Chapter Ten

"Keep moving" a voice urged to Rob quickly, through all the confusion- he knew instantly that the explosion was staged and he kept moving, knowing that the team would follow. "Delta two- mongoose 2 is waiting around the corner- you will know him when you see him" Yusef stated as he ushered each man through in turn- waiting long enough to not draw too much attention but quickly enough to get them all through. He barely glanced at the man that was clearly their prisoner- the less he knew the better as far as he was concerned, but within minutes the entire group were through and across the border, moving sedately to avoid anyone noticing them. Within minutes they saw a greengrocers van with a man leant against it smoking a cigarette. A large mongoose drawn on the side and Rob tried desperately not to smile.

"Come on pretty boy- we are almost there" he whispered to the clearly struggling Quinn, he hooked his hand under the ailing man's bicep and noticed Callum doing the same on the other side and they picked up the pace. Within a couple of minutes they were stowed in the back of the van the whole team hidden by apples and bananas and the next stage of their journey was underway.

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Carrie had bitten her nails down to the quick- this was fraying her last nerve, it was quarter past ten in the morning and they had no idea if things had gone to plan or not. Just as she was about to pick up her cell and call Dar for an update she heard a knock on the door- she rapped twice in reply and the coded knock that followed proved correct- she swung the door open and was greeted by the side view of a van. Then Davies appeared.

"Safe?" he asked.

"Safe" Carrie confirmed. Davies nodded and swung open the back of the van. Six grim, dirty and exhausted men stepped out one by one- finally followed by a man that was clearly their prisoner as he was pulled out by the sixth man. She watched, her nerves on edge as the team entered the house and double checked the security measures. She didn't blame them given all they must have been through to get this far. She moved closer to the van- appreciating the isolated surroundings of safe house that allowed her such freedom of movement. She crossed her arms over her chest as she observed the last three men struggling to make their way out of the van. Two of them able bodied the third a mass of blood and bruises, his head down chin to chest as the two soldiers carried their friend between them.

"How is he?" she asked, her voice croaking at her words.

"Fighting on" Rob replied grimly as he carried his now unconscious friend in behind the operative. He wordlessly followed her- unspeakably proud of his friend for managing to last this long and bravely battling through to safety. Carrie walked through the house- guiding the three men up to the makeshift medical room where the doctor waited for them. He looked up as they walked into the room, unsurprised to see the familiar form of an unconscious Peter Quinn being gently carried.

"Help me strip him down and get him on the bed" he requested softly. Carrie stepped back, into the doorway of the room, knowing she was of little help in the current environment. Colin winced as he saw the state of his newest patient. "Which one of you is the medic?" he asked as his patient was laid onto the bed in just his boxers.

"That's me sir" Callum stated stepping forward.

"Can you stay to give me a hand? Looks like you have done a fine job so far" he added as he looked at the neatly applied dressings.

"Anything to help sir" Callum replied shrugging off his jacket and moving to the en- suite to wash up.

"I will update you two as soon as I know what we have- you should let Dar know they are safe" Colin told the two people stood watching. Rob hesitated- they had been through so much to get Quinn here it didn't feel right to leave him now. He turned as he felt a gentle hand on his arm.

"He's in safe hands" Carrie stated as she lead the team leader out of the room. "I'm Carrie" she introduced her self as they walked down the stairs.

"Yes. I figured" he replied with a grin, she decided to let that slide for now, not really knowing what he meant by the comment. "Rob" he replied finally. She smiled and pointed him in the direction of the main bathroom- there's a shower in there, I'd grab it before the rest of the guys jump the queue she told him with a smile. The offer was too good to resist as he made his way in and saw the fresh towel and stack of jeans and jumpers in various sizes. He stripped off and stepped under the warm flow of water, trying to let it cleanse away the last week- but knowing in his heart of hearts it would take more than a shower for that.

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Colin sighed as he looked at the full extent of the injuries the operative had suffered.

"I did my best" Callum stated as he misinterpreted the doctor's reaction.

"I am pretty sure that you have saved his life" Colin replied making eye contact. Callum snorted at the comment. "What?"

"That bullet to the arm and the head wound were sustained when he tackled me to the ground and took them on by behalf" Callum explained as he recleaned said head wound.

"Ah now that sounds like Peter" Colin commented, catching the young medic by surprise.

"You know him?" he asked as he stopped what he was doing to look at the doctor in confusion.

"I did- many years ago" he replied as he turned his attention to the younger man's damaged leg. "You have done a good job with the dislocation" he commented as he checked the angle of the leg carefully and felt around the knee. He then reached behind him and pulled out a splint casing, which he gently eased underneath the injured limb. He then leaned forward and checked the open wound further up the leg, and winced at what he saw. "I have no idea how he managed to walk over twenty miles on this" the aging doctor stated with a sigh. He didn't wait for an answer as he moved up to the injuries on the torso. "This is concerning, definitely the source of the infection" he moved towards the tray of tools and inserted a drain in the side of the injured man. Once he was satisfied with the positioning of the drain he had inserted he added a second IV to the pole.

"You think he will be ok?" Callum asked softly.

"We need to push these antibiotics through him and he is badly dehydrated- not to mention the blood loss" Colin responded, "but I am most worried about this head injury- and we are so limited what we can do about it in this environment" he added. Callum nodded as he helped to fix the various bags on the pole the doctor had managed to acquire.

"Should we try and bring him round?" the medic asked.

"No, no let's finish up and when we have got some of this in to him we will see where the land lies" the doctor stated before he could a good look at the young medic beside him- seeing the lines of exhaustion on his face. "In fact I can finish here- you go and get cleaned up" he offered kindly. Callum took one last glance at his deeply unconscious friend before he nodded and turned to leave.

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Colin adjusted the oxygen mask over the bruised face- covered in more stubble than usual. He checked the monitors and noted down the pulse ox and heart rate- elevated as was to be expected with the raging infection the man was fighting. He looked at the bump on the back of the younger man's head, sighing at the lack of technology available to him to help the man that he was certain needed it. He pulled his light from his shirt pocket as he noted down the last of the readings- carefully he peeled open one eyelid and then the other flicking the beam into his eyes- surprised when the form on the bed flinched. He flicked the light again, and confused blue eyes flickered open and locked onto the face of the doctor. As consciousness came and realisation dawned so did the pain and his eyes screwed shut and he attempted to curl up in himself to protect his abdomen- his body's natural response. But the wires and the brace on his leg prevented such movement.

The doctor stepped forward and carefully applied pressure to Peter's shoulders.

"Easy now Peter- calm down, just relax and let the pain killers do their work" he soothed gently as he injected into the cannula. The familiar voice got through to the younger man and he stopped struggling and attempted to control his breathing. He assessed what was hurting and although his body was a mass of aches and pains the medication had taken the edge off it and as long as he didn't move too much he could cope. He reached to his face and pulled the oxygen mask away.

"What are you doing here?" he croaked, not opening his eyes as it felt like the light stabbed through it.

"Dar called me- seems he trusts me to save your sorry arse" the brit replied, noting the injured man's reaction to light. It had been several days since the original head injury had been sustained, and even though he hadn't rested he shouldn't still be so averse to light if it was a simple mild concussion- which suggested that it was more than that. Quinn snorted at the comment.

"You have practice I guess" he whispered, suddenly exhausted. Colin smiled at the reply, pleased that the man remembered him and could form sentences, but still concerned by the head injury.

"I need you to stay awake for me Peter- just for a little while so I can assess your head injury" he warned gently squeezing his bare shoulder.

"Always did like to torture me" Quinn commented as he squinted at the older man. Colin finally surrendered and moved to turn the main light off, leaving just the side lamp on so that he could see to work. "Thanks" Quinn conceded and he opened his eyes slightly wider. He swallowed past the nausea.

"You're a mess Peter" the doctor stated. "On a scale of one to ten how's the head" he asked.

"Sixty-two" Quinn whispered, still attempting to control his rebelling stomach.

"Double vision?" he asked and received a small nod. "Light hurts your eyes?" another nod. "Dizzy?" another nod. "Nauseous?" he asked and this time the answer came by the other man frantically turning his head, luckily experience and lightening reflexes saved the doctor from a disaster as he had a bowl under the face of the poorly man within a split second as he gagged and wretched up bile and the little water he had managed to consume.

"Fuck me" Quinn uttered as he finally rested back against the bed, feeling absolutely truly awful as his head felt even worse. Colin smiled despite himself at the familiar fire the younger man was showing.

"Easy Pete, just concentrate on your breathing" he soothed as he placed the mask back against his face tenderly. Quinn listened for once and settled back- he knew he could trust the other man implicitly, he had never given any reason to doubt so he knew that was precisely why Dar had brought him in in the first place.

"Where are we?" Quinn asked after a few moments, not opening his eyes and talking through the mask.

"Company safe house- Kilis" he replied simply.

"When can we get out of here?"

"Not until at least tomorrow- your new friend will be collected in a few hours, when the coast is clear you guys can move out" he informed him.

"The team is here?" Quinn asked.

"We sure are douche bag" a new voice joined the conversation and Rob stepped into the room, handing the doctor a cup of coffee and surveying the appearance of his friend. Quinn's eyes cracked open to look at his friend.

"Everyone good?" Quinn asked seriously, too tired to even partake in the usual banter.

"We just need to get you sorted and everyone is good" Rob responded, moving closer. Quinn nodded lightly, closing his eyes and surrendering to the darkness.

"How's he doing?" Rob asked the doctor softly, his eyes not leaving the still face of his injured friend.

"Stubborn as ever" the doctor commented with a grimace. Rob snorted- Callum had filled him in on the apparent history of the two men- but he decided not to pry.

"It's because of that stubbornness that he is still breathing" Rob commented and Colin nodded.

"He needs a hospital, but with the correct care I think he will be ok. Has Dar come up with the plan to get him out of here yet?" he asked as he sipped at the coffee.

"Not yet- we need the first extraction to be clear and then he can plan" the team leader responded drinking his own coffee and savouring the hit of caffeine.

"I better go and update the others- do you mind staying with him?" the doctor asked. Rob nodded, it was in no doubt. He knew that once the blonde woman was in the room he would struggle to get a look in with his friend so he took the opportunity whilst it was there.

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The doctor updated the CIA leader quickly and professionally- it wasn't the news that Dar had been hoping to hear, but he was unsurprised by the update. The aging operative was exhausted, but he couldn't rest until he at least had the wheels in motion to get the team home- or at least closer to home. He checked his watch- it was only a few hours until the first extraction was due to take place- he needed that to go to plan, then he could arrange transport for the others.

There were two options- local transport to a Turkish hospital, or attempt to get the entire team home to the states and to Walter Reed which was his preferred option for security- yet he didn't know if Peter would survive the fifteen hour flight to get them there. He rubbed his face tiredly, he would need to see what the next day would bring and just pray that luck would be on their side.

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Carrie was officially going out of her mind. The doctor had surfaced an hour ago and been on a call with someone almost the entire time. She knew he would be updating Dar, and it was important- but she was desperate to know how Quinn was doing. It was taking every single ounce of restraint to stop her from marching into the room to see him. She had promised Saul and Dar that she would control herself and she was trying to stick to her word. She looked up as the door swung open.

"How is he?" she asked the doctor softly, her arms folded across her chest as she anticipated the response.

"He is doing as well as can be expected" he responded softly, smiling at her kindly. "You can see him if you wish- as long as it isn't likely to cause any upset?" he added carefully.

"I hope not" she responded with a sad smile and without looking back took the stairs two at a time to go to where she knew she belonged- right beside Peter Quinn.

End Chapter Ten