….I have no excuses. On to the story…

I own nothing!...as always…

Alegria's POV

We continued to make our way from the shore with a very weak Hudson resting on our shoulders. The air was hot and moist, which added to the damp, clinginess of my heavy uniform. The thick fabric, full of water, stuck to my body and made it uncomfortable to walk. My boots sloshed and water rose above my toes with eat step I took.

No one spoke.

Hudson would cough, or give a heavily puff of air out of his nose once in a while, but no one interacted with each other.

'Was an emergency signal sent? Yes definitely. One had to of been sent. No one would be able to miss an emergency broadcast about a down bird…no…there hadn't been anytime. And even if one was sent, the helicopter was destroyed before anyone could of even pin point our location. And besides, we were whisked down river. Who knows how far we are from the actual crash sight.'

I tripped over a tree root.

"Watch it!" Woods snapped.

"Sorry." I responded back.

That's how it went for an hour. Trudging through the woods with the occasional break, where we would set Hudson down and Woods would survey the area while I would try to take care of Hudson.

We stopped by a giant mossy tree this time. Hudson was laid against the trunk of the tree while I got my canteen out.

Woods walked over to me.

"It's getting dark. We won't be able to see shit in a few more hours; I'm goin to go find shelter. You stay here with Hudson."

I nodded and returned to tending to Hudson. Behind me, I could hear the shuffle of feet before the rustle of leaves, signaling that Woods had left the clearing.

"…est" Hudson whispered.

"What?" I leaned down towards his face.

"…chest" he whispered.

"Your chest?"

He nodded.

I moved back down towards his chest where I started to look. I put my hands onto his vest and ran them down it, but stopped when I felt a tear in the fabric.

"What…?" I spoke quietly and I reached for the zipper.

I pulled back the sides of his vest to reveal his dark green tee shirt with a fresh blood stain in the center of his chest, still bleeding profusely.

I reached down to the hem of his shirt and rolled it up to his neck.

In the center of his chest was a gash, with a sharp piece of shrapnel sticking out from the hole.

I stared for a moment.

"Hudson, were gonna have to take this out, or else it could go in deeper, or puncture something important."

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my knife.

"This might hurt…just bear with me…"

He made no indication of being conscious, or even that he was listening.

I reached down and pinched the end metal and gave a small pull.

Hudson's face scrunched up and he hissed in pain.

"Sorry! I'm sorry."

I rocked the piece back and forth, slowly pulling it out of the flesh. Sickening bubbling noises were made from the air hitting the pool of blood that was underneath the metal. Finally, I was able to get it out. It was about three inches long, and jagged.

'It must have launched itself inside of his chest during the explosion'

I took my knife and cut off the right strap of my back pack, it was a fairly long piece, not very wide though. I slid my arm under Hudson and worked the strap under his back, where I then tied it into a not. Then I rotated it so the shoulder comfort foam was right over the wound.

"This could help…"

I put one hand behind his back and one on his chest as I helped him sit up.

Suddenly then Woods came out from the brush. He stopped for a moment and stared the now shirtless Hudson and while I and my hands around him in an awkward position.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Woods whispered venomously.

"Nothin! I was just sitting Hudson up."

He continued to glare at me harshly until he finally spoke

"Let's go. I found a place to camp out for the night.

I nodded and hoisted Hudson up with Woods help, though he didn't seem too happy about touching Hudson this time…

For about several minutes we walked until we reached a water fall. I had stopped because I thought where we were was the location, but I was surprised when Woods yanked me along.

He reached over and took the unconscious Hudson completely into his arms; he then waded his way into the water and behind the water fall.

I started after them. I grabbed the equipment and made my way into the water. Behind the water fall was a giant cave. Completely hollowed by what must have been hundreds of years of rushing water, which has then since disappeared.

"Wow…" I stared at the vast amounts of stalagmite protruding from both the ceiling and the floor.

I was brought back into reality by the sound of wood clunking onto the floor; Woods was starting a fire it looked like.

I went over to Hudson and checked on his wound. I peeled back the strap and winced to see that the blood had crusted to the strap. I slowly started to separate the foam from the wound, cringing at the discoloration of the, what once was white, now a yellowish brown strap.

I rinsed off the strap the best I could, then laid it down by the now roaring fire Woods had started.

"So what are we gonna do?" I asked as I examined the cuts I got on my fingers from the rocks in the river.

Woods poked at the fire with a stick a few times then set it down beside him,

"Where gonna wait out here, wait till Hudson can at least walk on his own. Then were gonna find a way back to the base."

I nodded and kicked my boots off, hoping that they'd be able to dry by morning.

Woods stood up and started to undress. I looked away quickly, wanting to give him privacy.

"What's wrong with you?" he questioned, continuing to remove himself of his shirt.

I kept my gaze focused on the floor, "Nothing."

I heard Woods scuff, "Wishin this was Hudson?"

My head shoot up to look at him and I made a face, "What's that suppose to mean?"

He glared at me, "Well it's pretty obvious you gotta thing for him, you had your arms all over him when I left you two alone, and then when I find you two on the shore, you were leanin over him and everything. I'm not a fuckin idiot."

I stood up to face the shirtless Woods. "I was giving him CPR at the shore! I have to place my mouth on his in order to actually do it! At the tree I was just sitting him up! That's all! I don't have feelings for him anymore then as a comrade! And even if I did you have no right getting involved!"

"I am the captain of the team! That makes you, and everything one this team, and what happens on this team, my business! Understand that?!"

"Well if its protocol we're talking about, you had no right to make a remark which was directed towards my personal life!"

He held up a finger in my face, "You do NOT tell me what I can and cannot do. I make the decisions on this team. GOT IT KING?!"

I groaned in annoyance. "I DON'T CARE. IM GOING TO BED."

He grabbed my shoulders and slammed me against the wall.

"I HAVENT DISMISSED YOU YET." He grabbed both of my arms.

I struggled against his grip and tried to wiggle my way away from him, but with no avail.

"Let me go." I stared into his eyes, "Please."

The only sounds in the cave were the crackling of the fire and the rush of the waterfall.

Woods was breathing heavily through his nose, as I did the same. I opened my moth once again, to request to be let go.

Suddenly his lips smashed against mine.

The kiss was rough at first, but slowly eased down. I continued to stare blankly ahead, too shocked to responded, after what felt like an eternity, Woods pulled back and stared me in the eyes.

Woods then turned and angrily stormed out of the cave, leaving me in alone.

XD ikr? Finally some romance! And lemme tell you, ever since I wrote a bad lemon a few years back, I was too terrified to write anything romantic, so, tell me how I did!

THANKS FOR READING! I WAS ABSOLUTLY TRY TO UPDATE WAY SOONER CAUSE TRUST ME, THIS WAS WAY TOO LONG…I AM ASHAMED.