"Ratchet?" Mae shouted from bed. When she heard no reply, she took in a deep breath and bellowed again, "Ratchet!"

The door swung open so hard it bounced off of the wall. She grinned as the man who had been taking care of her for the past week glared at her. He stood in his usual attire- a white t-shirt with orange lines running along the hem, blue jeans, and tennis shoes. His hands clenched against the door handle as he huffed in annoyance.

"What could you possibly want now?" he said in an exasperated tone.

Mae shrugged innocently and pointed toward the window next to her. "It's getting chilly in here. Would you mind closing the window?"

"You just asked me to open it a few minutes ago."

"I was hot a few minutes ago. Now I'm cold," she rolled her eyes, "What's the matter, doc? Is that too hard a job for you?"

"No, but it appears to be too hard of a job for you."

"Jeez, I wonder whose fault that is."

He stomped to the window and carefully closed it, but Mae noticed how his grip was so tight his knuckles had become white. She'd taken notice of these little things as he took care of her in June's absence. It wasn't as if she had anything better to do. The homework Jack had brought to her was finished within a day, so she was left alone in her bedroom and bored out of her mind.

Ticking Ratchet off was rather amusing, though.

"With as much as you've been calling me, do not expect me to come and rescue you when you require assistance to relieve yourself," Ratchet snapped at her.

Mae sighed and pushed her curly hair behind her ears. "Why do you talk so formally? We're practically family now, doc- you can loosen up around me, can't you?"

"No, I most certainly cannot. I have the rather unfortunate job of taking care of you, but I will be gone shortly. And stop calling me that!" He watched her as she growled at him and moved to sit up straighter. The motion caused her to flinch and rest her hand against her ribs.

"Ep, ep, ep- you must not move! I have not been adhering to your ridiculous requests for the past week to see you injure yourself further," he swatted at her hand before taking a step back. "I will go and retrieve an ice pack for your ribs. Do not move."

She chuckled at his seriousness and saluted him, making sure not to lift her arm too high, "Aye-aye, captain."

Ratchet grumbled something along the lines of, insufferable, before leaving the room to retrieve the ice pack. Mae rubbed at her eyes and glanced at the clock next to her. It was almost six. June had mentioned taking the night shift, so she wouldn't be back until later the next day. Jack would most likely be hanging out with his friends, as usual.

"Which leaves me," she sighed quietly. Honestly, why did that bother her? She'd practically thrown a fit when June told Ratchet to look after her, and she had wanted the peace and quiet. But she at least wanted to explore a little bit.

That was the problem- even if she wasn't stuck in bed, what else was there to see? Mae had practically given herself a tour of the entire town within a few hours that first night she had arrived.

Still, it wasn't too bad. Definitely not what she had expected. June still acted the same as she did that first day. Everything about her seemed genuine. Jack was boring but tolerable. And Ratchet-

Something cold was placed on her ribs, and she jolted. Ratchet crossed his arms. "Your ice packs," he said.

Ratchet is annoying.

"You could have said something first," she hissed and attempted to take it off. Ratchet moved faster, placing a hand on hers and holding it down.

"I have already advised you to keep it on your injuries for as long as possible. It helps the healing process."

Mae jerked her hand away and smiled sarcastically at him. "Speed up my healing process? And what, get rid of you? I want you here forever, Ratchey."

"As much as I would love to abandon you and leave you to tend to yourself, I would rather-" he paused, a look of disgust covering his face, "What did you just call me?"

"Ratchey. You don't want to be called doc. What, got a problem with it?"

"Refrain from calling me that as well."

She frowned, adjusting the ice as sneakily as she could so it wasn't completely pressed against her. "What on earth am I supposed to call you then?"

"My name."

What fun was there in that? Her eyes trailed around the room, looking anywhere but Ratchet, who was now inspecting an iPad that seemingly came from nowhere. She decided not to ask about it and instead sit in an awkward silence as he worked. A few minutes passed before he nodded his head and glanced at her.

"Since some time has passed, I am required to look at your ribcage and head. I would appreciate it if you raised your shirt."

Where did this come from?

"No, thank you. I would prefer to keep my clothes on."

Ratchet sighed. "Do not be so dramatic. It will only be for a few moments, and you only need to lift your shirt a few inches. I do not require a look at your breasts."

Heat flushed onto Mae's cheeks. "You perv!"

"How am I a sexual predator by asking you to raise your shirt-"

Mae covered her face with her hands, mortified at how embarrassed she suddenly felt. It wasn't a big deal- doctors had given her inspections a multitude of times. But it had always been at a hospital. Never in her own room. Only bad things used to happen in her room.

Her mind raced as she tried to calm herself down, but Ratchet's stare wasn't helping anything. She wanted nothing more than to be on her own, without a foster family or a stupid doctor who didn't know how to drive. Take deep breaths, Mae. An idea suddenly sparked in her mind, and she looked up at him.

"How about we make a deal?" she asked.

"I beg your pardon?" he raised an eyebrow.

"What if we make a deal," she repeated again, "I'll let you do your job and stop bothering you if you get me out of this house. Only for a few hours."

She might as well have asked for Ratchet to strip naked and sing karaoke for her. The look on his face said that he wanted to do anything but what she'd just suggested.

"What? What's the big deal? Can't you take me out for a few hours? I'm getting tired of sitting here. There's nothing to do."

"I am well aware there is nothing to do- that is why it is the perfect place for you to heal," Ratchet stated.

"Well, then, you can kiss your job goodbye- I'll just tell June that you haven't been doing your job and she'll snitch to your boss," she grinned widely.

"That's not exactly how it works," he sighed.

His eyes closed as he thought for a few short moments. When his eyes opened again, she had to stop herself from staring at his eyes. Every time she looked at them she was left in awe. But Mae wouldn't allow herself to compliment the man who ran her over. Not that she complimented people much to begin with.

"You'll be quiet if I take you out for a few hours? And let me examine you?" Ratchet asked seriously.

"Yep," she dramatically popped the p.

"And you will stop with your ridiculous requests?"

"No more head scratches."

He stared at her again, and she forced herself not to squirm under his gaze. After a few moments, he sighed. "Fine. I will take you out. But only if you are well enough to move from bed."

And that's how Mae found herself sitting in the same ambulance that ran her over, grinning like an idiot with a scowling driver. His inspection had only taken a few minutes, and despite the pain that blossomed every time he touched her, she was well enough to stand up and walk carefully to the car parked in June's driveway with his support.

It was strange that Ratchet would drive his ambulance everywhere. Did he own it? Why did he want to be a doctor? Was it his plan to run people over so he could take care of them after? Well, that last thought made no sense- he didn't seem like the type of person to willingly take care of people. From her own, personal experience. Why on earth is he a doctor then?

"You seem to be happy," Ratchet grumbled. Mae looked up and realized that they were moving. The town was slowly passing by, but she could see the barren land past all of the buildings.

"I'm just glad to be out of the house. I'm not dying, you know," Mae shrugged, "So where are we going?"

Ratchet scoffed and looked at her. "How should I know? You're the one who wanted out of the house."

"Don't you live here?" she asked dryly.

"This is Jasper. There's nothing to do here. Where do you expect us to go?"

Mae didn't respond. Instead, she adjusted her body into a comfortable position and stared out of the window. As time passed, there were fewer buildings and more space. Ratchet eventually pulled out of the small town altogether, and they were alone driving in the middle of nowhere.

Still, it was peaceful. She didn't bother talking to Ratchet. He didn't seem to mind much anyway. He remained silent as she stared at the sky, admiring all of the stars. They pulled to a stop about thirty minutes later, and Mae rolled down her window to get a better look.

"Didn't you complain about being cold earlier?" Ratchet attempted to roll the window back up, but she kept her hand on the button.

"That was earlier, Ratchet. Besides, sometimes you have to be a little uncomfortable if you want to look at the beauty in life. It doesn't come for free," Mae hummed quietly.

Ratchet huffed but didn't argue any further. For a moment she forgot he was even there. Back in the city, the sky was never this clear. She would usually escape onto the roof when she felt unsafe or nervous, and stare up at a dark sky with no shining stars. Now, it was as if the whole universe was awake.

Maybe living here won't be so bad, she thought to herself in content.