The Federal Army base shook with the force of yet another avalanche. Wash sat on the ground, eyes screwed shut, digging his fingers into his temples.

"Get yourself under control," Locus snarled, grabbing him roughly by the shoulder.

Wash's eyes snapped shut as he recognized touch magic, and he recoiled from the toxic feeling – so different than Carolina's – setting off another avalanche in the process.

There's was the familiar click of Sarge's shotgun, and suddenly Locus was moving away. "What's going on, son?" the older man asked, placing himself between the Freelancer and the mercenary.

Wash took a deep breath, trying not to appear panicked. Too late for that, his brain helpfully supplied. "My soulmate's familiar was with me when we were brought here. It just disappeared and my subsequent… panic sent my water magic out of control." There, that was it, safety in facts.

Locus growled. "You are endangering everyone here. If you cannot get yourself under control, I will use whatever means necessary to keep them safe."

"Don't even think about it," Sarge snapped. "Donut, Lopez, keep your guns on him." He moved slowly to Wash's side and let some of his own magic flow through the Freelancer, similar enough to Caboose's.

Wash steadily began to breathe easier, and finally felt his magic die down to manageable levels. He looked up to see Cachorro eyeing Locus with the utmost disgust and breathed a sigh of relief as everything went back to normal. "It's back."

Sarge nodded. "Up you go, then," he said, hoisting him to his feet, "and now let's go get you some food, fluids, and rest. In that order, understand, soldier?"

Wash nodded and let the Reds escort him to his quarters. "I'm sorry," he told Sarge.

The red leader shook his head. "Don't apologize. Donut, go get the best medic they have."

Donut nodded and fled in the direction of the infirmary.

"It was beyond your control," Sarge said. "I'm just glad all our friends are safe."

"Even Grif?" Wash teased.

Sarge heaved a sigh. "Even Grif."

Donut came back then, dragging a female soldier. "This is Doctor Grey! You remember her, right?"

"Hey, there!" the Doctor called cheerily. "I was wondering what was causing all the avalanches. Sarge got it right, though! Water, food, and lots and lots of rest for you, mister! Is there anything else I can do? Maybe some updates to your implants will help you with better control."

"No!" David's hands clasped protectively over the back of his neck before he even registered he was moving. "I mean. No, thank you, I don't like my implants being touched."

"Gotcha!" Grey said. "Well, I'll be off. Plenty of prosthetics for the rest of this army!"

Sarge stared after her as she pranced away. "Did anyone else…," he cleared his throat, "Did anyone else see that big black bird on her shoulder?"

The room fell silent, and then Donut was cheering. "Go get her, Sarge! Come on, you've waited forever! Don't let her go now!"

Wash sighed as the Red Team left him, missing his soulmate with all he had.

Caboose swung his legs over the edge of the radioactive lake, happily munching on what food the kitchens had provided.

"Hey," Simmons called, sitting next to him. "Are you worried about Wash?"

Caboose grinned and shook his head, remembering just in time to swallow before speaking. "Nope!"

Simmons frowned. "Why not?"

"Wash will come back. His family is here, so he is alive, and I love him, so he will come back."

"His familiar?" Simmons asked. "His familiar is here with you?"

Caboose nodded. "And mine is with him. I told them to do that in case bad guys ever took us away, because Wash worries a lot about me. He worries a lot about everything."

"Oh," Simmons said. "Grif and I should've thought of that."

Caboose finished his food and patted Simmons on the shoulder. "It is okay. Sometimes other people think of things first, but you are still smart."

Simmons fairly blushed. "Um… thanks."

Caboose nodded and swung his legs some more before getting up and heading back to the galley to return his mess kit. "I do not want Wash to worry," he said as Simmons fell into step beside him. "But he will anyway, so I will just try to make him worry less."

"Hey, guys!" Grif shouted. "Tucker's back! He brought intel and Kimball wants to talk to us!"

Caboose beamed. "Maybe we know where to find Wash now."

Simmons smiled. "Maybe."

The plan was simple. Sneak into the base, liberate friends, sneak back out. Wash set out his weapons and started furiously cleaning. He glanced at Cachorro. "I wish you could tell Caboose that I'm coming for him." He could've sworn the familiar rolled its eyes.

That night, as he was tossing and turning, it clambered into bed on top of him, much like Caboose had. Wash gave in and embraced the capybara with a strangled sob. "I have to get to him in time."

Cachorro nuzzled his head and made itself comfortable.

In the morning, he woke up to find it sitting on the floor. It gave him a strange look and walked out the door.

The rest of the day passed much like the last few. He greeted Sarge at breakfast, ran drills with the Federal Army until lunch, ate, and then ran into his soulmate and friends who thought they had to come and rescue him.

There wasn't much time for a reunion. Felix and Locus had planned everything too well.

After the fact, though, once they were camped at the abandoned research facility, David pulled Mikey aside and gave him a crushing hug. "I was so worried."

"I know," Caboose said, holding him. "That is why I told Cachorro to go with you."

"He left once," David confessed. "I lost control. I nearly killed everyone."

Mike took a deep breath and tightened his embrace. "But you didn't. And now you are back and everything will be awesome again. And we will defeat the pirates, and then we will have victory. And victory parties are always the best parties."

David laughed, burying his face in Mikey's armor. "I missed you."

Caboose nodded and held him as close as possible. "Me, too."

Wash took a step back, removing his helmet, and looked Caboose over. "I love you," he finally said.

Caboose ripped off his helmet. "Do you mean it?" he asked, excitedly.

Wash nodded. "Yes, I-."

Caboose swept him up and kissed him before he could finish. "I love you, too, Agent David Church Washingtub."

Wash laughed, and Caboose kissed the wrinkles at his eyes. "That tickles," he giggled – oh lord, he honest to God giggled.

Caboose laughed, too, though, and started trying to kiss every freckle.

"Are you guys done yet?" Grif called.

Wash and Caboose quickly stepped apart. "Tucker did it," Caboose mumbled.

Grif raised an eyebrow. "Carolina wants to talk to all of us. Now did you two already do the 'yay we're alive and reunited and our love will last forever' sex or do I need to tell the big, badass, scary Freelancer lady that her baby brother's going to need a few more minutes?"

Wash blushed. "We're good."

"Great, awesome," Grif said. "Then get your asses out here, we have a war to win."

~O~

A/N: And that, my friends, is what happens when you decide to not only write crazy, but to write 5k words of it in 5 hours or less. My hand hurts now. Especially my right middle finger. You want to know how many L's are in the actual story? 834. Yes, I counted.

I'm going to go find a splint or bandage or something now. While I do that, please let me know what you thought! No flames, but constructive criticism is always welcome.

Namarië!

(Please also give special thanks to Lucy for the doggie kisses that kept me going. Best fucking Husky ever. Of all time.)