Hello friends. I hope you're doing well. I figured I should write a little background story for something I mentioned in another story (Michelle).
Those of you who have read that story might remember something about Cooper and a winch? Well, I'm making this story.
"Okay, it's hooked up…" Duncan informed as he almost skidded in beside the rest of the squad. "Coop, you can start winching the package up here."
Cooper nodded and wrapped his right hand around the handle and started turning the wheel around.
"Hurry up big guy." Boxer snapped his fingers a few times as he tried to make the tall Californian work faster.
"Going as fast as I can here, Tex!" Cooper bit back as he struggled with the winch, "I swear this was rusty fifty years ago!"
"Sure it's not you getting weaker?" Pete hackled.
"Pretty sure…" Cooper grit out as he turned the handle another half turn.
The manually driven winch ticked with each little tooth on the gearwheel.
"Hurry up man…" Duncan pressed.
"I know… We're on a clock. AS ALWAYS!" Cooper frowned as he struggled with the crank on the winch, "I just can't get th… OhFuck! Dammit!"
There was a couple of seconds filled with the sound of the winch running free, before it abruptly stopped as the break mechanism decided to kick in long after it was supposed to.
"You good there Coop?" Jack asked without even looking towards the tall Californian.
Fighting to keep his cool, Cooper shook his head. He had automatically tucked his hand into the nook of his elbow in a hope to protect it and to ease the pain.
"Coop?" Duncan asked when Cooper didn't answer, "You good there buddy?"
"Nh…"
"Co-, CRAP!" Duncan almost shouted as he turned to look at Cooper, "Pete, Coop's bleeding!"
"Wha…?" Pete looked up, then towards Cooper, "Shit man! That looks bad! Put pressure on it."
Pete kept his eyes on Cooper as he took his backpack off and his hands found the med-kit. "Coop. Pressure!"
"Helvete det værker!"
"And he's cursing in Norwegian…" Duncan frowned. "How are you holding up, bud?"
"Jævla vinsj jækel!"
"Pressure. Coop." Pete repeated as he started to unzip the med-kit. "You're bleeding a lot!"
When he understood that Cooper wasn't going to do what Pete requested him to, Duncan scurried over and took matters into his own hands. Knowing that he was likely to get a hammer of a fist thrown towards him if he went directly for Coop's injured hand, he knitted his fist and trapped it under Coop's armpit.
"Good thinking Dunc…" Pete nodded as he finally found the right dressing in his kit and crawled over to Cooper, "Man, what happened?"
Doing his very best to keep from crying, Coop sucked in a sharp breath. "Winch. Slipped."
"The winch slipped?" Pete asked as he tried to pry Cooper's right hand away from him so that he would be able to put a pressure bandage on the wound to keep it from bleeding as much.
"Breaks didn't work." Cooper bit out, "Bit my hand."
"Come on big guy, let me see that paw of yours…" Pete coaxed as he tried lifting Coop's elbow to get to his hand.
"Is it bad?" Jack asked over his shoulder, he was on his belly looking over the edge, seeing of the package had went all the way to the ground or if it was hanging mid between the ledge they were on and the valley floor.
"Think he took out a blood vessel or two…" Duncan answered for Pete and Coop, as he started rubbing his free hand against Coop's shoulder in an attempt to comfort the tall blond.
"Pete, how bad is it?" Jack asked as he moved back to the group, taking in the scene in total.
Pete shrugged and grabbed a hold of Cooper's forearm, trying to overlook the fact that the large man tried to squirm away from him. "Dunc's definitely right."
"How's the cut looking?"
"A little deep, and about 4-5 inches long." Pete shot back as he started applying the bandage.
If it hadn't been for Duncan already holding on to Coop's left arm, Coop would have hit Pete square on the jaw.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry…" Pete shrank down as he kept applying the bandage, "I'm so sorry man, I know this hurts."
The cusswords seemed to blend together as Cooper tried to twist free from Duncan and Pete.
"Okay, Dunc…" Pete ran a quick tongue across his lower lip, try to let go. Gotta see if this bandage holds up."
Duncan freed his right hand from under Coop's armpit, and tugged the larger man closer to himself, acting like a back rest.
"Well, it's not bleeding through in five seconds flat at least…" Pete let out a breath he hadn't noticed he was holding.
"Maybe you should stitch it up?" Duncan offered as he tried to provide as much comfort as he could, "It'll probably bleed through pretty quickly…"
"Look at that winch…" Pete threw a hand out to point to it, "It's greasy and rusty and an infection waiting to happen!"
Pete paused to wait for an answer from Duncan, when none came Pete continued, "For the same reason we don't stitch up animal bites, I probably shouldn't stitch up that before someone cleans it out properly!"
Cooper pressing air through pursed lips brought their focus back to him after a few seconds.
"How are you holding up?"
"Hand hurts like hell…" Cooper winced, looking down at his bandaged hand, "Think it's broke…"
"Jack…" Pete turned and waved their leader over, his face serious as their eyes met. He didn't wait for the Texan to get all the way over to him, before he stood up and closed the distance. He lowered his voice as they reached each other, "We should get him back to camp. He can power through and finish this mission, but I don't think that's a good idea."
"You don't think so…" Jack nodded, he agreed.
"No, he's in pain. But that's not the main reason, that cut is dirty. I'm almost certain that it will get infected unless we get someone to do some magic on it in a sterile environment. And he might be right about his hand being broken too, it was already swelling pretty intensely."
Jack nodded again, casting a look over at Coop and Duncan. The bigger soldier sat leaned up against Duncan, his right hand wrapped up in a bandage and held protectively to his chest.
"Look, the rest of us can go on, but I don't like the idea of keeping him on. Infections are hard to calculate. He might get a mild superficial infection, a little puss running from the wound… That might be all, if we're lucky. But he might also end up with sepsis, and we don't want that. Especially not on a mission."
"We can't send him back alone. Can we?" Jack furrowed his brows.
Pete shook his head, "Infections can progress quickly. I don't want to send him off on his own. And he's gonna need help to get down a few of the climbs."
Jack nodded, "We could zip-line him down, then he won't have to climb."
"True…" Pete nodded, eyeing the wire that was set up between the mountainside and the bottom of the valley, "We could use the winch to slow his decent…"
Jack nodded, "I was also thinking about that."
"Who are we gonna send with him?"
"I can't, because I'm the one in charge. I'd like to have you here if something else goes caca…" Jack started counting off.
"What about Box?"
"We probably need that mule for something later… If we meet someone who's only speaking Kurdish, we need him."
Pete nodded, "That leaves Duncan."
Jack nodded, looking over Pete's shoulder again. "He knows how to stop a bleed momentarily, he's strong enough to help that giant if they need to climb…"
"And he knows what to say and do to make all of this a little less painful for…" Pete didn't say Coop's name, he just jerked his thumb towards the man.
"Exactly." Jack gave a short nod, before he turned and looked towards the wire again, "Before we can use that to get them down quickly, we need to get the package up."
"Don't look at me. I'm not touching that winch."
"I think it's a two-man job anyway…" Jack informed before he called Boxer over to tell him their immediate plan.
MACGYVERxDELTASPECIAL
"Alright Wyatt…" Boxer nodded, after the three of them had gone over the plan, "Two of us winch that sucker up, pretty boy here guides it down when it reaches the top. Then we hook Coop and Dunc up and send them down the wire… Sounds good to me."
Pete and Jack nodded and looked over at Cooper who had started shaking.
"Hey, Coop…" Jack cleared his throat and stepped towards the Californian, "You ready to get back to camp?"
"No, we've got a mission to finish…" Cooper winced as he tried to straighten up. "I'm good, we should get going."
"Coop, I don't think y…"
"Shut up Dunc!" Cooper grimaced, "We're already past the hard part of this mission…"
"We're not." Jack truth-bombed, "We've got a lot of hard parts left."
"He's right Coop, you shouldn't… You should just get back to camp, get medical attention."
"Nah, man…" Cooper tried swallowing to mask his pain, "Gimme five minutes and I'm good to go…"
"Hey, big guy… This ain't no question…" Boxer chimed in as he moved closer, hunching down beside Dunc and Cooper. "You're going back to camp."
"No, no need to…" Cooper squared his jaw and did his best to fool the others that he was actually doing kinda good, "It doesn't hurt that bad anymore. I'm good to go on."
"Kid, you ain't fooling no one…" Jack sighed and shook his head.
"I'm good." Cooper argued, "Let's just get that damn package up here and we can get going!"
Boxer looked up at Jack and Pete, as if he was asking for permission. A short nod from the two of them led him to look back at the tall Californian before he unceremoniously went for the man's wrapped up hand. Causing the larger man to cry out in pain.
"See, y'ain't foolin' anyone…"
"SonOfABitch!" Cooper cussed with his eyes squeezed shut. "Hell, that hurt!"
"I barely touched your hand…" Box sighed, "You're goin' back to camp, end of discussion."
"But…"
"Nah-uh…" Boxer shook his head, "You heard me. You and Dunc are going back. Me, Pete and Wyatt can handle the rest on our own…"
"Sounds good Box…" Duncan nodded.
"Alright, Wyatt… Wanna give me a hand with the winch?" Boxer nodded towards the offending winch as he stood back up.
Jack nodded and stepped over to the winch, waiting for Boxer to join him. "Pete, take a second look at his hand. See if there's something else you can do for him."
"Alright Boss." Pete nodded, "Just let me know when you need me."
MACGYVERxDELTASPECIAL
"You said you thought it was broken?" Pete asked as he knelt down in front of Cooper.
"Yeah…" Cooper dragged his answer out, "I no longer think that's the case…"
"And that scream you let rip when Boxer touched your hand, that was just a ploy?" Pete rolled his eyes, "Come on man, tell me what part of your hand hurts the worst."
Letting out a heavy sigh, Cooper's eyes found his boots.
"Come on buddy…" Pete pressed as he tapped Cooper's knee, waiting for Coop to answer his question.
"Alright…" Cooper shook his head slightly, his voice barely audible, "Thumb… My thumb's worst…"
"Your thumb?" Pete repeated, "Can you move it?"
When Cooper didn't answer Duncan nudged his shoulder, prompting him to answer Pete's question.
"Well, I might…"
"Might?"
"I might…" Cooper's jaw muscles twitched, "I just really don't want to check…"
Sharing a look with Duncan, Pete reached for his med kit once more.
"Now, Coop… I'm gonna need you to let me have a look at that hand of yours again. You might want some support for that thumb…"
"Nah… Not necessary…" Cooper grit his teeth, "I don't need it…"
"Are you for real? Or are you just afraid of how much it'll hurt when he fixes some support for it?" Duncan asked as he rubbed Coop's chest.
"I'll take the silence as 'he's just stalling'…" Pete smirked as he unzipped the kit again and pulled out a foam covered metal thing and an ACE bandage. "Hand me your paw."
Cooper reluctantly did as Pete instructed, letting out a gasp as Pete placed the foam covered splint against his thumb to judge the size of it.
"Okay, just hold your hand there for me, while I fix this a little bit…" Pete locked eyes with Cooper for a split second, long enough to know that Coop was understanding what he was saying. Then he found a pair of scissors and cut the foam covered splint into two pieces. One long and one short.
Looking back up at Cooper he flashed an apologetic grin, "Sorry, this is gonna hurt."
"Already does…" Cooper chocked out, his voice was uncharacteristically thin.
"Here's to hoping it'll be a bit better once we've splinted it…" Pete shrugged as he cradled Coop's right hand in his left and started forming the largest of the two metal splints after Coop's thumb and wrist. Then when he was satisfied with the first part of his splinting job, he went on to wrap the smaller part of the splint over the tip of Coop's thumb, crossed to the original splint.
"Hey kompis…" Duncan whispered, he had his arms wrapped around Cooper's chest and left arm, to make Pete's task safer, "Kompis, you're doing good. He's almost done, just the bandage left now, right? Right Pete?"
"Yeah, right." Pete nodded, "Just gotta wrap it up and we're done."
Taking a few rapid breaths to get some sort of control back, Cooper nodded.
"There, how does that feel?" Pete asked as he sat back on his heels. He was not pleased to see how Coop's face contorted in pain.
"Ask me again in 5 minutes…" Cooper winced, "Think my hand has been tortured enough for this day now…"
"Yeah, kompis…" Duncan nodded, "I think you're right."
"Kompis?" Cooper repeated as he began to relax, "Where'd you get that from?"
"Remembered Charlie calling you that a few times things went sideways…" Duncan admitted as he brought a hand up to rub tension from Coop's neck, "Figured it might help…"
Cooper nodded, "Kinda did…"
"What does it mean by the way? Was it a nickname?"
Cooper hitched up his left shoulder in a one-sided shrug, "It means the same as 'buddy'… Charlie used to call me that when I was a kid."
Pete and Duncan weren't sure whether the pained tone in Coop's voice was from the physical injury, or from being reminded of his older brother and that he would never be there for him again.
"Think the splint's helping a bit Doc…" Cooper exhaled and looked down at his bandaged hand. "Still feels abused though…"
"No wonder," Pete nodded, "You gonna agree that heading back to the camp will be best for you now?"
Looking every bit the part of a sulking 5 year old, Cooper nodded.
"Good, just sit here and rest while I help Jack and Box bring the package down on the ground. Then we'll get the two of you back down the valley…"
"Two of us?" Cooper looked up in confusion, "Look, I can go by myself."
"No-no-no…" Duncan shook his head, "I'm tagging along. What if you run into the wrong people…"
"Then I'll do that alone." Cooper twisted to look at Duncan.
"Hey, I will fight you on it." Duncan looked hard back at Cooper, "And right now your chances don't look all that great."
Recognizing when he was defeated, Cooper nodded. "Okay. You win."
Okay, hope you liked this start. I just had to have some fun with these boys/men.
I'm guessing there'll be two more chapters for this story.
See ya!
Oh, and one of you kindly asked if I could translate the swearing. So I guess I'll do that… Bear in mind that not every cussword on this planet translates well. I'll translate it to what I guess he would have said in English, even if that won't be the direct translation. Okay?
Helvete det værker – Hell it hurts (This is word for word translation)
Jævla vinsj jækel – Fucking winch fucker (Could also be 'Bloody winch sucker' or something along those lines. This one did not translate as well…)