26This is a going to be a fairly short story, i couldn't get this idea out of my head, so I had to write it! Please let me know if there is anything specific you want to happen in this story, i write as i publish. This is going to be mostly recovery. There will be lots of hurt Clay and the team comforting him! Let me know if you like it.
Have you ever had a concussion? Or a bad migraine? It feels like your brain is trying to squeeze it's way out of your skull. There's also dizziness and nausea to go along with that pain. It's terrible and it makes doing everyday things nearly impossible.
Clay has had a few concussions in his lifetime, some as a kid, but none on the job yet.
Clay was 8 when him and his friends were playing football in his fiends side yard. He got tackled into a tree and his whole world was instantly black. He woke up a few minutes later, with the worst headache he could imagine and then vomited a few times over the next few hours. Ash never took him to a hospital. He had been drinking that evening and just told him he'd be fine in the morning. Clay was fine, after a few terrible days.
Clay thought that day was the worst headache he had ever had, until today...
Bravo was briefed by Shaw, and were fairly confident this would be an easy and short mission. They have had a few tough weeks, and they were looking forward to an easy one. The sting of losing Adam on one of their recent missions was still fresh. They almost lost Clay on that mission too, even though he never complained or brought attention to himself, the team knew he was sill hurting from taking a round to the chest. He had turned down workouts with the guys and kept to himself. Jason was sure it was the combination of losing Adam and hurting physically, so he kept a close eye on the kid. There was something about that kid that made Jason Hayes, one of the best Master Chiefs in the history of the Navy, go crazy. Maybe it was Clay's age, his daddy issues or just that Jason felt like Clay's father sometimes. He was keeping a close eye on the kid these days. He had some conversations with the guys about keeping an eye on Clay too. He wasn't going to let anything more happen to him, not if Jason could help it.
They had gotten to their cages and gotten all their gear ready. Sonny complaining about criminals always hiding in complicated to get to places. Clay checked his phone one last time before they left. He had 2 missed calls from Ash. He wouldn't answer on a good day, let alone right before they were going on a mission. He hadn't talked to Ash in months, why did he want to talk to Clay now? Clay took a deep breath and turned off his phone, he mentally readied himself for whatever this mission would bring. Hopefully all would go well and everyone would remain safe. Clay was used to getting hurt, but watching one of his brothers go through something or lose their friends was so much harder. Clay sent up a silent prayer that all would go well and this mission would be as easy as everyone thought it would be.
They had been trekking through this jungle for days it felt like, or maybe Sonny's complaining just made the trek feel that way. They were all tired and cranky, but they needed to reach this village to take out a high value asset that they had been hunting for months. Abdul Mohammed had been trafficking and selling kids for years. Mandy had finally gotten Intel on where he had been operating all these years. They had sent Bravo through the jungle to raid his compound, rescue the kids and bring him in. They had been dropped off 3 miles from the compound, and had to walk through dense vegetation.
Although they all hated the dense and humid jungle, but Sonny hated it the worst. He was always vocal about everything, but nothing more so than hot women, sharks and jungles. The rest of the team had a great time teasing Sonny as they walked. Brock even chimed in, and he hardly said 2 words. Clay had teased him the most. Telling him how ants were gonna find their way into Sonny's boxers, that a mosquito was going to give him malaria or that he was going to chafe enough to warrant a hospital stay.
Clay and Sonny had formed a quick friendship. They still surprised Jason, he thought Sonny was going to kill Clay when they first drafted the cocky, mouthy kid. But they had all grown to love him, even though he was a trouble magnet.
As they neared the compound they spotted 10 armed guards outside the compound, they could take them out easily. The only problem was, that Clay had somehow stumbled upon an IED and it blew up not far from him, which is why the guards were outside the building now. Clay was unconscious, lying on the ground without a helmet and a blood covering his whole face. Trent instantly ran over to Clay, and so did Sonny. Jason ordered the rest of Bravo to stay alert and head to take out the guards. The jungle was dense enough that the guards couldn't see them, and if they kept moving they could still take them out before they even knew where the explosion came from. The only problem is that Clay was still not conscious, and Jason wasn't just going to leave him alone in this god forsaken place. The only problem was that other hostiles in the area would've heard the explosion too and would be looking for them now too. Jason, Brock, and Ray made it towards the compound, leaving Sonny and Trent to tend to Clay and keep him quiet. Jason prayed they would all make it out okay, and prayed Clay didn't cause anymore trouble than he already has...