First of all, I want to thank everyone for all the amazing reviews! I am so glad you are all enjoying this. Second, I know I said this is a two-shot, but I am extending it to a 3rd chapter because I think the last part needs its own chapter. Either way, enjoy this update!

Soldiers

Chapter 2: Wounds

"Claire! Claire! Come on! Let's go!" Kate cried at her friend who sat on the floor in shock, mumbling "no, no, oh my God, no!" over and over. When Claire did not respond, Kate grabbed her shoulders roughly and shook her, "Let's go!" she said, pulling her up to her feet and running out of the building into the yard.

The sight in the yard was horrifying. Everyone from medical personnel, to patients, staff and administrators were all standing the middle of it watching as building 23 was slowly crumbling in front of them. They could hear the cries coming from people inside the building, and the cries coming from the people in the yard. The West wing, which housed most of the hospital's recovery rooms was completely shelled down, while the East wing was slowly crumbling. People were quickly rushing, trying to pull survivors from beneath the burning rubble of steel, glass and cement. There was blood, smoke and chaos everywhere. And as the two women stood in shock and fear, taking in the scene in front of them, they were called into action by one of the doctors; "I need as many nurses as possible in the East wing right now!"

"Is it safe?" asked one of their colleagues about the section of the building that housed mostly clinics and offices.

"Yes, it was not hit, so it took quite a shake but it is not collapsing. There weren't many people in there. Lunch break… but there were some, and they might need medical attention before we stretch them out. Go!" he yelled at them to get into action.

Kate, Claire and a number of other nurses rushed into the building and understood what the doctor was referring to. It seemed vacant for the most part. The damage was mostly broken glass and furniture that had fell over due to the shock of the blast. The senior nurse among them divided them into three teams, send each to one of the floors of the facility. The ground floor consisted mainly of offices and most of the occupants seemed to be able to walk out on their own, with simple cuts and bruises. The third floor, where Kate was assigned, was mostly clinics and seemed to have sustained most of the damage as the nurses noticed while they tried to make their way over the debris in the corridors. Luckily the floor seemed relatively empty, as the doctor had said, very few appointments are given in the clinics during that time of day. They had checked most of the rooms in that floor when they heard a call from the check up room at the very end of the hall.

"Over here! Help!" came the voice as someone tried to push open the door being held shut by a cabinet. The team quickly worked to remove the obstructing object and opened the door to a distraught looking Dr. Jameson.

"Doctor! Are you ok? Are you hurt?" asked one of the nurses, doing a quick scan to check for any injuries.

"I think my shoulder is dislocated," she said, "but my patient isn't he's in there," she explained, pointing towards the door that had been almost completely blocked by fallen rubble.

"There's someone in there?" Kate asked.

"Yes, and he is hurt," the doctor said, "but I cannot and he cannot get up to move the debris and get out."

The group looked towards the door. It seemed to be completely blocked by various fallen objects, furniture and what seemed to look like a chunk of concrete that used to be the ceiling.

"Why can't we move it?" asked one of the nurses.

"No, he's pinned under it, if we try to move it, it might collapse and crush him," Doctor Jameson explained.

"I think I can get in," Kate said, studying the debris closely.

"What?" the group asked.

"There's a small opening, right there," Kate said pointing to the tiny clear space in the rubble, "I think I can fit in there."

The group looked amongst themselves, Kate was indeed the smallest in size among them. "Ok, let's get Kate through," said the team leader, "be careful," he added with a smile, one that Kate returned timidly. She had been avoiding Nurse Johnson's advances for a while now, despite Claire's efforts to convince her to go out with him. He was a nice enough guy, but Kate didn't feel attracted to him, not in that way. When Claire asked her why not, he was after all kind, caring and very good looking, Kate always replied with "something's missing" and secretly thought, "he's not Jack."

"What's his name?" Kate asked the doctor right before she crept into the small opening.

"Bryan," she replied.

Kate took a deep breath and looked into the small opening. It was dark and surprisingly deep. She felt a shiver through her body when she was suddenly taken back years into the past, the sight reminding her oddly of a cave, and that horrible day when Jack was stuck in the cave in. She shut her eyes for a second, willing the memory back into her subconscious and allowing her to focus on the task at hand. She crawled in slowly, careful not to hit anything on her way in, any slight contact could cause everything to collapse further and she would get stuck herself.

It took a few moments, but Kate was finally across and safe. She looked around and saw a body on lying on the ground. His lower abdomen and legs were visible but his upper half was stuck below the fallen debris, obstructing the view to his upper chest and face from her. Kate held her breath for a moment until she saw his chest rise and fall with the sure sign s of life. She let out a relived sigh and knelt down beside him. She attempted to remove the objects that were pinning him, starting slowly and carefully. She called his names a few times, but got no reply. He appeared to be unconscious, but Kate calmed herself that he was at least breathing. She continued to move aside the debris until she saw something that caused her to jump back, gasping loudly and falling back.

Along the inside of the soldier's left arm, the one exposed beneath the fallen rubble, was a colorful pattern, red, blue and yellow, stars and waves. Kate swallowed against a stubborn sob in her throat, placing a palm over her mouth. She knew that pattern, it haunted her, came to her in her sleep. It was etched in her memory, one of the many details about the one man in her life she truly loved, the one man who owned her heart, body and soul. It was an exact replica of Jack's tattoo. She took a deep breath and urged herself to maintain her calm. It was just a coincidence she told herself. People have similar tattoos all over the world. She wiped absentmindedly at a stray tear she did not know had escaped. She continued removing the wreckage until his entire left arm and shoulder were exposed. It was then that the tears started to fall freely. One tattoo was a coincidence, but what was before her was definitely not a coincidence. That was undoubtedly Jack's arm, down to the last tattoo, to every mole and inch of that arm, she knew it by heart. She had kissed every inch of it, she had been wrapped tightly by it. Even though she could not see his face just yet, she knew it was Jack. Kate sat back for a moment, crying unabashedly. The man she had lost five years ago was lying on the ground in front of her, under a mass of wreckage, barely breathing, and she was not about to lose him again before she got the chance to get him back.

"Jack! Jack! Come on, let's get you out," she whispered as she got back to removing the debris.

"Kate? Kate? What's going on?" came a voice from outside the room when almost fifteen minutes had passed and they had not heard from her.

Just then they heard a heavy crash as the mass that had gathered at the door collapsed.

"KATE! KATE! Can you hear me? Are you ok?"

Kate heard the voices from behind the door again and coughed at the suffocating smoke. She looked around her; the door was blocked more than it had been. She was unharmed, she pushed herself back up and moved towards Jack. He was still breathing, barely, but was still below too much wreckage for her to remove.

"I… I'm fine, but I cannot move all this, it's too much! And… and I can't help Jack, he's under a lot of debris!" she said, her hands shaking as she tried to remove it off of Jack.

"Jack? You mean Bryan?" Dr. Jameson, "is he alive?"

"Jack? Did you say Jack?" Claire said as she walked through the door, finally arriving with her team to the third floor, "she found him?"

"Claire?" Kate asked, her voice shaking upon hearing her friend's words, "It's him! I know it's him! He's here! But… but I… can't help him!"

"Nurse Littleton, what is going on? What are you two talking about? Is my patient ok?" asked Dr. Jameson.

"I'm sorry, Doctor," Claire said, "yes, yes he's fine but it seems Kate cannot get him out," she explained calmly.

She knew that Kate could be getting hysterical at the moment, being in the same room as Jack again after years of mourning him and living in pain and despair, and she knew how Kate would get when she wanted to help someone but could not.

"Kate? Sweetie, are you still with me?" she asked gently from behind the door, hearing Kate's silent sobs and grunts as she continued to remove some of the rubble.

"Mhmm," Kate said with a sniffle, "Claire, he's here," she said again with another sob.

"I know, sweetie, I know," Claire said, as the rest of the group seemed to move back, unsure what was going on, but trusting Claire to know what she was doing, the two women seemingly close as sisters. "We are all going to help you two get out, but honey I need you to tell me if there's a way for someone to get in there to help you, okay?"

Kate looked around her. She was scared, tired and emotional. In any other situation her attention and focus would have been unwavering, but not now. Unconsciously, she reached down and took Jack's in hers. "Please don't leave me, Jack, please don't leave, not again, please," she begged quietly as she studied her surroundings.

"Kate?" Claire asked again.

"Yeah…" Kate said, "there's a part of the ceiling collapsed, I think you can get in from the roof."

The team quickly hustled towards the roof, with a few members staying by the door to support Kate. "Alright, sweetie, we're coming now, stay put," Claire said assuredly.

Kate sat back on her heels, still clutching to Jack's hand. He was still breathing, but also still unconscious. "You're going to be ok, you're going to be ok," she whispered, "I've got you."

…To be continued