Clay chuckled as he looked after Sonny as he left the bar to answer his phone. AirBnB tenant? Really? Who exactly did he think he was trying to fool? Almost two weeks into deployment, Clay had long since figured out that Sonny's many and frequent calls? All came from a number with area code 401.

With a shake of his head, Clay poured himself another beer and turned his attention back to the group of men they were there to train and, for the moment, was having a drink with.

"You talk to Emma recently?"

Clay turned his head to the right and found that Jason had rejoined them, now leaning against the backrest of the couch their new friends was sitting on.

"Yeah, we texted early this morning. Or late last night her time. I gotta tell you, Jace, it wasn't like this last time."

"Like what?" the older man asked with a frown.

"Deployment. Mexico was one thing and it sucked, but last year in J-bad? I could always keep the job front and center, I never had thoughts of home showing up unless I was talking to Stella."

"And you have now?"

Clay sighed and took a big gulp out of his glass.

"I spend more time thinking about calling or texting Em then I do focusing on what we're here to do."

Jason smiled at his rookie's words before he frowned again.

"As her dad? I'm happy to hear that. I want the man in her life to put her first. As you boss though?" Jason paused for effect. "I need your head in the game. I know we're not exactly getting busy down here but we are here to do a job and we are going to do it to the best of our abilities – no matter what the upper brass thinks."

"Yeah, but that's it, man… this isn't just a job, this is a...it's a life. And now with Emma…"

"Ok, stop. I'm gonna tell you what she told me after Alana died, ok?" Jason said and then waited until Clay nodded his head before he continued. "This life? The military life with all of its worrying, the uncertainty and the not knowing? It's been Emma's whole life. I told her that I never wanted this for her, that I wanted her to find a guy who wasn't in the service, and she straight up told me that this life is all she has ever known and if anything? She's better equipped to handle being with a team guy then most people."

The words hung between them for a moment, and Jason watched as Clay took them in. This probably was a conversation they should've had way before now but better now than never, right?

"I guess I've never looked at it that way." Clay mumbled and then he took another mouth full of beer.

"I hadn't either but she told it like it is and that is also why I was able to continue on Bravo, because I knew Emma would be able to handle it." Jason watched once again as Clay took his words in and then he smiled at the younger man.

"Why don't you give her a call? I'm pretty sure she's up by now."

Jason hadn't even finished his sentence before Clay had reached for his phone and stood from the table to find a quieter area in the bar, his phone already at his ear.


Having grown up with Jason Hayes as a father, Emma knew that deployment hits differently than most people though. Most people thought that the first few days were the worst and then it got easier. They couldn't be more wrong. The first few days usually weren't that bad because her dad, and now also her boyfriend, would be gone on a spin for a few days/a week on the regular. No, the first few days of deployment might actually be the easiest because even though you know that they're gonna be away for a few months, your brain is still in "they're on a spin" mode.

No, the worst was about two, three weeks in. That was when realization that Bravo was deployed, as in not in a spin and could return home at any moment, sat in. As week one turned into week two, Emma was starting to feel less like she was living and more like she was simply surviving.

Between her own school, choir and friends she also had to make sure Mikey did his homework, got to and from hockey and anything else that came along. Oh, and that wasn't even taking into account keeping the house somewhat clean, making sure they had food on the table and clean clothes to wear. Emma was starting to understand why her mom had been a stay-at-home mom for so long.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Emma turned off her alarm before it had the chance to ring and then made herself get out of bed and into the shower so that she could start to get ready for another day.

After showering, getting dressed, brushing out her hair and putting on mascara, Emma glanced at her mirror before she simply shrugged and left her room. She crossed the upstairs landing and gently knocked on her brother's bedroom door.

"Mikey? Time to get up buddy."

She waited for a moment and then knocked again before she opened the door only to find that Mikey hadn't even registered her knocks.

"Mikey?" she called out again, smiling when she saw the younger boy twist around on his bed as her voice had broken through his sleep. "Time to get up."

Mikey waved his hand in acknowledgment and Emma shook her head. Her brother reminded her so much of her dad.

"Breakfast in 20 minutes, bud. Chop, chop." she said and then she closed the door again and headed down to the kitchen to get started on breakfast. And coffee. She needed coffee.

As she watched the coffee pot slowly get filled with black gold, her mind drifted back to the people missing in her life at the moment. The good thing about this deployment was that Bravo was in a nice hotel and had been able to stay in contact pretty much daily. The bad thing? The Philippines was 12 hours ahead which meant they had trouble actually catching one another.

A low buzzing pulled Emma back out of her head again and as she looked around the kitchen, trying to find the source of the sound, she realized that she somehow had put her phone on silence and it was now moving itself around on the kitchen table.

As she grabbed the buzzing object from the table a smile spread across her face at the sight of Clay's smiling face on the screen.

"Hello?" she said as she pressed the phone to her ear after accepting the call.

"Morning, Birdie."

"Clay!"

"Good morning, beautiful. What are you…"

A loud explosion cut off his words, followed by screams and then, all she could hear was silence.


Jason groaned as he pushed his upper body up from the floor. His ears were ringing, people were screaming and everything was covered in dust. He instantly knew that a bomb had exploded on him and his team. His team!

"Clay?!" He asked loudly, knowing that his youngest team member – and his daughter's boyfriend at that – had been the one closest to him. "You good?"

"Yeah, I'm good" Clay answered from just a few feet away. "You good, Jace?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good."

They both got to their feet and looked around the room, taking in the damaged and the people they would not be able to help.

"Mandy? Trent? Brock? You good?" Jason asked, seeing the three of them in one corner.

They all confirmed that they were indeed good and Jason's eyes then swept the room, looking for his 2IC.

"Ray?" he shouted, not immediately locking eyes on his best friend.

"Over here." Ray answered as he helped a woman sit up and then he moved over to join the rest of the team.

Trent, being the one with the most medical training, started to dish out orders and Mandy was instantly on her phone, making all the calls that needed to be done.

"Sonny? Where's Sonny?" Clay asked as the team prepared to split up to take care of the wounded people around them.

"Right here." The Texan joined them and they all blew out a breath neither had realized they were holding. "It's mayhem out there."

Looking over his team Jason blew out a deep breath. Time to be the team leader.

"Trent, you're in charge in here. Get this place under control," he said and then he pointed at Clay and Sonny. "You two, with me."

Without any further instructions Trent, Brock and Ray got to work while Clay and Sonny followed their boss out into the street.

"Wow, this is a warzone." Clay said as the three of them looked at each other and then they too got to work.

Clay helped a young woman with a large gash in her leg in to the bar where Ray took over, Jason helped an older man with what looked like a broken arm while Sonny made sure the young couple he'd found under what used to be a stand was ok.

As Clay returned to the street the shouting of a young boy had him rushing down the street.

"Sinto! Sinto!"

Bending down next to the boy Clay scanned him for any obvious injuries.

"Hey, you ok?" he asked and the boy nodded but continued to shout.

"Sinto!"

"Sinto? Is that the bear?" Clay asked and gestured to the teddy bear the boy was holding, but as he continued to scan the street and shout out the name, Clay realized it was probably his brother.

Moving along the chaos on the street, Clay joined the boy in his shouting for Sinto. As he passed by an abandoned truck the sound of sobbing stopped him in his tracks.

As he pulled the door opened a young boy appeared lying down on the bench seat.

"Sinto?" he asked, pretty sure this was who the other boy had been shouting after.

"Yes." A small voice answered and a face covered with tears greeted him when the boy looked up.

"Come on, come with me." Clay said and held his arms out for the boy who went to him without another word.

He quickly pulled the boy out of the car and into his arms and then he rushed over to the older brother who still stood in the middle of the street with the teddy bear hanging from one of his hands. As Clay reached him he grabbed the boy's free hand and pulled him with them as the three of them headed in the direction of the bar.

As they approached the building they were met by Bravo 1 and 3 and Clay promptly handed the boys over to Sonny.

"My friend Sonny's gonna take you guys inside, ok?" he told them as he handed Sinto over to the Texan and gently nudged the older brother in the same direction.

Before anyone could say anything else Sonny was moving the boys indoors and Clay turned around to head back they way he had come.

"Clay, hey, hang on a second."

Jason's words made the blonde pause and turn his head towards his boss.

"I know you want to help everyone. Save everyone. But please keep in mind that we have no intel here. We don't know who's behind this, why and how. So just… don't do anything stupid."

Jason scanned the other man's face to see if his words had registered and the quick nod he got in return wasn't what he'd wanted but at least Clay had acknowledged what he had said.

As Clay once again sat off down the street, Jason let out a deep sigh. He could see by the way Clay was moving that he was a man on a mission and he couldn't for the life of him figure out why that had him on edge. There was something in his gut that didn't like this situation and the sooner they could all return to…

The sound of a ringing phone stopped any and all thoughts that were running through the team leader's head and then, as if he was watching it happen in slow motion, from one second to the next Jason watched as Clay located the sound and then was thrown up into the air as a second bomb blew up.

"CLAY!"


Emma didn't know what to do. After her call with Clay had died she'd tried to call him back multiple times but he never answered. Then she had tried her dad, again multiple times, only to be met by the same non-answer. She had then tried the rest of Bravo but neither one had answered and at that point she was as close to a breakdown as she had been since her mom's death.

When she heard Mikey make his way down the stairs, Emma took a deep breath to steady herself and then plastered a small smile on her face. It probably looked as fake as it was, but she didn't want to worry her little brother in case there was nothing to worry about.

"Morning, Bug. Mrs. Porter is picking you up in 15 so you are gonna have to eat in a hurry." she said as Mikey grabbed his bowl of cornflakes from the island.

Mikey nodded his head and sat down at the table without so much as a look to his sister and for once, Emma didn't mind.

With Mikey occupied with his food, Emma made her way down the hall to the bathroom, only to duck into her dad's room and then outside to the backyard. If she stayed over on the patio by the grill she couldn't be seen from the kitchen windows.

As she pulled out her phone from her back pocket she bit her lip as she ran through her options in her mind. Should she call aunt Lisa? No, she was in Rhode Island and wouldn't know anything. Mandy? Aunt Naima? Uncle Eric?

Making her decision, Emma pulled up the right contact, pressed call and lifted the phone to her ear.

"Emma? Is everything ok?"

A sob left her as Naima's voice rang out over the line and once more she wished so bad that her mother was here right now so that she wasn't alone in her worry.

"Emma? Sweetheart? You're making me worry here. What's going on?"

"I was on the phone with Clay and then something, it sounded like a bomb, went off and now I can't get anyone on Bravo on the phone and I don't know what to do."

The words left her in one long breath and when she was done she crouched down on the ground in an attempt not to fall down because her legs were shaking.

"You've tried all of them?" Naima asked, sounding calm and collected but there was an edge to her voice that Emma had never heard before.

She nodded her head for a moment before she realized that her aunt couldn't actually see her.

"Yeah. Some went to voicemail, others just rang out."

The line was silent for a moment and then Naima took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

"Ok, Em. Here's what I want you to do. I want you to take Mikey to school as usual…"

"He's getting a ride with the Porter's because my classes start late today." Emma broke in.

"Well good. Make sure he gets off to school with them then and after that I want you to try and stay calm until I get to you, ok? I'm gonna drop the kids off at daycare and make a few calls and then I'll be right over, ok? Can you do that?"

"Yeah…" Emma said in a small voice, her worry growing by the minute.

"Good. And please, try not to make yourself sick with worry because nothing good will come of it. I know you have all the worst case scenarios running around in your head but Em? Deep breaths and calm thoughts. I'll be there soon."

"Ok, aunt Naima, see you soon."

The two hung up and Emma then took a few moments to get herself together before she returned inside and promptly made sure Mikey had everything with him as the Porter's car pulled up outside.

With Mikey gone the silent house felt like her own personal prison and that made Emma's thoughts run even crazier than they already were. Were Clay hurt? What about her dad? Why didn't anyone answer their phones? What if they all…

Before that thought could take hold the doorbell chimed and Emma was on her feet and opening the door before it could ring a second time. A breath she hadn't known she was holding left her as it was Naima standing on the other side and not someone from the navy.

Naima, seeing the look on her nieces face, opened her arms for a hug and Emma almost fell into them.

"Hey, sweet girl, it's ok. You are not alone." the older woman whispered into Emma's hair as they rocked gently from side to side.

After letting out shuddering breath Emma pulled back and wiped at her eyes to get rid of the wetness that had escaped.

"Come on, let's go inside." Naima said and Emma nodded and stepped back to let her aunt inside.

As she closed the door behind them, Emma's phone started ringing in her back pocket and as she quickly pulled it out her hand started to shake as her dad's face appeared on the caller id.

"Dad?" she asked in a small voice, tears threatening to fall.

"Yeah, Emmi star, it's me." Jason answered and Emma almost whimpered as his voice reached her ears. Maybe nothing was wrong?

"What happened, daddy? Is everyone ok?"

There was a moment of silence before Jason cleared his voice.

"There was a bomb… and then a second one." he said slowly and then he paused.

"Dad… is everyone ok?" Emma asked, desperate for confirmation that everyone she loved was safe and sound.

"Em…"

"Just say it!" she screeched, as Naima pulled her down next to her on the couch and wrapped her arms around her.

"Clay was hurt by the second blast. He's in critical condition."

"Oh god…" tears were now running in steady streams down her face and her voice quivered. "How bad is it?"

"He's got traumatic injuries to both legs and he suffered severe blood loss."

A big sob left Emma at that and for a second she felt as if she was watching her life from the outside. She couldn't handle losing another loved one. She couldn't do it again. She wasn't sure she would survive another funeral…

"Em? Emma? Are you listening to me?"

Her dad's voice pulled her back to the present and after another shuddering breath she turned back to the phone call.

"Yeah, I'm here. Is he… is he gonna die?"

It was Jason's turn to let out a shuddering breath.

"Listen to me baby. Clay is strong, ok? And he's getting the best help possible. But I need you to listen to me now, ok?"

"Ok…"

"Clay's condition was too complex to treat here in the Philippines so they've airlifted him out and he's on his way back to the States. Blackburn and Mandy have made a few calls and someone will be at the house tonight to take you to him and you will be allowed to stay with him."

"Where are they taking him?" Emma asked as she used the arm of her sweater to wipe away the tears that continued to run down her cheeks.

"Bethesda. It's just over three hours away, which is why someone will drive you. I don't want you driving all that way on your own. And grandma Linda will be at the house later today to take care of your brother."

A small chuckle left her as she listened as her dad told her the plan.

"What? What's funny right now, Em?" Jason asked confused as to what had his daughter chuckling.

"You having a plan already put together. Is there anything left for me to figure out or am I just supposed to spend my day here waiting and worrying?"

"No, you are going to school to talk to your teachers and your guidance councilor. I'm gonna call them in a little bit to explain why you need some time off but you need to go down there and figure out how to keep up with your classes while you're in Maryland."

"Ok, dad. And thank you."

"For what, Emmi star?

"For being the one to tell me. For having a plan in place. For being my dad."

"I wouldn't have it any other way. And Emma?"

"Yeah, dad?"

"Take care of our boy and make sure he knows we'll find the one who did this."