Captain John Price x Reader

Forty-Three

"Captain.", one of the doctors pushed the door to the autopsy room open a little and peaked his head through.

Your head rose from Price's shoulder.

Surprisingly, he was okay with his shoulder being abused as a pillow. He even felt quite soft with all those muscles and the bulky build he had.

Torn from a stage of rest, both he and you rose from the bench, but froze mid-movement and exchanged a glance.

"I think he meant you.", Price said and gestured towards the door in a way as if he was really embarrassed by the situation.

You straightened your back.

"Doc?", you asked.

The doctor looked back and forth between the two of you.

"Are you two partners?", he asked.

The answer got stuck inside your throat.

You wanted to say yes, because in the end Price deserved to be your equal.

But it was hard to change a way of life after many years of living it.

You had always been the highest rank, always carrying most authority and the biggest burden.

A sound, mixed between gasp and word, escaped you.

But before anything could turn weird, Price rose from his seat.

"We are.", he said and gave you a gentle push from behind. "Get going, captain. We don't got all day."

Taking a deep breath in, you nodded and started moving.

"Sorry...", you whispered back at him.

He just shook his head.

"No need. Habits are hard to get by."

The doctor chased both of you through an area to get decontaminated and to put on some clean hospital clothes to prevent all the samples from being ruined once you touched them.

He remained standing in the hallway. It seemed like he was waiting.

On the other side of the door, the sterile smell of a hospital hit your face.

Everything was white, as spotless as imaginable and bright.

It hurt the eyes to look around.

Breathing felt like an attack to the nose. The smell was so persistent that it was even possible to taste it on the tip of the tongue.

Disgusted, you pulled a face.

"Smells terrific.", Price mumbled and had to crunch his nose as well.

You pressed a hand to your mouth.

A door opened.

The sound of wheels rolling over the floor filled the silence.

It echoed.

A second doctor appeared.

He was pushing a metal table on which was the body of the woman laying.

She was as pale as sin. Deep blue veins were visible all over her limbs.

The way she was laying there, neck fixated, eyes tightly shut, made her look a lot older than she probably was.

With a raised eyebrow, you crossed your arms in front of your chest and raised your chin.

"Does the body give any intel?", you asked.

The doc came to a stand and pulled out a huge plastic bag.

In red letters was a word in German written on it.

Price gifted you an expecting gaze.

"Evidence.", you translated. "I think?"

"That is correct.", the doctor had a thick German accent.

He was probably a bit older, his eyebrows were already turning white instead of grey and the way his eyes looked also indicated that he was way past working age.

Price reached out for the bag.

But he was met with refusal.

"My apologies.", the doctor smiled behind his mask.

Price frowned.

"We have authority.", he said. "Or do you want to talk to the president too?"

The man shook his head.

"Not at all. I am aware that you are allowed to revive all the things we've found."

You frowned.

"But?", you asked and curled your lips. "Like he said, we don't got all day. Make it quick."

"Sure, sure.", he fixed his glasses, with lenses so thick, his brownish eyes looked huge. "But there is an encrypted USB stick and the protocols say you're not allowed to view them without someone of higher authority. A first in command, so to say."

A loud groan escaped you.

"I can't fucking believe it!", you threw your hands into the air. "We're running against time and now this. We're supposed to wait? For who?"

To calm you down, Price tapped your shoulder.

"Easy, luv.", he glanced at the doctor. "Listen, mate, we got no time to waste. German officials are informed. We have green light for everything. Just hand is the intel and we'll be gone."

Price smiled.

But the doc seemed to be a rather frightful human being.

Shaking his head, he backed away from the huge Brit.

"I'm sorry, but those are the rules they told me.", he insisted.

You raised an eyebrow.

"They?", you asked.

He nodded.

"The ones in command. My superiors told me to talk to them for security and guidelines. They told me someone from their lines has to be here with you for further orders."

You shrugged.

"That's all nice, but where the fuck are we supposed to get someone like that here fast?"

The door behind you opened again.

Steps sounded.

But you were too busy being angry to look back and check who was walking up to you.

With more persistence, you stepped forward and demanded the bag.

"Just hand me this damn thing and we can worry about the paperwork later, k?", you wanted to snatch the intel from him.

The steps came closer.

Price threw a glance over his shoulder.

"Captain.", he tried to gain your attention.

Annoyed, you did a gesture so he'd shut up.

"Not now, John."

The soft sound of a huff reached your ears.

The steps stopped.

"I see you two really found a way to get along.", the amused voice of a woman filled the hall.

Your head snapped around.

"Katie.", you said, both surprised and angry that she was interfering again.

With a satisfied expression on her face, Laswell stepped forward and reached out for the intel.

"May I?", she asked.

"With pleasure.", the doctor handed it to her. "Will I be needed?"

Laswell shook her head.

"You're free to go."

A snarl escaped you.

"Yeah, I'll call you once she needs a medic...", you hissed.