Voices pulled Louie from the blackness, their words incoherent. Adrenaline shot through her body as she opened her eyes and found a dark figure standing over her. In an instant Louie was reaching out to the sides, fingers desperately searching for a weapon, as she started to bring her legs up to kick her attacker. Her wrists were grabbed by a pair of strong hands and the figure shifted closer, mouth moving. It took Louie a moment to hear the words through her panic.

"Louie, calm down, its okay, its me. You're safe," Peyton said, his tone comforting.

Louie felt her whole body relax and the adrenaline, that had been coursing through her body seconds before, drained out of her. As her panic subsided, Louie suddenly became acutely aware of the intense pain that was tearing through her body. It was digging into her muscles and stretching across her back, shoulders and stomach.

The shock of the pain hitting her brain forced a cry from her lips and she shut her eyes again. She tried to the battle the fire that had consumed every inch of her. Peyton dropped her wrists and took hold of her upper arms, holding her still.

"Louie I know its hard, but I need you to stop moving. Its more painful if you do. Okay?" Peyton said.

Louie nodded her head. A mistake. Searing pain raced through her skull, dulling her thoughts and pulling the blackness back to her for a brief second. With the last bit of strength she felt she had, Louie relaxed her body back to the ground. Peyton let out a long breath beside her and his hands released her upper arms. As Louie became accustomed to the constant aching and throbbing of her body she looked around.

A fire crackled near by, filling the air with a wooden smell that did nothing to mask the odor of death that rose from the Crawlers' fallen bodies. Peyton who had been crouching next to her, sat back, resting his arms on his bent knees. He looked at her, his face half cast in shadow. Across the fire, Louie could barely make out the forms of Dax and another figure that looked familiar, but wasn't part of the team. Her gaze moved back to Peyton and she found him looking at her, concern, pain and relief written in his expression.

"I would ask you how you are, but I think I have a idea," Peyton said.

"What happened?" Louie asked, her voice coming out weak.

Her brain was moving sluggishly, her thoughts scattered. Peyton ran a tired hand through his hair, letting out a weary sigh.

"You were knocked out when you hit the tree," he said. "I managed to kill the Crawler before he got to you. The rest of the Crawlers went down shortly after that. You've been unconscious for a little over an hour. You lost a lot of blood, but I got your wounds stitched up and wrapped. But I was afraid to move you incase it could make your head worse. I don't know if you have a concussion."

Louie slowly raised her hand and felt under her shirt at the bandages beneath.

"How bad is it?" Louie asked, her mind still trying to focus through the fog in her brain.

"You are pretty torn up, but nothing vital was hit. The blood lose was the biggest concern."

Louie nodded, but instantly regretted it, as stabs of pain shot through her head. She closed her eyes and fought against the tears that rose into her eyes. As the pain ebbed away, her thoughts slowly cleared. She stayed silent as her body rested back into the ground.

"I need you to check and see if I have a concussion," Louie said.

"How do I do that?"

"See if my pupils are uneven and dilated. Then ask me basic questions."

Peyton reached out and gently took her head in his hands, titling her face towards the fire. His eyes found her's and he leaned closer, his breath warm on her face. He studied her eyes for a long moment, then settled her head back down.

"They look fine, as far as I can tell."

Louie let out a sigh of relief.

"Good. Now ask me questions."

"Name?"

"Louie Garcia."

"Father?"

"Chief, or Jack Garcia."

"Where do you live?"

"The Compound."

"Do you know who I am?"

"Peyton Jones?"

"Relationship?"

Louie managed a weak scowl at Peyton, who looked back at her with an indifferent expression.

"Friends."

"How are you doing?"

"In unimaginable amounts of pain."

Peyton smiled.

"You're more lucid with a brain injury. Should I keep going?"

"No, I think I'm fine. How are the other's?"

"Jonas was pretty hurt. A Crawler managed to get him to the ground and got a couple deep cuts to the chest, but he's going to make it. The Searchers heard the attack and arrived about half an hour after it ended. They took Jonas, Luther, and Trevor back with them. Luther dislocated his shoulder and Trevor broke his arm, but they are going to be fine. Those things heal. Dax is fine."

"You?"

"I'm fine. A few cuts, but nothing I'm not used to by now. More scars to deal with. You seem to be accumulating those pretty fast yourself."

"It seems I have a knack for attracting trouble."

"I wouldn't say that." Peyton said.

"I got stuck with you, didn't I?"

Peyton laughed, the sound warm and deep. Louie smiled.

"Do you think you can sit up?" Peyton asked.

"Yes, I think so."

Louie reached out for Peyton's arm for support and found his hands already slipping around her, pulling her up. Pain surged through her where his arms hit the deep cuts in her back. Her head instantly became dizzy with the movement, the edges of her vision starting to blur. She closed her eyes and leaned on Peyton's shoulder, waiting for the world to stop swaying.

Every inch of her was screaming in agony. Louie took deep breaths trying to combat the nausea that was rose to her throat and the instinct to pass out. Peyton kept his arm around her, supporting her. Eventually the fog in her brain cleared a little and Louie opened her eyes.

The figures across from her came into clear vision. A smile rose to her lips as she realized Marc was watching her, his face silent with concern. Louie lifted her head from Peyton's shoulder, but kept one hand pressed against his side for support. Marc moved over to her, kneeling in front of her, his eyes searching her.

"How are you doing ma'am?" Marc asked.

Louie's smile grew.

"I've been better. How's the Compound?"

"Still running smoothly."

"Good," Louie said, tiredly.

She opened her mouth to ask about her father, but Marc's words halted her own.

"Do you think you can travel? I can carry you," Marc said.

"I need a few minutes and I'm not being carried," Louie said, forcing her tone to be firm.

Marc nodded and stood. He moved to the opposite side of the fire and settled beside his son.

"Louie, you are in no condition to walk," Peyton said. "You twisted your ankle. Its swollen and you won't be able to stand on it."

"Then I will lean on someone, but I am not coming into the Compound being carried," Louie said her tone hard.

Peyton stared at her, but her mouth was set into a firm line. He could see there was no arguing so said nothing. They sat by the fire a long while as Louie's thoughts cleared more.

Eventually, she was able to sit up by herself. After forcing down some food and drinking some water, Louie was ready. With Peyton's help, she rose to her feet.

Marc and Dax stood by, their faces written with concern, their stances saying they were ready to reach out at any second and catch her. The world pivoted as lightheadedness over took Louie and she gripped Peyton's arm, trying to steady herself. His arm was gently wrapped around her waist and it held her fast. As the lightheadedness faded Louie shifted her stance, finding balance on one leg, one arm wrapped around Peyton's shoulder.

"Alright, let's go." Louie said.

"I'll take the lead. Dax, follow behind," Marc said.

Louie hopped once and the action nearly brought her to her knees as spasms of pain jolted through her. She staggered forward, but Peyton's arms kept her upright. A cry of pain escaped her. She tried to breath, but stabs of agony shot through her, keeping her breath at bay. She finally managed to breath, pulling in a deep gasp.

"Louie, you can't walk," Peyton said, his tone hard.

Louie looked at him, defiance in her eyes but pain hiding just beyond.

"I can't show up being carried. Everyone would see it as weakness. I can't." Louie said, fighting for each word as her whole body revolted against her.

"I get that." Peyton let out a frustrated sigh. "Look Louie I'll carry you just beyond the barrier and you can walk the rest of the way." Louie looked about to argue, but Peyton's face hardened. "It's not up for discuss."

Louie nodded and then closed her eyes as her head began to throb. Marc stepped forward.

"I'll carry her," he said.

Peyton didn't respond, instead scooped Louie into his arms and started walking. Marc said nothing as he moved past Peyton and took the lead, guiding their way back to the Compound.

Louie wrapped her arms around Peyton's neck and kept her body rigid. Pretty soon every muscle ached from the effort and she relaxed. She rested her head tiredly on Peyton's shoulder.

The air was cold, the breeze sending a chill through Louie. She tightened her grip on Peyton, hiding her face from wind in the crook of his neck. She quickly became used to the gentle rocking motion. She found her eyes closing as strength drained from her body, the fight leaving her weak.

The lights of the Compound burned against Louie's eyelids and she opened them. Lifting her head, she saw the search lights pointed on their small caravan. Louie looked up at Peyton, but saw nothing in his face that showed he was tired at all.

The metal gate was pulled open and they stepped through. As they neared the entrance Peyton stopped and looked to Louie, silently asking if she was up for walking. Louie nodded. He gently lowered her legs to the ground but kept one arm wrapped protectively around her. Louie unclasped her hands but kept an arm slug over Peyton's shoulder, her hand gripping the edge of his jacket. With every slow step pain tore through her, every step stealing away what little strength she had left.

By the time they reached the doors blackness was creeping in around the edges of her vision. Metal clanged against metal as the doors rolled up, revealing the bright lights of the Compound and a crowd of on lookers. Louie's head was bent forward, not seeing anything.

As she stumbled into the warm confines of the building, the last piece of energy she had disappeared and she fell forward. A pair of strong, steady arms caught her, picking her up. The world slowly started to fade as Louie heard Peyton say, "Don't worry, Louie. I got you."

Then the world went black.

**************************

Louie swam in a world of dreams and memories. She drifted from one to the next, the real world sometimes edging in. The sound of footsteps and muffled voices floated through Louie's brain. As she drifted upwards the voices became clearer and Louie vaguely recognized Peyton and the doctor's.

"...she doing?" Peyton asked.

"She will be fine. She's a survivor," the doctor said.

"That I do know. I've never seen anyone adapt as well as she did."

"Did you find the group of Crawlers?"

"Yeah, they've been dealt with?"

"You?"

"No, we ran into the Artillery."

"Ah."

There was a brief silence, as Louie's mind started drifting away, dreams tugging at her, pulling her down again.

"When are you leaving?" the doctor asked, his voice faint.

"Not until I know she's okay."

The words followed Louie as she sank back into the land of dreams and buried her self in memories.

******************

She didn't know how long it was until she began to resurface once more. More blurry voices slipped into her mind and past the fog of dreams. This time Louie's brain barely registered the owners as Mr. Andrews and Ryland.

"Do you know how she's doing?" Ryland asked.

"I heard she's stable," Mr. Andrews said.

"She's so beaten up."

"Yes, it was a dangerous task they took on."

"Some people thought her foolish for going."

"Yes and since she's come back beat up they will assume she's too weak to do her job. She's so young. I don't know if she's ready to take on the weight of this job. Chief always believed he would have more time to train her, but now he's gone..."

The words drowned Louie and she collapsed back into darkness once more, the words chasing after her, echoing in the cave of her thoughts.

*********************

Her father's voice was floating through her mind the next time she drifted up to reality, his patient tones ringing in her ears. A warmth seemed to be spreading through out Louie's body as reality slowly filtered in. Silence greeted her as she pried her eyes open and found she was curled up on her side. The world was dim, only lit by the night time lights of the Compound. Louie found her eyes working to adjust to the darkness, the world still blurry.

Her thoughts slowly started to make sense of the world around her and she realized she was in the Med wing. There was a pressure and warmth in her hand that she was unfamiliar with.

She dropped her gaze.

Peyton was asleep beside her, his head laying on the mattress. One hand was laced around her's. Louie shifted, but didn't pull her hand free. Peyton stirred and lifted his head, his eyes blinking blearily at Louie. His face was clean and his dirty clothes traded for new ones.

"Hey," Peyton said, keeping his voice quiet. "You're awake."

Louie nodded, but said nothing, fear creeping up her throat. Peyton's brow furrowed, his eyes filling with concern.

"You okay?"

"Peyton?"

"Yeah?"

Louie felt she could barely talk over the lump in her throat that was choking her.

"Is it true?"

Peyton looked confused for a second, then clarity hit him. He dropped his gaze, his hand tightening around Louie's. He looked back at her, his eyes telling her everything.

"Louie, I'm so sorry."

Louie didn't hear what he said next as grief crashed over her and pulled her under once more.

********************

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