In the Grasp Of the Enemy W/Icystorm

"Yeah..it'll be fine..." Eddie reassured Seth, though she actually wasn't sure how her dad and brothers would react to Seth. She chewed on her lip nervously as the aircraft came to a full stop. After all the after flight predcures were done they finally lowered the back and started to let people off. Their were people waiting to take each new patient to their ward, but first families were there.

Eddie watched as the airman undid the ties that kept her wheelchair down and then unlocked it. She slowly started to roll it down the ramp, trying to keep in control as she did so. At the bottom she strained to look around. Everyone was rushing around her and from a wheelchair she couldn't see much.

"Do you see them?" she asked Seth. It was a dumb question...he didn't know what they looked like! Though a large group of man and boys that kinda looked like her would be hard to miss right?
 
Seth stuck close to Eddie, ready to help her with the wheelchair if it was needed. He had to give her credit, if he were stuck in the wheelchair he would have become an extremely depressed and hard to work wi.. Pausing in the middle of his thoughts, he laughed inwardly. That was all wrong. He would not become that, because he had become that. The only time he felt complete and somewhat happy was when he was around Eddie doing the job he had given himself: protecting her.

Looking around, he tried to find a large group of males. It made it easier since she had a large family and was the only girl, and after a minute of looking he spotted a group that looked like it might be then. "I think I might see them." Ignoring the new wave of fear that coursed through him, he moved behind the wheelchair and began to push it in the direction, hoping Eddie didn't mind.

"Is that them?" He stopped and pointed to a group of men and boys that were now fairly close. There was no sign of his own family, but that was fine with him. He would be fine if he they did not show up. It was unlikely they wouldn't but he still sort of hoped for them not to.
 
Eddie leaned trying to see around the families milling around,

"Yeah that's them!" she answered eagerly. She allowed Seth to push herself towards them feeling nervous as the approached. Her father saw her and started to hurry over with her brothers rushing over too and their wives...everyone was here! The boys and few women circled around suddenly hugging her and crying and all of them saying stuff at the same time.

Eddie hugged back though she looked very shocked. It was happy, but also very overwhelming for her. Finally they all backed up and her dad grabbed her hands,

"Eddie, baby girl." he said smiling at her,

"Is this Seth?" he asked her nodding towards Seth,

"Yeah...yeah that's him." Eddie responded sounding a bit shocked.
 
It was all too overwhelming for Seth. Even though they people were crowding around Eddie and not himself, that did not make it any better, it was just as bad. He worried for her. Worried that this would all be too much for her and worried that someone might try to hurt her, which was not very likely since they were her family. It still didn't stop the thought from crossing his mind, though.

He looked down at the ground at that proved to help a little bit, stopped his urge to flee to a less crowded place. He blocked out all the voices around him since it sounded like nothing but madness. Once the voices died down he allowed himself to listen to what was being said, and it was not long until he heard his name.

Lifting his head, Seth's somewhat fearful blue eyes settled on who he assumed was Eddie's father. "Hi, sir." He barely managed a small smile as he lifted his hand and held it out to be shook.
 
"Nice to meet you." Eddie's father said slightly coldly, but he shook the boy's hand, "Thank you for helping my daughter." he added. He was obviously slightly suspicious of Seth. He didn't quite trust him even with what Eddie had said he still saw Seth like he would any teenage boy Eddie might have brought home.

"Are you going with Eddie to Bethesda or you got somewhere to call home?" the father asked looking Seth up and down. The boy didn't look seriously injured or in need of rehab like Eddie, but there could be unseen injuries.

Eddie hugged all her brothers and Luka climbed up to sit on her lap while her dad spoke to Seth. Eddie could sense the tension,

"Daddy got a Fisher House so we can see you while you're doing therapy and stuff. THe base is huge maybe we can explore too!" the excited child said. Eddie smiled she knew she didn't really have the energy for exploring now, but she'd gain it. She looked at her father though trying to read what he thought of Seth.
 
Seth didn't believe that Eddie's father thought it was nice to meet him, and as soon as the guy let go of his hand, his eyes dropped to the ground. He took a few upward glances back up at him, then kept his eyes positioned downward, not liking the cold feeling he was getting, but also somewhat welcoming it.

"My family should be here soon." The words he chose were meant as a way to seemingly answer the question while avoiding a direct answer. He had no idea what was going to happen, but he didn't want to leave Eddie alone. He had become almost dependent on sleeping outside her door like some guard dog. It gave him a sense of purpose, although he was denying that it was now an unneeded one.

After a few more seconds he managed to look up again, his gaze sad and apologetic. "I'm sorry. I should have gotten Eddie to safety sooner. If I had..if I had better protected her, known how to get her to safety quicker, then maybe things would have been different." If he had paid more attention while he was training to be an interrogator he would have known an easier way to safety, or if he had done more to protect her while they were imprisoned then her leg would not have gotten so bad and she would still have it. Her dad did not know who he was, though, so he had kept his words vague.
 
Eddie frowned. Seth seemed anxious and was vaguely apologizing for not getting her back soon enough. Eddie started to feel bad because it was obvious how guilty she'd made Seth feel. Luka was trying to get her attention and was yammering on about something, but Eddie wasn't really paying attention,

"We can talk about that later, Seth. For now don't worry about it." her father told Seth calmly, "Let's go get Eddie settled into her room in Bethesda." He added coming around and taking the wheelchair from Seth.

"You can come with if you want, Seth, but if your family's here then you should go seem them. I'm sure they're worried about you." he invited the young man.

Eddie watched her dad take over from Seth. She hadn't seen Adrian or Seth's mom here, but maybe they were hidden. She kind of hoped that Seth would come with them, but he deserved to be with his family too.
 
Seth was extremely reluctant to let someone else take over pushing Eddie's wheelchair, but he managed to force himself to move away so her father could take over the responsibility. He had wanted her father to stop watching him like some teenager boy that was dating his daughter, and he got his wish it seemed, so he didn't have room to complain about anything else.

His eyes grew a little more hopeful at the invitation, meaning he would not have to leave Eddie's side just yet, and gave a nod at the words. "I have not seen them yet, so I can always give them a call and tell them what is going on." He had saw the cell number for them multiple times, so he was sure he could remember it if he tried. If not, well he did not know what then, but things would work themselves out he was sure.
 
Eddie was ticked off. She'd started having a personality switch very soon after she got to Bethesda. She was frustrated most of the time at her very slow progress. She had struggled for the past couple months gaining strength and balance back. They had barely started working with fitting her prosthetic leg and putting even more work into her learning how to handle life without her leg.

When not frustrated or ticked off Eddie tended to be sullen and quiet. Her family had left after a couple weeks because her dad needed to get to work and Seth wasn't allowed to live in the hospital so while she saw him it was generally in the hours between her treatments and quiet times. She was exhuasted all the time from the physical and occupational therapy which didn't help mood.

Eddie was currently sitting in her chair in a recreation type room. She couldn't sleep without nightmares so though tired she refused to take a nap. Seth was supposed to come see her they were going to go for a walk outside. Eddie was looking forward to that, she needed fresh air...she just needed to get out of the hospital for an hour at least.

Where was Seth? He was late! Eddie tapped her fingers impatiently on her chair arm and glared up at the TV which was playing Friends reruns.
 
Seth was not happy that he was not allowed to stay at the hospital. The first two weeks he had stayed close to the hospital, spending most of his time, day and night, near the building. He had refused to stay with his family, reverting back to his ways before joining the Russian military. After those two weeks, he found a better abandoned building to stay in, spending his free time sleeping or stealing what he needed to survive. It was hard at first, especially with his scarred looks, but he learned new ways to succeed with old tricks.

The only time his smile appeared was when he was with Eddie, and he was always patient with her, no matter what mood she was in. If she was tired, he was content to sit with her, if she wanted to walk around then he was more than happy to oblige. It was just upsetting that he could not spend more time with her, and once he left the hospital he went back to feeling hollow.

One of the first things he had done after deciding to stay on the streets was find a place to shower. There was always a place to go for that, and he always made sure to take one before visiting Eddie. That was now why he was running late. His wet hair began to dry as he ran to the hospital, and once he entered the recreational room, it was only slightly damp.

"Sorry. I wanted to shower before coming, but time got away from me." He gave her a soft smile, wondering how she was doing today.
 
Eddie looked up when Seth came in and huffed slightly. He always took a shower before coming here she kind of wondered why. After all he couldn't get that gross in the days at most they didn't see each other,

"It's fine." she responded, but her tone said she was obviously cranky, "Let's just go for a walk...I need fresh air." Eddie added as she unlocked her chair and backed up turning and heading for the door Seth just came in. She wondered where Seth lived, his family wasn't in Virginia did he have a job? She hadn't asked him yet because it felt rude though.

"What have you been doing?" she asked attempting to be polite despite her mood as the headed for the little park area. She'd gotten pretty good at manuevering her wheel chair, though her strength was slow at coming back so she didn't have as much stamina as she used to. She glanced up at Seth waiting for an answer. She couldn't help but notice he needed a hair cut and he didn't look well rested. Hopefully everything was OK for him..she worried about Seth sometimes which didn't help her mood swings or lack of sleep, but she couldn't help it.
 
The smile on Seth's face softened at hearing the tone in her voice. She wasn't in the best of moods, but that was fine, he was more than willing to put up with whatever mood she wanted to throw at him. He just hoped Eddie would feel better soon. It had to suck being stuck in the wheelchair all the time, with little strength and not much to do.

He stayed close to Eddie as they made their way to the little park, looking down when she asked him a question. It caught him off guard a bit, not knowing how to best answer, but he tried to hide it from Eddie. "Oh, just been getting to know the town better. Checking out all the stores and doing a lot of wandering around to get some exercise." He didn't want Eddie to know the details of what he had been up to. It would do no good to worry her in that way, especially since she was already having a hard time.

"How is therapy coming along?" Lifting his head, he jerked his head to the side to get some of the hair out of his eyes. That was probably not the best topic to bring up, but it was better than her prying for information about what he has been up to.
 
Eddie grunted. She hated therapy it was painful and extremely slow in progress,

"It sucks." she answered honestly pushing her wheelchair along the path. "Nothings happening." she added. It wasn't actually true. Eddie was gaining strength and balance back. She was also inching her way towards her her old energy and stamina levels or would be if she was actually sleeping, but she wasn't.

"You working on getting a job and citizenship and such?" she asked concerned. She wasn't sure how Seth was surviving, but felt that there was something he wasn't saying...wasn't telling her. She also worried about him being deported. She didn't want to lose him. Eddie paused as she caught her breath for a few moments and then went wheeled on
 
Seth smiled softly down at Eddie and pessimistic response she gave. He didn't think nothing was happening, but he did believe that it sucked. He could see that she was getting better, though. He wanted to reassure her that everything would be better soon, something he told her during a lot of the visits. This time he didn't get a chance to say it as the conversation once again moved towards what he had been up to.

Swearing in his head, he clenched his jaw as he tried to quickly think of what to say. "Yeah. I need to call my parents since they can probably better help me with citizenship. I will be sure to do that after my visit with you." That was all he could tell her without lying, because he would be sure to get the citizenship done right away, being deported was not something he wanted, especially if it meant the would go back to Russia. Might as well just give him a death sentence.

"Eddie.." He stopped when they reached the area with the little park, his voice defeated. "I don't know how to live even a somewhat normal life. I'm surviving in the one way I know how." He didn't go into detail, knowing he had no doubt already disappointed Eddie.
 
"You stealing?" Eddie asked worriedly and slightly snappy. Her worry was showing though not in her normal more compassionate. She didn't want him deported and if he got caught stealing or doing anything illegal it would seriously jeopordize him getting citizenship.

"Gotta keep it legal, Seth. If..." She took a deep breath glad he'd stopped because she needed a break, "If the cops catch ya then your screwed. You can kiss goodbye to citizenship and sticking around and say hello to the Siberian Setppes!" she hissed lowering her voice so others wouldn't here's their conversation. Eddie wasn't trying to be mean, but she was tired, in pain, and worried. She didn't want to lose Seth. The idea of being here alone terrified her. Her brothers and faily promised to visit now and then, but she hated how far away they were.

"Look get at a jo...I don't care where you could be cleaning the bathrooms of freaking Wal*Mart for all I care just get a job!" she insisted, "You have like those political asylum or whatever papers and some shelters allow you to use them as your 'address' until you can get an apartment." she explainedher voice was slightly tight and snippy still, though she really was trying to help.

"We...um we can go back and use the computers to search if you want?" she offered almost glad there'd be a change and distraction from the painful monotony Bethesda was for her.
 
Seth dropped his head, unable to look Eddie in the eyes. "Yeah." Bringing a hand up, he gripped his arm as he continued to frown at the ground. It would be the worst case scenario if he got caught, but he didn't plan on getting caught. After all the years he had spent stealing, not once had an authority figure gotten their hands on him. Perhaps that was worrisome, though. How much luck could one have before it ran out? Eddie was right, it wasn't worth the risk. If it had just been him, then he would have been fine with the gamble, but he needed to be here for Eddie.

"Alright. I will do what I can to get a job." A job would be miserable, more miserable than he was living off the streets and using his thieving skills to survive, but he would do it. He would just need to find someone to take him in and put his sorry, stubborn self to good use, and also hope that he would not be too much of a pain.

Lifting his head, he finally met Eddie's eyes. "That would be good. I don't know the first thing about getting a job, so any help is appreciated. You're getting tired, though, Eddie, so if you need to stop and rest or want me to push the chair let me know."
 
"I'm fine." Eddie insisted turning her chair around and rolling back towards the hospital, "Let's go get you a job." she added. It reminded Eddie she too should at least begin to search for a job. She wasn't sure when she'd be allowed to leave Bethesda, but already knew she was being discharged. She probably should look for wheelchair accessible job too, the doctor's said not everyone could adjust to prosthetics whether the material irritated them, it was just too painful, or the muscles in the thigh never were able to properly work it. That was what Eddie was worried about. The infection had weakened her a lot and the doctors explaine dit may have permanently weakened her leg.

They got back and Eddie rolled to the computers in the rec room. Some patients had their own, but Eddie had never been able to afford her own. She moved the chair aside so her wheelchair and it fit tightly next to the desk and turned it on before clicking up Google.

"What type of job do you want? Like what skills do you have? Do you want part time? Full time? What hours are you willing to work?" she asked Seth. It was surprising he'd never searched for a job before, though at the same time it made sense. Eddie had had plenty of part-time/odd jobs growing up to help her family. She narrowed their search to within walking distance of their currently location since she assumed Seth didn't have a car. He probably should invest in a car or bike down the road, but not for now.

Eddie started to scan through the list waiting for Seth to answer her questions as she checked the 'Help Wanted' listings.
 
Letting out an inward sigh, Seth followed Eddie back to hospital. He kept a close eye on the female, making sure she did not get too tired because he did not need her passing out on him or anything as equally unpleasant. This whole thing was showing him how much stronger she was getting. It may not seem like a big change to others, but after what she went through, he could see tell the difference. It was still not easy to see her like this, never would be, and every day he wished he could switch places with her. She deserved to be able to walk more than he did, because it wasn't as if he had been very deserving of the ability lately.

Reaching the room, he sat down in the chair next to Eddie and looked at the computer like it was alien to him, because it was. He was glad she was the one working it, because he wouldn't have even had a clue how to turn the thing on, let alone understand how to search for jobs with it.

"I..." Seth wasn't sure how to respond to the questions he was bombarded with. Part time? Full time? What did that even mean? "Umm..I can work any hours except for the little time I get to spend with you." No way was he letting a job take those precious hours away from him. "I guess any job that would take me. I don't really know. I don't really take well to strangers telling me what to do. Something where I don't have to work around a lot of people maybe." That had been one of the hardest adjustments for him, getting used to being around people again. He still didn't like to be around large crowds, which stealing unfortunately called for, but he was getting better. Talking to those people was another story, though. He couldn't do it.
 
"OK so we'll avoid shifts during visiting hours or at least fully over visiting hours." Eddie said continuing to scan, she was releaved the job wouldn't get in the way of him being here. It sounded selfish she knew, but she didn't want Seth to stop coming.

"You're going into an entry level job, Seth. Even if you do have a college degree you still get told what to do at your first job. It's just something you get used to until you like own your own business or run a company or some high up junk like that." Eddie explained apologeticly. She didn't know anyone who enjoyed getting bossed around,

"American University is hiring janitors. Various hotels are hiring if you want to cook or clean. There's a car fix up place hiring...so is Wal*Mart, a 24 hour diner, and a day care. Any of these sound like something you'd do? The car place would probably be a more 9-5 thing, same with the day care, but the others hours might be different." Eddie explained. She doubted that Seth could get a job or would want a job at a day care, but she threw it in there trying to be light hearted.
 
Seth figured that was the case since no matter what he would have to be told how to do the job. It was more a matter of he did not want to have someone following him around the whole time and getting upset if he made a simple mistake. Once he knew how to do the job, he wanted to be left alone to do it in peace.

Licking his lip in thought, he tilted his head some and thought about the jobs he had listed. "I really wouldn't mind a day care job, but I doubt they would take someone like me." Not only was he an ex-interrogator, but he would also no doubt scare the children at a day care. His looks were not the most friendly anymore, not matter what he did there was no fixing his scarred face. A pain pierced his chest since he really liked kids.

"The janitor position might not be too bad. Or cleaning at a hotel." They seemed the lesser of the evils. He would have to pass people in the halls or what not, but from what he had seen from janitors, they went about their job by themselves and only had to talk to people on occasion. He wasn't a hundred percent sure about cleaning at a hotel, but he figured it would be similar to a janitor position elsewhere.
 
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