Terrorcest one shots

(6) Language barrier

A/N: does this story even count as one shots anymore?? we're 6 parts in- also i wanted to update this before I updated Hollywood Ending because I know you're probably wanting to take Tommy to a guillotine right now.

After the newscast, both boys sit in complete silence, afraid to even move. Nikki hasn't gotten any pages from his commander, so he assumes that they're not very far inland yet, if at all. He doesn't want to leave Tommy and their sweet baby. He knows that there is a good chance he won't come back.

Some of his friends never made it back to Athens.

Carl would never see his girl back home again.

A bullet took him in Ankara, as Nikki just watched in horror. It was supposed to be a simple ambush after a 13 day siege on Ankara by U.S. forces. Nikki and Carl had been inside the Kocatepe Mosque when the siege had ended. They had been given orders to defend the Kocatepe Mosque, while maintaining the religious sanctity of the building. Carl was patrolling outside, and was shot in the chest by a sniper, who sprinted away almost immediately, probably assuming Carl had been the last of the soldiers remaining outside. Nikki ran to him, trying to stop the bleeding. He tried to get Carl to hold on, and tried to get help immediately, but the situation became grim. It may not have been a direct hit, but it was enough.

Carl died in his arms, after handing Nikki the photo of a young woman, and rasping. "Give this picture back to my girl."

Nikki knew Carl had no family. Carl was a lot like him in that way. When Nikki went back to Athens, he took Carl's ashes with him, locked in an ammo box, with a picture of his girl. When his tour is over, Nikki will find Carl's girl, and give those ashes to her.

But, Nikki knows that if he died, nobody would be there to do the same for him. He'd be put in an unmarked, mass grave, or dumped with other bodies. If he died, nobody would ever be able to tell Tommy, his daughter would probably never even know he existed, his mother wouldn't care, and dear Ceci wouldn't know where he had went, cause he had never told her he was joining the military. He would truly be alone, in every sense of the word.

That afternoon, when Tommy and baby Ruby Theoni are released from the hospital, Jeeps and American soldiers are flooding the Athens streets. A General waves them through the roundabout, and soldiers are trekking down Tommy's street, one of them bleeding heavily. Nikki cringes, and  turns away from the sight, terrified that that may happen to him. At home, Voula quickly makes a space for the baby, reusing the bassinet that was used for both Tommy and Athena, and finally, the fathers are able to relax a little.

Tommy plops onto the couch, exhausted and in pain. Nikki sits beside him and gently wraps  an arm around him, content with the quiet for once. Tommy smiles at him, body still physically exhausted from labor. The smells of Voulas cooking are wafting through the air, sending hunger signals to both boys stomachs, and they can hear David tinkering at the kitchen table. It's a perfect moment, and it's one that Tommy would prefer to stay in forever. He lays across Nikki's lap,  holding his  stomach tightly just above the c-section wound so he won't injure himself.

"Did they not give you any pain medicine for that?" Nikki asks, most of the words able to be understood by Tommy.

"No." He replies, giving Nikki a smile.

"Ouch," Nikki chuckles, ruffling Tommy's hair. "Want me to see if your mother has anything?"

Tommy nods and Nikki heads to the kitchen, tapping Voula on the shoulder. "Mrs. Bass?" He asks, somewhat nervous to try out his mediocre Greek skills.

"Γεια σου αγαπητή μου, όλα καλά?" (Hello dear, everything okay?) Voula asks, noticing the nervous look upon Nikkis face.

Nikki understands the words hello, and okay, so he nods and hurries on to ask his question. "Tommy, στον πόνο...umm....shit...κάνω...uhhhh...έχω..." Voula gently puts a hand on Nikkis shoulder and nods, and Nikki relaxes, knowing that she got the gist of his message.