“Accidents are avoidable,” Aberlour said. It was an old saying his mother had been fond of. He’d never used it before. How odd that her well-used expression should tumble out of his mouth so readily.
“The kid in the jungle got spooked. He was a terrible shot. He wasn’t aiming for Carlos.” Ghost had said the same thing during their short briefing earlier with their commanding officer. Their commander had simply nodded and told them he’d need the full report later, along with an update on Carlos’ condition.
“He knows that.” Oliver spoke from behind Aberlour.
Aberlour hadn’t even heard Oliver come back into the waiting room, which was a clear sign that he wasn’t in the best shape.
“Does it fucking change anything? No. So—” Aberlour gritted his teeth and resumed pacing.
“Abe—” Oliver began, taking a step in his direction. Aberlour held up a hand to ward him off. He didn’t want to be held or reassured. He felt like a wolverine was crawling around inside his chest, desperate to get out. If Oliver came near, he’d probably punch him.
Having read the warning signs, Oliver stopped and raised his hands in surrender.
“Boys,” Marcus suddenly called out, as he came running into the room, his eyes wide like he’d seen Madonna on deck. He seemed—rattled, yes, but also—excited? It was an odd thought, knowing their teammate laid in the operating room.
Aberlour didn’t have time to ask why Marcus looked ecstatic as Dr. Fryer, the surgeon, walked in wearing a pleased smile.
Aberlour felt his legs give out, but he caught himself against the wall.
“Staff Sergeant Castillo will be fine. We were able to remove the bullet and the damage to his shoulder seems limited. He got lucky. He should be as good as new in a few weeks.”
The room exploded with cheers and whoops. Without realizing how it happened, Aberlour’s arms were wrapped around Oliver, who clutched him with all his might.
“Can we see him?” Marcus asked once the noise had died down.
Dr. Fryer gave a curt nod but held up a warning hand. “He’s lost a lot of blood. He’ll be weak. You can go in a few at a time, if you promise to behave,” she cautioned with an amused twinkle in her eye.
These guys were no strangers to her. She’d patched them up more than a few times. She knew how rowdy they could get. Once she’d extracted promises that they would all behave themselves around Carlos, she headed back out the door.
“I told you he’d be fine,” Oliver whispered, a few inches from his ear, breath hot against his skin.
Aberlour turned to face the sparkling blue gaze and it took everything he had to keep from kissing Oliver, right there in the waiting room. He settled for squeezing him in a one-armed hug.
“Boys!” Marcus said, calling them back to attention. They all turned to look at him inquiringly.
“Well—I guess—” Marcus chuckled as they waited for him to continue. “I called Sabine. We’re pushing the wedding forward. As soon as we’re back stateside, I’m getting hitched,and you’re all my best men!” He sounded as if he couldn’t contain the news any longer.
Another wave of cheers went up. JD, who’d finally woken up, threw himself at Marcus, sending both of them tumbling to the floor. Oliver followed closely behind.
When they finally managed to get everyone back on their feet, Aberlour offered Marcus a quick congratulatory hug.
Ghost, JD, and Oliver were the first ones to go visit Carlos. Aberlour and Marcus hung back.
“I’m really happy for you,” Aberlour said sincerely.
Marcus smiled up at Abe, looking beyond thrilled. “Thanks. Life’s short you know. After today, I just couldn’t wait any longer.”
Aberlour nodded enthusiastically and squeezed Marcus’ shoulder.
“Love looks good on you,” Aberlour told Marcus.
“On you too,” Marcus replied, shocking Aberlour into silence.
Before he could ask what he’d meant—or even summoned enough courage to do so—Oliver popped his head around the edge of the door, interrupting them.
“Dr. Fryer says we can come in all at once, so that way we’ll fuck off faster,” he said, grinning from to ear.
Marcus headed out the door to follow Oliver, leaving Aberlour alone in the waiting room, completely baffled and thoroughly shocked.
