Chapter Text
"Captain, you should check this out." Umber Eyes calls.
He looks up from a crumbling pile of rubble towards the man crouching the edge of clearing. Inhaling deeply from his cigarette he stands, trudging towards the clearing Umber was investigating.
"What is it?" He asks, not particularly willing to look at something that could be one of those weird looking Lycans corpses. Umber had pointed out over six of them.
"It's...a person?" Umber says, holding out his sniper rifle. Chris doesn't bother taking it, simply squinting at the pake figure leaned against a tree across the clearing. Didn't look like a Lycan.
"I'll check it out. Eyes on me, might be a B.O.W." He says, putting his cigarette back in his mouth and crossing the clearing, clicking the safety off of his gun as he walks.
It had been almost three months since blowing the Village sky high. Anything out here still living wasn't natural and had to be taken out. Though those instances of survivors were blissfully few, all of them had been disturbing half dead half molded creatures on the brink of maddness. He drops his cigarette in the snow and stomps it our, raising his gun and pointing it at the pale figure. It was incredibly human looking, and completely naked. Sickly skin striking against the frosted earth brown tree bark. It was curled in on itself, hugging it's knees but not shivering. Maybe it was already dead? Some hiker that got lost perhaps. A stick cracks under his boot and the blond head shoots up.
His breath catches in his chest, and he clicks the safety on.
"Ethan?" He whispers, breath misting in the freezing temperatures.
A small smile appears on the mans face, eyes shining with tears. Many had already been shed judging by the streaks all over his face.
"You can't finish the job." Ethan whispers, "Nothing can."
"Lobo get the evac chopper in now with a med unite in stand by." Chris says into his radio as he crouches infront of Ethan, "Umber Eyes stand down."
"Did she make it?" Ethan's voice is soft, defeated. So tired and broken it hurts to hear.
"They did. Both are at a safe house with tighter security." He assures the man, setting his gun aside so he can shrug off his coat, "Can you stand? Are you hurt?"
The man nods slowly, eyes drifting away from Chris towards the ground as he takes a deep breath. Slowly he uncurls and stands up without assistance. Chris quickly drapes his coat over Ethan's shoulders before grabbing his gun. Without the bulk of Ethan's usual sweaters it hangs off him. The hem goes down past his waist at least, giving him a bit of decency.
"What did you find?" Lobo's voice crackles over the radio.
"I found Winters." He replies, barely able to believe the words he says despite looking directly at the man.
"Holy shit." Lobo's voice is in awe.
He rests his hand on Ethan's lower back, attempting to offer support even though the man doesn't seem to need it as they walk across the clearing. He sees Umber's expression morph into shock as they pass, he was staring at a literal ghost. Ethan pulls the coat close, bare feet crunching the frost covered ground. They wouldn't have any spare clothes, would they? He motions for Umber Eye's to come over so he can whisper low enough for Ethan not to hear.
"See if you can get something warm for him to wear."
"Yes sir!"
Already he can hear the roar of the chopper lowering itself into the designated LZ. Cold wind buffets then as they approach the vehicle hovering a few feet above the ground. Lobo and Night Howl are waiting on the helicopter, staring at Ethan with equally shocked expressions. Chris grabs the man under his arms and lifts him into the vehicle before jumping in behind. He gives a thumbs up and the pilot immeditly takes off as Ethan stumbles into one of the seats while Chris closes the door. A medic sits next to him and starts doing a basic check of his vitals. At least having the decency to pass Ethan a shock blanket for his lower half.
The man is silent through this. The medic asks some questions, but Ethan only nods or shakes his head to most. Chris takes a seat next to Ethan, letting out a sigh and rubbing his temples.
He suddenly has a lot more work to do. Somehow. Against all odds, Ethan is alive. There was a chance he was Miranda in disguise, but the woman struck her as too vain to take the form of a man.
"Ethan, hey, look at me."
Slowly the man turns his head over to Chris. Dull lifeless eyes meet his own and he chokes on his words. Chest burning with sympathy for this man. Righteous fury at all who wronged him. He wasn't a soldier, a weapon, he was a man who cared so much for his family he died for them.
"We're gonna take you to our headquarters, not BSAA. We're gonna make sure your okay, and then we're gonna take you to see Rosy."
Just like that humanity appears on Ethan's face. A smile, so small and wane it has to be genuine. Chris smiles back at him reassuringly.
"You'll be back home in no time, I promise." Chris assures, pulling out his phone and opening the photo app, "Look, here's your baby girl."
He shows Ethan a picture he had taken of Rosemary. She was in a special section of the lab for a monthly check up, holding those stupid blocks with numbers and letters on them. Behind her were Tundra and Lobo's, combat boots a stark contrast against the carpet of letters and numbers.
"Thank you." Ethan replies, taking the phone in shaking hands to stare at the picture of his child. His body wracked in soft sobs, "Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet, Ethan." He says, "You're going to feel a lot worse before you get better."
The man nods, pulling his coat closer to his shaking shoulders. He tells the pilot to set a course for their temporary look out point near the old Winter safe house. There wasn't a trusted hospital nearby, but thankfully Ethan didn't seem to need serious medical attention. In fact he looked too fine for a man that had been dead for months.
"You're pulse is slow." The medic says, "And your body temperature is hypothermia levels. But you're reactions are normal, and you're not dead yet."
Ethan laughs at that, handing his phone back only to bury his face in his hands. Unsure of what to do or say Chris just watches the man fall apart.
"Winters." Umber Eyes says carefully, "Are you hungry?"
"...I don't know." Ethan mumbles, "I didn't feel cold until Chris put this on me and now I'm freezing. If I eat now I'll probably be starving."
He exchanges a look with Umber Eyes and leans closer to Ethan, tentatively wrapping an arm around the man in an attempt to warm him up in the cold chopper. He's not pushed away.
"What do you remember?"
Under him Ethan takes a slow breath and he feels his shoulder barely rise and fall in a shrug.
"I...I don't know. It was all dark, there was nothing for...for so long. And then I was awake. Sitting under that tree." Ethan's voice was low, barely audible over the hum of the chopper, "I thought I was in hell. Then I saw you and..."
The man trails off, pressing his palms against his eyes and taking deep breaths.
"You knew it was hell, huh?" He attempts to joke, causing Ethan to break into weak cries again.
"Sorry."
"What am I?"
"You're a good man, Ethan." Chris whispers to him, "And you're going to be okay."
"Will I see Rose?"
"Yes, you'll see her as soon as I can get you to her. I promise."
Ethan mumbles something under his breath, leaning into Chris's side. The man was obviously drained beyond measure. What he said was all he had the strength to share and he wasn't going to push him any further with questions. He motions Lobo over, speaking quietly to the man when he comes.
"Try to keep this on a need to know basis. I don't want this getting out until we can figure out what's going on with him. As far as anyone's concerned we found a suspect in the Village and we are interrogating them. Have someone set up a temporary room ASAP."
"Yes sir." Lobo nods, standing up and speaking into his radio.
The helicopter starts to descend slowly. He looks over at Ethan, surprised to see the man sound asleep. Gently he shakes his shoulder and gets no response. The last thing he wanted to do was disturb Ethan's well deserved rest. Once the helicopters jolts to a landing Chris carefully gathers the sleeping man in his arms and lifts him with little difficulty. He makes sure Ethan's head is resting comfortably against his chest before he drops to the ground. Carrying him towards the stretcher that the medical unite brought out and laying him across it. He makes sure the blankets given to him in the helicopter are fully covering him before nodding to the medical unites. They start to wheel him away. After a bit of hesitation he follows after them. Just in case Ethan wakes up and goes haywire. Or wakes up and needs someone there for him.
The staff wheel him into a private hospital room. Transferring him from the gurney to the bed. Knowing that he won't be much help while they set up he leaves them be. Going to his dorm area to shower, change, and grab his laptop. Mentally drafting the report he would have to write for this mission. By the time he gets back to the room Ethan has been hooked up to a heart monitor and IV drip. Chris grabs a wooden chair and drags it over to the mans bedside. He props his laptop on the mans bed and starts typing out his report to the steady beep of Ethan's heartbeat.
He looks at the man in the bed, noticing that his face was still streaked with dirt. A glance around the room reveals a box of tissues and pitcher of water. Rising he takes a few of the tissues and wets them, kneeling by Ethan's side to gently wipe the dirt off his face. Eventually someone will clean him or he would be able to take a shower.
Without the layer of dirt on his face it's even more telling that Ethan looked very well for a man that had allegedly been blown to bits. He had a few ideas as to how Ethan was alive, assuming he isn't Miranda of course, but if those theories are to be believed then Ethan was very dangerous. Not just to physically but if the wrong person was able to reverse engineer-
No. That wasn't a train of thought he wanted to consider. Right now he needs to focus on getting the correct help for the man now.
First and foremost was making sure he's stable. Second was transporting him back to HQ in America. Third was getting him back with his family.
Then he can worry about what if's.
He pushes Ethan's limp blond hair off his forehead. Staring at the mans relaxed face. It had been suprsingly hard to cope with the loss of Ethan. He couldn't explain why he had been so hurt by what was, for all intents, another assignment. Chris always felt guilt when one of his own got hurt or killed in action, but the loss of Ethan had kept him up more than a few nights. Staring at the ceiling and wondering what he could have done differently to protect the man so hellbent of protecting others.
There are very few times in his life that he had been offered a second chance. This one would not be so easily squandered. He was going to do everything in his power to keep Ethan from having to risk his life ever again.
"I'll always be here for you, Ethan." He whispers to himself. Watching the mans face twitch at whatever dreams he was having, "I'll keep you safe this time."