Chapter 11: Going home

Late May 2002

"How you feeling?" Drew walked into the base infirmary the next morning to see Evan sitting up, awake but still looking very tired. It wasn't Drew's first visit, just the first one Evan would actually be aware of.

"Like I've been run over by a truck," Evan winced as he shifted, putting a hand to his bandaged shoulder. His voice sounded like he'd been chewing on broken glass and he could use about a gallon of icy water, a rare commodity at Kandahar.

"Want the tally?" Drew asked lightly, sitting in the chair next to the bed.

"Sure, hit me," Evan had been awake before but hadn't really registered what they were telling him.

"Gunshot wound left shoulder, some tendon damage but you should be back to normal a few weeks after it heals, with a little PT," Drew began. He'd resorted to claiming his family connection to Evan to get a full report on his condition, never more grateful that Kandahar base had grown to the point of needing full medical facilities and personnel - without that Evan would have been emergency airlifted to the nearest hospital and his prognosis might not have been so good. "Seventy five stitches across your chest and your leg - that bastard really cut you deep - they had to give you a transfusion for that and the shoulder wound but again, you'll heal. The knife missed most of the vital stuff but you're gonna be limping around for a while yet. Smoke and dust inhalation - it'll be a couple of days before you sound completely like yourself again. Concussion – and I'm guessing a blinding headache – lucky you're so hard headed because you got yourself beat up pretty bad there. You've got an academy award winning black eye too - some other contusions but nothing that's gonna permanently mess up your pretty face." It was all scarily serious and Drew couldn't pretend he'd been worried the whole time Evan had been gone but now that he was safe and Drew could see for himself that his friend was going to be okay he could afford to joke.

"And this?" Evan held up his right arm, heavily bandaged.

"Ah yes, that," Drew shook his head. "You really are a lucky son of a bitch. That's a white phosphorus burn – not third degree thank God but bad enough because you were already wounded. The doc said you were very lucky it didn't get into your blood stream. Instead you've got a few more stitches, some burn treatments to look forward to and then you'll be right. You're gonna have some interesting scars after this is all said and done my friend."

"The door," Evan shook his head ruefully. When Drew raised an eyebrow enquiringly, he explained. "I disappeared most of the door with a little WP - had to make a hasty exit when it was still smoking and I must have scraped my arm on the way through."

"Well, the bad news is it'll be at least a month, maybe more, before they'll let you back on full active duty," Drew said seriously. "The good news is you're going home - they're shipping you out tomorrow."

"You called Elaine?" It wasn't exactly a question - Evan knew he would have. He couldn't have avoided worrying his family - as soon as they'd made the determination that he had to go home they'd have called. They didn't send their soldiers to land on anyone's doorstep without making sure they'd be expected and able to be well taken care of.

"No - I called Grace actually – Elaine's still in Los Angeles but she wasn't there when I rang. Your CO was going to make the call but I requested to do it instead," Drew explained. "I thought your Mom would prefer getting the news that you're coming home injured better from me."

"Right," Evan winced. "How'd she take it?"

"She was quiet for a few seconds and then she asked me to tell her truthfully if I thought you'd really be okay," Drew admitted. "I gave her the rundown so she knows what to expect but don't worry - I told her you'd make a full recovery. And I didn't tell her how you got injured - volunteering for a crazy mission on the ground instead of sticking to the air where you belong."

"Is this the part where you say I told you so?" Evan asked lightly.

"No, this is the bit where I tell you how proud I am of you," Drew smiled as he watched his best friend - his brother in all but blood - actually squirm in embarrassment. "You saved six guys Evan ... six marines who wouldn't have made it without you. To hear them tell it you wiped that whole al-Qaida cell out singlehandedly. You're a hero."

"No I'm not," Evan retorted. "I'm just a guy who had the right information to do the job. And it was the SARs team that saved all of us - I'd have been toast if they hadn't been there at the end."

"Whatever you say," Drew grinned slyly. "Rumour has it they're promoting you to Major."

"When I said all you needed was to do something to distinguish yourself this is hardly what I had in mind," Piper's voice drew Evan's attention to the doorway.

"Hey," he said, motioning her over.

"Hey - nice to see you awake," her tone was casual but Evan could see in her eyes that she'd been worried.

"Nice to be awake," he replied. "Is that true?" he asked.

"The Major thing?" Piper queried. "Yeah, that's the scuttlebutt - not from any official sources of course."

"I'll trust you to can the rumours then," Evan wasn't opposed to eventually being promoted - he hadn't studied for 18 months for nothing - but he wanted it to be for the right reasons.

"Sure," Piper smiled, amused at his unerring modesty. She only refrained from teasing him about it because she could see he was in pain, despite them having him dosed up on the good stuff. It had been a shock when she'd heard how badly he'd been hurt - how far he'd taken his conviction and his sense of responsibility because he'd been the one to spot the WP test in the first place. She'd admired Evan as an officer and considered him a friend for a long time - not that she'd ever admit it to him - but after his latest efforts found herself amazed that she'd still managed to underestimate how determined he could be. The same determination that saw him already recovering much better than she'd have expected. She didn't want to see him leave .... and not because she didn't think they could do as well without him.

"I guess you know they're sending me home," Evan changed the subject gratefully, "leaves you in command of the 389, if my recommendation carries any weight."

"Thanks - we'll see if the powers that be agree," Piper grinned, ducking her head a little at the compliment. "Listen, Major Strathalbyn wants to see you before they pack you off ... if you're up to it?"

"Might as well get it over with," Evan nodded, watching as she put a hand on his arm and then turned and left to report on his status to their CO. "Everyone else was okay?" he turned back to Drew to ask.

"Surprisingly very little damage to anyone other than you," Drew replied. "The marine's are all dehydrated but other than that in very good health. No WP burns," he added before Lorne could ask.

"Good. That's good," Evan shifted, stifling a yawn.

"You look tired, I should let you get some rest."

"Nah - I can sleep on the way home," Evan countered. "It sucks that I'm going back but you're staying," he said.

"If the price for a ticket home is ending up looking like you do right now I'll pass," Drew laughed. "I don't even want to think about the tongue lashing I'd get from Elaine if I came back injured like that."

"She'd be balling all over you," Evan countered.

"Yeah, for the first five minutes," Drew agreed. "Then she'd pull herself together and remember to be angry at me."

"True," Evan grimaced. "Maybe I can sleep through that as well."

Silence fell for a few moments and then Drew let out a sigh. "You'll tell Elaine I miss her right? Every minute of every day."

"Like hell I will," Evan laughed when Drew looked insulted. "You can save that romantic stuff for your letters buddy."

"You're an ass, you know that right?" Drew grumbled.

"I'll tell her what she needs to hear," Evan grew serious, his eyes watching his friend until Drew looked up and nodded.

"Thanks."

"It won't be free buddy - when she asks you to tell her how I got injured you'll spin her whatever you have to so she believes it was just unlucky okay," Evan bartered. "I don't want her or my Mom knowing the specifics."

"I can do that," Drew agreed - he'd had no intention of telling either woman how close Evan had come to dying out there. He didn't need the full story from his friend - he'd already gotten it from Sergeant Green when he'd met the marine hovering around outside the infirmary the night before. The man had talked as he'd paced, both of them waiting for word that Evan was okay, telling Drew a story he could hardly equate with the Evan he knew. Sure, he'd always known Evan was capable and determined - smart too - Drew just hadn't expected that Evan would do so well in such a hands on combat situation.

"Captain," Major Strathalbyn stopped just inside the door, looking to both men to see if he was interrupting.

"I was just about to leave Sir," Drew said, straightening and nodding respectfully. "I'll see you later," he promised Evan before taking his leave.

"Sir," Lorne greeted the older man as he approached, instinctively straightening even in his hospital bed.

"Captain," the Major smiled. "Nice to see you looking better."

"Thank you Sir," Lorne wasn't sure what he'd expected when Piper said their CO wanted to see him - but this casual conversation hadn't been it.

"We'll need to debrief you before you leave but I've already been given most of the story from Sergeant Green and Lieutenant Chang," Strathalbyn began. "The biggest question on everyone's lips is what the hell did you do to that facility?" His eyes were actually twinkling as he waited for a reply.

"Pretty much what we planned Sir," Lorne explained. "They were taken in by the 'deserter' cover - I gave them Jaghori and the leader went for it enough to throw me in a cell inside the facility. The tools the special ops guys provided me came in handy - I went the wrong way though and ended up in the WP storage room instead of finding our missing marines."

"So you set up the malfunction anyway," the Major asked curiously.

"Had to - wasn't sure I'd get another chance," Evan admitted. "There were five vats - big ones Sir - that's a lot of WP. I started them all draining out the stabiliser, set the charges and then went back to find our guys. I eliminated two guards, freed everyone and then we approached the entrance."

"How'd you know it was guarded from the outside?"

"I didn't, not really," Evan shrugged, forgetting about his injured shoulder and wincing as the pain reminded him. "I'd had enough time with the lead al-Qaida soldier to have a fair guess though. He'd put most of his defences into ensuring that no one could get in and therefore out of that place."

"So you went back for some of the phosphorus and used it to burn out the door," Strathalbyn concluded.

"Yes Sir," Evan continued his explanation. "It was the only thing I could think of - we couldn't risk using their radios to contact our SAR's team without alerting the Afghans that we had people on the outside. It worked - we got out and got clear before the facility blew." He carefully left out the part where he'd detonated while still technically being in the building .... in hind sight that didn't sound like the actions of a sane and responsible officer. "Unfortunately their leader managed to get clear - he confronted me in the trees, we fought and I was pretty much losing until Sergeant Green arrived and took care of things."

"And that's it?" the Major asked, brow raised.

"That's it," Lorne agreed. "It all happened pretty fast at the end there Sir. I trust we went back and checked there's no way they can start up manufacture again?"

"We did - all you left was a smoking hole - you took out half the mountainside," Strathalbyn almost grinned as Evan's eyes widened in surprise.

"I set one of the charges on the outer wall, where I thought it would be closest to the edge of the mountain," he admitted. "I was thinking the more air the better, since that was all we needed to set the WP off."

"Well it was good thinking Captain," his CO complimented him. "I'll be writing a formal commendation to go in your record."

"Thank you Sir," Lorne said gratefully.

"You earned it - more than," Strathalbyn hesitated before speaking again. "I should have listened closer when you first raised the WP as a possibility - we'd have handled things much differently and I don't think you'd be lying there in that hospital bed if I had."

"It's okay Sir," Evan excused. "Under the same circumstances I might have doubted the information as well."

"That's very generous of you Captain," the Major returned. "That will teach me to consider every service person as an individual instead of putting them into boxes depending on what their basic role is."

"In all honesty I can't believe it myself Sir - that something I studied mostly for interest actually ended up being useful in the field," Evan offered.

"And just as well for all of us that you did," Major Strathalbyn concluded. "You concentrate on getting yourself better Captain - you'd be a valuable asset anywhere but I hope to see you back here if that's what you want as well."

"Thank you Sir," Lorne watched as the other man nodded and then left him to his thoughts. Not that he really knew how to tie up the events of the past days in his mind. There were things there he wasn't up to thinking about - resolving his part in eliminating who knew how many al-Qaida soldiers, men who'd died by his own hand. Leaving his team behind while he got an early ticket home.

Yawning widely, Evan shifted to lie back down, closing his eyes tiredly. Between one breath and the next he was asleep.

It wasn't quite right. As Lorne considered the piece in front of him he worked out the problem. The eyes - they weren't right. Dabbing his brush in the small jar of water at his side and then swirling it against the brown circle of paint, he tested the colour and then carefully dabbed it where needed. Settling back he considered the results - much better.

He was sitting on a bed in the infirmary at Ramstein Air Base in Germany waiting for his flight back to the States and had been delayed for a number of hours. And all at once he'd known what he wanted to do with that time. Rummaging through his bag had been a painful exercise but he'd eventually found what he was looking for, scrounging the jar and water from one of the nurses. Then he'd cycled through his sketchpad, looking for the right picture to use.

Rather than paint a watercolour from scratch he'd decided to adorn one of his sketches instead ... a new approach for him that would hopefully result in something special enough that Elaine would forgive him anything. The activity had absorbed him, soothed him, and reminded him anew of why he loved the practice of painting even though he hadn't taken it up as a career. Watercolours weren't his medium, he preferred acrylics and oils but for what he wanted to create this time they were perfect. It was awkward with his left arm in a sling and his right heavily bandaged but he persisted until it was done.

Deciding it was as good as he could make it, Evan packed away his supplies, got rid of the used water and then went back to waiting. The picture had dried and been carefully stowed before finally a nurse came to escort him to the plane. He'd tried to argue that he was well enough to travel without a medical chaperone but had been overruled - for some reason arriving back with someone having to hold his hand was more humiliating than turning up injured.

The flight was long and tedious and he made every effort to sleep through most of it .... difficult as it was to get comfortable, even with the pain killers he was on. And then he was home, landing and having the further indignity of riding a wheelchair to the public terminal at LAX. As soon as he spotted Elaine and his Mom none of that mattered - he was grinning as they caught sight of him, both of them rushing to meet him.

"Mom, Sis," he got up from the wheelchair and limped the few steps needed to gather them up and hug them both close, not caring that it hurt a little. All three stood in a tight circle, the two women crying. There was a hint of moisture in Evan's own eyes as he finally stepped back and looked at them.

"Oh Evan," his Mom reached up and put a hand to his bruised cheek, shaking her head as she took in his appearance. His black eye was as bad as Drew had predicted - even after a few days it was still mostly dark purple with hints of yellow and green just emerging. He had a few cuts and scrapes on his face as well and he could see his Mom carefully cataloguing each.

"I'm okay," he felt compelled to reassure her.

"You're not!" she admonished him, softening as she smiled. "But you will be now you're here for me to look after."

"I'm not a baby Mom - I can take care of myself," Evan protested.

"Of course you can dear," Grace smiled, that awful nervous feeling she'd carried inside since Drew had rung to tell her Evan was hurt finally easing. Her boy really was going to be fine. She couldn't completely relax - Drew was her boy now too and he was still over there, still risking his life to do his job - but having Evan home made it somewhat easier to bear. "Talk to your sister while I chat with the nurse," she said firmly, moving away before he could protest. No way was she going to take his word on what continuing care and medication was required.

"And with that you're reduced back to child status," Elaine murmured, taking his hand and squeezing it tightly.

"Yeah," Evan looked down at her with a sudden grin. "It's kind of nice - but don't tell her I said that."

"Wouldn't dream of it," his sister agreed. She took her own turn at looking him over, seeing for herself that he'd heal and return to being the brother she relied on to be around. It had shaken her, how much she counted on him - not to help on a daily basis but just to be there, like he was her anchor just because he was somewhere in the world being Evan Lorne. Having that threatened had unsettled her at a time when she was already struggling with the unfamiliar. "It's so good to see you," she said softly, clutching his hand even tighter.

"You too," he pulled her closer, hugging her again. When he let her go he could see that she was still struggling to reign in her emotions. "What - no reprimands that I wasn't careful like I promised?" he teased.

"Not today," Elaine grinned. "I'm saving them up for later."

"Right, well I'll look forward to that," Evan muttered. His Mom was still talking to the nurse, nodding and asking questions in a way that had him just a little worried.

"Drew?" Elaine's voice was hesitant and hopeful, that one word holding a multitude of questions.

"He's doing great," Evan said firmly. "Misses you like crazy - in fact he almost drove me crazy with his puppy dog pitiful-ness."

"He did not!" Elaine slapped at his hand lightly, smiling now.

"Okay, maybe not," Evan agreed. "He wouldn't admit it but I could always tell when he was thinking about you - we spent a lot of time together so I know it was pretty much all the time."

"Oh, that's so sweet!" Elaine hugged him again, only letting him go when he grumbled that she was hurting him.

"He'll be home soon," Evan pointed out.

"I know ... it's just," Elaine hesitated.

"It's just what?" Evan prompted her to continue.

"I was going to wait to tell you," Elaine looked at him and suddenly her expression was one he'd never seen before. She looked happy ... and scared ... and somehow mysterious.

"Tell me what?" he frowned.

"You're going to be an Uncle ... before Christmas according to my due date."

"Excuse me?" Evan blinked, not sure he'd understood.

"I'm pregnant Evan," Elaine repeated patiently.

"But ...," Evan trailed off, not sure he wanted to get into a mathematical discussion centred around how long Drew had been overseas.

"It happened just before Drew left," she shook her head, smiling at his confusion. "I didn't find out until recently."

"Does he know?"

"Not yet."

Evan watched as she seemed to deflate a little, that look of happiness dropping away a little.

"It's not the kind of thing you tell someone in an email," Evan understood her position immediately. Pulling her close again he pressed a kiss to her hair. "Leave it with me Sis ... I'll make a few calls, see if I can get you a direct phone call."

"Really?" Elaine perked up immediately, turning shining eyes up to her brother.

"I think I can call in a favour or two," Evan promised.

"Thank you!" Elaine pressed her face to her brother's chest, tears coming too easily. "I'm sorry," she said, sniffing them back. "I always thought getting more emotional was just a pregnancy myth."

"Apparently not," Evan got another smack on the hand for that one. "An Uncle before Christmas huh?" He couldn't have described how he felt inside at that news. His little sister was going to be mother?

"Think you're up to it?" Elaine challenged teasingly.

"I think I can handle it," Evan shot back. "Don't I get the good job? You know – take the kid out, let them eat whatever they want and then dump them back with Mom and Dad."

"You're not doing that to my child Evan," Elaine said sternly.

"Look at you, going all Mom on me!" Evan laughed, throwing his 'good' arm around her and squeezing her tight. "I'm really happy for you Sis – you and Drew. You're gonna be great parents."

"I hope so," Elaine went from happy to sad again in a moment, her thoughts clearly on her husband again.

"I have something for you," Evan offered gently.

"Did you finally paint me a watercolour?" Elaine teased, letting him distract her.

"Something like that," Evan agreed, grabbing his bag and removing the picture sealed between two pieces of cardboard. Handing it to her he added "Don't get too excited .... it's just a little something I did on the way home but I hope it was worth your efforts getting that stuff over to me."

Elaine said nothing, all her attention fixed on what he'd given her. Carefully pulling away the tape holding the card together, she lifted the top piece and then just stopped, staring. Her silence went on so long that Evan felt compelled to make excuses.

"I couldn't do a full water colour Sis - it just wasn't the right environment for it," he explained.

"Shush," Elaine looked at him briefly ... her eyes were brimming with tears she brushed away absently as she looked back at his work.

He'd chosen a sketch he'd done of Drew one day after they'd challenged Scott and Ryan to a volleyball rematch. Drew had played particularly well and his spirits had been high. They'd settled at a table set up for outside drinks and Lorne had taken out his sketch book. Drew had smiled and then just sat with him, watching the world - as it was on base - go by. Evan had looked around for a subject and then his eyes had returned to his friend. There had been a look in the other man's eyes – longing, with the hint of happy memories being taken out and examined - and Lorne had tried to capture that.

"Evan," she touched a finger to the pencil and watercolour image of her husband almost reverently, and then looked up at her brother. "This is ... I don't have the words. It's wonderful. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Evan smiled, accepting her one armed hug as she held her prize carefully clear.

"Mom, look what Evan did," Elaine pulled away to show Grace.

"Great, now I'm in for it," Evan muttered, knowing his Mom wouldn't rest until she had him painting in her studio at home - therapy she'd call it. He listened to them chattering over the sketch, thanking the nurse for helping him get home and then waited, watching the two of them fondly until they remembered that he was there.

"Time to go home?" Grace finally looked from Elaine to her son.

"Yeah," Evan smiled, falling into step between his family. "Let's go home."

The End.

Authors Note:

Okay, so this obviously hasn't brought the story all the way to the beginning of Forlorn Hope BUT that's because I ended up splitting one long story into smaller parts - you'll see why when I post the next part. It's mostly done too and I'll start posting in a couple of days. Thanks to those who faithfully read and reviewed each chapter of Campaign Kandahar - the support is very much appreciated. Thanks to everyone else for reading too .... if you wanted to let me know what you thought of this story, it's never too late to leave me a review!