themusemanor | PSL - Helen Magnus | Ashley Magnus --> I'll find you somewhere, whatever has happened

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PSL - Helen Magnus | Ashley Magnus --> I'll find you somewhere, whatever has happened

[ It had been one fight too many. This time she'd been foolish and she knew it. Helen had gone alone, armed but not prepared. They barely had any information and yet she'd gone without back-up. The other teams had been out but the she still could have someone meet her, she knew that. She'd gone in unprepared once before and had never done so again. And now?

Now she was stuck.

Hurt.

She'd left a note of where she'd gone but it was far out, further than she believed they'd be able to get to. The broken bones she could survive but the internal bleeding was the worry. Her head hurt, concussion no doubt, and walking was becoming a struggle. The abnormal that she'd been tracking had disappeared, some time during when Helen had been unconscious.

As for her location? The entrance that she'd used had been brought down - an explosion of some kind - and now she was trying to find another way out, fighting the struggle and trying to ignore the thought that she may not make it home ]

~

[ ashley hadn't been worried at first. her mother did missions all the time and she was a brilliant woman, so what was the point of worrying too much about her when there were things to do at home? that wasn't to say that ashley didn't worry at all about helen - helen was her mother; of course ashley would worry - but she knew her mother could take care of herself and that took some of the worry away.

but when helen didn't return when she was supposed to return, judging by the note anyway, ashley started to worry. she'd tried calling, but got nothing the first time, so she'd taken to tracking. henry had managed to find the place, far out as it was, and ashley decided to go in. will and henry would remain behind, close enough for back-up, but not close enough to get caught up in whatever had gone down. they'd brought supplies on the off chance they'd need things, but ashley was clinging to the hope that her mother was okay.

she tried ringing her on her phone once more before going in. the trick would be finding another entrance. but ashley was nothing if not determined. ]

~

[ The calls didn't get through; her phone had become damaged in the explosion along with everything else. Bruised, injured. Usually Helen would say that she'd had worse but this time? This time she wasn't quite certain.

This time she doubted it.

Helen had walked until the pain had become too intense and even then she'd tried to carry on. She was bleeding out and quickly, that she could tell. Her head felt light and it wouldn't be too long until consciousness was in issue.

She pushed herself again, forcing herself to bite through it. It was her body that gave in before her determination would. She slipped to the floor as her legs gave out beneath her, hand pressed against the wall she'd been using as balance. She'd never admitted defeat before, and she refused to simply die here. But moving was no longer and option. And she was out of anything else ]

~

[ ashley would have thrown her phone in frustration and fear had she not needed to use it to contact will and henry later. so she just pocketed it and turned towards the other entrance - or, where henry had told her one might be. but it was impossible to find. gun out and pointed forward with her flashlight, ashley made her way around, finally slipping between two rock faces to get inside. the trouble was, she knew her mom had been tracking an abnormal. what she didn't know was whether or not that abnormal was still in here with them. ]

Mom?

~

[ Helen was trying to use the wall as leverage, pressing firmly at it and the floor to force herself up. It wasn't easy, she barely had the strength left to do it but she would keep trying; she was going home.

She hadn't gotten far when she heard the voice. The one up side to being stuck in a gave was the echo.

Ashley?

She stopped moving, trying to decide if her injuries were causing her to imagine it ]

Ashley?

[ She called, moving again to try and find her. If Ashley was here it was a little hopeful ]

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[ that was definitely her mother's voice and it was definitely coming from behind that slab of wall. ashley stepped back, examining the rock critically before she lifted a leg, placed her foot firmly against the slab, and gave it a nice, hard push. nothing happened. ]

Great... Mom? Mom! Can you hear me? Are you okay?

[ she was hoping and praying to whatever would listen that her mother was okay in there. ]

I can hear you.

[ Although her clear avoidance of the second question no doubt told Ashley everything that she needed to know (and she was far from okay) ]

How- [ Helen stopped as she managed to force herself up, making her way to one of the rocks that had settled nearby. It had gotten her away from the wall should Ashley do anything, and sitting rather than collapsing was preferable ]

How did you get here?

[ avoidance. great. that definitely told ashley everything she needed to know. time to go digging. ]

Mom, get away from the wall. [ she wasn't sure what she'd have to do, but if it came to it, ashley was willing to risk a lot to get her mother out. as she worked, she continued the conversation. ]

Your team is just that good. Will figured out where you'd gone and Henry and I tracked down your location. It just took me a while to get here. [ longer than she'd wanted. ] Is that thing you were looking for still in here?

[ Helen had already moved a little away and after resting a little would do so again. Even with her surprise Helen was glad that Ashley was here, that they'd been able to find her ]

It isn't with me. It's possible that it's already left. [ And she hoped so - it was one less danger that Ashley would have to deal with

Helen pushed herself up, letting out a gasp of pain as she slipped back onto her rock; moving was becoming harder and harder, and her pain was increasing ]

Ashley-

[ Even though Ashley was here she still had to get through the wall ]

Move quickly.

[ the fact that her mother was telling her to move quickly said enough to ashley about the woman's condition. this wasn't good. ]

I am.

[ it took her a few precious minutes to find a chink in the wall that she could work at and a few minutes more before a sizable hole appeared. she had to be careful, back up the wall elsewhere, reinforce the support so the whole thing didn't collapse on them. last thing they needed was another cave-in.

once the hole was wide enough for a person her mother's side to get through while leaning over instead of crawling, ashley stuck her tools back on her belt and headed inside, gun and flashlight pointed forward. ]

Mom? I'm inside. Where are you?

Just inside. [ Her voice wasn't as strong as it had been in the previous few exchanges. She was holding on as much and for as long as she could - if she passed out before Ashley had gotten her out they could both be stuck, and Ashley wouldn't know what to do to help her ]

A few feet in, on-

[ Her head was feeling lighter with every passing minute ]

On the left.

[ oh that wasn't good. ashley turned around, heading for the left side. she was lucky that it wasn't hard to find her mother and she rushed over, dropping to her knees next to helen. ]

Here.

[ she wasn't the medical expert, but she'd brought a much of a first-aid type kit as she could scrape together, knowing she might need it. ]

Stay with me, Mom. What do you need? [ they likely only had a few moments, but if ashley could keep her mother from passing out on her... ]

Ashley. [ Helen reached for her on instinct when she saw, taking her hand once she was close enough; the contact would help keep her conscious, or at least would help Ashley to keep her conscious ]

The Sanctuary. [ Her injuries (or the ones that she knew of) were ones that Ashley could do nothing about. The pain from her internal injuries was directing pain from elsewhere, making her oblivious. As for what Ashley could do, and could see? There was a lovely cut on her right temple that she could help with ]

[ ashley gave her mom's hand a reassuring squeeze, smiling as much as she could at her, before she transferred helen's hand to her shoulder for stability. ] Lean on me, Mom. I'm not leaving without you.

[ she'd come too far to do that. her eyes washed over her mother's form, taking in the injuries. most looked internal, which she couldn't do anything about, but the cut on her mother's head was fair game. so she took care of that as quickly as possible, making sure it was washed and disinfected, too. once that was done, the kit got packed up again and ashley moved to wrap an arm around her mother's back. ]

Put your arm around my neck. I'll carry you out if I have to. [ and they both knew she would. somehow, ashley magnus would find the strength to get them both out alive. ] Henry and Will are waiting for us. You're gonna be okay.

[ Helen watched Ashley curiously, wondering what she was doing until she discovered, wincing a little at the cleaning of the cut. It worried her more that she'd missed that than her original injuries did - that told her just how bad it was ]

Thank you. [ For more than just coming to get her. She put her arm across her, giving her a small nod to indicate that she was ready to move. It was now or never, really ]

[ ashley just paused long enough to readjust her grip on her mother's frame and pull out her phone. ]

Henry? We're on our way out.

[ it was all she could afford before the phone went away and out came the gun. she wasn't going to take any chances that the abnormal her mom had been tracking - or something worse - was still in there with them. ]

Stay with me, Mom. We're almost out.

[ their only saving grace was that the path wasn't long and ashley knew where she was going. she took her time getting out through the hole she'd made, mostly because she had to be sure nothing was lurking on the other side before she brought her mother through. once she was sure of the relative safety of the area, she backed through and reached out to get helen through the hole. lean on your daughter, helen. ashley had more than enough strength for the both of them. ]

[ It was a struggle even with Ashley helping her but eventually they made it to the opening. Helen rested against the wall as Ashley passed through first, ducking as much as possible to go through and letting Ashley help her the rest of the way. Once through Helen pulled back, just a little to rest against the wall again ]

Just one minute.

[ She needed that. As risky as waiting at all was she needed just a little time before being able to carry on; as strong as Ashley was she wasn't making her daughter carry her ]

[ ashley kept a close hold on her mother, even as she stopped to rest. she wasn't letting anything happen to them and even as she watched her mother to be sure she was really just resting and not passing out on her, ashley still kept her ears trained on the area around them. she would have said they had time, but she'd be lying and they both knew it. so she opted just to nod and wait. if it became too long, she'd start pushing gently. as much as her mother needed rest, they both needed to get out of there before helen passed out from her injuries. ashley would be far less useful to her if that happened. ]

[ Helen closed her eyes, not close enough to pass out but just to save herself from her clouding vision. Helen pressed her hands against the wall, using them to help keep her steady. A minute probaby wasn't enough but it was all that she was giving herself, and a minute later she gave Ashley a nod ]

Let's go.

[ She was hoping that it would be slowly to allow her to walk but she knew that it may not be helpful to her ]

[ ashley was very worried about her mother by this point, but she was trying not to show it. she needed to be strong for them. she could take out her fear and worry later on, once they were out of this mess. she didn't respond vocally, but she took a better hold on her mother again and started walking again. she'd go slowly enough for helen to keep up and stay comfortable, but she didn't want to risk getting caught. ]

We're almost there.

[ they still had one hallway to go but it was a winding thing. still... it wasn't long enough for ashley to really start worrying. not yet, she hoped. ]

[ Helen gave a small nod, saving her strength on that rather than replying. The walk was slow but managable enough and eventually they made it through that final hallway. The windingness of it made it seem longer than it was but they made it - even with Helen having to stop a few times - not to rest just pause in her walk. Thankfully they'd managed to make it before she passed out ]

[ ashley stayed with her mother the whole way, pausing when helen did and making sure she was doing as well as she could be. outside was where will and henry were waiting with the chopper. glancing at her mother as the three of them worked to get her up into the thing and ready to go, and knowing they didn't have a lot of time left, ashley made the executive decision: ]

She needs a doctor. Five hours ago.

[ henry would understand. this was serious and it needed to be dealt with. ]

Okay, Mom. We're gonna get you to a hospital. [ or a sanctuary, if helen preferred somewhere less public, but that would take arm twisting. ashley wanted the best care for her mother. the absolute best. no one was dying on her watch. ]

Sanctuary. [ The inflection in her voice told her that it was preference (and not up for discussion) - it might have been a simple cave accident but it would require explaining to a hospital, that and her medical records weren't quite... standard. Any Sanctuary would know better care for her - specialised care ]

[ ashley rolled her eyes a little, but shot henry a look that said "you heard her." ]

There's one close by. [ which helen would know, but... details. ]

It's gonna be okay, Mom. [ as soon as they got moving, which would be very shortly. ashley hopped in next to her mother, wanting to be the one to watch over her and make sure her condition didn't get worse. ]

I hope so. [ The fact that her voice was quiet, that she was doubtful? It was bad. Even if they made it in time her injuries were severe; if she was given a patient with her injuries she would be doubtful herself, and she was good ]

Ashley. [ Her expression was sad, regrets flickering in it. She messed up ]

[ ashley settled in and took one of her mom's hands between hers, wanting to reassure her without it being too much for either of them. ]

It will be. [ emphasis there. they were in the air now. ashley just had to hope that her mother could make it to the sanctuary. don't worry about it, helen. just survive. that would be enough for ashley. ]

[ Helen just watched her for a moment, giving the smallest smile at the contact. Oh, how odd it was that Ashley was the one comforting her

And... as much as Helen wanted to believe her (she did for everything else, but with how she felt?) this...

It was hard ]

I'm sorry.

[ listening to this, hearing her mother apologize for something that ashley usually got herself into... this was distressing. but ashley wasn't going to say or show that. she just kept her grip on her mother's hand. ]

Just get through this. Then I'll give you the lecture.

[ trying to make her smile, take their minds off this whole thing. come on, henry. sooner, not later! ]

[ Helen would have shaken her head if she thought that she could muster the effort ]

I'm not talking about this.

[ Although this certainly made her feel foolish ]

For so much more.

[ Her past. Her mistakes.

Her regrets ]

[ there's so much that ashley wanted to say, so much she could, but all of this sounded too much like a final wish and she wouldn't accept that. ]

It's okay. [ it wasn't, really. not yet, not fully. but it was something ashley had shelved in favor of getting her mother to safety. henry yelled back that they were almost there as he began the descent and ashley squeezed her mother's hand again. ] Things happened. After you get better, we can talk about it.

[ because ashley refused to entertain the idea that her mother might not recover from this. ]

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