by Terry Poole
G’s voice rang out. “One day ma petite, they won’t be.”
“No, I don’t think so.” Maria laid her head down on Kelly’s chest. “No one has ever called me beautiful before. Papa?”
“Yes, sweetie?”
“I want to keep Daddy.”
“I think that’s a very good idea.”
“Good.” She patted Kelly’s chest. “Papa says I can, so I’m keeping you.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Can I keep you too?”
“Yes, please. My daddy.” She sighed into Kelly as she snuggled close to him.
The expression on Kelly’s face, his moist eyes and trembling lip, as he stared down at the little girl in his arms made Nathan’s heart feel like it was swelling, ready to burst through his ribs with the amount of emotion he was experiencing. Nathan knew he was grinning like an idiot at the two of them and he could care less.
He felt a light tug on his sleeve and glanced down to see that Cookie was awake. “How are you feeling?” Nathan asked as he leaned over the man.
“Like shit. Thanks for patching me up, Doc.” Cookie swallowed. “You did good. With the kids. You did really good.”
“Yeah, I think so too.” Nathan patted Cookie’s arm. “Get some more sleep. Your body needs to heal.”
“K.” Cookie’s eyes were already closing.
The rest of the trek through the jungle seemed to take forever but likely was only an hour or two. Well, maybe a little longer because of the cot. It was hard to tell without a watch or cell phone to check the time. Then suddenly, they broke through the cloying vegetation into another clearing. Moose immediately dropped his machete and was on his radio calling for the helicopter while the cot was set down near the edge of the open area.
“Bird’s ETA ten minutes,” Moose reported.
“Bird? Don’t you mean chopper?” Brendan asked him.
“Naw, Pipsqueak. A chopper’s a motorcycle, a bird’s a helicopter. You know. The thing with the blades spinning on the top, takes people up into the air.”
“Har har har, you are just so funny.”
“That’s what they tell me, Pipsqueak.” Moose ruffled Brendan’s hair as he walked past him. “That’s what they tell me.”
“I’ll give you Pipsqueak,” Brendan grumbled, running his hands through his hair trying vainly to neaten his short curls.
Nathan snorted a laugh at them as he flopped down beside the cot and checked Cookie’s sutures again while they waited. They looked good, all things considered. Nathan was glad of the chance to take a break. His feet were aching in shoes never meant to be used in these circumstances. He was going to have to use the med-bay to deal with them. Luis would probably need treatment for his feet too.
Hearing an odd noise, he rose to his feet with a groan and glanced around, searching for the source of the sound. Jesus stood before Kelly who was sitting cross-legged on the ground. An intent expression graced both their faces as they stared fixedly at one another.
As he watched, Jesus stuck out his tongue at Kelly. Kelly repeated the action. Jesus made a face, which Kelly again repeated back at him. Then Kelly made the next move and crossed his eyes. Jesus made the most comical face as he tried to cross his eyes too. Giving Kelly a glare, he launched himself at Kelly trying vainly to tickle him. It was a good plan, however, Kelly wasn’t ticklish. Nathan knew firsthand how futile that attempt was.
“Oh, so that’s how it’s gonna be, huh?” Kelly made mock growling noises at the little boy before grabbing Jesus around his chest and lifting him high in the air. Jesus squealed in joy as Kelly made airplane noises and swung him back and forth over his head.
Nathan grinned at the pair. He knew Kelly would make a wonderful father. He was amazing with his nieces, helping out whenever their father was deployed, so of course Kelly would be fantastic with his own children.
“That’s a nice sound to hear.”
Luis stepped up beside him, joining him in watching the two play for a minute. “Jesus hasn’t had much joy in his short life.”
Nathan laid an arm across the younger man’s shoulders. “That’s going to change for all of you.”
“Damn right.”
Brendan came up on Luis’s opposite side and also dropped an arm across his shoulders over Nathan’s and gently gripped the nape of Nathan’s neck. Nathan did the same to Brendan. It was a familiar affectionate gesture between them. This time it was used to hold Luis between them, showing Luis without words that he belonged with them now.
“So, Luis, how do you feel about joining the Kirkfield-MacNiel clan?”
Luis glanced first at Nathan and then at Brendan. “Seriously? But I’m too old to be adopted.”
“Nonsense.” Brendan snorted. “You can keep your last name or not, that’s up to you but you’re already family.”
The young man looked overwhelmed.
“There is one catch however.” Nathan shook a finger at him. “As soon as everything is settled back home, you, young man, are heading back to school to finish what you started.”
Nathan felt Luis shake between him and Brendan. He suspected that if they hadn’t had Luis sandwiched between them, he might have collapsed onto the ground.
“You really mean that?” Luis asked Nathan, his voice rough. “I can go back to medical school?”
“Of course.” Brendan backed him up, being the awesome brother that he was. “If that’s what you want then yes, of course. I’ll even help out with the tuition.”
“I will make you both proud of me,” Luis vowed to them.
“I have absolutely no worries about that,” Nathan said as the thump-thump sound of a rapidly approaching helicopter echoed in the clearing. “Sounds like our ride is approaching.”
Kelly came over to them with Jesus in his arms. The little boy was staring open-mouthed at the huge helicopter as it neared. His expression was one of uncertainty as if he wasn’t quite sure whether to be afraid or amazed. Amazement finally won out as the helicopter drew near, his little head swinging from Kelly to the helicopter and back again. He pointed to the aircraft, babbling almost nonstop to an indulgently nodding Kelly.
Maria had her face curled into Moose’s chest, her hands over her ears. The big man tenderly stroked her back, trying to reassure her.
Everyone else hugged the edges of the clearing to give the helicopter the room it needed to land. The moment the rungs touched the ground, two men in camouflage clothing leapt from the open doors on either side of the helicopter. They ran a few feet from the machine in opposite directions and took up aggressive and alert positions, scanning the jungle, weapons at the ready.
Manny and Frodo were already jogging toward the craft carrying the cot with Cookie between them. Luis ran with them, staying next to Cookie. Kelly tried yelling instructions to Nathan and Brendan over the loud sound of the spinning rotors but ended up using mostly hand gestures. The three of them quickly joined the others piling into the helicopter. The last to enter the aircraft were the two men who had exited the helicopter when it’d landed. Kelly handed Jesus to Nathan and directed him to a seat. Maria was quite content to remain with Moose.
Kelly buckled Nathan and then Luis in, while the rest of the men settled into their own seats. Then Kelly took the headset one of the men held out to him. They spoke for a minute before Kelly gave the headset back. The two men pulled the two open side doors of the helicopter firmly closed as Kelly made his way to the seats and strapped himself in beside Nathan. Jesus immediately climbed from Nathan’s lap onto Kelly’s. Within moments, the helicopter rose steadily and smoothly into the air.
Another man that Nathan hadn’t noticed before sat on the floor of the helicopter alongside Cookie’s makeshift stretcher. He had Red Cross patches stitched onto his sleeves. Obviously, some sort of medical personnel, Nathan said nothing as the man peered underneath the dressing on Cookie’s side. The man’s eyebrows rose in surprise and he looked over at the group. As one, they all pointed in Nathan’s direction so naturally, of
course, his skin heated, turning his face crimson. He nodded as the man smiled his approval at Nathan, giving him a thumbs up before attending to Cookie. He changed out Cookie’s empty IV bag for another, which he clipped to a hook over Cookie’s head.
Leaning his head back, Nathan gave into the urge to close his eyes. He felt Kelly clasp his hand giving his fingers a firm squeeze. It felt so good to feel Kelly’s hand holding his. Slowly, Nathan let his head slide down to Kelly’s shoulder. He felt a tiny mouth press a wet kiss onto his cheek and he smiled.
Chapter Nine
The flight was short and after a small jolt and thud, the helicopter set down but with the limited visibility afforded by the tiny door windows it was impossible to tell where they were. Kelly gently roused Nathan and unhooked their harnesses as both side doors of the bird ratcheted open. Standing and shifting Jesus to his other side, Kelly grasped Nathan’s arm to help him stand. The quickly cut off sharp gasp and wince as Nathan rose to his feet was not lost on Kelly.
“Nathan? What’s wrong, baby?” Kelly asked him, feeling concerned.
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be a problem but my feet are really starting to hurt.”
Kelly glanced down. “Oh hell.” He knew Nathan’s feet would be a problem. He had trekked through the jungle in loafer shoes and the soft leather was pretty much completely shredded. Nathan’s poor feet were a mess and his brave sweetheart hadn’t complained or once said a word the entire time.
“Corpsman,” he called to the medic who was slowly sliding Cookie’s stretcher to the open door and the men waiting to take it.
“Sir?”
“We’ve got one.” He took a look at Luis’s feet and frowned. “Make that, two men, both with damaged feet.”
The man spoke into his headset. “One minute, sir. Stretchers are on their way.”
“No. I can make it,” Nathan protested. Luis stayed in his seat, watching the two of them.
Kelly shook his head. Doctors really did make the worst patients. “Baby, your feet are badly damaged and Luis is likely in the same boat as you are. You don’t want to set a bad example for him or the kids, do you?” he wheedled.
It was almost comical how Nathan’s mouth snapped shut and he dropped back into his seat. Kelly said a silent thank you to his mum. He’d watched her use that same argument several times on his da and he honestly never thought it would work on Nathan.
The rest of the team exited the bird and slowly headed toward the main building of the base. Moose still had Maria but she was looking back at them with an anxious expression. Kelly waved reassuringly at her then G said something to her and she tore her glance away and up to G. Maria smiled and eagerly nodded. Good job. Kelly knew he could trust his friends to keep the kids happy. No, not the kids…his kids.
“Brendan?” Kelly stopped him from climbing out of the helicopter. “Could you keep an eye on Jesus? I need to make sure that both Luis and Nathan go to the med-bay.”
“Are they all right?” Brendan asked, immediately concerned.
“They will be. They didn’t have boots. I didn’t count on Luis and Nathan’s were unfortunately lost.”
Brendan glanced at their feet then understanding dawned on his face. “Ah, gotcha.” He held out his arms in invitation to Jesus. “Come here, little guy. Let’s see if this place has anything good to eat and maybe something better for you and Maria to wear.”
“Thanks, Brendan.”
“This way, Pipsqueak.” Moose stood in an open doorway, beckoning Brendan over with a wave.
“Awe, Moose. Pipsqueak? Still?”
“Will those two ever get along?” Nathan asked as he watched the rest of the group head across the tarmac.
“Those two? Sure they will. Give it a little time and they’ll get along just as well as Moose and Frodo do.”
“So that’s probably a ‘never’ then.”
Pressing a quick kiss to Nathan’s forehead, Kelly slowly lowered Nathan from the seat to the floor of the helicopter. “I wouldn’t say that.”
“Uh-huh.”
The first stretcher arrived and with the assistance of the medics, Kelly carefully helped Nathan onto it. Kelly didn’t like the look of Nathan’s feet at all. They were swollen and he could see blood through the numerous gaping holes in them. He feared that infection was a very real and serious possibility.
As soon as the stretcher holding Nathan was on its way toward the building housing the medical unit, Kelly turned to Luis. Unhooking his harness, Kelly lifted the slight man into his arms. Luis was far too thin and light.
“No, Kelly. I’m fine,” Luis insisted.
“Shush and accept the help. Your feet look almost as bad as Nathan’s.”
Luis sighed dramatically then he affected a comical hard-done-by expression. “Yes, sir.” The slight curl to the corner of his mouth ruined the effect he was going for.
“That’s more like it,” Kelly said, giving Luis a stern look right before they both broke into laughter. “Luis, you’ll fit right in.”
Grinning, he lowered the still snickering Luis to the waiting stretcher attendants and hopped down from the aircraft. Kelly gave the pilot a friendly slap on the back and ‘thank you’ before he trotted after the stretchers.
By the time Kelly got to them, Cookie, Nathan, and Luis were all parked in the same large medical treatment room. Cookie already had two men seeing to him so Kelly tried to stand as out of the way as he could between Nathan and Luis’s beds. Kelly couldn’t hide the grimace as their shoes were more cut off than removed and the damage underneath was revealed. His earlier assumption was unfortunately correct. Both Nathan and Luis’s feet were indeed a mess.
“That good, huh?”
“Sorry?”
“I can tell by the look on your face that I’m not going to be happy,” Nathan said to Kelly before turning his head to stare fixedly at the ceiling above them.
“No, you probably won’t be and it’s my fault. I’m so sorry, baby.”
“We are not going to dwell on the unavoidable. What’s done is done.”
“But…”
“Nope.” Nathan held up a hand to stop him. “No guilt.”
The medics were speaking to each other in rapid-fire Spanish. Nathan scowled then rose awkwardly onto his elbows before telling the both of them, also in Spanish, not to treat their patients like idiots.
“Sweetheart.” Kelly moved up to the head of Nathan’s bed and placed a comforting hand on Nathan’s arm. “Please, lie back down and let these nice men do their jobs.”
“I have absolutely no problem with them doing their jobs. Their technique and bedside manner leaves much to be desired, however.” Nathan suddenly hissed in pain and Kelly glanced over his shoulder to see exactly what the men were doing. The antiseptic smell permeating the room was almost overpowering.
One of the medics looked up at Nathan as he asked with forced calm, what the man thought he was doing. The medic slowly answered and within seconds the two of them were discussing Nathan’s injuries and treatment options. Kelly could hear the respect slowly entering the medic’s voice as realization dawned that Nathan knew far more about medicine than the medic had assumed. Satisfied that Nathan was in good hands, Kelly kept his hand on Nathan’s arm and leaned over to place the other one on Luis’s shoulder.
“And how are you doing?”
“All right. Much better than Nathan, even though they had to freeze certain parts of my feet so that infected tissue could be removed. It wasn’t very pleasant.”
“I don’t doubt it, son.” Luis’s gaze snapped up to Kelly’s face at the word and his lips slowly spread into a huge smile. The endearment somehow fit him. Kelly wasn’t old by any stretch of the imagination but he felt protective of the younger man. Luis had a sensitivity and inner strength that Kelly found he wanted to nurture. He wanted to take Luis under his wing and teach him what Granda had felt were important life skills, important survival skills.
He gave Luis’s shoulder a squeeze. The
guilt from the injuries to their feet still rode him hard despite Nathan trying to reassure him. It was his fault and he would make it up to them. “I know exactly how you feel. I’ll show you how to care for them properly and a lot more. I learned the hard way never to take my feet for granted. Ever.”
Now, he understood how Granda felt mentoring all those men and women and passing on his knowledge. There was something fulfilling about sharing knowledge with someone younger and eager to learn. He could feel Granda’s approval.
“He’s right you know.” Nathan leaned toward them, smiling up at Kelly. “Kelly insisted that I wear the best trainers possible. They make a huge difference at the end of a long shift at the hospital. You’ll see.”
“I will? I mean…yes, I will,” Luis said firmly.
Nathan nodded his approval then winced again as the medic mumbled his apologies. Grumbling, Nathan nodded in Cookie’s direction.
“Cookie is doing well and should have no trouble flying home.”
“That’s awesome. Guys, I will be back in a few minutes. I have to check on the plane and I’m going to see what mischief the rest of those troublemakers have gotten into. Once the doctors clear you three, we need to head out.” Kelly kissed Nathan, ruffled Luis’s hair and waved at a now wide awake and alert Cookie.
“Wait!” Nathan yelled just before Kelly left the room.
Kelly stopped and faced him.
“You need an ice pack for your shoulder.”
Nathan waved at a nurse to comply and wouldn’t settle until Kelly was holding one against the old injury. That was Nathan, always more concerned with others than himself.
“Back soon, love. Be good.” He left the med-bay chuckling as he heard the curse behind him.
The impressive base was a joint venture between the DEA and the Compañía Jungla Antinarcóticos. It didn’t take him long to find the base commander, give his report and clear everything with him. The rest of the cleanup of the Varga estate would be up to him and his people.
Once that was taken care of, Kelly’s next task was to locate the team. Asking around, Kelly found them in the canteen. Both the kids were clean and there were several plates of food arrayed on the long table in front of them.