War Dog

Chapter 42

I woke up groggy and confused. I tried to move limbs that felt far too heavy for my body only to realise I was trapped against something heavy and hot. Panic clouded through me and I begin to thrash forgetting that I was no longer being tortured. Forgetting I'd woken up in the hospital. I rake my claws along the weight across my chest only to be greeted with a startled yelp. I freeze as I recognise the cadence of the voice behind me. 

"Lass! What's going on? Are you ok?" Soap asks, concern lacing his voice as he recoils from me. "Oh.. Soap. Where are we?" I ask groggily and turning over. My eyes catch the arm he's cradling to his chest even as his focus is on me. The blood soaked through his shirt as he tries to apply pressure to the claw marks I'd left. "Oh shit Soap, I'm so sorry." I frantically reach out and try to have a look at the wounds. 

"Lass, stop. I'll be fine. Tis just a scratch." He pulls his shirt off and wraps it around the marks easily. "You're the one I'm concerned about. How are you feeling?" Ignoring his arm and my concern for him, he reaches for me and pulls me in close, holding me close to him. 

"Soap, we need to get you to the medbay," I protest, pushing against him. "You need stitches. And maybe a tetanus shot." His arms squeeze tighter around me like a boa constrictor not letting me push him away. 

"Lass, this isn't anything I haven't dealt with before. It'll be fine. You need rest. You've been tossing and turning all day with nightmares. It's not been particularly restful for either of us." Soap grumbled.

"All day?" I stop resisting Soaps tightening grip. "I've been asleep all day?"

"Well Lass, it's only fair yeah considering ye died. No one was expecting you to be doing much else."

"That would explain why I felt like a truck hit me." I mutter rubbing my chest.

"Do you even remember leaving the medbay?" Soap asked, concern lacing his voice and scent.

"Hmmm... Now that you mention it, a little. Where are we now?"

"Ghosts room. You passed out pretty quickly, and then Ghost forced me to keep you company. Something about me looking worse for wear than you or some bollocks."

"Now that you mention it, I remember thinking something similar when I saw you."

"Thanks Lass," he responded sourly with an eye roll, but the faint scent of amusement I could sense let me know he found the humour in my comment. 

As I settled back in, I felt the rush of adrenaline from waking up and finding myself trapped washing away to be quickly replaced with pain and fatigue. My chest hurt. My face hurt. My fingers hurt. Everything hurt, inside and out. 

"How'd I do?" I ask timidly, not sure if I'm ready for the answer. I kind of figured dying was not the end goal we wanted to achieve and automatically fucked me over.

Soap hesitates for a moment and a tremor runs through his body. I press a hand to his chest soothingly. "Soap?"

"You did fine, Mo Uilebheist."

"Fine?" I repeat back like a parrot. A very confused parrot.

"Please don't make me replay everything to you. It was hard enough watching it without having to replay everything. Again."

"OK, OK." I hum gently and rest my head against the bicep under my head. "Are you ok?" I ask, my voice tentative, unsure if he would answer. He buries his face into my hair.

"Mhhhm. I am now." His arms squeeze again pulling me even harder up against his chest and I begin wondering if he's ever planning on letting me go again. I poke him in the chest. "I know you probably don't want to let me go. But I have a problem."