Chap 2
Due to begging from a certain reader... I'm posting chapter two without waiting.
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Hawk came striding into the infirmary. "Alright, someone give me a report, what's wrong with our Sergeant Major?"
Lifeline met him, and walked with him towards the back. "Doc's doing a ultrasound of his abdomen now. We ruled out a heart attack. Almost certain it's not a seizure, the lab's working on his blood, checking for toxins or poisons.. we're running a bunch of tests."
The general frowned. "So you don't know? How is he?"
The medic stopped, bringing Hawk to a stop as well. "We don't know.. and he's still unconscious."
Hawk glared at the wall. "I talked to Lady Jaye, and she said he fell over right on the obstacle course. TunnelRat is convinced his quips at Wetsuit made Beachhead so mad he had a stroke, and no one seems able to convince him otherwise. I expected for the greenshirts to be celebrating with a party."
Lifeline looked surprised. "They aren't? I'd expect for half the Pit to be cheering, not that I feel that way. BeachHead isn't a bad guy.. just really hard to please."
The commander jerked his head towards the entrance of the medical bay. "Yeah.. well. Half the Joes are hanging around hoping to hear something, the rest are gathering up in groups, the messhall is packed. The greenshirts are all looking like hounddogs that just lost their last bone. I sent Scarlett up to take over the PT training, with Kamakura for backup. Everyone is completely thrown off by this."
Lifeline smiled distantly. "Yes sir. There are few constants in Joe life.. little things like 'the sun always comes up in the morning' and 'BeachHead is always on the course.' If he's not on a mission, saving someone's butt.. he's on the PT course, training us to stay alive. Now he's lying unconscious in the medical bay." He sighed, and suddenly turned to look down the hall.
Doc came from the back. "Nope, he's awake, and I know what's wrong. He's got appendicitis." He was treated to stunned expressions. "Lifeline.. go prep him for surgery." He looked at Hawk. "I have to go scrub in, his appendix has burst, emergency surgery is needed, but he'll be fine."
Hawk shook his head. "You're telling me that my best sergeant.. the toughest drill we've ever seen.. just fainted because he's got a tummyache?"
Doc gave him a withering glare. "General Hawk, with all due respect.. the man just had an organ explode inside him, give him a danged break. He was already fighting the infection from it, running a high fever, and running around up top in the heat after a crew of unruly soldiers. Finally his appendix burst, and he went into almost immediate septic shock."
Hawk looked a bit chagrined. "Sorry.. it's just.. I thought only kids got that. What next? Snake Eyes gonna come down with chicken pox?"
Doc smiled. "I hope not.. he hasn't ever had it, after all." They turned at the crashing noise from the back. "What now?"
They headed back and found a wobbly BeachHead trying to stagger out in his underwear. Lifeline raised his hands helplessly. "I'm trying to stop him."
BeachHead gasped, clutching at his stomach. "Ah'm fine.. gimme some clothes.."
Hawk crossed his arms. "I don't think so. You're not roaming the Pit in your shorts. You're about to go into surgery."
BeachHead shook his head, swallowing hard. "Nossir, ah'll be fine.. jus' needed ta rest a m-minute.. dun need no surgery." He suddenly blinked rapidly. "Uh oh.."
Lifeline reached forward to catch him under his arms as he collapsed unconscious again. "Got ya.. he really didn't like the surgery news.. "
Doc shook his head. "Only thing more stubborn than a drill sergeant is a ninja. General, you think you could get me some nice pliable corporals to treat once in a while?"
The general shook his head. "Sorry.." He helped lift the sergeant onto the waiting gurney. "I seem to be cursed with willful stubborn troops.. but they're the best."
CoverGirl suddenly burst in. "Where is Beach!?"
Hawk smiled at Doc. "Speaking of willful.. I think this is my cue to leave.." He nodded at the upset looking woman. "CoverGirl.. he'll be fine."
He walked out while she looked at Doc and Lifeline questioningly. "He will?"
Doc gestured her forward. "Yes, he's got to go have surgery, and he wanted to object, but well.. it didn't work out that well for him."
"I dun need surgery..." The half-coherent mumble made them turn.
Lifeline sighed and pushed an arm back onto the bed. "Yes.. you do. Look.. say hi to CoverGirl.. she came to say hello before you go to sleep."
She moved up. "Hey Beach.. dude.. I heard you were sick.. came to see you."
He blinked at her. "Hey Barbie, I'm okay." He was obviously struggling to focus. "Lifeline is jus' bein' a pain." The mentioned pain was busy trying to secure the i.v. dangling from a beefy arm.
"Yeah, well if you don't hold still, I'll have a couple of the ninjas come help me tie you to the bed." Lifeline got the i.v. taped down tight and sighed. "Alright.. I'm going to give you something for the pain, it'll help relax you, okay?"
"Dun be stupid.. jus' lemme up." CoverGirl reached to put one forearm across his chest and pinned him down. "Get off me!"
She leaned in. "Shhhhh... just be still. I'm sure it's all a mistake.. Lifeline can just give you a couple pills, and your appendix will just pop out of your bellybutton. Right Lifeline?" The sergeant sighed and began to look extremely confused as Lifeline finished injecting the fluid into his i.v. line.
The medic patted him. "You'll start feeling muuuch better any second now."
BeachHead sighed again. "Yeah.. mush bether." He blinked. "No surgery.. jus' pills.. right? Righ' Lifeline?"
Covergirl smiled broadly. "Yeah.. much better. You just rest.. you go to sleep, have a nice nap, and you'll feel lots better when you wake up."
He nodded at her, already struggling to keep his eyes open. "Uh-huh.. sleepin'. Courtney?" She reached to finger his damp unruly brown hair and blinked rapidly at the use of her given name. "Courtney.. you be here when I wake up though? Dun leave me 'lone."
"Of course, I'll be here." He sighed and reached out to clutch her fingers. "I'll be right here. Go to sleep."
He heaved a sigh. "Mmm'kay."
Lifeline peered at him, then pulled an eyelid open to check. "He's out cold. I gotta take him to the O.R. Thanks CoverGirl. He really hates surgery."
She gave a last stroke to his head. "So.. can I be here when he wakes up?"
Lifeline hummed. "You probably don't want to. He really doesn't take anesthesia well at all, and when he wakes up, he's.. well.. unhappy." She tilted her head. "Look.. I know I shouldn't tell you, but I think I can trust you not to..to hurt him with this information. He's pretty out of it when he wakes up, and for the first hour or so, he'll act odd.. not himself. It embarrasses him, and he always makes us promise that we won't let anyone bother him until he's awake. Then he'll have a hangover for two days or more, and he's downright miserable to be around then. Even Doc doesn't want to be around him then."
She took a deep breath, looking the medic in the face. "You heard him ask me to be here."
The medic protested. "Yeah.. but he was drugged.. look, I gotta take him to surgery. We can talk once he's in the O.R." He pushed the gurney down the hall. "He'll be okay.. as long as he can survive the teasing from everyone."
She crossed her arms, narrowing her gaze in a decisive manner. "Oh.. I doubt there will be much teasing." She settled in to wait.
Fifteen minutes later, Snake Eyes appeared. He looked around, and then at CoverGirl. *How's BeachHead?*
She shrugged. "In surgery." The ninja shifted uneasily, then took a stance next to the doors. "You gonna wait too?" He nodded, then looked at her. "What? You're not here just to wait.. what's up?"
He hesitated. *Guard duty.* She gave him a strange look and he sighed and elaborated. *Too much temptation for certain people to try to get some back on the drill sergeant when he can't fight back. They aren't very likely to try anything with me here. Not after the last time.*
She frowned. "Last time? What happened last time?" He smiled under the mask in a way that made her nervous. "Oh.. yeah.. well." She cleared her throat. "I'm sure Beach appreciates it." He shook his head at her. "Why not? Oh.. he doesn't know about it... right?" He nodded. "Okay." They waited quietly a while. She suddenly looked at him. "He asked me to stay.. to be there when he wakes up."
Snake Eyes looked startled by that, then nodded at her. *Good.*
She scooted around in her chair, nervous and unsure why she'd be talking to the silent ninja. "I don't know why he'd pick me to be around when he wakes up."
She looked over and saw Snake Eyes tilting his head in a unmistakable 'you gotta be kidding' expression. "What? There's no reason for it."
He shook his head, looking away for a minute. *You know why. Same reason you are here.* She rocked back and forth minutely on the chair, making it squeek. After a few seconds, he glared at her and she stopped.
She smiled nervously. "Sorry." Looking down the hallway, she sighed. "How long do you supposed it'll be?" He shrugged. When she didn't say anything else to him, he shifted to a guard stance and became still. Despite her own fidgeting and the time crawling past, he never moved, and she began to watch every so often for him to breathe to make sure he hadn't somehow switched out a mannequin in a secret ninja move.
After a while, she heard voices and Clutch, Shipwreck and two greenshirts appeared. She got up and stood to block the hallway.
"Where do you guys think you're going?"
They stopped, and Clutch stepped up grinning at her. "Oh, no where in particular.. once you get out of the way.. we're just gonna go visit a friend."
She shook her head. "No, you're not. You're gonna turn around and go find something else harmless to do."
Clutch smirked at her. "Really? And who is gonna make...erkk.." He lifted his chin up in response to the katana tip lifting under it. CoverGirl stood still, arms crossed defiantly, with a black clad arm stretched over her left shoulder holding the blade to the mechanic's throat.
Her voice was very amused as she answered. "He is. You're welcome to argue with him, but I'd personally apologize and leave.. you know how nuts he is. He's just as liable to take off your head as not. I'm sure Hawk would reprimand him for it, but that won't help you much, will it now?" Clutch glared and then hiccuped slightly when the blade lifted a bit more. The ninja tilted his head.
The greasemonkey smiled nervously. "Sorry.. my bad.. I'll just be going now.." The sword tip flicked away, and he backed up. "Crazy ninja.. " Snake Eyes twitched and he jumped backwards. "Kidding!! Going now!! Right now!" Three of the four darted off down the hallway, leaving Shipwreck behind.
The sailor looked at her and the ninja. "Yeah, so how's Sergeant Tough-As-Nails doing?" CoverGirl glared at him. "Gimme a break, I picked his sorry butt up and carried him in. The least you can do is tell me how he is."
She shrugged. "He's in surgery. Lifeline said he'll be fine." The sailor nodded at that. "You can go now."
He hummed softly. "Anyone think about locking his quarters? I mean, normally I wouldn't think nothing of it, because no one's gonna mess with LowLight sleeping in there.. night shift and all.. but he's off-base."
Snake Eyes snorted, returning to his guard position. He made Jinx's name sign.
Shipwreck looked surprised. "Jinx is there? Okay.. that's an ugly surprise waiting for someone." Snake Eyes tensed up, and glared at him fiercely. "Oh no no no!! Not that JINX is ugly.. just.. a nasty trap for anyone dumb enough to try anything.. Jinx is gorgeous!" He saw the ninja's shoulders bunch up. "No! No no.. let's try this again!" He held up a finger. "Jinx is a lovely young lady, who shall remain untouched and unspoiled forever, especially by me. We good?" Snake Eyes fingered a short blade. "Now.. Snakes.. you know I respect your apprentice, I wouldn't touch a hair on her head.."
The ninja slowly drew the short sword from the small of his back, lowering himself slightly into a crouch, and the sailor backed up in a rush.
"Yeah.. so.. I'm taking off, gonna go.. you know.. look into becoming a monk. We're good, right Snakes? We're buds, you and me, tight as turtles!" Snake Eyes shifted forward a few inches and Shipwreck turned tail and ran. When he disappeared around the corner, the ninja straightened up and slipped his blade back into place, moving into his guard stance again and looking bored.
CoverGirl stared at him a few minutes. "You really enjoy your reputation, don't you?" He gazed at her. "I mean.. you with the whole 'bad ninja gonna cut your head off' routine. It's all an act, isn't it?"
He looked at her through the dark visor. Finally he signed to her. *I killed fourteen armed men on my last mission. It took me about twenty seconds. I don't need to pretend to have a reputation.*
She gulped. "Okay then.. I'm just gonna sit over here and shut up then, 'kay?" He shrugged and she settled into her chair again to wait.
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Lifeline came out and promptly ran into SnakeEyes. "Whoa!! Sorry. I was looking for CoverGirl. Oh.. hey.. he's still in surgery, what a mess!"
She must have gone pale. "Mess? What? Is he okay?"
The medic waved at her. "No no no! He's fine. Or well.. he will be fine. His appendix burst, and it was.. well to not go into medical jargon too far, the infection was rather nasty. Doc is pretty angry, and plans on yelling at BeachHead a lot for ignoring the early symptoms. But he should be coming out in about forty minutes or so."
She sighed and Snake Eyes put a hand on her shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. She looked up at him. "I know, but I just.. I was worried."
He sat down next to her while Snakes stood to the side watchfully, seemingly uninterested in the conversation. Lifeline pushed his glasses up his nose a little. "Well..I know you're worried, but.. well. I don't know that you being there when he wakes up is a good idea. It's really just unpleasant. He's odd for an hour or so, and then he gets nauseous, and basically spends a couple days having a terrible hangover. Splitting headache, nausea, to the point that Doc and I just keep him in the infirmary on i.v. fluids to prevent him getting dehydrated. He never agrees to that, however. So it's a couple days of a very miserable Beach, fighting constantly to leave, and being as sick as a grown man can be. And.. of course.. he HATES to have anyone around him then."
Snake Eyes suddenly snapped his fingers, getting his attention. *I visit.*
Lifeline rolled his eyes at the ninja. "Annnd he throws things at you and yells."
The ninja smiled. *I catch what he throws, and he can't yell very loud when he's throwing up.* The medic shook his head.
CoverGirl clenched her fists. "I told him that I would be there when he woke up. So I'm gonna be there. If he gets mad, then he'll just have to get mad."
Lifeline held his hands up. "Okay fine. As long as you know going in, he's not pleasant. And another thing.. I want your word that you won't tell anyone about anything he does when he's waking up. I mean it. I promised him a year ago that I wouldn't let people taunt him over how he gets. It's not his fault that he reacts so poorly to anesthesia. If someone like Shipwreck knew.. Beachhead would be appalled."
She smiled and impulsively hugged the medic. "Of course I won't. You're awfully good to him, for all the hard time he gives you."
He shrugged back at her. "Snakes and he have worked very hard, helping me learn how to be as safe as possible in the field. I know he gives me a hard time to make me better. Besides, all of the Joe's give me a hard time at some point. He just gives everyone a hard time impartially."
Snake Eyes signed. *He's very fair that way.* He shifted suddenly, disappearing up into the ceiling with a gymnastic leap, startling CoverGirl.
She peered into the shadows fruitlessly, wondering what was up. "I hate it when he does that!" Lifeline shrugged.
"I'm here to take watch while Sensei teaches his afternoon class." They whirled around to confront Kamakura who stood placidly. "What?"
Lifeline clutched at his chest. "You sneaky ninjas are going to be the death of me! Why do you have to sneak up on us? What's wrong with walking down the hallway like normal people?"
The apprentice tilted his head and stood a bit straighter with pride. "We're ninjas.. it's what we do."
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End Chapter:
Next... you get to see BeachHead waking up from anesthesia.. it's entertaining.. as long as you're not in range. CoverGirl is all sweet being protective.
