Hi everyone, I've been an avid fanfic reader for years, but have never been compelled to write my own until discovering this fabulous, life changing show. Now with it being cancelled, writing is the only thing that seemed to help with the heartbreak so many of us are feeling.
I had an idea for a one shot, but this has somehow evolved into a very long, multi chapter story. I've written five chapters so far, but I'm no where near done. I hope you all enjoy, and I would love any feedback.
I don't own The Brave or any of it's characters - If I did, the show would never have been cancelled.
Chapter 1
The end of this current deployment was finally coming to an end. It had been a tough and brutal deployment and to say they all needed a break was an understatement.
Preach had finally woken from his coma, whilst his team and wife were all gathered at his bedside. The relief they all felt, particularly Dalton, was reflected in their weary faces. Most of them not having slept much at all since the whole fiasco with Hoffman.
Top had informed his team, as well as his team in DC, what had happened with Hoffman. Without having to say anything, he could tell that they all approved and agreed that there had been no other option other than to permanently silence Hoffman, despite the toll it may take on Dalton's soul. Dalton knew he would be questioned further on his arrival back in DC, and he would put some thought into what he had to report back before doing so, but for now, he needed to spend these last few days with his team.
Preach was cleared to travel stateside two weeks after waking, and the rest of the team spent the meantime clearing the Quonset hut. Whilst the base had sent in a team of cleaners, Dalton's team wanted to sort the last of things out for themselves. It was almost therapeutic for them, to be able to reset the hut as it had been before the explosion. To be able to sleep back in their own racks. For Amir to cook again in their own kitchen. For Jaz to be able to clean her guns in the cage. For McG to feel at home walking around topless. And for Dalton to finish up the last of his paper work and organise Patton's deployment home with him. It let them reclaim their identity and safety, prior to shipping out.
On their last night in the hut, their home away from home, Amir cooked a massive feast for them all to enjoy. Preach had managed to be discharged from the hospital for this very night, on the understanding that he will still have to undergo strict rehab on his return stateside. His wife chose to stay at the hotel and give the team this last night all together.
On their return to the states, they would all have to debrief in DC for a few days, but Preach had been excused in order to start his rehab as soon as possible, so they knew this was their last night all together for some time. They tried to get together a few times during their leave, but who knew how Preach would recover, so they were savouring this night.
Amir had produced a banquet, and as always, the team were delighted to discover he has cooked all of their favourites. They were all so happy to be back together and the conversation around the dinner table was jovial.
When dinner was cleared away, McG strode in and placed a bottle of tequila on the table with a flourish, "What say we go out with a bang?" he presented proudly.
"Don't you always?" Jaz questioned him wryly.
"Ha ha! This time I mean a different kind of a bang" McG joked while he wriggled his eyebrows at Jaz and she just chuckled at him.
Amir of course said he would stick to water and with the cocktail of drugs Preach was currently taking, he was out. But Dalton looked up and smiled and surprisingly said, "Why the fuck not?" which prompted McG to walk over and give his captain a high five.
"Yes, Top!"
They all took their drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, outside to where Dalton was starting a fire. They spent so many of their evenings out here, especially after missions. It was their favourite way to tune out and enjoy the fresh air and to be thankful once again that they had all come home safe.
McG poured a shot for Jaz, Dalton and himself. They all raised their glasses, Preach and Amir's filled with water, "To us."
Despite their faces being screwed up from the shock of the tequila, glasses were quickly refilled.
"To another deployment done and dusted… and to Preach. We're glad you are here with us, even if that means spreading more of that spiritual jujitsu around all over the place." McG joked. They all knew he was serious though, Preach was the heartbeat of their team and they didn't want to think about how close they had come to losing him.
They sat quietly for a moment thinking about this deployment.
"To Elijah." Jaz said eventually, and sadly. "He loved tequila, he would have had us on a drinking game by now," she continued with a reminiscent smile.
Dalton was sitting next to Jaz and turned his head to look at her. He wanted to reach out and put a hand on her shoulder for comfort, but something about that line that always seemed more prominent with her than anyone else, stopped him.
Instead he smiled at her and acknowledged, "That he would have, and we all know that McG would have spent the night puking. Again."
"Hey, hey… I had food poisoning that one time." McG tried to defend himself, despite the loud laughter from the others. He just waved his hand dismissively, he knew he would never live that one down.
Dalton turned serious once again and his eyes had a wistful look to them, "To Hossein. A great friend and comrade."
They all nodded their heads sombrely. The mention of Hossein reminded them all how close they had come to losing Jaz during that mission in Tehran. And if not for Hossein, they may well have all lost their lives.
Jaz feels some of the guilt creep in that she feels everyday about the loss of Hossein and looked down at the picnic table they were sitting around. She knew he was one of Dalton's greatest friends and she had been there when they had discussed one day getting around to that fishing trip in the Blue Ridge Mountains. She pushes her feelings down for now, this was not about her at the moment, it was about her team.
"… and to Jaz. For being one hell of a bad ass." Dalton had continued and Jaz knew he had added that in to ease the guilt he knew she was feeling.
Jaz continued to look down at the table, but a smile crept on to her face. She couldn't look at Dalton right that moment, she knew if she did, the emotion in her eyes would send signals she knew she couldn't send.
"Hell yeah, Jazzy. Kicked those Quds to the curb!" As always, McG and his lovable nature had rescued the moment.
They all laughed at him and Dalton took that moment to look at Jaz again and was relieved to see her laughing along with everyone else. He knew she was still processing that mission, still had nightmares about it and still felt guilt. But to see her here, right beside him and laughing, made Hossein's death justified. He's not sure what he would have done if they couldn't have brought her home with them. That's something he's still dealing with. He also pushed those feelings down for now, it wasn't the time.
"To the newest member of our team, who made us complete again." Preach offered as he looked at Amir.
Amir responded with a big grin and raised his glass of water, "To new friends. I've never worked as part of a team before, and I now know for sure, that I don't want to go back to being undercover alone."
"You can't. Who will feed us?" McG questions him.
"Typical, you're always thinking with your stomach. Or your dick." Jaz added with a tilt of her head.
"Ouch Jazzy, that hurts. Top, you know that's not true." McG tried to defend himself.
"One word McG… Seville." Dalton looked at him wryly, while everyone else cracked up.
McG even laughed along with that one, "Okay, okay, point taken." He conceded.
With that, they finally got around to drinking that second shot, knowing that it wouldn't be their last.
After more joking around with each other and a bit of reminiscing, McG and Amir left the table to play horse shoes. It was amazing how a few horse shoes and a pole could provide so much entertainment, but McG took it very seriously and Amir was taking advantage of his tequila pickled friend.
The other three remained at the table and Preach asked Jaz where she was spending her leave.
"New York to begin with. We'll see how long that lasts, then I might try and travel around a bit." Jaz said noncommittedly.
Knowing that she and her family weren't close and that New York didn't contain a lot of happy memories for her, Preach offered, "Well you know you're welcome to drop into SoCal anytime you want. My girls would love to see you again."
"Thanks Preach, I'll see where the wind takes me."
Preach looked at Dalton and asked him the same question.
"The Blue Ridge Mountains of course. You should know better Preach." Top chastised.
"Sorry, my bad, I forgot you become a full blown mountain man when left to your own devices." Preach chuckled.
They hadn't noticed Jaz look down again at the mention of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Once again it reminded her of Top and Hossein and their future plans. The plans that wouldn't ever come to fruition.
She jumped up suddenly, "Hey Amir, my turn to take on Mr Tequila" and with that she joined McG and Amir in their game.
She had to move away from Preach and Dalton's conversation before she drowned in it. All the talk of leave didn't excite her. She didn't really have anyone waiting to see her when she got home. Even in New York, she didn't really know why she was bothering to go back there, when there were no happy memories or missed family members to welcome her home. She would be alone, in a tiny apartment she found on Airbnb, and that thought doesn't excite her.
Preach watched Jaz as she departed the table, leaving just himself and Dalton sitting there. He saw that Jaz joined in the horse shoe game with extra enthusiasm, and knew that she was doing so to overcompensate for how she was feeling about their deployment ending.
He also noticed Dalton watching her as she went and saw his gaze remain on her for a few lingering seconds, before looking down at the table.
"Maybe Jaz might like the solitude of your cabin too…" Preach ventured.
"Preach" Dalton whispered, as he kept his head down and slowly shook his head.
"I'm just saying, you and Jaz are pretty similar. The lone wolf types. The strong silent types. The types that can't see what's right in front of them for the taking." Preach continued with.
"And the types that know there are rules to be followed and that we must abide by." Dalton challenged.
He wasn't upset with Preach, just stating facts.
"If I learnt anything from this deployment, Adam, it's that life is short. You never know what's around the corner. And in our line of work, we've seen firsthand what can be taken away in the blink of an eye. Hell, my career could be over if this rehab doesn't go well. All I'm saying is that if you feel something, isn't it worth finding out where that could go? If it could be more than just lingering looks and chats around the fire? A real connection is one of the greatest treasures life can give you. I just don't want you to look back and regret not finding out if this connection is something more." Preach kept his voice soft and steady and looked at the top of Dalton's head as he was still staring at the table.
Dalton slowly lifted his head and took a few deep breaths.
"I hear you Preach. I really do. And I'm not denying anything over here."
Dalton took another deep breath and continued. "I just don't want to fuck things up for Jaz. Her journey to this team has been harder than any of us will ever understand. And I don't want to be responsible for ruining that. It could be her career if it all went sideways."
"And that's half the problem right there. You're anticipating it going sideways, instead of wondering how many ways it could go forwards." Preach responded.
Dalton didn't know how to respond to that, and he usually had an answer to everything. He let his gaze wander over to Jaz again and smiled softly at how much she was enjoying herself with McG and Amir. He loved seeing her happy. She had been through a lot this deployment with the loss of Elijah and her capture in Tehran. And as much as he wouldn't admit it to Preach, a smile on Jaz Khan's face was worth every bad moment that had happened over this entire deployment.
As Preach observed Dalton watching Jaz, he had a similar soft smile on his face and continued on, "Top, I've known you for a decade, and I've never seen you look at someone the way you look at Jaz."
Dalton just looked at him with a frown.
"C'mon man, give me some credit, we spy on people for a living." Preach said. "And if you think I'm the only one that's noticed, you're crazy. And if you don't notice that Jaz looks at you the same way, I may as well botch the rehab and retire early."
Dalton laughed at that one and poured himself another tequila shot.
"As always, Preach, you are very perceptive and like I said, I hear you. I just need to do some thinking. There's more to consider than just my feelings. And if this conversation goes any further than this table, I will botch your rehab myself." Dalton threatened jokingly.
"Understood." Preach laughed
With that, Dalton raised his shot of tequila to Preach's glass of water and said "Here's to not having to listen to Preachism's for a few months."
They both burst out laughing at that, and then wandered over to join the others in their game.
What do you think so far? Please let me know.
