Who: Roman & Daniela; Meg What: Trying to help during the hurricane When: July 19th - during the storm Where: Wherever they’re needed Rating: Mid - blood Status: Complete
You have to save yourself before you can save someone else.
There was far too much wind and rain to be heard clearly.
They were insane for staying behind under such conditions, even crazier still for being out in the storm trying to combat it in some odd effort to save as many lives as possible. He was no hero, nor did he possess any abilities that would be any sort of useful in such a circumstance but he refused to leave Daniela behind and let her fall prey to the onslaught of turbulent, unpredictable weather.
Helicopters earlier had come to whisk away those of any importance to the island and its survival after the fact. Roman had been guaranteed a spot; had nearly convinced Daniela to flee with him until they both noticed a few of the residents who refused to back down and who thought they could lessen the impact of the storm. He cursed inwardly at those crazed individuals considering the fact that once Dani saw them she was unwilling to listen to reason anymore.
And that was how both of them had ended out in the full force storm trying to help an island full of people and a scattered few brace for impact.
Rain pelted Roman from all angles; even in the yellow rain slicker he was still soaked the bone. The soles of his shoes (thankfully not his best ones) were drenched and squelching beneath the skin of his feet as he moved.
He couldn’t hear himself shouting at Dani to take cover over the piercing wind and any opportunity he could get to duck behind something he took. If only just to catch his breath and try to convince himself he wasn’t utterly mad for being out in the weather.
They really were insane, weren’t they? The thought crossed her mind as she stood in the eye of the storm facing down the full force of mother nature. This was absolutely crazy; it was dangerous yet she had no plans to retreat to shelter. Not until she could no longer put up a fight against the rain, winds, and waves that threatened to destroy her home.
Trees sprung up from the ground, twisting and bending as they grew from simple seedlings into monstrous beasts. Thick trunks and deep roots kept the plants steadfast despite the intense winds as their large branches weaved together, connecting the trees and forming a barrier against the storm. It wasn’t the sturdiest of barriers, not compared to others that had been created, but it would have to do.
Dani looked over to Roman to make sure he was still okay. She could see he was trying to say something to her but she couldn’t make out any words over the high winds. He shouldn’t have been out in this storm. He should have evacuated with other government personnel, or at least found shelter in one of the buildings, but he refused to leave her side despite her attempts to convince him otherwise. The wonderful, stubborn man.
Dodging some flying debris, she made her way to Roman and ducked beside him, giving herself a moment of recoup some of her energy. Using her abilities was draining, even more so when she was fighting winds, rain, and wayward debris. “How are you doing?” She yelled over the wind.
Every tree that went up was a blessing. Behind Dani, Meg was securing the barrier with earth - heavy stones taken from the debris, anything to solidify more the effort her friend had taken and risked her life for. Exhaustion would come, that was inevitable, but for now the focus was saving the island regardless of cost.
Roman ran a hand through his damp hair. It had long since lost its style and instead curled a bit though it was plastered against his skin and his head.
As Dani came back to settle beside him it took everything in him not to just scoop her up and flee. Instead he made himself calm - was that for his sake or for hers? - and shrugged a shoulder at her barely catching the words over the howl of the wind.
“Wet!” He exclaimed, making a face, “but otherwise fine. You?”
Dani couldn’t help a small smile. Wet indeed. “Same!” She returned, pushing back strands her damp and tangled hair from her face. Thankfully she had been smart enough to pull her hair back into a ponytail so that the wind wouldn’t whip the dark locks around into her face. The wind and rain were bad enough; she didn’t need to fight with her hair as well.
She glanced at Meg standing a short distance away from them, watching as she used her earth abilities to fortify the wall of trees she had created. The added stones helped to strengthen the barrier. Dani was thankful to have Meg working alongside her. Honestly, she wasn’t sure just how effective her barriers would have been alone considering how easily trees could get overturned. The heavy stones placed around the trunks would make that more difficult.
Her attention returned to Roman. “You can still find shelter!” She exclaimed, trying once again to convince her boyfriend to find cover from the storm. “I will be okay!”
There was no escaping the wet; rain pelted everything and that which was by some miracle able to escape the moisture was pelted with debris and wind. Branches dancing in the wind skittered across the skin of his arm enough to leave marks but Roman didn’t notice, too caught up in Dani and the storm.
As Dani’s gaze went to the woman with pink hair his own followed and he observed with a bit of awe at the sight. While he wasn’t keen on powers himself he did have to admit that once in a while they were quite interesting. That woman would be helpful in the rebuild if she could find the strength to do anything after the hurricane let up.
Roman’s gaze found Dani’s again. He barely heard her words over the howl of the wind, and shook his head accordingly. “Not leaving you out here!” The refusal to go was stupid, he was aware of that, but if something were to happen to Dani he would never forgive himself. For all of his selfishness and hang ups, he’d worked too long and invested far too much of his time and effort to win her over to just let this fall apart to a storm.
Dani shook her head in resignation, a small smile creeping to her lips despite his blatant refusal to take her advice. Even after however long they had been in the storm fighting off wind and rain - Minutes? Hours? She couldn’t say for sure - he was still determined to stay with her. It was admirable. “You’re crazy!” The love in her words might not have been easily heard over the winds but it was evident in her expression. She cupped his face with her hands and pressed her lips against his, a quick but passionate kiss. Her hands fell from his face and she grabbed his hand. “We need to move!” With the barrier made and short break had there was little reason to stick around.
She tugged on his arm, urging him to stand up with her and make the trek to their companion. “Meg!” She called out to her friend when she got close enough to be heard at least somewhat. “We should move on!”
Catching the exclamation uttered Roman couldn’t help but smirk. He was a freaking idiot, but he knew it as well as she did, and the only thing he was crazy for was being in love with a woman who was better than he was in all ways. But nobody had to know that. “I know!” He shouted in reply over the noise of the wind and the rain. The kiss between them offered a measure of warmth. Strong arms would wind around her like a tree might reach for the breeze but she was gone before it could dive too deep.
Hand in Dani’s, Roman lifted his gaze up and out at the rest of the storm. Cautiously he followed the petite woman to where another stood.
Meg was exhausted. The weariness was etched into the pale skin of her face but her eyes blazed on with determination. Hands would be balled into fists for a moment, before her arms would raise and her fingers splay, sending rubble up against the trees and up from the ground to brace anything nearby for impact. Bright pink hair was twisted haphazardly, windblown and plastered against her face.
Nearby a lost doll lay weathered in the mud, caught beneath a rock and a vine from a tree.
Sand granules orbited Meg’s wrists, fingers, palm and she wielded it as if she couldn’t feel the ache in her bones, the burning in her lungs, and when she noticed movement out of the corner of her eyes that dark, burning gaze turned to observe those who had approached.
“You go,” she shouted over the wind. “Check on others!” There was no way she was leaving, not yet.
“I won’t leave you!” She could see Meg was exhausted, running on pure adrenaline and determination. Hell, she was exhausted herself, but she hadn’t used her abilities nearly as much as her friend. She was limited to the vegetation around her; if there were no plants or seeds to manipulate then she couldn’t really do much. Meg, however, literally had the whole world she could shape and command. “We’re a team!” A team that was working. Unfortunately, Dani had exhausted her resources there.
“But I can’t do anymore here!” She continued, trying to explain her situation in as few words as possible. She hated how limited she was. “We can do more somewhere else! Please. I need you!” Otherwise she would just cause unnecessary damage; she needed the support of the earth to keep her plants steady.
Weary, Meg listened as best as she could over the rain and the wind. Overhead a chair careened toward her, landing in a heap an inch away from her right foot. Her reaction was instinct, protect Dani - an arm would shoot out and the chair was instantly consumed by the Earth. Meg offered the pile a look of disgust and then turned to her friend, nodding. She would go. There wasn’t much more she could do, either, really. Not until the water calmed or abated. Most of what she put up would eventually weather away, erode, or turn to mud.
Her eyes drifted reluctantly to Roman but any regard was short lived and Meg was refocusing on the task at hand.
“I’ll follow you!” She shouted.
She’d follow her. That was good. The only problem was that Dani wasn’t exactly sure where to go. Seeds and plants were scattered all over the island but sturdy vegetation that could be used for barriers were limited the closer they got to the residential and commercial areas - the exact areas they were trying to protect. She would need to get creative if she planned to be of any use.
Closing her eyes, Dani attempted to focus on the earth around her, searching for vegetation unseen by the human eye. Flowers, trees, bushes - there. Her eyes sprung open. A garden. Thank god for beautification projects.
With the destination decided, she waved for Meg to follow her. A large cluster of connecting shingles that had been ripped off a roof came careening toward them on a path headed right between the couple, forcing Dani to release Roman’s hand and push him away. She let out a pain yelp followed by a sharp hiss when the edge of the debris made impact against her. Her gaze immediately moved to the wound, a long gash along her bicep that was already starting to bleed.
“Fuck,” she muttered through clenched teeth.
Roman tottered backward nearly tumbling into the mud beneath their feet. Rain slicked earth was unforgiving, desperate tendrils of clotted dirt wrapped around his shoes needing to succeed in aiding his descent. Fortune favored him, though, and with a bit of pinwheeling he was able to stay upright.
Meg’s brow furrowed in concern. Eyes had closed nearly entirely shut in a wince as the shingles slashed through the air.
Before either of them had time to react Daniela was bleeding.
Finally Roman managed to reach out, to once more claim Dani’s hand, “You have to get inside! We have to take care of that!” He shouted over the torrent of sounds. Meg shook her head, a hand lifting to shove Roman aside, “Let her go. She will do what she wants.” There was that fiery spirit that the rain had not yet quashed.
Eyes narrowing, Roman glared at Meg who only lifted her chin and straightened her shoulders as if she dared him to try something.
“We can’t stand here!” Meg shouted, shaking her head at the both of them. And with a turn of her heel she was heading around them, letting Dani tend to what she needed to knowing she would make whatever decision was best.
“C’mon, Dani, lets go inside.”
Her eyes closed and her hand pressed against her wound in an attempt to will away the pain. The touch of Roman’s hand prompted Dani to open her eyes. The concern on his face was evident. She went to say something - what it would’ve been she didn’t know - but was silenced by Meg pushing him aside and declaring she could do what she wanted.
“Don’t!” Dani yelled at them as they traded glares, giving them one of her own. They were right in the middle of a storm and she was dealing with a bleeding wound; this was not the time for those two to start arguing. “Just… just let me think!”
What she wanted… she didn’t know what she wanted. Logically, she should do what Roman suggested and get her wound tended to but that meant she’d have to give up helping cull the damage. She didn’t want to do that, not until she knew she had done everything she could but…
And then suddenly Meg was walking away. “Meg!” She called out but she was either not heard or ignored. What was she going to do? Was she going to follow Meg or Roman? Dani looked to Roman, her gaze desperate and filled with tears. Was it from the pain of her wound or the internal conflict raging inside her? God, she was so tired. “I can’t leave her, Roman.”
“Dani,” he cooed, trying his best to keep his voice free of panic and worry, “Once we get you situated you can come back out and keep going! I just want to make sure you’re safe and don’t get an infection.” That would be an awful death. He couldn’t imagine her getting staph, but it could happen. Those shingles probably hadn’t been changed in years.
“I’ll come with you, there and back here,” he promised. Roman was smart enough to know you could take the girl out of the fight but not the fight out of the girl. She won this round and didn’t even know it.
And he had something on the horizon for the pink haired one.
Grinning like a winner, Roman beckoned Dani to follow.
Dani looked toward the direction Meg had gone then back to Roman. She didn’t want to leave her friend behind, not after she had just begged Meg to leave their previous location with her, but he was right. There was a very real possibility that her wound could get far worse if left untreated. But still, to just leave…
“Okay.” Dani was already feeling the guilt from her decision. But what could she do? She couldn’t risk getting worse and Roman did bring up a good point - she could always go back out to continue what she had started once she was fixed up. She grasped his hand, wincing slightly from the pain flexing the muscles in her wounded arm caused. “I’ll go with you.”
The victory was small but he took it anyway. Gently his fingers wound around hers and he guided her as quickly as possible out of the way of the storm and into the nearest shelter. Moving with light feet they slipped into the Facility (nearly losing one of the doors to the wind) and Roman took a chance to peer at those trapped and settled for the duration.
“They should have the medical wing operational,” he murmured, palm falling to rest at the soaked curve of Dani’s back.
As he and she stood a puddle of rain and dirt pooled at their feet.
“This way,” he whispered, winding around individuals of all types hunkered down, as he lead Daniela toward the medical facility.
Dani nodded, acknowledging Roman’s whispers though her attention was drawn to the mass of people that had taken refuge in the building. She scanned the area, eyes catching the gaze of a few individuals that looked at the two new arrivals curiously. What a sight they must have been. Dirty, drenched to the bone, and then her injury… it was hidden by the raincoat and her hand but the blood that had been diluted by the rain falling in little droplets from her fingers made those close enough to notice aware something was amiss.
She mumbled apologies as she followed Roman through the crowd of people, knowing that the rain soaked individuals suddenly invading their area wouldn’t be much appreciated. There were some dirty looks and the occasional irritated quip but that was about it. No one felt like making a fuss beyond that. That took too much energy.
“How much further?” The adrenaline that had kept her moving despite to fatigue while outside was wearing off. Her legs felt heavy, her body aching, and the pain from her wound was finally hitting her with its full force.
“Not much,” Roman confirmed. Sure enough as they rounded another corner there was a station designed to assist with ailments. It wasn’t as large as the hospital but it would do for the circumstances. “There. Now let’s get you fixed up and back out into the storm.”
He could see she was weary. The power would be out soon. “Or perhaps we could retire to a safe place to wait out the storm. It couldn’t possibly last much longer.”
Carefully he let Dani step up to the person managing the small health station for assessment.
No,” came her quick reply though there was little force behind it. There was still a fire in her eyes - a desire to do all she could to help her home - but it was growing dimmer by the minute. “We have to go back.” The medic helped Dani shrug off her raincoat to see the extent of damage to her arm. It was a grisly sight. The large gash covered the width of her upper left arm and was still bleeding quite profusely. His brow furrowed though it seemed less from concern and more from irritation. He obviously was not thrilled to have to deal with this.
"You'd be stupid to do that,” the man told her bluntly as he retrieved some basic supplies that were readily available - a towel, disinfectant, wipes, etc. Dani's eyes widened then narrowed, both surprised and annoyed by his statement. “I can,” Dani began then stopped, letting in sharp breath of air from the added pain the man’s handling of her arm was causing. He was unmoved.
"You could," he responded, tone a bit flat. "If you want to lose an arm. Not exactly the kind of weather to be frockling in especially when you have a wound like this." He looked at Roman, deciding he wanted to talk to the more logical of the two. "Going to need stitches," he informed him as he finished wrapping up Dani's arm with a bandage. "Have to get the needed supplies. I'll be back." Without another word he was headed down the hallway.
Dani watched him for a moment before turning her attention to Roman. "I can't believe," she started, irritation present, but stopped and shook her head. She didn't have enough energy to spare getting angry about the doctor's words. He wasn't wrong though. She was in no shape to go anywhere; she was shivering and drained and in horrid pain but she couldn’t give up now. Not as long as Meg and the others were still combating the storm.
“I need to go. I-I haven’t done enough yet.”
Roman was not the sort who often accepted a negative for an answer unless the context of the situation called for it. Often he heard it in court but even then he challenged and argued, persuaded until those people saw things his way. This was not one of those situations where any answer except the one that he was after would do. But patience was the key to victory here, playing to her sympathies.
A harsh look was offered to the medic - it was not his place to tell Dani what she could and could not do, but advice like that shouldn’t be taken unwisely, either. With his jaw set, and patience more than tested, Roman looked over at his girlfriend offering feigned order amidst the chaos.
As the medic wandered off to get supplies Roman sighed, leaning down to be more at Daniela’s level. “Darling, you look like a mess. Are you going to let yourself wither away out there? You’re bleeding, you need stitches, you’re cold and soaked. We both are. We were out there together doing all that we could. How can you help anyone when you can barely stand? You need energy, rest, and not to get ill.”
The words were offered in a calming tone, soothing. “Let this imbecile get you patched up and let's see how you feel after that, alright? Just because you’re in here doesn’t mean you can’t still help.”
All around them sat islanders in various stages of emotions; some had children, others were on their own. They needed just as much help and support on the inside as the island itself did on the outside.
Her gaze dropped to the floor, suddenly finding herself unable to look him in the eye. Roman was right, of course he was. He was thinking practically while she was letting herself be guided solely by her emotional impulses. She was so desperate to be of help, to protect others, that she was all but ignoring herself. If she had been thinking with her head, letting common sense steer her, perhaps it never would have gotten to this point.
"You're right," she conceded in a soft voice. It was just as he said, she could barely stand; there was little she could do beyond the walls of the facility now. She touched his cheek with her uninjured hand, coaxing his head closer towards her so she could rest her forehead against his. Roman… she had put him through so much turmoil; she was so determined to help others she ignored the well-being of the man she loved the most. She felt horrible. "I'm sorry. I made you worry."
The corners of his lips twisted up into a grin in victory as her eyes fell. It was the small things that added up and he took what he could get in stride.
Roman held steadfast to Dani in effort to keep her on her feet though he felt weary as well. As their gazes met he leaned into her touch, leaning forward to press their foreheads together. Roman lifted his chin, pressing his lips tenderly to her brow. “You don’t have to apologize, dear.”
Finally he stepped back enough to allow the medic to tend to Dani’s wound. Once that was done Roman began to guide her away. “Do you want to check on the other residents or are you willing to rest for a while?”
The medic wasn't particularly gentle, moving her arm around to make his job easier without any consideration to her comfort. This caused her a decent amount of added pain until he applied the numbing agent around her wound. At least he was courteous enough to do that before digging into her skin with the needle. With her wound stitched and new bandage applied, she was given a pain med and sent on her way.
Dani took but a moment to consider Roman's question before giving an answer. "Let's rest." She did want to check on the residents eventually but they were barely holding each other up. She offered him a tired smile. "Thank you. For being crazy enough to stay with me."
An ordeal such as this one required delicacy and Roman nearly punched the medic twice, barley refraining for the sake of not wanting to expel and waste the last of his energy on that idiot. That, and he didn’t want Dani to think he was trying to harm another person on purpose. He would get this other man later, when he was back at full strength.
When it was finished and Dani was patched, Roman nodded at her. “Wise idea. Save your strength and we can come back out later.” He doubted they would, and he further doubted he would, but he wouldn’t rule the option out if only to give her a bit of false hope. Which was better than no hope.
Laughing softly, Roman coughed, wheezed, and then smiled. “Nobody else is willing to be that crazy,” he teased. With gentleness he began to lead Daniela back toward where his quarters would be. If that icky sound in his lungs was any indication of what was to come he knew the value in wanting to lay down and stay down.
His coughing and wheezing drew a concerned look from her. It sounded like he was coming down with something, not surprising considering he had been out in the storm for ages following her around. Her guilt grew. Roman had grown ill because of her actions. She determined right then that she would help get him back on the mend, her own poor physical state be damned. It was the least she could do.
“That doesn’t sound good,” she noted as they made their way through the halls towards his quarters. Dani touched a hand to his forehead, trying to judge if he possibly had a fever. He didn’t seem overly warm but it was hard to tell. “I’ll make us tea when we get to your place. That should help.”
“I’m fine,” he assured her, followed unceremoniously by another rattle of coughs and congestion. He waved her away gently, moving along with her as if she were the priority and not him. Never him.
“That sounds good.” Rest sounded good. She sounded good.
Keys would appear, beaded moisture on the metal from a wet pocket but he got the door open regardless. And then they were in.
His apartment was chic modern, much the same way his office looked - wood floors, posh furniture, expensive linens. There would be no sitting on the couch in such a state because it would be ruined.
Dani knew the apartment well, or at least enough to know where the essentials were located such as the linens for the bathroom and tea in the kitchen, both of which would need to be retrieved. She walked with Roman to his bedroom. “Let’s get out of these clothes and dry off,” she suggested, inching towards the master bathroom. “I’ll get towels.” Hurrying in, she grabbed a couple towels from the linen closet within and handed one to Roman before starting to strip. “We can just throw them in the tub for now.” They were both far too tired to think about doing anything other than drinking tea to warm up and resting - at least she was.
Once they were both free from their soaked clothing, she discarded them into the tub. They had to move them later when they finally had enough energy to wash away all the grime that had accumulated on their bodies but that wasn’t important now. With no clothing of her own to change into, she borrowed one of Roman’s shirts. Changing and unchanging caused her arm to throb; she dealt with it though. Better to be warm and dry than to be cold and wet because she didn’t want to deal with a bit of pain.
“You should lay down,” she encouraged Roman, brushing back a little stray curl of hair from his face. “I’ll go make the tea.”
There was little he could do in that stage. His legs felt heavy. His whole body felt heavy. Each step taken was work. He felt exhausted, cold, hot — he didn’t know how to describe it. As they entered the apartment he was already sliding out of his shoes, shirt.
Roman was not the type to dwell on modesty. Out of the rest of his soaked attire he felt chilled by the air. A fist held what remained of the wet ball of fabric. He handed them over to Dani and took the towel, drying off his skin. His hair was matted to his head but for once that was the least of his concerns.
At her prompting, and after pulling on some basketball shorts for decency, Roman went to lay down. He felt onto the expensive mattress and sheets like a boulder in a landslide. Bleary-eyed, he watched the outline of her.
Eventually she brought back the tea. Using the last of his strength Roman consumed what he could. When he could take no more he wound an arm around Daniela and drifted off to sleep.