Disclaimer: The Rat Patrol is not my property. They come out to play sometimes, then I send them home.

Author's note: Tullyfan put an idea in my head and it's not going to go away until I write it down. Thanks a lot!

After The Truce at Aburah Raid

By Suzie2b

Captain Dietrich and his second in command, who was also a captain, intercepted a radio call to the Rat Patrol concerning a convoy they were to meet north of their position in Sector C. Captain Dietrich and his men laid in wait, concealed by the trees and scrub of a waterhole, for the two jeeps to pass by.

As soon as they did, the Germans opened fire and the chase was on. Troy and Moffitt quickly climbed into the back of their respective jeeps to man the 50 caliber machine guns. They soon managed to disable one of the armored cars and the halftrack with Dietrich's second in command ended up in a gully after being hit by the large caliber slugs.

The chase continued into a bombed out village where only a mother and her young daughter lived. The little girl played with a string of red beads while her mother took a jug of water into their house. Moments later the shooting could be heard as the jeeps came over a hill with the Germans close behind. Frightened, the girl ran, but tripped and fell as the jeeps sped by. With the shooting going on all around her, she jumped up and raced blindly in the direction of the house. Her mother was at the door and watched helplessly as her panicked daughter ran across a boarded over well and fell through.

A truce between the Germans and the Rat Patrol was called. It would take all of them working together to rescue the little girl. A rope from Captain Dietrich's car was slung over the cross beam above the well and Hitch was lowered in.

However, the flashlight he was holding slipped from his hand and fell into the water below. "Hey Sarge, I need another light!"

Troy turned and said, "Tully, get one out of the jeep."

In the meantime, the second in command and his men had gotten their halftrack out of the gully and followed the tracks from the chase to the village. Leaving their vehicle out of sight, they made their way to a place where they could oversee what was happening while staying hidden.

The captain spotted Tully jogging in their general direction and ordered one of his men to take up a position with his rifle. While Tully was digging a flashlight out of the back of the jeep and making sure it worked, a shot rang out. A bullet hit Tully in the left shoulder and he went down.

While the captain and his men rushed forward and demanded that the Rat Patrol surrender, Tully got to his feet and climbed into the jeep to man the 50. As the shooting started, Captain Dietrich ran forward yelling for everyone to cease fire. He then explained to his second in command that a truce had been called to rescue the child in the well.

The second in command then told Dietrich that they had heard another message while working on their vehicle. Apparently the lieutenant in charge of the convoy had tired of waiting for his escort and was headed in their direction. "This forces me to end the truce."

Troy said, "One of your officers agreed to a truce. That makes you part of it."

Captain Dietrich said, "I concluded that truce, captain."

After some tense moments, the second in command decided, "You may continue to work on the well. Only if that man abandons the gun."

Troy ordered Tully away from the 50. With the wounded private standing next to his jeep, the others went back to their rescue efforts and quickly got the little girl out of the well.

After she was safely in her mother's arms, Dietrich's second in command demanded that the truce was over and the Rat Patrol was to be taken into custody.

Needless to say, that wasn't going to happen. After everything was said and done, Captain Dietrich's men were dead and the Rat Patrol was gone. The captain picked up the length of red beads that the child had dropped and walked over to the mother where she sat against a tree rocking her daughter. He put the beads in the mother's lap, then turned and walked toward his vehicles.

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The four men stood next to their jeeps on a hill. Troy was surveying the desert floor with binoculars and spotted the convoy. "Well, here they come."

Moffitt gazed out and watched the vehicles. "In one piece?"

Troy said, "Yeah, lucky for us."

Tully was leaning back against his jeep with his left arm in a sling fashioned from a utility belt. "Saving that kid almost cost us a piece of that convoy."

Moffitt said, "50 men and 20 tons of assorted equipment for human destruction … for one frightened child."

Troy agreed, "Yeah, but it was worth it. Come on, let's go."

With Hitch and Moffitt driving they headed down to meet the convoy.

However, Lieutenant Sharp was not too happy with the fact that his escort had just now caught up with them. He called for the convoy to stop and got out of the lead truck when he saw the jeeps coming. When Troy got out of his jeep, the lieutenant said, "Where in the devil have you been, sergeant?"

Troy sighed, in no mood for explanations or argument. "Sorry, lieutenant. We had a run in with a German patrol."

Seeing that the four men were a little worse for wear, the lieutenant said, "All right. Let's get going."

"One of my men took a bullet to the shoulder during the altercation. Do you have a medic?"

"We do, but if it's not too serious I'd rather it wait until we stop at the oasis for the night. We're already behind schedule."

Troy turned and looked at Tully, who said, "I'll be okay until then."

When they arrived at the oasis Moffitt dropped Tully at the truck that was carrying medical supplies. "Want me to stick around and wait for you, Tully?"

The private sighed. "Nah. All he's going to do is numb it and pull the bullet out. Maybe put in a couple stitches."

"All right. See you in a little bit then."

Tully watched Moffitt drive off and a voice behind him said, "You must be the guy with the bullet in the shoulder."

He turned to see a fresh-faced kid dressed like a medic. "Yeah. Was hoping to get it taken out."

The medic smiled. "Sure. Lieutenant Sharp let me know I'd be seeing you. Come with me."

They climbed into the back of the truck and the medic started rummaging through boxes and crates looking for what he needed. "I'm PFC Mike Patterson. Just take your shirt off and lay down on that stretcher."

Tully looked at the stretcher that had been placed between two stacks of crates. He watched the young medic as he unbuttoned his shirt. "How long have you been in?"

Patterson found a surgical kit and set it aside before going back to look for something else. "I joined up three months ago. After boot camp, I spent some time training to be a medic."

Tully striped his shirt off and removed the bandage Moffitt had placed over the bullet hole in his shoulder. "How long have you been a medic?"

"Officially, three days now. This is my first time out in the field."

Tully frowned. "Wait a second. You've only been a medic for a few days?"

Patterson nodded. "Yep. You're my first patient. Don't worry, though, I've had the training." He straightened up and looked around as he said quietly, "Now where is the stuff that's supposed to numb the injury? I'm sure I packed it in one of these boxes. Oh well, probably won't need it anyway. How deep do you think that bullet went?"

"Hold on now…"

Patterson turned to face Tully and saw his wounded shoulder for the first time. The smile quickly faded from his face. "Is that it?"

Tully replied, "My shoulder? Yeah. I've got one on the other side, too. They don't quite match at the moment though." He watched the color drain from the younger man's face. "You okay?"

"That's real blood … coming out of a real wound." Patterson suddenly felt ill. "I've never seen … I mean … It wasn't like that in training." Then his eyes rolled back and he fainted.

Tully sighed, rolled the private onto his side in case he vomited, and checked his pulse. "Yeah, I don't think you're coming near me with a scalpel." He grabbed his shirt and left.

As Tully put his shirt on and walked towards the front of the convoy, where he knew the jeeps would be, he ran into Troy. "Moffitt said he just dropped you off with the medic. You can't be finished already." He studied his private's face for a second, then pulled his unbuttoned shirt open and saw the uncovered wound. "What's going on, Tully."

He said adamantly, "If anyone's gonna dig a bullet outta me without some kind of anesthesia it is not going to be some rookie medic! Where's Moffitt?"

Troy grabbed his arm as he started to walk away. "What happened?"

Tully jerked his thumb over his right shoulder to indicate the direction he'd come from. "That kid has only been a medic for a few days, sarge. He said I was going to be his first patient. When he couldn't find the numbing agent, he decided I wouldn't need it anyway. No way am I…"

Troy said, "Okay, Tully. Just settle down. Where is this guy?"

Tully was holding his left arm as his shoulder throbbed. "He took one look at my shoulder and passed out. That's when I left. I'm telling you, sarge, I won't let him touch me."

"All right. Moffitt and Hitch are with the jeeps. You go wait with them and I'll check on the medic and grab what we need to fix you up."

When Troy arrived back at the jeeps, Private Mike Patterson was with him and said, "I'm real sorry about what happened before. I tend to faint when I see blood."

Tully just stared up at him from where he sat on the ground. Moffitt was cleaning his wounded shoulder ahead of the surgery, blocking Patterson's view, and whispered, "Say something to him."

Tully sighed. "Happens to the best I suppose. But if you don't mind I'll just let Sergeant Moffitt take the bullet out."

Moffitt smiled and stood up. He took the surgical kit and a box labeled morphine from Troy and asked, "By chance did you locate some procaine so I can numb his shoulder?"

Troy shook his head. "Looks like it didn't make the trip."

Patterson offered, "I do have a bottle of nitrous oxide. I haven't used it yet, but I've been through the training."

Tully growled, "No thanks. Just give me a bullet to bite on."

Lieutenant Sharp suddenly appeared. He looked at the surgical kit Moffitt was holding, then at his private, and said, "What's going on here, Private Patterson? I thought I made it clear that you were to patch this man up and let a doctor take the bullet out tomorrow when we get to Rafah."

Moffitt said, "I'm a bit confused, sir. Private Patterson was getting ready to take the bullet out of Private Pettigrew's shoulder and…"

The lieutenant looked at Patterson with a scowl. "You're a medic, not a surgeon. And you're barely a medic. You've had no field experience. Now get that man patched up before it gets dark!"

Patterson flinched. "Yes, sir."

Moffitt said calmly, "I'm not a medic, lieutenant, but I have had field experience when it comes to emergencies. Why don't I remove the bullet and Private Patterson can assist?"

Lieutenant Sharp looked down at Tully. "Are you willing to go through this?"

Tully nodded. "I'll feel a heck of a lot better with the bullet out, sir. And I trust Sergeant Moffitt. He does most of our doctorin' out here anyway."

"All right. Get on with it."

After Lieutenant Sharp walked away, Patterson looked at Moffitt with an almost frightened expression. "Do you really want me to assist?"

Moffitt smiled and shook his head. "It's not necessary."

Patterson looked relieved. "Because I can do it, you know."

"I'm sure you can, but the wound is small and too many hands just make thinks more difficult. However, I will need some penicillin if you have some."

"Yeah, and I know right where it is. Be right back with it."

With Patterson gone, Moffitt turned to Tully. "How about we start with a shot of morphine?"

When the private returned several minutes later, Moffitt was working on Tully's shoulder. Tully was leaning back into Hitch, who was helping to keep his friend still. A small amount of blood trickled slowly down Tully's arm and chest, not to mention what was on Moffitt's hands.

Patterson saw Tully's silent grimace as he gritted his teeth, saw him digging his heels into the sand, and then looked at the blood. Troy snatched the boxes of penicillin vials and hypodermic needles as the private fainted. The sergeant had a slight smile on his face as he looked down at the medic and shook his head.

As Moffitt finished off the bandage, Patterson woke up. Tully was still leaning against Hitch and looking as pale as Patterson.

Tully watched Troy steady the private as he got to his feet. With the morphine doing its job he smiled groggily and asked, "You okay, kid?"

Patterson nodded slowly and took a deep breath. "The doctors and nurses that trained me all said that once I had a little experience I wouldn't have this problem anymore."

Hitch laid the now sleeping Tully on the blanket and stood up. "If you're so prone to fainting at the sight of blood, why'd you become a medic?"

"My grandfather is a retired doctor who was in World War 1. My father's a doctor. I have an uncle that's an army surgeon at Fort Fisher in North Carolina and my sister's a nurse stationed at Hethel Air Base in England. My family sort of expects me to get into the medical field. Well, everyone except my mother. She faints at the sight of blood too."

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The next afternoon the convoy reached Rafah without incident. Moffitt made sure that Tully had his shoulder examined by a real doctor.

As Tully sat on an examine table, Moffitt helped him out of his shirt. "How's it feeling?"

Tully sighed. "Not too bad. You always do a good job on us."

The doctor removed the field dressing and checked the wound. "Who's the medic that did this?"

Moffitt frowned and looked over the doctor's shoulder. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's clean … the stitches are tight and neat. No sign of infection. Has he been given any antibiotics?"

"Yes. Penicillin late yesterday and last night. Then another dose before we set out this morning."

Again the doctor asked, "I'd really like to know who this medic is?"

Tully started to say something, but Moffitt stopped him with a hand on his uninjured shoulder. "His name is Private Mike Patterson. He just arrived with the convoy we were escorting. He's to be stationed here." Just then Patterson walked into medical carrying several small boxes. "There he is now, doctor."

The doctor finished redressing Tully's shoulder and turned to look at the private across the room. "He's a bit young to be a medic."

"He's a fresh one all right. Still needs some training and experience. But I think he'll make a fine medic."

"Hmmm…" The doctor turned back to Tully. "Keep that clean and dry. Keep taking the penicillin. Take it easy … no bumping around in a jeep … and I want to see you before you leave Rafah."

Tully started to put his shirt back on. "Thanks, doc."

"Now, I think I'll just go have a talk with our new medic." The doctor turned and called, "Private Patterson! I'd like a word with you, please."

Patterson turned to answer and got a look at a patient that was being treated for a bloody, but not serious, leg wound. The color drained from his face and his eyes rolled back as he went down … out cold.

Tully grinned as he slid off the table and adjusted the sling. "I kinda feel sorry for Patterson. Think he'll make it as a medic?"

Moffitt smiled. "I'm sure he will. He has the training and the sooner he gets his hands dirty, the sooner he'll get the experience he needs."

Tully followed Moffitt towards the door. "But you lied to the doctor, sarge. Patterson didn't get close enough to me to do anything. He kept passing out."

"Well, he does need to work on that fainting habit he has, but I'm sure he would've done a fine job on you if he got the chance. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt."