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Look who is back! Here comes the next fill in for my Bad Things Happen Bingo Card:

Fandom: My time at Portia

Pairing: Arlo x Female Builder

Summary: Elenya never thought she would meet a Knight, let alone fight him. However, she would have gladly done without the resulting compound fracture.

Word count: 8930

Prompt: Passing Out from Pain

Author’s note: I am back! After almost exactly 2 months I finally managed to finish the next story. I'm not completely satisfied with how it turned out and I hope you don't notice too much that I wrote it over the last two months. If you notice anything that doesn't make sense, please let me know!

But now I hope you enjoy reading! Please take enough time for it, that thing has gone off the rails again!

Warnings: Compound Fracture, Mentions of Blood and Bones, Concussions, a lot more Angst than inteded with a good portion of Fluff

Read on AO3: Link

An unfortunate encounter

Damn, she shouldn't be here!

Elenya was in the old ruins on the Western Plateau with Arlo, Sam and Mali, fighting a knight. Something that had not been planned in the slightest.

To catch the thief who was after All Source, she had built a model based on Ack's design to lure him out and a huge trap to hold the thief captive. She was supposed to leave once everything was set up and working, in case there was a fight.

She had discussed this at length with Arlo, her wonderful but overprotective boyfriend. She was by no means helpless! In the almost two years that she had been in Portia, her fighting skills had improved considerably and she was able to hold her own in fights.

But it was a point that Arlo made that convinced her to stay out of the fight. The thief would most likely be human, and she had never had to fight another human before. Monsters, no problem! They didn't want to do her any good either, but humans...

Her stomach had tightened at the thought, but now she had no choice but to fight.

She had barely set the trap when the thief arrived, leaving her no time to retreat. And even though the trap had worked, neither of them had expected to meet a real knight who would just easily melt away the steel bars of the cage.

Thick steel bars! She had been working on this thing for ages, and in a matter of seconds all her hard work had been destroyed!

The four of them had been fighting the knight for over 20 minutes now, but he didn't seem to care in the least. He skillfully dodged their attacks, or when they did hit, their weapons barely left a scratch on his armour.

How could they compete with someone like that?

Exhaustion had begun to spread through her. She was not used to fighting for so long at once. The other three didn't seem to know how to continue either, and there was a brief pause in the battle, which the knight immediately took advantage of.

"Well, I've had enough fun. I must bid you farewell." The knight's distorted voice echoed boredly through the large room and frozen Elenya looked at the knight.

Damn it, they couldn't let him get away!

At Sam's signal, Elenya took a run-up in a last, desperate attempt, pushed herself off the ground and tried to land a well-aimed kick to the knight's head. But the knight effortlessly deflected her attack, grabbed her foot and threw her against the wall behind him.

The back of her head hit the wall hard, the impact knocking the breath out of her. Dazed, she fell uncontrollably to the floor, subconsciously extending her arms. A loud crack was heard when she hit the floor, but her head was far too foggy for her to place the source of it.

Through the ringing in her ears, she could make out sounds of fighting above her, but those were the least of her problems right now. A sudden, excruciating pain shot up her left arm to her shoulder, and with a pained cry she rolled over onto her right side, curling protectively around the injured arm.

Something warm flowed over her right hand and nausea rose up inside her.

Oh God, what was that? She had never felt pain like this before!

Tears welled up in her eyes and she tried desperately to breathe against the pain and nausea. She only noticed her constant, soft whimpering when it suddenly became completely quiet around her.

After a few seconds, however, three voices began to discuss wildly, but she couldn't make out a word. Her brain was overwhelmed with pain and distressed, she curled even more around her arm, stirring it as she did so, sending more terrible pain through her entire body.

Another agonised cry escaped her and immediately the three voices fell silent again. Footsteps hurried towards her, and the voice she heard moments later was one she could finally identify.

"Oh God, Elenya..."

A familiar, warm hand tentatively placed itself on her upper left arm and gently turned her onto her back. She whimpered at the movement and the tears she had been holding back finally ran down her cheeks.

Arlo was here.

Three horrified gasps sounded through the room as her left arm was exposed, and curiously she also risked a glance at her arm, which was now lying limply on her stomach. Arlo tried to stop her, but he wasn't quick enough.

Her gaze fell on her bloodied arm, through which she could see something white flashing. Something white that should definitely be inside and not outside her body.

A new, stronger wave of nausea swept over her and with a groan her head fell back to the ground, aggravating her already battered head. Black dots began to dance in her field of vision and she struggled to take a full breath until beloved blue eyes bored into hers and two hands cupped her face.

"Hey sweetheart, take a deep breath, okay? Everything's going to be okay. I'm here."

Firmly, Arlo held her gaze and with his help, she managed to take a semi-full breath. The black dots in her field of vision dissipated, but tears still flowed relentlessly from her eyes, blurring her vision.

God, it hurt so much.

"I know, sweetie, I know. But we'll get you fixed, I promise."

Oh, had she said that out loud?

She could make out Sam and Mali discussing something behind Arlo, but she was fully focused on her boyfriend, who seemed to be ignoring them as well, instead gently wiping away her tears. The calm and strength in his eyes helped her keep the pain under control. She could see that behind his facade, worry and panic were trying to burst forth, but she tried to ignore that for her own sake.

She needed something to hold on to.

Suddenly, someone gently prodded her arm and with a desperate whimper she tried to look past Arlo to see what was happening to her arm, but he held her head steady.

"Shhh, it's all good. Just look at me, okay?" His voice was soft and reassuring and with a slight nod, she tried to listen to him.

Her arm continued to be moved, though. Gritting her teeth, she reached out with her uninjured hand for Arlo's, which was still cupping her cheek, and held on tightly.

More soothing words left his mouth and desperately she focused on them instead of the nausea-inducing feeling in her arm. She didn't know how long her arm had been manipulated, it felt like hours, even though it was probably no more than a minute, but then her arm was finally placed back on her stomach and she was able to relax a bit.

"Arlo?" Sam's voice was full of concern and without looking away from Elenya, Arlo asked Sam to continue speaking.

"We have to set her bone here, we can't transport her otherwise." Informed Mali's voice then, however, and panic began to spread through her.

They were going to do what?

Elenya could feel her heartbeat quickening, making her arm throb, and horrified, she clung more to Arlo's hand.

They couldn't just...

Sensing her stress, Mali turned directly to her, "I'm sorry, Elenya, but I have to set your bone. Otherwise, the transport will only be more painful and could make things worse. Trust me, I've done this more times than I care to remember."

Mali's voice was calm and collected, and together with Arlo's hand that had started to gently brush through her hair, her heartbeat slowly calmed down again.

"Is that safe, then? Or can we make it worse?" Concern now getting the better of him, Arlo turned his gaze to Mali, who gave him a brief, reassuring smile.

"It's going to hurt like hell, but like everyone else in the Flying Pigs, I have training in emergency medicine. I know what I'm doing."

The two held serious eye contact for a moment until Arlo turned back to her with a slight nod.

"I'm sorry, sweetie, but you can do this. It'll be over quickly and then we'll get you to Dr. Xu. He'll give you the good stuff, okay?" He gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead and then moved away from her.

The panic returned immediately.

Where was he going? He couldn't just leave her alone!

Desperately she tried to reach for him, but only moved her broken arm, sending a renewed wave of pain through her body. With a pained groan, she tried to curl around her arm again, but two hands quickly placed themselves on her shoulders, preventing her from doing so.

"Hey kid, it's alright. You're not going to let something like this get you down, are you? You can do this." Sam's green eyes appeared above her, her gaze a mixture of assurance and concern.

No, she really couldn't.

Pain was shooting through her body, her head was pounding, and where was Arlo? She needed him.

New tears spilled from her eyes and desperately she looked around for him. The movement of her head aggravated her nausea, but she ignored that.

"Arlo?" Normally she would hate how scared her voice sounded, but right now she didn't care. She just needed her boyfriend back by her side.

"Hey, it’s okay. It's okay. I'm right here. I'm not leaving." A large, familiar hand slid into her right and relieved, she looked up into warm, blue eyes.

"I'm here, sweetheart." Gratefully, her eyes stayed on Arlo, who gently wiped away her tears with his free hand, noticing that he had taken off his jacket.

"Here, to make you a little more comfortable." Arlo let go of her hand again to reach for his discarded jacket lying on the floor beside him. Confused, she followed his movements, not understanding through the haze in her mind what he was up to.

His right hand, which had been caressing her cheek, ran through her hair to the back of her head and then lifted her head slightly. But before he slid the jacket under her head, he suddenly tensed and a low curse escaped him.

"Arlo? What's wrong?" Mali spoke up again, who had been studying Elenya's arm intently until just now, slight concern showing through her composed expression.

Confused, Elenya also looked at Arlo. He never cursed in front of other people.

Instead of replying, Arlo put her head back on the floor as carefully and gently as he could and pulled his hand out from underneath it.

"Shit.", it now escaped Sam too and she started rummaging in her hip pocket.

"Wha...?" Elenya’s tongue didn't really want to obey her anymore, but she didn't have to finish the question anyway, because now Arlo's hand came into her field of vision as well.

Blood was on his palm. Her blood.

Oh...

That would explain why her head hurt so much and why it was so hard for her to think.

Over the next few minutes, a head bandage was carefully applied to her, but Elenya was purely concerned with not throwing up. With every movement of her head, the world spun around her and desperately she tried to hold on to Arlo's eyes.

When her head was finally bandaged and gently placed on Arlo's jacket, she could no longer tell up from down and it took a long moment before she could again discern Arlo's deeply concerned gaze above her.

But as soon as her eyes refocused, a gentle smile settled on his lips.

"That's it. Just breathe. You're doing wonderfully, sweetheart."

Encouragingly, he squeezed her hand, which he had taken in his again, and placed another kiss on her now bandaged forehead.

After she was able to collect herself a bit and the nausea had subsided to a tolerable level, Sam's hands settled on her shoulders and Mali spoke up again.

"Okay, I'm going to set your arm now. Ready?"

Elenya gave a slight nod, even though she was anything but ready, and clung to Arlo's hand a little more.

She didn't quite know what she was expecting. Maybe that Mali would count to 3 and start at 2 or something like that. But that she would say nothing at all and start right away, was definitely not it.

White-hot agony shot up her arm, reducing her entire being to that one spot. She hadn't thought the pain could get any worse.

She screamed.

She tried to fight Sam's grip on her shoulders, trying to escape the pain, but Sam wouldn't let go. And the longer the pain continued, the more blurred her surroundings became.

First Arlo's voice disappeared from her perception, then his hand in hers, Sam's hands on her shoulders until nothing remained but the pain.

And after that...

Nothing.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Arlo wasn't quite sure if he was glad Elenya had passed out. The injury to her head meant that she had to stay awake, but he couldn't bear to see her in such pain any longer either.

God, her cry of pain will haunt him for a long time....

With an exhausted sigh, he dropped his tense shoulder and gently wiped the last traces of tears from Elenya's cheeks.

Sam too carefully released her tense hold on Elenya's shoulder and dropped back onto her heels, while Mali continued to tug at Elenya's arm in concentration.

"Fuck." said Sam with feeling, and Arlo could only agree with her.

How could he let something like this happen?

Elenya shouldn't even have been here when the thief was caught, she should have just installed the trap and then taken a leave. Just because he hadn't expected the thief to follow them directly, his little builder was now badly hurt.

Moreover, the thief also escaped and he had failed all the way.

Deep feelings of guilt spread through him, but he quickly shook them off. He had no time for that now!

Instead, he remembered his training and brought his right hand to Elenya's neck to check her pulse. Her heartbeat was fast but strong, and after a moment's hesitation, he turned to Mali.

Mali just made one last deft movement on Elenya's arm and then leaned back, satisfied.

"There, that looks much better. Dr. Xu will have to take another look, but I think the bone is back where it belongs."

Arlo inspected the arm intensely, ignoring the slight nausea that came over him again as he did so. He had seen many injuries and monsters in the most horrific conditions in his career, but when it involved a loved one, his stomach still twisted at such sights.

But he had to agree with Mali. From the horrible sight of a bone sticking out of the body, only a bleeding, gaping wound was left. This was still bad enough and his heart contracted painfully at the thought of the pain Elenya was in, but now they could take better care of the injury and get her to Dr. Xu as quickly as possible.

Between the three of them and with the contents of all three emergency kits, they were able to splint the arm and securely fix it to Elenya's stomach so that it couldn't move too much.

Elenya didn’t make a single sound or show any other signs of waking up during this process, and it became increasingly difficult to suppress his rising panic.

What if the head injury was worse than feared? What if she would never wake up again?

He tried to shake off this terrible thought, but Elenya's pale face and blood-covered belly drove even worse images into his mind.

Why hadn't he prevented it? His whole world lay broken before him and it was all his fault.

Deeply immersed in his horror, he didn't even notice how his breathing quickened and he slowly backed away from the body lying on the ground. Only Sam's hand on his shoulder brought him out of his nightmare, and startled, he looked down at his teammate.

"Arlo, come around. Elenya's going to be fine. You will take her to the clinic now and Dr. Xu will patch her up. Before you know it, she'll be running all over Portia again and you'll wish she'd sit still for a minute." A brief pause and serious look. "This is not your fault. Elenya is strong and knew what she was doing, please don't beat yourself up over this."

Desperately, Arlo clung to Sam's words. He knew how strong his little builder was, one reason why he loved her so much besides her unfailing kindness, and he had to hold on to the fact that she would make it. She had a head injury, albeit a serious one, and her arm was broken. It was nothing she wouldn't recover from.

He took one deep breath and tightened his shoulders.

"I'm sorry. I've got myself under control. Let's get out of here quickly."

Sam's worried gaze followed him as he walked back toward Elenya, but he ignored it. It was bad enough that he had lost his composure like that in front of Mali, he couldn't delay Elenya's transport any longer.

Carefully, Arlo pulled his jacket from under Elenya's head and, with Mali's help, draped it over Elenya. Winter was approaching and it was very cold outside, and his jacket was big enough that they could close it over her bandaged arm. That left him with just a thin jumper himself, but there was nothing he wouldn't do for his little builder.

Sam, meanwhile, had packed up Elenya's bag with her tools and her own jacket, and with that they were finally ready to get out of here.

As carefully as he could, Arlo lifted Elenya into his arms. It wasn't easy, as her arm was firmly fixed on her belly, but with Mali's helping hand, he was able to hold her securely against his chest, her head coming to rest on his shoulder.

The familiar weight in his arms finally eased a small part of his anxious tension. His Elenya was safe in his arms and he could finally take her to the help she so desperately needed.

They made their way out of the ruin.

Once outside, he carefully lifted Elenya onto Spacer and then quickly climbed up behind her to press her firmly against his chest, being careful not to touch her injured arm.

With a quick nod to Sam and Mali, he set off in the direction of the city. The two would inform Mayor Gale of what had happened while he took Elenya to Dr. Xu.

The cold wind tugged at his thin sweater, but Arlo hardly noticed. His entire focus was on Elenya and his destination, which was a nearly 30 minute ride ahead of him. She still hadn't made a sound, and this time he had a hard time holding back his panic.

If she had only passed out because of the intense pain, she should have woken up a long time ago. What if her head was the real problem? What if she really wasn't going to wake up and come back to him?

His heart contracted so painfully at the thought that he thought it would give up on him. He quickly remembered Sam's words to put the thought out of his mind.

He was not allowed to think like that!

She'll wake up again, smile at him and rob him of his last nerve, because she wanted to get back to work way too soon. And when the time came, he would finally do something that had been haunting his mind for a few weeks now.

Every time he saw Elenya and could hold her in his arms, to be exact. He simply could not imagine a life without her anymore and the events of today only confirmed this anew.

Subconsciously he strengthened the arm he had wrapped around her waist and finally: A sign of life sounded from her! It was only a soft whimper and his heart tore again at the painfilled sound, but finally she came to.

He leaned forward slightly to see her face and waited with bated breath to see if her eyes would open. Her head turned slightly in his direction and her breathing accelerated, but her eyes did not open and only another unconscious, soft whimper escaped her. Gently, he tried to calm her.

"Shh, it's okay. I'm here. We'll be right there. Just hold on a little longer, sweetheart, please."

His words seemed to get through to her, for her breathing calmed and she lay as lifeless in his arms as she had been before.

Just a little longer, my heart.

~~~~~~

Finally arriving at the clinic, Arlo quickly dismounted Spacer and gently lifted Elenya back into his arms.

It was late enough that Phyllis was no longer in the clinic, and only Dr. Xu looked up in surprise as he stepped through the clinic door.

"Arlo!" The doctor quickly rushed toward him, worriedly eyeing the unconscious form in his arms. "What happened?"

"There... there was a fight. She was thrown against a wall and must have landed on her arm all wrong." Panic and concern resonated in his voice, and Dr. Xu quickly instructed him to set Elenya down on the hospital bed behind the room divider. Arlo quickly complied and placed Elenya on the bed as gently as he could, being careful not to jostle her head too much.

"God, her arm..." At the thought of her arm, his stomach immediately twisted again and he quickly suppressed all thoughts and emotions behind his Captain persona.

He couldn't give in to his feelings now. Dr. Xu needed to know what had happened in order to help Elenya.

He swallowed hard and then straightened his shoulders. "Her bone was sticking out of her forearm... Mali set it again so we could transport her, but we don't know what else is broken in her arm. She passed out during the procedure and hasn't regained consciousness since. The back of her head collided hard with the wall and I'm worried she has a severe concussion."

Monotonously he gave his explanation and he knew that the worried look Dr. Xu gave him was meant for him, but fortunately the doctor didn’t dwell on it. Instead, he began to open the jacket to expose Elenya's arm.

Blood was already seeping through the thick bandage and the fear of complications from blood loss joined all the other horror scenarios in Arlo's mind. The tight grip he had on his emotions quickly slipped away and he ran his hands through his hair in a frantic manner.

He had to avert his gaze as Dr. Xu began to undo the bandage. Restless, he began pacing back and forth in the clinic, his thoughts a restless jumble.

"Arlo!"

Startled, Arlo stopped. The tone in the doctor's voice told him that this was not the first time he had addressed him, and apologetically he stepped back to the hospital bedside. Elenya's arm was now exposed, but Dr. Xu quickly wrapped a new compression bandage around the wound as it was still bleeding profusely, barely closed.

"Yes, what can I do? How can I help?"

"I need you to get Phyllis for me. I'm not going to be able to do this on my own. She should be down at Central Plaza."

Uncertainly, he looked from Dr. Xu to the unconscious Elenya. He didn't want to leave her, but he knew that Dr. Xu needed help. He knew the basics for emergencies, but that was the end of his medical knowledge and Elenya needed all the help she could get.

He still hesitated.

"She's in good hands, Arlo. I'll take care of her." Understanding resonated in the doctor's voice and Arlo stepped determinedly to Elenya's head.

"I'll be right back, sweetheart. Hold on for me until then, okay?"

Gently, he caressed her pale cheek and then left the clinic with quick steps. Hopefully he wouldn't have to look for Phyllis for long.

~~~~~~

The next two hours felt like seconds and yet went by far too slowly. After taking Phyllis to the clinic, he was sent out against his will.

The two of them needed to be able to work undisturbed, but he found it hard to stay away from Elenya.

To distract himself, he entered the headquarters, hoping to find something to focus on. But no matter what he tried, his mind could not be taken away from Elenya. So he finally gave in and just sat down on one of the couches, staring blankly at the floor.

Remy walked through the door at some point, but he couldn't bring himself to greet his best friend properly. The fact that he just dropped down next to him without saying a word and bumped his shoulder in encouragement told him that Sam must have told him what had happened.

They sat there in silence for a while until Remy forced him to at least take a shower and put on some fresh clothes, casting a meaningful glance at the red stains on his clothes. Arlo tried not to think further about the origin of the red stains, instead monotonously going through the motions of taking a shower.

It must have taken him a very long time, or he must have been sitting on the couch for longer than he thought, because not long after he was back in the main room and sitting next to Remy again, Dr. Xu stepped through the door.

He would have loved to jump right up and rush over to the clinic, but Remy held him back with a hand on his shoulder. Reluctantly, he remained seated.

Dr. Xu joined them and dropped exhausted into an armchair. Without delay, he began to explain.

"So, Mali did a very good job with Elenya's arm. Both bones in her forearm are broken, but the bones were properly aligned and I fixed them with specially designed screws so that they could heal properly. I haven't been able to put it in a cast yet because the swelling is still too great, but I'm confident that, given enough time, her arm will recover completely."

A weight was lifted from Arlo's chest. When he had seen Elenya's arm, he already feared that her forearm might stiffen forever, which would have made it impossible for her to continue working as she had been. And building was her greatest passion! That would have devastated her.

But Dr. Xu, of course, was not finished yet.

"Her head worries me a little more. The impact must have been hard and she has a bad concussion now. If it hadn't been for all the adrenaline pumping through her body, she probably would have passed out on impact. I've cleaned her head wound and given her the strongest painkiller I can make, but unfortunately that's all I can do. I expect she'll have some memory problems for a while and we'll need to monitor her closely for a few days, but I don't think any permanent damage was done."

Oh, my poor little builder.

"Thank you Dr. Xu. I don't know what we'd do without you here." Arlo was truly grateful. It was never pleasant when Portia needed him, but everyone was in good hands if something did happen.

"You don't have to thank me. I'm happy to help. You can go and see her now, by the way. I won't keep you any longer." The doctor smiled gently at him.

Of course, Arlo didn't let him say that twice, and with a quick goodbye to Remy, he was out the door and back inside the clinic. There, Phyllis was rummaging in one of the cabinets, but Arlo only had eyes for the room divider.

With quick steps he walked around it and finally, after more than two hours, he saw Elenya again. A fresh bandage was wrapped around her head and her arm lay heavily bandaged on a pillow on her stomach. No more traces of blood were to be seen and with a deep sigh he let himself fall on the chair next to her bed.

Gently, he took her healthy hand in his and planted a light kiss on the back of it.

"Hey my sweetheart. Dr. Xu has fixed you up and now you just need to rest. I'll take good care of you, I promise."

~*~*~*~*~*~

A warm, soft voice penetrated through the fog that filled Elenya's head.

Her head felt like it was wrapped in cotton wool, and she couldn't understand what was being said.

Where was she?

Why couldn't she remember what had happened?

Panic began to rise in her and desperately she tried to open her eyes. All that brought her, however, was a sharp pain shooting through her head.

A whimper escaped her and her panic rose even more.

Why did her head hurt so much?! Why couldn't she understand the increasingly loud voice?

She tossed her head back and forth, trying to get a clear thought, but only more pain clouded her mind. Then suddenly a warm, familiar hand cupped her cheek and immediately the panicked voices in her head fell silent.

Arlo...

"Elenya, sweetheart, I'm here. Everything is okay. You are safe. I'm here." Finally she could understand the voice. Concern resonated in it, but it sounded just as soft and warm as it always did when Arlo spoke to her.

Her heartbeat calmed.

"That's it. You're okay. Just get some rest. I'll take care of you. Nothing more will happen to you."

A rough thumb gently stroked her cheek and slowly she let herself fall back into nothingness, enveloped in a feeling of safety.

~~~~~~

Elenya awoke to throbbing pain in her left arm. It robbed her of her breath and whimpering she tried to curl around the aching limb. She didn't get far, however, because a hand immediately placed itself on her shoulder and stopped her from moving.

Desperately, she grabbed the offending hand and tried to pull it away, but she could barely muster the strength to latch onto it.

"Elenya, sweetheart, what's wrong? Are you in pain? Dr. Xu!" Arlo's worried voice cut through the pain and with another pain-filled whimper, she turned her head in his direction.

Please make it stop!

She couldn't say the words out loud, her tongue wouldn't cooperate, so she opened her eyes with great effort and looked up at him pleadingly.

"Arlo..." Her voice was hoarse and laced with pain, and immediately Arlo's free hand came up to cradle her cheek.

"Shhh, I'm here. Dr. Xu is about to bring you something for the pain. It'll be better in a minute." No sooner had he spoken the words than the doctor appeared and handed Arlo a vial. Arlo carefully put the bottle to her mouth and she greedily drank the liquid.

It tasted awful, but anything was better than having to endure this pain any longer.

"That's it. It should start working pretty soon."

Indeed, it didn't take long for the pain to diminish to a tolerable level and her features to relax under the watchful eyes of Arlo and Dr. Xu.

"Thank you..."

"No problem. Do you think you can stay awake for a moment so I can examine you? It won't take long." Gently and also a little worried, Dr. Xu looked at her and uncertainly, she looked up at Arlo, who by now had turned his hand over on her shoulder and was gently holding her right one in his.

Examine her? Why? Why was she even here? How long had she been here? What had happened?

Silently, she tried to communicate her questions, and Arlo seemed to see at least some of her confusion. Soothingly, he stroked the back of her hand with his thumb.

"You've got a pretty bad head injury, sweetheart. What's the last thing you remember?" Concern was written deeply on his face, and straining, she tried to organise her thoughts.

She vaguely remembered a weird-looking model of a robot she had built, but the more she thought about it, the worse her headache got.

Damn it, why couldn't she remember?

Frustration spread through her and tears came to her eyes. Before they could spill over, however, Arlo's face appeared directly in front of hers, his deep blue eyes boring into hers.

"Hey, it's all good. Don't force it. The memories will come back. Just take your time." A gentle kiss on her bandaged forehead accompanied his equally gentle words, and surrendering, Elenya weakly squeezed his hand.

Her energy faded quickly and without her being able to do anything about it, her eyes closed again and she drifted back into nothingness.

~~~~~~

The next time, Elenya woke up much more gently. She first noticed the large hand gently cradling hers, followed by a warm voice that seemed to be reading something aloud, and finally the dim light as her eyes slowly opened.

Slowly, she turned her head to the right to be greeted by a comforting sight. Arlo was sitting beside her bed, his face turned towards her, her hand in his, gently reading from her favourite book. She couldn't help it. An adoring smile formed on her lips.

Arlo was still here with her.

Weakly, she squeezed his hand to draw attention to herself and immediately his voice trailed off and he turned his gaze to her in surprise.

"Sweetheart! You're awake. How do you feel? Are you in pain?" He quickly put the book aside, stood up and gently cupped her cheek.

Happily, she snuggled into his hand and denied his question. It was still difficult for her to think clearly, but she was not in pain.

"I'm glad. Would you like some water?" Without waiting for her answer, Arlo grabbed the glass of water that was next to the hospital bed and held it gently to her lips.

As soon as the first sip wet her throat, she noticed how thirsty she was, and if Arlo hadn't held the glass, she probably would have choked right away. As it was, however, he tipped it just slightly and she was only able to drink the water in small sips.

"'Easy there, dear. You'll make yourself sick."

As soon as the glass was empty, he put it back and then sat on the edge of her bed, regarding her intently. Love and concern were written deeply on his face, making her heart clench.

"How are you feeling?"

She would have liked to tell him she felt fine, but since that was an obvious lie, she tried for the truth.

"A little... weird. My arm feels wrong and.... I'm having a hard time... thinking clearly..." Her voice sounded weak and she had to keep pausing to find the right words, which frustrated her immensely.

What was wrong with her?

"I believe you. You took a pretty serious hit. Your arm got smashed quite a bit and you have a serious concussion. Dr. Xu said it'll all go away and it shouldn't leave any permanent damage, but it'll be a while before you feel like yourself again."

That at least explained the woozy feeling in her head. But what was that with her arm?

Slowly, she turned her head to the left to be able to see her arm, which was lying on her stomach with a pillow underneath. The sight called up an image in her head that she could well have done without. Red and white in a place where they had no business being.

"Oh God..." With a groan, she turned back to Arlo and looked at him in horror.

"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. I'm so sorry my love, but I'm afraid for the next eight to ten weeks your arm won't be usable at all. Both bones in your forearm are broken and Dr. Xu had to fix them with screws. However, with the right treatment, you should get back the full mobility of your arm." Compassionately and as gently as possible, Arlo tried to tell her the diagnosis, but nothing could alleviate her horror.

10 weeks? And a who knows how long rehabilitation? How was she supposed to work like that? She couldn't even make herself something to eat!

Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes.

"Ten weeks? But... how am I supposed to... I can't just..." The tears overflowed and a sob escaped her throat.

How was she supposed to do anything like this?

Immediately, Arlo leaned forward and gently cupped her face with his hands, looking her firmly in the eyes.

"Hey, hey, hey. Everything's going to be okay. I'm with you. I'll take care of you. You and I can handle this." A soft kiss followed his words, and desperate and full of love, Elenya returned it.

How had she ever deserved such a wonderful man?

Tears still ran silently down her cheeks and Arlo gently wiped them away.

"I will be by your side every step of the way. I will be your left hand. And if you ever can't take it anymore, your right hand as well." He lifted her healthy hand high to his lips and gently pressed a kiss to her ring finger.

"Forever, if that's what you want." He repeated the gesture and it took a moment for her rattled brain to connect the two things.

Had he really just...?

"I'm sorry that I'm just springing this on you while you're hurting so bad, but for a while now I've known that I can't imagine my life without you anymore. I want to be able to see your smile every day, hold you in my arms and fall asleep next to you." He cleared his throat. "The incident two days ago... God, I was so scared for you. When the knight threw you against the wall... I thought for a moment I'd lost you forever." Another kiss to her hand and a single tear actually escaped from the corner of his eye.

Her heart broke at the sight. Carefully, she released her hand from his and instead placed it tremblingly against his cheek, gently wiping the tear away.

"I'm sorry..."

"Don't be. It's not your fault. If it was anyone's fault, it's mine. But don't worry about it. I just need to hear one thing from you." Full of love, he looked down at her.

"I'm afraid I don't have a ring or anything else prepared, but... would you marry me?"

He was really…

Behind all the love in his gaze, she could also find some nervousness and she wondered how he could have any doubts about her answer.

She had never felt so comfortable, loved and safe around anyone as she did with Arlo. As soon as he was near her, she felt better and he was always there for her. They had been together for almost a year now and she couldn't imagine anything better than spending the next few years with him as well.

"Yes, Arlo. Nothing I'd love more." New tears flowed from her eyes, but this time of happiness and a mixture of a sob and laughter escaped her.

Oh God, she was going to marry Arlo!

"Really? Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! You make me so happy, my heart." Overjoyed, Arlo leaned down to her and engaged her in a deep kiss.

Just as happy, she returned his kiss, but she could not keep her lips moving for long. All the excitement was draining what little energy she had and her concussion was taking its toll.

Arlo noticed this immediately, of course, and gently detached himself from her.

"I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to spring this on you. Rest now, my love. I'll be here when you wake up. I love you, so much." Tenderly he stroked her cheek and with a happy sigh Elenya leaned into the touch.

She would have liked to return his words, but her eyes closed against her will and she happily fell asleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Elenya had to stay in the clinic for a week. Arlo was able to be by her side for the first three days, but then he had to go back to work.

Sam and Remy were able to cover for him for a few days, but Mali went to Atara with the passcode key and a Knight was on the loose, threatening Portia. As Captain of the Civil Corps, he had sworn to protect his city, and right now it needed him more than ever, but he still would have preferred to stay with his fiancée.

God, his fiancée. He still couldn't believe his luck that his strong little builder actually wanted to marry him! If it weren't for this terrible thing with her injury and the whole mess with All Source, he'd be happier than he'd ever been in his life.

And today she was finally allowed to leave the clinic. He was on his way from her house to the clinic with Spacer, having prepared the last things so that he could stay with her and take care of her.

Since he was going to move in with her anyway, as soon as they got married, he had pretty much packed up all his meagre belongings and taken them to her workshop. Together with Sam's help, he had then rearranged everything a bit and the house was now ready for the return of its owner.

~~~~~~

As soon as he stepped through the door of the clinic, he was greeted by the gentle smile that had always left him speechless for a moment since he had first seen it. Returning her smile, he approached Elenya, who was lying on one of the beds.

She still felt dizzy easily, so she usually preferred to lie down, although she had hardly done anything else in the last week. He was glad that she wasn't overexerting herself as she usually did, but a deep worry about exactly that plagued him all the time, even if he tried not to show it.

He greeted her with a gentle kiss and brushed a strand of hair from her face.

"Hey, sweetheart. Ready to go home?"

"Hey there. Oh yeah. It will be nice to lie in my own bed again. And wash myself properly, as far as that is possible. I feel really gross." Disgusted, she brushed through her own hair, which lay flat against her head.

The open head wound meant that she hadn't been allowed to wash her hair all week. Phyllis had only ever helped her with a cat wash, to at least give her a sense of cleanliness, but he could understand that she didn't feel comfortable like that.

"I'll be happy to help you with that later. Dr. Xu said we could wash your hair if we're careful. But first we need to get you home. Do you have everything you need?"

Curiously, he looked at the bag that stood bulging at the foot of the bed.

"Yes, Phyllis helped me pack everything. There are painkillers in there for the next three days. I'm supposed to come back for a check-up after that."

"Very well, let's wrap you up warmly then. Winter is just around the corner, after all." With one arm under her back, he helped her to sit up slowly.

With a slight groan, her head fell against his shoulder once she was sitting upright and protectively he pulled her to his chest.

"God, I hate this. Can't this go away soon?" Her healthy hand came up to cling to his jacket, and he could actually hear a pout in her voice.

"It will go away. You just have to give it time. You may have a thick skull, but your head has taken quite a blow after all." Reassuringly, he stroked her back until the dizziness subsided and she released her head from his shoulder.

Together they then dressed her in one of his large sweatshirts, which was no easy task as Dr. Xu had put a plaster cast on her arm up to just above the elbow in order to keep it as still as possible. This left her with almost no freedom of movement and he could already see her frustration at not even being able to dress herself.

He tried to distract her from that with a gentle kiss before putting the sling around her neck that would support her arm.

"Please don't worry about it. I don't mind helping you at all."

"But I haven't even..."

He pressed another kiss to her lips.

"You didn't have to. I can see it in your face. So, please let me help you."

"I will try..." A sigh left her lips and he couldn't help but cup her face gently between his hands and giving her a deep kiss.

He knew how hard this was for her and he wouldn't feel any different. If he couldn't even dress himself, he would probably go crazy and he vowed to help Elenya as much as he could without smothering her.

His deep kiss left her slightly dazed, a slight blush high on her cheeks and he couldn't help a satisfied smirk. It was nice to see what an impact he still had on her, even after almost a year of relationship.

Quickly he also put one of his jackets on her, leaving the plastered arm underneath, and zipped it up. His clothes almost swallowed her whole, but she was wrapped up warmly and he could finally take her home without having to worry about anything more.

They left the clinic empty. A wave of flu had swept through the school, and Dr. Xu and Phyllis were too busy tending to the sick children to see Elenya off.

The ride on Spacer was quiet, Elenya snuggled up against his chest in front of him, the sky a beautiful evening red, and he thought that Elenya had even fallen asleep. But as soon as they stepped through the garden gate, her eyes opened and gratefully she let herself be helped off the horse.

"Home sweet home." Smiling softly, he looked down at her, his hands still gently resting on her hips.

"Yes, it's only been a week, but it's good to be back." She glanced longingly at her machines and understandingly he pressed her gently to his chest, mindful of her arm.

"They'll be waiting for you, darling. Before you know it, you'll be buried under ores and wood and ash again." A sad sigh left her lips and he just held her for a moment, hoping to comfort her a little.

But then a sudden shiver ran through her body and worried, he quickly ushered her into the house. He thought he had wrapped her up warm enough, but with the sinking sun the last bit of warmth disappeared from the air and her body was not yet fit enough after all the stress to keep her properly warm.

But even inside, her shivering didn't disappear and apologetically she looked up at him.

"I'm sorry. I'm just so cold." She pressed herself a little closer to him and he soothingly rubbed her back.

"No need to apologise. How about I run you a warm bath? Then your arm won't get wet and you can have a good soak."

Her eyes started to light up at his words and with an affectionate chuckle he set about getting everything ready. He left Elenya in the bedroom, instructing her to make herself comfortable on the bed until everything was ready.

He put her favourite soap, which smelled of lavender and vanilla, into the water and immediately a soothing scent spread through the bathroom. Then he placed a stool with a cushion next to the bathtub so she could rest her arm on it, laid out the fluffiest towels she owned and a large cup to wash her hair.

Now came the trickier part. Getting Elenya out of her clothes again.

"Hey, is the bath ready?" Curious, Elenya looked up at him as he came back into the bedroom and he answered in the affirmative.

"Yup, everything is ready. Now we just have to get you naked." He winked at her playfully, but then carefully helped her out of her clothes so as not to hurt her. When her back was revealed, he couldn't help a soft hiss.

It was covered with bruises that were already turning a sickly yellow and green. The impact with the wall had really done a lot of damage.

With the lightest of touches, he ran his fingers over the bruises, sending a shiver down Elenya's spine.

"I'm okay, Arlo. At least I will be again." With a soft smile, she turned her head to look at him over her shoulder, but he quickly averted his gaze.

Silently, he helped her remove the last of her clothes.

He knew she was going to be okay, yet he couldn't bear to see her hurt like this. Her scream of pain still echoed in his head as soon as she was no longer near him.

Still caught up in his thoughts, he helped her slowly slide into the warm water, making sure her arm rested comfortably on the stool and was about to reach for a soft washcloth when a small hand rested on his.

Green eyes looked up at him pleadingly.

"Can you come in with me, please? I... I miss being close to you."

Immediately his gaze softened.

"Of course."

He quickly undressed as well and slid into the warm water behind her, grateful that she had such a large bathtub.

No sooner had he made himself comfortable than she leaned back and snuggled against his chest with a happy sigh. He quickly wrapped both arms around her stomach so that she couldn't slip down and held her tightly against him.

Her warm skin pressed against his released a deep-seated fear in him and after more than a week, his shoulders finally relaxed.

"This is nice..." Elenya's voice was soft and happy and he agreed with a low rumble.

How much he had missed holding his wonderful little builder, they had hardly had any time for each other even before the fight.

They sat like that in the warm water for a while, enjoying each other's closeness, until Arlo began to gently wash Elenya with a washcloth. Carefully washing her back, taking care not to exert excessive pressure on the bruising, ran it over her stomach down to her toes, requiring a few contortions on her part until each piece of skin was cleaned. He took extra care with her one good hand, massaging it gently, eliciting a sound that almost sounded like a purr from Elenya.

Then it was her hair's turn. He gently poured water over her head with the cup he had prepared, his left hand cupping her forehead to keep the water out of her eyes. Then he began to gently massage the vanilla shampoo into her hair, careful not to touch the wound on her head.

A happy sigh in front of him told him that she was enjoying his massage very much and with a soft chuckle he continued to do so, even when the shampoo had long since been completely spread. She relaxed more and more in his arms and he was just happy to be able to do something good for her.

Eventually, though, he had to stop massaging her, afraid she would fall asleep in the tub. He carefully washed out her hair and then pulled her back to his chest to sit with her like that for a while longer. The water would get cold soon, but until then he wanted to enjoy this a little more.

After a few minutes, the temperature of the water had dropped noticeably and with a soft sigh he addressed Elenya.

"Come on, sweetheart, we have to get out." He spoke softly into her ear so as not to frighten her and, as expected, a sweet pout settled on her lips.

"No, don't wanna..."

A deep chuckle escaped him. "I'm sorry, but the water is getting cold. I don't want you to freeze. We can continue cuddling in bed if you like."

A little reluctantly she agreed, not that she had a choice, and they carefully climbed out of the tub. He quickly wrapped her in one of the fluffy towels and rubbed her dry before quickly drying himself as well.

As best he could, he blow-dried her hair (it looked awful afterwards) and then helped her into some comfortable sweatpants and his old grey sweater, which she had already "borrowed " many times when he stayed over.

By the time they were finished, she could barely stand on her feet and he hurried to get her into bed. He managed to give her her next dose of painkillers and a glass of water, then snuggled into bed with her.

He carefully manoeuvred her until her head came to rest on his shoulder and her immobilised arm on his chest. The cast pressed a little uncomfortably against his skin, but Elenya was comfortable and safe in his arms, and that was the most important thing.

"Sleep well, my heart. I love you." He gently pressed a kiss to the top of her head, but she no longer noticed, exhaustion already having won the upper hand.

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