"You really need to start taking care of yourself now Mac, the doctor told me it was lucky that you were at base camp and not in the field; how do you feel?" he said annoyed.
"I'm alright and I have been taking care of myself, I can't explain this enough to everyone when I said I did not know I was pregnant – all the tests came back negative as proven! Yes ok, being out here is a royal pain in the arse but I swear if I had known I would not be out here in the first place!" I replied.
He sighed and squeezed my hand; he was freaking out, probably imagining Jules out in the field while pregnant and having a hard time keeping his head wrapped around things; couldn't blame the poor bugger as I was having a hard enough time trying to do the same.
He looked down at me and smiled, I stuck my tongue out and he grinned just as Gabriel came back into the tent and up to where we were; he looked slightly stressed but that was a definitive given due to circumstances.
"What's the plan?" Sam inquired.
Gabriel grabbed a seat across from us and cleared the room for a moment.
"We have a buffalo coming with transport to take us to Kabul and then we fly home from there, medical staff are on hand and are on standby for when we arrive. We should be leaving within the hour – do you think you will manage the ride?" he inquired to me.
I looked at him and nodded, I knew I would be safe with them all there and Kabul was flat ground so getting bounced around wasn't too much of an issue; I took a deep breath and faced them.
"What's the plan when we get to Kabul?" I whispered.
"We ensure you get onto the transport flight safely and then head back to Toronto; we are going aboard a relief flight and should touch down by tomorrow morning," replied Darren as he came back into the small area I was in.
Gabriel looked at him and nodded, there were messages being passed that I wasn't being told and it was making me edgy, I knew this was going to be dangerous but I don't want these guys hurt due to my stupidity.
"Hey Mac, easy girl – your heart rate is going a little nutty there – you feeling ok?" Sam asked as he stepped out of the way of the nurse who came in.
After a moment I nodded and the doctor came in and cleared the room, I asked for Sam to stay behind so he would know what is going on.
"Alright Corporal you are free to go since your rehydrated and Obs are back to normal, but I want to make this clear that you must rest as much as possible on this flight home and see your own doctor at home. Your folic levels are low, not dangerously but enough for some treatment back home and with this being a high stress environment you know how dangerous that can be for pregnancy!" he said handing Sam by bag.
"Yes Sir, I'll make sure she follows the orders," Sam replied.
The doctor nodded and then turned back to me with a smile.
"Take care of yourself and the little one there, we expect photos through Gabriel!" he whispered hugging me.
I laughed and nodded before he shook Sam's hand and headed out the tent so I could get dressed; Sam turned to me and handed me the larger clothes and gear I would need and let me get changed before coming to help me tie up my shoes and vest.
Finally after getting organised I was strapped into my vest and given a pack of cool pads to place around my neck if needed to cool me down, the weather was blistering hot and with no wind at the moment they didn't want a repeat of me passing out on the floor, or worse, in the middle of the convoy route. We both headed out to the RV point and I was helped into the Buffalo and strapped into a cradle seat and my legs raised to ease my spine from any bumps we came across, I was hooked up to the IV they decided to give me for the trip and after final checks, Sam joined me and we were off on the road.
"Two hours or so and we will be in Kabul, we have a full convoy for support and recent intelligence shows very little activity at the moment in our areas," Darren called over the comms.
"Copy that Commander, keep us updated with the situation as needed!" I requested.
I looked back out the window and shivered slightly, the doctors had said I was borderline shocky and needed to rest as much as possible, problem was that where I was resting was bringing up a lot of stressful memories and that's why I wanted Sam with me; he knew the issues we all faced over here and having a comfort from home was my best medicine. I felt a hand on mine and I looked round to see him looking worried, I squeezed his hand back and forced out a small smile.
"Are you alright?" he asked quietly.
"Yeah, really happy to go home but scared stupid – something just has me worried and I can't place it?" I replied honestly.
"Do you know what it maybe, or is it the bad memories of this place coming back?" he inquired.
I looked at him and huffed out a chuckle, he knew me well and knew my signs of being stressed over old memories that popped up occasionally; I squeezed his hands again and grinned.
"In under 24 hours we will be home again, that is what I am looking forward too and then I can finally cut my ties with the military, I've done my time and I want to focus on our family and the SRU now – its my home!" I replied.
He leaned forward and nodded as he threw a blanket over my legs to keep me warm since I was now shivering due to the air conditioning within the Buffalo, I wasn't going to let the others boil to death so this was the alternative option for me. I snuggled down under the blanket and within moments I was fast asleep.
Three hours later
I was nudged awake and felt the rock of the Buffalo as it came under hard fire from multiple angles, I looked outside and saw we were skirting through the dusty roads towards the airfield and the awaiting armed convoy was shielding us from the heaviest of the weapons fire. I looked at Sam and his face was blank which told me he was hiding some serious emotions and he was thinking of battle plans as he received orders from one of the other convoy units.
"When did the party start?" I shouted over the noise.
He looked at me and got me unbuckled before slamming my helmet on and passing me my firearm, he looked at the desert streaking past outside and then we both heard the incoming noise of mortars that flew past us and hit the dunes to our right hand side.
"Ranging shots, what the hell happened to Kabul being secure?" I demanded.
Sam looked at me and pinned me in place as we turned a hard right and skidded to stop about a mile from the airport, he gripped my hand and switched on my comms unit. I listened in and caught the jist of what was going on and realised that this was going to be a very hot extraction! The Buffalo started moving again and we sped up as much as possible as we lunged through the debris and onto the end of the airport platforms and headed through the gates that were already open for us; we both heard the call for an airstrike over a district of the Kabul old city and knew that the assault unit had found the insurrgents focal point. We kept on listening and next thing we knew was the Buffalo coming to a complete stop and the doors being opened.
"We need to get you both on board immediately for departure, Darren is coming up close with his team and will be joining you on the flight," Gabriel said helping me down.
Sam and him each took an arm and helped me over to the awaiting transporter and halfway there we were all ordered to take cover from incoming mortars and fire from enemy positions. We all ducked and took shelter about 100 foot away from the ramp at the back of the transporter and saw Darren and his unit come around the corner under heavy fire; I shouted to them and they diverted towards us and took shelter behind our units.
"Damn it, thought you were onboard by now!" he hissed.
"Just arrived Commander, you know what to do – get them aboard and permission granted to get the hell out of here!" Gabriel ordered.
Darren nodded and got his team ready for departure and started the vehicle up for shielding for us to make it towards the plane; Gabriel turned towards me and gave me a massive hug before I was dragged off – wasn't he meant to come with us?
The last thing I saw before going up the ramp was the Buffalo he headed into explode due to a direct hit by a mortar.