John gently cradled Joss's broken body in his arms, tears streaming down his handsome face, grimacing in concern for his fallen friend. The ground beneath them was wet with her blood and the blood of their comrade who had perished instantly.

"Stay with me, stay with me," John pleaded. "Help is on the way." He could hear the faint whir of helicopter blades growing louder as the medical transport neared. "They'll be here in a moment, Joss. Just hang on."

Joss weakly lifted a blood-soaked hand to John's face. After a moment's touch, her arm fell down again listlessly, streaking blood on John's cheek. Though struggling to breathe, Joss managed to whisper "Tell Paul, tell my husband…" but John quickly quieted her. "Save your strength, Joss, they're here now. You get better and tell Paul yourself."

"John, don't…" and she looked deeply into his eyes, pleading for something, for what? "I won't leave you, don't worry, I won't leave you" he swore.

"Over here!" John shouted, while trying to shield himself and Joss from the dust and dirt kicked up by the transport. Four medics had rushed out carrying stretchers and other supplies to tend to their wounds. "Take care of her – don't let her die."

"We'll do our best" one replied. The medics quickly cut open Joss's fatigues, looking for the source of the bleeding. The gaping hole in her side was clearly visible. "We have to stop the bleeding or she's not going to make it. She's lost a lot of blood already" one said to his colleague.

Staunching the blood as best they could, they cleaned her arm, inserted an IV, placed her carefully on the stretcher, then lifted her and rushed to the transport. Meanwhile, John had gone over to help the asset who had sustained a non-life threatening injury to his leg. Looping the man's arm around his neck, John hauled him up into a fireman's carry and headed over to the copter. He could hear the persistent beeps of the monitors and took small comfort that Joss was still alive.

Once all passengers were safely inside, the copter took off to the military hospital in Fallujah.

Earlier…

A four-person team had been assigned to extract a high value asset with critical intel on supply routes used by the insurgents. The mission went off without a hitch until the group of five were within a mile of the extraction point. Walking through the desert, they all heard the click of a buried bombing device, and in a split second, Joss had turned and shoved John and the asset backwards away from the blast. Their compatriot in the front perished instantly in the ensuing explosion, while John and the asset sustained minor injuries. Joss had saved not only the lives of John and their asset, but also of countless men and women once those supply routes were destroyed.

Real Time

The constant beeping of the heart monitor in the quiet hospital room was the only thing that gave John's vigil any meaning as he kept a firm grip on Joss's hand. After being rushed to the hospital, he was desperate for any kind of update on her condition. The constant pacing in the waiting room was the only thing that allowed him to alleviate his anxiety because he felt responsible for not protecting her as best as he could from the blast. She was lying on a surgery table with her side cut into shreds thanks to the shrapnel that hit her as she pushed him and the asset out of the way of the explosion.

After hours of surgery, Joss was given a good diagnosis much to John's relief. The doctor tending to her had explained that she'd need to stay for a while and once she was released, they'd head home because their superior gave them a medical discharge.

John didn't want to leave her side once she was given a room and he was allowed to stay with her. Seeing Joss laying on the crisp white sheets with a peaceful expression on her beautiful face held his attention until his body's need for food and sleep betrayed his desire. When he did force himself to leave, John made sure to check up on the asset who was brought back to their base safely after being released with a cast on his injured leg.

The other thing John did was contact Joss's husband Paul. It was hard for him to relay the events to him over the phone but Paul made a promise to be there as soon as possible once John told him the name of the hospital. The food tasted horrible but it was the best option he had to be able to stay in close proximity to Joss. Once he came back from those small errands, he explained to her what he had been doing, believing with all his heart that Joss could hear him.

"Paul is on is a way" he explained before raising a free hand to her forehead to brush some hair away before bringing it back to him. "He's glad to hear that you'll be alright, just like me." John lowered his head. "It should be me lying in that bed. I was your protection and yet you didn't hesitate to throw yourself into harm's way. I...I just feel so helpless sitting here unable to do anything but hope that you wake up but please Joss, let me see those beautiful doe eyes of yours again."

The two of them had been friends and comrades for many years, the military life being all they knew. It was hard, especially for Joss since Paul was stationed at a different base but she kept being strong, knowing that there was a greater good they were doing and it was all worth it. John knew she had a big heart and Paul was a lucky man to have Joss's attention in a more intimate way. John had his own romantic feelings for the feisty interrogator but he did the respectable thing and shelved them because he would not interfere in something as sacred as her engagement and subsequent marriage just because he had fallen for her. It hadn't been hard to see what Paul had. Joss was loyal, independent, stubborn, and beautiful.

John and Joss first met during boot camp, and though John was with Jessica, he nonetheless noticed and had been surprised to see someone as petite as Joss blow apart all his expectations when she would effortlessly climb a wall or break down a weapon without breaking a sweat.

As the sun went down and shifts changed, John's position by her side remained steadfast.

John had pulled a chair close to Joss's bed. He stretched out his long legs as best he could and as uncomfortable as he was, sleep eventually overtook him.

A few hours later, John was awakened by soft cries of a male voice, "Joss, Joss, oh my God, Joss!"

John hastily stood, afraid that she had taken a turn for the worse, but once the sleep cleared he saw a disheveled and distraught Paul, tears streaming, pressing kisses to Joss's face and hands.

"Paul," John said, softly. "She's asleep. The doctor said she'll pull through and that rest is the best thing for her right now. Let's go outside where we can talk."

John led the way just outside the door. Paul reluctantly followed. "Hey man," Paul said. "I'm sorry about my rudeness in there-"

John interrupted saying, "No need to apologize. Get you some coffee or something?"

"No but thanks," was the reply. "So how did this happen?"

"We were escorting an asset from Fallujah back to base. It was a 4-person covert operation and we got out cleanly. A few clicks from the extraction point, our comrade stepped on a device and as soon as she heard the click, Joss pushed the asset and me out of the path of a direct hit. Johnson didn't make it,and Joss took the brunt of it. She lost a lot of blood and it was touch and go there for a while, but she will recover."

"Thank God," Paul uttered.

"She's a hero, Paul." Paul smiled weakly and sighed deeply at the praise.

"I wish I could have done something, she saved my life," said John.

Paul put his arm around John's shoulder. "I know you did all you could. You guys have been close since boot camp and it has comforted me to know that there was someone who had her back. Things haven't been easy for her or for us. Really, John."

The two men shook hands warmly, then pulled each other into a bear hug, clapping each other on the back loudly. When they broke apart, each man surreptitiously lowered his head to quickly wipe away tears that were threatening to fall.

Paul turned to go back into Joss's room but noticed that he didn't hear John's footsteps behind him. He looked over to find him heading off to the lobby to wait there. "John," he called out.

"You go on, I'll wait here. You'll let me know when she awakens?"

"Yeah, I will," Paul promised.

John trudged to the lobby and plopped down onto the couch heavily. 'Have her back' was a gross understatement. John cared for her deeply. She was there for him at the death of his parents while he was overseas, for the bliss of his budding relationship and heartbreak of his breakup with Jessica. Joss was his best friend…the best friend he'd ever had and the thought that he almost lost her…he shuddered to think about what he would have done, especially since his feelings for her ran much more deeply than "friendship".

John checked his watch. He had to report to base within eight hours. But before he could ponder further, Paul approached. "John, she's awake. She wants to see you."

John smiled and quickly walked with Paul back to Joss's recovery room.

"Joss, John's here," Paul announced, stepping aside so that Joss could see John.

"John," she turned her head toward him and held out her hand which John grabbed dutifully. They said you never left my side and I wanted to say thank you."

"Don't thank me. You're stuck with me, remember? Seriously, I should be thanking you. If not for you…"

"The asset?" she asked.

"Scratches," John replied. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I was blown up by an incendiary device," she quipped. She smiled or tried to. John didn't.

"Seriously Joss, you saved my life. It should be me lying there."

"Everything is not your fault all the time, John. You did what you could. Medics said your trauma care kept me alive back there. Thank you."

John made to protest but Joss gave him her sternest look. "Thank you" she said again, squeezing his hand.

At that, Paul joined them. "Yeah, man. Thanks again."

John nodded his head and cast his eyes downward, modestly. "Listen," he started. "I have to get back to base. I got special permission to stay here until you woke up or until Paul arrived. So I need to call in and get going."

"How on earth did you get permission to delay the debrief like that?" she asked. "Never mind. I am sure I really don't want to know." Joss had seen their commanding officer, Colonel Zoe Morgan, and she was a knockout. "Just tell me that a court martial isn't on the horizon," she said, seriously concerned. John was a good soldier but he had his stubborn streak which got him into hot water on occasion.

"No court martial, honest. As for anything else, I have no comment," he teased behind a Cheshire cat grin.

"Umm-hmm. See what I have to put up with?" Joss asked, looking at Paul, who smiled in return.

John squeezed her hand. "I'll talk to you soon, OK? Please keep me posted on your recovery," he said to them both.

"Sure," said Paul. With that, John took off, on his way to reward the commander for the special consideration. John was sad that the Commander wasn't Joss, but a deal was a deal, and John was after all red-blooded.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed the beginning of our tale! The second chapter appears at Odalys-Ortiz' site under the story "Fated" and is titled 'Needing a Friend'. Please review and thank you for reading! Hugs!