Merry Christmas ya'll!
In between the shopping, decorating, wrapping, baking, cooking and cleaning, we were unexpectedly given half the day off on Christmas Eve, so...I got busy...Come on the return of new episodes!
The ride to base wasn't long. Not nearly long enough for Clay to warm up or come around, Trent blamed the knot on his head for his mopey-dopey-ness rather than admit whoever had tried to take him, had drugged him. Chris pulled up in front of the infirmary. Doc was waiting, Sonny and Ray already inside.
"What we got?" Doc asked. Clay went limp and floppy when the doors of the Humvee opened and he felt the blast of cold air. Protesting the hands that picked him up by squirming, not wanting to leave the warmth of the arms that held him or the warmth of the Humvee, he shrank back, pulling his knees up to brace his weight on his heels against the seat. Trent and Brock plucked him from Jason's arms, plopped him on a wheeled gurney and Trent and the doc were off, doc telling Trent, "Quinn's in x-ray…..shoulder, took a hard fall."
"Jason?" Eric was there. The third Humvee pulled up, the three prisoners were unloaded, taken away. "The hell?"
"You went to get Clay." Lisa stood, hands on her hips. "What happened? Who are they?"
"Someone tried to take him." Jason replied, waved off Lisa's 'what'. "Dunno, about to find out." He headed off with Eric, who was wearily rubbing his forehead muttering about retirement and Mandy, who had somehow appeared, on their heels, asking questions, demanding answers.
"Everyone good?" Davis asked Brock. "Hey boy, look at you! So cute, your vest." She gave the dog several head rubs and ear scratches. "What happened?"
"Yeah, uh, Lisa." Brock began, she pulled up, stared him down. Summer didn't know the use of her first name was the way the guys warned her someone was hurt or something was wrong. "Dunno, we got there, couldn't find Clay. Cerberus tracked him down, someone had taken him, was waiting for transportation. Sonny foiled that plan, jumped out of a tree."
"He did what?"
"He was covering us and they got Clay on a snowmobile, well, in a sled behind one and Sonny jumped when it passed beneath him….."
Lisa threw her hands up. "Tell me inside."
Summer stood alone in the cold, outside the infirmary, wondering if the guy who had been attacked by the dog would get medical care. Within a matter of seconds, yes, seconds, everyone was gone, no one remained. Well, okay then, damn. He should do what? Everyone seemed to know their roll, what to do, where to go but he had no idea what he was supposed to do.
"Right." He wanted to change into something dry and warm. If anyone needed him, they could come get him. He hadn't really believed all the talk and warnings about Clay. It had sounded so far-fetched, he'd thought they were pranking him. An elaborate prank, sure, but come on! No man would be allowed to operate as an elite Seal being, uh, allergic to well, medication.
But now, now he was being to think maybe Bravo had been telling him the truth and he should have paid attention, 'cause he had no idea what the hell was going on.
"Summer?" Ray was waving at him from the door of the infirmary. "Come get checked out."
Summer gestured him off. "I'm good." He was still wrapping his head around the fact Bravo had geared up, loaded up and arrived in armored off-road Humvee's to retrieve their wayward sniper. Both Clay and Seth had said they'd come, but:
1) Summer hadn't believed them. 2) He sure as hell hadn't expected the entire support team to come with Bravo. 3) He couldn't get over the fact they'd gotten permission in the first place which led to. 4) Blackburn had met them at the infirmary without batting an eye when they'd returned with three prisoners he hadn't known anything about.
"Wasn't a suggestion." Ray had poked his head out to speak, withdrew back inside. Summer sighed, headed in. "Joe's just gonna check you over." He waited for Summer to ask about Clay or Sonny, when he didn't, Ray sighed, shook his head. "Joe, you find anything, let me know."
"You bet."
"Summer, come see me when you're done here." Ray said. "Again, not a suggestion."
Ray checked on Sonny who was getting x-rays on his shoulder, then asked after Clay, who was having blood drawn. With both under the team doc's care, Ray returned to their quarters. Sucked they'd have to wait several hours for the blood test results, but better than having to wait a whole day.
() () ()
"I say," the doc shook his head. "What is it with this one? Poor guy can't catch a break. Went to pull a truck out of a ditch, ends up kidnapped and beaten, thrown from a moving vehicle."
"Better thrown than taken." Trent huffed, wondered the same thing. His relief having gotten Clay back was stunted over the fact they hadn't been fast enough to prevent him from being taken in the first place.
"True that." Doc agreed. "Gotta say, I think that lucky horseshoe is cursed….might save his life, but puts him in these situations to begin with."
"Didn't see any signs of a concussion." Trent said when the doc probed and fingered the lump behind his ear. "He's gonna cry though, he comes around. That's gotta hurt."
"Hell of a bump." Doc tutted, nodded his agreement. "Didn't break skin…you'd think a blow that hard would have split his skull clear open. Odd that, he should have one hell of a concussion, but he don't."
"Just when you think he can't surprise you." Trent grinned. "Hard head." He picked up Clay's bandaged hand, began to unwrap the bloody, hastily applied field bandage. "Cut looks deep, but clean." He squeezed hard, felt Clay tense, then squeeze back.
"No damage." Doc agreed, taking Clay's hand from Trent to inspect. "Fingers aren't numb, color's good, reacts to pain."
Clay heard the voices, the sound no more than a hum that buzzed, still it was familiar. He was lifted and rolled, tugged and pushed, soon he lay on the table in nothing but his boxer briefs, shivering in the air while his hand was held, cleaned, numbed, stitched and wrapped.
He felt warm fingers and cold stethoscopes. A rubber strap tightened around his arm, a needle pricked his skin, then a rude invasion into his mouth. One by one, his teeth were wiggled, his gums thumbed, his lip lifted….ow….he hissed, that stung. He pushed against the intrusion with his tongue, tasted latex, made a face.
"Don't like that, do ya?" Doc chortled. "Fist to the mouth, gotta check your teeth. Bit your cheek, eh?"
"Think they gave him anything?" Trent asked. Clay was unusually docile….no jerking his head away, no flinching in pain, no scowling, no slapping at hands, no trying to sit up, not even a grunt.
"Do you?"
"Suspect it, yeah." Trent sighed. "He was under dressed for the weather, but he had long johns on, decent coat with a hood, gloves. He wasn't outside all that long and when he was dumped out of the sled, we were right there. Jason had him within minutes."
"Blood tests will take a few hours, there's a lab on site." Doc thumbed open Clay's good eye, flashed a light at him again. "He doesn't react negatively to light, but doesn't follow it either, so, yeah, you're probably right."
Trent snorted. "We brought three in alive. Jason's on it."
"Aaah." Doc decided it best to let it go. Violence just made more work for him. Then again, he wouldn't be the doctor attending the three captives. His job was Bravo. He gently thumbed all around Clay's swollen eye that would be a nice shade of black by morning.
"I didn't feel anything broken." Trent said, patted, held Clay's knee when he shifted uneasily. "Almost done."
"Just a nasty shiner," the doc agreed. He gave up trying to pry open the swollen eyelid when Clay stirred with a groan. "Get some ice for his noggin, let him rest a bit. You gonna leave him here?"
"Rather take him with me."
"Thought as much." Doc scribbled on a clipboard. "My supply of pain meds is limited. The base pharmacy isn't well-stocked. I've got Tramadol."
"He's taken it before." Trent hesitated. "Just, if they dosed him with something…"
"I'll wait on Jason?" The doc posed it as a question, Trent nodded. "He's getting antsy."
"He's cold." Trent said. Doc nodded, popped his head out the door and soon someone brought warmed blankets. "He was with it enough to drink some coffee, some chicken broth. He..." Trent paused when Clay looked up at him, blue eye clear and questioning. "Hey, you with me?"
"Doc?" Joe leaned in, Summer lingered behind him. "He's good. You wanna look him over or sign off?"
"I'll…" Doc began, helped Trent spread the blankets over Clay, tuck them around his shoulders, made sure his toes were covered. "...sign off."
"Guess." Clay spoke, doc fell silent, sat down, picked up his clipboard, to scribbled some more. So, Mr. Spenser responded to being cold by coming around. Huh. That was new. "Trent." He said before he could be told to say who he was with.
"Mind telling me what the fuck you were doing outside?" Trent demanded, and none to nicely either.
"Jay-son...uh," Clay dug his hands out, rubbed his forehead, was having a difficult time concentrating. "...told me to unload the, um, ammo truck. Then...it...another...was stuck. Got Seth..."
"No way in hell did Jason tell you to do any such thing." Trent shook his head. "You were sent to bed, he expected you to stay there." He watched Clay wince, frown, try and work through what he was being told. "Why would you even go?"
Bewildered, Clay looked at his bandaged hand, last remembered it bleeding, palmed his forehead. Ow, even that slight pressure made it sting. Trent had a point. It didn't make sense Jason would have sent him out after he'd been ordered to the cabin to go to bed. And he was only outside during the day, when the sun was up.
"He sent..." Clay opened his eyes, squinted. "Him." He pointed at Summer who lingered in the doorway, stared at the bandage around his hand intently with an odd expression. "I hurt it?"
Doc frowned. "Sure did."
"Summer." Trent turned to face him. "Did Jason tell you to get Clay?"
"He said to get one of the guys. Clay was the only one in barracks."
"He meant one of support." Trent sighed. Oh hell, this was going to blow up into a shit show. He smacked Clay gently. "Why the hell did you go with him?"
Clay stared. Jason hadn't ordered him, through Summer, to go help unload the truck? Maybe if he'd been clear-headed he would have questioned Summer at the cabin, but he'd just woken up and Jason had been on him hard...and...and...Mexico!
"Mexico." He answered simply.
Way to go boss, what you get for being a dick and not letting the kid know he was off your shit list...he thought you wanted him to unload ammo trucks because you rode his ass over being questioned in Mexico. Fuck, would that mission ever go away?
What the hell had Summer been thinking? Good God, Trent didn't know who was going to put the cocky bomb tech on his ass first; himself, Sonny, Jason.
"He's usually grounded to quarters most nights for pulling some stupid stunt or another during the op." He told Summer. "And it's not on us to unload ammo trucks. Sure as shit isn't his job."
"Doc, Quinn's having a fit." A nurse/medic pushed in beside Joe. "Hey Trent."
Summer stepped aside, wondered what made Clay Spenser so special, that 'sure as shit', a job wasn't his to do.
The doc looked startled, pushed up from his stool in alarm, set the clipboard aside.
"Temper tantrum." Trent corrected, waved doc off. "What doesn't he want?" He asked the nurse.
"MRI."
The doc sighed, lowered his head, stared at the floor, raised his head, stared at the ceiling. Oh boy, this team. "Does he need one?" Damn that Blackburn and his sweet-talking ways for convincing him how easy this job would be. Snort.
"Uh, yeah?"
"I'll go." Trent paused. "Summer, I'll be right back, stay with Clay." He hesitated. Jason wanted them to accept Summer, work as a team. He'd do his part, give Summer a test, trust him this one last time. "Stay with him. Don't let anyone give him anything. Don't let him out of your sight. Don't leave him alone. You lose him again….." He stared Summer down until the bomb tech nodded. "Jason's finding out what they gave him, there's no way to know how he'll react. Got me?"
Summer nodded again and Trent left with the medic to go wrangle Sonny's stubborn ass into submission. It wouldn't take long, Trent could easily manipulate him by throwing 'poor Clay' in his face. Then he'd find a men's room, wash up...
With Summer, a man Clay knew and recognized and had acknowledged not two minutes ago, instructed to watch him, doc stepped out to call Blackburn and check up on Jason's progress.
Joe saw the tablets sitting in the tiny pill-dosage paper cup on the counter near the bed, read the doctor's notes on the clipboard, held two 100mg tablets out to Clay, who confused and disoriented, but warm and cozy, blinked hazily up at Summer through his functioning eye for permission to accept them. When Summer didn't tell him no, he opened his mouth, lapped them up with his tongue, swallowed them. Joe checked off the chart, nodded to Summer and left.
When a nurse came in with a doctor, neither of whom Clay had seen before, Summer, tired of waiting for Trent to return, decided Clay was in good hands with a trained, competent medical staff and Joe just outside at a desk, left to report to Ray.
Clay yawned. He was warm. He was comfortable. He felt…..strange, floaty. The lights became pretty colors of purple and green. No, not green, aqua. Turquoise? So pretty…..lalalalala….the lights merged, separated, reformed into a shape of…well, something pretty. It beckoned to him, floated, bobbed, swayed like a kite being flown on a nice spring day.
He watched the purple and green colored unidentifiable creation weave and continuously morph into different shapes until suddenly, the air around his pretty vision clouded, turned dark. He tensed, turned his head to search for Summer, the last person he recognized that he knew had been with him, saw faces he did not know.
"MEEEP!" Went Clay.
Trent returned within three minutes to utter chaos.
There was no Summer.
There was no Clay.
Doc returned within five minutes to a raging Trent and three quaking medical personnel.
Jason showed up in the door with a bruised hand, bloody knuckles and an answer – chloral hydrate.
David reported the blizzard had begun.
Within minutes, everyone on base was on the hunt for one missing Clay Spenser.
***000***
The door flew open…No, not flew. Banged? It was kicked open, bounced, the door knob punched a perfect hole in the wall…..and there was Sonny...snow-covered, wearing only a t-shirt and camo pants. Ray looked up, startled, but not moved to immediate action.
"YOU SONOFABITCH!" Sonny yelled, hands fisted. "THE FUCK YOU ASSHOLE?!"
Ray looked around, he knew Sonny was not speaking to him. Would never speak to him like that, so that left who? Summer? Okay, yeah, he knew Summer was on everyone's shit list, and Sonny hadn't warmed up to the 'new guy' yet, Sonny took forever to warm up to people, and if he took forever, well, Clay took millennia. But that was no excuse for Sonny to act like a mad mountain-man.
Ray shook his head, sighed. This was what Trent had warned them about, he'd told them anyone they added to the team, especially if no one left it – whatever sense that made – would cause a problem with Clay. And here it was, at his doorstep. Oh boy.
"Aah, Sonny, whoa dude?" Ray said calmly. "Doc let you out of the infirmary already? You good, then?"
"The hell did you do?" Sonny shouted, hands balled into fists ready to throw a punch. "So help you God, you better tell me you left him with SOMEONE or I will bounce your fucking HEAD off the wall!"
"You and who else?" Summer taunted.
"Me." Brock backed Sonny up. Cerberus was at his side, raised a lip, snarled at Summer. "You've got some balls."
That got Ray to set his book aside, get to his feet. He didn't need to ask if he needed to get the middle of this. Sonny wasn't playing. The friendly, 'whatcha doing' tone was not going to work this time. He needed to pull rank, assert authority or there was going to be a brawl.
"SONNY!" Ray stepped forward, hands up in a placating gesture. "Stand down man. We don't fight with each other."
Could he get between the two? Would Summer fight back? Would Sonny go for blood? Brock was definitely on Sonny's side. Calm, quiet, passive Brock stood there with anger-murder in his eyes. What was that about? If this was over some practical joke….after the night they'd just had…he was gonna knock heads together.
Cerberus growled, his hackles rose. Ray's eyes widened, the dog looked ready to attack!
"Oh yes, we do!" Sonny shouted. "Trent gave the dumb dick an order Ray."
"He doesn't give me orders." Summer said calmly.
Trent did what?
"Yes, he does!" Sonny spat just as Ray nodded and said. "Yes, he does."
"No, he doesn't." Summer stepped forward, faced Sonny. "In combat, in the field, on a mission where his position outranks me, I will obey his orders, but not here, not on down time."
"We're not on down time!" Sonny raged. "Someone tried to take one of us, you ass! There's no down time until they're caught and we know why!"
Ray ignored Summer. If he threw the first punch, Jason would send him packing, problem solved. If Sonny threw the first punch, he wouldn't be going anywhere and he damn well knew it. Dammit.
"Sonny, calm down." Ray tried again. "Let's talk about this."
"Trent told that sun-loving hippy to watch the kid, not to let him out of his sight. Told him we didn't know if Clay was given anything. He knows Clay throws reactions to unknown medications. We all told him! I TOLD HIM RAY! You did! Doc did! WE ALL DID!"
Ray swallowed, cast a look over his shoulder at Summer. "That true?"
Summer nodded. "It is." He just didn't see the big deal. "He's in the infirmary with a doctor, a nurse, a med..."
"HE DOESN'T KNOW THEM!" Sonny exploded. "WE FINALLY FIGURED THAT SONOFABITCH OUT AND I'M NOT GONNA LOSE HIM NOW BECAUSE YOUR PUNK-ASS CAN'T DO AS YOU'RE TOLD!"
"Sonny," Ray began calmly.
"Sonny's right." Brock spoke up. "Too many heart-stopping moments this last year, Ray. We hung in there, got him - us - each other - through everything that happened. Every incident, every reaction, every symptom. I'm standing here today because he doesn't bat an eye or hesitate or over-think. I'm okay with that Ray. I'm not okay with Summer leaving the kid on his own because he was tired of waiting for Trent to get back."
"Wait." Ray put both hands up. "Waitwaitwaitwait. Where's Clay?" He was beginning to get a really bad feeling about...well, everything. "Brock, what..."
"I didn't leave him alone. I left him in the infirmary with a medical staff." Summer ignored both Sonny and Brock, spoke to Ray.
"YOU WERE TOLD NOT TO LET HIM OUT OF YOUR SIGHT, YOU DUMB FUCK!"
"If you're all so concerned about him being alone with the medical staff, Trent never should have left him." Summer was trying to keep his temper, really trying. He was fairly calm, but couldn't keep the sneer completely off his face. "He had to go talk your ass into submitting to the MRI."
"Take that sneer off your face." Brock's tone promised violence if he didn't. "You have nothing to be smug about."
Sonny's fist flew, connected, Summer's head snapped back just as Ray pushed him aside, so, only a glancing blow.
"SONNY! That is enough!" Ray barked harshly. "BACK OFF!" Stunned, he turned to Summer. "That true?" He asked. "Trent asked you to stay with Spenser because he had to go see Sonny and you went and left the kid alone in the infirmary?"
"Trent told Summer..." Brock told Ray.
"Ordered." Summer interrupted.
"Summer to stay with him, not to let him out of his sight, until Trent got back. Minutes. It was only minutes." Cerberus was responding to Brock's tone, was tense and crouched, ready to pounce, and Brock wasn't calling him off. That told Ray just how upset Brock was.
Ray rubbed the back of his head. Not good. Not good. "Guess…..I….where was Doc?"
"Stepped into the hallway to call Blackburn." Sonny was still hot. "Wanted to see if Jason had any success beating what they gave Clay out of any of them. Trent took three fucking minutes for himself…."
"Trent should have..." Summer began, was shut down by Ray.
"Gave Clay? He was drugged?" Ray swallowed. He hadn't known that. Hadn't even known Trent suspected it. "Did he?" Ray asked. "Jason?"
"Chloral hydrate." Brock explained. "He didn't know anyone Ray. The only familiar face was Summer and he left him." He glared at Summer. "Why? Why'd you leave him? Trent wasn't gone even five minutes. You couldn't wait?"
"I left him in competent hands. On a military base. In an infirmary. With qualified medical personnel." Summer's hands were fisted. He'd had enough. "You really expect me to believe..." He too, was stunned. This was beyond a joke. Sonny was panicked, Brock was pissed, Ray was upset. The dog was ready to attack him. What the hell was going on?
"Kid went missing." Sonny told Ray, cut Summer off. "Again. Whole base is looking for him."
"Okay, okay, relax, calm down. He'll be found Sonny, can't have gone far." Ray felt sick, his gut twisted. Cerberus padded to the door, whined. Brock patted his head, told him 'in a minute'.
"You see that?" Brock asked. "Blizzard started. So yeah, Ray, time to panic. We were hoping we'd find him here."
"Let wonder dog here go find him." Summer spat. Ray cuffed him upside his ear in warning.
"Enough Kairos, shut up. I'm trying here." Ray hated telling anyone to shut up, but right about now, fists would shut Summer up if he didn't keep his mouth closed on his own. "He's...not..." He crossed the room, checked Clay's bunk, all the bunks. Strode across the room, checked his room, his bunk, Jason's bunk. "What does Trent think he last remembers? None of us were in danger?" He really needed to get a grip, stop looking in stupid places a man couldn't possibly be.
"No." Brock agreed, Sonny was stalking Summer in a slow, steady circle around the sofa. He did nothing to intervene but Ray placed himself between the two, walked backwards with Summer, faced Sonny, hands out to ward off a lunge, an attack. "Trent thinks he'll try to go back to the ammo truck, where he lasts remembers it being."
"Because that's what he feels he needs to finish." Sonny cursed. "He thinks Jason sent asshole here to get him to help unload the ammo trucks."
"That's..." Ray paused, gave it some thought, sighed. "That's not his job." And it hit him. "Jason's been riding him hard, and he thought it was just another chore he was assigned and he doesn't want to piss Jason off further."
The door banged open again and Trent barreled through it, threw a punch, and when Summer stumbled, tackled him. They went over the sofa, hit the floor.
Ray hopped aside, wondered if he should break up what would become a three on one fight. He cared it was unfair and he felt for Summer, trying to fit in on a team that didn't welcome intrusions. Then, then he reminded himself Summer wasn't trying very hard…..he liked to stir the pot….
"TRENT!" Jason was hot on his heels, Kenny and Karl right behind him. "HEY!"
Ray blinked, Jason had brought muscle with him. So, he'd been expecting a fight. Not good.
Jason went for Trent. Kenny and Karl took hold of Summer, pulled him back as Jason pushed Trent into a corner.
"Don't you dare!" Jason held a palm against Trent's chest, pointed at Summer with his other hand. "You BACK OFF!" He shouted at Summer. "Trent, you good?"
Trent nodded. Summer used the back of his hand to wipe the dribble of blood from his split lip. Wow. Who knew the medic packed such a punch?
"What the hell?!" Ray exploded.
Trent shrugged free of Jason, left the cabin. Jason let him go, stalked Summer.
"Yes or no answers, you got me?" Jason told Summer. "I don't want an explanation. Yes or no or so help me you will land on an iceberg."
Summer nodded, waited.
"Did you leave Clay alone in the infirmary after Trent told you not to let him out of your sight?"
"Yes."
"Did you stand there and watch Joe give him Tramadol?"
"Yes."
"Do you remember me telling you that no one we don't know is allowed to give him medication? Not even aspirin?"
"Yes."
"Get out of my sight." Jason seethed. "Ray, take care of this."
Ray nodded, retrieved his boots and coat. "Where's Clay?" He asked before he followed Summer out the door.
"Doc and Blackburn have him." Jason replied, opening a bottle of whiskey and setting out three glasses. "He was given pain meds on top of chloral hydrate."
Ray nodded, he wasn't expected back soon. He was either to set Summer straight this very night, or by morning, the bomb tech would never see a Bravo mission again.