"Dammit Aisha, could you not?" Jensen whined, completely sick of guns at this point. Even the relief of not being abandoned couldn't overtake his annoyance at being threatened once again. He knew he couldn't exactly blame her, since they were in enemy territory and she couldn't take any chances, but Jensen knew she enjoyed it.

"Someone call for a cab?" Aisha smirked, finally lowering her gun.

"You will never be the funny one, so don't even bother," Jensen scoffed.

"Well, that spot might be opening up soon, with how you're looking right now. Did you get shot again?" Aisha questioned, glaring over at Roque.

"It wasn't my fault," Jensen moaned.

"Can we continue this conversation from inside the jeep? I'd like to get out of here before Jensen gets shot again," Roque requested, heaving them both over to the back of the vehicle.

"Don't forget I got shot saving you, asshole," Jensen grunted, letting himself get manhandled into the seat. The car was hot, muggy, and totally amazing. All he wanted to do was curl up and forget about the world for a few hours.

"Go!" Roque called out as soon as he shut the door behind them. Aisha peeled out, barrelling down the dry dirt of the desert like a bat out of hell. They bounced over a rock and all of Jensen's control was lost, tipping forward and letting out a spray of puke across Roque's lap.

"Oww," Jensen groaned, holding his forehead as his skull felt like it was going to fly apart.

"The fuck!" Roque shouted.

"Oops," Jensen mumbled, resting his cheek against the back of the seat.

"Jensen, talk to me. Are you dying right now?" Aisha demanded, flicking her eyes between the windshield and the rearview mirror.

"Never thought you'd say that to me, huh?" Jensen chuckled, letting his eyes slide closed. "I'm just tired."

"Don't fall asleep!" Aisha snapped, reaching back to slap his leg. Thankfully she hit the uninjured one. "Your brain is probably already mush."

"Jay, talk to me, okay? Wanna tell me more about how much you hate me?" Roque cajoled.

"So much," Jensen muttered. Why couldn't they just leave him alone for a while? Let him have a break for once?

"Tell me all the reasons. Because I'm stronger than you, right?" Roque asked, a little bit of teasing in his voice.

"Strength is measured in what you're willing to do for other people, not how many pounds you can lift," Jensen sighed. "But either way, I could totally take you."

"Right."

"We could've taken on anything, if we'd stuck together. As long as we had each other, we would've been okay," Jensen murmured, sending Roque a sad look. This is what he'd asked for, even if it had been flippant. "That's why I hate you. You hurt us all. And for no reason."

"Jensen-"

"It would've been different if you sacrificed us to take out Max. If triumph had come out of tragedy. But we're all just as miserable as we were from the start."

"You reunited with your family though, didn't you?" Roque pointed out.

"And you could've been there with us. You didn't care about us as much as I let myself care about you. Forget all the bullshit and fighting and all that. It was the five of us and that meant something to me," Jensen intoned quietly. "I always thought I had four people I could count on, no matter what. But I was wrong."

The inside of the car was quiet after that for a little while. Jensen didn't think anyone ever quite knew what to do when he got serious. He was supposed to be the one who could always joke, no matter what. Even in the most inappropriate situations. But he'd lost some of that in Bolivia. Then more and more as the hits kept coming.

"My therapist would probably say I have attachment issues. If I actually saw one. Pooch told me once that I talked too much, even for the professionals. That they'd lie and tell me I was fine, just so I wouldn't keep going," Jensen murmured, with a smirk on his face. "Maybe I'll test it out one day."

"Jensen, you're not about to pass out on me, are you?" Aisha questioned, bouncing them hard over an uneven patch of desert.

"While I'm stuck with you two psychos? Not a chance," Jensen snorted. "I'll wait until Cougs can protect me."

"How far are we going?" Roque asked.

"A couple hours to the rendezvous point," Aisha grunted.

"Are you coming with us?" Jensen asked quietly. He didn't care, really.

"Might as well," Roque sighed. "After Clay finds out I'm still alive, he won't rest until he finds me again. Figure I should cut out the middleman and give you one less person to hunt."

"How thoughtful of you," Jensen scoffed. "It's okay, we've got a while to plan out what to say when we all meet up. I should probably do all the talking at first."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea. I always feel an urge to kill when I hear your voice," Aisha laughed.

"You know, you hurt my feelings sometimes," Jensen sighed, running a finger under his eyes. "It's kind of discouraging to be put down all the time. I guess I should be used to it by now, since I've been dealing with it all my life."

"Wow," Roque muttered.

"It's fine. Some people just aren't meant to be cared for."

"My God, when did you get so sensitive?" Aisha snapped.

"Probably the first time my mom told me I was unlovable," Jensen mumbled. He heard Aisha mutter out a few colorful words before she wrung her hands around the steering wheel.

"I'm sorry," she grumbled.

"That was so easy. You're such a dumbass," Jensen cackled, wagging his eyebrows at Roque.

"Asshole!"

"If it makes you feel any better, my mom really did say that. I just didn't care, since she was a mean drunk."

"Sure, I forgive you," Aisha cooed, immediately outing herself as a liar when she hit another bump hard on purpose. Another wave of puke landed in Roque's lap. Jensen might've been able to aim away, but he honestly wasn't trying too hard.

"Fuck!"

"Concussions suck."


The rest of the drive was shit. Jensen kept his mouth shut, since he couldn't risk pissing Aisha off anymore and losing more liquids in the process. Of course Roque didn't have anything useful in his jeep, since that would be too convenient. He probably hadn't been expecting everything that happened, but it didn't hurt to be prepared.

At least they had the vehicle, since there really was nothing out here. Jensen knew for a fact now that he wouldn't have made it back if he'd had to walk. It shouldn't really count as a plus in the Roque column, since he hadn't been out here to save him, but it did a little. Roque could've stayed hidden away and let them go off on their own and no one ever would've known.

Jensen was so ready to be back with the rest of the team. As long as he had Cougar and Pooch by his side, things would be okay. And he was definitely never going anywhere with Aisha alone again.

"What's the plan?" Roque asked as soon as there were signs of civilization in the distance.

"We missed a few check ins, so I might have to find us a new way out of here," Aisha muttered. Jensen could tell she still preferred the killing Roque option, but was actively fighting her instincts. She didn't have as much of a grudge as the others, so it wasn't really her place to be the judge, jury, and executioner. Clay would probably be taking up that role, while Jensen curiously found himself as somewhat of a defense attorney. He definitely wasn't on Team Roque, but he wanted to give the man a chance to say his piece.

"I'm ready for some delicious painkillers and a nap, in that order," Jensen sighed. He wasn't really looking forward to a plane ride like this, but there wasn't really any getting around it. There was no way Aisha would take him anywhere to get him checked out without leaving him there to figure things out on his own. The last thing he wanted was to be left behind. He still wasn't even sure what continent he was on.

"How about a nice, long flight in a cargo hold with lots of turbulence?" Aisha grinned. Jensen hiccuped at the thought, swiping the back of his hand over his mouth.

"If you make him barf again, I'm sticking him in the front with you," Roque snapped, pushing at the back of Aisha's seat.

"Not gonna puke," Jensen grumbled.

"You're green. And pale. And sweaty," Aisha pointed out.

"And telling me that is helpful how?"

"Just an observation," Aisha shrugged.

"Well, keep them to yourself. Not all of us can be as gorgeous as you all the time."

"Are you flirting with me again? Remember how well that worked last time?"

"As if. You and Clay's sexcapades are way out of my league. I need a gentle lover."

"Tell me we're getting out of this car soon," Roque sighed.

"Not soon, now," Aisha replied, pulling up outside a nondescript building. It looked like every other building and definitely not big enough to be hiding a plane, but Jensen wasn't in a position to question Aisha's plans. She probably had something up her sleeve.

"They got a McDonalds in there?" Jensen asked, gearing himself up for the walk inside. The car ride had been a nice bit of rest, but his body was screaming at him at the thought of being upright again. Maybe he could get away with waiting in the car until the next moves had fully been fleshed out.

"No, but there might be a toilet you can drink out of," Aisha smirked.

"If they have the plumbing for a toilet, they probably have a sink as well, so suck it," Jensen grumbled. Not his best comeback, but he was tired.

"Just shut up and get out of the car," Aisha snapped, throwing open her door and hopping out.

"Come on, I got you," Roque offered, carefully sliding out of his own seat. His gunshot didn't seem to be giving him much trouble, which kind of ticked Jensen off. If he'd played through the pain and still ran the first time, Jensen wouldn't have had to go back for him. Jensen really had to stop trying to play the hero. He only ended up with more holes in his body.

"I've got myself," Jensen grunted, dragging himself outside of the car. It was fully dark now, which meant it was a lot colder than he was expecting. The cool air hitting his sweat covered skin made him start shivering immediately, awakening the pain that had gone a little dormant during the drive. His injured leg threatened to give out on him, so he held onto the side of the car until he could get his bearings.

"Come on," Aisha groaned, ducking under his shoulder to hold him up.

"You're helping me?" Jensen mumbled in surprise. "What happened to leaving me behind to rot?"

"I can still do that," Aisha warned, helping him hobble to the door of the building. Jensen knew she wouldn't though. Roque took up the rear as they made their slow journey. It seemed like a miracle that they hadn't encountered any unfriendlies since they took off in the jeep, but there was always the possibility of another ambush. They couldn't relax until they were in the air.

"Are we meeting someone here?" Jensen asked, hissing as his side twinged in pain.

"You could say that," a new voice confirmed. Jensen looked up in shock, meeting the eyes of his former Colonel. The rest of the team was standing behind him.

"Oh shit," Jensen whispered, appreciating the last few seconds before Roque came into view and chaos would ensue. "So, here's the thing-"

"What the fuck?" Pooch said, reaching for his gun.

"Let me explain," Jensen started, before promptly passing out.