I sit by Ethans hospital bed with Max lying by my feet.
"Max" i say and he looks up, "come here"
He jumps up and licks my face as I stroke his fur.
He turns and looks at Ethan and whines, "he'll be okay max"
"Tell that mut to shut up" Ethan says and Max barks at him and he laughs
"Shhh, i snook you in here" i say
"Why?" Ethan asks me shifting uncomfortably in the bed.
"He went on hunger strike" I say
"I think he likes me more if I'm being honest" Ethan says
"Don't be foolish" I say and he laughs as Max jumps off my lap and peers up at Ethan standing on his back legs and Ethan strokes his head before dropping back to the floor.
"How are you feeling?" I ask him standing next to his bed
"Fine, it's just a scratch" he says and I roll my eyes
"How are you?" He asks me
"Stop changing the subject" I say and he smirks
"Come here" he says grabbing my hand pulling me towards him and I kiss him.
His hands move to the side of my face and pull away from him, "don't you ever scare me like that again"
He's about to say something but voices fill the room.
"The dickheads awake!" Will cheers and i chuckle
"Max, come here lad" George says and Max growls at him
"Stop it Max" i say and he stops and sits next to me
"He doesn't like you" Ethan tells George
"Yeah I figured" George grumbles
"How are you doing?" Sam asks him
"I'm great" Ethan says
"He's just woken up" I tell them and they laugh
"You've been out for two days" George says
"Two days?" He repeats
"Yep" i say sitting down in the chair
"Will, thanks for... having a good aim" I tell him and he smiles
"It was my pleasure" he says and I laugh lightly
"How are you doing? I heard you have to go back in for another psych" Sam says and i nod
"Yep, I'm fine. Honestly I'm just happy we got him and it's just made me miss my job even more" I say
"You should think about joining special forces" George says
"Yeah! It would be fun!" Sam says and Max growls
"I think that's a no" Will says and I laugh
"Yeah, I'm going to stick with my job" I say
"Well your on the news... all of you actually" Sam says
"What for now?" I ask
"Well your getting the Silver star as well" Sam tells me
"What for? I didn't do anything" I say
"You took her place, someone you hardly know. People think your both heroes" George says and I roll my eyes
"I didn't do anything, I just did what any other solider would have done" I say and they nod
Will laughs, "max saved your life"
"He still got shot" George says
"Yeah but at least it wasn't in the head, Ahamid was right on target" Sam says
"You owe your life to that dog, you should say thanks" Will says
"Thank you Max" Ethan says and Max wags his tail.
"Anyway, trust this dickhead to get shot three weeks before Christmas" I say and they laugh
"Looks like your going to be taking care of him" Sam tells me
"Looks like it" I say
"I can take care of myself" Ethan chimes in
"Don't be stupid, you can't even sit up on your own" I scoff
"God you two are literally perfect for each other" Will says and I look at Ethan and he smiles at me
"Yeah, we are"
•
•
One week later.
"This is pointless" I say in my thick fluffy pjs.
"It's fucking freezing" Ethan says annoyed
"What do you expect, it's the 5th of December and your boiler is broken" I tell him
"We are going" he tells me
"Going to what?" I ask him
"That medal presentation after Christmas" he says
"Your kidding right?" I ask
"No, were going" he says and I roll my eyes
"I still can't believe Max is getting a medal as well" i say lying down next to him and he pulls me into his side.
Three days a go I got a phone call from my captain and he told me that Max is getting the dog equivalent medal to the one we're getting.
"If you haven't have told him to attack him, i ending he here right now" he says
"Well when he pointed the gun at your head I had to do something, plus I saw Max go off behind us and I knew he was going to do something even if I didn't tell him. But I just had to do something, even though you did get shot" I say
"Yeah but I'm still here aren't I" he says and i nod
"You are" I say with a smile
"he literally changed personalities as soon as we were rushing around in the house" Ethan says and i nod
"I'm so proud of him, the amount of times he's saved my life is ridiculous" I say and Ethan smiles
"He's probably sick of protecting us" Ethan says
I chuckle, "probably is"
"I'll go, for Max" I say
"Good" he says with a smile
I sit down on the sofa next to him and I shiver.
"When are we getting a new boiler?" I ask him
"I rang up this morning, it could be next week at the latest" he tells me
"Oh great" I say sarcastically
"You could always move back in with your mom" he says
"Are you kicking me out?" I ask and he pulls me towards him
"Never, I like having you around... a lot" he says and i smile
"Your not too bad either" I say and he smiles
"We are going out tonight" he says
"No, it's already like seven" I say
"We are so get up and dress warm, we're going on a date" he says
"A date?" I repeat and he smiles
"Yes"
YOU ARE READING
Last Duty
ActionEden Martinez. Much more than your ordinary eighteen year old girl. At the end of her sophomore year she dropped out of college to join the army, and it was the best decision of her life. Yes it meant that she had to mature quickly, yes that meant...
