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Unsung Heroes: Mission Two	By : RavenLadies Category: +G through L > G.I. Joe Views: 1326 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the cartoon(s) that this fanfiction is written for, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 3
- 4
- 5
Chapter Four

Before being swept up into the CDC, Rebecca Chambers had been a medic. In spite of that, however, she had seen precious little time in the field. She was a doctor now, and although she had, over the course of her training, performed more than a few operations, no incision ever rattled her so much as the tiny one she was preparing to make into Billy's abdomen, just below his sternum. She had no idea just how Billy, not to mention the parasite within him, would respond to even that small wound. She hoped the local anesthetic she had applied would be enough to keep the parasite from noticing, Lifeline's story of the epidural catheter still fresh in her mind.

Lifeline stood next to Rebecca, acting as her assistant during the procedure. After their discussion the night before, the medic had made the necessary arrangements for the needed equipment and instruments, with everything arriving at the containment lab within half an hour of his call. Afterwards, he had gone in to see the Marine, Edwin once again donning latex gloves and a surgical mask before he did so – a change that had not gone unnoticed by Billy. Evading the other man’s questions as best he could, Lifeline had cleaned away the gel from the ultrasound and helped Billy into a fresh hospital gown before pulling up the extra chair next to the Marine’s bed and sitting with him quietly. It was well past three o’clock in the morning when the medic had finally succumbed to sleep, slumping down in the armchair next to his lover’s bedside.

Rebecca took a slow breath to steady herself as she looked over at Edwin, then up at Billy. Aside from the local anesthetic, they had also given him a heavy dose of tranquilizers. There was, admittedly, some concern about the effects of so many drugs in Billy's system. Taking a cue from the failed MRI attempt, however, they were small concerns. It seemed like the parasite was acting as an additional filter, allowing his body to metabolize the drugs and pain-killers quickly, rendering them temporary at best, and useless at worst.

With that in mind, the woman shook herself firmly from her thoughts and settled down to make the incision.

Edwin’s eyes flicked between Rebecca and the vitals monitor that Billy was still hooked up to, the Marine’s pulse and heartbeat steady and strong, despite the amount of sedatives that he had been given. As the scalpel in Rebecca’s hand pierced Billy’s skin, there was a slight jump in the Marine’s heartbeat that lasted for a few beats before returning to normal.

In the outer chamber of the lab, Marcel Hancock had been given the task of manning the main console, the young man's eyes intent on the monitors as well, Billy's vitals being recorded for reference, Lifeline having briefed him on his CO's condition while they had been setting up the equipment.

Rebecca didn't look up, trusting Lifeline to alert her if something started going terribly wrong. It amazed her, in some small part of her mind, that an incision of so small a size would make her so nervous, and she wondered briefly if it would be the same if the person under her were anyone other than Billy. The fleeting thought passed away quickly and she set to work making the incision, slicing through skin and muscle, making a pathway for the scope. Turning to the small cloth covered table on his other side, Edwin picked up the scope, the flexible fiber optic instrument light in his gloved hands, ready to hand it to Rebecca whenever she was ready.

Wordlessly, Rebecca held out her hand once the wound was opened and the initial welling of blood cleaned away. The scope was set in her palm, and she closed her hand around it gently. As she worked the scope into the wound, her touch was gentle but firm, her eyes intense with concentration. If Edwin had been able to see her whole face, he would have seen her biting her lower lip, nearly hard enough to make it bleed. Once again, there was a slight jump in Billy’s heartbeat as the scope was inserted, this one taking a few beats longer to settle then before. Lifeline’s dark eyes flicked between watching the monitor and Rebecca, who turned to Edwin and offered a thumbs up, a silent signal everything was ready. The medic let out a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding. Reaching over, he dabbed at the slight sheen of perspiration on Rebecca’s brow with a folded piece of gauze before turning towards the screen for the camera and beginning to adjust the focus and angle.

Rebecca's eyes raised to look at the screen, gently adjusting the scope as the picture sharpened into focus. When it did, she gasped softly, unaware the sound had escaped her. Nestled between the Marine's lungs, under his heart, was a large cancerous-looking growth. The growth was a shapeless blob, about the size of a newborn kitten. Extending from it were several thick cords of tissue that stretched out, wrapping in an almost intimate caress around Billy's internal organs. From each of the larger cords, a network of smaller ones splayed out, the tiniest of them burrowing into the surface of Billy's lungs, his heart, and even lower, until they were lost from the simple view of the scope. The growth was pulsing regularly, the rhythm in tandem with Billy's own heart.

“Good god,” Lifeline felt something roil in the pit of his stomach as he looked at the screen, getting his first good look at the parasite. Squeezing his dark eyes shut for a moment, he took a deep breath and swallowed it down before turning to look at Rebecca, his face pale beneath the surgical mask. Her own green eyes were wide as she stared at the monitor, a shiver shooting through her. She brought a gloved hand to cover her mouth, only vaguely aware of the surgical mask between her and it.

Forcing himself to look back at the screen, Edwin once again felt his stomach recoil as he looked at the pulsing mass that had lodged itself in his lover’s chest cavity. As the two of them watched, one of the smaller tentacle-like cords moved, slithering its way towards the camera until the picture was obscured as it came in contact with the scope.

Rebecca nearly jumped out of her seat at that, and shook her head. "My god..." she whispered. In spite of having seen similar growths in the bodies she had been sent before, to see the mass moving, perhaps even breathing, and very much alive inside Billy was just too much. She lowered one hand to try and start moving the scope slightly to clear the obstruction, she gasped as she felt it move on its own.

“It’s – It’s almost like it’s sentient,” Lifeline whispered, also unnerved by the action.

"It may be semi-sentient..." Rebecca replied softly. "The Nemesis was...at least until it took over its host..." the last words were spoken barely over a whisper. Edwin’s dark eyes flicked from the screen to Rebecca, the medic just barely having caught the young woman’s words and he felt the bile rise in his throat at the implication. "But it's...networked in there pretty thoroughly. I think it's safe to say removal isn't going to be an option ..." Rebecca's voice was still soft.

“Then what is?”

"I don't know. We're just going to have to try to get a sample of the parasite, and go from there," she said honestly. The medic nodded his head and turned back to the table to ready everything for the sample.

It took some doing, since Rebecca was working with such a limited view, but as she moved the scope closer to the creature, wanting to get a sample as close to the core as possible, the world seemed to explode around her. Billy jerked away from her touch, seemingly wide awake. Rebecca jumped back in surprise; although the parasite had been helping to metabolize the drugs so far, Billy had never recovered so quickly. She didn't have time to ponder on it, however, as the Marine sat up, his expression confused before he doubled over in pain again. The skin along his back, pulled tight, was a dark and ugly purple, and growing darker by the moment. Edwin snapped back around, his dark eyes widening in surprise. “Rebecca!” Moving forward, he started to reach out to the Marine. “Billy!”

"Lifeline, wait!" Rebecca cried out, reaching out and grabbing a hold of the medic’s arm. As she spoke, there was a soft wet tearing sound, and Billy howled in pain as something burst from the Marine's back. A mass of tentacles stretched out, feeling blindly, dripping with the Marine's blood as they flailed.

“Jesus Christ!” Lifeline exclaimed, his hand going to his mouth, his dark eyes wide with shock as he looked at the writhing mass. Sprinkles of dark crimson spotted the pale blue medical scrubs that he and Rebecca were wearing as the tentacles continued to thrash. Instinctively, Edwin moved in front of Rebecca, his first reaction to protect the civilian.

Billy, or at least the creature within him, turned toward them. The tentacles slowed their flailing as Edwin stepped in front of Rebecca, instead lashing out at the equipment beeping steadily nearby, as Billy slid slowly to the floor. "B-Billy," Rebecca murmured, trying to move toward the Marine, only to be halted in her tracks by a tentacle lashing out at her face. She shrank back a step on reflex.

“Stay back!” Edwin warned as he reached out to the young woman and pulled her back before positioning himself in front of her. Once again the writhing tentacles seemed to draw back from the medic although they continued to flail and snap in the air around Billy’s prone body.

"Lifeline! Doctor Chambers!" Hancock's voice sounded over the intercom, the young medic on his feet in front of the bank of consoles on the other side of the protective glass.

Panting harshly, Billy slowly began to rise. First to his knees, then to his feet, the Marine moved like a puppet handled by an inexperienced puppeteer, his movements short and jerky. He looked toward them, before looking toward the door of the containment lab. “We can’t let him get out of here,” Edwin said as he moved away from Rebecca, edging around the room towards the door, moving parallel to Billy.

Rebecca only hesitated a moment, before following Edwin. "We have to lock the lab down. Can we do that in here, or do we have to be outside?" she asked hurriedly, ducking as another tentacle lashed out toward her, speckling her shoulder and the side of her neck with blood. Billy, meanwhile, continued staggering toward the door.

“Only from the outer chamber,” Lifeline answered before jumping back a few steps as another glistening whip-like cord lashed out at his feet.

"We'd better get moving, then," Rebecca hissed. Billy seemed to sense that they were trying to leave, and the tentacles lashed out again, trying to block the two retreating medics.

“Rebecca!” Edwin unceremoniously nudged the young woman out of the way of the snapping tentacles, just barely managing to keep himself from being hit in the process. Rebecca flailed as they reached the door, Edwin's nudge throwing her off-balance. She fell against the light switch, the dimmer shifting, and lowering the light level considerably. “Get out of here while you can!” Lifeline yelled over his shoulder to Rebecca as he stood in front of her, facing Billy’s shuffling form, the dark cords whipping and snapping in the air around the Marine.

"What about you?" Rebecca cried back. Billy's gaze turned toward Rebecca, the blue eyes alien as they caught the light, reflecting it like a cat's would.

Glancing momentarily over his shoulder, his eyes were intent as he looked at Rebecca. “We can’t let him get out of here,” he stated, his tone resolute. “I’ll keep him distracted while you open the door and slip out. Now go!”

Rebecca looked at Edwin a moment then shook her head. “You're right, we can't let him out.” She slapped the button to the intercom that would let her communicate with Hancock, who was manning the console outside. “Hancock! Lock down the lab!”

“B-but, Ma'am—”

“Now!”

Hancock's eyes darted from Rebecca, to Lifeline, to Billy and back again, before he gave a small nod as he punched the emergency lock down. There was a loud clank as the door locks snapped into place, and the metal shutter rolled down, giving Hancock just a last brief look at the others before they were obscured from his view.

Billy's unsteady steps slowed as Edwin turned toward him, his head tilting to the side a bit at the noise that he only dimly understood in his current state. Lifeline heard the locks snapping into place. He understood why Rebecca hadn't run; even with Edwin himself acting as a human shield, there was still a chance Billy might overpower him, and use her escape as a chance to make his own. So, with the young doctor locked in the lab with him, Lifeline made that his cue to try and draw the parasite’s attention to himself, and if he was lucky, calm Billy down. Taking a few steps forward, he put his hands up, palms out as he called to the Marine. “Billy?” The medic’s voice was soft, the tone even despite the rising sense of panic he felt now that he was alone with the parasite. As he continued to call the other man’s name, Edwin silently prayed that there was still enough of his lover in that shuffling body to recognize him and respond.

Billy froze completely, the tentacles lowering slowly. "E-Edwin..." The Marine choked the words out through his lips, feeling his knees starting to buckle.

Lifeline couldn’t help his eyes welling up a bit as he heard his name fall from the other man’s lips. “I’m right here,” he said as he took a few more slow steps forward. “It’s okay...it’ll be okay...” the medic’s voice was choked with emotion.

Billy took a single step toward Lifeline, before collapsing to the ground with a soft sound, the tentacles starting to pull back toward the Marine again, coiling until they were nestled into the gaping wound in the small of his back. “Billy!” Even as he called out the Marine’s name, the medic couldn’t seem to get his feet to move forward. Blinking back unshed tears, he stared at the dark slick wound in Billy’s back for several long moments before he found the power to move once again. Stumbling forward, he rushed to the other man, falling to his knees when he reached Billy.

Billy looked up at the medic, his own expression dazed and frightened as the wound slowly started to seal over. "E-Edwin..."

His emotions overtaking him, Lifeline could no longer stop the tears as they spilled from his dark eyes. Sliding his arms around Billy he pulled the Marine to him, hugging the other brunette to his chest as he cried in earnest. A shudder ran through Billy as he reached out, his arms wrapping around Edwin's waist and he curled up like a terrified child, clinging to the medic. "I-I didn't...hurt you...did I?" he whispered.

Rebecca watched the two men silently, glad she'd had the foresight to turn the intercom back off again. The danger, such as it had been, seemed to have passed, and she suddenly felt like an intruder, a voyeur watching interaction that was never meant for her eyes.

“No,” Edwin whispered back after a few moments, the medic managing to rein in his tears a bit. Oblivious to everything but Billy, Lifeline’s hand strayed up into the Marine’s dark hair, combing through the blood spotted strands at the back of Billy’s head.

The familiar touch calmed Billy even further and he tensed a little as the wound finished healing. "What...what just happened? I...Edwin..." Billy floundered, unable to gather his thoughts, the sheer reality of the attack he'd been the cause of too surreal.

“Shhh...it’s okay. It – it wasn’t -- it wasn’t you,” the words were choked out as a fresh round of tears welled in Lifeline’s eyes, a vision of Billy’s shuffling form, surrounded by flailing dripping tentacles finding its way into his mind once again. Squeezing his dark eyes closed, he tried as hard as he could to push it away.

"What...do I have? What...what is this thing?" Billy whispered.

The medic felt something in his chest clench, his arm tightening around the other man. It was several moments before Edwin could bring himself to speak. “It’s . . .” he started, only to have his nerve falter. Forgive me, but I can’t do it...

Billy looked up at the medic, sitting up a little, but not loosening his hold on the medic. "Edwin, please...something is happening to me...I-I'm turning into one of...one of them, aren't I?"

Lifeline met Billy’s blue eyes with his own tear-filled gaze. Slipping his bloodied, gloved hand from the Marine’s hair, Edwin touched it to the side of the other brunette’s face and shook his head. “No...I – I won’t let you...” he stuttered out. “I won’t let it have you.”

That reply, however cryptic, seemed clear enough to Billy, who swallowed hard and tilted his face into Edwin's touch. "God..."

The medic’s hand slid away after a moment and he pulled the Marine to him once again, his arm sliding around Billy’s waist gently as he held the other man close.

After a moment, Billy wrapped his arms around Edwin again, closing his eyes as he felt his stomach start flip-flopping. Rebecca continued to watch them silently for a time. There were a lot of things about Billy Coen she knew, and plenty of things about him that she didn't. But watching him with Edwin, she realized there was a lot more to the Marine than she'd originally thought.

The two men stayed like that for some time, wrapped in each other’s arms silently, clinging almost desperately to one another. Eventually, it was Lifeline who broke the silence, lifting his head a little. “D-Doctor Chambers?” the medic called softly, his voice a little hoarse.

"Yeah?" Rebecca replied, startled from her thoughts.

“If you could tell Hancock to unseal the lab, and send a crew to clean up down here ...” Despite being emotionally drained, Edwin’s tone was relatively calm. “Tell him to ask for Lieutenant Sorenson, she’ll take care of it.”

Rebecca nodded, and hit the intercom button again, relaying Lifeline's message. Once she had, there was a moment of silence before Hancock's voice crackled back through the speaker. "Of course. Are you two all right in there?"

Lifeline nodded slightly and glanced down at Billy’s dark head. Rebecca looked from the two men and replied into the speaker. “I think he’s asleep.”

# # #

As he stepped into the infirmary, Lifeline became instantly aware of the silence that fell over the main room at his appearance. In the wake of what had happened in the containment lab, rumors had begun to fly regarding Billy Coen and the blood splattered lab. Only Lifeline, Rebecca Chambers, Marcel Hancock, Billy and Duke knew just what had actually happened, with the Joe commander rushing down to interrogate Edwin and Rebecca about the incident before they had even had a chance to get cleaned up. The big blonde man had looked decidedly unhappy, ordering that the Marine be kept under a strict quarantine with round-the-clock security.

After seeing that the lab had been cleaned up and the smashed equipment carted away, Edwin had personally seen to getting Billy washed up and put into a fresh bed. Before doing so however, he had inspected the Marine’s back, finding no trace of the wound caused by the tentacles – not even a faint scar. As he looked at the too-pale flesh, he couldn’t help but smile a bit, noting that Billy’s latest tattoo was still intact and seemingly untouched.

He stayed with Billy for a short time, his dark eyes on his lover’s pale face, until once again, the vision of Billy’s blood-spattered body, the whip-like tentacles snapping around it, filled his mind and he hurriedly left the lab. His fists clenched tightly in the pockets of his lab coat, the medic had taken the elevator up to the infirmary seeking out the solace of his small private office.

As he moved through the main reception area, Lifeline kept his eyes on the floor in front of him, ignoring the other staff around him. As he passed Sorenson’s desk, the blonde woman tried to hail him, only to be waved off. “Not right now, Lieutenant.” was the curt reply she received as the medic continued on down the hall.

Pushing open the door, Lifeline stepped inside and closed it firmly behind him before locking it – something he almost never did. Leaning back against the wooden door, the medic closed his eyes and let out a shuddering breath. He stayed like that for several long moments before raising his hand and pushing up his glasses to rub at his eyes with his finger tips, the dark lashes crusted with dried tears.

It was some time before Lifeline found the energy to push himself away from the door, moving to sit down in the chair behind his desk. Reaching down, he opened the bottom drawer of his desk and drew out a bottle of brandy and a shot glass. Back when he had been in paramedic school, one of the instructors had mentioned how he always kept a bottle of brandy on hand, calling it the best medicine for shock and bad news ever invented. Since then, Edwin had always kept a bottle close by, although he rarely had ever used it, and certainly never for himself – at least until now. Opening the bottle, he poured out a couple of fingers worth, his hand shaking slightly despite his best efforts. Replacing the lid on the bottle, he picked up the glass and looked at it for a moment before putting it to his lips and tilting his head back.

The medic couldn’t help coughing a bit as the liquor burned down his throat and hit his stomach, which had never quite settled down from earlier. Setting the glass back down, Edwin then buried his head in his arms on the top of the desk.

# # #

Rebecca returned to her own room to change, taking her time as she stripped away the blood-splattered scrubs and dug out clean clothes. She was still trying to let herself process everything that had happened, from Billy's attack, to what she'd witnessed with the two men before Duke arrived. Although she hadn't had much reason to fight the strict quarantine, she couldn't help but worry about Billy's mental state. Considering how quickly Lifeline disappeared after things were set to rights, she couldn't help but worry about him as well. Sighing heavily, she gave into her own need for tears, sitting on her bed and crying for a long time before she cleaned herself up, dressed, and headed for the infirmary.

# # #

Rebecca entered the infirmary, noticing quickly that there was a tension in the air that didn't seem quite right. She shook her head and ran a hand through her hair and sighed softly.

Glancing up from some paperwork, Lydia Sorenson noticed Rebecca. Rising from her desk, the blonde nurse made her way over to the other woman. “Can I help you Doctor Chambers?”

"I need to speak with Lifeline."

“I think he’s in his office,” Sorenson started. “But...well I’m not sure that he wants to be bothered right now.”

"In his place, Lieutenant, I wouldn't blame him. But this is important." Rebecca gave Sorenson a smile. "Thank you." She said and walked off toward the medic's office. When Rebecca reached the door to Edwin's office, she tried the knob, and wasn't entirely surprised to find it locked. Reaching up, she rapped gently. "Lifeline? It's Rebecca."

Edwin had removed his glasses and was now sitting with his elbow propped on the desk top, his forehead pressed to the palm of his hand, while beads of moisture dotted the upper lashes of his closed eyes. The medic lifted his head and brushed at his nose with the back of his hand as he sniffed several times. “Just...Just a moment,” Lifeline called out before squeezing his eyes shut for a moment as he took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Picking up his glasses, he resettled the wire frames on his face and rose from his chair. As he reached for the door knob, Edwin took another deep breath before unlocking it. Turning the knob, he opened the door.

Lifeline found himself face to face with Rebecca, who wasn't looking a whole lot better than he was. "I'm sorry to bother you...may I come in?" she asked softly.

“Of course,” the medic replied as he stepped aside to allow the young woman to enter. Rebecca stepped into the office, walked past Edwin, and sank wearily into the chair across from his desk. Edwin resumed his seat once Rebecca was settled, the two of them sitting silently across from one another for several long minutes before the medic spoke. “Are you alright?” he inquired softly.

"Are you?"

Lifeline dropped his eyes, his dark gaze going to his hands which were clasped in his lap. Rebecca felt her heart lurch, and her tone was quiet when she spoke again. "Can I...ask you kind of a personal question?" She watched as Edwin squeezed his eyes closed, certain that he knew what was coming. Rebecca did her best not to fidget in the suddenly tense silence. "Just...how close a-are you and Billy?" she asked softly.

After a few moments, Edwin responded, his voice just barely above a whisper. “Have ...Have you ever head the phrase, 'don’t ask...don’t tell'?” As he spoke, the dark-haired man looked up at Rebecca, who nodded a little; she had been half expecting to hear something like that, and now that she had, she wasn't sure what to say. So she settled for nothing. “That close,” the medic said softly before dropping his eyes once again.

"H-how long?" The words were surprisingly even as they fell from the young woman’s lips.

“A little over a year,” was the reply.

"Wow..."

Lifeline’s chocolate brown gaze lifted up towards Rebecca. “Shocked?”

The young woman dropped her eyes, suddenly shy. "A little. I...would never have guessed."

“That makes three of us,” the medic said, his tone sounding a bit sharper than he had intended.

Rebecca flinched at the tone. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you..."

Edwin sighed wearily and shook his dark head. “No, I’m sorry. I...didn’t mean for it to sound like that.”

"I guess we're both a little wound up still," Rebecca offered quietly. Lifeline nodded his head, his gaze sliding away from the young woman once again. Silence stretched between them once more, and again, it was the young woman that broke it. "Have you...tested yourself? Just in case?"

“A blood test. After I first found...” Edwin responded at length, his gaze focused on his lap. “It was clean.”

Rebecca nodded. "I think...just to be safe...I'd like to test you again. With your permission, of course."

Lifeline slowly nodded his head, “Of course.”

"I want you to test me, too." The young woman offered Lifeline a faint smile. "It'll make things look a little less suspicious that way..." Edwin looked up at Rebecca, regarding her for a few moments before nodding his head in agreement.

Rebecca nodded as well and slumped in her chair again. The pair fell into silence once again. In the stillness, Lifeline’s gaze found its way to a framed five by seven photograph on his desk, a picture of he and Billy taken at Lake Havasu months earlier. The two of them all smiles as they each held up a string of good-sized trout, the Marine even mugging a bit for the camera. The medic swallowed, feeling the itch of tears behind his dark eyes. “It’s too late, isn’t it?”

Shaking her head, the young woman rose, and circled around to stand beside Edwin, letting her own emerald gaze shift to the picture. "I don't know, Lifeline. I really wish I did...I've never seen a case like this before, except with the Nemesis, and this just isn't acting like that."

Lifeline’s gaze continued to linger on the picture, his eyes focusing on the blue-eyed man who had become such an important part of his life during the past year. “He needs to know,” he said after a few moments.

Rebecca laid a hand on Lifeline's shoulder gently. "Did you want to tell him, or should I?" She asked softly.

“I don’t know if I can.” The medic swallowed. “I tried but...I couldn’t...I couldn’t do it.”

"I will, then, if you want." The words came from Rebecca easily, although she wasn't entirely sure she would be able to tell Billy, either.

Edwin was tempted, but after a few moments, he shook his dark head. “It should be me.”

There was another silence, and then, "Would it help if I was there?"

The medic turned his head a bit and looked up at the young woman. “I’d appreciate it,” he said quietly as he reached up and briefly covered Rebecca’s hand with his.

"It's no trouble." Rebecca replied. "He's going to need a lot of support."

Lifeline’s hand slid away as he turned from Rebecca once again with a slight nod of his dark head.

As Edwin's hand slid away from hers, Rebecca let her arm encircle his broad shoulders in a reassuring hug. "We're not going to give up on him," she said softly. "We're going to beat this thing."

Reaching up across his chest, the medic covered the young woman's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.
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Unsung Heroes: Mission Two