Chapter 4
In the Army Now
14 weeks after enlistment
John looked around the training camp causing a bittersweet pang of nostalgia to overwhelm him for a moment. Though he was sure that Mycroft could have had the requirement waived, for some reason he had refused to do so. Perhaps it was just bruise John's ego a bit, but John had swallowed his pride and done it. Truthfully, it hadn't been as bad as he first expected. Put in your penance and you shall be rewarded. He thought to himself. While the new recruits were wet behind the ears, they were eager to learn and John had even mentored a few of them. He had managed to make a few good friends in the process. The one thing that had gotten tedious were the basic drills, that was one thing that he could have lived without. He could have run them in his sleep.
"Not going to miss this place much are you, Captain?" John was pulled from his thoughts by the voice of Bill Murray. John smiled looking up at him with a shake of his head. Bill returned it with a knowing smirk. Bill was tall and lean. He had green eyes and red hair with a smattering of freckles across the bridge of his nose. He looked much younger than he actually was. Bill was one of the recruits that John had mentored and he would miss him when the new assignments came through. Bill was a quick study and had a good head on his shoulders. John was confident that he would excel. He was a bit older than most of the new recruits, having already finished college with a degree in nursing and already had a few years of practice under his belt. Because he was enlisting with a background of civilian medical training, he qualified for officers training and could have chosen to entered as an officer as an RN in a base hospital. But he wanted to be on the battlefield and had chosen instead to become a combat medic, which would put him on the front lines treating soldiers. Stating only, "If I wanted to work in a hospital, I could done it as a civilian."
John could sympathize. Civilian medicine could be unbearably dull. John had only lasted a year in private practice right out of medical school, before enlisting with the RAMC. That was part of the reason why he had started picking up shifts at the A&E in between cases in addition to working at the surgery when he come back to London and began living with Sherlock at Baker's Street. Some people thrived on predictability and routines, but John wasn't one of those people, and evidently, neither was Murray.
"Have you heard anything regarding the new assignments?" Bill asked lifting an eyebrow. "I wouldn't mind having you as a commanding officer." He admitted with a smile and a wink.
John chuckled softly before responding. "No, I haven't heard anything. But I doubt we'll be assigned together. I have requested to serve as a full combatant rather than serve with the RAMC. I haven't been assigned a regiment yet. Though I suspect that when I am assigned, it will be the with Fusilier's as I served with that regiment during my last tour in Afghanistan." John explained. Bill's eyes widened at the admission clearly taken by surprise.
"Cor, John…" He murmured looking shocked and very worried. "Are you sure that you want to do that? It's not too late to change your mind. You're a qualified physician and the RAMC would snap you up in a heartbeat."
"I know they would, Bill. In fact, that's where they first wanted me to be assigned this time around. Doctors are in short supply, but this is what I want, to fight alongside my fellow men. Don't get me wrong, the RAMC is an important part of the military and serves a vital role. It was an honor serving with them, but it isn't for me anymore. I served with RAMC for years before going through officers training at Sandhurst and re-enlisting as a full combatant during my last two tours in Afghanistan. It's why I've only achieved the rank of Captain at my age. I essentially started from scratch when I was assigned with Fusilier's as a full combatant after leaving the RAMC." John replied with a sigh as he took in the disbelieving look on Bill's face.
"Don't worry, Bill. Though it's been a few years, I still have my skills as you saw during the drills. I'll be fine, this isn't my first time in combat and it won't be my last." John said with a wink of his own trying to assuage some of Bill's worry. Bill looked at him seriously before answering.
"It's not that you don't have the skills, John. You do, you'd have to be blind not to see that. Bloody hell, that was some of the best marksmanship I've ever witnessed. But…. No one is immortal. If you're really set on doing this, promise me that you'll be careful." Bill pleaded. John sighed and looked down unable to meet Bill's eyes knowing that he was going into this not caring whether he lived or died.
Refusing to lie, he simply stated. "There are no guarantees in life, Bill. Even if something happens to me, I don't have someone back home depending on me like you do." John was referring to Bill's wife, Kate. "You're the one that should be careful."
Bill's expression hardened. "Captain!" He hissed out the word angrily forcing John to look up and finally meet his eyes. He then continued in a much gentler voice. "Don't ever think that no one cares. I know for a fact that every recruit that has worked with you in the last 14 weeks would attest to that, myself included." John felt his throat tighten, and rather than risk his voice wavering, he simply nodded in acknowledgement.