Chapter 11 – Unspoken Words

The silence was oddly comforting. Even more so than it had been previously. It made staying awake a much harder task than Jack had hoped for. But he managed with only the occasional drooping of his eyelids. Not wanting to leave before Sam had woken once more, Jack was relieved when she eventually started to rouse from her deep sleep.

The suns had started to set. Deep red, yellow, and orange swathes of light moved across the entrance of the cave that was their secluded shelter. Every so often it threatened to break through into the darkness they hid in, but never quite managed it. The air started to cool and with it the smell of damp intensified. Somewhere in the back of his mind Jack realised that meant water was nearby and he was encouraged by that thought. Not everything was going against them.

In the end it was the growing chill in the air that caused Sam to stir. Tongue licking dry lips; her face scrunched up as she slowly lifted her head off of Jack's shoulder. It definitely hadn't been a good position to end up in, as she now had a sore neck, but at the time she hadn't had much choice. Sam groaned quietly as she started to straighten. Stretching out her back, neck and arms as the events of the day slowly came back to her. Blinking, she looked around the cave that had become her sanctuary and suddenly became aware, again, of the burning pain in her leg. It wasn't as intense as it had been earlier but she was in no hurry to test the strength or stamina of her leg just yet.

"Here," Jack spoke softly as he offered Sam some water. "You need to stay hydrated. Work on getting some of your strength back. We ain't out of the woods yet."

"Literally," Sam said, trying a small joke in the hopes that it might lessen some of Jack's clear concern.

Jack pursed his lips as he turned to face Sam. Normally he'd come back with some retort of his own for that poor excuse of a joke but he couldn't bring himself to tease her back. Maybe something had changed between them after all. Letting out a soft huff, Jack shook those thoughts out of his head and tried to focus on the issues at hand. Moving to kneel next to Sam, now that she didn't need to lean on him, Jack started to move the sleeping bag that was covering the Major in order to reassess the damage.

"I need to check your dressings. Should probably change them too," he said matter-of-factly, trying to fill the silence that he'd inadvertently created.

Sam gave Jack a quizzical look as she held the water bottle in one hand and used her free hand to help him move the coverings, all the while wondering what was going on in the head of the man next to her.

Working as quickly and carefully as possible, Jack undid the old dressings and used his torch to get a better look at the wound before using fresh gauze and bandages from his pack to redress Sam's leg.

"Not too bad, least it's stopped bleeding. Still be better if we worked on getting you home as soon as possible."

"Sir? What's the matter?" Sam said with a furrowed brow, unsure why Jack was acting so weird around her suddenly.

"What?" Jack's head lifted up to look Sam in the eyes. One look in them and he realised he hadn't been as good at concealing his thoughts as he had hoped. "Oh, nothin'. Just not a fan of you getting shot."

Or what that's doing to me, he thought.

Sam nodded, understanding his feelings. She would feel the same if their roles were reversed. There was more to be said, Sam could sense that, but she left it for now. It would involve a difficult conversation that neither of them were ready to broach right now. Not to mention it would only be a distraction from their more pressing situation.

Jack sat back on his heels once Sam was covered up again. Rocking back and forth as he thought through the plan he had been creating while Sam had been sleeping. He knew Sam would object, again, but he couldn't see another way around it. He'd find it a lot easier to sneak around without his injured team member. Jack had to try and keep them both as safe as possible.

"You're still going out on your own, aren't you?" Sam said calmly but with concern in her eyes.

"How is it sometimes I think you can read my mind?" Jack said as his eyes shot back towards Sam.

"I just know how your mind works. I know how you work," Sam said, the second phrase spoken softly and with a deep emotion behind the words.

Jack took Sam's hand and brought it up to his face so he could gently kiss the inside of her wrist.

"I won't be long. Someone has to go, and it can't be you. I'll stick to the treeline. More places to hide. They won't know I'm there," he tried to reassure Sam as he watched the woman chew her bottom lip in thought, something he'd always found very attractive.

Letting her head fall back, it was Sam's turn to huff as she came to the conclusion that Jack wasn't going to take no for an answer. There was also a small part of her that agreed with him. The professional soldier within her that had been a quieter voice in her head most recently. Logically, Sam knew they couldn't stay there forever. They had to move. They had to find a way home. She had to let him go.

"Alright. You're right," she finally agreed. "I don't think this is something we can wait out."

Jack finally smiled the first smile he'd had since Sam had woken up. It wasn't often he heard those words from Sam and the childish part of him was far too happy to hear them. Looking towards the entrance of the cave, he noted that it was almost completely black outside. The suns had set without them noticing.

Standing up, Jack stretched his back before starting to gather what he needed for his night time reconnaissance. He left Sam his sleeping bag and medical supplies, figuring she would be in more need of them than him. Jack also threw a couple of ration packs her way – wanting to make sure she would be fine while he was gone.

"Make sure you stay warm. No fire. Can't risk attracting any unwanted attention," Jack instructed, motioning to the extra sleeping bag. "And make sure you eat and drink. Get some energy back so you're ready to move once I'm back," he said with what he hoped was a reassuring smile. Potentially a little too optimistic but they needed to keep morale as high as possible if they were to survive this.

"Sure," Sam agreed, too worried about Jack to really contribute to the conversation.

"Hey," Jack nudged Sam's uninjured leg with his foot as he put his lighter pack on and armed himself. "It'll be okay."

"I know. Go." Sam spoke with a small, forced, smile of her own. The sooner Jack left the sooner he would be back.

Nodding, Jack gave Sam one last look. Pausing, he gazed deeply into her eyes as he tried to convey emotions he wasn't ready to voice. All the unspoken words he wanted to say. Jack prayed he would be alive later to say them. He hoped one look would be enough. With one more breath, Jack turned and made his way out of the cave and into the dark, cold night.

N.B.

Hello everyone. Firstly I want to apologise for keeping everyone waiting for so long. Secondly, I want to thank everyone who has waited and wants to know how this story will end. It's truly amazing knowing that people like my story.

The one good thing about lockdown is I've finally got the time to write again. I have a plan of where the story is going and time so hopefully no one will have to wait too long for the next update.

Thanks again!