MARINETTE

With the same material as the rings Adrien and I done, I also made one that resembles a necklace where I can let my ring hang from.

As a nurse, I can't wear anything on my hands but I still made sure to keep the ring with me at all times.

I clutch my ring, hiding beneath my jacket. I do it every time a sudden thought of Adrien pops in my mind.

I just can't stop...worrying.

What's helping me ease those worries, though, is the fact that the movement is working according to plan. Not a lot of people are getting hurt, and if they are, they only have minimal wounds. Wounds that are easy to treat.

"Nurse Marinette," Nathalie calls me from the side of the tent.

"Yes?" I reply, letting go of my hold on the ring and turn around to see a young woman, clutching the side of her arm, standing beside her.

"We got a new patient," Nathalie says. She leads the woman to me then turns to her. "This is Nurse Marinette. She will take care of your wound."

I smile at her and she shyly grins back. "Here, let's sit down before I check your wound." I grab a plastic chair from the side and place it behind her. She takes a seat on it as I grab another one for me to sit as well.

"Okay, may I ask what your name is?" I utter with a smile as I start to grab  a clean gauze from one of our many first-aid kits.

"It's Jessica," the young person answers and shows the gash along her arm, near the shoulder.

"Well, Jessica," I start to bring out the disinfectant and place it on the wound. "Luckily, you won't need any stitches. Let's get that wound of yours cleaned up. You might feel a bit of a sting."

Just as I clean around the area and start to wrap the spot on her arm with a long guaze, she speaks again in a soft voice, "Thank you for this."

"No problem. It's my job-"

"No, I mean...thank you to all of you for doing this," she clarifies, her eyes looking straight into mine. She sounds and even looks serious as she talks.

I rest a hand on top of hers that is placed on her lap. "We were all bound to rise against them all."

"But to choose to rise against two forces? How would any of you have the courage to do that?"

I lean close and pat her hand. "It only took the will of one to say it to a group of people," I tell her softly.

"Was it you?" she asks and I shake my head.

"No, but it was someone I know and now, someone I trust wholeheartedly along with this team." I gesture to the medics and nurses around me as we work our way through this movement by helping those who need us the most. Using the peace we have as our voice.

"I knew that I had to join the movement ever since the day I heard about it. I'm a student and my mom...she doesn't know that I'm here."

"Wouldn't your mom be worried?"

"I'll think about that later," Jessica utters, softly laughing. "Now," she continues and takes a look at her bandaged arm, "I want to make my voice heard as well."

"Then I think you should be joining everyone outside again. The people would need an extra voice."

"Of course, nurse." she smirks at me and stands. "Thank you so much. I want to go back, I need to."

As she almost leaves the station, I call out to her, "Stay safe!"

She turns back and lets out a laugh. "If it's for the future of the nation, I can't promise much." After that, she runs back and joins the crowd again.

I can't promise much, Marinette.

I clutch the ring again just when I hear his voice in my head again. "Stay safe, Adrien, please," I murmur under my breath, like a prayer, and let out a long sigh before fixing the first-aid kit and bringing it back to our table full of supplies. 

Nath is standing in front of the table and he's replenishing our supply of rolls of gauze. "Hey," I greet him and place the first-aid kit on the table, "How are things going on your end?"

"Hello to you too," he mutters, still busy with placing the rolls on the table. Once he places two more on the stack he made, he faces me and lets out a deep exhale. "A bit tired, honestly."

I pat his shoulder. "Tell me if you want to rest, you can always do so if you want to."

He shakes his head and refuses, "I wouldn't want to rest. It's unfair if I rest and know that there are people out there who have been on it for the past hours. Who am I to take a break when people are literally placing their lives at the frontline?"

"A human," I merely reply.

"What?"

"You asked and I gave you my answer. You are a human, and we have our limits. If we don't follow our limits, we'll just be endangering everyone around us."

Nath blinks, not expecting those words and he softly chuckles whilst shaking his head. "I should have thought that you were going to say something like that. I'm not making fun of you or anything, but the more we talk the more you start to sound like Adrien."

I hide a smile threatening to show on my face. Instead, I cough. "I'll take that as a compliment," I say.

"I hope they're all okay out there," he continues and looks out of our station, his gaze on the busy crowd of people. "I hope Chloé's okay," he finishes in a softer voice.

"We can only hope for the best." I look out as well. We both watch the people around - most of them faces we have never seen before but they all hold the same expressions of courage and vigor. In those faces, I see Adrien, his strength is sometimes reckless yet righteous.

"Before I forget," Nath begins, shifting his attention back to replenishing the supplies. His words take me back to our task at hand and I start to help him, maybe it could help my take my mind off my anxiety over Adrien's safety. "I also checked our building for back-up."

Before the movement, the medical team did our own job in scouting the area for other shelter that could be used to treat injured people just in case our stations may be too full or if other worse things could happen. In different areas, we found some buildings that are near enough most of the medical stations that could be used as a safe shelter.

It's weird but I don't want to use those buildings. I feel that if ever we use them, things are not going the way they were planned.

"Any updates that I should be aware of?"

"None," he replies, "they are all ready just in case."

"We need more medics and nurses here!" Nathalie shouts for everyone to hear. Nath and I turn at the same time to see that more injured people need to have their wounds treated.

"Is it just me or are there more people gathering in the main section?" I ask Nath quietly as we prepare our own kits to treat our new patients.

"Not just you," he replies, "Nino's group is nearing the main part already. I overheard through the comms. Once they reach our area, we will be complete."

"Then the final leg of the plan will be implemented," I add. "Just a bit more, Nath...we can do this."

He brings out a fist and holds it out firmly. "Marinette, we can do thi-"

BOOM!

A loud explosion goes off north from our station which causes the ground to shake. People scream and shout in shock and panic, some starting to rush to our station to seek safety with us. They start to climb over the tables, knocking and trampling over our medical supplies.

"Everyone, get down!" I immediately shout as I keep on getting shoved back and forth as the rest do not know where to go. "Get down!" I shout again.

Nath pushes against an amount of people to grab something from one of our boxes. It's another radio that is supposed to be used just in case. He switches it on and fixes it in the channel where the main warnings and announcements are to be coursed through for everyone to hear.

"-ical station one, down; Medical station one down!" A voice of panic shouts into the comms just as Nath fixes it. People nearby hear it and start to go more into a frenzy. Others are holding each other as they kneel on the ground, crying and some saying prayers for guidance and safety.

"Nathalie!" I shout and she faces me, panting heavily from the other side of our tent. "Lead them to the buildings!" I continue. She nods and calls for everyone to listen and follow her.

I help others stand and tell them to follow some of the people who were also being helped by the other medics and nurses as they are led to our emergency buildings.

I rush to our supplies, going against the tide of the crowd, and start collecting the ones we need the most to bring to the emergency buildings. Nath starts to speak into the comms as he also chooses to help me out, "This is medical station four, now evacuating to the emergency buildings. Medical station four, now evacuating." He hooks the comms on his pants and shoves our supplies in duffel bags that could carry them.

Another explosion comes off, this time from the south of the station. The crowd of people in our area start to move faster, following the lead to reach new shelter.

"Medical station nine, down! Medical station nine!" A different voice shouts from the comms.

"Mari, they are targetting us," Nath utters, panting and his eyebrows furrowed in worry. "They know...they know that if they take us down, more people could die."

"No one would be there to treat them..." I seethe in anger. Damn it! If whoever is doing this wants to bring us down, I won't allow that. "Nath, we need to move faster - all stations are going to be affected and we have no more time to find those bombs if ever. We need to run, now!"

One of the small army vehicles arrives by our tent and the door on the driver's side opens. "Some of you, climb in!" the driver shouts to the people around us and lands his gaze on me.

"Adrien..." I whisper. I see him smile at me for just a fleeting moment before going back to shouting out his instructions.

"Faster! The rest, continue to follow the medics! We will come back for you!" 

"You heard the lieutenant!" Nath joins in, "Let's help each other, people!" Others immediately climb in the vehicle and grab those who were still on the ground, helping them climb up as well.

"Nurses!" Adrien shouts at both Nath and I, "we need you on this trip!"

The medics tending to the others urge Nath and I to go ahead and we comply, running to the vehicle with the duffel bags with us and getting in the front side of it.

"Let's go," Adrien utters as he lets go of the brakes once the vehicle is full and drives off to the nearest building where we can start tending to those who were badly affected by the explosions. Adrien stays careful as he drives only in the clear areas to avoid hurting anyone on the road in the process.

We near the building and immediately get off the vehicle, the others follow as well. Nath leads them to the door and makes them enter in haste.

"Adrien," I start but he beats me to it.

"I'll be back," he says in a rush, "I need to get everyone out of the stations."

I nod. "Okay, stay safe, please."

He sets his lips in a tight line and nods once with conviction. Without uttering a word, I get out of the vehicle and he drives back to the different stations.

When I get in the building, the amount of injured people was more than what I expected, some have been placed on the ground lying down on pieces of cloth. It brings an ache in my heart to see them in that state.

Nath runs to me and grabs the other duffel bag I was holding. "Those from medical station one are with us," he informs me right away, "if the explosions continue and the evacuation is not fast enough, those from medical stations two and three will also arrive." 

"The explosions will continue," I state and in impeccable timing, the building shakes as another loud explosion from outside is heard by everyone. "They won't stop until they finish all of us. We must do what we can now."

Nath and I go in opposite directions, heading to any person that needs us - and that's hard to figure out because it looks like everyone needed us.

I see Nathalie help out a team of medics working on a man who apparently lost a part of his left leg, blood continues to gush out from it. And Nath starts to aid in those who got fractures or sprains from the stampede that happened during the first few explosions.

I get to work by conducting first-aid to those who had open wounds. Those nights of teaching Adrien in the infirmary months ago come flooding in my mind with every stitch I make on my different patients. I give water to some who looked weak and helped those find some of their family members or friends that got separated.

People continue to enter through the main doors and more patients need more of our tending. As I help out anyone I first see, I still can't shake my want to see Adrien walk through those doors as well.

The explosions have not stopped and it even sounds like it's nearing the building. What's scary is not that I might be going crazy, but the fact that I might be right.

"Keep his leg on that bag, continue to apply pressure on this side," I instruct a woman who I am helping with tending a sprain on her husband. She follows and her husband lets out a sharp gasp in pain.

"Sir," I start, "we'll keep your leg first in this position, okay? Does it still hurt very much?"

"Not that much anymore," he murmurs, grabbing onto the free hand of his wife. He holds it tightly.

"Okay, I'll be back to check on the sprain," I tell his wife and she smiles at me in gratitude.

"Thank you, doctor."

I smile back at her. "I'm a nurse, and you're welcome."

I stand and run to the back of the building to take a few-second break. I wipe the beads of sweat that have collected on my forehead and count from one to 10 to calm my nerves down.

"Marinette," a voice suddenly says my name from behind me and I see Adrien standing by the back door. I let out a sigh of relief seeing him unharmed.

"Oh my God," I utter and run to him. He pulls me close to wrap his arms around me and I do the same. He rests his head on my shoulder and kisses it.

I pull away from the hug and say, "You can help out here. Some people need to have their wounds stitched up. The sutures are ones that you can handle while I-"

"I'm not here to stay," he cuts me off in a soft voice.

I stop and blink, my heart drops after what he said. "W-What?"

He purses his lips and brings his head down. "I need to find out who planted those bombs."

"...you're going back outside?"

He nods and looks back up at me. "I have to stop them at all costs, Marinette."

"I," I start to protest but stop almost immediately. "So, you came here to say good-bye?" I whisper, instead.

He nods again and takes a step back. "I have to go."
  
I grab on to his jacket just as he tries to run back to the scene of the ever-growing explosions.

He looks back at me with shock in his eyes, "Mari-" he starts but I immediately interrupt him.

"I'm selfish," I state, gripping tighter on his jacket.

He furrows his eyebrows at me, looking with confusion. "Marinette..."

"I want you alive, Adrien. Can't you do that for me?" I whisper, tears brimming my eyes. His eyes soften when he sees a tear fall on my cheek.

He runs a finger on my cheek and leans close to leave a swift kiss on my lips which I immediately return. He pulls away and a small smile plays about his lips as he whispers, "You're a nurse. Think of me when you help those people. They need you now more than me." He slowly takes my hand off his jacket and squeezes it gently in his hold. "I love you. And if I really had to choose between the nation or you, without a doubt I would choose you. That's why I need you to go."

"Adrien..."

"And you might have to let me go, too," He utters, letting go of my hand and placing both of his on my head to bring me near so that he could press his lips on my forehead. "My nurse, there are people who need your help. Go," he whispers for one last time before running to the door. He opens it and gives me one last glance then goes through the other side, ready to face whatever awaits him.

I hold the ring hanging on my neck and wipe away my tears. "I love you, too," I murmur and turn around. Raising my chin, I gain the strength I need and run back to the main area where the others are treating the injured.

If Adrien is doing his duty, then I must do mine.

There are people who need me and I am not one to let anyone down.

I wipe away the remaining tears starting to stain my face and tend to the first people I see.

Despite my aching heart, turning more painful with every explosion that hits whatever is left from outside, I think of Adrien as I help with stitching up remaining wounds, handing out blankets and water to those who need it, tending to those with fractures, sprains, or even those who need to amputate some body parts.

"Lift her in three, two, one!"
"We need help in holding her down. Trichloromethane stat!"
"Replenishment of disinfectant, please!"

I stay mostly with Nath since I got scared of suddenly breaking down into tears if I am on my own.

I keep myself busy, holding onto my ring when I have the time to. Adrien and the rest are working and fighting for us, I must fight for him as well. I will keep these patients of mine alive with the best of my ability.

As times goes by, it becomes quiet not only in the building but also outside. Nath noticed it first when the explosions suddenly stopped. Less people were in utter pain that would cause them to shout in hopes of lessening it. Now, there are a few minor groans that could be heard from some. It's not as hectic as it was hours ago, but to make sure we are safe, we still are not going out of the building.  
   
"Mari," Nath murmurs from my side and hands me a water bottle, "you look dehydrated."

I take it from him and twist open the cap. "Thanks," I mutter and bring it to my mouth, finishing everything in a few seconds.

The main doors suddenly slam open and one soldier runs inside the building, gaining the attention of everyone. He's out of breath but keeps his stance when he sees that almost everyone has their eyes on him.

"T-They surrendered..." he stammers then continues in a louder voice for us to hear, "the rebels surrendered and the leader of the government stepped down."

I let out a gasp and tears start to well up in my eyes as my heart swells with emotion. 

"We've been heard..." Nath whispers from beside me, his facial expressions showing shock and relief as well.

"...we won." I hear someone near me murmur in awe.

"We won," Another voice from the side states for others to hear.

"WE WON!" People start to shout at the top of their lungs and cheer out loud, hugging each other and crying as they continue to show how euphoric the collective feeling is dawning on all of us.

We won. I can't believe it. Our voices were heard.

After all those hours of planning, we won.

I bring a hand to my mouth and run to the back door of the building, the same door where I last saw Adrien. I push it open with force and it slams behind me as a very narrow alley greets me.

I clasp on tightly the ring around my neck and remove it to hold it properly. "Adrien, you did it," I whisper then fall to my knees as I start to sob, my shoulders hunched and my body starting to shake. "We did it..." I muster to say through the tears that continuously fall down my face.

"I just want to see you, now..." I cry, bringing a hand over my eyes. "Dead or alive, I just want to see you for one more time."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope you liked this chapter :) (should I say sorry, or? hahaha)

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