Thanks to everyone who's been following so far. I've been thinking about scrapping the story and starting a new one due to the finale but I felt I needed to do another chapter and then decide. Anyway here it is.
"Alicia!" Mark shouted, louder than he thought possible. He shook her shoulder slightly hoping that in some way she'd respond. He thought back to his training with the Lieutenant, 'Rule number three' she had said after stating that the first two was of course making sure your surroundings are safe to assist and hemming the bleeding 'keep the injured conscious for as long as possible' was the third he remembered. He had failed he thought to himself, failed all three of her rules. She was bleeding out from her back, their surroundings were far from safe and she wasn't responding to his pleads.
"Snap out of it Mark" He said to himself closing his eyes trying to compose himself. "All you have to do is follow the rules in order. Right the surroundings." He looked around trying to get a view of the outside but had no look. Smoke from the vehicle had began to rise above the trees. Surely this would alert the others if they hadn't already realised that there was a problem. "Okay rule number one is a no go. "Right rule number two, the bleeding." With one motion he took his top off and began ripping more pieces off. The previous make-shift bandage was soaked in blood so that had to be replaced. He gently moved Wash on her side giving him access to apply pressure to both exit and entry wounds, he was careful not to catch the shrapnel still embedded inside her. He placed one hand with a ripped piece of shirt on the exit wound and the other hand surrounding the shrapnel. "Right, so now rule three." He paused trying to think of the right action to take.
"Wash? You need to wake up okay" He said lowering his head so that it was close to hers. Maybe this would make her hear him better he thought. Stupid. How stupid could you get Reynolds? She's unconscious. He kept his head in the same position, what else could he do? He continued to try to talk to her, "Remember those rules you taught me Wash, hell I cant even follow them. Great soldier I am." He closed his eyes again trying to think of more things to say. "You know it was funny you asking me how things were going between me and Maddy." He chuckled to himself and then continued "You know I'd tell you just about anything. You, Taylor, the Shannon's, your all like family to me. A strange family yes, but a family non the less." He opened his eyes and looked towards the back of the vehicle checking to see if Taylor or anyone else was coming to aid them. "You know I always thought that you and Taylor would .." He was interupted by Alicia "Would what soldier?" To say that he was relieved was an understatement, he'd got her conscious, maybe he wasn't a bad soldier after all.
"I'm so glad your awake ma'am."
"Why am I on my side Reynolds? And why are you talking to yourself about Taylor and I?" She asked clearly disorientated from the ordeal.
"Erm... well as you can probably see and feel, are rover flipped over and well.. you've got a piece of the rover coming out of you. You passed out and well.. I wanted to talk to you to try and get you to wake up."
"Yeah well that explains why I feel like hell then. You thought that talking about me and Taylor would wake me up?"
"I talk a lot of crap ma'am"
"That you do Mark, that you do" She chuckled to herself. "So, me and Taylor would what?"
"I don't follow." Reynolds stated confused.
"You said that you thought that me and Taylor would... and then I interrupted you." It was becoming clear that she was struggling to stay conscious again. Maybe this was to bide her time.
"Oh right yeah. Erm.. with you awake an all I kinda feel awkward saying it."
"Just pretend I'm still asleep" she emphasised the 'asleep' as though passing out was a sign of weakness.
"Yeah like that'll help." He paused "Okay. Well don't try and hit me I don't want you to cause more damage because of my talking crap."
"Agreed." She replied urging him to spit it out.
"Well I heard rumours that you and Taylor erm... well I heard that you both had intimate relations one night after having a couple of drinks at Boylan's." Alicia brought her head up slightly.
"Rumours?" She asked as though verifying what he had just said.
"Yes. I think that it was Reily that told me. She said that one of the soldiers followed you out of Boylan's and saw you go into the command centre. Maybe thought he could get lucky with you being drunk an all. She told me that he heard a hell of a lot of grunting and well lets leave it there shall we." He chuckled to himself imagining the horror that was on the Lieutenants face right now. "I mean you two have been through a hell of a lot together and there is clearly sexual tension between you at times."
"Clearly?" Alicia repeated worry in her voice. How could she have not heared these rumours.
"Well sometimes you'll look at each other and I can see some form of regret or restraint. I dunno Wash I just think that this no relations with fellow soldiers is a load of rubbish."
"Those are the rules Mark, there not for breaking" he sensed sorrow in her voice. "Look as much as I don't want to see that miserable face of yours, I'm getting pretty tired of laying on my side." she stated changing the subject.
"No other way to stem the bleeding ma'am." She huffed at his words. All she could do was look straight ahead out of the what would have been drivers side door and into the merciless jungle waiting for any sign of a threat.
He longed to hear her voice crack up on the radio telling him that communications had been down briefly and that everything was okay. He knew better, the smoke only confirmed his judgement.
They approached the flipped over rover with caution checking their surroundings before exiting their vehicle. Guzman watched Taylor's back as he walked over to the flipped over rover slowly, gun at the ready. 'Please be okay' he thought to himself. 'Please' he repeating in his mind. The sight that lay in front of him as he looked into the vehicle was enough to turn anyone's stomach. Blood all over his most trusted Lieutenant and blood over Mark Reynolds.
"Alicia?" Taylor whispered crouching down and placing a finger to her neck to check for a pulse. He held his finger there and let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding when he felt her faint pulse. "How long has she been out Reynolds?" He asked perhaps more harshly than he meant.
"Erm.. about five minutes. I tried as best I could to keep her awake Sir but.." he paused and looked down at her soaked clothes "she's lost so much blood, I don't know if she's got much longer left."
Taylor nodded in agreement. "Where's the medical kit?" He asked looking at Mark's shirtless body in confusion.
"Couldn't find it Sir. It must have fallen out of the rover when we flipped." Taylor raised from his crouched position and ran over to his rover searching in the back for the medical kit. Once he'd found it he sprinted back Reynolds.
"You've got pressure on her wounds at the moment but if we move her without bandaging it properly, well you know what would happen." He took out three rolls of bandage and unravelled them one at a time. "Right. When I say move, you take the rag off her back wound only. Keep pressure around the shrapnel. Okay?"
"Yes Sir" Reynolds replied.
"Move!" Taylor commanded. Once Reynolds removed the rag, Taylor was quick enough to wrap the bandages around the wound. "Okay that's not going to last too long." he stoked the back of his hand across his forehead wiping away the sweat that he didn't know was present. "Right, now for the tricky part." He looked at the shrapnel sticking out of her abdomen. "We can't take that out so I'm gonna have to carefully carry her out of the rover without catching it." Reynolds nodded in agreement worry clear on his face. "Guzman get the rover started and get as close to here as possible. I'm bringing Wash out." Taylor looked back down to Wash and placed a hand under her head to support it, the other was placed underneath her lower back. He adjusted himself and slowly raised her bringing her head first out of the drivers side, the rest of her body followed as he stood with her body in his arms. The last time he'd been this close to her was in their last sparring match; an event that he made regular ever week. Reynolds followed Wash out of the rover just as Guzman approached in the rover that Taylor and himself arrived in. Reynolds made his way to the passenger door behind the drivers seat and opened it gaining Taylor and Wash entry. Slowly Taylor placed Wash stretched out on the back seats. He accompanied her by getting in the rover in the opposite side so that he sat by her legs.
Reynolds got in the front passenger seat and directed Guzman to start the journey back to the Colony. He took the radio from its holder and updated the rest of the military personnel who were driving civilians who had attended the funeral. They were only perhaps a couple of minutes behind them. He also alerted Jim Shannon back at the Colony to get a medical team on standby.
"Reynolds, this is Jim. We have a slight problem at our end."
"Problem?" Reynolds repeated.
"Yeah. The colony had a blackout half an hour ago. We've got our gate defence back online but the infirmary and the majority of the houses are still without power."
"Jim we need the infirmary back online now!" shouting at his girlfriends dad was perhaps not the smartest thing but with Wash injured all sense was taken away from him.
"Look Reynolds were trying as best we can. How many injuries are there and who is it?"
"I know, I know" Reynolds replied "I'm sorry I shouted. It's just if she doesn't survive I .. I.." Reynolds choked back tears.
"Oh God. How bad is she?"
"Bad Sir. Really bad."
"I'm doing my best Reynolds I promise. I'll alert Elizabeth to who it is. She might have to go old school, so we'll get all the equiptement ready. Jim out." Reynolds put the radio back in it's holder and glanced over to Guzman who had an equally worried look on his face.
Taylor had taken no notice in what had been said over the radio and had his attention fully on Wash. He stared at her blood marred face. How could she still look so god damn beautiful, he thought to himself. She looked beautiful when she was sparring, she looked beautiful when she'd been kicked the crap out of by Mira and by god she looked beautiful now. His eyes again lowered to the treacherous metal that was sticking out of her. "Please" he said quietly, closing his eyes "Please be okay." he stated equally as quiet.
So there we go. I really wanted Mark to take his top off in the TV series, so I incorporated it into this (without detail on how he looked, i had to restrain myself) :) Hope you enjoyed the chapter and please find time to review.