He should be home... scratch that... he should probably be in a hospital, being monitored for a concussion. The report was important enough to disregard that, though. The rebel cell that he had battled with, had only been a splinter group. Une and the Preventers needed as much information as possible to pursue it with fresh agents. The wounded could only have their rest after they were deployed.

"Hey, Captain Maxwell!!" One of his men, grunting with a male adrenaline high, knocked knuckles with Duo as he passed by, both of them grinning like maniacs. "We showed them!"

"Rock 'em and sock 'em!" Duo laughed back. "The rest are probably pissing themselves right now, scared to death. We'll get 'em on the rebound."

"Damn right!" another agent, limping and leg braced up to his thigh with a field strap, shouted.

They were tossing their gear to other agents, fresh off their transport and muddy and bloody. Duo's laptop was balanced on one knee and he was perched on a mountain of that gear, unconcerned with the bloodied and holed flack jackets as he worked. His own was open at the collar, stripped open on the side and showing a sweaty undershirt. His combat pants, black knife strapped to one thigh, were as filthy as everything else.

I waited for my time, leaning back against a wall, in shadow and out of sight. I knew that he needed to do this. I knew that I had to throttle all of my concern for him, until the mission was truly completed.

As his men filed out, laughing and joking with the ground crew, and he was left with only the few men who were logging in the equipment, Duo allowed himself to finally frown in pain and exhaustion. He blinked and blinked again, fingers slowing in their typing as he tried to keep his concentration.

Not for the first time, I thought, 'This could have been my place'. I had been a soldier, of one sort or another, my entire young life. My decision to never kill again, to stay at a desk job to keep my personal promise, sometimes weighed heavy on me, especially when I saw the man I loved go into combat without me there to watch his back.

When the laptop closed, though, and Duo took in a shuddering breath, my decision, once again, became the right one. He needed me here, as well, needed me to be here to catch him and care for him when the missions were done.

Sliding a supporting arm around him, and helping him off the mound of gear, he grinned at me lovingly and with relief. "Hey, baby," he said with a chuckle.

I scowled at the ridiculous endearment, and his head wound, and grunted, "How many times do I have to tell you to duck, asshole?"

Duo laughed outright and then winced at the pain it caused his head. "As many times as you want to," he replied. "As long as you'll always be here for me."

We limped towards medical as my arm tightened around him and I replied, "I never intended to do anything else."