When this is all over, maybe we can try again?

part one; the incident

All was well, until it wasn't. Simon had the man he had grown to feel for, cradled in his arms, begging him to keep his eyes open as he pressed his large hand over the other man's stomach in an attempt to stop the bleeding. "This is a simple mission." Price's words echo in Simon's mind. "No one should get injured, not on my watch."

"Come on Cas, keep those eyes open for me." Simon pleaded, his usual cold tone wavering slightly, highlighting the panic he had felt. Casian struggled to keep his eyes open, his vision becoming hazy as blood poured out of him. "Come on, exfil is gonna be here soon Cas, hang on." Simon continued, trying to keep Casian's attention on him.

"Hurts." Was all Casian could choke out, coughing up blood as he spoke. God it hurt. It hurt like hell. "I know, I know, it's gonna be okay." Simon replied, his free hand cradling the other man's head to his chest.

Casian's eyes gradually close, the world around him sinking into the darkness that surrounded him. Simon's muffled voice being the last thing he hears whilst bleeding out in the middle of a battlefield.

Weeks later

Casian's eyes fluttered open, the bright light causing him to squint. His body littered in scars and bruises, a singular bandage wrapped around his torso, the once white fabric a slight cream colour as it soaks up the blood. "Where the fuck am I?" Casian's words echo in his mind, the thumping of his headache slowly growing the longer he kept his eyes open.

"Cas?" A voice beside him mutters, a hand reaching out to take his own. Casian turns to the side, the bright lights making it almost impossible to work out who had been sat beside him. His eyes slowly adjusted, revealing Casian's lieutenant, Simon Riley, or as everyone knows him, Ghost. "You're awake." Simon utters, his voice barely a whisper.

Some time later

"Come on Cas, we gotta get you back home." Casian's captain, Price, said, "You can't be working, not in that state." He added, moving to help the man to sit down.

"I'm fine Price." Casian murmurs, "I can handle myself."

"And I don't doubt that, but right now, you just got outta hospital." Price replies. "The only work I'll be givin' ya is paperwork."

Casian groans, leaning back in his seat. "I'm not doing it from home sir." Casian complains, "Can't I at least stay in my barracks, do it there?"

"If that's what you want." Price simply says before moving out of the room, leaving Casian to sit in silence with his own thoughts. Casian sat in silence, his whole body still aching from the incident, picking at the frayed thread on his shirt, the only noise in the room being the wind whistling through the small gap in the window. The sound slowly started to irritate Casian and he moved to pull the window shut, leaving the room in silence.

"Cas." The oh so familiar voice of his Lieutenant came from behind him. Casian whips around to see Simon standing in the doorway. "Price wants me to keep ya company." Simon murmurs, moving into the room.

"I don't need to be babysat L.T." Casian murmurs, looking away from the man. "I'm capable of looking after myself." Casian adds.

Simon moves towards an empty chair near Casian. "I know that Cas." He says. "But I'm not here to babysit you. I'm here to talk. We can't let you sit in silence all day, can we?" Simon adds, his voice softer than usual. Casian lets out a slight sigh, looking up at the man. "Fine." Casian mumbles. "But don't expect me to talk." The man's gaze moves to the window, staring through it once again as the memories of the incident a few weeks before play through his mind, over and over again.

"Cas! Get to cover!" Someone yelled. It was too hard to tell who was calling out to Casian, his focus entirely on the group of Mexican cartel members swarming their position, trying to take out as many as possible, the loud gunshots and grenades muffling any other sound. "Casian!" Another voice calls out, this one all too familiar. Casian looks around to see Ghost swiftly making his way towards the man, shooting anyone on the opposite side of the stretch of cover he had.

Pain.

That's all Casian felt as he doubled over, the sudden sharp pain in his stomach making him take a quick inhale. In a matter of seconds, Ghost was by the man's side, his arm going around his waist as he guided Casian to some sort of cover before laying the man on the ground. "Shit." Ghost practically whispers, kneeling beside Casian and pressing his hand against the man's bullet wound, radioing in for exfil.

"You're alright Cas." Ghost says. "You're gonna be alright, exfils 30 clicks out."  Ghost was panicked, his cold, distant exterior washed away by a wave of concern and fear for the man he loved. He was terrified. what if Cas didn't make it? What if he watched the man he loved bleed out in his arms? would he ever be the same? "Come on Cas, keep your eyes on me."

Soon after, Casian's world faded into darkness, only the muffled sound of his lieutenant's pleas breaking through the fog that had settled on his mind. Maybe Cas was just making it up. Maybe he was alone, already bleeding out on the empty battlefield. Maybe Ghost was never there. Maybe Ghost had left him behind to keep the others safe. That was Casian's only thought as his world completely faded.