Little Shadow in the Snow

I wasn't out for very long, but by the time I came to, blood had stopped flowing down my face. I couldn't be sure if it was because it had clotted or frozen. 

I was cradled against Ghost's chest. Soap was on his left. We were on the snowmobiles. I had ridden in with Soap so there wasn't going to be one left behind to give us away. Then again, ten dead bodies may not help our odds. They would need to be dealt with as soon as possible. They would be noticed missing, but they wouldn't be assumed to have been attacked by wolves if they had been killed by bullets. I would need to tell them. They needed to get back to bring the bodies here so we could burn them. 

God, the paperwork I would need to fill out tomorrow...

Next, I awoke was because of the commotion of the men getting off the snowmobiles and yelling orders at each other to get me inside and batten down the hatches or something. The snow was coming back with a fury. 

I'd never felt so fragile as I did in Ghost's arms in that moment. Small. Broken. Tattered. Tired. 

"Shadow!"

I looked up at him. I couldn't see him in the dark. His eyes were hidden in shadows. I could only tell he was concerned by the tone of his voice. It sounded angry, but it wasn't.

"Gho-" I tried to respond but choked on my own skin and blood.

"You fucking idiot! You can't speak don't even fucking try or I'll keep you knocked out for the next fucking month!" 

He shook me a bit as he said it. Then he kept moving towards the sofa, his own sickbed not two weeks before. I grabbed his collar to make him look down at me. I shook my head and raised a hand to point toward the bathroom. 

He obeyed. He set me down in the tub before turning to go get my medical supplies. I began removing my layers. The tactical gear was exceedingly difficult to get off, but I managed to shed the bulk of it before Ghost scrambled back in laiden with supplies. I didn't see any water on him so I motioned drinking with my hands. 

"Water?"

I nodded. He dumped everything beside the bathtub and stumbled out in his rush to get that water. When he returned, I had nearly all my gear off, and what remained I would need help with or even have to be cut out of so nothing touched my face. My shirt certainly would. I clutched the bottle and attempted to unscrew the cap, but I couldn't for my frozen fingers and trembling hands. He gently took it from me and opened it. Instead of handing it back to me, he gently cupped the back of my head.

"I can't let it touch your lips and you can't create suction in your mouth so we're gonna have to pour it down your throat, yeah?"

I held his gaze and nodded allowing him to gently pull my head back and slowly tip the bottle. I guzzled as much down as humanly possible. Blood mingled with it and a bit of tissue that was still tearing off. I was grateful that it was going straight down my throat so I didn't have to taste it. Of course, some escaped my mouth and trickled out through new openings and down my neck. When the bottle was half empty he pulled it away for a moment and forced me to breathe before I gripped his wrist and forced him to pour again. Nothing made you thirsty like blood loss. 

Once that was finished, he gave a short stroke to the back of my head before throwing the bottle away. I reached out to him, making him turn back. I gestured to my clothing and remaining gear.

"Shadow we need to get that cleaned-"

I leveled him with a glare. He nodded. I sat up a bit to help him reach my back. He was gentle. I noticed some of his short caresses and lingering touches. In most of his movements, I could recognize my own methods of helping him when he had been in this tub.