Chapter 2

She was caught in a headlock. That bastard Rorke had her. His hands were on her. She was struggling while Rorke was grinning his head off. She started becoming weaker. She was passing out. Not his beautiful Hawk.

"You're mine Little Charlie and you'll not only hunt Ghosts… You'll destroy their souls."

Charles Williams: skilled interrogator…

She would not be a part of that. He couldn't let her. He shouted, "Dammit Rorke! You son of a bitch!"

The pain to his abdomen and ribs hit and he cried out in agony. He pressed his hand to his side and came away with blood. The pain increased and he saw Rorke's boot coming towards him. He couldn't help but cry out…

"David!"

Don't you quit on me David!

Don't you quit on her.

He looked up. Rorke was taking her away. She was slung over the bastard's shoulder like a sack of gear. Her hands were dangling and her braid dangling. He reached out and tried to crawl but she kept getting further and further away. He kept trying until she was gone.

HAWK!

The lights overhead were bright as Hesh's eyes opened and they began to dart wildly around. He started moving and realized that he was being held down. They were babbling and shouting at each other to hold him down. What the fuck? Where the hell was he?

His abdomen was burning in pain. His chest hurt and he was being held down. Did that bastard Rorke come back? He gritted his teeth and growled to try and get free but he was being held down and they weren't inclined to let him up. Then he was going to have to fight his way out. His hands clenched in fists and ready to swing.

Hesh? Hesh!

Hesh turned his head to the source of the groggy voice. His eyes locked onto to a set of hazel eyes and… He exclaimed, "Fucking little shit!"

"At least that is clear," Carol said as she kept her hands firmly on her patient's shoulders. She rolled her eyes slightly and then continued to look at him. He first crashed and then when they got him back his heart rate went up and he started moving around. Whatever the hell happened out there was clearly on his mind since he was shouting at someone to stop and calling them a 'son of a bitch'. She needed him to calm himself down. She called his name, "Hesh!"

Hesh actually stopped struggling since she issued it more like an order. He knew better than to disobey a direct order and he sure as hell wasn't going to give any reason for Carol to make his life miserable. Still he couldn't help but mutter pathetically, "He took her Carol. Rorke has Hawk and it's my fault."

Carol looked at Hesh and noted the glassy expression. The fact he managed to even communicate clearly what had been on both his and Logan's mind… She knew how much her friend affected the people around her. She had only suspected what Hesh and her friend had and now it was laid bare in front of her.

Carol noted that Hesh had calmed down a little but he was shaking probably from blood loss. She looked around and shouted, demanded where the hell her O-negative was. She looked back down and saw that Hesh was still looking at her. She hoped it would compute since the glassy look was not the best indicator that he would understand. Still she had to try and she saw the look on his face. It looked broken. She leaned in to check his pupil reflexes since there were some nasty bruises forming on his face and said, "It's okay Hesh. I hear you. Just hold still."

"It's my fault. She wouldn't have hesitated… She would have agreed…"

"We'll talk about it later," Carol said softly while she looked over his injuries and directed her orders. "Right now I need you to relax. Let us help you. Can you do that?"

Hesh was looking up at Carol. Everything looked huge to him since she was bent over him and reaching over for whatever she wanted. She was looking at him with an alarmed look. How bad was he fucked up? He knew he was shot and then… A sharp pain shot through his ribcage and he grunted. The reaction from Carol was instantaneous and she was looking at him and asking him where it hurt. Her voice sounded garbled.

Carol heard the grunt as they were removing his gear vest. She started barking at the assistants to remove it carefully and to cut it if they had to. She knew his abdomen was hurting like a bitch; the man was shot. He had grunted when someone touched his torso. She tried to get his attention and she asked, "Hesh you need to tell me where it hurts."

She put her hands on his torso and applied a little bit of pressure. The moan that followed was Hesh trying to not let her know; it was full of agony. She was familiar with it since she was a doctor before all this. She looked and saw Hesh starting to fade. She asked, "You okay Hesh?"

Hesh felt the sharp pain. It was worse than when Rorke kicked him and caused it in the first place. He felt like his body was getting crushed and tried to hold it in but it came out in such agony. The rhetorical question Carol said in her garbled tone was welcome. Normally he would have been a sarcastic ass about it but… He couldn't say anything since he just ached and it was too much to stay awake. He managed to twitch and Carol reacted and bent over to study him.

"Hesh?"

Hesh blinked as he looked up. He was so fucking tired. He blinked at the face above and he thought he heard her laughing. She was telling him to go to sleep and to rest. He closed his eyes and let himself fall into blackness.

It's okay Shappa. It wasn't your fault.

I just sat there…

Son of a bitch don't you dare.

She'll forgive you big brother.

I wouldn't blame her if she didn't…

The quiet was loud as Hesh slowly opened his eyes. The room was dark but what light there was he felt it was too bright. He squinted and grimaced from it and he felt very groggy. He blinked a couple of times to get used to it and started to look around. The building was unfamiliar to him and he started to tense up a bit. As he did, he winced and pressed his right to his abdomen and couldn't help but grunt.

"Easy there big brother," Logan's voice filled Hesh's ears and his hand was felt on his shoulder in a reassuring manner.

Hesh looked at Logan and noticed the bruises on his face and the redness around the nose. His eyes then drifted to Logan's arm and noticed the splint and sling. He also took in the bandage on his little brother's forehead. He croaked, "Logan?"

"Yep, the pain in the ass me," Logan replied, keeping his voice down. He moved his arm gingerly to gesture with it and gave a slight smile.

Hesh looked around without trying to move too much. He was starting to feel the throbbing and his features twitched to indicate it. He noticed the walls and other things about the room. He asked, "Where are we?"

"A ship called the Dakota. She survived the assault," Logan replied as he watched his brother. The twitches from pain, stiffness, it was to be expected but he was concerned about other things. "Moved us here with the rest of the team after they stabilized you. Pissed the hell out of Carol off."

Hesh recognized the walls that indicated the inside of a ship. He listened to Logan's narrative and looked back at his brother, "What?"

Logan made a sniffing noise since it was a little runny and he really couldn't rub it since it was still sore from being broken. He explained, "We were brought to the field hospital and Carol worked on you. Who knew she was a surgeon?" He paused to make sure Hesh was still in a state to comprehend everything. He was on IV fed pain meds. He cleared his throat, "Anyway she fixed you up even though you gave us a scare there. You… flat lined in surgery and she got you back. I told you not to quit on me."

"I didn't, stupid," Hesh grimaced in an attempt at brotherly humor. "So why here?"

"Well Carol didn't want you moved until she was satisfied but she only has so much clout," Logan began, not sure how to explain it. "You know maybe…"

"Logan."

Logan sighed when he heard the slight plea embedded with the tone that demanded he give an answer. He looked at Hesh who was holding up surprisingly well but he felt disconcerted by the whole thing. "We had to move. That was what they told me."

"What about Hawk?"

"They didn't find anything except a trail of footprints."

"So we left her behind?"

"Hesh, you lost a lot of blood and were critical. Believe me none of us wanted to leave." Logan looked away as if to think about something. Then he said, "Merrick had Keegan and Kick go back once you had been stabilized. Once they hit the jungle…" His voice gave out and he looked at Hesh. He hoped that his brother wouldn't get hysterical. He did promise…

"They lost the trail," Hesh said in a defeated tone. His shoulders slumped as he leaned back against the pillows. He didn't care how much it hurt. It didn't matter now. "How long was I out?"

"A week." Logan took in his brother's appearance. He needed his brother to be strong for what he was thinking of. It was probably foolish to be thinking of it now but he considered that Hesh would need a motivator. "Listen Hesh… I was thinking that… once you're on your feet we'd go after her."

Hesh turned his head towards Logan. He could see that he was apologetic, hurt, lost… There was also that determination he had when he had a plan. He started to move to get on his feet but was stopped by Logan. He frowned at Logan, "Logan, let me up."

"I said when you're back on your feet big brother," Logan said in a firm tone. "That means when Carol says so. I want to find her too but not in the shape we are in. You know that. Compute this through your thick head: you nearly died. Do you really think I would let you do anything stupid after that?"

Hesh was locked in a glare with Logan. He was still glaring when he reluctantly allowed Logan to push him back down. He winced and felt a little queasy but he forced it down. "Logan…"

"I hate it too but we can get what we can from Merrick. He has been making queries and sent Keegan and Kick for recon and I hear he's using a few other resources." Logan looked at the door to the room when he heard footsteps. He waited until they passed by and he let out the breath he had been holding in thinking it was Carol. If she knew… He looked back at Hesh and saw that it was dawning on him that he had thought this out. "We can't just go charging in without knowing what to look for and to be honest I am afraid of finding her and she sees you like this tramping like you were fit."

Hesh knew Logan was right. He felt his abdomen spasm slightly and he pressed his right to it trying to ride out the throbbing it produced. Definitely Logan was right and she would definitely chew him out if he showed up ready to fight looking like this. He had the thought that she would hate it too but she would agree. He nodded not trusting his voice while riding out the spasm.

Logan noticed the movement and took it in. It was no use pestering Hesh to admit he was in pain. Instead he laid out what he thought of, "Once you're clear, we'll start our own search. I can peek in on what Merrick is doing… I know it sucks but… You gotta have faith."

Hesh nodded in agreement. The spasm passed and he was able to breathe a little more. He still kept his right slung over his abdomen. He heard what Logan was saying and while he hated the reality at the moment, this was the plan… for now. He didn't like that she was going to be in that bastard's grasp for God knows how long but… there was one thing he could do. He would go after her but he would also have faith. He had to have faith that she would hold out as long as she had to. He looked at Logan and managed to say, "I'm with you little brother."

Logan nodded. He managed to get Hesh on his side and a goal. He would come up with the logistics. It was the least he could do to. This was his fault. He had been awake and saw Rorke take her. He was more mobile than Hesh then. He should have done something. Now he was. It sucked in terms of the long wait but they both needed to be in shape. If they met up with Rorke now, they were as good as dead and that wouldn't help anyone. This was as good as it was going to get for now and he hoped it was a start to Hesh forgiving him.

Relaxing a little, Logan shifted on his feet and ended up bumping Riley who had been asleep underneath the bed. At the look of reproach he said, "Sorry Riley."

Hesh frowned a little at that, "Riley?"

At the call of his name from his handler, Riley came out giving a whine. He reared up and placed his paws on the bed and panted happily. Hesh lifted his right and reached over to rub the dog's ears. "Good boy," he murmured.

"You are up to something."

Logan looked at Carol as he paused on the way to Hesh's room. He still had the damn splint and sling on but there was nothing he could do about that. His sprained ankle was healed and the graze from the bullet wound left an interesting scar. Skye joked weakly that he looked tough with it. He replied, "I'm not up to anything Carol. You think I can do anything with a broken arm?" He tried a weak attempt at being cute.

"You're a Walker," Carol said as if that were the answer to everything. It usually was and she could recall another name she would use that was the equivalent. "That should be enough."

Logan raised his brow in a slight frown. It had been nearly a week since Hesh woke up and he had been coming every day. It was no wonder that Carol suspected something and she had every right since he had started in on their plan of going 'Hawk hunting' and for the most part eavesdropping or sneaking in on Merrick's recon operations since he was essentially barred and told to just focus on healing. Like that was going to happen. He replied trying to be cute, "Part of our charm," and offered a smile.

Carol took in the face that was smiling and still managed to look adorable even though the bruises largely faded and he looked a bit ridiculous with the nose splint for his broken nose. She couldn't help but smile in return and say, "Definitely yours Logan. Now I see how you manage to stay out of trouble."

"I'm accident prone," Logan admitted with a humorless chuckle. It seemed ironic or something like that in that he had more serious injuries and yet he had bounced back from them like they were nothing. Now… He shook his head slightly not noticing the concerned frown that appeared on Carol's face and said, "I'm not up to anything. I'm just trying to make it so I get out of this fucking thing and go looking for my best friend. I'm not rushing anything."

Carol continued to look at Logan. He was planning something and she knew it. Yet she was astute enough to see that he wasn't going to make a move until Hesh was better. As an officer she was obligated to inform Merrick and that extended to her being a doctor too but unofficially, she was rooting for them both to rally. She would help when she could. She believed Logan and he had no reason to lie. She nodded, "Okay then. As long as you do what the doctor orders."

"And I'm trying hard not to complain," Logan teased gently.

"And you're doing a suspiciously good job. Hesh too," Carol teased back. She sobered though as Logan started on his trek towards Hesh's room, "Go easy on your brother today. He woke up a little feverish but I'm not worried. He's recovering nicely."

Logan shot a look at Carol at the mention of Hesh being feverish. "So…?"

"He'll be fine. Like I said, I'm not worried. He was exhausted from yesterday."

Logan relaxed a little. He made a note to scold his brother. Hesh was doing what he was supposed to but if he pushed too hard… He nodded his thanks and went into Hesh's room and frowned. He was out a second later and calling down to Carol, "Did you schedule anything for Hesh today?"

"No," Carol frowned as she turned to head back. "Why?"

"He's not here."

"Impossible. I was just there." Carol was still frowning as she peeked in to find an unmade bed and no patient. She walked in and saw the IV had been pulled out and the end of the line was on the ground. She shook her head, "You Walker boys. Where could he have gone?"

Logan looked at the room. He was surprised that Hesh did what he did and pulled out the IV. He had to think though. His brother couldn't have gotten far since Hesh still moved gingerly at times especially if he was having a bad day. He thought about it and came to a conclusion, "I think I know where he is. I'll be back."

"You need some help?"

"No I got it." Logan waved at Carol while she started cleaning up. "I'll get him back. Just don't scold him when you do."

"Only if he does something stupid like make his fever worse." Carol looked at Logan with a look of understanding.

Reassured, Logan set off at a slowed pace just in case he caught up to his brother since he was probably ambling along. He was relieved no one was around to question what he was doing; it was like they were being ignored for the time being and that was fine with him. When he got closer, he was surprised that Hesh made it this far. He took a breath and opened the door.

He found his brother trying to load bullets into a clip for the Honey Badger. He was even dressed in a uniform and Logan wondered how he managed to do that given the state he was in and that he had seemed to spontaneously disappear from his room. He ambled up slowly to not startle his brother and teased, "Aren't you getting a little ahead of the plan there big brother."

"I'm on my feet aren't I?" Hesh paused in what he was doing and looked at Logan. His fingers fumbled with the bullet and it clattered to the table. "Shit."

Logan slowly picked it up and took the magazine from Hesh. He knew his brother wouldn't protest. He noticed the faint line of sweat on Hesh's forehead and the exhaustion that was apparent on his face. He replied in a low voice, "And I said when Carol gives the all clear. She hasn't so…"

"Can't leave her out there."

"I know but you first and I'm still in this fucking thing. Can't really shoot for shit like this," Logan indicated to his broken arm. He watched as Hesh just sat there. It had to be frustrating for his brother; Hesh had always been one to bounce back. "Come on. Let's get you back big brother. Carol's not mad."

Hesh nodded in silent agreement a bit reluctantly but he allowed Logan to help him back to the medical wing. He really didn't know why he just decided to get up and come down here except the need to prep for a mission. The mission was to find Hawk. He figured he would get an early start so that Logan wouldn't have to delay in gearing up. Everything was good except he felt unusually warm and he ached all over.

Logan would have put his arm around Hesh's waist to support it but his arm was in a sling and it seemed that Hesh was doing that anyway pressing his right into his side. Logan was fine with being arm support. They could make it work and he could tell that Hesh was finding it in him to stay standing and make it on his own. Logan was just there in case. For the most part Hesh was working on his own.

They made it back to the room and that was when Hesh started to give out. The exhaustion was taking its toll but he was trying not to put weight on his brother but it was clear to Logan that Hesh was going to collapse soon and he knew that Hesh would be mortified if Carol helped. It wasn't that he didn't like the doc; it was more of a pride thing combined with feeling like shit from his injuries. Logan considered it hypersensitivity to things that wouldn't have bothered him normally.

Logan thought it nice that Carol straightened things up and wasn't present. He had to give her more credit than he had in the past. He made a beeline to the bed and murmured, "Come on you bonehead let's get you back in bed."

"Pain in my ass," Hesh murmured as he released Logan's shoulder to use his left to lower himself down. "I can still kick your ass."

"Bring it on big brother," Logan teased as he held out his left but not quite touching his brother. It was just in case Hesh actually did fall over. "When you're not moving like an old man."

"You know I don't hit cripples," Hesh retorted as he finally settled down on the bed. He gave a slight grin in Logan's direction before trying to relax. He pressed his right against his abdomen since that seemed to be his bad side in terms of what hurt and what didn't. His lip twitched from the soreness and he involuntarily let out a grunt. Broken ribs sucked and it didn't help that his stomach had been bruised along with being shot.

Logan grinned even though he watched his brother's movements with a careful eye. The attempt at humor was a major improvement in his opinion. He replied, "Oh yes you would."

Before it could go further, Carol made her entrance. She took a look at the Walker boys and said, "You've improved Logan. Shall I try hiding the splint plaster?"

Logan gave a scowl but couldn't help but grin. It was a relief that she wasn't upset. Then again that felt weird. He watched as Carol addressed Hesh as she strung up a fresh IV, "Well Hesh, I see you managed to find a change of clothes. Tired of scrubs already?"

"Felt like it," Hesh offered as he watched Carol pick up his hand and prepped it to insert the IV. "Sorry about that."

"No worries. You keep this up and I might be able to sign off on PT earlier than recommended," Carol replied as she inserted the IV and made sure it was steady. She glanced at both Walkers but made it seem like her attention was devoted to the IV. "After all what do doctors know." She gave a slight grin at them before leaving.

Logan waited until she had closed the door before saying with a slight grin, "Dude I think she likes you."

"Shut up." Hesh gave an annoyed look but there was a slight grin. At least something was looking up.

A/N: Looks like Hesh is not doing too well but he rallies and Logan is up to something. Stay tuned for more The Hunt...