Thank you for all of the reviews! They really mean a lot to me, so keep them coming! Also, this is probably my last update for a few days. I'm really busy during the week, so expect updates from me mostly on weekends. And let me know if Charlie is becoming a Mary Sue, or if the story is becoming cheesy. Again, only Charlie and Emma belong to me. Thanks to classykazmiller25 for letting me use Jonathon Sanderson!
"So they killed your Gran and Gramps? That's rough..." Ghost said as we were running on the track. We were a few yards ahead of Ozone, Archer, and Roach, while Royce, Meat, Scarecrow, and Toad were far behind us, although, I could hear their huffing and puffing loud and clear.
"Yeah, it was." I said, turning my head towards Ghost. He looked unaffected by the 90 degree weather. I on the other hand felt like a sweaty mess.
"How did Emma react when she saw their bodies?" He asked.
"Well, she never actually saw them. I told her to close her eyes when I carried her through the living room. She didn't know anything about it until I told her last night. In fact she took the news pretty well. Never shed a tear." We began to slow down.
"Did she say anything?"
"She did actually. Said that now they were in heaven with Uncle Tommy. God, I never would have thought that she would say that. Although, you never know what's going to come out of her little mouth." Suddenly we heard a yell from Meat.
"Lieutenants! Come here!" I turned around to see the young soldiers standing over Royce. Ghost and I began to sprint towards the group. The huddling men moved away from Royce, who was lying on the ground unconscious.
"What happened to him?" Ghost asked Toad. I kneeled down next to him and slapped his cheeks in attempt to wake him up, which didn't work.
"We were running and he just fucking dropped." Toad answered. By now Archer, Ozone, and Roach had come over.
"Looks like a case of heat stroke." I pointed to Scarecrow and Toad.
"Get him to sick bay. For the rest of you, we're done with training." The others and I began to walk towards the barracks.
God, I can't wait to take a shower.
"Come on Mummy! I'm hungry!" Emma whined. She was standing by the door impatiently.
"One second I'm almost done!" After a few more complaints from the whiny three year old, I finally put down the hairdryer.
The ends are still a bit wet... but eh they'll dry eventually.
"Alright, let's go. Hey, what's on your face?" I said, noticing a smudge of chocolate on the corner of her mouth.
"Chocolate..." She smiled. "The guy with the funny hair gave it to me!" I grabbed a tissue and wiped her face.
Good old Soap.
"Come on. We don't want to miss dinner." I said, leading Emma to the mess hall.
After a detour to the bathroom and a trip back to our room to get a forgotten teddy bear, we finally arrived to the crowded hall.
"Hey look who finally showed up! I was beginning to think you weren't coming." Called out Soap, who was sitting in the corner across to Ghost.
"This one would never miss sloppy joe night. Stay here while I go get the food, Em." She ran over to the table and sat down in the empty seat next to Ghost.
When I returned to the table I found Emma standing on Ghost's lap, playing with his famous skull balaclava. I almost dropped the tray of food. He never let's anyone touch it. Soap seemed very entertained, and was chuckling at the girl, who was poking at the skull's empty eye sockets.
"Ok kid, come dig in." She jumped off of Ghost's lap and sat down in her chair, beginning to devour the meal in front of her. I sat next to Soap and began to eat my own meal. He and Ghost were almost done eating, and were mostly chatting now.
"So how did Royce make out? Is he ok for training tomorrow?" Soap asked, taking the last bit from his sloppy joe.
"I checked in with Doc earlier. He said that Royce was severely dehydrated, so he's sitting out for the next few days." Ghost answered.
"Alright. Make sure the men get plenty of water then. We don't need anyone else having to sit on their ass instead of working. Shepherd'll have mine if he found out that his 'battle hardened warriors' were out 'cause they weren't hydrated. Speaking of which, Shepherd wants to see you later Char."
I looked up from my plate. Shit, what now?
"When did he get here?" I asked before taking a sip of diet coke from my glass.
"He hasn't yet. I got a call from him an hour ago saying that he was on his way and that he wanted to talk with you. Didn't say why, but I'm sure it's important. He doesn't come here just for fun, you know." Said Soap.
"Who's Shepherd?" Asked Emma. Food was smeared all over her cheeks, so I grabbed a napkin and cleaned her up before answering.
"He's my boss, the general. Though he isn't very pleasant."
"There's a picture of him on the wall over there." Ghost added, pointing to the official looking portrait of Shepherd on the wall where he was wearing his uniform and a frown on his face. Emma began to giggle.
"He has a funny mustache! It looks like a caterpillar." I began to giggle with her.
"Yeah it kinda does." I glanced over at one of the tables where Meat, Roach, Pharaoh, and Worm were sitting. Royce had just walked in and sat down next to Roach. Meat had gotten up and gone to the kitchen. When he came back he had something in his hand and was smiling. Quietly, he snuck behind Royce and placed the object in his hand down the back of his shirt. Royce jumped up and started to grab at his back.
"HOLY MOTHERFUCKING SHIT!" He screamed, still twisting and turning rapidly. Quickly I put my hands over Emma's ears. A large ice cube fell out of his shirt onto the ground. Meat was roaring with laughter.
"MEAT YOU'RE A FUCKING ASSHOLE!" Yelled Royce, whose face was red.
"What? I was just trying to cool you down mate!" Meat began to laugh even harder. Royce tackled him to the ground, and the two started to throw punches at each other.
Ghost got up from the table and stormed over to the brawling soldiers. He grabbed Royce by the collar of his shirt and threw him on the ground next to him.
"OI! I'M TRYING TO EAT MY SLOPPY FUCKING JOE IN PEACE, SO I DON'T NEED YOU TWO FUCKING ROLLING ON THE GROUND LIKE PUSSIES!" He hit Meat on the back of the head.
"Assholes..." He began to walk back over to our table. Silenced filled the room.
"Well go on with whatever you wankers do!" Ghost ordered. The men began to talk quietly again. Royce and Meat sat back down next to each other, both looking defeated. I uncovered Emma's ears. She looked like she'd just seen (or heard) a ghost. A soldier that looked like he was apart of Shepherd's Shadow Company entered through the doors of the mess hall and started walking towards us.
"I'm guessing that's for me." I said. The large man came over to me and saluted. Soap rolled his eyes.
"At ease."
"Sgt. Jonathon Sanderson here for Lt. Charlotte Tyler at General Shepherd's request." Out of the corner of my eye I saw Roach look over. He seemed uncomfortable.
I'll ask him later.
"That's me. Em, stay with the captain until I get back." I got up and followed the soldier. A few minuets later we were standing outside of Soap's office, where the general was waiting. Sanderson was about to leave but I began to speak.
"Sergeant, do you know a Gary Sanderson?"
"Yes ma'am, He's my brother."
"Oh. That's all, thank you." He walked away. I stood outside of the office and took a deep breath.
Here goes nothing. I knocked on the door.
"Come in." A gruff voice answered. I entered to find Shepherd standing at the window.
"You wanted to see me sir?" Quickly I closed the door.
"Yes Lt. I understand that you've brought your daughter to the base. You know that civilians are not allowed." He turned around.
"Sir, I had too. The Russians were after me and I couldn't leave her behind to be slaughtered." I said.
"Surely you have a family member that is willing to take her in." Shepherd lite a cigar and took a drag from it.
"No sir, I don't." I replied.
"Then I'll arrange for a family to take her in." My heart stopped.
"Sir, can't she stay here? I'm the only family she has left, and I need her as much as she needs me. Please."
"Tyler, you know a military base isn't safe, and every hour she spends here her life is in danger. Besides, she'll distract you from hunting Makarov. I'm not going to let a three year old jeopardize all that we've worked for." He said.
"I promise, sir, that if you let her stay then I'll keep her out of trouble and work even harder at finding Makarov. I understand that she's not safe, but she has no where else to go. Please let her stay, General." I begged. He took another drag from his cigar.
"Alright, she can stay. But if there are any issues I won't hesitate to send her away. Understand?"
"Yes sir, thank you sir." He left the room. I sank in the large wooden chair in the corner of the room.
Thank god...
