Okay, so I lied...I was planning to write the next chapter for Call Me Joseph, but that's clearly not what happened :)

So, Call Me Joseph will be up in a few days.

This time I promise Mama McG will be in the house.

Until then, enjoy.

There's a moment in this journey that I gave up
My boots just couldn't walk another mile
And that cloud above me had no silver lining
I couldn't buy a break with my last dime

Oh but when I saw you standing in the corner
I'd never thought that you would have my back
But then we rolled in like the thunder and the lightning
Threw some punches then we had a laugh

Friends - Blake Shelton

In years past, the team had always gone their separate ways once they'd tied a bow on their deployment for the DIA back in Washington. So, this was the first time any of them spent a significant amount of time together after their deployment was over.

If anyone had asked Dalton how he felt about that six months ago, he'd have shrugged it off. They loved each other, but they didn't need to spend any more time together than they already did.

How quickly things can change.

Dalton couldn't put his finger on any one incident, but there was no denying this last deployment had been horrific by anyone's standards.

They'd lost Elijah, added Amir, Dalton himself had suffered a significant head injury, Jaz was taken and suffered through days of torture, they'd lost Hossein, Patricia lost her son, and finally, Preach, and Patricia had been blown up.

But the real bun on this shit sandwich was Hoffman.

Hoffman kicked off their deployment with Elijah's death and finished it by taking a shot at Preach and Patricia. Hell, he'd very nearly taken Preach off the board entirely.

Maybe all of those hardships tightened the bond, or maybe they just needed to hold on a little tighter knowing how close they'd come to losing one of their own.

Whatever the reason, none of them could bring themselves to retreat and lick their wounds in solitude. They were stronger together, and no one could really dispute that.

The DIA had only a handful of teams such as theirs, but none of them had racked up the kind of track record Dalton's team had. This team was the one you called when all hope was lost.

They made the impossible possible.

Dalton, McG, Jaz, and Amir didn't spend a lot of time trying to unravel the changes in the groups dynamic. Instead, they reveled in it.

Amir woke up early on Sunday morning and reported to the kitchen where he helped Andrew prepare one of his families favorite brunch traditions. He also learned the beautiful simplicity of a baked Nutella french toast with fresh strawberries and an assortment of other brunch favorites.

Once all the prep work was completed, Andrew and Amir excused themselves from the kitchen and let his staff run the show. It was a rarity, but Andrew wanted to spend a little more time with Jaz and her team before they left the following day.

"I've been trying to get Andrew to take a day off forever," Marco commented as they sat down together. "If I'd known all I needed to do was bring all of you around, I'd have done it ages ago."

"It's true, and I've tried, but it's almost impossible for me not to get behind the line and start cooking most days. But, today, all I want to do is spend time with this girl." Andrew said as he pointed towards Jaz. "Lord only knows how long it'll be before we can do this again."

"I promise, I'll try not to stay away as long next time." Jaz smiled as she wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

The group enjoyed easy conversation, good food, and a few laughs over the next two hours. Both Andrew and Marco fit seamlessly among them. Andrew was the kind of guy that bowled his way into your life with his effusive personality. Marco was quieter, but no less engaged as he shared stories of Jaz and Andrew as children that he had witnessed from afar.

Marco had grown up on the same street and known both Jaz and Andrew, but being three years older he'd always been just slightly removed from their day-to-day lives back then. But he still recalled Andrew and Jaz's first introduction, and how he'd probably fallen for Andrew that day as he'd watched him stand up for a little girl who had just lost her mother.

As they wrapped up brunch, the group decided to head up to the rooftop deck where Marco built a fire to combat the late fall chill in the air. Then, they sat around talking about future goals and where everyone thought they'd be in a few years.

"I don't know what I'll do once I retire. I've thought about operating a training program for combat medics, but sometimes I think that I won't be satisfied if I'm not helping people, so I've considered staying in the medical field as an EMT, or even going back to school and getting into emergency medicine. I'm not sure I know how to operate without being on the front lines with adrenaline flowing. But, an ER environment would certainly take care of some of that." McGuire said.

"I think I'm going to keep working with the military. Either I go to the other side of comms or get into training. Maybe both. I'm a lifer." Dalton shared.

His answer surprised no one.

"I used to think I'd stick in the military forever; it was a place where I fit in. Now, I'm not so sure." Jaz offered.

That surprised everyone.

"What do you see yourself doing?" Dalton asked.

"Find a special guy, maybe even start a family? Something like that. Maybe not tomorrow, but it's on the radar." She said as she winked and smiled at Dalton.

Dalton kissed her cheek and said, "Well, I think that sounds like a really good plan, but you know you'd also be a great asset in a training environment. There are a lot of women coming up who could benefit from a strong role model, hell there are a lot of men that could learn from you, too."

Jaz smiled, "I'm a ways from making that decision, but I wouldn't rule anything out."

"What about you Amir?" McG asked. "You ever give any thought to what you'll do when you hang it up?"

"I think I'd like to open a restaurant." He answered.

"If you do, and you need a partner, you better come knocking on my door first," Andrew said.

"Yeah? You think you might want to expand your business?" Amir asked.

"We've been talking about it for a while. Marco wants to expand the whole thing, maybe another hotel." Andrew shared.

"Maybe it's the architect in me, but when most people see a decrepit old shell, I see a world of possibilities. I'm just waiting for the right opportunity to arise." Marco added.

Dalton smiled as he listened, it was nice to know that his team was all looking towards the future. Just a year ago, he didn't think any of them had given it much thought, but now they were all envisioning some kind of future.

Perhaps they'd all taken a moment to reflect after Preach almost lost his life, or maybe it was just a natural progression, but they all knew they were taking huge risks everytime they went wheels up.

There would come a time when it would be someone else's turn to take those risks.

They talked for about another hour before the skies opened up on them. Everyone made a mad dash for the penthouse, but Jaz and Dalton who got soaked as they dropped the aluminum cover to smother the fire.

Andrew was laughing as he stared at Jaz with her shirt clinging to her skin and her hair plastered against her neck and cheeks.

"Ha ha." She growled as she went to wring out her hair over the sink in the kitchen.

Dalton just peeled his shirt off as Marco handed him a towel and Jaz just shook her head as she continued to shiver.

"Come on; I'll get you a sweatshirt." Andrew offered.

She followed him up the stairs to the bedroom and started to peel off her shirt without giving a second thought until she heard Andrew gasp.

"Jaz, what the fuck?" He all but shouted as he stared in shock at the scars that littered her body.

"Oh, it's...It's not that big of a deal." She said as Dalton crossed the threshold into the room.

"Really? Because this looks like a big deal to me." He said as he waved at her torso.

"Andrew, you know that we're soldiers. With that comes a certain amount of risk." She stated uncomfortably.

"I know that, but these aren't healed bullet wounds, these...they look like torture." He shouted as the rest of the team came into the room.

"How could you let this happen to her?" Andrew growled as he turned on Dalton.

Dalton looked guilty as he stood by and let Andrew rail at him.

"He didn't let anything happen to me. It was my choice. And I was able to make that choice because I trust my team 100%. I knew they would come for me, and they did. I'm here, I survived, and these guys are the reason I stand here today." She told Andrew as she put her hand on his shoulder.

"What happened?" Andrew asked.

"I can't tell you that. I'm sorry. All I can tell you is that we made the world a little safer that day, and if I had to make the same decision, I would do it again in a heartbeat." Jaz stated.

Andrew just stared at her as his fingers coasted over the burn that was visible at her shoulder and the slew of raised pink lines that covered the bit of skin that was still on display as she held her wet shirt to her chest.

The drip, drip, drip on the wood floor finally broke his trance-like state as he turned for the closet and returned with a sweatshirt that she pulled on.

Later that night, after the group returned from dinner Andrew pulled Dalton off to the side and said, "I need you to promise me that she comes back. I've always been there to protect her since the day we met, and it kills me that she's been living in a world where I can no longer protect her. I'm putting that on you now, and I know that you are up to the task."

"I would lay my own life down for her in a heartbeat. We all would, but make no mistake, Jaz doesn't need protecting. Having said that, as long as I draw breath, I will do everything in my power to make sure she comes home."

"Then we have an understanding. We lost track of each other for a little bit after Jaz left home, but there hasn't been a day that goes by where I didn't think about her. Now that we've reconnected, I don't even want to think about losing her again." Andrew stated solemnly.

"Then we're on the same page because I'm not letting her go. Period." Dalton said.

Andrew smiled and pulled Dalton in for a bear hug that he usually reserved for Jaz, "Well then, I guess we're on the same team."

"We are. I love her, and I know you two are like family. And one day, I hope that you will accept me as family because I do intend to make this a forever thing. "

"I can see that. I can see that she loves you as well. That's really all I need to cement our friendship." Andrew said with a smile.

With that, they rejoined the group for one last drink. Andrew hated the fact that they were leaving the following morning, but he knew that this time she would be back.

They all would.

Call Me Joseph will be up next in a day or two.