Secret Garden (Handsome Jack X Female OC)

Chapter 1

"...Sir?"

The body laid limp against the moist rock of the cave. From the embedded icicles, came droplets of water; Each sharp point momentary becoming round, before the inevitable disconnect. The water mixed with the blood, both dried and new. Nova couldn't determine whether or not what she was looking at was a corpse, or if it was the body of someone who needed help. They eyed the area further beyond, expectantly waiting for something, or someone to appear. But the cave remained quiet.
Her hand reaches out and gently pulls on their shoulder, causing them to roll painfully slow onto their back.
Nova jumped back, tripping on her own feet, then crawling back on all fours until she was a few feet away. Her eyes were wide and she was visibly shaken. Turning her head, she faced the way she came and then back to the body.

She stood up quickly and moved to retract back home, but she heard the almost silent shuffle.
Her head whipped back, as she watched him cough and struggle to move. This was her chance. If she left now, there was a possibility that he wouldn't bother going deeper into the cave. He was injured. Almost deathly so from what she could see. She just needs to avoid being seen-

"Hey-"

Jack's raspy voice was cut short when he began to choke on his words. He manages to sit up, though he was quick to hunch over in pain. He eyes her over his blood-covered hand. Before finally falling to his side.
Nova watches silently, almost hoping that he was dead. She had half the mind to quickly escape, whilst he was still unconscious, but she knew she couldn't risk him trying to find her if he awoke again. The agonising silence pricked at her conscience, she knew the risks of exposing her home to Jack but living with his blood on her hands wasn't a tempting option.

The sound of clothes scratching against the rough cave ground caused Nova to grimace. She didn't doubt that thanks to the various sharp rocks, the back of his shirt was now tattered and ripped; The small trails of blood that began to appear were a cause for concern.

By the time they had reached the doors of the laboratory, she wasn't even sure if he was still alive.
She did what she could to hoist him up onto the metal table and was quick to place an ear to his chest. There was a heartbeat.
She didn't know what she would have done if he had died. There weren't many places she could bury him and she certainly wasn't going to risk going outside. At least not for his sake. She shudders at the thought of people lingering around, looking for Jack.

Nova dashes around the room, slamming cupboards closed with newly added desperation. She barely knew anything when it came to medicare; Her expertise lay only in plants and animals, and she was certain that Jack didn't have the time to wait for a plant remedy to heal him.
Not to mention, if Jack were to die, would that make her a murderer? An accomplice of sorts? Surely allowing him to die, would have its consequences. That's if they ever found him.

She wiped the sweat from her brow as she cut away at Jack's tattered and bloody clothing.
His chest seemed to carry most of the wounds; bullet wounds were scattered around and Nova noticed that not all the holes reflected on the other side. Meaning that she would have to remove the bullets before she could dress his wounds.

The removal went about as smoothly as it could, considering that she was blindly picking at his insides. She could almost wince at the lacklustre job she did at sewing him up.
She hoped that once he awoke he wasn't planning on moving. Like, at all. She didn't have it in her to sit there for another two hours. After removing the gloves from her hands, she sits among one of the only clean counters and watches Jack's bare chest rise now and then.
Most of what surrounded them were vials or jars filled with samples; long discarded, dust collected on their surfaces.
The laboratory walls were a dull silver, rusting with a copper tint from the bottom up, adamantly showing its lack of care over the years.
For what it's worth, the various scratches on the wall indicated that Nova sought to hold some resistance to the inevitable ageing of the walls. Just below the wall laid several cloths and scrubbers, all painted with the same rust and dirt.
Her efforts seemed to have worsened the condition of the wall, adding bright silver lines that contrasted against the dirted walls.