Crap! It's been way too long hasn't it? I'm so sorry I haven't updated in such a long time but I've been crazy busy.

Gottalovealoser and JB, sorry it's taken me so long to get this up.

Just so you know, this first chapter was originally way longer but because I haven't had much time lately to work on any fanfiction, I've decided to just load the little bit that I have already proof-read and load it as an introductory chapter. I hope to have the next chapter up next Sunday, but I make no promises. (Although I'll try my hardest to have it up sooner than that.)

Warning: I may be making these chapters smaller than my usual ones (i.e. The Other Sniper) so that I can upload more frequently and not worry about not having enough time to do any of the story.

Timeframe: With Roque, while still in military.

~JP

The mission had gone off with only one hitch: Jensen got the shit beat out of him. Their target's captor had suddenly walked out of the compound they were infiltrating and had almost gotten a bead on Clay, who was breaking the CIA agent out of the windowless shack he was imprisoned in. So to distract him and his guards, Jensen had waltzed right up to the target's captor and said, "So uh, you're the scumbag druglord huh? You don't look like much to me."

Needless to say, the team rescued the agent and then rescued a very bruised and bloody Jensen. They all took turns yelling at Jensen for his recklessness, all but Cougar who just glared at his hacker boyfriend while caring for his injuries as they drove to their rendezvous location to meet with the agent's handler. The agent was unconscious in the very last seat and didn't observe how everyone treated Jensen as if he was made of glass.

They arrived at the rendezvous point and transferred custody of the agent to his handler. As they made their way to their safehouse, Clay called in their status and was given orders to stay low for the next 24 hours. Then they were to meet the helicopter at the rendezvous location and fly home.

After what seemed like an hour to Jensen, but was actually only approximately 15 minutes, they arrived at the safehouse. Jensen practically threw himself out of the van, trying to get away from everyone's nagging. He rushed to the door but then stopped short when he noticed that the lock had been busted.

"And another thing you idiot," Roque was still shouting, "if you ever try that shit again, I'll beat you so hard those bruises you have now will seem like Cougar's love bites."

Cougar cocked his head as he walked behind Roque up to the porch. Jensen had stopped and had not said a thing. He was motioning with his hand towards the lock. Cougar saw it at the same time as Roque and they both drew their weapons.

Cougar gave Jensen a look and Jensen shrugged and then indicated the van. Cougar shook his head. Jensen really had to remember to keep his gun with him at all times. Otherwise, it would get him hurt, or even worse, one day.

Clay and Pooch had noticed their teammate's behaviors and had started to fan out around the safehouse to check the perimeter and other entry points. As Pooch was about to round the corner of the house, he gently tossed Jensen's gun at him.

Roque gave Pooch a sharp look. The man must be nuts to toss a weapon at the stupid, danger-prone kid.

Roque covered Cougar as he opened the door and entered the house. They cautiously made their way through the house checking its condition and to see if anyone was still there. Roque made his way to the basement while Cougar checked the second floor. Jensen quietly made his way through the first floor trying to notice anything that may have been out of the ordinary.

Jensen was almost finished with his sweep. He had seen nothing suspicious but he had one room left to check. His and Cougar's bedroom. It was really an office but their teammates preferred if they slept as far away as possible from them since Jensen could get rather vocal during certain nighttime activities. Not to mention his somnambulism and his somniloquism.

So they had moved a bed from one of the bedrooms upstairs and set it up in the downstairs office. And Jensen took great pleasure in being as loud as he possibly could while they spent the week in this shithole of a town and attempted to figure out which compound the CIA agent was being kept at.

Jensen entered the room and quickly looked around. He could hear Clay and Pooch come in from outside and he heard Cougar quietly coming down the stairs. No one else would have been able to hear the sniper, but Jensen did-he was just so attuned to his lover that he could FEEL him wherever he was.

Roque was on his way from the basement to the others in the living room when he stopped in the doorway. "Anything?"

Jensen was about to turn to tell him, 'No, nothing', when he saw something on his pillow. He took a step closer and examined the object without touching it. "Hmmm…"

Roque looked to where Jensen was staring, and felt confusion cover his face. What the fuck?

He turned as he looked to see the others join him in the door way.

Clay was the first to speak. "Nothing. Just the damn lock broken in the front door. Other than that, nothing."

Clay looked to Cougar. "Upstairs?"

Cougar just shook his head. "Same."

Pooch agreed. "Yeah man, there are tracks outside but they're so small and unsure that it might have been just a teenager looking to score anything they could fine." Laughs. "But since we don't have shit they'd wanna take, they probably just high-tailed it back to wherever they came from."

Roque shook his head. "I don't think so Pooch. I've never known a burglarizing teenager to leave a calling card." He jerked his head towards where the bruised and still bloody Jensen-damn he needed a shower before any of the cuts or bruises Cougar didn't get a chance to clean became infected-was standing, still staring at the strange object on his pillow.

Cougar looked to where the others were looking. As soon as he saw the indigo feather on his lover's pillow, he lunged over the bed towards Jensen and shoved him in a corner of the wall, not hearing Jensen hiss or seeing the grimace of pain on Jensen's face as his bruised body made contact. Cougar then promptly put himself between Jensen and everyone and everything else. He was growling fiercely and had a very deadly look in his eyes.