-The Commission:-
Rachel dodged a punch. Grabbing her opponent at the elbow, she tripped them, forcing them to the ground using their arm as lever. Another person came at her, so she swung her leg around. They leapt back as she spun to stand, facing them. She dodged as they threw multiple punches. Catching their timing, she kicked them in the stomach while they were prepping for their next punch, then rammed her fist into their jaw, sending them sprawling.
"Damn, old lady," the first opponent grunted, "You don't hold back."
"Well, Andy, maybe if you guys shook up your attacks once in a while…"
Rachel held out her hand, shaking the strands of white hair out of her face. She would have to redo the bun she had put up. The man took it and let her help him to his feet.
"Georgia, your jaw okay?"
The woman Rachel had knocked in the face shook her head.
"Bruised as much as my ego, but I'm fine."
The two smiled at each other. Rachel practiced with Georgia and Andy a couple times a week. Five was once again off on a mission he chose to take himself. Rachel finished a short lived one the day before, destroying a scientist's research before he could figure out how to travel to parallel universes. At least, that was what the file said. Rachel and Five held a degree of cynicism for each mission. Meeting new people proved hard for them in the first couple of weeks, as they grew used to being the only ones around. Over time, though, with Herb and Dot's friendly aid, they were getting used to the flow.
Rachel and Five had only been with the Commission three months and, after a few missions together, they were now ships passing in the night, never knowing if they would have time to spend alone together. And with Dolores, of course. When they first arrived, they were given a room together, something akin to a studio apartment. They had been lab rats while they were given the skills of historical assassins, given the tour by Herb, and instructed on all of the Commission's rules and procedures. Since then, Five took every case he felt was too bloody for Rachel, while she took on a number of stealth jobs. So far, they were home for a night twice a month if they were on separate mission schedules. Rachel made a lot of friends in the Commission and her steady roommate was Dolores. She even took to helping train new recruits. She was called in far too often to do psych evaluations for the newbies, so she already filed a formal complaint about exploitation. Yet, despite the chaos and constant movement of being part of a large unit, Rachel was tired of waking up to an empty bed. She had even started putting Dolores in the bed with her to feel less alone. It was not working well.
Getting back to the room, Rachel showered off the sweat, changed, and picked up a book on internet cultures of the 2010s. It was rather fascinating to her, particularly this concept of memes that gained popularity. She lay in the bed for an hour reading when the door opened. A clean-shaven older man in a suit stepped into the room. Rachel closed the book with a snap.
"Five!"
He only had a moment to chuckle before the woman was squeezing him.
"We missed you so much. It is actually really hard for us to handle being without you for so long after…"
Rachel pulled back and stroked Five's face. Her thumbs tracing the age lines of his face. The ones she got to watch appear over time. Five leaned down and kissed her.
"I take it you and Dolores are doing well?"
Rachel nodded as he took of his hat and began taking off his suit jacket. She followed behind him grabbing what he took off and hanging them up in the closet. She waited while he greeted Dolores.
"How could we not?" she started, when he looked back at her, "I'm exercising, she gets to lounge. I finished my last mission in about two days. Dot promised that Dolores had no trouble while we were both gone."
Five nodded at her words before sitting on the bed.
"We already have a new mission. I honestly didn't understand the last one. You know, The Handler came and checked on things personally."
Rachel frowned at him. She started undoing is tie for him.
"I don't think they do observations that soon. You've also done perfectly here. And another mission so soon? I barely see you anymore."
Five took Rachel's hand and urged her to sit on the bed. Her patted her thigh, comfortingly.
"Yes, but this one we can do together. I promise. I'm starting to miss you both too much."
"Good. You had better! So, tell us about this mission…"
-1963:-
Five appeared in Elliot's kitchen. It was early morning, barely past midnight. He grabbed a glass of water from the cupboard and turned on the tap. As he drank, he could hear Luther's loud snores from Elliot's bedroom. As he glanced over, he noticed the door open. Diego came out and gave his brother a concerned look.
"Can't sleep?"
Five held up the glass he held.
"Dehydrated."
Five fell into a chair at the kitchen table, rubbing at his already messy hair. Diego looked at his brother curiously. He looked more disheveled, almost messy. His hair was stuck up all over and he'd buttoned up his white shirt incorrectly. Diego snapped his fingers.
"Oh, you two were-"
"Shut up, Diego, I have a headache."
Unperturbed, Diego sat down at the kitchen table with his older, but younger-looking brother.
"Come on, what's eating you? Is it about seeing Dad?"
Five sighed and shook his head.
"No. That's simple. I've just got…a lot on my mind…"
The boy stared at the glass for a moment before looking at his brother.
"Do you want alcohol? I want some."
Diego kept his brother at the table by grabbing his arm. Five must have been torn on the alcohol because he let his brother win. He leaned in to look at Five.
"Somethings eating you. Is it about Rachel?"
He knew he was right when the blue eyes shifted away from him.
"There it is…So what is it? Second thoughts on life round two?"
"Of course not."
Five was practically pouting now. Diego tapped the table quietly to get his brother's attention.
"Hey, you gave me advice, I'll give you some. But you have to tell me what it is first."
Taking another drink of water, Five heaved a long sigh. He then looked at his brother.
"She wants a steady life someday."
Diego frowned.
"Like most normal women…I don't quite see what the problem is-"
"The problem, Diego, is that I don't know if I can give her that. We've encountered two doomsdays in the span of two weeks! How does that bode well for the future? What do I have to my name anyway?"
For once, Diego could so how desperately in love Five was with Rachel. Not that he did not believe the words he said the day before, but the fact that making her happy could leave him ragged and worried in the middle of the night showed he was a normal guy. Human. In love. It was somewhat heartwarming.
Diego leaned back in his chair.
"Well, as someone who is highly knowledgeable about Rachel in her younger years-"
"That is highly disturbing phrasing. Please never say that again."
"-I know that she can be easily pleased with whatever you provide."
Five narrowed his eyes at his brother.
"That's your wisdom from on high?"
"It's advice! Do with it as you will."
"The woman wants a house, Diego. A cat. No, she took back wanting a cat. We could get a dog. I like dogs. Oh, no, I'm becoming her…"
Diego snorted.
"You two passed the turning into each other phase a long time ago."
Five shrugged and emptied his water glass.
"The point is, Diego, that she wants an actual, physical symbol for this steady relationship. So saying she'll take whatever I give does not help me when I need a physical entity."
Diego looked around, making sure no one heard Five's outburst. The place was still quiet, and Luther's snores were still intact. He spotted Elliott asleep on the couch in the living room, undisturbed. Turning back to his brother, Diego gestured for him to wait. He tiptoed out to the living room, found a blank sheet of paper and a pen. He then went back to his seat. He began drawing.
"Rachel, back when we were very little…like seven or something…used to draw…a house like…this."
Five squinted at the paper.
"This drawing sucks."
Diego gave him an annoyed look before pointing at aspects of his masterpiece.
"She would always draw a simple house, so I'm pretty confident she didn't care what kind of house. But it always had a white picket fence, that is what these spikes are-"
Five could not hide the mean smirk on his face at his brother's concept of a picket fence.
"The house was always a light blue color. And, you know, she did have a cat and dog running around the yard. A few kids and then a stick figure husband. Voila. Physical insight to your girlfriend's dream home."
The two brothers looked over the drawing before Five looked over at Diego.
"You really have no talent for art."
Diego grabbed the paper and crumbled it up.
"You know what? See if I help you again."
He got up and trashed the paper. As he was moving to go back to sleep, Five stopped him by speaking up.
"While your advice doesn't help…it did make me feel better. Now I know what she may be thinking of. That's better than nothing…"
Diego leaned on the doorframe to Elliott's bedroom.
"You're welcome," he said, with intention, "Now you can keep being the best guy for her and we can all rest easy at night knowing you aren't creeping around."
As he disappeared into the room and closed the door, Five got up and headed back to the second bedroom. He smiled to himself.
"Of course, she would like a picket fence," he scoffed, amused.
It was then he heard the soft call of his name. Five opened the door to find Rachel reaching an arm to the side of the bed where he had been sleeping.
"Five?" she called out again, sleepily.
"I'm here."
He unbuttoned the shirt he put on to go to the kitchen, putting it on a hanger in the room. Getting back onto bed, he watched as Rachel rubbed her eyes and seemed to finally see him.
"Oh."
She reached out and touched his face, her thumb slowly moving across his skin. Five smiled, turning to kiss her hand.
"I just got some water from the kitchen."
"I…thought you were on a mission again. But, we're not there anymore. I'm glad."
Five gave her a soft smile, crawling back under the covers. He pulled Rachel into his arms, holding her tightly.
"No. Thankfully we're not there anymore."
Author's Note: Thank you to all those who understood my previous note! Thank you for all the continued support! This is the last one I'll write for this story. I think a few people misunderstood one thing that I mentioned, so I've been confused by some reviews. I was just announcing that I have no more post-apocalyptic specific flashbacks for the story unless future seasons spark it. That does not mean there won't be any flashbacks. That was not what I was saying. As I noted previously, you'll still see ones from when they are kids and at the Commission. I just wanted to be upfront about how the flashbacks function, as they are connected to Rachel's mentality at the present time. Like, they are triggered and anchored by current events in her life. I just wanted to be upfront with you all about there not being post-apocalypse flashbacks for the rest of this season, since a lot of people kept mentioning them in reviews. Just wanted to clarify the confusion.