Part Four- Mandatory R&R

Bravo Team is due for some much needed time off, and after the week they've just had, it's time for them to cash it in. But first, they have to get home.

Clay felt the truck slow to a stop, but everything around him kept moving.

"Alright boys we're here. Welcome to Fort Jefferson in Germany. Let's get you patched up!" the beret above him said as the door opened, and each of the men were helped out of the vehicle. Three more faces appeared, and began accessing him.

"Alright Mr. Spencer, we're going to roll you onto your side so we can get a backboard underneath you, ok?" one of the men informed. Clay answered with a slight nod. A groan escaped him when the quick movement sent a jab of pain of pain down his spine. The neckbrace was digging into his shoulders, his entire face was throbbing from the bruises and nasal fracture, his neck was on fire, and every breath felt as though his entire rib cage would shatter. All he could do was stare at the sky above him, and try to focus on the voices talking to him, which was becoming harder by the second.

"Officer Spencer, 27, deep flesh wound to the side of the neck, compound rib fracture, multiple facial fractures and abrasions, shrapnel wounds on the upper torso, severe dehydration, possible spinal cord injury. In and out of consciousness." the soldier said as Clay was wheeled into the trauma room behind his brothers.

"Wait, what? Did you say spinal cord injury?!" Jason asked, pulling away from the doctor trying to treat him. The team had been pushed into the same room due to the overcrowding of the hospital. The base was central to a multitude of different teams, agencies and armies, and it seemed as though they had all decides to bring in their injured today.

"Sir, I need you to stay still. Sir...sir please!" the nurse said, trying to calm him down.

"No! That is my soldier! I need to know what's happening! I need to kn…"

"Jase! HAYES! He was stabbed in the neck. The way the blade went in, they can't rule anything out. Let them do their job!" Ray yelled from across the small room to get his friends attention.

"What's the story with the rest of them?" the lead doctor asked the Berets that brought them in.

"Master Chief Hayes, looks like he took one in the vest, large caliber, two-three shattered ribs, dehydrated. They all are. Secondary Chief Perry, GSW to the left calf. Officer Quinn, dislocated left shoulder with possible fracture. Officer Grey, GSW to the right bicep, shrapnel wounds to the face and neck, possible concussion. Officer Reynolds, heat stroke, blood pressure won't come up." he answered. The doctors and nurses hurried around, mostly huddled over Clay. His eyes darted around, trying to follow everything that was happening while attempting to disguise the pain and muffle the involuntary groans that came as they prodded and moved him, somehow managing to find every spot that hurt. He saw a mask coming towards his face, and pulled away in a delirium and pain induced reaction.

"This'll help you breath easier ok? We're gonna put you under so we can get ya fixed up, alright?" the doctor said. Spencer calmed slightly.

"Sonny?" he croaked.

"Not every southern accent is me, kid. 'Specially cause that ones a She! You got him on the good stuff already?" Sonny asked with a laugh. They all watched closely, none of them paying much attention to what the doctors were doing to them, all focused on Clay as he slowly let go and slipped off.

"Wait, we're gonna have to watch y'all cut him open?" Sonny asked with a hint of disgust.

"You don't have to watch, you just have to be in the same room. And for the love of god, would you stop squirming?! Your making me mad, and I ain't even trying to treat you!" Ray answered the Texan, watching him fidget on the bed across from him. Sonny glared at him, then flinched away from the nurses hands as she moved her hands around the front of his shoulder.

"Well it looks like your collarbone is broken. Was there a blow to the front of your chest?" she asked, studying the diagonal bruise that ran the length of his chest.

"Yea. Same guy that stuck the knife in Spencer hit me me with a tree or something." Sony answered, his demeanor changing as he noticed the beauty of the nurse. The team seemed to collectively roll their eyes when they saw the look on his face. She rolled the portable x-ray machine over from beside Jason's bed.

"Hmph. I need to examine your chest to make sure there's no damage to your sternum. Have you had any problems breathing?" She asked.

"Sonny don't you dare. Don't be nasty." Ray interjected. They could all tell by the look on his face what he was thinking of saying. They laughed as he faked innocence with a smirk, and gave them a look of 'I don't know what your talking about'. The nurse rolled her eyes and soon took the x-ray. The doctor working on Ray grabbed the machine once she was done, and pulled it towards Ray.

"Alright, let's see how lucky you got! It looks like you were close enough to the shot that it was a through and through, but it looks like it was a decent sized bullet." he said. Silence took the room as the gravity of the statement settled in. If that was true, that meant the enemy had been right on their heels. That also meant that those Green Berets had saved their asses.

They were brought out of their thoughts by the sound of the sat phone going off in the pocket of Jason's vest that was laying on the floor next to his bed. A doctor picked it up and handed it to him.

"Bravo one." Jason answered.

"Bravo one this is TOC, couldn't reach your comms. Have you made it to Jefferson yet?" Blackburn's voice asked through the phone.

"Yea. We arrived about 30 minutes ago. Their currently work...ahh...working on Spencer." He said. Eric scrunched his brow at the slight gasp of pain that came through the phone mid-sentence.

"Everything alright?" Blackburn asked skeptically. Jason hadn't reported being injured. But then again, did he ever?

"Yea, everything's fine. Just took a round to the vest, that's all." Jason replied as he looked down to watch the doctor put one last pin into the large wrap around his torso that was cradling his badly broken ribs. He nodded his thanks to the doctor as he walked away.

"Well you'll have time to rest up tonight while they finish up with Spencer. We've arranged for a transport to bring you all to the airstrip tomorrow morning as long as the doctors clear everyone to fly. I'm sure you're all just as anxious to get home as we are." Blackburn said. Jason put the phone to his ear again after letting the rest of the people in the room hear the plan.

"You have no idea. See you in the morning." Jason said.

"Jason?"

"Yea?"

"I better not find out tomorrow afternoon that the kid wasn't actually cleared to fly. Don't do anything crazy. We're already in hot water with the brass for how this entire mission was handled, we don't need to give them another reason." Eric said, knowing his soldier. He listened skeptically to the pause, knowing Hayes was going over all the scenarios of how the next day could go, and playing through the outcomes.

"Yes sir." came the answer, but it did little to ease the Commander.

The Next Morning…

"I don't need a wheelchair. My legs work just fine." Clay fussed as Jason pushed him through the halls towards the exit.

"Relax, it's just till we get outside." Jason answered with a laugh at the kids annoyance. Clay slumped his shoulders and road the rest of the short distance thinking about how humiliating this was. They finally reached the door, and hastily stood to his feet, nearly falling face first into the dirt when he did so before the chair had stopped moving. He caught himself and straightened to the sound of muffled laughter in the background.

"Easy there tiger. Did you forget you haven't stood on your own two feet for a week? You gotta ease yourself back into it." Jason said, watching Clay steady himself.

"Thanks mom, but I'm fine." Clay answered shortly. He was tired of being fussed over and worried about, and was mostly just ready to be home. Jason raised his hands in surrender at the snide remark, then continued across the bustling base towards the trucks that would take them to the airstrip.

A short ride later…

"Wow. How's the other guy look? Or should I say other guys?" Davis asked playfully as the team walked up the ramp onto their aircraft. Jason's eyes unconsciously went to the side of Clay's neck. After all, the last time he had heard those words, they were followed by lots of blood and an unconscious team member.

"Glad to have you all back here. I doubt I have to remind you, but your families haven't heard from you in a little over a week, so I suggest giving them a call. We'll be wheels up in a few minutes." Eric said. The all gave their replies, and soon took their places on the plane, getting as comfy as they could. Clay settled back against the netting on the bench seat, which was surprisingly comfy at the moment, and pulled open his laptop. He put his headphones in, and opened skype.

Stella looked slowed the treadmill and took a drink, the picked up her ace once again. A confused look crossed her face when the music playing in her headphones cut out, and was soon replaced with ringing. She grabbed her phone, then grabbed the arm of the treadmill as she almost fell when she saw who it was, and excitement and relief filled her.

"Clay! Oh my gosh! How...where….how are you? Where've you been?! Are you ok?" She asked, slowing the machine to a walk. Clay chuckled at how flustered she was, expecting nothing less.

"Hey babe. I'm headed home." he answered, watching her wipe her face off with a towel, and take a long drink from her water bottle. He could see that even through the phone, she was checking him over, looking for cuts or bandages. She practically ran towards the locker room praying there wouldn't be anyone in there so she could quickly get in and out. She tried to sort through all the questions swirling in her head, in an effort to find somewhere to start.

"What happened to you guys? Why haven't you sent anything?" she asked finally. She watched his expression change as he carefully calculated his answer.

"It's a long story…. Basically, I got in a little fight with a squirter, and got stabbed in the neck…"

"You WHAT?!" she interrupted with shock.

"...and then we got trapped in country, had a small standoff with a group of mercenaries…

"That was you guys the news were talking about?!"

"...finally got across the border with some help from the Green Berets, but I don't really remember that part, 'cause I wasn't awake for it, then spent the last day in a hospital in Germany getting us all fixed up…"

"Clay! For the love of god, slow down! What the heck! You got stabbed in the neck, and you only spent one day in the hospital? And more than just you were injured? I am so confused!" she said, her head mind running laps.

"Sorry, sorry! It wasn't that bad. I had a good doctor to fix me right away. We all got a little banged up, but no one was serious." he said, ignoring the glares from the rest of his team as they listened to him downplay everything that had happened. Ray shook his head, but deep down, he knew they had all done it before, and would probably all do it again.

"For some reason I don't believe you, but that doesn't matter right now. How soon will you be home?" she asked, giving him a skeptical look.

"A few hours. We just took off." he answered. She nodded, and after a short pause to let everything sink in at least a little, they continued to talk about… well, everything.

Weeks later…

The soft glow of morning sunlight pushed through the gaps in the blinds and illuminated Clay's tan skin. Stella yawned and rolled over, watching his chest rise and fall as he slept peacefully next to her. She moved in closer, tracing a finger gently over the scar on his neck. It had been a few weeks since they finally got back, and he explained the whole ordeal. She still hadn't quite wrapped her head around everything, especially when Sonny let it slip during one of their team and family outings that Clay had killed the guy with his bare hands. She still hadn't gotten used to him coming home hurt, even when it was as simple as a few cuts on his face and a busted lip, or a sprained ankle from running at a dead sprint across rocky terrain. It didn't help much that he always downplayed it, trying to keep up the tough-guy act that he had grown up perfecting. She knew that was just how he was, but it only made her worry more.

Her thoughts were interrupted she felt him stir, and looked up to see his light blue eyes gazing back at her, a sleepy smile showing his dimples. The smile faded when he noticed the worry on her face, and he pieced together what had to be running through her mind.

"I'm sorry I scared you. I know my job has been an adjustment for you." Clay started, trying to think of the right words.

"Babe, I know it's your job to save the world, and it's my job to worry about you. It's what I signed up for when I decided to start dating a soldier." She answered.

"You decided? Are you sure I didn't win you over with my charm and dashing good looks?" Clay asked jokingly, flexing the arm that rested on the pillow above them.

"Oh please, don't flatter yourself! You were not smooth that night at the bar." She replied with a laugh. Clay gasped with mock offense.

"Well I must've done something right because here we are." He said, sitting up against the headboard and stretching.

"Nah, I see this more as a way to get a free apartment." She joked, pulling the covers back and laughing at his look. He shook his head with a smile and slowly walked out into the kitchen to pour a cup of coffee. This was the perfect start to another day of leave, or what Davis had called "Mandatory R&R". He pulled on a loose Navy t-shirt and walked out onto the front balcony with his coffee to take in the view when he noticed a package at the door. He picked it up and set down his coffee, a confused look crossing his face at the return address. He opened it and pulled out a fake black karate belt, and rolled his eyes. He unfolded the note attached to it, and laughed.

Dear Mr. Spencer,

I proudly award you with this belt, and congratulate you on leveling up to a black belt. That move was pretty badass. Your teaching me that so I can finally beat Sonny in our sparring matches.

Sincerely, your favorite teammate.

Clay turned when he heard Stella coming towards him. She raised an eyebrow at the package he was holding and the massive grin on his face.

"Sparring matches?" she asked curiously after reading the note in his hand.

"It's a long story." He answered, and couldn't help as a laugh escaped him at the happy memories flooding his mind as the pair walked back inside, and he closed the door behind him.

Hey guys! Thanks for all the awesome reviews, and for letting me run wild with this one. Believe it or not, when I started writing the first chapter in this multi-chapter story, I was only planning on having it be one quick chapter! Then towards the end something struck me, and before I knew it four chapters flew out!

Off of that, that last bit with the package and note Clay got from a teammate kinda came out of nowhere, but I think it could make for a funny team oriented chapter about the story behind the letter. What do you guys think? If I do it, who should the letter be from? Let me know what you guys think!

Thanks again for all the support and reviews!