Even in the sleep haze, Hope knew the Berg was landing. She tried to peek her eyes open. But her battered body just couldn't do much anymore. She felt... Off. She knew something was wrong before she was fully awake. Her body was flushed, but she shivered, she was sweating, but her teeth chartered.

The humming of the Berg stopped. She felt Minho shift. She heard his voice, but nothing was distinguishable. Her body was shifted and moved but her head flopped. And then rolled. She tried, she tried so hard to open her eyes. And she tried to mumble something.

"Minho....?"

"Ya! Ya, Hope, I'm here!"

She forced her mind to work. It took all her effort. She whimpered. Her body was incredibly sore. Any sort of movement made her wince.

"Shuck, Ace, you're burning up!"

Minho sounded panicked.

"No no, hey stay with me!"

Hope didn't have the energy to say anything snippy, or anything for that matter.

"They're coming! The guards... Can you stand up? I don't know if they'll use those launcher guns! Come on Hope, we gotta get up!"

Minho sounded like he was begging. The mighty Glader was begging? Something didn't make sense. But she felt her body being pulled up. She hardly had the strength now to cry out in pain. Minho held me up. Our hands were cuffed, and then were forced to follow the flow of kids out the Berg and down the ramp. Hope made it about half way when her knees buckled. Her eyes rolled back into her head and she collapsed.

Minho cried out, getting the attention of the guards. He was pushed out of the way. Guards grabbed Hope and carried her off. Minho stood watching, feeling absolutely useless.

•°•

Hope's shivered and shook with the fever. She had no idea how long she was out for. But she couldn't fully figure out what was going on. She was laying in a bed somewhere. It was cold, the blanket was thin and scratchy and she shivered. Her body was too sore to move. She was scared the pain that rolled through her in waves would hit again if she tried to move and tried to curl up.

Her lungs hurt. Like she had been coughing so bad she pulled muscles in her back and chest. With every breath she felt her head thump with pain. The blood pumping through her head was magnified making her wince, but that would send pain into her body making her whimper, which made the pain in her head flare. It was a never ending cycle. And she had no concept of time or how long she was like this.

Her consciousness came and went. And even when she was conscious she wasn't lucid. She tried to mumble words, but nothing came out, and if words did come out they probably didn't make any sense. When her mind was pulled into sleep it was riddled with nightmares. Things from her past, and new things her mind made up.

•°•

It was going on day three of Hope laying in the bed, shivering, sweating and mumbling. Minho had watched as she was carried off and he didn't see her for a full day. He was pushed and shoved with the rest of the kids, they were separated, boys and girls, made to strip down, sterilized off and then aloud into the new WICKED facility. They were sent to their cells and Minho waited. He had a cell alone. For now.

He slept for a bit, when he woke up there was food waiting for him. He had no idea where it came from, it just always appeared. It wasn't anything fancy, but it would fill him up and keep him going. He was pulled from his room, and it was a short session today. He still felt okay when he was deposited back to his cell. The door slammed shut and there was a small whimper. Minho spun around and laying in the other bed was Hope. He cried out and knelt down beside her bed.

She was covered in sweat, she was burning up, but her body shivered and shook. The adjoining small bathroom had a steel bowl and strips of clothes and a steel cup and sitting beside it was a small little paper cup with medicine. He was clearly meant to take care of her, not that he wouldn't, but he found it stupid that this entire facility was full of doctors and nurses, but he was the one taking care of the sick one.

He filled the bowl and brought it over and spent the rest of the evening changing the damp cloth trying to bring her temperature down. His worry for her increased when she started to whimper and tears leaked out of her closed eyelids. He could see her eyes darting around behind the lids.

He brushed some of her golden blond hair out of her sweaty face when she started to mumble.

"No...no...go away... Mama wake up...wake up mama....daddy you've slept enough...time to get up...wake up... Please don't hurt me! No stop please..."

Minho sat on the cold stone floor most of the first night, holding her hand and shushing her and gently wiping tears when these nightmares would attack. He was left in his cell for a long time. He, at one point, fell asleep and when he woke up there was another dose of medicine for Hope and food. He knew he was being monitored, but why and for what purpose he didn't know.

He also didn't know if this was done kind of regular virus sickness or one that WICKED purposely have her. Maybe it was a variant of the Flare, she was immune after all, something like Griever poisoning. But he frowned at himself when he remembered she had all her memories, these nightmares weren't memories coming back, these were memories she was reliving. But maybe that's what the Griever poisoning would do to an immune with memories intact, make you relive the most traumatic ones.

By day three, she had stilled a bit more, the nightmares weren't as often and she seemed to sleep a bit more peacefully. His sessions with Janson weren't as intense either. He wasn't complaining, but he had no idea what was going on.

Finally Hope's eyes fluttered open with a small whimper.

"Ace?" Minho whispered, kneeling down beside her. He was resting his arms on the bed and his chin on his hands.

She blinked a few times, her eyes still fuzzy and unfocused. He gently moved some hair and tucked it behind her ear.

"What's...going on?" Her voice was so dry and thin it made Minho wince.

"You've been laying around for three days, while I've been out at work!" He teased.

Hope pulled her eyebrows together. And a look of confusion crossed her face, and the distress.

"Hey, Ace, I'm teasing! Slim it! You've been crazy sick, they've left you here to sleep. It's all good."

He gave her a small smile. Trying to project his confident self, even though he had been worried sick himself, and he was exhausted. Janson's sessions while they were shorter, didn't mean they weren't draining and exhausting. He was never electrocuted, as Hope was, he was injected with something and forced into terror induced hallucinations. And then he would spend most of his night taking care of Hope.

"You look terrible." She whispered.

Minho scoffed and held a hand to his chest, "excuse me! I look shucken fantastic for being tortured for three almost four months thank you! And...you should see yourself. Cuz girl. You need a shower!"

The smallest of smiles brushed across her chapped lips. And then it was replaced by exhaustion. She shivered and tried to clench her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering.

"Cold?"

"Freezing."

"Hmm..." Minho frowned and then got up, he grabbed his blanket off his bed, pulled it off, flung it around his own shoulders and then came back over. "Scootch over!"

Hope gave him a questioning look, even flushed with the remnants of a fever, he saw her cheeks blush a darker pink.

"Slim it Ace, it's body heat. I promise I won't make out with you tonight."

A breathy hardly there chuckle passed her lips and he smirked.

"Okay, let me help you move. You're hogging the whole shucken thing!"

He gently shifted her and he climbed into her bed, and lay down behind her. Then slowly and cautiously he put his arm around her and pulled her into his chest. Slowly he felt her body stop shivering and her muscles relaxing. He heard her ragged shallow breathing even out and became regular. He smiled to himself, he liked this. And he felt his own cheeks heating up and a weird flutter feeling in his stomach.

The only girl he had seen in three years had been Teresa, and she always gave a weird cold uncomfortable vibe. Brenda was...there wasn't anything when he looked at her or the few conversations he had with her. When Hope had appeared out of nowhere on that mountain top, she was really pretty and he did a double take. She did not like him when they first arrived, and that intrigued him. She was witty and smart, clearly she knew how to handle herself. The way her nose would wrinkle when she made a face, or her eyes would narrow and her teeth would grind when you pushed her buttons... 

The first night when he was wondering he saw Hope and Frypan in the dandilion field laughing he turned and walked away in the opposite direction. When Fry finally came back the first night late in the evening with a big smile and said he was talking with Hope, Minho felt weird. He didn't think it was jealousy, more that...he wanted a girl to laugh like that with him, and scrunch her nose when he said something ridiculous.

Now..he had no idea if they were ever going to get out of here. Sure he told Hope Thomas would come for them like the night hero he was...he wasn't sure if he actually believed it. He could feel his mind slipping at times, into the nightmares but while he was awake. His heart would start to race and his chest felt tight. But he shoved it away and slapped a smirk on and spat out jokes, because that's what Minho Keeper of the Runner does. He puts his head down and gets the job done; he doesn't act scared or worried, he keeps the morale of his team up. And right now...his only teammate was Hope.

He was very aware of her body pressed against his. He felt his heart skip a beat. This was very different. He wasn't used to physical touch like this. Sure Newt have him a one armed hug and slap on the back. Thomas clasped his hand, Fry handed out hugs constantly, but this prolonged excessive body contact was different. It was soothing and comforting. He wasn't going to do anything more. She needed more heat, he was almost warm. She was sick and needed comfort, he could provide that. But...a little voice inside him said, You also need this. You also are so touch starved you wouldn't know a proper hug if it was forced on you. Is this a selfish thing your doing? Or a mutual agreement? She hadn't said no. And she relaxed quite fast into his chest and arms. They both just need this. They're both just trying to survive. Survive WICKED. Survive Rat Man and torture. Not that he using her, but they needed each other to survive each day.

•°•

Hope's heart was racing as Minho lay down behind her, her stomach fluttered when his arm wrapped around her and gently pulled her closer. They both left out the breath they were holding. With her back pressed against his chest she could feel how fast his heart was racing. Yet disbite that her muscles slowly relaxed. She could feel his body heat radiating into her, warming her body. Her racing heart slowed and her fluttering tummy stopped. Minho hadn't moved, or tried anything else, laying behind her, wrapping his huge body around her curled up one, and holding her gently.

She wasn't sure, she was too sore and not fully with it to know for sure, but she thought she felt his chest heave as he took a shuddering breath. Maybe he needed a hug just as bad as she did, but she wasn't in any shape to give one, every little movement hurt and sent a wave of pain through her body. They would get through the next day...they had each other.

She missed Lanna. They would sleep together on many occasions, especially in the colder months when they had nothing but two sleeping bags, they would share to keep warm, Papa would sleep beside them as well, all sharing body heat. But she had never slept in a bed with a boy. If Lanna heard she slept with Minho she would have a heart attack, but there was nothing sexual about this. He was being quite gentle and kind, sure he was still sarcastic, but his actions were what she judged people on.

She took a slow inhale, and as her exhausted and sore body was pulled into sleep, she shifted just a bit closer into Minho's chest, as he tightened his hold on her just slightly.

They would get through Janson's tourtre. They had each other. And that's a body you can't break.

•°•

• Sorry, a shorter chapter •
• a much needed filler. Must show case the growing ship between
Ace and MeanHoe •