Chapter 11: Doctor, Soldier, Friend (Through the POV of Lt. Petral Levark)

My knees were healing, but I was in pain all the time. To mine and Yuri's dismay, John was developing a high fever. We had what I needed to help, but the fever left him completely useless for days. He looked sick on the night we escaped, and within two days, his fever had spiked.

On the fourth day of our escape, I sat beside him as he laid on the floor, shivering. I was sitting a bit awkwardly, with my legs stretched out in front of me, one of the few positions that didn't send my knees into agony.

I had never seen him like this. He looked almost child-like, curled up on his side, surrounded in blankets and shivering. His fever had reached 105, which was really worrying me. I laid a hand gently on his forehead, grimacing. He was burning up. John was never the one who needed help, much less be cared for, but it was clear that he wasn't even able to move right now.

"D-didn't ever think you'd be m-my doctor, girlie..." he stammered, sounding completely exhausted. The effort of just talking sent him into a violent coughing fit. I sighed and put another blanket on him.

"There isn't much I can do right now. I'm going to give you this." I reached into the team's tattered black medical bag and pulled out one of our light sedatives, and a bottle of aspirin.

"I normally wouldn't do this, but you desperately need sleep..."

I rolled up his sleeve and injected the needle below his shoulder, and had him take the aspirin. He closed his eyes, his face stuck in a grimace.

I laid a hand gently on his shoulder, knowing he really didn't need the comfort, but wanting him to know I was still here for him.

"Is this going to be like in those movies where you end heroically t-taking my place in b-battle while I'm sick?" he chuckled lightly, his eyes beginning to shut. I sighed, smiling a little.

"Let's hope not, O Mighty Captain."

I don't even think he heard me. Within seconds, he was asleep.

Yuri came to sit beside me, grimacing at the state of his companion. Yuri already looked much better than he had a few days ago. Despite the layer of dirt that seemed to always stay on our skin and clothes all the time, I couldn't deny that he was very handsome. The bags had disappeared from his eyes now, and though he seemed tired, he looked alert.

"Will he be alright?" he asked.

I looked over at our sleeping captain. "I think so...I hope so. His fever is really high, but I think he can shake it, especially with the heavy aspirin I gave him. We just need to make sure he keeps eating and drinking when he wakes up."

Yuri nodded. "We need to contact the Delta Force. John said they recently had a failed mission trying to secure the president's daughter, but are interested in joining us to go after her again. We should contact them as soon as possible."

I nodded in agreement. Carefully stepping over the sleeping soldier, I went to retrieve his laptop.

"Do you know his password, Yuri?"

Yuri walked over to a small cabinet and pulled out a tiny piece of paper containing John's password. After we entered it into the computer, a bunch of windows popped up, all containing information on the ultranationalist movement in Russia. The background was the Task Force 141 insignia.

I wanted to start reading through the information, knowing it could only help if I knew more about who was fighting, and just having all that information right here in front of me was fascinating.

I moved the mouse over to the "video contact" button, a small list of contacts popping up. I selected the one that said "Delta", and pressed the "video call" option.

"Easy enough..." I murmured, waiting for Sandman to answer.

The screen went to static, then black, before the familiar face of the Delta Force leader appeared on the screen. He seemed surprised to see us, and I couldn't help but notice the dark bags under his eyes from lack of sleep. He nodded in greeting.

"Good to see you, Lieutenant Levark, Yuri." His eyes widened, suddenly looking panicked. "Where's Captain Price?"

"Really sick...I gave him something to make him sleep. His fever reached 105 today. I've been doing all I can, but what he needs right now is sleep."

Sandman, who had obviously been fearing the worst, sighed with relief and nodded. "Captain Price told me your previous mission was far from a success, but didn't go into details. What exactly happened back there?"

I took a deep breath and launched into the lengthy explanation of our previous mission. Yuri added details here and there, and when we were done, Sandman looked anxious and even more exhausted.

"Thank God you guys made it out okay. I'm sorry my men couldn't have been there to help, but we recently had a failed mission as well. The president's daughter slipped right out from under us."

"That is what we wanted to talk to you about, captain," Yuri said. "Captain Price told us you would be interested in trying to rescue the girl one more time, yes?"

Before Sandman could answer, another man approached the camera, eyeing us curiously.

"Oh, Lieutenant Levark, Yuri, this is one of my best soldiers, Sergeant Derek "Frost" Westbrook."

He nodded at us, grunting a hello.

"As I was saying, we'd be more than glad to pull this mission through."

Frost turned to me. "Are you a member of Captain Price's team?"

I nodded. "Yes. Why?"

He narrowed his eyes. "You weren't apart of Operation Kingfish, were you?"

I shook my head. "Not then. But I am now. I'm a military doctor, I'm actually from America..." I trailed off.

He nodded, and was quiet.

"Lieutenant Levark has proven herself well," Sandman told him. I gave him a small smile. "And I think it's good for them to have a doctor on the team, especially now since Captain Price has fallen sick. Do you think he'll be back up on his feet soon?"

I sighed. "Yeah, I think so. I hope so anyway, his fever reached 105 this morning, and it's worrying me...we don't have all the medical supplies I would like to have access to, but I think I'll be able to help him shake this."

Sandman nodded. "Good to hear. My men and I have traced Alena, the daughter, back to a large diamond mine in Siberia. I can send you the coordinates in a few minutes. We plan on going after her as soon as possible, but I'm well aware that we need Captain Price for the mission. Is two days top going to be enough to get Captain Price up on his feet again?"

"It'll have to be," I murmured. "That will be fine."

"Good. We have to go soon, but we'll contact you again before the mission. Good luck to you both."

Yuri and I thanked him, and signed off.

The chopper, which was landed somewhere outside Somalia for refueling, was quiet. Yuri and I sat in silence for a little while while he sharpened his knife, and I wrote in my journal.

About fifteen minutes later, I broke the silence.

"Yuri...what made you want to join Makarov?"

I guess that was kind of a touchy question, but at the moment, I really didn't care. There were no secrets here, right? And he ought to know by now that I trusted him. He looked up from his knife, a little surprised by the question.

To my relief, he seemed to smile a little bit. "I was a young fool who wanted to see a new world. I was able to get close to Makarov early because he noticed my enthusiasm. I was willing to kill, willing to kill many for this crazy vision I shared with so many others...he admired me for it, and soon I knew all his plans, all his secrets. Looking back now, I understand why he seemed to take such an interest in me: I was a monster, just like him."

I opened my mouth to vehemently disagree, but he didn't allow me to continue.

"It was exciting for a little while, until I woke up and realized what this brave new world was going to really be like, ruled by Makarov.. I tried to talk him out of the Airport Massacre...but he would not listen to me. I thought the Loyalists would be able to stop him on time, but it was my fault because I did not alert them right away. I, like the foolish young man that I was, still thought that what Makarov was doing would be best for everyone. He had me fooled. He was always so good at words, it was easy for him to persuade... not that it's any excuse for my behaviour."

I allowed myself to study his face. His eyes were half-shut, his face screwed up into a grimace. I felt like I knew Yuri so much more now...he was a man, just like John, just like Soap, who had made bad decisions when he was younger. But now he was compensating for it, helping clean up the mess the man he had once looked up to had created in this world.

"Tell me, Petral, how did you end up in the services?"

I smiled a little, letting a sigh escape my lips.

"I went to college to be a doctor. My grades were always really good in school, and I knew from when I was a teenager that I wanted to go into the medical field. When World War III really started stirring up, I decided to join the military...I guess I underestimated the war more than I thought, because I never thought they would put me out there in Afghanistan, working in a safe-house while bombs were raining down around me. But I learned how to use a gun...I learned how to be a decent soldier...and then you guys found me."

He nodded, and seemed genuinely interested in my story.

"I am glad we found you, Petral. I don't think Captain Price and I could have managed on our own."

I chuckled. "I doubt that, but thank you anyway. You guys have made this a lot easier for me. And I don't want to leave until we find and kill Makarov."

Yuri nodded. "I understand that. I don't plan on leaving either."

I took a deep breath. "When we do...kill Makarov...what do you plan on doing afterwards?"

He thought for a moment. "I don't know...perhaps return to Russia. I am not married, but I've grown up there all my life...I'd find a life for myself. I understand that the Task Force is disavowed. Apparently, many men used to be apart of it. I would hope that Captain Price would rebuild once this is all done."

I nodded. "I hope so too."

We didn't speak of the alternative. We both knew all too well that any of us could lose our lives at any time, but there was no need to consider that. No need to dwell on anything more bleak than what we were facing now.

But I was glad I could spend time with Yuri. He was always so quiet, not that I could blame him, but very intelligent and an excellent soldier. We'd helped each other out on many occasions, and I knew that the tension of not wanting me here was gone with him.

"Petral, I would bet that you would have the option to join Sandman and his men once this is all done. I do not know how the United States works it military policy, but seeing how far you've come, I wouldn't be surprised if Sandman let you in with more formal training.

I nodded, considering the idea.

But the fact that I'd be so far away from John once this was all done...I didn't want to think about that. I didn't tell Yuri this, not wanting to sound like an idiot.

I glanced over at John, who was snoring quietly. As I went to put a hand on his forehead, I heard Yuri murmur something quietly under his breath. It took me a moment to realize he was singing.

"

Пусть он вспомнит девушку простую

Пусть услышит, как она поет

Пусть он землю бережет родную

А любовь Катюша сбережет

..."

I didn't understand what he was saying, since the song was obviously in Russian, but it was a quick, yet still slightly intriguing song. I smiled at him when he was finished the verse.

"It's a song my men used to sing when they grew bored. It's the last verse...I always thought it was a good song, well-known in my country."

"It sounds very familiar. I didn't know you liked to sing."

"Ah, I tend not to. Not exactly my strong point. I just ended up thinking about it for some reason..." he trailed off, turning his knife around in his hands. I turned my attention back to John. His forehead was still burning up. I'd take his temperature when he was awake.

"You know, I've been wondering, I must be assumed dead back at home. Dead or missing. I'd bet they assumed I was blown to pieces by the bomb raid that destroyed the safehouse back in Afghanistan," I murmured, suddenly realizing this.

He looked at me. "I'm sorry."

I shook my head. "I...it doesn't really bother me. It's not like I have a lot of family I kept in contact with back at home. My parents are gone, so it's not like they're worrying anymore..." I trailed off, deciding just to keep my mouth shut and write in my journal some more. I was glad that I wasn't a nuisance to Yuri anymore...I enjoyed talking to him.

"Petral, I can trust you to be honest, can I?"

I nodded. "Of course."

"Do you think I am still the person I was? Even just a little bit?"

I looked at him, doing everything in my power to make him know I was being completely serious.

"No...the man who idolized Makarov would not have carried me across a battlefield, or have risked his life to save me from a grenade explosion. That man would not have given everything just to kill Makarov."

"You think this even though I did not tell you I knew him? That I kept it a secret for so long?"

"Yes."

He turned his head slightly to one side, as if studying me, before slowly taking his gaze away from mine, nodding ever so slightly as if finally understanding something he had sought to answer for so long.

Without saying a word, he returned to his knife, leaving the chopper silent once more. I returned to my journal and continued to write, my mind never straying from our conversation, or his ever-riveting past.

DISCLAIMER: The song that Yuri was singing is called "Katyusha", a Russian wartime song composed by Mantvei Blanter in 1938.

A/N: This was mostly a filler chapter, but as usual, I thank everyone who has stuck with this story up to this point, and to everyone who has left me such great feedback. I appreciate every single one of you! If anyone has any questions, concerns, etc, feel free to ask them in a review, or in a message.