By the time everyone has finished dinner and I have received the last of my shots for the day, I am more than exhausted. Making my way to the medical ward, the only place we have to sleep for now, I have Yongguk and Zelo at either side keeping me from stumbling. I've been eating all day to keep my strength up, so that my body has energy to burn through without attacking my muscles for protein and energy, but N was right last night – I should have taken a nap. I can't help but feel that taking naps in the medical ward makes me a burden, though; medical wards are for people who need immediate attention like stitches or splints, or extensive damage that needs to be monitored. Hongbin tried earlier to argue that I do need to be watched over but I insist on the fact that I have enough help with Yongguk and Junhong with me. It's not until I promise to keep one of them with me at all times that he is finally willing to talk to N about finding a room for us.

Sitting me down on the bed, one of them, I'm not sure which, helps me undress for the night and helps me lay back, my head feeling heavy on the cool pillows. There is arguing in hushed voices but it seems distant and I feel like I'm falling, spinning in all directions at once. I open my mouth and I think I'm talking, calling someone, but I can't tell whether my voice is working or not. The bed dips and a comforting weight is being laid across me, a familiar scent surrounding me. It takes all my effort to even try turning over but whoever is beside me wraps themselves around me, supporting me as I move and cradling me gently against them, keeping me warm. Behind me the bed shifts, though it doesn't dip with the weight of someone else climbing in. A chin rests atop my head and I curl up reflexively, my fingers clinging to their shirt as I begin to slip away.

*****

There are no windows in the medical ward so I can't tell what time it is other than early, but I can feel pain building where my bones are repairing themselves making me shift uncomfortably. I try turning over but I'm being held stubbornly in place, my forehead against someone's collarbones with their arms around me and a leg thrown over mine. Unable to move around much, I begin nudging them in the ribs with an elbow; a familiar low grumble greets my ears and I mumble a muffled "wake up" with my face still against his chest. He complains and rolls over, practically on top of me.

"Get off!" I hiss. "You weigh more than you think."

He complains again and I free my right hand to jab him sharply side with a knuckle. Whining, he wakes up and lets go, rolling on to his back.

"It's your own fault, Junhong."

"But it hurt!" he whimpers dramatically.

"What's going on?" a tired voice asks beside me, a hand reaching out and taking mine. "It still feels early; why are you awake?"

"I need help. Where are the pain meds?"

As if a shot had gone off, both young men are up and the lamp has ; Junhong practically falls over the edge of the bed as he scrambles to get water and Yongguk is doing his damnedest to remember where he put the bottle before he fell asleep. Eventually we get things sorted and the meds begin to kick in when I hear my stomach growl. I try to cover it up with a cough, not wanting to disrupt their sleep any more but neither of them believe it. Wrapping me in a blanket, Zelo tells Yongguk to go back to sleep and follows me up to the kitchen where I immediately raid the fridge. I don't even bother with a spoon when I find a bowl of leftover soup. Though he doesn't eat anything himself, he's glad to sit down with me to drink a glass of water.

"You okay?" I ask when I notice that he's not exactly talkative, even for the middle of the night.

"I'm okay."

"Is that an "I'm somewhere in the middle" okay, or an "I'm freaking out but trying not to freak you out" okay?"

"The second one."

"What are you freaking out about?"

"All of this. Bree, this all started because I didn't play it smart in the mines and everyone is paying the price – especially you!"

I shake my head, and put down my bowl. "No one's blaming you except for you. Talking to N, this was an eventual thing."

"It's not just that though. Back in your office, that man…"

I close my eyes and sigh. "I'm sorry you had to see that."

"I've never seen you that angry before. Honestly, seeing you that way was genuinely terrifying. Talking to you every day, living with you all my life… Even if you do fight with Yongguk all the time, I would never have guessed you could be like that ever."

I study Junhong's face carefully as his gaze remains on his water my heart drops into my stomach.

"You're not afraid of me now, are you?"

"No…"

That's a lie.

"Junhong, as much as I have a temper, that's not how I would ever wish to be regularly. Something you need to understand about me, something I'd wished I would never have to explain to you, is that most people can carry at least part of their normal personalities out onto the battlefield – I can't do that. Being around all of you or ordering people around or fighting with Yongguk, it's not the same as me getting into a fight and knowing that I'm probably going to have to take someone's life. For me, a switch gets flipped. I shut down. Amidst the most animalistic instincts humans have is the fight or flight response, you know that. It's just that what you saw was me when the fight response wins."

"Bree, I don't want to do that. I don't want to fight."

"And I won't make you. You're going to start spending more time with Jongup working on an exo suit just for you, then you're going to start looking at maps of the tunnels. You're going to start running, too."

"But won't that take me away from you?"

"It won't be for a while but yeah, it will."

He nods slowly, clearly thinking about what I've told him. Suddenly he cracks a devious smile and wiggles his eyebrows at me.

"I guess this means you'll be spending a lot more nights with Yongguk, huh?"

"I… suppose so?"

He howls with laughter and nearly drops his water, leaning over the table. "You know, I'm really glad you never got any orders. It's so much easier to mess with you this way. You should finish eating before you start getting hunger pains, Bree. Once you're done, we'll head back down."

Even though I spend the rest of the time thinking over what he said, I still don't understand why he thought my response was funny. I make a point to ask him on the way back down, but his response is roundabout and essentially avoids the question all together. All he tells me is that I should ask Yongguk about it sometime. Shoving Yongguk out of the bed, Junhong and I curl up again, his body heat keeping me warmer than any blanket.

*****

When I wake up again I notice something is different. Jongup has made himself comfortable beside Yongguk and they're both snoring quietly. I can't help but smile. Slowly, our family is putting itself back together. Slipping away from Junhong, I throw my feet over the edge of the bed and stand up. The pain-killers are still working and I sigh gratefully for that fact. I'm starting to feel thirsty though, so I slip back into the pants from yesterday and grab N's sweater; as much as I appreciate how loose the button-up is, I don't feel like my fingers will comply. Just as I reach the door, I hear a sleepy mellow voice speak up from behind me.

"N told me you agreed to have someone with you until you're all better. Wait for me. I'm coming."

Jongup walks quietly beside me as I make my way up to the kitchen, a soft smile on his face as he looks around and waves at a couple of people who pass by.

"You made friends fast around here," I comment.

"Everyone here is really nice. Speaking of nice, I hear you met N again. How'd that go?"

"Well, Yongguk doesn't like him all that much I don't think, but I think he's a pretty good guy. He's very friendly."

"Friendly doesn't cover the half of it," he snickered. "Yongguk doesn't like N because his toes are getting stepped on, and he's getting his toes stepped on because he's standing between N and what he wants."

"What?"

"Around here people can have with someone they like instead of whomever they're told to, and tends to start with a kiss. Remember that," he said gently.

I'm not sure what to think of what Jongup has just told me. N hasn't kissed me. Why would Yongguk care anyways? I'm still lost in my thoughts when a glass of water is held up in front of my face. I thank Jongup as I take it and sit up on the counter when Ravi walks by. I wave at him with a smile and he walks in, grabbing me by the waist and putting me back on the ground.

"Counters are for glasses, not for asses."

Without another word, he pats me on the head and is gone again, leaving me standing with my jaw hanging open.

"Did… Did he just scold me?"

I never get an actual reply because Jongup is too busy leaning against the wall, dying of laughter.

Though he has his own duties to attend to in the hangar, Jongup insists on spending the day showing me around. Essentially two floors, most things including rooms and the kitchen are on the top floor. N's office, which seems to get used as a common room for the six boys more than it gets used as an actual office, is stand-alone between the two floors, its large glass windows looking out over the hangar. The bottom floor has almost no hallways branching off from it, though it is where most of the tunnels lead out from. It is also where the medical ward and Hongbin's office are. To me, having a medic in the middle of where accidents happen makes far more sense than how things were set up in Mato. With the medical offices all in one area and above ground, it happened more than once that someone bled out before a doctor could arrive or we could get them above ground. By the end of the day, I'm in awe. The whole operation is impressive. Having grown up in mines I'm more than aware how difficult it is to plan out just mine shafts to keep them from caving in; these people have managed to hollow out and keep stable an entire mountain.

I'm still looking around in admiration when I hear someone shout my name. N is standing outside his office and motioning for me to come up; I wave back and make my way to his office. I'm just reaching for the door when I notice a ruckus at the far end and someone starts yelling for Hongbin. Someone yelling for the medic is never good and I wince at the thought of how bad it could be for them to not be able to just walk over for help. Hongbin moves fast though, and he's across the hangar in less time that I've ever watched someone move.

"Hongbin's on it, but I think someone just got hurt," I say as I walk in.

N stands up immediately and looks out but shakes his head. "There are too many people, I can't see. If he's there already then it should be fine, but I'll go see him after things have calmed down to see what happened.

"Anyways, I'm glad you seem to be doing okay. I'm guessing that means you haven't had the last of your shots for today."

I shake my head. "I have, actually. I haven't had any extra sleep today but I've been eating constantly, which is something I wasn't doing yesterday. I knew I'd burn through a lot of energy, but this is ridiculous."

"Yesterday was pretty bad. You were really out of it by the end of the day. You'll be glad to know that you'll have a permanent room here, though. No more wandering down to the medical ward to sleep, or walking up two long flights of stairs to get food in the middle of the night."

"You heard us?"

"You don't talk quietly," he laughs. "I was already half awake though, so you didn't wake me up if that's what you're wondering. There were a few rooms being used for storage that we cleared out for you. They're only meant for two people, so either someone's going to have to learn to share a bed or you can share a room with Taylor. Your call."

"As much as we appreciate that you've given each of us more space, we've grown up sleeping all together. If it isn't breaking any of your rules, I think we'd be most comfortable with all of us sharing one room."

"Oh… so you really weren't joking about what you said back in Mato; I've heard before that people sleep many to a room in Mato, but I didn't realize you meant it so literally. If it means that much, then by all means, go right ahead."

"Thanks, N."

He opens his mouth to ask me something else when the door flies open.

"Bree!" Daehyun comes bounding in. "You wouldn't believe how surprised I was when I ran in to Jongup and he said you were here. How are things going, sis? What are you doing all the way out here?"

I can't believe my ears. This brat has been gone for bloody ing ever and here he is acting like he was gone for only a day or two. The Rats had come back and I was almost killed. Junhong lost the last bit of innocence he could ever have for someone living in Mato when he watched me fight for my life – when he watched me repeatedly stab man to death with nothing but fear and rage coursing through my veins. The three of us, Junhong, Yongguk, and I, had to run when it was discovered who we are and what we are trying to do in this world and in that time I almost died again. And he was out having fun. Because he decided it would be interesting to take Taylor through the tunnels to see other places. The only thing that's different about him is a split lip and growing bruise. He's obviously been in some kind of trouble but he seems to have gotten himself out of it okay. I walk towards him and he opens his arms to hug me.

I flick his split lip.

"Ow! What the hell?"

"What the is wrong with you? You were supposed to come right back afterwards! Do you have any idea at all what has been going on? Do you?" My voice is slowly rising. "Did you ask where the others were when Jongup told you I'm here too? Did you ask even why we're here to begin with? You selfish little bastard, you have no idea how worried we all were for you!"

"What? But – but I disappear all the time!"

I flick his lip harder. "Not like that, you don't. And not without telling me or Yongguk where you're actually going! You know that every district has a Central City. How the hell is anyone supposed to know where you're actually going?"

"I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry! Just… Calm down and tell me what happened."

The story itself isn't long, but by the time I'm finished I feel like I've tried to explain somebody's life story and Daehyun is staring at his feet with guilt written all over his face. It's at this point that I let go of my anger and give him a hug. Stupid as he can be sometimes, he's still my younger brother – I still love him. His face buried in my shoulder, he mutters another apology to me and a promise to keep me in the loop about where he's going to go. I pull away and head- him lightly.

"You're seriously stupid sometimes, you realize that?"

"I know. It's just that I thought me being gone would be a good thing with the Rats around, and then Taylor's so much fun to be around that –"

"Where is she?" N interjects. I look over at him when I hear the harsh edge to his voice. "Taylor left with you, she should be with you now. Where. Is she?"

"Um…"

"Daehyun, what did you do?" I ask, dropping my hands to my sides and stepping back.

"It's actually nothing he did directly," Hongbin walks in, his hands in his pockets, "but it's definitely a result of his completely irresponsible decision to take off like that."

I hadn't even heard him coming up the stairs.

"Her stitches are finished and she's in no danger so long as she remembers to change the bandages and keep it all clean."

I keep my eyes on N now, my hands up in surrender and backing away slowly. Without a doubt, this is between the two of them and judging by the look N is giving Daehyun, interfering would be a grave mistake indeed. For someone that had always seemed so happy-go-lucky whenever I talked to him before, the look on his face is enough to freeze the blood of anyone he's focusing on.

"What stitches?"

"Well, when we were on the way back – "

"Why does she have stitches, Daehyun?" N's voice is a dull roar now and I've backed off completely. He doesn't seem the type to get angry easily, but when he does I'm assuming everybody listens to what he's saying.

"She got shot at," Hongbin offered.

"She what?"

"It only grazed her, don't worry. I wouldn't be here just talking if it had been anything else. It took a few stitches, but she should heal up just fine."

N continued on as if Hongbin had never spoken, advancing on Daehyun. "She was shot at. You let her get shot at, after you took her gallivanting off on a stupid little adventure that no one knew anything about aside from the fact that she was with you? What is wrong with you?"

Daehyun looks over at me for help but I raise my eyebrows and shake my head, my lips a thin line – he brought this on all by himself, he can damn well sort it out by himself.

"She has absolutely no training as a fighter! She is learning how to treat people in the medical ward with Hongbin; you couldn't possibly have expected her to defend herself if this sort of thing came up while you were off who knows where!

"We have saved her life on more than one occasion as it is, Daehyun! She is our family and we would do anything to make sure she stays with us; what would it be like for you and your family if Bree went out in the field one day and never came back because of someone else's stupidity. Huh? What do you think it would be like for them if you went out for one of your runs and never came back because of someone else? Just disappeared!"

N turns back to pace around his office, trying to gather his thoughts and calm himself down. Hoping for an escape, Daehyun glances at the door.

"Stay right where you are!" I snarl.

Hearing my voice, N turns back to Daehyun with a glare.

"If you were part of my crew I'd have you shipped out to another district before this night is over."

"Bree wouldn't let you –"

"Shut your mouth! I am not finished! Now I'm willing to guess by the fact that she backed off to let me rip a strip off you that Bree's the kind of leader who makes her people take responsibility for their own screw ups, so I'll tell you this once: if this happens again – anything like this – I will let the others, the rest of her family, deal with you. Do I make myself clear?"

Daehyun simply nods.

"Daehyun," I speak up again, my voice much quieter than it was only moments ago, "I would suggest you apologize one last time before you leave this office then find the time later to apologize to Taylor."

"I'm sorry," Daehyun says quietly as he bowed to N.

In all our years together, the only other time I have seen him apologize like this was when we were little and he accidentally broken something of Himchan's: a wooden bracelet that had belonged to his mother. That Daehyun knows this is the only kind of apology appropriate for his actions tells me that he is sincerely regretful. I walk over and tap N on the arm; he's so focused on Daehyun that he looks as though he almost forgot I was there.

"You said you wanted to talk to me about the others."

"I do, yes."

"Go find our room," I tell Daehyun, my voice still low, "and maybe try to avoid the others. I'm assuming that's where you got your split lip from, anyway."

He says nothing as he stands up and leaves hurriedly, Hongbin nodding to me before turning around and closing the door behind him. N and I stare at each other for a moment.

"Well," I start, "that certainly wasn't how I expected our talk to start off."