Lieutenant Kellogg regained consciousness inside the medevac Blackhawk. There were two "docs" busily attending to the three Marines inside. The other two Marines were the ones in the guard tower. The explosion had knocked their tower over, and they had been crushed by the hesco barriers. They were in bad shape. Lieutenant Kellogg’s chest was bruised, and three ribs were cracked from the close-quarters gunshots he had taken. His right arm and side were riddled with shrapnel from the mortar blast, and he was still bleeding from the gunshot wound to his left arm. One of the docs loaded him up with morphine, and the pain dwindled just enough for Kellogg to black out again. When he awoke, he was inside a clean and quiet tent. A nurse scuttled over to him and checked his vitals. “You just got out of the operating room about thirty minutes ago,” the nurse scribbled something on his chart. “You're stable enough for an airlift to Germany. You'll be leaving in an hour or so. How's your pain level right now?” Kellogg tried to answer, but a croak just emanated from his mouth. He was too dehydrated from his ordeal, and his throat was on fire. The nurse offered him some ice chips. The cold ice parched Kelloggs dry mouth and relieved his throat enough for him to reply: “My head is killing me and my left arm feels like it’s on fire!” “Unfortunately, this is to be expected with your concussion. But I can give you some more morphine. As for your arm, it was pretty badly torn up by the shrapnel. The doc was able to save it - for now… I'll be right back.” The nurse returned a few moments later with another pillow to prop up Kellogg’s head, “Here's some more morphine and Midazolam, which will help you relax.” The nurse injected the contents of two vials into the IV line. Thankfully it worked quickly and his breathing relaxed as the pain subsided dramatically. Before the nurse had closed the door Kellogg fell asleep.  ![[sandDunes-i8.jpg]] Kellogg woke up as the C-130 was touching down in Germany. His head hurt less, and his throat did not feel like it was on fire now. However, his arm and side felt worse. He grimaced with pain as the Air Force medical staff wheeled him out of the plane and into a waiting ambulance. The ride to the hospital was short. The driver had made this drive a thousand times and could do it in her sleep if she had to. There was a bustle of activity once Kellogg’s ambulance made it to the hospital. There were nurses, orderlies, and doctors buzzing about the room, talking to one another, and occasionally gesturing towards Kellogg. He was unable to hear what they were saying, and even if he was able to, his mind was too hazy from the drugs and the concussion to make much sense of anything. After a few minutes, he was wheeled into a private room which was nearly dark except for a nice soft lamp on in one corner of the room. There was a TV, and rain was pattering against the window. Kellogg could see it was night outside and the soft noise of rain pitter pattering against the window lulled him back to sleep. When he awoke, there was a little light coming through the edges of the curtains. He had no idea what time it was. He shifted in his bed, trying to get in a more comfortable position, but there was a hard, heavy object near his legs. Suddenly, the weight at his feet shifted, a blanket slid to the floor, and a face looked up at him bleary-eyed. "Lilli!? Is it you?" Kellogg croaked. “Am I dead?” he asked as he reached out for her, and she leapt into his one good arm, being careful not to put any pressure on his bandaged wounds, which were all over his body. It was an awkward embrace. “No, you are very much alive, my love,” Lilli had tears streaming down her face as the relief of seeing her husband's eyes open flooded over her.  “How did you get here?” Kellogg asked.  “Well I had just gotten back from a conference in Miami, when there was a knock at the door. It was two Marines in their dress-blues. I thought you were dead…” Lilli sobbed as she blew her nose. “It is going to take a lot more than a war to kill me.” Andor hugged Lilli to his chest and kissed her hair. “You smell amazing!” he shifted around in his bed, trying to get comfortable. “You’re crazy.” Lilli chided as she sat up. “I haven’t showered in almost three days. Your unit bought me a plane ticket and I have been flying for what seems like days to get here.” “Well I probably haven’t showered in a month, our base’s generators kept breaking and we didn’t have water pressure in the shower tents for months.” Andor sniffed his arm pit and wrinkled his nose in disgust. “You poor thing.” Lilli wiped the tears and snot from her face. “I’ll see if I can get you a sponge bath or something. I am surprised they haven’t cleaned you up already.”  “That sounds nice.” Andor glanced down Lilli’s neck, the thought of her giving him a sponge bath filling his mind. Her blouse’s top button was undone and he could see she was wearing a lacy pink bra.  “What the?! Are you getting aroused?” Lilli sat up and prodded Andor’s erection which was clearly protruding out of his hospital gown.“Only you would get aroused by a woman who hasn’t showered in days and whose hair looks an absolute disaster while bleeding out from numerous battle wounds!”  “What can I say - a man’s gotta have his priorities in order. Plus you’re not just ‘a woman’ you are Lilly B. Kellogg” Andor said with a smirk and a long sigh as Lilli gently grabbed his engorged penis. Suddenly from behind them came a loud “Ahhheem”  Lilli squeaked in surprise and quickly pulled the blanket over Andor’s lap. “I'm sorry to interrupt your um… um… reunion, but I am Doctor Kane and I need to take some vitals. How is your arm feeling?” the doctor asked as she reached for her stethoscope. “It hurts like crazy,” Andor replied as the doctor placed a stethoscope on his chest and listened. A scowl formed on her face.  “Apparently it doesn’t hurt too bad.” the doctor replied with a smirk and looked at Lilli whose face was bright red with embarrassment. “I wanted to wait till you were awake but I'm afraid we are going to have to amputate your arm. The fever is not breaking, and your circulation appears to be too poor to allow the limb to heal itself. The trauma to your arm is just too extensive.” Lilli stared, too wiped out from jet lag to fully process all the doctor had said. Andor was shocked. He had not thought too much about his limbs, they had always been there, done what he needed them to do, but now they were going to have to remove one, and he was too tired, and drugged up, to come to terms with all the emotions he was feeling. “Umm, really?” Andor stammered. “You mean there is nothing you can do?” “I am sorry, I know it is a lot to process and so suddenly too. I wish I could offer a better prognosis, but I am afraid we need to move you into surgery as soon as possible. I will have a nurse come in and answer any questions you may have. Again, I am truly sorry, but we must move quickly, the infection is spreading.” The doctor said a few more things, but Andor was not listening. He had slept so much in the last few days, and yet he still felt exhausted. The operational tempo in theater had been like a drug, pushing him from one task to another with little rest in between for months. Since there was no longer an 'op tempo' to keep him going, his body was telling him to catch up on some well-deserved rest. All he wanted to do was sleep. _Am I depressed?_ Kellogg thought to himself. _I had all but given up hope of ever seeing Lilli again; I thought for sure I was going to die in Syria, and I nearly did._ _Now, just as things were starting to look up, I find out it is only going to get worse…_ Lilli snapped Kellogg out of his stupor; she was smiling at him and saying something. His mind snapped back to the room. “What did you say?” “I love you,” she replied with a weak smile. Then she leaned in for another hug and in that moment, he knew everything was going to be alright. He had her love and this was enough to restore his hope. ### Next Chapter: [[9 - Reality 🩼]] ### Previous Chapter: [[7 - The end of the beginning 🌖]]