Fleet Battle Station Ticonderoga – Medical Bay
Lieutenant John Rico sat quietly in the tiny room, the metal chair hard and uncomfortable as he continued his bedside vigil. It had been a week since the disastrous incident on planet P that had taken the lives of a number the troopers in his unit including Lt. Rasczak. It was the same incident that had nearly taken the woman he was now watching over.
Dizzy had spent the first three days following their extraction from the planet in one of the medical bay's rehab tanks. She'd floated, submerged in the special liquid while her wounds were with skin grafts. Once patched up, she'd been moved to her private room while she rested. Thus far she'd remained unconscious which, the doctors had told Rico, wasn't unusual considering the number and severity of her injuries.
The Roughnecks were still officially on R&R while the great minds at Military Intelligence (surprising that they could still be called that) were attempting to put together a mission plan to capture the so-called "brain bug" that set-up the ambush. Over the course of the previous week, Rico had only left medical to oversee Rasczak's funeral and to attend his own promotion ceremony.
Looking down at Dizzy's sleeping form, Rico once again found himself thankful for her survival and that she seemed to be resting comfortably. He'd been so sure back on the evac-shuttle that she was going to die in his arms, for a moment thinking she had before realizing she'd simply passed out. Rico shuddered as he remembered those scary moments.
Rico! You know what to do," Rasczak barked through the pain as he looked down at the place his legs should have been, blood running from the corner of his mouth.
Rico hesitated for a split second, looking at the shocked look on Dizzy's face. Rico quickly recovered, raising his Morita and firing a single round at near point-blank into the Lieutenant's chest.
"Watkins, secure the Lieutenant! We're no leaving him on this damn rock," Rico shouted to his squad leader.
Rico and Dizzy hoisted Rasczak's body onto Watkins's shoulder and the three headed for the drop-ship as Ace provided covering fire. A moment later the floor where they'd been exploded in pieces as a tanker bug burst through. Rico watched as without hesitation, Dizzy, the former quarterback, threw one of her hand-grenades. The tiny object landed perfectly in the bugs' mouth, its' detonation decapitating the tanker.
Preoccupied by a second of celebration, Dizzy never saw the attack coming. It was an attack that seemed to play out in slow motion before Rico's eyes. The arachnid stuck viciously, its' talons piercing multiple gaping holes in Dizzy's chest and stomach. With Ace's help, Rico had been able to save her.
It had been in those moments following their lift off from whiskey out post that Rico had come to realize just how special she was to him. For as much as he'd cared out Carmen and though he'd never be able to get past her, Dizzy had proven to him that the temporary pain had been just that, temporary. He had made it through the darkness and found someone who he knew would always be there for him no matter what for as long as they had together.
"Johnny is that you," a strained voice brought him out of his thoughts.
"Yeah Diz I'm here," he replied softly, taking her hand.
"Where are we," she asked still groggy, looking around at the cold, sterile room. "What happened?"
"Shh, take it easy Diz. You're safe now. We're back at Ticonderoga, you've been out for about a week," he replied soothingly.
Rico brought her up to speed on what had happened following their escape. Dizzy lay quietly in her bed holding his hand. Her sheet rose and fell steadily as she closed her eyes, taking deep breaths.
"So how do you feel?"
"Tired and sore, also damn lucky to be alive," she replied, her voice a little raspy.
"Well, try to get some more rest. I'll be her when you wake up, I promise."
Dizzy had trouble finding the words to express her gratitude for his promise so, she settled for smiling and nodding slightly.
"By the way I've meant to tell you something. I love you too Diz," he said kissing her forehead.
She could feel the tears forming as she closed her eyes, thinking back to her confession that night in his tent that seemed so long ago already. It was the first time she'd been so vulnerable. The memory of having finally confessed her true feelings before the two made love had brought those emotions flooding back.
"What's wrong Diz?"
"It's just that I've been waiting for so long to hear you say that. Maybe it's a shit thing to say but, Carmen never deserved you. I've loved you for a long time and, I can't believe I finally get to have you," she replied as they tears fell, almost hating the shake in her own voice.
"You'll always have me Diz, I promise," he replied kissing her again. "Now get some sleep. I'll be waiting."
Rico kept his eyes glued to her as she'd drifted back to sleep. The entire time he'd thought about all that had happened since graduation. Despite the pain and tragedy and, that they'd all had to grow up so quickly, he couldn't trade the current moments for anything.
His last thought before drifting off to sleep himself was that, for the first time since he lost his parents to the tragedy of Buenos Aires, he was truly happy. He'd lost Carmen's love to the arms of another but, he'd found something stronger, deeper, and more lasting to take its' place.
I love you too Dizzy Flores and you will always have me, he thought to himself again. And in that moment before slumber, he knew it was a promise he'd walk through hell to keep.