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Disclaimer: Characters in this work (GI Joe/ Cobra) are the property of Marvel Comics, Hasbro
and Devil's Due Publishing, Inc., and are being used without permission. No profit is gained from this site or the use of these characters.
Medic, your help with this chapter went beyond what I expected or hoped for; you are my 'Lifeline'... ScarlettPhoenix and StormO, thank you, as always.


Wishes
By Nickelina

3. Longest Night

Nights always seemed to be the hardest. During the day, Dashiell was able to fill his time with various things, but, there came a time when his body and mind would fight for sleep. He could do nothing but give in. He lay on his back, staring at the ceiling for what seemed like hours. He tried to think of anything to put his mind in a happier place before falling asleep. He thought it would help his dreams, but he knew it wouldn't work. He turned off his table lamp, his eyes growing heavy. He tried to think of the prayer that Alison used to say before she fell asleep.
"Guide me in this time of dreams and surround me with the protecting white light so my soul may rest..."
He struggled to remember the rest, and before he knew it, he was fast asleep.

Two small teams of Joes were infiltrating what was believed to be one of the last remaining COBRA compounds. Team Alpha had taken the underground level while the Bravo team cleared out the ground level. From the air, the compound looked too big to handle, but once everyone was on the ground, it was much smaller than they thought. Alpha had now been split up and was trying to find the communications room to shut down the main computers. Gung-Ho, Lifeline, and Shockwave were on one side of the bunker while Lady Jaye, Stalker, and Firewall were on the other. Both groups had taken out a majority of the vipers in the bunker. The electricity had been taken out and the bunker was running on emergency power. The only light that the teams had to see by were the overhead lights that flickered as they tried to remain on. Lady Jaye and Stalker were walking towards the only door in the corridor that they had not checked yet. Neither of them had heard from team Bravo, and if this final room was anything like the others they had encountered, they were going to need help.
"Bravo team, come in!" Lady Jaye called into her wrist communicator. She motioned for Stalker to go first into the corridor and she would follow him.
"I'm not getting anything from them either, Jaye." He told her as he passed.
"What is going on?" She asked aloud.
"You could say that again." Firewall came up along side Lady Jaye. "The frequencies are most likely jammed. Or this God-forsaken idea of a bunker has walls that are too thick."
Lady Jaye thought she heard footsteps. She silenced her two partners with a hand gesture. She reached across Firewall's chest and held her against the wall. When the sounds faded, Lady Jaye signaled Stalker to continue to the door. With Lady Jaye on one side of the door and Firewall on the other, Stalker kicked the door open. It was just what they were looking for. Stalker cautiously entered the room and made sure it was clear while Firewall went to the main computer terminal and began to de-code it for shut down.
Firewall slipped a zip disk into the drive and began to strip the computer of information. Anything the Joes could get would prove helpful in the long run. Stalker closed the door to the room and stood watch to make sure no one would enter.
"Make it snappy, girlie." He told Firewall.
"Make it snappy indeed." A voice from behind the terminal said.
Lady Jaye raised her gun and pointed it towards the voice. Firewall stopped what she was doing and reached for her gun as well. "It's three against one. I'd advise you step out of there unarmed." Lady Jaye demanded.
From behind the console in a crawl space, a lone viper emerged, still holding his firearm. He had it aimed at Firewall. "You! Up against the wall!"
"I don't think so," Lady Jaye said and turned to Firewall, "Finish up."
"Don't be stupid." Stalker walked closer to him. "Put the gun down."
Before anyone could react, the viper shot the terminal, barely missing Firewall. She shrieked as she jumped back from the terminal. The viper raised his gun again, laughing as he aimed at Lady Jaye.
"Don't even think about it." She warned, matching her aim with his.
A shot was fired, but it did not come from Lady Jaye or the viper. It came from Stalker. The viper fell to the floor in front of Firewall. "Now, he won't."
"I can still get this." Firewall said. She walked back over to the terminal and tried to retrieve the information.
"Do what you can, and let's get the hell out of here," Lady Jaye told her. "You okay, Stalker?"
"I'm dandy." Stalker walked back to the door.
A quiet beep came from the terminal and Firewall jumped out of the chair. "Got it! I'm shutting everything down...now!" The sound of the terminal's fans winding down was heard. As soon as the computers were shut down, Alpha's wrist comms snapped to life.
"Alpha team, this is Grand- Slam, do you copy?"
"Grand-Slam, this is Lady Jaye, we are going to need you to cover us. Is the way up cleared?"
"Not yet. Make your way up top anyway. We'll get you cover."
"You heard the man. Let's go!" Lady Jaye called to Stalker and Firewall. She pulled Firewall up from the chair and pushed her towards the door.
Stalker turned his head as the door slammed open. In the doorway three vipers stood with their weapons at the ready. "Get the disk!"
"Shit!" Stalker exclaimed as he tried to get a shot off before they did. Stalker was able to take out the three vipers, but not before they were able to get shots off first.
As the Vipers began to shoot, Lady Jaye ran to where Firewall was standing. She knew that Firewall did not have her gun aimed and did the only thing she could to protect her. She ran towards her and pushed Firewall out of the way. In the process, Lady Jaye turned herself so her back was to the doorway. Firewall lost her balance due to the push and fell to the ground. Lady Jaye winced in pain as she felt a white-hot sting in her lower back. Before she could react, she felt another in her shoulder. Lady Jaye fell to the floor not far from Firewall. She immediately grew dizzy. She wanted to cry out, but the amount of pain in her abdomen would not allow her to. Pain shot through her chest as she tried to take a breath. She reached out for Firewall to get her attention.
"Son of a Bitch!" Stalker kicked the door closed. "Are you two okay?"
Firewall stood up. "Jesus! What just happened?" She rolled Lady Jaye on her back and tried to help her up. She looked down and saw Lady Jaye had her eyes closed tight and a complete look of pain on her face. "Stalker, something is wrong!"
"Lady Jaye?" Stalker asked. "Jaye?" He got no response from her. She was lying very still on the floor. He ran to her; and as he knelt beside her, he saw the color drain from her along with her blood. "Lady Jaye?" Seeing the amount of blood under her, he slid his hand under back; her shirt was soaked. "Man Down! Lifeline, where are you?"
"On our way over. What's your sit?" Lifeline called back.
"Jaye has a major gunshot wound in the back. Bleeding profusely," he paused as he pulled Lady Jaye's shirt up and lightly pressed on her belly. "Belly is distended. There has got to be internal bleeding. I really need your help, man."
"Stalker?" Lady Jaye's voice was quiet, and there was fear in her eyes. It was hard for her to breathe.
"It's okay Jaye, were gonna get you out of here. Aren't we, Firewall?" Stalker looked in Firewall's direction and saw her frozen with a look of shock on her face. She was just realizing what happened.
She simply shook her head yes while she looked at the door.
"Firewall!" Stalker yelled to get her attention. "We're gonna get Jaye out of here, aren't we?"
Firewall caught on to what he was implying. "Yeah. Lady Jaye, we're gonna get you out of here real soon." She hoped that Lady Jaye did not hear the uncertainty in her voice.
Firewall called on her wrist comm, her voice shaky. "Bravo! Come in Bravo!" She waited for a reply.
"Bravo, go ahead."
"We need emergency extraction! And get Flint down here, now!"
"The chopper is on the way. Flint will be on top waiting for you."
Firewall went to Lady Jaye's side, knelt down, and gently brushed the hair from her eyes and forehead. She took her hand and tried to calm her. Lady Jaye held it as tight as she could.
"Dash... Call Dash." Lady Jaye managed to say. Her voice grew almost inaudible as her breathing became labored.
"I did. He's on his way."
Stalker ripped open Lady Jaye's shirt. He saw one exit wound near her right shoulder. Stalker took of his over shirt and used it to apply pressure to the wound to stop the bleeding. He gestured for Firewall to kneel next to Lady Jaye's head. "Hold it on both sides, and tight. Make sure her neck doesn't move. I have to turn her." He took Lady Jaye by the shoulders and gently turned her on her side. He pulled her shirt up to her shoulders and checked for an entry wound. There was a large amount of blood, so he ran his hand across her back to try and clear some of it away. He found the entry wound on her shoulder and another on her lower back. Stalker knew the bullet in her lower back had not exited, and it was that with which he should be concerned about. He gently rolled her back. "Hang on, girl. Help is on the way."
"Stalker, we have the area clear and we are on our way in." Lifeline said over the comm. "Get this door down!"
Lady Jaye looked over at Stalker. "Help me."
He heard a bang from the other side of the door. He picked up his gun and pointed it in that direction. Firewall did the same. The door opened slowly, and they saw the barrel of another weapon. Behind it was Shockwave.
"Room is clear!" He yelled to the team behind him. "Jesus..." he exclaimed as he looked at the amount of blood that was on the floor.
Lifeline pushed him aside and dropped his medical bag next to Lady Jaye. He took the portable litter off his back and opened his bag. "Hey, sweetie." He ruffled Lady Jaye's hair in an attempt to calm her. "Let's see what we have here." With Stalker's help, he turned Lady Jaye onto her side and looked at her back. The bullets seem to have cleared her spinal column, but with no exit wound, he could not be sure. Shockwave opened the portable litter and guided it under Lady Jaye as Stalker instructed him. Lifeline looked Lady Jaye over head to toe keeping note of her wounds as he checked. He reached into his bag and grabbed several dressings. He placed them over her wounds and gently placed her on the litter. Stalker went to work taking her vitals. He wrote the numbers on his arm for lack of a better place to write them. Although Lifeline carried basic medical supplies with him, the one thing that he needed the most was oxygen. He ran his hands over her to feel for any other exit wounds on the front but he could only notice her belly was expanded. He touched it and it was becoming rigid. She was bleeding out. He thought about a bullet hitting her liver, spleen, an artery, or vessel. He needed to get her out of there and to a medical facility. Stalker pulled two IVs from Lifeline's bag. He handed Lifeline one and started one himself. They ran them wide open. She was losing too much blood, but they were running out of options. With no other injuries found, he took his stethoscope to listen to her chest. He was sure he was going to find a collapsed lung from the bullet wound in her upper chest. Lifeline leaned closer to her and heard her trying to tell him something.
"I'm.../so.../cold."
"I know, darling." Lifeline kept his voice steady. He tried not to let his fear come through. He was running out of options. He needed oxygen, a monitor...
"Wha...t's.../happening.../?" She asked him, her voice barely audible. She gasped for a breath.
Lifeline knew that she was becoming disorientated. He looked over at Shockwave. "Get an ETA on that chop, now!"
Shockwave went into the hall and called on his comm. "Five." He yelled back to Lifeline.
"Not fast enough. I need them here yesterday!" Lifeline wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. "Stalker, we need to get her above ground." Lifeline pulled out his AmbuBag and set his laryngoscope and the endotracheal tube near Lady Jaye's head. He knew what was going to come next and he wanted the equipment at hand.
"The way might not be clear." Stalker began to strap Lady Jaye down on the litter. "Firewall and Gung-ho. Plow down anything that moves on the way up. Shockwave you take up the rear. Let's go!"
Lady Jaye lay on the floor. She felt Lifeline place something cold next to her ear but she had no idea what it was. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She was truly scared. She could tell by the way that everyone was acting that she was in far worse shape than they let on. The pain was so intense, more than the other times she had been shot. She wanted someone to hold her hand and tell her that she was okay. She needed Dash desperately. He would make everything alright. He could fix this. Where was he? A sharp pain shot through her chest. She tried to take a breath but couldn't. It felt as if everything in her chest was being crushed.
"Dashiell!" She cried. No sound would come from her throat. She felt herself being lifted up. She looked over at Lifeline who was putting his medical bag on her legs. He walked out of her sight and up near her head. Stalker was by her feet. He looked at her, but she couldn't read his expression. She was being carried through the bunker and up the stairs. She felt the breeze outside and it added to the chills, which she already had. She was so tired yet she fought to stay awake. They placed her on the ground. She heard a chopper nearby and tried to figure how far away it was. How far away Dash was from her. She couldn't see. Everything was blurry every sound more and more distant. Every time she tried to take a breath, she became dizzier. If only she could just close her eyes for a minute...
"Flint is here. He's running over now. Hang in there, okay?" Firewall took her hand again.
Once the chopper landed Flint jumped off and ran to where he saw Lifeline's red jumpsuit. It seemed like forever before he got to there. He could see Lady Jaye on the ground and Lifeline leaning over her. What was left of her uniform shirt and the litter was covered in blood.

Dashiell woke up with a startle. He sat up in his bed and wiped a bead of sweat off his face. "Not again. God, not again," he mumbled. He looked over at the clock; it was 3:30 am. He rubbed his eyes and lay back down. Reaching over, he turned on the radio of his alarm clock to try and keep him awake; but it was no use. His eyes closed and he drifted off again.

"Al, I'm here." Flint pushed Firewall out of the way and took Lady Jaye's hand. "What the fuck happened down there?"
"She was trying to..." Firewall started.
"I wasn't asking you!" Flint snapped back at her. "Stalker, answer me!"
Stalker did not look up at Flint. He pushed Flint's hand away from Lady Jaye. "I can't right now. You need to move."
Flint let go of Lady Jaye's hand and stepped back. Her body began to shake. It looked as if she was trying to get a breath but all they heard was a gurgle. Her chest heaved, and she coughed up a large amount of blood. Lifeline tried to clear her airway. Flint felt as if he was going to pass out. She coughed blood once again. Her eyes which had been open the whole time fluttered as they closed. Lifeline knew that he had no choice now. He wanted to hold off long enough for Lady Jaye to tell Flint that she loved him but her time was running out. He reached for his laryngoscope and the tubing, which he had set next to the ambu bag. He had to intubate her. With the blood that she had just coughed up and more, it took two tries before he got the tube in her throat.
Flint balled his hands into fists and turned away. He couldn't help but think that Lifeline was somehow hurting Lady Jaye. When he turned back around, he looked down at her. She was so pale.
"She's unconscious. She needs blood." Stalker grabbed her wrist to check for a pulse.
"She needs blood, oxygen and a surgeon. Stalker, get over here and hold this end so I can bag her. Firewall you carry the other end! "Lifeline told them as he bagged her.
From behind the bunker, Lifeline heard gunshots. "God, not now! Not now!"
The pilot waved from the chopper.
"We gotta go." Shockwave told Lifeline. "Shipwreck and I will take the front, Spirit and Flint will flank you, Grand-Slam and Gung-Ho, take the rear."
The team made it to the chopper, and once everyone was in, it lifted up from the ground. Once in the air, Lifeline knew that unless he kept breathing for her he would lose her respiration and that her heart wasn't far behind. Stalker took over respiration for Lifeline.
"Flint, come here."
Flint moved closer to Lifeline, keeping a close eye on Lady Jaye.
"Come up here." Lifeline pointed to a place near Lady Jaye's head where Flint could sit. Flint did as he was told. Lifeline grabbed Flint's hand and guided it to Lady Jaye's. The look Lifeline gave Flint was all he needed to know. "I have to call base. Talk to her, she still hears you."
Flint leaned in closer to his wife. He kissed her forehead and smoothed her hair. "I love you. Al, hang on honey. We're almost home. We just need to get you home." He tried to choke back his tears. "Please don't do this, Al. Honey please stay with me. I need you here with me. We promised each other, remember. It's alright, love. We're almost home." Flint looked at Stalker. "She's not going to..." Stalker just looked at Flint not knowing what to tell him. Lifeline took the bag from Stalker and knelt next to Lady Jaye.
Flint turned back to Lady Jaye. "Alison, I am begging you! Hang on, Baby, hang on." He felt her hand squeeze slightly and then go limp. "Allie, no! Do something!" Flint yelled at Lifeline.
"I'm doing all I can, Flint!" Lifeline yelled back.
Lifeline reached for her wrist and could not find a pulse. He knew that it wouldn't help but he started chest compressions anyway.
The rest of the team was huddled near the back of the chopper. In shock they watched in silence. Stalker moved to help Lifeline with CPR.
"Oh my God! This isn't happening!" Firewall said. Shockwave turned her around and pulled her close to him so she wouldn't have to watch.
With every chest compression more blood would fall to the floor. Lifeline knew that he was fighting a losing battle. He stopped the CPR. "I can't, Flint. She's bleeding out." He took a deep breath. "She bled out." He looked down at Lady Jaye. "I'm sorry, honey. I did all I could." He looked over at Flint. "I'm sorry." He mouthed.
Flint tightened his grip on her hand and put his head on hers. "Alison!"

"Alison!" Dash screamed as he sat up. He reached over and tried to feel for her, but she wasn't there. He swung his feet over the bed and stood up. He walked into the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face. When were these nightmares going to end? He left the bathroom light on and sat in the chair which was near the bed. Dash leaned back in the chair and looked out the window. It would not be long before the sun would rise. He looked out into the night and his mind began to wander.

A few minutes passed in silence. Everyone was too shocked to do anything. Gung-Ho had gone into the chopper's emergency kit and retrieved a blanket. Lifeline placed it over Lady Jaye, and Flint tenderly tucked it in. He still sat next her. He held her hand and told her how much he loved her. He would not allow Lifeline to cover her face.
The chopper landed, and there was a medical team waiting for them. Lifeline instructed the team to leave the chopper and that he would follow with Lady Jaye.
Duke was waiting for them. When he saw the looks on the faces of the team as they got off the chopper, he knew that they had lost Lady Jaye. He sent two more medics into the chopper.
"Can you just hang back a minute?" Lifeline told them. He turned to Flint. "I know you don't want to, but let's cover her face and give her dignity, okay?"
Flint shook his head yes.
"You can go with her, I'll tell them you have to."
"I don't want to leave her."
Lifeline took the blanket and lifted it more so he had enough to cover Lady Jaye's head. He motioned for the medics to take the litter to the waiting ambulance.
When the medics had taken Lady Jaye off, Lifeline turned to Flint. "I'm so sorry, Flint. I tried. I did everything I knew, everything I could." Lifeline walked to the door and got off the chopper.
"I know," Flint said after he left.
Flint stood alone in the chopper. He looked down at the floor that was now covered in Lady Jaye's blood. He shook his head.
"Flint?" Duke called into the chopper.
Flint did not answer him.
Duke climbed into the chopper. He noticed the blood but didn't mention it. He walked up to Flint and wrapped his arms around him. He felt Flint's body shake as he began to sob. "I don't have any words."
"Please Conrad just don't say anything." Flint tried to compose himself. "I need to go to her. Now." He pushed past Duke and got out of the chopper.

The sun began to rise and it filled the bedroom with light. Dashiell got up out of the chair and stretched. He tried to get the kink out of his back from sitting for most of the night. Not finding any relief, he lay down on the bed. He heard Caleb downstairs and he knew that he wasn't alone in the house. In a strange way the noise was comforting. He closed his eyes and tried to get some rest. "Guide me in this time of dreams...