A/N I WAS A LITTLE SAD THAT I HAD SO FEW REVIEWS ON THE LAST CHAPTER (THOUGH THE ONES I GOT WERE AMAZING!) I HOPE I DIDN'T LET ANYONE DOWN OR DISAPPOINT THEM WITH THE STORY... PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS REVIEWED/FAVORITED/FOLLOWED THIS STORY, AND THANK YOU TO KRISTINMW FOR HELPING ME FIGURE OUT SOME AMAZING IDEAS!

Raleigh left the Marshall's office after what seemed like days, though in reality it had only been about an hour. The Marshall had briefed Raleigh on the two new jaeger teams that were being transferred. Amber Delta, based out of the Anchorage shatterdome and piloted by twins Bruce and Trevin Gage was a heavy titanium jaeger and what what it lacked in speed, it made up for in fortitude. Tacit Ronan was the polar opposite. Based out of Tokyo and piloted out by husband and wife team Duc and Kaori Jessop. It was a quick, nearly silent jaeger with deadly up close defenses. The Marshall had briefed him on the new pilots and crews, dragging out the meeting for far too long. Raleigh had realized that Stacker was keeping him in his office on purpose, trying to give Raleigh time to cool down before letting him go back out in the general population. To some degree, it had worked, but Raleigh knew as soon as he saw Chuck or Anthony it would bubble right back to the surface. The Marshall had reminded him of his place in the shatterdome just before he left. He was not only the pilot of Gipsy Danger and Audrey's partner, he was the Ranger in charge of the pilots and his behavior must remain professional. This order was going to test every fiber of Raleigh's patience and sense of duty.

Now that he was free to go, he knew if he couldn't beat the hell out of Chuck or Anthony, he needed to find Audrey. He paused at her room, knocking quickly, but had a feeling he wouldn't find her there. He didn't bother checking the training rooms or sim rooms; he knew where she would go.

Coyote Tango was in the process of being refurbished to be piloted by a team, but it still stood in its place in the Jaeger bay. It was far from a priority however, and no one was currently working on it, as they were repairing the damage on the other Jaegers from the last fight. Raleigh took the elevator to the cockpit, and spied Audrey sitting on the floor turning a wrench absently as she secured the second pilots spec stand to floor. She had changed out of her uniform and was wearing a pair a jeans and a grey Anchorage Shatterdome t-shirt. She didn't look up when the doors opened, just simply sighed. "Didn't take you very long." She observed, not moving from her spot or pausing in her task.

Raleigh sat next to her, 'I knew this is where you would go to be alone." He told her.

She snorted. "I guess I need to rethink that." She said, more to herself than to Raleigh. Raleigh studied her intensely, trying to will her to look away from the bolt on the floor that was so damn interesting.

"Audrey." He said gently.

"Hmm?" She said, not moving.

"Audrey!" He barked, his anger from the day being displaced towards her stubbornness. "Look at me!"

She jumped at his voice, and looked at him, her eyes looking like she was a cornered rabbit. He placed a hand on her knee. "Talk to me." He said more gently.

"I don't know what to say." She admitted, looking down. He scooted closer to her, his knees touching hers. He took the wrench from her hands, setting it down beside him, and took her hands. He put his forehead to hers, and they sat, not speaking for a few minutes.

Finally she sat up, and Raleigh looked at her. "You could have told me." He said carefully.

"I couldn't." She disagreed.

"I would have believed you." He argued.

"I know."

"Then what? The agreement you signed? You thought something would come of it?" He pushed.

"I don't give a shit about that, the Marshall wouldn't kick me out." She admitted.

"Then why wouldn't you tell me?" He said in frustration. "You don't trust me?"

"It's not about you Raleigh!" She said suddenly, pulling away from him and jumping up. He looked at her in shock. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want talk about it! I didn't want relive it!" She took a ragged breath, looking at him. He'd stood up, and watched her silently. "I didn't want you to look at me like that." She finished, staring in his eyes and seeing the pity, her voice cracking as she spoke in a more normal tone. She looked away and wiped a tear from her cheek violently.

He put his hands on her shoulders. She attempted to pull away and he pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her tightly. She fought him for a minute, before finally putting her hands on his chest, sliding them down to his middle, holding onto him. They sank back to the floor and he pulled her onto his lap, his back against the wall. She buried her face in his shoulder, her body racked in silent sobs. He placed a hand on her head, smoothing her hair, before moving it to the side to lay a hand on her neck. When her breathing slowed, and she'd felt she had nothing left in her, she slid off his lap and stood, Raleigh following suit.

"This doesn't change anything between us." Raleigh promised her, placing a kiss on her heated forehead. She looked at him warily and he placed a soft kiss on her lips. "Nothing." He assured softly.

"We'll see." She whispered, looking at the doors, lost in thought for a beat.

Raleigh stood with her, his hand rubbing her upper arms and he never felt so helpless. There was no solution for this, and there was no easy fix. "What can I do to help you?" He asked her.

"Raleigh, honestly, I need to be alone right now." She told him.

He looked at her unable to mask his shock at her request. After the shock wore off he realized how much it hurt. He wanted to be there for her, and she was pushing him away. "Audrey, you don't have to be alone anymore…"

"I want to be."

He pressed his lips in a thin line, looking away from her. "You want me to leave?" He asked, anger creeping into his voice.

"Please." She said, pleading with her eyes for him to understand.

He shook his head. "We're partners Audrey; you can't just shut yourself off from me!" He protested. "You have to trust me!"

She looked down, steeling herself. "I need to be alone." She insisted.

"Fine." He said through gritted teeth, punching the elevator door button with much more ferocity than was necessary. He glared at her as she watched him impassively while the doors slid shut. As soon as they were closed, a bang echoed from the metal doors as Raleigh punched them. Audrey jumped, closing her eyes and letting out her breath in a sharp whoosh. She shook her head trying to clear the haze, and picked the wrench up off the floor, returning to her work.

Raleigh slept like shit, tossing and turning as he tried to push his anger out of his head. He rose early and ran on the treadmill until he physically couldn't go any further hoping if he was exhausted he would be able to keep a handle on himself during the pilot briefing later that morning. After showering and grabbing breakfast, he walked into the briefing room 30 minutes early, surprised to see the Marshall already sitting at the head of the table, looking over his paperwork. He looked up, giving Raleigh a nod. "Becket."

"Morning sir." He replied, taking the seat next to him and flipping through the paperwork laid out for the pilots.

"Vaughn won't be in the briefing." Stacker said in a nonchalant tone as he made notes for the meeting.

"What?" Raleigh said, not sure he'd heard him correctly. The Marshall didn't want pilots missing briefings unless absolutely necessary.

"I briefed her this morning, told her to take some time off."

"But…" Raleigh began to protest, closing his mouth when the Marshall raised a hand.

"She has been training for a decade for the program. A little time off won't kill her."

"If you're talking about Audrey, it may kill her." Aleksis cracked from the door, he and Sasha coming in and taking their spots.

The Marshall had a look of annoyance that he shared with Raleigh. Raleigh shrugged. "Apparently spying is in Russian nature." He explained.

"Audrey is in Coyote Tango. She doesn't want company." Sasha reported.

"She shouldn't be by herself right now." Raleigh muttered.

"Audrey had been by herself for 5 years, she thrives on being alone." The Marshall told him, looking to both him and the Kaidonovsky's. "She understands as well as you and I that she needs to learn a new way of coping, but now is not the time to force the issue." He straightened his papers, glancing at his watch. "Audrey's first priority has always been the program, when she's ready she'll let us know." Pentecost placed his faith in the fact that Audrey would know what was best for her and recover. Raleigh felt a creeping shame that he hadn't had the same faith in her.

Herc and Chuck came in a few minutes later, both uncharacteristically silent. Herc nodded to Raleigh, and Chuck followed suit. Raleigh nodded to Herc then leveled a piercing gaze at Chuck. Chuck looked away, muttering under his breath. The group murmured among themselves until Anthony and Ricardo walked in, and all the chatter ceased as every set of eyes followed their movement.

Ricardo squirmed under the attention, but Anthony remained stone faced, though he had the sense to not meet any of the eyes fixed on him.

The Marshall cleared his throat, bringing the attention back to him, "let's begin."

"Tacit Ronan and Amber Delta are being readied for transport. The crews should arrive in 3 days, the Jaegers in 2. I've given each of you specs to review. I expect you to study them and know the information by the time the crews arrive." Stacker gave the pilots time to review the paperwork in front of them before continuing. "Now, when the new teams get here, they will be integrated immediately. I know they have been here since the beginning, but it doesn't matter. They are just as important to the mission as any pilot here." Chuck scoffed at the idea and the Marshall fixed his gaze on him.

"Second order of business," He said, pausing for the pilots to flip their paperwork. "I have tried to keep this shatterdome exempt from the annual sparring tournament, but somehow, my efforts have resulted in us being the hosts of the main event."

Raleigh was shocked that the tournament was happening at all. It was annual event, put on by the PPDC to garner support from the public, and raise money for the program. TV channels paid obscene amounts of money to film news spots and interviews, and to film the tournament. The major donaters to the program came with their checkbooks, prepared to pay through the nose for the privilege of sponsoring the Jaeger's of their choice and to watch the tournament participants fight. The tournament was open to any member of the PPDC that wanted to participate and while there were always a few mechanics and a handful of engineers that participated, the pilots were the main draw. Each shatterdome held a preliminary and sent their top two to the main event. Since Hong Kong had been selected as the location of the finals, their prelims would be in the morning, with the semifinals and finals in the evening. In between rounds, the pilots would kiss their donors asses and make sure they got the full support they could for their Jaeger. Raleigh felt anxious as he began thinking about having the opportunity to get in the ring with Chuck. He knew Anthony wouldn't be stupid enough to sign up, but Chuck would be expected to, especially since he had won the tournament last year. Audrey had participated in the prelims in Alaska every year, but the years that she had won a spot in the finals; something always seemed to come up where she couldn't make the trip to the main event.

"Becket will organize the event, so he will be excluded from the tournament." The Marshall continued, and Raleigh couldn't help but look up at the Marshall in contempt. The gaze that Stacker returned made Raleigh realized that there was no negotiation, and kept his protests to himself.

"That brings me to the final order of business. If anyone here has anything to say about what happened yesterday, I suggest you say it now, because after this, nothing more will be said."

Everyone was stunned, and an awkward silence settled uncomfortably over the room. Finally Anthony sat up straighter. "I know what Chuck thinks he saw, but I'm telling everyone the same thing I said five years ago. I didn't do anything to Vaughn that she didn't want."

Raleigh actually chuckled he was so taken aback by the balls Pisano had.

"And I'll tell you what everyone told her five years ago. No one believes you." Sasha hissed at him.

"As long as he's here, we have to work with him." Raleigh reminded everyone, trying his best to play his role as leader. But he couldn't help but add with a vicious look at Anthony, "No matter what he did."

"I didn't do anything!"

"So you were throwing Audrey around the training room because…?" Chuck asked sarcastically.

"He did what?" Raleigh said, his vision turning red as he stood. No one had told him that Anthony put his hands on Audrey the day before. Herc was next to Raleigh in a flash, placing a firm hand on his shoulder to keep him in place.

"You might as well keep your mouth shut. No one has any sympathy to spare for you." Herc told Anthony, gritting his teeth. Raleigh looked at Herc and nodded as he regained his composure and took his seat.

"I was found innocent! The Commandant…" He fought back his eyes wild. He looked to Ricardo for some support, but Ricardo was determined to stay out of the line of fire, even pushing his chair further away from Anthony when the floor was opened. Now he looked away from his cousin, leaving him to fend for himself.

"The Commandant railroaded Audrey because he didn't want the bad press. You weren't found innocent! It was just the easiest route for him to take." Chuck fumed from across the table, leaning forward like he was planning on jumping across it at any moment.

"You didn't mind it then!" Raleigh reminded him, yanking him back to his seat by his shoulder. "Don't act like your some white knight protecting the innocent. You are just as guilty!" He bit his lower lip as he took a deep breath staring a hole through Chuck.

"You think I don't know that?!" Chuck bellowed. "You think I don't regret it?!"

"Of course you don't! You don't give a shit about anyone but yourself!" Sasha screamed. The Marshall had stood, watching the pilots, ready to intervene if necessary; but he seemed to think it may be therapeutic to allow them to scream a while.

"I cared about Audrey!" Chuck insisted. "I care about Audrey." He said more to himself than to the room.

"Bullshit." Aleksis said under his breath.

Raleigh cleared his throat, leaning on his elbows as he focused on Anthony. "We WILL figure out a way to work with you, because we have to. But from now on, you don't look at her, you don't talk to her, and if you have to be in a room with her, you better be as far away as you can." His voice dripped with contempt as he laid the rules out. The rest of the pilots seemed satisfied with this new set of rules, and the Marshall didn't object.

"If you are stupid enough to try," Aleksis said, speaking more than he had in the entire meeting. "You may not like what happens when you cross Audrey isn't knocked out by whatever you gave her." He gave a nasty smile as he thought about it. "We know she doesn't always play by the rules." He reminded him.

"And not one of us will do a thing to stop her." Sasha finished, ending with a Russian insult.

The Marshall looked at the table as everyone seemed to have run out of steam and nodded. "Ok then, everyone has said their piece, and this is put to bed." He gave Raleigh a hard gaze to try to drive his point home. "Dismissed."

Everyone rose from their seat and walked to the door, Raleigh stayed in the room, putting his arm up to block Anthony from exiting. Anthony sat back down, and Raleigh waited until everyone else left and smiled maliciously. "One more thing," he said coldly. "If you ever put your fucking hands on her again, I'll gladly give my spot up here to beat the shit out of you." He looked Anthony up and down with a sneer, and Anthony looked like he doubted the threat. "Just try me." Raleigh said quietly, before turning and leaving.

Raleigh went through the rest of his day on autopilot, he hadn't sought Audrey out again, but he would be lying if he said he didn't scan every room he went in hoping to see her. By the time he got back to his room, he fell to his bed, debating sleeping in his uniform as the day had taken every bit of energy from him. Finally he pulled his clothes off, leaving only his boxers and lay down. He was almost asleep when there was a knock at his door. He flicked the light by his bed on and looked at the door through squinted eyes. "What?" He called crabbily. The door opened then closed behind the visitor, and Audrey stepped into the small sleeping area. He sat up straighter, opening his eyes fully.

"I don't want to talk about it yet." She warned him. He stayed silent, allowing her continue. "I can't talk about it yet." She admitted looking away as she fought tears. It seemed to her that was all she was doing lately. "But I don't want to be alone right now, and you're the only person I have." She said looking at him nervously, worried he would turn her away. "You're the only person I want." She corrected.

Raleigh gave her a small smile, and pulled the covers back, patting the mattress beside him. She slid between the sheets, lying on her back, staring at the ceiling. She turned to look at him as he reached for the light and whispered "thank you" as the room darkened. Raleigh put his arm around her as best he could, and she moved towards him, resting her head on his shoulder. They knew that they needed to talk, they needed to move forward and start training, and they sure as hell needed to figure out what there was between them, but lying together in the dark room, none of it seemed important. Instead, Raleigh kissed her gently goodnight, and they slept.

A/N: PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! REVIEWS ARE LIKE CRACK AND I AM MOST DEFINITELY AN ADDICT! ALSO I AM DEBATING MOVING THIS TO M AS AUDREY AND RALEIGH'S RELATIONSHIP PROGRESSES, SO LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THAT AS WELL...