A/N Thanks for reading.

Just a heads up, there are going to be a few changes, nothing major, but just heads up. OwO And if you don't like stories where it's basically retelling the canon, then I recommend not reading this. eue

Disclaimer – I do not own Red vs Blue.

Warning – We all know how the Reds and Blues are... a LOT of swearing.


The first time Tucker realized Sarge was... the dad of their little group of misfits, he just... was stunned when they were on Chorus.

It took him literally years to come to that realization.

Of all people that crazy, shooting, blue-hating man was his dad—a dad! Not father material, that's for sure, but... crap, he really was like a parental figure to the group. Sarge would have to be the craziest father ever. Did he have any kids? Hell, he hoped not. He pictured a little kid with Sarge's helmet(of all things) running around and shooting a shotgun while going, "Eat lead, dirtbags!"

Before he arrived in the canyon, that was probably when he was in the real army. He had thought he was still in the actual army when he arrived to serve under Captain Flowers, but nope. What probably had him transferred was... well, it was probably all the sexual harassment people accused him of... which were real. Which was embarrassing now that he looked back on it.

In the beginning, all he knew Sarge as was the leader of the other base. Before Captain Flowers had his heart attack he'd patrol with Church and just ask him what they were doing, because he didn't fucking have a sniper rifle. Asshole. At least he had his kick-ass sword now. Church would reply that they would usually do nothing, unless Sarge was running drills. Then he'd say that the maroon one would run while the orange one looked like he was face down in the dirt with the sergeant yelling down at him. Right away he thought they were all fucking weird.

The first time he met Sarge, in person, was when the Reds attacked and they negotiated Doc. Though they weren't paying attention to each other. All they wanted to do was humiliate one of the Reds. Hey, whatever small achievement in the war made him a little more satisfied in that stupid "war." Usually, before that moment, they had just tried stealing each others flag.

Then they had their little adventures. The first time he ever talked to Sarge was on the radio when they went to go distract them, though he was addressing all of the Reds. When he talked to him face to face it had been when they arrived in the "future." He had approached Sarge to tell him that they were idiots and that there was no way they were in the future.

"Hey, Sarge!" He opened his mouth to tell him off for being such a fucking idiot.

"We're gonna camp here fer the night," Sarge cut him off, standing up from fixing the vehicle that Donut and Caboose found. "We're all practically runnin' of fumes here, no use to keep on goin' if we're all 'bout to drop. We can trace that signal tomorrow."

Tucker stared, eyes wide behind his helmet. Sarge... didn't have his on. He was about the age he suspected him to be, but to actually see him without his helmet, which he had on all the time... Sarge was squinting at him, a scowl firmly on his face and a look of annoyance glinting in his eyes. He must have been gawking, because Sarge sent him a stern glare and put his helmet back on. He then registered what he had said and spluttered.

"Shouldn't we just go now and meet up with Tex? We can just rest up when we meet her." Tucker crossed his arms with a scowl.

Sarge scoffed and rolled his tense shoulders. "Her? Let us rest?" He snorted and stood straighter. "Use yer head, private." For a moment Tucker had bristled when he had talked to him like he was one of his soldiers. "She would run us inta the ground before we could even think 'bout restin'. No, we'll stay here fer tonight and head out at dawn."

And Tucker complained. "Dawwwwn? Why dawn?" He ignored the fact that he was whining. "How do we even know if the sun sets here, huh? When would we even know when dawn arrives?"

"I always wake up before dawn," Sarge said, standing straight and proud. Tucker sent him a look of disbelief. "I'll take watch an' let all of ya get some rest before then."

Tucker let out an irritated sigh, seeing Grif and Simmons approaching. He could already hear their bickering. "Fine. And don't worry," He said mockingly. "Caboose and I'll keep our hands to ourselves."

"Damn right ya will! Now go and sleep!" Sarge leaned in uncomfortably close that Tucker had to take a step back. "I'm watchin' ya, Blue." He said the name as if it was an insult.

Tucker had scoffed and turned to go find Caboose and tell them they had to go to sleep. He told him, and got a whine in return. Caboose said he couldn't sleep unless he had a pillow, so Tucker told him to deal with it. Where the hell did he expect him to find a pillow, anyway? From his ass? They set up a fire, which seemed pretty moot. Since the sun had yet to fuckin' set. Stupid weird planet with stupid weird sun that doesn't move.

Sarge was patrolling the perimeter, making sure no wildlife approached while they tried to catch some shuteye. It was later, when Tucker was half-asleep and could hear murmuring from Grif and Simmons and... someone else, that he realized that Sarge hadn't said "first watch." Turns out the crazy bastard took watch all night and got some rest on their way to meet Tex.

If he thought about it... that probably would have been the first time Sarge acted... fatherly. Eeegh, just thinking about it creeps him out.

He didn't see much of him after that, they barely even talked when they found O'Malley's base. Though he always noticed how Sarge looked out for his men, even though he put them through hell.

Then he was sent away after Tex... well, blew up because of Andy. He had been panicking at the time because that bitch had taken Junior. He had walked away. He stumbled, he remembered stumbling, and fell to the ground. The Reds mocked him, but he just sat there. All he remembered was nothing, he just sat on the ground for a long time while the Reds stuck around until someone said they found him. They found Junior. Along with the other alien, but it didn't matter to him. They jumped out. They fucking jumped out of the ship before it blew up. He pushed whoever was in his way and ran to where he could hear Donut trying to communicate with the injured alien, who took the brunt of the fall. He ran and ran until he reached them with the others trying to catch up to him. He remembered seeing Junior holding onto the alien and looking at him. His lil' alien son. His crazy kid. Junior raised his head and started "honking" in excitement. But Tucker didn't even slow down. The other alien had tried to get on the defensive when he saw him approaching, but couldn't even get up.

He remembered running and dropping to his knees and just... hugging Junior. He had honked in surprise when his father hugged him for the first time and took off his helmet. Tucker just ignored everyone, even when Donut went "awww."He just hugged and held on and felt so relieved.

Tucker wanted to be a better father to Junior. So, he went with him and became an Ambassador, trying to help keep the peace between the humans and aliens. It was tiring having to be in the talks and put up with the arguing but he spent every moment with his son. Turns out the Sangheili(that's what they were friggin' called. Weird, right?) grew much faster than humans. Pretty soon Tucker was looking eye-level with his son. In order for him to even understand the aliens they had given him a translator, which would have be fucking useful before he met up with the alien that got him pregnant.

So, when Tucker and Junior would retire to their rooms and relax, Junior would lay his head on Tucker's lap and, of all things, purr and coo at his "tiny daddy." He would flick his head every time that happened but every time Tucker had a smile on his face.

Then it went to shit.

They wanted Junior somewhere else, since the aliens he had to go talk to were more... hostile to humans than the previous ones. So they had to part ways, which was tough when Junior tried hanging onto him while the other Sangheili tried urging him onto the ship that would take him away. Tucker tried coaxing him, rubbing his head(heh, now that he recalls, Junior was just a couple inches taller than him when it happened) and murmuring to him that it would be all right. Junior shook his head, shook off the hands trying to grab him and held him tighter. Junior whimpered, and he tried to swallow the lump in his throat, so he backed up and held his hands with a wide grin.

"We'll see each other after you calm them down, yeah? We'll go right back to late nights snacking out and watching movies we don't understand. And I'll show you how to get with the ladies." Tucker had grinned, ignoring the aliens huffing disapprovingly at the last part.

And Junior, his lil' alien son, responded with a, "Bow-Chika-Honk-Honk."

Junior held onto his hands, his intense eyes staring at him before he bumped his head gently with his. Tucker just smiled, since he was out of his armor until he was back on duty. Which he supposed was going to happen since he wouldn't see Junior for a while. Junior purred, giving him one last hug and that he would miss his "tiny father." Tucker reached up and flicked his head, one last time.

He stayed until he couldn't see the ship anymore... and stayed for a little more. Some other guy whose name he didn't bother remembering had been with him patted his shoulder and said he'd be back soon enough.

Yeah... right...

He had been relocated, trying to find an artifact. He had also met up with Donut. While he was silently cursing his luck, Donut was excited and happily greeted him and spoke to him while they were heading to the temple. They hadn't talked to each other before, just knew the other was there. So they talked and actually became friends. Tucker was fine with it, all those innuendos were funny. As he had said before, it all went to shit. He had to lock down the temple after he found the pirates. He didn't even know how long he had been there, surviving on food rations. He clearly remembered calling for help. Donut had even snuck away to get help, even after Tucker warned him that something might happen if he left. Donut just reassured him he would be fine and made it awkward by hugging him and then left. What came, however... well...

He knew he shouldn't have trusted that fucking idiot.

Caboose... Grif... and Sarge. Tucker had waited for them to tell him where the back-up was, only for them to tell him they were the back-up. Fan-fucking-tastic. He was calm at first, just trying to brush it off as the usual stupid decisions their group made, but that calmness pretty much wore off the more he thought of his situation after he had explained why he was even there in the first place. He yelled at them, wanting to know why they thought they were the best for this job. Grif tried talking to him, but gave up after he kept brushing him off. Fucking... great. Just fucking great. Stupid idiots! Why did they—He gave a startled jump when he felt something poke his back. He turned, seeing Sarge standing behind him. With his fucking. Shotgun. Pointed. Towards him.

"Whoa! Watch it!" Tucker backed up and held his hands up, realizing Sarge had poked him with his fucking shotgun.

Sarge scoffed. "Calm down, son, I ain't gonna shoot ya," Tucker scowled scowled at the 'son' and glared at him through his visor. "All Donut said was that ya needed help, so we came."

"Yeah, you guys!" He motioned towards him as if that was enough to get him to realize the severity of the situation. "I didn't need you guys! I needed professionals! Real soldiers! Ones that were going to help me fight these fuckers off!" He huffed and looked away with his arms crossed. Shit. Shit shit shit. How soon would he get this over with and get back to Junior? He turned to tell Sarge off some more, because that was the only thing that was keeping him from lashing out physically, only to rear back when he saw the pose Sarge had. "Whoa, what—?"

"Listen here, boy," Whoa, he never heard that tone. He went quiet, hearing the low voice Sarge had. Even Grif had gone still and took a step back. "Ya can stay pissed off as long as ya like, fer all I care. You needed help, an' you got help. Ya may not have gotten the help ya wanted, but you got it nonetheless. You're goin' ta hafta deal with it. But that boy," He pointed in the direction Caboose had last stood. "decided, on his own, ta come an' help ya."

Tucker scowled. Yeah, probably because he didn't fucking understand why he needed help.

He ignored him, asking if they could help him find Caboose. Sarge just grunted an agreement while Grif mocked him when he made fun of Caboose. When they turned to go find his teammate he jumped in surprise and almost grabbed his sword in reflex.

Sarge cuffed the back of his head when he walked by.

Tucker stared after him shock, seeing Grif cock his head before he followed his leader. What the actual fuck? A scowl crossed his face before he followed, grumbling to himself before he started calling out for Caboose. Then someone found a way into the temple. He was all ready to kick some ass until Caboose said the name of the guy that was supposed to be dead. They had said that. And Church was back! Kinda... not really. Just a floating ball with his obnoxious voice.

He didn't know, the entire time they were in Blood Gulch, but he suspected that something was off about Church. He just didn't seem... real, kinda. Plus he was never out of his armour. Church hadn't even questioned it, now that he recalled. And all the weird things that happened, Church being able to go places where they couldn't. Controlling armour, shit like that. Having it confirmed, that Church hadn't been a human, but an A.I. had him sighing in relief. Great, he wasn't crazy!

Again, all went to shit.

C.T. was a crazy motherfucker and he didn't care that he was dead. What he cared about, though, was that Church shot a fucking laser from his eye! It was fucking awesome! He told Church and even sniggered when the little ball seemed to preen. Sarge and Grif were worried, but who wouldn't be if their enemy had a kickass little fighter ball! Then weird shit happened. The aliens started worshipping the fuck out of Church, which went to his head. No surprise there. The dick was always such an egotistic asshole.

Things managed to calm down where they could all process this and that they were actually beside aliens. Ones that weren't trying to impregnate them. But he'd like to see how they'd like it, the Reds and Caboose, just so they know how it was for him. Being moody and hungry until he gave birth to lil' Junior. Fucking jerks.

A couple days passed with no events occurring... except keeping a careful eye on the aliens.

Hell, they were just resting and trying to figure out what to do. Since they had no idea what to do, they just... rested. Tried figuring out the next step. They slept in the temple, since it seemed to be the only place to sleep since it got cold outside at night. Which seemed weird, since the sun never set. This planet had weird weather. They set up a fire, not knowing what to do or say. Sarge didn't trust the Blues, even though they weren't even trying to "poison them while they slept." His exact words, along with dirtbags.

So he kept watch, tensing whenever one of the aliens wandered too close to their camp. Tucker wasn't worried... too worried, Church seemed to be keeping them in line. Or Epsilon, Caboose had called them. The big and tall Blue was still at Church's every beck and call.

They were sitting around the fire, with Grif taking the chance to sleep and snoring while he was sitting up. He really can sleep in any position, can he? Sarge looked at him and huffed, pushing him over until he was lying down on his side. Tucker actually had to pause and rerun that thought his mind while Sarge grumbled about 'lazy subordinates'. That was... weird. Did he actually help Grif by making him comfortable? Tucker turned his head to check on his teammate. Since they were uneasy with the aliens Church had instructed Caboose to sleep with them until they figured out what to do next.

"So, uh..." Tucker felt uncomfortable with the silence, seeing Sarge turn his helmet in his direction. He was used to hearing the sergeant yelling orders and making insane plans. He wasn't used to him being quiet, it seemed too strange. "These aliens... ya don't think they'll... try to impregnate us, right?" He patted his stomach. "'Cause I don't want to put my body through another kid."

"Any of 'em try, and I'll shoot 'em," Sarge cocked his shotgun as an example, glancing at the doorway just in case one tried to jump them. "Where's yer little brat, anyway?" He looked around, as if expecting Junior to pop out.

"He's negotiating with some hostile aliens," Tucker sighed lightly and leaned back, tilting his head upwards. "Dunno when he'll be done."

Sarge hummed. "...Well, ya should be proud of 'im."

Tucker froze and shifted uncomfortably at the... praise? Nah, this was Sarge. There was no way this old coot would praise someone from Blue team. Though Junior wasn't really apart of Blue team. But still... was Sarge stashing some booze around here or something? Tucker continued to stare at him strangely before he laid on the ground—making sure he was a few feet from Caboose. He made the mistake of sleeping a couple feet away—since he was suspicious that Sarge and Grif(mostly Sarge) might do something—and had ended up as a teddy bear to the strangely buff(seriously, no one expected Caboose of all people to be ripped as fuck) Blue. Just as he was getting ready to sleep—he trusted Sarge enough not to blow a couple rounds into his head—he didn't know why he said what he said.

"So... you, like... got a family or something?"

Sarge turned his head towards him and stayed silent. He huffed lightly and looked towards the exit.

"Go to sleep, son."

Tucker stared, debating on whether or not to snap at him and tell him he wasn't a kid, and that he wasn't his son. In the end he decided it wasn't worth it to try and fight before he did as he was told, grumpily.

He was watching in exasperation as he watched Caboose walk after Church with the group of aliens, shaking his head lightly and scoffing. Tucker turned to see Grif standing just up the hill, remembering he had seen Sarge talking to him before he went somewhere else in a huff. Hm. Feeling bored of watching the aliens continue worshiping the very ground Church walked on—or floated above—he walked up the hill to see what Grif was up to.

He was supposed to bury the bodies.

In the desert.

He just congratulated Grif for doing such a "good job" of burying those bodies. They shared a comfortable moment before Sarge walked up the hill and asked if Grif was done, and it wasn't a surprise that he was in disbelief that Grif managed to do something. A smirk crossed his face until Sarge asked if they wanted to say something. A eulogy. For the assholes that tried to kill them. He rolled his eyes when the Red yelled down at Church.

"Seriously?" Tucker asked, seeing Sarge turn and give him a stare through his helmet. He held his hands up. "Fine! Fine."

So, they had to suffer through Church's "eulogy" until their little round companion started floating away while muttering to himself. It was happening again. These little episodes where Church just drifted off, seeming to see things only he could see. So he told Caboose to take Church's spot when he noticed that the aliens were looking at each other and 'honking' and jogged after his friend.

He lost that damn translator, which would be fucking perfect right now. Who knows if the aliens were planning on trying to become 'parents'.

Grif and Sarge jogged after him, and had to watch as he spoke to Church and asked him questions. Simple questions. Ones that shouldn't be too hard to answer after his episode. It worked after the first time when Church was confused and looking around in panic. So, yeah. Easy questions about what he was seeing.

Only to find out that all these 'images' he was seeing was their new base, which Caboose and the others failed to mention. But... he had to wonder how Church was able to know what their new bases looked like.

Like hell he was letting this mocking moment pass him by, so he mentioned Grif's first girlfriend. They were bored one night while Sarge had actually let them take first watch and rested while they sat around the fire so they had traded stories. And eventually secrets.

Caboose had even talked about his dad, and that they weren't close. All Tucker did was pat his arm and snicker at Grif's secret.

He grinned under his helmet when Grif looked at him in dismay and regretted sharing any stories with him. Sarge just scoffed lightly and shook his head after Tucker blurted out Grif's secret, muttering under his breath about 'kids'.

He then asked for Church's help, walking away with Church floating after him and asking what he wanted in a voice that said he was suspicious.

Short version, Church got something stuck up his ass.

Or his exhaust, or... hell, he didn't know. Something equivalent to an ass.

When he went to go find them it was to find out that they were gone. Stupid fuckers. And oh! That's not all! They took Church, for some fucking reason. So they had to play cat and mouse, or... hell he didn't know what to compare it to, so he calmly watched as Caboose stood on a pillar while the aliens blamed him and tried to kill him. Then Sarge came on over some hours later, saying they rescued Simmons and casually commenting that they needed parts... and a new warthog. And then saying it was 'cool' that they were trying to kill Caboose.

Sarge didn't react when Tucker sent him a dry stare.

Now that he thought about it... it was strange that they could actually convey emotions through their helmets without actually trying. Except only they, their little group of misfits, could tell what the others were feeling. Other people, outside their group, couldn't tell jack shit since all they thought of them was weird. Maybe it was a connection or something, hell, he didn't know.

Then Caboose... oh, man, he had to give him credit. Tucker grinned when Caboose blamed Sarge, and he was right to blame him, and basically had all the aliens gang up on Sarge. The aliens growled and snarled at the Red, who backed up and quickly said he had no idea where Church was.

"He's lying!" Tucker said, one hand on his hip and the other waving away the lie.

Sarge had sent him a glare, he knew it. He could feel it burning on his head. "No, an' I can prove it!" He said to the aliens. He then turned to Tucker. "You shut up, boy! C'mon, I'll show ya!" He turned and started leading the way, with the aliens following eagerly.

Tucker had scowled at the 'boy' while Caboose scrambled after Sarge. And Sarge... why was he loudly commenting that they were walking around the corner? Almost like he was... warning them... He cursed and then ran around the corner would a loud, "Aha!" Only to see no sign of Church while Grif and Simmons stood there innocently. So he glared at them and then demanded they tell him where Church was, only to have three of them play it off like they hadn't seen their floating ball of ego.

He turned, then turned back to see the Reds running away. Fuck. Then he turned to tell Caboose that they were fucked, only to see him running away. Double fuck! Then he tried to calmly explain to them that he was sure they could find Church if they just looked.

But they didn't even understand him.

So... yeah... it was his turn to stand on the pillar while everyone else basically just abandoned him. He cursed all of them to hell and back and then cursed the aliens. Hell, fuck everybody on this stupid planet! With the stupid sun that didn't move!

He growled in irritation, which only grew when the Reds returned... not to help but to grab a warthog. He cursed them again, mostly Sarge, because odds are is that they were leaving on Sarge's orders! So, yeah! Fuck Sarge and him calling him 'son' and 'boy' and other stuff!

"I didn't do anything to him!" He yelled out, kicking at the hand that gripped at the edge of the pillar. "He's somewhere else! The Reds are probably after him! You can follow them and they'll lead you to them!"

It was a failed persuasion. So, he distracted them, tried to grab a vehicle to run... and then ended up running the rest of the way to the facility they had gone to. He just went in the one direction they went in, and sighed in great relief when he got out of the sun. His suit may be cooled, but the sun made it tough. He found the entrance by himself, went in and was about to start cursing everyone...

"Y'know what, guys?! You can all go fuck—!" He froze when he heard a loud crash and started running in.

Fucking.

Tex.

Tex was back.

She was back.

And ready to kick their asses.

Okay, when Simmons asked if he knew how to use his sword he was ready. Ready to kick ass. He thought that maybe it was a soldier they were having problems with, or a Freelancer. He didn't think he'd be facing off against Tex. When he saw her he froze for a second after she hit Sarge and sent him hitting the floor with a loud 'CLANG!' So he threw a grenade, and if he knew he as well as he thought he did then—yep! She dodged it without a problem.

It was barely even a fight.

Caboose 'saved' him, then he saw a fucking awesome move where Tex used Simmons' missiles against him and then he got hit. With Simmons himself. Fuck!

Then Sarge got up, with Grif doing so reluctantly after the Red leader grabbed his arm and hauled him up, and told them to get ready. But the fucker said he didn't know how to do this, since he never hit women. Was he being serious? Was he really being serious?! Tucker sent him a glare, one that Sarge didn't even notice because he made sure all his attention was on Tex.

Again, barely even a fight.

He had to wince sympathetically when Tex punched Sarge and sent him fucking flying. And from the way he hit the ground, it didn't sound like it was a soft landing. But, amazingly, Sarge got back up. When Tucker looked up, it was to see a storage container, so he did the next best thing and asked Caboose for help. He jumped out of the way, ecstatic that they may have beaten Tex and looked up to see her holding the fucking storage container. Everyone in the area dropped their jaws and promptly gawked before Tucker got serious and took out his sword(bow-chika-bow-wow) while the Reds panicked behind him.

"Don't worry, guys, I got this!" Tucker grinned and cut it in half.

He preened for a moment, thinking that was so fucking awesome of him, only to hear the Reds scream and groan in pain. Tucker turned and scowled when he saw that the move only saved him and wounded the Reds. Well, just Grif it seemed.

And when he was fighting, well, he tried fighting, against Tex he could hear... whirring. From her arms and legs. In fact, where had she come from? She was dead, wasn't she? Unless...

Before he could even finish the thought he was on the floor and skidding across the floor and into a teleporter. He yelped when he was grabbed and then smirked when he saw Tex holding his sword, only for it to stop working. He couldn't help the joke that slipped out and winced when he saw Tex slowly turn her head towards him.

Oh, crap.

Then, Sarge, the oh, so great leader of the Red team decided hey, why don't we beat up the person in the black armour?! And even when he found out it was him, and he only felt a little relief when the punches stopped, he punched him once more. Sarge didn't even sound sorry. He just turned away to see where Tex was and ignored him.

...Tucker had to admit, he should've kept attention to what was behind him. Then maybe he wouldn't have Tex punching him. But hey, she was on top of him, so that was a plus. Then she pulled some kind of move, hell, he didn't know, where she punched him hard enough to get the black shit off!

He had to admit, Tex was fucking awesome.

He doubted anyone could come close to her level.

It was even more painful after that, when she managed to punch him, Sarge, and Simmons in one go. Without even trying, while dodging a fucking rocket.

It fucking hurt when they got hit and sent flying into the air. When he hit the floor he groaned and winced in pain when he heard a 'clang.'

Then Church arrived, and he had to admit, for a moment he had thought Church was about show off some moves... only to get his ass kicked without any trouble. Hey, at least they managed to give Tex some trouble. Then, hell, he was barely paying attention after that. Next thing he knew Church and Tex were gone and Sarge was pissed off after learning some news.

He, uh... he kinda suspected... after all this time that they weren't really soldiers. It just... didn't seem like the army.

But he accepted that, while Sarge seemed... really pissed off. More so than usual.

Simmons and Grif seemed worried, well, Simmons did. Grif didn't seem to care, though he kept glancing in the direction of Sarge. And Caboose was off... well, last he'd seen him was when he was talking to him. Maybe he was with Sarge, so that's where he went. It turns out Sarge had a little project and was trying to make a base and Caboose offered his help. And surprisingly Sarge took it.

Tucker stared at the makeshift base, seeing Simmons and Grif just 'guarding' it while Sarge was huffing angrily and pushing a crate. He sounded like he was panting hard. Wow, he sounded like he was working himself. Caboose looked over, from pushing two crates, and walked towards the Red leader. Tucker was about to make a comment that maybe old men shouldn't be pushing themselves, since it seemed like Caboose was about to offer his help, but what happened next caused everyone to go still and go quiet.

Sarge snarled and kicked the crate to send it skidding five feet away. Then he grabbed his shotgun, which made everyone back away when he began shooting the crate, cocking the shotgun when he finished with a shot and continuing on shooting.

Caboose curled in on himself, grabbing his head and backing away with a whimper.

Simmons had his hands up, like he was torn between backing off and trying to calm down their leader.

Grif straightened his posture and stared straight at Sarge, and he looked like he didn't know what to do.

And Tucker... hell, he just watched. Watched as the fearless leader of the Red team shot the crate until he ran out of bullets and angrily threw his prized shotgun to the side. He panted harshly, reaching up and unlocking the latches to his helmet. He threw it to the side and glared at nothing, while everyone stared at his exposed face in shock. Rarely did Sarge ever take it off. Tucker saw everyone's faces already, more than a couple times. Though none of them had the military haircut, except for Sarge. He didn't allow them to see his face, to see the scars littered across his face.

Movement caught Tucker's eye and he turned, tensing when he saw Caboose inching towards Sarge. He stepped forward, about to warn Caboose not to touch or go near him. This was a delicate situation, anything would make Sarge blow up again.

"Uhh... mister sergeant," None of them even sighed in exasperation at the 'mister.' Sarge didn't move at the sound. "Are... Are you all right?"

At least Caboose seemed wise enough not to go too close.

"Are... Is... Is everything okay now?" Caboose took another step closer, shoulders hunched and head lowered like he was trying to make himself smaller. Which didn't work, since he towered over their group of misfits. "Do you want... to go back to making the fort now? We...We can tell stories and roast marshmallows." Sarge squinted his eyes, which made Tucker narrow his, and turned his head to look at Caboose. "...Is that okay?"

Sarge was silent, refusing to move, while Caboose stared at him with his head tilted. The Blue turned his head and stared at the helmet Sarge threw, pausing before he walked over to it and grabbed it. Simmons and Grif were still frozen, didn't seem to know what to make of the situation. Hell, Sarge has probably never done this the entire time they were on his team. He's gotten mad, yeah, but never to the point where he got like... this.

Caboose hesitated and offered the helmet, which Sarge stared at before he slowly grabbed it and stared with an unreadable expression.

He put it back on, muttering something, and made sure it was on straight.

"Yeah... yeah, let's continue workin' on the base." Sarge turned and walked towards his shotgun and picked it up.

Caboose had straightened and went back to pushing the crates while the other three sim soldiers stood still. Just in case. He didn't know how long he watched Sarge pushing the crates, a couple minutes probably, but as soon as he made sure he wasn't about to having another breakdown he turned and took a walk.

He didn't know what to make of that.

They usually got angry, but it was never really... serious. They blamed each other for things they had no way of controlling, but that was it. They blamed each other, played it off as a joke. Never meant it. Not really. Hell, they didn't really react, except for Simmons and that jab at his intelligence, that they weren't real soldiers. The only one that took it hard was Sarge.

...Hm.

Before he could contemplate it further he was sitting on Caboose's 'fort', and just leaned back while Caboose said he was going to find better crates that didn't have bullet holes in them. He watched as Sarge straightened a crate and went to go find another one.

It seemed like... Sarge was acting on auto-pilot. Didn't want to accept it. Accept that everything they had done was a fucking simulation. Simulations designed by some smug fucker that thought they were barely qualified enough to be soldiers. Sim soldiers that were placed in fake bases to test their fucking 'Freelancers.'

He got up and walked over towards Grif and Simmons, hearing them talking to each other lowly.

That was when Caboose came running towards them and said that Church and Tex were in trouble.

Grif and Simmons scoffed. And if Tucker was serious... he was too emotionally drained. He just wanted to lay down and go to sleep. Hell, he was becoming Grif.

But Sarge...

He saw the way Sarge had straightened up and held his shotgun closer and then declared he was going after them. Which surprised the hell out of them, but delighted Caboose. Tucker had been confused, why even try? They probably wouldn't even get there in time. Freelancers were better at fighting than them. They couldn't even compete. It didn't seem to matter to Sarge.

Then... Holy hell.

Then came the Speech.

Tucker didn't forget his words, even now. He sometimes looked back and remembered the words. Felt better. Felt... like he was a real soldier. Yeah, fuck the Freelancer program.

Simmons said they wouldn't make it, after they all agreed that they were coming along as well, which frustrated Sarge. But it seemed like Simmons had looked around. He found a vehicle all right. Tucker could admit, it was exciting and terrifying. Grif seemed scared, though, when everyone looked to him after he asked who would drive the Pelican. So Sarge grabbed him, took him aside, and talked to him. His stance hadn't been threatening, surprisingly. But after he was done Grif had grumbled and said he'd need to fire her up and check her systems. So he climbed in and started making a racket in there, cursing every once in a while.

Caboose was giddy, couldn't seem to stand still. Soon, he had grabbed Sarge's shoulder and turned him to face him. He handled him like a doll, and Tucker snickered when he saw Sarge stumble.

"I'm so glad you're okay, mister sergeant!" Caboose was simple. He couldn't hide his emotions that well. So when he had said that he had meant it. "I was so scared when you got mad! You almost reminded me of... of..." He tilted his head and conveyed happiness. "Are you okay now?"

Sarge did something that surprised Tucker, even to this day.

He reached over and rested his hand on Caboose's helmet. "Yeah, 'm fine, son. Now," He straightened up and held his shotgun close. "Let's go kick some ass!"

Tucker couldn't agree more.

When they piled in, well, it was a tight fit. And the landing could've been better. But hey, what could they do?

Another fight.

Another day.

Tucker had actually been proud of himself. He managed to stab the Meta. Though he still got knocked away. Hurt like a bitch, had actually hurt more than Tex. Not that he'd give him the satisfaction of knowing that. And then Sarge. Stupid Sarge...

He just walked over, shooting the Meta repeatedly and not even phased when the Meta grabbed him. Tucker tried getting up, thought that maybe he could help, but hell, the Meta could punch. But Sarge actually had a plan, and Tucker could only feel satisfaction when he saw the Meta being dragged away. Then he ignored the pain and shot up when he saw Grif go over. He limped on over while Sarge ran over.

Tucker didn't look at him, he just ran over and stared at the cliff in silence and shock. Grif was...

Sarge played it off, said Grif was dead and that they'd get a new soldier. But... no.

So he said he was probably hanging over the edge. And he was... Tucker relaxed when he realized one of their misfits was still alive.

Then he went tense again, after he learned that Church pulled off a stupid, fucking move and went into the memory unit. He just... stood numbly beside Caboose, arms by his sides while he stared at the unit. Stupid Church. Stupid, fucking Church. He said he'd come back out. He said he'd be right out.

Washington was fine. Doc managed to save him, had put biofoam over his wounds but said he was in critical condition.

He had to watch Caboose stare at the unit hopefully before he slumped and stared at the ground in silence after it was confirmed that Church wasn't coming back out. No one said anything when he started whimpering. No one could look when his shoulders started shaking.

The only one that reacted to that was Sarge. He walked on over, without even hesitating, and placed a hand on Caboose's shoulder.

Everyone who met Caboose knew he was incompetent, that he wasn't like everyone else, that he could mess up almost anything without even trying. But he was compassionate. He cared. He was innocent. He could see the good in everyone, even if that person had no more 'good' in them.

Even Sarge could see that.

They were all silent and tense, ignoring the passed out Freelancer. He wasn't dead. He'd be going back to jail and that was that. Except... after sitting on the ground Caboose had looked up to see Doc checking Washington over. Then he held his head up hopefully, a move that made Tucker narrow his eyes. He wasn't going to do something stupid, was he?

"Can we help him?"

The quiet question took startled everyone, and that's when Simmons started to panic and bring up points that were logical. He shot Donut, he took Simmons hostage, and he killed Lopez. Killed Church, the original one. Deleted him. Shit, he didn't know. Everyone listened to the panicked Red, though they all went silent when Caboose stood up and walked over to Washington and started fiddling with his boot. Which caused Washington to let out a loud, pained groan.

"Watcha doin', blue?" Sarge asked warily.

"...Got to help him..." Caboose said, trying to take the boot off and getting frustrated. "He helped us."

"He killed Donut and Lopez!" Simmons yelled loudly and backed up.

"But he helped us...!" The quiver in his voice made everyone shift uncomfortably. "We... We have to help Agent Washington, because he'll go away for a long time, and I don't want anyone else... Church is... he's..."

When he hit the ground, everyone jumped when he let out a frustrated sound and continued to fiddle with the boot. Doc hesitated, Tucker could see, before he reached over and helped Caboose take off the boot.

"...We put it to a vote, then," Heads turned in Sarge's direction, seeing him step forward and stare at the agent suspiciously. "A vote ta leave 'im where he is or we help him." He was silent for a while. "I vote ta help him." To this day, he still didn't know why Sarge, paranoid Sarge, wanted to help Washington. Who was an unknown.

It was stupid, Tucker realized. The bastard was crazy, paranoid, but he wanted to help the son of a bitch that killed two people on their team. It took a while to debate, with Caboose and Doc voting on helping Washington. He voted against it, along with Grif and Simmons, and they were tied. Simmons said they wouldn't be alone for long, that this place would be crawling with UNSC. So, after a few minutes Tucker let out a groan and decided, why not? He changed his vote and almost smirked when Simmons let out a squawk. The maroon soldier was silent before he quickly suggested switching Washington's armour with Church's.

And that pissed him off.

He had to help take off Washington's fucking armour and switch it with Church's. It didn't feel right. He turned his head when he heard Grif talking to Sarge and didn't bother to listen. When they were done Washington let out a groan and blearily opened his eyes after they finished putting the armour on. And hell, he still didn't know where the fuck Sarge pulled that can of paint from.

It almost felt... wrong to see him using Church's armour. But what could he say? Caboose had already taken to the asshole.

Had already mistakenly called him 'Church.'

Washington was confused, hurt, and had asked why they were helping him. They didn't get a chance to explain before the UNSC arrived. Had to listen to the doubt and suspicion from the stupid soldier that didn't take them seriously. Which, admittedly, pissed them all off.

It took about a week to reach a couple of abandoned bases. Washington was hurt and they needed to treat him in case something went wrong. They ended up staying, since they thought there was nothing in Valhalla.

Then it took a few more days for them to come back from the ordeal. Doc had watched over Washington before he seemed to disappear, and came back when it was time to turn in. Washington didn't seem to mind, but he exercised each day, sometimes with Caboose. Sometimes by himself. He heard Sarge even joined him sometimes and beat him. Not that they were competing, but Sarge said he wouldn't lose to a blue.

Then they were playing 'capture the flag,' which Washington seemed to enjoy. He said this was the lightest workout he's had in years. Which just pissed Sarge off and he kept barking orders at Simmons and Grif to try harder. Sarge seemed to get over that they weren't real soldiers and sometimes went over to their base to grab something. The first time it happened Tucker had scrambled, grabbed his weapon, and pointed it at the red soldier while Sarge ignored him and grabbed a wrench they had. Had said Simmons had theirs last and lost it. Then he walked out.

Sarge seemed like he didn't care that they were simulation troopers... but sometimes Tucker came out to practice with his sword and would see him standing on top the red base with his shoulders hanging.

It was almost... peaceful.

Sometimes Caboose called Washington 'Church' by accident, and they weren't scrambling trying to 'save' the galaxy. This was almost like a vacation.

Until another Freelancer came.

...Bow-chika-bow-wow.


Yeah... I originally wanted to do a story where each character notices that Sarge is kind of the grumpy dad of the team, and this would be done by kind of retelling the story... then I realized it's thirteen seasons. It's more than 45 pages. O_O So I decided to break the chapter down into parts, and this is only from Tucker's point of view. Tucker's view is more than 45 pages! I still have the others to think about. QwQ You can actually see that I basically skipped the Blood Glutch Chronicles.

So, yeah... this is actually mostly for my benefit. Sarge is my favorite character, of all time. :D Right now I'm trying to decide which character to write next. eue