Disclaimer: The Rat Patrol is not my property. They come out to play sometimes, then I send them home.

Author's note: If I had my way, this would be listed as an H/C/Friendship/Action/Drama story. But I don't get my way on everything, now do I. :-)

Who Do You Blame?

By Suzie2b

The Rat Patrol had been caught up in a running firefight with a German column on their tail. Troy and Moffitt were both standing in the passenger seats of the jeeps, firing the 50 caliber machine guns at their pursuers.

They had taken out two halftracks, killing the Germans in them as they exploded. But then a bullet tore into Troy's chest, sending him backwards onto the hood of the jeep. Without slowing down, Hitch reached out and snagged Troy's wrist and pulled him into the seat next to him. The sergeant slumped down, trying to hang onto consciousness as he pressed his hand over the wound. Hitch gave Troy a worried glance as he broke away from the fight and headed for a grouping of dunes that would give them some cover.

However, one of the remaining halftracks broke away from the German column and gave chase. Hitch was defenseless, as there was no way to man the weapon that could save them.

Realizing what was happening, Troy moved painfully to again man the 50 and within a minute had devastated the halftrack's engine. Hitch grabbed the sergeant's belt as he came dangerously close to falling out of the jeep and was able to get him to sit down before he passed out.

Moffitt and Tully had witnessed the drama from their jeep, but could do nothing to help their friends. After the halftrack following Troy and Hitch exploded, Tully saw where Hitch was headed and mentally noted what dunes to return to.

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As soon as Hitch was out of sight, he stopped the jeep and ran around to the passenger side as he absently listened to the battle. He managed to carefully get Troy out of the jeep so he could better evaluate the sergeant's injury.

After tearing open Troy's shirt, Hitch saw the bleeding wound in the left side of his chest. He scrambled to the back of the jeep and grabbed a med kit. He again knelt next to his injured friend and used a large pressure bandage to hopefully stem the flow of blood.

Hitch was still pressing down on the bandage when he noticed the silence. Then he heard the sound of a vehicle coming in his direction. He was sure it was Moffitt and Tully, but wasn't going to chance being wrong. Hitch quickly climbed into the jeep to man the 50 and wait.

Not a minute later Tully maneuvered the jeep around the dunes and came into sight. Before the private brought the jeep to a stop, Hitch was down with Troy again.

Moffitt and Tully rushed to their fallen comrade and Hitch said, "He got hit in the chest."

Moffitt nodded. "Let me take a look."

Hitch shook his head as he continued apply pressure. "He's bleeding."

Moffitt gently put his hands around the private's wrists and said, "Hitch, I need to look at the wound."

Hitch looked at Moffitt. Then he finally straightened up to let the sergeant see the wound. As Moffitt moved the bandage aside, Hitch said quietly, "I weaved when I should've bobbed."

Tully put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Oh no. You are not blaming yourself for this."

"But…"

"There's no way you could've known this was going to happen."

Without looking at the two, Moffitt said, "We all take the same risks, Hitch. Sometimes this just can't be avoided."

Hitch said, "But it's my responsibility…"

A whispered voice said, "Hitchcock, stop your whining."

Hitch looked down at Troy as relief washed over him. "Sorry…"

Moffitt looked up at Tully. "Better go make sure our 'friends' haven't circled back."

Tully nodded. "On my way."

Troy grimaced and asked, "How's it look?"

Moffitt said, "The bleeding has stopped, but I can't tell if the bullet hit your lung or not. I won't risk taking it out myself. Can you take a deep breath?"

Troy sucked in a breath and then gasped with pain. "Not really."

"All right. Hitch, put a field dressing on that and give him a shot of morphine while I check for the nearest hospital."

A few minutes later Tully ran down the sand dune he'd been on and told Moffitt, "There's a German scout column coming this way, sarge. They probably won't find us, but maybe we shouldn't chance it."

Moffitt started folding the map. "Go help Hitch get Troy into the jeep. There's a field hospital a little more than 160 kilometers west of here."

"Can Troy make it that far?"

"There's no other choice."

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They bundled Troy into the back of the jeep and headed out. They kept a slow, steady pace, stopping often to check on the wounded sergeant. They were nearly halfway to their destination when it became obvious that Troy wasn't going to make it if they kept going. His breathing had become more labored, which caused him considerable pain when he was conscious, which wasn't often.

Hitch looked worriedly at Troy's pale, sweaty face and said, "It's going to be dark soon. What are we going to do?"

Moffitt looked around at the cover they'd stopped in. "We'll stay here. Hitch, you're on watch. I'll radio the hospital and have them send an ambulance with medics." After a rather frustrating call, Moffitt told Tully, "It appears that the hospital's only ambulance doesn't have working lights at the moment. It won't be able to get here until morning."

Tully frowned. "Troy's condition is getting worse…"

Moffitt nodded. "I know that all too well, Tully. But all we can do is hope for the best. Help me get Troy out of the jeep."

After they'd settled the wounded sergeant on a blanket, Tully said, "Guess I'd better go tell Hitch what's going on."

"He's still blaming himself."

Tully pushed his matchstick to the corner of his mouth. "Yeah, we've all done that at one time or other. Even when we know there's nothing we could've done."

Moffitt asked, "Would you rather I talk to him?"

"Nah, I got this. It's better if you look after Troy."

Tully walked out to where Hitch was leaning on a tree staring out at the desert. When his friend was next to him, Hitch asked, "When's the ambulance getting here?"

Tully sighed. "First thing in the morning."

Hitch glanced at Tully with a frown. "Morning? It shouldn't take 'em more than maybe an hour and a half at the most to get here!"

"Moffitt was told the ambulance can't go out after dark because it doesn't have lights. We'll just have to wait."

"Easy for you to say. What about Troy? Can he wait until morning?"

Tully said, "With Moffitt looking after him he will." Hitch didn't say anything more so he continued with, "Look, Hitch, there was nothing you could've done to prevent Troy getting shot."

Hitch said, "I should've known…"

"How? With the eyes you don't have in the back of your head? We've all been through the blame game at some point. Shoulda, woulda, coulda doesn't change the fact that it happened." Hitch gave a nod and Tully patted his shoulder as he said, "Quit beating yourself up. I'll be back in a couple hours to relieve you."

He turned to leave and Hitch said, "Tully?"

The private stopped, but didn't turn back. "Yeah?"

"Thanks."

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The night wore on. Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully took their turns on watch, but none of them could eat or sleep. Troy hadn't been awake in hours, but no one voiced their thoughts on the matter. They remained stoically convinced that as long as Troy kept breathing, he would survive.

Moffitt was again checking on his counterpart's condition when Troy opened his eyes. His voice was a weak whisper when he asked, "Where are … we?"

Moffitt smiled slightly. "We're about an hour from the field hospital. An ambulance will be here at first light with help."

It was painful to breathe and it showed on Troy's face when he said, "I don't … need … an ambulance."

"I'm in charge at the moment and I say you do. Don't talk. Just rest."

After giving Troy a shot of morphine and adding a blanket to the one already covering him, Moffitt went back to the fire. Hitch watched him sit down before he asked, "How's he doing?"

Moffitt sighed. "As well as can be expected."

Hitch wrung his kepi with his hands. "If only I'd…"

Moffitt interrupted quietly, "I know Tully's already spoken to you, so all I'm going to say is … it's not your fault. Troy knows the risks we all take every day. He's not going to be too happy with you if he finds out you're blaming yourself." Hitch didn't reply, so the sergeant smiled and indicated the private's hands. "And if you don't stop, you're going to destroy your kepi."

Hitch looked down at the now out of shape hat and smiled slightly. "Thanks, sarge."

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The sun wasn't showing itself yet, but the distinct glow on the horizon let them know it was there. And that meant the ambulance would be there soon.

Hitch was on watch when he spotted two separate clouds of dust coming in their general direction. He checked it out with the binoculars, then ran to camp. "The ambulance is coming, but it's being chased by four German halftracks!"

Moffitt frowned as he ordered, "Tully, you and Hitch get out there and see what you can do! We need that ambulance!"

As Tully got into the jeep and Hitch jumped into the back to man the 50, they could hear the gunfire as it got closer.

A few minutes passed before the ambulance pulled in while Hitch and Tully took care of things concerning the Germans. Moffitt watched the medics go to work on Troy as he listened to the fighting. Then he took a machine gun and binoculars to go see how it was going.

The first thing Moffitt saw was the black smoke and fire as one of the halftracks burned in the distance. He watched Tully expertly maneuver the jeep as Hitch used the 50. Another halftrack exploded as the heavy slugs tore into its engine. Using the smoke as cover, Tully got close enough so Hitch could lob a grenade into a third halftrack. After that, the fight was over. With a sigh of relief, Moffitt watched as the fourth German halftrack picked up the survivors and sped away into the desert as the jeep started back to camp.

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Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully followed the ambulance back to the field hospital. Doctors were waiting and Troy was taken straight into surgery. The medics hadn't given the sergeant much hope of survival, but the Rat Patrol wasn't about to give up on one of their own until after he'd been lowered into the ground.

Time seemed to stand still as they paced, waiting for word on Troy's condition. Finally a doctor stepped outside to talk to them and said, "He made it through surgery and is now in recovery."

Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully smiled at the news and Moffitt said, "Thank you, doctor."

"Well, don't thank me yet, sergeant. He's not out of the woods. That bullet was lodged in his lung. It was acting like a plug of sorts. His lung was slowly collapsing and allowing blood to seep into it. We were able to drain the blood and repair the hole, but we'll have to wait and see if the lung can recover. He's got a 50/50 chance of survival at best."

Tully said, "Any chance is better than nothing."

The doctor nodded. "He's going to be kept sedated for at least the next twenty-four hours. Why don't you go get some food and rest? You all look like you need it. If there's any news, I'll send someone for you."

Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully did as the doctor suggested. They ate silently in the mess tent, though none of them would remember what they'd eaten. They were assigned a tent where the only reason they slept was because they were too exhausted to do anything else.

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Moffitt was sitting next to Troy's cot when the sergeant finally awoke. He smiled at the grogginess in his friend's eyes. "The doctors are impressed. They say you're going to live." Troy slowly reached for the oxygen mask that was helping him to breathe, but Moffitt gently pushed the hand back down and said, "No you don't. There's nothing so important that you need to talk. Hitch and Tully are fine. They'll be glad to hear you're awake. You just rest now and do what the doctors and nurses tell you."

Behind the mask Troy managed a slight smile. His men were always his first concern and he was glad that Moffitt understood that. He gave his friend a shaky thumbs up before closing his eyes to sleep again.

Over the next two weeks Troy astonished the medical staff as he grew stronger. After five days, he was breathing without oxygen. By day seven he was still weak, but sitting up. A total of ten days later, Troy was starting to give the nurses a hard time.

Captain Boggs had allowed Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully to stay at the field hospital, giving them daily patrol assignments to keep them busy.

One day after patrol, Tully stopped in to see Troy after leaving the motor pool. He sat down next to the cot and waited for the sergeant to open his eyes, then smiled as he said, "You're looking better."

Troy managed a tired smile. "Thanks. I just wish they'd let me outta here."

"You'll be out before you know it, sarge. I'm sure they'll transfer you to the base hospital any day now."

"How are things going?"

Tully nodded. "Good. Boggs is keeping us busy."

Troy said, "At least you and Hitch are staying out of trouble."

Tully chuckled. "Yeah. Hey, I just wanted to check on you and say hi. Moffitt said he'd stop by after dinner. I need to go knock some of this dust off before I eat."

"I haven't seen Hitch. Is everything okay with him?"

Tully sighed. "Well … um."

Troy frowned. "Out with it."

"Hitch's got it in his head that you getting shot is his fault somehow."

"What! Oh for crying out loud!"

Tully quickly said, "Settle down, sarge. You're not supposed to get all worked up."

Troy growled, "I am not worked up. You go tell Hitch I want to see him … immediately."

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A half hour later Troy saw Hitch walk in. He watched the solemn young man walk across the ward with his hands in his pockets and his head down. When he was standing next to Troy's cot, Hitch said, "Tully told me you wanted to see me."

"Sit." The private didn't hesitate to do as he was told. Troy said, "What's going on with you? How can you blame yourself for what happened to me?"

Hitch hesitated, then finally said, "I just feel like I should've been able to keep you safe. I feel like I failed you."

"Failed me. Hitch, I didn't even see it coming. There was no way you could've known what was going to happen."

"So I've been told. But I can't help but feel like I've let you down."

Troy said, "There's no way any of you could let me down as long as you're doing your jobs. We've all blamed ourselves for things we have no control over at some point in time. I've come to realize that, as far as the war is concerned, the only ones that can be blamed when one of us gets hurt are the Germans and Italians. Understand."

Hitch slowly nodded. "Yeah, sarge, I understand." He smiled then and said, "I'm glad you're feeling better. I'd rather sit through one of you lectures than sit here waiting for you to wake up."

Troy smiled and shook his head. "Get out of here so I can rest."