AN - thanks again for all of your lovely comments on the last chapter. Please continue to read and review, the feedback is a lovely motivation to keep writing! I have come to the conclusion that I will probably end up re-rating the story to an M, although we are not quite at that stage yet..! I hope you enjoy the update!

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Charles observed the chaos around him as he took his place, alone, at the officers' table in the mess tent. The tent was filled with men, the loud hum of conversation and banter flowing around him.

It was a swelteringly hot day, the heat not faltering, even in the early evening shade. It had been a trying day from beginning to end, and his usually unflappable demeanour in the face of stress was fast fading. A plate full of gravy covered mush sat in front of him. He pushed it away, unable to look at it without feeling his stomach turn with worry and nausea. He had spent the course of the day so far alternating between rage and sullen withdrawal, neither of which had subsided.

He knew that he was being a royal pain in the arse. He also knew that the lads in the platoon were speculating wildly about what on earth had happened to put him in his current foul mood, but he could currently care less.

They had been gone for 36 hours. Not that he was counting the hours one by one as they slowly passed by. Nope.

36 hours with no news, no sign of any imminent return. What the fuck was going on? He had dared to broach the topic only once with Beck, that morning, whilst trying his very hardest to appear as casual and nonchalant as possible. He had been given no answers, of course. To make matters worse, the eyebrows of the major had been raised briefly, clearly curious as to why any questions were even being asked about the mission. Charles had passed off his queries as concern about Chris; he was his oldest friend after all. Hopefully he had convinced him. The last thing he needed was Beck asking questions about why he was pining after his medic like a lovesick puppy.

Not that Beck would actually ask any questions; he would just pack him on the first plane home, particularly if he knew just how deep Charles had fallen into this. Beck had specifically asked him to make sure she didn't get involved with a member of her platoon, never mind her CO. If he got so much of a whiff of the situation, they would both be in deep trouble.

He was officially out of options. He wasn't sure what was worrying him more; the thought that Chris wouldn't be protecting her, or that he would be protecting her far too much in order to try and seduce her. He knew realistically that all that mattered was that they both made it back in one piece, and he was reasonably sure deep down that Chris wouldn't do anything, but his male pride was in tatters regardless. She had effectively finished things between them before taking off on a special ops mission with the biggest womaniser on the planet. Of course he was feeling wounded. He had no idea if this thing between them would ever even get off of the ground. She had made it perfectly clear that she was furious with him; for reasons he had no understanding of.

But there was nothing he could do about any of it at the moment. He would just have to sit tight, and pray they arrived back sooner rather than later. When she was back they could hopefully try and figure out what on earth was going on between them. He knew it was the only course of action, but it wasn't helping him to find any peace whilst the time passed.

He had taken the remainder of 2 section for a PT session that afternoon, hoping that the intensity of the session he had planned would be enough to distract his mind for at least a couple of hours. No such luck though; all he was provided with was a barrage of questions from the lads about where Molly was, and when she was coming back.

If only he knew.

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"Dawes. Wake the fuck up!" Chris whispered forcefully as he shook her.

"Wh-" she shook her head groggily as she sat bolt upright. She had fallen asleep whilst propped against the makeshift wall on the sandy desert floor where they were hidden from sight. They had been here for a whole day, watching and waiting for the target to arrive. Their fellow soldiers were scattered in various positions around them, all surrounding the specific area they had been told that the target would be visiting at some point during that day.

Her body ached; she was knackered. But she managed to compose herself quickly, her adrenaline kicking in when she realised something was moving.

This was it.

"What's going on?" she whispered as she crawled on her front to join him at the spot where he now crouched, watching and waiting.

"Target's here. Get your weapon and get in position." Chris' brow furrowed in concentration as he moved to watch the target approaching through a set of binoculars. He continued to speak quietly into his radio headset, communicating with the team of men scattered around them in various different locations, all of whom had eyes on the target, who had now appeared in the distance before them. He was dressed in long, traditional clothing, and was surrounded by four other men, all bearing rifles.

This wasn't part of the plan; they had been told there would be no more than one other companion with him. They hadn't reckoned on this much of a crowd. "Shit", Chris muttered under his breath.

"I need a positive ID on this fucker before I can authorise a shot. They're surrounding him, I can't get a clear view." He continued to peer through the binoculars at the group of men in the distance. Molly was reassured that he didn't look panicked, despite the unexpected change in circumstances.

"It's him boss. 100%. I know it." a voice crackled down the headset, providing the confirmation he had requested."

Chris wasn't convinced though. "Hold your fire. Wait out. Something's not right here, I can feel it."

The group of men continued to approach. Molly's heart caught in her throat when she realised just how close they were getting. The group of insurgents were heading straight for Chris and Molly, with purpose, as if they somehow knew exactly where the two were hiding out.

Molly felt herself hold a steady grip of her weapon, the heavy steel in her arms, cold against her chin; ready for the exact second that the boss gave the order to proceed. The moment was edging closer and closer as the men approached. She no longer felt the nerves; adrenaline was coursing through her body. She was 100% focussed.

Suddenly, everything moved at one time.

The approaching targets reached for their weapons at precisely the same time as Chris came to his senses and yelled down the radio, taking aim with his rifle. "Fuck. They know we're here. We've been made. Take them, lads. Go. Go. Go!"

The next three minutes felt like they passed in ten straight seconds; a hail of bullets unleashed on the group of insurgents from five different directions. Molly felt her rifle shake under her small body as it came to life underneath her, discharging bullet after bullet as she let the rounds go.

Four of the five in the group of men had fallen to the ground, taken down by the oncoming bullets. The original target had been protected by his men and remained on the deck, uninjured and crawling, using his elbows for leverage, getting closer and closer to Molly and Chris. He was undeterred by the commotion around him, and firing from an AK-47 with ferocious speed. She could see the venom in his eyes; he was now so close to them. Molly crouched lower and reached for the pistol she carried in her med bergen, all ammunition from her rifle now discharged. The target took notice that the gunfire from Molly had ceased, and that she had disappeared from sight. Assuming that she no longer posed a threat, he turned his attention to Chris, rifle aimed straight at his head.

There was no notion of time. Seconds ticked by as Molly raised her head again and took aim with the small pistol. Every muscle in her body tightened, every nerve focussed towards what she was about to do. It wasn't her first kill.

This was the moment. She knew. Her finger pressed the trigger at exactly the right instant. She felt the force of the speed at which the bullet released from the chamber and flew through the air. A perfect shot. She had taken the target out.

The force of the moment finally impacted on her, and, once sure of the kill, she felt her knees buckle beneath her body, collapsing against the tiny concrete wall she had been using for shelter and support. Chris was momentarily lost for words and lay still on the ground, chest heaving as he recovered from the very near miss, and checked on the radio that all of his soldiers were present and accounted for. The response was affirmative, and he closed his eyes, still laid out on the floor appreciating the glorious moment of relief for a minute.

After a couple of minutes of complete silence, he uttered his first words.

"Fuck me. That's a hell of a shot you've got on you Dawes."

"Careful boss. That sounded an awful lot like a compliment." Molly tried to recover her faltering breaths and still her limbs as the shakes kicked in, an automatic nervous reaction to the discharge of so much adrenaline at once.

Chris, with much more experience of such situations, had recovered his senses more quickly and he sat up. "Don't get too carried away, I wouldn't want your head to get too big."

She chuckled, glad to have normality restored after the life or death situation. "Might have known you'd be ungrateful to get your arse saved Sir!"

"Jesus, Dawes-" he muttered as he continued to compose himself "-taking a bullet might have been less painful than listening to you gloat about saving me."

She made a face as she put her pistol back in the holder, still shaking like a leaf. "Whatever."

Chris sniggered "Whatever? What kind of comeback is that? I'm almost disappointed in you."

"That makes two of us then" he looked at her questioningly before she finished her statement. "I'm almost disappointed that I just stopped that wanker from putting a bullet in your brain."

"Touché, Dawes. That's more like it. I'll make a competitor of you yet."

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They were finally able to get back to Bastion. Molly could barely wait to return; she was desperate to find Charles and apologise for the way she had treated him. After Chris had revealed the truth to her, she had been re-playing her final conversation with him, mentally torturing herself by re-enacting the stunned expression on his face as she tried to hurt him as badly as she herself had been hurt. It still mortified her to even think about it. She was so worried that she had blown it. All she wanted was to find him, and tell him how she really felt. He had made it so clear how much she meant to him, and she had ruined it all by jumping to conclusions.

She tried to concentrate on the inventory as she packed up the medical equipment from the compound. They would be leaving for Bastion in the next hour. The other thing she didn't want to think about was the fact that she had just killed a man. It wasn't her first kill, but it unnerved her regardless. Yes, she was under orders, and from reading the list of crimes he had committed, the world would be a better place without him. If she hadn't acted, Chris would be the one that was dead. But she couldn't help but feel unsettled by the feeling she had taken a life. She was here to save lives, not take them.

She was disturbed from her thoughts by Chris approaching. He looked thoughtful, and she knew by now that it was an unusual look for him. She had enjoyed getting to know him a bit better on this mission. He was a complete prat most of the time, but talking with him made her feel closer to Charles. It gave her a little sense of peace while she was away from him.

He cleared his throat, pacing nervously. "Right Dawes. I'm going to say this once and once only."

That got her attention. "Boss?"

He looked like he was trying to physically force the words from his mouth. What the fuck was wrong with him? "Thank you" he muttered under his breath.

Ah, that's what's wrong with him. "Thank you for what?" she sniggered, savouring the moment.

He looked at the ground, speaking in a low tone "For saving my arse out there."

She laughed at his ungracious attempt at a thank you. "It's alright. I'm sure I'll live to regret it in the future. But thanks for saying it."

Suddenly, normality was restored and he morphed back to his usual self. "Right. Glad that's over!" He looked at her, hurriedly changing the topic of conversation to put her on the back foot. "Back to more important matters. What the fuck are you going to do when we get back to Bastion to make up for being a total bitch to Charles?"

That cheeky wanker. "Oi. One minute I'm getting a thanks for saving your arse, now you're calling me a bitch?"

He gave no more acknowledgement to his apology. "Roll with the punches Dawes, the conversation's moved on. And you admitted being a bitch already. So?" He raised an eyebrow, waiting for a response.

The roles had switched suddenly. Her previous sense of embarrassment and upset at the whole episode was restored, and she couldn't quite work out what to say. She spoke quietly "I dunno. He might not want anything to do with me." Not if he's got any sense, her subconscious added.

"Don't be an idiot. We both know that's not the case. As I've already told you, he's head over heels. It's quite pathetic really, I've lost all respect for him."

"Do you mean it?" she asked quietly. She wouldn't blame him if he never wanted to see her again.

"That I've lost respect? Not really; never really had much in the first place!" he joked, knowing exactly what she meant. She looked at him, waiting for him to answer her actual question. He could see the tears gathering in her eyes. She looked devastated.

This time he grudgingly repeated himself "Bloody hell Dawes, don't try and terrify me with your tears. Yes, he's crazy about you. The amount of times I've had to trail back to that fucking club with him to try and find you!" He was incredulous that she was still struggling to grasp the fact that his friend had fallen for her.

She somehow felt even more guilty. "I'm head over heels for him an' all". She really was. She just wanted to be with him; it was that simple. There was nothing like a near death experience to reinforce what was important.

"I should bloody think so too. And since the pair of you are so fucking useless at telling each other that, I have a plan which I think will work.." He looked proud at the last statement.

Now he had her attention. "You have a plan?". She was dubious, but at least interested in what he had to say.

"Yes. As my dear departed father used to say, 'I am a man with a plan'!" He wiggled his eyebrows cunningly.

She couldn't help but giggle "you absolute tosser."

He feigned hurt, clutching at his chest before she eventually gave in. "Well, let's hear it then?"

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After a miserable day, Charles had finally decided to call it a night and try to get some sleep. He knew it would be a pointless effort given how haywire his brain felt; but he knew he had to try and carry on some sense of normality. The whole platoon couldn't come to a grinding halt just because it's captain was struggling to cope.

He changed into shorts and t-shirt and tried to soothe his thoughts into some sense of normality so that he could switch off and get a few hours of rest. His imagination had been in overdrive for the past two days; concocting all sorts of scenarios where Molly wouldn't return to him. It was getting ridiculous. Not for the first time today, he felt a lone, hot tear sweep down his cheek, and he wiped it away roughly, angry with himself for becoming so involved. This was precisely the reason why he shouldn't be in charge of Molly; his entire sense of happiness was increasingly wound up in her.

There was a quick rap on the door, and he jumped from his bed as the door swung open, the visitor not bothering to wait for a response to allow them to enter.

His heart caught in his chest when he registered the identity of the surprise visitor.

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AN2 - Sorry that there wasn't a huge amount of MD/CJ interaction here, but I really want to show their journey back to each other, as well as enjoying the inevitable reunion. Next update, they will finally be in the same room again! Please let me know what you think!