Ghost opened his eyes slowly when he felt Archer roll over into him. The younger man was curled up in a ball sound asleep, his face looking extra smug with the added warmth from Ghost's body. Ghost smirked before pushing himself out of his sleeping bag and onto his feet. He stretched and glanced over at the kitchen table where Soap, Price and Nikolai were conversing quietly. Ghost looked down at Archer and noticed the sniper was coming awake due to the sudden depletion in warmth. The lieutenant twisted to the side, grimacing when he felt his spine pop in several places. He would have enjoyed sleeping in one of the beds in the bedrooms, but there was no other source of heat in the cabin besides the fireplace, they couldn't even get a hot bath without boiling the water first. Archer yawned as he finally woke up. He blinked and looked around, trying to recognize his surroundings.

"Never thought I would miss waking up in the camp this much. I'm tired of this place." He said softly as he rubbed at his eyes.

Ghost simply nodded in agreement as he twisted to the other side. When he straightened back out he noticed Soap was watching him with an unreadable expression. They locked eyes for a moment before Ghost tore his gaze away, anxiety eating at his chest. No doubt Soap would want to corner him alone to have a talk with him sometime today. Ghost sighed and stepped over Archer so he could reach his jacket, Nikolai had been nice enough to go into town and stock them up on new clothes, food, and supplies. He slipped it on and made his way over to his comrades.

"Good morning Lieutenant," Price said, "I figured your little stroll had worn you out a good deal."

Ghost winced internally. Why did Price have to bring that up? He silently hoped it wouldn't become the next topic of discussion and sighed in relief when Nikolai spoke up.

"We need to decide what we are going to do, this place will not remain safe for too long."

"Shepherd may be dead, but his lies are still considered the truth and we are considered the most dangerous fugitives in the world," Soap said, "We need proof if we are going to clear our names."

"Plus the fact they have proof that you are the one that killed Shepherd doesn't help us any." Archer said as he approached them, stretching his arms.

"If there was anything Shepherd was hiding, he blew it up along with that cave network in Afghanistan." Price said after sipping his coffee.

"Makarov." Ghost said suddenly. The others turned their eyes to him.

"Makarov has to have some kind of proof that Shepherd was working with him, we get him, we get the truth." Ghost explained.

"I doubt Makarov is going to talk even if we do manage to get him, death and torture doesn't faze this guy." Price replied.

"It's our only hope," Ghost said, "we have to try."

"What about the intel at Makarov's safehouse?" Archer ventured, "If the computers aren't damaged we could just make another copy and see what Shepherd was trying to hide."

Soap nodded in agreement.

"That could work. Either way, we will probably still have to capture this psychopath."

"By ourselves sir?" Archer asked, "There's no telling how many people are guarding him, we would be overwhelmed if we attacked him head on, and there's no hint as to where we should start looking."

"Maybe that's something the intel could help us out with." Soap replied.

"Makarov isn't stupid Soap, I'm sure he's sent someone to that safehouse to empty it out." Ghost said as he leaned back against the kitchen counter.

"We need to make a move somewhere, and we'll start at the safehouse." Soap said.

Ghost

Ghost sighed and turned at the sound of his name, not thinking anything of it. But what he came face to face with sent him leaping backwards in terror. There was a window behind him, and when he turned he spotted a reflection of a mangled and bloody face staring back at him. The eyes were glassy and black. Ghost stumbled backwards, his eyes wide with fear. He knocked some silverware off the kitchen counter and nearly fell into Soap's lap as he tripped up. Ghost reached out and grabbed the back of Soap's chair to steady himself. The lieutenant glanced at the puzzled faces watching him and turned back to look at the window. The face was gone. Ghost slowly allowed himself to relax but his breaths were still coming in heavy gasps and he was shaking slightly.

"What the bloody hell is your problem?" Price asked after a moment of stunned silence. Ghost couldn't answer, he was still staring at the window, not sure what to make of what just happened.

"Ghost, what's wrong?" Soap asked as he followed his friend's eyes and gazed at the window.

"I…nothing…" Ghost said softly as he slowly made his way to the front door, his head buzzing with confusion and fear.

"Where are you going Ghost?" Soap asked, his voice crossed with frustration and worry, as he rose from his seat.

"I'll go with him." Archer offered as he followed the Lieutenant to the door. Soap nodded and sighed as he sat back down.

"I don't need you to babysit me." Ghost called to Archer without looking back as he trekked through the snow.

"Yeah, well last time you went for a stroll you were gone for a long time mate. What happened back there?"

Ghost paused and gazed around at the trees around him. Archer came to a stop beside him and gazed at him, waiting for an answer. Ghost turned his eyes to the younger man. Archer had that same pressing curiosity that Roach did, and those same probing eyes, always searching for a reaction or a movement that would answer an unspoken question.

"Soap says you've been acting strange since we got out of that safehouse. Everyone can see it." Archer said. Ghost tore away from the younger man's gaze and glanced down at the snow covered ground.

"Soap also discovered that your clip was empty…he and Price think you went on some kind of killing spree."

Ghost snorted at this and began walking again, but Archer stepped in front of him and blocked his path.

"Look, I know I'm not Roach, but you can still talk to me." He said softly.

Ghost sighed, his breath visible in the cold. He wasn't going to have time for himself today, not with Archer pressing him.

"I didn't kill anyone." He replied.

"Then why was your pistol empty?"

"Because…because I'm seeing things again. I hallucinate, but I'm sure you've heard already." Ghost said almost angrily. He was still angry at himself for attacking Roach back at the camp only weeks ago. It felt like it had been months since that happened.

"Yeah I heard…" Archer answered looking away.

"Well, I spent hours running through the woods chasing and shooting at what I thought were enemies, but they only turned out to be in my head. I was so confused and exhausted… I don't remember what happened, but I woke up and I was nearly frozen." Ghost shivered, "The sun was up, and I managed to find my way back. That was when I ran into Soap."

"If you thought there were people outside why didn't you wake us up?" Archer asked.

"Because I just went out for a breath of fresh air, and then I saw movement." Ghost answered.

"And…what happened in there just now?" Archer asked nodding towards the cabin.

"I saw a face."

"A face?"

"In the window. It freaked me out to say the least," Ghost said as he gazed over Archer's shoulder, "Can we at least walk while we talk? I'm not a fan of standing out in the cold."

"For someone who isn't a fan of the cold you spend a lot of time in it." Archer backfired as he stepped out of Ghost's way and walked with him. Ghost smirked in response.

"Why is everyone a smartass these days?"

"My guess is they spent a lot of time around you." Archer said.

That brought a warm chuckle out of the Lieutenant, something Archer hadn't heard in days and he was unable to hold back a smile.