O'Neil felt like rolling her eyes but with some work, she maintained her mask of indifference. While she and her crew had certainly had some training about what it was to be an instructor it was another thing to be on this side of it. their first trainee had rung the bell and after another two hours of hard training the master chief let them off to have dinner, just from the bins like there before giving them the same night they had.

they had been there for three days and the trainees had just finished the o course. She couldn't lie to herself she thoroughly enjoyed being on this side of the obstacle course and took great joy in being one of the ones shooting the guns, even though she knew that were blanks and designed to mess with the recruits.

Cortez she could feel was fuming next to her and once they were dismissed and in the instructor's cabin he exploded.

"I can't believe the gall of that guy, pushing his teammate down because she was a female. I wish I could have been the one to dish out the punishment."

O'Neil snorted as the master chief read his book in the corner and the rest of the squad stood beside them waiting to see this run out.

"I remember hanging off the wall and being told to give up by one of my teammates who then dropped me and got punished by the master chief. I also remember this same teammate being pushed overboard for comment about cutting the fat or something along those lines."

Cortez had the decency to look sheepish while Slovnik snorted.

"Shut up team fuck wit," McCoolinterjected.

"I thought cortex was the team fuck wit?"

"He's the team fuck up."

O'Neil noticed the master chief smile to himself then.

"The point being is most people in our group thought the same as that recruit and it wasn't until S.E.R.E training you all took me seriously."

"So do you want them to get away with it?" Wickwire asked, already knowing the answer.

"Fuck no. I screamed and pushed all of you to accept me and these women have to as well. I fought to be treated equally and I fought to stay and so do they. That's how they get the respect but be can punish them for not supporting their teammate and besides if that doesn't work I can always kick them in the nuts."

"And believe me that is no ideal threat," the master chief interjected then, turning a page in his book. "Now if you ladies don't mind I am trying to read my book."

Cortez came over and squeezed her hand before walking out with McCool, Slovnik, Wickwire, and Newberry, all of whom followed his lead and squeezed her hand on their way back, patting Miller on the back.

Miller stayed with her for a while, chatting quietly amongst themselves before leaving as well and like the rest squeezing her hand on their way out.

"What's with the hand squeezing?" the master chief asked, still not looking up.

'During our second tour, we were captured and gagged. the only way we could communicate was by squeezing each other's hands. While they now squeeze each other's shoulders they still squeeze my hand. It's something we all do without thinking to be honest master chief. If you would like us to stop I can have a word with them."

The master chief still didn't look up but she noticed he was no longer reading the book.

"When it's just the instructors or when we are off the job call me Jack, the rest do."

"Thank you ma- Jack."

He looked up then at her. "How many tours did you all do?"

"We did a total of four tours chief before we were offered the chance to become instructors. some of the crew declined and a few have retired but we weren't ready to give up just yet. we were also determined to not let our last mission finish us and we were the ones directly affected by what happened and we refused to be separated and you needed new instructors."

he looked at her and nodded. "You are doing a fair enough job. How are you finding instructor Pyro?"

"He's helped me a lot. I'm enjoying working alongside him."

"I imagine you like it better when he tricks me into shouting the first round."

She laughed then. "from what I heard mas- Jack you always buy first round when there are new instructors."

He didn't respond other than to look at her.

"Thank you for allowing us to stay together, we were told that it would be up to you if we were to stay together."

"The C.O informed me that it was a requirement."

She snorted. "if you didn't want us together you would have ensured we weren't together."

He shrugged. "I heard the reports from time to time about you all and I do know from personal experience how well you all work together."

"Still not living that experience down?" She smiled then.

He sighed, "never and with you here it's making it harder to live down."

"If you prefer next time we are in that situation I can just leave you there."

"If it means I don't have to listen to it anymore I might just let you."

"Let me jack?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you challenging me, O'Neil?"

"Seemed to help me a great deal last time I was training here."

"Just don't do it at the wrong moment, O'Neil."

She smiled again then and he was struck by her confidence. He smiled back at her without meaning to and she acknowledged, though she would only do so to herself, that he was indeed a handsome man.

…