"What's taking your girl so long" Lieutenant Commander Hamilton asked Eric sounding frustrated
"She's good at her job that's why, as long as the actual bomber is restrained so they're not posing a threat, she will take her time. How exactly did a suicide bomber in a s-vest get on your ship anyway Lieutenant Commander Hamilton, why a simple patrol boat, they're due for retirement anyway or so Petty Officer Turner informed me" Eric asked
"I have not a single idea" the officer replied
"Don't worry sir, I'm sure Jess will be able to give you a full run-down on what happened by time she's finished with the device" said Jason
"Who's taking bets on what Bookworm's going to be able to work out from studying this device" Sonny asked pulling out his note pad and pen
"20 she can get the gender of bomb maker" Brock said
"I'll have a piece of that, never mentioned a gender yet on a first assessment" Ray said
"Same here" Sonny said putting his name down
"I'll go 20 as well on dominate hand" Trent said getting in on the action
"Any other takers" Sonny asked looking around the group
"Yeah I'll go" Jason said
"Anyone else" Sonny asked as Clay raised his hand as well
"So what you're taking bets on what she can identify on this assessment" one of the Australian sailors asked
"Yep, you place your bet on what you think she'll be able to deduce, just from this one study, not allowing her to study through her notes to check something, then it's whoever takes the bet on" Clay said explaining the situation
"So I could literally say 100 that she can't identify the experience that this person has, and if she doesn't then whoever goes against me has to pay me the 100" the sailor asked
"Yeah but if she does, then you gotta pay 100 to each of them" Brock said
"Okay I'll give you 100 that she can't tell the experience of the maker" said the Australian sailor
"Ah I think I can safely say that we'll all take that one on" Sonny said writing it down
"Blackburn you want in on it" Ray asked
"What is it" Eric asked turning around to look at the rest of the team
"100 on Jess not being able to tell the experience of the maker" Trent said smiling
"Yeah, I'll go in on that seeing as we're not on base, and technically Jess is the only one of us on duty" Eric said
"Well my love bear, that's got that dealt with, so she's all yours" Jess said as she finished removing the device
"Shame, I sort of enjoyed working with my little weirdo cuddle bug again" Luca said with a small laugh
"Yeah well, it's only 3 months then we're back together permanently anyway" Jess said with a grin
"So have you told your brothers about me yet" Luca asked as he got the cable ties to secure the women
"Trying to work around how best to do it, you know there feelings about bubble heads" Jess said a little frustrated, she had been racking her brain for months trying to work out how to explain this to the rest of Bravo
"I don't blame them, but they accepted your dad right from the start" Luca said trying to settle her anxiety about this, even though he knew that they would see him in a whole different way to Jay
"I know they did, but my CO read the file from dad while we were in Djibouti, the others know that a lot more happened then what they originally thought, and Blackburn has warned them against digging into it and if things become to much then it's to go straight to him, he'll arrange for me to speak to someone of base" Jess said softly
"So you thought about where you want the wedding to be held" Luca asked changing the topic slightly
"Not yet, though I wish we still didn't have to wait that long" Jess said, they had a date picked out, it was towards the end of Bravo's next block leave. She had been leaning towards her grandparents villa in Italy, that was where she had always imagined it when she was a little girl anyway
"Do the wedding before you leave for deployment, suppose you don't even know where it will be" Luca said jokingly about the wedding but changed his tone when he asked about the deployment, he knew that deployment was a risky business for her, same as with all operators, this was not some guy he knew going away, this was the woman who he had loved for years. No matter what they had gone through in the past, they had come through it together
"Will most likely be between Afghanistan, Syria or Iraq, we'll be given our briefing 2 weeks out, but we won't know for certain where we will be sent until we get there" Jess said trying to focus on packing up her gear
"Well Jess, how did you go" Eric asked greeting her as she disembarked the Mersey
"Everything has been secured sir, it's a backyard construction and a very poorly one at that, this girl has had no experience beyond basic high school chemistry. She's obviously found the instructions and tried to copy them herself without any guidance or support, she's a lone wolf, most likely a personal revenge scheme, the design is supposed to be triggered by remote detonation via mobile, however she's had to modify the design to trigger the detonation herself. Go on, whoever lost better pay up" Jess said giving her analysis of the device
"What do you mean" Clay asked trying to play innocent
"What you think its a secret that you take bets on when I'm doing a disarm about what information I can pull on a first study. Where's your note pad Sonny" Jess asked holding her hand out after she had passed the device of to the authorities
"Here, still don't know how you found out" Sonny said handing her his pad after discreetly ripping the page out
"Next time you want to try hiding something by writing down in a notepad then ripping out the page, write it in grey lead, pen leaves to big of a imprint" Jess said as she pulled a grey lead pencil from her bag and scribbled it over the page showing clearly the indent from Sonny's writing
"Damn you're good Bookworm" Sonny said taking his pad back
"Apprenticed under the master himself, was whipping those out when I was12" Jess said indicating to the device the authorities held in their hands as they walked away
"You used to build explosive devices when you were 12, you've got a huge amount of guts" one of the Australian sailors said surprised
"Not according to my doctor" Jess said smiling
"Lieutenant Commander, thank you for the loan of your EOD today, can't believe we were lucky enough to get Jay Turner's daughter come in" Lieutenant Commander Hamilton said to Eric as they walked into a local bar to enjoy some drinks
"I was lucky to get her assigned to my team in the beginning" Eric said to the officer
"True, anyway thanks for delaying your departure for another few hours, give us a proper chance to say thanks" the officer said handing Eric a beer
"No worries, needed to give your boys a chance to make good on their debt" Eric said accepting the beer and followed the commander to the table where the rest of the group were standing
"Your not drinking Petty Officer Turner" the commander asked noticing her holding a bottle of water in her hand
"No sir, someone needs to keep this lot in line" Jess said with a grin trying to focus on the positives of being out with her brothers having a good time
"She's being a party pooper that's why" one of the Australians sailors said
"Yep, party pooper, that's me alright" Jess said laughing of the comment
"Who comes out to celebrate and only drinks bottled water" another one asked
"I do" Jess said
"At least have a soft drink" another one asked shoving a drink in her face
"Nah I'm good" Jess said pushing it aside politely
"Come on, it's good" the sailor said
"She said she's fine Gene" Luca said interrupting his crewmate
"Tidak ada tas yang diizinkan, Anda harus pergi" said the male proprietor
"Jess do you understand what he's saying" Clay asked
"He's asked me to leave because I have my backpack on" Jess said translating
"Kami tidak ingin ada kekerasan di sini" the man said frantically
"He doesn't want any violence here, saya di sini bukan untuk menyebabkan kekerasan, saya perlu tas saya untuk alasan medis" Jess said explaining the man's comment as she said to the man the reason she had the bag with her was because she had a medical condition
"Tidak, Anda adalah orang yang berbahaya, Anda harus pergi atau saya akan memanggil polisi" the man said becoming extremely angry
"Jess what's he saying" Eric asked sensing that this could become quite a volatile situation and the one person who would be able to explain the situation to the police was the one the proprietor would have called them for
"If I don't leave he's calling the police,oke, saya akan pergi" Jess said translating as she stepped away from the bar in an attempt to show that she was sincere about leaving
"Look just take the backpack off, if it will make him go away and leave us alone" one of the sailors said
"Its okay, I said I would leave, someone walk me back to the plane" Jess said tired of arguing and not wanting to cause a scene
"Yeah I'll go, got some paperwork to do back on the ship anyway" Luca said immediately putting his drink down on the table and walked over to her
"Thanks Luca" Jess said as they turned to leave
"Jess, you sure you're okay, we're happy to call it a night" Clay asked her
"No its fine, you lot stay and enjoy yourself" Jess said assuring them that she was fine with them staying before she turned and walked out of the premises with Luka behind her
"Well this celebration has certainly lost its fun appeal" Sonny said putting his drink on the table and looking at the door
"Why'd she even have it in the first place" one of the sailors asked
"Jess has a chronic medical condition, that's why she had the backpack" Brock said
"Its also why she doesn't drink alcohol or soda, her body can't process it" Trent added
"So why didn't she just say that" the sailor asked
"She would have done, she was severely injured 6 months ago on a mission saving our lives, that's what caused the condition to develop, this is her first mission back in the field and first time she's been out to have some fun with us since it happened" Jason said
"You boys stay and enjoy your drinks, I'll head back to check on her" Eris said excusing himself to head back to the plane
"We'll just finish ours up and be there ourselves" Ray said
"I'm sorry that you had to go through that cuddle bug" Luca said when they arrived at the plane, Jess had shed a few tears on the walk back, shehad basically just been called a terrorist and suicide bomber in her eyes, the vary people she fought to save the world from, Luca held his arms open indicating for her to come closer for a big bear hug
"I suppose I just need to learn to accept it, the world's changed, people are to afraid of someone in a crowded area wearing a backpack" Jess said accepting the offer for the hug as she laid her head against his chest and he wrapped his arms completely around her, even 6 months ago she would never have accepted a hug like that from anyone with the exception of her dad, but this one she needed, and it told her that this relationship was right for her
"Doesn't make it right" Luca said softly
"I know" Jess said sadly as she relaxed and felt her eyes start to close
"Come on" Luca said pulling her towards a chair and after he sat down motioned for Jess to curl up on his lap and cuddle, as soon as she did she immediately closed her eyes and went to sleep
"She's crashed" Eric asked as he came over to where the pair were sitting, he had suspected that there was something between the two earlier, this was obviously not a negative thing however judging by how quickly she had agreed to him walking her back to the plane, the way he had spoken to his crewmate when they were trying to get Jess to have a soda, and now she looked more content than she had ever seen her cuddled up asleep in this guys arms
"Yes sir, Chief Petty Officer Luca Anderson, coxswain of the HMAS Mersey" Luca said taking the chance to introduce himself
"Lieutenant Commander Eric Blackburn from DEVGRU, she okay" Eric asked returning the greeting
"She will be, it will get easier for her with time" Luca said first looking at Jess asleep then looking back at Eric
"You know what happened" Eric asked as he sat down on a crate to talk to Luca, not quite sure how much the guy knew about Jess
"Which part, the fact she's got the feeding tube or what she got put through with Samuels, she told me you read the file, and that if it became a problem you'd arrange for her to speak to someone of base, good to know she's got a supportive CO who's got her back" Luca said softly looking back at Jess asleep and absolutely oblivious to the fact Eric was there
"I didn't realise that anyone else was aware of what she went through outside of the program" Eric asked surprised
"They don't, Jess and I have a personal relationship, it started long before any of the clearance diver stuff" Luca said looking at Eric
"That relationship still exists I'm guessing" Eric asked
"Yes sir it does, we just took a break for a while so she could heal from her injuries, both physically and emotionally" Luca said explaining the situation
"You were a couple" Eric asked surprised, Jess had never mentioned anything about a partner
"Are a couple, she's been my little weirdo cuddle bug since she was 18" Luca said with a small smile on his face
"I take it Jay knows about your relationship" Eric asked
"Yes sir, let's just say that the pressure in asking your team leader for their permission to date then marry his daughter, that's not exactly something I want to go through again" Luca said remembering the whole experience, Jay was seen nearly as royalty and he had just finished his qualification, he had spent nearly 2 days rehearsing what to say
"Jess never mentioned anything about being engaged" Eric asked trying to find out more details
"Not surprising, we called a break in our engagement a couple of years ago. I know that she didn't talk to any of you about what happened before, and she knows how the rest of you feel about us bubble heads, even though I was out 2 years before Jess went to selection. She didn't need the stress of suddenly explaining me being back on the scene her first mission back, I'm around the same age as most of the ones who hurt her, she didn't want tempers flaring and accusations made" Luca said to Eric
"Which can easily happen around here" Eric said with a chuckle
"They're just protective of her, that's all and I understand that, but we are going to have to find a way to tell them, I'm retiring in 1 month and moving over, and before you ask I'd made the decision that this was my last tour about 8 months ago. Jess and I only started talking again 5 months ago, she's not asked me to leave the Navy for her, I know that's a concern with situations like this, the need for a relationship to be military strong for a successful marriage" Luca said, assuring Eric that no rash decision had been made without thinking of the consequences
"And you think yours is" Eric asked
"We've been right there for each other through the worst periods in our lives, neither of us would have blamed the other for walking away during those times, but we're still here. I broke my back pretty badly when I was 25, it took nearly 6 months to find out if I would be confined to a wheelchair or not, Jess was only 22 at the time, no matter what I said or how I spoke to her" Luca said before they were interrupted
"Blackburn, I thought you were heading back to the ship" Jason asked stopping suddenly as he noticed Jess was asleep in Luca's arms and wanting an explanation
"I kinda got distracted" Luca said with a grin
"So I see" Ray said
"Turns out that Luca here is actually Jess's fiance" Eric said explaining the situation
"When did this happen" Trent asked curiously
"Long before we had even met her" Eric said as he looked back at Luca and Jess