19

Ainsleys abdominal aorta had been nicked and the bullet was lodged in her liver.

That's what Colton had told Carmen once Ainsley was stitched up and stabilized. Colton is the most medically trained out of all of them and was taught how to sew up injuries in the event of an emergency. Alexa had only started her medical training two months ago, so she could only do so much to help. But Colton did a good enough job that Ainsley survived, but a doctor would be at The Compound by the morning to go over and assess Ainsleys wound.

Carmen didn't release her hold on Ainsley the entire time Colton removed the bullet and stitched up her sister. Even when he was finished, she still wouldn't move until Ainsleys vitals had gone back to a normal that Carmen was comfortable with. At that point she let go of Ainsley and sat in a chair that Kendra had pulled up beside the bed.

Now, it was only Luke and Carmen sitting in the chairs and watching Ainsley intently. Santana and Sophie were the last to leave the room, but Clayton was the first.

He left as soon as the bullet was retrieved and hadn't been back since.

After all was said and done, Alexa, Colton, and Kendra soon followed.

It was getting late and Carmens eyelids were starting to close. She slowly rose from her chair. "I'm gonna get some water," she said to Luke. "Do you want me to grab anything for you?"

Luke was leaning forward in his chair with his elbows rested on his knees and his hands folded. His knee bounced nervously but he shook his head without taking his eyes off Ainsley. "No thanks. I'm good."

The concern in his face and the way he watched her sister made Carmen wonder. But tonight was not the night for speculations, and she was mentally exhausted.

Carmen left the infirmary and rode the elevator to the main floor of The Compound. Most of the lights were off through the hallway as Carmen wandered towards the kitchen.

When she walked through the doorway, she took in that the lights were still on and there was a tall figure standing in front of the sink.

The dark hair gave away that Clayton was still awake. His back was turned to Carmen, and he lifted his left hand to his right shoulder, rubbing at it slowly and a hiss of pain escaped his mouth.

Carmen cleared her throat to announce her presence and he gazed over his shoulder at her.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Clayton half-faced his body in her direction and stared at the floor. "I was using the sniper rifle today. The kickback was pretty intense."

She dipped her chin once in understanding and grabbed a chair at the table, turning it around before she motioned to it. "Here. Sit."

Clayton's eyes went to the chair. "Why?"

"Just sit down."

He hesitated, but not for too long, because he finally walked around the island and took a seat in the chair. Carmen planted herself behind the chair and began to second guess why she's even doing this, but then decided to ignore all the thoughts running through her mind. Her hand gently fell onto his right shoulder. "Here?"

Clayton stalled once more and then slowly nodded.

Carmen began slowly massaging at the area. She could feel his warmth and tightened muscle through his t-shirt. She wanted to recoil her hand back, because he was too tense, and she knew that the both of them were uncomfortable. But she continued anyways, and Clayton began to relax as Carmen was at work. He even let his eyes fall shut, not even flinching or thinking twice when Carmen's second hand went to his other shoulder even though he never stated that one was sore.

The pair sat in silence for several minutes as Carmen tried massaging at the irritated muscles.

She suddenly decided that she had done enough and dropped her hands. She stepped around the chair and leaned against the counter, returning to his line of sight.

"Thank you," he said softly as he trained his eyes on her shoes. He rolled his right shoulder back, surprised to feel a bit more relief than he felt five minutes ago.

She shrugged. "Ainsley did gymnastics when we were younger. Needless to say, she had a lot of sore muscles when she was done. I used to help get the knots out of her back that she couldn't reach."

"Ainsley," his tone went soft as his expression grew sad. Carmen was stricken, she'd never seen him look so remorseful.

He sighed and dragged a hand down his face. "I was the sniper today and I completely missed the guy that snuck up on her. Ainsley got shot and it was because I didn't look hard enough. Ainsley almost died today because of me."

Clayton finally met her eyes. "You almost lost your twin because of me."

Carmen was shaking her head as soon as the words left his mouth. "No. I still have my twin because of you, Clay."

His lips parted open, and he drew back when she said the name. But before he could say anything else, she went on, "Don't blame yourself for what happened today. Ainsley is going to be okay and everyone else is safe, that's what matters. There's no point in blaming yourself over something that was out of your control."

His eyes drifted to the floor once again and complete shame took over his body.

Carmen inhaled slowly and her tone was now gentle, "Colton told me... about your sister."

His eyes closed and Payton's face slipped into his thoughts. Invisible daggers were striking him in the chest with each passing second.

"I'm so sorry," Carmen said. "I know that we don't get along ninety-nine percent of the time, but I would never wish that on someone."

Clayton knew that his guilt for what happened to Ainsley is shared for the guilt of what happened to his sister. The difference is that Ainsley will be okay, Payton is in a box six feet underground.

It's something that he'll never forgive himself for.

When he didn't say anything due to being too lost in his own head, Carmen took this as a sign that he wanted to be alone. She said nothing more before heading towards the doorway.

"Carmen," Clayton finally spoke up just as she was standing in the arch way. She spun back around to find him staring right back at her. "Can tonight be one of those one percent of times that we don't fight?"

Carmen half-heartedly smiled. "Yeah. I think this is a one percent kind of night."

"Good," he replied, "because I have a question."

Carmen arched an eyebrow.

"What was that today? When you were hugging Ainsley, you kept saying: Please work. What did you mean by that?"

Carmen took a deep breath and leaned her shoulder into the frame. "Caught that, huh? When Ainsley and I were born, she was born with a lot of complications. The doctors weren't sure what happened between the time that she was in the womb for the last couple of minutes to the time she got out but whatever happened, it was bad. Her vitals started dropping really fast and they didn't think she was going to make it. They immediately took us to the NICU. Ainsley was in critical condition, and they wanted to keep an eye on me to see if I would end up like that too. But one of our nurses had an idea. She knew that we were identical and decided to take me out of my bed and put me in Ainsley's. I don't know how she knew to do that, but I think she saved Ainsley's life by doing it. The second she put me next to Ainsley, I guess my instincts just kicked in and I put my arm over Ainsley like I was hugging her. She started to get better right away. It wasn't long until her vitals went back to normal, and they decided to move us to our mom's room. The doctors thought it was some kind of miracle and they decided to tell my mom that it was a "healing hug" or something. So, from that point on, anytime that one of us were hurt or sick, we would just cling to each other. When I was ten and went into anaphylaxis from eating shrimp, I had to get rushed to the hospital in an ambulance, but the paramedics had to work around Ainsley because she was holding me so tight that they couldn't get her off."

She shook her head and fought a smile. "I know how stupid it sounds. I'm not sure why I thought something like that could work today but I guess I was just throwing a hail Mary or something."

"I don't think it's stupid," Clayton said. "Ainsley's never talked about that before."

She shrugged. "Yeah well, I haven't really been around so I don't see why she would."

Clayton rose from the chair and pushed it back towards the table, Carmen appreciated the few minutes of peace that they shared without going at each other's throats, but something told her that it wouldn't last.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and met Carmens dark eyes. "You're surprisingly easy to talk to."

She smiled and dipped her head once in farewell. "Goodnight, Clay."

Even when she left the kitchen, he stared at the doorway that she was once standing in. He replayed hearing his name roll off her tongue in his mind over and over again.

Carmen stepped back into the elevator, realizing that she didn't grab the water that she meant to. Instead of hitting the button to go back down to the infirmary, she pressed the button to the second floor. Once the elevator rode to that floor, she stepped off as soon as the door opened and stopped in front of Colton's bedroom door to knock three times.

She was somewhat worried that he wasn't awake, but she heard him holler, "Come in!"

Carmen opened the door and stepped into Coltons room. He was sitting on his bed with his guitar propped in his lap. He was now wearing black sweatpants and a dark red t-shirt.

The moment his eyes landed on who came into his room, his face lit up and he moved the guitar off his lap. "Hey," he greeted her softly.

"Hi," she replied, quietly closing the door as he stood from the bed to take a few steps towards her.

"How are you doing?" he asked.

Carmen lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug. "I'm okay."

Colton could read the sadness on her face and in her voice. He didn't even realize what he was doing until he'd already taken a step towards her with his arms outstretched. Carmen didn't seem to mind, because she met him halfway. She reached up and folded her arms around his neck, he kept his hands around her waist and held her against him.

Carmen buried her face into his neck. Usually, being this close in proximity to him would make her stomach begin fluttering and her hands shake, but instead she felt content. After all the fear and chaos that today had occurred due to Ainsley's brush with death, she just wanted him to hold her like this.

Colton rubbed a hand soothingly up and down her back, right now there wasn't anything that either of them needed to say. Colton was scared that if he disturbed the silence then Carmen would pull away. And there was nothing more that he wanted on this planet than to feel her warm and comforting touch in this moment.

"Thank you, Colton," Carmen whispered, still clinging to him.

"For what?" he asked.

"For everything," Carmen replied. "For saving Ainsleys life, for being here for me."

Colton smiled tenderly. "We're partners. It's what we do."

Carmen felt a wave of reassurance and reluctantly pulled away. She pulled away just far enough to see him looking back at her.

She was too scared to acknowledge the lack of distance between them, so she looked to his bed where his guitar sat and nodded towards it. "I didn't know that you played."

He glanced over his shoulder. "Yeah. I taught myself when I was fifteen."

She looked back up at him. "Does it help? Music?"

He nodded. "It keeps my mind off stuff. It's probably one of the only normal outlets I have that doesn't have to do with being a spy. Other than that, I'm good at fighting and dealing with weapons but playing guitar isn't violent and doesn't take the type of focus I need with training." He shrugged. "I just play, and it feels good."

Colton swallowed hard when he realized that he'd never opened up about playing guitar to anyone before. Not even his brother, who had gotten him the guitar when Colton's anger issues began to become a problem when he was a teenager. He wouldn't scream or yell, if anything he had a terrifying calm about him. If something pissed him off, he would go silent and go shoot the guns in the armory or take it out on a punching bag. Clayton worried that this would manifest into a more serious issue, so he offered his brother an alternative solution to take up when he was feeling overwhelmed with emotions.

His cheeks tinted a soft pink with embarrassment, and he figured that he'd overshared. But when he gazed down at Carmen, whom he still hadn't let go of, he saw an understanding look on her face and breathed a sigh of relief.

The two were still holding onto each other, but Carmen suddenly became aware that he most likely wanted his own personal bubble back. So, she cleared her throat and stepped out of his touch.

"I get it," she said, crossing her arms and tilting her head as a grin appeared on her face. "I wanna hear you play sometime."

Colton smirked. "I've never played in front of anyone before."

"Would you make an exception for me?"

Colton's heart pounded in his chest. "I'll always make an exception for you."

The sentence had Carmen parting her lips in nervous, yet pleasant, surprise.

She tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ears. "I should probably get back down to the infirmary."

"Get some sleep, Carmen."

With Ainsley still lying on that bed, she knew the chances of that happening were slim to none. She wanted to be there when Ainsley woke up.

Carmen granted him a grateful smile and began backing towards the door. "Goodnight, Colton."

**

Kendra informed Carmen the next morning that a doctor had been transported to The Compound to assess Ainsley's wound. He was very thorough with drilling the team for questions on what happened, specifically Colton and Alexa on what medical tactics they'd used to work on Ainsley.

The doctor had redressed her wound and left some pain medication in Kendra's care before leaving instructions on how Ainsley would need to clean her wound for the next few weeks. She was under a strict rule of no missions or physical training for the next 4-6 weeks. Santana made a comment about how Ainsley would most likely lose her mind than sit on her ass for over a month. Carmen agreed.

Luke and Carmen never left Ainsley's side throughout the night.

Neither of them could sleep while they sat at her bedside. She still hadn't woken up in the morning and the doctor assured everyone that it was completely normal, her body needed time to recover but he explained that she should be awake soon.

Luke announced that he needed to shower, given that he was still wearing his blood-soaked shirt from the previous day, and excused himself.

Carmen wanted to find a way to distract herself from the unsettling silence, so she had grabbed the stack of files she had in her room that had descriptions on each of the agents. She already read Lukes, and the next on her list was Sophie.

She had the file propped in her lap and she anxiously pulled at her bottom lip while she read the words printed on the paper.

Full name: Sophie Luciaña Mendoza

Born: November 24th, 1998, Havana, Cuba.

Agent ID: 03524

Location: Outpost 13. Twin Operative Compound, New York.

Skills: Deception, Ground Work.

Known next of kin: Santana Mendoza (sister), Dominic Mendoza (brother)

Deceased kin: Nicolas Mendoza (father), Desiree Mendoza (mother)

Past criminal charges: Murder (dismissed)

Physical assessment:

-5'6 in height

-Approximately 124 lbs

-Black hair

-Brown eyes

Carmen stared hard at the word "murder" and felt something cold rush through her veins. Sophie had been charged with murder? By the looks of it, it seemed as if the charges had been dropped. But how had she gotten herself into that position in the first place?

The curiosity had her picking up Santana's file and opening it, wondering if there would be more information on this.

Full name: Santana Paloma Mendoza

Born: November 24th, 1998, Havana, Cuba

Agent ID: 01525

Location: Outpost 13. Twin Operative Compound, New York.

Skills: Deception, Ground Work.

Known next of kin: Sophie Mendoza (sister), Dominic Mendoza (brother)

Deceased kin: Nicolas Mendoza (father), Desiree Mendoza (mother)

Past criminal charges: Murder (dismissed)

Physical assessment:

-5'3 in height

-Approximately 120 lbs

-Black hair

-Brown eyes

Carmen found herself frowning. It was almost identical to Sophie's file. Obviously the girls had a story to them, everyone here did. She thought back to the brother that had been listed, Dominic. Their parents were deceased, but he was alive. Where was he in all of this? How old was he? What happened to their parents? Why were they charged with murder only to have the charges dismissed?

She felt a pang of guilt for being so curious about their lives. It wasn't just a story to the Mendoza twins, it was their past and it's what shaped them into who they are. If they wanted her to know about it - then they would tell her.

Carmen heard her sister shifting on the bed and looked up to see Ainsley's face scrunch up, most likely in response to the pain she was feeling.

Carmen released the file in her hands and leaned forward in alarm. "Ainsley?"

"Fuck," Ainsley hissed just as her eyelids fluttered open.

She blinked a few times at her surroundings and her eyes fell on her sister. The concern on Carmens face had her blinking just a few more times to make sure she was seeing things right.

"How are you feeling?" Carmen asked.

Ainsley adjusted herself and bit her lip to keep back the gasp at the agonizing throbbing in her abdomen. "Like a million bucks." She held up her hand in a thumbs up.

Carmen instantly pulled out her phone to text Colton that Ainsley was awake. She received a reply seconds later telling her that he was on his way down.

Ainsley tenderly touched the part of her stomach that had been pierced with the bullet and was now sewn up.

Carmen and Alexa had managed to change her out of her clothes that she wore on the mission, and she now wore a loose t-shirt and sweatpants.

She could feel the stitches through the fabric of the shirt.

"Damn," she began, "I really thought I was a goner for a while there."

Carmen softly cleared her throat, but her stare remained on her sister's face. "So did I," she whispered.

Just as Ainsley noticed the bit of fear that she detected in Carmens tone, the infirmary doors opened. The two of them looked up to see Clayton, Colton, and Kendra filing in. Each of them matching the same amount of concern as they made their way towards Ainsley's bed.

"Now it's a party," Ainsley remarked with a grin.

Colton sighed loudly with relief. She was okay. If Ainsley was cracking jokes, then she was alright.

No one smiled at her joke and Ainsley rolled her eyes. "Could you guys relax?" She waved her hand at all of them. "Your vibes are all weird, I don't like it. I'm uncomfortable."

"You almost died, Ainsley," Colton started. "Sorry if we're not in the highest spirits."

"Okay," she said slowly, "well I didn't. I think that counts for something." She flashed a smile.

Colton tried - and failed - to suppress a smile. Maybe it was from the fact that Ainsley's moods were always contagious to those around her? Or maybe it was from the fact that he was filled with nothing but gratitude and relief that they would not be digging a grave for anyone anytime soon? He didn't know. But he smiled anyway.

Kendra, however, only shook her head and crossed her arms at Ainsley. "How many times do I have to tell you all to wear bullet proof vests when you are on missions? That's the only reason that I've allowed you to pick your own outfits. That was the agreement. You pick the outfits as long as you take the extra step to be safe."

Ainsley grimaced. "Kendra, I'm not wearing that shit. It's ugly."

"You were shot."

"Yeah." Ainsley shrugged. "But I lived."

"Yeah, thanks to your sister," Clayton said. It was the first thing he'd said since he walked in with his mom and brother. Now, everyone was staring at him in confusion.

"Did Carmen become a surgeon overnight and sew me up?"

Clayton shook his head. "No." He nodded towards Carmen. "But I've heard a healing hug works just as good."

Ainsley's mouth dropped open in shock and her head swiveled in her sister's direction, but Carmen was still staring at Clayton.

Clayton matched her own stare, and his lips were turned up in a kind smile. Carmen understood.

This was a one percent moment.

She smiled graciously.

Everyone else was confused, but that was okay. It was a secret, momentary, peace offering that only the two of them understood.

Clayton tapped his mother's elbow. "Ainsley needs some rest." He knew that the twins needed some privacy.

Colton shot him a questioning look. "She just woke up."

Kendra shook her head at her youngest son and placed a hand on his back to usher him towards the door. Clayton was already on his way out of the room, so he didn't notice the glance that Colton stole of Carmen over his shoulder.

When the three of them let the door swing shut behind them, Carmen gazed back at her sisters shocked stare.

"You did the healing hug?" Ainsley asked as hope filled her chest.

Carmen nodded. "I did the healing hug."

"Why?" Ainsley was surprised at the gentleness of the whisper that left her mouth.

Carmen shifted her seat, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees and folding her hands together. "Because you're my sister."

Ainsley released a breath as relief filled her.

Not a stranger.

Her sister.

"Because," Carmen began, "as angry and pissed off as I can get, there's no reality where I want to live without you." She went quiet for a moment as she took in the emotion on her sisters face and squeezed her sweaty palms tighter together. "You've got five years to make up for, Ainsley. So, you'd better get started. I forgive you. I will move on. But you owe me five years' worth of time with my sister."

"I will." Ainsley swallowed hard and nodded quickly. "I swear to god, Carmen. I will."

Carmen smiled wholeheartedly.

It may have taken Carmen nearly losing Ainsley to see that her sister had always been the most important thing to her, but she's seen it, nonetheless. Colton was right, not making peace with Ainsley would have been the biggest regret of her entire life and Carmen refused to live with it. She had some - hell maybe even a lot - but she knew that one of her regrets would never involve her sister.

They would get that time back, somehow, they would make up for it. Although the two of them wondered how in the hell they would manage to do it, they pushed that question aside. Because all that mattered was that right now, they had each other. Carmen had her long-lost sister back, and Ainsley had gained her peacekeeper again.

That storm inside Ainsley stopped.

It stopped for the both of them.