Just when you think you couldn't possibly find a new handsome to beat up on, you discover SEAL Team and the amazing angst and brotherly love that is Bravo team, with their oh-so-whumpable rookie Clay Spenser. So here is my first venture into the fandom, for my #BadThingsHappenBingo, hope you enjoy! Please excuse any discrepancies in how things may or may not go down with CIA agents overseas and such, I know nothing ;)
Fandom: SEAL Team
Characters: Clay Spenser, Bravo Team
Prompt: Doesn't realize they've been injured
To say that the op was supposed to be a simple one would have been a lie; Bravo Team had gone into Syria fully aware that the extraction of captured CIA agents would be chaotic in the absolute best case scenario.
This? This was nearly as-fucking-far from best case as things could be. Sure, they'd found their targets and neutralized the immediate threat, did so pretty damn quickly, in fact, and had been right on schedule for exfil before first light. Until one of the agents, Lewes, insisted on going back for the terrorist's study to steal the intel they'd originally been there to gather. Clay was the first to catch the man's redirection and attempt to stop him, but he was just quick enough to slip beyond Six's grasp. The order for Clay and Sonny to "bring that idiot back here alive before exfil window closes" wasn't even fully out of Jason's mouth before the SEALs were obeying, night vision in place.
Bravo Four briefly settled a hand on Six's shoulder as they moved through the hallway, both alert for any threat and listening for the pounding footsteps of the spook around the corner. Clay cleared said corner before following, just in time to see the man duck into a doorway to their left. The blonde cursed under his breath and keyed his comms. "Bravo One this is Bravo Six, be advised our runner has entered a room on the West side of the building, we may have trouble if there are combatants across the courtyard. I say again, we will be exposed."
"Copy Bravo Six, proceed with caution."
Clay turned to Sonny. "I'll clear the courtyard, you take care of the spook."
"You got it GQ." The older man hesitated just long enough for Clay to move across the study and take point, sharp blue gaze ensuring there was no unwanted movement. "I don't know what the hell made you think it was smart to leave the team sent to get your sorry ass out of here, but I will not hesitate to knock you out and throw you over my shoulder if you don't get the hell away from that computer and back out to the rest of the team." The younger SEAL smirked, imagining Lewes cowering under Sonny's imposing presence but resisting the urge to turn and look for himself. That urge increased when he heard the scuffle behind him. "Did you not hear me, spook? My team did not put themselves at risk to come get you just so that you could get shot because you decide you're not ready to be un-kidnapped!"
"We need this information! Your buddy here is keeping watch, this intel is worth dying for or I wouldn't be here in the first place!"
"Listen here, smart-ass, the longer you take, the longer we risk delaying exfil. If you get us left behind, you will end up dying for that damn intel anyway. Is that what you want?"
Clay heard the agent scoff. "Your team wouldn't leave you behind, and if you were going to leave me behind, you never would have come after me. So-" A flash caught Spenser's attention, and without hesitation he spun and threw himself at Sonny and Lewes, the three of them ending up sprawled on the ground as the glass behind them shattered.
"Shit!" Sonny growled, wiggling himself out from between the two men and smoothly pulling Clay to his feet and towards the relative safety of the wall between windows. "Good?" In lieu of a response, the young sniper drew his rifle again and laid down cover fire in the direction if their attack, ignoring the twinge of an ache in his side. "Good enough." Sonny hauled Lewes to his feet, this time receiving no resistance as he shoved the man around the desk and out the door. "Bravo One this is Bravo Three, we are on our way back to exfil site."
"Double time, Bravo Three, exfil is one mike out, ISR has us clear for now."
"Hear that Bravo Six? Let's move." Clay took one final sweep of the courtyard beyond the now-decimated window before backing out of the study, instinctively transitioning to keeping watch over the hall as he and Sonny ushered Lewes back towards the rest of the team.
By the time they made it back to their original exfil point, Ray was hovering at the door waiting for them, chopper rotors roaring in the distance. He sent his brothers a smirk as they caught up, and pushed Lewes along as the man passed. The three SEALs laughed when he stumbled without his own night vision gear, but a member of Bravo Support helped him to the chopper with his partner - the chopper the SEALs were not getting on.
"Should've left his sorry ass behind...did he even get what he was looking for?" Ray asked as they jogged towards the Blackhawk. Clay opened his mouth to speak, but a stab of pain caught his breath in his throat.
"I didn't notice if he grabbed the damn drive, but he probably didn't get everything at least," Sonny answered. The three moved to duck clear of the chopper blades...and Clay's steps faltered. It was only his 2IC's quick reflexes that kept him from hitting the ground. "Spense?"
"I...I'm good…" Ray, skeptical and perceptive, nudged him to sit against the helo. One glance at his gloved hand confirmed his sinking suspicion.
"Then why the hell are you bleeding, Bravo Six? Trent!"
Sonny, who'd just swung himself up into the chopper, spun back around at Ray's sharp words. Clay glanced down to his own side, now throbbing after the pressure of his 2IC's grip, and saw the dark stain growing on his camo blouse. "Well shit…"
"Clay, don't fade out on me brother, we've gotta get you up into the chopper so Trent can take a look at you. Look at me, Clay, come on…" Despite Ray's insistent words, the younger man swayed against him with a distant look in his eyes. "Sonny, help me get him up, he's barely conscious."
"What the hell happened?" Trent questioned sharply. The medic appeared on the opposite side of Sonny and took Clay's other shoulder so that the three of them could hoist him up. Cerberus whined and Brock held the dog back to give them room. Jason watched from the back of the helo, only diverting his attention to the pilot long enough to let him know to leave. Ray glanced to Sonny for an answer.
"The only thing it could've been was a sniper across the way while asshat was trying to copy files...Clay tackled us both, but he must've been hit in the process. Kid got up and returned fire immediately...I had no idea.."
"I don't think Clay had any idea...when I pointed out the blood, he was genuinely surprised. How he took a sniper round and didn't know it is beyond me...must've been the adrenaline or something," Ray offered. Trent handed him a flashlight, which he took and held in place without question. The sight that awaited them left Sonny cursing, Ray giving a low whistle, and Jason counting himself lucky that the agents were on the other chopper and not somewhere that a member of his team could reach - and get himself kicked off of said team. The bloody hole left behind by the bullet just below the line of Clay's body armor had all of them furious.
The flight back to base was tense, with their youngest teammate drifting in and out of awareness. Sonny's leg bounced anxiously and Trent maintained pressure on Clay's injury, checking his pulse from time to time. Cerberus settled against Clay's side opposite the team's medic. As soon as they touched down, the team exploded into movement.
"Doc's ready and waiting for him, what's his status?" Blackburn questioned as the team of medics eased Clay out of Trent's arms and onto a stretcher. Bravo Four leapt out and followed them to provide as much information as possible. Sonny, Ray, Brock and Jason climbed out of the Blackhawk more slowly, watching Spenser disappear into the medical building. Sonny took a steadying breath. It took everything in him not to punch the side of the chopper; the last thing he needed was to get on the pilot's shit list for damaging their primary transportation. The remaining team members started to follow as the Texan's mind replayed the incident in the Syrian study.
"What was that all about? Something happen?" Lewes questioned as he jogged to catch up. A haze of red settled over Sonny's vision at the man's voice, and it was all too easy for him to shake off the hands of his brothers. Finally his fingers found a way to release the rage and fear of losing Clay, and before the CIA agent could blink he'd been slammed back against the wall of the medical building.
"Sonny!" Jason's sharp command did nothing to cut through the fury. Lewes' hands scrabbled for some kind of grip on Sonny's and he gasped for breath. "Quinn…"
"Did 'something happen'?! Yes, you son of a bitch, my brother was shot because a pathetic excuse for a human decided it was more important to go back for information than get the hell out of Dodge." He slammed Lewes back against the wall again after shaking off Ray's grasp. "If you'd just come along quietly like a good little boy, my buddy as you called him wouldn't have had to chase your sorry ass into an exposed room that we shouldn't have been in to begin with, and wouldn't have been taken a bullet while protecting you."
Two pairs of hands finally dragged him off of the agent. "This isn't helping Clay, brother...this asshole isn't worth it. Come on, we want to be there when he wakes up," Ray murmured in his ear, the calm tone doing more to break through Sonny's rage than his Master Chief's command in that moment. Or, perhaps, it was the reminder that they had somewhere better to be.
"Lewes, you'd best stay the hell away from the infirmary...and I can promise you that if my brother doesn't pull through this, I will find you and put you in the ground myself." The terror in the agent's eyes was the last thing the SEAL saw before turning and allowing Ray and Brock to lead him to the waiting room. The 2IC pushed him down into a chair and immediately began pacing.
"You need to take a breath, man...I know you're upset about what happened to Clay. We all are. But you can't threaten to kill a CIA agent and not expect repercussions," Ray insisted. Sonny surged back to his feet. Bravo Two turned to meet his fury without flinching, and that was enough to douse some of his flame. "I know, brother...I know. I want to ring that asshole's neck too, but that won't do any good for Clay. What will be good for him is to have us there with him when he gets patched up and cleared."
Sonny nodded, the fight seeping from him and leaving the Texan shaky. With a heavy sigh Quinn dropped back into his seat and dropped his head into his hands. Ray squeezed his shoulder, and Jason settled into the seat beside him. "I should've picked up that something was wrong with the kid…" Should've seen the blood, should've felt the change in Spenser when he pulled the kid to his feet...something.
"Don't start that shit, Sonny. Ray said that Spense didn't even seem to realize it himself...how the hell would you have known?" Trent questioned, stepping into the waiting room. The rest of the team stood at his entrance, hoping for news. "He's not conscious yet, but Clay's going to be fine. Bullet was a through-and-through and didn't hit anything vital, so they just needed to clean out the wound and patch him up before starting a transfusion. He should be coming around soon and Doc gave us the all-clear to wait with him." That was all they needed to hear to start moving.
Clay returned to awareness slowly, mind shifting to high alert until he was able to recognize the calm voices of his team. The sterile smell bombarding his nose let him know that he was in the infirmary, and the ache in his abdomen brought back memories of realizing that he'd been shot once he and Sonny made it to the chopper...and then nothing.
"If I'm dead, this must be Hell...can't believe I'm stuck with your ugly mugs forever," he muttered, finally blinking through the bright lights. Jason was lounging in a chair at the foot of his bed, Trent and Brock leaned against the wall near the door, and Ray and Sonny sat on either side of Clay.
"You could only hope to be so lucky to be stuck with these ugly mugs for eternity," Trent retorted with a relieved smile. "You remember what happened?" Clay nodded. "Good. The shot was relatively clean, so you'll be back on your feet in a few days, maybe a week. Back on duty probably a few weeks."
"Why the hell didn't you say anything, Spenser?" Sonny cut in, voice low and hollow. Clay's eyes snapped to the Texan, surprised by the depth of emotion clear in the question. "You should've told me that you were hit."
"Sonny, man...I didn't even realize it until I saw the blood on Ray's glove."
"Bullshit."
"Sonny," Jason warned, eyes lingering on Clay's surprised face. The kid didn't recognize the drive behind the older man's fierce response. His silent command to the rest of the team was immediately obeyed, and they filed out to give Sonny and Clay space to talk. The youngest Bravo member watched them go, confused and a little concerned.
Once the others were gone, Sonny leaned forward in his seat and tented his fingers. "How the hell am I supposed to watch your back if I don't know when something's wrong?"
"Well technically I was the one watching your back-"
"So not the time, Clay," Sonny growled. Clay raised a brow. Finally, he got it...that his partner had been worried about him, felt guilty for letting him down.
"Sorry, brother...I swear to you that I'd have let you know if I'd known something was wrong. The adrenaline must've numbed it; it wasn't like the time in Mumbai, when I got blown back from the force because my chest plate took it all. Trent said the shot was clean through. In the chaos of tackling you guys and then high-tailing it to exfil, nothing felt wrong until we slowed down. This isn't on you, Sonny." He waited for the older man to meet his eyes, to see for himself that Sonny believed him. "I'll take a clean through-and-through any day if it keeps you or any one of our team breathing."