Everything belongs to the bbc.
He'd never known fear like, not in his three previous tours of Afghanistan, not in his lifetime. But now he was afraid. As soon as Sohail started to move his arm James went cold. Molly was marked as a target and his first instinct was to put her back on the plane and get her the hell out of there. It was the only reason he'd been able to let her go in the first place, knowing what Sohail's disappearance could mean, he'd used the feeble excuse about needing coffee to get her to board the helicopter.
"That's a order" instead of "I love you", "I need that bloody coffee" instead of "I need to know you're safe". A week apart was worth knowing she was out of harm's way. It was even worth the risk knowing how Smurf felt about her. He took small comfort in her reluctance to leave and hoped that once they landed back in the UK her family would be enough of a distraction that she wouldn't notice Smurf's changing feelings towards her. He knew he should pull the lad in and read his the riot act about relationships but he couldn't be that person, he'd of been the biggest hypocrite in the British Army. No she would make her own choices, he owed them both that.
He'd relived those moments alone with her before she left him. The feel of her hand in his and the promise she'd made to come back him. Not to come back to platoon but to come back to him. Once again he'd made a liar of himself, the coffee wouldn't make the blind bit of difference, he already adored her and would have done anything she asked.
Those two weeks apart had been harder than he'd imagined and his heart skipped a beat every time he heard the roar of the helicopter's blades. When she stepped through the gates it took everything not to rush to her as the others did, the doubt that maybe Smurf had made his move making him wary, he looked for some sign, a look or a touch passing between them that would tell him if still stood a chance. Finding out she'd been to Newport and Smurf to London was damn near floored him. Her denial that anything happened sounding hollow. It wasn't until he saw the coffee capsules on his bunk that the small flame of hope returned. She'd been thinking of him, granted his wish.
In the end she'd chosen him. Her timing was bloody awful. He'd been given everything he'd wished for, she cared for him, had been willing to risk her life to let him know and willing to walk with him into the jaws of death and he hadn't been able to answer her.
Now as she faced her own personal hell all he could do was reach out to her. She was shaking from head to toe. Now he was afraid. He couldn't lose her, not now. His own words came back to haunt him "It's all luck". Fate be damned, Molly Dawes would not become a casualty of this war. If it meant his life he would keep her safe.