Disclaimer: SM owns all.
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: The view depicted in this story on Iran and Iraq is in no way how I actually see these countries. Please understand that the view of Iran, and Iraq, and their people are not my opinion, I do not wish to offend, and if I have, I am truly and deeply sorry. See AN after Chapter 5 to read full explanation
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Edward POV
As I walked, Jasper's face was the only thing I was seeing. He looked so hurt. Determined, defeated. Resigned. I've only ever seen that look once before on his face, and that was when he had decided to take that bullet for Emmett. Something told me he was letting himself die to save me. That thought only gave me more of an incentive to continue walking the nasty terrain towards the base. It's been a few days since I'd left the man I love in that hole. I knew I had to save him. I knew I had to keep going or my life would die in that cell.
I thought up a plan of attack and made decisions. Once I got back to base, I would only wait two days at the most before I went after him. I wasn't even sure if he'd still be there when we went back, but I had to try. I knew Jasper would have if he was in my place right now. My heart clenched more and more with every step I took. I was exhausted and hungry as shit, but I wouldn't stop. I couldn't stop. Nothing but death could stop me now.
I used my memories of Jasper to steel my determination and strength. I remembered how his nose crinkled a little when he smiles, and his eyes change to a bit of a darker blue that swirled whenever we kissed. The smell of him, even if he smelled bad. The twinkle in his eye when we wrestled, the kindness and affection that seemed to ooze from his eyes when we cuddled and he stroked my cheeks. I love, most of all, his silent strength. We all knew that he was affectionate, but when he was with me, there was more caring and love that seemed to emulate from him. I felt so honored that I was the lucky one to see this side of him.
I stumbled a few more miles over the night and managed to see the camp just as the sun started to come over the horizion. I was exhausted from three days of walking, and my skin was burned from having no clothing, my sweat just making the rays stronger. I felt numb now. I was almost there, and the only thing that kept me from collapsing was the memory of Jasper's kitchen smile. I stumbled closer, and was suddenly surrounded by men from the camp.
"Who are you?" one man asked in a clipped tone.
"Major Edward Cullen. Colonel Whitlock is still at the place we were being held. I'm a member of Delta Force. Contact General Swan for comfirmation, Private." I said standing up to my full height. It took a lot of effort to stand tall and perform the silent salute that told these soldiers that I was friendly.
Another man ran to go radio, while I stood with my hand in the respect salute, and tried my best to keep from wavering. About twenty minutes later, a truck came barreling down the road, and skidded to a hault just as Emmett and Sam, whom I was in school with, jumped from the truck.
"FUCK!" Emmett yelled, running to me and scooping me up into one of his traditional bear hugs.
"Ahh!" I whimpered as Emmett's sleeves grazed over my burned skin, and his arms dug into my painful, strained muscles.
"Edward?" Emmett asked after he swung me into his arms and started for the truck. "Are you alright?"
"I'm burnt, Emmett. I'm hungry, exhausted, and I have walked for three days. But most of all, I need to go get him. I can't leave him there. This is going to be worse than what we went through together. The guards are close companions to Kimjaw. You should see what they did to him." I sobbed, clinging to Emmett's arms as he held me in the truck. We were passing through the gates as Sam slipped his pants on my hips. I weakly smiled at him in a silent thank-you.
"No, Edward. You're not going anywhere. You're going to eat something, and then sleep after you tell me where you were."
"At the Karna Temple, where they had the MP's daughter." I gasped out. "But I doubt he's still there. It's been a few days and he's got to have been moved, especially with the bombs that were dropped."
"Bombs?"
"Yeah. Someone bombed the surrounding village. One landed over the cells that Jasper and I were just moved to, and the walls crumbled. Jasper was beaten really badly and he barely had te strength to kiss me or convince me to leave him to get help."
"Sam, did we bomb the temple?" Emmett asked, turning to look in Sam's general direction briefly.
"No. You had decided that the town was too close. We weren't anywhere near there. Besides, why would they stay in a place after just having it discovered?"
"Because that would most likely be the last place we looked, or the first."
"They've been studying what we do just as much as we've been studying them; they know how our brains work. Or at least did." I added as Emmett laid me on a bed. I winced, my skin protesting. Emmett had to move my legs out flat, they'd seized with the sudden lack of movement.
Bella and Rose rushed right into the tent and almost launched themselves onto my bed. Emmett somehow managed to stop them dead in their tracks.
"He's been walking for three days and is really sun burnt" he said.
Bella side-stepped him and rushed over, smoothing my hair away from my face, but it just caused me to flinch; even my hair was burned. Rose basically ripped the wash-basin from the nurse's hands, and handed Bella a cloth. The warm water on my skin made me cry out, sending the water to the floor.
"Edward?" Rose asked.
"N-not hot water . . . c-c-cold, please," I managed to ground out, fighting back the pain.
The nurse returned after she'd collected the basin from Rosie, and was kind enough to bring something for the pain, as well as some food.
Emmett and Sam were now joined by Jacob, and all three were in the corner talking with their heads close together.
The girls washed me as I ate, then rubbed in the cooling cream that the nurse handed them. The nurse, Leah, fussed about getting an IV into my arms, much to my protests. My muscle spasms made it hard for her, and by the time she'd finally got it in, she was cussing under her breath and it's been stabbed about fifteen times.
She gave me something else intravenously, and I felt myself begin to relax. I started to drift off to sleep, and it didn't escape my notice that everyone was avoiding asking about Jasper.
Everyone except Emmett.
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Hi Everyone!
Princess HarleyHeaven I just have to thank you for all that you do! I'll never have the proper words.
I know I skipped over the few days of walking. I tried for ever to write something interesting while Edward walked for days, but it wasn't fun… or interesting……. Fucking lame. Plus I know snot on what the terrain of Iraq is like… And the maps didn't help… *Sigh*
So I wrote this instead… Jasper's POV will catch up to when this one ended. So 3 or 4 Chapters in Jpov. Then followed in Em POV of the conversation and etc……
Sorry I'm so behind everyone.
But because of that i've posted two chapters and as they get finished I will most defintaly post them. I', reallly sorry guys/\, but life sneeks up on you and then being laid off people in one house hold ou some how find things that need to be done all the time, like spring cleaning and then orginazing then visiting and suddenly your day arn't yours any mpre they're your lazy ass mother's.