The Hands of War

[lafeae]

@Pinkshdw


The moment that Liam had been told he would be doing a tour was the moment he felt like life had suddenly ceased to exist. Years of schooling and hard work, landing him a nice position in the States helping soldiers who were returning home from battle, they finally told him that it was high time he got out into the middle of the action.


Or at least, as close to the action as he could get from a triage tent. It was close enough that, at night, he could hear the gunfire echo, and he wondered if it echoed off the dunes or shot its way through the civilian houses. Being in a place from home was...alarming. And every day he waited for the moment there was no home to go back to. Especially since this war had seemed to go on for as long as he could remember.


This was never really his plan in life; for the longest time, all he wanted to do was settled, have a good job, have a family, grow old and have the only part of him concerned for war was whether or not he would be hearing casualty lists on the nightly news. The recruiters got him--pay for college? Work for us. It still paid well--he wasn't an average soldier. So that was a bonus.


There wasn't much to be had where Liam was though. No family, no couch to watch evening television on. Just shipped each day in the Humvee and setting up the tents somewheres far enough from battle that they wouldn't be caught in the fray.

 

[Pinkshdw]

Rosaline was excited to get into the action of being on a triage team in war zone . They wouldn't exactly be on the front lines, dodging bullets themselves, but it was good enough. The pay was pretty good as well. It was also good karma..fixing those who were putting their lives on the line to protect the country that they proudly called home.


She was a small person. If you glanced at her you'd assume she was weak and timid, but there was a fire inside her that wouldn't let anything or anyone get in her way. She had the confidence most dreamed of having. She was a happy person, with a smile almost always adorning her face, but there was something behind her icy blue eyes that most were unable to notice, something deeper hidden behind her smile.


She had thought about contracting with the military for a long time. Being an army brat it wasn't much of a surprise. A lot of military kids ended up having a career involving some type of military whether it was enlisting or something else. She grew up knowing all the dangers of war.


Even though she was confident she was also nervous. Dropping into a warzone wasn't the typical 9 to 5 that most people had at her age, but what an awesome story to tell her grandkids some day.


"Well...there's no turning back," she murmured to herself as she leaned back in her chair on the plane. She was flying in with a few others who were joining the triage team, as well as large crates of medical supplies. She quietly tapped her feet in the metal floor of the plane. She was just excited to finally get off the plane and plant her feet on solid ground. She wasn't one for sitting still for very long.

 

[lafeae]

Early more, long before the sun rose, there was a semblance of quiet the blew across the vast fields before them. Nothing much was in the distance but glaring sun and the city maybe ten miles out, with nothing more than small pencil lines to show where it existed. He, a major, as well as his colonel at their station, were being sent back to the base to grab the newest members of their team.


The sleep was barely out of his eyes as they climbed up into the Humvee and headed out, Liam watching as they went through what seemed like an endless space of sand a passing, odd, patches as grass that sprouted. He never understood this place. He barely knew the language, barely got along with the people, and the landscape seemed so alien.


But with the city in view, the shanty houses on the outskirts full of refugees seeking help from the foreign army that had set up base there, Liam looked to his knees. Hopefully they had someone new to their crew that he could talk to. The drove through, ready to approach the airstrip at barely eight in the morning. Somehow, he hoped they had the pleasure of having a female in their midst. Something different besides five o'clock shadow and BO covered in Irish Spring.


When they parked, his colonel hit him in shoulder: "Look alive there, Holtz. You wouldn't wanna scare them, now would you?"

 

[Pinkshdw]

The plane touched down with such force Rosaline was thankful for her harness, gently tugging it tighter as the wheels touched the earth below them. A huff escaped her lips as the plane grew still, signaling that it was time to get off. The back hatch of the plane opened letting the warm early morning sun flood the area. Rosaline along with the rest on the passengers squinted, their eyes taking a few seconds to adjust. It was warm, and the air felt dry, she assumed it would get much hotter in the coming hours. She was always cold, the heat would be something for her to enjoy.


Unbuckling her harness she stood up and walked down the ramp smoothing out her uniform Before stretching, her body was tense from the long flight. She reached her hands towards the sky, staying like this until she heard a loud pop come from her lower back. A loud sigh escaped her lips before she let her hands fall back to her sides with a slap. She squinted as her eyes scanned her surrounding, her nose naturally wrinkling in the process. She looked to the humvee assuming it would be transporting them to base before continuing to analyse her surroundings. "Definitely a very different view than we're used to," she said to no one in particular, "I could get used to it," she smirked before turning on her heels heading back up the ramp to help unload the supplies.


It didn't take long to unload the plane, but the supplies were heavy, which made her break out into a bit of a sweat. Her cheeks had flushed a light pink. A few dark brown strands of hair escaped her bun, gently framing her face. She slightly pushed them back, knowing they would return. "Alright I think we're all set," she said to the others, who all nodded on agreement.

 

[lafeae]

The colonel was walking ahead of Liam, seeing where a group of recruits was moving the supplies back into the base, a few of them left out. A cooled chest of plasma, several other boxes of needed materials like medication, surgical tools, gloves, scrubs, tubing...anything they had put an order in for several weeks before hand. While the colonel was ordering recruits to shift their supplies into a second truck that had followed behind, Liam approached Rosaline, saluting her immediately: "Dr. Evans," he said. And though he could see her rank, being a doctor was much more than just being a soldier, at least in his eyes.


Dropping the salute, offering her a smile, he couldn't believe that he was actually standing in front of a woman. A short one for sure, but a woman nonetheless. And one that wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty, as he could tell by the sweat on her brow. Though he had to realize that she wasn't the one in the group that had come. Not only did they have a new doctor, but several new nurses as well. "Welcome, everyone, to Club Sand, where all your dreams come true." He laughed, knowing the only way they were actually going to end up fulfilling dreams was if you were hallucinating from the heat. Turning his face away from a stiff breeze, Liam caught sight of where the supplies were quickly loaded onto the truck and the recruits were heading back into towards the base. "I'm Major Liam Holtz, I'll be your battlefield surgeon, and your guide into this lovely....landscape." Said Liam, and waved his hand around to the mess.


"In the next few moments we're going to be heading out to your new home for the next week, until we move along. We need to get going--we're been given reports of gunfire starting up less than ten miles where were from. We need to move out." He tried not to keep his eyes on Rosaline, but it was hard when she was one of the only females now in their group.

 

[Pinkshdw]

Rosaline returned the salute, before letting her hand fall back to her side, returning the smile Liam had given her. She watched him for a few seconds, analysing. He seemed to be....staring? She wasn't exactly sure. She mentally shrugged it off, turning slightly so she was facing everyone, and not just him.


She neatly placed her hands behind her back, crossing them at the wrists, as she listened to Liam speak. Even though she was short she stood as if she were ten feet tall, carrying the confidence most didn't have, especially for a doctor. "Paradise," she whispered to herself, regarding his funny comment. She knew he'd probably hear it but she honestly didnt care. She glanced back to him. He sure was handsome, but she wasn't going to let that interfere with her work. She tore her eyes away from him and scanned their surroundings.


'Gunfire, lovely' She thought to herself. She wasn't afraid, but gunfire ment casualties. Even though that meant getting to work on someone it still wasn't a good thing. She gave a nod and looked back towards Liam, her eyes sightly widening when she locked eyes with him. Ok, maybe he was staring. She cleared her throat slightly before heading towards the humvee.

 

[lafeae]

Trying not to stare as much, knowing that all of them were going to ogle Dr. Evans, just because she was different. She wasn't a guy. And though they were more oriented in their job, their down time would actually make it interesting. They would have a different perspective (and all of them likely trying to win her affection if they weren't already married).


Waiting for the colonel to come back and lead them to the humvee, he separated them between the humvee and the truck, the nurses going into the truck with the supplies. Liam climbed into the driver's seat, the colonel in the back with Rosaline, closing the door and securing them inside. He slapped the side of the interior and looked over his shoulder as Liam started up the engine and began moving them along. "Welcome aboard. Hopefully Major Holtz has given you a quick idea of what's going on here. That's how we work, quick and precisely. I'm sure you've been made aware of that. We do work a little differently. We don't have time for formality, and it'll be at minimum," said the colonel. "What's you're specialty?"


Liam was laughing a little bit as the colonel suddenly changed topics. Something he was, unfortunately, notorious for. Sometimes, it was enough to give whoever he was talking to whiplash if they hadn't quite been used to it yet. Maybe Rosaline would be better equipped to deal with it, or at least find it humorous. That's the only way to really be about it.

 

[Pinkshdw]

Rosaline climbed into the humvee with the others, practically climbing in like a monkey strapping herself in. Those things were always so tall for her, so she looked just short of ridiculous gettint in them. She watched the colonel as he spoke, mentally giggling at the fact that he seemed to change subjects rather quickly.


"Yes sir he has," she said with a nod before glancing over at Liam, her eyes lingering a bit too long before trailing back to the colonel. "My specialty?," she said with a chuckle. "I guess I'm well rounded on trauma in general. Which is kind of the whole reason I'm here," she said with a chuckle. "But I enjoy neuro and ortho," she said with a nod. She found the brain fascinating and something about breaking and fixing bones was....invigorating. She pushed the little pieces of hair out of her face mentally noting that she had to fix her hair.


She watched the colonel for a few seconds before she glanced out the heavily armored window. She absentmindedly tapped her foot against the floor. Rosaline was a fidgit. She admitted she was, especially with her legs. Her past made them sore when sitting for long periods of time. She needed to get out and stretch her legs for a bit, She teared her eyes away from the window and glanced back over to Liam. He seemed to be a bit of a mystery and she wanted to crack it.

 

[lafeae]

Watching Rosaline from the rear view, seeing where she jounced around, having moved from one mode of transportation to the next, Liam had little doubt she'd just like to walk around, get a feel for the work she was into, and not be crammed in the tight spaces that were their vehicles.


Soon, the base was left behind to a wide view of sand as they followed a path out towards their set-up. Maybe another five or ten minutes, give or take the route that was never direct.


"Well, that's good. Now we're all around. Needed someone decent in neuro out here; Holtz here says it scares him."


"I did not, sir," Liam protested.


"Don't be bashful." He was chided. Focusing back in from of him, Liam let out a soft sigh. "He's bashful. Keep that in mind. You can light him up like a Christmas tree if you try."

 

[Pinkshdw]

Rosaline watched the two bicker back and forth. They must have known each other for quite a while. A chuckle escaped her lips shaking her head. She glanced out the window before looking back to the colonel before locking eyes with Liam in the rear view mirror.


"If I may sir...it scares me too," she said a gentle smile crawling across her lips. She turned her eyes back to the colonel. "You hold someones whole being in your hands. Their thoughts, their emotions, their memories. It's all held in this delicate organ that isn't like the others. A heart can go back, but you can fix it. With a brain...one wrong move and that person is gone. They're no longer in there anymore," she told him softly. "It's a pretty scary thing," she said with a nod before turning her gaze back to to the window.


All it was, was sand for hundreds of miles. It was so interesting, but yet so boring. A soft yawn escaped her lips before she looked back to Liam. "So Major Holtz. What is your specialty then?" she asked him with a smile.

 

[lafeae]

Trying to hide the very bashful blush that the colonel had instill in him, maybe even pretending it was just the hot sun blaring down and causing him to go red in the cheeks, Liam listened intently to what Rosaline said, knowing that he couldn't put it any better himself. That was maybe why he couldn't actually make himself doing neurology. There were plenty of bad things that could happen that weren't involved in the brain.


"Me?" He asked, and he was afraid to actually get involved in it all. What was his specialty? He'd been out in the desert so long what he initially learned probably didn't matter anymore. At least, not as the few years had passed. But the basic skills always stayed the same. So what did he say? "I'm mainly an emergency surgeon, but cardiac and pulmonary." He mentioned. That was what he trained under. He wanted to become a heart surgeon, but never got that far.


"Good here lately--they're starting to ignore the Geneva convention way of things," the colonel added.


"Yeah, no kidding," and Liam hadn't thought of that. He'd seen plenty of men come to them not even alive. Like it didn't matter. "That's far and few between though."


The colonel kept watching where Rosaline smiled. It was a nice smile, like someone who wasn't quite used to what was going on. "Keep that there, doctor," he said, and he pointed to her expression. "That expression let's you survive more than anything."

 

[Pinkshdw]

Rosaline nodded watching Liam as he spoke. She politely ignored the blush in his cheeks. She nodded as his answer. "Interesting," she said to him with a smile. She glanced back over to the Colonel as he spoke.


Her smile disappeared a bit as she listened to the colonel analyzing what he said. She glanced out the window, gathering her thoughts. "You think I'm clueless to what goes on out here don't you Colonel," she said her eyebrows furrowing a bit, before she chuckled slightly. "I've never seen this war zone, no, but I have seen places that are just as bad, sometimes worse," she told him. "A smile doesn't help you survive. A strong mind and strong will is what helps you survive."


"But my smile will stay. I am happy to be here helping. No matter what we will see or do. Also when a soldier in pain sees a smile....it helps them, sometimes more than the happy drug...." she said trailing off. "Don't pull me for a foolish young girl Colonel," she said told him. "Because I can very easily prove you wrong," she told him. "I was chosen to come here after all," she told him.


She glanced out the window again biting her lip. Had she gone a little too far in front of a Colonel. She sighed realizing she had done exactly that. "I'm sorry Colonel. I have a bit of a tongue. Tends to get me in trouble a bit."

 

[lafeae]

It wasn't long until the humvee had stopped trundling along the sand and came to a stop, idling near the triage. But Liam was waiting for the response the colonel have to Rosaline's small, direct tangent. They were a different kind of soldier, often with different manners. And in this awesome, they were often drafted ones as well.


There was no reason to be formal, sometimes. Liam just found it easy to fall back on. "Well, dear, I think I'm gonna like you," the colonel said after a long pause.


Liam let out a breath. Even though he mostly expected this answer, sometimes the colonel hated being corrected. An older man, often conservative man, his way of thinking tended to be skewed in one direction or the other. "You got a good mind about you. C'mon, let's get you acquainted out here. I'll let Holtz show you around."

 

[Pinkshdw]

A soft sigh of relief escaped her lips, her shoulders slightly relaxing, a chuckle escaping her lips. She licked her lower lip. She hadn't realized it had gotten so dry. It must have been the air.


"Yes sir," she said with a smile and a nod. She gave Liam a long look before slipping out of the humvee, jumping to the ground with a thud,a groan escaping her lips as she stretched as much as possible.


She surveyed the area. It was set up like a typical triage center, but she knew each one had its own way of setting things up to make it run efficienctly.

 

[lafeae]

Everything was bleak, set into the background and infested with sand in each crevice like it was a virus. Liam grabbed a few pieces of supplies, along with their new staff members, and he watched as two of them loaded back up on the truck along with a stretcher. A man who nearly didn't have a face, mostly covered by a bloody towel and guaze. He tried not to stare.


"So...it's as you see it. Pretty small. We have the big tent for most of the main work. The back of it has a sterilized area for surgery, the front of it is almost like a basic clinic. We can only carry minimal supplies and try to send our bad cases back to base once we have them stabilized, and if they need it base will have them helicoptered back to a good facility. Otherwise we can keep up to twenty beds for those who need rest and can end up going back to their platoon. We do have a psychologist on hand--he probably needs one himself." Liam laughed, and as they passed the large tent, the supplies dropped at the door and almost sucked inside, he went over to a few smaller places. "Places to sleep, place to eat. You get to shower when you heat to base, we don't have too much water here. We'll go back at least once a week to gather supplies, if we're able. We do have arms....but we're not here to fight. If we think that an enemy is approaching closely....we'll pack up and move. This can all be tore down and moved in half a day or so."


Liam explained all this as simply as he could, walking along, gazing back every so often to make sure that Rosaline was following. Before he could give her a chance to ask questions, a helicopter started flying overhead and passing them, Lima checking for ally markings, though it kept going.

 

[Pinkshdw]

Rosaline watched the man being loaded into the truck. Her eyes lingered a bit too long before she hurried up behind Liam. She stayed a few paces behind, her hands neatly placed behind her back.


Her eyes gazed over the tents, memorizing where everything was, nodding to herself, bitting the left side of her lip. Her eyes trailed back to Liam smiling softly at his joke. "I think we all need a psychologist," she murmured mostly to herself.


Her eyes followed his to the helicopter. Her heart slightly filling with heaviness. "Never going to get used to that am I?," she asked him. "Knowing if its friendly or not," she said slipping her fingers into her pockets.

 

[lafeae]

"You'll find yourself looking to the sky a lot, for many reasons," said Liam. "But no...they tend not to wander this far out, but sometimes we get strays who don't see us. Scares the day lights out of you every time it happens though."


His hands were behind his back as he walked. Rosaline seemed confident, self assured, and had a good head on her shoulders. She had to. She was a doctor, after all, but sometimes just putting their feet on the ground scared most officers.


"You will have separate quarters, for privacy." Said Liam. "Anything else you need to know? Want to know? Want to see?" He asked. Having acquainted many that passed through their ranks, it seemed second nature.

 

[Pinkshdw]

"Hm," she said with a nod squinting in the direction of the helicopter. She shook her head to herself before looking back to Liam. "Nice to know," she murmured softly. Her hands stayed firmly behind her back as she folwed Liam, staying a few pacew behind him.


Her eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Seperate quarters? I don't really need privacy," she said slightly confused. She was so used to everyone staying in the same quarters, no matter who you were. She didn't want seperate quarters. A frown appeared on her face. She shook her head at his other questions. "I think I'm fairly well imformed thank you," she said crossing her arms without really realizing it. 'Seperate quarters...really," she thought to herself looking out to the horizon.

 

[lafeae]

Taking in a tough breath, Liam looked around at the vastness and then back at Rosaline with some bit of surprise. He was surprised at her surprise. Sure, a lot of barracks would keep them together but they tended to value the few women they would ever have on staff.


"Well, I'm not trying to be patronising in the least," he shrugged. If she didn't like it, she could always bunk with sweaty men. "Just how the colonel always has it out here. Feel free to change that at any time." He laughed a bit, and he started walking towards the thick of the mess. "Get settled in and be prepared within the hour. I have a bad feeling."

 

[Pinkshdw]

A gentle sigh escaped her lips. "I'm sorry, that was entirely out of place. I really need to learn to bite my tongue," she told him before biting the inside of her cheek. "I appreciate being given separate quarters," she said to him mentally kicking herself. "Thank you Major Holtz," she said with a nod.


She nodded slightly, "Bad feeling huh?" she said softly before heading towards her quarters. Throwing her duffle bag into the corner she stretched before fixing her hair, pulling it back up into a tight bun, before heading back into the hot sun, heading into the tents, introducing herself to the other nurses and doctors while it was calm.

 

[lafeae]

Even if she was out of place, Liam didn't so much mind. At least she had a little character. The military wanted everyone to stand together, be faceless and nameless, because it was a team effort. And it still was. But there was something different here. Not everyone was great at the same thing, and it was best to know who could do what. Not that anyone would mistake Rosaline. But that was beside the point.


Shaking his head and walking back to the main tent, hands behind his back, eyes roving through the few cots that were occupied, Liam knew that, for now, they needed nothing. He tended to the few he could, trying to ease the pain. Most weren't even in their minds anymore. Delirious, feverish, maybe just shell-shocked.


Occasionally he glanced up to Rosaline as she mingled. Everyone else was kind enough to shake hands and say hello. Everyone maybe, save for the man in the back, Dr. von Dae. But that was only because he was their psychologist, and he always had a bug up his ass. Listening overhead for anything that may be brought to them, Liam approached Rosaline, being quiet and listening as another doctor spoke to her. He was unaware of von Dae just behind him.


"Pleasure to meet you, Dr. Evans." He said, and held out his hand to her. Liam raised a brow. This was unusual of him, and it was somewhat scary.

 

[Pinkshdw]

Her eyes scanned everything around her, taking everything in, memorizing where everything was as she mingled. She absentmindedly bit her lip as she did so. She glanced to each cot, her eyes trailing over their bodies. Analyzing all of their faces. The pain, the light missing from her eyes. She silently shook her head.


Tearing her eyes away from the soldiers she came face to face with the other doctor, slightly surprised. "Nice to meet you as well," she said with a gentle smile, giving him a firm hand shake, her hands much smaller than his. "I didn't catch your name," she said with a gentle chuckle, placing her hands on her hips.

 

[lafeae]

"Jacques von Dae. Uh....," he looked down to his shirt, trying to remember formality in front of Liam. "Captain von Dae."


"Don't let him talk to much." Liam commented, voice deadpan. "He might analyse your brain."


Jacques gave Liam a glare. "Just...call me Jack. I'm the psychiatrist out here. I just wanted to let you know that I'm here for whatever you might need or are going through," he said, and he was sincere as he could muster. "And I need to speak with you Major. Since you're here."


"Oh, goodie," Liam patted Rosaline's shoulder. "Rest easy. This might be my bad feeling." He told her. And he pulled his hand away, wondering if he's maybe been too forward.

 

[Pinkshdw]

Her eyes trailed over to Liam, her eyes narrowing sightly, "Perhaps I like my brain being analyzed," she told him before trailing back to Captain Von Dae. "Nice to meet you Jack," she said with a sincere smile. "You can call me Rosaline," she told him with a smile.


Rosaline watched the two, her eyebrows furrowing. Glancing down at Liam's hand. Did these two hate one another? She gave the two a long long before giving a slight nod, turning on her heal heading outside of the tent, standing just to the left of the entrance.


Closing her eyes for a few seconds she let herself relax and stretch out. Things were so different here. She couldn't help but feel just slightly shell shocked by it all. She knew she'd get back into the swing of things once there was something to do.

 

[lafeae]

Liam didn't want to have to warn her about some of the strange things that Jack was into, or the weird tendencies the psychiatrist had. Not that the man was isolated, but he wasn't often talked to. Rosaline was likely a new chance for him to strike up conversations. He hardly wanted to talk to the man in private, and the conversation was of little consequence, going over an evaluation they went through every so often.


By nightfall, when many of them had turned in for the night, Liam was still awake. He had napped later in the day, and then was up for the night shift. Some of the patients didn't sleep; others didn't wake. He needed to make sure none of them took a turn for the worst. Every so often, he would walk along the beds, listening to the soft moans that could be mistaken as snores, or vice versa.


He was surprised they hadn't stuck Rosaline on the shift and, instead, put her in the morning. He hoped she slept. It was maybe an hour from now, or so. He didn't exactly look at a clock to tell. But, even before then, he could hear something coming in the distance. Low rumbling. The gunfire had ceased, but that didn't stop someone being brought to them. Standing and going out of their main set-up, he saw as a truck was coming in the distance. It was likely going to stir everyone awake, their quarters paper thin.