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"Don't be daft, Molls, how could it possibly be your fault?"

Molly stared at him through her tear filled eyes. There was so much she wanted to say; so much she needed to offload. But she knew she couldn't; not to Smurf, not to anyone. She'd never felt so alone. She nervously bit down on her lip, her teeth puncturing the skin. Slowly blood trickled over her lip and down her chin.

"What the fuck are you doing, Molly? You're bleeding!"

Molly was apathetic as she looked down at her now blood stained clothes and then back to Smurf. "Guess you better take me to the hospital then."

"Not for a cut lip I won't. Come on, drink your water and then we'll go get it cleaned up."

"I'm not thirsty."

"Eggy said to make sure you drink, so that's what I'm gonna do. I know the boss will be fine, so you need to stop worrying yourself over nothing."

Nothing? Captain James wasn't nothing! She lifted the glass to her lips and took a sip of the now warm water. She didn't want it, but she needed to do something to shut Smurf up. Her upset was rapidly turning into anger and she knew that there was a high likelihood of her doing something she'd regret if he continued. He didn't know anything; he hadn't been there or seen the boss. How could he possibly say for definite that he was going to be fine?

She took another sip, realising that she was only making herself feel worse. She scanned the area around them, desperately hoping to see Jackie coming towards her, but she was nowhere to be seen. Molly kicked the ground beneath her, venting her frustration at the world.

"Moll, what really happened?" Smurf asked, taking the glass from her hands and setting it back on the table.

"I told you."

"The truth," he urged. "You're my best mate, please don't lie to me."

"I honestly dunno, Smurf. Sara just said there'd been an attack and that the MERT was bringing him in. I know he had head injuries and that they were taking him for a CT scan, but then Jackie told me to go, so I dunno anything more."

"Why'd she tell you to go?"

Molly looked down at the ground, concentrating hard on the individual specs of sand. They were almost glittering in the fading sunlight. For that brief moment, she allowed her mind to wander into a day dream of happier thoughts. Taking her away from the pain that was destroying her inside, and the guilt she felt for arguing with Captain James. She knew deep down that if it hadn't happened, he wouldn't have gone on that patrol, and he never would have got hurt.

"Molly!" Smurf shouted, bringing her back to a reality with a thud. "Why did Jackie tell you to go? I thought you were scheduled all evening?"

"I was…" she suddenly hatched a plan. "Maybe I should go back and see if there was a mistake? Maybe I misheard her and she only told me to take a break?"

Smurf frowned, not entirely sure if he believed her. But nonetheless, he decided not to argue and to let her go. Molly ran to the hospital as fast as her legs would allow, heading straight through to the room where Captain James had been. She pushed open the heavy doors, happy tears streaming down her cheeks, knowing that she was about to see him again. But as she stood in the doorway, she found herself confronted by an unnervingly empty room.

She backed out, walking over to a couple of nurses that she spotted talking in the far corner. "Where…" her voice wobbled, "is he?"

"Molly," Jackie appeared behind her, clearly not impressed. She folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. "I told you to go."

"Where is he?"

"He's been moved to a ward. The CT was clear."

Molly threw her head back with relief. She held her hand to her mouth, covering the smile that had spread across her face. "Can I see him?"

Jackie slowly shook her head. "Major Beck is in there." She closed her eyes for a moment, running her hand over her head. "If you help me sort out the stock cupboard, you can see him once he's gone."

Molly followed her to the cupboard, where a pile of boxes were stacked just inside the door waiting to be unpacked and put away. They worked in silence, quickly and efficiently. Everything found a place on the shelves within a matter of minutes, leaving Molly stood, waiting impatiently. With each passing minute, she became more and more frustrated by how long Major Beck was taking. "Come on!"

With that, she heard the door to the nearby ward open, and she glanced out, spotting him walking back along the corridor. As soon as he was out of sight, she jogged across to the door, closely followed by Jackie.

"Molls!" She said, holding out a hand to stop her in her tracks. "The doctor will be checking in on him in half an hour, so make sure you're gone by then. If you get caught, then that's your fault."

Molly nodded and entered the room. Jackie had been right when she'd said it wasn't busy that day. Only one bed was visibly occupied; and the patient was sound asleep, his leg secured in plaster cast. His bags sat piled up beside him, awaiting his transfer back to the UK. At the far end of the room, a curtain was pulled across, blocking the end bed from view.

"Hey," she whispered, stepping around the curtain. A chair was positioned next to Captain James' bed, where Major Beck must have been sat. She looked down at it, hoisted herself up onto the bed, and used it as a footrest. The wound on his head had been cleaned and neatly stitched, a stark difference to how he looked before.

"Hey back. What have you done to your lip?"

"Nothing, don't worry." She leaned forward, unable to resist the urge to kiss him. "I'm sorry I got so angry with you earlier."

"Don't be," he pulled back, his hands holding her face close to his. "It's me that needs to be sorry, not you. I should have told you about Sam from the beginning."

She took hold of his hands, their fingers becoming entwined. "I kinda get why you didn't. I mean, it can't be the easiest thing to tell someone you're…whatever we are. I just wish I hadn't reacted like that cos then you never would've gone on that patrol and you never would've got hurt."

"Oh, Molly, you've got it all wrong. I was always going to be going on that patrol; I didn't go because we'd argued." His thumb caressed hers as their hands remained locked together. "I'm actually glad I went, because it was a huge wake up call. When those bullets' started firing, a lot of things flashed through my mind, and I knew that if I was going to be shot, I had to survive long enough to see you. I wanted you to be the last thing I saw."

"Well lady luck must have been smiling on us, cos you ain't dead yet."

Captain James smiled at her. "Indeed, Dawes. Come here." He pulled her down, his arms holding her firmly in place as he kissed her.

"That's why you wanted to get back here so quickly."

Molly spun around, her eyes wide. "Smurf…"