Warning! I should probably warn that there will be a fair bit of swearing. When I say fair, I mean a lot. This is me after all guys.

Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Soap, Ghost, or any other part of Modern Warfare as they all belong to Infinity Ward. I'm just amateur writer who likes to borrow them a little. I do own Lara 'Bones' McCoy of course.

Note from Sassy: And so I return with more CITS for you, although in fairness it's a day late due to unforeseen real life circumstances. :P For the record I should probably say that this is my most researched chapter ever, mainly because I'm trying to write an experienced medic and I'm only a scientist. I can tell you the chemical components of the body's metabolism in detail, but not how to treat a gunshot wound… Either way, I hope this is realistic and big thanks have to go to UrgentOrange for putting my mind at ease with all this medical stuff. This chapter is dedicated to you dear! :) Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter! And on a more positive note, its reply time. I seriously adore you guys. :D

RosalyD: I really can't say thank you enough for that review! Seriously, where do I start? I feel very honoured. For starters I'm just really glad that you enjoyed it (and that you're still reviewing!) but Lara fanart. *hugs* I would love to see it, honestly. :) And its great to hear that you're inspired. Should I be looking out for a new fic from you?

WingedKnights: I'm sorry for the cliffhanger. In answer to your question, I'm sorry for confusing you too. Bones was shooting 'out of instinct' because although she's a medic, she is still combat trained and therefore went out on patrols with the Paras during her attachment there. When I referred to her lack of "experience" I was referring to her lack of Special Forces experience not her combat experience, which I understand to be two very different things. So basically, on joining the 141 she knows how to fight/shoot but she has little to no experience of the more specialised stealth/explosives orientated stuff. I hope that makes sense. It was basically my attempt at not making her a 'perfect' Mary Sue OC. But thank you! I'm really glad you're enjoying Ghost and Bones interaction! I hope you enjoy this chapter too. :D

Eiram87: Well that makes me very happy either way, thank you. I hope that you continue to enjoy it after this chapter! Let me know, lol. :)

xGhostxStealth: Haha! Your enthusiasm makes me really happy, thank you. I'm sorry this update has been a little bit slower. I really hope that you enjoy this chapter…and as for Bones, well it is a romance series eventually, so we shall see. But as always thanks so much for your comments. You really are far too kind. :) *hugs*

UrgentOrange: I owe you so very much. But I hope you enjoy the update! :)

Masquerade Doll: Thank you! I realise that the concept is a little overdone, but I really just wanted the opportunity to put my own spin on it too, so I'm glad you're still enjoying it. I hope you enjoy the update. :)

VerityA: I loved your response there. :P And yay for detail, you know me and my research…you have to suffer all my grumbling about it too. Although I do not deliver every time…don't be daft! *hugs* I agree, but I think I'm beginning to love Meat because he is such a twat. :P

Leen141: Well, Riley is definitely a charmer :P But don't worry…Lara will be on hand to fix Soap! And thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying the characters. I always worry that they might be boring. I hope you enjoy this chapter! :D

ita-chan01: Thank you very much! :) I hope you like the update.

She hadn't even been looking when it had happened. There'd been a loud bang, a flurry of panicked yells and she'd spun round, the rifle in her hands scanning her surroundings on instinct. She'd seen a man lying on the ground, but his face had been obscured by someone else when she'd started running. Suddenly she was more a medic than a soldier, her mind focused on the injured and her thoughts totally unaware of her surroundings. There could have been bullets raining down all around her and yet she wouldn't have known or cared, her mind forced onto a single track. After all, this was her job, her responsibility, her life. She could still remember the thundering in her heart when she'd seen that it was her friend, the one man she had allowed herself to truly trust in the regiment, fighting for his life on the sand. The image was a haunting one, a picture that never truly left her thoughts…

That same thundering was back, making her feel as if her heart was caught between hammering in her chest and freezing with shock. The moment of inaction lasted barely a second, but in her head, it seemed to go on forever.

"We can't leave him there!" She was turning and practically barking the words at Ghost like an order, the lieutenant preoccupied with putting suppressing fire down onto a group of advancing tangos to their right.

"Then fucking cover me!" Ghost yelled back over his shoulder. "…I need to move him."

"No…not until I've checked him over!"

"Are you suicidal?" Riley paused to lay down more fire. "The area's too hot…you can't-…Wait!" He interrupted himself quickly as McCoy pushed in front of him, hugging the last expanse of wall between her and Soap, who was still lying out in the middle of the next street. She glanced back at him quickly.

"Just try and give me chance to do my job…"

She ran before he could argue, dashing towards a torn up car on the edge of the street and almost colliding into the object with momentum as she stopped. Bullets clattered off the metal, dirt flew up in the air from the tarmac below her. In her ear was Ghost's voice, a controlled yell across the gunfire.

"Archer…We need sniper support at entry point Charlie…Do you have a visual on Hotel Six?"

"I have eyes on. Bones, that you behind that car? Confirm."

"It's me!" Lara yelled into her comms, ducking down lower when another rally of machine gun fire pelted her location, heavy metallic clangs surrounding her.

"Copy that…you have three tangos approaching on your position…Sit tight."

"Roger that."

At first, she felt as if they'd forgotten her. She knew that the three men were approaching her, hell she could hear them but she didn't dare raise her head and make herself into even more of a blatant target. The waiting seemed to be prolonged, drawn out, her legs twitching beneath her, adrenaline coursing through her veins, the little voice at the back of her head telling her to just run. With great difficulty she hushed it silent.

Out of nowhere there was a loud gunshot followed by a strangled cry. Another seemed to ring out almost immediately, as if it was tracing the shot before. A couple more seconds passed and a third, final shot rang out.

"…You're clear for now, Bones…"

Lara didn't need telling twice. She sprinted forwards, Soap's body appearing closer as her legs kicked off the tarmac of the road. She kept her shoulders hunched, her body low as she practically tumbled into the cover of the next burnt out car, the closest object that the Captain had had the piece of mind to crawl for.

"Bones…?" He spoke out softly, bloodied hands cradling his right thigh disorientated.

"Yes, sir…" She knelt beside him, slowly trying to prise his hands away from the wound.

"It's fine…"

"I need to see it. Please…" Her voice was assertive and she tried again, moving away his hands and examining his leg. There was a lot of blood seeping from the gunshot wound, its positioning dangerous. She swallowed hard, shrugging off her medical kit and tearing into it. A quick slice at his combat trousers with Mactavish's knife allowed her to see the reddened, angry skin easily and she grabbed a gauze, pressing it down hard against the wound.

"Fuck!" Soap's eyes bulged beneath her and he struggled, his hands hovering around hers, his body half trying to right itself, half flailing hopelessly. Bloodied hands caught hold of her wrists, grabbing on tightly and the Captain craned his neck up off the floor, beads of sweat glistening on his brow. "…How bad…?"

"You're going to be fine…" She nodded abruptly.

"It's that…bad?" He let out a breathless laugh, his head hanging back, eyes tightly closed. "Shit…"

"Hey…stay with me…Sir? Do you hear me? I need you to stay awake…"

"I am awake…"

"Then let's keep it that way…" One hand still applying pressure, McCoy reached into her kit, grabbing another gauze and pushing it on top of the sodden layer already pressed to his skin. "You're going to be ok…but you need to keep your eyes open…" She laughed nervously. "That's an order, sir."

Over her shoulder, the rest of the team were collapsing, moving in to form a perimeter around the entry point and Mactavish. Already she could hear Ozone and Meat moving up to cover Ghost and behind her were more footsteps, presumably Royce and Scarecrow, the two men Soap had been separated from earlier. As she felt them move in around her, spread between the cover of the two cars, McCoy's attention fixed back onto Soap and the blood that was beginning to filter through the second layer of gauze. She quickly moved to add another layer to the pile as Ghost and Ozone moved up beside her.

"How is he?" The tone of the lieutenant's voice wasn't any less brutal.

"Stable." She quickly nodded to Ozone, indicating down to the gauze. "I need you to keep applying pressure. Ok?" The Canadian nodded, replacing her hands on the gauze and manoeuvring himself to the Captain's side. McCoy took the brief respite to reach into her bag, pulling the intravenous kit from it, nimble fingers removing the packaging. "I need to get him out of here."

"And we need to move up. Codename Alpha could still be...-"

"We're still going after him?" She'd already begun rolling up Soap's sleeve to above the elbow, angling his arm towards her.

"A mission doesn't fail just because someone is down…" Ghost shook his head quickly. "We all still have a job to do."

"So do I…and right now my priority is getting him a casevac…" McCoy was certain that this was an argument she wasn't going to lose. "Let me call it in."

"You'll be on your own…"

"And right now I couldn't give a shit." She indicated down to Soap quickly. "Just look at him…he can't lie around waiting…"

"I can give you Ozone and sniper support while you wait." Riley spoke out calmly, although there was an angry edge to his voice. "The rest of us need to sweep the other buildings…we'll extract later." He glanced quickly at Soap, a flicker of concern caught behind his sunglasses. "Think you can handle that?"

"…Sir."

"Ok." He nodded sharply, jerking his head to the side to get the others' attention. "Rest of you, on me. Let's move out."

With the IV line started, McCoy pulled off her helmet, dropping it to the floor and giving Ozone a weak smile. She then leant over Mactavish, blood stained hands tapping at his face, ensuring that he was still awake. "Hey…you've stopped talking."

"Tired…" The Captain attempted to smile, but it made no real impact on his features.

"You can sleep later…" Sliding her hands down to his neck, McCoy found the thick chain she was looking for, hooking her fingers under his shirt and bringing it out into the light. On it dangled two syrettes of morphine, identical to the ones they all were wearing beneath their gear. Quickly snapping one off the chain, Lara gave Mactavish another soft smile. "Need you to keep talking to me, mate…how about you tell me more about those homemade claymores of yours…?"

"Y-you were…really listening?" Soap managed a rasping laugh although his eyes were still blinking closed.

"Of course…" She broke the seal on the syrette; her left hand pinching at his skin whilst with her right hand she slipped the needle into his taunt skin at a shallow angle, the delicate pressure of her thumb and fingers administering the drug. "You even threatened to show me how…" She smirked, pinning the empty syrette to his shirt as a reminder.

"You'd blow us all to hell…"

"Thanks…"

"But the key is in…how well you tape it all together…"

"Sounds technical." Silently Lara nodded to Ozone, replacing his hands on the gauze so that he could radio ahead for their casevac. "Just how many of your own men did you maim with those things?"

"None…" The Captain blinked hard, his eyes looking increasingly heavy. He attempted to lift his head but was unable to. "What's…happening?"

"We're getting you out of here. Helicopter won't be long…I promise."

"Heard that…before."

"Well I mean it…" Lara nodded quickly, although concern riddled her features when she realised that Soap's eyes had closed. "Come on…I need you to stay awake." She slapped quickly at the skin of his cheek. "Just a little bit longer."

"Fuck…you…"

She could hear gunfire from afar, but she tried to block it out, concentrating on Soap. He was pale, tired and disorientated, but she kept him talking, even if all it became was him plying her with nonsensical abuse every time she roused him. The minutes spent kneeling at his side waiting were almost excruciating, McCoy left feeling powerless and alone. Archer and Toad had moved up, but they were busy holding a perimeter around them, silent and constantly monitoring their surroundings so that she didn't have to. Instead she was left with time to think, to adjust, panic and adrenaline replaced by worry and concern in her system. As the Captain beneath her became wearier, McCoy found herself holding onto his forearm, a gesture that was meant to be comforting at the very least. Her mind quickly backtracked. She was back in Afghanistan again, kneeling over the man she couldn't save. The thoughts were only fleeting, but that didn't affect their poignancy and McCoy eagerly tried to shake the unhealthy thoughts from her mind.

The casevac helicopter came in as close as it dared and they'd had to carry Mactavish the rest of the way, Toad and Archer holding him between them whilst McCoy and Ozone covered their backs. All was suddenly calm, opposed to the frantic movements and harsh yells from before, McCoy sliding down the metallic wall, her knees bunched up to her chest. The medics on board had instantly taken over and she watched them intently, grimacing all the while. Knowing that for now she was irrelevant was an even worse feeling than the waiting had been. She should have been relieved, content in knowing that she was no longer the sole person responsible for her CO's wellbeing, but the emotion couldn't have been further from her mind. Somehow not being there to take care of the Captain was worse than seeing the extent of his injuries for herself.

It was another four hours until the others joined them back at their temporary camp.

Before the operation they'd set up in an American military base hangar, one that had been formed during the aftermath of the Russian civil war, the Americans desperately trying to strengthen their strained relations with Russia. Although the future of the base itself was looking bleak, it had been the perfect place for the 141 to take stock before their operation, acting for all intents and purposes as a forward operations base. Their arrival two days before had been jovial to say the least and the small group had quickly established themselves amongst the serving soldiers there, trading supplies for beds, chairs and even M&Ms.

The mood on their return was far less amicable.

Mactavish was holed up in the base's medical wing, stable and for the most part being made to rest. The others were in the hangar, Toad and McCoy sitting on their traded bunks, Ozone and Archer opting to try and sleep, the thin blankets drawn up underneath their necks to protect against the cool air of the hangar.

He'd been back on the base for a grand total of half an hour before he came to find her, just long enough to check on Soap's status and give Shepherd a short debrief. But when McCoy spotted Ghost walking towards her purposefully, she immediately guessed that it wasn't a friendly chat he had in mind...

"McCoy…" He said bluntly, shrugging off his gun and kit and resting them against his bed in a couple of fluid movements. "I'd like a word."

"Sir?" She raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Privately." The lieutenant jerked his head towards a quieter area of the hangar. "…Now."

She knew what was coming. She'd expected it the moment she'd seen the annoyance, the anger in his eyes out in the field. But right then, she'd been a medic, not a soldier and she hadn't cared. But now she was back on the base, clean and wearing a fresh uniform, suddenly she wasn't so sure anymore.

"What happened out there?" As they walked she at least hoped to soften the atmosphere with a relatively mundane question.

"No Antonov." The lieutenant snapped quickly. "Barely any intel…a huge waste of our fucking time. But right now, that's Shepherd's problem, not mine." Turning his back on the rest of the hangar, Ghost stood directly in front of Lara, every bit imposing. "What I want to know is what the hell you thought you were doing out there?"

"My job. I needed to-"

"You deliberately ignored my orders." Riley cut in, stepping that little bit closer. "You undermined me…went running out there to play the fucking hero…"

"With respect, sir, I knew the risks."

"Really?" Ghost scoffed. "Because it didn't look like that to me."

"I knew what I was getting myself into, sir."

"And without Archer I'd have had two bodies on my hands." Riley rolled his eyes, the action just visible behind his sunglasses. "If you don't want to give a damn about yourself, fine, but at least try and think about the rest of the team…about the operation."

"Again, with respect I was told that my primary role was as a medic…" Lara fought hard to bite back any malice that she was tempted to push into her voice.

"And I'm telling you that sometimes the shit Shepherd shoves down your throat doesn't work in the real world…" The lieutenant laughed darkly. "We're a team…when we're out there we listen to each other, we obey orders."

"But sir-"

"I don't want to hear it." Riley shook his head, lifting a gloved hand to silence her. "You might be a lieutenant back home, but that counts for nothing here. Next time you listen to your superiors, you obey your orders and somehow we work things out together. Understood?"

"…Yes, sir."

"Good." Seemingly satisfied, Ghost turned slightly as if to leave before hesitating and spinning round to face her again. When he spoke his voice was less strict, carrying with it a new raw edge, as close to hurt as Lara was ever likely to hear. "And for the record…I had no intention of leaving my friend out there. Looks like you still have one hell of a lot left to learn…"

Right then it would have probably been less painful if he had just shot her himself, McCoy left with a bundle of concern interspersed with words of self doubt where her brain had once been. Her stomach churned. It had been her first operation, Soap was stable and yet she had still managed to fuck it all up…

She'd never been very good at patience. Sitting in a hospital waiting room was one of her first memories as a child and even as an adult it was still there, manifesting itself in an all round distaste for being made to wait for anything. Sitting around and waiting to be told that someone was stable just simply wasn't good enough. Fortunately, being a fully qualified doctor had its occasional advantage and the fact that she would never be told when she could visit one of her patients was definitely one of them.

When she'd first stepped into the room she'd assumed he was asleep, the Captain lying back against the pillow, his eyes shut and the sheets drawn up to just above his waist. Moving with a deliberate quietness she'd edged her way to the bottom of his bed, picking up his medical charts and flicking through them. The room around her had been silent aside from the usual backdrop of base noise coming from outside, the usual excitable yells and grinding machinery.

"Learnt anything new…?" The croaky voice made her jump in her skin and she lowered the medical charts as if she'd been scalded. Mactavish laughed with half open eyes, a sound that was almost breathless as he fidgeted slightly on the bed. He was still frighteningly pale, the white of his skin accentuating the dark stubble beginning to shadow his jaw. "Didn't think I was a goner there…did you?" He might have been weak but there was still that same sarcastic cocked eyebrow.

"You should be asleep."

"Can't sleep like this." The Captain shook his head quickly.

"Are you due more pain meds?" Lara gave him a curious look, already beginning to flick through his charts to check.

"No…" He laughed again softly, nodding his head towards the IV in his arm. "I mean with this thing stuck in me…I'm not built to be hooked up to machines."

"It won't be for long. You lost a lot of blood."

"So they tell me." The Captain rolled his eyes. "Centimetres away from my femoral artery apparently."

"You were lucky, that's all that matters." She nodded quickly, eager not to dwell on the subject as she moved to his side. "But you're going to have to rest."

"Yeah, yeah…I know. But I should be out there with my men…" He sighed heavily, using his arms to leverage himself upwards so that he was sitting more upright. Lara instantly found herself grabbing his pillows, adjusting them behind him without really realising. When he was settled the Captain gave her an unsure, almost curious look. "Um…thanks."

"Bedside manner never quite dies." She smiled, almost embarrassed as she shifted awkwardly on the spot. To break the awkward pause she asked the first, possibly most stupid question on her mind. "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty doped up…throat's bloody sore too, but it could be worse." He shrugged. "Not looking forward to going back to base."

"Why?"

"Shepherd's going to have my arse…" Soap said almost absent mindedly, worrying his lip slightly. He gave her a weary glance, a dark laugh spilling from his mouth. "Least I can't travel for a couple of days, eh?"

"The intel was wrong…there was nothing we could have done differently."

"You can tell this is your first op." Mactavish smirked. "In his mind we probably let Antonov walk out the place…"

"Then with respect, sir…Shepherd knows jack shit."

"I like you." Soap laughed. "Now you're beginning to sound like one of the 141…" He gave her a wicked smile that served to only accentuate the dark circles around his eyes more than anything else. "Though officially I should remind you of his superiority. But I've heard you've been undermining that a lot recently…"

"Shit…" The word was more of an unwilling breath that escaped her lips. "You've spoken to Ghost, haven't you?"

"Spoken with, not so much. But listened to? Oh yes."

"Does that mean my days with the 141 are numbered?" For once there wasn't an ounce of sarcasm in Lara's voice, her face suddenly very unsure. "He was pretty pissed…"

"Please, as much as he'd like it, Riley doesn't have that kind of power with the 141. Hell, if Shepherd wants you to stay even I don't." Mactavish gave her a weak grin. "Truth is, I understand what Ghost was saying…but for obvious reasons I have to be thankful that you did what you did." He shrugged softly. "Besides…if it had been any one of the others being reckless…well, then Ghost wouldn't have been so hard on them either."

"Then I'm ok?"

"For now. But next time…I'd think about it. Even if I am the one bleeding all over the place." He gave her a soft nod. "And don't worry about Ghost."

"He's not making it easy…"

"You'll get used to him." Soap laughed. "Thing about Riley is; he's driven by two main things, logic and loyalty. If the two happen to clash, then he resorts to a logical way of thinking every time…he's a damn good soldier because of it. But today…you went against that logic. The fact that it was you undermining him just makes it worse."

"So in short…I couldn't have done anything worse?" Lara let out a cynical laugh. "I'm fucked."

"He'll cool off and come to his senses." Mactavish shook his head. "Besides, from my perspective you did a good job today. And you didn't let my team down. Maybe if you start believing that yourself then things will be easier for a start."

"Sir?"

"You belong here, McCoy. The day you start believing that will be good for all of us."

Maybe for the first time in her career with the 141, McCoy actually listened. Mactavish was right. She'd been so preoccupied with Ghost's dislike, proving herself to the others and the huge chip on her shoulder about being the only woman that she'd forgotten what was actually important. The simple fact that no matter what anyone else said, she could do her job and however arrogant it might have been to admit she knew that she could do it well. Why had she let one transfer shake her so completely?

There was more to it than that obviously, but for the moment at least, McCoy actually left Soap's room smiling. She wasn't so sure what it was that made her value her superior's opinion so highly, but maybe that didn't matter right then. At least she had gotten a piece of her self esteem back in the process. And whether it was a cliché or not, she was determined to keep proving to the team and to herself that she deserved to be there just as much as the rest of them.

…Particularly Ghost.

And so ends another chapter, one that has caused me far too much trouble and that I genuinely am still not happy with. *sighs* Either way I just hope that you guys have enjoyed it despite that. If you'd like to review, then you know by now that is something that I appreciate so much! So if you can, I'd love to hear from you. :)

And of course, thank you for the support so far!

-x-S-x-