"Steve went to the academy and then after a few years he went to Intelligence and then onto the SEALS, he chose that career path because he knew there were people out there that used innocent bystanders as pawns in their own wars and for their own profit. He wanted to stop them and bring them to justice – and he's good at it, that's why he was assigned to the specialist SEALS team and made team leader in less than two years. Then on one fateful day he was badly injured during an operation, he was shot at close range by a sniper and his team requested a medevac; due to the amount of wounded we were getting back on base due to the shelling of the airport, I volunteered to go on the medevac – something normally not allowed since I was female."

"I remember you telling me, he would have died if you hadn't operated on him there and then due to the blood loss and where the bullet was located; you saved his life and you were only 20 years old and scared out of your mind," Danny replied.

I nodded and looked up at Steve who was now sitting on the arm of the chair opposite us.

"When we got him back to the base I stayed with him right through his surgery and into the recovery phase, I didn't sleep for about three days because I was worried about him, because I felt a connection with him and I had only heard him whisper one word to me before he passed out from the pain."

"What did he say to you?"

"He said Aloha."

Danny looked at us both and then chuckled, typical Steve humour at the worst timings.

"He said 'Hello' in Hawaiian when he was bleeding from a GSW in the middle of a combat zone? Sounds like Super Seal!" he replied.

"Aloha doesn't just mean 'hello' Danny, it also means goodbye, love, respect and most importantly honour!" I replied gently.

"I knew when I looked up and saw that my medic was a woman that she was something special, I then clocked she was part of the UK forces and I knew the argument she must have put up to get me the help I needed. I knew that UKF didn't allow female medics on the front line, and we were on the painted line with targets on our backs every second of that rescue operation – she saved my life while under heavy enemy fire and she saved my buddies as well while in the chopper as two of them were injured." Steve replied.

I looked from Steve to Danny who was taking everything in as much as possible, he was still shaky and I squeezed his hand gently to let him know we were here for him.

"I remember being terrified and the mild mannered SEALS you have probably met are very different when they are on active duty and in the middle of an operation, they scared the shit out of me but I kept it together as I operated on their TL. They supported me through the procedure, handing me what I needed and providing blood donations on our trip back. When we arrived back at the camp I was exhausted and after securing him into the operating theatre with the surgeons, the team found me sitting outside in the sand learning to breathe again. They sat with me for an hour, not talking to me but guarding me in a circle – allowing me the time I needed to go over what I had just done." I continued.

Steve came to join us again with bottles of water for everyone.

"The recovery process was slow Danny, I had to heal the wounds first and then it took me nearly six weeks to be able to walk again due to the swelling in my spine, Sadie asked to be assigned to me as her main patient, she wanted to see me through everything I was dealing with and I guarantee you I put her through hell on many occasions. During one occasion in the middle of the night, I woke up from a nightmare and I couldn't sleep anymore – the pain was killing me and I could see Sadie working with another nurse doing the rounds of the other wounded; I was lying there sweating, clenching my hands and teeth to stop from screaming – I had started to hyperventilate a few moments later and then I heard someone start to sing. It wasn't very loud but it was incredibly soothing; I managed to get off the bed and I looked around the corner and I saw her sing to another wounded soldier who had severe burns and was in obvious distress, she just took his hand and sang to him."

I looked at Steve, I didn't know he had heard or witnessed that moment, he looked back over to me and smiled at the memory of that night and continued with the story.

"I was leaning against the wall for support and I just watched as the man in pain was calmed down, I could tell by his breathing and by the way his monitor was slowly making a more steady beeping sound. The man had 70% burns across his body and the pain he was in must have been horrific, I know enough about burns to know that once the nerves are dead then it is only a waiting game to see what surgery is required next. I can remember what happened next like it happened yesterday, it showed her true character and I immediately knew I wanted to know her so much better and to apologise for treating her so badly when she was only trying to help me when I was in pain." Steve continued.

"What happened next, did you go over and talk to them?" Chin asked.

"I was going to go over but what I witnessed moved me so much that I had to grip the railings tighter to stop myself collapsing on the ground crying, I felt weak after witnessing it and as I continued to watch events unfold, I realised that she was so humble and gave everything of herself to help those in need." He replied.

I still had Danny's hands in mine and I was gently rubbing my thumb across his wrist to keep his pulse and blood pressure calmer than what it was earlier on, he looked up at me and I saw he had unshed tears in his eyes.

"What happened next?" he whispered.

"The injured man asked a question and she smiled at him and nodded, she replied and I heard him give out a small pained laugh and saw him tighten his hand around hers as she sat on the side of his bed and repositioned his oxygen mask."

"What was the question, if you don't mind me asking?" Chin inquired.

"He asked me for some Scottish luck and a final request before he slept, I granted him and cracked a joke that I would like to keep private," I replied hoarsely.

"I stood there and watched as she leaned over him and whispered something to him, she then sat up and removed his oxygen mask for a moment and kissed him on the lips; I could see him smile and grin as tears went down his face and she replaced his oxygen mask. Thirty seconds later he was dead, she called time and said a prayer as she blessed herself and whispered the last rites over him as requested. She stopped the monitors and oxygen, wrapped his hands over his rosary beads and covered him with the blanket so the orderlies could take him to the morgue. She stood there silently as all this was going on and she quickly stripped and cleaned his bed and area and started a fresh chart for another new patient to replace the one she just lost; she got him settled and then continued on her rounds without taking a break."

Everyone looked at me and I shrugged my shoulders gently at their looks.

"It's what I do, with every fibre of my being I will make sure people are supported and taken care of when they are in pain of any kind, but I didn't have time for tears that night since Steve was about to fall ill with an infection," I replied.

"You developed an infection in your wound nearly six weeks later?" Danny asked.