FLY BOY - Completed

Chapter 27

Chapter 27

"Scotty!" River gasped as she rushed to his bedside. She could tell that she had to be careful, not just because of the worried looks on Hailey and Shanes's faces, but also because of the bandages wrapped around Scotty's chest, left shoulder and upper arm. Also there was some sort of contraption holding his arm up in traction. Scotty reached his good hand out to her and as River took hold, he pulled her in close. She gave him a tentative hug as he wrapped his arm around her back. "I don't want to hurt you," she whispered to him as she pulled back from his embrace, trying hard not to put any weight on him. 

"I'm stronger than I look River," he told her giving her his wonderful smile. 

River then turned to Hailey and Shane and gave them a quick wave as she said hello. Shane answered with a quick hello back, while Hailey stood up and walked around to River and gave her a quick hug. "It's so good to see you River," she said sincerely. River noticed that Hailey was sporting a pretty big shiner on her left eye. She wondered what had happened to Hailey since she had last seen her.

"We made it out of there," Hailey said shaking her head with emotion and then she looked at Scotty, "Some of us a little more hurt than others, but we made it. We all made it. That is what is important."

River nodded her head in reply, feeling a huge lump form in her throat and then she hugged Hailey again, this time putting a lot more feeling into the hug as she squeezed her tightly. She remembered all that they had gone through to make there way to the Resistance boot camp. "How are you Hailey?" River asked holding her at arms length and searching her face. "I mean I can see you've got a black eye..." she nodded towards Hailey's swollen and discolored eye, "What happened to you after we left?"

Hailey took a step back and the look that came over her face spoke to River more than any words could; obviously she had been through her own version of hell. Apparently after Scotty and River left her alone in the apartment, she had crawled back under the bed and stewed over every little creek and sound she heard. After what felt like hours of tense waiting she figures she must have drifted off to sleep. She couldn't have been asleep for long though, when she heard someone entering the apartment. River would have been proud of her, she said because she never made a noise as four guys searched the apartment. They had been looking specifically for River. She knew that because they kept talking about how the General had put a priority on finding River right away and if she was not found how the general would be furious and they weren't sure what he would do to them. 

Her words caused a guilty feeling to brew in River's gut. "I wish I could tell you that they never found me," Hailey continued softly, "but that wouldn't be the truth. They actually found me quite easily. They smacked me around a bit trying to get me to tell them where you and Scotty had gone, but I just kept telling them that I didn't know." Tears started to roll down Hailey's cheeks as she got lost in the awful memories. River wrapped her arms around her in comfort, feeling awful for having caused Hailey so much anguish. 

"I wish I could say that I was brave and never would have told them anything about you," Hailey confessed as she stepped back from River's hug. "But the truth is, I was just about to tell them when Shane and his men arrived and saved me." Hailey took the sleeve of her sweatshirt and pulled it down her arm and then wiped at her eyes. 

Scotty caught River's attention and pointed towards the Kleenex box on his night table. River grabbed some tissues and handed them to Hailey. 

"Thanks," she whispered as she dabbed at her eyes and nose.  "Anyway Shane and his men captured the jerk who did this to me," she pointed at her eye, "and his sucky friends and then when he told me that he was looking for Scotty, I helped him find the infirmary and sure enough that was where they were keeping Scotty." Hailey smiled at Scotty as she stepped next to his bed and picked up his good hand.