Ms. Pauling walked into Medic’s workspace area of the infirmary with an open mind and a conscience full of anxiety, “Medic? You over here?”
“Just a moment!” he rolled out from behind a screen holding a wrench and a scalpel, “Hello, Ms. Pauling! What brings you over here?”
She rocked on her heels, looking for the correct phrase, “I uh, I need a favor of you.”
“Absolutely! Anything for you.”
“I need you to use the medi-gun on Scout’s daughter.”
He laughed heartily, “Believe me, Ms. Pauling, I tried. For some reason it does not work on her.”
She cursed under her breath, “I was afraid of that. Do you know why though?”
“I’ve actually been searching for an answer for that, so far I can only conclude that-”
“Australium is what makes it work.” she interrupted, as if she already knew the answer, “Do you have any?”
“Um, no… They have supplied me with lots of chemicals and things, but never any Australium.”
She groaned loudly, “JUST perfect.”
“Regardless, why do you want me to continue operating on Scout’s daughter? I’ve done all I can.”
“Because if he sends her home with a giant scar like that, someone is going to ask questions. And if they ask questions, it will all point back to Scout and he’ll never get to see her again. That’s just the tip of the iceberg, though; if all this goes down, Mann. Co. will be held responsible, the bases will be discovered and you all will lose your jobs.”
Medic paused, “I see.”
“And now I have to go steal Australium from the company’s private reserve, which will get me fired in heartbeat if they ever find out…” Ms. Pauling leaned on the wall, gently massaging her temples, “This is going to be a long day…”
“Perhaps I may be able to help.” like a scene from a B-list drama movie, Spy appeared in the archway seemingly from thin air.
“Spy, I don’t think-”
“It is my fault that this happened in the first place. It is the very least I can do.”
“He does have a significant advantage, Ms. Pauling,” Medic intervened.
“I know! I know. I just…” this decision weighed heavily on her heart, what was she supposed to do? Go and get the stuff herself, get fired and leave the men on their own or send Spy and risk losing one of the finest mercs that Mann Co. had ever seen? Letting the girl go home to her mom with a bullet in her side was not an option at this point, and any other plans would take too long to execute, so what other option was there? “Spy… you know you’re risking your job, your life and Scout’s parental reputation, right?”
“I am completely aware. And believe me, I am not doing it for Scout.”
The choice had been made; no going back now, “Then let’s get you ready…”
--
“The flight’s been delayed? Oh no, that’s horrible, ma!” Scout tried his very best to act surprised while talking to his mother on the phone, “Oh no, I’m more than ok with keeping her here! Yeah! No problem! … Kay…. kay… Alright, I’ll see you then! Bye ma!” He slammed the phone down and let out a relaxed sigh. At least that was one less thing to worry about. He turned around and was greet by Ms. Pauling and the Spy, “Oh hey guys. What did you find out?”
Ms. Pauling stepped forth, “Well we have a solution to our problem now…”
“Great! What is it?”
“Spy has to go get it…”
Scout was confused, “I don’t… What do you mean by that?”
Ms. Pauling carefully explained how the medi-gun interacts with Australium in the body, there was a lot of chemistry and biological correctness that went right out the window, but none of it was a lie, “It’s the reason behind respawn, it’s the reason behind teleporters and it’s really our only option-”
“No way. Nah uh. I’m not letting my kid get turned into a freak like us!”
“Unless you want to lose your job and your family, you don’t have a choice!”
She was right and Scout knew it. He had just started being a father, he needed more time if he were ever to become a good one.
“Fear not, Scout; I will treat this mission as if I were doing it for one of my own.” Spy winked at Scout, hoping he got the message.
“... Alright. But you better not bail on me or get anyone else killed.”
“On my honor, I promise you I won’t.”
YOU ARE READING
Family Time #1: Scout
Fanfiction[This story is the first story in the Family Time series based off of the Daddy Fortress AU by tumblr-user paperfrays] Scout spends time with his long lost child, Melissa, at Red Base. Hilarity and endearing awkwardness ensues. Mostly awkwardness.
