A Soldier, and a Healer

AN: I'M BACK! THE UPDATES WILL START COMING OUT EVERY TWO DAYS UNTIL SOMETIME NEXT WEEK, I SWEAR. Also I have decided that I will change the way I write in Leo and Jun. Instead of having both of their point of views split into several parts each chapter, I will have an entire chapter told from each of their pov's. This one will be a Leo chapter, the next will be a Jun chapter. Also I will be labeling the time in military time from now on.

B312 0420 HOURS

Spartan Lieutenant B312, or Leo was used to many things. He was used to intense pain. Used to dealing with bull headed superior officers who wanted to see the "Freak" destroyed in some suicidal assault. Used to seeing death and destruction. Used to going days without sleep or any form of respite. However there was one thing he was without a doubt, not used to.

It was of slightly above average height, outside of his MJOLNIR armor it reached just below shoulder level. The build was an average size frame, though with more muscle. Chestnut brown hair and similar color eyes. Features that identified the gender were easily noticeable. And he was uncertain as to whether Sara Sorvad was purposely causing him pain, or simply inexperienced as she treated some of his many injuries.

Even for a Spartan who knew exactly how to read people and their motives, he still couldn't tell which it was.

The pain was bearable for a Spartan-III, it felt like the equivalent to a sharp pinch normal humans felt sometimes. Which still did not mean he enjoyed it, and the fact was it was entirely unnecessary. In fact the only reason he had agreed to have his injuries treated by Sara was currently sleeping into the night, unaware of what the other woman was doing to him.

Rozsa was suffering enough by simply seeing her home burn to ash. Sara had convinced him to let her treat him, but only because she did not want Rozsa to wake up and see his many wounds. Leo had quickly agreed, the girl would likely become frightful of what they meant. Of him. Strangely the thought of the little sleeping child actually shunning was something he desperately wanted to avoid.

'The wonders of a child never cease to amaze', Leo vaguely remembered a Captain said to him once. It had been on a mission to Draco III to scout out a small list of children who could become candidates for Gamma Company. During the two weeks he spent observing several of the children, he found himself playing little games with them. These were not the training, and memory games the Spartan Candidates had spent playing during their time on Onyx. It was the type of play of that normal children could be found doing for hours.

He remembered that day because for the first time, he wasn't a soldier. He was just a thirteen year old who was babysitting a group of little kids. And he had fun, just being that thirteen year old boy, he felt almost like he was always meant to be in that positions. He was quiet and reserved, but he had opened up substantially to the young children.

The Army Captain he was sent to accompany had chuckled while he sat on a bench watching him. He had told him that humans naturally wanted to protect, and have some form of connection with, the next generation. Then the man had said he felt almost sorry for the young Spartan. That statement made Leo extremely curious and, eager for any knowledge no matter the subject, he had asked what the Captain meant.

'You're a Spartan. You think you'll ever have anything to do with kids, or even have your own?' That statement had bothered Leo greatly in the months that followed. He had asked himself what purpose would he have in a world where humanity was not in danger from the Covenant? Would he be able to start a family? Would he have any children, or watch them as they grew up?

Leo remembered how he always felt hollow while he was reflecting on those questions. Eventually he had managed to block those thoughts out of his mind. But now guarding the two girls, his every action followed by Rozsa who had this way of getting him to answer questions, he began to remember them. In a way, he did have something to do with a child.

He was guarding her, he cared for her, and he would willing lay down his life to protect Rozsa. He was pulled out of his thoughts Sara began to remove a small spiker round by slicing into his shoulder with a small scalpel.

"Istenem, can you not take care of your own body Spartan? Or do you simply not care what happens to it?" She asked him, Hungarian slipping of her tongue in a tired tone.

"I do try not to get injured in combat, but even the worst Grunt can get a lucky shot in if he has a few hundred friends doing the same. You can only avoid so much enemy fire before you get nailed several times." Leo responded in a near monotone voice, his default when dealing with those who he found difficult to deal with. And Sara certainly fell into that group.

He felt the cold steel begin its incision just millimeters from the small Brute projectile. While he had been securing the Landing Zone for Captain Keyes' pelican he had disabled an overzealous and inexperienced Brute. Or rather, he assumed he had killed it after he had tackled it and then plunged a knife into its throat. In reality he had merely stunned it, and while he had been dealing with a pair of Jackals, the alien had come around.

When his shields failed him due to a charged plasma shot from a dying Jackal, the Brute seized its chance. Picking up a nearly empty spiker the alien aimed at Leo's back. The lieutenant had sensed something was behind him, and that instinct had saved his life yet again. Leo began to drop to the ground and avoid whatever danger had targeted him, and he had missed being nailed in the back of the head. A single spike however, had gone slightly lower than the rest and struck him in between his right shoulder blades.

After permanently ending the Brute's life Leo had broken off, and removed most of the spike leaving only a small piece behind. Now however Sara had chosen to remove it and prevent any infection from setting in. Leo had to agree with her that it was for the best, he doubted Brutes kept any part of their equipment in fine condition. Just enough that it worked, which translated to a collection of near-trash weapons which likely only needed to wound him before he died of some illness.

Leo scoffed at the idea of him dying because a Brute had failed to clean his weapon properly.

The Spartan felt the blood begin to run down his shoulder. The warm trickle began to drip into the cave floor, or his body suit. The gray full body suit was ripped, and looked to be in poor condition. There were also many blotches of now dried blood, and now the suit was beginning to soak up more blood.

At least the mild pain he was feeling as Sara began to remove the piece of metal blocked out the older pains. He was darkly amused by the fact that he considered the pain caused by injuries merely hours old, were now old. The odds were quiet likely that there would be absolutely no way that he would not go even a full week without sustaining any major injuries. He doubted he could go a day on Reach without minor injuries at this point.

The pain in his shoulder grew slightly to a very sharp pinch which momentarily stunted his thought processes.

"Es most mar, well now its not as disgusting as it was before. I will have to begin stitching the wound now Lieutenant." She said in a satisfied tone. It wasn't everyday someone was able to perform basic field aid on a Spartan, though pulling out a spiker hardly counted as such, or the fact that she was not even a medic. Just a descendant of Reach's first colonists who preferred staying in the wilderness, and also happened to be the daughter of one of the top tier scientists in Halsey's research programs.

And the fact that he neither spoke, nor understood, he when she spoke in Hungarian was starting to become an annoyance. Still, he did not survive dealing with the occasional thick headed ODSTs, or military bigots by allowing minor annoyances to cloud his judgment. Surprisingly, the ODSTs were a way that Leo had always stood apart from his fellow Spartans. In fact, he actually had a decent enough relationship with the elite of the Marines.

Ever since he had been put in a mission behind enemy lines with a team of ODSTs, the traditional Spartan-Helljumper rivalry had been thrown out the window. The mission had gone FUBAR on only the second day. For five days Leo, then only a Petty Chief 2nd Class, and the small squad of ODSTs under the command of a Master Sergeant Cortez, had attacked and avoided Covenant patrols by using guerilla warfare. Over that time they had lost three of the marines, but Leo had risked his life to rescue five more from being captured. And he had injured himself to the point where he had nearly lost his arm, but the marines had survived.

Leo's entire life was one great sacrifice. He knew that the Spartan-IIIs were expendable, knew that the fact that he had survived so long was unexpected. Still Leo had accepted that so many years ago, and he had lived his life accordingly. The idea of dying to protect another human was just a part of his nature, and he would do so without a moments hesitation. While he was not particularly friendly with the ODSTs, there was a deep respect between him and them. Because of that mission only the truly unwilling ones still treated him like a freak. If he had never let a Helljumper get under his skin, there was no way this woman was going to do it.

"There," Sara said followed by a snip as she finished stitching his shoulder, "You're not going to worry about dying from an infection now."

"Right. That leaves about a hundred or so more ways left on Reach now." Leo told her while he rotated his injured shoulder. There was a mild discomfort, but overall Sara had done a well enough medical job. In fact it appeared as though a professional doctor had performed it. He wondered if-

"Are Spartans supposed to be so pessimistic? Or is it just because of that?" She asked him in a sharp tone, gesturing outside the cave and in the direction of the fires. Then her voice quieted into slightly worried form. "I hope you will not speak to Rozsa in that manner. She already knows far too much about what is happening to our home than one so young should."

Leo slowly nodded his head seriously. He moved his head slightly so that the young girl in question was then in his periphery vision.

"How young is she?" He asked in a barely audible voice. There was something about that little girl that affected him greatly. Was it because he had never really had to deal with children Beta Company's destruction? Or was it because of simple human nature to protect the young? For all the knowledge and training he possessed, the answer eluded him for the time being.

"Nyolc, eight years." Was the answer that came from the brunette. Quietly Sara straightened herself up, and slowly walked over to Rozsa. When she was next to the girl, Sara sat down near her head. The young woman then began to gently stroke Rozsa's raven hair. "No one should have to watch as their home is destroyed around them. As men and women die by the millions to protect them, or as monsters come and murder their families."

For several minutes there was a long stretch of depressing silence between the two adults. Leo did not speak, still watching the little girl sleep. He knew too well the pain of seeing one's world burn. He had been younger than her, his mind unable to comprehend anything aside from the fact that he was alone. Yet he believed that the pain she tired to hide was much worse than his own.

Rozsa knew what was happening. And while she may not have understood the why, she understood what was being done to Reach. Worse, she was still on the planet. When his home planet had been attacked he at least had been placed on an escape shuttle while the Covenant was on the other side of the planet. Rozsa was in the middle of the death of Reach.

"I understand what you are saying quiet clearly." He said, his voice returning to the monotone. Sara's head turned to stare at him, eyes filled with anger. When she spoke however, her voice was level and quiet so not to wake the sleeping child.

"What do Spartans knew of this pain? To watch as your family dies in front of you, and be utterly helpless? You are Super-Human, you can kill those bastard aliens with you hands! You never feel the way we do." Then her voice lowered even more, and turned cold. "You're barely even human. I doubt you even have names."

That did strike something in the Spartan. Helpless? He had felt that way the moment Jorge had lost his own life. Leo still felt it now, though it was more hidden and unnoticeable. He had lost Noble Team and they were, to him at least, his family. She would not get away with saying something like that.

"You are wrong." He said, this time his voice coming out cold enough to freeze panic stricken civilians in their place. "I know what it feels like to lose your family. I watched as my colony was glassed from orbit. I watched as my original company left on a mission, only to be utterly annihilated. I stared into the eyes of a dying young woman just hours ago, someone who was the closest thing to a sister I have ever known." Leo's fists tightened considerably. It hurt to remember these things, and as his memory played everything back once again it only grew more painful. He needed to let some of it out.

"My entire team, my new family, died one by one in front of me. They died believing that we could turn the tide of this war. We knew Reach was lost, knew that we were likely going to perish, but we still fought to buy time. Time which allowed some civilians to escape the planet, time for humanity's last hope to survive and go on its mission. But they still died, and I am still alive. There are only two reasons I still chose to keep on living. One is to keep a promise that dying girl, and the other is right next to you." Leo laid down on the cave floor and turned his back to her. "Don't try and think you understand me. I don't even fully know anymore. Never, mention it again."

Once again silence populated the atmosphere in the cave. The flickering sounds of fire the only proof that there was anything inside the cave at all. Leo closed his eyes, fully intending to sleep. And yet once again, he was interrupted from his actions. Though it did surprise him.

"I am…Sorry. It is not fair to be angry with you about what is happening to my home. I was w-wrong." Then he heard her lay down on the floor herself. Leo listened to her breathing slow to the point where she was between awake, and sleep.

"Leo."

"Huh?" Came the quiet, and sleepy reply.

"My name. Its Leo." Again silence was the answer to his statement. And again, she broke it in an unexpected way.

"Jo ejszakat Leo. Good night."

AN: Just in case anyone wants to know what Sara, and sometimes Rozsa will say, pm if you want an immediate translation. I intend to post the Hungarian used in this story, and the translations when they get off Reach. And thank you for being patient with me. The next update in two-three days time.