When the Blue Meets the Gray

XI. Hero Among Men

Daniel's POV:

I saw a man in gray pointing a gun at Thomas. It was instinct to jump in front of him.

That was when everything slowed down. The bullet tore through my clothes and pierced my flesh. I felt myself fall and after what seemed like a million years, I hit the ground.

I saw a young woman covered in dark red spots running over to me. She knelt down beside me as I said, "Elizabeth. Go."

She shook her head. "No. The battle's over. You're not going to die on my watch, Danny."

I felt my face contort in pain from the wound. "No use. I'll die before you get me to a tent."

She smiled, clearly not listening. "Then it's a lucky thing I got my supplies with me."

"Elizabeth Hawkins, no." I protested. "Let me die for the service of my country. For the United States. For what I believe in."

"I won't let you." She protested.

"You're one stubborn lass." I grunted. "I'll say this once more; let me die for the cause I believe in."

Elizabeth pursed her lips. "You're wasting your breath and your protests, Sergeant. I believe in you. In us. That we will win this war. Antietam may have been a terrible sight, but there's no way in hell I'm lettin' you give up so easily."

This damn woman! I sighed in frustration and pain. "Well, since there's no way I'm changing your mind, get on with it. Save my life, Miss Elizabeth."

She grimaced slightly as she dug into tender flesh to get the bullet out. My screams pierced the silence of the field. I was sure they heard it all the way to the other side of the country; even with a cloth in my mouth.

She held the bullet in her fingers and my chest rose and fell heavily. She sewed me up and took the cloth out of my mouth. As she did so, I glared at her and retorted, "That hurt like hell! Why didn't you warn me?!"

She raised an eyebrow. "I think your reaction justifies why. And I did. You just didn't hear."

I scoffed and attempted to sit up. I got about a quarter of the way up before I fell down, regretting my decision. "Son of a bitch." I muttered.

Elizabeth must have heard because she said with a frown, "Language, Sergeant."

I laughed and said quietly, "Thank you, Elizabeth. You saved my life."

She smiled. "It's what I do. Might I ask exactly what happened?"

"You might." I teased, earning a frown. I continued on. "I saw a glimpse of a bullet headed for your brother. I know how important Mary means to him and I couldn't bear the thought of her losing him when I knew I could save him. It was instinct. Risking my life to save someone else's. That's what we soldiers do. We have each other's backs. We look out for each other. We protect each other. We're brothers for this cause and I sure as hell wasn't gonna let Thomas Hawkins die when I could do something to prevent it."

Her mouth was agape and she closed it suddenly as though she realized it was wide open.

"Thank you." She replied with a soft kiss.

"Hey, that's what soldiers do; we got each other's backs." I grinned.

The three of us made our way back to camp and Elizabeth helped me lie down. As soon as my head hit the cot, I fell into a restless sleep.

I woke up the next morning exhausted and in pain. Unfortunately, there wasn't much Elizabeth could do to help. According to her, the worst was over. Presuming she'd cleaned everything properly, there was little risk for infection. Though it still hurt like hell.

[I love the little Cap reference. Let me know if you found it.

Foreshadowing]