A Brotherhood Betrayal

by DianneRose2016

When Ray and Sonny turn their backs on Clay. Clay is placed with the abusive Echo team. It doesn't take long before he develops PTSD from their operations. Jason is willing to do anything it takes to help Clay, even if that means taking him to visit his cousins Jay and Will Halstead in Chicago. But Will Clay want to leave Chicago and go back to the Navy? Or will he want to stay?

1. Chapter 1

A/N: This was originally going to be a ridiculously long oneshot for my Papa Jason Oneshot Collection for Seal Team. However, part way through it I realized that it would actually work for a Crossover between Seal Team and Chicago PD. I've had a lot of people ask me for a crossover between the two shows and I said I would if I could find a realistic way for it to work. This is as realistic as I can get with merging two shows. I have also never done a crossover before so this is all new to me.

This is set in Seal Team Season 2 before the Manilla tour (Clay gets blown up and gets a traumatic leg injury to both legs and is out for months.) This is set in Season 7 of Chicago PD after episode 1 so there is no Rojas in this story. Everything before those episodes in both shows still apply. The only thing that will be a bit different is Sonny and Ray (Seal Team) will be a bit Out of Character for the beginning of this story, but later on you will find out why.

Story Warnings: Dealing with PTSD, nightmares, and swearing.

Chapter 1

Clay hugged the toilet once again as he fought to try and keep the minimal food down. He was failing once again and this had become something so common you would think he was pregnant. The past two months had been beyond stressful on him. His body was betraying him. He could handle stress. He had never had this type of reaction to it, but for some reason within the past two months he couldn't handle anything. He felt like his body was flooded with ants underneath his skin. He couldn't relax, he couldn't rest, he couldn't sit still. The anxiety within was bubbling over and nothing he did made it better. He was constantly sick. The stress and anxiety in his body was killing him. He was so exhausted all of the time, but he couldn't sleep. He could barely eat anything, whenever he did eat he was always throwing it up. He had lost sixty pounds in just two months from it all. Clay knew he wasn't healthy, but he couldn't make it better. He had no idea what went wrong, but for some reason Sonny and Ray had turned their backs on him and then everything went to shit.

Two Months Ago…

To say that things had been tense within Bravo team for the past month would be an understatement. Sonny and Ray had came in one morning hating on Clay. It was completely random to the guys, as if Sonny and Ray just woke up that morning and decided that they didn't like Clay anymore. It was ridiculous, but Sonny and Ray wouldn't give it up. They refused to tell the guys what had made them hate Clay all of a sudden. Clay was just as confused why two of his brothers, one of which was supposed to be his best friend, could hate him like this. Clay had tried to talk with them, to figure out what he had done wrong that they felt was unforgivable, but they refused to talk to him. What started off as two brothers refusing to talk to another had quickly morphed into bullying. They would talk down to him, they would belittle him, his hammock was slashed up. A book that he was reading, a very rare and expensive book, one of them, they all suspected Sonny, had pissed all over it. Photos that he had up in his cage were ripped up. His cellphone number was put in a personal ad for sex workers. He was constantly getting phone calls all day and night long. The ad caught the Upper Brass' attention and Clay was given a three day suspension because of the breach.

Jason had told them all that enough was enough, but no matter what he said, what he ordered, they refused to change how they were treating Clay or give him a reason why they suddenly changed. Both Ray and Sonny were staying tight lipped and it was pissing them all off. The longer this went on for, the worse it was getting. Everyone was taking sides, the team was fracturing and Clay felt like it was all his fault. He had no idea what he had done that was so horrible, but he obviously had done something that caused two of his brothers to treat him this way. He just wished he knew what it was so he could try and make it better.

Clay walked into the team's room and immediately headed over to his cage. The room was empty and Clay was happy about that. He didn't want an audience for this. The Upper Brass had caught wind of the hostility and had finally pulled rank. He was being transferred off of Bravo and being placed within the new Echo team. He would now be Echo Six. It cut Clay very deeply and it only solidified that he would never be able to be back on Bravo. That he had lost his team and his family. He knew he wasn't being kicked out of Bravo, that people get transferred to different teams all the time for various reasons. However, he also knew that people drift apart when they aren't on the same team any longer. He would lose his brothers and he would lose the man that had become a father to him.

Clay was halfway through packing up his cage when the door to the room opened and the guys all came filing in. Clay didn't look up, he didn't think he would be able to handle the looks on their faces. He didn't think he would be able to handle seeing the hatred and disgust within Sonny and Ray's eyes or the confusion and hurt within Jason, Brock and Trent's eyes. He knew it was going to come out that he was being transferred, but like a coward he was hoping it wouldn't have to be from him.

"What are you doing Spense?" Trent asked, as he went over to his own cage.

"I've been transferred to Echo." Clap simply stated as he continued to pack up his things. Faster now that he had an audience.

"What the hell are you talking about? On whose orders?" Jason demanded, pissed that he was losing Clay.

"Who cares. Good fucking riddance." Sonny commented, as he sat down with a big smile. He was very pleased to be getting rid of Clay. He was disgusted every time he had to see him. It was just a clear reminder of what Clay had done.

"The Upper Brass has heard about all of the tension within the team. They blame me for it and with me being the bottom rank, I get transferred." Clay explained, still packing and not risking a look at the others.

"It's not your fault." Trent said with a pointed look over at Sonny and Ray.

The past month roughly both of them had been treating Clay like shit and all of them had been trying to get it out of them as to why they were suddenly hating Clay. No matter what they did though, they wouldn't break. Trent had seen the effect it was having on Clay. He was showing up more tired, more drained of life each and every day. The betrayal by two of his brothers was cutting him deep and Trent was worried about his mental and emotional health.

"The hell it isn't." Sonny instantly said.

"Spenser knows what he did. He knows he doesn't deserve to be here." Ray said with anger within his voice.

"Fuck this. What the hell did he do that was so horrible to the both of you? I'm done with this shit." Jason finally snapped.

For the past month he had been trying to get it out of either of them, but they always refused. Whenever he went harder on them, they would turn around and make Clay's life more miserable than they already were. Jason had no choice, but to back off so he could protect Clay from the added hatred and abuse by Sonny and Ray. He was at a loss though of what to do. He had spoken with Lisa to see if Sonny said something to her about it. He did the same with Naima, but neither Sonny nor Ray had confided in anyone. He had spoken with Blackburn and Mandy on what to do, but they were coming up empty. Neither of them had ever experienced something like this. They had seen teams adjust to a new member a little harshly, but never a team that had been operating perfectly smoothly for a year and a half now. Clay and Sonny were best friends, and Ray had fought to get Clay on the team. It wasn't making any sense and now Clay was being taken away from them and Jason wasn't going to stand for it.

"We're not telling you Jase." Ray simply said. He hated not telling the guys what him and Sonny had seen, but he knew they wouldn't believe it, especially Jason. Clay had him fooled far too much to see the truth.

"You wouldn't believe us. The piece of shit played orphan puppy with you and conned you into taking him home. We should have left him in that barrel to drown in SERE." Sonny added.

That hurt Clay, but he was trying his best to ignore the conversation going on around him. He needed to get the rest of his things so he could get the hell out of here.

"I'm ordering you to tell me what the fuck happened to make you act this way. What did he do?" Jason demanded with a deadly edge to his voice.

He was done with this. He was done with them treating Clay like this. Clay was their kid brother, he was all of DEVGRU's kid brother. Most importantly, he was his son. He was the older brother to his kids. Clay was worth more than anyone on the team. He would give up every single member of Bravo if that meant he could keep Clay here. It wasn't just about being his kid, it was his skills. He was the best shot in the military, he spoke ten languages and he could see through any problem. He was a prodigy and that was worth protecting and keeping on Bravo.

"That's not something you can order us Jase. I know you don't like this, you don't understand, but trust us, trust me, he doesn't belong here." Ray said calmly, he was hoping that Jason would accept this and move on once Clay was gone. He knew that Jason cared about him, but he also knew that once Clay was gone they could start to heal the damage that had been done. Jason would get over it, eventually.

"He's just like Ash. Shit, he might be worse. The bitch has fooled us all. The best place for him is with Echo. They hate Ash, they are gonna love having him around." Sonny said with a smirk. He couldn't wait to watch shit hit the fan. It was going to be a good show and Clay would get everything he deserved and more.

Clay was done with this. He had everything packed up and he headed out without even saying goodbye. He wasn't sure he could trust his voice to even speak. He wasn't going to let Sonny and Ray see him fall apart. He had been through worse, he would get through this. Jason was instantly going after him. He wasn't going to let Clay think for a second that he didn't love him or want him. He didn't care what Ray or Sonny had to say, he didn't believe that Clay was in the wrong. It bothered him that they wouldn't even admit to what they had seen. If it was truly that horrific, then open your mouth and say it. If it wasn't for the fact that he knew both Sonny and Ray so well, he would be assuming they made it all up just to push Clay out. The problem was though, they loved Clay until they showed up one day with pitchforks. It was a drastic change and he needed to know what it was so he could fix this.

"Sunshine, wait." Jason calmly said.

Clay turned around, but he kept his distance as he spoke. "I can't do this right now."

Jason could hear the pain flooding Clay's voice and he knew that Clay was rocking the edge. If Jason reached out to touch him, he would tumble off the edge and Jason knew that couldn't happen here. Not when he was about to go and meet up with Echo. That was something else that was bothering Jason. The new Echo team hated Ash, they hated what he represented and they hated that Clay was his biological son. It didn't matter what any of the other teams had said to them, they all believed that Clay shouldn't have been allowed within DEVGRU.

"I know. After work, let's grab some takeout and go to my place. I even have some of that shitty beer you like." Jason offered with a small warm smile.

He knew that Clay would talk when he felt like it was safe enough to talk. He had to get him away from the base and in a place he felt safe in. Whenever Clay needed to talk they could always do it at either of their places with some cold beer and greasy food.

"Ok." Clay said with a small nod. It wasn't much for enthusiasm, but Jason was taking it.

Clay headed off to go and meet with Echo and get his things put away while Jason had no choice, but to watch as he walked away.

Present Time…

That meeting with Jason never happened. Bravo had been pulled into Ops and received word that they were being spun up on an emergency tour. Foxtrot had all been injured with two months left on their tour. Bravo had been informed and loaded up on the plane within four hours. Clay stood up on shaky legs as he made his way over to his bathroom sink. Clay reluctantly looked at the mirror and saw his reflection. He looked like death. His eyes were sunken in slightly from the weight loss. He was close to a hundred and eighty pounds two months ago and now he was lucky if he was a hundred and twenty. He had lost all of his muscle mass and you could almost see his ribs. His bags had bags and it looked like he had two black eyes. There were bruises on both of his arms, torso and legs from the guys. He also had a handprint all the way around his neck from the target that attacked him just yesterday.

Things with Echo were not going well. The guys all hated him and often went way too hard on him with sparring. It wasn't sparring, it was them ganging up on him and beating the crap out of him. One guy against five other Tier One operators was not a fair sparring session. Clay knew better than to complain though, it wouldn't do anything. Actually no, that wasn't true, it would make them go even harder on him. Clay had come to accept that he would need to bear with it and hope for the chance to transfer off of Echo and onto any other team. He would take Charlie at this point.

The problem was though, for the past two months things had been so hard he wasn't sure he could wait or that he wanted to wait. His body was breaking down. He was constantly throwing up, constantly nauseous. He constantly had a headache or a migraine. He had never had a migraine before in his life, but the stress had taken over his body, had taken it to a whole other level. When he did get a migraine there was no relief for him, because he still had to work. When you were sick, your Team Leader wrote you off for the day. For Clay though, his Team Leader hated him and refused to give him a single hour of sick time. It didn't matter if he could barely stand or see, he had to go. The only exception would be if he was in the hospital, but Clay knew going to the hospital would only make matters worse. They would report his injuries and his physical health and that would not do well for him or for Echo.

Clay let out a sigh and looked down. He instantly noticed the back of his left hand. He wasn't sure why, but he had begun to scratch it when he was feeling anxious or stressed. Clay wasn't sure why he had started to do it, because he had never done it before. At the same time though, stress like this had never happened to him. He didn't understand why his body was reacting this way. It made no sense to him, because he had been stressed before. He grew up in a war zone, this was nothing to him. Yet, he couldn't seem to get his body or his mind to listen to him. Clay knew he should fight through it all. That he should suck it up and be a man. The problem was, he couldn't seem to do that. When he wasn't working, he spent all of his time in bed with the lights off. He didn't eat, he didn't work out, he just laid under the covers in the dark and prayed the time would stop so he didn't have to go to work.

For the past few weeks Clay had been thinking about leaving the Navy. He qualified for an honorable discharge and he was sure there were plenty of people within the Upper Brass that would be thrilled to have him leave. He had no idea what he would do though outside of the Navy. He could start a business he figured, but he wasn't sure for what. Security would make the most sense, but he didn't want people to think he was following in Ash's footsteps once again. He could do translations he supposed, but he wasn't sure if there was a market for it. Clay had even entertained the idea of moving to Chicago and becoming a cop. He had a cousin, Jay, that used to be in the Rangers that was a detective now in Chicago. He seemed to really love it and he still got to use all of his skills there. Clay never thought he would ever leave the Navy, but maybe it was time to find something else.

Clay's thoughts were interrupted when his phone beeped from a text message. They were getting spun up. Clay let out a sigh and headed out of the bathroom to get dressed. He used to love getting a message that they were being spun up, but now he dreaded the sound of his phone beeping. The missions he had been on with Echo were very different to the ones that he went with Bravo for. The past two months he had been on twelve operations and all of them were violent and bloody. They had gone into areas where women and children were being raped and tortured. The guys always put him on Overwatch so he had no choice but to watch the disgusting violence take place. Seeing the things he had, they were not helping his mental health and Clay was honestly worried that he was developing PTSD from it. He really had no idea what he was going to do. He had to go through this mission first and then Clay knew he had a decision to make. Stay in the Navy or leave and find something else that wouldn't make him feel like this.

XXX

Jason and the rest of Bravo made their way into their War Room. They had been gone on tour for the past two months and had been home for two weeks. For the past ten weeks Jason had been a mixture of furry and worry. He was very worried about Clay and how he was handling everything. He hated that they had been sent on tour and weren't able to be there for Clay. He knew that Clay was upset and hurt by Ray and Sonny's actions and he really wanted to be there for him. Clay was his son and he hated not being there for him when he needed it the most. For the past ten weeks he had been calling and texting Clay, but as time went on Clay's responses got shorter and shorter. Jason suspected that something was going on with him, that he wasn't handling things well, but he wasn't Stateside to see him. When they did get back, Echo was gone on an op and hated returned yet, at least as far as Jason knew.

The team itself was a disaster. Sonny and Ray were still refusing to tell them what Clay had supposedly done that was so horrific. Full Metal had joined them after deciding to give full control of Alpha over to Derek. Having him in the mix did not help to ease things up. Full Metal was playing neutral, but Jason could see the frustrations mounting as he was caught in the middle of a deadly game of tug-a-war between Sonny and Ray and the rest of the guys. Trent and Brock were just as pissed as Jason, only they were doing it passive aggressively. Even Cerb had been acting up. He was refusing to allow Sonny or Ray to touch him and in the field he was getting squirrely. There was even a situation where Cerb didn't listen to Brock in the field and it almost got them all killed. If something didn't change soon, they were all going to be in trouble.

They walked in and the atmosphere was tense. Bravo Support Team, Mandy, Davis and Blackburn had all been feeling the tension within Bravo Team and Jason knew they were all coming very close to snapping and for the team to fully be disbanded. Jason knew it was only a matter of time before the Upper Brass pulled rank and divided the team. It would not only destroy Bravo, but shake up every other DEVGRU team. They would have to take members from different teams to shuffle Bravo around and the last thing Jason wanted was for other teams to be destroyed because of two of his members. Jason didn't know how to correct things though, because Sonny and Ray refused to tell anyone what had happened to instill the change in them. Until he knew, he couldn't fix anything.

"Welcome back gentlemen. Please take a seat while we wait for the others." Blackburn started.

"Who are we going with?" Jason asked, as he took his normal seat.

"Echo. This mission requires Clay's language skills. And I do not want to hear any shit about it. Clay is the only one that speaks the language for the area." Blackburn said with a pointed look at Sonny and Ray.

"Whatever." Sonny grumbled.

Things with Sonny and Ray had not changed at all. They were still disgusted by Clay and would love nothing more than for him to leave the Navy. They weren't happy with having to work with him again and they would be making sure to avoid him at all costs. Jason was actually excited to be working with echo. He didn't care for the other guys on the team, but he wanted to be able to see Clay and work with him. This would give them the chance to talk and for him to see how Clay was holding up. He had been very worried about him. He had no idea what type of operations they had been on, but he knew that Echo could go on some rough ones. They were the lowest ranking team and the result was shitty missions.

It was a few minutes later when the door to the room opened and Echo started to file in. Jason ignored all of them and searched for the one person he wanted to see, Clay. The second his eyes landed on him though, all relief quickly morphed into pure rage at seeing the sight of Clay. He looked like death, that was the only word he could think to describe it. He was thin and covered in bruises. Jason and Trent were instantly on their feet and moving over to Clay.

"What the hell happened?" Jason demanded, as Trent was already looking at Clay's neck.

"I'm fine." Clay said weakly and they could hear how much it hurt for him to talk.

"I didn't give you permission to speak." Jackson, Echo One snapped, as he went to take his seat.

Clay's eyes instantly looked down to the ground and it only caused Jason's anger to erupt. He turned to give Jackson his full attention and released his rage onto him.

"What the fuck did you just say to him?"

"I don't allow my rookies to talk until addressed. It's important for them to learn their place and respect the chain of command. We've been busy trying to turn him into a proper rookie after all the shit you allowed him to get away with Hayes." Jackson instantly said.

"Get away with? Unlike you, I don't care if my rookie speaks up. I don't stop my guys from growing. He's a fucking genuis, of course I'm going to allow him to voice his thoughts and questions freely. How the hell did he get hurt?" Jason demanded.

"Missions go wrong, training sessions get hard. It's nothing, he's been cleared by my medic." Jackson said, before he turned to face Blackburn. "What is the mission?"

Before Blackburn could say anything everyone heard someone throwing up and they all turned to see Clay throwing up into the garbage can.

"There is no mission. He's not cleared." Trent said with a barely controlled voice.

He had no idea what happened to Clay, but he was pissed. Clay was covered in bruises that were fresh, but some were also in different stages of healing. He was too thin, he had clearly been not sleeping and he was sick with something. There was no way Clay could go out on an operation, especially one that would require him to use his language skills.

"My medic says he is." Jackson dimissied.

Trent turned to look at Jackson, but kept his hands on Clay. "Your medic is a moron and I out rank him. This is a Bravo Op, leaving medical decisions to me. He's not cleared. I'm taking him down to the infirmary."

"He's an Echo rookie. You have no say in anything that happens to him." Jackson countered.

"But I have a say on who goes and who doesn't. The mission is scrapped. Trent, get Clay down to the infirmary and keep me updated. Everyone else, dismissed." Blackburn said.

He had no idea what was going on with Clay, but he knew that he was in no condition to be going on an operation. He was about to stop the arguing and telling them the mission was cancelled before Trent spoke up. It was clear that Echo wasn't happy with not going on a mission, but they didn't care enough to hang around and see how Clay would be. Sonny and Ray also headed out, not caring about Clay or what happened to him. Jason turned his attention back to Clay, who had finally finished throwing up.

"It blood?" Jason asked Trent.

"Just water. He doesn't have anything in him to throw up."

"I'm fine." Clay said again with a shaky voice.

"The very last thing you are is fine right now Sunshine." Jason said, gently.

As pissed off as Jason was, he had to handle Clay very gently right now. He couldn't allow for his emotions to get the best of him with Clay. Something more was going on with him outside of the obvious bruising.

"We need to get you to the infirmary to get checked out." Trent said.

"I don't need a doc. I was just there yesterday after the Op." Clay said with a shaky voice and he swayed slightly, but Trent already had his hand on his arms and he helped to keep Clay standing.

"Ok, but we're gonna go again. If the Doc says you just need rest, then I will be happy to drive you home." Trent said. There was no way he was going to budge on this. Clay had to get checked out if any of them were going to breathe easier.

Clay gave a very tiny nod, but that was all Trent needed. He placed his hand on Clay's back and started to guide him out of the room. Jason, Brock and Cerberus were right behind them. They all noticed how Clay walked with his head down slightly and kept his eyes on the ground. It was a vast difference to how he used to be two months prior. Jason had no idea what had happened to him, but he was going to find out and he was going to make sure that every person responsible paid dearly for it. Once they arrived at the infirmary Dr. Roth looked up and saw Clay and the guys from Bravo. He was wondering when this was going to happen. He had just seen Clay yesterday when he returned from his operation with Echo. He didn't expect to see Clay back so soon.

"Clay, how are you feeling? Same as yesterday?" Dr. Roth asked with a nod towards an empty part of the seating area.

"Ya. They wanted me to come here before going home." Clay softly explained still with his eyes down.

"Can I speak with you three for a moment please?" Dr. Roth asked Jason, Trent and Brock.

Clay sat down as Jason spoke to him. "We'll be right back."

The three of them headed over with Dr. Roth to a more secluded area. Cerberus stayed right next to Clay and placed his head down on his lap. Clay gave a small smile and started to pet him. He knew what Dr. Roth would be telling the guys, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He couldn't bring himself to care about anything. It was getting worse, Clay knew that. He was barely sleeping, he had no energy for anything, no interest in anything. Clay knew what Dr. Roth had told him yesterday, but he hadn't had the mental energy to even process the words spoken to him. He was functioning on autopilot and he had no idea how to stop.

"He's throwing up, he needs to be looked at. Something could be wrong internally." Trent simply said, once they were alone.

"He has been throwing up over the course of two months. I saw him yesterday after his operation. He was jumped without backup. He was strangled, but there was no internal damage, just deep tissue bruising. He has deep bruising all over his body, especially his torso. Things had been happening for the past couple of months. Within the past ten weeks, I've seen Clay twenty times from being attacked. He claimed, same as the guys on Echo, that he received them from a hard sparring session. I have suspected that they have been attacking him and claiming it's training." Dr. Roth began.

"They've been beating him?" Jason asked with a deadly edge.

He was going to beat the living shit out of each of the guys on Echo for ever putting their hands on Clay, on his son. He was also annoyed that Clay hadn't said anything to him and he would be talking to him about it later.

"They call it training, but yes in my medical opinion they have been hurting him. His personality is different, he is quiet, and more timid. He's struggling a great deal right now and it's not just from the behaviour of Echo." Dr. Roth advised.

"You think it's connected to what happened between him, Sonny and Ray?" Trent asked.

"That's part of it. Clay is suffering from PTSD." Dr. Roth started, but Jason instantly cut him off.

"No, that's not possible. He was fine ten weeks ago."

It just wasn't possible. There was no way that Clay had PTSD, it just wasn't possible. He was fine while he was on Bravo and there couldn't be something that happened within the past ten weeks to change him that drastically. It wasn't like he had been captured.

"I could argue he wasn't. You three must have noticed a difference in him before he was transferred over to Echo. That was the start of it. Mentally Seals go through a lot, that's nothing new to any of you. However, you get through it because of the strong bond you all share as brothers. Clay started to lose that while on Bravo. The abusive behavior from Sonny and Ray started to break down his walls that he had to protect his mind from the horror you all see. Then he was transferred over to Echo where he lost the bond completely. Echo doesn't like Ash, that is made very clear to everyone in this building. They started to be abusive towards Clay, beating him and disgusting it as training. They treat him like garbage, denying him the ability to even speak unless addressed by one of them."

"Ok, but that still doesn't give someone PTSD. Clay's strong, always has been, he wouldn't let that take him down, especially after only ten weeks." Jason said in Clay's defense.

He would be talking to him about everything that had been happening with Echo and making sure that Clay was brought back to Bravo or placed with Alpha. He would be making sure that Clay was on a safe team that wouldn't treat him like this.

"When Clay came in yesterday we spoke for a good three hours. I've seen him deteriorating over the past ten weeks. He's not sleeping, he has insomnia and night terrors when he does sleep. He has anxiety to the point where he is throwing up from it, he's also scratching the back of his left hand. He's depressed, not interested in anything, eating, working out, even getting out of bed. He's constantly nauseous. The anxiety in him is making him very sick and rundown. He's functioning on autopilot, doing what he is supposed to do because that's what he's supposed to do and not what he wants to do."

"Why though? Anxiety like that doesn't come out of thin air. Clay's never had any issues with anxiety before." Trent asked.

With being a medic, Trent knew that a person's mental health was just as vital as their physical health. It was why he always made sure that everyone on the team were doing ok mentally. He kept an eye on them so he could jump in should he need to. He never saw anything with Clay that would indicate he was struggling. Yes, the month or so since Sonny and Ray started treating Clay badly he had noticed that Clay's mental health wasn't doing as well as it normally was, but he never saw anything alarming.

"During those three hours that we spoke, we talked about the missions that Clay had been on. He didn't release any classified intel, but he was able to discuss the environment that he had been in. In the past ten weeks he has mostly been placed within an Overwatch position. The areas he has been in have been very hostile. He's been forced to stay within his Overwatch position and watch as women and children were tortured, raped and murdered. Sometimes for days while he waited for approval to leave. For the past ten weeks he has been exposed to the worst that humanity has to offer while being abused by his own team without any family around to escape it. Your team fractured and then you went on tour and Clay was left all alone with no protection from Echo and the operations." Dr. Roth gently explained.

"And that is how someone strong willed and tough develops PTSD within ten weeks." Trent said with complete understanding to his voice.

Jason couldn't believe what he was hearing. It was bad enough that Clay had been abused practically by his team for the past two and a half months, but to hear that he had been forced to watch people being tortured, raped and killed, it destroyed his heart. He never wanted Clay to go through any of that. He hated that he hadn't been able to protect him from seeing that horror. Clay was a good man, he had a huge heart and Jason knew seeing things like that, not being able to help, would have eaten away at his very soul.

"What do I do? What do we do?" Jason asked, looking to do anything he needed to in order to help Clay and get him better.

"I recommended to Clay yesterday to take some time off. I was more than willing to put him on a six month medical leave, but he didn't give me an answer. He needs time off, he needs time away from Echo and the hostile environment. He needs to speak with a professional and see if his PTSD is curable or not."

"Get the paperwork ready for taking six months off. I'll get him to sign em. What do we do about his anxiety? Does he need medication?" Jason asked, trying to see what he could do to help Clay.

"He could go on medication; however, I think he wouldn't need it if he was able to get away from the toxic environment. Honestly, the best thing for him would be to take a vacation, get out of the city and away from all of the triggers. When I brought it up to him yesterday, he did inform me that he had a cousin in Chicago. I truly believe it would be good for Clay to get out of Virginia Beach for a bit and get away from the triggers."

Jason had no idea that Clay had any family outside of Ash. Clay had never spoken about a cousin and once again it was something they would need to talk about. He thought they had gotten past Clay keeping things hidden from him. Jason wasn't sure how he felt about Clay leaving the city right now though. He clearly needed to be around family and Jason had no idea who this cousin was or how close they would be. Clay was in a vulnerable position right now and he needed to be protected and cared for. He didn't like the idea of Clay being out of his sight.

"I'll talk to him about it." Jason simply said.

"I'll get the paperwork for you. Just give me a few minutes. The best thing Clay needs right now is to try and get some sleep. There's nothing I can do for him. He needs time and a therapist." Dr. Roth stated.

"Thanks Doc." Jason said with a nod.

Dr. Roth headed off and Jason let out a sigh as he ran his hand over his face.

"What now?" Brock asked, feeling completely lost in how to help his brother.

"We get him home. I'll take him back to mine, maybe a change of scenery will help him to sleep." Jason answered.

"You can keep Cerb, that might help." Brock offered.

"Dr. Roth is right though, this isn't something that Clay will be able to get over by himself. He needs to speak to a professional. It might be good for him to go away for a bit." Trent said. He knew Jason didn't like the idea of Clay being out of a his sight, but he also understood where Dr. Roth was coming from. Some of the best things a person can do when they are having mental health issues is getting a fresh start somewhere else. Taking a break and going on a vacation and getting away from all of the triggers and upset.

"I know he needs to speak to someone, I'm not arguing that. But leaving his home, his family, how is that a good idea?" Jason challenged.

"Taking a vacation can be really good for people that are having mental health issues. Getting away from all of the triggers and reminders of the horrible things that happened to him. Not being in a city where every place he goes he sees Navy personnel. Not having to worry about running into the guys on Echo or Sonny and Ray. We're talking about his mental health Jase, I don't think anything should be off the table." Trent calmly explained.

Jason let out a sigh as he leaned against the wall. He didn't like this, he didn't like it at all, but he knew Trent was making sense. He knew that Trent was right, that Clay's mental health was more important than anything else. He would have to talk to him and if Clay did want to go on a vacation, he would have to let him. Though, he had his own vacation time saved up and he would be going with him. He was not about to let Clay out of his sight, not when he was this sick.

"I'll talk to him tomorrow. Let him get some sleep first and then see what he wants to do." Jason said.

Both Brock and Trent gave a nod and headed back over to Clay while Jason waited for the paperwork. After a moment Dr. Roth came back and handed Jason the paperwork before he headed off to deal with other patients within the infirmary. Jason headed over and joined the guys. He looked at Clay and he could see the tremble in his body. He wasn't doing well and they really needed to get him out of here and get some sleep.

"Come on Sunshine, let's get you out of here." Jason said gently.

Clay slowly stood up and the guys walked beside him just in case he needed help. None of them liked how tired and weak his body seemed to be. He was in desperate need of rest and some food into him. When they got outside Clay didn't even care that he was being guided over to Jason's truck and not his own. He was too tired to care where he went or what they did. He just wanted to sleep. The second he got into Jason's truck, Cerb was instantly jumping up and curling up beside him. Clay placed his hand on Cerb's head and started to pet him as he closed his eyes and put his head back. Jason got into the driver's side and despite wanting to talk to Clay and ask him what had been going on, he knew Clay wasn't in the mindframe for it. He simply started his truck and quietly headed for his apartment.

They didn't talk the whole way and once the truck stopped moving, Clay opened his eyes and wasn't all that surprised to find himself at Jason's apartment complex and not his own. He knew Jason wasn't going to allow him to be alone right now, but he wasn't too sure if that would be at his apartment or Jason's. Apparently, Jason figured it would be better at his place and Clay was just fine with that. This way Jason wouldn't see the disaster that his apartment currently was. They both got out and headed inside with Cerb right behind them. Once at Jason's apartment, he placed a hand on the small of Clay's back and guided him down to the spare bedroom that he uses for his kids.

"Come on Sunshine, let's get you into bed." Jason said, speaking for the first time since they left the infirmary.

Clay just simply began to remove his boots and stripped down to his boxers, but left his t-shirt on. He got into bed and Cerberus was instantly up on the bed and curling up into Clay. Clay wrapped his arms around Cerb and buried his face into Cerb's neck.

"Get some sleep Sunshine. We can talk and figure everything out later. The best thing for you right now is to sleep." Jason said, as he ran his hand through Clay's wavy hair.

"I'm sorry." Clay softly said.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. Everything will be ok, I promise. I love you."

The very last thing Jason was going to tolerate is Clay thinking it was all his fault. None of this was his fault. It was taking everything in Jason not to go and find Ray and Sonny and kill them right now. He blamed them for this. All of this could have been avoided if they just opened their damn mouths and said what Clay had done that pissed them off this much. They could have resolved this, it could have been squashed and Clay would have been safely protected by them. Instead, he was laying in bed suffering from anxiety and PTSD from just ten weeks of being in Echo. It was bullshit and something Jason was going to be correcting. There was no way he was going to allow Echo to get away with this or Sonny and Ray.

"I love you too." Clay said softly back.

"Get some sleep, I'll be out in the living room if you need me."

Jason headed out and closed the door. He knew Cerb could always bark if he needed out, but the day was still early so he would be fine. It didn't go unnoticed to Jason that Cerb had refused to leave Clay's side. For the past ten weeks Cerb had been weird with the team and Jason was worried that maybe his time was coming to an end. Jason had been around a good number of military dogs with being in the teams and Cerb was displaying signs that they had when they reached their limit. Cerberus was only six, but that was six years of hard work and being in a world full of violence, it wasn't easy for the dogs and Jason knew that. It was something that only Brock could decide, but Jason had a feeling Brock was leaning that way.

Jason went and got changed while he waited for Brock and Trent to get here. He knew that Brock would need to go home and grab some food for Cerb. Afterwards they would wait and see if Clay woke up. If he was still asleep after dinner, then they would head out. Once he was changed Jason grabbed his phone and called Blackburn. He was sure by now he was wondering what had been going on.

"Jason, how is he?" Blackburn asked once he answered the phone.

"It's not good. The Doc wants Clay to go on a six month medical leave. He's got anxiety and the Doc said he has PTSD."

"How did that happen?" Blackburn asked, concerned and shocked.

"Echo has been abusing Clay. Beating him and claiming it was a hard sparring session. He's covered in bruises. That verbal display in the war room was only a small taste of what they have said to him. The Doc didn't know specifics, but when Clay went in yesterday after being attacked on an op they spoke for about three hours. Echo has been keeping Clay in an Overwatch position and he's had to watch as women and children were tortured, raped and murdered."

"Fuck. He's too good of a man to be able to handle seeing something like that. What does he need?"

"To speak with a therapist and start the recovery process. His anxiety is really bad right now and he's not sleeping or eating. We're at my place right now and he's curled up with Cerb. I'm hoping to get him to sleep and afterwards we can talk. Is there a way for you to give me a week off?"

Jason wasn't sure about what they were going to do, but if he could get at least a week off that would allow him to be there to start helping Clay without having to worry about getting spun up.

"I could get you approved for the week, but that's it. Full Metal can run the team until you get back. I can only swing a week for you because you just had two weeks off."

"No, I get it, and I appreciate the week. I just want to be here for him and help get him on the right path." Jason had no idea what the right path would be, but he wasn't going to rest until Clay was starting to heal.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"No, all we can do is be there for him right now. I appreciate it though."

"Let me know if you need anything and make sure to tell him that we're thinking about him and are there for him."

"I will. What about the Op?" Not that Jason really cared, but it was a mission to help people and it did require a language that only Clay spoke. He didn't want the Upper Brass pissed at any of them.

"Mandy is working on finding a Strap to take in replace of Clay. It'll be fine. If we have someone before you are back, Bravo will go with Alpha. It's just an intel gathering mission. I don't need to tell you though that this won't look good to the Upper Brass."

Blackburn had been trying to keep things civil with the Upper Brass, but they were getting antsy with how Bravo had been clearly fractuaring. The loss of Clay also wasn't helping matters. Some of the Upper Brass were annoyed that the best team was no longer getting the added bonus of Clay's many languages. They were having to give certain missions to a lesser team or having to have a Strap now for Bravo. They also weren't happy that even with Clay off of Bravo, things hadn't settled on the team. The hostility was increasing and Blackburn knew they were ready to pull the plug on Bravo and shuffle all of the DEVGRU teams, something that would not go over well. All of the guys were brothers, but that didn't mean they liked everyone or wanted to be on a different team. Bonds are made on a team and they were a lot stronger than the bond of brotherhood.

"I know. I don't know what to do about any of this right now. I'll speak with Clay and then try and figure out Bravo. We need to squash it, but that can't happen until Sonny and Ray admit to what Clay did that was so horrible to them. If we can repair Bravo then the other teams won't have to be disrupted and that should please the Upper Brass enough."

"Assuming you can get it out of them. Take the week and when you get back we'll have a team meeting and they can either cough up the intel or they will be transferred off. It's the only way to save the other teams. You'll be down to four, but Green Team is finishing in two weeks and you can always pick two rookies. Not ideal, but if we have to then that's what we'll do."

The very last thing Jason wanted to do was get rid of Sonny and Ray not to mention picking two rookies. He couldn't imagine what that would be like or who he would even pick. He hadn't been paying much attention to Green Team this time around because he had been more focused on the team and Clay. To Jason he had the perfect team and he didn't need to add another guy into the mix, plus they now had Full Metal so they were up to seven when Clay was with them. Jason couldn't imagine running an eight man team, but now it was looking like he just might have to run with two rookies.

Jason let out a sigh before he spoke. "That wouldn't be ideal, but if it's the only way I won't have a choice. I don't even know who in Green Team is any good."

"There's one guy that has caught my eye, David Yoder, he's a friend of Clay's and he's right at the top of the class. He'd be good. Outside of him, I'm not sure. Bravo get's first pick again because despite everything that has been going on, Bravo is still in the top spot for DEVGRU teams. I'll keep an eye on the other Cadets and see if any stand out or get along well with Yoder. I'll ask the instructors too."

"Ya alright. I'll work on that when I get back. Hopefully we can get the guys to take their heads out of their asses and we won't have to worry about it." Jason said, as he ran his hand over his face.

"Keep me posted."

"Ya." Jason said, as he ended the call.

Jason let out a sigh. This whole situation was a mess and he had no idea what he was going to do to fix any of it. It all rested on Sonny and Ray's shoulders. If they didn't want to talk and finally spill the beans, there was nothing he could do about it. He would have to transfer them off to prevent any damage to the other teams. Jason was really hoping he didn't have to do that. Ray and Sonny were some of his oldest friends in DEVGRU, he didn't want to lose them as friends nor as teammates.

It was roughly fifteen minutes later when Brock and Trent walked into his apartment. Jason had been debating on opening a beer, but figured ten in the morning was way too early to start drinking. Brock put down the bin of dog food and Cerberus' bowls on the small dining room table, before they joined Jason in his living room/bedroom.

"He asleep?" Trent asked.

"I don't know, I hope so. I closed the door so he wouldn't hear us. Cerb curled up with him, so I'm hoping it helps to put him to sleep."

"You get a hold of Blackburn?" Trent asked next, pleased that Clay was at least lying down for now.

"Ya, Mandy is going to try and find a Strap. When she finds one then Bravo and Alpha will go out on the mission. I told him what Dr. Roth said, and that Clay will be down for six months. I asked for a week off and Blackburn will be able to pull it for me, but the rest of you guys are still on rotation. Full Metal will lead if you guys get spun up before I get back."

"What are we going to do about Echo?" Brock asked.

"I don't know yet. I have to talk to Clay first and see what has been happening. Then we can figure out how to proceed on that front. Eric said the Upper Brass are not impressed with how Bravo has been operating. When I get back in a week Eric is calling a team meeting. If Sonny and Ray don't finally tell us what the hell their issue is, they will be transferred to another team."

"But then we'll only have four. Even if Clay comes back, that won't be for six months. We can't operate that many down." Trent said.

"Green Team is done in two weeks, Eric said if we had to transfer Sonny and Ray off, then we would be picking two rookies to fill out the team."

"Two rookies?" Brock said just as unhappy about it as Jason.

It was no secret that having two rookies on a DEVGRU team was going to be a lot of work. However, they would if that was what they had to do. It was going to be a lot of work though and you would have to try and get personalities to mesh with two new guys. It was far from a perfect scenario, but it might be the only scenario they had to work with.

"I know, but we might not have a choice. It really depends on if we can fix things on Bravo, but we can't if Sonny and Ray don't talk. Hopefully in a week they will talk and we can start to fix things. It's not going to be perfect, but maybe by the time Clay comes back things will be repaired between them." Jason said, but he was trying his best to not allow himself to be hopeful.

"I don't want to go to the worst case scenario, but Jase, you know how serious PTSD is. There's a chance that Clay might not be able to come back. You have to be prepared for that." Trent said gently.

He was the medic, it only made sense that he was the one to truly understand the seriousness of this situation. Yes, lots of sailors and soldiers had PTSD and they operated just fine with it. In Trent's opinion Jason had it, but he was able to function with it inside an operation. Outside of it his life was a bit of a mess and he couldn't handle the quiet, it's why he ran the microwave without anything in it just to have some white noise. Clay though, he wasn't like Jason in that sense. His mind wouldn't be able to handle seeing the violence, the triggers in the field like Jason could. Not to mention the effect the anxiety would have on his body. All of that was before you factor in his personal life that would forever be destroyed. If Clay couldn't overcome his PTSD, the very last place he should be was the Middle East.

"We got six months before we have to even cross the bridge. He could be fine. He needs to speak to someone and get it worked out. We don't know what the Shrink will say. He could come back and when he does his spot on Bravo will be there."

Jason wasn't about to count Clay out. He had survived growing up in war torn villages in West Africa, he could survive this.

"There is something we do need to talk about Brock." Jason said, changing gears. Talking about Clay wasn't going to resolve anything. He needed time to sleep and to eat.

"You're worried about Cerb, but he's fine. He was just feeling the tension in the team." Brock simply said, but Trent could tell his best friend wasn't feeling confident in it.

"It's more than that Brock. He wouldn't listen to you in the field. He got spooked and ran, the only reason we didn't have to chase after him was because I was able to grab his vest. He's not listening to any of us, he's lashing out at Sonny and Ray and he's getting spooked when bombs are going off." Trent gently stated.

"We've all been around K9s enough to see the signs Brock. I don't want to see him go, I love the Hair Missile, but maybe it's time for him to just be a dog." Jason calmly said.

He knew Cerberus was Brock's dog, his partner, but he also knew that it was very dangerous for all of them to be out in the field with a k9 that couldn't handle the life anymore. Cerberus was six, he had been doing this for four years, which doesn't seem like much, but for a military dog it was a lot. Cerb had seen a lot while being in DEVGRU and not all dogs were designed to handle it long-term.

Brock let out a sigh and ran his hand over his face before he spoke. "It's not the life that he can't handle. I knew when Clay joined the team that things would be different. Cerb wanted to spend his time with him. Dogs pick their partners, but Cerb didn't pick me. He was given to me when his original handler was killed in the line of duty. Cerb was two then and at the time I had to retire my current partner. We were put together out of necessity. Cerb picked Clay, it's why I taught him how to run the drills with Cerb and how to be a handler in the field."

"And for the past ten weeks his partner hasn't been with us." Trent stated with complete understanding in his voice.

"I didn't know you and Cerb hadn't always been together." Jason commented.

"We make a good team, Cerb is very good at what he does. But without Clay for these past ten weeks, he's essentially been mourning the loss of his partner. He'll be fine as long as Clay is with us, but if he's not with us." Brock said, but he didn't need to finish that sentence.

"We can't run that way though Brock." Jason said sympathetically.

"I know. I've been working with another dog, Pepper, he did pick me. He's just shy of two and will be ready to start working in two weeks. I've been working with Pepper on my time off for a year now."

"Why?" Trent asked. Normally when you had a k9 partner you didn't work with other dogs.

"In case something happened to Clay. Cerb wouldn't be able to handle it if Clay died or could no longer be active. He would react just like he has been, so I wanted to make sure we have another dog ready. One that picked me from the start to be his partner. It was just a precaution, but it looks like it's going to pay off."

Brock had been preparing for this since the first time he saw how Cerberus reacted to Clay. He had grown up around dogs his whole life. His parents were trainers and ran a boarding kennel, he knew dogs. He knew that Cerb had picked Clay to be his partner and he was ok with that. Clay had instantly shown Cerb love and he was a good man. Brock knew that one day it could happen where Cerb found someone that he connected with on a deeper level. He was prepared for it and he knew that he was just a holding place until Cerb found his true partner. Brock hadn't taken offense to it. He understood dogs and he knew better than anyone the connection true partners share. He had lost his own partner when Cerb came into his life. They were both looking for someone to be there for the other and the partnership worked. Now it was time for Cerb to get his partner and Brock could do so knowing that Clay and Cerb would be great for each other.

"Is he field tested?" Jason asked.

"Not yet, but I can field test him when we get spun up next. To dogs though, practice and the field, it's all the same thing. They don't know that the bombs and bullets are fake, to them it's all work and fun."

"Cerb is your dog, your partner, only you can decide what is best for him and when it's time for him to move on. We will support whatever you decide." Jason said.

"These past ten weeks have only confirmed what I suspected. Cerb wants Clay and they both need each other. I can fill out the paperwork tomorrow and have Cerb retire." Brock stated.

"Are you sure?" Trent asked, not wanting to force his best friend's hand.

"I am. They'll be good for each other. Cerb will help with Clay's PTSD and hopefully get him healthy again. That's all that matters."

"If you think this is what is best, then we support you." Jason said with a small warm smile.

"It's what they both need and we'll still see Cerb. It'll be good for them." Brock said confidently.

"Alright, well, I look forward to meeting Pepper." Jason said with a smile.

"We gotta spoil him." Trent said with a smirk.

"He's really good during practice. He'll be great in the field and he's young so he's got a lot of years left in him." Brock commented.

"Can't wait to meet him." Jason said.

It was going to be a change not having Cerberus with them, but Jason knew that Clay would take very good care of him and they would all still get to see Cerb when they were around Clay. Now he just needed to get Clay sorted out and hopefully he could get Bravo back to what they were before this whole mess started.

XXX

It wasn't until eight that night when the bedroom door opened and Clay came out with Cerberus right beside him. Jason instantly noticed that Clay didn't look any better. He hadn't heard any nightmares, but that didn't mean that Clay hadn't had any. Jason hated that he couldn't make Clay feel better. That he couldn't make his son better. He hated that he couldn't protect him from all of this. That he hadn't been able to get Sonny and Ray to admit to what they had supposedly seen that made them instantly hate Clay. His son looked like death and there was nothing he could do to magically fix it.

"Hey Sunshine, how are you feeling?" Jason asked, gently as Clay sat down on the couch.

"Tired." Clay simply said.

"You sit here, I gotta take Cerb out and then feed him. I'll be right back in two minutes." Jason said, as he got up.

Clay just simply gave a nod and watched as Jason got the leash on Cerberus and headed out. He knew he should be worried about whatever conversation Jason was working up to having, but right now he couldn't bring himself to be. He was so tired, of just everything. All he wanted to do was hide under the covers and never come out, but he knew that Cerb needed to eat and that was why he had forced his body to get out of bed. He had been sleeping off and on all day. He would have a nightmare and then that would keep him from falling back asleep. It was an endless battle, one that he wasn't certain he would be able to win.

True to his word, Jason was back within two minutes and grabbing Cerb his dinner as he spoke. "How about some soup?"

"I'm not hungry." The very last thing Clay wanted was food right now. His stomach was constantly up in knots and no matter what he ate, it always came right back up.

"You need to try and eat something Sunshine." Jason said gently. He didn't want to force Clay, but he could tell he had barely been eating in the past ten weeks.

"Everything I eat, I throw up and I'm assuming you don't want to sit in silence, that you want to talk. Talking will make it worse." Clay weakly said.

Jason didn't want to let this go, but he could see that Clay was not going to eat no matter what he said. He could always try to get him to eat something afterwards. He grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and opened it as he went over to Clay and handed it to him before he sat down. Clay took a very small sip before he placed the water down on the coffee table.

"We do need to talk about what has been going on for the past ten weeks. Dr. Roth told us about your injuries. He told us that the guys on Echo have been beating you and claiming it as training. He told us about your anxiety and the chat that you guys had yesterday for a few hours. How he wanted you to go on medical leave for six months, because he believes you have PTSD."

"I don't have that." Clay said, as he brought his right hand over to scratch the back of his left hand.

Jason instantly noticed the defensive tone and Clay's movement. His eyes landed on the back of Clay's left hand and could see that it was red and raw. This hadn't been the first time he had scratched at it. Jason reached over and placed his hand overtop of Clay's. He knew he needed to handle this gently. He hadn't been too sure about the PTSD, but he could see the signs. Now that he had calmed down, he could see just how sick Clay was and it wasn't from a physical illness. If he wasn't careful, he could lose his son.

"You're hurting your hand." Jason calmly said, as he took Clay's right hand into his own to stop him from scratching as he continued. "I'm not telling you this to make you upset. I'm not mad, I'm not disappointed, I'm not judging. I'm just letting you know what I already know so you can pick what you want to talk about. We can talk about all of it, we can talk about some of it or we can talk about none of it. I'm here for you, talk to me Sunshine."

Clay didn't want to talk about any of it though. He wanted to forget that it all had even happened. He wanted to run away and hide from the world. He didn't want to have PTSD, he couldn't have PTSD, because that meant he was broken and he couldn't be broken. He couldn't be useless and worthless like that. Clay couldn't stop the tear that ran down his cheek and at the sight of it Jason was done. He pulled Clay towards him as he spoke.

"Come here Sunshine."

Clay curled into Jason's arms and allowed the tears to finally fall. Jason simply wrapped his arms around him and just held onto him. He didn't offer any comforting words, because there was nothing he could say to him that would make any of this better. He didn't promise him he would be ok, because he didn't know if that would be a lie or not. He did the one thing that he could do, he held onto him and allowed Clay to cry his heart out for as long as he needed.

It was a good twenty minutes later when Clay's tears finally stopped. He pulled back and Jason instantly brought his hands up to Clay's cheeks and wiped the tears away. Jason knew he needed to do something. He had to do something to help Clay, to help his son, because he was losing him to that big and beautiful mind of his. Cerberus was instantly jumping up onto the couch and curling up against Clay to try and offer him some support.

"Sorry." Clay softly said for crying.

"Don't ever apologise for being in pain Sunshine. Dr. Roth filled out the paperwork for you to be off for six months on medical. I have them with me, all you have to do is sign them and I really think you should."

"I can't just take six months off. People will talk, they'll speculate why I'm off that long." Clay said anxious about what rumours could go around base about him.

"So what? Let them talk. Who cares? The guys that love you, that know you, they'll tell everyone that wants to talk shit to shut the hell up. We all have your back and we all want you to be healthy. Sunshine, even if you sign them and decide that you only need three months or two, then you can always come back early. No one is forcing you to be gone for six months."

Clay had to agree with Jason, even if he took the six months off, he could go back when he felt ready to. He didn't have to take the full six months as long as he was cleared medically to come back. Guys do it all the time when they get injured and heal up faster than expected. He could just take a quick break, just enough to get his body back to normal.

"Ok, I'll sign it, but I won't need that long."

"Take as long as you need. I called Blackburn and I got the week off. I was thinking maybe we could go somewhere."

Jason still wasn't too sure about Clay being out of the city, away from the guys. However, seeing Clay still looking this bad he was not about to count anything out at this point. If a week out of the city would help Clay to heal, then he was all for it. He just didn't want his son to look so dead anymore.

"Where?" Clay asked, but he wasn't really sure he wanted to go anywhere but his own bed.

"We can go anywhere. Dr. Roth had said you mentioned you had a cousin in Chicago."

Jason wasn't sure if Clay really did want to go to Chicago, but the fact that Clay had mentioned his cousin Jason suspected that he wanted to go and see him.

"Ya, two actually. Jay and Will. I'm closer to Jay than Will."

"You've never talked about them. What's their story?" Jason asked, always interested in learning more about Clay's background. Clay was still pretty closed off about his childhood. Jason understood, he couldn't imagine what he had been through growing up.

"We didn't find out about each other until I turned eighteen and came back to the States. The military took my DNA and ran it to ensure I wasn't a criminal, like they do with everyone. It came back with a familiar match to Jay. We had no idea that we had a cousin out there. My mother and their mother were sisters, mine was younger."

"How did you end up in Virginia Beach or how did they end up in Chicago?"

"My mother was from Chicago. I didn't know, she died when I was five so I barely knew her. I don't even really remember her. After I met them, Will was able to get the full story from their father Pat. My mother lived with Jay and Will's parents for years. She had been doing heroin on and off, but when their mother got pregnant with Will she was given a choice to stay sober or leave, she left. She got to Virginia Beach somehow and eight years later Ash got her pregnant with me."

"And you've met them since you discovered them?"

"I did ya. I wasn't sure at first, but I had Jay's name so I looked him up. I reached out about six months later and we talked on the phone a few times a week and he came out to visit me. He was there when I graduated from Boot Camp and from Buds. I saw Jay a lot more than Will."

Jason couldn't help but wonder why he saw Jay over Will more. He also was curious why Jay's DNA would be within the system.

"What are they like?"

"Will is nice and a good guy. It took us a while to get to know each other. He was in New York for a while, he just moved back to Chicago five years ago. Him and Jay had a strained relationship too, but within the past five years he's been trying with the both of us."

"What's his issue?" Jason asked, not liking that a person who was supposed to be family had been turning his back on his own brother, plus Clay.

"He's a surgeon, but he also did work in Sudan helping there with Doctors without Borders. Jay had said things growing up were hard. Their dad drank a lot and he could get violent towards Jay. Will had always been there for him, but once he went off to university he kinda just focused on his own life. I think it was easier for him than having to worry and wonder what was going on back home with Jay. Then Jay joined the Army and became a Ranger. I think for Will it was really hard to know that his kid brother was out there going to war and could die at any moment. He's been really different though since he's been back in Chicago. He works as an ER doctor in Chicago Med."

Jason could understand that. It would be hard for someone to have to watch their younger sibling go off to war and not know if they were coming back or not. He could only imagine for a doctor it would be even harder.

"That makes sense and it sounds like he's trying to make up for it. An Army Ranger, that's no joke." Jason said, impressed. He knew there was an old beef between Army and Navy, but he could respect an Army Ranger. They were the best of the best for the Army.

"Ya, he had just gotten out about a year before I turned eighteen. He was in for six years before he was honorably discharged. He's got a lot of medals, including three purple hearts. He's a sniper too and he speaks five languages. We had a lot in common so we connected pretty easily. He's been working within the CPD for about eight years. He's been a detective within the Intelligence Unit for the past seven years."

"He sounds like a great guy. Why haven't you ever mentioned them?" Jason asked, confused.

"Jay is pretty private and because of the missions he's been on it's just safer not to talk about him. His Ranger unit was a black ops unit. There were eighteen of them and they did missions that were deemed the highest level of classification. They are all still classified and Jay's record is completely blacked out, even his full name. I know none of the guys would have said anything, but it's just safer to not talk about him. Just like him and Will don't talk about me to people they know."

That made perfect sense to Jason. He knew of a lot of guys that worked black ops that you couldn't even know they existed. Some of the operations they did were basically suicide and it took a lot out of them. Jason held a great deal of respect for a man that could survive those missions and be able to still have a life afterwards.

"I understand that. I'd like to meet them, maybe we could go and spend the week in Chicago. If you feel up for it."

Jason had no interest in going to Chicago personally. He would have rather spent his time helping to get Clay back on his feet and getting him in to speak with someone. However, if Clay did need some time away from Virginia Beach, then spending some time with family could be a good idea. And it did help Jason to feel better knowing that one was a doctor and the other was an ex-ranger. They both would be able to help Clay with what he was currently struggling with.

"You want to go to Chicago?" Clay asked, slightly surprised.

"I'll go anywhere you want to go. If you want to go and see them, then let's go. We can drive if you want or get on a plane tomorrow morning. Shit, I'll get in the car right now and we can be there tomorrow morning. If you think it will help, if you need to get away from this city and the people, then let's go."

Clay wasn't sure what he wanted to do, but it warmed his heart to hear that Jason would go anywhere with him. That he would drive fourteen hours just to take him to Chicago. Clay would be lying if he said he hadn't been thinking about leaving the city. About leaving the Navy and starting over fresh somewhere else. He wasn't about to tell Jason that, not yet, but he did like the thought of getting away from the city for a little while.

"I would like to go, to get away from everything." Clay admitted.

"Then let's go. We can fly out tomorrow morning if you want. I can book us a flight and we can find a hotel for the week." Jason offered.

"Ok, let me call Jay and see if tomorrow works. I don't know if he's undercover. I've only reached out to him twice in the past ten weeks."

"I'll go and grab your phone." Jason easily said, as he stood up,

Clay let out a shaky breath. He had no idea what it was going to be like being in Chicago. He had never been there, but he was hoping Jay would be ok with them just showing up. He had no idea what he was doing for work and he didn't want to just show up if Jay was buried in cases. Jason walked back and handed Clay his phone as he spoke.

"Do you think you could handle some chicken noodle soup? I have that old school kind where it's mostly broth and noodles."

Clay was not hungry, but he did know he needed something in his system, especially if he was going to be flying tomorrow.

"Ok, I can try."

"That's all I ask Sunshine." Jason said with a warm smile.

Clay let out a shaky breath as Jason headed over to his kitchen. Clay pulled up Jay's number as he scratched Cerb's head. After three rings Jay answered.

"Hey Spense, how are you?" Jay's warm voice always had an interesting effect on Clay.

Clay wasn't sure what it was, but hearing Jay's voice, being around him, it had this calming effect on Clay. They were cousins, but they were closer than that. Jay always felt like a big brother and he treated him like one. It was why Clay wanted to go and see Jay so badly. He wanted the calm that Jay always brought to him.

"Um… not good. I know you're busy with work, but I was thinking about coming up there."

"Ya, anytime you know that. When were you thinking?"

"Tomorrow morning. I know it's short notice." Clay started, but Jay cut him off.

"You can show up whenever you want or need to Spense, we're family. You coming alone?"

"Um, no Jason is gonna come with me. He's got the week off."

"How long do you have off?"

Clay had a feeling that Jay wouldn't have missed the part of just Jason having the week off. For the past ten weeks, they had barely spoken to each other, because Clay knew Jay would pick up on his anxiety and problems. He would have asked Clay to come down and that would have been Clay's undoing. Now that he had Jason's support to go, Clay wished he was already there.

"Up to six months for medical. It's a long story, I don't really want to get into it right now."

"Ok, we can talk about it when you're ready. Let me know when your plane gets in and either I'll pick you up or Will if I get stuck at the station. Do you guys have a hotel?"

"Not yet. We haven't looked yet. We just decided to come up."

"You can crash at mine. I got a two bedroom, you know that. I can crash in Will's spare room and you guys can stay at mine." Jay easily offered.

"Are you sure?" Clay asked, not wanting to put Jay out of his own place.

"Ya, no point in you guys spending money on a hotel. Crash at mine. You can stay as long as you want, you know that Spense."

"I appreciate it. I'll text you later when we know what our flight is."

"Alright, I can't wait to see you. It's been too long." Jay said warmly.

"I know. I'll see you tomorrow I guess." Clay hadn't seen either of them since before he went into Green Team. It was going to be good to see them again, to get a hug from Jay.

"Definitely. I love ya Kid."

"Love you too."

Clay ended the call just as Jason went and sat down with his laptop so they could book a flight for tomorrow.

"Everything all good?" Jason asked.

"Ya. He said him or Will would pick us up from the airport, to just text when we know our flight. He also said we could crash at his place. He's got a two bedroom and so does Will. He'll crash at Will's and we can crash at his place."

"That's nice of him. And it makes things easier for us. We just need tickets. On the way to the airport tomorrow we can stop at the base and drop off your signed medical leave paperwork. We can also grab you some clothes at your place."

"What about Cerb? Is Brock coming back to grab him tonight?"

Clay really didn't want Cerb to be gone. He had been able to get some sleep today because of him and he was hoping that Cerb would be able to spend the night.

"Cerb has been acting up for the past ten weeks. He's not listening to Brock, he's getting spooked in the field. He is even snapping at Ray and Sonny, not that I can blame him. Brock thinks it's time for Cerb to be retired."

"It's been that bad?" Clay asked, surprised. Cerb seemed to be fine with him. He wasn't seeing anything seriously wrong with him. But he also wasn't out in the field with him for the past ten weeks. Still, leading up to his time off of Bravo, Cerb was fine.

"We almost had to go and look for him during an op while on tour. Explosions were going off around us, we were taking fire and Cerb panicked and ran. Trent had been able to grab him by his vest to keep him with us. He's been ignoring Brock and not doing well during drills. Brock says it's time for him to be a normal dog now. Brock is hoping that you'll keep him."

"Me?" Clay asked, surprised. He would have figured Cerb would stay with Brock or go to someone that was no longer active.

"Ya, you and Cerb have always shared a special bond. Cerb only wants you and he would be good company for you. We can bring him to Chicago with us. I have his vests, we can put it on him and he can go right on the plane with us. I can text Brock and let him know that we'll be going away for the week and we can stop off at his place to grab what we need for Cerb. Or if you felt up to it later, we could grab it and pack your bag so tomorrow we just have to drop off your paperwork to the base."

"Might be easier tonight, if Brock is ok with that."

"I'll shoot him off a text, but he'll be good with it. There's a direct flight tomorrow morning at nine, gets in two hours later."

"Ya, anytime is fine with me." Clay easily said. He just wanted to be there.

"That's the first flight tomorrow. You ok with waiting until then?"

Jason could see how badly Clay wanted to escape the city. He could understand it. He would want to be out of the city too if it was triggering horrible feelings or memories. He understood Clay's need for an escape.

"Ya, it makes sense to go in the morning. We have to get things organized and ready to head out, plus the paperwork needs to be submitted so I'm not AWOL. I'll be ok."

"I'll book it right now. Do you want to text Brock and see if we can swing by tonight to grab things for Cerb?"

Clay gave a nod and unlocked his phone. He couldn't believe that he was actually going to be in Chicago tomorrow. He would get to spend the week with Jay and maybe by the end of it he wouldn't feel like he was drowning. Maybe he just needed a week with Jay in order to be able to handle the world again. Tomorrow he would be on a plane heading to Chicago and maybe by the time he came back he wouldn't feel like he wanted to go to sleep and never wake up again.

A/N: Ok, so what do you think? Do you want more? Do you wish I never made this? Tell me what you think so I know if this is a story I should be pursuing or just take down and we'll pretend like I never wrote it.