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Mirana's eyes flutter open and she becomes aware of the cannula in her nose. She reaches up to yank it out but a familiar voice stops her.
"Don't you dare make me get out of bed post-surgery to stick that back up your nose,"
"Tim?" Mirana turns her head to face the man who is sitting eating jello. "What happened?"
"We somehow didn't notice the large shard of glass in your leg," Tim says. "The doctors say it's because of the adrenaline and how you'd seen me be injured so it was like a line of focus- I don't know"
"Well, it hurts like a bitch," Mirana says, grabbing the hospital blanket to wrap around her shoulders as she reaches for the bag that is sitting at the end of her bed.
"Where are you going?"
"To put some clothes on?"
"What if you fall?"
"There's an emergency pull cord in the bathroom," Mirana shrugs, hobbling into the bathroom.
Mirana pulls on a jumper that she realizes is one of Tim's that she'd taken home with her the other night. She then slips on a pair of underwear before she grabs the pair of joggers that she had stolen from Jackson.
Mirana then slips on the trainer socks Lucy had packed before emerging from the bathroom, carefully getting back on the bed.
"Is that my jumper?" Tim asks.
"I threw it on yesterday morning," Mirana shrugs. "Lucy must have just grabbed it off of my bed. How's your stomach?"
"Sore," Tim nods. "But there's all you can eat jello"
"Lucy's gonna bring me food," Mirana says, looking at her phone. "I was in hospital during college because I broke my wrist and someone who had touched the food had nuts. So my throat closed up"
"How did you break your wrist?"
"That's not important," Mirana shakes her head.
"I'll get Chen to tell me and I'm sure she'll make it ten times more embarrassing,"
"Fine," Mirana says. "We'd decided to do a bar crawl. Started strong at ten"
"In the morning?"
"Yep," Mirana nods. "We're trashed by about one and decide going ice skating sounds fun"
"You asked for a broken wrist," Tim sniggers to himself. "You owe me your end of the deal. Come sit"
Mirana sits herself in one of the chairs next to Tim's bed, resting her hand on top of Tim's.
"You barely know me and you want all the tragic backstory?" Mirana asks.
"I want to get to know the woman I'm sleeping with on a regular basis," Tim shrugs.
"No one's coming to visit today right?" Mirana asks. "Besides Lucy?"
"No, I told them all you were in and out of sleep and you required quiet and they should come tomorrow," Tim says. "With the exception of Chen of course"
"So what do you want to know?"
"Just one thing," Tim says. "The tops. You never let anyone see you without one on"
"Really digging deep huh?" Mirana asks.
"I just want to figure you out," Tim says. "The other rookies, it took me all of five minutes. Day five of knowing you and I'm still stumped"
"My childhood in Cuba wasn't a happy one," Mirana says. "My father is in prison, has been since I was thirteen"
"Your mom?"
"Killed by my father," Mirana says. "He used to use and sell drugs. Import and export. He'd smack us around a bit, my mom got the brunt of it though. I filed for asylum paperwork with the help of a lawyer. I was basically an orphan so I got thrown straight into the foster system. Bounced house to house until I was fifteen. I think I went through eight foster homes in two years"
"Then you found one?"
"Yeah," Mirana nods. "They had a clean record with foster children, took them in for a bit and shipped them off. Wendy was the name of my foster mother and I adored her. But he hated me"
"Foster father?" Tim asks and Mirana nods.
"Yeah, he was awful. Reminded me of my dad but a lot worse. One night, he got mad because I'd been to a party with boys. He was very religious so he branded a crucifix onto my back"
"I'm so sorry,"
"Oh I'm not finished," Mirana says. "He then got his Swiss army knife and carved Whore into my back"
"What happened to them?"
"The last I heard they're living near the Hills," Mirana shrugs. "I just hightailed it out of there as quick as I could with Wendy's help"
"That's... horrific," Tim finally says, his voice low and filled with sympathy. "I'm sorry you had to go through all of that."
Mirana shrugs nonchalantly. "It's in the past. I've moved on."
"My dad believed in harsh punishments but that is something pathological," Tim mutters, reaching out to wipe a tear that had fallen from Mirana's eye.
"People can be monsters," Mirana replies, her gaze distant. "But it made me strong. It made me want to be a cop. I wanted to be the person that someone could turn to when they had nowhere else to go. So there's less me's in this world"
"Knock knock!" Lucy's head pops around the door. "Mirana Banana, you're awake!"
"Mirana Banana?" Tim quirks an eyebrow.
"Only Lucy is allowed to call me that," Mirana says, accepting a hug from Lucy. "I still hate it though"
"I made enough food for both of you," Lucy says. "It's all nut-free obviously, it's just some spaghetti and meatballs"
"You're the best," Mirana says and Lucy grins.
"So what have you two been chatting about?" Lucy asks.
"How Tim owes me because I saved his life and gained a large scar on my thigh and a large burn on my side," Mirana says.
"That sounds fair," Lucy nods.
"Chen, I am your superior officer, I order you to support me here,"
