Hey everyone! Due to the craziness of our current world, I've been presented with a bit more free time, and so I figured what better way to fill it than with some new fics! I recently got the idea for the next few chapters here to be one-shots of some less major injuries for our guys. Don't worry, the whump will still be there! I hope you enjoy!

Together

Ray and Naima undoubtedly have one of the strongest relationships anyone has seen. They've had their ups and downs, but they always stay together and know they can always lean on each other. It's never been easy for him to leave his family for deployment, but with some new challenges facing them on the parenting front, this one felt especially long. The end is finally in sight, and Ray is ready to be back as a united front with Naima, but a sudden injury makes him worry that it might be more difficult than he had anticipated.

Ray tried not to zone out as the video call rang and he waited for his wife to pick up. He knew she was at home, she kept him updated on her schedule every time he left for deployment.

"Hey, babe. Rough day?" Ray realized he had failed when Naima's voice broke into his mind and made him blink a few times.

"Hey. Do I really look that bad?" He answered with a tired smile.

"You know I love you no matter how you look! You just look tired. Wait, it's gotta be like 2 am there! I got home late and didn't even think about it, I'm sorry! Do you want me to let you sleep?" she asked after doing a double-take of the clock on her computer screen.

"No! No, I wanted to see you. I miss you guys." Ray answered, trying his best to mask the fatigue.

"We miss you too. Jameelah has been asking how soon you'll be home for the last week. I'm really glad you had that talk with her though. She hasn't been near as worried about you as she once was." Naima said.

"So the constant questions have stopped?" He asked. He knew that for the last few months after Jameelah had finally gotten a grasp on what it was Ray actually did for work, she had been scared every time he left. He knew she was a strong girl, just like her mom, but he also knew that this would take some time for her to process.

"I wouldn't say they've stopped, but they've definitely slowed. I still have to be careful what kind of news I have on around her though. If she sees anything about war, she gets that look on her face." Naima said. Ray let out a long sigh.

"I'm sorry you have to deal with that alone. I wish there was more I could do…" he trailed off.

"Hey, now I won't have you thinking you're a bad father because you serve your country! We knew from the time she was born that this would happen. It's going to be ok because we're doing this together. I'm proud of you." she cut in quickly.

"Thanks. I still think your the stronger link though. I love you." he replied with a small smile.

"I love you too. I can't wait to see you in a few hours! When do you guys head out again?" she asked.

"Probably sometime this afternoon. We have one last mission, and then we're on a plane home!" He answered happily.

"Good. Get some rest before your day then. Be safe." Naima said. The couple said goodbye, and Ray put away the laptop and climbed into bed. Even with as uncomfortable as the bunks were, he was out nearly as soon as his head hit the pillow.

A few hours later…

The sound of music cut loudly into the peacefulness of his sleep as his alarm went off next to his head. He yawned and rolled over, reaching blindly for his phone as he tried to clear the fog from his head.

"Morning," Jason said, sitting up in his bunk and stretching.

"Morning. Ready for one last run at our guy?" Ray asked, standing up and pulling on a shirt.

"Always. More ready to get home though."

"Hmm, got a hot date with Natalie planned?" Ray asked with a smirk.

"Nothing really planned, but I sure hope so! I'm just ready to get this over with and get stateside again to see her."

"Wow! Is the great Jason Hayes ready to leave deployment? She must really be something special!" He said, ducking out of the way of a wadded up t-shirt that was tossed at his head. The two laughed as they pulled on their ID bands and headed out the door towards command.

/

"Alright boys, focus up! This is our last shot as Besnik Sandoval, and we don't have much time. We're set to ship out in three hours, so the plane will be ready and waiting after exfil, whether we get him or not." Blackburn said, walking to the front of the table that the team was crowded around.

"Yea, but if we don't he disappears for who knows how long, right?" Clay asked.

"Most likely, yes."

"So no room for error. Just how we like it, right!" Sonny said, adjusting his cowboy hat and spitting his toothpick onto the floor. With that, the team went over the details of the mission one more time before heading out to grab their gear.

On target…

"Havoc this is one, passing Alexander." Jason said as the team took up watch positions after landing on the roof of the building.

"Good copy One."

"Alright boys, let's get our guy so we can go home!" Jason said.

"Yea, the sooner we get outta this death trap they call a building, the better!" Sonny added as the team crept down through the roof entrance and into the dark, eery building that smelled of rotting wood, old explosives, and mold.

"Yea, I have a feeling this place has been up to code for at least a lifetime!" Ray said. The team moved silently and carefully through the hallways, each following the lead of the man in front of him as they dodged a number of loose boards, holes, and old wires hanging from the ceiling.

"Havoc, we pass Bender." Ray radioed in as they approached the door to the room they believed their HVT to be in. Suddenly, before he could even hear the reply from command, he heard the boards creak beneath his feet. He looked down out of instinct, just in time to watch them give out from under him. Time seemed to slow as he felt himself falling, his arms flailing in an attempt to grab onto something to steady himself with. It was no use though, as within the next seconds he connected solidly with the hard ground of the basement. The builders had done something right with the foundation of the building in making it concrete. This, however, proved to be very unlucky for Ray, who felt the immediate surge of pain upon contact. He had been the fourth in the line of his team, who were now catching up with the sudden change.

"Ray! Two, do you copy?!" Jason's voice quickly filled Ray's ears as he tried to get his bearings and make his world stop spinning. Unfortunately, the sound of the floor breaking had been enough to alert the members of the room the team had been about to enter, and they rushing out the door.

"Shit! Havoc this is three, we've got troops in contact and a man down! When's our exfil gettin' here?!" Sonny yelled, helping Trent flip a desk onto its side so they could use it for shelter. Blackburn gave Davis a look of exasperation and worry. This was supposed to be quick and easy.

"Exfil is about 10 mikes out. Who's down?" Eric asked.

"Two. Damn boards gave out right from under him!" Clay responded after firing a few more rounds from behind the cover of a wall.

"Do we have a status?" Blackburn asked.

"Negative, can't get him on comms. We just passed redbird." Jason replied, pausing for a moment after the bullets stopped flying to make sure that they indeed had before standing up. Mandy pursed her lips and shook her head at the sound of the last word and it's meaning: their HVT was dead, and hadn't given them much of a choice.

"This is Bravo two, how copy?" the team let out a sigh of relief at the sound of Ray's voice over the comms after the dust settled once again.

"Good copy two, what's your status?" Jason replied almost instantly.

"All in one piece as far as I can tell. Could use some help getting these boards off me though." Ray said, trying to ignore the pain in his left foot as he focused one more time on lifting the debris that was pinning him down off of him.

"Hold tight, we're coming to you."

In a matter of minutes, the musky basement was filled with six flashlights as the team found their man. They made quick work of clearing the rubble off of Ray and were surprised when he wordlessly rolled himself over and stood up. He made an effort to convince them that he was fine, and himself as well until he moved to take a step forward and put weight on his left foot. Instantly, it felt as though a million nails were being shot into his ankle and foot, and his leg gave out from under him. Clay was the closest and the first to catch him, with Trent quickly supporting his other side.

"Bravo team, your exfil is waiting outside, but you gotta go now. With the HVT dead, we've kicked a hornet's nest. Do you have two?" Blackburn asked.

"Affirmative, we've got him. Moving to exfil now." Jason said. Trent nodded when he and Jason made eye contact, assuring the team leader that there was nothing life-threatening with Ray and that they were good to go. Ray figured there was no use protesting, and let them support his weight as they moved out of the building.

Headed stateside…

Ray pulled his vest and helmet off and sat them next to him on the seat as Trent made his way over and dropped his medical bag onto the floor. Jason handed him a beer as the rest of the guys climbed into hammocks or seats around the two.

"Alright, let's get a look at that ankle. Does your boot feel tight at all?" Trent asked.

"Mmmhmm… feels like its about four sizes too small…" Ray nodded, fighting to mask the pain that was radiating through his entire foot and lower leg. He'd had worse before, this was nothing. But somehow, no matter how many times he told himself that, the pain was still there. Trent unlaced the boot as carefully as he could and loosened it as far as the laces would allow, then slowly slid the boot off. Sonny whistled in surprise at the size of Ray's foot.

"Well, it's too swollen to tell if it's a sprain or a break, and that's gotta go down before x-rays. There isn't a whole lot I can do for you right now other than give you some pain killers and ice. Anything else need attention other than that gash?" Trent said as he smacked an icepack to activate it.

"No. I fell pretty much straight down, and my kit protected everything else." Ray said, the tiredness in his voice becoming more prominent. This was not how he wanted to end deployment.

"Ok good. I get your forearm stitched up and then you should be ok." Trent said. Ray thanked him, and after the pain meds finally hit his system, he dozed off for the rest of the ride home.

Home sweet home…

Ray switched the headlights off and pulled the keys out of the ignition, breathing in the Virginia Beach air. Against better wishes and judgments of most of the team, he had insisted on driving himself home. It was his left foot, after all, and he knew because of the time that Naima would probably be in the middle of putting the kids to bed. Many offers were made by the guys to drive him, but all he wanted was to be home. He opened the car door and prepared himself for the lecture he'd likely get for not calling his wife.

Naima smiled when she heard the key turning in the front door, and got up to greet her husband. Her happiness turned to worry in an instant when she saw the grey metal of a crutch nestled under his left arm. She also knew how much he was trying to play it off.

"Hey baby!" he said with a genuine smile, even if she could see the pain behind it.

"Ray! What happened?!" she asked, at his side in an instant.

"It's not as bad as it looks, I promise. I went through some floorboards on our last mission and busted up my ankle." he said calmly.

"Is it broken? Did you hurt anything else?" She asked, guiding him over to the couch and gently propping his leg across her lap so that she could get a look at it herself.

"No, just some bruises and a few stitches. Trent said it was too swollen to tell." he answered, trying to stifle his gasp of pain as she began to prod at it, doing her own assessment of it. He could tell she was in full nurse-mode and would be for the next few days. A new kind of pain crossed his mind when it finally hit him that he really was home again.

"Damn… what am I gonna tell Jameelah? She's a smart girl, she'll know it happened overseas and it'll just make everything worse." he said, letting out a sigh and running a tired hand over his face.

"How about we cross that bridge when we get there? I can tell your exhausted and in pain, you don't need to add worry to that list. You're here, and that's all that matters. Whatever comes next, we'll do it together, and that is more important for Jameelah to see than anything else, ok?" Naima said, stroking his face and looking at him lovingly. He nodded back and smiled.

"Good. Now let's get you comfy. I'm so glad your home."

"Me too. I love you." Ray said as he melted into the couch cushions happily, thinking about how lucky he was.