The familiar hum of the C-17 woke Jenna from her light sleep, she opened her sleep filled eyes and turned her head to look around and she found Jason and Ray engaged in some conversation, Eric and Mandy reviewing the mission whilst sharing two beers, Sonny, clay and Trent asleep and Brock and Cerb swaying in the hammock next to hers.
Jenna swung her legs over the side of her hammock and pushed her dusty and greasy hair back into a new ponytail and went over to her medical bag and started to check it through, whilst making a list of the things she'd used and the things that needed replacing. Although the mission had been a success she'd still needed to use a few of her extensive resources, Clay had tripped over a branch and twisted his ankle, so Jenna had to wrap it, whilst Cerb had managed to get some thorns in his paws so the antiseptic was needed there too. And the usual stuff like water, mosquito repellent and blister plasters. She made her list and grabbed a beer out of the ice box and made her way over to Jason.
"Hey, you good" she asked as she eyed him up, checking for any injuries she'd missed (or Jason hadn't told her about). He rolled his eyes and placed his hand on her shoulder, "I'm fine, stop worrying and relax Jen" he said with a smile. She sat down on the bench beside him and placing the beer between her feet in the floor, wiped her hands over her face and sighed, the silver chain dangling between her hands and her chest.
"It's my job to worry Jace, me and Trent, it's our job to keep you guys safe if you're injured, our job to make sure you guys make it home and hell even if it's a blister I want to make sure you're okay" Jenna said, looking up she realised both Ray and Trent were now non subtly listening in to the conversation. She smiled and took another sip of her beer. Jason just placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and got up to get ready for landing. Jenna got up and went to go and pack her bag and make sure she had everything.
—-
Matthew Stewart couldn't help but glance at his phone everything fifteen seconds, whenever Jen was due to come home he was always like this. 'Jittery' as Robin (his and Jen's twelve year old son) had described it. Currently Robin, Jesse and Evan were sitting in the truck listening to Coldplay and most likely arguing about something. Matt had stationed himself at the end of the truck leaning against the back of it and waiting to hear the familiar thrum of the C-17 grace his ears.
Him and Jen had met in Green Team and had made friends quickly, she'd already gained a medical degree specialising in trauma treatment by the time he'd met her and together they qualified SERE training and entered Bravo team. But it was only five years in that he had to leave on medical discharge. A particularly tricky mission had ended up in him being blown up and losing his leg below the knee. It had broken his heart to leave bravo and leave behind Jen, but not as much as it had hurt Jen.
But one positive to come out of his medical discharge was that they could finally get married and start a family, and they had. They bought a five bedroom house just outside of Virginia and brought three beautiful children into the world. The first child was Jesse, she was born in July sixteen years ago, four years later Jen had brought Robin into the world and two years later Evan was born in June. Two boys and one girl had brought undeniable happiness into Matt's otherwise dull world and Jen had continued working with Bravo and excelling in her job. Matt focused on raising the kids and settling into post bravo life, but eventually Jen's mother had offered to train him as a family lawyer and work in the family business and so Matt went from being in the Navy to being behind a desk.
Checking his phone for the millionth time Matt turned to see Jesse getting out of the car and come over to him. She had her dark brown hair in a messy bun, her green eyes shone with fondness as she wrapped her arms around his waist and snuggled her head into his chest. "Mom will be okay dad, I promise, so there is no need to worry. And they would have told us if she wasn't" she murmured, her words muffled by his grey t-shirt. Matt smiled and wrapped his free arm around his daughter and slipped his phone into his back pocket.
"Yeah she's fine" he muttered to himself. He couldn't get rid of the tight knot in his stomach, it was a familiar feeling and he'd felt it the first time he had seen all of his children walk. But he felt it every time he said goodbye to Jen, every time there was a knock at the door, every time his phone rang when she was deployed, every time a seal team was mentioned on the news. But he had learned to live with the worry.
—-
When Jen stepped off the C-17 her bag slung over her shoulder and her hair blowing in the wind created by the plane, she saw Matt leaning against the end of the truck, dressed in black jeans, a grey t-shirt and a plaid shirt, sunglasses rested on his head and Jesse in his arms. She smiled and started to walk over to them when Robin and Evan saw her and launched themselves out of the truck and sprinted over to her. Jen dropped her bag on the ground and crouched down into a squat so she could pick Evan up.
Evan bounded into her welcoming arms and Jen scooped him up in one arm and hugged Robin in the other. As she looked up she could see Matt coming over with Jesse beside him a large and relieved smile on his face. After carefully putting Evan on the ground on his own two feet, Jen pulled Matt into a strong embrace. "I've missed you" she whispered as he wrapped his arms around her middle and buried his head in her hair.
"I've missed you too, I'm glad your home safe" he murmured into her hair. Jen smiled and let herself sink into his embrace.
—-
Jen stood in the shower, letting the hot water run down her face and body and finally, drip off onto the floor of the shower. She scrubbed the Afghan grime off her arms and face and tried as best as she could to wash out the dust and sand out of her hair. As she turned to get the shower gel, she saw a small bottle of pink shower gel tucked in the corner of the shower rack, picking it up she undid the lid and smelt it. It smelt gross, she never would have bought it for herself and Jesse never came into their bathroom, she had her own one. Jen thought nothing of it and washed and got out of the shower.
After she'd dried herself off, she got dressed and went downstairs. She found Matt standing at the kitchen island feeding Evan, who was sitting on the island soup all around his face, he was giggling as Matt made tractor noises while feeding him. Jen smiled and walked over to where Robin was playing a rather violent looking video game in the lounge.
"What are you playing Rob?" She asked as she sat down next to him. He didn't reply, just carried on playing, completely unaware of the fact his mom was sitting next to him. She asked again but he didn't reply so she got up, unplugged the tv and stood there with her arms folded.
"What did you do that for?" Robin sniped whilst getting up and trying to get past Jen. Jen sighed, "so I could talk to you and don't speak to me like that again Robin" she said.
"I don't want to talk to you so leave me alone" Robin shouted, after which he grabbed his stuff and ran upstairs, slamming every door purposefully to make a point. "What was all that about" Matt called from the kitchen, Jen just walked into the kitchen and upstairs into her and matts bedroom.
Jen sighed and sat on the side of the bed. She had always known that her job was hard on Matt and the kids and that it was difficult for the kids as they got older and especially for Robin as he was always very close to her as a young boy. Matt told her to ignore him that he's only trying to get attention, but Jen had always believed there was something else, and she'd tried to talk to Robin about it, but as per he'd shut down completely and told her to go away.
So now as Jen sat on the bed, listening to Robin cry (not so quietly) all she wanted to do was go and give him the biggest and longest hug she'd ever given him, but she knew Robin wanted to be by himself so she didn't. Instead Jen went to tidy up their room.
She picked up her towel and hung it over the door, she picked up Matt's clothes that were strewn about all over the place and hung them up in the wardrobe. Just as Jen was hanging up a pair of jeans, she saw a white shirt still wrapped up, shoved in the bottom left corner of the wardrobe. She picked it up and saw that there was a note on it, to Matt, happy birthday x.
Picking it up, Jen went downstairs and dumped it on the island in front of Matt. "What's this?" She asked
Matt looked at her, surprised. He put down the dishcloth he was holding, took her hand and pulled her into the hall, shutting the door behind him. "It's a gift, Jen" he said leaning against the stair banister.
"A gift from who hm, you gonna tell me or just leave it at that" Jen snapped. Matt didn't say anything, he just stood still, staring into her eyes, his arms folded across his chest. As Jen looked carefully, tears started to form in his eyes, and then he pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it. He passed it to her. It was a list, a list of names, mainly men and towards the end was his, Matthew Stewart.
"What's this?" She asked "why is your name on this list Matt" She asked again.
He stepped forward and took her hand and placed them against his chest. "When you were away at work, a list of names was leaked illegally by an unknown online source. This list of names was from a website. It was a website designed for anyone to sign up, make a profile and meet people." He said.
"What do you mean, meet people" Jen asked, she didn't like where this was going. A tight knot started to form in her stomach, her hands started to sweat and she could feel her heart beating faster. "Answer me Matt, please" she begged.
"It was a dating website" he whispered. He grasped her hands tighter and brought his lips to her fingers, kissing them repeatedly whilst murmuring that he was sorry. Jen pulled away, she couldn't believe this was happening.
Turning around she opened the piece of paper and folded it so all she could see was Matt's name. "No, no" she whined, her voice breaking. "No" she cried. Matt tried to pull her into a hug, but she pushed him away, he fell into the wall. "No" she said again.
She ran upstairs and shut the door. Jen sank down next to the door crying. The tears wouldn't stop, her shirt was wet where her tears had dropped from her face. Some of the tears were rolling down her neck and creating tear lines. Getting up Jen grabbed her bag, coat and keys. Shrugging her coat on she went back downstairs put her trainers on, and pushing past Matt and blocking out his apologies went out of the door and got into her car.
Jen drove, she didn't have a destination but eventually she found herself at the reservoir where Matt proposed to her. She got out of the car and walked to the edge of the water. Where she plonked herself down on the grass and let the evening sun glow over her. She raised her tear tracked face to the sun and closed her eyes letting the tears fall, now nobody could hear or see her. The wind blew her loose hair around her face and a few stray hairs stuck to her wet face.
After a few minutes Jen crossed her legs and picked up her phone. Three missed calls from Matt and about ten texts from him. It was 17:00, the guys would be gathering at Rays for a bbq about now, she was supposed to be there, she even said she'd come early to help Naima prepare. She'd give it fifteen minutes before Jason or Ray called asking where she was.
And true to form fifteen minutes later Jason was calling her. Swiping the tears from her face and clearing her throat she answered the call. "Hey Jace" she said, "yeah sorry I'm forgot, I'll be there soon." She replied. "I'm fine, yeah I'm just at the reservoir, see you soon" she said as she hung up. Jenna swiped the tears from her eyes, smoothed down her hair and got up and into her car.
—-
Matt didn't know how long he stood in the hall staring at the door. Jenna hadn't even said a word when she walked out. All Matt could hear was the heartbreaking mantra of 'no' that Jen had repeated as she clung to the paper that held his name on it. Sighing Matt turned around and went into the kitchen, he chucked his phone on the sofa behind the table and taking Evan's hand guided him into the lounge, where he sat in between Jesse and Robin on the sofa, And with Evan on his lap, Matt switched friends on and hugged his kids.
—-
Jason had know Jenna for eight or nine years now, she was the first person he recruited from green team when he became bravo 1. And then a few months later he recruited Matt, together they were a formidable pair, they physically matched each other and they were an asset to the team. Jen took Trent under her wing and trained him to be one of the navy's best medics and Matt took Brock under his wing and trained him to become one of the most reliable men Jason has ever known. And so when Matt was blown up it hit the team really hard especially Brock, and Jen as those three were always the closest. A bit like him Ray and Sonny.
So Jason just knew that when Jen answered his call, something was wrong. But he didn't press the matter, knowing that she would tell him when she was ready. A knock at the door distracted Jason from his thoughts. Walking over to the door, he undid the latch and opened it to find and teary eyed Jen with messy hair and a disheveled look to her usual clean cut self. "Jen you okay?" He asked, concern etching his features. She didn't say anything just walked past him and Ray, who had materialised out of nowhere and straight into the downstairs bathroom.
Jason and Ray stood outside in the hallway for a good ten minutes before Jen came out of the bathroom, makeup done and hair brushed. "I need a drink" she said before following Ray into the kitchen and pouring herself a rather large and strong gin and tonic. After she took at least three sips (more like gulps) Jason decided to approach the subject once more.
"So, are you gonna tell us what's wrong Jen, or do I need to tie your hands together and torture the information out of you?" Jason asked. She just looked at him, with those dark green eyes peering into his soul, she took another sip of her drink and said "no" with such vehemence that it shocked Jason so much he took a step back into Ray, who murmured 'what the hell man' whilst pushing him off his toes. Jason just stood there as he watched Jen walk out of the house into the garden to greet Jameelah and RJ.
"Nice one man, real well handled" Ray said whilst cracking open another beer and handing it to him. Jason just sighed and took a sip of his beer. If Jen wasn't gonna open up to him, there sure was someone else she would open up to. Jason patted ray on the shoulder and made his way over to Brock who was lounging in a deck chair lazily throwing a ball for Cerb.
"Hey man" Jason said as he sat down next to Brock in another deck chair. Brock just looked at him, smiled and carried on throwing the ball for his dog. "I want you to talk to Jenna for me, something's up and she won't tell me, but I sure know she will open up to you". Jason said between sips of his drink.
"Sure man, I'll talk to her" Brock replied, he then reached down and grabbed a treat for Cerb and threw it to the dog and walked off to find Jen.
—
Brock found Jen at the front of Ray's house, sitting on the steps of the porch. Her brown hair was being blown around in the wind and she had a beer in her hand. He sat down beside her and clinked his bottle with hers and nudged her shoulder. She turned too look at him and when his eyes saw her teary eyes something broke in his heart.
Brock put his beer down, took her face in his hands and pulled her close to his chest, "what's up with Jenna huh, you're not usually like this" he murmured, she pulled away sniffling and she wiped the tears from her face.
Clearing her throat and sitting up straight Jen gave a half smile, "I think Matt has been having an affair with someone. Well actually I know he is, he kinda admitted it to me when I found a gift addressed to him in our closet." She said between hiccups. Brock just pulled her into a tight hug and let her cry on his shirt. Brock hugged Jen tighter when she started to shake and hiccup the crying turning into wet animalistic sobs and it didn't stop, it was like he could hear her heart braking.
Brock looked up to find, Trent, Jason, Ray, Sonny and Clay standing by the side gate of Ray's house watching their friend sob their heart out. They walked over quietly and each offered their own support. Jason a hand on her shoulder, Ray a hand on her thigh, Trent a packet of tissues, Sonny a new beer and Clay a pat on the knee.
—
The guys didn't know how long they all sat there on the porch, silently supporting their friend.
But eventually the crying stopped and Jen pulled away from Brock's hug and drying her eyes with the tissues from Trent and taking a sip of the beer from Sonny. She gave a small smile, got up and went inside to grab her coat and bag from the hall when a hand on her arm stopped her in her tracks. It was Naima.
" you're not going anywhere tonight, you're staying here. Whatever's going on at home you don't need to be there tonight. You can have the spare room okay." She said whilst guiding her to the lounge where the kids were watching a film. Ray mouthed a thank you to Naima and said that he'd keep in touch with the guys and let them know if anything happened.
And with that reassurance, the guys left and went home.