A/N: I know Jaz is appears to be heterosexual and I'm not against Jaz/Dalton shipping but I thought of this short, fluff AUish story and it wouldn't let go of my brain. Please be kind :)

Looks Can Be Deceiving

"Hey Dalton, can I have a quick word?" Preach asked in a low voice as he spoke to his oldest friend and comrade in arms.

"Sure." Dalton replied as he turned over the meat he was barbecuing on the grill for their celebratory dinner. It was a ritual after every mission success to celebrate by not inflicting the mess hall cuisine on their stomachs. Patton sat on the ground by Dalton's feet waiting patiently for Dalton to relent and feed him morsels of perfectly cooked meat.

Preach darted a look over his shoulder to make sure their team mates were still engrossed in their game of horse shoes and bagging one another out before he spoke to Dalton in a low tone.

"I know I'm overstepping but I feel the need to clear the air." Preach told him, he had noticed the last few weeks that Jaz and Dalton circling one another. He got the sense that maybe something was sparking between the two. Normally, he'd let it play out but this time he couldn't. He just hoped he didn't ruin his chance at a perfectly good steak but he couldn't keep quiet when what he saw could effectively destroy careers and the team.

"Ok." Dalton said looking more seriously to Preach, giving him the respect and space to have his say. But there was no hiding the slight tension in his posture as if he were bracing himself for bad news.

"I've noticed there's been a bit of tension between you and Jaz over the last few weeks. I wanted to make sure everything is copacetic before we have jump into the next mission." Preach said as carefully as he could without spelling out loud that he was 80% sure that Dalton and Jaz were kindling a romance that was quickly turning sour.

He didn't want to believe they'd take such a risk but they were human and emotions sometimes got the better of a person. When emotions bled into their work; things got messy quickly. He looked to Dalton not sure what to expect but instead of outright denials; Dalton frowned and wore a thoughtful expression. After a few seconds of pondering, he shook his head.

"No, I think we're good." Dalton assured him.

"Yeah? Cause she's been looking at you like she wants to use you for target practise for the past week. It's a little unnerving." Preach told him.

"Yeah," Adam drawled in agreement before he gave a shrug. "It's nothing. I jokingly denied her request for permission to marry Becca. Turns out not as funny as I thought it would be. I apologised and we were good until she showed me the ring last week. It slipped from my grip and then Patton ate it by accident thinking it was meat. So, it's been a tough situation." Dalton informed him with a sigh, looking a little embarrassed as he rubbed the back of his neck. It was Preach's turn to frown as he tried not to laugh at the bad turn of events.

"I didn't know Jaz and Becca were together." he said with a frown, he wondered how he missed that but also relieved that it wasn't what he had originally thought.

"They've been dating for over 2 years." Dalton said with amusement as it was clearly old news. He took a sip of his beer and watched Preach put two and two together.

"Really? I thought they were just friends and roommates." Preach said stupidly.

"They live together as a couple and seriously, they talked about getting a dog at the last team barbecue we had stateside. That's practically the next step before marriage and buying a house." Dalton said bemused as to how Preacher who noticed all the small details had missed something so close to home.

"I don't remember that conversation. How did I miss this?" Preach asked him.

"Beautiful yet demanding wife and three noisy but great kids." Dalton offered, Preach gave him a look that made him laugh unapologetically. "Look, they are low key about it. You know Jaz, she doesn't talk much about anything too personal, so keep it under your hat about the proposal. Last thing I need is my sister and Jaz pissed off at me for spreading it around. Ok?" he asked him.

"Yeah, no problem. Forget I even brought it up." Preach said with a smile, he was just glad for the good news for Jaz and Becca. As well as them having an entirely different conversation from the one he'd been dreading.

"Already done." Dalton replied gratefully.

"Did you get the ring back?" Preach asked out of curiosity.

"Yeah, but I'm not winning the 'Brother of the Year' award." Dalton replied looking distinctly uncomfortable as he turned all the meat over on the barbecue.

"Why not?" Preach asked in an amused manner.

"The ring part came out but it was missing a couple important stones. But it's all good, I found the stones and now the ring is at the jewellers getting stones reset, cleaned, and I'm paying for it." Dalton assured him, as he turned over a steak, "Luckily, it only took a day for Patton to get back to being himself and forgive me for the vet visit. So, I'm sure Jaz will come round when the ring is fixed and back in her possession." he said with a wry smile.

"Wow, no wonder she looks pissed." Preach said before he laughed and shook his head as he was glad he'd missed out on being a party to that misadventure.

"Let's not have that story get around. Last thing I need are jokes about how much shit we had to go through to get it back." Dalton told him wryly before he took a pull of his beer, Preach slapped him on the back and smiled.

"I make no promises on that." Preach told him.

End.