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Rudy's nails dug into Alejandro's upper arm as he gasped for painful breaths of air. "No... n.. no puedo... r-respirar-"
"Yo sé, yo sé..." Alejandro muttered softly and held Rudy close to him. "Por favor, mírame." All Rudy could do was smell smoke. Hear the fire alarm beeping. Hear Hassan. Hear Alejandro in his ear. Feel the bullet digging into his shoulder and back. Feel the butt of a gun forcing him to the ground. Feel the flames inch closer.
"Alejandro... L-Lo siento, L-Lo siento much-" Rodolfo stopped abruptly to cover his mouth as he went into a coughing fit. The smoke was overwhelming. It was stinging his eyes and he could practically taste it, breathe it in and choke on it. "A-Ale-" He gasped and clutched onto Alejandro's stable arms.
Alejandro's expression went from worried to genuinely terrified. "Rudy...!" He shouted. Rudy flinched away from him, fully letting go of Alejandro as he stumbled to get off of his lap, but he fell onto his bad shoulder. Alejandro got up and rushed to his side, but Rodolfo shoved him away as he continued to wheeze for air and cry. Now, Alejandro had seen and even had his fair share of panic attacks. It came with being human and especially came with being in the military. But seeing something about his second in command, his boyfriend, his childhood friend, crawling away from him as if he were the enemy...
"Rudy, por favor, lo sient-" By now he'd been yelling (accidentally contributing to Rodolfo's panic) and a good half of the base could hear him, including a very concerned Gaz and Ghost who just so happened to be walking by.
Gaz and Ghost had been walking together, both teaming up on a quest to interrogate Soap about where the good tea had gone. He'd lost a bet recently and Ghost predicted that he must've been feeling quite bitter about losing, hence him stealing the good tea as revenge. Their little adventure was cut short as they heard the muffled coughs and worried yelling of two people inside of Rodolfo's room. Gaz quickly grabbed the handle and pushed, the door unmoving.
"Fuck- Ghost-" Gaz turned to Ghost and immediately moved away as the man was already in position. A large crack and the door's lock was broken. "Shit, is he okay?" Gaz ran in and came to Rodolfo's aid. He recoiled at Gaz' touch and instead shrunk into himself. By then he was too exhausted to cry or do much other than wheeze and gently cough a few seconds at a time.
"What the hell happened?"
"Tuvo- H-He had a nightmare." Alejandro reached over and pressed his hand to Rodolfo's cheek. "He was scared of me. He tried to get away and he fell, I-I hurt him." Ghost, who previously had been watching from right next to Gaz, crouched down and picked up Rodolfo. "Infirmary." He stated and left with Gaz and Alejandro trailing close by.
As they walked, Alejandro stayed silent, only speaking up when Rodolfo started to get fussy. "Coronel..." He whined and tried to move around in Ghost's arms.
"Estoy aqui, Rudy, estoy aqui." Alejandro muttered softly and grabbed Rodolfo's hand and held it in his.
"Coronel..." Rudy whispered and closed his eyes again, exhausted as all hell. "Coronel... Hay un incendio... sal..." And he was out like a light. Alejandro held Rodolfo's hand all the way to the infirmary, where the group was told to sit back and wait as they checked over Rodolfo. Alejandro sat, and couldn't stay still. Tapping his leg, fussing with his clothes, grabbing his arms.
"Alejandro. He'll be okay." Gaz spoke up next to him. "Rodolfo's strong."
"I-I know. I know he'll be okay, but..." Alejandro sighed and looked down at the ground. "I handled it poorly. I panicked, and he thought I was yelling at him." Ghost was leaning against the wall to Alejandro's left.
"You did what you could."
"I could've done better, though!" Alejandro turned, frustrated. "He needed me, I panicked, a-and now he probably hates me!"
"He won't." Ghost replied. "Might not remember what happened with how exhausted he looked."
"How the hell would you know?" Alejandro bit back, angry with how calm the two of them were. Ghost just glared back at Alejandro before turning away.
"Well, Sergeant Major Parra seems to have had just a panic attack based off of what Colonel Vargas told us," The nurse in front of the two men stated, looking over her papers. "However, he did develop a bit of a fever, so we're keeping him here overnight. Just to be sure."
"Can we see him?" Alejandro asked eagerly. He was on the verge of just abandoning the nurse and going to Rodolfo without her permission at that point.
"...Yes, but-" Alejandro stood up and was about to just run off, but Gaz grabbed him by his wrist.
"Colonel." Gaz pulled him back.
"...But, he's unconscious right now. His panic attack was very straining, so he needs the rest. His room is down this hallway, on the left. Room 3. Do not," the nurse paused, shooting a glare towards all of them (but especially Alejandro and Ghost) "disturb other patients." The two sane men nodded, having already been left in the dust by Alejandro who was literally sprinting down the hallway. Without a second thought he ripped the door to Rodolfo's room open and walked in with Ghost and Gaz soon following.
Alejandro rushed to Rodolfo's side and took his hand into Rodolfo's like he had in the hallway earlier. Rodolfo had only been given a heart monitor and an ice pack on his forehead. "Doc's notes says he has a fever." Ghost muttered, holding papers he'd swiped from outside as he entered.
"Mi corazón, mi corazón, lo siento, debería haberlo hecho mejor..." Alejandro muttered softly into Rodolfo's neck as he held him. "Debería haberlo hecho mejor..."
"Mm..." Rodolfo groaned, the heartbeat monitor picking up as Rodolfo started to wake. "Rudy!" Alejandro almost shouted out of excitement. "Rudy, Rudy, p-por favor-" Ghost and Gaz gave each other a nod and left the room, figuring it was best to leave Alejandro alone. They didn't want to interrupt a moment like this.
"Coronel...?" Rudy squinted at Alejandro. "Que... El... e-el... Fuego..." his voice was small and destroyed from coughing and crying previously.
"Esta bien, no hay fuego...Estamos fuera. Estas en nuestra base ahora." Alejandro replied and kissed the top of his hand. "Pero... Hassan..." Rodolfo whimpered and tried to sit up, but a hand to his chest pushed him down. "A-Ale..." It was pretty clear that Rodolfo was extremely disoriented. "Mmm.." He groaned.
"Hassan esta muerto." Alejandro squeezed his hand once Rodolfo had stopped trying to get up. "Que ocurre?"
"M-Mareada... Calida... " Rodolfo tightly clutched Alejandro's hands and held them against his chest, shivering. "Haz... Hazlo mejor, Ale..."
"Estare justo aqui," Alejandro muttered and scooted a chair over to sit in. "Estare justo aqui." And with that, Rodolfo smiled and fell unconscious again.