MOUNT WEATHER. PRESENT TIME.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"I THOUGHT IT WAS NICE WE TOOK THESE PEOPLE IN," RILEY SPOKE, HER EYES NARROWING AT DR. TSING. "But when you change a bullet hole to an arrow hole, it does bring questions." She was always taught to be respectful of people, regardless of what age or gender, or anything really. The fact that Dr. Tsing was her boss, made that lesson much more difficult. She was supposed to help the doctor, listen to her, and just give her a hand when needed to do so. She was just learning, just starting out. Riley knew she had no room to talk like that, but she needed an explanation to fill her curiosity on to why such a thing would be done.

"You're just an assistant, Riley Pascal, and barely that," Dr. Tsing had mumbled under her breath in a terrible response, while scribbling away on her clipboard. She couldn't even look at Riley. "You don't ask questions. You assist. Are we clear?"

Riley's lips pressed tightly together. She had to bite back the attitude from a sarcastic comment that was just at the tip of her tongue, itching its way out of her mouth. She always wanted to be a doctor, you see, and was working her way up. While studying to be a doctor, she worked as Dr. Tsing's assistant. It was a huge job, and she did admit she learned a lot from it, so losing it would be a very unfortunate loss in her world. "Crystal," she finally answered. "Anyways, I'm off. Baby-sitter will leave Emily alone - "

"We have a situation!" A loud shouting interrupted Riley, stopping her from speaking. The doors to the doctor's room had suddenly busted open, and a guard stumbled in. "We need you in quarantine!" Riley had forgotten what she was saying, and instead followed Dr. Tsing out of curiosity. Once they were suited up, Dr. Tsing pushed open the door to the room they were directed to.

Dr. Tsing was in the way of Riley's sight, but when she moved aside, her jaw dropped. A terrible feeling spread throughout her body and hit her in the heart. She brought her fist to her mouth, in front of her mask, keeping her from crying out loudly. "Oh my god," she whispered, looking at the girl laying on the bed, her chest heaving. Two others boys were there, but she had paid no attention to them. The patient was covered in blisters and burning badly, so badly. It was worse than any patient that she has ever seen. "Maya?!" A choked sob made its way out of her throat, heavy and awful. "Help her!" she cried out to the doctor, hoping there was some way to fix her. The regular treatment wouldn't work, not this time. Not as bad as it is. She knew that, she just didn't want to believe it. Riley had desperate and pathetic hope that Maya could somehow live through this. They'd never seen anyone make it through being this bad.

The regular treatment. Even the thought of it sent chills up Riley's spine. After the nuclear war, there was people who were able to survive in the toxicated air. The air was still toxicated, to toxic for the people in Mount Weather to survive in, including her. So they used the ones who were survivors, and took their blood. Some people died refusing the treatment, thinking it wasn't right. And it wasn't. It was selfish, but they had no choice if they wanted to live. When there was accidents, such as this, they had to use the blood. Otherwise, they would burn from the inside out. Maya was a victim of that now. And Riley couldn't bear to see her best friend, since they were in diapers, die.

With shaking hands, Riley handed Dr. Tsing what she needed to start the blood treatment. "Take her temperature and check her blood pressure," Dr. Tsing told Riley, starting the blood treatment.

Trying to stay steady and stable, Riley compiled, carefully putting the stick under Maya's mouth. "Temperature's one-hundred and four and rising," she noted, her voice croaky from the tears. She pulled out the pressure tool, wrapping the plastic wrap around Maya's burned arm and squeezing the nozzle. It pained her to do so, but she tried to focus. "Uh - blood pressure is one-eighty over one-twenty," she said, finishing with a hard swallow and pulling the tool off.

"Blister coverage now seventy-five percent," Dr. Tsing added. She sighed before shaking her head. "Standard treatment isn't working either," she stated. The treatment isn't working. Maya was going to die. The thought of seeing her best friend die so horrible and tragic, the way she'd seen so many patients die, brought the tears back to Riley's eyes.

Jasper Jordan - as Riley knew him as, one of the people from space that Mount Weather had brought in, spoke up. Mays talked about him often. "What does that mean?" He asked. "Is there a non-standard treatment?"

Was there? As far as Riley knew, there wasn't. Using outsiders blood was the only method she knew of. "There is one thing we could try," Dr. Tsing replied. "It's, unorthodox. Because you were raised in space, your circulatory systems developed the ability to filter radiation out of your blood. It's just a theory, but if we were to circulate Maya's blood through your system.."

"I could make her better," Jasper finished Dr. Tsing's sentence in realization.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Riley asked. She does love Maya, really. They're like sisters, and right now, she'd do absolutely anything to save her. But not only were they under strict orders from the president to not do any type of experiments on the forty-eight. Not only that, but what if Jasper didn't survive through the treatment? Maya liked him, a lot. She'd never want him to die while saving her, especially in an experiment that might not even work.

By Riley's question, Monty, Jasper's own best friend was startled. He looked between Dr. Tsing and Riley, almost desperately and wanting an explanation. "What happens to him?" He demanded to know.

It was silent, heavy due to Monty's question, before Dr. Tsing cleared her throat. "I'm not sure," she finally answered. "It's never been done. We can't know what will happen for sure - "

Monty whirled around to his side to face Jasper and to point at him. "I know that look," he warned him. "Don't even think about it. It's too dangerous."

Ignoring Riley's and Monty's warning, Jasper caved in and stepped forward. "I'm in."

-x-

When Jasper agreed to be apart of the experiment, Dr. Tsing hooked him up to a machine. He was also hooked up to Maya, with the blood swapping bands. Monty was by his side. "You sure about this?" He asked his best friend. "I know you like her, but her blood is about to go into your body."

Before Jasper could answer, and insist one more time that he was indeed sure about this, Maya's heart waves on her machine started beeping wildly. Riley looked quickly, seeing the monitor flickering a red. Maya's heart was giving up, she was dying. She ground her teeth, repeating to herself in her mind that she wouldn't cry, not again. "We need to do this now," Dr. Tsing stated. She still hesitated, giving Jasper the option to say no.

"I can't just let her die!" Jasper exclaimed, more so to Monty than to anyone else, before looking back to Dr. Tsing and Riley. "Let's do this."

"Give him it, Riley," Dr. Tsing quickly said, referring to the needle, and putting a shot in Maya's arm herself. It would be the preparation for the blood being drawn and switched.

Riley nodded back. Trying to compose herself, she grabbed what she needed. With the beeping to Maya's heart monitor in her ears loudly, she quickly wiped alcohol across Jasper's neck. She breathed heavily, feeling uncomfortably hot in the suit that would protect her. "This will sting a little," she warned him. With more force than she meant to, she had jabbed the needle in the place she had wiped the alcohol.

"Ow!" Jasper exclaimed, flinching away. "A little?!" Somehow he was hurt, but Riley could still see the playful look in his expression despite the situation.

Blood began being drawn from each ones, moving through the tube-like tools connected to the needles and into each other. After a few seconds, there was a dopey smile on Jasper's face, and he leaned his head back into the pillow, clearly more comfortable than he should have been. "What is it?!" Monty asked, clutching the side of Jasper's bed frame. "What's wrong?!"

"Nothing," Jasper answered with a laugh, sighing happily. "I feel nice." Riley couldn't help but stifle a laugh herself at the scene in front of her.

"Maya's been heavily sedated," Dr. Tsing said, explaining Jasper's current happiness. "You will, of course, feel that too. It's perfectly normal."

Monty rolled his eyes. "If you've never done this before, how do you know?" Riley could read from his tone of voice and expression that he was genuinely upset, almost angry actually, and scared he'd see his best friend die.

Pursuing her lips, Dr. Tsing paused before responding. "You're right," she admitted. "I should have said that it's to be expected." She checked the vital signs on both the kids as Riley stepped forward to Monty. He was still looking at Jasper, worried, as his best friend slowly was lulled to sleep.

"This could take awhile," Riley told Monty softly, her voice muffled from the head part of the suit. She wanted to give him more comfort, but she could see he wouldn't be having any of it from the look he gave her in response. "You could head back to the room?" She suggested. "And I'll come for you when he's awake."

The offer was kind, but Monty denied it. "Maya's your best friend, right?" He asked. Riley nodded back in response. "Are you leaving?" She grew silent, but understood. She didn't need to answer, he already knew it. Riley wasn't going anywhere until she knew that Maya would be okay. He gave her a smile and a shake of his head, before grabbing a chair in the room and pulling it towards Jasper's bed, and taking his seat comfortably.

-x-

It did take as long as Riley expected, but she didn't leave once. She was uncomfortable in the hot suit, but didn't make any moves to leave the room. Neither had Monty. Eventually, though, Maya did wake up. They moved her and Jasper out of quarantine when Maya's blisters begun clearing up, and it was clear that she was making a miracle recovery. Her blisters were quickly disappearing, and Riley couldn't be anymore happy. She thought about this as she peeled herself of the suit, the only time she had left Maya alone, and walked back into the room. Seconds after walking past the entrance, Riley heard Maya started to stir. "Maya?" She whispered to herself, rushing to her bedside.

One eye opened and than the other. It was slow, but Riley was quickly grateful. She grinned when meeting the other's gaze. "Hey, there," she greeted softly. "Welcome back." She reached out, her fingers brushing against Maya's hand before they tightly closed into one another, holding tightly.

"W-What happened?" Maya murmured to Riley in question, her voice hoarse yet laced with fear.

"There was a containment breach in the dorm," Riley explained, tightening her grip on Maya's hand like she'd be taken away from her. "No one's ever been as sick as you and came back." Flashes of Maya laying on the bed, dying, and burning from the inside out raced through her head. Now, she looked perfectly healthy, and just like before. All thanks to Jasper. "How are you feeling?" She asked, using her free hand to touch Maya's forehead to detect for any sense of warmness.

Confused, Maya answered hesitantly. "I feel.. Great," she replied. "Just, maybe, a bit tired.. How is that possible?" Even she knew how bad she was, and knew that it must have scared Riley to death.

Riley nodded to the tired boy in the bed beside her. "Jasper saved your life, Maya," she responded. She watched as her best friend turned her head, facing Jasper and Monty with a small smile on her face.

The door to the room suddenly opened, and Riley turned her head to see Cage, the president's son looking in her direction. Dr. Tsing was next to him, tight lipped. "Can we speak to you outside, Ms. Pascal?" He spoke, so firm it would have scared Riley if she didn't hold her stand so well.

Hesitating, Riley finally gave Maya a quick smile. "I'll be right back," she promised, squeezing her hand once to comfort her before letting go of her hand and left. She nearly froze when seeing the president there too, Dante, but swallowed and said nothing in fear she would had done something wrong.

Dr. Tsing was already speaking when she stepped into the hallway and shut the door behind her. "It was an emergency," she told them both, crossing her arms over her chest. "We couldn't reach you in time." Riley held her tongue, fully knowing that her boss hadn't even tried to reach either of them to ask for permission to experiment.

Neither of them clearly believed the doctor, but they ignored it. "How is the patient?" Dante asked, clearly upset with how the situation was handled, but also trying to hide it from the two.

"Her recovery is miraculous," Dr. Tsing answered, seemingly amazed with herself for doing such work.

"I was referring to Jasper."

Dr. Tsing had quickly backtracked at the sound of his name. Riley was sure he'd be fine, but only because her boss had said so. She didn't consider anything else could be wrong. "He'll recover," Dr. Tsing replied slowly, hesitantly, like Dante was a bomb that would explode in front of her. He was just an older man though, the president, that did his best for his people in Mount Weather. "I assured you that he would."

"That's not the point," Cage cut in, hushed. His gaze was directed at Riley this time, and she could see the fury in his expression. "You disobeyed a direct order from the president not to experiment on those kids."

"Why bring them here if not to use them?" Dr. Tsing shot back in question, confused.

Riley tore her eyes away from Cage to look at the doctor, her mouth almost dropping at her words. She was astonished with the woman's off behavior. "Because they're people," she cut in. Cage and Dante seemed shocked by her words, maybe confused, due to they had thought Riley was on the same ship as Dr. Tsing and wanted to use the ones they brought in and saved for experiments. Riley was finally understanding, though, why Dr. Tsing made a bullet hole look like an arrow. She didn't like it. She didn't like anything about this. It gave her an off feeling, and could have scared her.

"We all have jobs to do," Dante said, changing the subject quickly and averting the stares directed at Riley to him. "Mine is to be obeyed."

Frustrated, Dr. Tsing nodded as her posture stiffened at Dante's words. "Yes, sir," she responded. Before Dante left, she spoke up again, catching his attention. "Can I just say.. The first human trial was a success. After what we saw tonight, in my opinion, we have no choice but to move ahead with the forty-seven."

Hardly believing what she was hearing, Riley felt her heart sink. "No," she stated, looking from Dr. Tsing to Dante. "You can't - We can't experiment on them.." She had hoped he had more sense than that. He had to of. Doing life or death experiments on the forty-eight, it was inhuman. They were people, just kids, at that. People her age who were there thinking they were being rescued.

As it turns out, Dante did agree with Riley. "That will be all, Dr. Tsing," he stated, excusing her. Without a word, she left, but not before throwing a glare to Riley, making her assume she could have just risked her job. "And Ms. Pascal?" At the sound of her last name, Riley picked her head up. "I don't want you to worry."