Alex pov:
I woke up in a daze and a little confused about what was going on. I barely remember anything except the part where I was shot and Nick took out the shrapnel. The in-between moments were a little hazy from the pain. I opened my eyes And looked around. nick has started a fire that died down during the night and the only thing left was the residue of the smoke barely seen in the morning light. I wouldn't necessarily call where we are in a shelter. more like an abandoned apartment building which was probably once on the 1st floor or lobby.
I felt something move beside me and turned around ready for an attacker but it was just nick stirring to consciousness. he must be tired after last night. He barely got any sleep with him keeping one eye open to see that I'm alright. We shared a moment yesterday while I was in pain. I learnt something new about him something that he doesn't tell anyone. It made me think about what else his life had been like. I look at him now and study his face, not even asleep he looks relaxed. He looks so tense as if one false move could alert him awake. One of his hands was lazily on my thigh, a few days ago I would have shoved him off but now, I keep it there undisturbed, he was growing on me and the comfort that I never had was a warm welcome.
There was hair stuck near his eyes which bothered me so scooted near him to remove it. As soon as my hand touched his hair I moved it from his face and let it linger on his cheek caressing it. I did not tell my hand to do that it simply moved on its own with no command. Suddenly, Nick's eyes opened widely and snatched my hand in a vice grip which hurt a little.
" ouch! Let go of your hurting me!" Nick realised it was me and slowly let go of my hand and sat up in a sitting position.
" Sorry, I thought you were.. well you know," He said while rubbing his eyes to wake up
" No it's alright, I shouldn't have touched you, I was just trying to get the hair out of your- ugh" I stopped mid-sentence due to the pain in my abdominals as I tried to copy nick and sit in a sitting position.
Nick Noticed my pain and turned around quickly his eyes veining concern and pushed on my shoulder gently to place me back down
"Relax, your wound is still fresh, Managed to take out the shrapnel but that doesn't mean you're good to go we should wait another day until your fit enough to walk," he said eyeing my abdomen and making sure the stitches and bandages have stayed in place throughout the night.
I admit it was painful to move but we couldn't stay here it was too dangerous. we needed to continue our journey.
" No. We can't just stay here. we're sitting ducks waiting to be eaten alive by some cannibal or some other scary shit, we need to move " I said firmly not giving many choices in the matter The only problem I had with Nick is that he is just as stubborn as I am.
" Forget it Alex you can barely even move and I still have to carry our bags which is not that easy considering I'm still healing as well," he says as he gestures to his shoulder still not completely healed either.
" Nick if it's me you're worried about I'll be fine, I walked yesterday with the pain and today it will be easier," I say as I try to sit up again and with Nick lending me a hand I manage a sitting position near Nick
" We can't stay here," I say as I put my hand on his shoulder as a comfort but I soon realised it was a mistake considering that was the shoulder he had his injury on. I took my hand off it immediately and apologized. He waved it off like it was nothing like he had been trained but I know the truth. Yesterday he took care of me, today it was my turn.
" How's your shoulder?" I say concerningly while trying to get up on my two feet this time without assistance. This proved very tricky but Nick helped by putting a hand on my waist and lifting me but kept holding me cautiously just in case my legs give out on me.
" I'm fine. Trust me you were the one who took the heavy blow not me" He mutters while looking at me cautiously.
which pisses me off to the high end.
" Would you stop that!" I shouted tired of him pretending to seem as if he is alright when in reality he is in pain.
" Stop what?" he says while looking at me startled
" you make it seem like you are not in pain when you're just as hurt as me. Now sit your ass down and let me take care of you this time around!" I commanded him, I thought I was doing a good job until he burst out laughing.
"What are you laughing about Nicholas." I was starting to get annoyed now and the pain in my abdomen didn't help my already bad mood.
" No, no I'm sorry I didn't mean to laugh it's just that you look cute when your angry," He said while continuing to chuckle at me.
It was probably the heat that made my cheeks burn up and not his comment about calling me cute, oh God, one save and I think he's my hero, get a grip Alex, he's still that obnoxious Guy that made fun of everything in the bunker nothing's changed.. hasn't it? I kept glaring at him well awkwardly coughing off my blush that could be seen and got my bag and started walking which immediately caught Nick's attention.
When I started leaving he gripped my elbow to turn me around to stop and say " Now where do you think your Pretty ass is going?"
" okay number one Never talk about my ass again and two In case you haven't forgotten we still have a mission to get on with," I said while getting his hand off my elbow in disgust, at least I made it seem that way.
"I haven't forgotten anything but maybe you have forgotten the slight detail that you are not yet healed nor rested for this long journey" he suddenly said seriously all the humour gone from his face.
" I'll be fine stop worrying so much about me I'm not a kid I can take care of myself besides if I feel some sort of pain or feeling faint I promise I will tell you about it and we can stop for the night, deal?" I suggest while sticking my hand out so he can shake it
Nick looked at my hand for a while and glared at it but soon succumbed to me and put his hand in mine to shake
" Just so you know, you are a kid and you need protection, I will always worry about you" he confirmed while finally shaking my hand in agreement.
" Well you just called this kid's ass pretty so I don't know really where your planning to go with that Nick" I teased as I let go of his hand and started walking to the volcano.
Nick grabbed his bag and walked behind me and saying " there is a difference between being a kid and acting like one "
"Are you trying to justify your perversions?" I turned my head around to look at him playfully glaring at me this time.
Nick caught up to me and whispered in my ear " I'm not trying to justify anything, If a woman such as you has a nice arse I will indeed complement it, now keep up" he commanded while spanking my ass lightly and walked in front of me this time to prove his point.
I gasped at the feeling and watched him smirk at my reaction. " Asshole" I muttered under my breath thinking this was going to be a long day.
...
We walked for a few hours when my stomach started hurting. Nick hadn't made any groan of frustration or complain about anything and just kept moving forward in front of me. There was no sign of the volcano yet but there were some streets that I could somehow recognise, I almost feel like I'd been there before. I was starting to reminisce when a wince was heard. I had been caught up in my thoughts that I hadn't realised came from my mouth. One sound was needed for Doctor Nick to confirm that we should find shelter for the night. We argued for about 5 minutes until I won and kept moving forward but not without Nick complaining until we reach the outskirts of the town.
" Oh my God would you shut up for one second, they say girls are whiny, clearly the world hasn't met you!" I exclaim annoyingly as Nick continues to argue that we should have stopped 5 minutes ago. Finally, I had had enough of his constant whining.
" I am just emphasising That you are not fit enough to continue on foot with your injury stop being so God damn stubborn you need rest" Nick shouted over me while pointing at my wound quite angrily.
" Ugh! Enough! If anyone is stubborn here it's you! where is this caring coming from all of a sudden?! In case you haven't noticed your ass hat, you're hurt too and not making a fuss and won't even let me treat it so if you won't let me help you then I can be just as stubborn Nicholas. We can't stop after every God damn graze of an injury and you know it so just fess up already!" I kept screaming in his face getting closer each time to the point of touching noses with him. My bag hit the floor out of rage and he followed right after giving me his full attention.
" Fess up?!" He moved slightly closer
"Why.are.you.giving.so.much.of.a.crap.about.me," I whispered putting a little distance between us as I realized any further we would have been locking lips which I did not want.
Nick inhaled and exhaled letting his anger out but kept silent, his eyes never lingered anywhere else but my eyes as if this was a staring competition. His eyes showed that he wanted to say something but something was keeping him from saying it. I realised my anger may have been just the stress I was going through and just thought I'd apologize and get this show on the road again even though I wanted to hear his answer but I don't think I was getting one at this rate. I maintained eye contact with him while sighing out of defeat and bent down to grab my bag from the ground. As I was rising back up with my bag while still holding his gaze which had not faltered I put the bag over my shoulder which was a very bad idea as I felt my muscle strain causing my stitches to move and therefore making me let out a big wince and causing my knees to buckle. Nick's face immediately changed into one of concern and thanks to his lighting reflexes managed to catch me by putting his two hands around my waist holding me up. I heard him grunt in pain but most annoyed as he knew he was right about when we should have stopped.
" Nick I'm-"
" I swear to God Alex if you finish that sentence with I'm fine I will knock you out throw you over my shoulder and we will walk it back to the bunker. You aren't fine, we are finding shelter and it's not up for debate this time" he cuts me off while gently pushing me off him letting go of my waist with one hand and putting it under my legs to pick me up in a bridal carry.
" What are you doing- HEY" I was surprised, to say the least. I wasn't some damsel in distress waiting to be saved.
As I was about to argue he gave me a look to not piss him off and as he started walking to this big abandoned building " I already told you it's not up for debate so shush." He said while adjusting me in his arms
" but what about the bags" I look back and see them just lying there waiting to be taken but nick didn't seem to mind as much
" I'll come back for them you on the other hand are going to go into that building and light a fire, now hold on to my neck, make this a little easier for me "
I looked at his face and saw him struggling a little bit. I wasn't helping his already bad shoulder the least I could do was a compromise. I sighed and put my hands around his neck and moved closer to his chest making him give me a look of gratitude.
" I'm not some damsel in distress" I mumbled under my breath but Nick heard me of course
" I never said you were. I believe the best warriors are the ones who can admit defeat. They would have the sense to recognise that they lost the battle but eventually could win the war." his words sparked something in me, I guess he did have a point.
As soon as we entered the building nostalgia hit me like a pile of bricks. This couldn't be the place.. could it? Nick walked up the first flight of stairs and turned to the right where there were a pile of mattresses in the room. there was a broken window and wall which showed the outside making it perfect for shelter since we could see if anyone was coming. Nick put me on the mattress closest to the broken wall and kneeled to my level. he raised his hand and put my sweaty hair behind my ears examining me. I was so enthralled in seeing the place and trying to remember where I had seen it before that I hadn't realised my stitches were bleeding out. Nick didn't ask for permission this time to lift my top and he cursed when he saw his work was not kept.
" Your stitches have opened up, I told you you should have rested now look what you've done " he complained as he continued to see the damage done
"Now you're giving me the I told you so?" I asked as my words became harder to breathe out.
" There wasn't a better time than now." he tried joking with me but soon stopped when he caught a glimpse of my stature and saw I was barely keeping it together with my droopy eyes. I was losing blood and fast.
" Alex? Alex, stay with me you're going to be fine I just need to find some bandages and needles, this place should have some just stay awake alright?" he explained as he held my face in his hands
I nodded my head as he went for our bags and found some first aid kits. I wonder if I knew...
" Nick! Try and see upstairs on the second floor first door on your right" if this is the place then that's where the first aid kit should be.
" quite specific but alright" he communicated back. It took about 3 minutes but he arrived with the said first aid kit and that confirmed everything I needed to know. He kneeled to my level again and prepared the needle.
" This is going to hurt so just grab on to something and try to breathe in and out for me" Nick's voice calmed me down and I felt as though he was a real doctor at that point. I trusted him to help.
Nick began stitching me up and I kept moaning in pain and holding on to his good shoulder squeezing it trying to keep my voice down but wasn't working.
" almost there Alex but I just need you to be a bit quieter you might attract some unnecessary attention, I'm sorry" No, he was right I was making too much noise and needed to stop but didn't know how. all I had in front of me was nick. I had to think fast and reached to his shoulder and bit down on it. I screamed into it which surprised Nick but kept on working.
" that's it good girl" he whispered. His words stirred something in me and I was trying to get over the pain out of nowhere my thoughts went immediately to my lips moved on their own accord and started biting his neck, licking it and kissing it. What am I doing? I shouldn't be thinking about this at all. What is happening to me? My thoughts took the better of me and I started losing my hearing and then my vision and the next thing I knew I blacked out.