Chapter 14: Life Support

Still in full battle gear, including his rifle slung across his chest, Richard chased the half dozen or so doctors and nurses who were pushing the stretcher with the pilot he had brought back down the hall. At some point along the ride from the botched mission the medics in the Humvee managed to revive the woman, though it was far from clear if she was ultimately going to survive.

The small army of medical workers turned the stretcher to the right and through a set of double doors, Richard tried to follow but was stopped by a female nurse. "Sir, you can't come in here" she said.

"Is she going to make it?" Richard demanded.

"We're doing what we can" the nurse replied before slamming the door in Richard's face. He took a breath and a few steps back, unsure what to think.

Victor walked up to where Richard was standing, minus his rifle. "Is she going to make it?" He asked surprisingly calm tone.

Richard looked at Victor without moving his head, then returned his eyes to the doors. "They're doing what they can."

Victor nodded, "go get cleaned up."

"You know after what just happened I think-"

"Go get cleaned up!" Victor yelled. "This shit is a mess, it's going all the way up to the Joint Chiefs... Hell it's probably going to get to the President..."

Roy approached the two men, visibly upset. "You mind telling me what just happened? We walked right into a God damn ambush!"

"Both of you hit the showers, now! Make sure you heads are on straight before you write your reports, now go!"

Richard and Roy reluctantly started walking away. "What the hell just happened?" Roy asked.

"Bullshit... That's what."

Richard had submitted his report before breakfast, which he was currently eating at a table by himself. Before long, one of his colleagues sat down with him. "Hey Chief..." Richard looked at the man, but didn't respond otherwise. "That was bold what you did... You saved that girl."

Richard swallowed his food. "Don't know that yet... She was in rough shape when I found her."

"You brought her home, you brought both of them home, that's big" he said. Again Richard said nothing. "I want you to know sir... After yesterday, I'm honored to be serving under you."

Richard sat back, taking a long pause, eventually he looked at the other SEAL. "With me... You're serving with me, not under me."

The man smiled.

The next day, Richard was back at the hospital on base and making his way through the halls. He turned a corner just as two women walked out of the third door on the left, one in her senior years, the other middle aged, and crying uncontrollably. "Come on Arella... You need to get some fresh air..." The older woman said, directing the other woman in the proper direction. Richard gave pause as they passed, he looked over his shoulder as they walked away, he wasn't sure what to think, the pain the woman was going through was one he knew all too well. He continued walking towards the door they had just walked out of, he saw the pilot on a bed, an oxygen mask on her face as well as more than one IV in her arms. He also saw a man sitting next to her, middle aged with white hair, Richard's best guess was the man was her father.

"Uh..." Richard began, "am I... Interrupting... Anything?"

The man turned his head with a blank gaze, "who are you?" He asked quietly.

"Um... Chief Richard Grayson, SEAL Team Eight."

The man stood up so fast he nearly knocked the chair he was sitting in over, Richard barely had any time to react the man closed the distance between them so fast. He embraced Richard in a hug so tight he had trouble breathing. "Thank you..." He began, starting to cry. "Thank you so much for bringing my daughter home."

Richard was confused, but returned the hug anyway. "How does he know what happened?" He asked himself. He dismissed it, right now the man needed this, and Richard was not going to deny it to him.

It seemed like they were standing there for hours, but eventually the older man let go and offered Richard a seat. "Chief... I owe you a debt I can never repay..."

"Sir... Um... If I may ask, how do you know what happened?" Richard asked.

The man looked at him quizzically for a moment, then said "oh right..." He turned to his left side and shuffled through a backpack, he pulled out a folder and handed it to Richard.

After he opened it, Richard immediately recognized it as his report of the mission two nights ago, or at least a copy of it. "How did... This is a classified report..." Richard said, looking at the man.

"Sergeant Major Travis Roth, retired... I have some friends."

Richard thought for a moment, this was a battle he chose not to fight and handed the folder back to Travis. "Sir you don't owe me anything... I did what I did because it's my job.

Travis shook his head slowly. "What you did was so far above the call of duty words can't describe it... Give yourself some credit."

Richard paused to think again, then slowly and subtly nodded. "I'm afraid to ask but... How is she?"

Travis turned and looked at his daughter, his face showing hopelessness as he fought back tears. He swallowed, then spoke, "the doctors say it's up to her now... They've done everything they can."

"She's tough..." Richard said, unsure of his own words.

Travis took a breath. "When she was ten years old she fell off her bicycle, hit her head on the pavement... She had a big gash just above her right eye... Did she cry? Nope... Did she scream for me or her mother? Nope... She got up, walked into the house and used a napkin off the kitchen table to wipe the blood off..." Travis said, causing Richard to smile. "The only way we found out anything had happened was Arella... Her mother... Walked into the kitchen while she was doing this, she ended up needing stitches." Richard held onto every word, it was fascinating to hear some backstory and humbling to hear. It reminded him of his own upbringing and how far out of his realm he had travelled in the past four years. "What made you become a SEAL?" Travis asked.

Richard snapped out of his trance, "what?" He asked, slightly embarrassed.

"Going through BUD/S is utter hell, and then the training after that... It takes some serious commitment, serious motivation... What made you sign up?"

Richard told him the story, his internship, his school, his family, he nearly brought himself to tears.

"Those Grayson's... That was your family..." Travis said, Richard nodded. "That was national news for about three days... Until some guy killed an elephant in Africa, then that was all you heard about for two months."

"I didn't even pay attention, I was in a dark place from when it happened to when I enlisted."

"Understandable" Travis said, that was when the two women Richard saw earlier came back in. Travis got up and hugged the younger woman. "Arella, honey... This is the young man that saved Rachael."

Richard stood up, turning to face the woman, she embraced him in a hug, which Richard returned. "Thank you so much" she said, sobbing slightly.

"You're welcome ma'am" Richard said, doing his best to comfort her.

The four sat down, Travis finding a fourth seat for the older woman, now known to Richard as Arella's mother. They exchanged stories, about Rachael's childhood, Richard's, even some of Arella's background, until Victor walked in.

"Had a feeling I'd find you here" Victor said to Richard.

"Sir" Richard said, standing up.

"Sergeant Major" Victor said, saluting Travis.

"At ease Master Chief..." Travis said, standing up. "How have you been Vic?"

"I've been great Travis... Save for a certain recently-promoted Chief of mine causing me A LOT of paperwork... And you know how I hate paperwork" Victor said, looking at Richard.

"I do, though I think given the circumstances you can cut this particular Chief some slack" Travis said.

"Well I suppose I can, seems the Admiral talked to the Joint Chiefs and the President about it... You wouldn't know anything about that now would you?"

Travis raised his hands in the air. "I'm retired Vic... Just because I called my former General on my way here doesn't mean I know anything."

"Uh-huh... Rich we need to talk in my office."

"Yes sir" Richard said as he and Victor walked out.

As they made their way to the front door of the medical building Richard overheard a doctor say something about a "Roth" in the room number Rachael was in. "Hey..." He said to the doctor, "Are you talking about Rachael Roth? The pilot that came in two days ago?"

The doctor looked at him, slightly confused, "well I can't really talk about that..."

Richard took that as a yes. "Is she going to make it?"

"Sir I don't know who you are but that's confidential information..."

"Richard Grayson... Chief Richard Grayson... I'm the reason she's here" Richard informed. "I just want to know if she has a fighting chance."

The doctor shifted in his stance and adjusted his glasses, he sighed. "Mr. Grayson, right now Ms. Roth is laying on a bed on life support... Though if you hadn't stuck your fingers down her throat she'd be laying on a gurney in the morgue... If I were you I'd take whatever victories I could" and with that he walked away.

Richard turned and continued walking with Victor, wondering how the doctor had gotten a hold of a copy of his report since that's the only way he'd know about Richard essentially gagging the girl back to life. "Why do we bother labeling something as classified if just anybody is going to be able to read it?"

Victor shook his head, "as long as you're not the one showing it to them don't worry about it."