by K Alexander
"Ryan?"
Never has she known silence to be so overwhelming. Blood rushes through her with the force of a waterfall. Finding the hospital she turns into the parking lot and stops right in front of the sliding doors, jumping out and rushing into the reception, up to the large handsome woman behind the desk.
"Help me! My friend, she's been shot…" and almost immediately two orderlies appear with a gurney and rush outside, opening the passenger door. A tall blonde coolly beautiful doctor in a white coat strides out of side room and joins them at the desk.
"What is your friend's name?"
"Ryan." She is so afraid that she's struggling to get the words out, and the nurse puts a comforting hand on her arm.
"Calm down, honey. She'll be fine. Is that a first name?"
"No. But that's what she goes by."
"Where is the wound?"
"Her upper arm… she made a tourniquet…"
The doctor leaves her with the reassuring nurse and joins the orderlies outside who are now expertly moving Ryan from the car to the gurney. Her lean body is limp and under the fluorescent lights her face looks pure white. When they wheel her in the doctor is walking next to Ryan, her fingers clamped around the soldier's wrist as she speaks to her commandingly. "Ryan? Can you hear me? Come on, open your eyes."
Claire wants to follow them down the corridor but the nurse holds her back kindly. "Hold on, sweetheart. The doctor will be able to do her job better if you stay here with me until she calls you in. Okay?"
"Okay." Claire nods. Tears shoot into her blue eyes and she wipes at them with irritation. Studying her with soft brown eyes the large woman steps around the desk and grasps her upper arm softly, urging her towards the scruffy brown sofa against the wall. The pressure around her arm reminds her absurdly of Ryan, and a slight sob escapes before she frowns and swallows. Sitting her down on the sofa the nurse goes to the coffee machine and gets her a dark sweet cup of coffee. When she doesn't immediately take it, the woman puts it in her hands and wraps her own large warm hands around Claire's.
"Drink, honey."
And so Claire does. The liquid is hot and much too sweet for her taste, but it gives her a moment to gather her thoughts. Watching her carefully the nurse - Danni Delaney, her name tag says - gets up and fetches a clipboard and a pen, returning to sit down cater-corner to Claire on the edge of the sofa.
"What's your name, honey?"
"Claire. Claire Walsch."
"Okay, Claire, can I ask you some questions?"
"Yeah." Her voice sounds shaky, even to her own ears. Danni notices and pats her leg maternally.
"Hold on, honey. When I'm finished with the questions I'll go and check on your friend. Can you give me her full name?"
"Ryan." Claire realizes that she has said that part already and casts around for a memory of the first name written on the file that Art gave her what feels like months ago. "Leah. Leah Ryan."
"All right." Danni scribbles on her form. "Social security number?"
With one hand Claire wipes at her face tiredly. "I don't know that."
"Don't worry, honey, that's fine. Do you have an address for her, or somebody we can call?"
"No. No, I don't." Claire's jaw muscles clench. "I don't know who to call…"
Sensing her distress Danni puts down the clipboard and takes the coffee cup from Claire, putting it on the carpet before she holds Claire's smaller hand between hers. "Hey, Claire, you're doing fine. All right? Right now she's in with Doctor Jensen, and I promise you there's nobody better than her. Your friend will be perfectly fine."
Danni is surprised when her last words bring an unexpected smile to the beautiful blonde's face. Claire nods slightly. "Yeah. She's always fine."
"That's the spirit." Picking up her clipboard again Danni poises her pen above the paper. "Can you tell me about the shooting?"
"I wasn't there when it happened." The pause before she says it, and her quick delivery, give it away immediately as a lie. The nurse looks at her curiously before she moves on to the next point. Claire gives her as much information as she can, reverting to her own details for lack of any other option, before Danni returns to the desk.
The blonde woman gets up and walks around restlessly, picking up magazines and discarding them in the same motion. She puts her hands in her pocket and shifts them around, then pulls them out and pats them against her thighs rhythmically. When Danni offers her a tablet to help calm her down she refuses at first, and then accepts in pure frustration. As it kicks in she can finally sit down and breathe, her reactions dulled by the medication. She is still sitting on the couch quietly, her insides knotted and churning, when Doctor Jensen comes down the hallway and stops at the desk, talking in a low tone to Danni before she approaches Claire.
"Miss Walsch?"
The blonde shoots up from the sofa. "Yes."
"Miss Ryan has been moved to the ICU. The gunshot wound caused a fair amount of muscle and tissue damage, but she's lucky - if it had been two inches up it would have shattered her shoulder, and it missed the main arteries by very little. She lost a great deal of blood, so we've had to do a blood transfusion." She pushes a lock of blonde hair elegantly behind one ear. "It is an uncomplicated wound, Miss Walsch, and your friend is in no immediate danger. We're going to keep her in the ICU for observation overnight and if she's stable tomorrow we'll move her to a ward. After three days we revise the injury and take it from there." There is a moment of contemplative silence before she speaks again. "I've also re-stitched her right hand, and cleaned the sutured wound on her head. Can you tell me what caused those injuries?"
"She took on a window knuckles first." Claire shrugs tiredly. "As I told Miss Delaney I wasn't there when the shooting happened."
"All right." Doctor Jensen nods, unconvinced. "I'll be keeping an eye on Miss Ryan today, and I'll be sure to let you know if anything changes. Do you have somewhere to go?"
"No. I'm not… we're not from here."
"Okay. I think you need to get some rest. I'm going to ask Danni to take you to one of the residents' rooms. Try to sleep. Everything's under control." The doctor returns to the desk and speaks to the nurse again, and when she disappears around the corner Danni leads Claire to a small bare room with a narrow bed against the wall. Claire does not imagine that she will ever be able to sleep, knowing that Ryan is alone and in pain somewhere in the hospital, but she has barely put her head down on the pillow when she drifts off into a solid and dream-filled sleep.
When a hand touches her shoulder tentatively four hours later she jerks awake and shoots up. "Ryan?"
It's Danni Delaney with another sweet cup of coffee. "Here. I'm sorry to wake you, but Miss Ryan's awake. Doctor Jensen thought you'd want to see her."
"Yes, please." She swings her legs off the bed and sips at the dark beverage, almost wincing at the tang of the sugar in her throat, before she stands up and follows the tall nurse down the corridor. They pass a few open wards and then enter the ICU. Ryan is the only occupant, her relaxed face pale against the pillows. Her eyes are closed, and Claire takes a moment to glance at her heavily bandaged upper arm and shoulder visible under the sleeveless white hospital gown. When her gaze shifts away from the injury Ryan's green eyes are open and focused on her.
"Hello, Walsch."
A ghost of a smile twists around her lips. With an answering smile Claire steps closer. "Hello, soldier." With a hesitant forefinger she almost touches the bandage. "How does your shoulder feel?"
"It's okay."
Claire bites her lip, but she doesn't quite manage to repress the tears which well up in her eyes. Looking up at her Ryan frowns.
"Hey - don't. What's the matter? I'm fine!"
"I know." The blonde turns away to hide her embarrassment. "I know. You scared me, that's all."
"Claire." When the blonde's back remains turned she tries again. "Claire? Please come here. Or at least stand on my other side so I can pull you closer."
A slight chuckle escape
s the doctor as she sniffles and walks around the bed to stand at Ryan's right. Reaching out her hand, the soldier shifts her arm a little irritably to settle the IV before she grasps Claire's wrist and pulls her towards the bed. "I'm all right. Okay? As hardy as a tank. Did you get some sleep?"
"Yeah. Divine Danni Delaney put me up in one of the residents' rooms."
"Who?"
"Danni. The lovely nurse at reception."
"Oh. I missed her somehow. I think I may have been busy bleeding copiously at the time." Ryan squeezes Claire's hand lightly before she lets it go. "Are you okay?"
"I thought you were dead, Ryan." Claire's bottom lip trembles. "Other than that? Peachy."
Without any outward sign of discomfort the lean woman sits up, the ugly hospital gown crinkling as she shifts. With a frown she peels off the white sticking plaster and pulls the IV needle out of her arm. Reaching out she takes Claire by the hand and pulls her into an awkward one-armed hug. Even as the doctor's arms wrap cautiously around Ryan waist and the blonde head rests against the side of her face Claire incoherently protests. "No. You shouldn't have done that. And I'm going to hurt you."
"Shhh." Ryan's hand rubs comfortingly over Claire's back and then slips up to cup the back of her neck soothingly. "I'm so sorry that I did this to you, Claire."
"What?" With the movement of Claire's mouth her lips brush lightly against Ryan's neck.
"That I caused all this upset in your life. It was a selfish choice I had to make."
"I don't care about that right now, Ryan. I just care that you're all right, and here, and with me." Claire's left hand rubs at the lean back unconsciously, stopping to caress the skin when her fingers inadvertently slip into the opening at the back of the gown. At the light touch Ryan shivers and pulls back slightly.
"Claire…"
When Claire turns her head their eyes are inches apart, their faces so close that the warmth of the blonde's breath washes against Ryan's cheek. The soldier opens her mouth to speak and without forethought Claire leans closer and captures Ryan's lips with her own. It is gentle and faltering. Groaning very softly against Claire's mouth Ryan sinks into the sensation, closing her eyes as the blonde's soft lips brush over hers. Only when Claire's hand slips up to cup the back of her head just behind the bandage, do her senses return. Pulling back from the blonde's warm inviting mouth she ends the kiss. Claire moves forward to recapture her lips, but she shifts her head away.
"Wait, Claire."
It is almost her undoing when the blonde woman does pull back. Her blue eyes are wide and her pupils dilated, a faint blush covers her cheeks, and heavy breaths escape her slightly open mouth hastily. Ryan has to stop herself from simply sliding her fingers back into the now somewhat mussed hair and pulling her back down for another kiss. Clearing her suddenly scratchy throat she takes a slightly shaky breath.
"We shouldn't be…"
Claire begins to speak at almost the same time. "I shouldn't have… "
They both stop speaking and Ryan's green eyes fix on Claire's blue ones. The silence hangs in the air before Ryan starts again. "Highly stressful or emotionally draining situations drive people to do things they wouldn't normally do."
The blue eyes search her face and dart towards her lips in raptness. "Is this something you wouldn't normally do, Ryan?"
"Probably not." Claire's hungry eyes and parted moist lips are wreaking havoc on her already assaulted senses. "But I was talking about you. You're probably in a slight state of shock…"
The blonde's fingers begin to caress the bare skin at the edge of the hospital gown again, and when nails drag gently over the surface of her back Ryan jolts and arches away, biting her lower lip against the dulled pain in her shoulder. "Claire…"
"I'm feeling a lot of things right now, Ryan, but I don't think shock is one of them. At least not the way you mean it." Lifting her right hand she rests it on the soldier's hollow cheek. "Tell me you don't want me. Or shut up and let me kiss you."
Lost for words Ryan studies Claire's beautiful face in silence before she suddenly wraps her bandaged right hand in the blonde hair and pulls the doctor towards her. Their mouths meet in an impatient clash and this time it is electric rather than soothing. Claire feels her stomach drop as if she is on a rollercoaster ride as Ryan's lips devour hers fervently, and when the soldier demands entrance to her mouth she complies with a groan. Ryan's large hand is splayed against the back of her head, her fingers tangled in Claire's blonde head as she pulls her closer urgently. When their tongues meet demandingly the doctor has to move her hand from Ryan's back to the bed, supporting her as her knees threaten to crumple under her and a warm throbbing begins to build between her thighs.
The lean woman's torso trembles slightly with the strain, but she does not notice. It feels as if the breath is being drawn from her inch by inch, as if she is being sucked down deep into Claire, as if her insides are being emptied with every stroke of the blonde's tongue against her own. Finally her body's current limitations announce themselves so loudly that she cannot ignore them any more. Gasping both at the sensation of falling and the fire spreading in her arm and shoulder she pulls away and slumps back on the bed, her breath irregular. Left in mid-air Claire keeps her eyes shut as her chest heaves arduously. When she has regained some sense of control she glances down at the pale woman, her eyes drawn to the kiss-bruised lips.
"Are you all right?"
Her voice is thick and liquid with desire. Closing her eyes briefly Ryan nods. "I'm fine." And then frowns slightly and closes her eyes again. "Actually… I don't know."
Laughing quietly at the unusual indecisiveness Claire lays a warm hand on the soldier's arm. "Is your arm hurting?"
"That too."
The blue eyes fix intensely on her mouth. "What else?"
"I think I'm drowning."
A muscle jumps in Ryan's neck and without warning Claire lowers her blonde head to the point and presses her lips against it softly. With a muffled groan Ryan pushes against her shoulder until she lifts her head and glances at the soldier stormily.
"You need to stop." Ryan's voice is husky and rough. "I can't take much more of this now."
"I… " Claire swallows and looks down at the soldier's arm abstractedly. "I probably need to get Danni or Doctor Jensen to put that IV line back in." Without a backwards glance she walks away.
Sierra perches at the bottom of the staircase studying the blip on the small monitor, as Alpha, Bravo and Tango flank him with their assault rifles drawn, eyes cautious and alert. She's running down the street when she should be down with the tracking device flicked on for such a long time, but she's been doing things she shouldn't have been able to from the very beginning of this mission. Lifting his hand Sierra motions to the other three men and they take off soundlessly towards the street, ignoring the dark black alley behind them. Taking care to avoid the pools of light created by the high street lamps, they slink along the side of the next building towards the signal. Suddenly Sierra freezes and lifts the device to his eyes, studying the movement with some incredulity.
"Fuck!"
He turns on his heel and begins to run back in the direction of the alley. Without question the other men sling their rifles around their shoulders and follow. They run past the alley and round the hotel, hurtling past the small abandoned security booth and coming to a halt at the black van. He clambers into the front seat as Tango joins him and the other two men pile into the back and slam closed the sliding door. As he's grating the gears in odd frustration he snaps over his shoulder.
"She's in a moving vehicle."
He spins the wheels slightly as he pulls away. They tear down the street, past the dark alley, and Sierra barely glances to the right as they pass a gas station on the next corner.
"Probably went from there."
Their quarry is moving at quite a speed, but Sierra pushes down the gas pedal. He has made his first mistake in coming to White Sulphur Springs when he should have stayed put in Helena, and
if he loses her now it will be his second - and most likely his last. Colonel Turner isn't partial to personal failure.
Beside him Tango sits quietly, watching the road with his sharp eyes. It is he who is first to spot the red taillights in front of them.
The car is a black one - low and semi-sporty, the cheapskate's version. It's moving at quite a speed and doesn't look like it's going to slow down any time soon. As Sierra approaches the taillights the car seems to speed up and pull further away. With a gritted curse Sierra ups his speed and closes in on them. When he draws level to them on the left Tango leans over and tries to peer into the window, but the darkness of the night and the tinting of the black car's windows make it impossible.