Lost and Found

Chapter 46

Enjoy!

Owen watched Farouk slowly come to life, bit by bit. First the fingers twitched, then he sighed, and finally opened his eyes with a soft moan. Nathan leaned in, "Hey buddy... it's me, Nathan."

Farouk gazed at him for a long moment, confusion plastered on his face, "Nate?"

Nathan's big hand covered the top of Farouk's head. "Yeah, it's me."

"Megan... where?" he rasped through chapped lips. Owen filled a paper cup with water and handed it to Nathan.

"We don't know... they're still looking for her," he said. Gently, he pushed the bed up a little and urged Farouk to take a sip.

"I'm sorry," Farouk coughed. He drank the water greedily and wiped his lips.

"Sorry? There's nothing to be sorry for."

Owen took the cup back and filled it up again, ready to offer it. Despite the IV in his arm, fluids would do the boy wonders.

"She's gone," said Farouk sadly. "I saw her... and then she was gone."

Nathan stroked his hair. "They're gonna find her, mate," he reasured. He offered the cup again, and the water was gone in an instant. "It's alright," Nathan continued, "Not your fault. Listen kid, I gotta surprise for you, okay?"

"A surprise?" he squeaked.

"Somebody came a long way to see you." He cocked his head at Owen, who stepped into Farouk's field of vision.

"Hey," Owen smiled down at Farouk. He'd been a doctor for many years, spent nearly half his life in the army as a surgeon, he'd seen so many shocking and amazing things... but this... seeing this boy... a boy who needed him, a boy that could be his to raise... was something he had never imagined.

Farouk scrutinized him intently, "You look familiar," he said. "Uncle Owen?" He asked suddenly.

"Yeah, it's me," he said. Instantly, his heart pounded, his teeth chattered, and he got goosebumps. Shock and amazement pumped through his veins. His eyes teared up, "I'm your uncle Owen."

"It's nice to meet you," Farouk said politely before his eyelids drooped and he fell asleep. Owen let out a sigh, stroking Farouk's I.V covered hand as he slept.

"You okay?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah," Owen said. "I really hope they find Megan." He couldn't do this alone. Raise him. Not without Megan. Not on his own. And he missed her. Like really, crazily missed his sister. Especially now that he was here, and his walls were coming down.

Nathan stood up, stretched, and checked Farouk's vitals before signing the chart. "Me too," he said, "me too."

BOOM! The ground shook. He could feel it vibrate underneath his boots. BOOM-BOOM! "They're shelling?" Owen asked. Why? It could only mean one thing, they were being attacked.

"That's not good. Really not good. C'mon." Nathan and Owen jogged out of the patient tent and ran to the command center for an update.

"What's going on?," Owen grabbed the arm of a passing Sargent, swinging him around to face him.

"One of our platoons was caught in an ambush just outside the strip." The sargent yelled over the din. A helicopter blasted over them, and Owen ducked under the sudden wind "There's a skirmish breaking out and they're not backing down, sir. We've been ordered to attack."

"Attack where? How far?" Owen asked.

"Just ten miles away sir," the man nodded, before he pulled away to run towards a Jeep and two other men.