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Jason glowered from his chair in the base infirmary. His eyes were fixed on the closed door to Clay’s room as he and the rest of the team waited for the doctor and nurse to come out, giving them the all clear. The damage wasn’t likely to be that bad but it had sure scared the hell out of all of them.
“I want those greenies scrubbing toilets with their toothbrushes until they’re assigned to a team.” Sonny bit out as he snapped yet another toothpick between his teeth.
“Or dropped.” Trent deadpanned.
They all grunted in agreement at that. The kind of carelessness resulting in them being where they were could’ve led to much more serious injuries for multiple people. It’s the kind of foolishness that should’ve been left behind long before candidates reached Green Team and entered the running to become a Tier 1 operator.
“Being dropped will be the least of their worries.” Jason muttered darkly, crossing his arms.
The morning had started out fairly tame. Bravo was scheduled to lead Green Team through a classroom portion on off-road vehicles before taking them out to the field to run through navigation, traversing rough terrain and concealment. When they made it to the outside portion to apply what they had learned, one of the candidates got too cocky and, not paying attention, almost ran over Pepper.
Clay was quick to jump forward and get her clear of the danger but was clipped in the process. According to the doc, that earned him a broken arm, stitches and a concussion. Now they were waiting to hear the extent of it.
“Dad!” All heads turned toward the medical bay doors. Jason stood quickly as Emma marched in dressed in a white short sleeve blouse and a navy blue pencil skirt, her chignon coming loose from her rush to get there.
“Em, I told you you didn’t have to come until later.” He embraced her. “The doctor said it’s probably not that bad.”
“‘Probably’ isn’t good enough.” She tilted her chin defiantly. “I was worried and Jeannine said it was fine if I took the day to make sure everything was alright.”
“Okay, but how-”
“I called Lisa so she could make sure they’d let me in.”
Before Jason could open his mouth to respond Clay’s room opened. A nurse exited with a cart and rolled it down the hallway as the doctor made his way to the group, stopping in front of Jason.
“Master Chief Hayes,” He nodded, his eyes scanning over the rest of Bravo before coming to rest curiously on Emma. “Are you family of the patient?”
“Yes.” She and Jason answered in unison.
The doctor looked at her skeptically over the rim of his glasses before sliding his gaze back to Bravo 1. He was familiar with how difficult the team leader could make things if he didn’t get his way. Considering the circumstances, the doctor didn’t feel like it was worth the fight. This time.
“As I said earlier, the damage wasn’t too severe. No significant blood loss despite what it seemed but I’m sure you’re all aware that the head is a bleeder.” He flipped through his chart. “Six stitches over his right eyebrow that we’ll remove in a week. A hairline fracture on his right wrist that we’ll cast in a few days depending on how long it takes the swelling to go down so we’ll send him home with a splint in the meantime. And a grade 2 concussion that we’d like to keep him overnight for observation for but other than that his scans came back clean.”
The doctor flipped the chart shut. “He’s a little loopy from the medications so if he sounds out of it just be patient and remember it’s only temporary. Any questions?”
They all shook their head at his expectant look.
“Okay. Nurse Preston is on staff and she’ll be in to check periodically. You can hit the call button if you need her or if you have any questions or concerns.”
“Thanks, Doc.” Jason shook his hand before he left the group to themselves.
Sonny stood up and flicked his toothpick in a nearby trashcan before clapping his hands together. “All right let’s go see if Tinkerbell’s still got his wings.”
They filed into the room, sticking close to the walls so as not to crowd around the bed.
Clay cracked open a bleary eye to look at Jason on his left. He rolled his head to the side, squeezing his eyes tightly before opening them.
“Boss.” He slurred.
“Got your bell rung, kid. Had us worried for a minute.” Jason leaned forward slightly to look at the fresh stitches on his forehead down to the arm they had splinted and propped on a pillow before settling back in place. “You remember what happened?”
Clay thought for a moment, slowly picking through what he remembered before his brow wrinkled with worry. “Pepper?” He croaked.
“She’s good, Spense.” Brock piped up from his spot against the wall to Clay’s right. “I think she wanted to take a chunk out of Stewart afterwards but she’s completely fine thanks to you.”
The guys chuckled, knowing that Pepper had a special affinity for Clay and that she got a bit territorial when her favorite human was injured. Stewart had approached too quickly when he realized what he’d done. He backed away with his hands up even faster at the Malinois’s threatening snarl.
Clay sighed in relief, closing his eyes for a moment.
“Looks like they got you on the good stuff, brother.” Ray commented on his seemingly inebriated state.
Clay hummed, seconds away from dozing off when he felt a small hand smooth over his shoulder.
Lolling his head to the left, he was met with a sight he didn’t expect. A beautiful blonde tucking her hair behind her ear as she looked down at him with concern in her sky blue eyes. The hand on his shoulder rose to card gently through his hair, still a bit damp from the nurse washing off the blood, before sliding down to rest on his cheek.
“How are you feeling?” She asked softly as her thumb swiped tenderly over his cheekbone.
“Pretty good now.” Clay murmured slowly, confused but grinning as he enjoyed the feel of her touch. “Wha’s your name?”
Silence filled the room but he was none the wiser to their alarm as he continued staring at Emma.
“Do you know who this is, Clay?” Trent stepped forward and waved his hand towards her.
“No, but I wanna.” His smile became cheeky as he gazed at her through glassy eyes.
Sonny snorted, recognizing Clay turning on the charm despite being laid up in a hospital bed, drugged with a concussion. He wasn’t usually this flirtatious right off the bat either as Sonny recalled from his single days but apparently Emma was the exception.
“I’m Emma.” She answered.
“Em-Ma.” Clay dragged out the syllables as if trying out the sound. “Hello, Emma.”
“Hello, Clay.” Emma echoed with a blush, looking towards her dad with uncertainty.
“Trent.” Jason demanded as Trent flipped through his chart.
“Doc said he might be out of it.” He shrugged, not seeing anything that raised alarm bells. “Just a side effect of the meds. He’ll probably sleep it off and not remember much of this tomorrow.”
“You’re beautiful.” Clay started off-handed. “D’you come here often?”
“Oh my god.” Jason crossed his arms and pinched the bridge of his nose as Sonny gleefully took out his phone and pressed record.
“Only when my boyfriend gets himself injured.” Emma replied.
“You gotta boyfriend?” Clay looked gutted as he slouched against his pillow. He nodded slowly, turning his sad eyes on her once more. “Is he nice? Treat you right?”
“He’s the best.” She confirmed with a smile of her own as he pouted. “Even when he’s got a broken arm and can’t remember me.”
“Oh.” He frowned, looking down at his own arm, wrapped and splinted. After processing her words for a long moment, Clay’s eyes widened in a sudden revelation.
“Me?” He pointed at himself in wonder. Clay’s face lit up in a large dopey smile when she nodded. “Wow!” He breathed.
He beamed at the others, gesturing limply towards Emma. “S’my girlfriend!”
The guys covered their mouths to stifle the urge to laugh. Not that he would have noticed or cared as Clay gazed at Emma in complete adoration for someone he could only recollect meeting mere moments ago.
“You’re beautiful.” Clay parroted once more. “Hi.”
“Hi.” Emma giggled.
“Okay, we’re done here.” Jason gestured towards the others to start out of there. “Spenser, get some rest.” Sure, he knew that they were together but that doesn’t mean he wants to witness their youngest team member making passes at his daughter.
“Don’t go.” Clay begged Emma as she moved to get her purse. “Stay.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” She reassured him, smoothing her hand down his chest in a calming motion before adjusting his blankets. “I’m just grabbing something from my bag.”
“‘K.” He nodded, watching her through heavy lidded eyes that were beginning to flutter closed.
Once he settled, Emma pulled her keys from her purse and walked over to her dad, placing them in his palm. “I have a small duffel in the trunk, can you grab it for me so I can change into something more comfortable?”
“Sure, honey.” He sighed as they both peered at Clay from the doorway. His eyelids seemed to be losing the battle to stay awake now that everyone, save for Emma, was leaving making the room fall silent.
“Try to keep him out of trouble.”
“No promises.” Emma smiled before pecking his cheek in gratitude and moving to where Jason had previously stood next to Clay. Her motions became slow and gentle as she took hold of his non-broken hand and kissed his forehead while he finally gave in to sleep.
Jason turned off a couple of lights to dim the room before he pulled the door shut with a soft click. Turning sharply, he started towards the parking lot with Emma’s keys clenched in his hand. What should’ve been a relatively easy day had been turned on its head and became nothing short of ridiculous. Which, of course. This is Spenser they were talking about.
On the bright side, Jason recounted, there’s a whole group of guys waiting to be penalized for their idiocy. If anything, he could at least get some satisfaction making them pay for their stupidity. Now he just needed a punishment that would fit the crime.
‘Hills?’ Jason wondered to himself as he watched rain clouds begin to move in over head.
‘No.’ He smirked with just a little bit of bounce in his step as the air filled with the thick scent of petrichor. ‘The mud pits will do just fine.’