Barney & Yang

Barney pressed his binoculars against his eyes and scanned the land before him. Yang was at the ready next to him, hand on his pistol. When he found what he was looking for, he stopped. He took in the guards and the building. It looked simple enough, but looks could be deceiving.

"Good to go?" Yang asked.

"I think so," Barney answered, lowering the binoculars. "In and out. Doesn't seem too complicated. We can put a sniper there." He pointed towards the hill. "And have our escape vehicles there." He gestured across the way. Yang nodded.

"What are we getting this time?" he asked, taking the binoculars from Barney to look for himself.

"Her," Barney answered, nodding his head as guards hauled a woman towards the building.

"Who is she?"

"An ambassador's daughter. They're trying to wrangle a deal through blackmail."

"Bastards," Yang muttered.

"Yea. Bastardos," Barney agreed. "We gotta do this before the week is up."

"What are we waiting for?" Yang asked. Barney chuckled.

"Right. Let's go round up the gang then, shall we?"

Norah

She noticed Lee tiptoeing around her the next morning. She wondered if he had ever told anyone about his brother before. If he hadn't, it would explain why he was putting distance between them now. That, or it was the fact that he had almost kissed her. She had recognized the look. In that moment, she had wanted him to, which made her feel confused herself. She fondled Rupert as he tried to lick her face and wrapped an arm around his neck to hug him. Rupert freed himself and bounced away, making noises and smiling at her while sounding like he was trying to bark but intentionally wasn't.

"Settle down," Lee ordered, putting a hand on Rupert's head. The dog twisted to lick his fingers, ignoring his request.

"Sleep well?" Norah asked. She was desperate for any kind of conversation. He hadn't said anything after they left Caesar's place, and she felt like he was going to close himself off to her. She didn't want that.

"Fine," he answered. He looked at her briefly before going back to what he was doing. It appeared he was trying to open a package of ham and wasn't having luck doing so. Norah got to her feet and went over to him.

"Here," she said, reaching to take it from him. "I have nails." Their fingers brushed, and she met his eyes. Something that looked a lot like fear went through his, and she wondered why he was afraid of her.

"Thanks," he said when she got the package opened and handed it back to him. He avoided touching her, and then he turned his back to her. Norah felt unsure of what to do, but she couldn't just stand there and let him ignore her. She put a hand on his shoulder, tugging him around to face her.

"Hey," she said. "What did I do?"

"Nothing," he answered, his body tense.

"Are you afraid of me?" she asked. Multiple things flashed across his face, but his phone ringing saved him from answering her. He yanked it out of his pocket like it was a life saver.

"Yea?" he said after looking at who was calling. He pulled from Norah's grasp and moved away from her. She couldn't hear what was being said. She stood there, hands at her side, wondering what was happening between them.

Toll

He was throwing last minute things into his bag. He wasn't quite ready for another mission so soon, but there was urgency to this one. It was a rescue mission; it made him feel better about what he did when it involved saving someone, not that their other jobs didn't involve saving somebody. They took out people who were about to kill hundreds, if not thousands, of people. They stopped terrorists from gaining access to technology. They busted up trafficking rings and stopped arms deals. They weren't the kind of mercenaries who went rogue and hurt someone who didn't have it coming. Toll trusted Barney to take the right kind of jobs, and he never disappointed them.

"Off to save the world again?" Victoria asked, padding out to get something to drink while Toll zipped his bag shut.

"Yea," he answered. "You okay?"

"I'm fine."

Toll wasn't so sure. After last night's attack at the club, he wondered if she was feeling anxious or scared. She refused to talk about it, though, so all he could do was guess.

"Seriously, Nick," she said, not looking at him. "I'm good. Don't worry about me."

"You know I do, though."

"Yes, and while it's sweet, I'm really okay," she promised, finally looking over her shoulder at him.

"Okay," he said reluctantly. She came over to hug him tightly, and he returned it.

"Don't die on me," she ordered. He gave a slight chuckle.

"I'll do my best," he said.

"Do better," she instructed, pulling back and dusting off his shoulders before giving him a small smile.

"I'll see you when I get back," he promised. She just nodded, and he bent to pick up his bag before walking out the door.

Barney

He looked at his team and gave a satisfactory nod. Everyone was chatting and laughing. The vibe was positive and light.

Lee was the last to arrive. He appeared extra grouchy, and Barney wondered why. He suddenly thought about Norah and all the other things that came with thinking about her. He'd buried it for the last 24 hours, but he knew he couldn't dodge it forever. The truth would come out eventually. If she was who he thought she was, anyway. He was pretty sure.

"Good morning, sunshine," Barney said to Lee, who scowled at him and said nothing back. Definitely El Groucho today. He had some work ahead of him to snap Lee out of it.

"We all here?" Toll asked, looking around.

"Yea," Barney said. "Let's go."

They all boarded his plane, and Barney was glad it wasn't too long of a flight to Mexico. He said nothing as he lit his cigar and started up the plane. Lee did all his checks and switch flipping on his end, and they were off.

Rose

She had her phone in the crook of her neck as she grabbed a hold of Oscar as he tried to pass by her with his shirt on inside out.

"I'm gonna be late!" he said loudly, annoyed.

"You're not going out like that," she said back.

"What's going on?" Norah asked in her ear.

"Just...stuff," Rose answered, wrangling the shirt off of Oscar and flipping it right side out.

"Have you told Winston yet?" Norah asked. Oscar got his shirt back on and grabbed his backpack. Rose grabbed her keys, noticing her father was watching the morning news still. She waved at him, and he waved back.

"Not yet," she answered Norah, going down the steps quickly and heading for her car. "Soon, though."

"How was your date the other night?"

"It was good. Really good."

"I'm glad. You deserve it."

Rose smiled, even though her sister couldn't see it. She did feel she deserved it. She'd finally rid herself of that person who needed to cling to something of the past. She wasn't that girl anymore. She was someone new.

"I gotta go, Norah. I'm late getting Oscar to school."

"Hi, Aunt Norah!" Oscar shouted near her ear.

"Hi, kiddo," Norah replied.

"She says hi back," Rose told him. "Now buckle up." He obeyed, and Rose switched hands with her phone. "I'll call you later, Norah."

"Okay."

They hung up, and Rose started to back out of the driveway. She paused, noticing a parked car on the street across from her house. It almost looked like Heather in the driver's seat. Rose blinked. What was Heather doing watching her house? She decided she was imagining it and drove off. She didn't have time for drama today.

Norah

Lee had left again. She was tempted to follow him just to see where he went, but she knew if there was any chance of having him trust her, she shouldn't do that.

Instead, she called her sister. Then she played with Rupert. After that, she went looking for Sassy and found her sleeping in a sun beam in the back porch. She decided to sit there for a while, enjoying the sounds of nature. She was glad it was screened in to keep the bugs out.

She thought about Lee's story. She could almost imagine it happening, and she got chills as she did so. She couldn't imagine holding a dying sibling in her arms and knowing there was nothing she could do about it. It made her feel really bad for Lee.

She thought about Gunner next. There seemed to be something buried behind his eyes, a pain so unimaginable that it was on the verge of swallowing him whole. She wondered if he would tell her what had happened to him.

She sighed as she thought about the day ahead of her. It was very quiet without Lee. She wondered when he'd be back.

Lee

He couldn't stop thinking about Norah and what they'd shared with each other the night before. Knowing what happened to her mother helped make sense of her for some reason. She hadn't handled the grief well, and now she was lost, trying to find herself, her path. Lee hadn't handled the grief of his brother well either, and after his relationship with Melanie, he'd decided to just be alone. It was better that way. No one got hurt.

Now he had Norah in his life, and she was pulling at him in ways he didn't think he could be pulled ever again. He'd told her about his brother, something he'd never told anyone, not even Barney.

What did it all mean?

"You good yet?" Barney asked, breaking into his thoughts.

"No."

"Too bad. We're almost there, and I need you to be our eyes."

"You want me to be the sniper?" Lee asked, incredulous. "Why me?"

"Cos it's your turn," Barney answered, giving him a look. "And you're still not 100% from the last mission."

"But..."

"Don't worry, I brought your rifle," Barney cut him off. "You better go check it out before we land, though. Make sure it's in good shape."

"And if it isn't?"

"It will be," Barney said firmly. "Go on."

Lee gave a slight growl before getting up and going to the back of the plane. He was digging out his rifle when he overheard Gunner talking to Toll about Norah. He paused, listening.

"She's something special, that one," Gunner was saying.

"I know," Toll agreed. Was there a hint of jealousy in his tone? Annoyance? Lee dared to look, and he noticed Toll's jaw was clenched a bit. He met Lee's eyes, and Lee looked away. He wasn't going to be a part of this, the drama of "who got the girl." Maybe Norah didn't even want to be "got" by any of them.

"She can shoot very well," Gunner went on. At this, the rifle slipped from Lee's hand with a bang, making them all jump.

"Sorry," he said, looking at them briefly.

"You took her to the shooting range?" Toll asked Gunner, not missing a beat and echoing Lee's thoughts. "Are you insane?!"

"What? It was fun. She enjoyed it."

"Did you tell her who we are while you were at it?" Caesar asked, incredulous.

"No. I just said I liked going there because it helped me de-stress."

"And she bought that?" Toll asked, sounding doubtful.

"Yea."

"Idiot," Lee muttered under his breath quietly. He might as well have taken Norah to their weapons locker and gave her all the information about what they do. Inviting her into the world of guns was dangerous. He thought Gunner should have known better, but then again, Gunner was desperate to find someone who was a part of this world, so if he had to make her a part of it, he would. Lee knew that.

"T-minus ten minutes," Barney called back. Lee bit back his reply. He went over his rifle, seeing that it was good to go, as promised. He didn't normally do sniper work, and he was feeling slightly anxious.

"You got us covered, right?" Toll asked him, sensing this.

"Yea," Lee answered. He avoided looking at him. He avoided looking at Gunner too. He didn't want either of them to see in his eyes that he was starting to fall for Norah despite trying really hard not to.

Yang

It all happened so fast. Yang had gone in second after Toll, and within seconds, it was a firefight. Lee was taking down as many as he could from his perch, and the echo of Barney's pistols ringing went on and on. Yang split off, heading to find the ambassador's daughter. Barney had pointed out that Yang was smaller and could go undetected. Apparently, he only seemed to recognize this when he wasn't being asked to pay extra for double the work due to Yang's height.

Yang made it to where they were holding the woman, and he felt his heart lurch at the sight of her frightened face. He had her free in no time, and he was telling her that he was rescuing her as they walked hurriedly down the halls. She seemed to believe him, which was helpful. She screamed when bullets came at them. Yang grabbed her arm and yanked her away, ducking them both down as they kept moving. He fired back every so often over his shoulder.

"Almost there," he urged. He could feel the woman's hope, her anticipation of freedom. They were out the door and racing towards the waiting trucks with Barney and the others behind him. Ten yards. Five yards. Yang didn't see anyone, didn't hear anything. They were home free. They made it to the truck, and Yang was reaching to open the door for her when it happened.

The sniper's bullet came from nowhere. It burst through the woman's chest above her heart, grazing across Yang's right side. The look on her face as she registered what had happened was one Yang would never forget. She fell, and he grabbed her, getting crushed by her sudden dead weight. Then Gunner lifted her up and had her in his arms, getting into the truck with her. A second sniper shot went off, and since the bullet didn't hit any of them, they figured Lee had taken out the rival sniper.

"Put on the pressure!" Toll was shouting. Yang watched from inside his fog as Caesar kept scanning for rivals and Gunner and Toll worked to save the woman, who was dying in front of them. Her head lolled to the side, and her eyes met Yang's. It stung. It brought back a memory that Yang worked to shove down each and every day. Everything moved in slow motion suddenly, and Yang watched as the woman mouthed one word at him.

Please.

He wanted to tell her they could save her, that they could give her back her life, but she went into shock, and then she was gone. The moment where she hung in the balance of life and death was quick, and her unseeing eyes bore into Yang's as the truck rattled and bumped along. He vaguely felt his own blood seeping from his wound over his fingers, but he didn't care. Then they jerked slightly as Barney stopped to pick up Lee.

"What happened?!" Lee was shouting. "What the f*** happened?!"

"She's gone," Toll's voice said, sounding far away now. "She's gone, man. Shit, shit!"

Yang felt like he was fading away, and then there were voices shouting at him.

"Yang's been hit!" Caesar called. "Hey, Yang! Stay with us, man!"

The darkness came, and Yang hoped that this time, it would claim him forever.

Norah

When Lee came back from his work trip, Norah noticed right away something had gone wrong. His movements were sharp, his eyes were angry, and his jaw was clenched. She stood in the kitchen watching, unsure of what to do or say. Even Rupert seemed at a loss, although he nosed Lee every so often worriedly.

When Lee dropped his glass, he swore loudly. Rupert had leaped out of the way, and Lee was trying to bend and pick up the pieces.

"Let me," Norah said, jumping in. She grabbed the broom and dust pan and swept it up quickly. She tried to take the piece he had in his hand, but he wouldn't give it to her. Instead, he threw it hard against the wall, falling to his knees and letting loose an anguished howl that raised all the hair on Norah's neck and arms and made her reach for him.

"Shhh," she said, gathering him into her arms tightly and rocking him slowly. "It's okay. Shhh." He gripped her arms tightly, gasping for air. She had no idea what had happened, but she just knew he needed her. Rupert whined as he lay down and rested his head on Lee's leg. She had no idea how long they'd stayed on the floor when he finally calmed down. He let her continue to hold him, though.

"I'm sorry," he said after a moment.

"You wanna tell me what happened?" she asked. He shuddered, and she didn't think he would until he started talking.

"A woman died in front of me. I couldn't save her."

"What?! Oh my God, Lee. Where the hell were you when this happened?"

"Somewhere," he answered vaguely. Norah's suspicion grew stronger that he was going away for some kind of mission work. Maybe he was CIA or something.

"I'm sorry," she said to him, cupping his face and holding him close. "I'm so sorry."

"Me too," he whispered.

It was dark before he pulled himself away from her and went to lock himself in his room.

Barney

He sat staring into space. The tongue lashing he'd received from the ones who'd hired him for this job had been long and intense. He'd never forget that young woman's face. He'd failed her, and that did not sit well with him.

He turned to see Yang stirring in the hospital bed. He'd bled out quite a bit from getting shot. The bullet had gone just under his vest under his arm. It had been close to killing him if he had been standing three inches to the right. This was where Barney worried about Yang being the shortest. He could have been shot in the neck and killed.

"Good to see you," he said to Yang, who blinked at him.

"Shit," Yang said back.

"Yea, it is shit," Barney agreed. Yang closed his eyes without another word, and Barney knew he'd be beating himself up for this. He knew Lee was. Lee had sworn he'd searched everywhere for other snipers and had killed the ones he'd seen. The others had taken on the blame too. This was not going to be forgotten anytime soon.

Rose

She found Mac waiting for her at the crime scene she was going to clean. She faltered, not wanting to deal with him but knowing she couldn't be rude to him in front of all the other workers. She felt he'd done this on purpose so that she would have to talk to him.

"Rose," he started.

"I have work to do," she said abruptly, moving past him. He caught her elbow and turned her back to face him.

"Rose, I need to talk to you," he told her.

"No, Mac, you don't," she said firmly. "Please leave me alone."

"Heather kicked me out," he blurted out. Rose blinked as she looked at him.

"Are you serious?" she asked. Was that why Heather had been parked in front of her house? Had she thought Mac would come running to Rose right after he got kicked out?

"Yes," he answered. "We got into a huge fight, and...and she told me to leave. Rose, I don't know what to do."

"I don't know what you want me to tell you," she said with a shrug. She started to walk towards the scene, and he followed.

"Well, I guess I thought..." he started, and she swung around abruptly, making him side step her so as not to trip over his feet and fall over.

"You thought what? That you could get with me now? No, Mac. It's done," she said sharply. "I refuse to be your second choice and only because your wife was the one who called it quits. Leave me alone."

She spun on her heel, and this time, he didn't follow her. She was shaking as she started working. How dare he come to her after his wife kicked him out! If that didn't confirm to her that she was an afterthought, she didn't know what would.

"Sorry I'm late," Joe said, showing up about ten minutes later to find her vigorously scrubbing at blood. "Everything all right?"

"Just dandy," she answered. She didn't tell him. It wasn't worth upsetting him over. She did her best to forget about Mac as the night went on.

Toll

He found his sister watching Family Feud and shouting out answers at the TV. She turned when she saw him come in, and her expression changed.

"Nick," she said, getting to her feet and going over to him. "Are you all right? I've had a pain in my heart for the last twelve hours. What happened?"

"She died," Toll answered hoarsely. "The woman we were saving..." He faltered. Victoria pressed her hands over her mouth before moving in to hug him tightly. Toll's heart ached, like it had been aching for hours. It was no wonder his twin had felt it. They had that ability to know when the other was in pain. Whenever Victoria had been very high or on withdrawal, Toll had always felt off or like he was in a fog or incredibly frustrated over nothing.

"I'm so sorry," she said, rubbing his back gently.

"I still don't even know what went wrong," he said, his voice tight. He'd sat there looking at her until Gunner had covered her with a sheet. Then they had to focus on Yang, who had been bleeding out from his wound. Not much else was said between them, but they'd waited until Yang was stable at the hospital before going their own way.

"Can I do anything?" Victoria asked.

"Can you bring her back?"

"I wish I could, Nick. I really do."

Toll said nothing else as she continued to hold him. He felt like he did when his parents had died. Helpless. Lost. Angry. Sad. A lot of emotions were flitting through him. He wasn't sure how he was going to recover from this.

Gunner

He hid himself away with his alcohol. He didn't want to think anymore. Everything hurt. His muscles. His brain. His heart. Knowing that somewhere there were two parents who were receiving the news that their daughter was not coming home was enough to make him want to drink himself to oblivion. How had they failed? He didn't understand. He hadn't seen the woman's face after she got shot, but he had seen Yang's. The man who never showed emotion on his face had certainly shown anguish and fear in that moment; it was almost like he'd been seeing someone else in the woman's place.

"Gun? You in there?" Tool's voice asked outside of his door. Gunner said nothing. He didn't feel up to a talk with Tool. He just wanted to be alone.

"I'm here if you wanna talk," Tool said after a moment. "Okay? I mean that."

Gunner heard him walk away, and he popped the top off his first beer, guzzling it down like his life depended on it. In that moment, maybe it did.

Caesar

As soon as he walked into the door and saw Char, he swept her up into his arms and held her tight. She protested at first, laughing. Then she saw his face.

"What happened?" she asked when he put her down.

"We lost her," he answered simply. "We have no idea why we missed the sniper, but he got her, and she's gone. We failed."

"Oh, Hale..."

"Daddy!" Sasha called, rushing to greet him. Caesar scooped her up and gave her kisses, making her laugh. His heart was broken inside, but he had to pretend he was okay for his children. He refused to let them see him broken. Will came next, and he hugged Caesar briefly before going back to what he was doing. Sasha took a bit more convincing to go play. Once they were alone again, Char pulled him into their room.

"I'm here," she said simply, and he broke down into choking sobs as he told her what happened from start to finish. He wondered how many of the others ended up on the floor rocking back and forth with grief.

Lee

He felt embarrassed. He'd lost control of himself in front of Norah, and she'd seen him break down. He never broke down, not like that. He was pacing in his room now, knowing she was out there wondering what had just happened. He couldn't tell her the full truth. He didn't know what to do. He kicked at the closet door, still angry. He'd screwed up. He had missed the other sniper. He had checked everywhere, though. It didn't make sense. This was why Gunner did that job, not him. He was better up close and personal, not at a distance.

"Lee?"

He turned to look at the door where Norah's voice was coming from the other side.

"I know you don't want to see me, but can you at least let Rupert in? He's distressed out here not being able to help you."

Lee went to the door and opened it, and she was standing there wearing a sad and concerned expression. Rupert pushed his way in and then pressed against his legs. Lee was still looking at Norah.

"I wish I could make it better, but all I can say is that I'm here," she offered. He nodded, and she pressed her lips together before turning to leave him alone.

Yang

He hadn't wanted to wake up. He had wanted to be gone from this world. Why did he keep coming back from the brink of death? He didn't understand. Barney was still sitting beside him, but he was sleeping now, his neck twisted in an awkward angle. Yang appreciated that he was staying there with him, but he wanted to be alone.

He couldn't stop seeing her eyes, the word on her lips. It was all haunting him.

Please.

It was the same thing he'd seen before. He was forever seeing it in his mind.

"Stop," Barney muttered, making Yang look at him. "No, don't do it. Stop!" Yang was about to reach and wake him when Barney jolted awake, eyes darting around the room. He visibly relaxed when he saw where he was. He looked at Yang.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Are you?" Yang countered.

"Yea," Barney answered. "Fine."

"Dreams haunt you too?" Yang asked. Barney sighed.

"All the time, man. All the time."

"Me too."

"You wanna talk about it?" Barney offered.

"Do you?"

"Nah."

"Me either."

Yang turned his head away, ending the exchange. He was tired. Thankfully, Barney didn't say anything else.

Norah

She heard him yelling in the middle of the night, and it scared her. She grabbed her flashlight and ran up the stairs, hurrying to his room. She found him thrashing and shouting, Rupert whining on the floor with a paw on the edge of the bed. The dog looked unsure of what to do.

"Let me," Norah said to him, moving in close. She climbed in next to Lee, sliding in behind him and wrapping her arms around him tightly. He jerked and kicked a couple of times, but then he started to calm down.

"I've got you," she whispered into his ear. "It's okay." She had no idea what she was doing. She was in bed with a guy she hardly knew, but what she did know was that he needed comfort, and she knew how it felt to need it and not get it, so she wanted to give it to him. One of the vivid memories she had of her mother (and there were few) was of her mother holding her and telling her everything was going to be okay. Sometimes she still heard her mother's voice when she was upset.

"Everything's gonna be okay," she said softly, echoing her mother. Lee eventually stilled, his breathing growing even again. Norah could feel his heart beating against her arm, and she felt it start to slow down. He never woke up, but Norah didn't want to leave in case her presence was the reason for him being calm. After his ordeal, the least she could offer him was a good night's sleep. She closed her eyes, feeling Rupert jump up and get comfortable at the end of the bed. Sassy wasn't long joining them either. The last thing Norah thought about was what Lee was gonna say when he woke up in the morning and found them all in bed with him.

Lee

He'd woken up as soon as Norah had crawled into bed with him, his body jerking and kicking still without him controlling it. At first, he was confused as to why she was there, and then he realized he must have been shouting, which woke her up.

"I've got you, it's okay."

Her voice soothed him unexpectedly, and he started to relax. He'd spent a lot of years sleeping alone and only recently with a dog. It was nice having a warm body against him that wasn't drooling all over him or trying to lick the insides of his ears or nose, a body that was giving comfort and protection.

"Everything's gonna be okay," she promised, her voice still whispering. He felt like things could eventually be okay, just like she promised. He didn't move and didn't make a sound. He found himself starting to fall back to sleep. He let it happen. After everything, he just needed sleep. He figured she would be gone in the morning.