He wasn't really sure how they'd managed to get her back home. They'd spent a good half an hour standing in the deserted A&E department with Molly sobbing into his chest as he'd tried to hold onto her, with nothing he could say or do even slightly consoling her. In the end he'd scooped her up, carrying her back out of there in his arms. She'd laid across his lap in the back seat of Spanner's car, silent apart from the odd sob that escaped her. He was vaguely aware of the fact that Elvis and Georgie had disappeared, but if he was being honest it wasn't top of his priorities at that moment.
It had only taken a couple of minutes for them to get back to his house, he'd struggled to get the door open whilst holding on to Molly at the same time. Spanner had shot off again the second they were out of the car, he'd still got a lot to sort out back at the hospital, especially given the fact Elvis had gone awol on them. He'd apologised several times and promised to call Charles if he heard from Elvis.
As he stepped back inside his house it was as though he'd never left, except for the addition of some of Elvis's crap laying around on the floor. How many times had he imagined this moment while he'd been away? Walking back through his front door with Molly in his arms. Never in a million years had he considered the fact he might find himself coming home to a situation like this.
Molly put her hand out to steady herself as she took off her shoes, which were soaked through with blood, she left a blood stained hand print on the wall and stood staring at it blankly.
"Let's get you cleaned up." He put an arm around her, gently guiding her up the stairs. She'd gone with him wordlessly, her bottom lip still quivering a little as she sucked in a breath. He knew it was only a matter of time before she was going to completely lose it again.
He'd got just as much blood down him as she had, it had soaked through as he'd held her, but he could deal with that later. He was more worried about what was going on in Molly's head under the emotionless exterior.
She'd just stood and stared at him blankly once he'd got her in the bathroom, watching as he turned on the shower, then looked down at her hands that were stained red with blood. She knew no matter how many times she washed them she'd never truly manage to get it off her hands. She suddenly felt as though she was suffocating, catching sight of her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She couldn't see a single patch of her scrubs that wasn't covered in blood.
"I need to get them off." She choked out, frantically pulling the scrubs that seemed to be stuck to her skin. Her head was spinning and she felt sick to her stomach.
"Okay, deep breaths." Charles told her soothingly, helping her as she frantically pulled at her scrubs, the damp material clinging to her. He ended up having to rip the front of them to free her, she'd got herself in such a state there was no way he was ever going to manage to get the top over her head. Once he'd got her free he turned her around and pushed her gently into the shower. She stood there silently, watching as the water running down the drain turned red with her friends blood.
He'd managed to wash most of the blood off her, or at least he thought he had. She'd stood there, wrapped in the towel he'd put round her as he'd scrubbed his skin raw trying to get the blood off himself. He'd seen people get shot before, it was awful but an occupational hazard, the bit that was going to stay with him forever was the look on Molly's face as he'd pulled her away from her friends body.
They'd ended up in bed, she'd gone straight for one of his jumpers that was laying on the bed, pulled it on and then climbed under the covers. He'd followed her not wanting to leave her alone, and also because he wasn't even sure what day it was, he'd been awake so long and he was bloody knackered. He'd got in beside her and she'd wrapped herself around him like a vine, burying her face in his neck. He held her tight, feeling the silent sobs shake her body as she started to cry again.
It was such a relief to be back with her, and to feel her in his arms again, but he found himself feeling guilty for enjoying it. It hadn't been the reunion he'd hoped for, or spent weeks imagining, but he was back with her and she was safe and that was all that really mattered.
"Elvis wait!" Georgie shouted, running to catch up with him. She'd forgotten how bloody fast he could walk. He was headed across the hospital car park like he was going somewhere, she just wasn't sure where. "Where are you going?" She finally caught up with him, grabbing him by the arm.
He spun around to face her. "I don't know." He admitted. "I can't go back there." He wasn't going to go back to Charles's house, that was one thing he was sure of. He wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to look at Molly again after that, and he wouldn't blame her at all if she never wanted to see him again. He could still see the look of desperation on her face as she'd tried hopelessly to get her friend back.
He'd done that.
An innocent woman was dead because of him, he'd pulled the trigger. He'd been through it a hundred times in his head, trying to work out what had gone wrong. He'd been so convinced it was a clear shot, and then he'd watched her drop to the floor. That was all he could remember really, the feeling of horror as he'd watched her fall to the ground and the blood start to pool around her.
"This isn't your fault Elvis." Georgie told him softly, her hands on either side of his face forcing him to look at her. "You didn't shoot her on purpose." She knew she was fighting a losing battle. She could keep saying it until she was blue in the face, he'd already convinced himself he was to blame and he wasn't going to be easily persuaded otherwise
"I still did it though." He shook his head, trying to take a step back away from her but she went with him, her hands moving down to his shoulders. "I should've waited, made sure it was clear-".
"Elvis stop." She cut him off. "You're going to drive yourself insane. You were doing your job, we both know that things go wrong sometimes. It's sad, yes, and we'll always wish it hadn't happened but there is nothing you can do now that's going to change it." She tried to reason with him.
He shook his head. "If I'd done my job properly in the first place they never would've escaped from that compound in Kenya and we wouldn't be having this conversation." He pulled away from her again.
"Elvis this isn't your fault. It was bad luck, wrong place wrong time. It could've happened to any of us!" She called after him as he started to walk away from her. "Don't do this to yourself."
He hesitated for a moment, turning to face her with a haunted expression on his face. He looked like he was going to say something for a second, then he turned around, put his head down and started walking. He needed to put some space between them and give himself time to think.
He glanced down at Molly, who was finally sleeping, albeit rather restlessly as his phone started to vibrate quietly on the bedside table.
"Lane." He answered in a whisper. "Is everything okay?"
"Why are you whispering?" She asked.
"Molly's asleep." He explained. "What's wrong?"
"I'm worried about Elvis." She said quietly. "He's a wreck boss."
"I'm not surprised." Charles sighed. "He'll be okay, I've known Elvis a long time. He just needs some time to process."
"I'm not sure this time." She hesitated. "I've tried calling him and he's not answering. None of the other special forces boys have heard from him either."
Charles glanced down at Molly as she stirred in her sleep again, a deep frown on her face. "I'll try and call him later. He'll be okay Lane, really. Shouldn't you be enjoying the fact that you're finally home?"
"I suppose so." She agreed reluctantly. "It doesn't feel right though, does it Boss?"
"No." He admitted. "It really doesn't, but there's not anything we can do now. Go and spend some time with your family, relax. You've earned it."
"Thanks boss. Promise me you'll call me if you hear anything?"
"I promise Georgie." He agreed.
"Okay." She hesitated again. "Good night boss."
"Night Lane."