Disclaimer: CSI: NY and all the characters from the show are owned by CBS, Paramount, Jerry Bruckheimer, Anthony Zuiker, and other people who are much more creative and wealthier than me. Any other characters are my own and resemblance to any other person is a pure coincidence. Well mostly. Probably. No wait, mostly.

Thanks for your patience folks. Some work-related stuff slowed down my writing process. Anyways, here is Chapter 35. Enjoy.

Chapter 35: Mending and Maneuvers

Deciding that they have a better chance of avoiding the Germans by going instead of staying, the team leaves San Giovanni's. The day is almost over when they head out. No one is singularly in charge especially since Major Taylor is still technically the highest ranking officer present and as Tom commented "military niceties aren't going to keep us alive." By the time the sun starts setting, they have reached the river. Everyone is physically and emotionally worn out after the day they've had.

"Is this an okay place to stop?" Flack asks.

Danny shrugs. "It's fine with me. Anyone have a problem with that?" No one does.

They set up camp in whatever form that takes. Luckily, Father Immanuel had given them all food rations for two nights, and the Allied lines aren't that far away. They have plenty of supplies for this trip.

"How's Mac?" Stella asks Sid and Hawkes for the countless time.

Sid gives her a soft smile "He's still sleeping Ms. Bonasera. Actually if you are going to get injured, this is the best group to be with; we have two well trained doctors and a fine nurse."

"Speaking of." Hawkes jumps in. "Sid if you have that medical kit still, it might be a good time to stitch up the knife wound on the Major's stomach."

Sid nods and Lindsay comes over to join them. Stella reluctantly stands back to let the three of them do their jobs. She keeps watching as Lindsay carefully removes the jacket she had draped over him as a blanket. In the meantime, the two doctors go up to the running waters of the river and wash their hands and equipment. When they come back, the three of them start on their work. Sid slowly removes the torn t-shirt that they have been using as makeshift wrapping. Stella involuntarily winces when she sees the vicious knife wound in his stomach and the spots of blood on it. She can't imagine the pain he had gone through when confronting Kressing. Lindsay holds the dressing while the two doctors stitch him up. Slowly, the ugly wound closes and a line of stitches replaces it. Using another part of the t-shirt, they wrap it again. The Major doesn't move the entire time.

"Good. Now, let's check the burn marks just in case." Hawkes says as Lindsay unwraps the other dressing higher up on his chest. Stella's heart sinks again seeing the scorched and scarred skin where Kressing had delighted in causing him pain. Hawkes and Sid examine the wounds and mutter to each other. They must be satisfied with something because all they do is rewrap the wound.

"How is he doing?" Stella asks.

"Better Stella, he's doing better. The knife wound isn't bleeding anymore and the burns were always superficial. The best thing for him now is rest. He might even wake up tomorrow." Hawkes says reassuringly. Stella feels a warm rush of relief; he's going to be okay.

The rest of the evening passes almost pleasantly. If it were any other place at any other time, it might have been mistaken as a camping trip amongst friends. Flack and Jess nestle together comfortably and Lindsay and Danny do the same. The doctors and Stella watch Mac carefully, waiting for any change in his condition. Eventually, the night wares on until it comes time to sleep. Wanting to stay with him, Stella doesn't leave his side. The other times he had been injured, she couldn't be with him, the war and the Germans getting in her way. Now, there is nothing to keep her from staying with him until he recovers.

Nothing that is, except sleep. Feeling it come upon her, she goes to his side and lies down beside him, wanting to be next to him, to be comforted by the sound of his breathing and the heat coming from his body. Content that he will be here when she wakes up, she waits for sleep which eventually takes her into its welcoming embrace.

When I wake up, I'm outside looking up at the small points of light known as stars dance in the dark night sky. The sound of what has to be a river is the only noise. A pile that was once a fire is out. A dull throbbing ache radiates from my stomach with other minor irritants coming from my chest. Looking down to examine myself, I notice that my torn t-shirt has been turned into impromptu bandages. My mind races back to the last thing I can remember: Kressing, the knife against my throat, Flack and Messer bursting through the door, Hawkes setting me free, and then stabbing Kressing until the bastard dies. There's something else too, but I can't remember what it is.

I sit up slowly, careful not to exacerbate my injuries. Everyone else is asleep. It's reminiscent of the other night in San Giovanni's. In another flashback to the church, Stella is sleeping beside me; I'd bet a lot of money that she's been beside me ever since they found me. A quick look at her and I notice some goose bumps on her arms. I gingerly move my jacket off me and onto her, making it her blanket. I also take her hand and gently lay it on my chest, wanting to feel a comforting touch while I fall asleep. Whatever other issues we have to confront, it can wait until the morning.

Sid is the first one awake in the morning. He slowly stands up and observes his friends. He can't help but smile when he looks at Major Taylor and Stella lying there together. Sid notices that the Major's jacket is covering Stella and her hand is resting on his chest. It isn't hard for Sid to figure out what happened; the Major must have woken up for a minute or two.

Keeping a small smile on his face, Sid takes in the morning air and the morning sun. He's always liked this time of day, even during the long cold winters in Boston. He and his wife would wake up early and have coffee while watching the city come to life.

The others start to stir. Sid sighs, shaking away his nostalgia. He'll be in Boston soon enough, he's sure of it.

Stella wakes up and finds herself confused. She knows she fell asleep next to Mac, but she doesn't remember taking his jacket or putting her hand on his chest. Not wanting to disturb him, she slowly starts to maneuver herself away from him until a strong hand grabs her wrist.

"Don't go."

With Stella starting to move, I figure it must be time to get up. I grab onto her wrist as she begins to move.

"Don't go." I tell her softly.

"Mac, you're okay." She says excitedly tells me.

"More or less." I open my eyes and look at her, a big smile across her face.

She sits up and hands my jacket back to me, surprising me by kissing me on my cheek.

"Thanks for the blanket." She whispers to me.

"Major!" It's Sergeant Flack hurriedly coming over to me, followed by the rest of them. I quickly put my jacket on and start to stand up.

"Let us help you up Sir." Flack and Ross each grab one of my arms and help me get to my feet.

"Thank you both."

"Just glad to see you're okay Sir." Messer reassures me.

"I am okay, but you all do know you disobeyed my direct orders to leave me." I give them the classic stare of an officer looking at disobedient soldiers.

They all look surprised at my words. "But Sir, with all due respect, we saved your life by disobeying your orders." Hayes tries to reason.

"And you all could have been killed yourselves trying to save me. Not to mention the fact that you have three civilians with you who could have also been hurt." I point out.

Flack looks incredulous. "Sir, I'm sorry, but if you gave that order again, I'd disobey it again. We weren't going to leave you behind Sir."

I look at the intensity within Flack and the stern look I've been keeping gives way. "And Major, that's exactly what makes us different than the Germans. We give a damn about each other."

I'm surprised by the wisdom in Flack's words. He's right of course. And I know full well that if my superiors had given me that kind of order, I'd have disobeyed it too.

Messer decides to lighten the mood. "How about this Sir; the next time you almost get yourself killed, we'll leave you. Deal Sir?"

I crack a smile. "Deal Corporal. Let's get going."

We pack up the camp after a quick meal and head out again. This time, Nurse Lindsay takes the lead along with Messer since she's the only one who's been to the Allied camp. Aside from some pain in my stomach, I feel okay. I'm still trying to jog my memory to remember what I had forgotten. It was something Kressing had done or told me.

The day is quite. The Krauts that Kressing kept after us must have given up or gone back to find their commander now nothing more than a rotting corpse in San Giovanni's Church. The rest of the team is talking in an excited manner, wondering what they are going to do when we get back to the Allied camp.

We stop for lunch and are about to head out when I get an epiphany. Kressing mentioned something about an offensive by the German Army against the Allies.

"We have to leave, now." I quickly tell them with urgency in my voice.

"What's wrong Sir?" Ross asks me.

I quickly relate what Kressing told me. Now the concern has spread to the rest of them as well.

"Let's hurry." I urge them. We need to get back and warn the high command.

The closer we get to the supposed camp, the more worried I get. There have been clear signs of movement in the area, but no signs of battle, which doesn't help me feel better. After some more time, we get up to a hill which Lindsay has been saying overlooks the Allied camp.

Except when we get there, it's gone. A fight had broken out somewhere around here. The trees in the area have holes in them or have been destroyed, and the charred evidence of burnt buildings covers the ground.

"What does this mean?" Flack asks

I know what all of this means and I dread sharing it with everyone else. This is worse than almost every other setback and tragedy we've encountered. We were so close.

I don't even look at Flack. "This means that the German offensive that Kressing mentioned succeeded. They drove the Allies back to Sicily."

Everyone falls into silence. It fully hits each and every one of us.

We are trapped.

Good? Bad? As always, I would love to hear your opinion about this chapter or the whole story in general. We are coming close to the end. Just a couple chapters left. Stay tuned.