Hidden Friends

Right, long ass chapter coming right up, hopefully this attracts some more attention than previous chapters have gotten but hopefully this one is better. I will let this get on now so I don't own COD but I do own anchor and enjoy!

Life was going great, Jessica and Fenrir celebrated their first birthdays and Ashley and I were still going strong. We were bending around Jessica's ear problems but above all else Ashley was pregnant again, she was only three months gone by that point but she was happy, I was happy. Although at that point, I did not know who was about to walk back into my life.

I should have realised the signs when Jessica received an unmarked present on her birthday, it was a teddy bear nothing out of the ordinary but it had wrapping paper made of fake money and had small mini soaps inside I didn't take much notice of it I thought it was a gag from my sister or something.

It eventually came to the birth of our second child, it was another girl her name was Elise, she was almost just as perfect as Jessica, I guess that she just couldn't have been as perfect as her but that didn't mean I don't love her, she was my daughter.

The joy however was short lived at two weeks after her birth she was sat in her cot and suddenly started having violent convulsions, Ashley and I panicked, we called an ambulance but by the time it arrived she was already in a coma, induced by the fit.

We spent a further month at the hospital watching our little girl she was on oxygen and had a little heart monitor on she looked just as though she was asleep, Ashley was falling apart she didn't want to leave the hospital or go anywhere near Jessica she thought it was her fault that both of the children had defects. After a week at the hospital we finally had a verdict on what was wrong with our daughter, she had an inflamed brain caused by meningitis, instantly after the verdict both Ashley and I knew what was coming, it had been a week since her seizure the disease was taking hold. Over that night the worst finally broke Elise died of septicaemia in the end took her life from her. Her funeral was short she was cremated in the hospital crematorium we took her ashes back to the house, Jessica greeted her little laugh which just made us cry.

Ashley clutched onto Elise's ashes and did not let go of them even when Jessica was grabbing at her hands, however Ashley was just focused on the tiny jar which contained our daughter.

"Ash, we're home," I whispered to her nervously whilst clutching onto Jessica who just wanted to be in her mum's hands. I sat Jessica across one of my arms and I put my free hand on the glimmering silver jar, "Let me take it, she wants to see you," I told Ashley as I grasped the jar and handed Jessica over almost simultaneously.

"You going to be okay Ash?" Bailey said quietly as she looked into Ashley's vacant eyes, Ashley just nodded back at her to which Bailey looked at me, "You okay?"

"Not exactly but we just have to get on with our lives," I told her sounding colder than I ever had done before.

"How do we do that?" Ashley asked me with tears in her eyes.

"We have to Ash," I said to her softly as I looked down at the jar, "We will never forget but it can't be undone."

"But I want that so badly," She said as she broke down crying again. Bailey took Jessica into the kitchen and started playing with her.

"I know you do, baby, but we have to move on with our lives," I said to her as I paced my arms around her and she collapsed into my chest.

"I don't know how to though, I'm scared," she sobbed as I tightened my grip around her.

"I know," I said to her as I lifted myself away from her and looked her in the eyes, "She may not have a future but we do, we don't have to let go just yet we can keep her with us forever if we want and Jessica will know of her sister. Now I'm going to put this on the bedside table you're going to go in there and play with our wonderful daughter….. and Bailey," I joked at her which made her giggle. I then nodded at her to move and I walked upstairs to pop the jar on our bedside table.

Just as I placed the jar down I heard a knock at the door, so I rushed down the stairs which ended just at the door, I could see two people through the glass on the door but couldn't make out who they were. I opened the door and my mouth instantly dropped, "It's good to see you Anchor," the Scottish drawl babbled from the tall muscular man who stood before me.

"Who is it Art?" Ashley asked through from the kitchen.

"Oh it's no one, I'm just going out to take a walk to clear my head," I shouted back to her as I continued to stare into the blue green eyes in front of me. I made him step aside as I stepped out and closed the door. After I made sure the door was shut I threw my fist towards the man who was taken a bit off guard, my knuckles caught the edge of his jaw knocking him backwards.

The older man of the two just lit up his cigar and watched the fight unfold, I was tackled to the floor by the larger more muscular man who punched me once around the face but I managed to flip us over after he had leaving me on top, to which I started laying down a hammering of blows into his face.

After a few seconds of the pummelling I saw I had blood on my knuckles and my lip was pulsating so I dabbed my index finger on it whilst maintaining a grip on the large man's lapel, "Fuck!" I shouted as I threw the man back onto the pavement.

"Are you two quite finished?" The old man croaked as he puffed out a cloud of smoke from his cigar.

"Why the fuck are you two here?" I exclaimed at the old man as I climbed off the walking muscle.

"We were hoping for a better response then that," The old man said quietly as he flicked the ash off his cigar.

"You abandoned me in that hospital in Birmingham!" I shouted at his as I barrelled towards him.

"We weren't allowed in," The muscle said as he climbed up and dusted himself down bleeding from his upper lip.

"We sent you the presents we thought that you would be intelligent enough to get that hint," the old man said sarcastically as he placed the half burn cigar back in its tin.

"That was you?" I asked as I looked confusedly between the two men.

"Yes, you muppet," the old man told me bluntly.

"Why are you here? Why now?" I asked them.

"Maybe I can explain that," An even older man said as he climbed out of a black SUV across the street from my drive way.

"And you are?" I asked not really caring who he was.

"Lieutenant General Hershal von Shepard, US Army 75th Rangers," He explained as he came closer to my house carrying a file, "I see you've already reacquainted yourself with Captain Price and Lieutenant MacTavish," He nodded as he gestured back towards his car.

"Lieutenant?" I queried.

"Yeah," Soap smiled as he now had rank over me once again.

"Alright so they made a proper bastard out of you," I smiled back both of us with fairly bloody mouths.

"I did," The old officer said standing proudly in his class A's.

"You must be fucking stupid then," I gestured to him as I looked at Soap who hadn't fared well in Russia either clearly, "I take it getting malleted left you a bit tenderised then," I paused for a split second, "mate."

Soap reached up to stroke along the ridge left in the top of his skull running down to his left eye, "Aye you could say that mate," he replied as he looked down at the small amount of metal that was poking out of the bottom of my jeans, "Sorry about your loss."

"It's alright, I've got over it by now, I kinda like it, really brings out my eyes," I laughed at him.

"Not that," He just said solemnly.

"Oh right, yeah a bit of a shock," I said lowering my head, "So why are you here?" I asked to the general.

"We need you," Price butted in ahead of the general, probably why he never made Major.

"For what?"

"A special task force, I disclose much more for now I just need your word on it and we can set everything in motion," Shepherd nodded to me.

"So you expect me to just drop everything here to gallivant off to join some fucking task force fucktards, if you know everything that's happened to me recently then you'll know that Jessica is deaf and we have to wait or save up so she can have an operation to fix it and Ashley is now lower than I've ever seen her before, plus I have my commitments in the marines," I explained aggressively to the old man as he simply stood there with his arms crossed.

"That's why we're making you an offer," Shepherd said as he passed me the file that he had been holding onto the whole time.

"Oh, and what's that?" I asked him as I opened the file.

"How does two hundred thousand dollars a year tax free sound?" He asked as I looked over the very vague file, it was just telling me what I already knew only it had a strange seal in the corner it had a winged dagger much like the SAS but it was on a spade with a skull on top and was encircled by a wreath.

"Not good enough," I told him as I started to walk back to my house.

"How about we fix your daughters hearing?" He shouted over to me forcing me to stop dead in my tracks.

"How could you do that?" I asked him not turning around.

"Simple arrange for her to be put at the top of the list or get the money to get it done privately, our organisation has access to more funds than you will ever know of," He smiled as I looked over my shoulder.

"Why would you do that?"

"Because we want you and we will pay for a country to be moved if that will get you to join the team. So can I count on you?"

"I'll think about it," I told him as I continued walking back to my house.

"Take this if you change your mind," Price said as he threw a small card over towards me which I caught and slipped it into my pocket.

When I walked back in Bailey, Ashley and Jessica along with Fenrir were all still in the kitchen, I walked in placing the file down on the table and moved across the room towards where Ashley and Bailey were sitting playing with Jessica. Fenrir came over to me and sniffed me from toe to as far as he could reach standing on his hind legs, he wasn't fully grown yet, but he still stood about four and a half feet tall on his back legs.

Ashley walked over to me and looked at the brown file on the table, "Where you been?" She asked as she turned the file trying to decide what it was.

"I'll talk about it to you later," I said to her as I stroked Fenrir around his ears, which he liked the most.

"Where have you been?" She asked as she checked out my split lip.

"I bumped into some old friends."

"Looks like their fist bumped into you," She told me as she licked her thumb and cleaned the blood off my lip.

"Yeah you could say that, we had a few differences to work out."

"Like what?"

"Just a few bits and pieces, it's what I have to talk to you about," I said to her, "But we that will be later, I promise, I need to talk to you." She nodded as I walked over to Jessica and scooped her up.

It came to me putting Jessica to bed with just thinking about what could happen if I took the job and could give her, her hearing back. As I tucked her in, Ashley came into the room shining a ray of light into the room which was partially obscured by her shadow.

I turned to face her and she was holding onto the file, "Have you read it?" I asked her as I walked over to her and kissed her on the forehead.

"No, I wanted you to explain it to me," She replied as she led me through to our bedroom.

"Okay so I'll get the blow right out of the way first, I didn't go for a walk earlier, it was just outside the house, two of my former colleagues."

"From before you lost your leg?" She asked.

"Yeah," I nodded, "They are apparently now a part of a wider I'm guessing NATO run group of soldiers under some General Shepherd."

"Why did they come now?" Ashley queried as she looked down at the file.

"They seem to know everything, I've not spoken to them since I blacked out and yet they knew where I was, about you, about Jessica and about Elise," I told her angrily as I licked my dried lips trying to compose myself.

"How?"

"Because the world they belong to is a dirty place full of lies, deceit and keeping tabs on people even if they've been out for a while."

"So they've been watching?"

"Indirectly but yes."

"So what did they say to you?"

I looked down at the file and opened it for her to see but it was dark and so I had to turn on the light, "They offered me a place to join them," I said pausing to let her take in that sentence.

"No not if they're going to take you away," She welled up.

"Listen I haven't said yes but the offer is still on the table."

"But what do you get out of it?"

"A lot of money, two hundred thousand dollars a year," I took a deep breath for the second part of the office.

"We don't need money right now!" She held her ground.

"I know that's why they're also offering the money to give Jessica her cochlea implants," I gulped whilst nervously shaking on the bed. Ashley didn't respond she was just sat stunned in the wake of what she had just heard; I couldn't blame her I was when I was told.

"That's a big incentive," She said gasping for air.

"I know that is the only reason I've considered it," I told her quietly.

"I don't blame you it's all I've wanted the whole time we've known about her condition," She replied sounding like she would condone me going with Price and Soap again.

"I don't know how long it will last and I can't promise that I'll be home for Christmas," I said to her as I looked her straight in the eyes.

"Wait are you actually considering doing this?" She said distraughtly.

"We need that money Ash and it's only for Jessica," I paused, "If it wasn't for that then I wouldn't be considering it, you and her are my everything, simple as that if it helps you two then that's it that's my life, plus if I don't take this they'll be back and the offer won't be as good next time."

She started to well up, "can't you find out more before you decide?"

"That's not how their world works babe," I said back as I hugged her tightly.

"How long would you have before they took you if you say yes?"

"A day maybe two," I said to her as she buried herself deeper in my chest, I could feel her tears soaking through my t-shirt, "It will be okay, the two hundred thousand should be up front, so it would not matter if I'm there for two weeks or three months."

"That's not helping," she spat back.

"I know it's not I'm just trying to justify this to myself," I told her as I looked down at the carpeted floor when I heard the door creak and the now quite large Fenrir wandered into the room to see what was going on. "Come here boy," I said to him excitedly as he jumped up on the bed on the other side of me to Ashley and licked my face, he then started to nuzzle Ashley as she cried.

"Hey, boy," She said as she lifted her head off me and instantly got a good licking from Fenrir.

"You wouldn't be totally alone here see," I said as I stroked him under his back leg causing him to cock it.

"Yeah I guess," She paused and looked at me, "So are you doing this?" She asked.

I leant over to the bed side table with Elise's ashes on top and opened the top draw moved some of the items around and pulled out a small box, "I'll be coming back for you," I nodded at her as I looked down at the box shifting myself off the bed and onto the floor, "I was waiting for the right time to do this, I guess no time like the present," I smiled nervously, I could feel my heart jumping up into my throat as I lent onto one knee with my prosthesis holding my up. "Ashley," I paused to open the box, "Will you marry me?" I asked as I closed my eyes trying to calm my nerves.

"Oh my god," She said excited as she pulled the ring from its foam holder and slid it onto her own finger, "You're an idiot but," She paused again, I swear this time was to just hope I'd go into cardiac arrest just so I wouldn't go but she finally ended with, "Of course I will!"

"Great," Finally releasing my nerves in a chuckle as I took the ring back off her finger and showed her what was written inside the rim.

Forever in your heart.

"Oh wow," she said as she started tearing up and flung her arms around my neck throwing me well off balance and onto the floor to which she tumbled after, with a crash.

"Hey!" A voice sounded from the next room, "What are you two doing in there?" They knocked, ""Wait I don't actually want to know!"

"Bailey get in here!" Ashley shouted as she climbed up off me.

Bailey took a few minutes to run into the room, she didn't have enough time to do up her dressing gown, which meant Ashley and I were greeted with a full frontal from her, "Oh shit," She said as she collected both sides of the gown and covered herself.

"Nothing we haven't seen before," I chuckled as I climbed up, but Ashley was already waving her hand in Bailey's face like a flail before I had actually gotten to my feet.

"So you did it then?" Bailey asked me as held Ashley's hand looking at the ring.

"You knew?" Ashley asked in shock, to which Bailey nodded, "Bitch!" Ashley exclaimed as she looked down at the ring in stunned stare.

"So you doing it then?" Bailey asked past Ashley.

"Wait how do you know?" I queried.

"These walls block nothing, I heard you making Elise," She said waving inverted commas in the air.

"Ah okay and yeah I think I am but it's going to wait until morning for now," I told her seriously I want a few more hours here before I step off.

"What about the bootneckers?" Bailey asked.

"I think my contract may have already been terminated there," I said to her.

"How so?" She asked again.

"These are rather persistent bastards," I told her.

"How do you know them by the way?" Ashley decided to ask.

"They were my squad mates, they were there when my leg was blown to Timbuktu."

"Are you close to them?" Bailey asked now putting me in the hot seat.

"We were yeah, we went through a lot together, but I haven't seen or spoken to them in what two and a half maybe three years now, but apparently they've been keeping tabs on me, they know where I live and who I live with."

"That's a bit stalkerish," She chuckled.

"Yeah tell me about it but it did solve the mystery of the monopoly money and the soap on a rope."

"Why does it?" Bailey asked again.

"What is this grill me night?"

"You fucking know it, bitchtits," She smirked back at me.

"One's called Price and the other is Soap, it's just a reference to them."

"Ah fair enough," She said as she turned to walk out of the door, "I'm off to bed because I need my beauty sleep."

"Damn right you do," I told her as Ashley closed the door behind her, "Back to bed?" I said to Ashley as I collapsed back on the bed.

"Done deal," Ashley said as she joined me on the bed.

Morning came way to quickly I was woken up at seven by a crying Jessica but she was quick to sooth once she was picked up and fed something, after about an hour Ashley clambered out of bed and Bailey soon followed. I spent the morning out with Ashley and Jessica but once we had lunch I knew it had to be done.

I wandered out into the garden with the card that I was given and rang in the number on it, a lone voice answered with heavy static behind it, "Shovel," They said simply almost masked by static.

I was stunned for a second looking at the card for some sign of what to reply, eventually I spotted a shovel in the corner with a sledgehammer crossed over it so I replied, "Sledgehammer."

"Two zero hotel romeo sierra break alpha foxtrot india," They replied before swiftly hanging up.

"What the fuck?" I said into my phone as I looked around wondering what had just happened.

"You okay?" Ashley asked as she slid shut the patio door.

"Yeah I'm okay just a little confused," I replied to her as I put my phone and card back in my pocket.

"Why? What happened?" She asked.

"They just gave off a load of numbers and letters," I said confused.

"What numbers?"

I wrote them down on a piece of paper, "Twenty hundred hours, what doe mean?" I asked Ashley, she gave me a blank look in response, "Await further instructions," It finally clicked, so I had eight hours to enjoy with my family. "Did you fancy going to Birmingham for a bit?" I asked Ashley just to break the silence.

"Yeah we can do," She smiled.

"Have a good family day out," I smiled back as I opened the door for her to go back inside, "Hey Bailey!" I shouted through the house.

"What?" She shouted from upstairs.

"You wanna come Birmingham with Ash and me and the kids?"

"Are you referring to Fenrir as a kid?" She asked as she came down stairs hold Jessica.

"Yeah," I chuckled as I pulled his chain off the hook and clipped him on.

"I'm up for it," She then said as Ashley grabbed the push chair for Jessica and went out to put it in the car. I took Fenrir out, put him in the back seat as Bailey climbed across and Jessica was strapped in.

We spent most of the day in Birmingham getting dinner out along with a few snacks for the ride home to which Fenrir decided he would help himself, we got home at about half seven but sat on the opposite side of the street to my house was an SUV the same one that had been there the previous day.

"They're here already," I sighed as we climbed out of the car, not letting the SUV know that I had seen them although I think they already knew.

"You still have half an hour," Bailey said bluntly as she helped Ashley carry the push chair back in the house and I took Jessica.

"Yeah, I plan to not leave until eight," So I put the kettle on and sat with Ashley but dead on eight o'clock a knock at the door rang through the house.

"Shit," I whispered as I looked at Ashley who was welling up and was on the verge of crying but she was holding herself together that was until I hugged her, "I love you," I told her as I felt my heart wanting to pull me towards the house, "I will be back for you." I told her as I went to answer the door leaving them in the kitchen.

"You ready?" Price asked me as I pulled the door open.

"No but I won't be any more ready in an hour's time, so let's get this fucking started," I told him as I walked out of the door and followed him to the SUV.

"McTavish, hit it," Shepherd said from the front passenger seat.

End of this chapter but this story still has some life in it yet I hope you've been enjoying it please leave a review and tell me what you thought I really appreciate them but that's it for now so until the next one…..PEACE!