(After season 1)

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I don't own Seal Team.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooo

He was resting in the guest bedroom. Jason had been living with Mandy for almost two weeks and he really needed to find his own apartment before he had to go back to work, but he had promised Mandy he wouldn't drive and he hated using public transportation, so he wasn't sure how he was going to get that done in the next three days.

"Jason." Mandy stood in the doorway and waited for his response. At the moment, Jason was unpredictable when he was asleep. It was wiser to stand at least a short distance from him when it was time to wake him up. "Are you awake?"

Opening his eyes, Jason sat up and moved to the edge of the bed. "What's up?"

"I've found you an apartment." Mandy knew that Jason needed his own place and she had made a few inquiries to help him out. "You said you wanted your own place and I think I found just what you need . . . Of course, if you need time and want to stay here you can. I'm in no rush for you to leave."

"No, no that's fine." Jason yawned. "I'm just lying around doing nothing anyway. Where's the apartment?"

Mandy stepped into the room. "It's at the end of the hall. Rick Santos, the manager for this building told me about the vacancy this morning and I thought we could check it out on my lunch break . . . it's furnished."

"Down the hallway?" He was a little surprised that Mandy wanted him to live near her, but she was a good friend, so maybe it wasn't a surprise after all. "Alright, let's go see it."

Once they were in the hallway, Mandy led Jason to the apartment. "It's the last apartment on the left. That means you'll only have neighbors on one side of your apartment. Always a plus believe me . . . Rick is waiting for us."

Jason liked Mandy's apartment building. It was just five miles from base and most of the people that lived in the building were military or worked for the military. As they entered the apartment, Jason noticed a tall man in the kitchen leaning on the kitchen island.

"Master Chief, I heard you were looking for an apartment." Rick walked around the counter and shook Jason's hand. "It has two bedrooms, both partially furnished, a living room as you can see, a kitchen, one bathroom . . . There is room for a washer and dryer in the kitchen if you're interested. If not, we have a laundry room on the first floor."

Curious, Jason moved through the apartment and looked at each room with Mandy following. Both bedrooms were the same size, but he liked the room that faced the parking lot better. It was facing west which meant the morning sun wouldn't pour into the room when he was trying to sleep. "Looks okay to me." It had been years since he had lived in an apartment and he knew he'd have to adjust.

Mandy could see that Jason wasn't very enthusiastic about the place, but then again, he probably had a right to be sad about the situation. Alana had divorced him and his life was changing whether he liked it or not. "We can make a list of things you need like sheets, towels, cleaning supplies, food. I can take you to the store Saturday and we can get you squared away and ship shape by Sunday."

Reentering the living room, Jason placed his hands in his pockets as he approached Rick. "I guess I'll take it."

Rick smiled and pointed at the lease laying on the kitchen island along with a pen. "I'll need the first and last month's rent for a deposit . . . There are a lot of sailors and marines living here as well as people that work on the base . . . I think you'll like it once you settle in. We have a pool in the back and you can use it anytime from 5 a.m. until 10 p.m. Guests are welcome of course. There's a vending machine kiosk next to the laundry room if you're looking for a late-night snack or drink."

Since he didn't have any better options, Jason signed the lease, filled out a check for the deposit and handed it to Rick. "I'll move in Saturday."

The lease signed, Rick left the apartment leaving behind a quiet couple.

After a few seconds, Jason laughed. "You know this is going to sound weird, but I've never lived by myself. I joined the Navy right after I graduated from high school. After Alana got her degree we got married and then when we separated I moved in with Ray and Naima . . . Hell, I've been living with you for two weeks. I don't know what it's like to live by myself."

"It takes some getting used to." Mandy felt sad for Jason. His divorce was not what he had wanted. "I moved into my own apartment my sophomore year of college and I've lived most of my life alone ever since. It can be a little too quiet sometimes, but it's nice to have someplace you can count on as being a peaceful refuge when life gets too hectic . . . I'll be down the hallway, you can always visit me."

He knew it was going to be rough at first, but he'd have to get over the fact that he didn't live with his family anymore. That part of his life was over. "Yeah, thanks." What else could he say? This was a new phase of his life and he'd have to adjust.

"You're welcome." She wanted to do more for him, but he'd have to make an effort to adjust to his new circumstances, she couldn't do that for him. "Why don't we go out to lunch, my treat."

"Sure, why not. No tacos though." Jason wanted to talk to Alana, to see if she was fine with her decision about the divorce, but he couldn't get her to call him back. He didn't know what he had done to deserve that kind of treatment, but he knew he didn't have the power to change it. Alana was a strong independent woman and wasn't that why he'd married her in the first place?

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

That Sunday, Jason was out of Mandy's apartment and in his own place. Mandy had insisted that he buy sheets, towels, wash clothes, toiletries, cleaning supplies and his refrigerator was stocked. His clothes were in the bedroom and his sports equipment was in the guest bedroom. He had bought a television and when he hooked it up he found he had basic cable. He decided that was all he needed. Once he was alone, he made a list of the things he needed to accomplish in the next few weeks. He needed to separate his checking account, car insurance and savings account from Alana's accounts. He wasn't sure how he was going to do that if she wouldn't even talk to him.

Determined to move on, he wrote her a letter and asked her to contact him, so they could take care of the financial side of things. He had always relied on Alana to pay the bills and now that was going to be his responsibility. Jason felt like circumstances were forcing him to leave Alana behind and maybe that was her plan all along. After all, she had told him she didn't want to share him with Bravo Team anymore.

Oddly enough, he wasn't sure what his financial obligations were now. Since he didn't live in the house anymore, he would have to separate himself from the mortgage. "Damn it, I need a lawyer I guess. I don't know what the fuck I'm doing." Frustrated, he went for a walk. He wasn't allowed to jog or run because of his injury for at least two more weeks. That was per Mandy's doctor and it seemed like good advice even if it was a pain in the ass restriction.

Out on the sidewalk, Jason walked towards the base. It was hot, but the ball cap was firmly on his head and it would protect him from the sun. He had driven through the neighborhood several times in the past, but he had never walked it. It gave him a chance to learn what stores and services were available in the area. It was a quiet neighborhood and that was fine with Jason. He needed time to think and this was as good a place as any to do it.

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

Sunday evening, Jason arrived at Ray's home and after a few seconds of hesitation, he knocked on the front door.

Surprised to see Jason, Naima invited him in. "Come in, Jason. The children are asleep."

"I knew it was too late. I can leave." He didn't want to cause Naima trouble. He knew what it was like to take care of a baby. If you were lucky, you might get in about five or six hours of sleep and that was on a good night. "Just tell Ray . . ."

"No, don't leave." Naima didn't know why Jason was there, but he was her guest and she wouldn't chase him away. "Ray is resting, but he's not sleeping. He's in the bedroom."

He took that as an open invitation and smiled. "Thanks. I'll keep it down." Quietly, he moved down the hallway and found his friend propped up against the headboard of his bed, a folded magazine in his right hand. "How's the arm?"

Not expecting to see Jason, Ray dropped the magazine on his lap. "Good . . . how's your head?"

"Fine . . . I can drive now." Jason moved through the doorway and stopped. "It was a pain in the ass getting Mandy to drive me everywhere . . . I have my own place now."

"Oh, good." Ray had wondered how long it would take Jason to move out of Mandy's apartment. "You talk to Alana yet?" He really didn't understand what was going on between Jason and Alana. Their divorce made no sense to him and it make him wonder just how fragile his own marriage was. He and Naima loved each other, but so had Jason and Alana.

His situation with his family was frustrating, but Jason didn't know what to do about it. "No. She won't return my calls. I wrote her a letter . . . Emma called me. I haven't heard from Michael."

What a mess! Ray sighed. "I'm sorry, Man. This isn't how I thought it would play out. I thought that Alana and you would get back together . . . Is Emma doing okay?"

"Better than I am, I guess." Jason shrugged his shoulders. "I just came by to see how you're doing and to . . . to make sure you're okay."

"I'll be out of the sling next week. I can work after that, but I have about six to eight weeks of therapy to do . . . That boy I killed . . . "

"It was an accident, Ray." Jason knew that his friend was still upset about the boy's death. "Maybe you should talk to your minister. It might help."

Ray had thought about it. Reverend Bishop was an ex-marine and he might understand what he was going through. "I was going to talk to him today, but I had a headache . . ."

"Yeah." Jason wanted to help his friend, but he wasn't sure if he knew how. "We all make mistakes. If I hadn't listened to Nate he would be alive today. I was in charge and I knew our time was limited on that ship, but Nate wanted what was in that safe . . . I should have said no. You shouldn't have deployed and now a child is dead. We're both responsible for the deaths of someone. We didn't set out for them to die, but they're dead and there isn't anything we can do about it. All we can do is move on and try not to let it happen again. When you're Bravo One, you're responsible for everyone in your unit. The boy's death is just as much my responsibility as yours . . ."

"Jason . . ." Ray was not going to let the boy's death be passed on to Jason's shoulders. "Don't do that. Just stop. Like you said, we both screwed up, but you are not responsible for that boy's death and as for Nate . . . we were on a mission and he was killed because the bad guys shot him. It's the risk we take when we join Seal Team. We may not make it back, but we go anyway. We have a job to do and we do it."

Jason smiled. "Exactly."

Puzzled, Ray stared at Jason for a few seconds then shook his head. "Smart ass."

Glancing around the room, Jason noticed how neat the place was. He hoped he could keep his place as neat. "Yep."

Moving off the bed, Ray pointed at the doorway. "Want a beer?"

"I can't, I promised Mandy I'd wait for another week." Jason tapped the side of his head. "Damn concussion."

"You're lucky you have a hard head, Jason."

Ooooooooooooooooooooooo

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