Hi! A new year, a new story! I have not given up on 'A Different Mission'…I've already started the next chapter but couldn't resisted writing this one! It's been a struggle what with work, Christmas, being ill….but I'm hoping to do better with writing and also reviewing the wonderful stories you all are posting!

I was disappointed when Azizi turned out to be a bad guy…I think it must have been because it was so nice to see another character from s1 so decided to write my own version. I hope you like…Just a warning, this is a pretty angst-y story!

Old Friends and Hard Times

Captain Charles James studied his section from far enough away that they didn't realize he was there. They were playing cards and fooling around; normally he would have gone over and shared some banter with them before lightly reminding them they were there to work and not to let their joking around get too out of hand but tonight he wanted to keep his distant.

He had just got off the phone with his CO, who had congratulated him for a job well done. The joint mission with Special Forces had been a success and now they were waiting for their orders to where to go next…Back to Nepal to finish what they had started or if they were going to head back home early.

He knew he should be happy…No one had been hurt and everyone was pleased with the outcome. He knew his CO would be pushing for him to go for promotion again but there was something stopping him. He wasn't sure if being in the army and going on tour after tour was what he wanted to do anymore. The problem was, he didn't know what else he could do…The army was all he knew. It was the first only thing he was good at. For the first ever in his life, he felt trapped and he just couldn't figure out what to do about it.

"Captain James?"

He turned at the sound of his name being called and saw Azizi heading in his direction. He had known the other captain for years now and trusted him just as much as, if not more than the soldiers in his own platoon. When Richards had reported that she thought she saw him interacting with the man on the moped, he had dismissed any ideas of Azizi being a traitor. He could see even Elvis had a few doubts but Charles had known the Afghan Captain a long time so put his trust in his best mates judgement.

Then minutes before they were about to take the building, Azizi admitted to Charles, he had known the man. Charles felt sick; wondering whether he had just led his section to their deaths but then Azizi claimed the man was an informant and had been in touch with an update saying the men they were after knew they were coming. It meant that they had to quickly come up with a new plan of action which made the mission a success. Having the trust of the ANA men was one of the things his CO had praised him for ….Even Elvis had been impressed with how well everything had gone despite the last minute change of plans.

"I'm sorry to disturb you…" Azizi said when he reached him.

"Not at all…" Charles assured him. "Is everything okay?"

"We have more Intel about children from interviewing the men we captured." Azizi told him. "We believe they're being held in a compound about 15 miles from here... We believe they are to be trafficked soon so we must move quickly...The girl you're looking for from Nepal might be there, I thought you might like to know."

"When are you heading out?" Charles questioned.

"At 400 hours… before sunrise."

"Let me speak to some people back home…I'd like section 2 to help support."

"Are you sure? I wasn't expecting you to stay much longer…"

"I want to help." Charles assured him. "I need to feel like we're doing something meaningful here…"

Azizi frowned a little. "Is there something wrong?"

"I don't know…" Charles let out a sigh and shrugged his shoulders. "This is my fifth tour here and after all these years…all the lives that have been lost…Has us being here made any difference? Don't you ever get sick of it?"

"Sometimes, yes…" Azizi admitted with a slight nod. "I get tired of the evil that has spread across my country and when the Taliban offer us money… I wonder whether it would be an easier life….but then I remember how things used to be and all my friends who have fought to get our country back….I don't know if it'll happen but I have hope….and I'd rather die trying then sit back and watch it be destroyed completely."

Charles looked down, feeling ashamed…At least he got to go home at the end of tour…This was Azizi's home…his life.

"I've seen a lot of people pass through here…Afghans…British…Americans…all different people, some I liked…some I didn't." Azizi continued and placed a hand on Charles' shoulder. "But you…you, I consider a friend…You might feel like you haven't made a difference out here but you made a friend!"

Charles took a deep shaky breath and mentally told himself to pull himself together. He was there to do a job, not feel sorry for himself.

"I'm sorry…" He gave Azizi a small smile. "I guess I've been on tour for too long…"

"You'll soon be back home with your family." Azizi patted his shoulder once more.

Charles' smile filtered slightly before he forced a bigger one on his face and hoped Azizi didn't realize it was fake.

"I better get a start on those phone calls then."

Azizi smiled. "Thank you, my friend."

After spending an hour on the phone with his CO discussing the mission, Charles was given the go ahead. Preparing for another mission gave him a buzz which reminded him there was no other job out there that would make him feel like this.

"I'll get 2 Section together so we can brief them…" Charles said to Azizi as they made their way across the compound.

"Boss?"

They stopped and turned as Lane and Richards jogged towards them.

"Everything okay?" Charles asked.

"We want to know what's going on…." Richards said. "We want to go look for Tara…"

Charles raised an eyebrow. "Look for her where?"

"I dunno…but we gotta do something." Maisy shrugged. "We could ask around…"

"For god sake, Richards …We're in Afghanistan not some cosy country village!" Charles rolled his eyes. "You cannot just stroll around asking questions…"

"But we came here to find…"

"We came here to follow orders." Charles cut in.

"Come on, boss…how would you feel if it was your kid wondering around out there somewhere?" Georgie questioned but immediately regretted it when she saw the look that crossed Charles' face.

"Remind me, who is the Captain here?" He folded his arms and stared down at the two of them.

"You are, Sir…" They both said together.

"Exactly, it's my job to make sure we follow the orders we are given and make sure everyone is kept safe." He told them. "Your job is to follow orders given to you…not get emotionally involved every bloody time…If you go out there looking for an individual child who might not even be in this country, then you're not only putting yourselves at risks but also the rest of your section."

He noticed Maisy's mouth opened to say something but it closed again after he glared at her and also a subtle nudge from Georgie. For once, the private stayed silent.

"I want everyone in the Ops tent in 10 minutes…." He told them.

"Are we going back to Nepal, boss?" Georgie questioned.

"No, we're finishing what we've started here first." He answered. "But believe me, if either of you attempt to go off on your own crusade I will be putting you on a flight back home quicker than you can say dishonourable discharge…I need soldiers I can trust…Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Captain." Richards replied, standing up straighter.

"Yes, sir." Georgie nodded.

"Good….Go round everyone up." He nodded his head in the direction where the rest of the section was still noisily playing cards before stalking off towards the Ops tent.

"You know when you first arrived here and you were treating one of my men…" Azizi started, gaining their attention from watching their Captain disappearing from view. "Captain James told me to trust you…he said we could learn from you…he had faith in you…showed you loyalty….Maybe you should have some faith and loyalty in him too, hm?"

He didn't wait for either of them to reply, instead walked off in the direction Charles had just gone.

"Well, that told us, didn't it?" Georgie let out a loud sigh.

"What the hell? All we were doing was asking about Tara…" Maisy threw up her hands. "I've done a lot worse than that in the past… I even crashed a jeep into a Major's quarters once… Why do I feel so bad?"

"I dunno…I suppose it's like when your parents say they're not mad but disappointed in ya…" Georgie shrugged. "Come on, we better get everyone together…Don't think the boss will be too happy if we're late."

They walked in silence for a few moments before Georgie looked across to Maisy. "Did you really crash into a Major's quarters?"

"Yeah but at least I won the race." Maisy answered before skipping ahead to catch up with Rab and Monk.

XxXxX

"Does anyone have any questions?" Charles asked once he had finished briefing on the new mission.

"No, sir…"

"Right, well make sure you hydrate tonight…We're leaving at 400 hours so I want you all to get some sleep." He ordered. "Dismissed."

Hearing that they were in fact going out to try and rescue children from a trafficking ring made Georgie feel incredibly guilty for questioning her captain. Azizi's words bounced around her head; she should have had more faith in him or at least respected him enough to talk to him properly about it instead of ambushing him with Richards.

She watched him for a moment as he studied a map and couldn't help but feel there was something different about him. He had been a lot more distant during this tour, even the lads had noticed and most of the time they didn't even realized their shoe laces were undone. She hesitated for a moment but decided against speaking with him…Maybe after the mission she would but right now she knew they all needed to focus on their orders.

"So, I guess we might find your Nepal girl after all…"

A voice startled her as she left the Ops tent and turned to see Elvis.

"There's no guarantees she's there but hopefully…" Georgie answered, smiling briefly.

Despite everything that had happened in the past, she still felt something whenever she was near him but like she had told him earlier that day; loving him was never the problem.

"What's wrong?" Elvis frowned a little.

"Nothing…"

"Georgie…"

She sighed and grimaced slightly. "I think I pissed off the boss."

Elvis' eyebrows rose at her answer before grinning widely. "Oh dear…."

"Shut up, I'm being serious…."

"I'm sure he's already over it…"

"He pulled rank… lectured Richards and me on following his orders and reminded us he's the captain…" Georgie told him. "Then Captain Azizi told us we should be more loyal to him…which of course we should have because he was already planning on acting on information about Tara's location…"

"What did you say to him?" Elvis questioned, curiously.

He knew Charles had a lot of respect for Georgie and valued her opinion. He often wondered whether that was because of her army experience, because she was good friends with Molly and used to be engaged to him or because he still felt guilty about being the one who broke the news about there not being a wedding….knowing Charlie, it was probably a mixture of all.

"Richards wanted to go and ask around to get information about Tara…."

Elvis couldn't help but laugh. "Who was she gonna ask?"

"Alright, the boss has already stomped on that plan." Georgie rolled her eyes. "I could tell he was getting a little annoyed with her for keep going on but then I asked him how he would feel if it was his kid…. I think I hit a nerve."

"He's probably missing home…" Elvis replied. "Sam's birthday is in a couple of weeks…he's probably worried he's gonna miss it."

Georgie paused for a moment; glancing back towards the Ops tent to make sure her captain was still inside. "Do you think he's okay?"

"Why wouldn't he be?"

"I don't know…He seems different somehow…"

"Georgie, you were on that mission with us, right? Charlie was on top form… Wouldn't surprise me if he was rewarded for it…also you guys might wanna start getting used to the idea of having a new captain…."

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Come on, you must realize he's overdue a promotion…" Elvis stated. "He's whole life, all he wanted was to be in the army…He's not gonna settle for just being a captain, is he?"

"I guess I never thought about it…" Georgie folded her arms; she had originally been hesitant about being a part of a section led by her ex-fiancée's best friend but she had to admit, Charles had been a good captain to her.

"Listen; don't worry about anything other than the mission." Elvis advised. "If you're still concerned about him once we're back, then I'll speak to him for you."

"Okay, I guess you're right…" She sighed. "So, are you lot coming with us tomorrow?"

"Only as extra support…It's Charlie's show."

"Well, don't go doing any heroics…"

"Shouldn't I be warning you of that?" Elvis grinned.

"I think I might take Captain James' advice and keep my head down on this one…" She replied. "Anyway, I better get some sleep…Goodnight…."

"Georgie, wait…" He jogged a little so he was in front of her. "Can't we talk some more…"

"Elvis…" She sighed tiredly.

"Come on, please…"

"Look, when we're back home, maybe we can meet for coffee or something and talk about this properly…." Georgie suggested. "But you were right….I should be focusing on the mission."

"You promise?" He asked. "You promise you'll meet me?"

There a big part of her braining screaming at her not to get involved with him again but her heart was louder.

"Yes, I promise."

"I'm holding you to that…." He told her. "Even if I have to climb through your bedroom window on a Sunday morning with a flask…I'm having that coffee with you…"

Despite herself, Georgie couldn't help but laugh lightly. "I'm sure that'll go down well with my family."

"You better make sure you meet me then…" He smirked as he begun to walk backwards away from her.

XxXxX

"What if she's not there?"

Georgie glanced across to Maisy as they sat in the trucks on the way to the location where they believed the children were being held.

"I don't know…I guess we just hope she answers the phone eventually."

"But…"

"Is there a problem, Medic?" Charles questioned when he noticed Lane and Richards whispering.

Georgie shot Maisy a glare before looking towards her captain. "No, Sir…"

"Good." He gave them both a warning look before turning his attention to everyone in the truck. "Right, we're 10 minutes out...The ANA will go in first and we will support in securing the building…I want you all to remember that there is likely to be children inside…Lane, I want you to assist the ANA medics in checking over any kids…make sure none of them need urgent medical treatment before we transport them back to base."

"Yes, boss…" Georgie nodded.

"Right…Stay focus, stay alert and stay alive."

Charles wasn't sure what he expected when they reached the building but first he felt a bit of relief when they realized the building had been abandoned by the men behind the trafficking ring. They must have heard about the captures that were made the previous day and decided to flee. His relief was short lived when he entered to see children of all ages crammed into small rooms.

"How are things going?" Charles asked Azizi quietly, watching Brains carry out a little boy who looked about Sam's age.

"They're scared…thirsty, hungry…" Azizi told him. "But most of the rooms have been cleared now…"

"What's going to happen to them?"

"We'll get them back to the base and checked over at the hospital then if we cannot find their families they will go to the orphanage…"

Charles blew out a long breath. "They're just kids…"

"They'll be better there then here."

"Uh, Bossman?"

"Excuse me." Charles said to the other captain when he heard Monk calling for him.

He walked down the corridor and when he entered the room, he saw Monk, Rab and Fingers staring down at the floor.

"What is it?" He asked, moving towards them and as he stepped over a broken chair, he saw what they were all looking at.

A baby was led on the floor, she was naked and filthy but what Charles mostly noticed was how tiny she was and would guess she was a new-born if her eyes weren't so alert staring back up at them.

"What do we do, boss?" Rab looked at him.

"Well, we can't just leave her here…"

"Hey, I don't do babies…" Monk claimed, holding up both his hands and taking a step backwards.

Charles rolled his eyes before scooping down and lifting her into his arms. She felt weightless and hardly stirred at being moved. For a moment, he got lost in her eyes as he tried to imagine a future for her that wasn't surrounded by poverty and violence. It didn't seem fair; she hadn't asked to be brought into this world.

"At least she's not crying…" Fingers commented. "I reckon, she likes you, boss."

"She's not crying because she's dehydrated, malnourished and probably a bunch of other things too." Charles stated before turning away. "She needs to be checked over…I'll take her out to Lane…you lot carry on searching the building…We think we've got everyone out now."

"Yes, boss…"

Charles carefully carried her outside and immediately saw Georgie bending down talking to a couple of young boys, no older than 9 or 10.

"Lane?" He called out as he stepped out of the building.

She patted the boys on their shoulders before pushing herself to stand up straight. "Everything okay, boss?"

"We found a baby …" He informed her. "She can't be very old…She weighs practically nothing and isn't very responsive."

"Okay, let me have a look…" She held her arms out to take the baby but was surprised that her captain seemed reluctant to hand her over. "Boss?"

He mentally shook himself before carefully handing her to Georgie. "Do you think she'll be okay?"

"It's difficult to know until they run tests back at the hospital but hopefully after a good feed and somewhere dry and quiet to sleep, she'll be fine." She smiled up at him. "One of the trucks is leaving in a minute to start transporting some of the kids back…I'll make sure she's on there."

"Okay, good…"

"She's beautiful, though..." Georgie grinned widely as she turned her attention back to the baby. "God, look at those eyes."

When Charles didn't reply, she glanced up to see him frowning in concern. "Boss, you okay?"

Again, her voice seemed to snap him out of whatever he was thinking of. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Georgie! Georgie!"

They both turned to see Maisy running towards them and their panic faded when they saw she had a huge smile on her face.

"Oh, sorry, Sir…" She slowed down when she noticed her captain.

"Is everything okay, Richards?"

Maisy wasn't sure what to say…He ordered them not to get involved with searching for Tara and the last thing she wanted to do was say the wrong thing.

"Well?" He prompted.

"Everything is fine, boss…" She glanced at Georgie, unsurely. "I just wanted a word with Lane."

"Did you find her?" Charles guessed what was going on.

"Uh…Yes, boss…" Maisy couldn't help but smile. "Tara is here...they promised to take her to the UK but she ended up here."

Georgie sighed in relief. "Thank god we found her."

"Good, I'm glad she's safe now." Charles told her causing Maisy to look at him in surprise.

"I thought you didn't want…"

"What? Because I wouldn't allow you to wonder around Afghanistan asking people if they've seen her…you thought I didn't care what happened to her?"

"No, sir…not at all." Maisy cut in quickly. "Just, I didn't think you'd be happy about me getting involved with her."

"Just make sure you do your bloody job and don't spend all your time with her."

"Yes, boss!"

"Right, Lane…there's shouldn't be many more kids left to check over now…" Charles stated, watching Fingers and Monk leaving the building alone. "We need to start getting everyone back to base."

"Yes, boss…I'll sort this little one out and then I'll be right with you."

"Captain James?" Azizi joined him as Lane disappeared. "The building is empty."

"Okay, good…" Charles looked around and noticed most of his section were talking or playing around with the kids; it looked like even Elvis was playing peekaboo with a toddler. "Are there any in a serious condition?"

"We thing most of them are dehydrated…" Azizi informed him. "Some of the older children have injuries that suggested they have been beaten…"

Charles' sighed quietly; he didn't understand how someone could treat children like that.

"Oh shit!" They heard Fingers exclaimed. "Captain James?"

Charles' eyes widened when he saw what Fingers had spotted. A young boy walked around the corner of the building and he had the same look of fear on his face as the rest of the children there but what was different was the explosive belt that was wrapped around his waist.

Suddenly everything changed; everyone backed away from the boy, guns were drawn and orders were being shouted at him.

"You're gonna scare him…" Charles found himself saying quietly.

"James?" Azizi looked at him questionably.

"They're going to scare him." He stated again before turning and facing his section. "Everyone get back…and get the kids as far away as possible…"

"Spanner, call in for bomb disposal!" Elvis ordered.

"What's going on?" Georgie questioned after running back from the truck.

"Kid with a suicide vest…" Elvis told her.

"Oh shit…"

"It'll be okay…but you should stay back…"

"No, Elvis…look!"

Elvis spun back around and felt fear wash over him. "Charlie, what the fuck are you doing?!"

His best mate… the sensible one…the one that did everything by the book was not only taking steps towards the target but had also removed his helmet and protective vest.

"He needs to stay calm…" Charles paused only to look back at his friend. "Don't come any closer, Elvis…"

"Charlie, don't be a bloody idiot!"

"Just keep everyone back and get bomb disposal here!"

Charles felt a little guilty as he took another step closer to the boy…He know what his friend must be feeling…He still has nightmares about Molly doing the exact same thing with Bashira but there was no way he was going to stand back and watch this kid blow himself up.

"Hi…I'm Charles…" He gently said when he almost reached the boy. "Do you understand me?"

The boy just nodded.

"Okay good….What's your name?"

"Zemar." He whispered so quietly that Charles almost missed it.

Charles took a final step so he was right in front of him. "I'm going to help you, okay, Zemar?"

TBC

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