Ain't Shady Baby, I'm Hot

68

"You really did it this time." I grunted into the fabric that was in my mouth. My Pogues on either side of me as Roy and Murphy worked on cleaning up the area so they could see.

Sarah and Kie were by the door with John B who had taken a shower in the locker room and no longer smelt like ass. Pope and JJ were by my head each with a hand on my shoulders to keep me still.

My fists were clenched around two stress balls that Murphy had pulled out from his desk. The angry faces on them almost comical while I dug my fingers into them versus my own skin.

"Murph, shine the light over here." Roy directed as he carefully poked around. His gloved fingers cold on my hot stomach. He'd cleaned off the dry blood only for more to come. "Xena, it looks like you've had three imbeded inside of you. I- I don't know if I'll be able to help you, girlie." Roy sighed.

The air crackled around as we all took in his words. Anger lighting a flame within me. I spat the fabric out of my mouth and glared at the ceiling.

"Roy, you worked under a retired military medic, served as a paramedic for five years, and you've been with me for a lot of my random bullshit this past year. Don't give me that crap. I trust you." I ground out, still fighting as my body wanted to give in to the pain and exhaustion. The tempting lull of sleep growing with each second I lay down.

"Help her, Roy. She trusts you. She believes in you." Murphy instructed, the hands at my shoulders tightening as JJ helped me bite back down on the fabric.

"JJ, Pope, don't let her move. Murphy,"

"On it."

I let my eyes close as I attempted to relax. Murphy's forearms laid heavily along my leg and hip, pinning my lower half to the table. I took a shallow breath in and cried out as Roy poked into the wound.

My jaw clenched. My upper body shot up fighting with the hands that held me down. My muffled roar of pain continued as I felt the wound stretch and pull, the metal of Roy's tool an intruder as my body and brain fought to force it out.

I tried to stay still, I tried to be silent, but it was too much. Then it was over.

"I got it. Xena. I got it." Roy spoke in a soft voice, urging me to calm down as tears welled in my eyes. "You ready for the next."

I blinked my eyes open and saw Pope and JJ staring down at me. Heartbreak in their eyes. I nodded. My eyes shut while Roy gave the boys a countdown.

My shoulders dug into the metal, my hips and legs pinned with John B joining Murphy to help. I felt new hands at my forearms as the girls came over to try and comfort me.

My eyes rolled backwards as my stomach tensed. My shoulders tried to rise as I pushed my head backwards onto the hoodie I was laying on. My hips threatened to rise as Murphy and John B pushed them down.

A strangled cry fell from my lips as I tried to bury the pain. Tried to stay strong. Tears fell down my face as Kie and Sarah started speaking about something.

My mind drifting as I faded in and out of consciousness. The stress too much for my body as Roy finally dug the second pellet out.

I could only vaguely hear everyone now. The world fading to green. The scent of the forest back. Oaks reaching to the sky. A warm fire beside me as I curled into a couch. A large fluffy blanket draped over me. The sound of a river dancing over stones nearby. I pushed further back into the couch.

A nagging feeling poking in my stomach as I tried to enjoy this moment.

Serene, calm, lovely.

I could stay in this dream world forever.

A shrill cry echoed through the trees. A girl's pained cry. Warm water dripped on my face as if rain had begun to fall.

But as I was pulled back to the real world I found that it was my own cry. My own tears that wet my face. My own pain that broke from the fire in my stomach as Roy dug out the final pellet.

"This one is the deepest. Hold her still!" He ordered as I screamed again. The fabric in my mouth only doing so much to muffle as I fought my body. My nervous system going haywire as it contracted my muscles and tried to run. My reasonable mind tried to override it as I knew that it would be over soon.

"She's awake." Pope called out as my eyes slammed open and my head jerked backwards. The stress balls splitting where my fingers had dug into them.

"Good, keep her awake." Murphy ground out as he pushed my hips down.

"How the hell is she this strong?" John B asked as I once again tried to pull away.

"She's a woman. Strength is in her DNA." Murphy called back making me smile internally as I vocalized my pain.

"You're almost there, Xena. It's the last one." Sarah whispered as she wiped my cheek. Her hand pushing the tears away gently.

"I've got it! Keep her still. This is going to hurt more than me looking for the bastard. You hear me, girlie? I've got it." Roy spoke his other hand helping pull the skin away as he grabbed ahold of the metal ball inside of my skin. The tool scraping along the sides of the sensitive skin.

My next blink was a long one. My body fighting against the males as I drifted back out of consciousness. Blood loss, physical and mental stress, lack of sleep, everything crashed all at once and my brain went into override.

Sleep offering me an escape as my body relaxed. Roy yanked the pellet free as I dropped onto the table. I had no fight left.

I was exhausted and all I saw for miles was black. No dreams. No nightmares. Just sleep.