A/N:This one is a spin-off of a story written by Kos-Mos067. It's called "A Brush With Death" and that's what this is based on. I seriously suggest you go read it: fanfiction(dot)net/s/5588748/1/A_Brush_With_Death. :D ALSO!!! I think I might have referred to Ghost as "Lieutenant" before. Fucked that one up. -_-' He's "Lieutenant" in the comic book, but I'm pretty sure they call him "Sergeant" in one or two places in the game, sooooo.... Henceforth, "Sergeant Riley." :)
PLEASE READ: This one is a little more Roach-centric, so we only know what he knows, just because I think it's a little more interesting to see how an outsider takes the news of MacRiley. :D
MissPumpkinHead: I hope this one keeps everything good... And I kinda like ending a serious scene with humor. If it's funny, you'll remember it. ;)
GothicBandicoot: I'm trying to keep them good, even if it means a bit of a delay between updates.
yeah-bled: I'm so stoked that you like the collection. And I don't think I'll have too many problems coming up with inspiration for these. :)
It was odd to see; like watching the world's most interesting argument in a silent movie with no subtitles. If the gestures were anything to go by, Captain MacTavish was pissed, and General Sheperd wasn't too happy with the way the Captain was acting.
"Hey! New guy!"
Roach rolled his eyes. He'd been with the team for three months, and it was still "New guy" this, and "The FNG always cleans everyone else's weapons". He turned to face Meat and wondered for a moment who the fuck came up with their callsigns. He could almost understand his nickname... He was known as a bit of a klutz, but he somehow managed to survive his lifetime of unfortunate clumsiness...
"You're not gonna learn anything about what they're arguing about just staring at them like that." Meat said with a slightly haughty air.
"I'm pretty sure I figured that out." Gary muttered.
"I've been trying to read the Captain's lips for years. It's the goddamned accent, I swear... And the General... Half the time listening to him is hard to do, always going philosophical and talking in riddles. Hell, I think--"
"Do you have a point to this, Meat? Or are you just wasting my time while Chemo and Rocket put oatmeal in my pillowcase again?" Roach asked with a sigh.
Meat eyed him with a scowl before saying, "There's a point to all this. Look, the whole team is on edge after what happened to Ghost."
Roach winced. He remembered the RPG team coming from the southeast, a direction they thought they had cleared. Ghost had tried going for cover behind a disabled all-terrain vehicle and it just... Exploded...
"Hey! Focus!" Meat snapped. Roach rolled his eyes and returned his attention to his moody teammate.
"We want you to sneak into Ghost's room and just see how he's doing." Meat grinned.
"No."
"What?"
"No. That's a fucking suicide mission. We were told to stay the fuck out of the med wing unless we needed to be there. The Captain already looks pissed. I'm not fucking going there." Roach insisted.
"The Captain's not gonna get pissed at you. Everyone knows that his order of favorites goes Ghost, you, and then who-the-fuck-knows."
"Bullshit, and you know it. Everyone knows the Captain's favorites list goes Ghost, and then no one."
"MacTavish has wasted more time trying to save your sorry ass from your own stupid mistakes than anyone else." Meat pointed out.
"Maybe that's because Roach makes more stupid mistakes than anyone else." Worm laughed.
"Fuck you guys. I'm not doing it." Roach huffed.
"Look, Gary, can I call you Gary? The way it goes is this," Worm sighed as he threw an arm around the FNG's shoulders, "We tell you what to do, and then you go do it. Because while you're in the Captain's good books now, that could change. See, the way we feel about you gets back to Ghost, who tells everything to Captain MacTavish. So if we whine loud enough, everyone's gonna get pissed off and it is possible to get transferred from this unit to one handing out shit-paper for the rest of your career." Worm shrugged.
"If it'll shut you assholes up, I'll do it." Roach growled, shoving Worm's arm off his shoulder.
"Good. While the Captain and the General are arguing, sneak into Ghost's room, get a good idea of how he's doing, and then come back out here, and just let us know what kind of shape he's in. Easy mission." Meat grinned.
"For the record, you guys are the biggest assholes I've ever been stuck working with." Roach grumbled.
"Duly noted. Now go."
Roach muttered to himself and snuck towards the medical facility. The easiest way to find Ghost's room would be to ask the nurse at the front desk. But he knew that asking for Ghost, or Lieutenant Riley, as it were, would only set off an alarm somewhere and have Captain MacTavish materializing from nowhere to kick his ass. So he caught a glimpse of her name badge, ducked into an empty room, and made a page for her. Sanderson watched from the doorway of the room while the nurse muttered something and walked away from the desk. The moment she was gone, Roach sat down at the desk and started hitting keys on the computer.
Patient File Search:
Patient Name: Sergeant Riley, Simon. "GHOST"
Condition: CLASSIFIED
Room: Intensive Care Ward. Room number 616
Roach closed the search window, slipped from behind the desk and hurried down the hallway where a map was so graciously posted on the wall. He trailed a finger along the various corridors and murmured to himself as he memorized the way to the ICU. He heard the approaching footsteps of the nurse that worked the desk and started walking towards the direction of what he hoped was Ghost's room...
He didn't slow his pace until he passed a sign declaring the ICU was just ahead and the room numbers started with "6".
The Sergeant's room was dimly lit and silent, except for the beeping of the various monitors that surrounded him. Roach winced at all of the tubes and sensors attached to Ghost. That was when he realized that Ghost's mask was still off, and this time he had the time to look... He shrugged. The Sergeant wasn't a bad-looking guy, which kind of made him wonder why he wore the fucking skull mask around like it was Halloween 24/7. The doorknob turned and Roach dove into the linen closet across from the foot of Ghost's bed. He left the door open a crack so he could see who was visiting.
Captain MacTavish was in the room and he was... Running a hand through Ghost's hair?! Roach bit his lower lip to keep from making some sort of noise and continued watching. The Sergeant seemed to move, and might have opened his eyes. MacTavish pushed the "CALL NURSE" button on the wall near Ghost's bed. The nurse had short reddish hair and bright green eyes and wasted no time in pushing the Captain to the side and checking Ghost's vitals and comparing current readings to past readings... She paged a doctor and the tube rammed down Ghost's throat was removed. The nurse set a pitcher of water and a small cup down on the bedside table, adjusted the bed so Ghost was sitting up, and slipped out of the room.
Ghost motioned towards the water and MacTavish obliged him.
"How much time have I lost?" Ghost asked.
"Twenty hours, give or take."
"I remember Zach saying it would only take an hour for them to pull the shrapnel out of my chest."
"You died twice on the table, Simon."
Roach nearly choked. The Captain referred to no one by first name...
"It's going to take a hell of a lot more than a stray RPG to kill me." Ghost muttered.
"You didn't see how much you were bleeding." It almost sounded like a joke when the Captain said it that way...
"We've been through this before, John. You can't kill a Ghost."
John? How long had these two known each other?
"A theory you seem pretty damned determine to test."
Ghost just shrugged and eyed MacTavish warily.
"Why don't you pull up a chair, make yourself comfortable? Stop looking like you're going to bolt out the bloody door."
"Because I just stopped in to see how you're doing. I've got a stack of incident reports to fill out, thanks to you." MacTavish muttered
"Sit your Scottish ass down." Ghost snapped.
Roach choked back a gasp and retreated a little further into the closet.
"Did the blast knock out your sense of respect as well?" Captain MacTavish almost seemed amused.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Sit your Scottish ass down, sir." Lieutenant Riley said sarcastically.
MacTavish smiled and pulled a chair closer.
They talked for a few minutes, mostly about how long Ghost would be out of the field to heal, and Roach leaned against the wall and tried to make himself comfortable as silently as he could. The nurse returned after a little while and Roach peeked through the crack once again. This was what he was supposed to be after, information on Ghost's medical condition, not his opinion on hospital food and MRE's...
"Time for another round of Dilaudid(1). I'm sorry, Captain, but he's going to be a little incoherent after this shot." The nurse apologized.
"Could I get another minute with, 'im?" MacTavish asked.
"Sure." The nurse smiled and stepped out of the room.
"You're letting them dope me up?" Ghost asked, seemingly amused.
"It's eather take the Dilaudid, or spend the rest of the day in agony. And I don't like listening to you bitch. You need the rest anyway."
Ghost smiled and then... Roach thought he was hallucinating. Did the Captain just kiss the Sergeant? MacTavish left the room, the nurse returned and emptied a needle into the IV in Ghost's arm. True to the nurse's word, Ghost was glassy-eyed and staring at the ceiling almost immediately. Roach took the opportunity to steal out of the room and back to his team.
"Fucking took you long enough!" Worm yelled when Roach reappeared.
"You okay, man? You look a little pale." Meat murmured.
"I was in the fucking room when Captain MacTavish walked in." Roach snapped.
"I told you that's where the Captain was headed." Worm grinned.
"Fuck off, fish-bait. You get busted?" The last part of the comment was directed to Roach, who shook his head.
"So how's Ghost doing?" Worm asked, a little more serious.
"He's alright, I guess, though the Captain said he's gonna be a desk jockey for a few weeks while he heals up." Roach shrugged.
"Tough break for Ghost. Wonder if this means you'll take his place as the Captain's favorite." Meat teased.
"For some reason, I doubt it." Roach smiled.
"What do you mean by that?" Worm demanded.
Roach shook his head and walked away.
"Hey! I'm talkin' to you!" Meat yelled at his back. Roach didn't stop. The team dynamic suddenly made a lot more sense; espeically why Ghost was the favorite.
"That little shit knows something." Meat growled as he watched Roach walk away.
"He's just doing it to piss us off. He doesn't know shit about shit." Worm huffed. Meat continued to mutter under his breath, but let the subject drop. He was going to find Rocket and Chemo and see if they could catch one of those big-ass scorpions to put on Roach's pillow...
(1) Dilaudid is a painkiller that is 10 times stronger than morphine. Ten times!!!! It also takes effect almost instantly. I only know because Mum's a nurse that works ICU/CCU. Fun fact: The nurse described is based off of Mama. :D
A/N2: After going over this once or twice, I think I'm going to stick with just Soap and Ghost in the equation... I dunno... I kind of enjoyed exploring the team dynamic, but I feel like the MacRiley took a backseat... Meh. It is what it is. And, for the record, stupid things like oatmeal in whatever and scorpions on pillows and stupid shit like that does tend to happen, especially when you piss someone off. Two of my foster brothers are Marines and I got a letter from Jon a few weeks ago talking about how he tried going to sleep and he got short-sheeted by someone in his squad and Red told me about a kid in his platoon that pissed off the wrong dude and his bootlaces would just...disappear. I have a close friend in the Army (Currently in Afghanistan, OOAH!) who told me about these huge-ass camel spiders that look like the Incredible Hulk of scorpions. He sent me a picture of one of them along with a little message that mentioned his friend having arachnaphobia. We can all see where this is headed... Well, at any rate, hope you enjoyed it. Reviews are appreciated. :D