showing on his face. "She won't let me change her bandages either."

Vincent took a deep breath, approaching the bed where the patient lay. Cole could see the tired look he wore as he leaned close. Kneeling, Vincent was calm and didn't try to touch the patient. Cole hid her face in the sheets the closer he got. Allowing her tears to soak into the sheets.

Dark circles are painted under his eyes. Slightly puffy from insufficient sleep. He took another deep breath and folded his arms. Resting them on the edge of the bed. As he leaned there, he tried to think of what to say.

After a moment, he speaks to the patient.

"Cole?" Vincent speaks softly, though his patient could tell it was because he was tired. His voice was gruff to her ears, but Cole found it was less threatening than Eris's sharp voice.

"I know what you're going through..." He began. "I know you're used to Doctor Isla and her people taking care of you. If you're not comfortable with me, I won't force you, but we are your only option right now. Until we can locate Doctor Isla... I promise you, if you let me, I can clean you up, get you into a fresh gown and you'll feel better. I'll give you something for the pain, then I promise I'll leave you alone. If that's what you want..."

"Cole...?" Vincent tilts his head, trying to see more of her face.

Cole took a shivered breath, moving her face from the sheet. Her gray eyes were moist and red from crying. A look of agony surfaces as Cole explained saying, "I- I can't move… I… I don't want to. It hurts so much."

A moment of silence passes as Vincent looks toward Eris, then back at his patient. "Here, look." Vincent extends his arm and rolls up the sleeve of his shirt. "Here, and here too." He points to separate scars on his forearm.

Cole looks at them, trembling as she eyed each of the scars. "Why are you s- showing me that?" She shivers.

"I got these months before the rescue. We were moving supplies to Sir Peters hospital. It was a lot of physical labor and not enough time to catch our breaths. My mind was deep in the work… Anyway, there was an ambush, about nine armed idiots tried to steal from us. I barely had time to react when the shooting started…”

Cole was silent while her gaze wandered the pale flesh of his forearm.

"I have one here too". Vincent lifts the hem of his shirt, giving Cole a partial glimpse of his abdomen. "A few more on my legs…" He admits. "And there's this", Vincent points to the side of his neck, where a hideous scar ruined his smooth skin. It trails beneath his jaw and fades past his ear. "A graze from a bullet", he explained, adding: "If it weren't for Eris and the others, I'd be dead. Eris pulled me out of the fire many times, and he'll do the same for you. I have no doubt."

Cole glanced toward Eris; distrust clear in her gaze when she does. Even now, Eris had a silver revolver holstered to his hip. He curiously followed her gaze to see where she was staring. Chewing down on his bottom lip after he realized.

"Uh…" Eris shifts uncomfortably under her gaze. "I'll head downstairs." He tells his colleague and departs from the room.

Once he was gone, Cole felt the tension ease in her body. During a few moments of silence her breathing became somewhat normal again.

"You know… he stayed up all night to make sure you were alright." Vincent tells her, while getting up to retrieve something from the nearby luggage. "Eris is a good doctor."

A quiet moment passes as Cole watches him retrieve a syringe and vial. "Eris is a doctor?" Cole struggled with the idea. What kind of doctor carries a gun and treats patients? She wondered.

"Yes." Vincent confirms. "It's not uncommon these days for doctors to be armed." He adds. "It may not have been Isla's preference, but survivors like us don't forget."

Vincent set down the vial and approached the bed. "A-Are you armed too?" Cole stops him, raising her palm as she forces herself to sit upright.

"I… I am." Vincent hesitates to answer. The look in Cole's gray eyes was brimming with fear. Doctor Lance's footsteps come to a halt. He lowered the syringe and set it aside.

"S-Show me." Cole demands in a weak voice. Adding in a softer tone: "Please…"

Understandingly, Vincent complied and turned toward a large trunk. He props his left foot on it, lifting his pant leg to reveal a sheathed blade; strapped to his leg. "You can trust me, Cole…" He says, before letting go of his pant leg. He retrieves the syringe again. Slowly, Doctor Lance approaches the bed, and, with a consenting nod, his patient receives a dose for the pain.

"You'll feel drowsy but that's normal." Doctor Lance explains, going to retrieve clean bandages from the luggage. Returning, Vincent hesitates, and decides to kneel beside the bed.

"We can wait as long as you want…"