"Hmmm… Well, the swelling is down. Can you see any light?" Doc stepped back.
"A little. It's just a faint bright fuzz."
"All right. Let's put the covering back on and you keep calm today. Rest—I know, that's what I always say, but this is for the good of your eyes. I'm pretty sure you're going off base tomorrow so you want to be able to enjoy it." The medic watched as the sailor straightened up noticeably.
"Why?"
"Does SE ever tell anyone why?" Doc laughed. "I think it will do you some good, Hector. You need to be away from here. As your doctor, I approve for medical reasons. As your chaplain, I approve for spiritual reasons. Sunlight and fresh air can work wonders to help cleanse the body and soul. Now take off your shirt so I can change your bandages." At the man's hesitation, the medic stated, "She's not here now. It's her sleep shift."
"Sleep shift? What time is it?" Having one's eyes covered did have some disadvantages.
"A little before three on this sunny Friday."
Hector froze as it all came back…
Water. Scuba gear. Jaye. Professor. Codes. Firefight. Explosions. More water. Got to get away. 'Go Jaye, I'll hold them off. Take him and go.' Her last look back. Return fire…. He began to shake and sweat profusely as the memories assaulted him.
Doc reached out, "Hector? What's wrong?" He jumped back when his hand was batted away and the man before him dropped low into a defense crouch. This was not good. The medic inched toward the emergency call button.
Hands reached out to pull him out of the water. Fists and feet. 'Have to fight back. Need to fight back. Must fight…' Hector could hear the other person sliding quietly around the room. 'Must get away…'
Doc managed to tag the call button before he was attacked. Immediately, the medic dropped to the floor and rolled under the bed. He wasn't going to fight the man who he was helping to heal.
Out in the corridor, the silent man had just come in and was at the nursing station reading the latest report on his friend. The alarm bell sent him sprinting down the hall. He looked in the window and saw Doc hiding from Wreck.
Noise. No more noise. 'I don't know what you want. No, don't cut me. I DON'T KNOW!' Hector tore the bandages off of his head. I can't tell you what I don't know.
The silent man heard footsteps. He turned to see Psyche and made an injection motion.
"Sedative?"
A nod to the affirmative.
"No! It'll set him back."
The silent man ignored him and went into the room.
More. 'More to hurt me. I don't know what you want.' Noise. Lights. Pictures. More pictures. Friends. Coming soon. Must fight. "No, no needles, no, nononoNoNONONONOOOOOO" Hector's eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed into the now familiar spiraling darkness.
The sound of terror in the injured man's voice sent shivers down the spines of his teammates and friends. Doc was there immediately to tend to him. The silent man helped the medic get him on to the bed. Psyche came in with a bottle and a syringe.
"Is the sedative necessary? It could set him back even more that this."
Doc looked at the silent man before answering the psychiatrist. "It's either the sedative to help him sleep it off or restraints. Think of what that would do."
'Trigger?'
"The last thing he asked me what the time."
"And what did you say?"
"It was three o'clock on a Friday afternoon."
The silent man put a heavy hand on the medic's shoulder. Doc removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Friday… I didn't even think of it."
'Okay.'
"This could actually be better for him. If you can get him to talk about his capture, it will help him put pieces together. That with his trip off base, which by the way, I will be taking with you…" This earned the lieutenant a glare from the silent man.
'We'll see.'
"Whatever, it's for his best interest. So our game plan for now?"
Doc took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "We take it slow. No mention of time or date. No sudden movements. No meds except ibuprofen or acetaminophen for pain. If he wants to talk, let him but don't push. I'll let I'Lee know when she comes on shift later tonight."
'Not leaving. Call Kam. Bring Timber.'
The medic nodded and left the room. Psyche steeled himself to take on the silent man.
"I'm going. I need to see that he's right. That he has some hope left inside."
The other man considered it. 'Okay. Not for whole time.'
"Deal."
dvdv
Green Book 19Sue woke with a start when a hand tapped her on the shoulder. Without thinking, she batted it away and shouted "NO!" Levi barked and put a paw on her leg bringing her back to the office. The entire bullpen was staring at her and Jack had a raised eyebrow aimed in her direction. "I must have dozed off." Embarrassment colored her cheeks. She looked up to see Lucy holding her wrist and Sue realized what she'd done.
Bobby saw the panic in her eyes and recognized the signs. She needed breathing room fast. He hopped up and was intercepted by Myles who gallantly diffused the situation.
"Here, Lucy, let's go get some ice for that. Have I ever told you how my training agent taught us to wake sleepers…" the voices faded as the pair left the room.
Jack came over to Sue's desk and knelt beside her. 'That was interesting.'
'Yes.' She didn't trust herself to talk at the moment.
"Have you been getting enough sleep?" He spoke aloud.
Sue made the 'so-so' sign.
Again with the eyebrow. Jack glanced around the room. The board was cleared and most of the team was doing run of the mill paperwork. D nodded at the brown headed agent. "Let's get out of here and go for an early dinner and then you can get some rest, okay?"
Sue whispered a quiet "Sure."
Jack rounded up their coats and spoke to Tara, telling her to let Lucy know. Sue caught a slight motion from Bobby's desk and saw him talking on the phone. He was tapping the back of his cell. His blue eyes locked with hers for an instant and she nodded.
They drove to Sue's apartment where she dropped off her car and joined Jack in his. With Levi safely in the back seat, he took them to a nice little Thai place a few blocks away. He parked and hopped out, walking around to open the door for her. She accepted his hand and they went into the restaurant. Jack asked for a quiet place but with a light and when they were seated, he retook her hand.
"I've been worried about you."
She looked down. How could she explain what she was dealing with when she wasn't sure of it herself? A tug on her hand brought her gaze back up. The brown eyes looking at her made her smile. Taking a breath, she let peace flow through her mind for the time being. "Sometimes, God gives us things to think about that requires more of our time than we expect."
Jack gave a little nod. "Is it a burden you can share?"
"Not yet." She smiled and squeezed his hand. "This time with you helps ease the burden, though. Thank you for sharing your strength with me."
"Anytime, anytime."
After dinner, they walked back to Sue's apartment chatting about Saturday's activities.
"I want you to get some rest tonight. Hanging out with a bunch of military guys will be tiring to say the least. And you are catching a ride with Bobby, right?"
A nod 'yes'. "We're leaving pretty early since I have to be there before he does."
"Okay. You want to give me a call when you get back in? To talk?" The double eyebrows brought another smile to her face.
"How about I call you Sunday, after I get back from church?"
He tried the puppy dog pout but Sue just laughed. "Fine, you call me after church on Sunday."
They stopped in front of her apartment. Jack gave her a big hug and squeezed tight. When he let go, he looked her in the eyes and said, "That was extra strength, just for you. Now, you get some sleep." He kissed her on the forehead and watched as she and Levi went in to the foyer of the building. He turned and walked back to his car.
dvdv
Sue prepared for bed even though it was early. While she waited for Lucy to come home, she laid out her clothes for tomorrow. Comfortable shoes for rough terrain, jeans and a tee shirt and heavy sweater. She put her blackberry on to charge and made sure there were some treats for Levi in her coat pocket, just in case. Levi let her know that Lucy had returned.
Sue met her roommate in the little hall and hugged her tight. "I am so sorry. I don't know what I was thinking."
"It's okay, Sue. It's just a bruise. Myles told me some stories about trying to wake up trained field agents when they doze off. I'm just glad you don't carry a gun." Lucy gave her a mega-watt smile.
'Thank you.'
'No problem. Get some sleep. Long day tomorrow. Leaving early?'
"Yes, I'm going to drive over to Bobby's and ride with him."
"I thought he was going to pick you up?"
"I figured since he has to be there early for me, I could let him sleep an extra few minutes." Sue wrinkled her nose. 'Beauty sleep.'
Lucy giggled. 'Too true.' She hugged her friend and said "Good night."
dvdv
Bobby's cell rang. "Manning… Yes, Sparky, I have the directions… No, I won't be too far away. Jack, get a grip. She's a big girl… Yea, I know, mate. Thanks. Now go away…" The tall Aussie rolled his eyes at the phone. "No, I will not call you tomorrow when we get back. I will be sleeping until noon or later Sunday… Don't even think about it… Good night, Sparky… Later."
He rubbed his eyes. He had time to grab a quick shower before crashing for a few hours. It was going to be another long night. He could feel it.
dvdv
Sue slept for a few hours before the tossing and turning caused Levi to wake her up. His distress at her unrest was apparent. "It's okay, boy. It's just a dream." He hopped on the bed and nuzzled her hand. She lay back staring at the ceiling. At least, she thought it was a dream. The images seemed a little too real and she shivered. It felt real. Rolling over she looked at the clock. It was after midnight. She sighed and hoped he was awake.
dvdv
She raised her hand to knock on the door but it opened before she could move her hand. Levi trotted in as if he owned the place. "Hey, it's me again."
"Yeah, you're not Jack."
She laughed a little at the joke as she walked into the living area. There was a pillow on the couch with a blanket along with a mattress on the floor that had been slept on. Sue turned to face her friend. "You were expecting me?"
"What can I say? It's a gift." He watched as she removed her shoes and got curled up under the blanket. Sitting on the edge of the couch he looked at her closely. "How much more of this can you take, sheila? I saw you this afternoon. You could've broken Lucy's arm."
Sue's eyes went wide.
"What did you see?"
"Not much. Someone tried to grab me and I just tried to get away, that's all."
He nodded. "Do you think you were seeing what Wreck was seeing? If so, that would explain the arm move today."
"I guess." Sue paused and bit her lip thoughtfully. "Bobby, I don't really know how much more I can handle. If you weren't here to talk to…"
He grabbed her in a fierce hug as she began to cry. They sat that way until Sue finally stilled and drifted off to sleep. He made sure she was comfortable then slid down to the mattress to see if he could catch a few more hours of sleep.
dvdv
A falling body rudely awakened him. Sue fell heavily across his chest. She was wrestling with her covers and mumbling incoherently. Bobby tried to restrain her but she fought back with surprising strength. He rolled away from the flailing woman and turned on the overhead light. No sense in scaring her even more. She was in a defensive position and had a vacant look in her eyes, like she was seeing something beyond him. He couldn't call to her… "Psst… Levi, get Sue."
The retriever whined and looked up at the Aussie. Bobby pointed to the dog's mistress. "Get Sue!"
Levi approached her slowly, tail wagging ever so slightly. He could sense something was off. Carefully, he nosed her hand and she drew back. He pushed closer and she fumbled for his head. In a slow shaking move, she sank to her knees, eyes still focused outward. "Don't know…Don't know…don't know anymore…so lost…help me…lost…"
Bobby approached slowly and knelt in front of her. He reached for her head and held it still. Knowing she couldn't hear him, he spoke anyway for his sake and Levi's. "Sue, come back… Come back here." He tried to stay in her line of sight so she could make eye contact with him. "Sue, it's not you…Sue, darlin', you have to come back. You're scaring me and Levi here…"
"Lost…" her voice cracked and tears rolled down her cheeks. "Help me…"
"Sue, it's not you… You have to come back to help him." He tightened his grip on her head. Closing his eyes for a second, he shot a thought upwards. Little help please God please please please… Forcing her to make eye contact, he watched her eyes slide shut and she slumped over unconscious. He held her tightly for a moment. Shooting a glance at the clock, he saw it was around five in the morning.
He let go of his friend long enough to grab a bag, stuffing her shoes and coat in it. Bobby threw on his own shoes, grabbed the emails and his keys. Sliding on his own coat, he picked up Sue and headed out the door. Levi followed him to the car. The Aussie got them settled and ran back to lock his door. Once he was done, they took off.
He had a gut feeling that he and Sue were going to the same place for the same reason invited by the same person.
"Well, I hope he's up early because we're coming to call…"
