“I’m okay,” Avery insisted.
Rex couldn’t help but snort. He caught the surgeon’s eye, and they shared a look of disbelief and amusement.
“Right. I’ll leave you in this sailor’s capable hands then. Oh, and, Lieutenant Nelson?”
“Yes, Sir?” she asked, turning to face him.
“Good job out there. You did everything exactly right. Petty Officer First Class Dalton is going to have a full recovery. It’s my professional opinion that if you’d put a tourniquet on his leg, it would’ve stopped the bleeding, but it also could’ve damaged some of his other arteries and veins.”
“Thank you, Sir. But to be honest, I didn’t really think too much about it one way or another. I just reacted and grabbed onto his leg, and that artery, and refused to let go. I knew we weren’t too far from the base, especially with the speed the pilot was flying, and it would’ve been more complicated to put on the tourniquet than to just hold him until we arrived,” Avery said, brushing off his praise.
“Which makes it even more impressive. It’s good to have you back safe and sound,” the doctor said. He nodded at them both, then turned and headed down the hall to change out of his bloody scrubs.
“Avery?” Rex asked.
“Phantom’s going to be okay. The doctor talked through everything he found and was doing while he repaired the artery. He thinks he’ll be as good as normal in about three weeks or so, which is pretty darn amazing. He’ll have to take it easy, which will be hard for him, I think, but I’m sure you and the others will do what you can to keep him entertained while he’s off duty.”
“Avery,” Rex repeated.
“He doesn’t think there’s any reason why he can’t leave tomorrow, but it’ll probably need to be later in the afternoon, not the morning. The doc wants to check him out and make sure his stitches are holding before he’ll discharge him.”
“Avery, stop for a second,” Rex said.
She ignored him. “But since I’ll be on the flight with him, at least I think that’s what you said, I told the doctor that I could keep an eye on him and if anything goes wrong, like his blood pressure bottoms out or something, I can do what needs to be done until we can land and get him to a hospital in Germany, or somewhere close to wherever we are at the time.”
Rex was done. He grabbed her and picked her up.
“Cole! What are you doing? Put me down!” She threw her arms around his neck and held on tightly as he strode down the narrow hallway.
“What am I doing?” he asked. “Taking you out of here so you can do exactly what the doctor ordered. Get some food, a shower, and sleep.”
“I can walk!” she protested. “And I wanted to wait until Phantom woke up to make sure he’s all right.”
“Ace and Bubba are staying here with him tonight. They’ll be at his side the second he wakes up. Rocco and Gumby are going to be staying in the same room as us, just to make sure you’re safe. It’s all been organized.”
She stopped squirming in his arms and sighed, but didn’t protest further. She wasn’t exactly relaxed, but she also wasn’t fighting him anymore, which he appreciated. Ignoring the strange looks they got as Rocco pushed open the door to the medical building, Rex strode with determination toward the mess hall.
They were too late for dinner, but Gumby had pulled some strings and arranged for a hot meal to be ready for Avery. There were a few groups of both army and navy personnel using the mess hall, playing cards or just hanging out, and they all stared as Rex entered with Avery in his arms.
“Welcome back, Lieutenant!” someone yelled, and the sentiment was echoed across the room by most of the men and women there.
Rex saw Avery blush, and he knew he’d never get tired of seeing the pink bloom in her cheeks. He put her on her feet next to an empty table and said sternly, “Sit. Gumby’s getting your dinner.”
“What about you?” she asked.
“I’m good.”
“Oh, no,” Avery protested. “Don’t think I wasn’t aware that you were standing outside the door the entire time Phantom was being worked on. You need to eat too.”
He didn’t want to feel the warmth spreading throughout him at her concern, but he did anyway. Rex was well aware she’d probably say the same thing to anyone who she felt needed nutrition, but he suspected it was more than that.
“I’ll eat an MRE when we’re in our sleeping quarters.”
She frowned at him and got a mulish look on her face. Rex held up a hand to forestall her protests. “I’m not the one who hasn’t had a real meal in two weeks. I’m fine. Promise. Humor me, Avery. The last thing you need is to get sick right now and collapse. We might have gotten you out of the desert, but that doesn’t mean the danger you’re in has been eradicated. I have a feeling the next few days—and even weeks, if this guy proves elusive—will be harder on you than you realize.”
“Fine,” she said on a sigh. “But anything I don’t eat, you’re welcome to.”
Rex didn’t answer that. He had a feeling if he agreed, she’d stop eating way before she was full just to make sure he ate.
Gumby arrived with a tray of food and placed it on the table in front of Avery. Then he took the seat on her other side.
Avery picked up a fork, but hesitated before digging into the high-protein, high-carb meal in front of her. “Are you guys going to stare at me the entire time I’m eating? Because if you are, you can just take yourselves somewhere else until I’m done.”
Gumby chuckled. “Sorry, Red, can’t help it.”
“Red?” she said under her breath. “Seriously?”
“Hey, it fits,” Gumby replied with a laugh.
“I suppose I’ve been called worse,” Avery concurred. “But I’m serious, don’t stare at me or I’ll never get this down.”
“Right. So how about if I tell you what’s been going on while you, Rex, and Phantom have been out camping?”
Avery rolled her eyes at the camping quip, but nodded.
“So, Ace and Bubba made contact with a Delta Force team who arrived here on base and let them know what you said about the convoy. They were sent here to try to find the terrorists who killed the two privates, as well as to try to track down the missing weapons from the convoy. They’re very interested in talking with you about the Afghani man you said spoke English.”
Avery swallowed the mouthful of mashed potatoes she’d just eaten and turned to Gumby. “How in the world do they know about him already? I mean, I’ve only been back on base a few hours.”
“Remember when Phantom called in to set the extraction point?” Rex asked. After she nodded, he shrugged. “He gave Rocco a rundown of everything you said happened, and what happened in the river as well.”
“About that,” Gumby said, and Avery turned back to him. “We’ve all thought about drowning Rex a time or two, but we appreciate you saving his ass like you did.”
Rex saw the sheen of pink blossom over her cheeks once more and did his best to hide his smile.
“It wasn’t that big of a deal,” she protested.