Chapter Text
It had been four hours since he found her.
Four hours that she'd been free from the consequences of being on the wrong side of Blaine county at the wrong time. She knew that because the moving hands of the clock on the wall seemed to be all she could focus on while she tried and failed to process the atrocities she'd been subjected to over the past few days. Rain pummeled the roof of the shabby trailer while she sat on the couch, her bare knees to her chest, pressing against the bloody t-shirt he'd dressed her in when he found her. Blood that was neither hers nor his..
The memory replayed itself in her mind at a fevered pace, the echo of gunshots ringing in her ears while he paced in the kitchen with heavy footsteps, tracking old blood and god knows what else across the linoleum while yelling expletives to whoever was on the receiving end of his latest phone call.
"I'm not fucking kidding, if he's not here in the next five fuckin' minutes I'm gonna rip his god-damned throat out with my fucking teeth!"
That had her attention and she looked over to see him now dressed in a white t-shirt and blue jeans. He pressed a button on his phone and when he met her gaze, his irritated expression softened under her fearful stare.
"A doctor is on the way, he's gonna patch you up," he said in a calm voice as he crossed the room and sat on the couch, taking the cushion farthest from her.
"No hospital?" she asked hesitantly, her voice hoarse from the screaming she'd done.
"Fuck no," he said with a snap, tossing his phone onto the coffee table so hard it made her jump, "the last thing you fuckin' need is a bunch of assholes asking you a million questions."
She nodded, hugging her knees to her chest just a little bit tighter. It didn't really matter where she went at this point; she was out of there, her captors were dead, and so far he'd made no move to hurt her like they had.
But it just seemed too easy for it to be over, and in the back of her mind she wondered when the punchline would come. Perhaps she was dreaming and she hadn't been rescued. After all, why would a stranger care what happened to her? She wasn't anything special, she reminded herself and the thought that at any moment she might wake up on that dirty mattress had her trembling all over again-
"Are you hungry?" he asked, interrupting her train of thought and she turned to look at him, noting the look of concern on his face, and shook her head. "Alright then," he said, "you got a name toots?"
She nodded, swallowing the thick lump in her throat before she spoke, "Kathryn," she said, and he snorted a laugh that only served to confuse her.
"You don't look like a Kat to me," he said, sounding amused for some reason and she shrugged, her gaze wandering back to the clock on the wall. Though the light outside the window was just as dark as it had been when she last checked, the hands had moved, indicating the slow passing of minutes and reinforcing the fleeting hope that this was real, that she really was safe.
"What's yours?" she asked after a moment and looked over in time to catch the growing smile on his face.
"Trevor Phillips, at your service," he said, thrusting his hand out so quickly that she flinched from his sudden movement. Realizing his mistake, he retracted his hand and ran his fingers through his receding hair while muttering under his breath.
One of her hands found its way to her own hair and she cringed when she felt the clumps of blood and sweat that matted her normally soft brown tresses. She felt like she'd been hit by a truck, and god only knew what she looked like.
She felt the couch dip and looked over to see Trevor had leaned back, remote in hand as the tv flickered to life. He shifted through the channel guide for a moment before picking a movie that looked to be about halfway through. They sat in silence as the minutes ticked by until he let out an exasperated sigh and leaned forward to swipe his phone off the coffee table.
"I swear to god if he isn't-" His words were cut off by an almost frantic pounding against the trailer door that had her nearly jumping out of her skin. "Lucky bastard," he griped, getting to his feet and stalking toward the door. He pulled it roughly, the handle collided with the wall in a sharp sound that echoed in the mostly empty trailer and her eyes widened at the sight of the stoutly man, dressed in black and wearing a surly expression that he directed toward Trevor.
"There you are!" Trevor exclaimed, "You know I was just talking about you." His words were far too friendly for the aggressive action that followed. He grabbed the front of the man's jacket and pulled him inside so quickly that he nearly tripped on the threshold as he was forced to enter the trailer.
Trevor didn't seem to mind the man's now ruffled appearance, nor his thoroughly soured expression. Instead, he clapped a hand on the man's shoulder in what she could only assume was a mockery of a friendly gesture.
"I'm assuming this is the patient?" the man asked when he noticed her sitting on the couch.
"Right you are," Trevor said, "and I'm assuming Lester told you-"
The man held up a hand to stop him, "I got the message."
Trevor smiled, "Great! Get to work doc, I'll be back in a bit," he said, taking a step toward the still open door and fear shot down her spine when she realized he intended to leave her alone with this man.
"You're leaving?" she asked, and he must have caught the fear in her voice because he paused where he stood, his gaze roaming her face for a second before he smiled.
"I got something to take care of. You sit tight, kitten. He's gonna take good care of you, right?"
The latter part was directed at the man who had already placed his bag on the coffee table and nodded as he began retrieving various creams and gauze and what looked like materials for stitching. She realized that her scruffy-looking savior was leaving with or without her consent and took a deep breath to steady herself.
"Okay," she said with a nod and he smiled.
"Good girl."
With that, he was gone, the door slamming behind him as he went and she focused her attention on the doctor in front of her. He introduced himself with a name she immediately forgot and with her permission, started with an examination.