The Bee's Knees

Kentucky (Part 6)

Becca steadied her breathing and aimed her rifle ready to fire. "There will be no warning shot. You are tresspasing on private land. Identify yourself or I will shoot" she said boldly in a mixture of fear and determination.

A quiet hoarse voice whispered back "Becca"

A sudden wave of cold engulfed her, making her unsteady on her feet. Becca had to reach out and brace herself against the wall of the house to stop her from dropping to the floor as her legs struggled to hold her up.

"Simon?" she called back desperately. Becca lowered her weapon and slowly walked towards the dark figure in a state of shock "Simon, you're okay" she whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks, not believing he was really here.

Simon removed his burned balaclava slowly as she approached. Up close, she could see his face was dirty and he was looking at her with sad anguished eyes. Becca paused in front of him"You're okay?" she asked in a quiet wavering voice.

"I'm okay" he replied softly.

Becca immediately dropped her rifle and threw her arms around his waist, burying her face in his chest, crying. Simon wrapped one arm round her shoulder holding her head in place as he laid his head on top of hers, feeling his body slump in relief. 

Neither spoke till Becca squeezed Simon tighter and he winced in pain. Becca moved immediately and she looked at him in concern "Oh god I'm so sorry. You're hurt. Come, come in" she stuttered, still reeling from the shock that he was actually here in front of her.

Becca picked up her rifle before leading the limping man into the cottage and sitting him at the dining table. Now in the light, she could see how filthy and dishevelled he looked with smeared face paint and soot. 

Not only did she see that he had burns on the side of his face, but the right side of his clothing was burned up and she could see blood covered dirty dressings on his right arm, where he had attempted to treat himself.

"I'll go get my kit" she said with a shaky voice.

As she walked to the pantry, Simon called out in a hoarse voice "Bring the bourbon".

Simon struggled to take off his destroyed jacket and shirt, so Becca had to assist as he winced in pain. Becca quickly put on her gloves and started to pull at the dressings when Simon stopped her. He opened the bourbon and took several long swigs before nodding to her to continue.

Becca gasped in shock as she carefully removed the dressings. He had severe burns running from his shoulder, down his arm and onto his hand. Breathing deeply, Becca got up and grabbed a basin of warm water and poured some saline solution into it. Looking up at his face, she could see his eyes where dark and tearfilled. Simon nodded for her to continue.

"I'm sorry, this is gonna hurt" she whispered. Simon nodded and took another swig of bourbon.

Becca carefully irrigated and cleaned the burns as thoroughly as she could. Each time Simon groaned and winced, she could feel her tears start again. Trying to focus, she continued by patting the area gently, drying off as much as she could. She didn't realise how much she was shaking till a large hand clasped over hers.

Looking up at Simon, he whispered "It's okay".

Becca nodded and pulled a home made herbal burn spray from her med kit. She sprayed the whole area before taking a roll of cling wrap and carefully wrapping the affected area from his shoulder to his hand. Once done, she secured the wrap with adhesive strips. 

Gently and carefully, she started work on the burns on his face. They were less severe but extremely dirty and raw looking from his mask rubbing on them. As Becca cleaned the area to assess the damage, Simon's eyes never left her. Glancing up at him she could see the pain and sorrow etched on his face. 

Becca applied some burns spray to his face before gently cleaning the rest of the soot and face paint from his features. There was so much she wanted to say, but her stomach was churning and her throat was tight from trying not to cry.

"Are you hurt anywhere else?" she asked gently, looking over his torso noticing angry purple bruising in several places.

"Got a bullet out my leg" he whispered pointing to his calf. Becca helped him remove his trousers so she could remove the dirty dressing and check out the ragged looking bullet wound. Simon took a few more swigs of bourbon as Becca carefully irrigated the wound and checked for any bullet fragments. 

Once the wound was sutured and dry, she grabbed a dressing to put over it. Simon stopped her with his hand. "Need a shower. I'll put it on after" he said quietly.

Becca simply nodded and handed him some painkillers and an antibiotic. He took them both with a swig of bourbon. Becca instinctively wanted to scold herself for giving him medication with so much bourbon, but didn't have the heart to stop him, knowing he was in so much pain.

She sat still and quietly watched as he stood up and limped to his bedroom. She was still sitting when she observed him slowly limp back out with some clean clothes, heading for the bathroom, his shoulders hunched over. 

Becca took a few deep breaths to steady herself before getting up to clear some of the mess, feeling the tears starting again. Her mind was a muddled mess of thoughts and emotions and she hoped that by doing some practical chores, it would help ground her and calm her nerves.

Washing up at the sink and filling the kettle to put on the stove to boil, Becca could feel the weight of the last few days start to overtake her. Gripping the counter to steady herself, the tears flowed and her breathing became ragged as she shook with the overwhelming wave of emotions.

Becca wasn't aware of Simon coming out of the bathroom, so was surprised when a hand gently landed on her shoulder and turned her round. She looked up at sad tired eyes. Simon didn't say anything, he just pulled her into a hug and held the back of her head as she cried.

"It's okay. I'm fine" he whispered after a few minutes.

Becca looked up at him, trying to still her tears. "I thought I'd lost you" she said quietly. 

Simon's face showed a slightly puzzled frown. "You've not lost me, I'm here, I'm okay" he said softly.

"They said there were no survivors. They've listed you and Price as killed in action. Is Price....?" Becca started to ask tearfully.

Simon didn't say anything in response, he only shook his head sadly. The kettle started whistling behind them. "Make us a cuppa and lets get some rest, eh?" he said quietly.

Simon went back to his room as Becca made him a drink. Gathering her muddled emotions and steadying herself, she headed to the room with his cuppa and a clean dressing for his leg. Simon drank his tea as she checked her sutures again and applied the dressing. 

Becca reapplied some burn spray to his face, after having his shower and double checked the cling wrap on his arm. Pausing to take a breath, Becca realised there was nothing else she could do for him tonight, knowing that he just needed to rest. 

Getting up to leave him to sleep, she walked towards the door before a soft low voice said "Stay" 

Pausing, Becca turned around to look at him as he tried to get himself comfortable as he lay. Sensing her watching, he stopped and looked up at her. He looked exhausted. Becca nodded "I'll make sure everything is locked up" she whispered.

 When she returned to the room, Simon looked peacefully asleep, so Becca kicked off her shoes and carefully lay down on the bed, so's not to disturb him. Simon held his good arm out, gesturing for her to come closer to him before pulling her into an embrace. 

She could feel the tears start again, but fought them so she wouldn't cause Simon any worry. Her mind still full of the events of the last couple of days, it took her a while to settle. Trying to relax, she focussed on the feeling of Simon's reassuring arm around her and the warmth of his body.

It didn't take long before they both fell into an exhausted sleep.

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