Lost

Chapter 6

They broke through the trees and vegetation and into the clearing of their camp, dragging the heavy bird behind them.
"Aeryn!" Fisher called out for the blonde girl. She was perched on the door of the dropship with Kenji but when she heard her name she jogged over.
"What's up?" she asked, hands on her hips.
"Can you and Dell handle skinning the bird? We need to talk to Kenji." Fisher threw an arm over her shoulders and she shot him a weird look.
"Yeah, of course," she said, although her nose scrunched slightly in disgust. "Oh, Kenji and I were experimenting with the wood while you guys were gone. We found some that didn't give off the toxin. So we can cook the meat, too." Thora nodded her ascent so Aeryn pulled the younger girl off in the direction of the bird. "Come on, Dell."
Thora tried to shrug off his arm. "What are you doing?" she asked suspiciously as he dragged her toward Kenji.
"What? We've known each other all of... three days."
"And?"
"It's a normal thing to do." She squinted at him for a long moment, eyebrow raised. He shook his head. "Nevermind."
She found it harder to hide her limp. The walk back to camp had only caused more pain. She tried not to show it but she leaned heavily into Fisher's side. And, with his support, moving was a little easier, although she would never admit it.
"Hey, guys," Kenji greeted them with a smile but then saw how close they were and his grin was replaced by a concerned frown. She'd never get this close to Fisher if she could help it. Or maybe he just noticed the pained expression she was trying so hard to hide.
"What happened?" he asked slowly, cautiously. Fisher glanced down at her.
"She... fell during the hunt."
"Fell?" she said incredulously.
"Fine, I knocked her over. But, I saved your life so you should be grateful." He went on to explain what had happened to Kenji. "She's hurt but is too damn proud to admit it. I saw her limping the whole way back." Thora rolled her eyes.
"I'm fine. In fact, I've never been better!"
Fisher sniffed. "Is that right?" he asked, and she nodded. "So this doesn't hurt?" Before she could move away he poked her on her injured side, not hard but she still cried out in pain.
"Okay, okay! Get her into the dropship," Kenji exclaimed, ushering them inside.
"What the hell?" she choked out as Fisher set her down on the metal floor of the ship, her back pressed up on the wall. He didn't grace her with a reply. Instead, he stood back with his arms folded over his chest. She glared at him harshly as Kenji squatted down beside her.
"I'm gonna lift up your shirt, okay?" She nodded and he slowly eased her shirt up her torso. She flinched when his cold hands brushed against her skin. He muttered a soft sorry.
His tongue clicked when he caught sight of the injury. That was a good sign, she told herself. At least he wasn't drawing back in disgusted horror, right. 
"Alright," Kenji started. "It's definitely bruised. Maybe fractured, but I doubt it. Fisher's not that heavy." He glanced back at his friend with a smirk. Fisher scowled but there was no fire behind it.
"Am I gonna live, doctor?" she joked.
Kenji shrugged helplessly. "It's a toss of the dice." They stared at each other with straight faces before bursting out laughing. Thora quickly stopped herself, though, pain flaring through her chest.
"I can give you pain meds but they're on the weaker side so they might not help as much as you want them to," he said, changing the subject. "I only have two ice packs. After about two days you should go down to the spring and sit in the hot water for a while. Take someone with you."
He paused, trying to think of what else he could possibly do to help her. "At night, sleep sitting up. That should help with the pain as well." He got to his feet. "Oh, and breathe normally! I know it hurts like hell but if your breathing is too shallow you could catch pneumonia and you're more likely to die from that. Got all that?"
She ran through the information in her head, trying to get it straight before she nodded. 
"Great," he said, digging through his backpack in search of the first aid kit. He finally found it, popped open the lid, and offered her a bottle of painkillers a single instant cold pack. "Someone will bring you something to eat once the bird is finished cooking. Great job on that, by the way," he said, looking between them.
Thora smiled, taking the bottle from his outstretched hand. "Thanks, Kenji."
He turned to Fisher. "Could you look after her when I'm not here? That includes at night." Fisher looked like he was about to protest but before he could Kenji went on. "You are the reason she's hurt." 
"Yeah, fine." Kenji grinned and clapped a hand on his shoulder.
"Great." Then he was gone.
Fisher slid down the wall until he hit the floor. He sat with his legs crossed, elbows leaning against his thighs. His body looked tense like he was debating with himself whether he should say something or not. He opened his mouth but closed it again.
She took it as an initiative to speak instead. "About earlier... thanks. I probably wouldn't be here if you hadn't done this," she said, gesturing to her injured side.
He stared down into his lap. "Yeah, don't mention it." So she didn't. Instead, she leaned her head back against the wall, trying to breathe normally like she had been instructed to. Every breath rattled her chest, sending up a flare of pain. Glancing down at the pain meds gripped in her hand, she let out a breath and unscrewed the lid. Shaking two pills into her hand, she downed both in one gulp.
"How do you feel, though?" he asked after a long and awkward silence. She shifted, trying to find a more comfortable position, face screwed up in pain, before answering.
"I'm sure I'll be good as new in no time." This seemed to reassure him because his shoulders slumped and he reclined back, leaning against the wall. "Be honest. Does it look bad?"
He sniffed before shaking his head. "No, not at all."
"You hesitated."
"I-" He fell silent as Aeryn walked in with two sticks of meat in her hands, Dell trailing behind her.
"Dinner is served," she said, handing them each a plate. She raised her fingers to her lips and kissed them. "Best food I've ever had. Hands down." She grinned. "I know I should've waited but it smells so damn good." Thora sniffed slightly without thinking and immediately her mouth began to water.
Dell and Aeryn joined them on the floor. Grease from the bird dripped down the back of her hand and she fought the urge to lick it off.
Tentatively, she took the first bite. Her teeth sunk into the soft, perfectly cooked flesh. The flavors exploded into her mouth and she could almost block out the pain. With flavors like this, they'd never need spices again. She hadn't had fresh meat in centuries and she'd almost forgotten how it could make everything better. On the other side of the dropship, Fisher seemed to be having similar thoughts.
"Good, right?" Aeryn exclaimed, cheeks flushed. Thora couldn't bring herself to answer. She ate so fast, so ravenously, that she almost broke her front teeth on the wood impaling the meat. She tossed the stick aside, being conscious of her injured side.
"Do you need anything?" Dell asked. From outside, the sun was starting to go down and the world around them darkened.
"No, I'm fine-"
"Her sleeping bag. It'll get even colder than this and I think we can all agree that we'd prefer that the Commander isn't a block of ice in the morning." Her friend nodded and went to stand up.
"Do you want yours, too?" she asked Fisher. He waved his hand at her.
"I'll get it," he said, getting up with a groan and putting an arm around her shoulders. "Come on, kiddo." Thora stared after them for a while.
Once they were out of earshot, Aeryn turned to her, offering an impudent smile.
"What?"
She crossed her arms across her chest. "Really?" Thora shook her head, not understanding. Aeryn rolled her eyes. "You're really that dense, huh?"
"What are you talking about?" she asked, slightly annoyed now. She hated guessing games.
Aeryn shook her head, getting to her feet. "If you don't know now then you won't believe me anyway. I'm gonna go find Kenji. Goodnight, Thora."
"Night, Aeryn," she muttered- slightly bitterly- to the girl's back. What the hell had that meant? Why bring something up and then not tell her exactly what she was talking about?
Dell and Fisher walked back in, carrying balled up sleeping bags in their arms. Dell laid the sleeping bag out beside her, yawning the whole time.
"Go get some sleep, Dell," Thora ordered softly, ruffling the girl's hair. Bleary-eyed, she nodded. Before she went to leave, she gave Thora a gentle hug, not wanting to upset her injury.
"Goodnight, guys." She stumbled tiredly down the door of the dropship, waving before she was out of sight.
To her surprise, Fisher laid down his sleeping bag right beside her. With the weird look she gave him he sniffed and said, "I don't wanna be on the other side of the room if something happens to you in the middle of the night. The temptation of my sleeping bag would be too much." She sighed heavily, which made her ribs ache.
"I hate you," she mumbled.
He smirked. "No, you don't," he said, flicking her arm playfully. She scowled at him which only made his smirk wider.
"I'm tired." She slid into her sleeping bag with some difficulty, but she managed. She reached for her backpack, wanting to write the log for the day before exhaustion completely hindered her senses. She winced at the movement and Fisher noticed, grabbed her wrist to stop her.
"I'll write the log for today. Unless you feel up for it." She was about to refuse his help but there was a look in his eye, almost a hopeful plea, and she agreed.
"No, I'm exhausted. You can do it." His lip quirked up but he quickly fought to keep his face neutral. Something about the expression made him more likable and she somehow felt more at ease around him.
"Thanks." He grabbed her backpack and slid the 'EN-pad' out.
Since she was strictly forbidden to lay down she leaned her head against Fisher's shoulder. His breath hitched but eventually, he relaxed.
"Did you know that a strawberry isn't even a berry?" he asked awkwardly out of the blue.
She glanced up at him through her eyelashes, slightly worried that he had hit his head when he crashed into her. "Really?" she asked. He nodded, not meeting her eyes. She got more comfortable on his shoulder and smiled. "Goodnight, Fisher."
Goodnight, Commander," he whispered. She was asleep in seconds.