It was raining again. Damn, he hated the rain. Seemed like that was all it ever did here. He let his head fall back against the tree he was sitting alongside, squinting up at the huge drops that always managed to fall down his shirt, trickling coldly down his back or chest. He sighed and looked at the other men squatting with him. Some of them were sitting stoically, those who, like him, had been there longer, while the others looked as miserable as he felt.

"Hey Riley, you look like you're gonna cry," Sully called teasingly. Riley looked up and smiled faintly. He had been shipped in only two days before, and Sully knew how rough it could be the first few months.

"No sir, that's the rain," Riley responded, and Sully laughed.

"Good," he said, taking a swig of water from his canteen.

"Sully." Jake looked up, barely catching the half bar of chocolate that flew towards him.

"Thanks," he said with a smile, raising the chocolate at Riley before taking a bite.

"Round up, men, we move out in five," Sarge bellowed suddenly, and Jake grinned when Riley groaned.

"Don't be such a candy ass," he called to Riley, who flipped him off good-naturedly. Sully stood, stretching, and ran a hand through his short-cropped hair before slinging his semi-automatic over one shoulder.

"Come on men, hustle it up," Sarge ordered. The men, a small unit of twelve, finished gathering their things and stood in front of Sarge in two lines of six, unflinching despite the torrential downpour.

"Move out!"

They moved swiftly through the undergrowth, hacking at it with their machetes when necessary, otherwise just tromping through the dense jungle.

"Hey Riley, you hear about Sully there?" Banks asked suddenly, and Riley looked at Jake.

"What about him?" Sully rolled his eyes, continued walking.

"He's fearless. Crazy. Man has no sense of self-preservation."

"Corporal Sully?"

"Hell yeah, Corporal Sully. He's got a reputation for pulling insane stunts. You'd better watch your back around him." Sully grinned when he heard Riley gulp audibly.

"Don't listen to Banks, Riley, I'm the most reliable man out here," he said, giving Riley a sly look that clearly contradicted what he was saying.

"Yeah, the most reliable man my-"

Gunfire erupted from the trees, completely cutting off whatever Banks had been in the middle of saying.

"Down, down!" Sarge yelled, even though most of the men were already hitting the ground.

"Riley! Get your ass on the ground!" Banks screamed even as Sully launched himself at the smaller man. Bullets whizzed around them, the air filled with lead. Jake blinked, looking dazedly about him, lifting his head painfully. Banks was mouthing something at him, but everything seemed to echo and his thoughts were sluggish and dull. He looked to his left, saw Riley's open eyes staring at a point beyond his head, and suddenly Jake realized that there was a searing pain throughout his body and a warmth spreading over him.

"Oh, shi-"

xxxx

Tom unlocked the door to his apartment, setting his bag next to the door and pushing his voicemail button .

"Hey Tom, it's Maggie. Sorry I missed you, give me a call when you get in." Tom sighed and went to the fridge, pulling out a bottle of water.

"Tommy, it's Mom."

"It's Tom, Ma, how many times do I have to tell you?" Tom muttered, shutting the refrigerator door with his foot.

"Listen, Tommy it's-it's your brother." Tom stopped dead, listening as his mother's voice cracked.

"We haven't heard anything beyond that he's been wounded- Oh Tommy, just call me back when you get home? Please?"

Taking a huge gulp of the water, Tom laid a steadying hand against the counter.

"Oh Jake, what the hell have you done now?" He muttered, running a shaking hand through his hair. He dialed his mother's number unsteadily, drumming nervous fingers on the marble countertop.

"Mom? It's Tom," he said as soon as the phone was picked up.

"Oh Tommy, I'm so glad you called."

"How's Jake? I want to know everything you do."

"We haven't heard much. We received the news this morning, only that he's been injured, badly enough that they're trying to stabilize him in a hospital in Brazil before bringing him back to the States."

"Okay, Mom? Tell me the name of the hospital. Yes, I can fly out today. No, I've got vacation days, it's fine." Hurriedly, Tom wrote the name of the hospital and hung up, then booked a flight to Rio de Janeiro.

xxxx

"Sully! Sully! Hey," Banks was yelling, and Jake blinked in confusion. Oh, yeah. Venezuela. Ambush. Pain.

"Banks," he croaked, trying to lift himself up and failing. He managed to raise his head enough to see that Banks had found some shelter from the barrage of bullets that was continuing to surround them and started laboriously dragging himself forward in an attempt to reach him.

"Hey, just a bit further, almost there, Sully," Banks encouraged, returning gunfire over Sully's head. Jake was tiring far more rapidly than he normally did, gasping for air as he tried to move.

"Come on, Sully! Move your ass!" Sarge was yelling too now, but Jake's head was swimming and his chest felt crushed and his back was on fire, and there was no way in hell he was going to make it the ten feet to cover.

"Damn it Jake!" Banks' voice was suddenly louder, closer, and then Sully felt himself slung over someone's shoulders, pain erupting throughout his body.

"Banks," Jake slurred, his voice thick and raspy as Banks set him on the ground behind their meager cover. "Riley."

"I know, Sully. Riley's dead. Just hang on." Jake felt someone fumbling with his shirt, heard Banks swear under his breath. "Holy shit, Sully."Jake looked down, saw the blood coating his stomach and chest. Banks was yelling for Sarge and Jake felt as his hands started to shake, his breathing coming in gasps and pants as he came to a realization.

"Can't feel my legs, Banks," Sully muttered suddenly, voice rising in pitch. "Shit, I can't feel my legs!"

"It's okay, Sully, you're okay."

"I can't…shit…my legs! Can't…can't…" Things started to spin and blur together and nothing made sense anymore.

"…got two exit wounds…hang on Sully…we need a damn medic!...keep that pressure tight, Private…" Snatches of conversation made it to his ears, wove in and around the intense pain.

"Sully! Stay with me, Jake!" Jake could feel his breathing quicken, get more shallow, couldn't do anything about the tremors that spread the length of his body.

"He's going into shock. We gotta get him out of here, Sarge!"

"Corporal, there's a medic unit on its way, it's coming to get you outta here, you get me? You have to hang on, Sully, almost there'."

Staring up into the slate gray sky, Jake realized it was raining again. Maybe it had never stopped. He hated the rain.