Dr Forrester allowed the whole gang to stay together while he checked everyone out individually. We were really thankful for the extra time together, Toby and Ty flitting between the two rooms depending on what checks were being done. Sol didn't leave my side the whole time, but he'd used that time in a private room to discuss all his thoughts with me as second in charge. Midway through our brain dumping session, Aaron popped his head into my room after a knock.

"I just wanted to update you, Solomon. Did you want to come to my office or-?"

"Here's fine." He said quickly, which shocked the doctor. He furrowed his brow as his gaze moved over to me. Solomon gave a resolute nod that answered every unasked question in Aaron's head, so he walked into my room and shut the door behind him.

"I'm going to report all of this to the Gov, just so you're aware in advance, because these injuries are nasty. Not only are they worse, but with the introduction of weapons I think each attack is going to get more violent. I'm genuinely worried about you all." As he said that last line, his eyes moved to me and stayed there for a few seconds. After clearing his throat, he looked down to his feet and then back to Sol. "Eddy will require stitches, which the team are just getting me now. The gash is pretty deep so I need to sort this out now to stop infection... but Raj will need to stay overnight, same as Lex." Sol let out a big sigh, looking down at his shoes as he rubbed his hands over his face. I grabbed his arm and he looked straight at me.

"Hey, we are going to sort this out. You've come up with some great plans to keep everyone safe, we just all need to make sure we stick to it." I said, carefully hinting that even during times of anger we cannot allow any gang member to walk off by themselves. Sol nodded and patted my hand with his in thanks.

"What's the damage with Raj? Will he be in here as long as Lex?" I could feel the emotion in his voice and my chest tightened. This guy, the leader of a gang who did enough bad stuff to get imprisoned, was sat on a chair in hospital looking and sounding defeated. We had otherwise had a relatively easy stay so far, every one of us bringing our own traits and personality to help the others through the lengthy prison sentence. We all looked forward to social, it was the highlight of our day to be able to meet in Sol's fancy room and hang out for an hour. It didn't matter what kind of morning I'd had, hearing the robot voice tell me I had social just washed all my troubles away. I was so grateful to Sol, and to the gang for helping me and taking me under their wing. I will never know what made Sol help me in the first place, whether he saw potential in me, or thought I'd be a good recruit for them, but we pretty much clicked in that moment and started supporting each other from the moment we got off that truck.

"Well, he is pretty beaten up but luckily it is mainly just bruising. I've already stitched his head wound but I just want to keep him overnight to keep an eye on it. I want to rule out any possible complications before I let him back into the prison, especially knowing you're all walking around with targets on your back and you're all willing to jump in to help each other." Again his eyes darted to me before going back to Sol. Aaron sighed as he walked closer to the hospital bed and leant on the frame. "Lex needs to stop getting involved or her injuries will only get worse. Her rib still isn't healed from the first attack, but we now have a load of other injuries to keep an eye on... I'm sure neither of us want her to be in here permanently. Or for her to be shipped off in a black bag." Something about that last line felt like a punch in the gut to Solomon who sucked in a sharp breath and averted his eyes from everyone in the room. Aaron kept his eyes on Sol for a few seconds before he looked down at the chart at the end of my bed and started reading. A long silence ensued, as if everyone had forgotten how to speak, as if what Aaron said had shocked everyone to the core. Weirdly what he said didn't really make a difference to me - I'd said to Sol from the beginning I was going to help them until I couldn't help them anymore. This is exactly what I meant. I'd managed to help two of the team already, even though it meant I'd had an extended stay in the hospital. Right on cue, whilst the room was tense and quiet I sucked in a sharp breath and groaned, attracting the attention of both men in the room. Sol was straight by my side with his hand in mine whilst Aaron was the other side, already reaching for his equipment.

"I'm okay... I'm-" I tried to soothe them as I scrunched my face up and tried to find a more comfortable position. Another loud groan escaped my lips without my permission, worrying the two of them in an instant.

"What hurts Lex? Tell me what it is." Aaron was starting to sweat as he put the blood pressure cuff on my arm and attached the pulse monitor to my finger.

"It's just..." another pained moan flew out, "my chest." The monitor blared out with an alarm, an orange light flashing in the corner of the machine as my blood pressure and pulse highlighted more problems.

"Solomon, I need you out of the room please." Aaron asked politely, but Sol stood firm, shaking his head. "This isn't a joke, get out." The firmness in his voice grew in an instant.

"I'm not leaving her." Sol was adamant and, believe me, once he had something in his head, there was no convincing him. The pain seemed to grow, radiating through my body as if I was laying on a bed of fire. I balled the bedsheets in my hands and kicked my legs around, desperate to find a way to alleviate the pain.

"Go in with Raj and Eddy, I need to call some more help in. If they see you here, you will be banned from coming here again." Aaron, to my surprise, was even firmer and this time said something that we all knew Sol would listen to. He wouldn't want to miss time he could see his friends so with an aggressive slam of his hands onto the bedside, he stood up.

"Lex, please get yourself better as soon as you can. Aaron, don't fuck this up." He said as he stormed out of the room and headed into Raj, meanwhile Aaron pulled an emergency alarm cord beside my bed and waited for more staff to come and help him.