A/N: Yay! Reviews! So happy...

John sat in the office of an abandoned building, looking at the circled location on his map. That's where Gary is. After a couple weeks of searching, they had finally discovered his location. He was staying with the Ghosts at their base, which was kind of a dumb move seems on how it was the closest place to his base. But after what he had done to Gary, he guessed his teammates had to bring him there if they wanted him to survive. Nonetheless, he was pleased that they had found him. Now he just needed a plan...

"Ugh! Do we have to do it now?" Roach whined as Archer got things ready to remove his stitches.

He didn't want anyone messing with his leg, he didn't like it. It made him nervous and he couldn't stop thinking about when he got stabbed.

"Yes, we have to do it now. Because if I did it later, you would probably hide somewhere and it would take forever to find you."

"Well duh! That's the point!"

Archer went out into the hallway and yelled, "GHOST! I NEED YOUR HELP WITH SOMETHING!"

He came back into the room and continued to get things ready. A few minutes later, Ghost walked in.

"What do you need help with?"

"I need you to sit with Roach while I remove the stitches in his leg."

"Yeah, okay." Ghost said.

He sat down on the hospital bed beside Roach. Roach just sat there, staring at his hands. He looked edgy.

"Hey, it won't be that bad. I'll be here." Ghost said, playfully punching his arm.

Roach gave him a small smile, but still wasn't looking forward to it. His leg was the most severe injury he had received. It didn't bother him that much when he got stitches removed from small cuts, but this was different. Archer told him there were 39 stitches because when they first got here, he had to open the point of entry (where he got stabbed) more in order to get the knife out because of the curved end. That's why there were so many stitches. He shuddered at the thought. Archer had everything ready on a table by the bed- a pair of scissors, tweezers, rubbing alcohol, cotton balls, and bandages. He also had a muscle relaxant that would help Roach relax. He wouldn't use it unless he had to, but it was good to have it nearby just in case...

"Lie down." Archer said.

"Why?" Roach whined.

"Because it'll make it easier for me to remove the stitches." He explained, pushing at his shoulder.

He glared at him but complied, his upper half in Ghost's lap. Ghost put a hand on his chest to keep him still. He didn't mind sitting with Ghost, he did it all the time. He just didn't like not being able to watch what Archer was doing, it made him more nervous than he already was. The wound was a bit below mid-thigh, closer to the knee but not close enough to damage the joint. Roach was wearing shorts, so it wasn't hard to get to. Archer sat on the table beside Ghost and pulled Roach's leg into his lap. He got a cotton ball and put some rubbing alcohol on it, then started cleaning the wound. Roach hissed at the unexpected pain and blurred memories flashed through his mind. He tensed up even though Archer told him to relax.

He looked up at Archer, trying to see what he was doing but he could only see from his shoulders up. He discreetly tried to sit up a bit, just so he could see what he was doing... Ghost noticed and pushed him back down. He glared at him and Ghost just smiled.

"You aren't very intimidating when you're sitting in my lap."

"And if I wasn't?"

"Eh, that depends. You can't walk right now, so you don't scare me."

Roach rolled his eyes. Ghost studied the scar on his face, by his left eye. It looked like railroad tracks. Archer grabbed the scissors and cut the first suture, then he took the tweezers and gently pulled the stitch out. Roach shifted uncomfortably when he felt it go through his skin. He really didn't like this, the memories kept coming and he couldn't make them stop. He closed his eyes and tried not to think about it.

Without any warning John stabbed the knife into his right leg.

He desperately tried to think of something else, but it was impossibly difficult and Archer wasn't making it any easier. Archer cut the second suture and pulled it out with the tweezers.

He felt blood gush from the wound and onto the table. Searing pain ran through his leg, it was agonizing.

In his mind, he was in the room again, tied down on the cold metal table with John standing above him.

No, no that's not real... it's not real...

He tried to convince himself that he was safe, in the hospital room with Ghost and Archer, getting his stitches removed. But when he opened his eyes again, he was in the room with John. He blinked, hoping the image would disappear but it didn't. He started hyperventilating. Ghost was watching Archer finish removing the seventh stitch when he heard Roach's breathing speed up. It changed from slightly faster than normal to short, panting gasps in such a small amount of time that it scared him.

"Roach? What's wrong?" He asked, looking down at him.

Roach didn't respond. Archer stopped what he was doing and looked at Ghost.

"What is it?"

"He's hyperventilating. Roach, look at me." Ghost said, framing his face with his hands.

"Try to calm him down, I'm gonna keep working. Tell me if it gets worse and I'll give him something." Archer said.

Roach felt someone touch his face and flinched.

"Roach, it's okay. Calm down, you're fine."

He felt it when Archer started working again. His stomach churned. He tried to move his leg away, but didn't get far before Archer grabbed his leg and pulled it back into his lap. His breathing slowed down a bit, but then...

The knife went in another inch.

Roach cried out and nearly jumped off the table. Ghost had a strong hold on him though, and he didn't fall. Archer sighed and grabbed the syringe. He took Roach's arm and inserted the needle into it, then pushed the plunger down.

"What is that?" Ghost asked.

"It's a muscle relaxant. It'll help him relax."

Ghost nodded. It was smart of him to have something like that close by, knowing that Roach and stitches didn't go well together. The drug kicked in and Roach immediately relaxed. Archer started working again. He snipped the eighth suture and pulled it out. He kept going and tried to work quickly because the medicine's effects didn't last very long. Roach was feeling a bit better now. The memories disappeared and he was in the hospital room with Ghost and Archer again. He still didn't like the feeling of things going through his skin, but there was nothing he could do about it. He felt Archer's hand move further up his leg, following the trail of stitches as he removed them. It made him very uncomfortable.

"Quit it." He whined, fidgeting uneasily in Ghost's lap.

"Shhh, we're almost halfway done."

Ghost started playing with his hair to distract him. It helped some because it gave him something else to focus on, but he still didn't like the feeling of Archer's hand moving further and further up his leg and things being pulled through his skin.

"You okay?" Ghost asked as Archer removed the 23rd stitch.

Roach just nodded, he didn't feel like talking right now. But he got more and more restless as the drug started to wear off. The memories returned and by the time Archer got to the 30th stitch, he felt an overwhelming urge to get away from them and leave the room. He whined through his teeth as another stitch was pulled out of his leg.

"I know, I know. We're almost done, just nine more."

He didn't think he could handle any more of those horrible memories. He had tried to ignore them, but he just couldn't stand it anymore! Just as Archer moved to snip the next suture, Roach jerked back, causing him to accidentally give him a shallow cut with the sharp scissors. Roach yelped in surprise and pain when he felt something cut his leg, right next to the remaining stitches.

"Damn it Roach! You weren't supposed to move!" Archer yelled, quickly grabbing some bandages and putting pressure on the cut.

Roach shoved at Ghost and tried to sit up, but he pinned him to the table. It didn't take long for the cut to stop bleeding, then Archer cleaned it with rubbing alcohol. Roach winced and tried to get Ghost to let him go.

"Let go of me!" He cried, frantically trying to sit up and see how bad it was.

"Roach stop! It's okay, it's not that bad!"

"It hurts!"

"That's just because it's shallow." Archer explained as he quickly wrapped a bandage around his leg to protect the cut.

He picked up the scissors and cleaned the blood from them. Then he sat back down and continued removing the stitches, but he always kept one hand on Roach's leg to make sure he didn't move again. Roach whined and squirmed uncomfortably, still trying to escape the strong hold Ghost had on him.

"I'm sorry Roach, but we have to finish getting these out. There's only a few more, it won't take long if you sit still." Ghost said.

Roach whined and fussed, but Archer worked quickly and it only took him a few minutes to finish.

"Alright, I'm done. Roach you're allowed to walk, but no running or doing anything that could potentially reopen the wound." Archer said as he started cleaning things up.

Ghost let go of him and Roach quickly left the room without a word. Ghost sighed and helped Archer clean up.

A/N: Yay, so much drama and angst! Yayayayayayayayayay...