Chapter 4: Thank you … Friend

The inside of the Halicarnassus was dark and quiet. What remained of the team were all in the bunk rooms, catching up on much needed sleep from the past week. Even Jack was in his quarters, for once not staying up to look through notes or review plans.

In fact, when Pooh-Bear eventually decided that he couldn't sleep, he was fairly certain that he was the only one awake. Why he couldn't sleep he had no idea. He was exhausted, sore and stiff and aching for a good nights rest. But no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't doze off. Potentially the eerie silence in the bunk room had something to do with it. Where it had once been shared by five people, there were now only three. The bunk which Noddy and Big-Ears had laid claim too at the very start of the mission, ten years ago now, lay empty except for the backpacks which lay abandoned on the mattresses. In reality, someone should have moved them by now, put them away, out of sight. But no one had really had the heart to touch them, not quite yet anyway.

Sitting up in his bunk, Pooh looked around the darkened cabin. Fuzzy was sleeping peacefully, sprawled as always on his mattress, completely dead to the world. The other bunk, where Stretch usually slept however, was empty.

Frowning, Pooh-Bear swung himself out of his bunk and headed out into the main cabin. All the lights were off, and the dull evening light from outside the plane did little to illuminate the way. It did allow him to make out a humanoid shape on the far side of the plane though. Stretch sat by one of the windows, perched on top of one of the desks, his knees drawn up to his chest. He didn't seem to be looking at anything in particular, he was just staring blankly at the world outside.

Carefully, Pooh-Bear approached him silently, well aware that his presence was probably unwanted. Assuming that the usually constantly alert Stretch already knew that he was there, Pooh-Bear took a second to think before he spoke softly.

'Are you alright?'

Stretch jumped about a foot in the air with a surprised hiss. Given he was so precariously balanced on the desk, he would have fallen off had Pooh-Bear not quickly gripped his shoulders to steady him. Once he had righted himself, Stretch shot Pooh-Bear a deadly glare.

'Don't do that again, Arab,' he said sourly, before turning to look back out of the window.

'Sorry. I just assumed that you were already aware,' Pooh-Bear shrugged, still standing awkwardly, 'you're usually very observant.'

The Israeli didn't move, and he stayed silent. After a long moment of standing, Pooh eventually decided to take a leap of faith and sit down. He settled down on the couch beside the desk, tapping his fingers against the fake leather. When there was no objection, either stated or implied, he relaxed a little more.

After about fifteen minutes of silence, Pooh-Bear finally spoke again, repeating his earlier question, 'are you alright?'

'Fine. Why do you ask?'

'You're not sleeping.'

'Neither are you.'

The blunt answers gave Pooh-Bear the inclination that conversation was not wanted, so he retreated into silence once again. Shifting around, he looked out at the window, at the dark purple clouds far below them, coloured by the sinking sun. Just above them, the faint pinpricks of light from the first evening stars were just visible, half obscured by the frost which coated the rims of the windows. The serenity of it was a little unnerving, especially after a week of none stop chaos.

Lost in thought, he started slightly when Stretch spoke softly, 'it's the quiet isn't it? That's keeping you awake.'

Looking up at him, Pooh-Bear saw that he was still staring out of the window, his hands tightly gripping the sleeves of his jacket. After a second he nodded, 'I suppose it is.'

'But it's not really the silence is it? It's knowing what sounds should be filling it,' still Stretch didn't move.

It Pooh-Bear a second to come up with a response, 'we all knew the risks.'

'It doesn't help though, does it,' turning away from the window, Stretch looked at him closely.

The dim light from the window shadowed his face in an almost ghostly way, highlighting the angular bone structure creepily. Sighing deeply, Pooh-Bear adjusted how he was sitting so he could face him properly.

'No, it doesn't,' Pooh tiredly rubbed his eyes, 'in fact, sometimes I think that it almost makes it worse. We knew the risks, but all the same, we were helpless. We had no way of stopping it, even though we should have known to be more careful.'

Blinking a few times, Stretch suddenly turned away from him, gazing back out the window intently. A little confused, Pooh-Bear waited a few moments before he spoke again, this time a little cautiously.

'It's more than the silence keeping you awake though,' he said softly.

In all honesty, he hadn't expected a response. When Stretch actually answered him, it surprised him. Keeping his eyes locked on the window, this time as if he was purposely avoiding Pooh-Bear's gaze, Stretch's hands fiddled with the cuff of his jacket sleeve as he spoke softly.

'It's my fault we almost failed.'

Confused, Pooh-Bear cocked his head slightly, 'I'm sorry?'

'In the Hanging Gardens. It's my fault that we didn't get that piece. We were so close, we could have grabbed it and been gone before Judah arrived, but because of me, well…' he trailed off.

Raising his eyebrows, Pooh leaned forward in his seat, 'what happened there was not caused by you. Judah already knew about our location. Having Avenger show up made no difference. We would have lost that piece regardless.'

Shaking his head, Stretch went to speak again, but Pooh cut him off, 'answer this for me. Did you know about the chip?'

'No,' Stretch said defensively.

'Okay. Did you know that Avenger was coming?'

'No.'

'Did you contact the Americans at any point?'

'No,' that one was even more defensive than the last two.

'Well then, can you honestly explain to me what was your fault?' Pooh-Bear asked expectantly.

Stretch just looked him up and down for a while, eyes narrowed, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Eventually, he resigned and sank back, saying nothing.

Satisfied, Pooh-Bear nodded, 'exactly.'

'You're very forgiving considering I almost got you killed,' Stretch frowned slightly.

Shrugging, Pooh-Bear went to stand, a sudden wave of tiredness rushing through his brain, 'that's something friends are very good at doing.'

Stretch smiled softly, nothing more than a slight upturning of the corner of his mouth. But it was one of the first genuine smiles Pooh-Bear had seen from him, so he went with it. Heading back towards the bunk room, he turned on an after thought.

'Seriously Stretch, cut yourself some slack,' he said, 'and make sure you get some sleep. You look like hell.'

'Sure thing, Pooh-Bear,' Stretch seemed to stumble slightly over the last two words.

Shaking his head slightly, Pooh-Bear kept his laugh to himself as he disappeared back into the dark sleeping quarters.