Page 18 of The Entire Team

Red started informal introductions when they were all in the room. “This is my team. Genie is our team leader, Rave, Stitch with the mouth, Flash, and Tech.”

“Half of you have Disney names,” Ashe stated.

“Oh, this is gonna be--,” Flash muttered. Genie gave him a silencing side eye.

“Nicknames are earned. I get things. Flash is oddly thorough, and his instincts are solid. Tech and Red, are self-explanatory. Stitch is our loose cannon. Rave is probably the closest thing we have to a social butterfly. We just came by to make sure everyone was getting what they needed.” Turning toward Red, “PT tomorrow.” Turning to Ashe, “Ashe, what you did yesterday was amazing. I hope food stays down today.” The group started heading back out, slapping Red on the shoulder, and giving a nod to Ashe.

Ashe stalled them, “How do you know what happened yesterday?” Genie looked at her. “I realize that you must have been the non-uniformed folks that came in but…”

Tech answered, “We had access to the CCTV.”

Ashe rolled her eyes, “I mean, of course you did.” Her pause was just long enough to surprise them when she continued. “Everyone just watched while those people were terrorized.” Ticking off on her fingers, “Watched a birth, their death, a heart attack, and a stabbing. The CPR, that was the threshold the cops weren’t comfortable with!” She threw a roll of tape at the wall across from her and stormed into the hall.

“Oh, she’s gonna be fun!” Stitch smiled as the team watched quietly. Red took off after her, the Team followed carefully spreading out to help defuse the situation.

21

ASHE

Flash found her curled up in a corner of a small hallway of a stairwell exit halfway across the hospital. She had looked like she’d been set down there, her knees up resting against the same wall her head was leaning against. Her back supported by the adjacent wall. She looked up toward him as he approached, he was sliding his phone back into his pocket. “Is it okay if I sit?” He mirrored her position, simply sitting down on the floor on her left, his shoes against the wall her back was against.

“I’m not crazy. I don’t understand what the meds are doing to me but I’m not crazy about this. What happened was wrong.”

“Everyone on the team would agree with you. But it wasn’t your first day. The wheels of governance roll slowly, you know that by now. It’s not made for extreme situations. And whether you believe it or not, you did the same thing everyone else stuck in it did. Took the opportunities provided to get what they could get done, done. It’s all any of us can do.”

“Do you always look so bored and unphased?”

“This is my concerned face,” Flash gave her a barely there smile.

“There were almost teeth,” Ashe quipped back. “You better lock that up, Sailor.” She pretended to scold. Flash’s eyebrows raised. “He didn’t really say anything.” Ashe shrugged.

“Observant,” Flash stated. “Should we go back? Are you okay?” He started to stand up so he could help her as well.

She reached up crossing her body with her right hand because of her stitches. “My headache seems a little better today. I’m really hungry, I haven’t eaten in a while.” Flash pulled her up into him, waiting for her balance to settle before he lowered his hands.

“What do you feel like, we can fix hunger. And we can tell the nurses you need a different med if what you have isn’t working.” He turned and started leading her back toward her room. She nodded about reconsidering the meds. She furtively glanced at Flash as they walked, he wasn’t as tall or massive as Red but taller than her. It wasn’t hard to make her feel short but there also seemed to be a rule against these guys appearing average in any way. Flash was blonde with dark eyes, and clean shaven which accentuated his square jaw. “What?” he met her gaze. “As long as it’s on island, yes, you can request it.”

“Big Kahuna BBQ Chicken Pizza.” Flash nodded. “Why would you guys be willing to do any of this?”

“We all saw yesterday, what you did was crazy, especially for a civilian. We admire the hell out of that. That alone might get you a day pass, but you’re also Red’s now.” Flash looked down; Ashe’s eyes were wide in disbelief. “Make no mistake, sweetheart. We don’t make a habit of sleeping in hospitals for some ‘chick off the street’.”

She stopped in the middle of the hallway, the back of her left-hand caught Flash’s arm stopping him too. “It can’t be like that. We don’t know each other. Can it?”

“I read a study once that soul mates find their partner’s scent attractive. It is one of the ways they might’ve found each other inthe past. Maybe how some people find each other now.” He put his hand on her back to start moving again, “Just a thought.”

She stopped again, “What about high stress experiences and relationships?”

“You didn’t work together so I suspect that’s not relevant here.”

“I don’t have to be in a relationship if I don’t want to. You can’t like team pressure me into one.”

Flash nodded in agreement. “True.” Flash guided them up against the windows, so they were out of the main traffic. “Red won’t disappear. He’ll be like the werewolf in Twilight.” Ashe looked up at him waiting for the punchline. Flash met her skeptical look, raised his eyebrows, and motioned for them to continue. Ashe looked out the window contemplating their conversation. Flash sent her lunch order to the team on his phone. Ashe stiffened, capturing Flash’s attention. She bolted for the bathroom.

Flash calmly walked into the public bathroom behind her, eyes only on Ashe. When she went to slam the stall door shut, he stopped it, and then pushed it closed so he could still get in if he needed to. He ignored the women at the sinks, who hurried out. He watched what he could as she started on her feet, sunk to her knees. He heard the toilet paper roll tears and then a couple attempts to get the toilet to flush. He heard her head hit the divider wall and he pulled open the door. “Ashe,” he started tentatively. He wedged himself into the stall so he could pick her up. He carried her to the sink and then out of the bathroom. Eyes closed; her head tiredly rolled against his shoulder as he walked back to her room.

“Am I gonna die?” She was exhausted after another bout of dry heaving. Her ribs and abdominals hurt so bad. “Nothing’s gonna heal if this doesn’t stop.”

“No. Your bell got rung, hard. We need to get you fluids though, check on the meds, and you need to rest.” Flash came into her room and settled her back into her bed. Rave stepped out to grab a nurse, Stitch was getting food, Red had stashed the clothes, Tech discreetly put her cell phone down on the nightstand.

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