Capture Or Kill

Chapter 32: Aftermath

Johnny's POV

Y/N still hadn't woken up since we had extracted from the base. He was alive but remained asleep; he was hooked up to various machines in the base's medical wing. The rest of us had also taken some damage, but Y/N got the worst of it. Two broken ribs, a broken wrist, multiple knife wounds across his body, and a black eye. He was in bad shape, but if Price hadn't stepped in, Chimera would have killed him for sure. Price. We had brought him back; we couldn't leave him there. I still couldn't believe he was gone, but he saved us all; he saved his son. We were waiting for Y/N to wake up before we laid him to rest; it only seemed right. Simon and I refused to leave his side, only ever stepping away to get food or use the bathroom, but we made sure one of us was there. I couldn't even begin to process my feelings: Y/N hurt, Price dead, Chimera killed, what now? Gaz luckily survived the shot from Chimera; by some miracle, his plate stopped the bullet, but he had a noticeable bruise from the impact. Y/N now had several more scars across his body; his chest and legs were torn up, and he now had a scar across his cheek and lip. It didn't change how Simon and I felt towards him; scarred or not, we still loved him, and we just hoped he would wake up soon.

"Anything?" I asked, walking into the room with two plates of food.

"No. Hasn't moved at all since we got back." Simon replied gently, tracing Y/N's bruised knuckles.

"He's going to be okay, right Simon?"

"He'll have a bunch of new scars, but he'll live, Johnny. He has too." Simon's voice began to break.

I pulled a chair next to Ghost and rested his head on my shoulder. Y/N's chest slowly rose and fell as he continued to breathe into the oxygen mask. He looked like shit but at the same time he looked peaceful, and Simon and I just sat in silence watching him. I needed him, and we needed him to be okay. Even with the doctor's assurances that he would be okay, we were still worried. Gaz had stopped by a few times to check in on him, but he left to meet Kate, who was going to be arriving at the base soon. It had gotten late, and both Ghost and I could feel our eyes getting tired. We were both fast asleep, still leaning on each other next to Y/N's bed. That night I dreamed of everything that would change, no more fighting, no more loss, no more worrying. No more. It was time to leave this life behind and start something new together.

"Johnny! Wake up!" Simon nudged me.

I woke up startled and ready to attack whatever threat had walked into the hospital room. I would die before whoever it was hurt Simon or Y/N.

"Johnny, calm down; it's okay!" Simon whispered.

"It's okay, Johnny."

Y/N.

"Fucking hell...you're awake." I whispered, turning to meet the brown eyes I had fallen for.

"I've been awake for awhile now; I didn't want to wake you two." He smiled.

"Wake us up! Please!" I flung myself at him, pulling him into a tighter hug than I had meant to.

"Ow! Ow! Johnny let go!" He yelled as Simon pulled me off him.

"Sorry!" I frantically apologized.

"Fucking hell, Johnny, he's hurt enough already."

"It's okay, Johnny; I'm happy to see you two again." He spoke, shifting to sit up better as Simon helped him.

"We thought we lost you." Simon whispered as he removed his mask.

"Nearly did. Price saved me." He replied now, looking down at the bedsheets.

"Y/N...he's."

"I know." He replied before I could finish my sentence.

"How?" I asked; there was no way he could have known that.

"He pulled my back, I guess. He wanted me to look after you all." Y/N answered softly as tears began to roll down his face.

"The old man was still watching out for us." Simon smiled, wiping away a tear before it came in contact with the stitches on Y/N's cheek.

"I'm sorry, Y/N, we'll all miss him more than we can ever describe." I replied, now beginning to cry.

"Come here, both of you." Y/N held out his hand.

We both moved to sit on either side of him, careful not to hurt him. He looked exhausted but calm and relaxed, which was beyond surprising given what had happened. I couldn't imagine what he was going through; he was the last member of both his squads. He was the last one standing. Simon seemed to be as concerned as I was, but neither one of us said anything, just laying in a calm silence with the only sound being the heart monitor.

"Are you two okay?"

"What?" Simon asked confused.

"Are you okay?" He repeated.

"We should be asking you that; you have been through a lot recently." Simon spoke calmly while Y/N rested his head on my shoulder.

"We can get to me in a minute, but right now I am more worried about you two; please just give me an answer."

"We're okay, a few bruises but still alive. Gaz, Farah, and Alex are okay too. You got the worst of it." I whispered.

"Price got the worst of it." He replied.

"He saved you." Ghost ran his free hand through his hair, as he did when he was trying not to show emotions.

"He saved us all; he wanted to be the one to kill Chimera so that none of us would have to carry that weight the rest of our lives." Y/N replied, groaning as he shifted in bed.

"Take it easy; your wounds are still healing."

"How long was I out?" He asked gently, running a finger over his cheek stitches.

"A few days." Simon answered.

"Fuck me." Y/N mumbled out of shock.

"After you're fully healed," I joked, trying to lighten the mood.

He just gave me a smirk but shook his head. Y/N ended up falling asleep again after awhile, so Simon and I decided we should probably go. We felt more comfortable leaving him since he was awake now and the doctors would be with him; we also needed our own rest. Simon led us towards the bedroom but turned off towards the offices before we made it to his room. I was confused since there wasn't any reason for us to be down here; we were off duty and the base was only occupied by the remaining members of 141, the medical team, and a few other soldiers. Ghost stopped in front of the dark wooden door and pulled out a set of keys, shuffling them until he put a key into the lock and opened the door. Price's office, still clean and untouched since we left, had everything where it usually was. The room, however, felt empty. I was so used to the old man being seated behind his large desk, smoking a cigar, and complaining about paperwork, but this time there was no one waiting for us.

"Ghost, what are we doing here?"

"You'll see."

We walked over behind his desk, and Ghost crouched down, moving a painting from the wall; behind it was a small wall safe. I never knew about this before, but obviously Price had told Simon about it. Simon turned the dial until it clicked a few times, and the door unlocked.

"The old man had a few secrets. Here, take this."

Simon handed me a cigar box and a few letters. There wasn't much inside, but Simon seemed to know what he needed to do. We started to walk out of the room, being careful not to touch anything else for now. Before we left, we both turned back to make sure Price wasn't there. He wasn't.  Simon turned off the light and sighed, closing the door and locking it behind us.

"What are the letters for?" I asked, running my thumb over the paper.

"I'm not sure; I assume it's for Gaz, Laswell, and the others. Probably some Intel in there too, but not for us to look at unless the owners want us to see it." He replied, walking down the hall.

"Hey....there's a letter for Y/N."

"What?" Ghost stopped turning to see.

The letter looked much newer than the rest; its envelope was still bright white, and the seal in the back looked freshly pasted. I didn't understand: how could Price have written this? Ghost clearly had no idea either, but we both knew we shouldn't peek inside. We finally made our way back into Ghost's room, and I set the box and letters down on the dresser. Simon walked into the bathroom to wash his face and get ready for much-needed sleep. I kept running my fingers over the envelopes; there was one for Gaz, Laswell, and Y/N. It wasn't my place to open it; maybe it would be better if Laswell gave it to him; she knew him better, and this could end up being a sensitive thing. It was difficult for both Simon and I just to sit around watching Y/N and not being able to do much, but if all we could do for now was sit by his bed, then that's what we would do.

"Are you okay, Johnny?"

"I guess I just feel kind of helpless right now."

"We can't do anything to speed up his recovery; the best we can do is just be there for him." Simon replied, slipping under the bedsheets.

"Well, we can't do anything if we are exhausted. Try to get some sleep, Johnny. We can spend the day with him tomorrow."

Simon settled into bed, and I instinctively scooted next to him, resting my head on his chest as he wrapped a large arm around me. The base was quiet, with only the sounds of our breath and Simon's heartbeat being heard. I could already feel my eyelids getting heavy, and the lack of sleep the past few days was catching up with me. Both of us were soon drifting off into a calming sleep. That night was peaceful, and I slept much better knowing Y/N was okay and awake. Everything was calm.