Chapter 1

SPOILER ALERT ON SEASON 4! Alright, so we are 3 episodes into season 4 of SEAL Team and our Jandy hearts are on edge with Mandy walking off. Personally, I think it was left open ended and there is still a chance for Jandy to happen. Yes, Nat is back apparently (BOO-talk about lack of chemistry). I've been paying a lot of attention to dialogue and based off some of Dave's interviews I think there is some hope out there. Anyways, I can't stand not seeing Mandy's journey or her being badass so I'm gonna create my own world. This may be a little more angst compared to some of my other works lol. I have some big plans for Mandy cuz she deserves to have her story told as well as Jason. Hope you enjoy this new one! Also, a lot of other shows I watch will probably be influencing me in what I write here lol. The story is called Belong, which is a song by X-Ambassadors. Highly recommend you take a listen as I will try to keep to that theme of the lyrics! So, we're picking up at the end of 4x02 and keeping with 2 months since the premiere. Also, I'm stealing from the sneak peeks lol.

The command ops center was bustling with activity and Jason could tell something was going on. As far as he knew, Bravo was still grounded. He said he was staying in his three-foot world, but he just couldn't let Bravo go. He stopped hanging out with the guys as much, stopped going to the range, he barely worked out on base all in an effort to move along in life.

Everyone around him telling him he looked good, yet he felt numb. Had he made the right decision? Mandy seemed so sure when she looked at him and said she couldn't do this anymore. She said she didn't want to lose herself. Had she seen that he'd lost himself and he was just blind at seeing it? He hadn't talked to her since their last lunch. He wondered how she was adjusting. Was she struggling like he was? Had she moved on with someone? He had no right to wonder on that last one. Had he made a mistake in ignoring her for days after that night in J-Bad? She said it was a distraction and he went along with it. It didn't matter now though. He had Natalie. He asked her to stay too. She was his future. She was the right choice. Right?

"What's going on?" Jason asked approaching Lisa, Blackburn, Lindell, and a few others.

Lindell glanced up and looked at Jason, "Master Chief Hayes, there's been an attack at a cafe in Tunisia. Looks like a suicide bombing. Warrant officer Perry was there. His status is unknown. CIA confirmed the agent with him is deceased."

"Is he, what do you mean unknown?" Jason asked in shock.

"No one has heard from him," Lisa said.

"Maybe he's injured. Did you check the hospitals?" Jason rattled on.

"Master Chief Hayes," Lindell said sternly. "Let us do your job and you focus on other teams in the field as is your duty."

"Excuse me but a SEAL is missing and it's all hands-on deck," Jason argued.

"You're dismissed Master Chief Hayes," Lindell replied.

"What do you mean Ray is missing?" Sonny exclaimed.

"The details are unclear right now, but we don't know where he is at the moment," Blackburn responded to the team.

"Well, they'll spin us up to go look for him, right? They have to," Trent said.

"As of right now, Bravo team is still grounded. If you are spun up, you may be spilt to different teams," Blackburn said as Jason and Clay walked in.

"We heard," Clay said. "What's the plan?"

"Our brother is out there and needs us. What are they planning to do?" Sonny said looking at Jason.

"Command is looking at options," Jason replied stoically.

"Well, you are a part of command now, so what are you planning to do?" Sonny replied back heatedly.

"Lindell isn't letting me in on this one. It's not in my hands," Jason said in defeat.

"You gotta find a way to get us all out there," Clay said looking at him.

All Jason could think was about how this all seemed like one big nightmare. Everything was spinning out of control. All the guys were looking at him for answers, but he wasn't Bravo one anymore. That wasn't his job anymore. At the same time, this was Ray. One of his best friends and brother that had always been there for him during some of his darkest times.

(Flashback begins)

"Where are you going?" Jason asked as she walked away.

"I've been around you long enough to know one thing," Mandy said turning around.

"What's that?" Jason asked.

"We're never out of the fight," Mandy said confidently as she walked out of the hangar.

(End Flashback)

"Never out of the fight," Jason muttered as he got up and left the room.

After talking with the guys, Jason decided he would go to Naima first. He wanted her to know what was happening and not hear it from anyone else. As he parked the truck, he took a deep breath while looking at Ray's new home. He couldn't believe he was here to tell her that Ray was missing. He hoped everything would work out. He was a warrant officer now. He wasn't supposed to be in danger anymore. Jason opened his truck's door and walked across the street up the front steps of the porch. This wasn't an official visit from the Navy, but he felt Naima deserved to know because it was Ray. He knocked on the door and waited.

"Jason," Naima smiled as she opened the door but then paused. "No," Naima gasped, and Jason brought her in for a hug and took her into the house.

"Something happened and they can't find Ray," Jason said as they sat on the couch in the living room.

"He is by himself?" Naima asked.

"Yeah," Jason replied. "That's a part of his new role now."

"Whatever you're not telling me Jason, just tell me."

"They really don't know much or are letting me in on it. I just wanted to tell you since I know Ray doesn't keep secrets from you."

"You know, in the past he always had the team, and I knew he wasn't alone when you guys got spun up. I always knew you guys had his back and would make sure he came home. Or that you would try your hardest. Knowing he's out there alone, I don't know what to think."

"Hey," Jason said as he reached for her hand. "Ray is strong, and I know he's probably fighting like hell to get back to you and the kids. He wouldn't just give up on that."

Naima nodded her head as she squeezed his hand back, "What are you going to do?"

Jason paused, "Command is looking at options and they're working sources."

"That's not what I asked Jason. What are you going to do?" Naima restated looking him square in the eye.

Jason didn't know what to say. A part of him wanted to run. He was done being Bravo one. He was moving on. Right? It wasn't on him anymore to bring everyone home. He wasn't the one to work the problem and get them out of a jam. Everyone was looking at him now wanting to know what he was going to do. Two months out of operating and he still didn't know who Jason Hayes was.

(Flashback begins)

"We made a choice and now we live with it," Jason said as he ate his lunch across from Mandy.

"Maybe," Mandy replied wistfully.

"What do you mean maybe?" Jason asked.

"Maybe we can choose to become someone else again," Mandy replied.

(End flashback)

He chose to be someone else now that he stepped down from Bravo. Right? He was the one that said they had made choices and had to live with them. Could he live with sitting on the sidelines while Ray was missing?

Jason looked at Naima and took her hand in both his. "We're gonna bring him home," Jason declared as Naima shook her head and hugged him.

Jason knocked on Commander Lindell's office door.

"Come in," Lindell said.

"Sir," Jason answered at attention.

"Yes, Master Chief Hayes," Lindell reluctantly answered.

"I'd like to be in on Warrant Officer Perry's situation. I think Bravo team should be spun up to bring him home," Jason answered confidently.

"How many times do I need to tell you that Bravo is no longer your concern? Bravo isn't the only Seal team out there. You chose to step down from Bravo, Master Chief," Lindell responded.

"I understand sir, but this is one of my brothers. He's one of us and deserves to have all us working together to bring him home," Jason responded.

Lindell stood up from his desk to stand in front of Jason. "How long are you going to play this game for Master Chief?"

"Game, sir," Jason asked confused.

"Being one foot in but one foot out. You're either in command or operating in the field Master Chief. At some point, you have to hang it up."

Jason wasn't sure how to respond. He told himself he was all in this new role of his. He cut himself off from the team. He asked Natalie to stay once her assignment was up. He was all in with himself now. Isn't that what he wanted? Sometimes he wanted to curse Mandy for walking away. Had she been planning to leave for a while that she dropped it on him like she did. What did she mean if she stayed, she knew he'd talk her out of it?

"Sir put me on Bravo, and we'll bring him home. We are his best shot," Jason argued.

Lindell gave Jason a hard look, "Fine, you lead Bravo team."

"Thank you, sir," Jason replied and turned to leave.

"But Master Chief, you better think long and hard about what you're future here is going to be for the rest of your enlistment. You're either all in on command or teams. Your time is coming Master Chief Hayes."

"Yes sir," Jason replied as he left the office.

Just one op. That's all this was going to be. He just needed to make sure Ray came home. He promised Naima he'd bring him home and that's what he would do. That's all this was.

Jason went home and grabbed quickly packed a bag. He looked at Cerberus. "Just one op, buddy. I'll be back and everything will go back to normal. Just gotta bring Ray home." Cerberus barked back and pushed his head into Jason. Jason gave him a final rub and then left the apartment.

He got back to base and walked the hallways towards Natalie's office. He wasn't sure how this conversation was going to go. He asked her stay here with him, yet they hadn't had that big conversation yet. It'd barely been a day since he asked at the bar. He was relieved she hadn't wanted to talk. Emma liked Natalie and said he seemed happy, but he didn't know if he was. Everyone around him is moving on or telling him to and he still felt just as stuck as he did while on teams. He needed to clear his head all these thoughts. He needed to focus on the mission. The mission of rescuing Ray.

(Flashback begins)

"Ignore and override, that's quite the system. There's only one problem with it," Mandy said.

"What's that?" Jason asked.

"You got into war on terror on the ground floor. You've been doing this a long time."

"So?" Jason responded.

"That's twenty years of trauma to ignore. What happens when it's too much to override?" Mandy challenged.

"Guess I'll figure that out when I get there," Jason said looking at her as they cheered beers.

(Flashback ends)

Why did she always come to his mind? What happened in J-Bad stayed in J-Bad. That's what she said, and he agreed. He agreed. He avoided her after that night, but now he moved on. Jason approached Natalie's office and knocked on the door while he cleared his thoughts of the past.

"Hey," Natalie smiled at him.

"Hey," Jason replied walking in with his bag.

Natalie looked to see the bag in his hand as Jason looked down at it as well. "What's going on?" Natalie asked worriedly.

Jason looked at Natalie, "Being spun up."

"Spun up?" Natalie asked confusedly. "Since when does command get spun up? What's going on?" Natalie asked getting up from her desk.

"I'm going out with Bravo. Something happened and I need to go," Jason said simply.

"What happened? Why do you need to go? You're not on Bravo anymore."

"Listen, I can't say anything but it's just one op," Jason explained but stayed standing by the door.

"Right, just one op," Natalie replied skeptically. "So, how long?"

"Don't know," Jason said with a shrug. He should say more but he really had nothing to say. He should feel more, right? "I gotta go," Jason nodded towards the hallway. "I'll, uhhh, see you when I get back," he said.

"Shouldn't we talk about this?" Natalie asked.

"Talk about what?" Jason asked.

"Jason, this is a big conversation. You can't just go making decisions like these and dropping them on me like they're nothing. You said you're all about big conversations," Natalie replied.

"There's nothing to talk about here. My team needs me."

"And what about me? You're moving on Jason."

"Listen, we can talk about this once I'm back," Jason said as he turned to leave. "Could you take of Cerberus while I'm out? He's tearing up something or another every night and I don't know what's going to be left of my place at this rate," Jason said with a sparkle in his eye finally. Seemed the only time he ever had that spark was when he was with Cerberus.

"Sure," Natalie answered awkwardly. She was still in shock over everything happened.

"Thanks. Oh, let Emma know too. I'll explain once I'm back but I gotta go," Jason said quickly before leaving. He felt like he was suffocating the longer he stayed in her office. He could feel his façade falling a part that everything was okay when even he knew it wasn't. So, he did what he did best and ran.

It had been almost sixteen hours since Ray had gone missing and Bravo finally got spun up. The guys were all on the plane arranging their things and getting ready for takeoff. They all looked around at each other and knew that they needed to bring Ray home. As the guys settled in, they all thought about their roles in the team and that they needed to work together to bring him home.

As Jason walked towards the plane, it was the first time in two months he felt like himself. He knew this Jason Hayes. He felt like he belonged somewhere.

"Hey Jason, wait up," Clay called out from behind him. "Thanks for getting me in on this."

Jason looked at Clay confusedly, "What do you mean?"

"I figured since you're here you put in a good word for me," Clay responded.

"I didn't do anything but it's good to have you back," Jason replied wondering in the back of his mind what changed Lindell's mind.

"Right back at you," Clay said as they made it to the on ramp.

"You guys got room for a couple more," Jason called out to the team who all looked up and greeted them with smiles and hugs.

After all the greetings, Jason sat down and looked around. He could do this. Just one op and then he would be done. This would be his last one hurrah.

"Bravo's back," Sonny called out and the team all chuckled.

They were going to bring Ray home.

Naima looked at the phone in her hands. Her finger hovered over one contact. She trusted the team to bring Ray home, but she also knew there was a lot of work and red tape to get through in order to find Ray. Naima finally clicked on the name. She heard it ring a few times before someone answered.

"Hello," a woman answered.

"Hey, it's me. Listen, something happened to Ray and I know that you-," Naima began.

"Naima, I know," the woman replied. "I'm already working on it."

"Thank you," Naima almost sobbed out. "I didn't know what else to do."

"It's okay. The guys are on their way and I'm working it on my end. We're going to find Ray," the woman said.

"I thought you were done," Naima chuckled.

"It's Ray, he's family and you guys have always been good to me," the woman said softly. "Listen, I gotta go but stay strong."

"Be careful," Naima said before the woman hung up. "It's gonna be okay."

A private plane was sitting on the tarmac to a private airport in the Tunisia area. A woman hung up her phone and looked at it in her hands.

"Listen up guys," the woman said getting up from her seat. "I know I recruited you to work for me and we're supposed to start in a week, but this isn't that. We won't have any back up and we're completely on our own out here. What we're doing is probably unsanctioned and we could all die," the woman continued on to the two women and two men on the plane. "So, if you want to back out now, I'll understand."

The four other individuals looked at each other almost like they were having a silent conversation. They all slightly nodded at each other.

"You said he's family to you, boss," one man answered. "Which makes him family to us. You're not going anywhere without us," the man answered confidently.

"Agreed," one of the women said. "This is just a test or bonding exercise to make sure we all work well together," she chuckled.

"Okay then, let's get to work," the head person said.

Everyone picked up their bags and weapons and walked down the steps of the private jet onto the tarmac. One person went to the local airport person and paid them some money to keep the plane nearby. Everyone else loaded up the jeep vehicles waiting for them.

"Feel good to be back in action boss?" one guy asked.

"Under these circumstances, not really but otherwise yeah," the main woman smiled as they drove further into Tunisia.