12 Minutes (#2 in Military series)

Chapter 39

"Thank you doct-" Jules took a step forward when Marc's hand shot up, telling her to stay back. The motion felt like a punch to her gut.

"-Wait," Marc looked at Jules for the longest moment and in such a way as if he was trying to remember who she was that she felt her legs grow weak.

"What is it Lieutenant?" The doctor asked him as he obliviously repositioned the stethoscope around his neck.

"Marc?" Jules whispered as his gaze turned away from her and towards Carlos and Twitch and all the time there was that look of blank confusion across his face.

"Lieutenant?" The doctor frowned, his voice growing in urgency.

"Who-" Marc blinked and turned to look at the doctor, "Who are these people?" He pointed directly at them and it felt like an arrow to her chest knocking the wind out of her lungs.

The doctor just stared at Marc for a moment, his lips forming a small 'O' before he hastily retrieved the small torch pen from his pocket and flashed it across his eyes again, "Do you not recognise who these people are?" He asked.

Marc shook his head, "Should I?"

"Marc," Carlos laughed nervously, "Come on buddy, it's us! You know us!"

Jules could feel herself trembling. It felt like the walls were crumbling down around her in the cruellest twist of fate ever. She had only just come to terms with her own memory loss, Marc couldn't lose his now. She couldn't catch her breath as she stared at Marc and saw the way he stared at Carlos. It was as if he had never met him before today. This couldn't be happening, Jules thought as she reached out a hand to steady herself against the bed.
She noted how his shoulders were relaxed and there were no creases in his forehead as he looked amongst the three of them in bewilderment.

No! Jules thought angrily, this was not happening. "Marc!" She snapped as she took a determined step forward as if she could scare his memories back.

"Sergeant, maybe you should just-" The doctor leaned across the bed and held out his arm to stop her from going any further but she just shoved his arm away to the side.

"Marc," She spoke in a softer tone of voice as she drew level with him and stared into his eyes. She didn't know what to say as they just looked at each other with fear in her eyes and bewilderment in his. The thought that he could have forgotten about her felt like the end of the world and she did not know how to begin to make him remember her again when she saw the corner of his lip twitch a little. He tried to control it but as she looked closer she saw a small spark of humour erupt in his gaze before his lips spread into a wide grin and he started to laugh.

"No!" Jules gasped as Marc barked with laughter, his shoulders hunching over in mirth.

"Your faces!" He threw his head back against the pillows and chortled whilst Carlos clutched at his chest in relief and Twitch hung his head that he had fallen for it.

"You little shit!" Jules punched him hard in the shoulder, stomping her foot to resist the urge to hurt him even further, "Why would you do that!?"

The doctor straightened up in annoyance when he saw that Marc had been faking it and Jules was fairly certain she saw him roll his eyes. "Press the nurses button if you need anything before we come back to take you for the scans," He sighed before he turned to leave.

"How about some morphine for the shoulder?" Marc tentatively held his shoulder.

The doctor started to say something but he stopped when he saw Jules's face and made a quick escape from the room. Jules was fairly certain that the doctor thought he deserved it too though.