Salem was awoken by the sudden shift of the mattress from Nala's weight as the young girl climbed onto his bed. She sat in front of him on her calfs, watching him, a look of concern on her face.
"Uncle Ellie?"
"Yeah, baby girl?"
"Can I stay in your room tonight?"
Salem sat up and leaned on his elbow. "What's wrong, Nala? Why you wanna sleep with me?" he asked sleepily.
She laid down, placing her old teddy bear between her and Salem, and snuggled up next to him.
"Mommy and Daddy are fighting," she said solemnly. "They're yelling a lot and I can't sleep."
Salem pulled the covers up over her and wrapped an arm around the small girl, resting his chin on her head.
"S'okay, kid-o."
"I don't think it is."
"People fight sometimes. Me and your old man fight a lot, and we turned out okay."
"I hope Mommy and Daddy turn out okay."
"It'll be fine, girly. Promise."
"But Daddy sounded really mad. Do you know what they're fighting about?"
"No," Salem lied. He knew exactly why. They were fighting about him and what Samantha said to him that night. Rios had of course come to Salem's defense, but Samantha's words still haunted him. He learned of Rios' pain, a pain he was somewhat responsible for. Though the thought of actually discussing Shanghai made him uneasy and scared, he knew it had to be done for Rios' sake, for the sake of their friendship.
He kissed the top of Nala's head, then let out a lengthy yawn. The night had been draining and he was exhausted. With Nala's warmth against him and the pile of blankets laid over them, it was difficult keeping his eyes open.
"Why were you crying, Uncle Ellie?" she asked with a worried tone.
"What makes you think I was crying?"
"Your eye are all puffy and I could hear you and Daddy from outside."
"You listened in on us?" he said with a hint of surprise.
"I was scared. I wanted to know if you were okay. Why were you crying?"
Salem sighed and hugged her closer.
"Chest was hurtin' pretty bad," he lied again. "Started tearing up. S'okay now. Don't worry."
"Oh," she said. "I wish you didn't hurt so much."
"Me too," he agreed, kissing her again.
Minutes passed and Salem began drifting off asleep before Nala spoke again.
"Something really bad happened in Shanghai, didn't it? Daddy won't tell me whenever I ask about it."
Salem thought about how to answer before he said,"Yeah, something bad happened."
"Will you tell me?"
"Maybe when you're older, but not now, okay?"
"Okay, Uncle Ellie," she said and snuggled up closer.
That was one thing he really loved about Nala. She didn't pressure or pry when it came to the touchy subjects. She just listened and let Salem know she was there for him and loved him unconditionally.
Minutes later, after Nala had drifted off to sleep in his arms, the bedroom door slowly opened and Rios entered. He gave a weak smile as he saw the two cuddled up under the blankets. This time, he was grateful for his daughter disobeying him and coming into Salem's room. The younger man needed reassurance that he was loved and if anyone could do that, it was Nala. Rios noticed that Salem was still awake and walked over to his side of the bed. He gently sat down on the edge of the bed next to Salem, careful not to wake up the sleeping girl.
"She heard you guys arguing," Salem explained. "Everything okay?"
"To be honest, I don't know," Rios answered exasperated. "I just can't believe she fuckin' did that. I thought I could trust her to leave you alone for once, you know? I just-"
"Tyse," Salem said, laying his hand on Rios' forearm. "It's late. We can deal with all this tomorrow, okay? All of it."
Rios sighed, emotionally drained from the day's events, and nodded.
"Okay, Elliot. Sorry. Hey, you mind if I stay here for tonight too? I don't think I can face Sam for a while."
"Sure, big guy, but it might be a little crowded," he joked, looking down at Nala.
Rios chuckled lightly, then got up and walked around to the other side of the bed. He carefully laid down next to Nala, who stirred slightly from the shifting mattress.
The next morning, Rios woke up and looked over at the digital clock resting on the night stand, which read 5:56 a.m. Salem and Nala were still asleep next to him, snuggled up together under the blankets. Rios smiled at the sight and rubbed his tired eyes before he carefully got up out of bed and left the room.
Samantha had already left for work, so the house was silent as he walked down the hall and to the kitchen. He prepared a pot of coffee for himself and for Salem whenever he awoke, then sat down on the couch, rubbing his eyes in frustration.
This whole thing was a mess. He regretted telling his wife about the events in Shanghai, but at the time he felt like he had no choice. It was killing him to not be able to confide in someone about the immense guilt he felt. Rios thought he could trust Samantha to just listen to him, but he should have known better. She had never been fond of Salem and this whole situation was just new ammunition to use against him. It was bad enough before Samantha got a say, but now it was a downright disaster and Rios knew he had to do some serious damage control.
About thirty minutes later, Rios returned to the guest bedroom to retrieve Nala, who needed to eat breakfast and get ready for school. He walked over to the bed and untangled her from Salem's grasp and gently pulled her hand from his. Salem stirred in his sleep and his eyes fluttered open.
"Sorry, El. Nala needs to get ready for school. You don't need to get up."
"No, it's fine. Come on, girly," Salem said, sitting up with the small girl still holding him tightly. He slid out of bed with her in his arms and carried her to the kitchen, where he sat her down at the kitchen island for breakfast. She rubbed her sleep filled eyes and yawned.
"Mornin' Daddy. Mornin' Uncle Ellie."
"Good morning, baby girl," Rios said as her kissed her lightly on her head.
Salem sat down beside her on a stool and the two ate cereal together while Rios drank his coffee. After breakfast, Salem put his and Nala's bowls into the kitchen sink and ran water over them while Nala ran off to her bedroom to get dressed. After cleaning up, the younger man went to the living room and sat next to Rios as he watched the morning news. A few minutes later, after Nala had dressed and brushed her teeth, she came into the living room, sat down at Salem's feet, and reached back behind her to hand him a hair band and brush.
"Braid my hair, please," she said with a giggle.
Salem chuckled and took the brush and band from Nala, then began untangling her dark locks. He separated her hair into sections and began to weave and twist her hair until it ended in a single braided length.
"Beautiful," he said with a smile as he ran the long braid through his hand.
"Thank you, Uncle Ellie."
She stood from the floor and positioned herself on the couch in between Rios and Salem.
"You ready?" Rios asked Nala, who nodded in response.
"All packed up? Lunch? Pencils? Paper?" Salem added.
"Yes, yes, and yes," she answered proudly. "But, Daddy? Are you sure I can't stay home again with you and Uncle Ellie?"
"Yeah, I'm sure. You've already played hooky once this week so you have to go today."
"Oh, this stinks," she whined in protest.
"Don't worry, kid-o," Salem said reassuringly. "We'll have plenty of time to hang when you get back. And, hey, it's Thursday, so it's just today then tomorrow then we got all weekend."
Nala smiled at her uncle an hugged him around his neck
"Oh, alright," she said, then slid off the couch and slipped her backpack straps over her small shoulders. "Bye, Uncle Ellie. See you after school."
"Bye, girly."
"I'll be back in about fifteen," Rios called as he left the house with Nala and shut the door behind him.
Salem sighed and leaned back into the couch cushion. He sat there, tapping his foot with nervous energy, waiting for Rios to return. They would have that long needed discussion that Salem had fought to delay for so long, too long.
About twenty minutes later, Salem heard the deadbolt unlock and the front door open as Rios entered the house. He went to the kitchen and poured himself another cup of coffee, as well as one for Salem, then returned to the living room, handing over the mug to his friend.
"Thanks."
Rios took a sip of his coffee, then rested his arm on the back of the sofa, crossed his legs and propped them up on the coffee table.
"You can start whenever," Rios said, looking over to Salem.
"I think you better go," Salem responded, looking down at his coffee mug.
Rios sighed and set down his cup on the coffee table. He sat up off the couch cushion and turned to Salem, thinking of where to begin.
"I shot you."
"Yeah."
"I shot you because I thought I had to. I thought I had to do it to save a whole city."
"I get that," Salem answered. "I get that you feel real shitty about it too. But, Rios, please just move on."
"I think why it bothers me so much is that I really didn't think about it, Ellie. I just did it. I shot my best friend without even thinking about it."
"Tyse, no. That whole thing was fucked up. We had ten seconds. You didn't have time to think. You're kinda boss, so you made the call. That's what you're supposed to do. Make the call."
"Yeah, I'm supposed to make the call that gets us both out in one piece."
"Tyse, hear me out," Salem said as he laid a hand on Rios' knee. "You're hurtin' more than me about this whole thing and I'm the one that took a bullet. Just think about it. This is honestly probably the best case scenario we could have. You're alive. I'm alive. Seven million people are still alive. Jonah's dead. We're together."
There was a long silence between the two as Rios thought and took in Salem's words.
"You remember the Ranger Creed?" he asked.
Salem gave a small, breathy chuckle. "Know it by heart. Hell, I could probably say it backwards."
"Never shall I fail my comrades. You remember that line?"
"Tyse, don't. One, we aren't Rangers any more. Two, it also says, 'I will always keep myself mentally alert, physically strong, and morally straight. A lot of people would count what you did as pretty fucking morally straight. About seven million people."
"Any way I look at it, Elliot, it doesn't feel right. All I can think about is what if I didn't bring you home. What would it do to Nala? I couldn't live with myself."
"Everything thing we do, every mission could keep me or you from coming home."
"It's not the same, Elliot. It would've been because of me!"
Salem could see Rios' eyes were red and had begun to water. The smaller man moved over closer to him and opened his arms, welcoming him into an embrace. Rios leaned into Salem and let him wrap an arm around his back. Salem held Rios' head in the crook of his neck and rubbed circles in his back.
"Tyse, please. Let's just put this whole thing behind us. We could debate about this shit forever, but nothing's gonna change what happened."
Rios hugged Salem tighter and nodded against his chest.
"And nothing's gonna change how I feel about you. I love you, man. Always will. And no psycho's idea of a social experiment is gonna fuck with that."
Rios moved a hand up Salem's chest and laid it over the spot where the wound was.
"You're family, Elliot, and I just...just threw you away."
"Damn right, I'm family. And families, no matter how fucking annoying or irritating or anything, forgive each other, Tyse. Look at me.
Salem took Rios' face in his hands, rubbing a thumb over the jagged scar on his cheek. A tear ran down his face as he looked earnestly into the bigger man's eyes.
"I forgive you, and you should too."
"Shit, Ellie," he sobbed as he pulled Salem into his arms and buried the younger man's head into his chest. No words were spoken for several minutes. Rios just held him, running a hand through his hair and resting his chin over his head as he shed tears of both self-reproach and relief. He still hated himself and the decision he had to make. He hated Salem's unconditional love even under these circumstances, even when he had completely betrayed him. At the same time, though, he was grateful. It was an overwhelming comfort to know that someone was there for you through it all, even your own mistakes.
Salem closed his eyes as Rios held him to his chest. He didn't move or try to break from the embrace. He just relaxed into Rios' arms as the large man sobbed. He needed this, both of them did. They needed to release the built up feelings, the guilt, the anger, the fear.
"Let it out, big guy," Salem said comfortingly as he rubbed Rios' back and further buried his face in his chest.
After a few minutes, Rios released Salem and sat back into the couch cushion.
"You good?" Salem asked.
"Better, I guess."
"Hey, it's something."
Rios laid his head back and closed his eyes. He felt Salem's weight shift as he laid down on his back and rested his head on the bigger man's lap. Rios opened his eyes and looked down at Salem, who was peering up at him with a small half-smile. He ran his fingers threw Salem's bangs and pushed them back off of his forehead, then rested his hand over the smaller man's bandaged chest. Salem put a hand over Rios' and closed his eyes.
Things seemed like they could go back to the way they were. This whole thing was just a bad situation, an obstacle to overcome. They could get passed it, all of it, together. Nothing could stop this army of two.