Unexpected

chapter eleven: smuggler

Echo spends the next few hours with Elara, the two of them talking about anything that comes to mind. Eventually, Elara's medication wears off and she does her best not to acknowledge the searing pain in her side.

A knock on the door interrupts their current conversation about the perfect government system and Echo furrows his eyebrows. "Expecting someone?"

Elara shakes her head, also confused by who could be at the door. After a second knock, Echo gets out of the bed and slowly opens the door.

"Fives?" He asks, allowing his brother in and closing the door behind him.

Fives immediately notices the armor on the ground, leading to Echo being in nothing but his blacks, and a helpless Elara on the bed still wearing the nightgown he'd picked out. "I was looking for you." He says to Echo. "You've been gone all day."

Before Echo can respond, Fives walks passed him. "I brought contraband." He holds up a paper bag as he sits on the edge of Elara's bed.

Elara glares at him before peeking into the bag. "Are they poisoned?"

Echo sits in the space beside her, feeling weird to lay with her now that Fives is here. "Are those Dogma's cookies?" Echo stifles a laugh. "He's going to kill you."

Fives shrugs. "I paid off the others with a cookie each to keep their mouths shut."

"You gave Hardcase a cookie?" Elara's eyes widen.

Echo and Fives get to work on the baked goods right away as the three of them talk, but Elara doesn't touch a single cookie.

"How're those scars lookin'?" Fives asks with a cookie in his mouth.

"Wouldn't you like to see." Elara rolls her eyes.

"I would. That's.. Why I asked." Fives points.

"They're just fine, thanks." She informs him.

Echo glances between the two of them. "It's getting late, maybe we should head back." He says to Fives, who's still staring at Elara.

"Yeah, good idea." Fives stands.

Echo quickly puts his armor back on and grabs his helmet. "You gonna be okay on your own until tomorrow?"

"I'm not on my own, I have R3." Elara smiles.

Echo puts his helmet on and steps out of the room with Fives. Before the door closes, Fives stops it with his foot. "Forgot the cookies." He says.

He slips back into the room for the cookies but also finds a severely pained look on Elara's face.

"Elara?" He furrows his eyebrows and her eyes shoot open, unaware that anyone was still in the room. "What's wrong?"

She clenches her jaw to push the pain away as she shakes her head.

"Ellie." Fives caresses her face as he looks into her sparkling blue eyes. "What do you need?"

She takes a deep breath as she glances at the small bottle on her nightstand. Fives picks up the container and reads the label.

"Morphine?" He reads the name of the drug. "Take two pills every 12 hours." He reads the label aloud. "You took both doses already?"

Elara leans her head back as a soft cry escapes her lips. "P-Please." She clenches her jaw. "Fives, please." She pleads as she looks up at him.

Fives's heart races in his chest at the way she's looking up at him. For her to be this desperate must mean she's in a lot of pain.

"Echo won't like it." Fives points.