Tropical Nightmare- Chapter 11: Prayer(Tony´s POV)
Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything!
Summary: Tony and Kate are sent to Argentina for an undercover mission, but they have to take a detour.They are bound to find out that atropical island can be a real nightmare -at least if you´re on your own out there...
Additional note: I usually don´t write 1st-person narrator, but it seemed to fit rather well for this little story as the POV changes with each chapter.Also, the use of present-tense is wanted here, eventhough it may seem a bit odd. I hope it´s still readable. I made up the Navy scout, so please don´t be too picky on the name or something like that.
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It´s early in the morning, but I just can´t sleep anymore. I listen to her breathing and I´m not sure if it has become weaker over the night or not. She looks so fragile, lying there with her eyes closed. I wish she would just open her eyes and look at me, but she hasn´t done that in two days now. I put my jacket over her body and run my hair through her hair. She doesn´t wake up from that, but she smiles a bit. That´s how I know that she hasn´t given up yet.
I remember the look on her face when she lost her balance, her eyes were calling out for help, but she didn´t make a sound when she fell. She has hit the ground head first, right onto a rock. It´s a miracle she didn´t break her spine or die from the impact. That tells me just how strong her will to live is. She hasn´t woken up though and there´s still a very faint bleeding from her ear that won´t stop. I wish I had listened to Ducky more closely.
A thin golden band is visible at the horizon when I walk across the beach. It could be such a wonderful morning, but knowing that this could be the day she takes a turn for worse scares me. I try not to show it, though no one would see. I reach the line between beach and water where the sand remains just dry enough not to get soaked when you sit down. After a moment, I drop to my knees and bow my head while the sun is steadily rising over the horizon, bathing everything in a beautiful golden light.
„Heavenly mother, or father or whoever can hear me right now...I know I haven´t been the most religious person in the world, but Kate is and this is for her. It´s my fault she fell down that tree and I would give anything to make it undone. I should have seen that it´s too dangerous to climb up there. I should have insisted on putting the chip somewhere else. If anyone is out there, please don´t let her die. I don´t know if she managed to activate that GPRS before she fell, but it just has to work. She´s the most wonderful person in the world. I would give my life for her, if I had to. I know, I haven´t been honest with her, I never told her how I felt, but please don´t let her die now. She deserves someone better than me, but at least, I want her to know." I started to feel stupid, lying in the cold sand and uttering these words, but they just come out like that. „I will go to church every Sunday, just do this one thing for me...Don´t let her die." I raise my head and look into the sun which has risen by now.
It´s getting warmer every minute and I just stay here in the sand for a while. Everything seems so peaceful and I wish Kate could see it. When I get up, I see some palm leaves lying around. The storm of last night must have torn them from the palms. They will make a nice cover for the night. While I gather them, I can hear a strange sound coming from the sea. There´s a shadow closing in on the beach, but I can´t make out what it is just yet. Without thinking, I start waving the leaves over my head. The sound grows louder, there´s a horn now. It echoes over the water and suddenly, I realize that they saw me.
They come closer and I can finally see two men in a small raft. It´s jumping over the waves and I can read the sign on the side. C-214 "Sacagawea ". I remember that name. It´s a scout we´ve been on for investigation about a year ago. The two men jump out of the raft and pull it on shore. One of them walks up to me and looks at a piece of paper. „Anthony Dinozzo?" He asks and I feel incredibly relieved. I can´t bring out a word, but after a few seconds I remember about Kate.
„Kate is hurt...She needs help." I tell him and he follows me to our camp. I don´t know what they thought of our little camp, I´ll probably never know, but it doesn´t matter. The older man leads me back to the raft and we drive off towards the waiting ship. They take me to a cabin, tell me to have a shower and dress in fresh clothes. There´s a navy uniform lying on the bed, a bit large, but I guess it will fit. Looking around, I realize just how dirty I must seem to them. I throw my clothes into the trash can and walk into the adjacent bathroom.
The hot water feels wonderful, it´s like being in heaven, but I can´t enjoy it. When I get dressed, I hear the motor of the small raft outside. There are people shouting orders and a few minutes later, the machines roar beneath me. We are moving, away from that island and towards a better place. A knock on the door startles me. A young man comes in. „We´ve got some breakfast at the pantry for you. I´ll show you the way." He says and leads me into a room with a large table and some chairs. I remember this room, we´ve been holding interrogations here. I look at the chair on the right side of the counter. Kate sat right there.
30 minutes later I empty my cup for the third time, but the coffee tastes like water. I can´t force myself to like it. They brought Kate to their infirmary, but they won´t let me see her yet. Another officer walks in. I remember his face somehow, he was the navigator a year ago, I think. „We´ll meet an helicopter in about an hour. It will take both of you to the Navy hospital in Austin, Texas. That´s the closest on-shore facility. We´ll have to airlift you up to the chopper, but there´s no other way. They can decide there whether to send you back to Washington or have you stay there for a while." he says and smiles.
Four hours have passed. I haven´t seen Kate longer than an hour. They brought her into the helicopter, her head in a white bandage and her broken arm in an auxiliary cast. They took her away after we landed in Austin. A nurse has been asking me dozens of questions over the last hour. I´m just tired now, but I don´t think I can sleep. All I can think of is Kate, but they won´t let me see her, say she´s in surgery at the moment. I look out of the window. Letting the past days and weeks go by, I can see another face and I wonder if anyone has told him yet.