Hello again!

Here's the first chapter of part II

I also want to say thank you to FictionWriter91 for all the help. Couldn't do it without you.

Enjoy the reading,

Pavs.

Chapter Sixteen: Don't Look Back

[Trench's hangar]

Trench was sitting at his desk, trying to make sense of some information the CIA had gotten him on a Chinese hostage in Nepal. This was going to be a pain in the arse, but he didn't have that many interesting options either, not if he was going to work alone that is.

He heard someone driving close by, and he locked his file away before making sure he had his pistol. The garage door opened, and he saw Gabrielle's car.

His heart skipped a beat.

She hadn't been back since the incident. At all. She got out of her car, and he saw her looking straight at the spot where the bodies had been. Then she looked at him, and he offered her a reassuring smile.

''Hey,'' she said with a shaky voice as she got closer to him. ''I know I should have called before but…''

Trench didn't let her finish before he hugged her. He hadn't been able to see her because of his work, and she hadn't called. He did hear about her from time to time when Barney or Tool gave him a call or paid him a visit.

''You're always welcome here,'' he said once he let her go.

''Thank you,'' she replied, sincere.

There was a pregnant pause, then she continued.

''I, um, I have something to ask you,'' she said, and Trench frowned. ''First of all, not my father or Tool, or any of the guys really, have any idea I came here. I did because I am sick and tired of feeling helpless, and I thought that…''

''Coming back here and facing it would help?'' Trench asked, and Gabrielle nodded. ''I get it, kid. No worries. Here, come to my office. I'll make coffee.''

Gabrielle followed after him, and he gave her a cup, which she left untouched.

''There is something more, isn't there?'' Trench asked, and Gabrielle looked at him.

''They all refuse to talk to me, like they want to get me as far away from their world as possible. And while I can understand why after my…reaction…I just…'' Gabrielle began, and when Trench saw that she was struggling, he placed his hand over hers.

''Spit it out girl. I can take it,'' he reassured her.

''I am so fucking tired of being this fragile little thing that everybody's got to be careful around. And I am tired of being scared. And I want to do something, anything. I want to fucking fight back!'' she exclaimed, and Trench smiled.

She really was getting better. She also made him think about himself a little.

''Work for me,'' Trench said, and Gabrielle looked at him like he'd grown a second head. ''I taught you enough for you to be able to work on the plane, and I will teach you more about mechanics and stuff. When I feel that you are ready, I will teach you how to defend yourself with light hand to hand combat techniques and with a bigger variety of firearms.''

''Really?'' Gabrielle asked, and Trench offered his hand to shake.

''Really, and you can tell your father when you'll be ready,'' he added, and she shook his hand.

They had a deal.

[Tool's]

They had offered Billy to join them at Tool's, but he had refused in order to go look for an apartment instead. At least the Kid was approved by everyone. Barney looked at his watch and frowned. It was almost diner time, and he hadn't heard anything from his daughter. He was about to ask Gunnar if she had texted him when they heard her car. She walked in a couple of minutes later, covered in oil.

'' Did you have a problem with your car?'' Tool asked, and she looked at her shoes.

''No. Everything's fine,'' she said before she took a deep breath.

Lee frowned while Gunnar looked at her with a questioning look. Gabrielle looked at them all before she finally said:

'' I took a job…at Trench's hangar.''

They all stayed silent, so she continued.

''I just felt like I needed to go there and deal with it. And Dad, please don't get mad. He didn't know I was going to see him,'' she said, and Barney tried to look as relaxed as he could.

This was her trusting them. And it was a huge step.

''I am not mad, Gabrielle. I just want to be sure that you are ok,'' Barney replied, and she offered him a small smile.

''I am. It's just that we got to talking, and I told him that I was sick of being scared and, well, one thing led to another and next thing I knew, he hired me as a helper in his hangar,'' she explained, and Toll looked at her with a smile. ''What?''

''It's good to see you back,'' Toll answered, and she offered him the sincerest smile they'd seen in a while.

''It's good to be back too,'' she said, and while they still didn't want her near their world, it was just mechanic work, so they held back their concerns.

She was beautiful when she smiled.

[Trench's hangar]

''So, have you met the Kid yet?'' asked Trench the next day, and she laughed.

''Of course you'd know about that,'' she answered.

''Your father may be my friend, but he still is competition you know?'' Trench mocked, and Gabrielle shook her head, an amused smile on her lips.

''No, I haven't met him yet,'' she finally said before she resumed her task.

[Tool's]

Barney took another beer from the fridge, thinking about his daughter, while Yang was explaining to the Kid how Tool's shop had come to be the head quarters. He could understand and even admire her for not running away from her problems, but when Gunnar had looked like hell two mornings in a row because of Gabrielle's nightmares, he'd almost put a stop to it. But she insisted on going back, and after a week, she had started to get better again.

Now he was back at Tool's with Yang, who'd come back from God knows where. The man was so private about his life it was a wonder how they had ever found him in the first place.

''Hey, when is Gabrielle supposed to come back?'' Barney asked.

''She's still with him?'' Yang countered.

''Yeah. Apparently, she likes it there,'' Tool answered, looking at Barney with an amused smile.

''Don't look at me. I don't know how she does it,'' Barney said.

''Well, she puts up with you just fine,'' Trench commented from the doorway, and Gabrielle passed before him while slapping him lightly on the arm.

''Play nice, Mauser!'' she said, and the man laughed.

Barney shook his head, and Tool smiled. Gabrielle saw another, much younger, man with them, and she smiled at him.

''Hello! You must be Billy. I am Gabrielle. It's very nice to meet you.''

''That I am, if you can convince them to call me by my name,'' Billy answered, and Gabrielle laughed.

''Yeah, that ain't going to happen. At least you're a cowboy, Lee's the maid with an accent, and Hale is called Sweetie. They bark loud, but they don't bite,'' Gabrielle joked, and Tool laughed.

''Well, it's nice to know that someone is on my side,'' Billy said with a smile.

''Of course. Don't hesitate to ask if you need something,'' Gabrielle offered.

''Thank you, but I wouldn't even know where to start. I've never been to New Orleans, and I spend most of my time looking for an apartment.''

''I could show you around if you'd like?'' Gabrielle proposed, and Barney looked at Tool with raised eyebrows.

''Yeah, that would be great,'' Billy accepted, and Gabrielle smiled at him before she excused herself and went to the elevator.

[Trench's hangar]

''So, how was your date?'' Trench asked, and she sent him a dark look.

''Don't even mention it,'' Gabrielle replied with an irritated voice.

''I take it that Gunnar didn't like the idea?'' Trench asked with a more serious expression.

''Understatement of the year,'' Gabrielle said. ''If looks could kill, Gunnar would have spent at least an hour last night sending Billy the Kid to his grave.''

Trench couldn't help but laugh at that.

''To be young and in love,'' Trench said, and it was Gabrielle's turn to laugh. ''How about we let go of that anger?''

''What do you mean?'' Gabrielle asked, intrigued.

''I think it's time,'' Trench said. ''Besides, any more cleaning and my plane's going to change color.''

Gabrielle looked at him for a moment, and then he turned to leave, so she followed him.

[Billy and Gabrielle]

They'd taken Gabrielle's car to go to and get chicken wings for the guys. Gunnar had wanted to go with them, but Gabrielle had convinced him that there was nothing to worry about. After all, Billy had spent so much time talking about Sophia that Gabrielle felt as if she knew her. He had talked a lot, but he was kind and very interesting to listen to. It made it that much easier to talk to him. They got inside, went to take the order before they sat at one of the tables.

''So, what is it like, growing up with mercenaries?'' Billy asked, and Gabrielle offered him a sad smile.

''I wouldn't know. Barney took me in after my mom died of cancer last winter. I actually didn't even know that he was my father. Still, he took me in, and now I got a new family that I love,'' Gabrielle explained.

''I am sorry for your loss,'' Billy said, looking a bit embarrassed.

Gabrielle could tell that he was a very nice young man. Her smile grew more sincere.

''Don't worry, you couldn't have known,'' she replied. ''And don't worry about the guys either. I can tell they like you.''

''I don't think Gunnar likes me very much,'' Billy half joked.

The man was scary.

''He'll get around. You're my friend now, and he'll have to deal with it,'' Gabrielle said before the cashier called their names.

They took the food and turned to the door, only to face pouring rain outside.

''And as your friend, I'll go get the car,'' Gabrielle said before handing her bags of food to him. ''Wish me luck!''

Billy laughed, then smiled. Gabrielle really had a way to make people feel at home.

[Tool's]

''I got a bad feeling about this,'' Gunnar said as he got up out of his seat to look outside.

''Scared that she rather be with someone her age?'' Lee muttered under his breath, and Barney shot him a warning look.

Gunnar's jealousy was already enough to deal with. He didn't need more drama. Jensen scoffed, then took the elevator to go to his room.

[Gabrielle]

The rain was so bad that it was almost impossible for me to see where I was going. I finally got to my car and was about to open the door when someone put a hand on my mouth to stop me from screaming while saying in my ear:

''Hello, Gabrielle.''

Trench's training instantly came to mind, and I bit his hand before I turned around to hit him in the face. I quickly got into my car and went to get Billy. I didn't give him time to put his belt on before I drove away.

''Are you alright?'' Billy asked, and I told him I was cold.

I knew it was a poor attempt at lying, but if he knew it, he didn't insist. I had to calm down. I couldn't let anyone see me like that. They would know that I was in danger, and they would freak out. Worse, that meant that they were in danger. Then they would blame themselves, Gunnar would be gone, and they would push me away even more. I couldn't lose them. I had to protect them.

[G&G]

He had turned the TV on but hadn't been able to focus on anything. He had a bad feeling, no matter what the others had to say about it. He heard footsteps outside his room and looked up just in time to see a soaking wet Gabrielle opening the door. She closed it behind her, took off her clothes, and put on one of his warmest long-sleeved shirts. He could see that she was still shaking, and he frowned.

''I got caught in the rain. I am freezing,'' she told him, but he could sense that something was off. ''Think you could help me?''

He got up and hugged her. She pulled back a second later, just enough to face him.

''I love you,'' she said.

''I love you too,'' he answered, trying to ignore the way she'd said it.

But he couldn't. It had sounded like she was scared, and he needed to know why.

[Trench's hangar]

Trench saw her fill a new magazine with bullets and frowned. He always had appreciated her enthusiasm and her perseverance, but she was taking this way too seriously. He let her shoot another round before he took the gun away from her.

''The more tired you are, the more you risk losing a limb,'' he said, and he could tell that she wanted to argue.

But she didn't, and that disturbed him even more. She was about to put her vest back on when he stopped her.

''Shouldn't you wash your hands first?'' he asked, pointing at the gun powder on her hands and she almost looked mad at herself.

There definitely was something wrong.

''I shouldn't have to hide this from them,'' she said, and Trench sighed.

''They don't want to drag you into this,'' he tried.

''Too late for that,'' she whispered to herself.

But she hadn't been quiet enough, and Trench watched her go, not knowing what to say. Maybe it was time to come clean to Barney. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, his phone rang.

They had found the Chinese man.