I stared at Axl through the rusty old bars of the holding cell, on the verge of tears again. He wasn't alone in there either, and the men that stared back at me along with him didn't look very friendly. It was extremely cramped, about ten people had to be sharing the same old bench.

"Took you long enough." I sighed, forcing myself to come closer to the cell. "Sorry, there was a lot of paperwork." He nodded, clenching and unclenching his fists. They were crusted with blood and his knuckles were beginning to scab over. "Where is everyone else?"

"They're out front, figured it was best if I came in to get you." He gave a little smile and a yawn, standing to approach me. He wrapped his hands around the bars and gazed down at me seriously. "You look tired." I could've said the same for him. He didn't look worried, or scared even, just exhausted.

"Why, Axl? Why would you do this? You got yourself arrested, and now your criminal record..." I trailed off, and bit my lip.

"It's already a mile long. I don't care if I get arrested, it's collateral damage. I had to do it because I... it doesn't matter why, Calliope. A good guy doesn't let anyone touch his girl, and if god forbid it does happen... all hell breaks loose." I gently placed my hand over one of his, shaking my head at him. "Your pride is more important than your well being?" "No, but your well being is."

"You're insane." I giggled at him. The whole situation seemed a bit overwhelming.

"I'm insane, yeah. They told me that a while ago." I reached through the bars to touch his hair, sighing. "You can't do that again, you're just lucky Bret isn't pressing charges. I did that in exchange for dropping the rape accusations." Axl frowned at that. "No, you shouldn't have. Put his ass behind these bars where sickos like him belong."

I signaled the nearest police officer who slid back the wall of bars, allowing Axl to exit. I grabbed onto him and he held me tightly, squeezing as if he would never let go. "I worry about you." He said, before leading me down the hall by the hand.

"I like California and all, but... I can't wait to get back home."

"Don't get too happy, rape happens everywhere." For some reason, that made me laugh.

****

Axl slept on my shoulder the whole plane ride back, and when I woke him up I noticed that he seemed especially warm. He was a bit confused, and his eyes were cloudy. I didn't mention it, but he was extremely sluggish until we got back to his apartment. He went to his bedroom immediately, and closed the door behind him.

It hit me then that I was going to have to face Cap after having mysteriously disappeared for a week. The thought of it chilled me to the bone, so I hoped that Axl wouldn't mind if I stayed for a while and went back to the bedroom to check on him.

He was lying on the bed in the fetal position, shivering wildly while sweating profusely. I could hear his teeth chattering, and feel his desire for me to leave before he even said anything. I walked toward him anyway, pushing his sweat-soaked bangs away from his clammy forehead. He looked up at me reluctantly, letting out a wet cough. "I... I don't think they clean those holding cells, and I have open wounds," he whispered, his voice was shaking and cracking. "I'm not sick, though. I can't be."

I sighed, "Axl..." "I am really cold, though. Could you come here?" He lifted up the blanket he was huddled under and I crawled under it without hesitation. His body was so hot, I thought his skin might give me third degree burns. Using my stomach as a pillow he dozed off, whispering something about how he needed to sleep this off and he'd be fine in the morning.

The exact opposite happened, actually. He startled me awake as he tripped over himself, charging into the bathroom. There was the sound of retching, and he stayed in there for the longest time.

By this time I was worried out of my mind. I knew he would never let me take him to a hospital, so I went to the next best thing.

Duff's number was scrawled down on a post-it note on the fridge, and given the fact that it was only four digits I assumed Duff lived in the same building. I picked up the telephone and hastily dialed, nearly crying tears of joy when I heard his groggy voice on the other line. "What the hell, Axl. It's eight in the fucking morning."

"No, Duff. It's me, and I need your doctoring skills." I could practically feel him perk up, Duff loved to be useful. "Oh... well alright then. I'll be down in a few minutes." There was the sound of the phone clattering as he placed it down without hanging up.

He came through the door thirty seconds later with a stethoscope around his neck and a first aid kit in his arm, walking with authority toward me. "Alright, tell me what's wrong with you." He set the kit down on the kitchen counter and opened it up. "No, it's not me. I think Axl is sick or something," I told him, pointing toward the bedroom. "Could you take a look at him?"

Duff laughed, and shut the first aid kit. "Nope, sorry."

"What! Why the hell would you go to med school for all those years and then waste it? He's your friend, and your boss." Duff nodded, running a hand through his uncombed hair. "And that's exactly why I can't treat him. I used to try, but his pride is bigger than a fucking mountain. He won't let me, and if I went in there now he'd chop my head off. He doesn't want us to see him when he's vulnerable."

"Oh, man up!" He just shook his head and said nothing.

"So what do I do? He's in there puking up continents." He sighed, and whipped out that pen and pad of paper he always seemed to have. "You're gonna do it." He shoved the two things into my hand, and I stared at him like he'd grown two heads.

"What do you expect me to do? I didn't go to med school!"

"Go in there, and get me a list of his symptoms. I want you to pinch the back of his hand, and see how long it takes the skin to come back down." He opened his first aid kit, and handed me a thermometer. "Check his temp, and write that down too. Don't try and make him drink anything, it'll only make him throw up some more. Go."

"But Duff, I-" "Do you want me to help him or not? Go in there, Callie."

I squared my shoulders and reluctantly stepped back into the bedroom. Axl was on the bed again lying near the edge, cringing every few seconds. He let out a quiet moan in pain, and tore my heart to pieces without even trying. "Axl?" His eyes opened lethargically, slow to settle on me. "Erin... why are you still here? You should get home... before your parents freak out."

"Parents? What are you talking about?"

"My car keys are on the table. Take those." He wriggled and convulsed again.

"But... you know I can't drive, you've tried to convince me to learn a million times."

"You... you're sixteen, why can't you drive?" Okay, so he was hallucinating. I went to the bed and looked down at him. His face was colorless as he glanced up at me, placing one of his burning hot hands on my cheek. "Erin... when did you turn black?" I squinted down at him while gently pinching the skin on the back of his hand. He didn't seem to notice. "Who's Erin?" I whispered weakly, ashamed when Bret's words re-entered my mind. He wasn't cheating on me, that was definitely a ridiculous notion... right?

"We have to get... to fourth period now." The skin I pinched up on his hand stayed up seemingly forever, and I counted the seconds until it went away fully. I managed to stick the thermometer under his tongue, and try to write down everything that seemed wrong with him. He moaned again and again, coughing. I took the thermometer out a few seconds later. The little red line was up past one hundred and four. Grimacing wrote that down. "Axl, do you have a headache?"

"Maybe." He rolled over and closed his eyes. "Go home, Erin. Your parents already hate my guts for fucking you, better not make it worse."

I went back to Duff with my list, and his eyes widened. His face was stony. "What? What's wrong with him?" He sucked in air through his teeth, shaking his head back and forth. "Yeah, this isn't good. He's hallucinating with a massive fever, I'm gonna need some fluids for testing." He took a little vial out of his kit, and handed me a syringe. "Take one spit sample, and one blood sample. I have privileges at the local hospital, they'll let me use their analytical lab for free. I'll get the results, and hopefully get him some pills."

"Blood sample? Are you crazy?" He pointed at the syringe. "Take a t-shirt, and tie it as tightly as you can around his arm, just above his elbow. That'll make some of his blood vessels become more visible, so you can choose one to draw blood from. Stick the needle right into the vessel and pull up until the whole syringe is full. You'll be fine, I learned how to do it my first day of med school."

I really didn't want to, but I stiffly turned and went back into the bedroom anyway. Getting the spit sample wasn't hard at all, but getting him the lie still while I clumsily tied a t-shirt around his arm was a different story. "Erin, what the hell are you back here for? Didn't I just tell you to go home?" I got the syringe out and nervously positioned the needle above one of his veins.

"What the fuck! I told you no drugs, I don't do that shit anymore." He swatted at me and I inserted the needle just before his hand would've hit me. It began to fill with bright red blood, which he stared at with the most puzzled expression. I pulled the needle out when the syringe was full, and pressed a dangling sleeve of the t-shirt over the exit wound. "Go back to sleep," I told him gently, and he nodded amenably.

I returned to Duff with both samples, resisting the urge to glare at him. "Good job, I... didn't actually think you could do it. Ever thought of going to medical school?" "Hell no," I snapped, pointing toward the front door. "Now it's your turn, go find out what's wrong with him." Duff rolled his eyes, placing both samples carefully inside the first aid kit. "Alright, alright. I'll be back, but... in the mean time, try and make him feel better. Feed him some ice cubes, wet a towel with cold water and put it on his head."

He left, and suddenly I felt terribly alone.

I did as he said, getting some ice from the freezer and wetting a rag with some tap water, reluctantly returning with both remedies. I got into bed beside him and placed the towel on his head, which he seemed to like. "Erin..." he growled at me, and I took this opportunity to fill his mouth with ice. "Suck on those," I said gently, stroking at the roots of his hair. He laid on my shoulder, shivering under the weight of his fever.

"You know, Erin," he said through his mouthful, "I don't care what all those other douches say about you. You're the best chick I know." I frowned, but continued to feed him ice. "It's me, Axl. It's Calliope." I began to grow even more wary of this Erin person, if he thought so highly of her. "I... don't know what I'd do without you... high school is ass, but we'll get through."

He fell asleep a half hour later, me right along with him.

****

I woke to a horrible pounding behind my forehead, and the feeling of gloves prodding my wrist. My eyes flew open, and I sat up straight in bed. I regretted that decision when my head spun horribly, and my stomach churned. Duff was standing over us. He had on a surgical mask and latex gloves, peering down at me precariously. "You've got a fever, so I think it's safe to say he transmitted his disease to you." I didn't doubt it as I collapsed against my sweat-soaked pillow. "What... do we have?"

"You both have a nasty case of gastroenteritis, better known as stomach flu. It's highly contagious, so you're both going to have to be quarantined until you can-" I grabbed the waste bin near the nightstand in a burst of energy, and emptied the contents of my stomach into it. "Oh god, if he doesn't die from stomach flu I'll kill him for this!" I vomited again.

Duff cleared his throat uncomfortably, and helped me back into the bed. Axl was sleeping like a dead person beside me. "I figured that might happen, so I got you an injection instead of pills. I already gave him his, so-" I stuck my arm out to him weakly without another word. He picked up a syringe and flicked at the end of it, satisfied when a bit of liquid oozed from the tip of the needle. "Alright, this might sting." I didn't feel a thing as he quickly injected me with miracle fluid, and tossed the needle into the waste along with my puke. He grabbed the bin before he went to the door, looking back at me once. "Don't go anywhere, you should start to feel better soon."

That was a lie. I felt like I got hit by a truck, moaning and groaning. I didn't puke anymore but I certainly didn't feel like a ray of sunshine.

Axl was right there with me. The whole experience seemed like a blur, but I remember clutching him like a teddy bear and hoping the pain would go away, rolling around in agony. Duff was in and out at times, and there were more injections. I think Axl got better before I did, because I remember him kissing my forehead and whispering about good outcomes, and I remember being alone.

And then I opened my eyes, and everything was painfully clear. I felt a bit dizzy, and there was a dull ache in my stomach but other than that I felt fine. The shower was running, and then it wasn't. I sat up as Axl came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist and nothing more, staring at me with surprise. "Oh hey, you're awake. How do you feel?"

"Fine, I just... what about you?" He went to the dresser and pulled on a t-shirt. I looked away after that, giving him his privacy. "I've been cool for a couple of days, you had it worse than me."

"A couple of days?" "Yeah, towards the end you slept for a shit load of time. I had to hold up a mirror to your nose to make sure you were still breathing." He ran a comb through his hair, glancing at me in the mirror. "Duff says you were dangerously dehydrated, and that you could have brain deficits. Do you feel retarded?"

I laughed, placing a hand against my head. "No, but I am gonna kill you for giving me prison disease."

"You're fine now." I laid back down and sighed, rubbing at my eyelids. Cap was going to slaughter me and I knew it, but something heavier was weighing on my mind. "Who... who is Erin?" His body jolted. He stared at me wide eyed as he gently placed the comb back down on the dresser, and turned to me again. "How do you know about her?"

"You were sick before me, and I was taking care of you, and... you kept calling me Erin and telling me to go home before my parents killed me." He silently picked up the comb again and didn't answer me. This only made me feel even worse. "Axl, I-"

"Don't you go picking my brain about the fucking past, Calliope! God knows I don't know shit about you, why should I have to explain myself?"

It felt like a slap in the face, but it was true. I felt the strong urge to be anywhere else, so I managed to get onto my feet and wobble toward the door. I was dressed in one of his t-shirts and nothing else but underwear. I hoped he was the only one who saw me, and it wasn't some embarrassing group effort.

"Calliope, where are you going? Come lay back down, you shouldn't be moving around yet."

"No, you need some alone time now." "Calliope-" I opened the door and shut it behind me before I could hear the end of his sentence.

Everyone was in the living room as I made my way through, clutching my stomach lightly. The TV was blaring, but everyone stopped to stare at me as I passed. "The dead has risen," Steven commented, shoving his face full of popcorn. He really had a thing for popcorn. Izzy grinned brightly as usual, waving at me. "Yeah, we all thought you were gonna die."

Duff sprung to his feet. "I have to give you an examination, don't go anywhere."

"Who's Erin?" No one said a word, they all just stared at me.

"Whatever." I spat before leaving.

I had no bus money, so I had to walk all the way back to my apartment. I barely had the strength to climb up the drainage pipe, and after I did I had to lay down for a while. My bed felt cold and foreign, it felt weird and large without another person in there with me.

I took a very long shower until I felt like I hadn't wallowed in my own sickness for days, and slipped into some comfortable pajamas. I didn't notice how thirsty I was until I'd been around all that water, so afterward I went to the kitchen and gulped down three tall glasses of apple juice without stopping. I didn't realize someone was standing there with me until he cleared his throat.

Cap's eyes were red and tired. His clothing seemed disheveled and his hair was slightly messy. He came to me with arms outstretched and crushed me into his chest, something I definitely wasn't expecting. For a second he was just like he used to be, and he smelled like comfort and cologne... until the anger set in, and he was backing away from me with hatred in his eyes.

"I... thought you were dead. I was going to put together a search party tomorrow, if you hadn't returned by then." Cap's voice was so cold and detached, but I really didn't care. I just poured myself some more juice and drank, feeling the life return to my limbs. "Callie!" His voice boomed out of nowhere and I nearly spilled the juice on myself.

"What the hell were you thinking?! You've been gone for two weeks, two! I cannot believe you would do something so rash, so unbelievbly stupid! Tell me, please, enlighten me about what was going through your mind! Anything at all? Where were you?" He was yelling. Cap was yelling, which was unbelievably awkward if nothing else.

I gave him a bored look. "California for a week, and bedridden for another."

"California?" He proceeded to go on and on about what a naive and stupid little girl I was, how I wasn't ready for any of what I was doing and that going across the country like that could've easily gotten me compromised. I really didn't care about a word coming out of his mouth, not until he mentioned the unmentionable.

"It's that bastard sergeant, getting into your head like this! You're too naive to see that he's using you, just like every other man in this world will! He doesn't want you, he doesn't care about who you are! He wants what's between your thighs, nothing more! I bet you spent that whole time giving it to him, didn't you? Just like the little slut you're turning out to be-"

"Shut the fuck up!" It came rushing out of me, much like the vomit that kept me on my toes for the last week. The utter shock was plastered all over his face as I advanced toward him, pointing a stern finger in his direction.

"Don't you ever talk about Axl, you don't know him the way I do! He's kind, and gentle, and... he cares about me, the real me! Not the girl who sits up straight, who talks like a lady! All of this is fake, plastic! You're plastic, you made me plastic! Oh, but when I'm with him, I can be real! I can be normal, and he encourages it! We don't have sex, because he doesn't want to! He never forced me to, like you! He never humiliated me, like you did! He protects me, he cares for me more than you ever have! He's more of a man than you, and I... I can't live without him, but I can certainly be done with you!"

"I don't know you anymore." Cap's face was a mixure of hurt, surprise and anger as he glared at me, fists shaking. "You're done with this whole thing, you won't be seeing him again. You're to be here now, at all times. You will go on as I taught you to behave, no longer will you run wild. You will be my wife when the time comes, and you will beget my children. Now go to your bedroom, and do not come out."

I was engraged. He was doing it again, he was seizing control of my life. Three months before I would've been his whipping girl, and I would've taken it with my tail between my legs.

"No."

Now he was really in a quandary. "Excuse me?"

"I said no! I finally feel like a real person, there's no way I'm letting you ruin that now! I have a person, a real person I can rely on! I don't want... you! I don't want the CIA! Fuck you, you can go to hell for all I care!"

He slapped me. It wasn't painful so much as surprising, but the force of it all sent me tumbling to the floor with something warm and thick running down my cheek. Before I could help it, I let out a sob. Everything I knew as a child of him had gone the minute he put his hand between my legs, but this was unspeakable. He'd violated that unspoken trust we had, a trust that told me he'd never hurt me. It was all but gone.

Maybe he was just as shocked as I was, because when I looked up through my strands of damp hair he was staring at his hand, and then at me. "Callie, I... I shouldn't have done that."

I had to get away, my mind was screaming at me to. "I hate you! I fucking hate you!" I cried, scrambling to my bedroom and locking the door behind me. He was there a few seconds later, knocking softly. "Callie, please. Open this door, sweetheart. I have to talk to you, I apologize for hitting you. Please, let me in."

My eyes were so watery I could barely see what I was doing as I shoved as many articles of clothing as I could into my Spencer's plastic bag. When it was full I added some makeup, shoes and other toiletries. I was going, for good. "Callie, please know how much I love you, I just... I got angry, and I shouldn't be making excuses..."

I went to the window and slid down the pipe again, sprinting down the street as fast as I could. It was evening time, and the sun was going down. People didn't pay me any mind really, and I didn't stop running until I felt like I might throw up again.

At that point I realized that I'd been running toward base, I arrived there a few minutes later. It was deserted and dark, but I didn't care. I went to the couch in the corner without turning on any lights, I buried my face in the cushions and sobbed until I couldn't feel anymore.

~fin~