Page 11 of Charlotte
“You ok man?” Deadeye questions me.
“Yeah, I’m hit but it’s not bad. Just a flesh wound,” He grabs the handle on my gear and begins to drag me into the trees for cover. Once we are secured behind cover, I relate what’s on my mind.
“They got her. She’s on the way out.” I reply as the chopper makes another approach. What the fucking hell? They were supposed to get her out of here, not come back for us. “What the hell are they doing?” I screech to Deadeye. “That’s not in the plan.”
“I have a feeling your little woman threw a fit until they agreed to come back for you. She saw you go down. I saw her face. It was utter terror.” Deadeye smirks me. “You are going to have your work cut out for you with this one. She’s trouble with a capital T. Come on let’s get you in there before she forces them to land right here.”
Once everyone is on board and we are out of danger. I check on the team.
“SITREP” I demand over the mic.
A round of “PFA” resounds in my ear. My team is all on board and no serious harm. It’s a good day.
* * *
Once the chopperlands at a secure airport, we disembark and head to a fixed wing that will take us back to the States. It’s an Army cargo plane. No comforts of home, but it has enough fuel to take us all the way back to San Diego without having to refuel in Texas. Charlotte has attached herself to me like glue and has followed my every request. I have to admit I am loving it. I didn’t want her to be frightened, but if it means she will do what I say so that she is safe. I’m ok with it. Give me a flesh wound any day if it means she is safe and secure.
The SEAL team and my men are all with us and have only suffer minor cuts and bruises. We were damn lucky we didn’t lose someone today. I fully realize it could have been me. My right shoulder reminds me with every move I make.
“Here Hawk, let me see how bad that is.” Mozart says as he comes up to my chair once we are in the air. Charlotte has already been trying to get a look.
“Let me see it!” Charlotte demands.
“We got this Charlotte. We are combat trained medics,” Straw eases her back as he moves to assess my wound.
“I don’t give a rat’s ass what kind of damn training you have had. I’m a nurse practitioner with years of Emergency Room experience. I’m going to assess his wound.” Anger flares on her face and she pushes back against Straw. Deadeye again gives me the look. I know what he means. I have one feisty woman on my hands. Mozart and Straw assess my wound while I work on distracting Charlotte by stroking her hair and try to maneuver her onto my lap.
“You are an exasperating patient. You won’t do anything I say.” Charlotte huffs at me, struggling to get a decent breath. “Now stop trying to distract me from taking care of you. I don’t know how long it will be before we can get you to the hospital.”
“Charlotte, stop fussing. I’m fine. Straw and Mozart know what to do in these situations. They have taken care of more gunshot wounds than you have I’m sure.” I scold her. Hurt flashes across her face and she drops into her seat in defeat. “You need to be taking care of yourself. I can see you are in pain and I don’t like the way you are breathing.”
I motion for Mozart to assess Charlotte. He moves to her side and begins checking vitals. He places oxygen on her and my concern for her increases.
“Charlotte, I’m going to put some oxygen on you. Your O2 sat is quite low and your heart rate is too fast.” Mozart informs her. “This should help.”
Charlotte’s skin is pale, and her breathing is very labored. Her face is drawn and she’s staring off into space. Her body slumps as the adrenaline rush leaves her. I reach for her and she allows me to pull her onto my lap for the rest of the flight. Her body sags into mine and she rests her head on my shoulder. I tighten my hold on her. We can’t get to base fast enough to suit me. She needs medical attention sooner rather than later.
Chapter 9
Charlotte
We are finallyin a position to fully assess Hawk’s wound. He was right in that it doesn’t appear to have hit any major organs, blood vessels, or bones, but he has lost quite a bit of blood. He is the worst patient ever. He won’t lay still and let me work. He keeps trying to distract me from caring for him. He insists on sitting up in a chair instead of lying on a stretcher in the back. When he tries to pull me into his lap, I frown down at him. Mozart is suddenly at my side, checking my vitals and placing oxygen on me. It’s harder to breathe now and I don’t have the strength to fight with them any longer. Giving in I relax on Hawk’s lap for the rest of the flight.
When we land at the military airport, there are two large black vans waiting to take us away. I am relieved that word has not leaked out about me being among the soldiers. Wolf had said that if word had leaked out, we would be swarmed by reporters and camera crews wanting a story. He assured me they would do their best to get me away from them and into an awaiting vehicle as quickly as possible. My only concern is to make sure that Hawk is taken to the hospital so he can be treated for his injuries.
The vans take us to the base hospital. Forced to leave Hawk to the care of strangers, they take me to another room and began to assess my injuries. Straw and Ace follow me into the exam room but are sent out of the room because they are not family.
“How’s Hawk? The soldier that was shot. I need to know how he’s doing.” I ask the doctor that comes in to see me.
“Ms. Williams I cannot discuss other patients with you. It’s patient confidentiality. You understand.” The doctor replies.
“Look you can tell me if he is stable or not. I’m not asking for his medical record. I need to know if he is ok. Just tell me!” I demand.
The doctor and nurses all refuse to tell me anything. It’s taking too long for him to come see about me. If it’s only a flesh wound, he should have already been released. Deciding to go see for myself what is going on, I take off the oxygen mask and move to get off the stretcher. The nurse reaches out to stop me. I jerk away from her and move toward the other side of the stretcher. The doctor moves to block me as he is calling for security. The heart monitor is alarming, but I don’t care. Irrational fear has taken over. Impending doom. Something is wrong and I need to see Hawk. Straw enters the room. He scans the room taking in the scene before him. I am struggling to get out of the grasp of the nurse so I can get off the stretcher to get to Hawk.
“Straw! Help me! They won’t tell me anything and they won’t let me up.” I am screaming by this time. The doctor has fled the room. Good, at least that’s one out of my way. Damn this nurse is strong. I again jerk my arm to get away from her as Deadeye enters the room.
“Calm down, Wildcat. You are getting yourself all worked up. The staff is getting concerned because your oxygen levels won’t stay up.” Deadeye explains. “You need to lay back and cooperate, before they decide to sedate your ass. Hawk is fine. He wants you to relax until he can come over here. He’s just in the next room. They are dressing his wound again. He’ll be in here in a minute.”
