Chapter Text
“Hey.” Emilia called to Bella as she was putting her purse in her locker.
“Hey, how were your days off?” Bella asked as she walked in to the locker room.
Emilia shrugged.
“I didn’t do much. Cleaned the apartment, watched a couple of movies, and hung out with Baxter.”
Bella smirked.
“Well, tell your cat he has competition.” She said. “Things just got pretty interesting around here in room 315.”
Emilia sighed and asked if it was Lieutenant Bauer again.
That man was a menace to society and found more ways to injure himself than anyone she’d ever seen.
Just last month, he was admitted for a few days after a severe reaction to shellfish. Again.
He said that he thought the first time was attributed to the place he ate and thought a different restaurant would make a difference.
“No, thank God!” Bella laughed. “Better! We have a mystery man!”
“What do you mean?”
The two ladies walked out in to the hall to the central station as Bella filled her in.
“He was transferred yesterday from a hospital in Latvia. I guess someone dumped him off at one of the Embassies and when the guards went to see what the hell was going on, they found this guy that looked like he was involved in some kind of explosion.”
Emilia listened as Bella continued on to say that after calling an ambulance and getting him to the hospital, the hospital staff wondered if he had been working in a drug lab or something.
She nodded and agreed that the drop-off technique usually never meant anything good.
“He had four guns on him and a couple of knives.” She went on as Emilia widened her eyes. “But his tox report came back clean.
They were having a hell of a time trying to figure out who he was because the ID in his wallet was all messed up.
“So, they had the police come in and fingerprint him and get this – he’s from Ukraine.” She finished.
“What?!” Emilia breathed.
“Yeah, and it gets better!” Bella promised.
Before she could go on, Emilia said she needed to get a look at this guy.
If anything, she needed to make sure it wasn’t her uncle because although he was long retired, she knew that with her family, stranger things could definitely happen.
With Bella trailing her, she went to the door of room 315 and opened it.
“Oh, thank God.” She breathed.
It definitely wasn’t Uncle Kyrylo.
This man looked much younger from what she could see – maybe even her age.
Half of his face was covered in bandages and his left arm and left leg were enclosed in thick dressings.
He had dark hair and his right arm which had a couple of IV lines going in to it, was thick and muscular.
“He doesn’t look like a tweaker.” Emilia observed.
“No, he’s definitely not.” Bella assured her. “He’s in the military.”
Emilia looked back, surprised and let Bella finish the story while she looked him over and checked the numbers on the nearby monitors.
“So, yeah, meet Sergeant Volodymyr Kostiuk.” Bella said and waved a hand toward him for effect. “As soon as they ID’d him, the Ukrainians transferred him here. He arrived yesterday morning and a couple of their Officers showed up around noon and trust me, they are not cheerful people.”
Emilia snorted at that as Bella went on to say that Dr. Melendez was getting a little irritated with them because they weren’t being very helpful to talk about what may have happened to the poor man.
“You know, like was he working with chemicals or anything that could – oh, I don’t know – shut the whole place down.”
Emilia rolled her eyes and nodded.
“Let me guess – classified.” She said as she took note of the different bags of fluid hanging from the hook above the bed.
“Yep.” Bella replied and rolled her eyes as well.
The downside about working at the hospital at Ramstein were the various patients that they saw from time to time that were doing God knows what and were usually accompanied by an Officer or two who made it a point to only give the least amount of unhelpful information necessary.
If it was going to come down to life and death, the patient was usually shuttled off to the locked, guarded unit that the staff jokingly referred to as ‘Area 51’ and was solely under the care of Major General Winters and her hand-picked staff.
“But, they haven’t said anything about taking him away, so he’s ours.” Bella finished with a grin.
“Well, Sergeant.” Emilia said as she looked down at him. “I hope you get better soon. And that you don’t cause me any trouble.”
Two weeks later, Sergeant Kostiuk was still there.
He had two more surgeries and Dr. Melendez had him under constant sedation.
He was afraid the slightest movement could cause a setback, not to mention that he wanted to get the man through what was probably an intolerable amount of pain.
His parents arrived the day after Emilia came back to work the first time she saw him.
They were nice if not a little quiet and also didn’t have much to offer as to what may have happened to him.
They thought he was in Italy and had no idea how he wound up in Latvia or what he might have been doing to end up in the state he was currently in.
It just added to the mystique surrounding him.
Although his medical record had been obtained now, his parents confirmed that he never had any major injuries except for minor bumps and bruises and lived a generally healthy lifestyle.
Emilia usually saved him for last when she was rounding on her patients.
After making sure everything was all fine, she would sit and talk to him.
She believed that patients like him could subconsciously tell if someone was nearby or taking to them, so she thought she should let him know that everything was alright and filled him in on the gossip of the day.
She didn’t know much Ukrainian at all except for what her cousin, David taught her when they were younger.
She’d forgotten a lot of it but knew a few key words and phrases to get by during the times she visited with her parents.
The Sergeant’s parents spoke English and told her that Vova did as well.
That was what they called him.
They confirmed that none of them spoke German, so when she talked to him, she did it in English.
“So, Dr. Melendez thinks he might let you wake up in a few days.” She told him as she was changing out a couple of his IV bags on her latest visit. “You’ll like him. He tells good jokes but if you don’t do what he tells you to, you’ll be sorry.
“Oh, and your… Guy was here again today. What is he, a Major or something? I can’t tell and I sure as hell don’t want to ask him. I think he’s about ready to bribe Doctor to wake you up sooner. He’s really irritated that you’re still sleeping.”
Emilia sighed and sat down.
“You must have something important to tell him.” She said and reached out to stroke his good arm.
As if on cue, a couple of beeps made her look over. His pulse rate accelerated for a moment.
“I bet it’s quite a story.” She said softly and after a moment told him that she would be back in a little while.
She got up, closed the door behind her, and went back to the nurses’ station to chart him.
The next afternoon, she knocked lightly on his door and entered.
“Hi!” She greeted Vova’s mother with a smile.
“Hello, how are you?” Mrs. Kostiuka replied in accented English, returning it
“I’m good!” Emilia replied while continuing to keep the smile.
It was a developed skill.
In reality, she was exhausted.
This was her last shift before her days off and the last day was always a rough one.
After arriving, she listened to the night shift’s handoff with the synopsis of the activities on their shift.
A couple of patients had gone home and a few new ones arrived.
Sergeant Kostiuk was still there, of course.
Captain Schneider, their unit director, was already in a mood and everyone was advised to allow her door to remain closed unless the building caught on fire.
After all the relevant news was shared, Emilia made the assignments.
Being the charge nurse had its privileges and she always made sure that her own assignment included room 315.
She wasn’t sure why.
Maybe it was the aspect of mystery and everyone was dying to know what the circumstances were around Vova’s arrival.
Although she always remained professional, she also enjoyed a good dish of hot gossip and hoped to be able to hear something once he woke up.
His IV bags had been changed a short time ago, so they were nearly full.
His medications hadn’t changed and his vitals were steady, proved by the consistent beeping of the monitors.
“He made a noise earlier.” His mother offered.
“Oh?” Emilia asked, looking over.
“Yes, I was talking to him and he… Grunted or something like that.”
“Good.” Emilia replied while nodding her head. “Keep talking to him – I’m sure he can hear you.”
His mother nodded in reply and explained that she was telling him that his sister would be coming back in a few days and had called to say she checked on his apartment and everything was fine.
“Does he have any pets?” Emilia asked and wondered for the first time if a dog or cat had been left behind in his apartment while he was out doing lord only knows.
“No.” His mother chuckled. “He is too busy and always has to leave for trainings and things like that.”
Emilia nodded, glad on his behalf that he didn’t have a pet at home who was missing him
She already knew that he didn’t have children and much to the dismay of his mother, was single.
Vova’s mother added that he always talked about getting a dog someday when he felt he could.
Emilia mentioned that she had her cat, Baxter who luckily didn’t mind that she was gone for twelve hours at a time.
Mrs. Kostiuka nodded and added that Vova was in the NATO exercise that concluded recently and was gone for six weeks, pointing out his reasoning.
“Yeah, we were in that too.” Emilia replied. “But I got to go home every night.”
His mother smiled and started flipping through her phone.
“He sent me this.” She said and pulled up a picture. “He can’t have a dog, so he makes this.”
Emilia looked and saw a figure which she assumed was Vova but he was covered head to toe in tactical gear and there was something sitting at his side.
“What is that?” She asked and looked closer.
“ A drone.” His mother replied. “He builds them.”
“It looks like a dog!” Emilia laughed.
“Yes!” His mother laughed as well. “He is so smart too, he knows how to make all these things.”
After flipping through a couple more pictures, she pulled up another one.
She said that she told him she wanted to see his face out of all that stuff, so he obliged.
“He is a funny boy.” She said with a smile as Emilia inspected the picture.
He was sitting and had a plate of food in front of him.
He was just wearing a tshirt this time and she could see how his arms stretched the sleeves.
His dark hair was disheveled and messy as if he didn’t think to smooth it down after removing his helmet.
The photo was close enough that she could see his eyes were a dark brown – like melted chocolate…
She took a quick breath and quickly cleared her throat.
He was smiling and pointing down at the plate.
“He messaged me this picture and promised me he was eating, too.” His mother said.
She flipped through several others that featured her son in various layers of his uniform and a few in civilian clothing while proclaiming that he is a handsome boy as well.
“Yes, he is.” Emilia agreed with a smile and said she needed to go but would be back to check on him in a little while.
‘More like smoking fucking hot!’ Emilia couldn’t help but think to herself as she closed the door halfway as she exited. ‘Holy shit!’
The shriek of the alarm caused him to react.
‘What the fuck is that?!’
The air was… Shimmering.
‘Shit!’
He ran.
Oh, God. I need to send him home.
The world exploded.
Vova inhaled a sharp breath.
‘Where…’ He thought
It was dark and he couldn’t see.
And what the hell is that?
His throat burned and when he automatically brought up his arm, he had to stop because it stung.
‘Get it out!’
There was something in his throat and half of his body wasn’t working.
He began to panic as a loud beeping sound rang out from somewhere at his side.
A sharp pain pierced through his arm as he struggled to free it and brought this hand to his face.
“No, no, no! Stop! It’s OK!” a voice said from above him.
It sounded panicked and he felt a pair of warm hands cover his and press it to his face.
“Vova, it’s alright, you’re alright. Vova, please, it’s OK. Can you hear me?”
He stopped struggling for a moment.
“Wha…” He started but his throat hurt.
“It’s OK. Shhh. Please, Vova, just relax.” The voice said again.
The words sounded strange but he could make out his name.
“Vova, it’s OK.” The voice said again but this time the words were clear.
It’s OK.
You know my name? Where am I?
The voice said something again and although he couldn’t make out the words, the tone sounded relieved.
It started speaking again, softer.
It was a woman.
She kept repeating the same word.
“English? You speak English?”
She also kept repeating ‘it’s OK’ and he felt her guiding his hand down away from his face.
She continued to hold it and stroked his hand and arm.
‘I feel safe.’ He decided.
He concentrated.
Yes, he knew English, but what were the words?
“Where?” He was able to breathe out when he remembered.
“Hospital.” The voice replied. “Ramstein.”
Ramstein?
He knew that word.
She started repeating another word and it took a minute for it to register.
‘Breathe.’
He trusted the voice and took slow breaths in and out while another hand ran through his hair and across his forehead.
He heard another voice and the one closest to him said something back.
It was quiet again and the other voice returned and said something and the one closest to him said ‘thank you.’
He knew that word, too.
He felt something warm on his face and it pressed gently around his right eye.
After a moment, it didn’t feel sealed shut anymore and the soft voice sounded encouraging.
He tried to open his eyes and after a moment, he was able to see out of one but not the other.
Everything looked blurry but it wasn’t dark anymore.
The light caused him to squeeze his eyes shut and when he opened them again, things were a little clearer.
“Hi.” The voice said.
He saw a face. She was smiling and there was a haze around her.
She was beautiful.
‘Fuck, I’m dead.’
Everything went dark again.
“Vova. My sweet boy.”
There was a heavy blanket clouding his senses.
“It’s alright Volodenka.”
‘Mama?’
“There you are!”
She was smiling.
“Mam…”
“Shhh. Don’t talk. Can you hear me?”
He nodded.
She instructed him to breathe and kept vocalizing ‘in and out’ with every one he took.
“Look at me, sweetheart.”
He turned his head slightly.
“There is a tube in your throat from your nose. Don’t touch it.”
He nodded.
Is that what that was?
His mother told him that he was in the hospital and was OK.
He seemed to know that already but wasn’t sure why or how.
His arm hurt as he tried to move it.
“No, keep still.” His mother told him and pressed down on it slightly. “You hurt yourself yesterday when you pulled it out.”
‘Pulled what out?’
She told him to keep breathing.
“She’s coming.” A new voice said and a man came in to view.
‘Papa.’
“Hi, son.” His father said as he approached and sat down next to the bed. “You’re alright. Everything will be OK.”
Vova wanted to speak but didn’t think he could, so he just nodded.
He looked up when a woman entered.
She came to the other side of the bed and tapped on a couple of machines.
He turned his head to watch what she was doing and something caught his eye.
He saw a mountain of white and realized that his other arm might be inside it.
And for that matter, he couldn’t see out of that side of his face. It felt… Thick.
“Hi.” The woman greeted him and it took him a moment to realize she said it in English.
He nodded.
She tapped on a couple more things and said something to his parents, then looked down at him.
She said something and he thought it implied that she would be back, because she left shortly after.
His parents coached him to keep breathing and the more he did, the more he was able to keep up with what they were saying.
“You’re at the hospital. In Germany.” His mother said.
He nodded.
He tried to speak again but both of his parents stopped him and told him not to.
‘But I need to know.’ He thought.
His mother was holding his hand and he rolled his wrist a little and tapped his finger on the watch she was wearing.
It took her a moment to figure out what he was doing and when she did, told him it was 10:00am.
That was fine, but not exactly what he wanted.
He tapped at her hand again and twirled his finger.
“What sweetheart?” She asked.
His father had been watching this play out and it was he who realized.
“The date?” He asked.
Vova nodded.
Through his still blurry sight, he saw his father sigh and he looked a little sad.
“It’s 26 November.”
“Wha…” Vova started as a jolt of realization surged through him.
He was still a little out of it, but it was only 11 November…
“It’s alright! It’s alright!” His father tried to calm him down. “They’ve had you in a… Medication coma or something. You’ve been sleeping for two weeks.”
‘Two weeks?!’
He felt his heart pounding.
That couldn’t be right. He was just…
What was he doing? He couldn’t remember.
But for some reason, he was sure it was the 11th. And something about Hawaii.
And coffee. A lot of coffee.
His parents coached him to slow down his breathing and he focused on their voices until he was able to relax.
He felt tired and closed his eyes until he felt his mother shaking him.
“No, sweetheart, they want you to stay awake.” She told him.
He opened his eyes – or eye – again and tried to focus on her.
She told him that his sister would be coming soon – again – and told him about how his nephew just won an award at school.
She showed him pictures and as she flipped through them, he began to feel more focused.
A while later, the woman – the nurse from earlier returned and she had a man with her.
He was wearing the same color pants and shirt and Vova assumed he was another nurse or something as well.
“Hello, Volodymyr Romanovych, my name is Andriy Dmytrovych.” He said with a smile.
Vova readily understood him and he explained that he was one of the nurses and he and a few others had been on standby for when he woke up.
Vova nodded.
Andriy asked if he had fallen back asleep since waking up and Vova shook his head.
His parents confirmed that it had been about thirty minutes and he thought that sounded right although it felt like a lot longer.
“They’re not going to make you sleep anymore, so were going to take out the feeding tube. Is that OK?” Andriy asked.
‘God, fuck, yes!’
He nodded.
Andriy told him it was going to be a little painful and as he washed his hands and put on a pair of gloves, his parents got up and moved out of the way and went to stand by the door.
“This is Emilia.” He went on and Vova’s eyes flashed to her. “She doesn’t speak Ukrainian; only English or German but we won’t hold that against her, will we?”
Vova tried to smile and Emilia bent down and put her hand on his shoulder, rubbing it gently.
“I want you to take a couple of deep breaths and relax, OK?” She asked.
He nodded and did so as Andriy took over and coached him through breathing.
He did as instructed and closed his eyes when Andriy told him to relax.
He felt the sensation of something being pulled free and it traveled upwards, then through his throat.
It made him want to gag and both Emilia and Andriy tried to calm him and encourage him to stay still.
“Almost, almost, one more second!” Andriy said and Vova felt the tube travel the rest of the way through his throat then up and through and out of his nose.
‘Jesus fuck!’
‘Alright, it’s out; good job, Volodymyr Romanovych!”
Andriy went on to tell him that they needed to wait for about two hours before letting him eat or drink something.
He also said not to try to talk right away because he will be sore and try to just whisper if he needed to.
“OK.” Vova whispered automatically although hardly anything came out of his mouth.
As the time ticked by, the fog that was engulfing Vova’s brain began to lift.
Emilia came in a couple of times to check the machines or put something in to the IV bags that were hanging.
He asked his parents what happened and they told him that he had a broken arm and leg and had a bad concussion.
They said his face was burned which was why he couldn’t see out of the one side.
They asked him if he remembered and he shook his head.
“That’s the third time he’s asked.” He heard his father say to his mother.
He was being quiet, but Vova still heard him.
‘The third time?’
He didn’t remember having this conversation three times.
This time, he decided to concentrate.
‘What happened? What was I doing?’
He repeated the question to himself and closed his eyes.
‘What happened? What was I doing?’
Woods. He remembered woods.
A car and a funny story.
A man disappearing in to the ground in a place that only existed in history books.
He inhaled a sharp breath and it hurt his throat.
The shriek of the alarm caused him to react.
‘What the fuck is that?!’
The air was… Shimmering.
‘Shit!’
He ran.
Oh, God. I need to send him home.
The world exploded.
“No!” Vova exclaimed and the unexpected outburst caused his parents to jump.
“Vova!”
“Oh, God, no!”
“Vova, stop! Emilia!”
‘Oh, God… Oh, God…’
He remembered and it hit him full force.
His mother was bent over him and trying to keep him from thrashing around.
He heard several voices, raised in concern enter the room and as the memory rocked through him he felt a few more hands on him.
A voice rang out above them all and it sounded authoritative.
Everyone stopped shouting and the room was silent except for Vova’s own hoarse cries as he tried to obey the instructions to breathe.
A few at a time, he felt the hands that were on him lift away until it was just his mother and even she backed off when she felt him relax.
“Vova?” She asked and he saw the concern in her eyes.
“I remember.” He whispered.
“Well, hi there!” Emilia greeted Vova as she walked in to his room.
“Hey!” He replied. “How are you?”
“Not bad. Back to bother you for a few more days!”
“Thank God! I thought you have become tired of me!”
Emilia laughed as she asked him how he was feeling while she checked the monitors.
He shrugged and said he supposed better, but was tired.
“They made me get up and sit in the chair.” He informed her with disdain.
She reacted in shock and said she was appalled at the horrific treatment.
He chuckled.
“Guess what?” She asked as she came closer and looked down at him with her arms crossed.
He hummed an inquiry.
“I’m going to make you get up, too.”
He groaned and sighed but she could see the half smile that was visible from the side of his face that wasn’t bandaged.
It had been five days since he woke up and he surprised everyone at how quickly he was coming along.
He had his voice back and with all of his senses restored as well, proved that he was completely fluent in English.
She enjoyed listening to his melodious tones when they spoke.
He reminded her of Uncle Kyrylo, but Vova’s voice was deeper.
She liked how he pronounced his v’s as w’s and how the word ‘the’ became ‘ze’.
Her cousin, David didn’t have an accent at all but could imitate his father with humorous accuracy.
Vova had a rough thirty six hours or so after he woke up.
He remembered what happened to him and had a panic attack until they were able to calm him down.
He wouldn’t tell them though and first thing the next morning, his prickly commander showed up.
The man left in a rush and Emilia went to check on Vova.
He was visibly shaken and upset but nodded when she asked if he wanted something to eat.
All she could offer him was some weak tea and a small portion of scrambled eggs and porridge, but he thanked her.
When she visited him at lunchtime after the doctor checked on him, she asked him if he told his commander what happened to him.
He nodded but looked straight ahead.
“Can you tell me?” She asked in a whisper.
He shook his head and when she asked if it was classified, he nodded.
When she brought his dinner, another plate of small portions of soft foods, he looked at her.
“My CO was with me.” He said in a low, strained voice. “They didn’t know where we were because I was… Sleeping. It’s my fault if he’s…”
He didn’t finish and she put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed and told him she was sorry.
Two days later, the alarm on his cardiac monitor went off and she rushed in to his room.
She stopped short when she saw Vova’s Officer Whatshisname in the room with him.
The man said he was just leaving and nodded when she pointed out the alarm, so she checked it as the two men continued to talk.
Although she wasn’t intending to eavesdrop, she was able to pick out a few words here and there.
She certainly wasn’t going to ask them to stop talking and have to explain, so she just went about her business.
She heard the same word repeated a couple of times – ‘rossiya’ and then, similarly, ‘rossiskee’.
She knew that meant ‘Russia’ and ‘Russians’.
God knows she’s heard it enough throughout her life.
After Commander Grumpypants left, Vova looked at her and smiled.
“They found him!” He said and she saw a tear in his eye. “They said he will be alright.”
She smiled in relief on his behalf and realized that the alarm must have been from the jolt of probably joy from hearing the news about his CO.
But she couldn’t help but wonder why Russia was mentioned so frequently during the exchange of that good news.
Vova’s mood changed dramatically after that.
He was in good spirits every day and talked at length with the various doctors who came to see him.
He was committed to recovering and getting back to normal and Emilia came to find – just as his mother described – he was a pretty funny guy.
She had just arrived back after her days off and was pleased to see that the tentative schedule was being followed and they started getting him up.
It wasn’t unusual for the patient to complain about it, but she went ahead and let him while reminding him that it would continue.
“So, let’s get started, shall we?” She said as she pulled over the lift assistance device.
She asked if he wanted to use the bathroom and he said he might as well.
Before she left for her days off, she took out his catheter and was surprised when she felt weird about it.
She’d done it hundreds, if not thousands of times before.
And like thousands of times before, she told him it would be uncomfortable but shouldn’t be too painful.
He told her that was easy for her to say and she chuckled.
In her experience, if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all but she paused for a moment before she touched him.
Shaking the weird feeling off, she drained the balloon and when she finished, asked him if he was ready and ignored how his member pulsed in her hand.
It was normal.
He said he was and tried to relax as best as a man could in a situation such as this and when she pulled it out, he huffed out something that sounded like, ‘soochee sin.’
Assuming it was a curse, she assured him it was over and he breathed out a thanks.
Glad that was days behind her now, she helped him get in to a sitting position as the lift device pulled him up.
After maneuvering him in to the second one, she pushed him over to the bathroom and then helped him sit down.
It was a difficult feat with both an arm and a leg immobile, but he managed.
When he finished, the process was reversed and she brought him back to sit in the chair again.
When she had him settled, she went back to the bathroom to make sure there was no blood and seeing none, flushed the toilet.
He asked for the remote to the TV, so she found it and handed it to him.
He turned it on and sighed.
She asked him what was wrong and he said he wasn’t able to watch the shows he normally did and added that he tried on his phone that his sister brought him, but it was hard to navigate one-handed and one-eyed.
She offered to see if she could find a tablet for him to use and he seemed to brighten up at that.
It might have seemed like a silly thing, but she thought that between his injuries and being far from home, the comfort of your favorite show was as powerful as the best medicine.
After tending to a few other things, Emilia brought Vova a tablet as promised and helped him sign in to his favorite streaming sites.
Knowing that you can learn a lot about a person by what they have saved in their watchlist, she tried to get a good look while she was helping him.
Unfortunately, but as expected, most of the titles were in Ukrainian and didn’t help her covert plan at all.
“What do you have saved?” She asked, deciding to just keep the conversation going.
He scrolled down his watchlist and although there were quite a few titles she couldn’t understand, she took note of the ones that were in English.
“Are you a James Bond fan?” She asked with a smile, noticing he had the most recent movie saved along with several of the really old ones.
“Yeah.” He replied with a grin. “My grandfather and my father used to watch the older ones and let me join them as long as I promised not to ask too many questions.”
She laughed at his explanation.
“Did you want to be a spy when you grew up?” She asked with an even bigger smile.
“Yeah.” He affirmed. “The unit I’m with is one of the Special Operations units for the Main Directorate of Intelligence but I’m an electrical engineer and work with drones.”
“No shit?” She asked and realized this was the first time he mentioned the actual specifics of his job.
She remembered the picture of the dog drone from his mother but didn’t know he was an engineer.
He nodded and said that in a pinch, he could be a sniper as well, but he preferred to work with his hands and build things.
“My cousin is in the Army.” She offered and Vova nodded.
“Here?” He asked and she said no, in Ukraine.
Noting his confused expression, she added that her Aunt married a Ukrainian man so her cousin was half American and half Ukrainian and they all lived there.
“I thought you were German?” Vova asked and seemed even more confused.
“Well, technically I am but I’m adopted. My parents are American and my aunt is my dad’s sister.”
“I’m so confused.” Vova mumbled and noting that his pain medication was dispensed recently, told him it was fine and it was a little confusing at times.
Vova asked what unit her cousin was with and she told him that she had no idea.
She was sure David told her once but that was nearly six months ago and it wasn’t like it came up in everyday conversation.
“What’s his name?” Vova went on to ask. “I know a lot of guys.”
“Sasha. Petrenko.” Emilia made up on the spot because she suddenly realized that she probably shouldn’t be talking about her family so casually – regardless of how non-threatening she was sure Vova was.
He shook his head and said it didn’t sound familiar and she changed the subject back to his watchlist and helped him get comfortable in the reclining chair after he picked something.
“I’ll check in on you in a little while, OK?” She told him as she took a step toward the door.
He nodded and thanked her and when she returned an hour later, he was fast asleep while ‘Silhouette of Vengeance’ played in the background.