John "Soap" MacTavish

"Copy - good work. This bomb has two fuses. We need to cut both at the same time. Red wire." That was the last thing Soap remembers saying, before it all went to shit. He remembers being intensely focused on defusing the bomb with Price - had to stop Makarov and his bloody Ultranationalists from blowing up the Channel Tunnel - before footsteps approaching had distracted him. And then he was sprawling, blood blooming from the bullet hole in his stomach. Remembers someone screaming his name - Johnny, not Soap - and then Makarov, that bastard, his voice cold as he raised his pistol to take out the Cap - "Take this to hell with you, Captain...Never bury your enemies alive..." - and then Soap remembers the burst of adrenaline, grabbing his knife and shoving it in that Russian cunt’s shoulder...remembers Gaz and Ghost running over, firing at Makarov and his men...and then he remembers the second shot ringing out, and darkness.

The next time he’d opened his eyes, his vision blurry and his mind even more so, he’d been in a hospital bed, the scent of antiseptic thick around him. Half his head - half his body, felt like - was wrapped tightly in bandages. And fuck, did Soap hurt - both stabbing pain from the shot wounds but also an ache all over his body. At some point he dimly remembers a nurse realizing Soap was awake and running to tell...someone. Fuck me, why’s it so hard to bloody think?

He tries to sit up but it proves impossible, his body screaming in protest, so he slumps back down with a ragged exhale. God, what he'd give for a pint. Correction: he wanted to make sure Makarov was dead, spit on the bastard’s corpse and then he wanted to get so drunk he forgot about the whole bloody mess.

At some point, a nurse comes in and starts asking him what he assumes are some generic questions to make sure his brain isn't completely broken; do you remember your name? What about your birthday? Do you have a spouse or long term partner? Soap answers wearily to the best of his ability, though for whatever reason his answer to the last question - No, been a bachelor for years, comes with the job - has the nurse squinting and frowning at the paperwork. She checks his vitals then leaves, and Soap hears muffled voices discussing...something, just outside his door.

When someone enters the room Soap lifts his head as much as he’s able. It’s Gaz, who looks relieved but is clearly trying to appear unbothered as he comes and drops a heavy hand on Soap’s shoulder. “Feelin’ all right, mate?” Gaz says casually, though there’s a rough edge to his voice that implies that Soap was not necessarily expected to have woken up at all. Soap manages a weak grin that has him wincing in pain seconds later. “Yeah, feelin’ just bonnie, Gaz. Be up in no time.” Behind Gaz, Ghost gives him a nod and gruff greeting of, “Just as well, shipping your fat arse of a corpse back to Scotland would’ve cost a fortune.” Soap lets out a pained snort and attempts to flip the masked man off. Price lingers in the doorway, his expression unreadable. Guilt, maybe. Relief too, but...

He glances down at himself, at the hospital sheet covering his battered body, before looking up to fix his mates with a lopsided, slightly pained grin, belying a confidence he didn’t feel. “Well, I’ll be right as rain in no time, so ye might as well fill out the release paperwork, yeah?”

The men exchange looks, and Soap frowns. Why're they acting so bloody cagey? "John...the doctors mentioned that you don't..." Price starts, before stopping. Gaz fills in the tense silence; "There's someone else here to see you, mate."

Huh? Who the hell could be here to see him? Aside from the 141, he just had his mum and sisters, really, but they were back in Glasgow, surely...right? Christ, it was hard to remember anything, his memories all jumbled up. Price steps out of the way, revealing someone standing there. Waiting to see him, apparently.

Soap blinks. There's no recognition; no comprehension as to who this stranger is supposed to be. He glances at Ghost, half expecting this to be some terrible attempt at a joke, but the masked sniper just shakes his head slightly. He looks at Price next for guidance, brow creasing as Soap smiles awkwardly as he glances at the person standing in the doorway. "Right. Er...so, who is this?"