A/N: I'm trying to be a good girl and finish my stories before I start any new ones :) That being said, this has been revamped, and although it's the same story, I like to think I added improvements along the way, as well as finally finished it! That being said, it's best to start from the beginning. The usual disclaimers apply...

"It's not good," Lifeline muttered to Scarlett. "Did Duke get Flint off base?"

She nodded, searching the skies for any sign of the helicopter bringing the mission team back to base. It was supposed to be a simple thing, really, she thought, very routine. Lady Jaye went in, did her covert thing, met with her contact and then she and the rest of the team got out of there. Only this time something had happened. No one beyond the team knew exactly what, but it had to be bad. Roadblock had radioed ahead and warned Duke that he'd better get Flint off base before they came in. Lifeline had been told to meet the plane and prepare the sick bay. Knowing how Lady Jaye had an intense dislike of hospitals, including the base clinic, it had Scarlett worried.

They heard it before they spotted it. It was flying low and seemed to have a hard time staying steady, the craft swaying from side to side. "Who's flying that thing?" muttered Scarlett, blocking out the glare of the sun with her hand so she could see better.

The 'copter made a wobbly landing and the first to jump out was Shipwreck. He looked none too steady himself and stumbled over to Lifeline. "I hope you have two beds ready. We had a situation on the way here, and now Ace is down for the count. Ripcord had to fly the plane back," he said. "I was helping Ace and Roadblock, well," Shipwreck paused and Scarlett was surprised to see him remove his hat, squeezing it in between his hands, in a nervous gesture. "He's carrying Lady Jaye out."

Carrying? Lifeline and Scarlett looked at each other in surprise. He hadn't been told to bring any stretchers or wheelchairs, Lifeline thought angrily. What were they thinking?

Ace was hobbling, obviously favoring one leg as Ripcord supported him on one side, their arms wrapped around the others back. Lifeline immediately diagnosed a broken leg judging by the look of intense pain on Ace's face. He radioed for a wheelchair.

Lifeline confirmed what his thoughts with a brief informal exam. He settled Ace in the wheelchair that had appeared and had the nurse wheel him to the clinic.

His attention turned towards the 'copter as Roadblock appeared in the doorway, carrying an unconscious Lady Jaye.

Lifeline started forward, Scarlett close behind him. "What happened?" Lifeline managed to keep his voice steady, although he wasn't happy with what he was seeing.

The covert agent's face was so pale and her shirt was soaked with what Lifeline guessed was sweat. Upon closer examination, he saw that a large bloodstain along her side was dry and didn't seem to be spreading any more. It was larger than he'd liked. Roadblock's hand was still pressed to her side, a blood-soaked cloth in his hand. He looked grim.

"It's bad," he said briefly, looking at their faces. "We managed to stop the flow."

Shipwreck looked like he had been through the wringer. "We stitched up her side as best we could but we didn't have proper medical supplies, just an emergency kit…" his voice trailed off and he looked sadly at the group.

Lifeline looked at Roadblock, who was looking grim, holding Lady Jaye protectively against him. In fact, the whole team looked in shock, he thought. He was interested in hearing the story, but later, not now. Now he had work to do.

"Marvin, do you think you can manage to carry Lady Jaye to the clinic?"

Roadblock nodded, his eyes tired and sad. Without a word, he led the way for the small group. Scarlett looked at Lifeline and a silent communication passed between them. This was definitely more serious than they had anticipated.

When they reached the clinic a nurse was helping Ace into a bed. Scarlett could tell he had already been given some pain medicine because he seemed more relaxed lying there. Lifeline indicated a bed to rest Lady Jaye in and Roadblock set her gently down, his head drooped in defeat.

Lifeline pulled the privacy curtain around the two of them after confirming that Ace did indeed have a broken leg. One of the nurses would set and bandage it now that the pain medicine had set in.

Lifeline gently removed Lady Jaye's shirt first. He sighed when he saw the wound. He poked his head out of the curtain and called Scarlett over to assist him. He knew she had emergency training years ago, but with the other two nurses helping Ace, he needed someone with him. He also knew Scarlett would bug him on Lady Jaye's condition, so she might as well help.

He cut the sutures the team had made – they were crude, but probably had saved her life – and washed the wound, sewing it back up once he was sure it was clean. He would have to ask the team what had caused it, but he had his theories. Scarlett stood silently by him, handing him instruments as he called for them.

He gave her an injection of an antibiotic to ward off any infection she might have contracted with the wound and started her on an IV. He was worried about her unconscious state. While it might be her body's way of trying to heal, she should have at least shown discomfort when he had cleaned the wound and stitched it. He debated giving her a sedative, knowing her aversion to the clinic, but decided otherwise for now. Not until he knew more of the story. He also might have to save one for Flint, he thought wryly. The mission team was smart, having him off base because the warrant officer would've gone ballistic seeing her like this.

Lifeline managed to stabilize her and was satisfied with her vitals. Although weak, normal after a traumatic injury, he was glad to see whatever had caused the wound had missed any vital organs. He'd have to do a scan to make sure, but he felt pretty confident with his diagnosis.

"So, what happened?" asked Scarlett softly, seeing that the medic finally take a step back from his patient.

"My guess is that it's a knife wound. Pretty deep, but missed any major organs. Hit a few arteries, obviously. She's stable, but we'll have to keep a watch on her. I've given her two strong antibiotics in her IV, as well as a shot, to help her heal. We'll have to do a scan to make sure, but I think she'll pull through."

"Then why do you still look so worried?" questioned Scarlett, scared by what he might say.

"She's unconscious. While that's good for her, knowing her clinic phobia, it's puzzling. She didn't show any reaction to the pain I'm sure she had when I was cleaning things up. She'll have to be on close watch, just to make sure there's not more there. We need to hear the story," he said, meeting Scarlett's eyes.

She nodded. "What about Flint?"

Lifeline sighed. "Well, since you know he'll end up camping out in here once he hears, we might as well give him the job."

He checked on Ace, who was sleeping off the pain medicine the nurse had given him. His leg was set and it didn't look like he needed anything else right now. Knowing him, he'd be up and about in no time, flirting with the nurses and trying to cajole others into giving him special treatment.

After Lifeline talked to a nurse about sitting with Lady Jaye, he grabbed a pager from his desk and followed Scarlett to the conference room where he knew the rest of the team would be meeting with Hawk.

Surprised the door was open, Scarlett and Lifeline walked in on a very dejected looking group. They stood and saluted when Hawk entered the room and gathered in the chairs around the table. Hawk nodded at Scarlett and Lifeline, who also took a seat. He closed the door behind them.

No one spoke for a few moments and finally Shipwreck sighed and said, "I guess I'll tell it. It started out pretty routine. Jaye had her cover and things seemed to be going well. She got the information we needed as well as the flash drive." He placed the object on the table. "It was while we were trying to leave that all hell broke loose." He paused, looking at the rest of the team.

Ripcord took up the story from there. "Like Shipwreck said, it was easy and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. We were monitoring Lady Jaye the whole time and no one seemed to be following her or catching on to her cover. Then, at the rendezvous point, as Shipwreck put it, all hell broke loose. Someone else was waiting. We could see it in the distance happening, hear it on audio, but just couldn't get there quick enough." His voice broke.

Hawk cleared his throat. "What did you hear?"

"That's the strange thing," Shipwreck spoke again. "It was in German. I mean, here we were in a Middle Eastern country, but the conversation was in German. Well, at least it sounded like German," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

Roadblock stayed silent, clenching his fists in his lap. Scarlett noticed he had to look away now as if to collect himself. She wished she could go over and comfort the big guy, but knew it was unprofessional and most likely unwelcome. He had to deal with this in his own way. One of the sweetest guys on the Joe team, he often felt responsible for his team members if anything happened, especially towards the women. He was very protective of the female members of GI Joe.

"By the time we got there," continued Shipwreck, "she was just lying there, stabbed, we think. She was already unconscious."

"Everything happened so fast, it was hard to see what exactly went on," Ripcord finished lamely.

Shipwreck nodded. "He could've knocked her out. They were definitely arguing. We couldn't understand the words, but the tone was pretty angry."

Everyone looked at Lifeline for confirmation. He nodded his head. "It definitely looks like a stab wound. You guys did the right thing, keeping pressure on it and stitching it up. You probably saved her life," he said, nodding at each of the team members. "I didn't see any signs of blunt force trauma. Could the man have had a taser or another device to render her unconscious?"

The team shrugged their shoulders, not sure. Lifeline tried not to sigh. He checked his beeper to make sure he hadn't been paged. He knew he hadn't, and it was just nerves. He gave in and sighed aloud.

"Ace?" questioned Hawk.

"That happened on our way out. Roadblock had Lady Jaye and was carrying her to the van, applying pressure to her wound. I was driving, Shipwreck and Ace were helping Roadblock. Ace was the last to get in when the van was rammed. We still don't know if it was accidental or not. Hit and run," sighed Ripcord. "Ace got somehow caught halfway between the van and road. With his leg, he wasn't able to fly the 'copter out, so it was up to me. Roadblock didn't want to leave Jaye, and Shipwreck was helping Ace," he shrugged. "We kept on applying pressure the whole way here. I don't think she ever woke up," he finished softly.

Hawk nodded, jotting down a few notes on his laptop. He glanced at Lifeline. "I assume they're both in stable condition in the clinic?"

Lifeline nodded. He gave the group a briefing on the condition of the two Joes.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Roadblock made his way over to Lifeline. "I'd like to take the first watch with Jaye," he said softly, very unlike the boisterous fun-loving chef they all knew.

Lifeline nodded. "Let's head over there now. I'm also going to need your help when Flint gets back to base," he said in a low voice, conscious that Hawk was still in the room. Roadblock nodded, knowing what Lifeline meant.

Scarlett headed in the opposite direction. She pulled out her cell phone and called Duke. She gave him a brief overview of what had happened.

"We'll be back in a couple hours," Duke said, warning her. "He'll be prepared," he said, then disconnected.

Scarlett wondered about the German the team had spoken of. They wouldn't know more, of course, until Lady Jaye awoke. She wondered if her teammate had known who she was speaking to, as well as why she was still unconscious. There was something here, she just couldn't put her finger on it right now, but something had been triggered in her subconscious. She just wished she knew what it was.