Chapter 2

I was taking a patient's blood pressure when I heard a commotion outside. After I finished, I went to check what was happening. The team of soldiers who were sent out on a mission arrived back. Doc was helping a wounded soldier into the hospital and the other nurses and doctors were running around, tending to the injured.

- His arm needs to be stitched up – said Doc as he passed by, referring to Red. Oh great, him. I looked at him and saw blood dripping down his fingers on his left arm.

- Follow me – I said. I went into one of the clinic rooms and started to gather my supplies while he sat down and took his uniform jacket off. When I turned around, he was sitting there only in a sleeveless top covering his upper body. He still had that stern look on him but without his proper SEAL uniform and gun, he looked less deadly. But I knew the keyword was looked. He had a deep cut on his right shoulder and his arm was covered in blood. Aside from this, I had to admit that the man was fine. He had a muscular chest and arms, and I would bet that you could shred cheese on his abs. And I just realized how handsome he really was. I silently scolded myself and focused on tending to his injuries.

Araminta was cleaning the blood off of Red's arm and he took this opportunity to observe her more closely. He saw that she had two piercings on the upper part of her right ear and an earring in her earlobe. On her other ear she also wore two stud earrings. Her small and delicate fingers were cleaning his skin thoroughly and he saw that she had two dots tattooed on both of her pinkies, just above her fingernails. He also noticed another tattoo on the inside of her left arm, just above her elbow crease. It was a number, 1968.

- I didn't know nurses had tattoos – he said.

- Sorry to disappoint – she replied nonchalantly.

- Araminta, right?

- You remembered my name? – She asked surprised.

- I would not forget the name of the person who gives me the most difficult night shifts – Minty looked up and was surprised to see a small smirk on his lips.

- Red is it?

- Yes, ma'am

- Is it short for something?

- No. It's my nickname ma'am.

- You are American right? – he asked. Minty nodded. Nurses in this mission came from all over the world.

- Can I ask you a question? – she looked up for a second.

- Shoot – she said and continued to work.

- Why a young and clever woman like yourself would come to a war-torn country when you could work back home in a safe hospital where you don't need the military to protect you?

- I guess I could ask you the same thing. Why a young and clever man like yourself would want to become a SEAL and risk your life every day? – she asked while wrapping a bandage around his arm.

- My dad was also a navy SEAL. Snipper. All our neighbours and everyone around us were in the navy. I always wanted adventure and I grew up listening to their stories, admiring them. Never wanted to be anything else so I joined right after high school.

- I always liked helping people. My dad was a paediatrician and I have several nurses in my family. After qualifying I was working in an A&E in New York. Lena came in one day and she was recruiting nurses and doctors to join this mission. This was before the civil war started. It was always something I wanted to do so I decided to join her. It has been a year and I never looked back. Never regretted it - While talking Minty finished bandaging Red's wound.

-You are ready. Come back in two days and I will change the dressing – she said.

- Thank you ma'am – he jumped off the examination bed. Before leaving he took one more look at her.

I headed back to the hospital. Around lunch time I was in the clinic room when I heard a knock.

- Come in – I said. Red entered the room.

- Thank you for finding the time to see me ma'am.

- Sure. Let me have a look at your arm – I said. He took off his jacket and I could not help but admire his body. I gathered myself quickly. I took off his bandage and examined the wound.

- It is healing really well. I am just going to put another bandage on, and you can take it off in a few days' time and that's it. You will not need my help anymore.

- I get injured quite a lot so most likely I will often need your help – I looked up at him and our eyes met for a second.

- It is my duty to help – I said and looked back down.

- Okay it is all done – I said, and I went to get a glass of water. As I was drinking, I spilled a little on my chest.

- Thank you. And by the way, you got yourself a little wet….ma'am – he said with an unmistakeable grin and left. I stayed in the clinic room with my mouth hanging open.

I was on night shift, and I was spending my break outside, drinking coffee. I heard someone behind me, and I instantly knew who it was.

- Don't worry, I am on night shift, so I am not running away – He stepped in front of me.

- Honestly, why do you keep checking on me?

- Because I need to ensure everyone's safety ma'am. Including yours and from what I have seen, you are having difficulty following rules.

- Well like I told you, I am at work, only taking my break so why don't you go and find someone else to 'keep safe'.

- I am on my break as well – I got very surprised when he sat down.

- Well in that case, I don't want to bother you – I started to stand up.

- Stay – he said suddenly – I mean only if you want to – I slowly sat back down.

He didn't say anything, just looked ahead of him, into the jungle. Now that I could see his face, I saw dark circles under his eyes, and he looked sad. I was kind of taken aback by it. I never really saw emotions on his face before. He always looked tough. All of them did.

- Are you okay? – I asked carefully, and I didn't even understand why I cared. But for some reason, seeing him sad bothered me. He closed his eyes.

- Tell me about your life.

- Ummm… – I could tell that he was trying to get his mind off of something. I don't really like talking about my life. It is not a happy story, but for some reason I wanted to comfort him.

- There is nothing much to say. My father was from the Philippines and my mother is Mexican. I was born in New York but when my dad died, me and my mother moved to a small town near the Mexican border.

- I am sorry. It must have been hard to grow up without a dad – he opened his eyes and looked at me. All the sternness was gone.

- Yeah, well, she remarried. Where are you from?

- Born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia.

- Ahh, the navy hotspot – he smiled.

- Please continue – he said.

- Uhmmm….when I was 15, I moved back to New York and lived with my aunty – I didn't even realize but I was chatting away, sharing the most random things about my life. One of my stories actually made him laugh and I felt warmth in my heart. I suddenly looked at my watch and realized that I had to go.

- I am sorry but my break is over – we both stood up. For a few seconds we were looking at each other.

- Well, have a good night – I said and started to turn away. He put a hand on my upper arm, and I looked back.

- Thank you, ma'am, – he said and before I could properly look into his eyes, he turned around and left.

I was in the staff mess having dinner with Siobhan. We were chatting about random things when we saw him approaching.

- Oh, he is coming here – she said excitedly. I rolled my eyes.

- Do you know what his real name is? – she asked me.

- No. How would I?

- I saw you talking to him a few times – she said, and I swear I could hear a pang of jealousy in her voice.

- Yeah, because he is always ordering me around. So no, we are not on a first name basis.

- Ma'am – he said addressing both of us when he reached our table.

- Evening – Siobhan said instantly. I just nodded in his direction.

- Doing the night shift again – it was more of a statement than a question. He was in full uniform with his rifle.

- Yes ma'am – he looked at me with an eyebrow raised. I instantly understood what he wanted to ask.

- I am off. But don't worry, you can have it easy tonight. I am not in a wandering mood – I said.

- Oh I am doing the night shift tonight – Siobhan chimed in – so I will probably see you around – she looked at him hopefully. I swear if I could have rolled my eyes.

- Maybe ma'am – he said and he left but not before giving me another look.

I was walking to the military camp to have a talk with Dr Kelly about one of the patients. I went into the team's briefing room as he told me to meet him there. When I stepped in, I only saw Red inside. He was looking through some papers.

- I didn't know navy SEALs have paperwork to do – I said as he looked up at me.

- Sorry to disappoint – this time he said it to me with a small smile – are you here to see Doc?

- Yes, he told me to meet him here.

- He will be here in a few minutes – I nodded and sat down on one of the chairs. He was writing on some papers for a bit and then he put them away and looked at me. His blue eyes were breath taking.

- So, tell me, what paperwork does a navy SEAL has to do?

- It's just stock on the ammo and that kind of stuff.

- Sounds riveting – he laughed. I really loved his laugh.

- So how long are you staying in the mission?

- As long as I want, I guess. How about you?

- Depends on the civil war. But hopefully not too long.

- I assume this is not your first deployment.

- No. I have been to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Latin America with the guys before.

- So, all the fun places huh?

- Yeah, you could say that – Red laughed. – Have you been to a similar place like this before?

- No, this is my first one. Before this I worked in A&E majors and resus and intensive care unit.

- Those sound like fun places too.

-Oh definitely. But my experience comes in handy seeing how much work I need to do on you guys.

- Oh yeah, nicely done by the way –Red said referring to his arm.

- I know. Definitely one of my best work – we both laughed.

For a few seconds we were just looking at each other. I also realized that he didn't address me as ma'am. I mean he didn't use my name, but I felt like he was a bit more informal than during our previous encounters. When Doc stepped in, he said he will leave us to it and left.

Red and Lake were sitting in the canteen, eating. Suddenly a conversation from the next table caught his attention.

- Have you seen that nurse? The hot one?

- Ohh the slim one with the long hair?

- Yeah, that one. A week ago, I had to get a cut cleaned and I am telling you man, that face and body! I wouldn't mind playing with her all night – both were laughing.

- Easy mate – Lake said to Red who looked at him questioningly.

- Your hands are in a fist – he pointed out. Red instantly relaxed them.

- You like her, don't you?

- I mean, she is not bad looking.

- She is not bad looking – Lake repeated laughing – Red I have known you since you joined the navy. I can tell when you like someone. I keep seeing you constantly watching out for her 'safety'. Why don't you just go for it? It's not like you have a girl waiting for you at home.

- Yeah, thanks for reminding me of that – Lake laughed again.

- But seriously. Why don't you have a bit of fun? It's not like you haven't done it before – it was true. He never had a problem finding girls, even when he was on deployment.

- I am good thanks – Red stood up and took his tray. Lake remained seated at the table and was shaking his head smiling.