What Was Ours Still Will Be

Chapter 7

Jack woke up in his dark cell in the German camp. His vision was kind of blurry from exhaustion and hunger, but apparently his hearing was still going strong, because he heard a lot of yelling coming from outside. He didn't bother trying to get up and see what was going on. It would be too painful, and besides, it was probably just the guards arguing over who was going to get to beat him again for information he didn't have. Then there was a gunshot. That was what surprised Jack. The guards got into some pretty nasty fights sometimes, but they didn't shoot each other. Still, Jack didn't stand up. Especially not now, those guards wouldn't hesitate shooting him. But, death almost seemed like a better option than to just keep living how he was now. No, he took that back. His Ace was waiting for him... at least, he hoped she was. There was more yelling coming from outside, but louder this time. He couldn't make out any words, but it sounded intense. Then there were several more gunshots, at least 20, probably more. 'What the hell is going on out there?' he thought, but still didn't move. It's not like he could stop anything bad from happening, he was practically useless. A couple more gunshots, and the sound of footsteps running up and down the stone floor. Now Jack could see the people, but he couldn't make out any details. One of the men (he assumed they were men) stopped in front of his cell. He fiddled with the lock for a few seconds, and then the barred door swung open. If they were trying to free all the prisoners, they probably weren't going to free as many was they hoped. Most of the other soldiers had died already. Jack was just one of the lucky, or unlucky, some that survived. At this point, he wasn't sure which. The man stepped into Jack's cell. "Private Kelly." he acknowledged. Jack recognized the voice.

"General..." he coughed. his throat was swollen from thirst. "General Dunlap?" The General nodded.

"Can you stand?" he questioned.

"...I dunno."

"Then go ahead and try. It's alright, there's no rush." Jack nodded at his suggestion. He put one hand on the wall and tried to push himself up. He immediately felt a burst of pain in his left ankle, but stood up anyway. He limped towards the other man, feeling lightheaded. The general took Jack's arm and gingerly draped it around his shoulders. "You're okay?" Jack nodded vaguely before he blacked out.

oOo

When Jack woke up, he was in a fairly large room. He was laying in a bed. An actual bed. Not one of those hard, makeshift cots he'd been sleeping on for almost a year now. He forgot how much he missed sleeping in a bed. He sat up, causing a little pain around his ribs, but he ignored it. He had to figure out whether he was safe or not. He scanned the room. He was the only one in it. There wasn't much to look at. There was a counter with a sink on one side of the room, with a bottle of medicine next to the sink. That was about it. It seemed safe enough. Even if it wasn't, Jack didn't have a gun with him, and he obviously wasn't in any shape to fight. So he sighed and sank back into the pillows. Just as his exhaustion was about to catch back up with him, the door to the room swung open and he was jolted awake again. A doctor stepped in. For a minute Jack wondered if he spoke English or not, but his question was quickly answered.

"Oh good, you're awake."

"Yeah... I was wondering where I am exactly?"

"Oh, of course! You've been moved from the German's prison camp to a hospital in Geneva."

"Geneva... we're in New York?" Jack got excited at the thought of just being in the same state as Katherine and his boys. The doctor nodded.

"You're here being treated for several injuries. The whip lashes on your back, fractured ribs, a broken ankle, and a sprained wrist."

"Okay... wait, what made the General and the rest of the soldiers find me anyway?"

"Oh, of course you didn't hear. America won the war, along with France and the rest of our allies." Jack bolted up again. His eyes lit up.

"We won?" The doctor grinned.

"Yes, I thought you'd be happy to hear that."

"Yes sir, I am. So, how long am I gonna hafta stay here?"

"Well, we looked over all your wounds, and you should be out of here in a month."

"A whole month?!" Jack groaned. He was finally back in the same state as the only family he'd ever really had, and he wanted to see them. If they hadn't already forgotten about him.

"Mr. Kelly, I understand you want to get back to your family, but you've waited a year, you can wait another month. We need to make sure your injuries are healed before we can release you."

"You sure I can't leave any sooner?"

"I'll see what I can do." The doctor walked out of the room. Jack frowned. He wanted to keep complaining but he knew the doctor was right. He wasn't in very good shape right now, and the doctors here would help him get better. So he leaned back and let sleep take him over once more.

AN: Jack's not dead! Yay!