a/n: Thanks so much for the wonderful reviews! I apologize that this took a while, and I hope it's enticing. I'm working on the next chapter, so bear with me. Thanks!

Chapter 15: Fading

Outside the embassy, I heard a chopper. We were inside now, but I heard that distinctive whoop of the blades. Two British guards carried Lake on a medical board—one of those you see for people who hike and fall off a cliff. I tried to go to his side, but one of the embassy employees stopped me. His name, he said, was Ethan Kimball.

"The chopper's here. They'll take him up," he said. Ethan was probably higher ranking than I thought, maybe the diplomat in charge or something. He had blonde hair that curled, a little too long. He was probably mid-30s or so.

"Where can we go for him to get help?" I asked.

"That remains to be seen," Ethan said. I glared at him.

"What?"

He sighed and took me by the elbow. Two guards followed us. I think they viewed me as a potential threat still.

"You need to tell us a little more about you," he said. "We're leaving because we're all in danger. Non-essential personnel were evacuated last week, but now things have gotten worse."

"You don't say," I said dryly.

"You told the reporter that you were coming, and then you snuck into our embassy. Why?" Ethan asked. He wasn't mean about it, but I thought it was the stupidest question ever.

"So the rebels wouldn't see us," I said. "We need asylum from the current Nigerian government. Remember? You're leaving too." Ethan shot me a look of annoyance, but oh well.

"Why didn't you go to your own country?"

"We tried that, but our embassy was burned down," I said. Yeah, no chance I hid the sarcasm there.

"Let me rephrase," Ethan said. As he questioned me, we started following the stampede of 'essential personnel' up a flight of stairs. I figured we were going for a roof. "Why haven't you evacuated yet?"

And that's where I hesitated. I wasn't sure how much to say. Maybe it was the caution that built up in me from being around the enemy. I didn't know if explaining everything might put us in a worse state. Or endanger Lake and what he does.

Ethan glanced at me, waiting for an answer.

"If you're concerned regarding your rights, I'm afraid you'll have to risk it," he said. My rights? What, was he going to arrest me for . . . what?

"No," I said. "But how do I know how much to tell you?"

Ethan stopped. "What you tell me will help figure out who I call to get you wherever you need to go. If you're worried about confidentiality, we do our best." I looked at his eyes, wondering if I could determine if he was lying or not. But we'd come here for help, and he was the best we had.

We kept walking. I heard the chopper more clearly up on the roof.

"My name is Jane Sorenson," I said. "My friend is Kelly Lake."

"Military?" Ethan prompted.

"Lake is," I said. "We were trying to leave the country but ran into trouble with the rebels."

"What were you two doing here?" His question seemed strange, but I realized he thought that Lake and I were here alone in the country.

"I was volunteering in a village," I said. Wow, it'd been a long time since I'd thought of them. The screams, the burning, the dead bodies . . . "Lake was part of a team that was evacuating some Americans."

Ethan slowed down as we came to the roof top. There were two choppers. Lake and the guards were in one, and the rest of the 'essential personnel'—more soldiers—were in the other one. Ethan, the two soldiers, and I were all that were left to get onboard. I saw Sarah Worthington, the reporter, and Patrick, the cameraman, in the chopper with the rest.

"The American team, who had Azuka," Ethan said, "that was you?"

I didn't say anything.

"Okay." Ethan took me by the arm, and we got in the helicopter with Lake. "Let's go!" he shouted to the pilots.

I sat on the floor of the chopper. Lake was totally unconscious. A soldier put in an IV in the top of Lake's hand. I looked away as he inserted the needle. Ethan grabbed a pair of earphones. There was a microphone attached.

"Get me in touch with London," he said. "Secure line." As he started talking with whomever in London, I inched closer to Lake. I grabbed his hand. It was warm, but he didn't grip me back.

"This is Ethan Kimball. We've evacuated. Yes sir. . . ."

Lake's face was smeared with dirt and sweat. The soldier holding the IV bag lifted Lake's shirt. He froze when he saw the angry stitches there. His eyes crept my way, and I could only nod. The soldier cut away the shirt. Part of me thought at how much trouble I'd gone to get that shirt, but it didn't matter now anyway.

". . . two Americans. Jane Sorenson and Kelly Lake. . . ."

Lake's shoulder wound and his left arm were spotting with blood.

"Standing by."

Someone tapped me on the shoulder. It was Ethan. He covered his hand over the microphone piece.

"They're tracking down his commander," he said, nodding at Lake. "They know all about this, apparently." He smiled, as if that was supposed to be comforting. Surprisingly, it was.

Faintly, I smiled too, and held Lake's hand tighter.

-0-0-0-

The choppers stopped on a dirt airfield. I didn't know who's it was, or what country we were in, but Ethan told me Lake and I were being flown to the Harry Truman. I didn't know what that meant. But another chopper flew us onward. My eyelids felt so heavy. I didn't let myself sleep, not yet. Lake hadn't woken up.

Vast dark ocean caught my attention. We were leaving the whole continent of Africa. I watched the land get farther away. I knew I'd never be back.

Ahead was some large object on the sea. It had to be big, because we were far away. It was getting dark, and it stood out.

"What's that?" I asked, shouting to the pilots.

"The Harry S. Truman, ma'am!"

It was a battle ship. Or battle carrier, or one of those things. I smiled at my ignorance.

As we hovered to touch down on the Truman's deck, I squinted my eyes. Someone was standing off to the side, someone familiar. There were others on the deck too, but this man drew my attention. I gasped.

"Red!"

I turned to Lake, squeezing his hand.

"We're safe," I said. He didn't stir, but I kept going. "Red's here. Probably LT too." He grimaced in his sleep. I gently touched his forehead. "Stay with me."

As soon as the chopper landed, I jumped out to make room for three people who went straight for Lake. They carefully moved him off the chopper.

"Jane!"

I turned to Red, knowing it was him. Relief flooded me, just being around tons of military or Navy types, on American property, everything. Suddenly, my eyes watered, and as Red put an arm around me to guide me, the tears started to fall. I hated myself for it. Didn't I have any control over my stupid emotions? But at least I wasn't sobbing. Red saw my tears immediately anyway.

"Hey, it's okay!" He had to shout over the noise of the chopper. "You made it!" He watched Lake being carted off. "There's a good doc on board. And Lena's still around. They'll check him out."

I nodded. I stumbled a little, feeling the ship rock, or maybe it was my leg. Either way, Red caught me by the shoulders. He looked me up and down, frowning.

"You look thinner," he said bluntly. "When's the last time you ate?"

"I don't know." How long ago was it? "At Sadick's compound." He frowned deeper at Sadick's name. I swear the boat pitched to the left next, because suddenly I was falling.

"Whoa!" Strong arms caught me, and I saw Red's face hovering over me. But he hadn't caught me. LT's face hovered over me too. I smiled.

"You made it," I said tiredly. LT chuckled.

"Let's get her cleaned up," he said to Red, completely ignoring my observation. I almost felt ticked off by that.

They led me somewhere below deck, to a female officer. I never caught her name, but she gave me a Gatorade and directed me to a shower. I made it through that, which would have been blissful after several days of not showering, but I was so tired. I think it was partially not eating much for days. All my energy was gone, the adrenaline far spent, and I really couldn't convince myself to worry about anything.

I got dressed in a pair of sweat pants and a Navy t-shirt that the woman had left for me on a couch. She'd said that someone was going to come back for me in a few minutes. As soon as I was decent, I laid down on the couch, thinking I'd just rest a little before they came. Then I'd go see Lake.

I don't remember a second passing before I was asleep.

-0-0-0-

I dreamt of Lake. I knew it was a dream, but that didn't mean I had any control of what happened. We were running to the embassy, the British embassy, but the rebels saw us. They shot him before he could make it over the wall.

My body was waking up a little. I could tell I wasn't alone, wherever I was. That made me jump a little as I woke up, back on that couch on the ship. My eyes scanned the room until I found Red. He sat in a chair, and he had a smirk on his face.

"You okay?" he asked. I sat up.

"Where's Lake?" Ow, my head hurt. I wondered how long I slept.

"He's in the med bay," he said. "One deck down from here."

I stood up. My body swayed. Red quickly stood and steadied me.

"Hey, hang on. You need food, all right?"

"How is he?" I asked, ignoring the food part. Red gently pushed me back so I would sit on the couch.

"He's going to be sore for awhile," Red admitted. "But Lena and our own ship doctor say he'll be fine, after he rests." I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Are you telling me the truth?" I asked. Red chuckled. "I mean, you're not sugar-coating this, are you?" Red's laughter subsided. He sat down on the couch next to me.

"Lake's got some internal damage. He's torn up pretty bad inside, but the worst was already fixed up," he said. "They want to fly him to the States for follow-ups, but Lena thinks he'll recover completely."

I thought that over. Red kept watching me though.

"He had a surgery, didn't he?" Red asked. "Someone worked on him?" I tried to block that memory, but how could I? I nodded. "It probably saved him, in the long run. But they didn't do the best job."

I huffed at that.

"Not surprised," I said. "They kept him awake during it."

Red stiffened. It felt like the room dropped twenty degrees.

"What?"

I couldn't look at Red as I spoke. I didn't want to risk crying, which was very possible with the wreck that I was.

"They wanted him alive, but just enough to exchange him for Arthur," I said. "They didn't give him anesthesia. I thought the pain was going to kill him, but he passed out." I could see him, writhing in agony as much as he could against the restraints and the soldiers that held him down.

My head was pounding. I winced.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Red leaned closer to me, his eyes darting over me like a doctor. He wasn't a doctor, was he? "No, I'm not a doctor."

I frowned. "I said that out loud?"

He nodded. "You're weak."

I blinked. "Gee, thanks." He smiled.

"I mean, you need some food in you." He stood up. "Come on. You look like a corpse."

"Just what every girl wants to hear."

He chuckled, and helped me up. I followed him, though he kept a hand on my arm to help.

-0-0-0-

Red set a food tray in front of me. We sat in the ship mess hall—fancy. Not. But it worked.

I glanced at the food. There was a piece of lasagna big enough to feed five grown men. I looked at Red.

"Eat what you can," Red said. I stabbed at some jello concoction instead.

"Eat the meat, not empty sugar," came a scolding voice. I looked up and gasped.

"Doc!" He looked a lot different without the normal bandana I'd seem on him. That, and he was dressed in track pants and a Van Halen t-shirt.

"Hey, Jane," he greeted. It felt so good seeing him alive—

My spirits instantly fell.

"What?"

"Who else made it?" I asked. I tried to smile, but I think they saw through the real question. Doc shot a look at Red, and I felt bad for bringing this up. Maybe I shouldn't have. I was essentially asking who died.

"Zee. They flew him to the States pretty quickly. Bad gunshot wound," Red said. "But LT's here. Remember?" I did. He caught me earlier from falling.

There was an awkward silence between us all. I cleared my throat.

"So what are your real names, because 'Doc' isn't that original, and Red—" I stopped. "What, your hair?" It was more blonde, but maybe it was red in normal lighting. The fluorescents here were less than flattering. I hated to think how my skin looked.

Doc held out his hand across the table. "Danny Kelley." I grinned and shook his hand. I looked expectantly at Red.

He stuck his hand out towards me. "James Atkins." I smiled, and shook his hand.

-0-0-0-

A salad, five bites of jello, and four bites of lasagna later, Red and Doc guided me to a briefing room. There were leather chairs, recliners practically, and a screen in the middle of the front wall. I was to be debriefed here.

"Have a seat," Doc said. I nervously complied. "I'm going to check on Lake."

"Can I see him?" I asked. Part of me doubted still if he really was okay. Doc glanced at Red.

"Captain wants her debriefed soon," Doc said, to Red.

"I'll stay with her," Red said, again talking to Doc and over my head. "I'll bring her by when we're done." He looked to me for approval.

"Thanks," I said. Doc left. Red sat down next to me, though keeping a seat between us. "Is this serious? This 'debriefing'?" Red smiled.

"It's more for security reasons," Red said. "Yakubu burned the US embassy. We need to figure out what else he or Sadick might do."

"Sadick reminds me of sadistic," I said, a little bit off topic. "I don't think that's a coincidence."

"Probably not."

Just then, LT walked in, following a fit older man with salt-and-pepper hair.

"Miss Sorenson," the man started, extending a hand to me, "Captain Bill Rhodes." I shook his hand. "Welcome aboard."

I glanced at Red, then LT. "Thank you." I expected the captain to pace in front of me and start grilling me with questions, but he didn't. He sat down across a little aisle between the seats, and turned towards me. LT sat behind him.

"Miss Sorsenson—Jane, is it?"

I nodded.

"Jane, I gather you've been through a lot the past few days," Capt. Rhodes began. "And I know you haven't rested too much. But I'd like to know what happened. Perhaps you could fill us in from the time you got separated from the team."

I took a deep breath. "How detailed do you want this?" I was suddenly grateful for the food I'd eaten. My headache was gone now, and if this took awhile, I didn't want to pass out.

The captain smiled briefly. "However you want. If I need more details, I'll ask."

"Okay."

I told him about the grenade that knocked me down, and how I waited for the rebels to pass. I told him how I found Lake, nearly executed, and then how Lake had saved me. I told him about Sadick and the rebels who found us, and how they took us to the compound closer to town. I almost lost my lunch when I related the surgery incident again. I told them about the doctor who smuggled Lake antibiotics, and how Lake found us a way to escape with a food tray. I told them about running from the rebels, on into the city, and not reaching the embassy in time. I did NOT tell them about Lake and I kissing—not their place, I figured. But I told them about finding the reporter, and getting to the British embassy.

I kept it as sterile as I could. As much of a nightmare that it was, I tried to be brave about it—or just detached. Maybe I was putting myself in Lake's mindset. I thought these men would appreciate the cold facts.

Rhodes did, but I noticed LT seemed quiet. His eyes were downcast, and I could tell he was upset. I imagined he was proud though—he had that glint to his eyes. Red, on the other hand, just looked sad. He was shifting in his seat, like he was trying to play it off, but I saw through it. I guess what I'd said affected him.

"Thank you, Jane," the captain said. "Red will take you somewhere to rest."

He stood up, and I took that as my dismissal.

"I want to see Lake," I said. It came out a little more demanding than I meant. The captain glanced hesitantly at LT.

"He hasn't been awake much," he said. "And frankly, Miss Sorenson, his condition might upset you."

I couldn't hold back the glare. "Upset me? You really think so, after everything I just told you?"

That shut him up. He nodded to Red.

"Come on, Jane." Red led me out of the room.

We weaved through the halls and down a flight of stairs to the infirmary. Red stepped aside to let me go in first.

Lake lay on a bed, a white sheet tucked around him and under his arms. He was in a hospital gown, which I knew he'd shun the moment he had enough energy. He looked clean now—someone must have washed him.

This wasn't like a hospital room, where family can stay and linger. It was just a bed, and further down were a few more hospital-style beds. But no couch or pull-out sleeper.

I stood next to Lake, watching him. Someone had shaved his face too. I kind of missed the stubble. He looked a little silly so clean-shaven, and then with the mohawk.

"Lake," I called out. I went to lay my hand on top of his, but stopped. There was an IV in that hand. His other hand was stuck with a needle too, but this one had blood going through. "They know he's AB+, right?"

Red blinked. "I'm sure they do. How do you know that?"

I smiled faintly. "It came up."

"It's a precaution," Red said. "They're just topping him off."

Suddenly Lake's hand twitched. He groaned softly and shifted.

"Lake?"

Red came on the other side of the bed. "Lake? Wake up, buddy."

Lake's eyes fluttered a little. "Ugh." That was the closest I could understand it. He opened his eyes, and saw Red first. "Thought I wouldn't have to see your ugly face again."

Red laughed. "Sorry. Here's a prettier one." He nodded at me, and I nearly blushed. But Lake let his head roll so he could see me. I suddenly felt very awkward. Wasn't this a little too normal for us, or too civilized? I felt like we needed gunfire in the background.

"Hey," he said softly. His voice was low and husky; it was so sexy. I wanted to kiss him. Instead, I swept my hand across his forehead. He felt cool now.

"Hi," I said back. "We made it."

He smiled. "Yeah, we did." His eyes moved over my body. He leaned towards me, glancing down. "How's your leg?"

"What's wrong with it?" Red asked, frowning.

"She got shot," Lake said.

Red shot me a brief glare. "You should have told me. Let's get that looked at."

"The rebels got the bullet out," I said, trying to downplay the urgency I heard in his voice.

From the door, I heard someone come in. "What happened?" It was Doc. Before I could answer:

"Jane got shot," Red said. Lake was smiling, and I wanted to swipe that off his face.

"It's not a big deal," I said. I noticed bandages peeking out from under the sleeve of the t-shirt Doc wore. "You got shot too."

Doc shrugged. I glanced at Lake, then Red.

"Are you part of this club?"

Red smirked. He pulled up his shirt, showing off a patch of gauze above his hip. I laughed, hearing Lake join in and the others too. Till then, I had never felt so at home in a place so foreign to me.