Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. I own the plot, but that's it. Don't sue. I think the title is a song, but I don't know by who.
It had all gone wrong.
This was suppose to be a cakewalk…in and out in under ten minutes. It hadn't gone that way though. No, it hadn't gone that way at all.
Terry was the first to go down. She was stretched out across the debris, a puddle of blood near her head. It was impossible to tell if she was alive or dead.
Jimmy had gone right after her. He was slumped against the wall, more dark red blood splattered on his face and the walls.
Tabitha had been the last to go down. She had thrown herself into the battle with the wild abandoned that he loved so much about her. But even her fiery passion hadn't saved her from the cold meticulous slaughter. She lay still and silent some ten feet from him.
Sam coughed, his mouth filling with something warm and wet. He spat it out, and noticed with disgust it was blood. Internal injuries, he thought to himself.
He could deny it no longer. If the other team didn't get here soon, they were as good as dead. Cannonball closed his eyes for a long moment, then slowly began to crawl to where Tabitha lay.
If Ah am gonna die, Ah'm not goin' with out telling her…
Every movement was agony, a thousand knives plunging into his body. He struggled to ignore it, focusing on the small body that ended in a tangle of blonde hair matted with crimson. His hands where scrapped and raw from the scrapple, but still he forced himself onward, one inch at a time.
Halfway there, he almost gave up. His body was screaming at him to stop, to rest, and he almost gave in. Almost. But then, Tabitha's beautiful face danced inside of his mind, filling him with strength. And he began his agonized journey yet again.
Finally, after what seemed like centuries, Sam reached her side. She lay as still and as silent as she had since she had gone down, and Sam was suddenly very afraid that she was dead. Suddenly, he caught sight of the slight rise and fall of her chest. Silently, he thanked God for that at least.
"Tabitha?" He gurgled, dropping to lie on his stomach next to her. Tabitha didn't reply, just continued to lay still.
"Tabitha…Ah don't know if you can hear me. But Ah have to say this to you, before…" Sam stopped himself from even thinking that. They would survive. They had too.
"Tabitha…" Sam began again, reaching to touch her face with one of his bloody hands. "Ah…love you. Ah love you so much…" His voice was lost in a gurgle of his own blood.
He dropped down next to her again, stretching out his arm across her body, in a vain attempt to keep her safe. "Ah love you girl…"
Then all he knew was blackness.
A blinding white light was the first thing he saw when he woke up. "Agh…" Sam moaned, closing his eyes against the onslaught. His right hand was being held by something, so he could only lift his left to fend off the light. Thankfully, some one turned the light off.
"Sam?" A soft voice reached his ears. He turned toward the sound of that voice, forcing his eyes open. Tabitha sat in a chair next to his bed. She was the one with his hand held so tightly.
Her head had a large bandage around it, a bit of blood staining the pristine whit. He face was rather battered, several dark bruises already apparent. Her lip was also split in one place, and one of her arms was in a sling. Her right one…her throwing arm, Sam thought blearily.
He didn't care about how she looked. She was still the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out but a harsh cough.
Tabitha looked at him in worry, chewing on her lip. "Do you want some water?"
All Sam could do was nod, gingerly. Tabitha smiled slightly, and let go of his hand. She lifted a water glass setting on the table, and turned back to him. Slowly, he sat up and sipped the water she gave him. It soothed his parched throat, and allowed him to speak again.
"Thank you. What happened?" Sam managed to get out.
"You remember we got ambushed by the MLF, right?" Tabitha asked, putting the glass down, and taking his hand again.
"Yeah, Ah remember all that. How'd we get here?" Sam asked.
"The rest of the guys made it to us in time. They patched us all up, and stuck us on the PACRAT. You were the one we were really worried about." Tabitha told him softly, looking at him with eyes bright with tears.
"How come?" Sam asked.
"You had major internal bleeding, and what looked like a punctured lung. You've been out for nearly four days." Tabitha told him gently.
"FOUR DAYS?" Sam asked, amazed.
"Yeah." Tabitha whispered, clutching his hand tightly. "I was…really worried about you."
"You were? Why?" Sam asked, his voice quite, but with an undeniably hopefully note in it.
Tabitha looked away, swallowing hard. "You know why Sam."
"Ah do?" Sam asked, his voice gruff and shaking.
"Yeah…I…I love you." Tabitha finally managed to get out.
Sam stared at her for an instant, his eyes wide. "You …you do?" Sam squeaked, his eyes wide.
Tabitha nodded her head up and down, smiling hesitantly. Sam smiled back at her, squeezing her hand tightly.
"Ah love you too." Sam told her, lifting her hand up and pressing his face into her hand.
Tabitha looked up at him and slowly smiled. "I know. I-I think I remember you saying that you did, when we were all hurt. Did you?"
"Ah---yeah. Ah did. Ah was scared of dying and you not knowing how Ah felt. But Ah didn't think you heard me." Sam said.
"I think I did. And…Rictor said that they found you stretched out over me, like you were protecting me. Were you?" Tabitha asked, kissing his fingers.
"Yeah, actually. Ah think Ah was trying to do that." Sam said, looking up at her with loving eyes.
Tabitha smiled softly, and bent forward to kiss him softly on the lips. Sam kissed back, gently pulling her down on the bed with him. They kissed for a long time after that, just enjoying being together.