"F" as in Falcon

Oki… Finally here… Chap 4. Two chaps in two days… I’m getting better =)

Warnings and disclaimers are still in chap 1, but I’d like to remind you of that in this fic season 2 and 3 never happened, even though it will continue over those years.

Once again THANK YOU Birdie-chan for beta-reading this! And thank you to my reviewers!!!

Read and review, please?

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Chapter 4



Bryan's POV



"Tala?"



I got no reply. I checked for a pulse and simply nodded when I found it, Spencer checked his breathing and gave an identical nod. We all let out a sigh. He was still alive! But he was a mess. He was covered in dirt and blood, his red hair was sticky from sweat, blood and something else. I didn't want to know what it was, though I had my suspicions.



"Let's get him into the tub." I didn't know how come but I seemed to be in charge.

Spencer carefully picked up our captain and carried him into the bathroom and placed him in the tub. Tala's clothes were completely torn, nothing to save there.



"Ian, get me some scissors. Tala?" I tried again. "Tala? Please wake up. Tala?" His eyelids fluttered but didn't open. "Tala we need you, don't give up. Just keep on fighting."



His ice blue eyes opened, but I saw that they still weren't focused.



"Tala it's ok, we're here, it's over. You survived."



Ian came in with the scissors and then he and Spencer left. The bathroom was rather small and they knew I would call for them if they were needed. I started removing the torn clothes from him. His body was covered in slashes, cuts and bruises.



"Oh Tala, what did they do to you?"



"Dungeon... Vo...Voltaire..."



I pulled him into a hug. "It's over, you survived. That's all that matters."

I let go of him and started to clean his wounds with alcohol and he gave a weak whimper.



"I'm sorry Tal, I have to do this."



"I know, this is nothing, really. I just wasn't prepared..."



It took me almost two hours to clean and patch him up. I washed his hair, too. That was almost as big challenge as his wounds. He looked vulnerable with his thick red hair hanging loosely over his shoulders. The sadness was still so clear in his eyes. That was the last injury I had to tend to.



"Kai likes it when you have your hair down, doesn't he?"



"Mmm... says... says I'm...cute..."



"You are cute."



"Don't..."



"Oh, don't get me wrong. I know you're dangerous, but you look cute when you have your hair down."



"Maybe should... use it to.... fool people..." He gave me a weak smile and that was what I was playing for.



"Nah, save it for Kai."



"I miss him."



"I know Tala. But Ray promised he would help him, if he allows it."



"Ray?"



"He wrote back. He forgives me, forgives us."



"But... how?"



"I don't know... outsiders never care, but he wants to help, support us... I don't understand but... but I think we have a new friend."



"Friend... he wants to be friends... with us?"



"Yes. Why does it sound so strange when we say that word? I heard the Blade Breakers use it a lot, it sounds different when they say it... We are friends aren't we?"



"No, we are family." Spencer had appeared in the doorway. "It isn't possible to see where one ends and the other one starts. We are one, therefore we can not be friends. But it sounds nice to have one. I'd like to be friends with Ray."



We helped Tala to his bed, he refused to be carried.



"Ian and I will sneak off for a bit." Spencer said.



"Why?"



"There is something we need to get. Don't worry captain, we'll be careful."



"All right..."

They left in complete silence.



"Do you think we'll ever get out of here Tal?"



"I don't know Bryan. But for the first time I see hope."



"I like that word. Ray used it, too... hope."



"Sleep with me Bry? I don't want to be alone right now."



I laid down beside him, pulled the blanket over us and then wrapped my arms around him. We didn't have to fear detection that day. The day after great punishments we're always ignored. No food, no attention.

A lot of teams in the Abbey had slept with dead team mates in their room...



"I miss him..." Tala's voice was barely a whisper.



"I know, you'll be with him again."



"I don't want to tell him..."



"You have to and you know it. Especially if you're going to testify. He loves you."

Tala drifted into a shaky slumber. I tried to comfort him but he kept waking up.



"Tala?"



"Yeah?"



"Try to think about what you and Kai will do when we get out of here."



"What?"



"Dream Tala, dream."



He closed his eyes and laid completely still for several minutes, then a small smile appeared on his lips. "I like dreams, thanks Bry."



"Thank Ray instead. Now go to sleep."



He finally fell into a peaceful sleep, still with that small smile on his lips.



I let my own mind wander, it wasn't so easy when you'd never done it before. Thoughts about the future were considered dangerous among the Abbey children because you could never be sure that there was a future... But as I laid there my mind became filled with pictures of Ray... I liked this...





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