Judy walked into the apartment, closing the door behind her and glancing around the room. Blake was asleep on the couch, and Nick wasn't in the living area.

The bedroom it is then. She thought, walking over to the door as quietly as she could.

Upon entering, she saw Nick laying in bed, looking up at her as she entered. "Hey there Carrots."

She smiled at him, lying down next to him. "Hey yourself." She replied, opening the file back up and handing him the stuff she had read already. "Some information on our guest."

Nick took what she had handed him and glanced through it quickly. "ASOC huh? Strange...and whats with that ETS date?" He said, looking over at her. "Even missing an enlistment date, being assigned to ASOC would have likely kept him in service for a long time, with him as young as he is."

Judy nodded in reply. "That's what I found strange too. For someone with the training he has, you'd think they would have tried to keep him in service as long as they could. Plus, most members who get that far don't just leave."

Nick looked towards the rest of the files. "That's the rest of his record?" He asked, shifting closer to Judy so they could read the files together.

Nodding, she snuggled up against Nick and opened the file up, allowing the duo to read the file together.

Discharge:

Medical Discharge, Honorable. See attached records for details.

"So he was wounded." Nick said. "That'd explain why he's out so young."

Judy shook her head slowly. "Normally they'd only discharge someone that young for amputations or spinal injuries. He has none of those." She looked up at Nick. "Even injuries like yours aren't enough to get someone discharged if they want to stay in."

Nick thought about it for a moment, and then nodded. "You're right. Which means that either this record is incomplete, has been modified, or we are missing something big." He said softly, as they returned to reading the file.

Awards and Citations

Army Service Medal - 08AUG12

National Defense Medal - 22MAY13

Asterian Conflict Medal - 22MAY13

Combat Medic Badge - 16JUN13

Purple Heart - 16JUN13

Asterian Conflict Medal - 18DEC13

Special Operations Medic Graduate - 20JUN14

Asterian Conflict Medal - 10NOV14

Histerian Crisis Medal - 15JAN15

Judy glanced over at Nick as he read. "Decent service record. But with that graduation date, he shouldn't have been discharged…" She trailed off as Nick suddenly snapped up to look at her, shock in his eyes. "What?" She asked, unsure at what in the record had sparked such a reaction from Nick. He wordlessly pointed to a line on the paper. She turned her eyes back to the document, reading the words his finger pointed to.

Silver Paw - 20MAR15. Citation Attached

She froze, staring at the words, reading them over and over, before slowly turning and looking at Nick, who returned the same surprised look. "Umm...well...to the citation then." She finally managed to stammer out, as he nodded in return. The duo flipped to the citation page and began to read.

On March 20th, 2015, SPC Blake West was participating in an ASOC operation to apprehend several suspected terrorist cell leaders. During the raid, several members of his team were injured in an explosion that collapsed the floor of the house they were in, dropping them to the floor below them, and in front of several enemy fighters. Regardless of the danger, and in the face of unspeakable odds, SPC West jumped through the hole in the floor and down to his wounded teammates. There, he engaged the enemy fighters in a firefight, while moving each of his teammates out of the hallway and into a secure room. During this firefight, SPC West was wounded twice by enemy fire. Despite his injuries, SPC West was able to win the firefight, and with utter disregard to his own injuries, he began to render aid to his injured comrades, providing medical care and protection until fellow soldiers could reach their location and evacuate the team. The actions of SPC Blake West reflect highly on his character and are a testament to his bravery and dedication, and a testament to the bravery and dedication of ASOC as a whole.

As they finished reading, the two just sat there and looked at each other for several minutes, trying to understand what they had just read. "And yet after all that...why is he out?" Judy asked softly, as she started searching through the paperwork for the discharge papers.

"More importantly, after doing something like that, why is he homeless?" Nick asked, looking over her shoulder to read the papers as he hugged Judy close. "God...the risk he took in that case...he was ready to trade his life for them Judy."

She nodded, snuggling back into Nick's arms. "Just like any of us here on the force." She replied, finally finding the paperwork that she was looking for. "Let's just get the rest of these answers...then I think we need to go talk to him and Bogo."

Nick nodded, kissing the top of Judy's head. "Yeah." He whispered, as he turned his eyes from Judy back to the paper.

Most of the paperwork on the discharge was information they already had, or just didn't need. Judy began to get more and more frustrated as they flipped through the papers, trying to find an answer. She finally found it on the last page, and simply dropped the paper, a look of frustration and anger coming over her face. "After all he did, that's how they repaid him." She said, anger clearly in her voice, as Nick hugged her again.

"Apparently the commercials don't really tell the truth." He replied, but Judy could hear the anger in his own voice. "But this is something we need to resolve. Today."

Judy nodded her agreement. 'Let's go talk to him." She said, wiggling out of Nick's arms and standing up. "He has a right to know that we know, but that he also doesn't have to hide it either."


The Silver Paw would be the equivalent of a Silver Star in the United States Armed Forces. It is the third highest award that can be awarded for gallantry in combat.

As for another shortish chapter: sorry guys. I take my last final in about 8 hours, so I'm posting this prior to me racking out for the night. After this, it'll be a few more shorter length chapters while I move out of my dorm, and then they should pick up in length and depth as I'll have far more time to write.

Once again, thank you for everyone who is reading/following/faving. Each time I check, more and more people have, and its astounding to me that this many people even have some interest in the story. I'm glad that everyone is enjoying the story, and I shall keep providing this as long as I can. Until next time; happy reading!