The Sailor and the Hawk

Patrick looked liked he wanted to stick his foot in his mouth and crawl into a hole as we stared each other down. I could feel my sister's nervous energy as her and Jon watched. I wasn't too worried. Patrick was just a hockey player, he wasn't trained like I was. I was trained before deployment. I went through prisoner of war training, hand to hand combat and I was a black belt in taijitsu.

“Look, I was just kidding! Guys, come on!” Patrick whined. I saw him take a few steps towards me and I grabbed his arm, twisting it up and behind his back, then locking his other arm up next to his neck. Jon started laughing but I could hear Ky gasp.

Patrick made a frustrated noise and tried to move, tried to twist in anyway. He then threw all his body weight forward and managed to flip me over him. But I kept my lock and pulled him down to the floor with me. He knocked the air out of me and I suddenly saw spots in my vision. I released him and shook my head, blinking rapidly. There was a ringing in my ears, a harsh, dull roar followed. I could hear muffled sounds of Ky and Jon talking and then Patrick, apologizing probably, judging by the tone.

The man had thrown me to my back, knocking all of the air out of my lungs. I looked over to see Petty Officer Sanders, bleeding from his abdomen. I had been trying to help him when the Taliban warrior grabbed me. I tried to get him into a lock when he flipped me as hard as he could. He had a gun and then he pulled out a knife. I didn't know what he was saying, something sinister, I was sure. I sucked in as much air as I could and struggled to get up. He then pointed his gun at him. I grabbed his wrist, twisting it away from my face. He pulled my hair, knife to my throat. I bit his hand and wheeled away from him, using my legs to wrap around his head and throw him down with all my strength. I heard the gun go off, a pop that was so close to my head, I thought he shot me in the neck or face. The searing pain was elsewhere, my shoulder. My whole left side went weak and numb. I punched him in the face, a sickening crack echoing as blood poured out of his nose.

I gasped again and looked around to see Jon and Ky looking at me like I had lost my mind. Patrick was groaning from under me. I had my knees pinning his shoulders down and my fist was up from just punching him in the face. My eyes widened in horror. I started swearing as I hauled him to a sitting up position. He was holding his nose, blood pouring through his fingers. I yelled from Jon or Ky to grab a first aid kit and a hot wash cloth.

“I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. Shit, I'm sorry.” I rambled to Patrick. Jon came back with everything, handing it to me. I grabbed Patrick's hands and moved from his face, using the wash cloth to pinch his nose and stop the blood. Once it stopped bleeding, I made sure it wasn't broken. It wasn't, thank god. I started cleaning it up and then rubbing his cheek bones to make sure I didn't damage anything.

“I guess I learned my lesson, huh?” Patrick joked. I shot him a look that, something along the lines of you're an idiot but you're too cute. “Hey, hey.....I'm fine.” he said, stopping me for a second. “Are you okay?” he asked.

I couldn't form a sentence for a moment, just stared at him. I cleared my throat and nodded slowly, using the damp cloth to try and wipe the blood off his hands. I was glad I didn't get any on Ky's white rug. She would have been so pissed. Speaking of, I hadn't heard a peep out of her. When I glanced back, she wasn't standing there anymore and neither was Jon. I looked back at Patrick and wouldn't you believe it, he smiled at me, that little shit.

“What's so funny?” I asked, taking the bloody tissues and cloth and bringing them to the sink. He got to his feet and followed me slowly.

“They said you would kick my ass, you sure as hell did.” he said with a chuckle. I turned and looked at him, sighing a little.

“I'm sorry....I didn't mean to punch you.” I said, frowning slightly at my actions.

“Hey, its okay. Nothing's broken. I should know better than to challenge a badass like you.” he said, laughing more heartily this time. I couldn't help to but laugh as well, shaking my head at this whole situation.

Then he did something crazy. He very slowly and deliberately put his hands on my shoulders. Then slid them around my back and pulled me into a tight hug. He must of did so I didn't freak out on him or something. My fists carefully tightened on his shirt and I rested my head on his chest. We both had stopped laughing at that point and were just really silent. It was the first time since being home that I didn't feel scared.