pov Emma
We were sitting in the living room, waiting for help to arrive. This was the worst part. I ran a finger along my poorly done stitches quietly. Nora and Ashton did their best, but the place was dirty and we ran out of thread. I looked at Ashton, who was asleep on the other couch. Silence stretched between us. Nikolai's response was a true blessing, a miracle of sorts. I was wearing John's jacket for comfort, the only thing truly keeping me sane. It was similar to Ghost's, yet darker. I ran my fingers across the picture in my hands. It was one of the ones I grabbed from John's office. This one was the one I found with his journal. I've been itching to read it, but I could never bring myself to do it. It was too personal, and I wasn't ready for that. I didn't want to cross a line with him. And if worse comes to worse, when I know for certain that I will never see him again, than what I read could be too much for me to handle. The "what-if's" would haunt me. Well, haunt me more than usual. I knew Nora was watching me closely, and I was doing my best to ignore her, but in the end I caved.
"Who are these guys?" I asked finally, giving her what she wanted.
"The original 141, I believe." she replied, happy that I was talking to her.
"The original? I don't understand, we just met Price."
"Price was believed to be dead. It's a long story, but all of this chaos started with Operation Kingfish. Price, Soap, Roach, and Ghost went with a few members of some Delta squad. Well, things went wrong. It was a trap, you see. They believed that the team was being hunted down and executed."
"Why did they think that?"
"John apparently said there was a picture, just like the one you're holding now, on a bulletin board with marks through some of the faces. Anyway, they were trying to get out, but John got injured which is how he got his scar on his eye. Everyone took him to the plane or helicopter and Price gave them cover. In the end, they were forced to leave Price behind. He told them to and Sandman had to make a tough call. Shepherd questioned John and he got promoted to Captain." Nora explained softly.
"So how do you know all this?"
"Nikolai told me. Not sure if he was actually there, but those guys were always close so I'm sure John or Simon told him. Its sad and pretty crazy, huh?"
"Yeah...crazy." I replied quietly as I looked back at the photograph.
"You know, I've never seen John as worked up as he was when he got involved in that Emerson ordeal." I gave her a weird look and laughed.
"First of all, that was random as fuck. Second of all, I made it really hard on him. I kinda acted like a rebellious teenager. It was kinda inappropriate."
"I've been meaning to talk to you about this actually, but I never really had the chance. But that wasn't really your fault, Emma. I mean, whatever happened outside of that specific situation is what it is. But, Ghost ran to get John, and good thing to because that whole thing escalated quickly. Anyway, it didn't really take him long to find him. I think that John was already on his way to the mess hall."
"Yeah, I always wondered why he didn't just intervene himself. Like, he was the Lieutenant and he should have been able to interfere. We could have avoided a lot of problems."
"I think that since it was you, his first instinct was to get John. And that maybe, in that particular situation, he believed that it was way out of his league. But I'm glad he went for John, though. I mean honestly, I don't think Ghost would have been able to hold you back the way John did. You lost it and you probably would have killed Ghost to get to Emerson. And I have to agree with Emerson on something, though."
"What?" I asked angrily. What the hell?
"Not like that! You and John...Emma, there was something there. And whether the two of you acted on it or not, it was pretty obvious. The way John reacted, was just, wow. Don't get me wrong, John has defended my honor every now and then, you know when I was in over my head or when enough was enough. And he got pretty pissed. I've seen that man all fifty shades of pissed off. But I've never seen him so...angry in my life. It was like a weird calm to before the storm or something. It was terrifying, like I was scared to say anything because it could've pushed him over the edge and I didn't want him to lose his job for killing Emerson." I shrugged in indifference.
"Nora, the team meant the world to him. He was doing what was right. And besides, he was stressed out by a lot of shit."
"I think he was just protecting what was his." she replied, giving me a small smile and a quick wink. I blushed.
"I don't think-" I was interrupted by the sound of a helicopter. Nora jumped up and we listened. Ashton stirred and there was a knock at the door. I went to move, but I flinched as pain erupted from my side. Ashton sat up as Nora grabbed my pistol from the coffee table and made her way to the front door. Ashton gave me a confused look. I ignored her and listened for gunshots.
"Nikolai's guy is here!" Nora called.
"Already?" Ashton asked.
"Yeah, we just need to pack up what we have. I guess he's taking us to some doctor Nikolai knows." We gathered our supplies, which didn't take long since we didn't have much.
"Can we trust this guy?" Ashton asked as we made our way to the helicopter.
"I don't think we really have a choice at this point." I replied.
pov Ghost
So this guy, Boomer, was actually pretty useful. He went in town with Archer after they made sure we would be ok, and I guess he contacted Sandman for help. Which really took a bit of convincing. I honestly never thought I would see that guy again and we had to pull a few favors to get this to work. Obviously there were risks, considering what was going on. But in the end, they tracked us down and picked us up in a helicopter. Then we had to land a little ways away so we didn't bring attention to us. We had to hot wire a truck. Sandman was going to pull strings and get Roach to the States and get him proper help as soon as he could. But besides the bullet wound, he seemed a tad better. Obviously, he was still at risk, but the burns weren't as severe as we had originally thought. So we had to go somewhere safe. To see someone I knew that had a chance at saving him with the injuries he had sustained. I just prayed that Archer was right about not being as severe.
"Are you sure about this place?" Boomer asked, looking at me.
"I'm sure. She's a doctor, she'll stabilize Roach and patch me up. She's an old friend, she can be trusted." I replied firmly. He nodded and looked away. We were almost there. Price would kill me if he knew where I was going.
"This country home here?" Archer asked. It was in the middle of nowhere, despite the small town we passed through a few miles back. There were rolling hills and small forests here and there. There was a beautiful white ranch house with a wrap around porch.
"Yeah, that's the one." We pulled up the driveway and stopped. Archer jumped out and helped me out of our truck. He threw my arm over his shoulder and walked towards the front door. I knocked a few times. The door opened to reveal a petite woman. She had long brown hair and beautiful blue eyes, which widened in surprise.
"Simon?! Oh my god! What the bloody hell happened to you?! Is that a bullet wound? You looked like you were on fire!" she exclaimed.
"This is nothing, you should see Roach."
"What happened to Gary? What's going on?!"
"It's a long story. Look, I have a truck full of men and Roach doesn't have much time. Can we come in?"
"Why is everyone coming to me help, but won't explain what the fuck is going on!? Put Gary on the kitchen table. I have some supplies I can use." I frowned as Archer took me to the kitchen. Everyone? Did that mean Price was alive? Had he contacted Natalie? That had to have been awkward considering he's been missing and presumed dead. Archer sat me in a dining chair. Boomer, Ozone, and Sandman carried Roach in. Natalie rushed in and pushed everything off the table.
"Alright, lay him down here. I need to get peroxide or-or maybe some alcohol for disinfecting, and some water. I should get some gauze and maybe some cotton balls or something to help clean the wounds." she muttered to herself. She disappeared for a couple minutes. Archer stood awkwardly behind me while Ozone sat in another chair. Sandman and Boomer stood to the side, just watching. Then Natalie ran back in the kitchen with a giant first aide kit and a box of latex gloves. She sighs and grabs a huge plastic bowl and begins filling it with water.
"The wounds were much worse earlier. By some miracle, I think he only has second degree burns. The more serious part would be the bullet wound. I think it missed his organs and the bullet went clean through." Archer told her and she nodded.
"Good, then I can probably help. I was worried that it was going to be way worse."
"Yeah, well, for the most part I thought he wasn't going to make it. I don't have much experience with burns. But its mainly blisters, I believe."
"I'll have to clean him up to see, but I think he'll be ok."
"Good. Thank you, Natalie." She smiled at him and then turned to me.
"So, are you guys going to tell me what happened?" she asked.
"I can't really say, Natalie." I replied.
"Well, Simon, considering you're in my house, I think I have a right to know." she put the bowl aside and began washing her hands.
"Its a military matter. Your dad will lose his head if he knew I was here, as is. Imagine what he would say if I brought you into this. You don't need to know this." she turned to me with fire in her eyes.
"When you guys started working with my father, he brought all of you home on your guys' first leave as a unit. He individually introduced you, and explained, in great detail, how you individually got your call-signs. And Soap's was the funniest, by far. But he sat back and he watched as me and mum talked with you, laughed with you, and bonded with you. For a full week. And do you remember that huge speech he gave us on your last night? He said that we were both his family and that now, at last, his family was finally whole and that we were all connected. It was the first time he had ever brought a team home to meet us, and we were so happy to finally be apart of everything. You and John took everything he said to heart. Of course John took it to heart, he took everything my dad said to heart. Anyway, I remember when you, John, and Roach came over with my dad once on leave to see us. Roach went out on a date while my mom went to dinner with dad, and the three of us went to see the city lights and hit a pub or two. And you guys had to go to the bathroom because you kept drinking. Well, when the two of you came back, we got kicked out because you guys beat the hell out of some guy that was hitting on me. And you and Roach were the ones that I confided in when I had that crush on John. We are family. But now you're sitting here, telling me that you can't tell me why Roach is laying on my fucking kitchen table with second degree burns, and you both have a bullet wound! And I'm already involved with you just being here, so why does it bloody matter!" She never gave me the chance to reply as she put on whit e latex gloves and take a pair of medical shears out of her kit. "If Roach goes any longer without proper medical attention. Honestly he's lucky to have lasted this long, and I don't have the equipment for this." She began to cut through his uniform as Archer got some peroxide with needle and thread. I sighed heavily and took off my shirt. Everything stopped as the sound of a helicopter began to come closer. A million things ran through my head. Natalie looked in the direction of the sound. It could be anyone. Had Shepherd found out that we were still alive somehow? Did Sandman and Boomer betray us? Or was it...? Price and John, maybe? Did Nikolai bring them back?
pov Soap
"Who the bloody hell is Yuri?" I asked groggily. I couldn't remember anything passed Nikolai picking us up in the desert. So I couldn't really understand what was going on. But all I really cared about was why there was another man in this helicopter that I've never met before. I had to focus on this, on the present. I wouldn't let myself think of anything else. Because I know where my mind would go. To them...to her.
"He's a friend of Nikolai's. He's going to help us hunt down Makarov. Rest, son. You've been through enough." Price replied. I frowned. When did this Yuri guy show up? Was I out that long? I remember bits of pieces making it to the helicopter and the sharp pain in my chest. Wait, was this guy my replacement? I felt a pang in my chest. After all of the shit I've been through, I was useless and I had to be replaced by some random guy. No, I couldn't think like that. But what else haven't they told me? Dare I ask? There was a chance, right? Would it be so wrong to hope? There could have been communication available at the safe house we just left?
"Where to Nikolai?" Price asked.
"I know of a place that's far from civilization, but a friend of mine owns it. Since Soap is on the better side, with the shot of adrenaline, we should be fine. It'll be good for us."
"Good. We'll have time to regroup, plan, and rest. John will be able to heal without problems." Price replied. I decided that I had to know, it was now or never.
"What-what about everyone? Ghost? The girls? Have heard from Emma?" I asked. Price sighed and Nikolai was silent.
"No, lad. I'm sorry, but there hasn't been word of Emma or Ghost. I think it's time to assume the worst and grieve for our losses."
"No, I don't-" Price came over to me and sat next to me. He looked at me with a sullen look in his eye.
"John, its nearly impossible for them to have survived. Ghost and his team were in the middle of nowhere, and Shepherd met with them personally. I can only imagine what that bastard did. And the base was destroyed. Nikolai told us. There were no survivors. I'm sorry." I frowned.
"Wait, if there were no survivors, how would Nikolai know? Hasn't he been with us the whole time, Price?" I asked. Price frowned. He opened his mouth to say something but he was interrupted.
"So, what are some ideas you have to take action against Makarov?" Yuri asked, but I wouldn't have it. I was tired of wondering where the hell my team was.
"We'll discuss that later. Price, where are they?" I asked forcefully.
"Son, Shepherd said he-"
"I don't give a bloody damn what that bastard said! You can't believe a word he said! They have to be alive-"
"Soap, you need to calm down. We just shot you with adrenaline to get your heart started, its not a good idea for you to get worked up."
"I don't care, Price! I want my team back! Where's Emma?" I demanded. Price gave me a strange look. Why was he looking at me like that?
"Son, calm down."
"No, I'm not going to calm down until we find them. We need to find them!" I yelled. Price looked at Yuri and nodded. "What? What the hell was that about?"
"I'm sorry, but you need to calm down. We have to sedate you."
"Wha-" Yuri suddenly grabbed me while Price held me down. Not that I could move much anyway, due to the stitches in my chest. But I struggled. I felt a prick in my neck.
"I'm sorry, lad. I didn't want you to over exert yourself. I need you alive, son." I wanted to reply, but everything was fuzzy. "I know you miss her, John. And I'm so sorry. But you killed the bastard that did this. I know its not what you want to hear and it doesn't truly justify everything. But you avenged them." I slowly faded to black with his words ringing in my ears.
pov Ashton
I looked back over at Emma for the hundredth time. She ripped her stitches and she was bleeding again. But the blood was mixed with pus. She was sweating and her breathing was shallow. How could this get infected so quickly? Who was I kidding? This was Emma we were talking about. She's been messing with it ever since we stitched her up. That house was dusty and it wasn't a good place to treat wound. And in this moment, there was nothing I desperately wanted more than for the whole squad to be here. I needed the comfort that Emma and Nora couldn't provide. John and Simon would take charge. They would give orders and make sure Emma would be taken care of. Because we always came first. The team, I mean. Of course John would be going nuts and would be frustrated because Emma was hurt. Because despite the fact that neither one of them wanted to admit it, those two were crazy for each other. And they would never see each other again. I would never see Simon again either. I would get to tell him how I felt. I wanted to cry, but I couldn't. I wouldn't allow myself to. Not while Emma was like this and Nora was trying so desperately to help her. But the fact that nothing was working made the urge to cry even worse.
Back at the empty house, I broke down from the pain of what my father did. But this feeling was worse. I was afraid to lose Emma and I've already lost so many. And I truly needed her. She was my best friend and this wasn't fair. I truly didn't understand. I guess I was still somewhat in shock. The helicopter jolted forward a bit and began to descend.
"We must be here." Nora said looking out the window. "I can barely fucking see. Wait, I house lights-oh...oh shit...I know where we are." I frowned at her tone and Emma gave her a blank stare.
"Then where are we, Nora?" Emma rasped, sarcasm rearing its ugly head.
"All I have to say is that this is going to be interesting. Nikolai is playing a dangerous game and this is a huge risk." The helicopter finally landed and the man shut it down. He turned around and said something in Russian. Nora gave him a confused look. Nora was the only one that knew Russian, but even she was far from fluent. So this was pretty difficult.
"Guys, we can sit here and argue all fucking night, but I would rather see the doctor Nikolai sent us to. Can you please get me the fuck out of this helicopter?" Emma snapped. The Russian glared at her and was about to say something but I interrupted.
"Alright, let's go. Nora, you guys can figure all that out later." I said firmly. The Russian glared at us and huffed. We exited the helicopter, with me supporting Emma and Nora carrying the supplies that we salvaged. From what I could see with the moonlight, we were in a field.
"Are we in a farm?" I asked.
"Ash, its a country home, so yeah its a farm."
"Oh, man. Don't you dare put me in a fucking barn!" Emma yelled and I almost laughed.
"There's a house, Emma. You're not going in a barn." Nora replied. We started towards the house. There weren't any animals from what I could see, but I was watching my step just in case. I was still curious as to where we were and I couldn't understand why Nora wouldn't just tell us. We made it to the fence and Emma had a hard time getting over. She even fell to the ground after she got over it and started laughing. She got up and leaned against the fence as Nora and I climbed over. Nora looked around as I threw Emma's arm around my shoulder. We eventually made it to the front door. Nora bit her lip.
"Guys, should I knock?" she asked.
"Well, I don't think we should just barge in." Emma replied.
"True, but I mean, aren't they expecting us?"
"Are you guys serious? Just knock." I cut in. Nora pounded on the door really hard. "I said knock, not break it down." Nora turned and stuck her tongue out at me while the door flew open. A woman with long, dark brown hair and bright blue eyes stood before us. She looked at us carefully and focused on Nora.
"Nora, its been a long time." the woman said.
"Hey Natalie..." Nora replied awkwardly. "Nikolai sent us."
"Yeah, I know. He called me and told me you two were coming. So which one is John's girl?" she asked looking between me and Emma. Emma tensed and I almost choked.
"I am not John's girl. Who told you that? Was it Nikolai? Well, Nikolai is full of shit because nothing ever happened." Emma retorted
"Um..." Nora said as Natalie raised her brow at Emma.
"Ok, just take her to the kitchen. That's where I have everyone else." Natalie finally said, turning back to Nora. I frowned. Everyone else? Who else was here? Natalie turned and disappeared into the house. Nora took a deep breath and followed suit. Nora seemed to know her way around, because she lead us straight to the kitchen without even a second thought. And once she was in, she just stopped. Emma frowned and looked at me. I didn't know what to say or do. I was kinda surprised myself.
"Oh my God..." Nora breathed out. What was going on? Was there something wrong?
"Nora..." a male's voice gasped out. Something in the back of my mind stirred at the sound of his voice, but I was so tired and focused on what was going on that I ignored it.
"Nora, you have to move." I whispered to her. But nothing happened. My frown deepened, especially when my hold on Emma began to slip.
"Nora, move! Ashton is dropping me!" Emma yelled. Nora jumped at Emma's voice and there was the sound of chairs scooting across the floor. Nora quickly moved aside and what I saw next took my breath away. I was in shock and my hold loosened even more. Ozone had stood up from the chair I assumed he was sitting in and Archer quickly made his way to us.
"Guys, you're alive! Holy shit, I never thought I would see your beautiful faces again!" Ozone exclaimed while picking Nora up and twirling around with her as she sobbed on his shoulder while she clung to him. Archer grabbed Emma and lead her to an empty chair while they exchanged a similar reunion. But I was more focused on the man sitting in the chair. I almost laughed, considering he looked pretty silly with his mask on while his shirt was off. I frowned at the bullet wound, and he stood. He stumbled a bit, but used the chair to give him balance. I couldn't take it anymore. I ran to him and threw my arms around his neck and he grunted in pain. I gasped and let go.
"I'm so sorry..." I said in a rush, but I trailed off. My face grew red as I realized my hands were on his chest. I immediately withdrew my hands and quickly apologized again. I looked at Emma to see her smirking at me. I rolled my eyes. And then I noticed who was on the kitchen table.
"Roach? Oh my God, is he ok?" I asked, as I made my way towards him. But before I could get to him, Ghost grabbed me by the arm.
"We're not sure yet, but Natalie is optimistic." He answered as he sat back down.
"Actually, I was hoping that Nora could help me with him while you and Archer got started on Emma and Ghost." Natalie cut in as she began to clean Roach up. I nodded.
"Any word of John?" Ghost asked me. I looked at him and frowned.
"You mean you haven't heard from him either?" Emma asked. I looked at her, and I could see the fear and hurt in her eyes. John's girl rang through my ears and I looked away.
"No, we were lucky to even contact help to get here. What about you guys?"
"We called Nikolai on Nora's cell phone. He had someone fly us here." I replied. Archer frowned.
"Nikolai? He's always with John and Price, why wouldn't he tell you about John?" Emma's frown deepened at Archer's question.
"No Captains...you know what that means, right?" Ozone piped in. Everyone grew quiet and looked down. "It means that we have to assign someone to lead us, and as the Lieutenant, it falls on you Ghost. So, what now?" The only noise in the room was Roach's heavy breathing. Emma shifted uncomfortably and I bit my lip. This felt so wrong. I didn't doubt Ghost for a second, I knew he could lead this team just as well as Captain MacTavish did. And it was because MacTavish taught him, worked beside him, and those two were always on the same page. But it was because of MacTavish that made this feel way off. I looked around and I noticed that they all felt it too. Naming Ghost the head of the team made it so final, so real. That there was a huge chance that this would be permanent. We won't ever see them again. I felt like a bucket of cold water was dumped on me. My father did this, he caused all of this. This wasn't the domino effect, it was him stomping on every person that could risk his reputation. I wanted to cry and scream at the same time.
"We stay here until everyone is on their feet, then we find Nikolai, and we go after the men that did this to us. We finish what John and Price started." Ghost replied.
So, yeah, I'm back. Seriously guys, I'm so sorry. I didn't have a way to update for months. My computer completely crashed. Luckily, I got a new one. But I'm so happy to be able to update again. Who else is excited about the big reunion? Believe me, its gonna get way better. I hope you guys like the chapter. Please review! Reviews give me more motivation and lets me know that people are still reading this. Thank you to all of you that are still with me on this. I appreciate the support and its so exciting when I get your feedback! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! :)