more than an assignment [ota]

[sparkedtoburst]

What had started out as just another assignment had swiftly taken the turn for something much bigger and possibly much more dangerous. In the space of two months he already had a near death experience under his belt and had it not been for Olivia, he'd probably be on his way to dead. It wasn't something he really wanted to dwell on, but it had

Comments

[notouchpolicy]

Fresh out of the Med Bay, Haylie had been thrashing about in her bed while her body worked through the pain of her injury. Thankfully, Emma hadn't been around the room which afforded Haylie some privacy but she was getting tired of being cooped up in such a small space. She was by no means claustrophobic, but the building was too crowded for her liking. Almost to the point she'd prefer her old room with the hole in the floor.

And that explained her presence in the mess hall, dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt while trying to balance a tray of food and juice with her free arm. She made her way to Spencer's table and took a seat beside him, glance going to his notebook, and then moving up to his face.

"Boo."

Her arm was in a sling, she'd hardly slept in the Med Bay, and she was starving. All-in-all, she looked like crap. But even so, she gave Spencer the best smile she could muster.

[sparkedtoburst]

Word had spread out pretty quick about the injuries; the Captain was in need of medical attention, Olivia had been needing rest, someone had been shot, he didn't really realise that anything had happened to Haylie. "Hey, what happened?"

The sling confused him a little, because no one had ever mentioned anything about a broken arm. So how did she do it and why didn't anyone mention it?

Not that Spencer had been asking specific questions. He'd ended up talking to a nurse about the team that had come back in the mess hall a day ago or so. Apparently his assisting Haylie in her break-out before wasn't held against him and the nurse staff still seemed rather friendly.

[notouchpolicy]

"I'd say we match now, but mine's a little higher up." Haylie quipped dryly, tilting her head toward the bandages wrapped high up on her arm. She clearly wasn't surprised that anyone failed to mention her injury - and she didn't mind - because the Captain and Pyro had been so much more seriously injured.

"It was a lucky shot. Cracked my humerus when it bounced off." Shrugging with her good arm, she fussed with the cover of her yogurt, trying to get it open with one hand and failing. "Doctor wants me t'wear it for a while so it can heal properly."

[sparkedtoburst]

Without a word, Spence took over opening the top of her yoghurt, staring at Haylie slightly, "Jeez, this place just breeds injury." Just to be helpful, he twists the cap off her juice as well, since her arm is slinged up.

"My sister, Sarah, she took out her arm once playing baseball at school. Broke her femur in two places and was in a cast for months. Of course, me being me, I ended up helping her out all the time. Even wrote her homework." He'd been a bit of a pushover when it came to his twin, but back then they'd still had their father and it was only right to take care of an injured sibling.

"So, um, if you need help with anything, just ask, okay?"

[notouchpolicy]

Resisting the urge to glare and pout like her four-year-old niece Madison when Spencer opened her food for her, she instead kept her mouth shut and smiled in appreciation. She was stubborn enough to spend an hour fighting it just to retain some shred of her independence. His comment, however, caused her to scoff in disgust.

"It does when you send a mutant hunter as part of a distraction team. Swear t'God, I spent more time protectin' Allerdyce and dodgin' bullets from Hendley than I did actually distractin' the assholes guardin' the place." And she'd leave it at that because Sykes had all but promised her that there would be hell to pay for Hendley's actions.

Spencer's story, however, seemed to distract her from thoughts of revenge - getting half of a chuckle from her in the process. "Sorry, but your femur's in your leg. You mean either her humerus, radius, or ulna."

[sparkedtoburst]

Spencer just shrugged and laughed a little, "We were seven, we called her rib-cage her piano part." He really wasn't up on anatomy, so he'd just go with whatever it was. He had no idea what Sarah had broken, and honestly, they'd called it her 'lemur' bone.

"How long do you think you'll be in the sling?" Because really, it must've gotten annoying already. Spencer might not know too much, but Haylie was fiercely independent and really, it must've been frustrating to not have that arm in use at something like this.

Spencer's biggest worry, naturally, was what the hell happened on that mission.

[notouchpolicy]

Piano part? That was probably the cutest thing she'd heard in a while, and it got her smile to widen just slightly. "I would've loved t'have gotten away with callin' it that as a kid. But, my dad's a trauma surgeon so I had to learn it properly." That and the fact she used to be an EMT; it wasn't exactly professional to be telling people their lemur bones were broken. Funny? Probably. Professional? Hardly.

Another half-shrug and a sigh before she responded, "At least the end of the month. Then I'm gettin' another X-Ray to see if it's healin' at all. The sooner the better, though. I'm goin' nuts."

Knowing what she did now, would she still have signed up for the mission if she could do it all over again? Hell yes she would.

[sparkedtoburst]

"We got away with a lot, Dad was a farmer, so it was pretty fun. We just had to learn about crop season." Which was just as fun. Way back when they were kids and they turned it all into a game. When life was easy.

So, a month of being strapped up, probably wouldn't be too bad, but Haylie was the type that probably went nuts from anything like that restricting her. "Hey, use it for evil just now. Get everyone to do stuff for you and just use the sling as the excuse. I mean, I know I would."

At least with family he would've. Or home, getting colleagues to write up his stories.

[notouchpolicy]

For a second, she forgot that Spencer was a farm boy from Iowa. His reply made her smile, though, because he definitely seemed the type to play up on that injury for favors.

"I'm not a fan of usin' it for favors. You're lucky I let you open my yogurt for me, cause I would've spent an hour fightin' the damn thing." Turning her head, she cast a smirk at Spencer, giving him a very familiar look.

"Unless you're volunteerin' t'help me get my clothes on and off."

There it was again. That pervy grin.

[sparkedtoburst]

"Well, you don't think of it as favours. You think of it as assistance in making the hard stuff easier." He was the kind of guy that would let people do the little things, but never push beyond the boundaries. Helping out wasn't the same as taking advantage.

It was just when she mentioned helping her dress and that he blushed furiously. "Oh, um, well," clearing his throat, Spencer stared at the table as his blush spread over his neck, "you know, I wouldn't be saying no or anything to your need for help."

While he was starting to get used to Haylie's comments, and sometimes the implication behind them, which he really didn't mind at all, he still didn't have too much control over his blush reflex. There was a definite chance that he'd spend most of his time around her beetroot red.

[notouchpolicy]

"Give me a little more time t'get used to havin' someone around and it'll happen." Haylie said with a wink, the implication that he was already getting more compliance from her than the others evident in her tone. She'd been on her own for three years now, and it was hard for her to grasp that it wasn't that way anymore. But for Spencer, she tried.

His blush made her duck her head sheepishly, wondering if perhaps she went too far in her "harmless" flirting. "Sorry. I'll stop."

[sparkedtoburst]

He could understand her trying, for the most part, he felt the same. She was probably the closest he had to a friend in this place, and in some ways she knew things that his sister didn't even know. And he really didn't mind sticking around at all.

"I um, I don't mind, really." And he didn't, "You're just incredibly open, and it's um, it's new." It wasn't that Spencer had dated prudes in the past; his Italian fling had been anything but tame. He just wasn't used to the flirting being aimed at him -spend enough time around older, mothering types and that tended to happen. "I mean, it's nice, but it's new."

[notouchpolicy]

Spencer was really the only friend Haylie had in this place. And he was a genuinely good person who made her smile, so she was more inclined to be open around him. They seemed to have developed a good rapport and whether Spencer knew it or not, she was extremely protective of him. Lorna and Olivia were probably the only ones aware of it due to the lengths she'd gone through just to find him and how she retaliated against the operatives while trying to protect them all. But if he paid close enough attention, he'd see it eventually.

Lifting her head, she nudged Spencer's shoulder and smiled softly. "Don't be afraid t'let me know when I cross a line. You're my friend, I don't wanna upset you."