JP - Klaire has Fallen and can't get up

Tzeitel tucked Ami into bed with her stuffed animals, then went looking for Klaire.

Klaire was in bed with her children, literally trapped beneath their sleeping forms. “Help. I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.” She said playfully when Tzeitel showed up.

“They know you need to sleep.” Tzeitel pointed out with a smile.

"I'll try but I've gotten so used to having James asleep next to me it's going to be…difficult." Klaire replied as she stroked her children's hair.

“Ami usually knocks me out.” Tzeitel said. “The kid is excited about her birthday coming up. Twelve… geeze.”

“She’s gonna be a rebellious teenager before we know it.” Klaire chuckled softly. “All joking aside, how are you doing?”

Tzeitel frowned and touched her neck. Not the scars from her collar, but where she knew the bullet was lodged. “The surgeon doesn’t think the bullet should come out.”

“Considering where it is, it would be dangerous to attempt taking it out.” Klaire replied, looking at her friend. “One slip and they could accidentally paralyze you from the neck down or…” Kill you. She thought, unwilling to vocalize it.

“Taking it out could kill me…” Tzeitel addressed the elephant in the room. “I still… I want it out of me.” She shuddered. “It’s been stuck in my neck ever since one of our escape attempts, so I don't even remember it. Ten years… I want it out.”

“We’ll figure something out, but…” Klaire let out a slow breath. “Consider Cody’s help, okay? He’s been offering, I’m sure…he just wants to make sure he has a mom for a long time. They need you in their lives, Tzeitel…both him and Ami.”

“It will exhaust him.” Tzeitel said. “What if someone gets fatally wounded while he’s recovering from using his power on me? Cody won’t be able to heal them, or he will and…”

“You don’t know that. Healing all of Colt exhausted him and he only needed a few hours of rest and some food, right?” Klaire inquired. She had not missed the conversations with those keen ears of hers.

"He shouldn't have gotten out of bed." Tzeitel scowled. "You eavesdropper."

Klaire looked away innocently. “I can’t help that my ears catch everything.” She said, sounding cheeky. “You should get some rest too, by the way.”

“Probably.” Tzeitel was tired but she felt too wired to sleep. She touched her neck again. “You’ve been shot before, right? Did they leave any bullets behind in you?”

Klaire shook her head. “Not as far as I know. If there are, I’m unaware of them. I usually always ripped them out on my own before returning. I hated when the soldiers touched me when I was shot…” She said and looked away. They had always groped and raped her at those times, something she’d rather forget.

Tzeitel knew that look. “If any of those fuckers are still alive I will hunt them down so you can dismember them yourself.” Tzeitel promised.