Chapter Three : The Great and Mighty

Theresa let her eyes flicker around the shrink's office. She really didn't want to be here. Having your feelings and life poked at by someone who had no idea what it was like, made Theresa on edge, snappy and more unco-operative than usual. She ran a hand through her freshly cut hair. Long enough to be tied in a pony tail but short enough not to bother her, her hair reached just past her collar bone now instead of her waist.

"What would you like to talk about?" Doctor Julie Kruger asked after an extended period of silence.

"Not much of a talker." Theresa shrugged, propping her feet up on the doctors glass coffee table. She saw the shrink tense and smirked. Pushing people's buttons is a habit of hers.

"Must be hard to be a woman on an all male team." Julie said, looking for a reaction from the SEAL. She couldn't read her, well she could, but only what Theresa wanted her to see. That she is bored her and would like to leave.

"Not really." Theresa shook her head. "They treat me with respect and trust me as much as anyone on our team."

"What about others?" Julie pressed, still looking for something from Theresa. She didn't know what, but anything other than seemingly never ending boredom would be considered a break through.

"Others?" The female SEAL echoed, not understanding.

"Fellow members of the Navy." The doctor elaborated.

"I'm sure your fancy but heavily redacted file on me has told you that I'm a stubborn hot-heated with the tendancy to ignore authority figures. That in and of itself should give you the answer to that question." Theresa gave her a coy smirk.

"I've heard that you only respond to orders Lieutenant Commander Eric Blackburn and Master Chief Hayes." Julie noted as she drew a flower on the paper infront of her - it's not like Theresa was giving her anything to write.

"So?" Theresa rose her eyebrows in question.

"Why is that?"

"Because their my superior's." The SEAL deadpanned.

"Not five seconds ago, you said that you have a tendancy to ignore authority figures." The doctor reminded her.

Theresa huffed in frustration, "That's different."

"Different how?" Doctor Kruger pressed.

"Because unlike those cake eating morons, Jason and Eric knows me. They know my habits, they know what ticks me off, my likes, dislikes, hell, Jason even knows everytime I have a headache without me ever having to tell him. Because I trust them and only them, to have my back."

"So, you don't trust your team?"

"Did I say that?" Theresa growled, glaring at the woman.

"You said you only trust Commander Blackburn and Chief Hayes." Julie reminded her, feeling more than a little frustrated. Therexsa Kane is going to give her a head full of grey hair before the day is over.

Theresa rolled her eyes, huffing at the doctor. "I meant as C.O's." She eyed the shrink. "And if I didn't trust my team, then I wouldn't be able to work with them."

"So, you do trust them?" Julie asked, because she had to be sure.

"With my life." Theresa answered without hesitance, nodding her head firmly.

"I find it interesting that you call both Commander Blackburn and Chief Hayes by their first names." The doctor pointed out, looking at her penasively.

"What does any of this have to do with why I'm here?" Theresa answered her question with a question, body tensed and ready to bolt at any second. She was tired of people questioning her unwavering loyalty to Jason over and over again. She could understand why, they don't know what Jason did for her, but that didn't give them the right to question it.

Seeing that Theresa was getting ready to flee, Julie changed her line of questioning. "Why is your file redacted?"

"What little they know about me, they prefer to keep to themselves." The SEAL shrugged simply.

"What do you mean?" The shrink frowned at her patient.

"Just what I said." Theresa shrugged.

"You have a way with words, Miss Kane." Doctor Kruger said and neither woman knew if that was a compliment or an insult. Theresa choose to taked it as the former. "I need to ask you some questions."

"Go ahead, Doc, I'm an open book." She spread her arms with a smile. Julie resisted the urge to snort out loud because while Theresa is a great many things, an open book is not one of them.

The shrink hesitated for a long while, "How do you feel about Nate's death?"

The smile dropped from her face and her eyes turned into stone. "Next question."

SEAL TEAM

The whole of Bravo was at Landon Massey's first communion. Now, Theresa didn't like kids at all and never wanted them herself, but it was a show of support to Molly, who was actually a really great lady. After the service was over, they didn't have to wait long until Landon appeared. Church bells was tolling when Jason spotted him.

"Aha! Look at that, ladies and gentlemen, our First Communicant, Landon Massey." The leader of Bravo said with a wide smile. "Come here, buddy." He picked up the boy. "Ah, bud!" Jason held his fist out to him, "Hey, blow it up."

"All right, buddy, look, you just enjoy it while you can, okay? 'Cause in a few years, you want a sip of wine, you're gonna have to start copping to Father about all your sins." Lisa Davis said with a grin, reaching out to touch Landon.

"Maybe not all of them." Sonny Quinn said, grin on his face and sunglasses protecting his eyes.

"You would know, right?" Theresa teased, but got a smirk and a nod from the Texan.

They watched as Jason set down Landon and walked over to Alana and Ray. Sonny tilted his head at them. "Wanna bet on how long it's gonna take them to get back together?"

"I don't bet on such things. It's bad luck." She glared up at the big man as Lisa snorted and Ray walked over to them.

"I only ask cause your the one who's known them since forever." Sonny defended himself. Lord knows, the girl has a shorter temper than him.

"I've known them since I was fourteen. That hardly counts as forever." Theresa rolled her eyes.

"And how exactly is it that you know them again?" Sonny questioned as Lisa and Ray listened in, just in case Theresa finally decided to answer that question.

"Nice try." She deadpanned.

"Worth a shot." He grinned down at her just as phone's started ringing and buzzing. Even without pulling her phone out of the pocket of her emerald green dress, Theresa knew Bravo was being called in for a mission briefing.

SEAL TEAM

Their target is Abu Samir Al Masri, a high-level ISIL commander, responsible for dozens of attacks on coalition forces in Iraq. According to Amanda Ellis from the CIA - who Theresa didn't like her very much because of an mission gone bad - over the last several months, they've had sightings of Samir throughout Central Africa, meeting with various local jihadi leaders. According to CIA intel, he's due to sit down with some guys from Boko Haram in two days in Liberia because Abu Samir doesn't trust Boko enough to meet on their own turf and General Lionheart is guaranteeing security for both sides at his compound outside Monrovia, Liberia. Meaning, that is where Bravo was headed.

Mandy said that they've got 24-hour drone surveillance on the place and they would let them know the second Samir's on-site. The mission is to capture not kill him. Something which left a sour taste in Theresa's mouth because she would love to stick her knife in his throat or put a bullet in his forehead. But, it wasn't her decision. Unfortunately.

Right now, however, she was watching as that blonde Spenser guy with the intense blue eyes ran through a hostage rescue scenario. She was standing next to Jason, who was in the middle of her and ray.

"I have a question." She said softly. Jason and Ray exchanged a glance as they waited for her to ask her question. "Why are you wearing helmets and protective glasses inside?"

"Because it's the rules." Jason deadpanned.

"Right, because the great and mighty Jason Hayes always follows the rules." Theresa gave him a pointed look, crossing her arms over her chest as Ray snickered and Jason rolled his eyes at her.

"Where is your helmet and glasses?" The Master Chief retorted.

"In my cage." This time, Theresa rolled her eyes at Jason before going back to watching the training scenario. She watched a big dude come into the room where Spenser was in. The blonde was so focused on the male that he didn't see the woman pulled out a gun to him. The female SEAL winced for his part and continued answering her Boss. "My helmet I wear on missions that require it but the glasses are still a fifty-fifty depending on the weather. We are inside a secure building right now, which means, there is not a snowball's chance in hell that I'm going to wear it."

"You should worry about your hostage 'cause you dead." The big dude said to Spenser.

"Hold there! It appears we have a problem, Mr. Spenser." Big Chief said and the conversation between Jason and Theresa ended.

"Big problem, Big Chief." Spenser agreed, looking up at the higher ups. He concealed a smile when he spotted Lieutenant Commander Four, as everyone on Green Team called her.

"For you and me, both. Matter of fact, mine might be the bigger problem. See, you get taken in the prime of your life while you still have your hair. I have to live the rest of my life with these fellas whispering behind my back how I got you killed on account of I went easy. What do you think of that?" Big Chief asked the cocky Greenie.

"I think the name Big Chief is meant to be ironic." The blonde retorted easily.

"How's that now?" The kid is cocky, sure, but at least he's not Theresa Kane. All this grey hair, it was from her time in Green Team. Stubborn and questioning everything at every twist and turn and blatantly telling everyone and their mother when she didn't like something. He used to get so angry with her. Until one day, when she was running laps around the base for talking back to a visiting Admiral. He stopped her and asked why she was always running her mouth everywhere else, but when she was serving out her punishments - and there were plenty - she didn't bitch once.

Theresa's answer was something he'd remember till his dying day. She said, 'If you can't take the punishment when you knowingly did something wrong, then you shouldn't have had done it in the first place'. After that, instead of losing his temper with her, he watched with a concealed smile as she was slowly turning into one of the best warrior's the Navy would ever see.

"Well, Big Chief in the movie, I mean, the guy barely talks.You know, in fact, it-it even kind of seems like maybe he can't talk. Whereas you . . ." Spenser trailed of and Theresa hid a smile by biting down on

Big Chief worked hard to keep his tongue in check. "Please step out, miss." He said to the woman that was playing the 'hostage'. "Thank you for your service." He turned back to Spenser. "Mr. Spenser, would you care to save us a little time and tell us the mistakes you're already planning to correct so as not to get yourself killed in some dumbass way? "

"I can't think of one." Spenser answered confidently.

"Do you believe you were right not to assess as a threat the woman we just saw with a gun to your head?" Big Chief asked pointedly, trying to break down some of that ego of his.

"I believe I was correct to prioritize the military-age male as the greater threat. But I guess I should have considered the possibility that she was muling 'em. You know, but, even then, I-I don't think that I would have turned around to search her before I got him on the ground. And if I had, I bet you would've dinged me for it." Spenser said and Theresa hid a chuckle by faking a cough. Seeing the glares that she got from some of the other Chief's, Theresa just smirked. She wasn't afriad of them.

"Reset." Big Chief ordered as he supressed a sigh. He was getting to old for this shit.

"It's like a mini-Four." Another Chief muttered. Unluckily for him, the female SEAL heard him.

Her eyes narrowed and she pushed her hand into her pocket and took out the packet of gum that she knew was there. Then she threw it at the Chief's helmet. "I head that." She took a step forward when he cocked an eyebrow at her.

Jason saw this and gently grabbed her by the wrist and tugged her back to him. "That's enough." She flicked her tongue over her teeth in annoyance but took the step back to Jason and Ray and backed off.

Not for the first time, the Chief's surrounding them wondered what the hell Jason Hayes' secret is. If it was anyone else that told her it was enough, she would have most certainly punched them in the face. They were all sure of it.

"You okay, Tessa?" Ray asked, looking up at her from where he was leaning against the raling.

"Guy's lucky he didn't get a fist to the face." She scoffed, looking down at the cocky blonde and she unknowingly relaxed somewhat.

Jason pushed of the railing he was leaning against, leaving the training room. Ray and Theresa followed behind him. The two men argued amongst themselves as they walked to the team room.

"I'm telling you, he's not ready." Jason said after Ray told him that Spenser would fit perfectly on their team.

"So he's a wiseass." Ray didn't really care about that. They could beat it out of him. Not literally though.

"Wiseass?" Jason huffed. "More like a smartass."

"Smug smartass." Theresa corrected, shoving her hands into her pants pocket. "I trained him some."

"Even worse." Jason gestured with both hands to her.

"Do you remember what we were like when we were in Green Team? What Tessa was like?" Theresa smirked at Ray and Jason gave him a significant look. "Okay, bad example, she's still a pain in the ass. My point is, pain in the ass or not, she is a great asset on the team."

"Okay, I'm sorry, but we just watched him get killed." Jason pointed out, gesturing to the general direction where they walked from.

"What, did you see that? You know as well as I know that scenario is a no-win." Ray huffed with a slight smile.

"Yeah, Jase, fucking with our minds it part of the training." Theresa shrugged loosely, ducking when the Master Chief's hand came up to smack the back of her head.

"Mind your language, young lady." Jason pointed a finger at her and she stuck her tongue out at him. Then he looked at Ray. "I don't know about that."

"Big Chief says the kid sees the Matrix, just like his old man." Ray noted and Theresa frowned.

"What, is he gonna write a book, too?" Bravo's leader scoffed.

"Wait a second," Theresa said, coming to a halt in the middle of their walk. "What book?"

"The one Ash Spenser wrote." Jason said, as if it explained everything. It didn't, because Theresa still looked adorable confused.

"He wrote a book about his time as a SEAL." Ray elaborated, grateful when recognition lit in her eyes.

"Oh, you mean that one that had everyone and the cake eaters' panties in a twist when it came out?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That's the one." Jason nodded grimly.

Theresa frowned at them, "But what's that got to do with Spenser?"

"Cause it's his dad." And that made no sense to the female SEAL.

Theresa's frown deepened. "But he didn't write it."

"You know what, can you just go back to judging everyone?" Jason huffed at her.

"I may judge people, but I do so fairly. And giving Spenser crap because of something his old man did, isn't fair." Theresa shrugged. Something inside of her was just telling her to protect Clay at all costs. Even against her brothers.

That scared her a little.

Jason groaned, stomping away from her, "You're such a pain in the ass sometimes."

"You still love me." Theresa grinned brightly at him as she and Ray caught up to him.

"God help me, yeah, I do." Jason grumbled good naturedly.

"We all do." Ray said, grinning and slinging an arm over her shoulders. Laughing lightly, the three SEAL's walked to the team room to start planning the Abu Samir mission.

A/N: what do you think so far?