This Time Around

Summary: It took him 3 months, but Rick finally figured out what he wanted. Only problem is, he may have come back too late to make amends. A little AU/What would happen if… for Drew and Rick.

Warnings: war related violence, torture (not graphic), cursing, M/M relationship (duh), talk of depression/PTSD, maybe other things….

-line-

5:41 PM, San Antonio

Rick took a deep breath and reached for door handle of his rental car. His heart was racing and he felt slightly nauseous, hell even his palms were sweating. His nerves were a mix of awkward fifteen-year-old kid on his first date and an Army Ranger prepping for battle. Now would just be the perfect time for Love is a Battlefield to come on the radio and that thought made him laugh.

He shook his head, the humor dying as he remembered why he was here. "Come on Lincoln, time to face the music," he sighed to himself as he finally got up the courage to step out of the car. He had been sitting in the parking lot of San Antonio Memorial's ER for almost two hours working up the nerve to go inside. The night shift was all in now and Rick knew this would be the moment of truth. It was now or never and he was going to see if Drew Alister could forgive him for walking out.

The past three months had been a whirlwind of emotions and introspective soul searching. It had been hard and in so many ways worse than the pit of a desert had ever been. But, in the end it was so much better, maybe even worth it. He had come out to his parents, made peace with his accident, reconnected with old friends, and found the strength to move forward. What he couldn't do, however, was forget about Drew. That was the one aspect of his 'past' he couldn't move on from, and he finally accepted what that meant.

The first month Drew had reached out to him, tried to get in touch. He had ignored the calls and the emails thinking eventually he would move on. It seemed like he had, maybe, because the calls stopped and the emails disappeared. He hated to admit it at the time, but that hurt more than he thought it would. It was like Drew finally gave up on him. Walking away that night in the ER had felt like the right thing, the best thing to do for Drew and himself. He had felt so lost, so broken, and useless that, in his mind, all he was going to do was drag Drew down. He couldn't do that to the man he loved. That night he was trying to give Drew back his life. It took three months to realize he was being a self-centered asshole. That realization hit hard when the news broke of Drew's hometown heroics.

Watching his ex's life splashed across the screen for the entire world to see, watching as the media got ahold of their life together…. God it was terrible. Drew was so private and so reserved… coming out had been forced on him and he was still living with a foot in the closet. Now however, there was no going back from this. He had gotten the almost frantic plea from Drew to believe that he hadn't given them the picture and it hurt him, that Drew was scared he'd screw things up for him. Watching the interview on YouTube where Drew finally stepped out of the closet fully was the last straw.

Problem was, he hadn't gotten the message or learned of any of this until two weeks after it happened. His dad, brother, and he had taken a hunting trip, deep in the northern Montana woods. No technology, no outside world, just his family and he. It wasn't until he had gotten back to his parents place that he found out. By then he had already decided to reach back out to Drew. Now however, he needed to see him.

He called and got voicemail, over a dozen times. No answer, no return calls. Emails were ignored. It had been a week and he wasn't able to talk to Drew. It would seem that the other may really have moved on then, but Rick had to be sure. He had spent the past three months facing his demons and himself; he was here now to face his biggest mistake. He was going to ask Drew if he'd take him back. If Drew told him to go to hell, well then he would cross that bridge. Right now, he just had to walk into the ER.

It seemed to be a slow start to the night for SAM. Walking in the waiting room, he could see there were only a dozen people there. From his glimpse at the trauma bay, where the ambos dropped off patients, there weren't any traumas either. Looked like a "cold and flu night", as Drew would call it. He'd never say the words slow or quiet, and it was amusing to how the overly logical man believed in the superstition of those words.

Rick snuck past the receptionist while she was helping someone check in and made his way towards the nurse's station. It was the hub of the ER, if Drew wasn't there now, than he would be soon. There was a good chance he'd get to talk to Drew, like actually have a full conversation in one go instead of interspersed between patients. That thought, and the realization he was about to see Drew again, had his heart in his throat.

"I mean, it wasn't that bad until Junior Doctor here said something," Kenny's voice drifted down the hall with sounds of laughter.

"All I said was...was that I am a surgical intern, that's all," Paul stammered, it was easy to tell that he was embarrassed.

"Yeah and then pointed to me and said I'm an ER charge nurse and we got slammed with medical questions the whole time," Kenny chimed in.

"It wasn't that bad," Paul tried weakly to defend himself amongst the laughter.

"Uh-huh, for you maybe. You got all the cute girls and easy questions, I got Bubba who wanted me to look at his foot sore," Kenny quipped.

There was more laughter and Rick paused at the corner. He could see almost all the night shift there; they were definitely having a slow night. Paul and Kenny were in the midst of the group, Paul blushing as Kenny continued to rag on him. It was nice to watch, the family dynamics were wholesome in a weird sort of way. But he couldn't help and feel anxious noticing that Drew was missing.

"Alright guys! We've got a three-vehicle accident coming in! T.C. go catch a ride with the chopper, they're requesting a doc," Topher called as he hung up a phone. "Let's start prepping! Paul, call Scott. Krista you're with me in two. Jordan, take trauma one. Mollie, please get three set up for Scott. Let's go!"

Then just like that, the teasing was forgotten and the family went into action. They looked like a well-trained unit, Rick thought with an amused smile. He waited in his spot a moment as everyone seemed to spread out to perform their preparations. Once most of the crowd had dispersed and Kenny was left up front relatively alone. With no sign of Drew, Rick took a deep breath and walked up to Kenny, because if anyone knew where the missing man was it would be him.

"Hey Kenny," Rick said shifting nervously, getting the attention of the charge nurse.

The other man looked up at him a mixture of surprise and anger. "What are you doing here?" He asked, voice snapping hard enough to make Rick flinch. Clearly Kenny was not his biggest fan.

"I came to see Drew. Is he available?" Rick asked, head bowed.

"Why? You come to twist that knife you left in him? Or maybe you wanna just fuck with his head again, ya know, like a second round or something? Don't know why though cause I mean, you certainly did a fine job the first time. Watched my dude go through some fucked up things but I've got to say, these past few months…." Kenny hissed and Rick could feel the anger streaming off him.

"I came to apologize Kenny. I came to see how he was doing with -" Rick started.

"Now!" Kenny shouted abruptly, slamming his hands down. The sudden noise startled Rick, and just about everyone else in the vicinity. Kenny didn't seem to care. "You come back now?! Man, where were you a month ago when he was being hounded by the press and his life became an opened book? Or where were you two months ago when he got decked in the ER? Or what about that month you left, when he went a whole week of shifts with patients dying? Where were you when he needed someone? Why are you back now? It's too late."

The angry tirade was like physical blows to Rick. Each accusation and hard truth was like a punch to the gut. He knew, he really did, that it wasn't going to be easy and he deserved the angry rants. Hell he even wanted to hear it. He wanted to know what had happened to Drew, what he had been through. He wanted to understand what the past three months had meant to the man because he wanted to make up for it. He wanted to own up and apologize for it. However, right at this moment, Kenny's last words had taken firm hold in his mind. He felt the icy grip of fear wrap tightly around his spine.

"What do you mean too late?" he asked, and there were a million scenarios running through his head.

"What do you care? You're back now, right, now that it's convenient for you? Well Drew ain't here!" Kenny spat out, and he had tears in his eyes.

"Kenny!" Krista called, her voice firm but kind. She had been nearby when the normally happy-go-lucky nurse started shouting. She had made her way over, surprised to see Rick standing there. It had stunned her for a moment, allowing Kenny to keep going. Now, however, seeing how upset Kenny was and the shock on Rick's face, she had to step in. Taking hold of her friend and turning him to face her, she said, "I need your help setting up trauma two. The accident victims are ten minutes out, can you help me with that?"

Kenny took a deep breath and let it out, forcing back his anger, fear, and heartache. He focused on Krista's soothing voice the calmness and the steadiness in her eyes. She was offering him an island in the storm and he took it. "Yeah… I got ya," Kenny said, voice now soft. He quickly walked away, head bowed and not looking at anyone. Krista watched him a moment, taking her own opportunity to ground herself before turning to look at Rick.

The former Ranger looked shell shocked. He was pale, his mouth was hanging open and his eyes were wide; frantic. He focused on Krista and she could sense his fear, even before he spoke she could feel him begging her for answers. "Krista, what does he mean too late? He's not here? What's happened? Where's Drew?" he began.

"Let's go to the break room, okay? I'll explain everything. It's not as bad as you think, I promise," she said softly taking him by the arm. Before disappearing she turned to Mollie who had also witnessed the altercation, and requested, "Call me when the paramedics get here?"

"Yes doctor," the mother like nurse said, "and I'll go help Kenny."

Krista gave her a grateful smile before leading Rick to the ER's break room. She ushered him inside, relieved that it was empty, and made him sit down. "Do you want anything to drink? Coffee...water…?" she asked softly, sitting across from him.

"No!" Rick snapped, slamming his hands down and then balling them into fists and taking a deep breath. "Sorry… there's just a lot running through my head…" The play of emotions on his face was hard to watch, and Krista felt her heart ache for him. She knew why Kenny had gone off, understood it, but she could also see clearly Rick's intentions. He wasn't here to hurt Drew; he really wanted to make it better. It was just a shame that he was three weeks late.

Rick pushed out the air in his lungs and stared at his hands for a long moment before speaking again. "I was on a camping trip with my dad. I had no phone... no computer or Internet... I didn't know anything had happened until I got back home. As soon as I found out I tried calling. I tried emailing. I got no reply so I got on a plane and came here. I thought he was just mad at me or he didn't want to talk to me or something… I was hoping that he just didn't want to see me. But, Krista, what does Kenny mean that it's too late? Is Drew… is he okay?"

"Drew is fine… relatively speaking he's fine. I promise," she quickly reassured.

Rick let out a huge sigh of relief, allowing his body to sag forward. The feeling was so damn overwhelming. It was like hearing about Drew being in Taji Qasr during Iraq all over again. Hell, all the battles that Drew's units were in over his tours when all Rick could do was wait for news. When that news finally did come, when he finally heard Drew's voice… the feeling never failed to leave him dizzy and breathless.

"Whe- where is he?" Rick asked, looking up at Krista.

"He's been deployed. He got the news about a month or so ago. The week of the shooting? That was his last week of work before he had to report in," Krista said softly, taking Rick's hand.

The relief that had been flooding his system only moments ago was gone. That icy grip of fear was back, and this time it wasn't going to let go. "Deployed?!" he repeated, "He's… he's going back over?"

"He's already back, a medical base in Afghanistan. He's a Captain now. He said he'd never see the action only patients," Krista was quick to reassure him. "But it's hard… we just got a message from him today before shift," she reached into her scrub pocket and pulled out her phone, brining up on it an email before handing it to him.

Landed safe. Talk when I can. Drew, Rick read before handing the phone back.

"We just got that today… but the message is a few days behind, so Kenny's…" she said with a shrug.

"He's worried…. They probably didn't give him the account until after he got in country. Then there's always a delay with the first message because they have to activate it…." Rick said. He had gone through this before, done this before, in more ways than one.

"He warned us about that, but Kenny and Drew… they're like brothers. Best friends. Kenny and I, we were there to help with your breakup. We watched him and... it was hard. It was really hard. He didn't take it well in the beginning and had only just started to get his head back together... He really missed you… Kenny's just worried. He doesn't want Drew to go over there and pull a T.C., ya know?" Krista said, her own voice choked.

Rick chuckled, a humorless sound, "I'm so fucking stupid… I was thinking that he just didn't want to talk to me… he left his phone stateside, didn't he?"

"Yeah, but I can give you his contact info for the base. I'm a hundred percent sure he'd want to hear from you," Krista said, a small smile on her face.

"You are?" he asked, and his troubled blue eyes met her warm brown ones.

"Oh yeah. I am," she said encouragingly.

The door to the break room opened, and Mollie stuck her head in, "Krista, the paramedics are pulling up. Topher wants you."

"I'm coming Mollie, thanks," she called, getting up. "Hang tight Rick, I'll be back. I'll get you that email and we can catch up, okay?"

"Yeah…" was all Rick could manage to say. All of a sudden, he felt like he was lost down a rabbit hole, but there was no wonderland waiting for him.

-line-

2:10 AM, Bagram Air Force Base

"Captain Andrew Alister?" Major Syd Jennings called, walking up to her new doctor. He was caked in dirt and blood and smelled like smoke. His new desert fatigues were now stained and torn. He hadn't been in country for a full week and he was already elbow deep in the action.

"Ma'am," he called looking up at the new comer but not moving from where he crouched. "I'd salute but the Corporal's femoral got nicked on the ride in."

Syd nodded and studied the scene before her. The new doctor was working on a wounded soldier, one of the many in the convoy that was transferring him, several others, and supplies from where they landed to Bagram. A roadside bomb set by the Taliban who were attempting to steal the medical supplies had hit the convoy of five humvees. Early reports had placed the casualties at ten, with four being critical. Her first introduction to her new Captain had been over the radio with him giving her patient updates. She had been pleasantly surprised with the thoroughness of his reports and the calmness in his demeanor. Then again, this wasn't his first rodeo and she was impressed with just how quickly he'd gotten back on the horse.

"I thought you said the leg was stable? What happened?" she asked, getting down next to him, and jumping into help. The young man was busy digging through the wound in an attempt to locate the bleeder. The young medic that was helping him was focused on holding down the Corporal who was crying out in pain. Looking at the wound that the shrapnel caused, Syd didn't blame him.

"We took more fire coming in. Our driver got us here but everybody got jostled. Jim-Jo there," Drew nodded his head to the medic, "did a hell of a job trying to bandage the wound and secure the impaled piece but we got bounced around and blood started leaking around it. His pressure dropped and I had to take it out."

"Shit," Syd hissed, knowing the damage that would have done. She had taken over holding apart the laceration so that Drew could use both his hands to work.

"Yeah, that was my thought too," came back the quick reply as the younger doctor secured a clamp in place. "Alright, got it. We got an OR room waiting?"

"Absolutely. Care to assist?" she said, signaling for the hospital's medics to come get their patient.

"Sounds like fun," he panted, and pulled off his helmet. "Can I wash up first?"

"Please, you look like a smoke stack," she said as they both climbed to their feet. "Major Syd Jennings, by the way, welcome to my hospital," she extended her gloved hand that the other took.

"Captain Drew Alister, and thank you Major. It looks like a shit hole," he said with a tired smile.

Syd laughed and shook her head. She had a feeling she was going to like this new doctor.

-line-

9:00 PM, San Antonio

Rick was still at the hospital and he had no idea why. It had been four hours and the ER had become busier. Nothing major, just a "typical night", Krista had said as she and he had their sporadic catch up conversation. He'd also gotten to talk to Topher, T.C., Jordan, and several others who he'd come to know through Drew. It was nice in some way, knowing that they missed him and cared, but it did little to help his current mood.

"How could you be so stupid?" he whispered to himself sighing deeply and letting his head fall on his arms. Krista had just been pulled away again for a patient, leaving him alone in the break room. Their latest round of catch up had revealed how reckless Drew had become in that month following his leaving. The sleeping around, the nights at the bars, fights at different MMA gyms… ones that were more violent or dangerous because they didn't follow the rules as closely as Drew's typical gym. Things that could have been post breakup 'venting', or, as Rick feared, was an indication of the start of another PTSD spiral. Major changes in Drew's life, especially negative ones, tended to do that.

Rick had asked Krista if Drew had mentioned nightmares or if he'd been jumpy. If he had been making any negative jokes about or had been critical of himself. Tried to find out if Drew had stopped going to the support group, or his counseling sessions. Krista hadn't been able to give him a definitive answer. She said he was edgy, but that was it before she had gotten pulled away again. Edgy could have meant anything; Drew was edgy before a fight, he was edgy after talking to his mother… it could have been anything. What Rick was worried about was if edgy meant he was more hypersensitive, if he was too alert to sleep, if his senses were triggering memories… what Rick was worried about was the slide from edgy to PTSD to depression to suicidal… because Drew had gone down that path before.

The door to the break room opened and Rick looked up, startled. His surprise turned to an awkward tension when he saw Kenny standing there. The charge nurse looked equally as surprised and tense as he stood there for a long minute meeting Rick's gaze. Eventually, he sighed and let his shoulders slump. "It's my break man, I'm just here for some coffee," he mumbled as he made his way to the pot.

"It's your break room, I'm sorta intruding…" Rick offered in return. His voice was tired, almost small. He and Kenny had been becoming good friends while he recovered, and now it seemed like Kenny hated him. Rick didn't resent him for it though, in fact, he admired his loyalty to Drew.

Kenny scuffed, "Yeah… why are you still here? Thought you woulda left by now."

"Krista and were catching up..." he sighed fiddling with the empty mug in his hand.

Kenny, who had finished pouring his own mug looked at the man sitting at the table. He looked so lost. He had hated him for leaving Drew, and also for just walking away from all the people at San Antonio. He had been welcomed into their lives, counted as a part of their extended family, and you don't just walk away from family. Then there was all that Drew had gone through. After watching everything his brother suffered over the last three months, knowing and understanding the pain of having your heart torn apart…

Drew had done so much for Rick. He'd come out of the closet and almost lost his job because of some bigot on the board. He'd had patients spit on him and refuse to let him touch them. He'd rearranged his life so that he could take care of Rick. He'd slept in Rick's hospital room the days following his surgery. He'd been willing to commit a felony to see that Rick was treated… it seemed like all he had done was sacrifice for Rick and he didn't deserve to be casted aside. But looking at Rick, Kenny got the feeling he was missing a part of the story.

Walking over, coffee pot in hand, Kenny refilled the mug that the other was spinning then sat across from him. Rick watched him, confused and curious. Kenny let him wonder for a little longer as he took a long drink of coffee. "I hated you," he finally said, setting his mug down, "at least I tried to hate you. All I saw was what Drew had done for you, and then what you leaving had done to him. I'm guessing though that there was a fair amount of heartache on your part too."

Rick gave a humorless laugh and looked intently at the coffee in his mug. "I hated myself… I had been so independent and so capable… I was a Ranger and a Captain who lead a unit of men. Army for life... and then I wasn't. I was suddenly in pain all the time, weak, and unable to even do simple things without help… it made me frustrated, which made me angry, which made me one hell of a jerk. I was lashing out at everything, but mostly at Drew. He was trying to help and I needed to be angry at someone and so I was angry at him."

"So you left because you were mad at him?" Kenny asked, brow frowned.

"No, I left because I was hurting him. And I was hurting him because I was messed up. I needed to figure out who I was again and I couldn't do that with him there. I also… I could see what I was doing to him. I could see that I was hurting him. I felt like the world's most useless human being and that feeling only got worse when we would fight or he'd get upset, or I would do something I knew was stupid to try and make a point… he was always worried, always tense and trying so damn hard to hide it from me. He was doing everything he could to help and I was just taking everything out on him…" Rick sighed, bowing his head. "I left because I was the problem. I thought he deserved better; that he wanted someone better but was too much of a nice guy to leave the cripple. I left before he could leave me because I don't think I could have taken that… knowing I drove him away... I thought I was doing the best thing for us…"

Kenny shook his head, "man… you two are the poster boys of miscommunication. Drew was convinced that he had driven you away. That he had tried too hard to take care of you. Or that he wasn't enough."

"Yeah… Krista told me," Rick said. "She told me he wasn't doing so well… and about the… well everything, I think."

"Oh… She did, did she?" Kenny sighed shaking his head. Sometimes he didn't now if he wanted to hug that girl or hit her. She meant well, but she didn't always think things through. There was no going back now though; the can of worms had been open.

"Yeah… Kenny, did he… was he slipping?" Rick asked, because if anyone would know it would be Kenny.

"Yeah. He was, a little."

Was he having flashbacks?"

"Sort of. For a little while. And he was having borderline suicidal thoughts at one point, I think. He didn't actually own up to it, just kinda… He'd call somebody so he wouldn't be alone. Ya know? I don't think it was all because of you leaving. He'd been walking on a tightrope before then, a lot of things were weighing on him. There was something really personal, he wouldn't talk about it, but you looked at him and you knew something was killing him slowly and that started before you left, like way before. I think it all just mixed with everything; work, stress, PTSD, whatever was bothering him, you... It just all combined and started building…" Kenny answered and he watched Rick closely. The play of emotions on the other's face was all too telling. Krista had told him earlier that Rick wanted to make things right and now Kenny believed her.

"I should never… All I wanted was to give him an out, a chance to move on. I just never…"

"Never thought he didn't want to?" Kenny finished.

"Yeah… the whole time I was in Montana and I couldn't get him out of my mind. I tried… my dad was the one who told me I was being stupid. We're in the middle of the woods, he hasn't even fully dealt with the fact that I'm gay, and he tells me that he wanted me to get back on a plane and head to Texas as soon as I could because clearly I belonged with Drew…." Rick said softly.

Kenny chuckled, "You're dad's a smart man."

"Yeah…" he said and the two fell into an easy silence for a long moment each drinking their coffee and with their own thoughts.

"Rick… there's something you need to know. It's why I got so upset earlier," Kenny said, voice choked.

"Krista said that it had something to do with Drew just getting to base. You just heard from him today, right?" Rick asked, not liking the look in Kenny's eyes.

"Nah… not that… I mean; it didn't help. It's something else, but before I do, I need to know… you being back, that's real, right? You're going to stay here, you're going to wait for him?" Kenny asked with eyes locked on the other man's.

"Yes. I don't care how long it takes… I tried to live without him and I couldn't. If he wants me back, than I'm staying," Rick said sincerely and firmly.

"Then you need to know this," Kenny said and he took a shuddering breath, "Drew's based out of the hospital on Bagram, like he told everybody. But he's not… He's in a combat unit… He didn't tell anyone but me. He didn't want to worry them…."

"That sounds like him," Rick said and he buried his face in hands. "A combat unit? But he's a doctor…"

"That's what I said. Apparently the Army's sending doctors out to do recovery missions now, and Drew's experience here made him the perfect fir over there," Kenny said. "See… that's why… it's why I was such a dick to you. I just… you came back, and that's all he wanted was to see you again… but he's over there and I don't know if he's coming back."

"Yeah… trust me. I get it," Rick said.

"If you're gonna message him… I don't know what it'll do to him really. I mean, he wasn't in the greatest mindset when he went over so I don't know how he'll react."

"More than likely like a defensive asshole… which I more than deserve," Rick said with a tired half smile.

Kenny smiled as well, a small but real one, "Yeah… hey, you do have his contact information for the base, right?"

"Yeah, Krista gave it to me. That's actually what I was going to get started on… figuring out how to say I'm a complete idiot and I never should have left over email isn't as easy as it is in person, which isn't even easy," Rick sighed.

Kenny shook his head, "Ya know for a Ranger, you're kind of dumb…" He laughed at the confused look Rick gave him. "You know all that stuff you just told me? Tell him. I mean, you convinced me not to hate you, and he's still kind of on your side so…."

Rick laughed. This night may not have gone how he expected but there was still hope.

-line-

7:00 AM. Bagram Air Force Base

The chaos of the early morning arrival had died down. Most of the wounded were out of surgery or settled in monitoring rooms. One of the wounded hadn't made it, and that had left a heaviness in the air. It was never easy to lose a patient, but amplify that by hundreds for a soldier, especially when you had been sitting in the Humvee behind the kid. Drew sighed and took a long sip of his coffee, the numbing exhaustion he felt making it possible to ignore the taste. He hadn't slept, not really, since the order came a month ago that he was going back. Not his unit, just him. They needed doctors, but not just any kind. They needed battlefield docs. He may have been stationed at Bagram, but his real assignment was combat rescue. He was the doctor that they were going to drop in the hot zone to drag the wounded out. It was one hell of an assignment and it came at one hell of a time in his life.

His mind was already a mess; Rick leaving had set him reeling into a near self-destructive cycle. If it hadn't been for Topher, Kenny, and Krista noticing and intervening… he didn't want to think about where he might have ended up. They had gotten through to him, and been there for him when he needed it. With their help, he had started to get through, started the process of moving on. It was slow going, and he wasn't exactly ready to let go or 'get out there' as Mollie told him to do. It was just getting to the point where he was comfortable sleeping in his bed alone again and not on the couch when the notice had come. He didn't know exactly what he was feeling or thinking, but here he was. In the middle of a war zone, cut off from his support system, with a new unit, and nobody truly waiting on him to come home. What could possibly go wrong?

"Hell of a first day Captain. I know first impressions are important, but you didn't have to get blown up to impress me," the Major's voice cut through his tired thoughts as she sat down across from him, tray in hand. He sat up straight, shaking off the exhaustion and putting his head back into the game.

"Well, my Drill Sergeant always said I had a flair for the dramatic," he replied, smiling. He already liked the Major, she was tough and no nonsense, Army through and through, but she was also kind and gentle with her patients. He could already tell that she genuinely cared for them and more importantly; she knew what was best for them. Drew respected that.

"Oh great, here I thought I was getting a doctor, turns out I've just got another cowboy," she mockingly scuffed then took a hard look at the young man. "You've eaten?" she asked, the mom in her coming out.

Drew gave her a half smile and shook his head; "I tried. The food's always the hardest part for me to get use to."

"Tell me about it. I'm still not use to it," she laughed. As if to reinforce her statement, she grimaced when she took a bite of eggs.

"That was good work in the OR. The way you handled the bone grafting was better than a specialist," Drew commented after a brief silence.

Syd gave him a side smile and chuckled, "I am a specialist. Traumatic Orthopedics. Kinda useful out here, no?"

Drew laughed and nodded his head, "I can see how that particular specialty would be slightly useful."

"You weren't so bad either. Did a hell of a job keeping up. ER doc, right?"

Drew nodded, "You got me. Night shift at a Texas trauma center."

"I saw in your file you did a few tours in Iraq as regular Army," Syd continued.

Drew nodded again. "Yes ma'am. Started as a medic, got noticed by someone who put my name forth for career training. Pushed me to be a doctor. Transferred to the reserves and went to med school. Finished that, got a residency at San Antonio Memorial. Now I'm here." He took another sip, waiting for the rest of the interview. It was the same no matter where you went in the Army, the old guys wanted to know what the new guy was like. Drew didn't blame them; he wanted to know who his back up was too.

"San Antonio Memorial? No kidding, that's out in my neck of the woods. Fancy that," she said with a smile, "you really are a cowboy."

Drew laughed, "Hey, I wasn't born in Texas, I just ended up there."

"Oh come on now, you know as well as I do, once you settle in Texas you're from there. You don't leave," Syd teased.

"Unless the Army tells you to," he responded easily.

"Yeah... there is that," she laughed. "Go ahead and get some rest Captain. You look like you could use it. Set your alarm though, I need you to report to my office at 1100. We've got to go over the formalities."

"Yes Ma'am," Drew said tiredly. He stood up and headed off to his quarters only slightly bothered by how quickly he was settling back into this.