Trent and Sonny entered Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. The white corridors were so quiet they could hear a pin drop, and the cold lights were turned on even in plain day making the atmosphere even more sterile.
Although they had seen much worse, for sure, it was not the happiest place in the world and was far from reassuring. Advancing in the building, the smell of sanitizer assaulted their noses, taking over the strong smell of sweat they both emanated.
"We're looking for Petty Officer Clay Spenser," Sonny said as the two approached the nurses' desk.
The dark circles under the SEALs' eyes were marked, pit stains clearly visible on their shirts, and their hair messed up funnily, but they hadn't thought even for a second about stopping by their hotel to freshen up. The minute they landed, they went to visit Clay at the hospital, their young teammate being their top priority.
When Sonny and Trent got to his room, they found Clay not so quietly napping in his bed.
A single, weak sun ray seeped through the not completely closed blinds, making the sweat on Clay's pale skin glow. Approaching, the first thing the two SEALs noticed was the heavy bandages still present on the kid's forearms and the IV drip attached to his left arm.
Trent exchanged a look with Sonny, his tired eyes saying it all; Clay was not nearly as good as they hoped. The young soldier's ghost-like appearance and his heavy panting underlined he was still far from being ready to go home with them.
A question rose in their minds, was Clay hiding his sorrow from them during his calls, or did he have a relapse?
Before Trent could go in search of a doctor who could explain the situation to them, Sonny dropped his bag loudly on the floor.
"Mmm... someone is trying to sleep here." Clay's weak voice drew their attention to him. He still had his eyes closed and was swallowing laboriously.
Sonny looked at Trent with a raised eyebrow. "Wait, he heard that?" His lips cautiously curving in a little smile.
"Clay? Did you hear that, Buddy?" Trent asked, approaching the bed, hope awakening in him; in both of them.
Clay was now closely inspecting his friend's worn-out faces, his baby blue eyes widening.
"Why do you always have to be so loud, Sonny?" He cracked a big smile.
That was something the whole Bravo Team missed so much and it brightened the dark room in such a disarming way that the other two SEAL's hearts nearly exploded in joy.
"What are you talking about? I'm as graceful as a butterfly," Sonny smirked while the tension in his muscles dropped, and his knees felt weak.
But then Clay tried to hide a frown, his eyes sharpening and rapidly moving.
No, his hearing problem is not all resolved, Trent and Sonny immediately understood, concern rising again in their warm hearts.
Quickly glancing at the bedside, Trent opened the laptop and turned on the program to communicate with Clay. "So, you still can't hear us?"
Clay shrugged, forcing his sore lips to keep up the smile on his fresh shaven face. "My hearing is improving, but yeah, I guess it's still pretty out of order."
"Well, I envy you, Kid" Trent kept talking in the microphone, but glanced at Sonny. "At least you don't have to hear him complain all the time," he teased his friend. "Have you any idea how long a flight can seem when you have this guy making your ears bleed with his ravings?"
Clay softly chuckled, and immediately placed his hand on his chest, holding his ribs.
That laugh was another thing they all missed so much, and despite the grimace of pain hiding behind his joy, that sound was music to the soldiers' ears.
Trent continued, "Yeah, it was a looong flight; I think you owe me big this time."
"Hey!" Sonny raised his hands palms up.
"Guys..." Clay swallowed again. "Is-is everything okay?" His voice came out a little croaky.
His two teammates glanced at each other as the kid's concern came out of nowhere.
"No, seriously, wh-what are you doing here? Is-is anyone hurt?" They noticed Clay's heart beat was speeding up.
"You mean anyone beside you?" Trent handed him a cup of water.
"Tell me the truth, guys."
"No, Clay, we're all okay," Trent continued, seeing the shadow of fear in his young friend's eyes.
Clay took a couple of small sips of water, then rested his head on his pillow. "So... wh-why did you come here?"
"Oh, come on! We were just on an endless flight to see you, and that's how you welcome us?" Sonny crossed his arms.
Clay closed his eyes and whispered, "Thank you for coming, but... there was no need."
Again the two SEALs exchanged a look, then turned back to Clay. His tone and his expression saying the opposite of his mouth. He needed them there, and he knew it.
"Yeah, says you," Sonny sat in the chair next to his friend's bed.
Oh, come on, he was dying to see us he thought, glancing at Trent. Why is he trying to shut us out?
"You already owe us a case of beer for saving your ass in the desert," Sonny continued. "We just thought to add another one on your bill for giving you some company here."
"And make sure you choose a good one." Trent backed up his mate. "We are in Germany, Kid, you have far too many choices here!"
"Of course," Clay chuckled while reading his friend's words on the screen, again wincing as his chuckles forced him to hold his ribs.
"You know, you gave us a big scare, Boy," Trent said, more grave. "Everyone would have come in person to see how you're really doing."
"Everyone?" Clay sounded like a teenage girl asking if her crush is coming to her party.
Sonny's ocean-blue eyes met with Trent's, their heart clenching at the thought Clay doubted all of them would be there for him.
"Of course! We're here only because we pulled the short straw," Sonny smirked.
Clay looked up at the ceiling, fumbling with his fingers.
"Come on, spit it out," Trent said, making him look at the laptop screen. "What's wrong?"
Clay cleared his throat and looked straight at them. "Is Ray okay?"
"We told you, Clay." Trent raised an eyebrow. "We didn't have any more casualties."
Clay closed his eyes again for a moment, hesitating. "Is he... Is he okay... with me?"
The older soldiers' eyes met again, and again they felt bad for the kid having doubts about them.
"He would come here running if he could," Sonny said. "Blackburn had to order him to go home to his kids."
They saw relief drawn on Clay's face, as a big sigh escaped from his mouth. A small tear slid down the young soldier's cheek, but the other two decided to believe it was just another sweat drop.
Carefully observing his pale skin, Trent saw Clay was forcing his eyes to stay open. "Hey, you don't have to strain yourself for us," he said, glancing at the medical file clipped to the foot of Clay's bed, tempted to read it.
"Yeah..." Clay croaking voice made clear to his friends he was not out of the woods yet. "But it's too good to see your ugly mugs here, how can I miss them?" A weak smirk covered for his fatigue.
As usual, Sonny searched for something stupid to say, but this time his wheels turned in vain. All that was too much to bear.
"Come on, go back to sleep," Trent encouraged Clay. "Whether you want it or not, these two mugs will be right here the next time you open your eyes."
Clay didn't make his friend say it twice and rapidly abandoned himself to the dreamland.
Exchanging looks, the two SEALs could read on each other's face all their tension and worry.
How could they take Clay out of that hospital if he couldn't even get out of the bed? They were suddenly worried that they would not be given enough time to wait for him and bring him back home with them.
Sonny and Trent glanced at the sleeping beauty, his ruffled golden hair matted on his white forehead, the corners of his mouth slightly lifted. He seemed so calm. He was now nothing compared to the raving young man they recovered in the desert.
Leaving him here alone is not an option, not again. They both thought, settling in the room.
... ... ...
The hours passed slowly, while Clay was still asleep in the semi-dark room and the soldiers were getting used to the constantly beeping monitors.
While Sonny diligently fulfilled his guard role, not letting his reddened eyes off Clay, Trent sneaked out of the room to talk to a doctor.
"So?" Sonny quietly asked as Trent got back, forgetting Clay could not hear them anyway.
"He'll be good," Trent settled near Sonny, glancing at the sleeping soldier. "His recovery will be a little longer than we'd hoped, but he will pull through just fine." He relaxed on the chair, letting go of all the tension that had held him hostage for so long.
"Why does he still look like crap?" Sonny asked, looking back at Clay's baby face, now gradually regaining a more suitable color.
"Don't worry man," Trent reassured him. "His surgical incision is healing well, and the spleen is working right as it should." He paused a little while, inspecting Clay's bandaged arms. "Only the burns on his arms are giving him a little trouble. That's why his fever climbed again the other night, and why he is this zombie-like."
"Hey, don't joke about zombies," Sonny tensed in his seat, "you know how I hate that word."
Trent laughed, then they both turned their attention to Clay who was slowly coming back to them.
"It was about damn time, Sleeping Beauty," Sonny smirked. "Well, you didn't even need the prince to kiss you this time."
"Yeah, would you have had the honor, Sonny?" Trent chuckled.
Sonny huffed as the young soldier didn't react to the tease. The lost look on Clay's face was a constant reminder of his condition, and that was hard to swallow.
No, it was not funny when the kid could not know how his friends were trying to mess with him.
Then Sonny got up to lift the blinds and let the bright sunlight enter the room. As the warm sun rays hit his face, Clay blinked and turned away, a little growl escaping his mouth.
The two SEALs looked at him, a fine pink color finally appearing on his smooth skin, his messy hair brightening with gold highlights.
"Woah!" Trent jumped up from his seat and put an hand on Clay's chest, preventing him to move. "Where do you think you are going?" He made sure Clay could either hear his voice or read his lips.
"Give me a break, Trent! I just have to take a piss," Clay said, lifting his torso from the bed and sticking a foot out.
"You can do it in here." Still with a hand stretched out toward his friend's chest, Trent took out the empty urine bottle from the bottom shelf of the bed table. "Nurse's orders." He handed the plastic container to him, still in his pose and with a severe look on his face.
"Oh, come on, man! Are you kidding me now?" Clay made a move to sit on the edge of the bed, but he suddenly felt dizzy and lost his balance.
Fortunately, Trent got to him in time and supported him before he could fall to the floor.
Sonny's muscles painfully tensed, leaving him in between feeling paralyzed and wanting to help.
Connected to him in a gentle hug, Trent helped Clay back into bed.
"See, that's the reason why they don't let you stand up alone," Trent's severe tone reached Clay through his firm glare.
"Alright, alright." Clay settled back in his semi laid down position, blinking repeatedly. His breath was speeding up and shades of green colored his face.
"Just take the bottle, Blondie," Sonny said. "If I were you, I wouldn't disappoint the hot nurse. Actually, I would please her in any way possible."
Seeing Trent laughing, Clay turned to Sonny and frowned, distracted from the dizziness by the frustration of not understanding the majority of what his friend had said.
"Come on, go ahead." Trent put the bottle in Clay's hands, glaring at him till he tightened his grip on the thing. "There's nothing new under the sun." He moved to lift the back of the bed, so his friend could be more comfortable in ending to his needs.
Clay let out a big sigh. His problem wasn't using the urinal in front of his friends, it was not being allowed to stand up and do even the smallest everyday task. Moreover, not being able to do them on his own.
After a couple minutes casually watching outside the window, Sonny turned back to Clay. "Oh come on, Kid! Since when do you have a shy bladder?"
Trent laughed at them, but as his eyes landed on Clay's face he noticed the kid was growing super-white again, and his smile faded.
"Hey, you okay, brother?" Trent approached Clay and started to hear the noise of the liquid accumulate in the plastic container.
"I'm done..." Clay said in a low voice, taking the half-full bottle out. His face was still pale, and suddenly his muscles abandoned him, leaving him resting heavily on the mattress.
Clay's hand lost its grip on the bottle, but Trent promptly caught it, avoiding spilling the liquid. After putting the thing down, the older SEAL rushed to lower the back of the bed and turned to check on his friend.
"Woah, woah, what's happening?" Sonny shivered, watching Clay slowly coming back to himself.
"It's okay, it's only his blood pressure," Trent reassured him, gently slapping Clay on his face.
"Only his pressure?" Sonny echoed, not able to hide his concern.
"It dropped for a minute, but it's already coming back up, right Buddy?" Trent continued, his hand gently resting on Clay's cheek, his fingers scratching his friend's sticky hair.
Clay blinked, his voice croaky and his eyes wandering around asking, "What just happened?"
"It's okay," Trent spoke loudly and clearly. He then opened the laptop and spoke in the microphone. "Sitting up can cause a sudden drop in blood pressure, especially after being laid down for this long."
"Great..." Clay whispered eyes closed and abandoning his weight on the mattress. Not only he couldn't pee standing, he barely managed to pee sitting up. That was just great for his career expectations.
Sonny couldn't hide his pained look as he watched Clay rest, his heart clenching for seeing him in thie condition.
"I can't stand this anymore," Clay let go a loud whisper.
Trent and Sonny looked at each other, lips pursed. A big wave of sorrow flowed from Clay to his teammates.
They knew it was not about his physical pain, no, what he couldn't stand was feeling that powerless and useless.
Every Bravo member could feel him. They actually felt the same because they could do nothing to alleviate his pain.
Evan worse, the visiting hours were now up, and once again Trent and Sonny had to leave their friend in his time of need.
... ... ...
When what was left of Bravo Team finally landed on friendly soil, the fresh breeze of the afternoon carried with it a mild smell of gasoline, but to the soldiers' noses it was the sweetest scent in the world as it was totally free of dust and moisture.
"Alright guys, you have a couple of days off now," Blackburn said, getting ready to enter the base. "Go get some rest, enjoy your time with your families."
"Thank you, sir," Jason said, heading toward the parking lot followed by Ray, Davis, Brock and Cerberus.
"Hey, Jace, shouldn't we call the guys to make sure everything's okay there?" Brock said, while making the dog settle in the back of his truck.
Jason looked up at the sky for a moment. "Let them breathe, it will be night there."
"Yeah, they will call when they have some news on the Kid," Ray said, his tone not calm as usual, as if he was trying to convince himself more than his younger teammate.
The soldiers' minds immediately travelled to Clay's appearance the last time they talked to him. He was getting better, he must be.
"I already told you, sir, you can not enter the base." A severe voice reached Bravo's ears, drawing their attention to the gate.
"I'm not going to move from here till I speak with a high ranking officer," a second man spoke.
"I say again, sir, you need to leave, or you will be detained," the soldier continued, while Bravo members approached the two arguing men.
"You are Persona Non Grata, you can not be here any longer."
"I don't care about the PNG policy, I need to speak with an officer in there."
"Ash Spenser, no less," Jason said, getting to the entrance followed by Ray and Brock.
"Hayes! Where the hell is Clay?" Ash asked, trying to muscle in.
"Back off now, sir, or I'll be forced to restrain you." The soldier at the gate put a hand before his chest, forcing Ash to move a couple of steps back.
"Don't you dare touch me!" Ash clenched his fist.
In that air, if someone had lit a match the place would have blown.
"Hayes, where the hell his my son?" Spenser Sr. tried once again to go through the guard.
The soldier reacted as he was trained, bashing his opponent's face on the guardhouse and firmly holding the man's arm behind his back.
The other guard made a move toward them, but Jason made him a sign to stay put. Then he got out from the base boundaries and relieved the soldier in his task of dealing with Ash.
"Are you calm now?" he said, making the ex-SEAL move toward his car.
"I just have to know Clay is okay," Ash said, freeing himself from Jason's touch.
"Clay is okay," Jason said, serious. "Bravo Three and Five are with him right now."
"Where is my boy?" Ash refused to move a single more step.
"Wait, who told you Clay was hurt?" Ray stepped in. "I'm pretty sure you're not his emergency contact, and I don't think he would call you in person, otherwise you'd know where he is now."
"Yeah, why don't you call him and ask him in person, Spenser?" Jason said.
"It doesn't matter!" Ash raised his voice. "I knew he got hurt and now I wanna know what happened to him."
Jason huffed, "He doesn't answer your calls, does he?"
"He is my son, I have every right to ask about him."
"For what?" Ray faced him nose-to-nose. "For making him the main character in your next book?"
"Ray, back off!" Jason intervened before things could get worse. "I don't know what's between you and Clay, but you lost that right when he didn't include you on his ICE. And I'm gonna back him up in this."
"I don't know who you think you are," Ash stood still, arm crossed. "I am not moving from here till I know what the hell happened to my son!"
Jason took in a deep breath, thinking about Emma and Mickey. What would he do if one of his children was hurt and some men said to him he had no right to know? Surely a bigger mess than Spenser Sr. here was doing.
"Alright, listen," Jason looked around, as to make sure no one could see him leaking information. "There's no way we are discussing our actions with a PNG. What I will tell you is that Clay took a bad hit, was transported to LRMC and now he's recovering well."
The two men glared at each other.
"Be satisfied with that until you can talk to Clay in person," Jason finished, and stared to Ash till jumped on his car.
"Unbelievable," Ray said, shaking his head.
... ... ...
Two days had already passed since Trent and Sonny entered the hospital for the first time. Every single time they crossed those hallways, the fluorescent lights, the deafening quiet, and the sterile smell made them feel like they were visiting purgatory.
Determining whether they were headed to paradise or to hell was the sight of Clay still confined in his bed.
If the color on his cheeks was marked enough and the sweat was not making his skin glow, then they could relax; otherwise, they had to grit their teeth, suck up their sorrow and just be there for him as long as he needed them.
Unfortunately, their time was almost up. They soon had to go back to the States and resume their job. The thought of flying back without Clay weighed on the two soldiers' hearts.
Trent and Sonny rapidly walked that path yet again, expecting the unexpected. Besides, this was Clay, and the past had amply demonstrated to them that things were often never what they seemed with him.
Trent stopped his teammate at Clay's door. Glancing inside, the two could see a hot brunette taking care of the bed-rested soldier. The nurse perfectly fit in her camouflage uniform and every little gesture she made was so gentle it made them jealous.
"You can come in, soldiers," nurse Blake said without turning to them, her voice was so warm they felt sorry for Clay not hearing it.
Trent and Sonny's eyes met.
We should work on our silent incursion skills if the girl sensed us like that, they both thought.
"I'm done with him." The nurse now turned back; her smile was so disarming that the two SEALs instantaneously relaxed on their feet and her tender look melted their hard armor.
Trent and Sonny entered and shifting their attention from the nurse's backside to their young friend, they saw Clay was radiant, his blue eyes and his big smile brightening the whole room.
"We have good news," Clay said, his voice hardly containing his joy. "Are you ready to go home?"
"You're good to fly?" Sonny asked, fearing to say that out loud lest he jinx the chance to take him home with them.
Nurse Blake nodded, and didn't let Clay finish reading his friend's words on the laptop screen, answering for him. "He's not yet at the end of his journey, but yes, he is good to go home."
"That's great, Buddy!" Sonny bumped his fist with Clay, his excitement uncontainable. "When do we take off?"
"We are gonna take the medical plane with him, right?" Trent asked, knowing there was no way in the world Clay could take a regular flight in his current condition.
"Of course we are!" Sonny said, sure. "Aren't we?" he peered in the nurse's chocolate-brown eyes, his tone getting more uncertain.
The three SEALs held their breath, waiting for the answer with their muscles tensed; they needed to be all together, Trent and Sonny would never forgive themselves for letting Clay fly alone once again.
"Yes, you are." The smile on the nurse's face was so kind that it warmed their hearts. "Don't worry big babies, you will spend a lot of time with your pretty boy."
"He ain't that pretty," Sonny scoffed.
"There's still a little red tape to go through for the transfer. As I already told him" -nurse Blake glanced down to her patient- "he's gonna spend a little more time in an American hospital."
"Yeah, a little time," Clay said, determined. "I'm gonna be out of there in a flash and back in action with you." He searched for a hint of light in his friends' eyes. "No way I'll leave you guys to have all the fun without me."
"Of course you're not, Kid." Sonny grinned in the brightest sign of support.
"Hey, easy there." Blake's expression was now more severe. "Don't rush things, there's still a risk you could compromise everything if you overstrain yourself."
Hearing those words made their blood run cold, and glancing down, they could see Clay clenching his fists while reading the nurse's word on the screen.
"Don't worry, we got him." Trent patted Clay on his shoulder. "We'll make sure he sticks to doctor's orders."
... ... ...
The empty hangar made the soldier's steps and voices echo in the air, especially when they had to raise their volume to communicate with Clay.
The plane was equipped with all the medical tools the corpsmen needed to support the injured soldier in his ride home, and at that point of their journey the persistent smell of antiseptic was stuck in the SEALs' noses and it didn't bothered them anymore.
Sonny and Trent would not let Clay out of their sight, even if there were two medical officers diligently doing their job.
"Guys, you don't have to do this," Clay said, meeting eyes alternatively with each one of his friends.
"Do what?" The two SEALs shrugged.
"It's a long flight, go take a nap, or something... You're creeping me out."
"And you're point is?" Sonny acted like he was talking to an old lady, and that made Trent laugh soundly.
"I'm serious guys, settle in." Clay whined, almost begging, his eyes making clear how much he wanted his friends to not stress over him.
"As you wish, Princess," Sonny smirked, while he and Trent quieted down.
The trip was proceeding quietly when the two SEALs heard Clay let out a little whine and immediately looked up to check on him, seeing him gagging.
"Here we go again," Trent said, watching Clay's face turning green in a flash. Cold sweat started to collect on his forehead, copying the drips forming on his friend body.
"I'm feeling sick..." Clay gagged again. He tried to rise, growling because he was secured to the litter.
The two SEALs saw Clay gasping for air, trying to control his reflexes.
"Corpsman!" Trent called out and promptly took a bag for Clay. Then he rapidly loosened the straps and helped him on his side to avoid choking.
Clay's stomach turned, and Trent looked up, holding the bag with one hand. The suffering sounds his friend made and the sight of him struggling like that broke Trent's heart.
The older soldier had his left hand resting on the youngster's shoulder, feeling his friend's body shivering and all his muscles contracting.
When the corpsman reached them, Trent gave his place to him and shifted aside to support Clay's exhausted body. "Easy there, buddy. Easy," he said, comforting.
After a couple of minutes retching, Clay tried to roll onto his back again, breathing heavily as the vomiting drained his strength. Trent eased Clays' body onto the thin mattress, and threw him a supportive look.
"Feel better now?" The corpsman asked, putting away the full bag and grabbing an empty one, just in case.
"You okay?" Trent repeated loudly as Clay was not responding to the other man.
Observing Clay's staring look, they noticed his pupils were dilated and his eyes were in search of something in the air. He was unable to talk and barely breathing with his whole body shivering.
Once again, something was not right with him.
... ... ...
Author's Note: Thank you all again.
I find so warming how the guys all back up Clay in one way or another. I just love writing their support to each other.
I'm now working on the final chapter, but I'm afraid it will take a while. I apologize in advance, thanks for your patience.