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Chapter 14

Back at the camp of the Chinese soldiers, Danny was pacing around in the waiting room. The general had told him to wait there for news, giving him a look that told him very well what would happen if he did otherwise. The hospital looked just like any other, and Danny had his fair share of hospital visits ever since the war started, but not once was he this nervous. His mind kept replaying the scene where Rafe got shot. There were a lot of "if onlys" that were surfacing, and a lot more worries and doubts that he had to push back.

Out there in the fields, even though Rafe was bleeding like anything, at least he could see him, and he would be there if anything went wrong. In his heart, Danny knew he was being silly. Here Rafe was getting professional care, better than anything he could possibly come up with. Nothing wrong could happen.

Not that he believed himself anymore. He had promised himself that he would protect Rafe at all costs, but it ended up with Rafe protecting him, just as it had always been since they were young. He would never forgive himself if…no, he would not go there. Shaking his head, Danny sat down on a row of chairs at the side of the corridor.

Just then, the general came into the waiting room. Danny practically shot up from the chair, and he asked anxiously. "Is he alright?"

The general smiled reassuringly, and nodded. "Calm down, Walker. The doctor said that he still needs some more rest, but they have managed to get the bullets out of him and he will be fine."

Danny let out a relieved sigh. The general gave him a rare smile. "All of you did a great job out there." Patting Danny on the shoulder, he said, "I'll see you in two hours in my temporary office. You know where it is?" Danny had heard that the Chinese soldiers had allowed the American soldiers to use one of their operation rooms on the camp as a temporary base, and he nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Good. Meanwhile…you can go in and see him now if you want. You have two hours to spare, but see to it that you are not late. We have something very important to discuss."

With that, the general left the room. Danny saluted, and immediately rushed off to Rafe's ward. He needed to see for himself that his friend was indeed alright.

"Well done, you managed to accomplish what you came for. Thank you so much Rafe, for saving Danny."

Rafe rubbed his eyes hard. It was that old man again. The place looked the same, just plain white mist all around, and the old man was even wearing the same clothes. But this time he looked…different. He realized that it was because this was the first time he had seen the old man smile. Not those sort of forced, tense smile, but a smile born from true happiness. Strange, it had been such a long time since he last saw the old man, he had almost forgotten about him.

After a short pause, Rafe's mind registered what the old man had just said. He had succeeded in saving Danny! He was not going to lose his best friend anymore…Danny was alive! Then he recalled what had happened. He was…shot.

"Am I…dead?" Rafe hurriedly checked himself, but he could not see any wounds. Now that was even stranger. He vividly remembered being shot, but where were the wounds?

The old man chuckled. "As far as I know, you are as alive as the last time I saw you."

"Who are you? I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but I really cannot remember where I have seen you before. Have we met?" This is turning out to be freaky. He knew there was something odd about the old man who kept appearing in his dreams. Rafe had no doubts that these incidents were dreams now. He had no other logical explanation as to how the bullet wounds could mysteriously disappear, and nothing else could explain the white mist that he always found himself surrounded by whenever this old man appeared. However, even if this was a dream, just who was this old man? Why did Rafe have this nagging feeling that he had seen him before?

A sad look entered the old man's eyes. "It is not surprising that you don't recognize me. You only knew me after the war…destroyed my life, and destroyed me as a person, so to speak. And you were still quite young then…just a year older than my Danny."

Eyes widening as he finally caught on what the old man was hinting at, Rafe shook his head in disbelief. "No, you can't be…"

"You are right, Rafe." The old man seemed to read Rafe's mind. "I'm Danny's father."

He looked away to hide the tears welling up in his eyes, so he did not see Rafe's jaw drop open. "I had never been a good father to my son. I don't know what I was thinking, but I remember punishing him often without any real reason, and making his life miserable altogether." Sighing, he gave Rafe a guilty look. "The main reason I brought you back in time to save Danny was…I wanted my boy to have the life he deserved. He was…such a sweet and obedient boy, but I didn't appreciate him. I wanted to do what I can to make it up to him."

Rafe understood, and he smiled. "Danny would be very happy to know this, Uncle Walker"

The old man smiled back. "No one has addressed me that way for a very long time, you little rascal." The two of them laughed, all past grievances forgotten as they remembered the good old days back on the Tennessee farms. Rafe used to address Danny's father as "uncle Walker" when he was trying to negotiate for a longer playing time with Danny, and Danny's father had always scolded him for being a "little rascal". Suddenly, as he looked back on those days, Rafe realized that Danny's father had not always been fierce and unreasonable. It was only when he was drunk or in a bad mood after gambling that he became violent. There had been times when he had been more understanding and reasonable as well.

The old man's face softened. "Say hello to my son for me, will you? Tell him to take care of himself and try not to get killed. I helped him this time, but I don't know whether I can do so again the next time round."

They shook hands. "I will." Rafe promised.

The surroundings started to blur, and Danny's father seemed to melt back in the background. Before darkness fully descended, Rafe heard him saying, "Good bye and good luck to both of you."

"The same to you too, Uncle Walker."

I hope you liked this chapter. How about a review, people?