Day 806

Jimin has never felt so much pain in his life.

Both the physical pain of his body being ripped apart by the weak stitches in his abdomen, and also the emotional pain knowing the woman he loves, the one who gave him hope again, was stranded inside a hospital full of Howlers and about to get ripped to shreds.

As soon as Jungkook finished the operation, Jimin got out of bed and almost opened his wound immediately. Jungkook refused to let him go at first, but at Jimin's desperation and appeal to Jungkook's emotions, the pair found themselves hiking to the hospital. But not without a visit from Yoongi first.

It turns out Mr. Min brought a whole duffel bag with him, and it was a mini arsenal. A flamethrower was amongst his weapons, and Jimin offered him a month's worth of his food so he could borrow Yoongi's flamethrower. The scientist almost refused, but Jimin slapped him and took it himself instead of doing the bullshit diplomacy game. His girlfriend was on the line. Yoongi hates him now for physically hurting him and stealing his stuff (that Namjoon is going to steal anyway), but Jimin would rather that than a dead girlfriend.

And that leads to now. He's on his knees on the floor of the hospital, ache jumping around every blood stream in his body. He coughs until blood comes up, and Jungkook rushes to his side. "We need to get you back. Dammit Jimin, I told you this wasn't a good idea. You might have internal bleeding," Jungkook says.

Tears rush out of his eyes, pouring onto the ground. He glances at the dead Howlers, and his memories go still. They silence themselves in his mind. He doesn't see the body of his best friend in front of him. Instead, he sees Y/n's wide eyes staring at him. And that's enough.

He stands despite Jungkook's concerns, and he does an awkward run to his girl, engulfing her in his arms and breaking down. She hugs him back, Jungkook guarding them with the flamethrower. Jimin doesn't even care. He doesn't care if Howlers pop out and screech at them to leave. All he wants is a few seconds to hold the woman he knows he loves.

"Are you okay?" he asks in desperate whisper. It sounds more like a cry.

"I'm okay, but we need to go. We can cry and talk later, okay?"

He agrees, and she holds onto him while they leave. Jungkook continues to hold the flamethrower, Jimin filling Y/n in on how he stole it from Yoongi and went to rescue them. Sky is by Jungkook, not speaking. He doesn't have the mental capacity to talk to her right now. His mind is narrowed on his woman, and he knows it'll be that way for a long time.

Her hand reaches up and touches the braid still residing in his locks. He grins, her returning it. The pain is like an afterthought now. Jimin can barely move, but that's something he doesn't care about, really. "I told you not to go, asshole," he says, and she shakes her head.

"You said you can't lose me. That's a two way street, I can't lose you."

The desire to say 'I love you' hits him hard, but he bites his tongue. Now's not the time. Right after that horrifying event? Obviously there's not much they can do-

Wait.

"Where's Fiona?" Jimin asks, slowing their pace.

Y/n and Sky both go still, and Jimin recognizes that anywhere. He's seen it dozens of times. Maybe even a hundred times by now. Disappointment and sorrow flares inside his heart, Jungkook and Jimin dipping their heads down to create a moment of silence for the fallen woman.

When it's over, Jimin squeezes Y/n's hand. "I liked her a lot, but you guys knew her much longer. I'm sorry."

They agree with his words, but the moment is short lived since Jimin groans and falls to his knees. Y/n is the first to kneel with him, holding his head and trying to keep him upright. His head is glistening with sweat, but luckily there's no blood dripping out of his body.

"Jimin, we need to get you back and now," Jungkook says, handing the flamethrower off to Y/n. "It's already loaded, all you have to do is press the trigger if any Howlers come after us."

For the first time since the ranch, Jimin doesn't feel goosebumps form on his body at the mention of Howlers. Granted, he can't really feel his body right now, but he knows that has to count for something.

"What's wrong with me?" he asks.

Jungkook picks him up, Jimin grunting the whole way off the ground. "Oh I don't know, maybe the gaping hole in your stomach being held together by little threads because we have little supplies and you rushed me so you could go running after your girlfriend?"

Y/n comes over and kisses his forehead, Jimin relaxing at that. "Thank you, Min. We would've died if it weren't for you." They move as they speak, Jungkook carrying Jimin still. He has to admit it's nice to not have to walk. Especially when he can't feel his lower body. "Jungkook, what are you doing here?"

"Jimin thought I could be useful since I know medical supplies, so it'd be a good mission even if you weren't in any danger. We could provide backup, and I can help you find the right medical supplies. Did you get anything?"

"A lot, actually. We have three bags worth of supplies. I'm hoping there'll be at least something in there to help Jimin."

"I hope so, he's already getting an infection. And that's without mentioning how he refused to let me check for internal fucking bleeding before he got his ass out of bed."

"I wasn't leaving her," he mumbles, panting with his eyes fluttering shut.

"Oh hell no, I didn't go through all that in the hospital for you to die now Park Jimin. Stay with us, you hear me?" Y/n asks, and he chuckles, opening his eyes to see her pretty face.

"You worry so much, honey. I'll be okay..." Ironically enough, as soon as he says the words, he rolls out of Jungkook's arms and lands on the dirt.

"Jimin!"

He isn't sure who called out his name, but he's sure all three of them did. Jimin grunts while holding his stomach, and now he feels blood soaking his new shirt. Well, looks like they'll have to cut yet another one of his shirts to see the wound. Jimin pants and coughs, thanking whatever's up there that he doesn't cough out anything unwanted.

"Come on Jimin, stay with us here," Jungkook says.

Jimin grips the dirt and sits himself up, searing pain scorching his lungs. He bites his lip hard enough to prevent a scream, but he tastes the familiar copper sensation as soon as he lets his poor mouth go. A sharp breath is stolen from his lungs, Jungkook picking him up again.

"I'm okay," Jimin whispers.

But he isn't. And right after he says those words, he passes out.

~~~

Day 808

His senses creep on his spine, tap dancing on his back until goosebumps form in the crevasses of his skin. His nose sniffs, but no scents come to him. Next is the feeling of his fingers and toes. Jimin can bend them, but not quite enough to be a celebration. What the hell is happening? Why can't he open his eyes or feel his body?

A few minutes pass of Jimin doing warm-up exercises. Eventually, his eyes do open. The lights of the infirmary are off as to not overstimulate him, something he's eternally grateful for. The memories come crashing back seconds later. Howlers. Getting shot. Yoongi. Ves. Fiona. Y/n. What's going on around campus? Where's Namjoon? What happened while he was out, and most importantly, how long was he out?

Sounds of exertion part from his lips as he touches the bandages littering his abdomen. It's like he can't even move. That's either from the medications they (hopefully) have him on, or he's paralyzed. Okay, that was mostly a joke, but he hopes to God that isn't actually what happened. Jimin can't imagine a world where he can't move again. Not when he has so much more to do, and people to protect. Maybe he should've taken Namjoon up on that leadership role after all.

No one's in the room, giving Jimin a moment to think about all that's happened. Fiona is gone, and Jimin can't wrap his mind around that yet, so he chooses to come back to it. Jimin faced his worst fear and killed Howlers, fixing his past mistakes by saving the one he loves this time. No more having to watch his best friend die in front of him. He succeeded this time.

So why doesn't he feel like he did?

Yet another couple minutes pass, and this time, the door opens, revealing a leather jacket and faint tattoos peeking out from under the sleeves. The man halts upon seeing Jimin awake, and he sighs. Yep. Time to have a good long talk about everything that happened, huh?

"What happened?" Jimin asks.

Jungkook sits by his side and stares at the bandages, shaking his head. "Too much to count. Louis is shut inside his room because of the Fiona news. I doubt he's coming out anytime soon. He hasn't even eaten. Ves is alright, no signs of anything happening with his bite. Y/n's okay too. We haven't been attacked or anything, thank the lord. But we're preparing for an attack. I doubt this peace will last much longer."

"As nice as that is, not once did you say anything about my health, doctor."

The hesitation makes Jimin's skin crawl with moisture, and Jungkook leans a bit closer to deliver the news. "You had an infection, we had to bring it down. You've been under for about two days, so you'll have mild muscle atrophy from not using them. We got a lot of medicine on the bright side, so the pain won't be as bad as we thought it would be. As for the actual shot, you're recovering, but you have to go through some physical therapy to start walking again." At Jimin's glance, Jungkook holds up his hands. "No paralysis, if that's what you're about to ask. Just a gunshot that caused internal bleeding and uh, well, how do I put it..."

"What?"

"Fragments of the bullet hit your hip," Jungkook says, placing his finger over the bandage to demonstrate. "Your hip is fractured, we had to do a surgery to get the broken pieces of your hip out. That's what's going to take a while to heal. I'm guessing you won't be able to move at full speed for a few months. And you're only allowed to walk up to three times a day, otherwise the recovery will be worse. Take it slow, Romeo. No lifting anything heavy, either."

Jimin grunts and grips the bedsheets with his hands, doing his best to hold back tears. "If the Ranglers come back, I won't be able to fight to protect us."

"I don't know about that."

"What do you mean?"

"Jimin, I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit. At the thought of Y/n in danger, you got your ass out of bed despite having a half-open gunshot to the stomach and went to save her with a giant flamethrower while facing down what I'm guessing is your biggest fear. If we're in danger, even if you didn't have legs, I think you'd find a way to run to us and protect us. I have no doubts about that."

Surprising both himself and Jungkook, Jimin reaches out with his arm and takes Jungkook's hand. The younger boy accepts the gesture with a small smile. "Thank you for that. And for patching me up. The surgery... was it mostly you, or was Katherine apart of it too?"

There's a beat of quiet. "Mostly me."

"Oh." Jimin isn't sure what to say to that, his mind searching for words.

"I was terrified," Jungkook says with a quiver in his tone, "and I don't know what thought was worse. The thought of seeing Y/n in so much pain, or... or losing you." Jungkook squeezes Jimin's hand, and his eyes expand from the confession. "I know we aren't the closest friends, but I care so much about you. You went to our scientist and slapped him just to take his flamethrower. You didn't even care about Yoongi hating you, or deciding not to help us. Is Y/n really that important to you?"

"Of course she is," Jimin says, letting out a small breath, "her, Sky, and Fiona." Jimin pretends his heart isn't cracking while thinking of the deceased woman. "I didn't want to lose any of them. Jungkook, I know this is gonna sound dramatic, but it's kind of my specialty so bear with me." Jungkook agrees. "Y/n, you, and Ves. I would die for you in the blink of an eye. If you asked me to, I'd lay down my life for you."

"And I'd do the same for you. To be honest, Jimin, if it were anyone else on that table, I might not have done the surgery. I didn't want the burden of letting you or Y/n down. You two are the most important people to me, and the whole surgery, I was shaking. I'm still not over it. It's only been a couple nights, but each time I've had nightmares about failing you too. Nightmares that I'd come in to check on you, and you died while I was gone."

"How often did you check on me?"

Jungkook brings his eyes up to meet Jimin's, and the two stare for perhaps a beat too long. "Almost every minute of every day."

"Did you eat?" No answer. "Jungkook, tell me you were taking care of yourself."

"How could I? My best friend and the lover of my borderline sister was unconscious, and there wasn't a damn thing I could do but pray I did the operation right. Pray I didn't forget anything. Pray I didn't fail you like I did to... like I..." Jungkook wipes his tears with his free hand, his sniffles bouncing around the walls of the room.

"You didn't fail me. You never could, Jeon. Everyone knows you do your best to help us. That's your job, the thing you're good at." He comes a bit closer than he intended to, Jungkook peeking up at Jimin. "Back at the Ranglers place, when you were using that rocket launcher and killing those people... it scarred you, didn't it?"

And that causes Jungkook's tears to fall, his head rapidly nodding as he tries to stifle his wails. Jimin doesn't speak again, rather he gives Jungkook the moment he needs to regain his composure. When he does, he holds onto Jimin so tightly, he thinks he'll lose feeling in his hand.

"I didn't want to hurt any of them, not really. But it was either kill someone, or fail the people I love most. I can't keep fucking up, Jimin. So if I never sleep again because of those kills, it'll be worth it if it means I saved you and her. My family."

Jimin waves Jungkook off, and the man raises both his brows at his antics. "Jungkook, can I be honest?" The man motions for him to continue. Jimin does, offering him a bright eye smile. "You're enough." Jungkook's posture cracks, him sucking in a deep breath. The words he says next has Jimin going through a spiral in his own mind, his eyes almost popping out of his skull.

"So are you."