Disclaimer: The Rat Patrol is not my property. They come out to play sometimes, then I send them home.

Fog

By Suzie2b

It had started as a simple enough raid on a four truck German convoy. However, when the attack started, half the trucks veered north while the rest stayed on course. Moffitt and Tully went north and Troy and Hitch stayed with the other two. With their mission accomplished they knew to meet at the waterhole where they had started from.

Unfortunately, Moffitt and Tully met with a bit of trouble on their way to the waterhole. A German scout column had heard the racket from their attack, but arrived on the scene too late. They saw the jeep in the distance and chose to follow.

Tully wasn't driving as fast as he could be. They didn't have far to go and there hadn't been any enemy sightings since they destroyed the trucks. There was no reason to think they were being followed.

The first shell hit the sand behind the jeep. Moffitt quickly climbed into the back to man the 50 caliber while Tully put his foot to the floor. A second shell hit in front of them and when Tully swerved to miss the fallout, the jeep flipped onto its side, throwing both men out.

Moffitt was the first to recover and got to his feet quickly. He ran for cover next to the jeep and grabbed a machine gun. Tully shook his head as he got up and staggered towards Moffitt. His vision was blurred and his ears were ringing. His knees gave out and he ended up crawling to cover with the sergeant.

Moffitt glanced at the private and saw a trickle of blood running down the side of his face. "Are you all right, Tully?"

As he pulled the second machine gun from its holster, Tully lied, "I'm good. How 'bout you?"

"Maybe a bruise or two, but that's it." Machine gun fire began to ricochet off the jeep and another shell exploded nearby. "Do you think they want to take us alive?"

"Yeah. Maybe if we just step on out there they'll stop shootin' at us."

Then they heard the unmistakable sound of a 50 caliber machine gun. Moffitt and Tully carefully looked over the jeep as Troy and Hitch sped by. They stood up and began to return fire.

When Moffitt saw that Troy and Hitch were chasing off the Germans, he stopped and turned to look at Tully. He was startled to see him sprawled on the sand, blood soaking his shirt. Moffitt fell to his knees next to his friend and tore open the shirt.

When Troy and Hitch rolled up, Moffitt was trying to stop the bleeding. As they jumped out of the jeep and knelt next to Tully, Troy asked, "How bad is it?"

Moffitt pressed hard on the wound. "One bullet in the ribs. No exit wound. I need a med kit." Hitch moved quickly and returned with the kit and a canteen of water. "Get a pressure bandage out and help me get it on him."

Troy took the med kit from Hitch and said, "Go keep a look out. I don't want those Germans trying to sneak up on us."

"Right, sarge."

Troy got the pressure bandage out and handed it to Moffitt, then hauled Tully into a sitting position and supported him. Moffitt wrapping the bandage around Tully and tied it off.

Troy laid the unconscious private down. "You stay with him. I'm going to check the jeep."

Moffitt nodded and began to clean Tully's head wound.

The jeep wasn't in bad shape. The German bullets had missed the gas tank, but had taken out one tire. Moffitt took over as look out as Troy and Hitch changed the tire before the three of them righted the jeep. Hitch got in and after a couple of tries, fired it up. They got Tully into the back of the jeep and Moffitt got in behind the wheel.

Before Troy got into the other jeep with Hitch, he said, "There's a field hospital just over Tabuk Pass."

Moffitt shook his head. "He won't make it that far, Troy. Not in a jeep anyway."

Troy sighed, "I'm open to suggestions."

"We can go to the oasis at Jenin. If I remember right there are ruins there we can take shelter in."

Troy nodded. "Okay, that's a start. Let's go."

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They got to the oasis in less than an hour. Troy and Hitch went on ahead to check things out and gave Moffitt the all clear to bring the jeep in. They got Tully inside the small building and laid him on a blanket on the floor. Moffitt checked the wound in the young private's side.

Troy asked, "How's he doing?"

"There's been no more bleeding and there's no sign of internal bleeding. I'm more concerned that he hasn't regained consciousness yet."

"Was that cut on his temple that bad?"

Moffitt said, "It didn't look bad, but I don't know how he got it. It could be the combination of the two wounds."

Tully felt like a fog had lifted as he heard voices. He tried to open his eyes, but couldn't. He tried to move his hand, but no matter how loud his mind yelled the hand remained still. And then the fog came in again.

Troy looked at Tully's pale face and could hear his labored breathing. "Can you take the bullet out?"

"It's one thing to take one out of his shoulder. This is quite a different thing."

Troy nodded. "Okay. Hitch and I will head for that field hospital and bring back help. We should be back before morning."

###########################

As the day waned, Moffitt started a fire for light and warmth. Tully was still unconscious, his breathing labored, but hadn't worsened.

Moffitt covered the still form with a blanket and wrapped one around his own shoulders before sitting down next to Tully. "I wish you'd wake up. To be honest I think I'd rather see pain in your eyes then this. At least then I could give you some kind of help." He put his hand on the private's shoulder and let his head go back against the wall. "Hang on, Tully. Please stay alive."

The fog lifted again when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Hearing Moffitt's words, Tully wanted badly to tell his friend that things were going to be all right. However, before he could even try, the fog engulfed him again.

The hours passed slowly. All Moffitt could do was stoke the fire and watch Tully. It was two o'clock in the morning when Moffitt was awakened from a doze by Tully's movements. He looked down to see Tully convulsing. Moffitt scrambled to cushion his head with the blanket he had been using and turn Tully onto his uninjured side.

A very long thirty seconds later Tully's body stopped jerking and shaking. Moffitt eased him onto his back again, checked the bullet wound and pulse. He removed his ascot and wiped the sweat off Tully's face. Moffitt looked at his hands and noticed he was shaking. He sat back and took a deep breath. "How much longer?"

Tully's mind was muddled and his body hurt as he thought, "What just happened? How much longer 'til what?"

Moffitt looked at his watch. It was nearly three-thirty. He stood up and stretched before he threw more wood on the fire and warmed his hands. There was a sound and he turned to look at Tully, then realized it was something outside. Moffitt picked up his machine gun and went to the door. He squinted into the darkness and could just make out four points of light moving in the distance. "That had better be you, Troy." As the lights got closer, Moffitt recognized the sound of the jeep's engine. "Help's finally here, Tully."

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Troy was out of the jeep before it came to a complete stop. "How is he, Moffitt?"

"No better I'm afraid."

An ambulance pulled up next to the jeep and two people got out.

Troy introduced them, "This is Doctor Moore and Nurse White."

Moffitt nodded. "Your patient is in here."

As the doctor and nurse went inside, Troy caught Moffitt by the arm and asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It's just been a very long night."

Doctor Moore knelt next to Tully and asked, "How long has he been unconscious, sergeant?"

The fog lifted as Tully heard the stranger's voice. "Unconscious? I'm not…"

Moffitt looked at his watch as he walked inside. "Since he was shot. Nearly ten hours now." He looked down at Tully. "He had a convulsion about an hour and a half ago."

The doctor removed the pressure bandage and tried to examine the wound. "I need more light."

Hitch took a small flashlight out of his pocked. "You can start with this. There's a couple more in the jeep."

Nurse White said, "There's a lantern in the ambulance."

"Good. I'll get that too."

Doctor Moore took the flashlight began to examine the wound closely. After a minute, he said, "Nurse, we'll need the surgical equipment and ether."

Troy frowned. "You're going to operate on him here?"

"Without knowing where the bullet is lodged we can't risk moving him. He's lucky you didn't try to bring him to the hospital." The doctor looked at Tully's dog tags. "Do you or your men have blood type O+?"

"Yeah. Hitch is O+."

"Good. If he needs blood, I'd rather use the real thing instead of plasma."

The nurse returned and set about placing an ether mask over Tully's nose and mouth.

Tully listened to the voices. He didn't understand what had happened. He didn't remember being shot. This time it wasn't fog, but an utter blackness that took him away.

Doctor Moore and Nurse White performed the surgery while Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch held flashlights and the lantern. The bullet had lodged near Tully's lung. The sun was coming up when it was finished.

As he was washing up, the doctor said, "We should wait an hour or so before we move him."

Moffitt asked, "What about the head injury?"

"No doubt a concussion. That coupled with the other injury … well, he'll wake up in his own time."

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At the field hospital Tully's condition improved. His wounds began to heal without any problems, but he was still unconscious after two days. Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch took turns sitting with the young private.

On the third day, Troy got word from Captain Boggs that they had a new assignment. Troy said, "Moffitt, you stay here with Tully. Hitch and I will take care of this and be back in two or three days."

Hitch didn't like the idea. "Didn't you explain about Tully?"

Troy sighed. "I did, but the captain said we're the closest unit to the situation and the two of us should be able to handle it."

Moffitt said, "You two get going. I'll take care of things here."

###########################

Moffitt sat with Tully most of the time. He would read to him from a book his mother had sent him titled The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie, or just sit quietly hoping Tully's eyes would open.

When Tully could hear Moffitt's voice, it was comforting. He couldn't always understand the words, but it was comforting.

On day five Moffitt was reading to Tully again and was a little more than half way through the book. Out of the corner of his eye, Moffitt saw movement. His voice trailed off as he looked at Tully's hand. Fingers twitched. He leaned closer and whispered, "Tully? Come on now. It's time to wake up." No response. "You know, it would be nice if you were awake when Troy and Hitch get back."

The fog had lifted. Tully heard Moffitt's voice and thought, "I tried to move my hand. I think I might have done it this time."

Moffitt sat there encouraging his friend to wake up. An hour later Tully's eyes fluttered open. He smiled for the first time in days. "Tully?"

He squinted at the sergeant and whispered, "Moffitt?"

"Yes, it's me. How do you feel?"

"Why is everything so … blurry?"

Moffitt questioned, "What's the last thing you remember?"

Tully's brow furrowed as he thought. "I … remember … we were headed back to the waterhole after taking out a German convoy."

"You don't remember anything after that?"

"No … what happened?"

"The short story is a German scout column snuck up on us. The jeep flipped. You got shot and have a concussion."

"Are you okay?"

Moffitt nodded. "I'm fine."

"Troy and Hitch?"

"All is well. They should be back soon."

Tully tried to swallow, but his throat was too dry. "Is there any water?"

Moffitt smiled, "Let me get a nurse to take a look at you first."

###########################

Several days later Tully was reclining against several pillows reading The Body in the Library when Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch appeared.

Troy sat down on the bed and patted Tully's leg. "How're you feeling?"

Tully set the book aside. "Pretty good."

Moffitt asked, "How's your vision?"

"Back to normal. They're going to let me out of here tomorrow." Tully picked up the book again. "Ya know … I've been sitting here reading this book and I keep thinking I've read it before. But I know I haven't."

Hitch grinned, "Moffitt was reading to you when you were unconscious."

Tully smiled. "I remember your voice, but the words didn't always make sense to me. It did make me feel better … thinking that someone was here."

Moffitt said with raised eyebrows, "You heard me?"

"Yeah … not all the time. It was kinda like a fog would clear sometimes. I remember you saying something about help coming. And then … I guess that was you reading."

Moffitt smiled. "It's amazing what the subconscious is capable of."

Tully sighed. "Well, thanks."

"For what?"

"For being here. I'm not sure I would've made it out of that fog if you hadn't been here talkin' to me."

Moffitt grinned, "Piece of cake. I do my best work when I have a captive audience."