Fort Wadsworth

Duke could see light shining above through his closed eyes. A voice was speaking, but it was one that he couldn't remember hearing before.

"His vital signs have stabilized and his breathing is back to normal. It looks like the additional medications we had to give him are finally starting to wear off."

Taking a deep breath, Duke sighed, but realized he felt more rested than he had been in quite some time. If he was being entirely honest with himself, though, he thought he could easily use at least a few more hours of sleep. "Where am I?" he muttered, his speech sluggish.

"Duke?" A low voice broke the silence, her soft southern drawl was tempered with concern. "Glad to see you're finally awake." Scarlett leaned closer from her seated position and laid her hand on Duke's upper arm.

His throat was dry and scratchy. Obviously, he had been asleep for some time. "I'm parched, Red. How long have I been out of it?"

"Out of it? I guess you could classify being unconscious as out of it," Scarlett muttered as she slid her hand down and took his hand in hers. "Two days. Well, almost two days."

"There's no way." He looked up at the other person who was standing in the room.

The woman had pulled a flip chart from the foot of the bed and was making notes in it. "The lady's right. Two long days. You had us a little worried. Doc wasn't sure if you had an allergic reaction, or what had happened." She placed the chart back in its holder and as she moved into the light, Duke got a better look at her. Her blond hair was cut short and framed her kind features. She was wearing a white lab coat over standard issue fatigues and had a stethoscope draped over her neck.

"New recruit?" Duke asked.

She miled and laughed slightly. "Not quite new. The name's Jane. I'm just here helping supervise a couple of projects and I've been trading shifts with Doc to keep an eye on you and the rest of the crew here. And speaking of Doc, I'll go let him know you're finally awake. I'm sure he'll want to see you soon." She turned before fully stepping out the door and addressed Scarlett. "You keep a close eye on him," she seemed to pause longer than necessary to choose her words carefully. "If anything happens, hit the call bell and someone will be right in."

"That won't be needed," Scarlett replied. "I'm sure all of this is just a formality at this point."

Jane nodded and pulled the door closed slowly, giving the two a bit of privacy.

Duke realized his back was aching; as he tried to sit up and reposition himself, he met resistance. He realized his wrists and ankles were bound in soft restraints, holding him tightly in a fixed position on the hospital bed. Then, it all started coming back to him why he was there. The sirens. The hallway.

His pistol.

Lifeline!

"Where's Lifeline?"

Scarlett paused for a moment. "What do you mean? Lifeline's gone."

"What did I do?" There was a slight twinge of fear mixed with regret in his voice.

Scarlett shook her head, "No, calm down, no one was injured. Lifeline has been stationed at the new outpost - with Stalker and his team. Remember? You signed off on the move a few weeks back. He was just finishing up here for a couple of weeks to give Doc a hand getting the new medical staff up to speed." Shame began to creep into her voice. "I promised you I would keep quiet, but it's a little late for that now. I know the other episodes were never this bad, but how many times is this now? I should have just declined the mission. If I were here, I could have calmed you down and none of this would be happening. I had to talk to Hawk and Doc-"

Duke cut her off, his voice low and embarrassed. "I wish you wouldn't have done that. I didn't want them to know that you've been withholding anything from them." He closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. "I should have never put you in that position. I should have been the one to tell them about the other episodes."

Scarlett nodded her head and squeezed Duke's hand. "Hey, you know we're a team, right?"

He knew she was talking about more than just the Joe team; she was talking about something more personal. "I know - and that's one of the reasons I need to get this under control. Another one is so I can have this behind me and bring an end to Serpentor once and for all."

"Is this really necessary?" Duke asked as the nurse guided his wheelchair down the hallway. The gawking eyes were beginning to irritate him.

"Doctor's orders. Besides, you said it yourself you got dizzy when you stood up. Plus, with the IV still hooked up, this just makes it easier to manage everything. Just relax, ok?" she said as she wheeled him into the conference room.

Jane positioned him on the far side of the long table, leaving him next to a window overlooking the training grounds. Duke looked out the window and watched as a new platoon of green shirts started their first round of close quarter combat drills for the day. Beach Head was never easy on them - he couldn't afford to be easy on them. Duke allowed himself a moment to think about how great it would be to be out there right now before he shifted his focus to the two men on the other side of the table. "Looks like the new guys are in for a long day."

General Hawk looks at Duke calmly. "Is that all you have to say for yourself?"

"General Hawk, Doc. I'm sorry, but I'm fine now."

"Fine?" Hawk looked like he had just been slapped. "Is that so, soldier? Let's see if I remember the facts correctly. You flew off the handle, assaulted a fellow teammate, drew your weapon on multiple people, swore Cobra was on base, and held me down at gunpoint. Now, you're sitting in a wheelchair because you're still woozy from whatever they gave you to calm you down."

"I know it sounds bad when you put it that way. I've just been under a lot of stress lately."

Doc flipped through a stack of papers. "A lot of stress? Scarlett told us what has been going on. Duke, this is more than just stress."

Hawk moved to an open seat at the table next to Duke, his voice softer, concerned, "Why did you hide all this from us?"

Duke could feel sweat begin to form his brow and he shifted uneasily where he sat. "Well, sir, I thought it was something that would go away in time. Cobra has put us through quite a bit in the past and I honestly thought it was something I could handle myself."

Hawk frowned slightly. "You should have known better, Hauser. You've seen what type of trauma can occur from battlefield injuries - both physical and mental."

Doc interrupted, "And let's not forget that you've also been in a coma within the last year due to your injuries. That's not a simple fix."

Duke started to open his mouth to protest but knew that anything he said would only dig his whole further.

"It's easy to think you can handle all of this on your own, but this time that's not looking to be the case. I know you don't want to hear it," Doc added, "but I know that we can get you the help you need. I'm going to insist that you let us get the help you need."

The troubled soldier looked defeated. "Ok, let's say you find a way to help me. To fix whatever's going on. How long until I'm fit for action, in your estimation?"

Doc tilted his head to the side. "I don't know if that's an option at this time. That being said, modern medicine can do wonders… as long as the patient actually follows the advice of his physician."

Hawk cleared his throat. "I'm allowing you to have your previous level of access; there's no denying you're an important part of the team. I also think it would probably be a disservice to everyone if we sent you away. There will be some minor alterations to your ability to move freely. While on duty, you are to be accompanied at all times by another member of the team. That is not just for security, but for your safety as well. Is that understood?" Hawk asked.

Duke nodded in agreement.

"In my estimation, a lot of your symptoms can possibly be treated with a few medications and proper rest. If that works, we can revisit your full return to action at that time." Doc adjusted his glasses and scribbled a few notes. "That means sticking to this regimen and following my orders to the letter. Just try not to overexert yourself."

"Yeah, we all know how little exertion comes from being a Joe," Hawk replied with a smirk on his face.

And for the first time in many weeks, Duke actually managed a weak, but authentic, smile.