Writers. Block. Sucks.

Ok guys, on that note, soooo sorry this took so long but I'm pretty satisfied with the result. Hopefully the next chapter won't take so long to update, but I'm not promising you anything. Hope you enjoy and don't forget to R&R and tell me what you think ;D

"Damon. Damon, look at me." Sam repeated the male gears name between clenched teeth while gently turning his head to face her, eyes welling with tears again.

They had been in the king raven for about fifteen minutes, but not once did Baird recognize her; His gaze was continually shifting around the interior of the helicopter they sat in, and when he did notice Sam, it was with an expression of pain and confusion. Biting her bottom lip, Sam blinked to clear her vision, letting the tears drip down her nose and cheeks while taking his blood covered hands in hers. "Just look at me." She thought, increasing her grip on Baird's shaking hands slightly as he tried to pull away. "Just give me real eye contact."

"Byrne, we have to get the bullet now, or he's going to bleed out." The young medic who stood next to her broke the relative silence, speaking with an eerily calm tone. "Sam?" he repeated himself. When she didn't acknowledge his words, he quickly placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to get her attention. The slight contact of another individual broke Sam from her reverie, and she stole one more glance at Baird before turning, leaving her hands locked with the blondes'.

The medic raked a hand through his ruffled hair before speaking, choosing his words carefully. "Byrne, he's already gone into shock. I've made him as comfortable as possible without morphine, but if we don't do something now," he paused, looking down at his boots before continuing. "He's not going to make it."

Sam swallowed hard, the very mention of those words making her stomach flip. They had told her about the morphine situation early on; Vince, their field medic, had used all he carried on the gears in his own squad during the firefight. Sam hadn't wanted to do anything drastic without the painkilling drug, but now, looking back at the shaking hands that were intertwined with hers, she realized there was nothing else to do.

Pursing her lips, she nodded, giving the young medic all the verification he needed. She followed the younger gears movements for a moment, noticing the confidant precision with which he moved while gathering his instruments.

Bringing her attention back to Baird, it pained her to see that his lips were moving slowly, mouthing incoherent words while his head turned from side to side, eyes closed tightly.

Soft murmuring sounded from Vince and a few other gears in the helicopter, but whatever they were saying was unrecognizable to Sam as she gently combed Baird's hair back, his forehead glistening with sweat. She knew that he was going to feel this, and she wished there was a way to spare him some of the pain he was about to go through.

"Ok Byrne, keep him as steady as you can, and make sure his hands stay in one place, got it?" Vince called, all calm and composed, as if he had done this a thousand times. Taking a clean pair of tweezers from a small kit that was strapped to his side, he gave a quick nod to the female gear, making sure she had comprehended all that he said. Sam did as she was told, strengthening her grip on his hands and placing her forearm on his bare chest before nodding back.

Baird awoke as she did so, his blue eyes glancing around before landing on the brunette.

"Sam?" his voice was barley a whisper, sounding alarmingly faint while he looked at her fearfully.

"Shhh." She soothed, trying to keep her tears from falling.

"Byrne, you ready?" the medic called once again, and Baird's eyes shifted slightly as the other voice met his ears.

Sam simply nodded, not bothering to turn away from her companion.

"Sam?" Baird repeated, his voice cracking under the strain of trying to speak. He sounded confused, completely oblivious to what was going on.

Sam closed her eyes as a soft sob escaped her lips. Squeezing his hands even harder, she tried to brace herself for what was about to happen as Vince counted down out loud "3, 2, 1"