Disclaimer: I don't own Under the Dome in either way, shape or form, and don't intend any copyright infringement.

Julia kind of felt something for the man sitting on her sofa; not hate, but could it be love?

A sharp hiss of indrawn breath coming from Barbie pulled her out of her thoughts. What had happened? Frowning, she looked down to see that one of her hands had inadvertently landed on his side. "There's more wrong than just the cuts on your face, isn't there?" she asked.

"I'm f-" Barbie's response came automatically, until the memory of her words from a few minutes ago brought him up short. In the future, there can be no more lies. It would be a shame to risk that over something like this. "A couple of bruises, probably cracked a rib…," he admitted reluctantly.

"Let me take a look," Julia said, hands already working to push up his shirt. Barbie squirmed, but didn't stop her. Julia's expression softened as her fingers very lightly skimmed the reddish-blue bruise high on his ribcage. "Are you sure it's not broken?" she asked, concerned.

"Absolutely. Believe me, broken would feel a hell of a lot worse," Barbie answered, his voice low and a little hoarse.

Julia was unsure, caught between taking him to the hospital just in case and bowing to his apparent expertise in the matter, but in the end she decided to believe him. "Well, in that case, let me at least get you an ice pack," she said, getting up

"Better make that two," Barbie admitted, still in that low voice, his hand unconsciously going up to his right shoulder. To be honest, his knee and ankle could do with an ice pack too, but he didn't want to end up looking like Frosty, the snowman… and if he didn't move too much, hopefully the rest would have sorted itself out by morning.

Julia gave him a silent "do I need to know anything else?"-look, complete with a raised eyebrow, before she headed to the kitchen and the luckily still working fridge.

When she came back to the living room, Barbie had stretched out on the couch with his eyes closed. Julia paused for a moment to take a good look at him. She knew that he had been in a fight of some kind, but why and with whom? Fights broke out more easily the longer the town was trapped under the dome, but somehow she had a feeling that this had been something else. He looked battered and exhausted, and despite everything that had happened and all that she had learned today, she felt it tug at her heart.

"Hey," she said softly, sitting down beside him. Barbie opened his eyes and looked at her as she placed the ice pack against his ribs. He flinched as the cold seeped into his skin, but relaxed again when it began to dull the pain stabbing through his chest every time he took a deep breath. "What's with the veggies?" he asked, when he noticed the bag of frozen peas in her hand.

"I could find only one ice pack, so I thought this should work just as well," Julia answered, draping the bag across his shoulder.

"Wouldn't you be more comfortable in a bed?" she asked.

"Probably. Not sure I could get up the stairs right now, though," Barbie admitted.

And there was that inexplicable tug on her heart again. By rights she should have called Linda the moment she had learned what had really happened. And she still wasn't sure why, but somehow the thought hadn't entered her mind. "I'll get you a blanket and pillow then," she said, getting up again.