Summary: Moffit gives Hitch some advice after an he receives a letter.
I'm not a doctor, any mistakes I make with the ways things were diagnosed, or side effects of certain diseases, is my fault. Sorry medical people. Please review! I'd love to hear your thoughts, and even prompts and all that! Thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: Don't own them.
Mark Hitchcock rubbed his nose, feeling the skin peel painfully away from sunburn. He slowly took off his glasses and rubbed the grit and grime of the day off of them. He was shaking with exhaustion and anxiety.
It had all started with a letter, a letter which he refused to show the others after he had read it. Tully was beyond worried about him when he'd nearly had a panic attack by the jeep earlier, and Troy had upon arriving back from scouting and hearing the news, made Hitch sit down. They'd tried to ask him what was wrong, but he only stared at his hands with fear steeped into his eyes.
That evening things weren't much better. The night was restless for the young driver, who couldn't stop thinking about what he'd read.
At last he got up and walked over to a lonely dune, larger than the rest, and sat on it, staring at his hands. He barely acknowledged the presence of Moffit when the Sergeant sat down beside him.
"What was in that letter, Hitchcock?" the British man asked softly.
"Nothing."
"It can't have been nothing. We've all noticed the change. Troy and Tully are worried about you. Tell me, I promise I won't tell them unless you want me to."
Hitch glanced up.
Moffit had never realized how blue the young man's eyes were, always behind his glasses or goggles. Now they were an untamed sapphire, flashing in the dark of an early African morning. Finally the words Moffit had been hoping for came.
"…it was a letter… ordering that I meet with the Doctor at the next base. They've got- "his voice cracked, "Eh, blood sample results."
Moffit's stare intensified into one of concern, "why did you get your blood tested, Mark?"
The use of his first name startled Hitch, and he glanced up at Moffit. "I was feeling dizzy…. sick sometimes. They thought…well, everything added up….and they figured maybe it was cancer."
"Good God," breathed Moffit, "why did they let you go out on patrols? Why didn't they tell us?"
"I asked them not to. It wasn't a certain thing, and you would have known something was wrong if I wasn't going to be with the patrol anymore. I heard them talking. They said it would kill me if I had to stop. I didn't want to…. I'm just…. I can't stop thinking about that letter. When I meet with that doctor- what's he gonna tell me? That I'm dying?"
Moffit's eyes softened. He waited a moment, and drew a long breath of cool desert air.
"Hitch, when I was a little boy, several of my friends and I went into the woods one day and decided to climb what seemed like very tall cliff onto a plateau. I was afraid, but I didn't let them see it. Once we got to the top, they were all very excited, but I almost immediately made my way down. Years passed, and that cliff always bothered me. I never knew why. One day, a few months before the war, actually, I made up my mind and climbed it. When I got to the top, I realized that last time I'd climbed up, I was afraid to fall, so I scrambled back down. But this time, I was taller, and the cliff wasn't as big. I had been looking down, not up. When I looked up, there was something amazing; a whole view of the land, with its rivers carved deep into the earth, and green trees swaying gently. There were houses too. I could see mine." Moffit looked up at Hitch, "the point is, I was so afraid of what might happen, I didn't stop to see the beauty that was actually there."
Hitch was thoughtful for a long time, until Moffit prompted gently, pointing, "Look up, Hitch."
Slowly, he lifted his eyes.
The sky was alight over the desert with an array of vibrant oranges and scarlets, silken violet, and velvet yellow. Soft and hard colors mixed, and at the very bottom, the source of it all, was the glowing half-orb of the sun, seeming to perch on a dune across from them.
"Whatever happens when you get back to that camp, remember to look up. There are always brighter days ahead." The Brit smiled and gave a half-salute when he stood. "I'm going to catch some sleep. You might try to as well; it's going to be a long day."
"In a minute." He still sat, gazing at the sun.
Jack Moffit smiled and began to walk away.
"Sergeant?"
"Hmmm?"
"Thanks," the college boy let out a reluctant, but ever-cocky grin, and the older man returned the smile.
Yes, things would get brighter soon.