this was unbelievably difficult to write. un-fucking-believably horrendous to relive. do review.

disclaimer:refer to first chapter.

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The ringing in his head drowns out everything else at first; the alien shouting of Jap soldiers, the sound of grass rustling, his own men's panicked voices and the cold night air that seeps through to the bone. Then Rafe feels rope snaking around his ankles and fights to return to consciousness. This is not the time to be lying around wallowing in misery. The hardened eyes of the Jap tying him up are the first thing he sees and he tries to reach for his gun, but pain shoots through his right hand – he's probably broken it again. There's something important, something he's forgotten and he tries to remember what it is Doolittle said about being captured when a gasp to his left draws his attention.

Some Jap bastard has pulled Danny to his feet and keeps a sturdy hold on his jacket while the latter chokes, and Rafe is thrown back in time to Tennessee where he's seen all this before. Another soldier shows out of nowhere with a piece of wood and he watches in horror as they tie his friend his baby brother to it like Christ on a cross. Rafe barely notices the way his fingers scrabble at the wood, or the blood running freely down his shirt because his eyes are locked on Danny's; large brown eyes full of fear and pain and the knowledge that this is the end and silent pleading against this fate.

There is a gun in Anthony's holster, and he uses his left hand to grab it, not because he wants to be a hero or because he can but because he's made a promise to himself that nothing is going to get to Danny unless it gets through him first and he's going to be damned if those motherfuckers take him away after all they've been through. The first soldier he shoots is the one holding Danny up; next is the guy who tied his legs together like he's a chicken to be sold at the market. The other Japs are swinging their long, heavy rifles around at him and he manages to take one more down when the gun jams.

It happens so suddenly that he stops thinking for a moment and stares blankly at the malfunctioning gun, and then up at the Jap pointing a gun at him; his card's been called, might as well kiss his ass goodbye now and Rafe feels real fear. And that is when it happens.

Danny shoves the Jap aside, saving him from certain death and putting himself in the line of fire. This singular, selfless act of courage has him shocked, but spurs the rest of the guys into action. Red pulls out his gun and shoots his captor and Gooz suddenly yells "Grenade!" seconds before it goes off, throwing Japs into the air with the force of the explosion.

There is so much smoke and fire and noise that it takes him longer than it should to see Danny lying on the ground, too still and eyes wide, staring ahead at nothing he can see. It is then that he knows, just knows, that something is terribly wrong.

"Danny?"

And then he's crouching over his friend, trying not to look at the blood leaking from his torso because it means that he's been shot and there's not a single thing a bunch of pilots in the middle of a paddy field can do about wounds like that.

"Easy, easy, I gotcha," he says, making quick work of the rope around Danny's hands, ignoring the pained gasps that's coming from the boy on the ground.

"I'm not-" he coughs and Rafe is glad because he never wants to hear the remainder of that sentence, but Danny is nothing if not stubborn. "I'm not gonna make it."

"Yes you are, yes you are," he repeats, as much for himself as Danny, because Danny is going to have to make it. He will not cannot consider the alternative. "Look at me-"

"I'm so cold, I'm so cold." Danny appears to have picked up on his repetition. Damn if that kid isn't always trying to be him, even though he's so much better than Rafe will ever be. Danny tries to sit up but that's not happening anytime soon and he instead catches a handful of Rafe's jacket, pulling him closer. His reaction is more instinct than thought; he puts an arm under Danny's shoulders and holds him close, offering what little warmth he can. Danny's head rests on his chest and he can see the tears that stain his cheeks. Rafe rests his own cheek against his head and sobs despite himself, because after everything he's done, it's come down to this.

"Hey Rafe, can you do me a favour?"

"What?"

"Can you get someone else to carve my name on a tombstone?" Danny sobs at the final word, and Rafe wants him to shut up because that kind of talk's never done anyone any good.

"You're not going to die." Rafe drops him and regrets immediately how harsh he is, but he needs to get through to Danny and he needs to be able to look him in the eye. "Look at me, listen to me; you ain't gonna die, do you hear me?"

But Danny isn't even listening properly; he's listless and choking and this little voice in Rafe's head whispers that that's what happens when bullets go through your lungs and you're drowning in your own blood but he silences it because there is no way Danny is going to die. Not today. Not for a long time. Simply telling him that isn't working, though. "Danny, you can't die. You know why? Because Evelyn's waiting for you, remember? Huh? You're going to go back to her, aren't ya?"

Danny catches hold of his jacket and pulls him closer again. "No, you are."

Rafe is about to say something that reflects his exasperation when Danny's fingers go slack; he catches his friend's hand, holds it against his chest and cradles him as the tears fall freely down his face. "Danny, you're my best friend. No, you're my brother and you can't leave me now. Danny, please, just hang on for me. Please." He's begging and he knows it, but he'll grovel on his knees if that's what it takes.

Danny's eyes are trained on him now, and he sees in them not fear, understanding or acceptance; only sympathy. Rafe wants to laugh but he sobs instead, because only Danny would feel sorry for someone else when he is bleeding to death. "Yeah, that's it, just hang on for me, okay? You keep fighting, 'cause I didn't teach you to quit."

There is no reply and Rafe belatedly realises that he's rocking back and forth, rocking the boy in his arms like a mother. Still, Danny is conscious and breathing and that is all he can ask for right now.

Suddenly, someone shouts "Hold your fire!" and he recognises that someone as Ripley. Rafe looks up, sees a bunch of people approaching. One of them holds an American flag up. Red and Gooz look as shell-shocked as he feels, tear tracks staining their soot-blackened faces. "It's the Chinese!"

"Danny, you hear that? It's the Chi-" he stops in mid-sentence because it takes only one short moment to realise that the boy in his arms has stopped breathing.