Caboose looked at the blade in his hands. It was familiar, for he had used it for a long time. He took off the armor on his wrists, revealing words like dipshit, bluetard, and stupid carved on them. Every one of those words hurt like knives, so Caboose had just made it literal.
He swung the knife down and began to write in his skin. On one wrist, he wrote 'Just a' and the other he scrawled out 'Problem'. He cut them deep, blood seeping on to the floor. He dipped his finger in the red substance and wrote two words on the wall with it. He sunk to the floor beneath the words, feeling unconsciousness dragging him away. He welcomed it, having stopped fighting it long ago. Before his eyes closed, however, he let one tear stream down his cheek, mixing with the pools of blood on the ground.
"CABOOSE!" Church yelled through the base, or at least, the makeshift one they had made from when they crashed on this dumbass planet. He had been looking around the base for five minutes now, surprised, and maybe a little worried, that the blue soldier hadn't come running at the sound of his voice. Carolina had made him a body that actually looked human, and Caboose had practically kissed his new face in happiness. A smell wafted up his "nose" and his sensors began to figure out the odor. The answer would have made his heart stop if he had one. Blood.
He shot through the base like a rocket, knocking over anything in his way. When he saw Carolina, safe and sound, he sighed with relief. His sensors had told him it was her blood type, same as Caboose and Sarge. Wait a second. Caboose! Running through the base once more, he called Wash and told him to get everyone and meet at Caboose's room. They all got there, but the door was locked. The stinking stench of blood emanated from behind the door. Wash blasted it open. They all gasped. There, on the floor, lie Caboose, blood seeping from cuts on his wrists. Church could make out the words using his android eyes. They were all insults they had thrown at the dimwitted blonde. The newest carvings made a wave of guilt crash on him. 'Just a Problem.' That's all it said. He had said those words, but he'd never thought it would cause this. Above the bleeding man there were two words written in blood. 'WOrDs hURt'
Church took off his shirt and ripped it in two, pushing the fabric on the young private's wrists, hoping to stop the bleeding.
"Someone to get Sarge. Carolina, I need you and him to get ready for blood transfusion," Church barked out the orders, trying to hide the fact that he felt as though he was about the cry. Carolina nodded, and Wash went to get the red leader.
"Tucker, help me get Caboose to the medical bay," Tucker nodded, picking up the man he had pretended to hate for years by the legs. They walked briskly through the halls in silence, each step echoing through the base. It was unnerving to Church. Was it always this quiet? Caboose usually made some problem that caused a lot of noise, and he and Wash would have to fix it. That couldn't happen now though. Caboose was hanging onto life right now, trying to slip away.
It seemed like hours had passed by the time they got to the medical bay. Sarge, grumbling about stupid blues while hooked up to a blood donation device, stopped short when Caboose was brought in, as though he hadn't believed the now cobalt freelancer when he had told him. His eyes widened futher then they already were, if that was possible, when Church took the pieces of shirt of the cuts, and flinched when he looked over all of them. Church followed the old man's eyes to one word carved in skin. 'Bluetard.' A nickname Sarge had come up with and said to Caboose regularly. It was now a scar on the blue eyed man's skin, along insults thrown at him regularly. Church gave a nod to the man, who was now biting back tears. He hooked Caboose up to the blood machine and began sewing up his wrists. Carolina walked out, gunshots being heard outside, and Wash pounded the wall. Tucker just stood, tears streaming down his cheeks. Church took off the rest of Caboose's armor, making sure there were no other scars. He sighed at the missing toe on the man's foot, the one he had shot off. When Sarge had given Caboose his amount, Carolina stepped in, her face clouded with anger and grief. Grif and Simmons came over to pick up Sarge and nearly threw up at the sight before them. They looked at each other sadly and took Sarge home. The three silently agreed not to fight the blues until Caboose was in tip top shape. Caboose was finally stable as the clock reached midnight, and Church fell into recharge at Caboose's side.
Caboose woke up all hazy. Why was he even alive? He should be dead. He looked to see Church sleeping with his head resting on him, and glared in disgust. Sure, the biggest jerk saves him, why not? He pushed Church to the floor, causing him to wake up with a start. "Huh.. Wha?" He muttered staring up at the angry face above him, his eyes widened. "Caboose?" He asked, confused by the glare. The others walked in, hearing Church fall to the floor.
"Of course, YOU saved me Church. After all, we're "best friends," Caboose spat out. Church could only stare at the seething man before him. Caboose didn't wait for a reply. "Let me guess, you're sorry? Oh, well since I'm the stupid, lovable, forgiving guy who everyone wants to pick on, so of course I'll accept your apology!" He continued, sarcasm practically dripping off the words.
"I…I… I didn't mean," Church stuttered, trying to apologize. However, Caboose cut him off.
"Oh, you didn't MEAN anything? Oh, bullshit Church. Each and every one of you would be ten times happier without the moron Caboose, and I know it! All you do is insult, lie, and hurt. I guess you are like the director Church. You care about your friends and family just as much as he did," Carolina gasped. No one even talked to Church about the director, much less insult him about it. "I get sent in a goddamn war because of the person YOU were based on, then get dragged on your stupid adventures because you want revenge, get called a Fuckin' problem, still come to save your ass, then I don't get a single thank you. Pretty much the same way the director treated the freelancers, and those were his soldiers! You didn't give a shit about what happened to me, so don't pretend you do now," Silence swept through the room as Caboose finished, and no sound was hear except for Caboose's panting, since he was out of breath from the rant. "Don't worry Church, I'll use a gun next time and then yo-" Church cut him off. Getting up, he glared at Caboose, determination blazing in his eyes.
"Next time!? There will be no next time! I don't give a crap if your whole family dies and I try to kill you. I will NOT let you kill yourself if I have to take your weapons away and force feed you dammit! You are MY best friend, even if I'm not yours, and I will not let my friend die!" Church yelled. Caboose glare softened ever so softly. He looked away.
"Fine," Caboose muttered in reply. "But you don't have to worry about my family dying. They're already dead," Church winced at this statement, but didn't let his pain show. "You know how scared I was when you didn't come out of that memory unit? How many nightmares plagued me? How many times I cried myself to sleep?" Caboose went on. "When I got you back, I was so happy. Instead of being happy to see me, you yelled at me for being sad that you were gone and taking you out of there. Then you and Carolina started barking orders, and you yelled at me," His voice cracked at the last few words. "You yelled at me and called me a problem and went away, leaving me all alone," Tears were now streaming down his cheeks. "I figured my family was dead, my best friend hated me, everyone one else treated me like shit, and without me there would be one less mouth to feed, so why not? I've been cutting myself since the O'malley incident anyway," Church stared at him in surprise. That long?
"Don't worry buddy, we'll get through this. I promise," Church told him. Caboose smiled. It was going to be okay.
Caboose woke up from his dream smiling. His smile faded as he realized it was all fake, that Church was gone, and they were shipwrecked. He sighed, got up, put on his armor, and walked into their makeshift kitchen. Noticing his depressive demeanor, Wash asked if anything was wrong. Caboose said he was fine, and that there was nothing to worry about.
The bloodied knife in his room told differently.