Sebastian heard the shot almost the moment he spotted the man in the dirt behind his teammate. He watched as Tommy's body jerked forward and fell to the ground in a heap. Without thinking, Sebastian returned fire, instantly killing the man and rushed to the Irishman's side, falling to his knees beside the bleeding man. Sebastian silently cursed his inattentiveness as he pressed down on Tommy's bloody side. Sebastian raised his head to look for any of the other team members before remembering they hadn't arrived at the site yet. Tommy let out a pained grunt as Sebastian unintentionally pressed harder in his frustration. Sebastian sent the injured man an apologetic look just as he heard Eva's voice calling out for them. "Over here, we have a man down!" Sebastian immediately heard the rush of running steps in their direction at his exclamation.
Sebastian turned back to his team mate and was alerted to the arrival of the rest of the team by Eva's gasp, "Tommy! What happened Sebastian?"
Sebastian shook his head, "Now isn't the time. We need to get him back to the road and to a hospital."
Hickman and Major Daniel swooped in, "Sebastian, you help Louis carry him and I'll trade places with you. There should be paramedics at that old hospital by now so we just need to get him there." Sebastian nodded, complying with Hickman's orders and trying not to notice the way his blood covered hands smeared red on Tommy's neck and in his hair, contrasting sharply with the blue eyes blinking up at him. Sebastian startled slightly when he felt a hand close over his wrist and looked down to see Tommy's blood stained hand covering his. Sebastian bit back a hysterical laugh at the thought that Tommy was trying to check on him. The man was an asshole, but he knew how to be there when they needed him, and even though the Irishman was bleeding out in his arms, Tommy was still trying to make sure Sebastian was alright.
From then on, Sebastian doesn't remember much. Not how they made it to the hospital or what happened to the girl they had been chasing. He only noticed the feel of Tommy's blood slick hand clutching his wrist and gradually loosening as the man slipped closer to unconsciousness and possible death. Sebastian finally came back to himself when he felt Tommy's hand fall limp and drop from his wrist. He panicked before realizing it was because the emergency personnel had begun taking Tommy on a gurney to an operating room, one not currently occupied by dead bodies.
As they settled down, Eva gently asked, "What happened Sebastian?"
With a sigh Sebastian answered softly, "We came up on the clearing and they fired on us. Tommy and I returned fire. I took cover when they aimed in my direction and Tommy took them all out. When I got back up Tommy was walking towards me and I saw movement over his shoulder. One of the guys he hit hadn't died immediately and before I had a chance to move, the guy got a shot off." Sebastian paused and Eva placed a comforting hand over his as he continued, mostly mumbling to himself, "If only I had moved faster, or found a better vantage point to take cover behind…"
Sebastian trailed off as Eva slapped his arm, "You did nothing wrong and if you hadn't taken cover when you did it would be you in there instead of Tommy." The man nodded and sat quietly to wait for the doctor, knowing Eva wouldn't rest if he disagreed with her but still wondering what he could have done differently, better, so this hadn't ended with his friend in a hospital bed.
Sebastian waited for what felt like hours before he finally saw a doctor approaching them. "How is he?" Major Daniel asked, startling Sebastian who had forgotten the presence of the rest of the team.
The doctor smiled slightly, "He will be fine, the bullet didn't hit anything vital and with a bit of physical therapy he will be ready to go back to work in no time."
Sebastian smiled, seeing the expression copied on the faces of his team mates, "That's great."
The doctor nodded, "I agree, besides we could all use a bit of good news after a day like today." The group nodded solemnly, the smiles slipping from their faces at the memory of how many had died that day.
Hickman was the one to ask the question burning on Sebastian's tongue, "Can we see him?" The doctor nodded, motioning for them to follow him as he led the way to the recovery room. Sebastian did his best not to look at the bullet riddled walls as he followed the doctor, not wanting to think on how everything could have turned out, how it almost did.
Sebastian visibly relaxed as Tommy came into his view while Tommy smiled weakly when he saw the group, "Looks like yer short a member fer a bit."
Major Daniel nodded softly, "Your spot will be ready for you when you want it back."
Tommy's smile grew, "Does that mean I can get back to work now?"
A chuckle ran through the room before Eva spoke, "You aren't allowed back for at least two weeks." Tommy's face looked truly horrified at the prospect which caused the laughter in the room to grow louder.
Tommy's gaze landed on Sebastian and he quickly shot the rest of the team looks suggesting they give the two men a moment. Luckily, they all took the hint and left a slightly confused Sebastian standing awkwardly in front of Tommy. Sebastian opened his mouth to apologize but Tommy cut him off before the first syllable was past his lips, "Thank you." Sebastian didn't even try to hide his surprise at those words and let Tommy continue on while he stood in stunned silence, "I probably wouldn't ave made it if it weren't fer you. Trust me on that, I know a thing or two about bullet wounds. I also know a bit o' what's goin through yer mind about now and there is no way any of what happened was yer fault." Tommy held up a hand to fend of Sebastian's denial, "If anything, it's my fault fer not killin the bastard with my first shot. You killed him soon as you saw him and then you had the presence of mind to keep my sorry ass alive after. So like I said, thank you."
Sebastian wanted to debate the point but knew he would end up admitting defeat and that Tommy was probably right anyway, not that he would ever tell the Irishman that. Instead, Sebastian stepped forward and placed a hand awkwardly on Tommy's shoulder, "Just promise me you will get back soon, yeah? I don't want to be stuck with Eva all the time, seems you're the only one who can handle her."
Tommy laughed at Sebastian's joking tone and again at the muffled "I heard that." from Eva out in the hallway. Tommy clapped Sebastian on the arm lightly, "Will do mate, will do."
x.X. Crossing Lines .X.x
A/N- hope you like it. Sebastian and Tommy are a bit OOC in how they interact but I guess that's what happens in near death experiences.
