Twenty-Five

She was very good. He had to give her that, as his eyes followed the flash of red hair, the lithe frame that wove through the thick masculine bodies around her. He could have sworn that when she was telling him about her family on the plane, she'd said she only had four older brothers. Not that only was an appropriate word. Four was still a considerable amount, all things considering. Still, there were considerably more than four men that she was playing against. The soccer game was rough, and not a one of the men playing was hesitant about putting Maire in the dirt. Then again, she didn't hesitate either, and had put the hulking men in their places a few times already.

Like when one of her older brothers had tried to talk him into joining the spontaneous pick-up game. Hiro had declined, and remained on the porch. The man had scoffed, about ready to call Hiro insults, to try and challenge him into the game. That had lasted until Maire had stepped in. Since they weren't dating, he felt no need to get ruffled over the fact that she'd defended him. When her oldest brother hadn't believed her, and was still going to mock Hiro, she'd taken the thirty-four year old over the railing and to the ground. While the men were careful not to injure her too badly, they didn't give Maire any preferential treatment, which Hiro knew suited his friend nicely.

Ireland reminded him much of Maire, her sweetness and her gentle, laid-back personality that hid a vibrant and stunning love of life. As he watched, the body language out in the front yard shifted, and he could tell that the game was about to end. Maire had the ball, which was no suprise since she was faster than all of the men she was up against. One of her brothers- Patrick, he thought, lunged for her. Slipping to the ground in a stunning kick, Maire sent the ball into the makeshift net, and slid right out from underneath her brother. The man laughed, pulling Maire to her feet. Hiro saw her wince, though he supposed that it made sense, since she'd just slid under a very large, full-grown man.

The men that he didn't recognize waved their farewells, and began to walk home. The five Brennans began walking back to the porch. That was when the flash of crimson on Maire's leg caught his notice.
"Maire, you're bleeding."

The woman glanced down at her leg, a bemused grin on her face as she stopped, examining the long and deep gash that spanned all the way down her leg.
"Good. Must've caught it on Patrick's cleat." Her brothers all laughed, and disappeared inside. Maire sat next to Hiro, who was frowning.
"What is it, Hiro?"

"Get in the car." Hiro knew that Maire regarded her injuries as badges, but he was pretty certain that cut needed stitches and needed to be cleaned out, because there was no telling what had been on that cleat. The adults had left a stack of towels outside for sweat, and Hiro grabbed a clean one, handing it to her.
"Put that one on, and get in the car."

The drive to the hospital was a quiet one, save for Maire's brief instructions about where to go. Her face held a grey tinge that left Hiro very worried, and he sped up slightly. The situation that was already stressful, increased with the knowledge that Maire was beginning to feel the pain in her leg. Hiro repressed the irritation towards the girl's brothers that he felt welling within him. Maire was an adult, and they had probably left the situation up to her. It seemed to take forever for them to get there, and once they did, Hiro made Maire wait until he came around to get her. With her arm looped over his shoulders, they slowly hobbled their way into the hospital.

After waiting there for a few minutes, they called Maire back. Her hand tightened in Hiro's, and he took it as a sign that she didn't want to go back there alone. From what she'd told him about the day her mother died, he knew it stemmed back to her fear of being alone with doctors, one reason that she'd not wanted to come. It was also probably why her brother's hadn't forced her to come, he realized belatedly.

The doctor examined Maire's leg, and said that it needed stitches. Maire still clung to Hiro's hand, and he brushed the hair from her face, wishing that she wasn't in pain. Despite the gravity of the situation, the doctor's instruction for Maire to look at her boyfriend's face was met with a chuckle from both of them, though Maire was in too much pain to correct the man, and Hiro was too worried. As the doctor began the stitches, Hiro looked only at Maire's face, unable to stomach the sight of that needle and her skin. Really, this whole situation was stressing him beyond what he should cope with, but Maire held his hand in a vice-like grip, and he wouldn't have left her this panicked anyway.

In the end, the doctor said, it had only needed five stitches, for the cut was shallow at the far end. Maire stood, and leaned on Hiro as they walked away. Five stitches? Hiro thought that the man was lying. Surely it had been three times that?

For when Maire had opened her eyes, and looked up at him, fearful and in pain, his heart had told him that surely it was twenty-five.