Author's note - Just a quick warning that there is a short but realistic sequence at the very start that deals with flashbacks and PTSD.
Just the Six of Us, Part 2
Chapter 2
"CONTACT LEFT!"
An explosion somewhere close to him showered him with debris. Men shouting, men screaming. The dirt embankment on his right shoulder impacted with the sudden crack of gunfire. The LT was shouting orders in the confusion.
Wilkins slid over the embankment breathing hard and casting a quick look at him.
"You good Mikey?" he yelled.
Mike nodded, still clutching the limp form of one of his brothers he'd grabbed before moving into cover. Turner's body was broken and torn, having been thrown from the lead Humvee when the IED went off.
Mike had scrambled from the left rear door of the second vehicle and over to where another Marine had landed after being blown from the first vehicle. Gunfire had erupted as soon as he'd moved, shots snapping off the ground around him as he slung the limp form over his shoulder and carried him to cover.
He heard himself yelling for a Corpsman, then saw Wilkins peer up over the lip of the embankment and heard the sickening impact, his head snapping backward and throwing him with a thud at Mike's feet.
"CORPSMAN!"
***
Emma
Somehow during the night, Emma had somehow worked her way into the middle of Mike and Danni, and now she was practically smothered between the two. She didn't mind too much, despite being a little warm and sweaty, and was silently musing on how the two other people in bed with her slept as she stared up at the ceiling.
Danni was a bed hog, for starters. The bed they were in was large, but she honestly didn't get why her sister was constantly either snuggled up against her or pulling the covers off of the other two until she'd spun herself up into a bedsheet burrito.
Danni was also a snuggler, which was fine when it was just the two of them. Add Mike to the mix, and Emma was sweating with the sheets on, then freezing when Danni ripped them off. She would be snuggled tight up against whoever was next to her, putting her cold butt or feet on them, or if she was facing them, wrapping herself up in a bear hug with the other person's body.
It was honestly no surprise to her that Danni and Mike had started having sex so many years ago. Her hands were constantly pulling and touching her, moving up to grope Emma's breasts in her sleep or drag herself closer. In fact, in that moment, Emma could easily have slid her hand into Danni's panties and caused trouble. She could just as easily imagine how Mike's morning wood would have consistently been an issue for her clingy sister.
Her twin, on the other hand, slept like a rock. She knew that his nightmares about his parents had stopped after he'd found happiness with his siblings, but he'd never been this hard of a sleeper. He'd was laying on his side facing Emma and Danni and hadn't moved since he'd closed his eyes.
That morning, Danni had been doing her Tasmanian Devil impression with the bedsheets, and Emma had angrily yanked them back but only managed to get enough to cover herself. Mike didn't seem to mind in the least, remaining unmoved and stoically resistant to the chill of the cool bedroom.
Of course, that was another thing that mildly irritated her about her sister. Danni loved to keep the apartment ridiculously cold. Emma was constantly having to put extra clothes on or snuggling her feet up under her sister's legs when the two of them would watch TV together. It had been a fight that Sarah had waged against Danni as well, when they all still lived together.
Behind her, Mike's erection was poking her in the butt, though she resisted the urge to take advantage of the enticing bulge. She was always in the mood, as he seemed to be, but was actually pretty sore from all the fun that they'd had recently and could honestly use a break.
Although... if her brother were to wake up and just take her without asking, well... then that was a different thing altogether, wasn't it? The thoughts made her giggle quietly and the gentle noise roused Danni enough to cause her to spin in place, drawing the covers away once again.
Amusement disappeared as she quietly swore and started to reach over and grab the sheets back, but Mike's arms pulled her tight up against his chest and she smiled as she felt his rhythmic breathing against her back. His erection was quickly disappearing though, and she frowned, wishing that he'd just make use of it despite her earlier reservations about actually hurting her girl parts. Briefly wiggling her butt back and forth, she wondered how much "accidental" movement on her part it would take to bring it back.
Still, he was incredibly warm and comforting, his body heat and the sheer strength and comfort his presence exuded made her stop being naughty, eventually giving her enough warmth to start to doze off once more.
Laying there quietly, she listened to the sound of his breathing, feeling his chest rise and fall against her back. In and out... in and out... haze started to take her over. A few seconds later, she sleepily opened her eyes, sensing something amiss.
There was something wrong with Mike.
For just a moment, she felt a moment of panic well up from within, though it wasn't from anything she was feeling. It was gone a second later, and she took a bit longer to recover, then noticed that his heartbeat was steadily increasing and his breathing was getting faster and faster.
He pulled her close to him again, his arm muscles tightening around her. She winced, almost frightened by the strength in his arms as he crushed her against him. Very quickly, his breath started coming faster and faster, his heart pounding so hard she could actually hear it.
His arms pulled her tighter and she opened her mouth in pain and alarm, suddenly unable to breath as he squeezed her tight. She knew she had to do something quickly or she was going to pass out, or worse. Thinking fast, she kicked at Danni a few times, her face feeling flushed and her chest hurting.
Danni responded with a grunt of irritation.
Mike's ragged breathing turned in to a whimpered cry, then he screamed.
"CORPSMAN!"
Finally, Emma saw her sister shoot up in bed, turning and staring in startled confusion, her eyes taking a few seconds to register what was happening. Emma was pulling hard at Mike's arms to no avail.
Her eyes immediately going wide, Danni quickly darted over and began to pull at Mike's arms, but his grip was as unyielding as iron.
"Wilkins!" he yelled.
Danni's expression was growing more desperate as Emma's vision started to grow hazy, her chest aching. Her blood rushed in her ears, clouding her ability to hear Danni's screams at her brother.
Tears streaming down her face, Danni looked around in a panic, then grabbed the first heavy object she could find. Emma winced, seeing the metal water flask that she kept on the bedside table swinging toward Mike's head.
There was a distant clang, and she felt him relax immediately as the air rushed back into her lungs. She rolled over away from him quickly as Danni scrambled to check on her. Emma's hearing took a second longer to come back, and she finally managed to answer that she was okay.
"Are you sure? Look at me," Danni said hurriedly. She was upset, but was looking into Emma's eyes directly, her expression focused and her hand on Emma's neck to check her pulse.
It took a few more seconds to start breathing normally again, and she coughed a bit, but nodded. Danni looked at her a few seconds more, then said, "tell me if something hurts," and started to gently check the rest of her.
"I'm okay," Emma said, aching but able to nod and answer her sister's questions coherently.
Danni continued to worry over her for a little longer, then the two turned and saw Mike sitting on the floor, his head in his hands and his fingers clutching his scalp.
