Cougar sat in the small waiting room while the doctors treated his partner. It pissed him off that they wouldn't let him stay with Jake. Protocol was, you didn't separate a sentinel and guide, but they wouldn't listen to him and when he got loud the doctor sneered and threatened to call the MPs if he didn't get out. With Cobin out of reach for the moment he really had no recourse so he settled down in a hard plastic chair out front and seethed. They wouldn't tell him how bad Jake was hurt. He knew the arm needed a cast and his fingers needed to be splinted as well, but most worrying, at least to his mind, was the head wound. Jensen continued to wander in and out of consciousness and every time he was out the dead silence made Cougar want to claw the eyes out of something. Not wanting to give the staff another reason to throw him out he hid his rage behind his hat and drew on his patience and training to keep himself still and outwardly calm. He looked up hopefully as the doors opened, but then looked away as Trent and Cobin exited the treatment area.
Trent noticed Alvarez sitting in the corner seemingly placid and waiting but the waves of fear and anger he could feel, even from across the room, made him flinch. He had always thought Cobin was strong but Adam's emotions were a gentle summer rain shower next to the ranging hurricane he had felt when he touched Carlos.
Granted being deprived of his guide was enough to make any Sentinel a little out of control but this was so far above that he wondered how the hell Jensen could stand being in the bond with the sniper. How could he handle that onslaught without burning out when a simple touch from Carlos had given Rick an empathic backlash that knocked him out?
Damn, it was so tempting just to walk out the door with Adam and wait for Jake to deal with his sentinel's volatile mental state. But... guides had instincts just like sentinels did and his were screaming at him. Jensen wasn't trained well enough yet to deal with this and it wasn't something that could wait for a more senior guide to get here and no guide would be able to leave a sentinel in such a state. He sent a wordless explanation down the bond to his partner. Cobin shot him a look but he grinned and flapped his hands shooing Adam away. Cobin looked at his hands and then arched an eyebrow. Message received. Adam thought he was a dumbass. Looking back over at the other sentinel he snorted, yeah he probably was, but Cougar's need could not be neglected one more second.
Rick walked over to squat down beside Alvarez who was studiously ignoring him even though the man's guilt was so palpable he could damn near taste it.
"It happens." Just that. Now to see if Carlos would take the bait. He snorted as Cougar's shoulders hunched as if he was trying to curl into a ball. "Come on. Walk with me." He stood and walked away, listening hard but not looking back. He was almost to the door out before he heard the sentinel stir and faint footsteps following him.
Trent set an easy pace, a bit more than a ramble but still something they could maintain without effort even in the muggy heat. He stayed silent as he led the way across post to a quiet spot on the outskirts of the base. It wasn't much, just a couple picnic tables, a set of swings and a small fountain that danced and sparkled in the late afternoon sun, it's trickling waters singing a calming song. Exotic flowers shivered in the light breeze perfuming the air and the towering trees cast a shadow across the tables giving some relief from the sun. It was Rick's favorite spot on base. He sprawled out on a picnic table and looked at Carlos expectantly.
Cougar froze as the guide turned a knowing gaze on him. Like all his secrets were spilling out, leaving him in a spotlight, for all the world to see. The feeling crept up his spine until it was all he could do not to squirm. He wanted to lash out, tear Trent to pieces, throw up, run away, curl up in Jake's lap and sob like a fucking kid. It made his skin crawl to think someone could be in his head like that. 'Other than Jake' his own treacherous heart whispered back. Rage sent a flush over his cheeks, but even as he stood there and shook he couldn't bring himself to lay so much as a finger on Trent. "Get the fuck out of my head!" The words exploded out of him past bared teeth and hung in the quiet between them.
Trent tilted his head and frowned. "Carlos. I'm not doing anything. I'm not reading you." He huffed at the look of sheer confusion that fleetingly crossed the sentinel's face before it settled back into a stoic frown. "Look, just talk to me ok? What's going on with you? I know you're upset with me and Adam for the exercise. And yeah ok, we kind of deserve a little bit of that. We should have kept a better eye on him, but the exercise is just to get you two to use your bond like you did." He sighed when Cougar's frown deepened. "Anyway, the point is, it's training! You don't have to like it but at least you knew we weren't going to kill him or torture him. We aren't the fucking enemy here, damn it!" He rolled his eyes as Cougar's mouth worked like he had something foul on the back of his tongue. God save him from emotionally constipated sentinels!
Cougar shifted his weight and tried to think of what to say. Trent had it all wrong, he wasn't mad, at least not at Cobin or Trent. He gnawed at his lip trying to find the words to explain. He still wasn't sure exactly what he had done but he knew it was his fault that both Trent and Jensen had gotten hurt. "Lo siento."
Trent sighed with a half shrug. "It's fine, it happens to us all. The bond is... overwhelming at first, and you have all these instincts screaming at you. Just try and remember we aren't a threat." He stopped when Cougar shook his head.
"No, not that. I am sorry for hurting you."
"For hurt... Alvarez..." What?... OH! Trent frowned. "You don't really think I blame you for that do you?"
Cougar lifted his chin and made eye contact, eyes blazing with stifled fury and guilt. "What does blame have to do with it? It is fact."
Shit, what was it with sentinels and the damn guilt? He would have to get in touch with Dr. Sandburg and see if he had any theories because he had never met a damn one who didn't try and shoulder the burden of the whole damn world. But that would have to come later. Now he had a sentinel to pull back from the brink and the wounds that needed patching were no less real than the ones his partner was sporting for all they were less visible. And since it looked like maybe he and Cobin had overestimated the other sentinel's readiness for that scenario it was up to him to render aide until Jensen was back on his feet and able to take over.
"Agreed," he stated as calmly as possible. He bit back a bark of laughter at the stunned look on Carlos' face. "I forgive you." Yep, he knew had read the man right when there was a tiny tic in his cheek. Trust a Catholic boy to understand the value of forgiveness. Trent cocked an eyebrow as Cougar shifted his weight.
"I am not sure what I did though," Carlos admitted.
"Ah. Umm... well, it's called empathic backlash. It happens when an empath is not prepared for the strength of the other persons emotions, like if someone is in a killing rage, and they get overloaded. . I .. uh, well I knew you were mad but I didn't take into account just how mad. So when I touched you I was going to try and calm you both down and I was wide open so it knocked me for a loop for a while. Honestly... it was as much my fault as yours, 'kay? So knock off the damn guilt trip, man. Shit happens. I'm fine, no harm, no foul."
"But I could do this to Jake, si?"
'Ah ha! Now we are getting somewhere.' Trent studied Carlos face taking in the intense gaze and the slight flush of his cheeks. His eyes flickered down as Carlos wet his lips. While he could understand a sentinel's desire to protect his guide he could sense more complicated emotions from the other man. Although he sincerely doubted Cougar would trust him enough to share what was really going on in that stubborn head of his. "Carlos, is that what you are really afraid of here? Cause I gotta tell you, man, that partner of yours has the strength to match you in spades. He is far more likely to knock you on your ass than vice versa." He grinned as Cougar's shoulders settled in relief. "So we good?"
Carlos nodded and wrinkled his nose.
"Good, now let's get you back to Jensen."
O*O
Jensen sighed as he tried to pack his duffel one handed. His stupidity had gotten them shuffled off the training track and onto medical leave and now they were being shipped back to Bragg and while he was thrilled to be going back stateside, he wasn't looking forward to the inevitable fallout he was going to get from his fiancé when he showed up with his Sentinel in tow. But what the hell could he do? It wasn't like he could just leave Cougar behind. Not that he wanted to. Carlos presence was like a warm blanket in his mind. He brought a sense of peace, comfort and stability that Jake hadn't even known was missing before they bonded. And now? Now he would rather lose his hands than spend a single day apart. Shit, he sounded like his niece Beth crushing on some boy in her class. Now that was one person he was unabashedly excited to introduce his Sentinel to. Beth was going to love Cougs and so would his sister. They at least would make Cougar feel welcomed. He stopped his packing and stared into space trying to figure out how he could put a good spin on things so that at least Melissa would be polite even if she was less than thrilled.
O*O
Melissa ground her teeth as she listened to Jake try and explain why he was bringing someone home with him on leave. Their time together was so limited and the last thing she wanted to do was share her fiancé with the military for even one more second than she already did and now he was dragging some stranger home and expected her to put the guy up? Jake couldn't be serious!
They had a wedding to plan after all and this... interloper was just going to get in the way. She rolled her eyes as Jake's voice droned on and on.
Finally she had had enough. "Jake! We don't have room for him here. IF he comes with you, he will have to get a hotel room."
She listened for another minute before interrupting again. "Partner? What the hell have you done this time?" She snorted in disgust as he talked and when he paused for breath she took over the conversation for the last time.
"Look Jake, I don't care who the hell he is, I am not putting up some stranger, and that is final! I will see you Friday and don't be late." She slammed the phone down and stomped out of the room.
Jake ground his teeth as the phone went dead and glanced over at Cougar, who was politely pretending that he hadn't heard every word, even though he felt Carlos' squirm of discomfort and guilt though their bond. He felt himself flush at his fiancé's reaction. Sure it might be a bit of an inconvenience, but far from not having the room for Carlos, he knew her reaction and, a tiny voice in the back of his head whispered... rudeness, was more about Melissa's incessant need to control her environment than anything else. He smiled brightly at Carlos. "Melissa's place is kind of small so we'll be staying at a hotel."
Cougar raised his chin and lifted an eyebrow. "Jake, you should stay with her. I will be fine."
"Are you kidding me? Fuck Cougs, don't throw me under the bus like that, man. I love that girl but she has turned into fucking Bridezilla, man. You gotta save me dude." He clutched melodramatically at his partner eliciting a quiet snort from the sentinel. "Nope, I am staying with you!"
O*O
Cougar wasn't sure how to react when he heard the note of venom in Jake's fiancé's voice. This was the woman his partner was going to marry? Somehow he just could not see his exuberant sunny guide with the kind of person that would use that biting sarcastic tone with the man she loved. Still it wasn't his place to criticize. So he kept his mouth shut and tried to keep his dismay and misgivings out of the bond. Jake was embarrassed enough without him drawing attention to her rudeness. As long as he was the sole object of her ire it was fine but that bitch better not treat his guide like that in his presence, because she would not like the results. He shook his head as Jake clutched his arm and turned wide blue eyes on him in appeal, some stupid excuse offered to cover his girlfriend's faux pas. He was touched that Jake would choose such a show of solidarity. He lifted an eyebrow, "Bridezilla, huh? Well..." he tapped his finger against his mouth. "I would hate to have to try and break in another guide."
