Hey all, it was finally time to write a story focused on my favorite Bravo boy. Enjoy!

When Clay came to himself he was falling. Air rushed past him as he plummeted to the ground.

Reaching up, Clay tried to find the pilot chute to start the deployment sequence, but his hand just fumbled with open hair. Trying to look behind him, Clay realized there was nothing attached to his back, which explained why his body felt so light, but not why he was skydiving without any sort of equipment.

With the ground getting closer, Clay began to panic. Heart rate raising and hands sweating. His whole body now shaking as his elevated temperature contrasted with the cold air around him.

Preparing himself for impact, Clay closed his eyes, not wanting to see the moment he hit the ground and just hoping he would die painlessly and quick. But with the sudden thought of death, also came the realization of what he would be leaving behind, so Clay opened his eyes and gasped.

Tears pricked his eyes as he thought of Stella and his new team. Briefly wondering what could have been. But at least he had made it to Bravo, that had to count for something, right? Even if he wouldn't live long enough to become the operator he always dreamed of, and to become the husband, and maybe someday even father, that Ash hadn't been.

Feeling his eyes cloud, Clay wasn't sure if it was because of the pain of imminent loss, or if maybe the 25,000 feet altitude wind was to blame. But he didn't have time to wonder because the ground was growing closer and his life was about to end.

Looking around for one last time, Clay noticed he was alone and frowned. There was no one from SEAL Team 3, Green Team or Bravo with him, and why would he be jumping alone? Shaking his head, Clay decided not to question fate's mercy because at least no one would be forced to see him fall to his death, like he had done with Bri…

-x-x-x-

Clay hit the ground and it hurt. But not as much as he thought it would. So he absentmindedly wondered if that's how it felt to cross over from Earth to Heaven, or wherever someone like him was destined to go.

But taking a minute to assess himself, Clay thought he was still breathing, barely, as the wind had been knocked out of his lungs, but air still flowed through his body. His chest ached, but he paid no mind to it, because pain meant life.

So, Clay frowned because he shouldn't be breathing, he shouldn't be feeling pain. He shouldn't be feeling anything. But if all these weren't the very definition of being alive Clay didn't know what was.

Against all odds, he had surviv…

"Look boys, I reckon Alice fell down the rabbit hole again," Sonny drawled before chuckling, the sound followed by four other voices laughing.

Grunting, Clay raised his head and opened his eyes, his frown deepening when he saw all of Bravo team standing over where he lay sprawled on the floor. Exhaling long and slow, Clay drew a hand through his hair, then down his face as his awareness grew and he recognized his surroundings: the familiar hum of the C17, his hammock, which still swung wildly above him, and his team.

"What, what happened?" Clay asked with a pained exhale, now more out of embarrassment than any real physical discomfort.

"You tell us," Jason said, his arms crossed over his chest and an unreadable look on his face.

"Seems like you do better sitting in the back with the Straps," Sonny teased, "we won't stop you if you want to go." He slightly bowed down mockingly, signaling to the back of the plane.

"I, hmm, there must have been some turbulence, sorry…" Clay tried to explain, finishing with a nervous chuckle.

"There was no turbulence," Jason said matter-of-factly, eyes boring into Clay.

"Then, I…" Clay struggled to find words, eyes cast downward as he did his best to avoid everyone's inquisitive gaze.

"Show's over boys, time to go back to your hammocks and get some sleep," Lisa interrupted, much to Clay's relief and his team's annoyance. "Mission's a go as soon as we arrive. So try to rest while you still can."

A series of yes and nods followed, as everyone brebugingly stepped back and busied themselves with whatever they could find, but all five SEALS still looked at their youngest out of the corner of their eyes.

"You okay?" Lisa asked, extending her hand to help Clay stand up. "I can get you some Ambien if you need. Just let me know," she offered, an understanding look on her face.

Taking the offered hand, Clay raised to his feet, then softly shook his head. "I'm alright. But thank you," he said, flashing Lisa his best conspiratorial smile.

"Anytime," Lisa said, turning around and going back to her seat, but not before she looked directly at Clay one last time. "And I'm here if you need me. For a sleeping pill or just to talk. You are part of the cool kids now, but you know where to find me, and you're always welcomed to sit back there if you think it will help." She leveled Clay with a knowing look, then patted his shoulder and disappeared just as quickly as she had stepped into the scene.

Finally alone, Clay released a slow breath, his eyes going back and forth between his hammock and the back of the plane. Shaking his head, he checked the ropes holding it to the plane, before lowering himself back down. He had finally won the honor to sleep in a hammock and not sit with the Straps, and he would be damned if he was letting a silly nightmare ruin it for him.

Letting the slow movement of the hammock lull him back into some semblance of calmness, Clay closed his eyes and tried to relax. But still made a point to mentally go back over all mission details on his mind. In part because he didn't want anything to go wrong with the HAHO jump, one of his first with Bravo and so soon after he had seen his best friend fall to his death. But also because thinking about operational plans was a sure way to make sleep go away and Clay knew he had to keep himself awake to avoid any further incidents. Bravo had enough doubts about him as it was, and he didn't need to give them any more ammunition for them to think he wasn't good enough, or too problematic, for DEVGRU.

-x-x-x-

Luckily for Clay, the mission had been a total success. At twenty-two hundred hours the team had jumped into enemy territory, all parachutes had deployed properly, and no one had been hurt as they retrieved their HVT and then trekked across the mountains to exfil.

Unluckily for Clay, their HVT was only a courier that would hopefully lead them to the bigger fish. So they had to stay on base while Davis and the rest of HAVOC worked to extract information to get them more locations.

Sleeping on base, surrounded by his teammates, wasn't exactly how Clay wanted to spend the night. Especially when he could still feel his heart beating faster than normal and as his hands wouldn't stop shaking and sweating too much not to be a sign of anxiety. So, grabbing a book, he quietly stepped out of his bed, cursing inwardly because it was not easy to jump out of the top bunk without disturbing the man sleeping below, and Clay wanted nothing less than to wake up Sonny. The process had been painfully slow and nerve-wracking but Clay had managed. With that done, he tip-toed out of the room, leaving the door slightly open so the sound wouldn't wake up any of his teammates.

Moving silently through the sleeping base, Clay walked outside and sat down on an old wooden chair around the fire pit. And after making quick work of turning it back on, he opened his book and settled in for the night.

"You're not as quiet as you think, Twinkle Toes," Sonny teased, grabbing a chair and sitting down next to him.

"Sorry, I tried not to wake you," Clay said with a sigh. Doing his best not to grunt outwardly because he really didn't want to endure any more of Sonny's jokes right now. And he hadn't even managed to be alone for five minutes.

But to Clay's surprise, Sonny said nothing else, just reached down to grab something, and offered Clay a beer.

"Don't you think we had enough for one night?" Clay asked with raised eyebrows, remembering the hours they had already spent drinking around the fire before they had retired to their quarters. But still, he didn't want to make an enemy out of Sonny, so he reached forward and took the offered bottle.

"There's no such thing as too much beer, young Padawan," Sonny lectured, "you still have much to learn, but don't worry, with us you will learn soon enough." Opening his beer, Sonny took a long sip, then clinked bottles with Clay.

"Right." Clay mumbled unenthusiastically. He wasn't here to learn to drink with the Texan, he was here to become the best of DEVGRU, even if his new team didn't see his full potential yet.

"So… what are you reading?" Sonny wondered not two minutes later, pointing with the neck of his bottle to the book that lay discarded on Clay's lap.

Shifting uncomfortably, Clay turned to the book, picking it up and absentmindedly flipping through the pages. "Just some philosophy book someone lent me." Stella might be a Literature professor but she sure enjoyed discussing philosophy and Clay needed a lot of work, and luck, just to keep up.

"Interesting choice for a Pipe Hitter." After taking another swig of his beer, Sonny began playing with the sticker on the bottle, his feet shuffling awkwardly on the sand. "That girl of yours gave it to you?" He asked, turning to Clay with a teasing smile.

Now it was time for Clay to say nothing, he just swiftly moved his head in what could barely be considered a courteous nod.

"Okay," Sonny said, then opened and closed his mouth a few times as he searched for something else to say.

"Why are you here, Sonny?" Clay asked eventually, then downed the rest of his beer in one long swallow, some liquid courage never hurt anyone.

"I, um… I," Sonny stumbled on his words, looking uncharacteristically lost. "I guess, I just… I just wanted to see if you were okay," he managed to ask after a few attempts, his fingers still peeling the sticker.

"Why wouldn't I be? Today was mission success," Clay asserted, now looking anywhere but at Sonny.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I just meant after, you know, in the plane," Sonny said, fumbling with the words, then followed Clay's lead and finished what was left of his beer all at once. "I guess I just wanted to say that we are here, I am here, if you needed to talk. What happened to the Armstrong kid was tough. And we understand if jumping can sometimes be difficult now."

Now turning to look directly at Sonny, Clay tried to judge his intentions. But as much as he tried, he couldn't find any mockery in his teammate's voice or lightness to his posture. Instead, Sonny's voice was as serious as he's ever heard it, his shoulders squared and gaze genuine as he stared at his now empty bottle.

Deciding that Sonny really wasn't teasing or joking, Clay nodded and smirked slightly, the corner of his lip twitching upward. "Thanks, brother," he said after the silence had stretched for too long. Then figured that he needed to offer more, this was his new team, new family, after all. "And yeah, it was difficult. It's just… I have jumped before, since you know, since Brian left, but today I just kept thinking about him. But I'm okay now. Thanks for checking up on me." He tried to be respectful and open enough, but ultimately dismissive.

"Is that why you're here alone?" Sonny asked, now trying to suppress a full-brown grin and the, at least 10 jokes, that just popped into his mind. "We all been there, Clay. We never know when grief, or just apprehension, will hit us. But sleep will come. And soon enough it will come without nightmares again. I promise," he finished knowingly, clapping Clay on the back, then retracting his hand just as quickly.

Feeling uncomfortable with the attention, and the way Sonny just seemed to know everything that was going on with him, Clay turned his attention to his empty bottle, wishing there was some beer left.

"You don't have to say anything, or explain what the nightmare was about" Sonny offered him an out, "just know that things get better. And if not, that's why we are here. You're part of Bravo now, and for better or worse, that means something."

Clay nodded, completely at a loss for words. He wasn't used to a team that didn't judge him because of Ash. He wasn't used to a family that didn't ship him to the other side of the world. He wasn't used to not being alone. So now, he could only nod, hoping the smile on his face and gratitude on his eyes were enough to tell Sonny what his words couldn't.

It must have. Because Sonny nodded and hoisted himself off his chair. Then clapped Clay again on the back, this time lingering close for a moment longer as he also squeezed his shoulder, before he walked back inside. All without saying another word.

Alone again, Clay grabbed his book and began trying to finish the chapter he had been reading before. But his mind was no longer in philosophy, instead his thoughts swam in memories of Ash, his previous teams and all the times on missions he had sat alone just like this, without anyone but Brian, and now Sonny, to ever check up on him. And if Clay had been more aware, he might have noticed the connection and the friendship that was being born right in front of his eyes.

When his thoughts eventually settled on Bravo, Clay sighed and stood up. Walking back to their room after he was confident the fire was off.

Entering Bravo's quarters, Clay couldn't help but smile. All five of his teammates were awake now, not just Sonny. All of them awkwardly busying themselves around the room and trying very hard not to turn to the door and stare. They were all clearly on it and had been waiting for him to return, and against Clay's wishes, it warmed his heart.

Saying nothing, Clay climbed to his bunk. The treacherous smile still on his face as he very easily read the worry in all his teammates' eyes and postures. "I'm okay, you can all go back to sleep now," he said eventually, laughing out loud when five human faces and one canine turned guilty eyes his way.

"You sure you're okay, brother?" Ray asked softly, and at that moment Clay realized from the five possibilities, it had been an interesting choice to send Sonny. If he had been Jason, he would have asked Ray instead. If only he knew that Sonny himself had volunteered.

"Not quite, but don't worry, I will be," Clay said sincerely.

"Alright then, everyone time to go back to bed. Davis will probably have a new target for us tomorrow and we need to be at the top of our game." Jason directed, feeling enough progress had been made for one night and not wanting to overwhelm their new recruit. Jason had read Clay's file and asked on base about him, and he knew Clay wouldn't be used to this level of attention or anyone caring at all, so they would need to ease him into being a member of a close team like Bravo.

Five heads nodded at that, everyone climbing into their respective bunks (with Cerberus ditching Brock and joining Clay instead) feeling more at peace than before. Because even if their youngest member wasn't fully okay yet, just the fact he had admitted to it, was a good beginning and the best they could ask for at the present time. Especially when he was surrounded by a team that teased and joked at the best of times, but could be completely supportive and encouraging when one was at their worst.

"Clay?" Sonny whispered a few minutes after the room had been thrown into silence.

"Yeah?" Clay mumbled back, silently wondering if maybe he should have fake sleep.

"You owe us a case of beer," Sonny said simply, everyone cheerfully echoing his words.

"Why now?" Clay couldn't help but ask.

"First nightmare with the team," five voices responded in unison.

Clay could only groan at that. But that night, when he finally fell asleep, no nightmares came. Not about Brian, HAHO jumps, falling through the air, or anything else whatsoever. Instead, Clay dreamed of Bravo team, and Stella, wishing that against all odds he had finally found the pieces he needed to feel himself whole.

Clay and Sonny's friendship is one of my favorite things on the show so I hope I have done them justice. Would love to hear your thoughts!