Everything was settling down; the noise of the blazing fire, the metal that had flown about when the Raven exploded, and the dust that swirled through the air. Ezra disengaged herself enough from Baird's arms to look from behind the cover to see the damage. She tried to whistle, but instead made a low gurgling noise, that Baird found funny. He laughed at her and she turned to glare daggers at him.
She for one didn't think it funny at all that she couldn't whistle, and she would expect that he wouldn't find it funny either. But he had, and oddly enough it hurt her feelings. It shouldn't hurt her feelings as much as it did, but she couldn't hide the unshed tears that popped into her eyes. She started to become angry with herself. She shouldn't want to cry because he had hurt her and then laughed about it. But then again, it was out of line for him to remotely see the humor in her gurgling noise.
"Piece of shit!" screamed Anya as she threw her broken COMM radio into a stone column four feet away. It broke in half on contact, making her instantly feel victorious. "Baird, try to radio Hoffman in." she said as she stood up and dusted herself of. With the help of Anya, they moved Ezra off of his lap and into a comfortable position. She glared at them both in envy. She wished she had clothing, not the now tattered hospital gown that only covered the areas that she didn't want to share with world. Just barely.
"Hoffman, come in, this is Baird." he said into his COMM. His response was static. He sighed and switched it to another channel. "Hoffman, come in, this is Baird." he said on the new channel. Again his answer was static. This went on until he had tried all of the channels, but now with response. "Well at least yours work. Seeders must be jamming the radios." she said as she sat down again but this time next to Ezra. Baird nodded and looked around to scope the area. "Now what?" he asked, still looking around. "Well judging from where we crashed, we are two clicks off course. But my bet is Delta saw us go down. Problem is they can't bring those APC's this way. They are too big, and this ground is too unstable. So we can either wait until they come here on foot, which might take several hours by my estimations. Or we can trek our way to them. I can go for either on, but the problem would be Ezra. She is bleeding on her shoulder, which will stop soon because it isn't so bad but if we were to wait here we decrease the time it takes for infection to get in there. If we move, we might get tired quicker. Well you will get tired, seeing how you will have to carry her." said Anya as she looked at Baird.
He sighed. Ezra stared angrily at Anya. Was she that big of a burden to these people? She looked over to Baird, her black eyes full of the fire she felt inside. She was infuriated. She didn't ask to be put into their damned company in the first place, and if she was such a big burden they could just leave her ass. He mind turned over and over with many angered thoughts. Baird made eye contact with her, which might not have been a safe thing to do. He felt his skin turn chilly under her gaze. His eyes softened towards her, hoping that she would take the silent message. But she didn't, she continued to stare at him with a firm frown on her face, and anger in her eyes. Anya looked away from the two, starting to feel awkward in their company. She felt like she was with two people who had just been in a fight, who were the best of friends, and she was just a new person they had met. That was always the most awkward feeling.
Ezra turned her eyes away from Baird's to look back at Anya. She had her head turned looking back at Baird, so she could still direct her anger at someone. It felt awful to know that she felt like she was now a burden because she truthfully was. "Anya, how about you go ahead and hurry and bring them to help. I have some meds in my side pack, so I can try to hold off infection. If you go and bring their help, it might be quicker because you know where we are." he said. It wasn't a good idea though. One, it didn't make Ezra feel any less of a burden. Two, Anya wouldn't be safe walking around out there without a GEAR to assist her. Anya looked to Baird, knowing that it was a bad plan.
"Or you can doctor me, and we can get the hell out of here." wheezed Ezra. Tears spilled down her face as she spoke. The pain in her throat was terrible. She turned her hate filled gaze at Baird. She had forgiven him, but the pain was too much for her not to still make him feel guilty. He frowned at her, feeling the guilt that she was putting on him on purpose. It wasn't like he didn't deserve it, but he wished she didn't have the power over him to make him this much of an emotional roller coaster. He hadn't know this woman for long, and she wasn't the most attractive woman he had ever seen (even though she was attractive), but he felt something for her. Whether that feeling was just friendship or more was beyond him.
"Baird, let me see your Boltok pistol, I am going to go scope a trail. You hurry and doctor her." said Anya. She couldn't take the awkwardness anymore. She didn't know what was going on between Baird and Morg, but she was sure of one thing, Baird was acting much different around this woman. Anya wasn't used to this new behavior and she wasn't sure that she should be witnessing it. It was one of those things that she was sure if she mentioned it to anyone, he would yell that she wasn't supposed to see him acting like a love sick puppy. And Morg she had known for a few years. She was acting different too. At first, Anya had thought maybe it was just the pain she was in, but this woman was acting like she liked that Baird doted on her. And that was something Ezra never liked. She was always an independent woman, who could fight her own battles. Now she seemed like she didn't mind having Baird help her with everything. She had even heard a nurse say that she had asked for Baird's help when they where in the hospital. And that was out of Ezra's character. Her independence was why she actually got out there and fought, and didn't have a job like Anya did. Sometimes Anya envied that, but only sometimes.
He unholstered his pistol and handed it to Anya. She thanked him before making her escape from the two of them. He gulped loudly as he looked to Ezra. She was still crying after Anya had left. He gently wiped her tears away with his thumbs, after resting his hands on both sides of her face. She closed her eyes, causing more tears to fall, but she had to hide her fear from him. She was realizing that even in war, people found love. She didn't love Baird, but it was becoming harder not to really like him, when he was being so tender as to wipe her tears away. She might not have known him long but there was definitely a connection between each other, and it scared her more then a rogue boomer.
When she opened her eyes again, they were softer, and red from crying. He sighed as he leaned forward and pulled her into a hug. He didn't know what else to do to comfort her. She sobbed and buried her head into his chest. She had never done this before, and she didn't know how much she really needed to be comforted until she was being held by him. He rocked her back and forth, whispering how sorry her was, and how everything would be okay. This was the deepest emotional thing she had ever done with anyone. She had never been held like this, and never cried like this. She had never admitted before that she was in pain and was scared. She knew that he knew that she was scared, so that was something that she didn't have to admit out loud.
He pushed her back enough so he could see her face. He smiled sweetly down at her, unsure what else to do. He knew after this was all said and done, this would never be spoken about. But he knew that he would always remember this moment for the rest of his life. It was the moment that he realized that even though she was a tough ass woman, she had chosen to show him her softer side. He didn't care if he hadn't known her for long, this was a deep connection they had, even if there was a fight for humanity going on. He also realized that this woman might very well become his best friend. He considered Cole his best friend, but there would be a big difference for what he felt for her than what he felt for Cole. With Cole he joked, with her he could share anything with her, even his deepest darkest secrets.
"I'm scared," he started, "I am scared that this war will never end. I am scared that I will die in it. I am scared if I do survive it, I will survive it alone. I am afraid to feel that pain that you feel now. I am..."
Her sad smile made him forget what he was trying to say. He knew that everyone shared the same fears. "I am afraid I am just a burden, who should have died a week and two days ago." she wheezed painfully, making more tears spill down her face. It was funny how she only had two clean streaks on her dirty face. He liked this warrior has been crying look on her face. It made this war almost seem innocent in her face. "You're not a burden, Ezra." he said. She nodded and smiled at him.
He couldn't help himself anymore. He slowly dipped his head down, wanting to taste her lips with his own. He wanted to soothe her fears and his own, with a kiss. He wanted Sera to melt away into the background and there only to be her and him. But before he could kiss her Anya returned. Making the somewhat romantic moment more than awkward. Both were caught inches apart, breathing a little heavier, and lips slightly parted in wanting. It took a moment for his head to clear, and for him to back away from her.
He didn't act like this, he wasn't the comforting sensitive boyfriend. But for Ezra, at that moment he had been. She too looked like she was regretting their actions, as much as he did. Romance wasn't what people found in war, it was hardships and heartbreak. He couldn't allow himself to be a Marcus Fenix, and he was sure Ezra wasn't out looking to be an Anya Stroud. But really would it be so bad to know that when times got rough there would be someone to fall back on to comfort you? It was. If he happened to fall in love with Ezra he would only get his heart broken again. He knew if he let down his guard again he would want to be with her, and that would mean he would fall in love with her, and then he would loose her. Like he had lost Gloria. He almost choked when that name popped into his mind. He quickly blocked it in his dark memories as he looked into Ezra's black eyes. Her eyes resembled voids, he realized. "Hurry and patch her up, I found a trail to the east that will take you up to Delta." she said as she sat back down. "You know Anya, one night away from Marcus won't kill your ass." he joked.
She rolled her eyes at him. She hated that everyone knew that she loved Marcus, and teased her about it. She glanced over to Ezra who couldn't sit still. She kept fidgeting under Anya's gaze. "You just want alone time with your girl, Baird." she teased back. But Ezra didn't find it funny. She picked up the nearest thing next to her, which was decent sized rock the size of a woman's fist, and threw it at her. It missed of course but still scared Anya into saying sorry.
Ezra was no one's girl and she made sure that everyone knew that.
But none of that was important now. What was important was that she needed to be patched up. Baird untied her hospital gown after he moved to sit behind her. He gave a low whistle at the sight of her bleeding. Her shoulder already looked like it was infected. He took out his medical pack and began to clean the wound. She gave a sharp intake of breath when he touched an alchohol pad to her wound. It stung and the more he wiped at her wound, the more she wanted to cry.
Once finished with that he put some salve to it and dressed the wound.
"Well looks like we need to get going." Anya said as she watched Baird start to retie her gown.
xxxxxxxxxx
"I hate not having my computer." muttered Anya as she secured herself in the cover she had found to stay away from the line of fire. They had been pushing hard for no longer than an hour before they happened over a Locust squad, with a boomer in tow. The only thing she was armed with was the Boltok pistol that she had borrowed from Baird earlier. Everyone thought that she was only a desk job in the COG, but she was a hell of a shot with a Boltok pistol in hand. She peaked around the corner and aimed at the boomer.
Baird and Ezra took on the grubs, and she was to kill the boomer with the pistol since it had the power to do so without wasting too many bullets. After taking a moment to aim, trying to ignore the chaos around her, she fired. The first bullet embedded itself into its neck. The boomer shook its massive head like it just was bitten by a fly. She re-hid herself when the boomer looked around for where the shot had come from. She hid a few minutes, to allow time for the boomer to forget her, and for the wound on its neck to really bleed.
She looked around the cover again, took aim, breathed, and then shot. The second bullet landed itself in the side of the boomer's face. It grunted stupidly and turned back to her and fired its Boomshot. She hid just in time to avoid the rocket that was flying at her. It was another few minutes until she repeated the routine. The last bullet plunged into the boomer's temple, killing it instantly. It fell to the ground with a loud thud, as soon as Baird dropped the last grub.
Anya's chest swelled with pride. That had been the first boomer she had ever killed. "Feels nice, don't it?" asked Baird as he looked up at Anya from his post on the ground next to Ezra.
Anya nodded and tried to hide the fact that she was shaking with excitement from her first kill, as well as a little fear. She had killed grubs, and a few wretches, but never a boomer. It was something she couldn't wait to tell Marcus. In fact she couldn't wait to see him again. Their relationship was odd, but she wanted to see him as soon as she could so she could gloat that she, Anya Stroud, had killed a boomer. A huge grin lit her features, and Ezra chuckled at her. "You might make GEAR some day if you keep that up." Ezra wheezed, poking fun at Anya, but then regretted speaking because of her throat. Anya made a face at the other woman, making Ezra and Baird both chuckle at her.
"I swear one day, when you really are relying on my imformation, I am going to get you two back. One minute you're safe, and the next I will have your asses walking straight into a grub hole. Just remember that." she said with a smile. She was starting to feel more comfortable around the two of them, since it had been an hour since she almost caught them kissing. She wondered if she hadn't interrupted them would they actually had gone through with it. She cursed herself for interrupting. But then again she still had gossip on them. All she would have to say is 'I caught them about to kiss' and she would have them being gossiped about as much as her and Marcus. But she wasn't that kind of person so she forgot the notion to want to tell everyone.
But she would tell Marcus, and would it really be her fault if he told anyone else? No, problem solved. She would tell Marcus and he would then tell everyone else. She then scowled, one flaw in her plan: Marcus barely spoke to anyone outside of Delta squad.
