Code Red

Home Soil

Dangerous, hostile and perilous.
Rescuing Bones was the ultimate mission for 2 section in Bangladesh - their time in the treacherous land was finally over.

They had all their kit squared away as they lined up for breakfast one last time. The usual cooked breakfast of bacon, sausage and eggs was slapped onto their plates as they began to fill their boots. Georgie took Bones his breakfast and decided to eat hers with him. Luckily, he was recovering well and his wounds appeared to be mostly superficial.

Strolling, into the medical tent she handed Alex his breakfast. "Good morning Captain!" She called joyfully as she pulled up a chair beside his hospital bed. Alex turned to face her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Thank you so much for everything Lane." He spoke weakly. "You are a brilliant medic." Georgie couldn't work out if this was Alex being nice or if it was the medication he was on.

"Well thank you." Georgie replied blushing a little. "Our time here is over. I guess this has to be one of your worse tours?" She questioned changing the subject and avoiding his flattery. A pained smile came over his face. "What do you mean? It was the best to date!" He replied sarcastically with a chuckle. A moment of silence fell between them as Georgie put a slice of bacon in her mouth. She frowned, "You know it was Peanuts and Spanner who shot you right?" She mumbled with the food still in her mouth. Her thoughts had taken over and she couldn't act like she didn't know anymore. She was desperate to find out what he made of the whole ordeal.

Alex looked stunned as he pulled Georgie closer. Beginning to fiddle with the dog tags that hung loosely around her neck he paused for a moment. "Sometimes Georgie being a good soldier is about sacrifice." He announced sincerely. "If that means taking one for the team sometimes that is what has to be done." He frowned. Georgie was amazed by how different Captain McClyde was to her now compared to when he was her CO. "So..did you know they were going to shoot you?" Georgie questioned observing that Alex looked melancholy. Alex stared into the distance and shook his head. "At the time, no." He sighed deeply and began again. "But I totally understand why they did it." Sullen, he sat back feeling very disconsolate.

Moments later, Captain James peered his head into the tent. "We are leaving here in 15 minutes! Be ready!" He called enthusiastically. Georgie packed all of Alex's kit and belongings for him, as he could barely move. She noticed that he had not received any letters from home due to his undercover work; but he did keep a photograph of his sons by his bedside.

Georgie and Captain James carried Alex onto the truck before the rest of 2 section piled in along with all of their burgeons. As the truck left the FOB everyone sighed in relief - they were finally heading home.

Standing, at the front of the plane James made an announcement:
"Next stop Brize Norton. Back in the UK for some well deserved R&R. This tour was tough and you should all be very proud of yourselves." He spoke earnestly, preparing to unload all of the kit as the plane came into land.

A while later, 2 section were back on home soil. Brize was filled with proud families and joyful faces. Everyone was finally reunited with their loved ones: Alex was taken straight from Brize to a local hospital to continue his recovery. Monk immediately ran over to his girlfriend; taking his son from her arms, he wrapped him in a hug and planted a kiss on his forehead. Georgie was greeted by her Mum and Dad, they were just pleased to have her home safe after the horror stories they had heard whilst she was away. Captain James was welcomed back by Molly; she sprinted up to him as he lifted her up into a bear hug and kissed her passionately.

On the way home, Georgie made a trip to the hospital to check up on Alex. Standing outside his room, she stared through the glass window whilst the nurses took his observations. Alex slowly turned his head and spotted Georgie standing outside. Weakly, he raised his hand and signalled for her to come in. She pulled up a chair and sat by his bedside as he firmly grabbed her uniform, holding it tightly in desperation. "I can't thank you -" he began his sentence. "Daddy!" He was quickly cut short by the cries of young children.

At that moment, two young boys bundled into the room. "Hello my handsome men!" Alex's voice cracked as he ruffled his son, Sam's, dark brown fluffy curls. Georgie watched the two young boys clamper up onto Alex's bed. "Mind my ribs, boys" he warned playfully.

Suddenly, Georgie stiffened as a medium sized women with light brown hair forced into a ponytail, entered the room and looked her up and down. "Is this Georgie, the medic you said about?" The women spoke with a harsh tone that made Georgie feel uneasy. There was a moment of silence as Georgie shot a glance at Alex. He smiled, "Yes, she is the reason I am here." He clarified softly. Leaning over the bed the women shook Georgie's hand. "Nice to meet you, I'm Jane" she smiled. Relaxing a little Georgie smiled back. "Nice to meet you too, I'm Georgie." Jane then turned to Alex, "I will leave you with the boys now. I need to go. See you soon." Walking over to the bed she kissed Alex's cheek before promptly leaving.

Confused, Georgie watched Jane walk down the corridor before questioning Alex. "Who was she?" She asked accusingly. Alex grinned and answered jokingly, "That's Jane, she even introduced herself!" Georgie chuckled a little. "I know that, is she your wife?" She fired back. Suddenly his whole demeanour changed as he shuffled his position. Alex swallowed hard and answered hesitantly, "No...no..she's not my wife." He narrowed his lips, "she's my sister."

Georgie's eyes widened, "Sorry, I thought it was your wife as she brought your boys up to see you. She seemed quite intimidating." Alex immediately frowned and stared at the floor in silence. "My wife left me." He muttered angrily. Georgie sat back, "Sorry to hear that Alex." She tried to comfort him. "It's great you still get to see your sons." She spoke placing her hand on top of his. Hugging his sons closer to him Alex kissed them both on the head. Before continuing,"She left me whilst I was in Bangladesh and she left the boys too." He ran his fingers through his hair and breathed deeply. "She claimed she couldn't cope with me being away all the time." His heart sunk and Georgie could see the anger building up inside of him - it was one thing for his wife to leave him but another for her to abandon her young sons too.