Not The Same | Nick Clark | FTWD

Part 20

The car rolled to a stop at the base of a driveway, Travis right behind us in the truck, before Strand got out.

"Come." He gestured, making his way over to a gate as his fingers ran over the keypad beside it.

"Grids dead." Nick reminded, stepping out.

"Generators kick on when the power dies." Strand stated simply, pushing the now unlocked gate open.

Nick grabbed my backpack from me, throwing it over his shoulder before helping me out of the car.

"Nick, I'm fine-- really." I insisted, even though the pain medication was only dulling the sharp pain that every breath brought on.

"That's bullshit and we both know it, Han." He breathed lowly.

I sighed, looking up at him before back at everyone who was helping Ofelia out of the truck, "Can we just talk about it later?"

He hesitantly agreed, placing his hand lightly on my back as we all followed Strand into the promised safe zone.

"Anyone hungry?" He asked as we entered, marveling at the house, "Help yourself."

"You've got to be kidding me.." I muttered under my breath as the view from the living room came into sight.

***

It felt weird to be able to look over the ocean and feel nothing but peace when the world was filled with so much horror, but.. that's the only thing I could feel. Everyone was safe and we're all together, that's really all I could ask for in a time like this.

I turned back slightly as I heard the sliding glass door, seeing Nick walk out of the house.

"How Ofelia doing?" I asked as he came up beside me.

"Liza says she's going to be ok and my mom she uh- she got those meds from the medical facility before we left." He answered, looking over the view.

I let out a sigh, "It's just crazy to believe this is all-"

"Why didn't you tell me about what happened?" He cut me off, glancing over at me.

I furrowed my brows, looking over to him, "Nick.. I just found out that you were still alive, it wasn't really high on my priority list."

"But you're high on mine, Han-" He mumbled.

I stopped him, brushing off the injury because I knew it was hurting him just as much as it hurt me, "It's really not a big deal, ok?"

He shook his head before looking back at me, "Can I at least see it?"

I hesitantly nodded, turning to him as he lifted up the side of my shirt; bruises painting the front and back of my right side.

He quickly dropped the fabric, standing up straight again as he ran his hands roughly over his face, groaning, "How the hell is that not a big deal, Hannah?"

"Nick, you could have been killed!" I reminded before he cut me off, talking over me.

"So could you!" He retorted before letting out a sigh, regrouping himself and pulling me close to him, wrapping his arms around my shoulders.
"I can't lose you again, Han." He mumbled, letting out a heavy sigh into my hair as his face rested on top of my head, "Not after all this."

"They were trying to take you away-- I couldn't just let them." I pulled back slightly, looking up at him, "You know I couldn't.."

He nodded slowly, looking down at me, "I know." He mouthed before the glass door to the house opened once again, Liza standing on the other side.

"Hannah, Madison said she wanted me to take a look at you." She explained, gesturing me inside.

I nodded before bringing Nick's face down to mine, kissing him softly, still so thankful that I was lucky enough to have him near me again.

***

"Madison tells me this happened during the pickup?" Liza began, rinsing her hands in the sink before kneeling down in front of me as I held up the side of my shirt, pausing for a moment to look up at me, "I really didn't know that they were planning on taking Nick-"

"It doesn't matter anymore," I stopped her, shaking my head, "He's safe and we're all together again, that's all I care about."

She nodded before placing her hands lightly on the bruised skin, "I'm going to have to poke around a bit, just let me know if it hurts too much." She warned before the very familiar shooting pain pinged off of each spot she put pressure to.

I bit down on my bottom lip, slowly letting out a breath as I tried to take my mind off of it.

"No coughing or wheezing?" She asked, continuing to run her fingers over the length of each bone.

"No." I breathed out, shaking my head.

"Light headedness or stomach pain?"

I shook my head again, the pain not unbearable but definitely not something I loved enduring, "Uh uh."

She stood back up, pulling my shirt down, "It feels like you have at least two fractured-- one up front and one in the back, possibly two upfront.." she shrugged, pursing her lips together, "There's really no way to know for sure, but the good thing with having fractured and bruised ribs is that they'll usually heal on their own without a problem."

"I figured." I nodded, "Thanks though for just double checking and everything."

"Yeah, of course, you're welcome." She nodded back before stopping me in my tracks as she began again, "Hannah, I really am sorry about all of this."

"It's fine," I said, giving her a small smile, "Like I said, we're all still here."

_____
In this chapter I really wanted to start to get more into the relationship Hannah and Nick have. It's a bit different than the normal I suppose, where the girl kind of has a damsel in distress vibe, because Hannah definitely isn't that girl.
She's a very strong character, which we'll see more of, mainly because of what she's gone through with Nick and her family, but Nick also doesn't see her as some weaker person that he needs to take care of, because for the majority of their relationship, Hannah has had to be the caretaker. He completely knows what she is capable of, and then some, and isn't the type of person to downplay that.