Waking up in a whole new dream {Malia}

[Artemis]

Max felt strangely alone standing out in the hallway without Kaiser, but he wasn't some sniveling little Cadet that lost his mind when he was alone; Olivia looked like she needed the comfort of a dog far more than he did in any case, not that he blamed her.

Now that he was actually alone with his thoughts, he could think with much more clarity about everything he'd need to get done.

Mr. Revenue was going to get a boot up his ass the likes of which Max hadn't had the pleasure of bringing down on someone in quite a long time. Even if Max hadn't formed this oddly half-formal attachment to Olivia, it struck something on a deep and personal note having to witness a father stabbing his child in the back (so to speak). Nevermind the fact that Olivia was so much smaller than her father...

... it occurred to him, too, that Olivia seemed to think this was punishment.

The First Sergeant poked her head out of the exam room, motioning to him to come back inside.

"Just fixing to do x-rays. IV fluids are going to be started in just a minute, Sir."

Though he knew the medical jargon, Max wasn't terribly focused on what Hestia had to say; whatever they had to do, they had permission to do it barring some damn good argument from Olivia... Not that she seemed to be in any condition to be fighting in any shape or form.

"Hey Chief... can I come home with you tonight? I don't want to stay here." Olivia asks, looking pitifully up at him and whimpering as Hestia started the IV in her arm.

Max sighed, not really inclined to tell her 'no' but knowing his hands were tied until he went through the proper channels. Hestia's eyebrows went up at the request, looking at Max with an expression he didn't know what to make of.

"Only if the doctors decide they don't need to keep you overnight," He replied, petting Kaiser feeling the dog nosing at his hand, "And the highers-up are going to want me to try and find a female caretaker for you; I can't promise anything yet."

As clinical as his words were, Max couldn't help the apologetic tone of his voice; if it were up to him, he'd have her moved out of the Revenue residence and into a suitable foster home by nightfall. Unfortunately, that probably wasn't going to be the case. Hestia looked satisfied with his answer, if a bit suspicious of the fact that Olivia had made the request to start with, but didn't say anything as she covered her patient with a blanket and left to alert the x-ray technician.

45583a - Maximilian Stahl
19e629 - 2nd Lt. Devereaux
00b49f - First Sgt. Hestia
ff8500 - SSGT Caius‏
d3c82c - Olivia Revenue
fcc96b - PFC Mullo

[*]

Olivia's body molded into the bed as she lay there, awaiting the needle for the fluids to bring her back to a healhy state. With Max's appearance also came a question to ease her situation. It was merely a question of comfort and staying with some complete stranger just made it all that much worse on her when she wasn't feeling up to par. Minus the bruising that still made her body ache with each movement, the symptoms of the dehydration make her feel even more weak in front of someone she would rather see her as healthy and a smartass. It seemed as if she wanted to continue to put up a strong front until the needle was inserted in her arm and the whimper of pain began for a moment.

"Only if the doctors decide they don't nee to keep you overnight. And the higher-up are going to want me to try and find a female caretaker for you; I can't promise anything yet." His words cut her deeper than ever. The only person she knew, that seemed like he gave a damn about her - even slightly, wouldn't be allowed to take her home with him. Not even for the first night after the harrowing ordeal. She quickly shut her mouth, and pursed her lips.

A head nod comes next, accepting her fate to what would happen to her. Her eyes dropped away from Max and down to Kaiser, who's head turned with great timing and his ears flickered down for a moment and head tilted before walking over to the girl and sitting closer to her person. The nurse, on the other hand, worked gently with the tape, putting the needle in position to stay attached to the vein and messing with a few buttons, the liquid in the bag began the descent into her arm.

Olivia shivered just as the woman pulled the blanket over her, covering her with warmth yet again and shaking her head. "You'll be fine, Miss. Olivia." Hestia left the room, leaving Max with her.

"It's okay, Chief. If you can't let me go home with you... I just thought..." She gives him a weak smile and gently pulls the blanket over her tender shoulder and letting her eyes close. Her breaths become slow and even, matching those of someone who was sleeping before she opened her eyes again.

"My father was totally wasted. I can't believe he did that. He's never really touched me before. Never home... yeah, but to do that? I'm glad you came to get me. I really thought that he was going to let me waste away down here. Damnit Jins..." Her voice growled out the name of her brother and without a thought, hit the bed with her arm connected to her sore shoulder, immediately regretting it as she bit down hard on her lower lip and hissing out a breath. "Damnit.. damnit..."

Rolling onto her back, she extended her arm to lay atop the covers and stare at it pitifully. Her eyes travel, though and lands right on Kaiser as she drops her hand down over the bed to coax him over to come nuzzle her hand. "Kaiser." With pointed ears, he slowly moves over to her and uses his nose to push it into her hand and beg for a scratch behind her ear. "Good boy, Kaiser. You found me first didn't you? Good boy!" Her voice comes out a little bit more of a normal tone. Her fingers moving slowly behind his ear, scratching where he's moved her hand to before his tongue licks her fingers and he lays down at her bedside. Drawing her hand back in, her eyes close once again before a knock on the door interrupts her silence for the tech bringing in the machine.

"Sir... Miss. Revenue. Just going to take you back to get some xrays." A short man enters the room, eyeing the dog and raising an eyebrow, but goes no further then that. "Can you move to a wheelchar or do we need to transport the bed?" He questioned before Olivia moved to sit up, getting the assistance of the man.

"I can walk." She stated as a matter-of-factly. The tech nodded and grinned at her, assisting her while the nurse moved the bag to take with them. The moment her feet touched the floor, her legs shook with the weight and sat down quickly. "The blanket..." She asked, reaching for it and putting it over her legs as she was taken out.

"We'll be right back, Sir." Hestia told him, and left with Olivia. A moment after her leaving the room, a familiar face walked into the room and looked to Max, with a nod.

"Sir, I know that for the best interest of the patient, I think we should keep her tonight..."

[Artemis]

Whether Olivia meant to show it or not, it was obvious that Max's answer was far from what she was hoping to hear. If it was up to him, he'd skip the bureaucratic fuckery altogether and set his recruit up on the couch in the living area of his barracks room. He still was no fan of sharing his space, but since Olivia had become his responsibility she hadn't asked him for a single thing, and his normally thick-skinned recruit was looking at him like a kicked puppy.

"You'll be fine, Miss Olivia." The First Sergeant said, exiting the room to do god-knows what and leaving the two of them and Kaiser to themselves.

"It's okay, Chief. If you can't let me go home with you... I just thought..."

Max sighed, smoothing his hair back again.

"I'll try. Really." This probably wasn't going to be what Olivia was hoping to hear, but he went on anyway, "But I have superiors to answer to, and they're not the most understanding of people. I won't make promises I don't know if I can keep."

He was already going to be pushing it angling to keep her out of the community home; that was standard procedure when removing minors from an abusive home. While Max could certainly plead the case for time to find a prospective Peacekeeper recruit a suitable foster home, she would still need a place to stay in the meantime. The obvious choice would be to put her with a female Peacekeeper to serve as her guardian.

Even though Olivia's relation to him was entirely platonic, to the brass above him that only saw the bare-bones facts it could easily be misconstrued as being too informal for an officer and recruiter, let alone one of the opposite sex of the recruit he was vouching for.

Schmoozing had never been one of Max's strong points.

"My father was totally wasted. I can't believe he did that. He's never really touched me before. Never home... yeah, but to do that? I'm glad you came to get me. I really thought that he was going to let me waste away down here. Damnit Jins..."

Olivia swore, turning onto her back and extending a hand to Kaiser; the dog put his head in her hand like a reflex, panting happily when she scratched him behind the ears.

"Good boy, Kaiser. You found me first didn't you? Good boy!"

She had a point, though; who knew how much longer it would have been before Max found her, if he'd been working on his own. Dehydration didn't take very long to kill.

And people wondered why Max took Kaiser with him everywhere.

The x-ray technician entered, cutting short whatever dialogue they might have had and helped Olivia into her wheelchair to take her down the hall, Hestia in tow. Mullo stayed behind, looking at Max seriously.

"Sir, I know that for the best interest of the patient, I think we should keep her tonight..."

Well, that figured. It would buy him some time, in any case, to try and pull some strings in his favor.

"Like I said, do whatever you have to do." Max fought the urge to roll his eyes at having to repeat himself.

Max looked at Kaiser, whose ears perked and head tilted in anticipation.

"Kaiser. Stay."

The dog sat, wagging his tail. Max turned to Mullo, his own expression very serious now as he moved just enough into the PFC's personal space for the looking effect he wanted.

"I'm leaving Kaiser with Olivia. They're not to be separated." He leaned in slightly, narrowing his eyes, "First Sergeant can tell you what will happen if my orders aren't followed to the letter. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

Mullo nodded nervously. Max turned to pick up his helmet, kneeling for a moment to scratch Kaiser's neck. It had been a long time since he'd spent any amount of time away from his dog, but it seemed Olivia needed the company right now much more than he did.

"Tell Miss Revenue I went to attend to her case. If I'm not back tonight, I will be in the morning."

45583a - Maximilian Stahl
19e629 - 2nd Lt. Devereaux
00b49f - First Sgt. Hestia
ff8500 - SSGT Caius‏
d3c82c - Olivia Revenue
fcc96b - PFC Mullo

[*]

Exiting the room, Olivia felt herself shy away from prying eyes. She kept herself small, hidden away in the blanket and her face down to keep anyone from whispering about the marks on her face. Even her shoulders are covered, keeping any signs of the abuse away from anyone who knows not of the situation that she just went through.

"Won't take long Miss. Just a few xrays on your facial bones and on your shoulder. We just want to make sure we're not missing anything." He tells her, and wheels her into the room where the machine is and assists her to the table. A few short minutes pass by and the machine is shut down and their patient wheeled back to her room. Upon entering the room again, Max's appearance is no where to be seen, yet that didn't say anything about the dog, Kaiser, who lays at her bedside even though she wasn't there.

"Kaiser... come here boy." She coaxes and instantly he's on his feet and walking over to her, nudging her hand to pet him and his muzzle being pressed into her hand. A small whine comes next until she scratches behind her ear and the PFC is standing there waiting to assist the girl back into bed.

"We should have the film results in soon. I just want you to rest. Do you want something for pain?" He asks, putting his hand out for her to take and a with a gentle hand on her back, she's laying down on the bed again, rolling to her side as they get her comfortable. Kaiser moves beside her bed, panting with his tongue out and putting his head down.

"Can I... just don't tell Stahl." She asks, wanting him not to know about the pain that she'd rather just forget and sleep well for one night. Last thing she wants is for him to give her any banter on not taking something just to dull the pain. She was strong, and suppose to be able to take it, but this time, it was just beyond her control.

"Be right back." PFC Mullo states and leaves the room, only to arrive back a few moments later with something in hand in the form of a syringe and a dull colored liquid inside. "Got you something for the pain, Miss Revenue. If this doesn't work, let me know, okay? I want to get you as comfortable as possible. I do have to tell you that you'll be staying with us tonight due to the severity of the dehydration and the injuries. It's just a precaution and Captain Stahl left explicit instructions for you to watch over Kaiser while he attends to your case. He'll be back as soon as he can."

With a gentle nod, Olivia watches as the man puts the tip of the syringe into the line of saline and not but a few moments later, before the entirety is completely out of the syringe, does the feeling of an overwhelming calm makes her relax. "Thank you. I will take care of him." She states and Mullo walks to the door and stops a moment.

"Lights off so you can rest?" He questioned and with a gentle nod, the lights are flickered off and Olivia is left in the half lit room with the loyal dog at her bedside. Slowly, the comfort of the drugs hits her system and she's slowly nodding off into dreamland.

PFC Mullo, however, steps outside her door and goes to check on the films of the xrays. The results come back good, in the long run, and with his knowledge, goes to seek out the man over her case.

"Sir, Miss Revenue's sleeping soundly at the moment. Gave her a little bit of something for pain, but she's going to be fine. The films of her xrays are good. No fractures in her face and her shoulder only shows a small, minor seperation, but that's to be expected from the blunt trauma of hitting the wall, as she states. It'll heal on it's own, but we'll put her in a sling for a couple days to a week. It's good news, Sir. She's a lucky girl." He informs the captain of his charge's condition.

[Artemis]

No sooner had Max returned to the quarterdeck than Caius was matching his pace down the hall, arms laden with files undoubtedly containing the records on the various foster families throughout the district; he was flanked by two junior Peacekeepers.

”I dug up the profiles you asked for,” Caius filled him in, ”PFCs Cavanaugh and Leeds are ready to act as escort whenever your recruit is ready.”

”Dismiss them,” Max growled, ”Medical is keeping Revenue overnight; I’m going to need some time in any case to write up her father’s arrest warrant.”

It was about then that Caius noticed something rather important missing from their little entourage.

”That bad, sir?”

That was why Max kept Caius around; his jokes left much to be desired (like the occasional slap upside the head), but the Staff Sergeant was good people.

The look on Max’s face must have clued him in, because he didn’t prod for an answer and opted to move on.

”How long was she down there?”

”Two days; no food or water or sunlight.”

”I’d hate to be him when you bust down his door, sir.” Caius replied mildly.

”Where’s Lieutenant Devereaux?”

Caius shrugged.

”Observing an interrogation.”

Max rolled his eyes; of course she was busy one of the few times he could use the help of another officer. He wasn’t about to put Olivia with an enlisted Peacekeeper, and the Major he’d have to answer to would want to see that Max had at least made the effort to find a female caretaker before she’d even entertain the thought of allowing a male to look after Olivia, even temporarily.

”First Lieutenant Rochelle?”

”On assignment out of the district.”

”Captain Arkanian?”

”On leave.”

Max sighed; there were very few female officers he could choose from.

”… First Lieutenant Valentine?” He tried half-heartedly.

Caius just looked at him sheepishly.

”Right. Of course not.”

”If you don’t mind my asking, sir,” Caius started, knowing full well Max would mind if it were anyone else, ”Why go through all this trouble to find a foster? I get that Revenue is your recruit, but it’s going to be almost 4 years before she’s old enough to be shipped out to the Academy.”

Max raised his eyebrows as he opened the door to his office.

”Staff Sergeant, I know you have a niece. Would you send her to the community home?”

Caius was wise enough not to comment on the implication that his otherwise prickly, misanthropic superior had apparently grown a soft spot for the girl.

”No, sir, I wouldn’t.”

Max sat with a groan at his desk, beckoning Caius to sit across from him.

”Didn’t think so. Now help me look.”

He didn’t know how much time went by as they pored over files and records before Mullo knocked on his door; Max glanced up as the PFC entered, standing at attention and opening his mouth to report in properly before being cut off at the pass.

”Spare me the big official opening and cut to the point, Mullo.”

”Sir, Miss Revenue's sleeping soundly at the moment. Gave her a little bit of something for pain, but she's going to be fine. The films of her x-rays are good. No fractures in her face, and her shoulder only shows a small, minor separation; but that's to be expected from the blunt trauma of hitting the wall, as she states. It'll heal on its own, but we'll put her in a sling for a couple days to a week. It's good news, Sir. She's a lucky girl.”

”I want a report of the full extent of her injuries on my desk by close of business today, understand?”

Max fully intended to nail Nicholas Revenue to the wall for his part.

”Yessir.”

Mullo left to resume his work, leaving Max and Caius back to theirs.

---

”Captain, you realize how many levels you’re skipping with this request.”

Major Achilles, a woman in her mid-thirties and every bit as formidable as her name, rested her temple on her fist and wearing an expression that said this wasn’t the most outrageous request she had entertained today.

”I do, ma’am, but I’ve been unable to locate a female officer to take her in.”

Thankfully, the Major had no disillusions about the community home, and hadn’t even suggested the idea of putting one of their prospective recruits in their hands.

”Future Recruit Revenue also specifically asked to be placed with me for the time being.”

Achilles raised a skeptical, neatly-groomed eyebrow in response.

”First Sergeant Hestia and Private First Class Mullo can attest to this.”

For once, Max was immeasurably grateful for his reputation for being anti-social; the Major was a stickler for the mantra of ‘perception is reality’, but even the most cynical of Peacekeepers wouldn’t be able to perceive Max as having any unsavory intentions towards Olivia.

”I expect regular updates from your recruit to Hestia to ensure there’s no funny business going on.” The Major deadpanned, sounding no less stern but betraying exhaustion at the thought of all the pointless back-and-forth they would have if she didn’t relent now, ”Carry on.”

---

It was nearly sunrise when Max finally received his written order charging Olivia to his temporary care, and when the Staff Sergeant entered his office with a considerably smaller pile of foster parent records and caffeine.

”Staff Sergeant.”

Caius was silent in wait of the follow-up, knowing too well that the lines under Max’s eyes meant he would be in even less of a mood than usual for wasting time. Max brandished the order in his hand.

”Go get Cavanaugh and Leeds to escort Revenue to her house and collect her things; she’s coming with me for a while.”

45583a - Maximilian Stahl
19e629 - 2nd Lt. Devereaux
00b49f - First Sgt. Hestia
004da5 - Major Achilles
d3c82c - Olivia Revenue
fcc96b - PFC Mullo
ff8500 - SSGT Caius‏

[*]

A pain free night keeps Olivia into the void of darkness. Her eyes remain closed for most of the night, despite the PFC to check her vitals. Her fully exhausted mind seems to not care to wake at the littlest sound and keeps her completely under the spell of the precious liquid that has given her a restful night. Only once, in the night, does Kaiser sit up and stare at the sleeping girl before laying back down and keeping his guard at her feet. A door shutting closed, sometime around four, actually jars Olivia awake and out of her peaceful slumber. Her eyes shooting toward the only light source that just happens to be behind the person and giving nothing but a blackout sillouette to the visitor in her room. Giving her a small fright, she elicites a small groan before relaxing to the sound of the man. "Sorry. Didn't mean to wake you. Just routine checkup." He partially whispers out, turning on a light to dim it just enough to see what he needed to do. Her eyes scan him harshly, as if she were dreaming and at any moment his hand out strike out to her and cause another round of pain. "Miss Revenue, are you well?" The voice shows only concern and a hand is laid gently on her arm before the girl seems to come out of her stupor. "I'm fine. I thought I saw... nevermind." Her voice cracks and she tries to clear her throat only to get a dry, scratchy feeling before the PFC retrieved her cup, offering her a sip of the liquid. A nod. That's the only form of payment she gives the man as her need for the water is quenched. The cup is placed back by her bedside as the man messes with a bag he had brought in. "I'm going to start you on one more bag of saline. You'll be good to go in the morning, Miss Revenue. How's your shoulder treating you? Any pain?" He questions her, but her eyes only draw to a close and the man does what he needs and leaves a few moments later. The rest of the morning is gone in a flash before her eyes again. This time, a pleasant looking woman is at her bedside and gently puts her hand on her uninjured shoulder. "How you feeling today, Miss Olivia?" She addresses her with a formal approach and for once, she's happy to answer without her last name hindering her mind. "Better, actually. Thank you." Her response comes out truthfully as next few moments are spent taking out the iv, giving her clearancce to recooperate. Just as she does, two uniformed officers walk in to the room. "Olivia Revenue? Private First Class Leeds and I are going to take you to your residence to collect your things. We'll be outside your door and ready when you are." PFC Cavanaugh tells her, and steps out the door. A few minutes later, aided by PFC Mullo, she stands beside the two uniforms and gives her motion to leave. "I can go in by myself. I don't need you two to protect me. They're my parents..." Olivia asks as they approach the door to the house and before any word can come from the officers to denounce her need to alone, the door is opening quickly and the face of her mother is standing in the doorway, tear streaked cheeks and a look of absolute horror. "Ovi? Ovi, I'm so glad your home. You're father's been so worried about you. He's inside waiting on you. I'm glad that you've had a change of heart. You know your father never meant to hurt you. You know... he loves you." Her mother's meek voice comes out as she descends the stairs and reaches out for Olivia to come into her arms. The only thing that stands in between her mother and Olivia are the two uniforms that flank her daughter and start to move in front of her as if to protect her. "Save it, Mom. You let dad hurt me. I have no need to talk to you." She says and she quickly pushes past her mother, going inside her house with PFC Leeds tight on her heels. Almost immediately, she walks in and the first voice she hears is her father's tone. A little less drunk, but almost a painful tone can be heard. "Olivia? Get in here. I need to talk to you. Are you deaf?" His voice bounds outward, trying to sound cautious without knowing the two officers are with her at all. "I don't want to talk to you, dad. We have nothing to say to each other." Olivia's movements are slower than normal, taking a moment to take in a heavy breath of air, her legs and body not fully revived from the ordeal but inside her room, she spots immediately the staff on the ground and bends over slowy to crouch down and take it in her hands. "What do you mean you... oh. Officers. I didn't know you were accompanying my daughter back home. You're services are no longer required. I can take it from here. She's home. Safe and sound. No harm, no foul." He badgers, eyeing Olivia when she starts to pack a bag full of clothes. It is then that he realizes what's happening. "Olivia? What's the meaning of this? This is your home. This is your HOUSE! You are not allowed to leave..." "Sir. We have very strict instructions to keep her in our custody and she is to remain unharmed while she's in our care. If you wish to speak to someone about this issue, then I advice you to go down to the city center and ask to speak to someone over her case. If you don't mind, we don't have much time." Nickolous looked to the men with the utmost repulsion as to be telling him what to do and what he had to in order to get his daughter back. Steam seemed to pour from his ears but he kept his mouth shut. With her bags packed, one of those bags in the capable hands of Leeds, they took their leave from her house and ended up on the front porch before Nickolous took no heed to their warnings and reached out for Olivia with his hand, gripping tightly onto her arm. "You leave this house, and you'll never be welcomed back, you hear me? I don't care how much you beg. You will not..." A quick jerk and push has him against the wall in a matter of moments, while Cavanaugh is quickly escorting Olivia away and down the stairs, checking her arm at the bottom. His fingers turning her arm everywhich way to make sure the grip didn't leave yet another mark on her skin. "I won't be back..." Olivia - d3c82c Maximilian Stahl - 45583a 19e629 - 2nd Lt. Devereaux(W) ff8500 - SSGT Caius‏ fcc96b - PFC Mullo (npc-doc) 00b49f - First Sgt. Hestia 787878 - Cavanaugh 65c37f- Leeds c03e38 - Nickolous Revenue 19e6e5 - Georgia Revenue Random nurse - f6780c

[Artemis]

It was past sunrise when Staff Sergeant Caius came to him with the written affidavit, signed by one Major Achilles; Caius was smart enough to deliver it with the finished warrant for Nicholas Revenue's arrest and coffee to ply his superior.

And people were surprised when Max threw his weight around in the Staff Sergeant's favor. The man was a saint; the patron saint of coffee and bad jokes, maybe, but a saint nonetheless.

"You look like hell, sir," Caius said bluntly, and if it had been anyone else Max might have been insulted.

"I feel like hell," Max shot back, taking the offered coffee with no small measure of thanks for Caius's foresight, "I wouldn't trust half the bastards in these files as far as I could throw them."

"That bad, sir?"

"I'm also just that cynical. Revenue is a promising recruit, and I'm not going to chance putting her in a home like the one we just removed her from."

Not that Max had much idea what to go off of; his own family's support had been tentatively optimistic at best, vehemently opposed at worst. Caius didn't know a thing about it, and Max had no intentions of telling him, but the point stood.

He'd find Olivia someone better than either of them left behind.

Max let his thoughts drift towards Mitzi, just for a moment; the youngest of his 5 sisters, his best friend and confidante. The one person who supported him when the idea of becoming a Peacekeeper first sparked in his mind, made it seem like his ideas weren't as stupid or crazy as he thought.

He'd left without saying goodbye.

He dispelled the thoughts as fast as they'd come, none too keen on lettering years-old guilt resurface... Especially not in front of another Peacekeeper.

"What's the status on Leeds and Cavanaugh?" He asked.

"They left a couple hours ago with Revenue to collect her things. They're probably back by now, or will be soon."

Max rolled his eyes, getting up with a sigh; they'd probably start processing her into the community home out of protocol, not knowing Max now had orders to the contrary. It wasn't as if he couldn't reroute the orders so his affidavit superceded them, but it would be a royal pain in the ass.

"I'm calling it a night, Caius." He said, gathering up his belongings and taking the coffee with him, "I'll let you do the honors of arresting Nicholas Revenue."

He paused halfway out the door, and Caius looked at him expectantly.

"And when you do, tell him 'Max says hello'. It'll piss him off."

Caius smirked.

"Will do, sir."

---

Sure enough, Leeds and Cavanaugh were in Admin with Olivia, waiting to process their new ward of the state into the community home. Kaiser was still next to Olivia, and perked up the instant he sensed his human's presence. He trotted across the office (earning some very odd looks as to why a police dog was roaming around loose), weaving around Max's leg and looking up at him with the expectation of cuddles. Max scratched the dog's head, relieved to have his furry shadow back, though his stride didn't falter.

Leeds and Cavanaugh snapped to attention the moment they saw him, community home forms in hand.

"I'll take it from here," He said, taking the forms from Leeds and dropping them carelessly on the nearest clerk's desk, "She's with me."

The clerk looked at him with scrutiny; Max dropped the written order on the desk on top of the discarded forms, and in a moment the clerk's expression became confused.

"Spare me the look, Corporal," Max growled at the clerk, "You get paid to read and file paperwork, not give me your opinion about the content."

While the Corporal ducked his head with an apologetic 'yessir', Max turned to Olivia; she was less pale now that she was properly fed and hydrated, but the bruises on her face were still a sickly shade of purple. But she had her belongings (among them, the staff Max had given her when he'd smashed her old one in a spar), and with them she had nothing else to tie her back to her old home.

"Lets go."

The Bachelor Officer Quarters were nicer than the enlisted barracks, but not by much; the only real difference being the absence of a room to share his already limited space with. It consisted mainly of a small living room with minimal furniture, an equally tiny kitchen area (which Max used simply to brew coffee, because who the hell had the time to cook?), a very strategically-organized bedroom and --mercifully-- a large bathroom that served as the only indication that the room had once been designed to house two people.

"You're going to have to make do on the couch or a cot for a while," He said, putting down his backpack and hanging his coat and cover by the door, "Mess hall is a 5 minute walk from here, but you probably won't be able to get in unless you're with me."

Max ran a hand over his hair and sighed; even the coffee wasn't enough to stave off the sleep weighing on his eyes and creeping into his muscles.

"If you need something, speak now or forever hold your peace... I haven't slept, and I don't plan to keep that up much longer."

45583a - Maximilian Stahl
19e629 - 2nd Lt. Devereaux
00b49f - First Sgt. Hestia
004da5 - Major Achilles
d3c82c - Olivia Revenue
fcc96b - PFC Mullo
ff8500 - SSGT Caius‏

[*]

"I'm fine. He didn't hurt me." Her whispered tone barrels out to the two officers, namely Leeds, who keeps reaching for her arm as they enter the station with her in tow and the two stuffed bags of things that seemed to be what she needed most. That and the staff that she had in her left hand. The very staff that Max had given her and now sported a small indention to the top of the staff from her father's drunken rage of throwing it around. No sooner had they arrived, that Olivia scratched Kaiser's head and his ears perked up just as soon as the two keepers that kept her company suddenly came to attention to someone's appearance and Olivia's eyes peered out to see no one other than Max. Immediately, Kaiser left her side and came to a halt in front of Max.

"I'll take it from here. She's with me." He stated without a second halt. Her vision faultered for a moment, wondering why he was saying what he was. Then it donned on her and with it, a smile appeared.

"Lets go."

Olivia was more than ecstatic to go with him and soon enough, ended up in his barracks with her things and slowly took in the appearance. It was nice, small, but nice. It was better than what she was from and she wasn't about to complain about anything.

"You're going to have to make do on the couch or a cot for a while. Mess hall is a 5 minute walk from here, but you probably won't be able to get in unless you're with me." Seemed legit from here on out. At least for now, she knew that she'd be welcomed somewhere and not with someone she didn't know.

"Thanks Max. I appriciate this. You know, for everything you've done." Her bags are placed near the arm of the couch as she lays the staff against the wall and props it against the corner. "I'll eat later, if it's all the same."

Slowly, she made her way to the couch, drawing her feet up and watching so intently as Max rubs his face with his hand in an effort to stay awake. It was then that she noticed just how much it looked like he had been deprived of the sleep.

"If you need something, speak now or forever hold your peace... I haven't slept, and I don't plan to keep that up much longer."

She nodded and gave a small smile. "I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself." She moves her hand in a waving format as she took to laying on the couch and getting herself comfortable. "Go sleep, Chief. You deserve it. Again... thanks for being there for me."