Yay! A fast update! Thanks so much for the reviews! I'm glad ya'll like the story so far. This chapter is a little short but I'm setting up for the flashback chapters. Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Enjoy!

Shadowkat121: Thanks so much for the kind review. I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter. Hope you like this one!

AgentTex: Thanks so much! Please enjoy this chapter!

MrFluffman: Thanks for the review! Don't worry; I will explain why Sarge did this to Grif and why the violence escalated to this.

AgentDavidWashington: Glad you liked the last chapter! Thanks for the review! I really appreciate it! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Ayayne458: Thanks for the review. I normally do not do fiction-rape either, but this idea wouldn't leave me alone. Glad you've enjoyed the story; please enjoy this chapter!

Black Jack278: Thanks so much for the review! I'm glad you've enjoyed the last chapter. Please enjoy this one!

Aniphine: Thanks so much! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks so much for the review. Please enjoy!

The sun's rays had just started to peek out from their nighttime cover, morning showing through slowly. But for the residents of Blood Gulch, more specifically the soldiers of Red base, their nightmare had only just begun.

Simmons hadn't slept a wink. Dark bags hung under his emerald green eyes; it had been a very long sleepless night for the maroon private. He sat in a hard plastic chair, slumped over from the stress of the night's situation. Beside him, Private Dexter Grif lay motionless in a hospital bed, patched up as best Doc and Wash could manage.

His injuries were serious and many; Sarge hadn't spared him any mercy and nearly killed him. Thanks to Doc's and Wash's intervention, Grif had somehow survived the night. Simmons glanced over his friend, noting the dark bruises that were present on his face, arms, and legs. He paused for moment on Grif's face. A nasograstic tube had been put into Grif's nose to provide him some nutrients while he slept. There was stitching along Grif's hairline, where Sarge's armored hand had sliced his skin open. And a breathing tube had been fastened into place over Grif's mouth, giving the orange private a very sickly look.

He was under heavy sedation since he couldn't breathe on his own without too much undue stress on his weakened body; because of this, a breathing tube had been inserted into Grif's windpipe. Grif also had several broken ribs and two punctured lungs as well as internal bleeding-all courtesy of Sarge. Doc had given him a biofoam injection which helped with his internal bleeding and punctured lungs but it would take time for his wounds to heal enough for him to breathe independently. The purple medic had opted not to operate on Grif's various injuries because he doubted that Grif would survive an operation.

Simmons sighed and clutched Grif's right hand even tighter. A white cast encased Grif's left hand and wrist as well as his left ankle and lower leg. Doc had set his bones last night, deciding to do this painful process while Grif was out cold. Many of his cuts were stitched up and bandaged after being cleaned to ward off infection.

Letting out a deep breath, Simmons swallowed and gently brushed a hand to Grif's battered face. His fingers trailed the side of head, softly tracing the broken cheekbone and hairline fracture in his jaw. Grif somehow had escaped major head trauma, save for a moderate concussion. But this miracle did nothing to ease the tragedy of the brutal beating.

Simmons tightly closed his eyes, holding Grif's hand close to his lips. He prayed silently that Grif would recover from Sarge's vicious assault and he begged that he be the one find Sarge. He would pay for doing this to Grif. Tears fell quietly down his face as his mind tried to wrap itself around the horror of the night's incident. Why would Sarge…rape…Grif? Why? How could he do that to him?

He laid a soft kiss to Grif's hand, vowing to never leave his side again. Grif was everything to him and it had taken a near-death experience for him to realize it.

Donut wearily continued to mop the kitchen floor, cleaning up of all Grif's dried blood. Washington was helping him, having swept up all of the shattered glass and throwing away the broken shelving. No words were exchanged between the two; each of them was trying to cope with the night's events. As Donut slowly mopped on, his thoughts suddenly seemed to be too much to bear. Tears sprang to his eyes and a lump formed in his throat. He took a shuddering deep breath, trying to keep it together and not alert Wash to his grief.

However, Wash was listening intently, knowing that the soft-hearted pink private was probably hurting just as bad as Simmons was. He sighed before turning to face Donut. The soldier's lips were quivering and his baby blue eyes were glossy as they rose up to meet David's icy blue eyes.

"I-I-I'm sor-ry! I don't kn-know wha-what came over m-m-me." The blabber of words that tumbled from Donut's mouth was a bunch of lies and both he and Wash knew it.

Wash shook his head, "Donut…its fine. You have every right to be upset."

Donut was silent; the only noise coming from him strangled gasps of air. In the blink of an eye, Donut burst into tears, collapsing onto the cold tile floor. Wash seemed unsure of what to do-after all this was the soldier he had shot and nearly murdered in cold blood. He looked around hesitantly hoping someone else would enter the base and comfort the sobbing private.

After a few seconds, it became obvious to Wash that he was the one who would have to comfort poor Donut. He took a few cautious steps forward and crouched next to Donut, placing a hand tenderly on Donut's shaking shoulder. The blonde haired man looked at him through watering eyes, before sniffling and slowly standing up.

"Th-thanks. I didn't….I didn't mean to lose it," said Donut after a couple of seconds.

"Don't worry about it. It's fine." Wash shrugged off Donut's words and went back to straightening up the kitchen, hoping the busy work would get his mind off things.

Footsteps sounded in the hallway and slowly grew louder, signaling to Simmons that someone was coming. A quiet knock echoed in the room before the door was hesitantly opened. Doc's head popped in, seeing if this was a good time to check on Grif.

"Hey, Doc," Simmons' voice was low as he spoke, his gaze never leaving Grif. Doc walked into the room, coming around the other side of Grif's bed.

"Hey, Simmons. Just here to check on Grif. See if there's been any changes," Doc said, looking at the readouts of the pulse-ox monitor. He checked Grif's IV and nasal tube before beginning to listen to Grif's lungs. Simmons nodded and watched silently as Doc looked over Grif. No one spoke for several minutes, the only sound in the room coming from the beeping of the pulse-ox monitor and the whooshing of the ventilator, breathing for Grif.

After a few minutes, Doc straightened up and looked towards Simmons, "Well…there haven't been any significant changes. His chest sounds have improved slightly, but still not enough for me to take him off the ventilator. I'll be back to check on him in a little bit."

Simmons just nodded, dismissing Doc silently. He let out a small sigh; he wanted to help Grif so badly, but there wasn't anything to do now but hope and wait. This wasn't at all like the last time Grif had been in the infirmary. No, then he could help. And he did-by giving his organs and spare parts to Grif so he could live.

'If only…if only I could do something now. I'd give anything to help you, Grif! Anything! You shouldn't be like this.'

As Simmons continued his watchful vigil over Grif, his thoughts drifted towards the past, thinking about time Grif got hit by the tank. Only this time….this time he couldn't help.

So what'd you think? I know this chapter was a little short, but I didn't want to start the flashback and then cut it off abruptly. Next chapter will be the start of the flashback stuff. I'm starting off with the tank incident but adding my own spin on it and then moving on to some other things that might explain why Sarge did this to Grif. Please leave me a review! Hope you liked!