Hello everyone! This is just a short Baird and Sam story that popped into my head. This is my very first fan fiction, so go easy on me :P. Constructive criticism is always welcome and comments would be most appreciated! (Cover art by my lovely sister! )

Hope you enjoy and don't forget to tell me what you think! ;D

(Update!) So sorry about the crappy spacing, but I'm fixing that right now. (I guess I was just excited to post my first story :P) New chapter coming soon, just keep an eye out for it. I'm really pleased about all the views that this, and my other stories have received. Keep the comments coming, and thanks to everyone who has been following my work ;)

Baird's ears rang prodigally as he knelt on his hands and knees, remaining motionless on the curb of the now quieted street. The atmosphere around him seemed to be in a perpetual slow motion, each of his senses strangely acute and muddled at the same time. Ash, implicative of snow to his blurry eyesight, fell from the remnants of smoldering buildings, leaving the surrounding area in a grayish-white hue.

Slowly, Baird removed a shaking hand from his side, cringing at the amount of blood that had stained his glove; starting at his wrist, the crimson liquid ran all the way up to his uncovered fingertips.

Sparing a quick glance to his right, Baird could just make out the battered locust figure that lay lifelessly in the street, dark red blood still spewing from the bullet hole at the base of its neck. Despite the throbbing pain that was beginning to start in the back of his head, Baird couldn't help grinning slightly; that was an excellent shot….just slightly too late.

Inhaling heavily, the mechanic didn't even attempt to stand, instead half crawled, half slid across the sidewalk. As he moved, he left a clear path in the pavement, which was, for the most part, covered in ashes. Slumping against an overturned telephone booth, Baird tried to ignore the alarming feeling of severe fatigue that was plaguing his entire body; the very thought of attempting to move again made him nauseous.

Licking the corner of his lip, the coppery taste of blood immediately met his tongue. Spitting, he realized only now that he must have bit his lip when the lancer bullet entered his side. A small breeze caused him to weakly huddle deeper into his armor, although the wound on his side protested to the sudden movement. Why was he so cold?

"Damon?!" a familiar voice called from down the street, causing the mechanic to stir. His thoughts on the weather straying elsewhere, Baird suddenly remembered the female gear that had been stationed with him on patrol this week. Before he could attempt to reply, heavy footsteps approached at a rapid pace. Moments later, Samantha Byrne was at his side, examining with concern the blood that was dripping from his pierced armor.

"What the hell were you thinking?" she asked quickly, beginning to undo the heavy clasps on his chest plate. Her brown eyes were locked on his intently, fingers still working feverishly to unlock the armor. "What, you miss me already?" he asked with a soft chuckle that quickly turned into a suppressed cough. Despite herself, Sam was forced to let a small grin escape from her otherwise serious, if not worried, expression. She wondered how the mechanic managed to keep his sarcastic sense of humor in even the most nerve-wracking situations. As if on cue, Baird's small grin dissipated, replaced by a pensive stare. "That wasn't exactly fifteen minutes." He stated softly. For a moment, her mind trailed back to the short conversation that had taken place between the two of them in the hotel lobby, and she smiled inside, fondly recalling the look that they had both shared.

"Ok," she replied quickly, shaking unrealistic thoughts out of her head. "Do you know how much worse you'd be if I waited another five?" Blinking widely, Baird swallowed hard before responding, the dull throb in the back of his head becoming almost unbearable. "Listen, you asked for a distraction, I gave you a distrac-tion." He stuttered as Sam tried to get a better grip on the clasps, putting unneeded pressure on his wounded side.

"Yeah, I asked for a distraction; I didn't ask for you to get yourself ki-" A loud snap from the chest plate interrupted Sam, informing her that the strong clasps had finally yielded to her unwavering grip. She lost no time in folding both sides over, revealing the blood-stained tank shirt that was underneath. "Bloody hell." She muttered, only now realizing the full extent of the male gear's injury.

After removing Baird's chest piece completely, she noticed that the lower half of his shirt was almost entirely stained dark red. Every time he inhaled it was shallow and raspy, the rise and fall of his chest unsteady and weak. Looking back at his face, she noticed that his powder blue eyes lacked their usual gleaming confidence, instead looking distant and a little less then fearful. Quickly taking a handful of bandages out of her pack, Sam tried to erase the worried expression on her face by smiling gently. "I've seen worse." She stated softly, nervously trying to get the bandages into a manageable pile.

Immediately catching on to her spurious tone, Baird smiled weakly. "I'll bet…..you've seen a lot better too." He replied quickly, closing his eyes in a futile attempt to ignore the fresh waves of pain that were attacking his side. Overlooking his previous comment, Sam stood up and put a few feet between herself and Baird before pressing on the small radio in her ear. She looked back before speaking, hoping she was out of earshot.

"Come in K-05, this is Delta-3 requesting immediate evac, repeat, immediate evac. We have multiple casualties and wounded on the corner of 32nd, over." There was a short pause before a gruff male voice responded, although difficult to understand through his thick accent and the noise of gunfire in the background.

"Rodger that Delta, evac available in T-fifteen minutes."

"Negative K-05." Sam responded quickly. She tried to sound as calm as possible, although the thought of waiting fifteen minutes made her stomach lurch. "It's paramount that we receive evac in less then ten; I have a gear down who's in need of immediate medical assistance."

Again, a short pause.

"We copy Delta, but right now we're being pinned by heavy enemy firepower. It's fifteen minutes at the latest." The gear at the other end of the radio was beginning to sound flustered. Realizing there was nothing else she could do, Sam sighed with frustration before replying quickly. "Ugh, acknowledged. Watch your six K-05. Delta out."

Turning her attention back towards her companion, it disturbed her to see that posture had slackened; shoulders loose and legs laid out flat against the sidewalk. "Five minutes." She said softly, not bothering to explain who she had just gotten in contact with; they both understood how situations like this went down.

"You know," Baird replied, not for the first time removing a gloved hand from his side, exposing the dark red stain on his shirt. "When you're trying to lie to someone, you'd better make sure their not listening." He tapped his earpiece in emphasis while finally looking up at her, eyes squinted from the bright rays of sunlight that were being cast over the rooftops of smoldering buildings across the street. She shrugged while slowly walking back across the ash covered street, feeling sheepish. Setting herself down next to him, Sam examined her companion with growing concern, noting just how pale he had grown, his shaking hands, and the severe lack of usual amusement in his eyes.

Without hesitating, she pressed the wad of bandages on his side, gently but firmly. Inhaling sharply through clenched teeth, Baird absentmindedly grabbed her hands in his, attempting to cease the unexpected torment that was emanating from the severe wound on his side. He blinked widely, tightly keeping his lips together as he exhaled heavily. "Sorry." She said quickly, eyes turned down apologetically. At that moment, frustration left Baird's expression as he noticed the odd look in the female gear's eyes. He gazed at her unknowingly, trying to figure out what it was. Suddenly, Sam noticed his stare, and turned her face away uncomfortably, fighting back the tears that had swelled in her eyes.

"Sam?" Baird asked slowly, starting to realize what was wrong. She shook her head quickly, berating herself for letting her normally hidden emotions take over the situation. "Samantha." He repeated in a near whisper. She slowly turned her head back towards him, surprised by the seriousness in his voice and the unexpected use of her full name.

A tear trickled down her face as their eyes came in contact, silently acknowledging the meaning of each others unspoken words. Keeping one hand firmly pressed against his side, Baird gently placed the other on her cheek, brushing the tear away with his thumb. In an immediate reaction to his gentle touch, Sam closed her eyes, grasping his hand in hers as she exhaled, only now realizing that she had been holding her breath.

They sat silently for a long moment, insensible to time gone by as they morosely enjoyed each others warm embrace.

"Samantha…listen to me." Baird finally stated weakly, his eyes delving so deeply into hers that she couldn't help but stare back. "You are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen….I….tried to tell you so many times, it's just….I was scared, ok?" In any other circumstance, Sam would've made a joke on how the loss of blood was making the male gear say weird things; but at that moment, whether it was the earnestness in his expression, or the serious tone of his voice, Sam was left breathless, unable to respond.

Finally, wiping newly formed tears away with the back of her hand, Sam swallowed the lump that had grown in her throat, while nodding her head.

"Everything is going to be alright." She whispered, nervously adding more bandages to the soaked ones that had accumulated on his side. A melancholy smile played at the corner of Baird's lips as he blinked slowly. His blue eyes were half lidded now, shifting from her face to the surrounding area, as if it were becoming difficult to see. "Damon, look at me." She said quickly, apprehensive to the fact that the pace of his breathing was hastening. Her voice almost unrecognizable due to the choked sobs that were being suppressed in the back of her throat, she repeated the phrase over and over, evocative of a despondent mantra.

In stark contrast to the dried blood on his lip, his skin had grown extremely pale, near match to the ash that accumulated on both their clothing. Running her fingers through his blonde hair, Sam gently held his head in her hands, desperately trying to keep him awake long enough for the king raven to arrive. Tears were streaming down her face now, as if, at that moment, nothing else mattered but the safety of the man she had recently grown to love.

"Damon listen to me; Look at me! Ever since-" At that moment, the sound of copter blades interrupted the rest of her sentence, causing her to look up at the welcomed sight of a king raven coming in overhead. "Just a little longer." Sam said aloud, although not meaning to. She looked over her shoulder, just in time to see the helicopter landing in the middle of the intersection down the street. Looking back at her companion, she inhaled sharply, feeling the color drain from her face. Baird's eyes were completely closed, the rise and fall of his chest slowly ceasing.

"Baird?" she asked quietly, the disbelief in her voice palpable. Grabbing his limp hand, she tightly pressed her first two fingers against his wrist.

Nothing.

Her lip trembling, she placed the same two fingers at the base of his neck, hoping against hope that somehow, he would pull through. Finally, after repositioning her fingers several times, she found his pulse, although it was barely there; threadlike and weak. The mechanics eyes flicked open momentarily as she placed one hand behind his neck, the other on his forehead, stroking his blonde hair back affectionately. Although Sam heard the soldiers from the helicopter approaching, she didn't bother looking back, instead kept her eyes locked on Baird.

"Damon, stay with me! Please." Blinking slowly, a tear dripped down her nose as she rested her forehead on his, whispering softly, "Don't leave me."

(Ok, that's the first chapter, update coming soon!)