Episode Two, Part 5:

B o u n d   T o g e t h e r

Oh, should my people fall,
then surely I'll do the same.

Sol hurried to clear space on the table, Joren reaching over and taking Atlantis from Daniel's hold, setting her down with a rolled up jacket under her head. 

Dreea fetched for a damp cloth, passing it over to Zara who dabbed it carefully along Atlantis' forehead as they waited to see what would be done. 

"River," Joren looked looked over, "what are you going to do? She's.. She's not good."

Sol paced around the room, biting down on her nails as she weighed out her options, her eyes flickering back over to Atlantis to make her choice. 

"Someone bring Aeryn here." She ordered. 

"Riv," Dreea approached, keeping her voice low, not wanting the others to hear her, "There's nearly a third of our people who are infected right now, most of them are in the medic tent. Do you really want to take Aeryn out of there for one person? Think about it, if there's something urgent, she's the one everyone will need. The other's at medic aren't as knowledgeable as Aeryn." 

"I know." Sol answered. "I'm giving you my order. Go and get Aeryn." 

Dreea exhaled, staring back at the Nobel in the chance that she would witness some hesitation, but Sol was firm in her declaration, looking back at her expectantly. As the Sovereign left to follow her command, Sol drifted over to Atlantis, all her confidence and that unmovable demeanor disappearing. 

She gazed over the girl, trying to calm her racing thoughts down to just one - trying to understand what she was feeling, but everything was moving too fast for Sol. Everything she could have thought of to help Atlantis was gone from her mind, and all that was left behind in it's absence was an unfamiliar panic. 

"Your doctor - she's going to make her better, right?" Zara unraveled onto Sol, refusing to leave her daughter's side. 

"I-" Sol stuttered, unable to answer, and like Zara, she found herself unable to move away. 

"She'll do whatever she can." Joren said. "But if the virus is already in her blood..." 

"Then what? What does that mean? What will you do?" 

Joren sighed, scratching at the back of his neck, evaluating the condition Atlantis was in. "Zara, it's the same virus. The one...you know, before the Bunkers." 

Zara's mouth fell agape, her head shaking in denial. "It can't be... You don't know that's what it is." 

"We're almost certain it is. I'm sorry. We'll do everything we can." Joren tried to console her, wishing now that he hadn't even said anything. 

"You can't let her die!" Zara turned to Sol, her tears turning to those of anger. Desperation turning to bargaining. 

"She won't." 

"River-" Joren warned her, grabbing onto her wrist at her side - an attempt to restrain where she was leading the conversation. 

"If it's in her blood, I'll..." She had to force the words out, shutting out every thought of Eryx that came between what she was saying. "I'll give her my blood." 

Zara didn't even bat an eye before accepting, willing to do anything to save her daughter's life, but Joren, meanwhile, was left speechless by the Nobel's offer, trying to fathom her sudden change of heart. 

"That'll work?" Zara wondered, a tug of hope breaking her voice.  

"I can't see why it won't. For starters, I'm not sick, and..." She was nervous to admit it. "I can't get sick. My blood is pure." It wasn't the word she wanted to use, but nothing else came to mind in its place. At least Zara would know what she meant when she called it that. 

"If it comes down to it, we'll do a transfusion." 

Before anything else could be said, Joren grabbed hold of Sol's arm and whisked her to the corner of the room, away from anyone's earshot. 

"Joren, what are you doing?" 

"Funny. I was about to ask you the same thing, Nobel?" 

Sol backed down from her defensiveness for a moment, silenced by the disapproving look on Joren's face. 

"There's nowhere else for her to go. Do you think my people will think well of me if there isn't enough beds for them at medic?" 

"At this rate, you're not going to have any people left to think of you at all." 

"Joren-" 

"I know. That was harsh, I'm sorry. But you're the Nobel. Every loss, every burden our people face, that rests on you. Now more than ever, Basilisk needs you to make decisions for them, Riv." 

"I know. I'm trying." 

"And you can't promise to one person something you can't promise to everyone. If they find out their Nobel has promised her blood to one person, they're going to be asking why you place someone else's life higher than another's." 

"That's not what I'm doing! It's different, Joren. She's my-" She swallowed back the word. "We have the same father, that's it. Our blood is more than likely to be compatible." 

Joren softened a little, understanding what Sol had almost said to him, seeing the battle she was facing on her own still trying to pick herself up from the war her father had put her through. 

"Okay." Joren accepted her orders. "But only if it comes to it, and you can't let anyone else know about it." 

Sol nodded, exhaling at the sight of Aeryn hurrying inside which allowed her to break from the conversation. Fenn and Elara were trailing behind her, wheeling in a tray of supplies that she had been using for everyone else that had fallen ill already. 

Sol moved back over to Atlantis, watching intently as Aeryn checked over her, waiting to hear what could be done to help. 

"Well?" Zara pushed. It had been around a minute now, and Aeryn still hadn't said anything to them. 

"Uh, sorry." She muttered, about to explain to Zara before she became distracted by something. 

"Can you help her?" 

"Yeah, I can. You got her here just in time." Aeryn assured the woman, her hand holding onto her arm for comfort. Zara exhaled and leaned down into her daughter, holding her closely as Aeryn instructed Fenn to take over for her and begin. 

Sol was confused why she had passed the task over to Fenn, and not treating it herself when she had specifically requested that Aeryn came here. 

"Riv, Kodiak, Dreea. Can I speak to you for a moment?" 

Sol nodded and led her over to the far corner of the room where Kodiak was still resting on the seats, having watched everything go down. 

"Is this about the virus?" Sol began. 

"Sort of." Aeryn murmured back, just about to speak again when Kodiak jumped in. 

"Are there any more fatalities?" 

"Yes. Quite a few. But I didn't want you to discuss numbers, I wanted to talk about you, Kodiak." 

Kodiak sat up, Sol and Dreea sharing a look of concern with him as they waited for Aeryn to continue. At the mention of his name, Elara - who was still waiting by the doorway until this point - gradually began to drift closer so she could hear their conversation. 

"Geez, Aeryn, I don't have the virus, do I?" Kodiak tried to make a joke out of it, laughing halfheartedly, not knowing how else to handle her statement. 

"Not yet." She muttered under her breath, not meaning to be heard. 

"W-what?" Kodiak choked out. 

"I thought you guys would have known to keep the Quarters free from those infected." Aeryn confessed. "Not only because we can't risk our Sovereigns being weakened at this time, but because Kodiak is still healing. If someone so much as cough's in his direction, he could get sick, unless of course he's a Pure blood." 

The Sovereigns let the news settle for a moment, trying to comprehend what Aeryn had revealed to them, and if there was anything they could to fix things. 

"Then why don't we just test his blood status so we can know for sure if he can get the virus or not?" Dreea inquired. 

"Because it'll take time on any normal day, let alone when there are a hundred people who need my help." 

"What are you saying we do?" 

"I'm saying Kodiak can't be here. If he doesn't have the virus already, he might do pretty soon. And that on top of his injuries will be fatal." 

Kodiak exhaled at the news, suddenly feeling quite hot and uncomfortable. He knew it was because of what Aeryn had said to him, but the doubts in his mind were trying to convince him that he was already infected, or better yet, about to drop dead any second. 

"Okay..." Sol mumbled, thinking out loud. "Joren has an annex below his room. We'll keep him down there until it passes." 

Aeryn shook her head. "That's as good as nothing. I mean he has to be out of Basilisk." 

"Where do we put him?" Sol asked no one in particular. "Both Riders and Targo are out there, and nothing's holding them back from killing us when we're out there before the march." 

"He can hide in the Bunker." 

Everyone turned around to see Elara creeping her way forward, her worried eyes glancing over Kodiak to make sure he was okay. 

"No." Sol sighed. "Your dad is with Targo. He could lead them straight there if he hasn't already." 

"I'd suggest Zara's bunker, but it's on Rider's side of the river, and it'd be impossible to get there without running into them." 

"Again, my Bunker." Elara repeated herself, slightly frustrated that no one was taking her seriously. 

"Elara, go away. I already told you-" Sol warned her, not fond of people trying to interfere with Sovereigns' business. 

"No. Unless you've got any better ideas, which clearly you don't, you should take him there. Chances are my dad's already been there and he knows no one's down there, so there'd be no reason for him to stay." 

Kodiak looked up at Sol, a persuading look on his face as he tried to convince Sol of Elara's reasoning. 

"It's the best option we've got, Riv." He told her. 

"I'm aware of that, but I'm just not thrilled at the idea of you not being here. As well as that, someone will have to make sure you get there, so we'll be down another guard." 

"I'll go with him." 

"No." All three Sovereign's and Aeryn replied in unison. 

Elara rolled her eyes. She knew that now more than ever they wouldn't be able to do much to stop her from leaving; their attention would be elsewhere, and there weren't even enough guards to man all sides of the fence. 

"We're not going through this again." Sol told her. "Targo want you. You know this, Elara. Besides, your brothers would kill me if they knew I let you go at a time like this." 

"Then don't let me go. It won't stop me." 

"Elara, it's not safe for you outside." Kodiak tried to reason with her. He was overwhelmed by her fierceness to follow him, but couldn't stand the thought of her being in danger. 

"I'm not safe anywhere. If anything, Targo will think I'm here, so wouldn't it be a smarter idea if we stay ahead of them? Kodiak will need someone around in case something happens to him, and I know that Bunker better than any of you." 

Sol sighed, looking around over to discover that everyone was looking at her, awaiting her verdict. She knew that Elara was right, and that it was the only choice they had, but she couldn't live with herself if anything happened just imagining how Wynn would feel. 

"Okay." She gave in. "But someone needs to take you both there in case you do need cover." 

Elara nodded, not prepared to argue against her order in case she would change her mind. She was still beating herself up that she had got him hurt in the first place, so this opportunity to be to make sure he was safe was like a blessing to her. 

Two // Part Five

I'm not safe anywhere.
Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas! I got 0 time off!!