1
Miles slowly opened his eyes, the bright light above his bed almost blinding him and making him curse. "Where the hell am I?", he said, his voice harsh because of his dry throat. A young woman approached him and offered Miles a timid smile, her eyes gazing around fervently, "You are in the Hospital Colonel Quaritch". Miles closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to clear the fog that hung in his mind. Why the hell am I in here?, he thought. The memory of what had happened in the jungle flooded back and Miles tentatively placed his hand on his face. "The Thanator", he sighed as his fingers traced over the three large slashes.
He turned slowly, ignoring the sudden wave of pain that swept over him and gazed around the room. "Major Tanning, where is she?", he asked firmly, turning those fierce blue eyes up at the woman in front of him. His question made her grow uncomfortable and she began to edge backwards towards the door. "Well?!", he asked, raising his voice, "Where the hell is she?!".
The woman shook her head and placed her hand on the door handle, "Sir, she breathed the atmosphere of Pandora and lived", her eyes grew wide, "She Lived!".
Miles slowly rose up from his bed and swung his feet over the edge, "Where is she?", he asked coolly. The woman pulled the door open, keen to get as much distance between herself and Miles as possible.
"They just wanted to check her over but the Major", the woman paused and gazed down at the floor, "well Colonel she just lost it. They had to sedate her so they could perform some tests".
Miles slipped down from the bed and strode over to her, "Where the bloody hell is Major Tanning?".
2
"Get out of my way or I will use you to open the damn door!", Miles spat at the guard in front of the isolation unit.
"Sir, I have orders that no-one is to enter", the guard replied nervously. The tall Colonel leaned in closer, using his height to intimidate the young man, "MOVE!", he roared, sending the man scurrying away down the hall. Miles punched his security code into the door lock and shoved it open as the locking mechanism released.
Several Doctors turned to face him, their faces partially hidden by the biological suites they wore. "You can't come in here!", one of the ordered, making their way over to Miles, "Get out!". Miles drove his fist into the mans gut, sending him crumbling down to the floor. He turned those cool eyes to the remaining Doctors, who instantly stepped away from the bed, revealing that small and familiar figure.
Evelyn lay quietly on the bed, a thin iv line running into her arm and several straps tethering her to the bed. He strode over to her and pulled the restraints away, "What's in the drip?!", he asked firmly, turning to face one of the Doctors.
"It's fluids mixed with a sedative", they replied quickly, moving away from him. Miles reached down and carefully took the cannula out. He gently scooped her up in his arms and turned around to leave, his rage almost consuming him as he saw a new guard standing in the doorway.
"Colonel sir, how about you put her back and we just talk about this?", he said, trying to sound firm but his nervousness clearly reflected as he spoke.
"How about this?", Miles said, narrowing his gaze and taking several steps forward. "You let me go and I don't break your bloody neck", he paused and looked down at Evelyn, "And I'll do it without letting her go!". He returned his gaze back at the guard who was now stepping away from the door.
"Good idea!", a voice quipped from the hall outside and Miles smiled as he saw his Lieutenant appear, his hand gun raised towards the guard. "Back off and let the Colonel and Major leave and maybe, just maybe, we won't kick your ass!".
Miles moved confidently past the young guard, locking his cool eyes on him as he made his way out the door, "Try something like this again and I will kill you", he hissed. Miles pulled Evelyn closer towards him as he strode down the hall, "How long have we been out?".
The Lieutenant sighed, "A week sir", he motioned to Evelyn, "She went ballistic when they wouldn't let her visit you. It was absolutely magnificent, you should see the security footage". He smiled at the Colonel, "Don't worry, we kept out of it but those other guards, did they have a hell of a time with her. Had to end up shooting her with a tranq gun".
Miles stopped and looked down at the Lieutenant, "Who's the bastard responsible for doing this?", he asked coolly.
"Dr Augustine sir", he replied, running ahead to push a door open for Miles. 'Good Doctor', Miles thought angrily as he made his way to his quarters, 'You've screwed with the wrong man. Time for payback'.
3
Evelyn and Miles stood in the debriefing hall at Hells Gate, holding each others hands tightly as they spoke their vows. Evelyns' short hair had several small, white flowers doted through it and Miles gazed down at her, those normally hard blue eyes of his filled with passion. Only those that they trusted had been invited to the ceremony, a decision that both of them had agreed on. Neither had much faith in the many people here and those who were part of the SecOp team had proven their loyalty to them.
Today was their day and both Miles and Evelyn knew that no matter what Pandora threw at them, they would always be able to count on the one thing that mattered. Their strong love for each other.