DECODE ~ GHOST [Editing]

13| Liberty

Do not go gentle into that good night.

The door to my room creaked open gently, and a darkened figure approached my bed. He didn't say anything as he walked towards me and sat down by my stomach. I knew who it was before he dared to even speak, it would be stupid not to know him by this point. Cigar smoke invaded my nose as his hand sat next to mine, "You up, kiddo?" he asked, and it solidified my knowledge of the fact this man was in fact Captain John Price.

"Captain?" I groggily asked and rubbed my eyes with caution, "Why are you here?" I asked him. Last I remembered, he'd been in the Middle East alongside Gaz, I'd not heard from either of them since the training session we'd had.

He chuckled down at me whilst I pushed myself up so that I was sat behind him, my weight rested completely on his shoulders, "Nice to see you too, Sprog." Price commented, using the nickname he'd given me back in Afghanistan after I saved his ass and dragged him the eight miles back to camp from behind enemy lines.

"Yeah, yeah, old man," I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, and allowed myself to relax. Price pulled my legs around his hips, and stood up wearing me like a backpack, "You heard about my leg, then?" I asked him.

He nodded, "Of course, it's all Soap and Ghost talked about." my cheeks flushed red at the thought of them talking about me. Would they speak fondly of me, or would they dismiss me as an annoying character that they couldn't wait to see the end of? I didn't want to know. "Soap was just taking the piss out of you, though."

I scoffed, "There's a surprise," despite having not known each other for as long as some of the operators had, I liked Soap. He was almost like an annoying little brother, though I'm nearly certain he was older than me. As I thought of him, I wondered if he had anyone back home, or if he was a lone wolf. It wasn't a good way to live, as I knew.

"Lover boy sounded worried," Price raised his eyebrow and turned his head to look at me. When he saw the look of pure dread on my face, he chuckled, "You really thought I wouldn't find out?" he asked.

"I knew you would, I just hoped you wouldn't find out until later," My voice was gravelly from the lack of sleep I'd been forced with. I wanted absolutely nothing more than to have some coffee and maybe something sweet. And I wanted the earth to swallow me whole.

Price squeezed my knee reassuringly, "You know me better than that, Spence," his hand wrapped around the half opened door, and he opened it fully, exposing us to the crowd of gathered men. He placed me down gently, and I stood leant against the doorframe to take any weight from my leg,

"I Love Mexico?" A distinctly accented voice mocked, and I turned to find the owner, only to find him smirking down at me whilst his arms remained crossed in front of his chest.

I couldn't contain the smile, let alone my relief of seeing him alive and well, "I picked it out just for you," I remarked as he paced towards me with his arms extended. I allowed him to hug me, but didn't expect him to start rocking me from one foot to another.

"Watch her foot!" The booming Mancunian accent bellowed out, and I watched Alejandro's face contort into confusion. He had no clue, "She stepped in a bear trap,"

"Like a fucking idiot," Soap tagged on, and was immediately silenced by Ghost's intense eye contact. "Sorry..." he near silently said.

I smirked across at them both, suddenly realising the room was missing someone. Gaz. The Londoner was nowhere to be seen, and I couldn't help as my heart beat increased and my breath caught in my throat. Before I could voice my concern, a pair of hands shielded my vision.

"Guess who?" The Londoner said, and I spun around and wrapped my arms around him as tight as I could, "I can't... breathe!" Gaz heaved out as my grip was as tight as a python's, increasing in force with every breath he took.