They were there again, the faceless men. He could feel them gathering around him. Steve felt something cold on his chest and a hand on his wrist. He jerked his hand away and pushed himself up off the table, yelling "No!"
He heard a voice telling him to calm down. It was not the harsh voice of one of the faceless men, it was softer with a British accent. Steve opened his eyes and saw a man in hospital scrubs and a white coat standing in front of him. He looked around quickly, and saw the soldier still in the bed next to him and watching him with concern in his eyes. He wasn't in the compound, he was at that military base in Cyprus where Shane had brought him.
"Relax, Mr. Johnson," the man said. "I'm Dr. Taylor and I just want to examine you for a moment."
Steve stared at the man's face, something about it was vaguely familiar. "You tried to 'examine' me last night too, didn't you?" Steve asked in a sharp tone.
"I was one of the attending physicians when you were brought in to the facility."
"Well, then you've seen all of me you need to see. You and your butcher buddies can just stay the hell away from me."
"Mr. Johnson, you have been through a terrible ordeal and you need medical attention. You are suffering from malnutrition, the after-affects of numerous infections, and you have wounds that need to be tended." Dr. Taylor pointed to the still open and raw wounds on Steve's wrists.
"I'm fine," Steve said through clenched teeth. "All I need is to go home to my family. I don't need any more needles, any more tests, any more examinations from any of you."
"You are most certainly not fine, Mr. Johnson. And if you are unwilling to submit to necessary medical treatment, I will have no choice but to have the orderlies restrain you again."
"Touch me again and you're a dead man," Steve said in a controlled, but deadly serious voice. "That goes for your goons as well."
"Y'all better listen to the feller, Doc," said the voice from the next bed. "Spooky done warned them orderlies about tying this guy up again. Y'all don't want to go and make Spooky mad."
"All right, I'll leave you alone for now, Mr. Johnson. But you are not well and the sooner you realize that I am here to help you, the better off you will be." Dr. Taylor gave Steve one more stern look then left.
Steve turned to the soldier next to him. "Thanks for the back-up . . . uh . . .," Steve paused realizing he did not know the man's name.
"Sergeant Roy Deakins," said the man.
"Steve Johnson," Steve replied.
"Nice to meet y'all, formally speaking anyway," said Deakins.
Steve remembered Shane saying that Deakins was one of the men who had helped rescue him. "I guess I owe you more than one thank you, dude. Shane said you were one of the guys that helped get me out of that hellhole."
"It's just part of the job. Ol' Spooky said we needed to get y'all out, so that's what we did. Course I had to mess up and get shot in the process. Good thing Spooky's stronger then he looks. I'd be a goner if he hadn't of hauled me outta there."
Steve chuckled at Deakins' use of "Spooky" for Shane. He'd have to remember that one. Needling Shane and his stiff upper lip always provided amusement.
"Spooky said y'all were his brother-in-law or was anyway."
Steve nodded. "Shane used to be married to my wife's sister." My wife, Steve thought silently. His heart was crying out to see her and Stephanie. He didn't know how much longer he could be patient. It had never been his strong suit anyway.
"Well, y'all must have a different way of doing things where y'all are from. Down my way, we wouldn't be going in to rescue no ex-brother-in-law."
Steve chuckled again. "You're probably right, but Shane and I go way back and he's a good dude." Way back. That was a bit of an understatement. But no matter what had happened in the past, once they became part of the same family, he and Shane had always had each other's backs, even when they disagreed.
"Ol' Spooky showed me a picture of y'all's little girl. She's a cutie. I bet y'all can't wait to get home to see her."
"You got that right, dude." Steve briefly wondered why Shane had a picture of Stephanie, but that question was quickly replaced by thoughts of his daughter. She was nearly 18 months old now. He had missed the last nine months of her life. Nine months. He'd been gone more than half of her life. He thought again of the picture Shane had and wondered what she looked like and how she had changed. He hoped that he could somehow make it up to her for being gone for so long.
Out of the corner of his eye, Steve saw Deakins settle back down in his bed and Steve did the same. As much as he dreaded the nightmares he knew were coming, exhaustion was quickly overtaking him. He thought again of Kayla, wanting so badly to hold her, touch her, feel her love wrapped around him. He made a promise to himself to make Shane bring her here or get Steve home without any further delays. He didn't care about ISA issues or security concerns. It was his life and nobody would control him like that again. He wanted his wife with him and he would find a way to make that happen sooner, not later.