Happily for Allison, two helicopters arrived in minutes. She was carefully loaded onto a stretcher and carried up the stairs. Jake would not leave her side. Despite her latest attempts to break him up with Holly, he meant her no harm. He wanted her out of his life, not out of life altogether. Nevertheless, Jake had one more reason to feel badly. Seeing her helpless on the floor made him realize how terribly he had treated her, since that first night in his bar. Yes, she had wronged him: she had led him to believe that she was dead; but he had been rude to her, time and time again. Of course, her behavior towards him had not been ideal, either; but Jake was a much better man than the recent brute who had been avoiding her, and insulting her since she had blown into town.

Doctor Stein, the young medic, was quite confident of Allison’s chances, even though Allison had lost quite a lot of blood. Allison’s blood type was 0+ and there was a small blood bank available onboard the plane. Still, before he could operate on her, he had to wait until plane reached cruising altitude and that took a little time. Moreover, working in a tiny room in the hull of a moving airplane did not make the situation any easier for him. Fearing for her life, Jake kept pacing up and down outside the room, accompanied by his friend, Ricardo Sanchez.

“She’s going to be fine, big Jake,” he tried to reassure him. “She’s a survivor. I still don’t know how she came back from the dead, though.”

“She never was dead,” Jake corrected him. “It was all part of a plan.”

“She had you thinking she was dead?” Ricardo’s deep voice went up an octave. “Man; that had to really hurt. What plan are you talking about?”

“Ask the Secretary of Defense,” Jake muttered. “He hatched it.”

“I never thought I’d see you in that uniform again, man,” Ricardo said as he laughed. “You showed some balls out there. Thanks a lot.”

“No problem, you idiot,” replied Jake as he smiled. “Just don’t get careless, or I’m going to have to come rescue you again.”

At that moment, Dr. Stein emerged from the operating room.

“I’ve removed the bullet, and stitched up the artery,” he announced. “She’s going to be fine.”

“Oh, thank God,” Jake sighed in relief. “Can I go see her?”

“Sure,” Dr. Stein nodded. “No more than a few minutes, though. She needs to rest.”

“Thank you, doctor,” Jake said, passing by him to see his fellow platoon leader.

His gaze was fixed on the large bandage on her leg, as soon as he laid his eyes on her.

“It could be a lot worse,” he heard Allison say in a faint voice. She was pale; a few strands of her long, blonde hair were in her face.

“I can’t argue with that,” Jake said, his tone calm and steady as he turned his gaze to her face. “How are you feeling?”

“Not bad, actually: thank God for those strong painkillers,” a broad smile spread across her face. “Come closer. I won’t bite.”

“I called Simms.” He informed, obligingly. “He was thrilled to hear about the operation. He said he’d decorate us all.”

“You don’t look so happy about it,” Allison remarked, assuming a more serious voice. “Why?”

“I never cared about medals, Allie,” Jake attempted a lazy tone. “You know that.”

“Yeah, I do. Listen, I’m sorry about what I did, back in Adams. I did some pretty awful things. I messed you guys up pretty badly,” Allison admitted, guilt written all over her face.

“Why in the world did you do all that?” He lowered his voice, leaning over her. “I mean, accusing her of owing money to a loan shark? And who the hell was that guy in my bar, anyway?”

“Just some local…” she answered, reaching out her hand to touch his. “I paid him to pretend to be my boyfriend. It’s pretty sad if you think about it.”

“I can’t argue with that, either,” Jake sighed, feeling her fingers on his wrist. “I need to apologize to you, too. I shouldn’t have been so rude to you.”

“I can’t blame you for that,” Allison whispered in a voice turned soft and tender, as she clenched her jaw. “I was horrible to you.”

“You should get some sleep,” he suggested, as a faint smile formed on his face. “I’ll check on you later.”

“Jake, don’t…” she uttered, squeezing his wrist as he tried to turn around. “Please, don’t go just yet. I’m really sorry, honey. I should have told you.”

“Don’t go there again, Allie,” Jake whispered, the pleading tone in her voice making his heart sink. “We’ve been over this.”

“How can I not go there?” Allison wondered, as her eyes darkened with sorrow. “I miss you, Jake. God, I miss you so much.”

“Do you know how many times I dreamt you were still alive?” He asked, his voice broken, as he felt tears rising in his eyes. “Do you know how many times I wished I could see you, just one last time? Do you know how much I needed to hear your voice?” he ended with a voice gone raspy and low.

“Oh, my God…” a sad whisper escaped her, as she dropped her face into her hands.

“You chose the uniform over me, Allie,” Jake concluded, a tear rolling down his face as she burst out crying. “You volunteered for the mission; no one forced you to do that.”

“I still love you, Jake…” she sniffled, sliding her hands down her cheeks.

“Maybe…” he whispered, biting his lower lip. “But you love that uniform more.”

Unwilling to stay there any longer, he stormed out of the operation / recovery room, feeling more tears streaming down his face. The conversation he had been avoiding for days had gone precisely as he expected. Jake knew what Allison would say to him, long before she even opened her mouth, but her apologies could not change the fact that she had left him in the dark for a long time.

“Yeah, you love me, Allie. I can’t deny that. That’s why you pulled all those crazy tricks on me in Adams. That’s why you’re crying right now. But, don’t expect me to forget about everything and take you back. I can’t forgive what you did. There’s someone new in my life. And I can’t wait to get back to her…”