Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from GI Joe.

Author's note: Yippee, I can't believe I finished it. I never imagined how a story could take on a life of its very own. I started it with one idea and ended up with a whole lot of chapters and a lot more detail.

Thanks to my reviewers, either here or by email. All of you gave me the confidence and will to finish this. The reviews were insightful and thought provoking, and I like the way my story actually finished after all the rewrites. I know there were a lot of twists to the story plot but that was because I had already posted 2 chapters when I changed my mind on the direction of my story, and I did not want to repost a chapter, so I worked with what I had. And no, I did not forget about the 'unknown' medical condition. You'll have to read this last chapter to find out the result. Hope that wasn't too cruel. I always hate it when that happens, but hopefully it kept some of you coming back to see what was going on in the life of our beloved redhead.

Revelations – Chapter 13

As the team approached the waiting van, gunshots resounded behind them. Tamar's men finally realized that they had been evaded. Silver hopped into the passenger seat and armed himself with a rifle, while Beach Head handed off the unconscious Vee to Dante. Olive took over for Hardtop, who was helping the injured Scarlett. "Everybody in the van. Let's go. Move it." Beach Head barked at them.

Beach Head and Hardtop got in the back of the van and swung the doors open so they could fire back at the approaching gunmen. Dante handed Vee off to Bear, and Scarlett grabbed her crossbow. The side windows opened, so she had a good vantage point for some good hits if given the opportunity. Dante occupied the sliding door of the van while Olive grabbed a hold of an armrest as the van squealed out of its hiding place.

Scarlett got one good shot at a sniper approaching in the tree cover and released an arrow into the trees before the van shot forward. The sniper fell to the ground. Dante took a few shots at some closer men, while Beach Head and Hardtop laid down a line of cover fire. Silver was telling Hotshot how to drive in between firing gunshots out of the passenger window. The van got far enough down the road that Hotshot could finally pull over so that the guys in back could close the doors of the van. Dante slid the door shut, and the team was tightly crunched into the van.

First stop would be the hospital for several reasons. Bear need some medical attention although the fresh air had seemed to clear his head a bit. Vee's bout of unconscious seemed to be leaving her as well. Her eyelids had fluttered open a few times, and she had tried to speak some incoherent words. Olive and Dante could not locate any superficial wounds that caused her initial unconsciousness so some concoction and mixture of drugs was suspected to be the culprit. Scarlett had a knife wound down the calf of her leg, which would require stitches. Hardtop and Beach Head each had minor scraps and cuts.

The mission had been successful. The team had come to rescue Bear and Vee. They even managed to take out a few bad guys with minimal injuries.

Hardtop had cleaned Scarlett's cut and was applying pressure to the bleeding wound. "You realize that you have lost quite a bit of blood? How did this happen? I left you untouched."

In between the stinging sensation of the antiseptic, she said, "I hit a guardsman with a throwing star, but he got in one last lucky shot before he went on to the afterlife."

Beach Head spoke up, "You did good. I wasn't sure if you would hear the throwing knife or not. I was really hoping Dante's aim was accurate, but then you moved into the line of fire."

"Yeah, and how did my head become your target?" She asked an innocent looking Dante.

"Hey. My aim was accurate. I didn't expect you to move so damn fast," Dante defended himself.

A calm filled the air as each team member got lost in their own thoughts.

(later)

At the hospital, Scarlett went through a series of tests to see how much blood she had lost and to search for infection from the knife wound. Bear was treated for minor abrasions, and it was ruled that the remaining drugs in his bloodstream would be flushed out naturally by morning. Vee's blood test revealed trace amounts of amphetamines mixed with heroin. The doctors had given her counteractive drugs, and she should wake up within the next 24 hours. Livewire was doing much better and back to being his cantankerous old self but was glad to hear that the team had a successful mission, and everyone was alive. Vox was still worried about his sister but relieved that she was at least in good care now.

The doctor had just left Scarlett's room when Beach Head brought Livewire and Vox down to see her. "Blaze, you really did come back to us." Livewire said with a sense of amazement and pride. He liked to think that he had molded her into the fighting machine that she was today, including her feisty attitude.

"Not much of a choice, but I'm glad I could help." She said to him. "How are you doing? I heard you took a gunshot wound to the chest."

"I'm going to be just fine. The doctors said my bad attitude kept me alive. Whatever they meant by that," he shrugged with a mischievous grin on his face. "I hear you will be working with the Alpha team now. Too bad I couldn't recruit you for my team, but Angel thinks we are to renegade for you."

Every one laughed and Livewire continued, "By the way, this is Vox. You and he will be working closely together on your Intel assignments."

Vox stepped forward to shake Scarlett's hand. "Nice to finally meet the brilliant, and might I add beautiful, Blaze."

Scarlett shook his hand and smiled at him. He reminded her so much of Duke - his appearance, his build. The similarities were uncanny between Vox and Duke. She wished that it was Duke instead of Vox, but she knew that was not the case and would probably never be. Which was more important: love or duty? She had chosen duty, and love was the price she paid.

The guys left her room, and Scarlett was alone with her thoughts. She had faced many difficult situations and scenarios in her lifetime, but the one that she faced at this moment was tormenting her. A few days ago, she had left the man that she loved, not by choice, but she had left him nonetheless. She didn't know if she would ever see him or talk to him again, but here she was facing the hardest decision of her life.

Before Beach Head, Livewire, and Vox had come in to visit her, she had made a phone call to Colonel Sharp. She needed Duke's new number. Colonel Sharp was reluctant to give her his information, but he owed her this. "If anyone ever asks, I never gave you this," he had warned her.

Scarlett now sat, staring at the phone, trying to decide if she should make this call. It would not be fair. He had just started a new job, and she had to stay with Angel and his team. An ocean separated them; it would never work.

She dialed his number. It rang three times, and the voice mail system picked up, "Leave a message, I'll return your call." She debated hanging up without leaving a message, but instead she said, "Hi Conrad. I'm sorry for leaving without more of an explanation. I didn't want to; I hope you believe me. I understand if you hate me, but I need to talk to you. Um, you can reach me at the following phone number." She rattled off a lengthy overseas phone number. She was not going to tell him that he was going to be a father on his answering machine. She had left a message; the ball was in his court now. She wondered if he would call her back. More importantly, she wondered how motherhood would change her.

(elsewhere – at the same time)

Thousands and thousands of miles away, Duke's phone was ringing. He was right in the middle of locating the destination of his first assignment with the Black Ops team. He decided to let his voice mail get the call. An hour later, he was packing up his equipment for his mission. He had located his target and had to be at the airport in 20 minutes. As he locked his door and headed down the elevator to the waiting taxi, he had this strange feeling that he was forgetting something. He mentally went over his list: laptop, clothes, directions, contact names and numbers, cash, plane ticket. Everything seemed to be in order. "Damn", he thought, "I forgot to check my phone messages. Well, they'll still be there when I get back in a few weeks." That strange feeling continued to stick with him, even as his plane took to the skies and headed for Germany.

It was six weeks later before Duke returned to DC and his office. His mission had been brutally long and tiring. He checked his phone messages. "No messages," the machine replied. "Odd, I could have sworn that there was a message on this machine when I left that I had forgotten to listen to." Duke thought aloud. He shrugged his shoulders; he was too tired to be thinking straight. He left his paperwork on the desk and headed to his apartment for some long awaited rest and relaxation.

The End

Hope you enjoyed this.

Sequel? - - - maybe