Chapter 8

Once again thank you for all the support. I've been re-watching a lot SEAL Team and man I forgot some Mandy/Jason moments lol. I've also been re-watching a lot of the show called The Brave. It only had one season but I really loved the character Patricia Campbell who reminds me a lot of Mandy or what Mandy could become. Hope you enjoy what's to come.

It was late once Mandy was done interrogating one of the prisoners brought in. She wasn't able to get much out him. It seemed like the guy didn't know too much.

As Mandy walked down the hall to leave she bumped into Reiss, "Get anything out of al-Hazred."

"No, you?" Reiss replied.

"Doesn't seem like this guy knows much," Mandy answered back.

"Yeah, I'll take another run at al-Hazred tomorrow. I'm off for the night," Reiss said.

"Night," Mandy replied as she watched him walk off quickly and take out his phone to start making a call.

Since it was so late Mandy figured the celebration for Lisa was pretty much over so she made her way to her quarters. As she approached she could barely see a light on already.

Cautiously opening the door to look in she smiled at who she saw. "Presumptuous don't you think?" Mandy asked looking at Jason relaxing on her bed.

"Well I figured our date got cut short so I'd bring dessert to you," Jason replied showing her the strawberry yogurt he grabbed from the dining hall for her. "Has to count for something, right?"

"I'll take it under consideration," Mandy said as she dropped her stuff off on the desk and took off her shoes to sit next to Jason.

Jason knew strawberries were her favorite. Any place they went to she'd find some sort of strawberry dessert she'd have to try. He liked observing the subtle things about her. She wasn't someone who shied away from eating. As much as the team ribbed on her, she would hand it right back to them. She fit in with them and he trusted her with everything in him.

"Oh my god this is good," Mandy moaned jarring Jason out of his thoughts. "You know what else I miss right about now? Some ice cream. Definitely getting ice cream once we're back state side."

"Ice cream, huh? I'll take you to that little soft serve place around the corner from the steakhouse. See, told you I'd get another date."

Mandy laughed while handing over the spoon to Jason to give him a bite, which he accepted. The two sat in a comfortable silence while Mandy ate.

"How'd your questioning go?" Jason asked.

"Oh, just great," Mandy sarcastically replied. "Guy seems pretty low on the totem pole and didn't have much to offer. I ran into Reiss on the way out too."

"Anything new there," Jason asked while soothingly rubbing his hand up and down Mandy's thigh closest to him. He knew she was frustrated she couldn't question al-Hazred herself. He remembered when they went after Abu Samir al-Masri and she wanted him alive because she planned on getting everything inside his head. It never seized to amaze him how determined and confident she was. He also remembered when they went to re-con on the guy and later discovered a hostage how disappointed she was when told it would be a hostage rescue instead.

He knew she wasn't the cold hearted bitch people thought she was because she valued a terrorist's life over a kidnapped hostage. It was part of their job to make the tough decisions. He hated the disappointed look and way she sat herself down accepting that her chance to catch the guy was slipping away. He remembered the look in her eyes as she talked about how close she had gotten to the guy and the guilt she felt over her asset dying. Even then he knew she cared more than she let on. As he told the brass, they'd do both. In the end Mandy didn't get him alive but reassured him that the world was a better place without him.

"Reiss said al-Hazred wasn't talking," Mandy replied.

"You gonna get a crack at him?"

"Not sure. At this point, I don't know if it would help. Reiss started the interrogation so me all of a sudden walking in might give the appeal of we have nothing. Had I gone in first I could have at least caught the guy off guard being a woman and all. For some reason, they never think a woman has it in them self the strength to break them."

Jason laughed, "Yeah, they've never met you."

"What's that supposed to mean," Mandy asked jokingly as she got up to throw out her empty yogurt container.

"Means you're a force to be reckoned with," Jason said as he pulled her by the arm so she was lying on the bed and he was on top. "So am I lucky tonight?" Jason murmured as he nuzzled her neck.

"Well," Mandy sighed as Jason kissed along her collar bone. She always loved how he found just the right spots to make her squirm. Mandy decided she wanted control so she flipped them over causing them to fall onto the floor seeing as there wasn't much room on the bed. "Guess it's your lucky night," Mandy replied as she leaned down to kiss him passionately.

A couple hours later the two were laid out on the floor in a mess of twisted sheets. Mandy's head rested by his heart with one leg hooked over Jason's waist. Jason's hand resting on that leg and his head leaned on top of Mandy's as she traced the different scars across his body. His other arm curled around her back holding her close to him

"You ever think about it?" Jason asked.

"About what?" Mandy asked back.

"The future. About what's next after all this. Is this just all that we are? People who just know how to operate and hunt down the next bad guy."

The truth was Mandy had thought about it more recently. Between the two of them, they both were all in with their jobs. There wasn't much room for other things. She always found it hard dating regular civilians seeing as she couldn't particularly come right out and say she worked for the CIA. Always having to come up with a story to why she was gone and not wanting to talk was an issue to. Sure she had once told Jason she wanted some sort of family but she often wondered if it would ever be possible. With Jason though, she always felt like there was some sort of hope in life.

"You know, the higher ups talk about all this change coming and people like us need to start thinking about what's next in our careers. In the end, I like to think it's just them saying that maybe we've done our time and it's time for the next generation to take over. There's always going to be another bad guy to hunt down. It's hard to think of doing anything else though sometimes," Mandy said as she linked her hand with his. "It's like I told you before, you're one of the best operators to adapt to any situation on the battle field. I believe you could adapt outside of battle field too if you choose to do so. You're Master Chief Jason Hayes who never backs down from a challenge."

Jason considered her words and faith in him. "Would you be happy getting a job at Langley?"

"Maybe," Mandy replied. "Patricia Campbell."

"Who?"

"She's a mentor of mine. A legend over at Langley if you ask anyone. She went from being a field operative like me to being the Deputy Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. I learned a lot from her on not only being on agent but also being a woman in this industry. I like to think if she could make the transition then so could I. Then again, there are still a lot of tough calls to be made and lives at stake. It'd be nice though to be state side more often and maybe have a little more to life than just the job."

"I don't know if I could make the change to command," Jason said shakily.

Mandy lifted her head off his chest and leaned on her elbow looking down at him as he looked at the ceiling. "That's okay Jason. It's okay not to know. No one is telling you to step down right this second."

"I just feel like they are though. I feel like the train is moving so fast and I don't know how stop it or get off. Ray going to be a warrant officer, Clay taking his new job, hell even Sonny seems to have changed after spending some time in Texas."

"Hey," Mandy said as she took her hand to cup Jason's cheek so she could look him in the eyes. "I've said it before and I'll say it again. You can do anything you set your mind to. Today you're Bravo 1 and tomorrow you will be too. One day at a time is all we need to do right now," Mandy said softly as she leaned in to kiss him.

"You'll be there, right?" Jason asked with such vulnerability it hurt Mandy to see.

"Always," Mandy said looking him straight in the eyes. "You're not getting rid of me that easily this time."

Jason pulled her down to him again where they both eventually drifted off to sleep. They'd both get through this one day at a time.