𝐖𝐚𝐫 𝐎𝐟 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 - TMR, Gally

022 - Art Deco

"You'll be okay." He assured me, ripping bandages open. "Just don't close your eyes."

"I won't..." But they were getting heavy. I wanted to sleep. Sleep sounded so good.

"Valerie." Gally shook his head. "Stay awake. Okay? I need you to stay awake."

"Since when did you... become a... doctor?" I breathed. A very small smile pressed on his lips, but he didn't reply. "Why did you leave?" I murmured.

Again, he didn't reply. He focused on the side of my head, touching it with a cotton pad, causing me to wince in pain.

"Gally." I said. "Why did you... leave?"

"I was looking for you." He replied blankly before pressing a band-aid on my skin. "Hang on."

"My side." I whispered, too weak to communicate well. "I... it hurts."

"Val, I'm gonna cut your shirt open a bit, okay? I'm sure Clint will arrive soon. Can you trust me?"

I nodded weakly. "I trust you."

He seemed to struggle controlling how panicked he looked. With almost shaking hands, he cut open my shirt.

"Okay." He took a deep breath. "It's not that bad. Just a small cut."

Another figure entered the hut. Clint. "Gally! What happened?"

They started discussing. I didn't catch up what happened exactly. Flashes of Peter's grinning face and Dave's twinkling eyes appeared. They planned it. Of course it was planned!

What did I ever misdo them that made them do this?

Why didn't Newt help? Didn't Minho see? Was Ben too busy laughing with Frypan? Didn't Alby care about his Gladers?

They don't care about you, Valerie! No one cares about you. That's what they said. Was I supposed to start believing?

But no, Gally was here now. It would be okay. I just had to close my eyes and...

"Valerie!" Clint put a cold cloth on my forehead. "Stay awake."

Jeff seemed to be working on my side, almost my hip, which I still wondered what happened with. It stung so badly.

"You'll be okay." Gally sat next to me, reaching out for my hand and squeezing it. "We're almost done."

~

Everything hurt.

It took a million tries to open my heavy eyelids. They squinted against the light of the sun shining through the Med Hut's window.

"Val." A surprised voice from my side. Gally's voice.

His voice sent waves of comfort over me. My tense, painful chest turned softer now. It rose and dropped in a steady way.

"Hey." Was the only—quite dumb—thing I managed to force out.

"Hey." A soft smile. "How do you feel?"

"Depends."

"On?"

"If you mean physically or emotionally."

He snickered. "We'll start with physically."

"That's what she said."

His face fell. Muttering 'unbelievable', he shook his head before laughing out loud. "At least you're still... Valerie."

"I hope." I smiled poorly, trying to sit up carefully. He immediately reached out to put my pillow against the wall, gently taking my arms to help me. "Thank you."