A/N Yeah, yeah– I spelled everyone's favorite author wrong...I've fixed it (don't tell me you all haven't referenced her; I've noticed some very familiar names in other stories... particularly the ones that take place in the Scottish Highlands! You know who you are).

Dusty and Cover Girl were headed to the rec room when Lady Jaye came barreling down the hallway toward them. She stopped a moment, hand to her chest, breathing heavily. Her eyes were wide and frightened. After barely a pause, she took off again.

They stood, speechless, unable to move.

Flint came down the hall next, looking nearly as scared. Dusty grabbed his arm and asked what was wrong. Flint pulled free almost desperately, swearing at him, hardly aware of what he was doing.

He made it only a few steps before Cover Girl grabbed him this time, swinging him around to face her. "Flint, damn it! We want to help! What happened?"

His eyes cleared and he focused on his teammates, though they could tell he wanted to do nothing more than run after his friend.

"She hasn't been doing very well today." Flint looked worn and grief-stricken. "I took her to see the others, and... I think it was a bit much for her. She just ran off." He started down the corridor again.

Dusty and Cover Girl followed close behind. "We're coming with you," she told him. At the look he gave her, she continued, "We're her friends, too, Flint. And Dusty might be able to help."

He gave a reluctant nod and continued walking.

They found her just outside of the main aboveground building. She was collapsed against the cinderblock wall, arms wrapped tightly about herself, shaking.

Cover Girl motioned the men to stay back, and approached her warily. She squatted next to her friend, pulling her close in a careful embrace. "Hey, honey. Talk to me. What's wrong?"

Lady Jaye just shook her head, refusing to look up.

"We can't help you if we don't know what's going on. Talk to me. Come on, you've got Flint worried out of his mind. He cares about you... We all do. Want to go back inside?"

Lady Jaye only shook her head again.

Cover Girl sighed. She had no idea what to do. She looked back up at the men's worried faces... and had an idea. I hope Dusty doesn't mind my sharing his secret place with them, she thought.

"Let's go for a walk in the desert. You don't have to talk if you don't want to, but it might help clear your head."

She pulled Lady Jaye to her feet, and was joined by the two men. They surrounded her, trying to offer what silent comfort they could.

When they reached Dusty's usual meditation spot, Cover Girl sat, gently pulling Lady Jaye down with her and putting an arm around her shoulders. Flint sat on her other side, and Dusty sat near Cover Girl. They remained silent for a while, letting the cool morning air wash over them.

It was a beautiful spot. The desert was still, though certainly not lifeless. They could hear small animals, birds, and insects all around them, and the ground was scattered with small blue flowers. The land was flat nearby, changing subtly to rolling hills and mountains in the distance.

Flint started to speak, but Cover Girl shook her head at him. He frowned at her, but left his thoughts unsaid, moving his arm around Lady Jaye's waist so that she was held between the two of them. She sighed and leaned her head against Flint's arm.

After a few minutes, she began to talk. "The first nightmare... under Mindbender's machine..." she stopped, and Cover Girl gave her an encouraging squeeze. She felt Jaye shudder, but she continued her story. "Cobra killed everyone. All the Joes. It was... bloody. I saw everyone's bodies..."

She turned to Cover Girl. "You, too. It hurt, seeing you all like that. I felt like I'd failed to protect you. Then...I found two teammates still alive." She cast her glance toward Flint, but continued speaking to Cover Girl. Her friend got the sense that this was something Lady Jaye might not be able to tell Flint directly.

"Flint, Duke, and I were surrounded. We had hardly any ammo-- it was hopeless. Duke went down first, shot in the chest. I took a bullet to the hip, and Flint pushed me to the ground. Then he just stood there, trying to protect us with his body, but he..." Her voice broke. This time Flint increased the pressure of his hold, giving her the reassurance of his solid presence.

"He... you... Flint... I can't describe what it felt like, watching you torn to pieces by Cobra fire. The bullets that hit me next were bad, but I think I could have dealt with the pain. But you... everyone else..." she trailed off, but they knew she wasn't done.

"The other nightmares were bad, too– some of them a lot more painful, a lot more terrifying in their own way. But over and over again, I returned to that battlefield. In between dying by fire, being beaten to death, drowning, being tortured... The scene played itself out, again and again. It was different every time. Sometimes worse-- more brutal, more bloody. Once I think cobra had used a bioweapon..." She shuddered again. "Oh, God– the bodies that time..."

"I still see everyone like that. When I was in the rec room... everyone's faces were coated in blood. You're all dead... I can't..." She was crying softly into Flint's shoulder.

Cover Girl often had nightmares like that. But they were only nightmares. To really experience it, carry those memories around... What would it be like? She nudged Dusty. "Tell her what happened to you," she whispered.

He cleared his throat before speaking, trying to keep his tone light. "I think that must be the mother hen aspect peeking out of you," he told her. "I only experienced death in the desert. Heat exhaustion and snakebite. It was... yeah, it was bad. But I never saw anyone else. Guess my nightmares are a little more... solitary."

He shook his head in introspection. "You know, that tells me something. You don't have anything to fear about your own abilities. You don't have any glaring insecurities. Other people hurt you... others' deaths made you feel pain. I only had myself to fail." He gave her a small smile. "Ok, I was starting to feel better today..."

She managed a small laugh, but it was still half a sob. "I know I am sitting here with you. I KNOW that." She tapped the side of her head. "Why can't I understand it? How did you deal with the... numbness?"

Cover Girl blushed and glanced at Dusty. His cheeks were definitely pink. "I had horrible nightmares for two nights. I didn't sleep. I came out here, hoping to find some peace, but it... well, let's just say that sitting in the desert might not have been a great idea. But I thought that if I could face it again, know that I could beat it still..."

"How am I supposed to face the death of everyone I care about?" Lady Jaye asked in a small voice.

Flint finally spoke. "If that ever really happens, you have my permission to completely break down," he told her. "It's something we all worry about. Granted, we haven't all experienced it like you have, but..." he shrugged. "I've had a few mornings when I've secretly counted heads in the mess hall."

"And the rest of it?" she asked. "I feel like a ghost. Insubstantial. Everything sounds strange, tastes strange... I feel like I could pass my hands right through the wall if I wanted to."

Cover Girl caught Dusty's expression, and nodded her assent. She knew what he was going to suggest. "It might help to, uh..." he struggled with the wording. "Find something that makes you feel alive again. I'm not suggesting you go skydiving or anything–" he stopped when he saw her flinch.

"Ugh. Ew. That must have hurt. Sorry. I just mean, you know..." He ran his hands through his hair, and looked to Cover Girl for help.

Cover Girl smiled and leaned over to whisper in Jaye's ear. Her friend's eyes widened, and she glanced at Flint before looking back down at the sand at her feet.

"What?" Flint asked, curious.

Cover Girl just gave him a knowing smile.

Lady Jaye took a deep breath. "Even if I get... better... what happens the next time we fight Cobra? What if I freeze the next time I have to drop out of a plane, or... or have to face off against the Dreaknoks?"

Flint gave her a reassuring smile. "You mean you've never been afraid before? You've jumped out of a plane twice since Beach Head saved you when your parachute didn't open. That took guts. Weren't you terrified then?"

She thought a moment. "Yeah. Scared shitless. But I had to do it, didn't I?" She smiled at her friends. "You've all given me a lot to think about. I... Thanks. Do you mind if I stay out here a little while... alone?" She gave Flint a pleading look.

He nodded and stood. The three of them walked back to the base, leaving her with her thoughts.

Flint felt slightly adrift. After looking after Jaye for so many days, he didn't quite know what to do with himself. He supposed a visit to the rec room and a round of reassurances was in order.

Everyone watched him expectantly when he walked in. He regarded them all a moment. They are her family, he told himself. They'll understand. And It might help if they know a little about what she's going through. Lord knows what I would have thought if I was in the dark about this.

He walked farther into the room, meeting eyes, telling them silently to gather. When everyone had found places to sit nearby, he began. "You may have noticed Lady Jaye was acting a little...weird earlier," he began. Shipwreck snorted, but fell quiet at Flint's glare.

"Lifeline thought it would be better to leave the details out of Dusty and Jaye's imprisonment, but I disagree. You all know that they were prisoners of Cobra for almost a full day." They nodded, waiting. Please don't be mad at me for this, Jaye... he prayed.

"During that time, Lady Jaye, and to a lesser extent, Dusty, were subjected to one of Mindbender's machines..."

He gave them the information simply, without too much elaboration. He didn't mention the Dreadnoks, but described some of the things she had experienced while hooked up to the machine. When he mentioned falling from the airplane with a bad parachute, Beach Head looked surprised, then thoughtful. He told them that Dusty had 'died' in the desert of dehydration and heat exhaustion, and later from a rattlesnake bite. And then he told them about the defeat of the Joes at the hands of Cobra in Lady Jaye's nightmare.

"She just couldn't see all of you without remembering what that was like," he explained. He tried to emphasize how bad it had been without making them worry too much about her mental state. He wasn't sure about that, yet, but he would do everything in his power to see that she was whole again.

When he was finished, everyone was quiet and thoughtful. "Just... curb your enthusiasm a little bit," he suggested. "She needs the reassurance and support of her friends, but don't push too hard." He tried to give them his trademark grin, but it was more difficult than usual. "She'll be fine, but I just thought it would help you– and her– to know."

Gung-Ho put into words what they were all feeling. "I think any of us would have a hard time dealing with this," he said. "I know if I experienced my greatest fears like that, I'd be a big old heap of blubbering Cajun. Don't worry Flint. She's tougher than this. She'll get through it." He gave Flint a reassuring pat on the back. "Thanks for letting us know."

Flint nodded in grateful acknowledgment. Having one of the meanest, toughest soldiers admit that he would have buckled under the same treatment made him feel better. He didn't like the idea that the team might see her reaction as weakness. He should have known better. They were all good men.

"Thanks, everyone. Oh, and thanks for the cards and things, too– I know she appreciates it." He didn't want to tell them that she probably hadn't even looked at them yet; she would, and when she did, she would see how much she meant to the team.

His stomach rumbled. It was lunch time, and he'd not eaten much the last two days. He decided to get lunch, try to read for a while, and maybe take a much-needed nap. If Lady Jaye hadn't come in by dinner... He would go find her.

Another A/N: I think the next chapter will be the conclusion... Bear with me. Action! Adventure! Romance! And a little something for the ladies...