"There she is in all her post hospital glory, the one and only Jessica Turner" Jason said announcing the teams arrival in Jess's bedroom, she had been discharged that morning and was now sitting on the verandah of her bedroom reading on her tablet, it was raining but she was under shelter and wrapped in a few blankets to keep warm
"You know I hear she's a seal" Ray added
"You are so lucky I can't kick your butts at the moment" Jess said not even breaking her glance from her tablet but had obviously heard them
"Naw we love you to Bookworm" Sonny said walking out onto the verandah so Jess could see him
"Feels good to be out" Brock asked as he followed with Cerbs who immediately looked at her with his puppy dog eyes, before looking at her bed and then back to her
"Feels good to be breathing fresh air and not looking at a heap of traffic, come on Cerbs, up here" Jess said to him suspecting he was asking for a cuddle, he quickly hopped up and curled up in the spot she had showed him and put his head on her chest
"Think someone's glad your home" Clay said with a laugh
"He just wants his cuddles with his number one girl don't you" Jess said giving him a scratch around the ears
"Good to see you're rugged up" Trent said with a smile, the fact that Cerbs had voluntarily resumed heat pack duties would help as well
"Don't want a chill or pneumonia again, staying as far away from that place as possible" Jess said firmly, she'd have to be dragged back there kicking and screaming
"Sounds like a good idea to me" Sonny said
"Until you have to go back anyway" Ray added
"Yeah but by that time I will be close to resuming my duties" Jess said highlighting the fact that that surgery would be a key event for her, once that happened she wasn't going to be far from being back
"True" Brock said pulling out his phone to snap a picture of Cerbs cuddled up with Jess, the life of a working dog
"Any idea when that will be" Jason asked hopefully
"Minimum time is another 6 weeks, depending upon how things are looking" Jess said giving the dog another scratch then moved herself in closer to pose with him for Brock
"Then 6 weeks after that" Clay asked
"If and only if I'm cleared by Doctor Masterson, Doctor James and Doctor Keeling, and that is a minimum time of 6 weeks before I have to go back for surgery, its not a confirmed time and considering that I'm not even weight bearing yet" Jess said, she was optimistic but wasn't going to get her hopes up yet
"Yeah but you'll get there, one step at a time" Sonny said reassuring her
"One step at a time" Jess said looking back at him with a smile, she wasn't worried about returning or not, she was going back but she had ended up speaking to a psychologist about her injury in Yemen and how it had permanently changed her life, how the team would probably struggle with their own emotions when she got back and they realised that not only had Jess's way of life changed but there's had as well as that social aspect of being able to go and share a meal or have a few drinks with them was not going to be the same for them either and they would need to adjust to that as well, yes she may not have lost a limb of suffered a physical injury that is obvious to anyone who looks at you, they can get there and say oh that person struggles to do that because of whatever, the only evidence Jess would maintain would be the scars on her abdomen and the tube coming out of her stomach, unless you were to actually see it up close you would have no idea of the situation
"Jess, I wasn't expecting you to be on base so soon after discharge" Eric said with a smile as he looked up and saw her standing in the door of his office, her fatigues changed for a pair of oversize sweats and a hooded jumper, it looked way to big on her but she looked relaxed and comfortable, her hair was pulled back in her signature ponytail, and she had a smile on her face, she was starting to look a lot more like the Jess that he knew before Djibouti
"I had an appointment with the trainer sir and base medical, thought I would stop by before I went home" she said showing Eric a folder in her hand
"Of course, have a seat" Eric said guessing that the contents of that folder were nothing to do with the appointments she had had on base
"Thank you" Jess said moving her crutches into a position so she could take a seat
"How's the investigation coming" Eric asked after he got up and closed his office door
"Its getting somewhere sir, Yemen was a definite setup, someone wanted us there and that house was pre-wired to explode. That's also not the only mission that DEVGRU have been on, I have located 4 missions so far that occurred before Yemen with a similar MO, from what I can see so far is that each mission, the intell we have collected has come from tip-offs we've received from the general public" Jess said handing the file over with her current notes and the evidence she had used to make her decision, detailing it so anyone could view the information and immediately see where Jess had linked it in
"So this is a setup" Eric asked inquisitively
"Yes sir, we're being played" Jess said confidently
"Okay, any ideas on who" Eric asked
"Would have to check out what the CIA currently have, start with the usual suspects, they are usually easier to get the information on, however they are obviously keen to implicate others, I doubt they would be sending us after anyone close to them personally but would more likely have connections in the groups, this type of setup would require a network and a experienced one at that" Jess said detailing how she planned to proceed
"I'll let Lindell know what you've found, try and get what you need from the CIA" Eric said as Jess stood up, he quickly opened the door to let her out. DEVGRU were being played and they had no idea who they were up against, how long had this been happening, Jess had already located missions from before Yemen, how many had they lost to this and not realised, had he been involved with one of those missions. His mind now had hundreds of questions racing through it, he knew he had to update Lindell on what she had found. No one ever wishes injury upon another person, but if Jess hadn't clicked on that something was wrong in Djibouti it might not have just ended with the loss of Bravo team, how much longer would this have gone on before someone realised
"Hey Auntie Jess, check out the awesome unicorn cake mum and I found at the supermarket, I'm going to cut a piece for us to try it right now" Jameelah yelled excitedly as she ran through the house. The whole team had gathered at Ray and Naima's for a lazy afternoon get together
"Meelah, remember what we talked about earlier today about Auntie Jess" Ray asked reminding her of the discussion they had had about how Jess wasn't able to eat a lot of the things she used to like cake. Their cake date had become a weekly activity when Jess was home, Naima had brought her into the hospital with RJ to visit Jess while she was in there, however this was the first time Jameelah had spent time with her since Jess had been discharged
"Sorry Auntie Jess, I forgot" Jameelah said suddenly stopping mid action, no longer certain about what to do next
"It's okay, but it looks like the cake will be very yummy and I'm sure you will enjoy it, and sneak in an extra piece just for me why you're at it okay" Jess said with a laugh as Jameelah sat the cake down on the table and went to cuddle up next to her
"What's it like not being able to eat" Jameelah asked Jess after looking at her for a few moments
"I can still eat Meelah, I just can't eat a lot of things like I used to, I have to be very careful so I don't get sick, because if I get sick then I can't go to work with your dad, or uncle Jason or anyone else" Jess said trying to think about how to word things so she could understand
"So what do you eat instead" Jameelah asked curiously
"Well, I have these special drinks that my doctor gives me, full of all the really good things that I need, and I have some special bars as well that are also full of all the good things, and I have a special tube that goes straight into my stomach so I can have a special liquid as well, it doesn't taste very nice and its better for me if it goes straight into my stomach" Jess said explaining to her without going into to much detail
"Are you having it now" Jameelah asked
"Yep, you want to see" Jess asked
"Sure, it looks like milk" Jameelah responded as Jess lifted her top up so she could get a better look
"It does but milk tastes a lot better, trust me" Jess said with a smile
"So where's it coming from" Jameelah asked
"Meelah you" Naima started to say before Jess stopped her, Jess hadn't been comfortable with the whole situation when they had visited her in the hospital, Naima didn't want Jess to feel uncomfortable about the questions Jameelah was asking
"Its fine Naima, I'm happy for her to ask questions" Jess said reassuringly
"You sure" Naima asked, the team had shared there concerns with her about how Jess would adapt
"Yeah, it's coming from my backpack here see, that's the liquid and it runs through the tubing" Jess said as she continued to explain the set-up to Jameelah
"And whats that do" Jameelah suddenly asked noticing the pump sitting in the bag
"That's the pump, it controls how much of the liquid it puts into my stomach so I don't end up with to much to fast, so the tubing runs through there and it comes out that part of my backpack and connects up to the one in my stomach, that way I can just walk around with it on my back and not be hooked up to all those machines that I was in hospital" Jess said finishing explaining the whole thing
"So you carry your food in your backpack, do you have a lunch box to keep it all in" Jameelah asked noticing some other food supplies in Jess's bag
"No I don't, do you think I need one" Jess asked looking at her surprised, she had been thinking about getting one so she could keep her bag tidy but thought she would let Jameelah take the credit for thinking of the idea
"Yep" she said proudly
"Right well I'll make you a deal, next time you and I go shopping I will let you pick one out for me okay" Jess said
"Promise, even if it has unicorns or mermaids or anything like that" Jameelah asked excitedly, this was why she loved her Auntie Jess
"Yep" Jess said with a smile
"Can we pick out other things for you to use" Jameelah asked as she continued to look through Jess's bag
"Sure" Jess said with the same smile
"Cool" Jameelah said with her head still in the bag
"She'll bankrupt you" Ray said with a laugh looking at his daughter who was totally oblivious to her father's comment
"Correct me if I'm wrong but that brace is certainly looking a lot smaller" Eric said noticing Jess standing in the door of his office a few weeks later, and that wasn't the only change, Jess had ditched the crutches and was now using a cane to help support herself. Naima had been called in to work and was short a baby sitter so Jess had volunteered, she was heading out to go shopping with Alie anyway so Jameelah and RJ tagged along, Jameelah was so excited about getting to pick out a lunch box for Jess and had made a list of some other things she thought Jess could use as well, Jess didn't have the heart to tell her she already had picked out a few items and they were at home already, ànd that she didn't need everything she picked out but would make a mental note to keep track of what Jameelah had picked out for her and made sure she used it when Jameelah was around, some of it was quite cute actually. Jess had brought the kids to the base to do a changeover with Ray so he could take them home so Jess decided to use this time to check in with Eric
"Yes sir it is, got changed two days ago" Jess said limping towards the chair Eric had pointed towards indicating for her to sit down after closing the door of the office so they wouldn't be disturbed
"How are you feeling" Eric asked noticing the look of uncertainty on her face
"Its hard to say, in some ways I'm feeling good and in other ways I'm actually feeling worse, pain is no where near as bad, I'm only on it as needed, but I'm sleeping more than what I was when I first got home" Jess said confused, Jay had told him that this had been her first major injury, sure she had been injured by Samuels and his gang, but that hadn't been to the complexity that this had been
"You're doing a lot more, you're using more energy than you have in a couple of months, you're what 11 weeks post injury and 5 weeks post discharge now" Eric asked trying to keep a mental note of where Jess was at with everything
"Yes sir, due for final surgery in 2 weeks, and next week I should be given the okay to start flying and dealing with pressure changes" Jess responded
"Which you will definitely be needing a clearance for, anything else to report" Eris said with a laugh, there was no way she could return without permission to do jumps or comfortably fly in the C130
"Yes sir, I'm pretty confident that we're dealing with a new player in the field, however they have kept a low profile, however it looks like they have no intention on aligning themselves with other organisations, which may prove to be a vulnerability if I'm correct, why would you betray someone who is a allie and then still keep them as a allie. My guess is that they're trying to establish themselves before going public, they have been testing the waters to see if they can control us, wanting us to afraid to go after them" Jess said handing over a file she had compiled updating where she was currently at with this
"By dropping the intell to send us on fake missions" Eric asked intrigued but also annoyed that someone had been manipulating them
"Yes sir" Jess responded confirming his analysis
"Any idea on how they are doing it" Eric asked looking through the file himself
"There doesn't seem to be any specific area that is being targeted, we are looking for someone with a world wide reach, I've managed to locate 17 missions that DEVGRU have been involved with over the last 2 years now, all the intell was collected by anonymous tip-offs, however those tip-offs are usually centred around port authorities, someone's seen something and they've phoned it in. Out of those 17 missions 11 operators have been killed and 27 have been injured" Jess said providing a brief description of the situation
"Including yourself" Eric asked looking up at her, he was uncertain how she would handle investigating the situation that had caused her injury, however she didn't even hesitate
"Yes sir, whoever this is, they must have easy access to a vast array of transportation resources, they also don't seem to follow a traditional approach with running there organisation, it's almost like a business with its set-up" Jess said finalising her assessment of where things currently stood
"So what's your next step" Eric asked, if Jess was going in for surgery soon she would already have the next part of her analysis planned
"Workout what companies have been involved with the location where we have collected the information from, who's owned the transport and where its come from, see if I can trace back to a certain company, though with the amount of conglomerates and that it will take some time" Jess said explaining how she was taking the next step in tracking this down for them
"You're doing good work Jess" Eric said impressed by not just the work on the side project but in general
"Thank you sir" Jess said with a smile