Keldabe

*Telarial was almost certain she was going to die. Until Faelan kicked the door down, practically unhinging the thing. She dragged herself into a corner, barely conscious, in order to keep from getting caught in the middle of the ferocious fray. At first she can barely recognize Faelan...she'd never seen him in combat and his fighting style as of the moment suggested he was fighting purely with emotion. The enraged screams ripping out of his throat made him sound foreign. Her eyes blurred, as her vision came and went as she watched the battle unfold. Telarial was more than satisfied to see Montreal get what was coming to him...but the rage Faelan was exhibiting scared her.

Grunting in an attempt to remove the knife from her leg, she came to find the task was far too taxing...so the knife remained.  All too soon, the battle was over.

She was barely conscious to understand it as blood from her head wound trickled down the side of her face. For a moment she suffered a bout of amnesia, the Mando'ade wearing green and black beskar'gam appearing as though he were a stranger in her eyes as he pulled free from the officers who had been holding him back.  It was when Faelan was cradling her in his arms, rocking her while sobbing, that she realized where she was and vaguely what had happened. With glassy eyes, no doubt from what might be a severe concussion as well as the onset of a fever, Telarial looked up into Faelan's dark visor in confusion, reaching a hand up to touch it, as a curious infant would when first touching the face of their buir.  Her eyebrows were knit in concentration...trying to remember where she'd seen this Mando'ade but failing at first and can only look at Faelan's buy'ce as though she'd never seen it before in her life.  She managed to pull his buy'ce off, the task rather simple since his head was lowered while he was rocking her and it was while she was looking up at his face that a dawn of recognition brightened within her soft, brown-green eyes.  Telarial leaned against Faelan's chest, only partially aware that he was holding her much in the same way a father would his child.  Staring intently into his ice blue eyes, she whispered coarsely.*

"Y-you... came for me."

*With a gentle, tender touch, she reached a slender hand up, and wiped away his tears. Her breathing was labored but she was determined to speak her mind.*

"Y-you-you'll never lose me. I promise..."

*A strangled sob escaped her as tears began to flow down her face. She looked at him with an agonized, guilty look, but not from her physical wounds. It was a pain deep within her soul. Telarial mumbled loud enough for Faelan to hear.*

"I'm s-so sorry...I f-failed you.."

*She felt the dark tendrils of unconsciousness slowly reaching out to claim her and felt truly terrible for the scare she gave Faelan.  She felt like a dismal failure.  Why had she been so selfish?  All she wanted was a family...but she never did ask Faelan what happened to his.  They died and now she nearly had as well right after her new buir adopted her!  What she said next implicated the sorrow she was feeling.*

"Didn't mean to...to scare you."

*She closed her eyes and drifted into unconsciousness but not before uttering words she never believed she would have the honor of saying again.*

"Ni kar'tayli gar darasuum...buir."**

(**I love you... father)

*The paramedics that set up the temporary triage room began immediate emergency medical care. They set to work stabilizing Telarial. They had to remove her jumpsuit, her beskar'gam having been packed away in Telarial's flight bag during her confrontation with Montreal, leaving her in her undergarments. One of the technicians approached Faelan with Telarial's flight bag and reached out to hand her belongings to him.*

"Are you the girl's father? If so, please sign this data-pad on the marked line, verifying that you have received her personal effects."

*While the technician was speaking with Faelan, the other paramedics finished dressing the blaster wound in her shoulder that had been re-opened. They wrapped her head in soft medical gauze after cleaning the abrasion and then poked and prodded her rib-cage. Fortunately Telarial was unconscious during their ministrations or she would have surely been in immeasurable pain.  One of the paramedics set about hooking Telarial up with an IV line and vital monitoring equipment. After about ten minutes, the lead paramedic approached Faelan and frowned.*

"Your ad has sustained many wounds, some of which are serious enough to warrant treatment in a medical center. The knife embedded in her thigh is dangerously close to her femoral artery and will need to be operated on before a bacta submersion. She has a severe concussion and is suffering from three broken ribs and a fractured wrist.  The blaster wound, which I'm assuming she sustained before her arrival here, has become infected.  There may also be internal trauma but we are unable to treat her here. Despite her condition...she is very lucky. You saved her life. That makes you a hero in her eyes..."

*The paramedic gave Faelan a smile as he signed off on a clipboard before turning to assist the others in loading Telarial into the back of an ambulance."

*Raine watched Faelan run off into the crowd. She could feel a range of emotions running through the force. As much as she hated it, she let herself sink into the force to find Faelan and Telarial. At once she felt a wave of rage and painful. The feeling was almost overwhelming, like a punch in the gut. Letting out a hiss, she darted for the source of the pain. As she closed in, she saw a large crowd standing around Faelan and a very injured Telarial laying on a stretcher. She then noticed the injured officer.*

*She wasn't entirely sure what happened. Did the officer attack her? Did she attack him? Her attention then turned to Faelan when he spoke to her. She gave a sheepish grin at his comment.* "I guess I have a title to defend." *It was then that she noticed his injuries. "What happened?"

Remembering that Raine often seems uncomfortable with physical contact, Faelan stops himself from giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze or some other sign of comfort as he forces a smile and quips, "Yes, you wouldn't want me to wrest that title from you, would you?  The muscles of his jaw tightening after Raine asks what happened to Telarial, all traces of levity bleed from Faelan's tone and expression as he answers, I'm not sure what the reason was, Faelan admits, but the officer that insisted Telarial be questioned abducted her and . . . Faelan's fists clench at his sides, anger causing his voice to become a growl briefly as he continues, attacked her.  Who knows what he would have done if . . . Shaking his head, unable to complete the thought or dwell too long on what may have happened had he not found Telarial in time to intercede, Faelan nods towards the ambulance Telarial is being loaded onto, saying, Come on, we'll ride to the medcenter with her."

Holding the back door of the ambulance for Raine to climb aboard, Faelan steps up after she is inside.  As the ambulance sets out, Faelan clenches his teeth to keep himself from disturbing the paramedics with his concerned questions as they work on Telarial, patting the bench beside him after sitting down to have Raine sit as well.  Watching the paramedics closely to try and gauge from their expressions or what they say to one another while working, Faelan asks Raine in a worried tone that does not hide the need for reassurance he feels anywhere near as he would like, "It doesn't look so bad, does it?  She'll be alright, won't she?  She's strong, she'll be alright," he finishes in a more firm tone, clearly seeking to reassure himself as much as Raine.  

A'den listened to the salesman's pitch. He did not know what NCO could or would spend, as, for as far as A'den was concerned, NCO was in charge of teh financing. A'den had figured out he could switch to a private comm, where only NCO could hear him...

What do you think, buir?

Faelan can scarcely believe it when Raine leans up against him, even hugging him, and he gives her a grateful smile that proves to be short-lived as not long after it has surfaced one of the paramedics shouts that one of Telarial's lungs has collapsed.

Used to being in charge, to making decisions and taking action, staying on the bench rather than going to Telarial is one of the hardest things Faelan has ever done; though he is no medic and knows only rudimentary triage skills, he feels utterly helpless in the current situation. Trying to take heart in what Raine had said, Faelan says somewhat mechanically and yet with the faintest note of cautious optimism in his voice, "You're right. She'll pull through. Of course she will."

Having relaxed only slightly after the crisis appears to have passes, Faelan wrings his hands together in a worried silence for the remainder of the medcenter. Offering a hand to help Raine from the back of the ambulance after they arrive, Faelan tries to think of something reassuring to say, his mouth even opening, but it closes almost immediately as he finds that nothing has come to mind that feels appropriate. Offering Raine a strained smile in lieu of words, Faelan motions for her to follow as he quickens his pace to walk beside the hoverstretcher Telarial is being transported on.

"I'm here ad'ika," Faelan tells Telarial as he walks beside her stretcher, reaching down to hold her hand for as long as he can. Staring blankly at the doors that close behind the paramedics and stretcher after being told they can accompany her no further, Faelan struggles to resist the urge to disobey and burst through the doors to follow them anyway. When he has quelled the impulse, Faelan gives Raine's shoulder a reassuring squeeze with a worried twitch of his lips meant to approximate a smile, and then looks around for the waiting room with a perplexed expression, as though unsure of what he is looking for.

Dropping heavily into a chair to begin what is likely to feel like an eternity of waiting, Faelan rests his face in his hands for a moment before taking a deep breath and asking Raine, "Are you hungry? Unable to sit still, Faelan stands, speaking more rapidly than usual, There must be a cafeteria or vending machines somewhere. You should eat something, drink something. We'll find something, come on. Just not too far. Something nearby. In case someone comes with news."

Whenever the waiting gets to him, feels as though it is going on so long that something must have gone terribly wrong, Faelan thinks back to the moment that he felt Telarial'ser hand tighten on his; it must, he tells himself again and again, have been a sign of some kind that all would be well. When at last Dr. Hildon finds him and Raine to update them, Faelan watches the man's face as intently as he heeds each and every word that is said, looking for some subtle hint in tone or expression that will reveal exactly what he believes Telarial's chances to make a full recovery are, and how grievous or dire her condition truly is.

Nodding a few times after the doctor has finished speaking, continuing to look at him as though expecting something more to be said, Faelan clears his throat and starts to shake his head, "No, than . . . multiple questions suddenly springing to mind, Faelan lifts a hand as though to ask the doctor to stay, stammering as he rushes to keep up with his thoughts, I mean, yes, yes I do. Questions. And, and thank you. Pausing to try and collect his thoughts, lifting a hand to massage his right temple, Faelan asks almost as though afraid of the answer, Will there be any perman. . . will she make a full recovery? I know, know you can't say for sure, but . . . what . . . what are the chances she will recover fully? Will there be . . . do you think there will be any complications? Shaking his head, remembering that he has been given the chance to see Telarial, Faelan adds quickly, And, yes, I wo . . . we, he reaches over to clasp Raine's shoulder as much to give support as for support himself, we would like to see her now as well, yes."

Faelan does all he can to appear calm and unemotional as he listens to the doctor, though some vestige of his worry is almost certainly evident in his eyes as, dispassionately as he tries to listen, certain words echo within his head louder than others; trauma, severe, swelling, and suffer each nearly causing him to flinch as they are voiced aloud as though his deepest fears have been heard by some cruel god seeking the most painful way to torture him for having dared to open himself up to loss such as that he barely survived when his sons were killed in battle or his beloved wife took her own out of the despair their deaths visited upon her.

Unable to speak, Falean can only nod when the doctor bids him and Raine to follow to where they will be able to see Telarial. His steps unsteady at first, as though the sight of Telarial has struck him like a physical blow, Faelan visibly collects himself as he traverses the room, reminding himself that he will be of no use to Telarial or anyone if he permits worries and fear to unman him. By the time he reaches the tank, lifting a hand to rest against the glass dividing him from his daughter, Faelan's expression and deportment have regained much of the steel most often seen in them, and his voice is firm and sure as he tells Telarial quietly even though he knows she cannot hear him, "You will make it through this ad'ika. I know you can, and will."