Perifidy

Chapter Twenty-Four: The Pursuit of Happiness

0700 Hours

March 15th, 2018

Herefordshire, England

Hereford Base, Infirmary

          Ela watched Kade's sleeping face, his mouth filled with tubes and every other manner of medical device. She could hardly remember what had happened after she'd been subdued by the White Mask. All she knew when she woke up, she saw Kade in the chamber, a look of resolution on his face that she'd never wanted to see. Once ventilating the gas off into an isolated containment chamber, they'd taken his body out surprised to find he was still alive; granted in a comatose state. He'd been in quarantine for roughly eleven days. As soon as his room was clear, she'd hardly left, holding his hand as tight as she could. Aruni had filled in the blanks for her while she couldn't visit, and her heart only broke more. She knew him well enough to know he'd made that decision for the sake of his comrades and the mission. He was an honorable man to the end, and she wanted nothing more than to see his eyes open once more. The door opened and closed behind her, but her gaze didn't waver. She hadn't given the nurses a choice in terms of working around her. She wouldn't leave his side, no matter what. She knew he'd do the same for her. She felt a hand on her back and instantly recognized it as Zofia's. She leaned into her sister's hand. Her support had been invaluable but they both knew nothing short of Kade waking up from his slumber was going to quell her heartache. Still, as her sister, Zofia knew she needed to look out for Ela, even if she didn't like it.

"El. You need to come with me. You've barely eaten. Hardly slept. You haven't showered. Please, siostra, come with me," Zofia pleaded, (translation: sister) her voice soft and filled with care. Ela wanted to ignore her sister at that moment, but she knew she couldn't. Usually, when she was right, Ela had a hard time saying no. if she did, she came off as bratty and childish and that was not how she wanted to appear, especially not to Zof.

"Okay. I'd feel better if someone was watching him, though," Ela murmured. When Ela slowly got up to leave with Ela she noticed Nokk in the doorway.

"I'll keep watch, El. You'll be the first to know if anything changes," she said. Ela felt a pang of guilt. It was also childish of her to assume she was the only one hurting from all of this. Nokk had felt particularly distraught once Kade's status had been confirmed as Kade had relegated her to assisting Williams and Wells with the evacuation of civilians. Ela didn't have to think too hard to know what Nokk was likely thinking. That things may have been different if she was there. That with one more person present, things just might have gone differently.

Zofia brought her to their shared dorm room (shared, at least, before she and Kade grew serious). Alfons had Mary playing with Frost and IQ in the common room so for the moment, the room was theirs. Ela stepped into the shower while Zofia went to get her food. Ela felt numb. Until Kade was confirmed dead or alive, she felt like she was in purgatory. She was stuck in place, like her entire body was encased in quicksand. Still, she washed herself, she knew Kade would want her to do at least that much. Once she finally got out Zofia had gotten a hot meal and prepared a fresh set of clothes, some black sweatpants and a white t-shirt. Before too long they were sitting on Zofia's bed, Ela nibbling at the grilled cheese sandwich Zofia had made her. It was something she'd often made for her as a child.

"Kade is strong, Ela. He will pull through and wake up. I know it," she said, conviction filling her voice with stern optimism. Ela wanted to believe her. More than anything. He'd been through hell and back time and time again. This time was different. It was always different. It was always worse. Kade never took breaks, never slowed down, and was only relentless in his pursuit of the mission. Naturally, following the trajectory, the stakes would only continue to climb. Had time and circumstance finally caught up with him? She wanted to say something. To agree with Zofia. At the very least, put some of her worries to rest. She couldn't. however. The energy just wasn't there. Zofia seemed to pick up on that, sitting next to her in a comfortable silence, her arm wrapped supportively around Ela's shoulders. As she ate at her sandwich, a thought suddenly struck her like a bolt of lightning. She rapidly scarfed down the rest of the sandwich, Zofia eyeing her sudden hurried demeanor with an arched brow.