Mac and Clay were just getting off the airplane when her cell phone rang. They both sighed in frustration, but continued on their way to collecting their luggage and heading to the hotel as she checked the called id.

Chegwidden.

He wouldn't be calling if it wasn't an emergency so Mac answered it.

"Admiral?"

"Sarah, something's happened." AJ didn't even know where to begin.

"What?"

Clay watched as Mac's face went pale and she struggled to find a seat to sit down on. The color completely drained from her face and the phone fell from her hands, cluttering to the ground. She looked up at him, her chocolate brown eyes, big and wide, full of fear.

"He died."

Clay didn't even have to ask who. He knew in an instant. Only one man could ever have that kind of reaction on Sarah. His first reaction was to drop their bags and come over to comfort her. He tried putting his arms around her to give her a hug but she pushed him away.

"He just died." She was in shock. Clay had never seen her like this before. "I've got to get back home...I can't...I can't do this right now."

"Sarah, it's okay, we'll catch a flight back tomorrow," Clay tried.

"Damnit, Webb, I've got to be there now. My best friend just died," she snapped, rising from her seat and heading back to the airline's desk.

"And we can go back tomorrow," he said. Just when he thought he had put some distance between the two, she wanted to go back.

She just snapped, going into full Marine-mode. She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and threw him up against the wall. "I'm going back now, you bastard, you can do whatever the hell you want."

She let him fall to the ground and stormed off. He watched as she talked her way into getting on the next flight and he continued to watch as she boarded the plane and left. She didn't look back once.

It wasn't supposed to be like this.