Baby Bug

.: Chapter 01 :.

Summary: A secret military base isn't anywhere for a small child to grow up, but for Gary Sanderson and his newly adopted son Jack there wasn't much of a choice. He was just thankful that Shepherd let him stay. Inspired by Green Eyes.

A/N: Just an idea that's been bugging me ever since I read Green Eyes; it's a wonderful fic so if you haven't already go and read it. Basically Roach has a child who is now living with him on base with the Task Force. Set before and possibly during the games.

Disclaimer: I own nothing; just Jack.

R&R

Prologue

Running. He was running full pelt down the narrow stone passageway with his teammate's right beside him, guns held high and ready. His heart was pounding in his ears and he could hear his heavy breath coming in great ragged gasps from beneath his facemask and helmet as he pushed himself beyond his limits in order to move just that little bit faster.

It was hot as hell and with every bounding step he could feel the sweat collecting on his brow, threatening to fog up his goggles. He could even feel the uncomfortable chill as it ran down the back of his neck, his hair drenched in sweat from the sweltering heat. But he didn't dare stop or slow down, he kept running– kept searching for any sign of the missing hostages.

Roach and the small recon team ran for what felt like hours, pushed to their limits as they ducked through the maze of stone passageways, going left and right with an almost aimless drive. But it wasn't as aimless as it seemed to be. In fact they already had a good idea where they were headed thanks to Roach's knack with technology and the small handheld device he held tightly in one gloved hand.

The device itself was small; made out of durable materials and the size of your average mobile phone. A large screen taking up most of that space with a few smaller buttons located on each side, at the moment the screen was displaying a detailed 3D map of the ruins they were currently navigating– a single green dot to show their own position while a smaller, light blue dot flashed further into the ruins a few floors down from their position.

It was this small beacon they were looking for– the location of the hostages.

Roach quickly glanced down at the device briefly, getting his bearings before turning his attention forward where a T-junction was fast approaching. As they neared the junction he took one last glance at the small screen before speeding up with a quick shout of; "Left! Go left!"

The team moved with flawless precision, darting left and down the small corridor before heading down a large flight of stairs. Roach ran in the middle of the small group, his attention divided between the small device in his hands and the slowly increasing sound of terrified screams echoing off of the cold stone walls.

"Pick up the pace! We're almost there!" his captain yelled, determination filling his voice as they pushed themselves beyond their limits. The terrified screams of the hostages echoed around them, growing louder with each passing second as they sprinted deeper into the ruins.

They ran like the devil himself was snapping at their heels. They were all exhausted, having been searching since three days ago when they were called in. Roach was nearly at his physical limit, they all were, but they never slowed down.

They had a job to complete and he'd be damned if he failed.

Ten minutes later saw Roach and the rest of his team bursting into an open room through a large gaping hole in the wall from where they had breached– knowing that entering through the door would have been risky, especially seeing as thought the enemy knew they were coming.

Their guns were held high, ready to take down any threat as they swept their gazes across the room, noting the countless bodies laying across the floor in mangled heaps, pools of their own blood slowly forming around them.

Roach, who was knelt to the left of the entry point saw the first enemy and with quick precise movements, took the tango down with a clean shot between the eyes– A fountain of blood erupted from the back of the man's head as the bullet tore through his skull, coating the stone wall behind him with chunks of bloodied bone. The body fell limp to the floor a few seconds after, a pool of crimson liquid slowly forming around the crumpled corpse.

Roach didn't even flinch as he murmured a quick, "Tango down," into his headset.

His comrades following up shortly after as the rest of the hostiles sprang up from behind cover, using the last few hostages as living shields as they fired blindly from the hip, only to be nailed between the eyes or with a precise shot to the chest, blood spraying and coating the room crimson.

With the hostiles neutralized Roach and his team entered the room slowly, their eyes roaming the carnage that lay before them. Twelve bodies lay crumpled near the centre of the room; five more were the bodies of the fallen hostiles, and then there were the other three hostages who still lived, huddled together with terrified expressions as they stared at the gruesome sight of the bodies before them.

As Roach stared at the three hostages he felt a pang of guilt for them, along with a sense of failure; they were battered and bruised almost beyond recognition. Their clothes were ripped and tattered; covered in sweat, blood and grime though they seemed not to care for the once pristine clothes as they huddled together.

He couldn't blame them though; they had gone through hell in the past three days alone.

Shaking his head sadly he walked further into the room, light green eyes raking over the fallen bodies in search of any sign that they may have still been alive. He ignored his teammates as they began to look over the three hostages, instead focusing all of his attention on the bodies scattered before him, taking his time in inspecting them each carefully for any signs of life.

With each passing body he felt his heart sink until he was ready to just give up, the feeling of failure lingering in his heart and even though they had managed to save three hostages he still felt like a failure. Three out of fifteen wasn't much of a victory, they had barely managed to save the three as it was, a few minutes later and they would have met the same fate as their companions.

Anger welling up inside of him Roach lashed out, kicking an old wooden crate so hard it shattered upon impact with the wall. He cursed to himself angrily, ignoring the stares of his teammates as he continued with his little tirade until he stumbled over a pile of rubble and landed with a heavy thud onto the stone hard floor.

"You okay, Roach?" one of his teammates called; amusement and concern coating his voice as he picked his way across the room to where the young soldier lay on the floor, "Roach?"

The young man in question was ignoring him; eyes narrowed as he stared down at his gloved hands, or more importantly the object that lay beneath them– a trap door.

Glancing up and over to his captain Roach pulled himself to his onto his knees, "Captain, I think I've found something." He said as he reached down with both hands to grab the small metal handle of the trap door, pulling it up slowly until it was fully open, revealing a set of narrow stone steps.

"What is it?" the captain asked, still focused on tending to the three hostages various injuries.

"Looks like a cellar of some sort, should we check it out?"

There was a pause as the captain glanced up and over to Roach before giving a small nod of his head, "Alright go check it out– Boomer go with him and make sure there are no hostiles laying in wait down there. You've got about fifteen minutes before we need to head out so be quick."

Roach and Boomer nodded once before turning to gaze at the cellar. Moving closer Roach peered into the seemingly bottomless darkness with a furrowed brow before glancing up at the soldier standing next to him, Boomer just shrugged his shoulders and grabbed a flare form his back pocket, handing it to Roach who nodded once before lighting it and dropping it down into the dark abyss.

The staircase wasn't that long, only a few meters down. Boomer tapped Roach's shoulder once before motioning to the younger man that he was going to check it out, with a nod Roach moved back and allowed Boomer to head down the narrow staircase first before following after him.

They reached the bottom of the staircase and paused, the glowing light of the flare casting shadows on the walls as they inched forward slowly, down the small corridor with their guns drawn and ready for action.

Boomer paused and held up a hand to stop Roach from continuing. They were halfway down the narrow passageway by now and already the light of the flare was dimming. But that wasn't the reason Boomer had paused, the reason was the sounds of voices and faint crying coming from further down the corridor.

With a shared glance the two soldiers moved up.

They moved swiftly and silently down the corridor, hugging the wall for another few meters before they rounded a corner and found themselves face to face with a wooden door left slightly ajar, the voices were louder and both Roach and Boomer could head the muffled sounds of tormented crying from behind the door.

Moving closer Roach peered through the crack in the door and felt his eyes widen in horror at the sight laid out before him, Boomer moved up to peer over his shoulder and Roach heard the sharp intake of breath as the older man witnessed the sight before them.

Beyond the door stood three men dressed in strange black and grey robes that matched those of the hostiles they had taken out earlier, but that wasn't the reason his blood was boiling in rage, no it was the sight of a young woman laying spreadeagled upon the stone floor that did it.

The woman in question was tied down onto the stone floor, arms clasped high above her head while her legs were held down with heavy metal cuffs, a dirtied dress the only covering the woman had as she struggled vainly against the iron clasps that held her down.

She was bruised and battered, tear streaks staining her cheeks as more flowed desperately from her eyes as she struggled and sobbed, the men around her laughing and jeering as they surrounded her, the silver blade of a knife glinting eerily in the dim light as one of the three men knelt down near her head and placed the tip of the blade against her thin neck.

But there was one other thing that made Roach's blood boil in rage; the woman, probably no older than twenty-five, was pregnant. Not only that but by the looks of it, she was almost ready to give birth.

With a quick glance at each other and the sound of the woman's terrified sobs turning into agonized screams, both Roach and Boomer sprang into action. They burst through the door with weapons raised, Roach dropped the first two within seconds, a shot to the head leaving them to crumble to the floor in a heap while Boomer lunged at the last man who, in a last act of defiance ran the blade of his knife into the woman's chest before he was tackled to the ground by the hulking form of Boomer.

With the man out of the way Roach wasted no time in making his way to the woman's side while Boomer dealt with the man. Skidding to a stop next to the woman Roach quickly placed his hands over the wound, the knife still sticking out of her chest as she coughed up blood, moaning weakly as he extracted the blade.

His eyes were wide in terror as he tried to stop the flow of blood that poured from the wound, pressing his hands down tightly against the woman's chest as she stared up at him with dull brown eyes, a small smile on her face as she stared up into his own terror filled green eyes.

"Boomer!" Roach yelled desperately as he raked his mind for what little medical knowledge he had, "I need help over here! She's dying!" he was in near hysterics as he fought to control the flow of blood that seeped through his fingers, urging the woman to hold on as he continued to apply pressure to the woman's wound.

The sound of a gunshot filled the room and within seconds Boomer was at his side, taking in the situation before radioing the captain to send their medic –Callsign; Patch– down to assist them.

"She doesn't have much time!" Roach nearly wailed, the young twenty year old was at a loss on what to do– he had never experienced a situation quite like this before. Sure he'd seen innocent men and women die, but he had never been this close when it had happened.

Boomer placed a hand on the younger mans shaking shoulder, "Calm down man, we'll do everything we can to save her." he told the young soldier before instructing him to keep the pressure on the wound while he undid the woman's binds.

Seconds tick by slowly and with each passing seconds the woman grows weaker, a pool of blood seeping onto the stone cold floor as Boomer finally manages to free the woman's arms before starting on her legs. All Roach can do is watch, helpless as the woman slowly begins to drift away despite his pleading and begging for her to hold on just a little longer, long enough for Patch to reach them and tend to her injury.

But the woman isn't listening to him, instead she stares at him with pleading brown eyes as she shakily reaches a pale hand up, placing it gently on the side of his face as she smiles at him through the pain and fear.

Then she spoke.

Her voice was soft, laced with pain from both her wound and the ever worsening contractions, as she stares into his eyes and asked a simple question of a dying soul desperate to know the name of her saviour; "What's your name?"

"M-my name is Gary. Gary Sanderson." He managed to chock out, it was all Roach could do to keep from crying as the woman smiled softly repeating the name to herself, gently running her thumb over his cheek in an almost motherly fashion despite the fact he was only five years younger than her.

That's when he remembered the woman is pregnant.

He shoots a terrified glance down to the woman's round belly before glancing up at Boomer who is still working to free the woman's feet. They share a glance before Roach turns back to the dying woman.

"Hold on, please!" he told her desperately as he moved a hand to wipe the hair from her eyes, "You have to hang on for your baby's sake, you can't die!"

Time seems to slow down as the woman stares at him sadly and Roach feels like everything around him is slowly fading away, only the woman's paling face and her hand against his cheek matter to him anymore, he can't let her die like this– he wouldn't let her die like this.

But she already knows that she's too far gone to be saved, Roach does too, but he refuses to acknowledge it. The woman can see it in his eyes and she smiles again as she beckons him closer. Leaning down slightly Roach stares into the woman's eyes as she opens her mouth to speak but stops short as a cough wracks her body, blood seeping from her mouth as she fights death for just a few moments longer.

Her coughs subside quickly and with her dwindling strength she places her other hand atop his own that still cups her face, gently taking it into her own before placing both their hands atop her swollen belly where Roach feels the tiny kick of the woman's baby.

His eyes widen in wonder as the small babe kicks again, the feeling is like nothing he has ever felt before and despite the dire situation a solemn smile finds its way onto his face. The woman looks up at him with eyes full of sadness as she once more opens her mouth to ask the young man before her one final favour of.

"Please... please take... my baby..." she pleads desperately as Roach stares at her with wide eyes. "Please..." she continues, "Please Gary... don't let my baby die..."

"I... I don't know how to, how am I meant to–?" Roach trails of while shooting Boomer a pleading gaze, unsure of what to do but the older man just shrugs as the sound of footsteps fill the air and Patch came running into the room, eyes wide as he takes in the situation.

Jumping into action Patch is at the woman's other side within seconds as he starts asking multiple questions, but Roach isn't listening anymore, his attention is placed firmly on the young woman before him and leaving Boomer to fill Patch in.

The woman is still staring at him, her eyes pleading with him as she grows weaker and he doesn't know what to do. Heaving a shaky sigh he closes his eyes, blocking out everything as he tries to come to a decision on what to do. The woman waits patiently, she knows the answer before even he knows it– she could see it in his eyes the moment he knelt next to her.

Another weak kick from the baby brings him from his thoughts and he turns to the woman with green eyes filled with determination as he nods once, "Okay," he tells her softly as he smooths his thumb over her swollen belly. "I'll take care of your child like it was my own, that I can promise you."

The woman smiles before nodding in gratitude, murmuring her thanks and a blessing to the young soldier. "Do what must be done... so that... my child may survive. You are... a great man, Gary Sanderson. I would trust no other with my child... I am glad I got this chance to meet you..." she sighed before her eyes drifted shut.

Roach turns his attention to Patch who glances up from what he was doing to stare at him with wide eyes, a question hanging on the tip of his tongue as Roach motions to the woman's belly.

"You're the medic, mate." he says in way of explanation and Patch nods.

"We'll have to perform a caesarean– but I don't have the right tools to do it properly, it's likely she'll die from it." The medic informed them solemnly and Roach shuddered.

Steeling himself Roach looked at the medic and nodded, fierce determination shining in his eyes. "Do it." was all he said.

"Boomer, we are Oscar Mike! Grab your boys and let's get the hell outta here!" the voice of their captain came in over the three soldier's headsets as they moved back down the narrow corridor.

"Roger that captain, we're on our way back now." Boomer sent back a few seconds after.

The three moved back down the corridor silently; the body of the deceased woman held tightly in Boomer's arms as he lead the way with Roach not far behind, a small bundle held securely in his arms as he followed after the taller man with Patch right behind him.

Patch had managed to perform a caesarean on the dying woman, saving the child but ending in the woman's death. Roach still couldn't believe it; the woman was gone and in her place was a small baby boy– a baby boy with the same doe-like brown eyes that his mother had possessed. Patch had tried to take the child from him after extracting the newborn from the mother's womb, but a steely glare from the young soldier and a hand on the shoulder form Boomer had stopped him short.

Roach had made a promise to keep the child safe from danger– and he swore to himself that this time he wouldn't fail; he owed the woman that much for failing to save her as well.

He stole a glance down at the sleeping baby and smiled slightly. The child was the most beautiful little thing he had ever laid eyes on, and as soon as they got back to the states he was going to formerly adopt this boy as his own– just like he had promised the child's mother.

But for now there was only one thing he was worried about; and all his focus was on getting his baby boy out of this hellish place alive.

...

...

So, that's the prologue; this was set four years before the first chapter, so the kid will be four in the next chapter. This was written quite a while ago but I found it recently and decided to try and finish it, I hope you enjoyed it and find it worth continuing. Any constructive criticisms are welcome as well as help with my atrocious grammar and editing skills (I know I suck at it).

Hopefully I'll have the next chapter done soon– not that I think I can top this. Any suggestions and ideas you'd like to see are welcome.

Thanks for reading,

Babybee17