Author's Note: I'm back! Boy, school is tough this year!
Language Warning: As usual, soldiers don't seem to mind cursin
Disclaimer: I do not, in any way or fashion, own the rights to Saving Private Ryan. I own my OC and some of the plot.
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Pain. That was what had woken her up. Or was it the cold? She wasn't sure.
She kept her eyes tightly closed as her mind slowly awoke from its pain-induced unconsciousness. She was cold, her body shuddering as she lay on the hard ground, wrapped in someone's blanket. Something course and damp had been placed on her forehead; she could feel the occasional droplet of liquid run down her face as it escaped from the cloth.
Someone was beside her, his rough hand resting briefly on her cheek before trailing down to her neck, checking her pulse. She wanted to reach out, to say something, but her mouth would not open and her arm was too heavy.
The grass nearby rustled and crunched as one of the others approached. He stopped beside her. She could feel his eyes on her face. He began to speak and she tried to listen, but his voice was difficult to place.
"How much longer do we have?"
That voice was closer, the man sitting beside her. It was probably Wade, but she wasn't sure.
"A few hours at the most. Can't tell how close to dark it is, fuckin overcast sky."
The man standing. She couldn't distinguish the voice.
"Is she any better?" Something about that question bothered her, seemed wrong, but she couldn't figure out what it was.
A sigh came from beside her.
"No."
"Damn."
More footsteps, this time going away from her. She tried to move, to let the worried medic know she was awake. Nothing. Her body felt as though it were made of stone. She tried to open her eyes, but they remained closed. She was trapped in the unmoving shell of her body.
Wade's warm hand grasped her frozen one. She tried harder to move, putting what was left of her strength towards that one purpose. There! Her hand moved, clenched his in a tight grip before falling lax again. If her eyes had been open they would have suddenly shut, but they were not, and so only the renewed limpness of her body signaled that she was once again drifting away into the dark recess of her mind.
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Wade turned back to the girl's still body as Reiban walked away. The Brooklyn native getting more irate as the hours passed, and Henderson's fate grew closer. The medic couldn't blame him, or the others.
He frowned and slipped one of his hands into the girl's hand that was nearest to him, lightly holding the small appendage, trying not to jar her body.
'Please.' He thought, willing her to pull through. 'Please wake up.' Even as a medic, Wade wasn't normally this sentimental, but this was different, this girl, who was young enough to be a little sister was one of his squad mates, she was family. He was about to let go when he felt a sudden, tight pressure on his hand. Eyes widening, he look down; her hand was clenched tightly around his before going limp in his grasp once more. He felt elated. It wasn't much, but she was still there.
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She woke up again. She had lost conscious some time before, maybe an hour, maybe two. Wade was still beside her; she could feel the warmth from his body. She felt a bit better, stronger. She tried opening her eyes. The clenched lids only let up a bit, allowing the smallest traces of light to filter onto her corneas. She squinted as best she could. Grays, greens, and other murky color filled her vision. Ah, the wonderful and predicable French countryside; she didn't know how the Frenchies stood it, never seemed to change after all, always either raining, about to rain, or threatening to rain. Her eyes flicked to the side. Wade was beside her still. She wondered briefly if he had moved at all since she had been there, however long that was.
This time she tried to speak. It came out as a mixture of a croak and a gurgle. How pleasant. Wade jumped and was immediately trying to hover over her and grab his canteen at the same time, which would have been an amusing sight if not for the situation.
"Captain!" Wade called as he fumbled with the top of the canteen.
Miller looked up from across the field. He glanced around at the suddenly alert men beside him before pushing himself to his feet and striding quickly towards Wade.
The medic was carefully pouring a trickle of water into the Private's mouth as the Captain drew nearer.
"Easy does it." Wade muttered, ever so slightly raising Henderson's head so that she wouldn't choke. "There you go."
Miller peered down at the pale girl as he reached them. She greedily sucked in the droplets that made it to her dry lips, her eyes barely open.
Wade glanced up at his Captain. "She's awake." A wan smile crossing his face as he carefully held her thin frame.
Miller nodded gruffly. "Try and get her ready for travel. You've got 2 hours." The captain looked down at her one more time, relaxing a bit as he met her bleary gaze, before turning around and heading back to the other men who wanted to know what was going on.
Wade focused on her once again as Miller's steps faded away. He shifted his arm, wrapping it more securely around her shoulders and trying to raise her up a bit without causing too much discomfort.
More footsteps, lighter than Millers, were approaching. Wade glanced up briefly to see Jackson, the sharpshooter gazing down at Henderson with a thoughtful expression on his face as he crouched on her other side.
"How is she?" He asked in a soft voice, his pronounced southern drawl accenting it as always.
"She's got a better chance. Here hold this." Wade said as he passed the canteen to Jackson who took it carefully and continued to let water trickle out.
Her eyes opened a bit more, looking around a bit before finally focusing on Wade and Jackson.
"Hey there." Jackson welcomed quietly, grinning softly as she tried to smile at him.
Wade suddenly took the canteen back before turning to Jackson again.
"We need to sit her up, give me a hand."
The two men carefully supported her on her back and slowly raised her up until she was sitting, albeit a bit unsteadily, leaning against Jackson for support.
She seemed a bit dizzy for a minute before looking up at Wade who was re-adjusting the blanket. Suddenly something clicked. They had been calling her 'she' and 'her'. She paled a bit more, eyes darting between the two before she glanced down.
'Oops.'
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Author's Note: Well, there's another chapter. I had to squeeze it in with all of my school work, so I hope it's up to par. Tell me what you thought!
