Chapter Text
" Johnny!“
The moment Johnny's body hit the ground, Ghost's body froze.
He didn't know how, but somehow, like on autopilot, his legs moved towards him.
As if time stood still, as if everything had happened in slow motion from the moment the shot went off and his body fell.
It felt so slow but so fast.
He knelt next to Johnny and checked his pulse first, it was there, but very weak. Thank God.
Then he immediately noticed the little pool of blood around him and his eyes followed up to his face.
Then his own heart stopped for a moment.
What he saw was something he never wanted to see.
Johnny's eyes were closed, blood dripping and running down from his left temple.
He took his face carefully and gently in his hands and checked why he was bleeding. Then he saw it. A bullet wound. Through his head.
He immediately checked for an exit wound, but found none. Shit .
"Price! He needs help, now!" he looked at Price and Gaz, who had defused the bomb in the tunnel and were standing a few metres away from them.
Price immediately contacted Laswell about their current status and also ordered an med evac, immediately.
While they all waited for med evac, Ghost didn't leave Johnny for a second.
He held him in his arms, constantly checking his pulse and breathing.
Gaz was the one taking over the first aid. Even when Ghost was able to do it, Gaz took over.
Minutes that felt like hours were coming to an end when voices and footsteps were heard.
Shortly afterwards, a medical team came running to them with everything they needed.
"What have we got?" asked one of the helpers hurried "Gunshot wound, pulse is weak as is his breathing." Ghost replied as if he had been practising those words all over in his head "Don't let him die." he added as the medic team now turned their full attention to Johnny.
Ghost was in the way, he knew that, but he didn't want to leave Johnny's side under any circumstances.
"Simon...let them do their job." Price put a hand on his shoulder, bringing him some comfort.
"I won’t leave..." Ghost's gaze was fixed on Johnny, who was lying there motionless and being tended, Price shook his head, he knew he would never get him out of there the easy way.
"It's an order Simon. Let them do their job." his voice was a little more serious, but not too much, he knew how to talk to Ghost and how not to.
Nothing happened for a few seconds, Ghost was still holding Johnny's slightly cold hand, then he carefully released it and stood up, taking a few steps back and staring at Johnny.
"Come on..." Price stood between him and Soap and tried to get his attention "They do everything they can. Soap's a fighter eh?" Ghost stared slightly through him, not knowing how to react.
He felt many things, anger and fear had the upper hand in this situation.
Seconds later, they heard noises from the medical staff.
"He has to go to hospital immediately. Otherwise he'll die." the words didn't make it better, they made it worse.
"What's wrong with him?" Price turned to them "The bullet is still lodged in his head, he needs immediate surgery." no sooner said than done, Soap was on a stretcher and being carried at a certain speed from the underground system to the ambulance.
Gaz, Price and Ghost followed with quick steps "Laswell? this is 6, Soap is on his way to hospital." "Roger that, make sure he get out well boys. I'll take care of the rest. Out." her voice fell silent in his ear piece.
Shortly afterwards, they reached the ambulance and loaded Soap into it "We'll follow.“ Price said as the paramedics nodded, closed the doors of the ambulance and drove off seconds later.
Even though it was still stressful and they were supposed to be hunt down Makarov, Soap was much more important now.
They would get their hands on Makarov after all. Everyone swore on that.
They hijacked a car parked outside, which they would bring back later, and got in. Price immediately set off at speed. Ignoring a few road signs and traffic lights, he practically followed the ambulance, which was still a little seen in the distance.
As they drove, everyone stared at the road ahead, Ghost pressing his foot down on the space in front of him in the hope of going even faster than they already were.
Even he wasn’t even driving himself.
A few minutes later, as they parked, they saw Soap being already taken into the hospital.
They got out and followed with quick steps. Ghost walked in first, but was caught up and slowed down by Price.
"Simon you can't do anything, we can only wait. You wait here, both of you." he pointed a finger at Ghost and Gaz, who came to stand next to him.
"Boss I..“ "No. I said you both wait here.“ they both just nodded as Price went off to follow the nurses and Soap.
They both looked after Price.
Life was just going their way at that moment.
People around them were just going about their business, walking past, talking and laughing, mourning and crying while the two of them looked after their captain. Uncertain about Soap's well-being.
"Can I help you in any way?" asked a nurse when she saw the two of them still standing in the middle of the corridor still in full gear.
Gaz was the first to respond "All good." she eyed them for a moment "You're with the injured soldier who's just arrived, aren't you?" they both nodded in sync "He's in the best hands here, come on, you can rest over there." she pointed slightly in a direction where there was a recreation room.
Somewhat contradictorily, they followed her and then arrived in the room "I'll let your captain know where you are. If you need anything, just go to reception. I'll assure you, that your mate is in good hands now.“ she smiled at them before leaving again. Ghost looked after her, he couldn't just wait and sit here and do nothing while Johnny was fighting for his life.
Gaz, meanwhile, sat down on one of the few chairs there and loosened his vest, rubbing his face after.
"Shit man...I hope he makes it..." he said more to himself as he exhaled deeply, getting Ghost’s attention.
"I will kill Makarov when I see him...on the spot..." he said as he walked up and down the room. For minutes, for hours.
A few hours later, Price also joined the boys, he looked exhausted. His beanie in his left hand and a small tray with 3 coffees on it in his right.
Ghost's head immediately shot in his direction, though he had been sitting for some time now, like Gaz, bobbing one leg up and down in stress, he hoped for some news now.
"Cap? How's it looking?" Gaz asked with a nervous undertone as he was handed a coffee mug by Price "They're still operating. There were a few complications, so they don't know how much longer it will take..." Price also handed a cup to Ghost, who looked at him with emotionless eyes.
"What kind of complications?“ asked Gaz and got a sigh in reply as Price settled into a chair as well.
"A brain haemorrhage...his blood clotting is disturbed and a few blood vessels are damaged..." he rubbed the bridge of his nose and propped his elbows on his knees in process.
"Bloody hell..." Gaz leaned back in his chair, speechless and worried.
Ghost looked down at the floor, mug still in hand.
He didn't know if he would ever see Johnny smile again, let alone look into his bright blue eyes.
For a long time he felt fear again.
"Laswell called me earlier. Makarov has gone underground again.
Farah and her people, backed by the CIA, are on it now...Kate will keep us updated, but for now, Soap takes centre stage." Price looked up and met Ghost's gaze "I can't expect any more from you, but get some rest boys. I want you to rest for at least a few hours, as much as possible. Understood?" both nodded "Okay..." Price cleared his throat, took a sip of his coffee and leant back, looking up at the ceiling.
Gaz turned his coffee mug in his hand and had his head a bit hung low and Ghost, he stood at the window in the room and looked out.
" We'll see. Just make sure you can trust yourself. Start there.“
" Good advice, Lt. I wanna be like you when I grow up.“
"You wanna be better than me, Johnny...“
"I will be.“
"Good man.“
"Maybe, I already am...“
"Now's your chance to prove it.“
"Think I'll live that long?“
"Probably not...“
Probably not
The words lingered in his mind as he looked out the window, he had said it as a joke back then, with some seriousness yes, but that it hit him like this now...was it his fault? Some kind of bad joke? Karma for something he had done in the past?
"Simon." Price's voice interrupted his thoughts so he looked slightly over at him "Shall we go for a smoke?" he just nodded and followed Price out of the room, past Gaz who had actually managed to fall asleep in an uncomfortable position by now.
The short walk out was quiet, and as soon as they were outside, they both breathed in the fresh air almost simultaneously.
"Here." Price handed him his lighter, which Ghost used to light a cigarette before Price lit his cigar.
Both smoked in silence, that was all they needed.
"Was I too hard on him?" Ghost interrupted the silence and let some ashes fall to the ground "Never." answered Price, exhaling some smoke.
"What if he doesn't make it? What if he-" "Simon, we both know I'm not in a position to make promises I can't keep in the end..but he'll make it. We know Soap. He'll make it." he gave the still masked man a slight smile of encouragement "I hope so...I can't lose him. Not him." he exhaled the last puff of smoke and kicked his cigarette flat under his boot before putting his mask back on.
"Let's go back inside, not that Kyle wonders where we are..." he patted Ghost gently on the shoulder before walking ahead, followed shortly after by him.
And so more hours passed, Soap had now been in the op for whole 5 hours and nobody could tell them how things looked at the moment.
By now their gear was lying neatly in one of the corners of the room, close enough to reach but not in the way of anyone.
Gaz was still asleep now, lying across a couple of the chairs now, while Price was sitting in a neighbouring chair, about to doze off, and Ghost was also sitting, his eyes closed, but not asleep.
He couldn't. He didn't blame Gaz or Price, not at all. But he couldn't just sleep. Because of Johnny.
Minutes later, footsteps approached the room, not that there hadn't been any in the previous hours. But these sounded different.
Ghost opened his eyes and met a doctor standing at the entrance to the room with a clipboard in his hands. "Are you in charge of John MacTavish?" Price's eyes opened as well and he patted Kyle's shoulder, slowly waking him up while he sat up with a quite yawn.
"Yes. He's our man." Price replied and stood up "How is he?" the doctor looked down at his clipboard.
"Well...I'll put it as simply as possible...we have two good news and two bad news." Ghost stood up and stepped closer "What news?" the doctor looked at him "As you have already been informed some hours ago, there were a few difficulties, which we were able to resolve, even if things looked critical here and there. He made it.“ everyone breathed out a sigh of relief, "What about the bad news?“ Price asked, crossing his arms "Well..“ the doctor cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses "Mr MacTavish had to be put into an induced coma." the words hit everyone like a stab in the heart "Into what? Induced coma?" Gaz appeared in the centre of Ghost and Price "Yes, there's no other way to alleviate the damage his brain suffered from.“ the doctor looked at them "What damage doc?“ Price looked at him with a hint of worry.
The doctor swallowed "It's not going to be easy to deal with. Not for you and definitely not for him." he looked at his clipboard "Well...first of all, a number of factors determine the extent of damage caused by a gunshot wound. These include the caliber of the gun, size and speed of the bullet, the trajectory and site of the injury. A bullet wound going through the right frontal lobe tip toward the forehead and well above the base of the skull is likely to cause relatively mild clinical damage, because it passes through no vital brain tissue or vascular structures.“ they nodded although they didn't understand everything on spot "Unfortunately, the bullet hit a little more, not too much, but enough to cause some permanent damage. The damage we are talking about here is...well...it would be a miracle if he could still perform his previous activities..“ he looked up from his clipboard "We are talking here about a psychosyndrome. This means that several consequential damages can occur, such as general slowing down, easy fatigability, lack of attention and concentration, memory and thinking disorders, depressive moods, headaches and dizziness, speech disorders and disturbances in the realisation of movement sequences and intended actions.“ they all listened to him intently, it was a lot to understand.
"And which of these will...has Johnny?" Ghost asked, almost drilling holes into the doctor with his gaze.
"We can't say anything more precise at the moment. But what I can definitely say is that he will be dependent on others, whether it's to do with his speech or his movement. He will need help from everyone he knows and is close to." he takes off his glasses and stoves them into one of his surgical gown pockets "I’m sorry, I really am.“ he shakes hands with Price and nods to the other two before leaving again.
All three remain silent and look after him. Then Price turns to the other two.
"I want you to get back to base. I'll order Laswell to give you days off." Gaz shook his head "Captain, you can't seriously send us away now." Price held up a finger "I can and I will. It's no good to me if you're not feeling well enough and be here. I'll call you when you can come back. I'll ask the doctor a few more things till then.“ he directed these words more at Ghost as he knew that Gaz would give in sooner than he would.
"Soap made it Simon, now we'll have to wait and see...so go back. I'll let you know." with a little delay, he nodded and picked up his equipment from the corner with Gaz and left the hospital with him, somewhat reluctantly.
While Price looked after them briefly and then put his gear back on, as a backup now that he was alone in the room, he went over to the reception and tried to find out everything else about Soap's current condition which perhaps the doctor hadn't talked about.