Disclaimer: I don't own The Last Ship or characters. I just like to play with them sometimes.

Author's note: This is a story that first came to me as an OC. I hope you like it. It takes place after the final season, but it is AU as Tex Nolan is alive and well in my story. It's rated T for now but will have a rating change to M for later chapters. Feel free to leave your opinions on the way out. Happy reading. Dark rolling sea.

CHAPTER ONE

Jesse Baker kept to herself. It's how she had survived the Red Flu in the first place. Curious she had traveled to St. Louis when the Nathan James had promised a cure, and she had received said cure. Now there was a call out for those to serve what was left of the United States. She wasn't old by any means, but she wasn't exactly young either.

She had served in the Army pre-Red Flu but had been discharged, then worked as a mercenary just before the pandemic hit the world. In her late thirties she was still in prime shape as she made sure to stay that way. When she heard the call out, she inquired about information. One of the people she ran into was Tex Nolan, who was, to her surprise, helping with the organization of forces.

She and Tex had worked together after she mustered out of the Army and had taken up being a mercenary for a short stint. It wasn't a job for her, even though she was good at it. Tex had tried to get her to stay on when he was hired to guard at Gitmo, but she had taken her pay and walked away. Tex talked her into having dinner with him that night and she relented. That night they caught up on what had happened to them over the plague.

"And I ended up taking that job at Gitmo. The Red Flu hit and man we made some dumb ass mistakes," Tex told her. "We thought we'd be humane and let them assholes out of their cages, but it backfired, and I was the only one of my guys that made it out alive."

"How'd you manage to get home?"

"The Navy came in and rescued me. I helped them get fuel and groceries and they let me tag along on their ship for a while."

"Sounds like a fair deal," Jesse replied.

"Sure was, Second Place," Tex replied with a smile. Jesse smiled at the use of her nickname. Most people didn't even know her first name. She'd picked the nickname up as a kid because her dad had a sick sense of humor. Ever since she was little and had participated in sports, her team was always second place. No matter, the sport, no matter the age, no matter the season. They got second place. So, her dad had taken to calling her Second Place. And it kind of stuck. Then more people started using it, and it just became a part of her, to the point she even used it when people asked her name.

"Then what did you do?" Jesse asked trying to avoid talking about herself.

"Well, I kind of joined the Navy and partook in the mission of the great Nathan James."

"The ship that made the cure?"

"Thee one and only," Tex said beaming. "Then I jumped ship, found my daughter, then joined back up with the crew in St. Louis. Settled with Kat, then was approached to help reestablish the armed forces. And here I am. What have you been up to?"

And there it was. Time to talk about herself. Although, there wasn't really much to talk about during the pandemic she had laid low, stayed out of sight, and managed to get through without dying. The rest of her family hadn't been so lucky.

"I found a hole to hide in when the Red Flu hit. Kept my head down, avoided people, and survived. Heard about the cure and the ship coming to St. Louis so I ventured out on a whim. Once they said I was immune I just tooled around here. I haven't got anywhere else to go really, then the call came for people with experience in the armed forces and or police training, so I dipped in to find out the catch twenty-two."

"And ran into me," Tex replied.

"In a nutshell. So, this reenlistment deal, worth my time?"

"It could be. I know your skill set, what you're capable of. I could get you an instructor position. Pretty cake job. You'd train the next generation of soldiers and be paid nicely for your time. No deployments, instructor only."

"Doesn't sound too bad. What areas are you thinking?"

"Marksmanship if you still got the touch. Hand to hand combat if you still got the moves."

"Could still take you down in record time," Jesse said flashing a smile. "And I can still shoot a flea off a dog's ass at any distance."

"Still cocky too, for someone who's always second place," Tex teased.

"Better than last," Jesse muttered. Tex laughed.

"So, you interested in the job?"

"Where are these trainings happening at?"

"Here in St. Louis. Apparently, the new Pres. thinks this is a great city to reestablish a capital. And since he's moving the government here, they decided might as well move the military here as well," Tex said with a shrug of his shoulders. Jesse thought it over. It would be a pretty easy job. As Tex had mentioned she had the skill set to do what was needed, and it would give her stability and a place in the world.

"Alright. Where do I sign up?"

"That's the spirit," Tex said with a beaming smile. Jesse shook her head.

"Don't tell me, I'll be working next to you," Jesse said with a sigh.

"Hell yeah, you'll be my partner, just like old times," Tex replied, and Jesse groaned.

"Can I still back out?"

"Funny," Tex replied. "And no. I think it's just what you need."

"Something like that," Jesse said. They were quiet for a while as they both ate their food. Then Tex spoke up again.

"Did you find any of your family?" he asked quietly. Jesse stopped eating and looked down at her hands. She knew that everyone had lost someone, but she had lost everyone. She sighed.

"No. They didn't make it. Last I heard Charlie was the last man standing, but he went radio silent after he got a cough." Charlie had been her younger brother. Her older sister Janice and her family had perished first, before anyone even knew what they were up against. Then her older brother Michael and his family had gotten it and they lost contact. Her parents had gone just before Charlie got sick. Tex had known all of them.

"I'm sorry, Second Place, that's rough."

"It is what it is," Jesse said with a shrug. It wasn't a topic she liked to talk about.

"I lost my ex-wife but was able to save my daughter," Tex said softly. Jesse gave him a smile.

They wrapped up their dinner and Jesse promised she would be there in the morning to sign the paperwork and come work for him. Tex told her if she didn't show he'd hunt her down. She left the restaurant and decided to walk for a while as the memories of her family were floating in her mind again. Walking seemed to help the most, other than hard liquor and she really didn't want to get drunk tonight.

She took the long way home and pushed the thoughts of her family out of her mind. To help she thought about the deal she'd just made with Tex. It would be good to work with him again, and maybe it would help her heal a little from the trauma of losing everything. She just hoped she was making the right decision and knew she'd scrutinize the contract she was about to sign. She decided to turn in, so she was well rested for whatever she was charging into in the morning.

To Be Continued…