Baird clutched Sam's shaking hand in his as her grip became weaker. Her soft tanned skin was cold to the touch. He couldn't take his eyes off her. Her whole body was so frail when just before it was full of life. He had to keep himself from thinking it was all a dream, a horrible dream from which they'd wake up together. He'd open his eyes to see her beautiful face; feel the warmth of her skin. Healthy, alive. "Please Sam," he whispered, his shaky voice choking back tears. "Please don't…you can't die…I need you so much." He was dizzy, tired, and the chunk taken out of his arm was excruciatingly painful. The Longshot had grazed his bicep, but just barely. He didn't even notice the bullet tearing through his flesh as he made his way to Sam; her body slumped on the ground after the digger exploded. Sam moaned and coughed under her breath, just barely awake.
"B-Bair…," she stuttered, gasping softy. He wiped his eyes, his lip quivering as he looked at her. "I…I'm scared…" Baird's expression went slack as a single sob passed his lips. He shook his head quickly, sniffling. "It's ok. I won't let anything happen to you, I promise," he whispered, kissing her moist, icy forehead. Baird could have sworn he saw the tiniest, weakest smile touch her lips before her eyes slowly closed. She cringed, and then her hand was limp in his. "Oh…please, no…don't…," He was about to check her heartbeat, but his body was frozen in place. He wanted to know if she was still there, but a part of him was afraid to find out. He didn't know what to do; there was nothing he could do anymore. He felt like gagging, but he wouldn't. He just sat there motionless, silently letting his tears fall.
"Just say something," he said, never letting go of her hand. She couldn't be gone. He'd never even gotten the chance to tell her how beautiful she was; how much she meant to him. "I'm sorry," he breathed. His head hurt so much; his injured, bloodied arm was hanging limp, completely useless from his shoulder. He leaned his head against the bullet-ridden tree trunk behind his companion, which they'd used for cover minutes ago. Baird sighed weakly, licking his parched lips. The surrounding area was becoming fuzzy. He tried to focus his gaze on the trees ahead, but it was becoming to grey to see. He closed his eyes, mouthing words before he finally passed out.
"There! Take us down!" The deafening sound of chopper blades pierced the evening air as the King Raven landed. A cloud of dust engulfed it as its passengers jumped out, lancers in hand as they rushed towards the two figures slumped against a tree, hand in hand; eyes shut. "Baird, Byrne!" Someone shouted as they made their way towards them, watching the woods through the corners of their eyes. Baird began to come to; everything moving in slow motion before bursting back to normal in a flash. He cringed, wanting to cover his ears as he quickly reached for his sidearm attached to his belt. The sound of the chopper had woken him up, his head throbbing with pain from the noise. The group of soldiers came to a halt as they spied Baird's shaking hand clenched around his Boltok pointed straight at them, his other hand clasping Sam's tightly. His face was pale and clammy; his red, tired eyes darting between each member of the group. He looked confused for a moment, as if he couldn't make out who they were.
"Take it easy corporal, were going to get you two out of here." The leader of the group, an older man with thick black hair and dark brown eyes spoke as calmly as he could with a gun held in his direction. The blonde blinked slowly before letting the gun fall to the ground as he coughed. The field medic darted for Sam as soon as Baird let go of the Boltok, looking her over, cursing under his breath. He checked her pulse. "She's going into shock. Sir, we have to get out of here, right now!" The sergeant nodded towards the younger man before making his way to where Baird sat, looking over his shaking body, his eyes going straight to his upper arm. "Come on," he said, grabbing Baird's bloody hand in his. He brought him to his feet, the blonde cringing as he did so. When he stood up, he stumbled, almost falling to the ground again before the sergeant caught him. He draped Baird's uninjured arm across his massive, Cole-like frame and helped him into the chopper. "Reese! We're set to go!" he called to the young medic as Baird leaned the side of his blood-stained face against the interior of the Raven, mouthing words to himself.
"Ok…ok…" the young medic mumbled franticly as he fumbled through his bags, pulling out a shot of morphine. He removed the towels which now had a small red stain on them from her and clenched his jaw. He gently put arm across his patient's neck, keeping her still as he injected her with the painkiller. Sam weakly gasped for breathe, blinking slowly as her eyes rolled back, trying to focus. "Shhh…it's alright, love," the medic spoke softly as he worked, placing more gauze against the wound as Sam whimpered in pain. "Bair…Baird…Where…," she stuttered, eyes darting around searching for her companion. The medic finished up and gestured for his squad mates to help carry her. "Here, gently now. One, two..." They carried her off as carefully as they could, placing her on the floor of chopper.
"Sam? Where's Sam?" Baird repeated in a hushed voice, scanning the chopper as it took off. He looked down to see Sam lying at his feet, held steady by two other gears as the medic covered her shivering body in a blanket, placing his palm across her forehead. He spoke softly to her as he went through his supplies. "Can you hear me? Byrne?" He waved his hand in front of her face. She stirred, her glossy eyes trying to focus on her doctor. "I'm going to give you a shot now, alright? It'll put you to sleep for a while. Turn you're head for me, that's it," he instructed as he turned her chin away from him. He frowned with pity as he inserted the needle into the base of her neck. Sam cringed for a brief moment before her body relaxed and she fell into a peaceful sleep.
Baird shook his head, trying to wake himself up. The weary medic checked Sam's pulse again before glancing at the blonde, his arm bleeding badly. "Here, put some pressure on that," he told him as he handed the mechanic a bundle of gauze. Baird coughed and held the bandages tightly against his wound, the pain waking him up a bit. He looked down at his friend to see her sleeping peacefully and sighed. At least she doesn't hurt anymore, he thought as he wiped at the blood dripping into his eyes. He overheard the pilot speaking into his headset. "Roger that. We got em'…..Yeah, we'll be there in five. Keller out."