The Soldier Next Door

… Ana POV…

Now I am going to officially say that this day is just getting worse. Not only have Ethan had to risk his life to save me, but now he has gone and gotten hurt. Up until now, there was no pain reflected in his eyes, but the moment I mentioned it, I can see the fear settle over his face.

“Ethan, come with me; I need to have you checked out.”

I look over to Williams and Gibbs; they are the closet by, the rest of the Marines have gone to secure the camp and its surroundings.

“Can someone please help me carry him?”

“Ana, no! It is fine; I can walk.”

“Ethan, it is not! Look at all that blood. It is a wonder that you have not passed out.”

“Please, I can walk; if I pass out, then you can get someone to carry me.”

I see him chuckle at me, find the very fact that he can pass out as rather amusing. I think he is more shit scared than he lets on to believe. But yes, trust Ethan to see the humor at a time like this.

“That is not funny, Ethan; come lean on me.”

“I don’t want to get you full of blood.”

“Ethan! Listen to me. Now is not the time to pretend that you are an untouchable Marine.”

“Hahaha, obviously not untouchable enough since I managed to get my ass stabbed.”

“Your ass is going to get more than stabbed if you do not listen to me.”

“Oh,” he gets a stupid smirk on his face. “What did you have in mind? We are going to go to the nurse’s station, and it is still empty.”

“Ethan, this is not funny.”

By the time I get the man to the tent, I am ready to murder him myself. With Gibbs and Williams in tow, they check to confirm the tent is safe before we enter. But who do we find there?

“Oh, my god Ethan, what happened? Let me take a look at you.”

“Don’t worry, Emily, Ana has got it under control.”

“No, please let me look at you.”

“Emily, I said no!”

But the little tramp does not know what the word no means, for she comes to rip Ethan from my grip where he is still leaning on my shoulder.

“Aaahhh, are you crazy! Let go of me!”

“I am only trying to help, and I am the senior nurse, so you don’t have a choice.”

“Senior, my ass!”

I am watching this with absolute frustration on my face; I could have a look at Ethan’s wound by now, but Miss ‘I am senior nurse’ is not making my job any easier. And let us not forget the fact that she is wasting time. So I am most probably going to lose my job or get seriously reprimanded, but I cannot stand and watch this any longer.

“Listen here bitch get your ass out the way; your senior nurse ass can go stand somewhere else, this is my patient, and you are wasting my time.”

“Who the hell do you think you are? That patient is my boyfriend.”

“My god, you are fucking stupid.”

But yes, she does prove to me how stupid she, in fact, is, for she goes to pull harder at Ethan’s arm. The man is hurt, and she thinks now is the perfect time to play her game that she, by the looks of it, did not get to finish earlier on. And as Ethan screams out in pain.

‘Aaahhh, let go of me! Just leave me alone. I told you that Ana would do this. God, you are insane.”

Then I do the unthinkable; I show for Ethan to lay down on the bed, and then I spin on my heels to face this woman. In as little as one…two…three, my fist connects with her face, her pretty little head snaps to the right, and she stumbles off her feet.

“Now, I said, back off bitch!”

…Ethan POV…

I have just, for the first time in my life, seen two women fight over me; I would find it rather attractive if I were not hurting like a bitch myself. So while they have their little argument to state their claim, I get Gibbs to help me onto the bed. I can feel the burning where the knife has sliced into my skin with every move I make. I try to settle on the bed as comfortably as I can so that I can get a clear look at my wound. All I can feel is a numbing pain, but give it a few minutes as soon as the adrenaline passed, then it will feel the full wrath of it coming down.

Now between all the blood, I cannot see where I have been stabbed, so I ask for Gibbs to hand me a piece of gauze. I gently try to, with shaky hands, wipe away much of the blood that I can; I am shocked as it becomes visible. There right below my stomach, there it sits, gaping and fairly deep. And by the looks of this, I am going to have to clean and stitch myself up too.

“Can one of you just stop it and help me?”

In less than even thirty seconds, everything goes black.

…Ana POV…

This woman has managed to get me to take my attention away from Ethan. So as I push her aside for what I hope is the last damn time, I turn around to see Ethan with his hand over his wound. It appears that he has tried to clean it up himself. But that is not my concern; I watch as his body falls down onto the bed, and his eyes fall closed.

“Ethan!”

I rush to his side; I feel his pulse. It is faint, his skin is pale, and he is cold to the touch. I did not realize he lost so much blood, but it cannot be. Do I even dare to say that he has just plain passed out. I know what seeing an injury can do to a man, but a man like Ethan that once walked in with an injury and walked out with half a leg.

“Gibbs, please get Doctor MacKenzie and get all these people out of the tent.”

Once all are gone, I gently clean up his wound to reveal the cut that looks only but a few inches deep. I can easily say I can stick my finger in half of the way. And that is exactly what I do, pushing it gently into the cut, I feel if the blade has touched any other organs around. Just then, Doctor MacKenzie comes walking in.

“Ah, see, you are already testing that one out. Must say I am surprised that you even brave enough to do such a thing.”

“I don’t particularly see Miss pretty face out there trying to do it herself.”

“Ya, I heard you punched her.”

“God, does nothing stay a secret around here?”

“Ana, you in a camp with grown men that think that shit is hot.”

“Oh, yes, that. Now I do not think Ethan lost that much blood.”

I watch as Doctor MacKenzie inspects the wound while he cleans and stitches is up, then he looks at me with concern in his eyes.

“Don’t worry, his secret is safe with me. I don’t even want to begin to think how losing a leg messed your head up. I imagine that he saw the injury and thouth that something bad would happen. But he will be fine, rest him for a few days and then he can be back up again.

“Thank you, Doctor.”

With that, I put him on a drip of antibiotics and dress him into a pair of clean uniforms. Once I am sure that he is comfortable and safe, I ask Gibbs to sit with him while I go look for Ray. After much searching, I find him in the battle ops tent.

“Ray, can we talk?”

“Sure, Ana, I am due for a break anyway.”

“So what is the big hustle going on?”

“We are attacking that camp comes dawn, they are going to find their leader is not back, and we want to do it before then. Pity that Ethan cannot be there. How is he doing?”

“A few stitches and rest, and he shall be perfectly fine. There is something I wish to discuss with you.”

“Perhaps that girl Emily, I heard that you punched her.”

“I am not going to say sorry, but she was in my way.”

Ray burst out laughing at my boldness; he knows that I always say things such as I see it. That is why he knows that the next thing that I want to ask is rather urgent.

“Did Doctor MacKenzie come to you?”Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

“Unfortunately, I need to know what is going on with all my Marines. Hey, I understand where Ethan comes from. It does not make him any less of a Marine. I am sure most of us would probably pass out as well. So don’t worry, everything is still fine.”

“But what if it not fine for him? I am not saying that it will not be. I am scared that he is going beyond what is normal to prove himself. I am scared he really gets hurt.”

“What do you mean by not fine for him? Has he said anything?”