Fun fact: Someone thought it would be a good idea to call Preach's character Juice thankfully, someone told that person what a terrible plan that was on so many fronts, but it still made it to the promo images. SMH

I'd share the link, but I'm pretty sure it won't show and it's too long to do the usual . link . com treatment, but it can be found if you search The Brave NBC images or promos. Anyway, this is the lead up to the last couple of episodes. A quiet day alone :)

No, I don't go to church, can't quote a bible verse
I couldn't sing a song but that don't mean that I don't talk to Jesus
Girls say I push them off, that I can't open up
But I ain't afraid of love, when I say it I just want to mean it

Dark Horse - Devin Dawson

The team was getting restless. It had been about a week since their last assignment, and they only had six days until they rotated out. Those were the worst days because everyone was starting to anticipate heading home and enjoying some time with their friends and families, but they also spent a lot of time waiting for the sat phone to ring, or their pagers to go off.

Inevitably, an assignment would come, and they had to be ready, even if it was at the very last minute.

Dalton woke up early that morning; he wanted to get a workout in before it got too hot. Ordinarily, Jaz would join him, and they'd catch a run afterward if there weren't a more pressing matter to deal with, but today she had looked so peaceful he just couldn't bring himself to wake her.

He'd gotten dressed as quietly as he could and was about to leave her when she turned towards him kicking her legs out from under the blanket. He'd noticed the scars before, and he knew that they weren't from Tehran, they were much older, but he'd never asked her about them.

She'd always kept them well hidden from everyone. He'd caught glimpses of them before, even run his fingers across them when they'd made love, but they'd never talked about how she got them.

Dalton pulled the blanket carefully back over her legs and ran his fingers gently across her exposed shoulder. Her skin prickled, and she sighed in her sleep making him smile.

He had known this woman for over three years now, they'd lived in this bunker for more than half of each year together in that time, been on countless missions, and in too many precarious situations to count. Yet, he'd never seen this coming.

Maybe they'd both been in denial. The way Preach, and McG talked they'd been circling around each other for most of the last three years, but it seemed they'd both been clueless.

Until Elijah died.

Losing him was the catalyst that forced them to open their eyes he supposed. Maybe it punctuated the argument that life was too short, or maybe it was about comfort or wanting to feel something other than the void he'd left, the pain. He didn't know.

What he did know was that he loved her more than anything, and he could no longer imagine his life or his career without her by his side. He wanted her with him always.

Dalton watched her for a few more minutes before he decided to get his work out in. He knew if he didn't get out of there he was just as likely to crawl back into bed with her and wake her up.

When Dalton finished his workout, he was drenched in sweat, found Jaz still sleeping, so he planned to take a quick shower and crawl back into bed with her and maybe work up a sweat again.

When he stepped out of the shower, he smiled as he saw a beautifully naked Jaz standing in front of the mirror. He stepped up behind her and was about to pull her into his arms when he noticed her fingers running over the scars on her abdomen, and haunted glassy eyes that had filled with unshed tears.

Dalton placed his hands over hers, and her eyes snapped to his in the mirror. She blinked a few times and shuttered the look as she smiled at him.

"Morning." She said as she turned her hand into his and clasped their fingers. "Why didn't you wake me, we could have at least gone for a run."

"You looked so peaceful; I couldn't bring myself to wake you. Plus, selfishly I was hoping I could crawl back into bed with you after my shower." He told her.

"Mmmm. Sorry, I ruined your plans." She said as she turned to him and pressed her lips to his.

"S'okay." He said as he wrapped his arms around her. "What were you thinking about?"

"Hmm. Oh, it's nothing. Just kind of zoned out. I was thinking about surprising you in the shower actually."

"Well, I guess I ruined your plans then, huh?" He said, letting it go for now. "Want some coffee?"

"Mmmm. Yes please." She said.

"I'll go get that going if you wanted to grab a shower." He said as he kissed her.

"Or you could get back in the shower with me." She said.

"Tempting as that sounds, the rest of the team is probably going to be up soon, and I'm guessing they'd like some hot water. There won't be any if I get in there with you now." He said as he pat her on the hip and gave her one more kiss before tossing his towel in the hamper and leaving to get dressed.

He laughed as he heard Jaz whistle knowing she was watching him walk away.

Dalton was just pouring two cups of coffee when she came out in a pair of yoga pants and a tank top towel drying her long hair. She hopped up onto the stool next to the counter and Dalton set a mug in front of her on the counter before leaning in to press his lips to her neck. It was the spot where the warm spiced apple smell that was all Jaz was the most concentrated, and he couldn't resist.

A moment later, they heard footsteps coming from around the corner, and then McG broke the spell.

"Preachhhh, mom and dad are making out again." He whined.

Preach laughed, and McG continued as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

"You two should really get a room...oh wait, you have a room, it's right over there."

Dalton scraped his teeth over that spot on her neck again just to annoy McG and then placed a chaste kiss on her lips as she smiled at their friend.

Dalton had asked Preach to keep tabs on things for a couple of hours this afternoon. He'd wanted to take Jaz off base for a bit. As much as he loved having her in his bed every night, it wasn't like they ever had any privacy in the bunker. Everyone could hear everything echoing off the corrugated metal walls.

"Well, we're heading out for a couple hours anyway. Need anything while we are in Adana?" Dalton asked.

"Adana? What are you gonna do in Adana?" Amir asked as he came around the corner.

"Probably take a walk around Kapikaya Kanyonu or maybe head to the beach, and figured we'd make a grocery run on the way back. Probably don't need much though, you know that call is coming. It's always something crazy when the clock's winding down on a deployment." Dalton answered.

"Yep." McG agreed.

"Anyway, just figured we'd get away for a bit. I feel like all I've done the last four days is stare at the monitors waiting for the other shoe to drop."

"Well, the list is on the fridge. I'm going for a run." Amir said as he headed out.

"I've got this for a couple of hours; I'll page you if anything comes up." Preach said.

McG just pointed to the cage and said, "I'm going to organize my med bag. It's been quiet for too long and it's making me antsy. Have fun."

Jaz hopped down from the stool and pointed towards Dalton's Computer, "Let's go before Campbell pops up on that monitor."

Dalton and Jaz spent the afternoon at the beach. Dalton packed a cooler and a blanket, and they found a quiet spot to spend the afternoon away from the rest of the team.

It wasn't that they didn't enjoy hanging out with everyone, but this was still a new relationship, and they rarely had time to themselves to talk. And Dalton had a few things he'd wanted to talk to Jaz about.

They were lounging in the shade away from the blinding mid-afternoon sun, and Dalton was watching as she pulled sunscreen from her bag.

"I can help you with that." He said as he took the bottle from her.

As he smoothed it over her shoulders, he decided to ask her about something that had been on his mind for a couple of days.

"What are your plans when we rotate out?"

"I don't know. I don't really have a home base, but I wanted to go to New York and visit my mom. Her birthday is coming up, so she's been on my mind for a while."

Dalton knew that she didn't have a conventional relationship with her mother given her struggles with addiction, but Jaz had been a little girl, and it was clear that she'd loved her regardless. He also knew that after her mother passed away, Jaz's life got much harder. He wondered if she would see her dad.

"What about after? Anyplace that you plan on visiting?" He asked.

"Yeah, I was thinking about maybe going to Switzerland seeing a part of the world that isn't a war-torn hellhole would be nice. I don't know, I usually travel around. It sounds kind of sad, but I feel most at home when I'm with the team. What about you?"

"Well, I think I feel at home when I'm with you. The team, too...but it'll be nice to sleep anyplace where I won't have to listen to McG snoring. And Switzerland sounds nice." He said as he kissed her shoulder.

"Really?" She asked as she smiled at him.

"Yeah, if you wouldn't mind some company." He said.

"If you're the company, I'd love it." She said.

"I have to stop in DC for a couple of days to handle some paperwork and briefings, but I could meet you in New York."

"Oh, yeah, I guess that could work."

He sensed some hesitation, but he didn't push.

"It's just well, I'd love to take you to see my mom. I don't know I feel closer to her when I go there, but sometimes my dad shows up and well...I don't really want you to have to meet him.

Now Dalton was sure he did want to go. He hated the idea of her having to face him by herself, even though he knew damn well she could handle herself.

"It's strange, I took care of her more than she ever took care of me, but when I think back on my childhood some of the happiest memories were of her. Maybe the only happy memories," she said wistfully.

"She was your mom." He said as he helped her to recline into him as she sat between his legs.

She was silent for a few minutes as she kneaded her fingers into his quads. He just sat quietly with his arms wrapped around her as he looked out at the water waiting for her to continue.

"I remember some of the times when she would get clean. Dad would sometimes leave for weeks at a time on work trips, and she'd try and get things together. At the time, I never really understood that he was the thing that drove her towards some of the more destructive habits, so I just thought she was sick and that for the moment she was better."

"How old were you when she died again?"

"Gosh, maybe ten or eleven. Too young to really understand what took her from me. But, as I got older that got a lot clearer. It's funny though, even when I was cleaning up after her or scared to death trying to take care of her when she was in really bad shape I never really resented her for it. I guess maybe on some level I knew that it wasn't entirely her fault, or maybe it was just that I didn't understand. Who knows." She said as she glanced back at him.

"Anyway, the things that I do remember are the fun times. Like when I was maybe six or seven, she came home with groceries. Dad had been gone for a while, and she was working at this diner down the street, and she'd been so proud that she was able to buy the groceries with money she'd earned. I mean it wasn't like my dad wasn't providing, he paid the rent and the utilities while he was away, and mom had money for groceries, but I think she just felt like...like a good mom."

Dalton pulled her back so that her head rested against his shoulder so he could see her face while she spoke. He loved seeing her smile when he talked about her mom; he'd never heard her say much of anything about her life back then.

"So, anyway, she met me at the bus stop after school with this bag of groceries and announced that she's going to teach me how to bake a pie. So, we got home, and she gets everything started, and I was little, so any excuse to make a mess without getting yelled at was great, you know?"

He laughed.

"Long story short, we made this pie together, and it was hideously ugly. The crust was all raggedy because we couldn't get it on top of the pie in one piece, so we just slapped the pieces together and Frankenstein'd them together but it was the best thing I had ever tasted in my life. In retrospect, I don't think it was anything special, but we'd made it together, so I thought it was perfect." She shared.

"I bet it was." He told her as he kissed her forehead.

"I know now that my mom was a deeply trouble woman, and that she should have gotten help and that we should have left my dad. But, I know that she loved me, and I know that she would never have done anything to intentionally hurt me. I think she would have changed things if she could have, but her addictions controlled her, and my dad drove her addictions. It was a toxic combination."

"Yeah, I know all about addiction." He said. "I think my dad was similar to your mom. Don't get me wrong, he was a hateful bastard when he was drunk, but he had his moments when he was sober."

"I think because of the way I was raised I never really planned to have an ordinary life. You know the picket fence and the 2.5 kids, the dog..."

"I didn't either, but I think I'd like to have those things someday now."

She looked up at him and smiled as she ran her fingers through his beard, "I think maybe I would, too. Someday."

"Yeah?"

"With you...I think I would."

He smiled that beautiful smile that made her heart stutter and leaned in for a kiss.

"I never planned to fall in love either, but I guess maybe I was just waiting to mean it. I love you." She told him.

"I love you, too." He said just seconds before the pager sitting beside them went off.

He kissed her once more, and they both stood to collect their things.

"I knew we wouldn't get through this week without a hitch." He said as he threw the bag over his shoulder and picked up the cooler before taking her hand and heading back to the bunker.

Hope you liked this one. I just wanted them to talk about what happens after this deployment ends.