A/N: This story begins right where the mid-season finale leaves off. It'll go on for as long as I feel the muse.
And I forgot to disclaim, darn it. It's like I'm a fanfic newbie. Disclaimer: Yeah, these characters are not mine, so that's what's what.
Machine gun fire peppered the ground, sending everyone scattering toward cover. Charlie grabbed hold of Danny's shirt and yanked him into the trees. She looked up to see her mother (God she was not used to that) and Nora running at her. No Miles again? And Aaron? Nora beckoned wildly for Charlie and Danny to keep moving, and it seemed they ran for the better part of 30 minutes. Finally they jumped into a deep depression in the ground and waited, their chests heaving.
"Where are they, Nora?" Charlie asked, refusing to address her mother, and instead talking to the woman who had acted far more like a mother to her in recent memory. She thought fondly of Nora tending to her head wound in Philly.
"Miles'll be here, Charlie," Nora said, her face set.
"And Aaron?-I'm going after them!" Charlie said impetuously, impulsively, and began to move. Nora grabbed her wrist and thrust her back into the dirt.
"No, you won't. I'm sure Miles is getting Aaron."
Rachel watched the two talking, attempting to suppress the rising feelings of jealousy. She had only met Nora once before, and given Nora's association with Miles, was not inclined to trust her.
The light was beginning to give way, and Nora began to look nervous. Danny was breathing far too hard-he was clearly fighting an impending asthma attack. Rachel drew her son into her arms, and he sat deadly, allowing the embrace but not welcoming it.
Suddenly, they heard footfall.
"God damn, you are heavy Aaron!" Miles said as he flung Aaron into the ditch. He had been supporting Aaron's weight, since Aaron was clearly peppered with bullets, mainly, it appeared, in his rear end.
Miles was breathing almost as heavily as Danny and collapsed, grasping his chest.
"We've…we've gotta get out of sight. Aaron and I noticed a kind of cave over that way," Miles wheezed. "Let's go. And someone help me with Aaron this time?"
They headed carefully toward the cave, Nora and Miles all but dragging Aaron. Once inside, Miles asked Charlie to build a fire, which she immediately set about doing. Danny lay in his mother's lap and drifted off with surprising but serendipitous rapidity.
"Ok, Aaron. Gotta get the bullets out," Miles said gruffly.
Aaron was on all fours in the corner, clearly in excruciating pain.
"Stand up and drop your pants," Miles suggested as calmly as if he were telling Aaron to pass the salt.
Aaron vocally objected, but Miles shook his head. "The bullets aren't that deep. We get them now, you get better. We leave them…well…" Miles finished ominously.
Aaron said to the women present, "Don't look."
Miles shook his head again. "No, Aaron. I'll get 'em out, but you're going to have to pick one of these pretty ladies to hold the candle for me. I can't see a damn thing in here."
Aaron looked desperately around at his companions. Finally, after deciding that Rachel was too close to him and Charlie too young, he picked, "Nora then."
"Good choice, buddy. Nora's seen it all before," Miles said tersely.
He was cleaning tweezers from Maggie's old kit with alcohol. Nora immediately came over and lit a candle. She placed her hand on Aaron's shoulder reassuringly. Charlie and Rachel tried to look politely away, but Charlie couldn't help but steal a glance now and then. There was nothing else to look at.
Finally, Aaron dropped his pants.
"Gonna have to spread 'em a bit, Aaron. Sorry," Miles said apologetically. Nora tried to look down as she held the candle, but Miles forcefully redirected her hand with a look that said, 'I don't care if this is uncomfortable-I need you to pay attention.'
Miles inspected the wounds. "Everything's still where it should be, Aaron," attempting to reassure him. He used his comforting voice-the one he used with fallen soldiers. He felt for Aaron; he really did. He washed the wounds with alcohol and began picking. Aaron gripped the wall but was quiet.
"Aaron, you need to try to relax a little. Don't lock your knees, or you'll pass out!" Nora warned.
"Relax? Miles is picking bullets out of my nads!" Aaron objected. "It's painful and humiliating!"
"Aaron, listen to me," Miles said, putting the back end of the tweezers in his mouth briefly to rewash Aaron's lower left buttock. He took the tweezers back out of his teeth and resumed picking. "This isn't embarrassing. I've been in much worse positions as a soldier. Trust me."
Nora smiled the faintest of smiles. "Oh yeah, Matheson? Like what?"
Miles grinned a little too, but kept working as quickly as possible. "Well, for one thing, I've shit my pants as a grown man probably more times than I did as a baby."
Charlie guffawed lightly and couldn't help but look at Miles. Upon seeing Aaron's full moon, she quickly averted her eyes again.
"When did you poop your pants, Miles?" she asked, realizing that Miles was graciously trying to distract Aaron from his agony.
"Christ, loads of times! Once when I was on campaign in Trenton with Monroe. I got shot in the gut-now that really hurts, Aaron. Avoid that. I was sitting there holding that wound for awhile before I realized I was sitting in shit. Monroe wanted to move me, and I told him: 'Don't think you should.' He insisted, 'I'm not leaving you to die!'"
Nora laughed. "So you were embarrassed instead of being worried about impending doom?"
"Yeah. I mean, weird stuff goes through your head when you're bleeding to death." Miles paused ponderously. "Anyway, I told Monroe: 'No, I mean, don't pick me up, or you'll get shit on you! I've crapped my pants.' And Monroe starts giggling uncontrollably like a school girl. He picks me up anyway, of course, and carries me to safety. When we get behind the lines Jeremy's there, looking all concerned about me, you know. Monroe puts me down and says, 'Man, you smell like shit.' And I look at him and say, 'I told you!' So Jeremy starts cracking up."
Nora shook her head.
"So then I tell them, 'I don't want my last God-damned act as general to be shitting my pants!' And they're kind of like, 'Oh man,' not knowing what to do. Finally, Jeremy (bless him, he's a nice kid) says, 'Do you want me to take your pants off for you?' totally straight-faced. I mean, I believe he would have done it! Hahaha!" Miles cackled drily.
Aaron winced in pain but was amused. The distraction was working.
"So…how did you survive that?" Charlie asked, glancing at her mother, who was smiling the tiniest amount humanly possible.
"Oh I dunno, Charlie, I blacked out. Doc saved me. You know. I got lucky."
There was a long pause, during which Aaron made small noises of suffering.
Finally, Charlie asked, "What were the other times you pooped your pants?" laughter still in her voice.
Miles sighed heavily. "Sorry kid, that was the only funny one." He paused and finally added, "The other times all happened when I was a prisoner of war in Afghanistan and spent four months chained in place, unable to move, for the most part."
Miles was looking at Aaron's rear very intently. Nora gazed carefully at Miles' face.
"So the funniest time you crapped yourself was when you almost died in Trenton?" Nora asked just to clarify.
"Yep," Miles said.
A beat and then Nora laughed uproariously. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she said. "I don't know why that's so funny. Hahahaha!"
She kept laughing and tears started streaming down her face. Pretty soon they were all laughing, and Danny woke up confused. Even Aaron chimed in, as Miles was helping him pull up his tattered pants.
Miles put his hand on Aaron's shoulder. "You're gonna be ok, Aaron. But you'll probably want to sleep on your stomach tonight."