August 17th, 2023

Specialist Derrick "Loki" Castellano

West Coast Rainbow HQ.

Portland OR. USA

Derrick had slept like a rock for the first time in months. Whether it be because he had eliminated the guy who tortured him or the fact that his friends really cared about him, either one was fine with him. He woke up with his head on Tina's lap, where he saw that Tina had grasped his hand at some point. She herself was sleeping against the arm of the couch. He smiled at the sound of her breathing. It reminded him of when they slept together in the same bed before he had been stolen from his friends. His friends. They were really his friends. They didn't want him dead like he thought. Derrick carefully released Tina's hand, sat up slowly, rubbed his eyes and looked around the room. His friends were still there. They hadn't left him. His buddy Lukas was sleeping with his arms and legs crossed in an armchair while Ela slept against his shoulder. He saw Meghan sleeping in pretty much the same type of position as Tina with Monika's head against her shoulder.

"Well, now ain't that cute," Derrick said to himself quietly. He felt his stomach rumble and decided that it was now fuck mothering burrito time. He got up quietly so as to not disturb anyone's rest and made his way towards the cafeteria. Last night's events were a blur to him. Meghan had stopped him from ending his own life. He had been so close to pulling that trigger before he heard her call him "Der-wick." Only she was allowed to call him that. Derrick rubbed his face and realized he still had his beard.

"Hmm...quick shave and a haircut I think...heh. Shave and a haircut...two bits!" Derrick muttered to himself as he changed his course. He walked into his bedroom to grab his clippers and electric razor. He entered the empty men's room and started shaving his beard. He didn't go completely clean shaven like Lukas but felt that you couldn't beat the classics and went back to his old 5 o'clock shadow look. He knew Tina liked that a lot better than his longer beard. He then turned to his hair which was almost at his shoulders at this point.

"Jeesh, I was a fuckin wreck wasn't I?" Derrick said to himself as he attached the ½ inch clipper guard onto his hair clippers and began to cut his hair. The process took about 20 minutes and when he was done, he looked just like he had before the mission in April. He smiled at himself in the mirror.

"Uh oh, sexy man alert!" he said to himself again and gave his reflection the finger guns. Before leaving, he even did a bit of manscaping. He cleaned up, returned his items to his room and went off to grab some breakfast.

When he walked in, he saw that Harry, Elena and Eliza were sitting together at one of the tables and talking about something. They didn't see him when he walked in so he walked over to the line cook. The line cook didn't recognize him at first.

"Uh, who...Oh shit, Derrick! Hey, you got a shave and a haircut," she said and started making him a breakfast burrito.

"Two bits," Derrick answered. "Thanks Kate, gimme two actually. I'm hungry." Kate handed him a plate with 2 breakfast burritos on it. One with bacon, egg and cheese and the other with chorizo sausage, egg and cheese.

"Derrick? Holy...he did shave," Elena's voice said from behind him. He turned to see her smiling at him. Harry motioned for Derrick to sit with them. Uh oh...here it comes. Better savor these burritos.

"Hi Derrick," Harry said as he sat down next to him.

"Hey Harry...I'm not fired, am I?" Derrick asked.

"No of course not, I was just wondering if you were alright. Eliza told me a few days ago that you were acting differently than before. You had an outburst in the lab one day and attacked Meghan another day," Harry said. Derrick chewed a bite of his burrito miserably. He remembered how he had punched Meghan in the face and he indeed felt awful about it.

"Then I was told that you, uh, well you nearly killed yourself last night too. After viciously killing the guy that tortured you," Harry said calmly. Derrick nodded. He was surprised that he didn't lash out like he normally would have a few days ago.

"He...he...fucked me up…" Derrick said to his plate. Harry patted him on the shoulder.

"I know, Eliza told me about the videos he made you watch and how he threatened Meghan with the same. You must want to talk about what happened right?" Harry asked. Derrick looked up at Elena and Eliza, both of whom had remained silent. Derrick nodded.

"To...to everyone?" he asked Harry. Harry looked surprised at his answer.

"I mean, if you want to. If you want everyone there to hear it, I'll inform them," Harry said. Derrick stared at them for a moment before making his choice. He nodded.

"I do. I want Meghan and Tina near me though," Derrick said. "I assume you have his computer?" Derrick asked as he finished one of his burritos. Elena nodded.

"I saw part of one of the tapes when Jordan brought it to the lab last night...Derrick...I'm...I'm so sorry," she said.

"I feel you all deserve to know what happened and that includes watching the tapes. Do...do I have to Harry?" Derrick asked. Harry shook his head almost at once.

"Absolutely not, I'll have you listen to music or something. I also heard you saved some more hostages last night. I'd think about changing your code name to Kal-El if I were you," Harry joked. The other 2 women looked rather confused. Derrick rolled his eyes and pointed his thumb at them.

"Typical, not reading comic books. The SUPERIOR book to read, because of the cool pictures. Kal-El is Superman's real name. Like from Krypton," Derrick explained to them. Elena nodded in acknowledgement.

"Pfft, I knew that," Eliza said.

"Did you now?" Derrick asked as Captain Davy Jones.

"Yeah, Jordan told me he used to read them when he was a kid-" Eliza began before she stopped immediately upon seeing Derrick's smug face. He thought he heard some sort of commotion happening outside the cafeteria but that wasn't important. He had to tease Eliza about being with Air Jordan.

"Hold on a sec...Meghan and Tina...do they know you're here right now?" Harry asked.

"WHERE THE HELL IS HE?!" someone's voice yelled from the other side of the area. Derrick winced. He had forgotten to leave a note or text them or something. It must have been terrifying for them to wake up and him to be gone with no trace.

"That...would be a no…" Derrick admitted. Lukas came barrelling into the room, looked at Harry and said

"Harry, Derrick's gone! We woke up and he wasn't there! Oh hello, who are you?" Lukas asked Derrick the last question as he must not have recognized him with shorter hair even though he was wearing the same clothes. Oh goodie, what a set up! What voice to use? He decided on Christopher Walken again.

"Oh my, the handsome funny man is missing? This is tragic news. WHOA, wait a minute, the missing man is actually, right here Young Skywalker," Derrick said waving at Lukas. Elena and Eliza stifled laughs. Lukas studied him for a moment before he sighed with relief. He turned and shouted down the hallway.

"Meghan, Tina, I found him. He's with Harry, Elena and Eliza," Within seconds Meghan appeared looking rather disheveled and angry.

"WHERE WERE YOU?!" she shouted at Derrick. Tina appeared behind her, walked over to Derrick and hugged him.

"I thought….I thought...hey, you shaved. I like you much better looking like this," she said, patting his cheek. Derrick spoke to Meghan still as Christopher Walken because once you start Walken, you can't stop for a while.

"Hey look, it's the, outrageously unfunny Navy Seal. Also known as, my sister. Where was I, you ask? It just so happened, to be, fuck mothering burrito time," Derrick said, holding up his burrito. He could hear Lukas chuckling to himself as well as Tina.

"NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR YOUR JOKES DERRICK! Wait...did...did you shave?"

"Nope, I used my magic eraser on my beard and hair. Heeeeere's your sign!" Derrick said, taking another bite of his breakfast. Harry chuckled at that one.

"Meghan, relax" Eliza said but Meghan did not.

"HARRY, HE NEARLY SHOT HIMSELF. I WAS ONLY BARELY ABLE TO STOP HIM!" she shouted at Harry.

"I know, Eliza was telling me what happened last night. Meghan, I need you to gather everyone in one of the lounges. Derrick agreed to explain what happened to him to the whole crew. He specifically requested that you and Tina be near him," Harry told her. Derrick nodded at Meghan. This was going to be hard for everyone to watch as well as hear. He felt confident though. No longer angry. No longer resentful. The constant replays in his head had even subsided and weren't as frequent as before. Meghan looked at him

"You...you really scared us Derrick," she said.

"I know, that's why you guys deserve to know what happened. I'm sorry for how I acted. And I...I shouldn't have punched you in the face Megs…" he said. Meghan walked over and gave him a hug.

"I'll get everyone in one of the lounges. I'd recommend freshening up a bit too. You still have blood on your clothes," Meghan told him.

"I'll help," Lukas added and followed Meghan down the hall. Tina went to leave too but was called back by Harry.

"Hold on Tina, you can stay. I need to speak with you in private," he said.

"O...ok?" Tina answered.

"You two are not in trouble. Why does everyone always think they are when I want to speak with them?" Harry asked. Derrick shrugged and finished his second burrito.

"Ahh, I needed that. Tina...what you're about to see and hear...it's going to be bad…" Derrick said to her. Tina grabbed one of his hands.

"It's cute that you worry about me. Go take a shower. I'll see you in the lounge ok? I'm not leaving you," she said. Derrick nodded and got up from the table.

August 17th, 2023

Specialist Tina Lin "Frost" Tseng

West Coast Rainbow HQ.

Portland OR. USA

Tina watched her boyfriend's cute ass leave the room before turning back to Harry and the others.

"So, I was just talking with Elena and Eliza here before Derrick came in and all 3 of us agreed that 2 weeks was a mistake. He clearly needed more time to recover," Harry said. Tina also agreed. She felt that it had been a bad idea from the start. Plus she hadn't been able to spend any of that time with Derrick which was unacceptable to her. When Tina Lin Tseng wants something, she gets it. By any means necessary.

"Are you alright?" Eliza asked her. Tina went to nod but she shook her head.

"I saw his eyes...he was about to do it...I was going to lose him again. When he fell asleep against me last night...you can't even begin to understand how happy I was," Tina said. She could still hear Derrick shouting "FUCKING SHOOT ME!" in her head. When he had fallen asleep against her, she silently cried until she too fell asleep. No one was going to take Derrick from her again. No one.

"Well then, do I have good news for you. I've decided that Derrick needs at least two or three months away from this environment. I know he lives nearby and I want him to stay home," Harry said.

"How is that good news for me?" Tina asked.

"Who do you think I want to watch him?" Harry asked, giving Tina a sly smile. Tina's heart leapt. 2 or 3 months alone with Derrick in his house? Can life get better?

"He's going to be working in R and D with me when Harry decides he's fit to return. I'll watch him too for any changes or relapses in his trauma. I think he's better suited for it anyway. If he needs to go on field duty for his infiltration skills, he'll go with me, Meghan, Lukas or you but that's going to be months from now," Elena said. Tina nodded. She liked Elena, even though she had caught her staring at Derrick's arms a few times.

"The rule is this, he can do whatever he wants. I encourage it to be honest. He needs to get his mind off this kind of thing for a while. I do want him to go see a therapist though because of the trust issues. I do like how you told him that you aren't going to leave him before he left though. I think that's what he needs to hear from everyone. There's got to be this inner voice constantly telling him that you guys aren't his friends and will abandon him again at the first chance you got. I also don't want him to leave the house by himself or be alone for that matter for the first week. This is an extended paid vacation for him," Harry explained.

"What about me? Am I still supposed to be on duty? I know Derrick doesn't keep any weapons at his house at all," Tina asked.

"That's good. We don't want him near any weapons for a while. As for you, you'll work from home. No field work. You'll just be working on R and D projects. 4 or 5 days a week with a video conference one day a week where we can give you updates. You can ask him for help too, we aren't forbidding him from using his engineering skills," Elena explained.

"As for the first week? That's going to be spent getting settled with Derrick," Harry said. Tina's heart leapt again. She got a week off AND was assigned to watch the man she loved while working at home.

"He needed affection I think. I know most of it was his own fault because he was avoiding people but still, what better person to give him affection than you," Eliza told her.

"I assume you're agreeing to this new assignment?" Harry asked. Tina nodded vigorously.

"When do I get to have him to myself?" she asked before realizing what she said. Harry still grinned however.

"After this team meeting, take the time to get packed and ready to take him home. I'm sure he's going to be happy at his new mission too. Spending the time he lost with you," Harry said.

August 17th, 2023

Specialist Derrick "Loki" Castellano

West Coast Rainbow HQ.

Portland OR. USA

Derrick spent his shower time humming "Sympathy" to himself and playing the air guitar. He hadn't played that song in a while and planned to do so later. He looked down at his chest. The burn marks didn't seem to be showing as clearly as before. They were still there but he didn't hate looking at them anymore. He viewed them as badges of his resilience and determination to not give that fuck ANY information. He finished washing himself, turned the water off and dried off before putting on some fresh clothes. A pair of jeans, a Superman T-shirt, a black button down shirt and a pair of sneakers. He made his way to one of the lounges to hear that there were voices coming out of one of them. He paused outside the door and took a deep breath.

"They're your friends," he told himself and walked into the room. The entire West Coast Rainbow crew was in there already along with Harry.

"There's the clean shaven Mr. Kent," Harry said, smiling at Derrick's T-shirt. Derrick pantomimed removing a pair of glasses and flashed his shirt at Lukas, who was nearby. Lukas grinned. Derrick noticed the empty chair in between Meghan and Tina and he sat down in it. Harry had hooked up the Butcher's laptop to a projector screen and Derrick could see that there was an entire folder of videos, most of which were a couple to several minutes long. He gulped before Harry tossed him a pair of noise cancelling earbuds.

"Now that he's here, Derrick agreed to explain what happened to him from April to July. That consists of us watching what the man known as the Butcher did to him first. I do not want Derrick to see or hear these videos again so I have just provided him with some headphones where he'll listen to tunes until we finish watching. These are going to be hard to watch but I want you all to remember that Derrick is here. He is right in front of me. Derrick, give me the signal when you have your music queued," Harry explained. Derrick plugged the headphones into his phone and put them in his ears. They cut out all sounds immediately and he looked down at his phone wondering what to listen to. He decided on some 90s-00s rock and selected the playlist. He gave the thumbs up as the first song, "When I Come Around" by Green Day began playing. Derrick kept his head down as his comrades watched the torture sessions he had to endure. He promised himself that he was going to allow any of them to experience the same things he had. The next song on his playlist was "1985" by Bowling for Soup. He sensed movement to his left after a few more songs played and turned to see that Meghan had both of her fists clenched with her eyes glued to the screen. Derrick chanced a quick look and saw the Butcher reading his obituary out loud to him. He quickly turned back to his phone. He listened to "The Anthem" followed by "A Thousand Miles" followed by "I'd Do Anything". The next time something happened was during a small marathon of blink 182 songs. Tina had grabbed his knee in a vice-like grip and he turned to see that she had that expression of anger she wore back in Seattle before she realized that Derrick was impersonating the Russian guy. Derrick took out one of his earbuds and heard himself yell

"NEVER. INSULT MEGHAN. IN FRONT OF ME. OR ELIZA. OR TINA! OR ANY OF THEM! COME ON TUBBY! FIGHT ME!" He glanced at the screen quickly and saw himself fighting back against the Butcher and his guards. Tina saw him watching and she released her hand from his knee and gently caressed his arm while saying "Shh" and pointed to his phone. Derrick went back to listening to his tunes.

After a few minutes (as well as a few absolute BANGERS) Tina was gently shaking him and motioned for him to take the earbuds out. Derrick did so and looked around the room. He saw the same face on each of his comrades. Their faces all said "That fucking bastard" especially Meghan's. Derrick couldn't remember a time where he had seen her that angry at someone. He saw Tina's face and she was looking at him as he was about to sacrifice himself for the greater good of humanity. Derrick felt the need to do so and he stood up and removed his T-shirt so everyone could see the scars he now had on his chest and back.

"Jesus..."

"Oh Goddammit…"

"Shit…"

"No…"

"Dios mio…"

"Oh my…"

"Holy…"

"Oh my god…"

"Fuck that guy!"

"Oh Derrick..."

"FUCK!" Every single one of his friends had reacted in their own way. Meghan, of course, had been the loudest. She was currently holding her head in her hands. Derrick couldn't stop his mouth from saying the next sentence to Tina

"See, you're horrified," he said and put his shirt back on.

"No Derrick, I'm beyond angry at the motherfucker that did this to you. I just watched him tell you lies and torture you. I had to watch you cry for help that never came. Especially for Meghan, me and Lukas. I am so sorry sweetie," she said. "Do...do they hurt?"

"Not as much as before but they are a grim reminder of that PIECE OF FUCKING GARBAGE!" Derrick shouted. He felt himself begin to lose control again and even thought he saw the Butcher laughing at him from the corner but he heard Tina's voice louder and clearer.

"You're safe with us. You're having a flashback. It might seem real but it's not. He can't hurt you, us or anyone else ever again. I'm here. Meghan's here. Lukas is here. Focus on me and my voice. Don't listen to anything else. Sit down ok sweetie? Do you want me to hold your hand or Meghan to grip your shoulder?" she said. Derrick obeyed and nodded his head. He felt Tina grab his hand and Meghan grip his shoulder. Within seconds, his anger dissipated and the Butcher's laughter stopped. He looked up at his comrades, who reassured him that they would not judge him with their expressions. Derrick took a deep breath and began to explain everything that happened.

"Right so, after I took the rocket to the tail rotor of my chopper, I crash landed in the nearby trees. I survived that with some minor bumps and bruises but before I could do anything else, a few of them grabbed me, pulled me out of the chopper and held a gun to my head and said if I yelled for help, they'd shoot me. They even took my commlink. That's 3 I've broken now. New record! Anyway, I would have taken them on but my shoulder and arm were sprained so I waited for Eliza, Luke and Craig to come find me. But that guy with the RPG, Flak or something….oh...I get it now…so, he fired another rocket at the chopper before he knocked me the fuck out after E said 'Rainbow down'. I woke up in a cell and, well you saw what happened. He lied to me about you guys hating me. I can see that now. You thought I was dead so what could you do really? Then he got wind of Luke's attacks I guess. They said something about some big guy calling himself 'Fenrir' was fucking their shit up...wait a sec...outstanding. I get why Luke chose that name. Anyway, after about a few weeks of being interrogated every so often, I broke free one day and killed his guards. That was where the electric whip came in and he tore my back open with it. As for why they were keeping me alive and how, he wanted information on Rainbow or any kind of Special Forces people because like Craig told me back in December, you guys have been fighting them for 6 years. They gave me water and food every 2 or 3 days and, as Megs can recall as she clung to me like a lost kitten, what they called a shower was a bucket of soapy water that they threw on me followed by spraying me with Axe body spray. I guess he didn't want me smelling bad or something, I don't know. I was given new clothes from time to time so that was a bit weird but whatever. They transferred me to that place where Duke Boy and his faithful sidekick Daisy found me about a month before. I was actually given time to sleep before the Butcher arrived to attempt to talk to me again but I guess Eliza, Jordan, Duke Boy and Daisy must have scared him off because I woke up to someone pulling on the cell door and speaking in German. Then I saw that my friends had finally come to save me. But the memories started to come back. Fierce and vivid. I remembered how he drilled it into my head that you guys were never coming to save me and that you had abandoned me. I held on to the false belief that you all wished that I had stayed dead. I hoped to die on that mission I soloed last night but I was sidetracked by those hostages I rescued. Especially Jana. I would not let the Butcher hurt her in any way along with...Carmen? Yeah, Carmen and Kathy, so I pulled a Superman and got them out of there with relative ease until he showed up and threatened Megs and I fuckin snapped," Derrick explained. He could see Lukas explaining his "Duke and Daisy" comment to Monika quietly. Harry nodded.

"That explains the gruesome fatality you performed on him. I saw the security feed. The recruits also disabled the tracking on the Jeep you stole afterwards. I assume you want these videos deleted?" Harry asked.

"Please, I don't want anyone to see them again," Derrick said. Harry did so before he looked at Meghan quizzically.

"Meghan, are you ok?" he asked. Derrick turned to face his sister. She was shaking with suppressed rage at the Butcher and probably herself too. She had just watched her little brother get tortured and lied to for the past 30 or so minutes. Derrick put a hand on her shoulder. She turned to him.

"I...I...I should have saved you…I should have done something, anything to help you..." she said and bowed her head.

"Megs...you did…" Derrick said in a shaky voice. Meghan looked up at her brother. It took her a sec to realize what Derrick meant before she embraced him in an extremely tight hug and he could feel her crying against him. She had saved him. She was the one that talked him out of committing suicide. Lukas might not agree, but Meghan was the best big sister ever.

"I love you MJ," Derrick whispered in her ear.

"I love you too Der-wick," Meghan responded. Derrick heard Tina sniff too. No one was taking him away from his friends again. Meghan let go of him and he looked around at the others. They were all smiling at him. Derrick grinned back.

"Well now, how about that? Sibling love. Derrick, there's someone else that wants to give you a hug too. Zofia, she's outside, yes?" Harry said. Derrick watched Zofia get up and leave the room. She came back a few seconds later with Jana. She was speaking to her in Polish and pointing at Derrick. Jana ran over to him and gave him a hug. Derrick did his Scooby-Doo voice again and Jana laughed. She spoke to him in Polish and even called him "Zabawny człowiek." Derrick turned to Zofia.

"Translation please,"

"She just called you 'The Funny Man' and thanked you for saving her and bringing her back to me," Zofia said. Derrick nodded and glanced toward Eliza who was also giving him a smile.

"She can understand English too, right? I assumed she did last night. I don't know any Polish," Derrick asked. Zofia nodded. He turned back to Jana.

"You're welcome, little one. You were very brave last night. You be good to your mommy ok? Hey, do you see the big guy next to your Auntie Ela? That's my buddy, he saved me from the bad guys a month ago like how I saved you," Derrick said and pointed at Lukas. Jana ran over to Lukas and gave him a hug too. She said something in Polish which caused Ela to laugh. Lukas responded in rough Polish but Jana still laughed. Jana waved at Ela before Zofia brought her back out of the room. Derrick turned to Elena next.

"Carmen was saying quite a lot of suggestive things about me while I drove her over. You might need to tell her I'm taken," Derrick told her. Elena blushed rather furiously as Tina staked her claim of Derrick by kissing his cheek. Harry addressed Derrick.

"Ok Derrick, here's your new assignment. I am going to have you take two or three months off. Paid. I want you away from this environment alright?" Harry said. Derrick nodded. He felt that was exactly what he needed. Some time to relax and cool off. Before he could stop himself he asked,

"Am I going to be alone?" Harry gave him a "dude, come on" type of expression before he felt Tina take his hand again and squeeze it gently.

"You think I'm going to leave you alone again? I'm going to be with you too, working from home every few days. The only rule is that you can't be by yourself for the first week ok? Like I'm going to leave you alone anyways, I had to live without you for three months and I'm not letting that happen ever again," Tina told him. Derrick's heart leapt. He got at least 2 months paid vacation with his girlfriend? Awesome.

"I recommend getting a therapist too. There's bound to be one in the area that can help you. There is nothing wrong with talking with someone about your problems. As for when you return, we're going to put you in R and D full time with Elena. In the future, if you are needed for any type of covert op, she'll accompany you or your sister will or Luke or Tina. Elena tells me you are a gifted engineer and says you and her work well together. I've also heard that you and Tina keep the relationship drama private while at work too. Sound good?" Harry asked. Elena nodded at Derrick too. He knew she liked him. He knew she was his friend.

"Yeah, I'd like that. Sounds fun," Derrick said. Elena smiled.

"Your leave starts immediately. Take whatever you need from your room here. I have Sébastian and Mina coming to fill yours and Tina's places for the time being. They should be arriving tomorrow morning. You and Tina are dismissed, Derrick. Get some rest. Make up the time you lost with her. She's had a crush on you since you first helped out R6, did you know that?"

"Did she now?" Derrick said in the Captain Davy Jones voice as Tina turned a shade of pink. "She told me it was Greece when she started crushing on me. I'll be sure to tease her about that every chance I get then." Derrick got up and turned to his sister. She seemed to know what he was thinking.

"Tina's got this one little bro. I wasn't kidding when I said she loves you as much as I do. I'll come over when I can ok?" she told him. Everyone else said something along those lines too including his best buddy, Lukas. Derrick looked around at them all. They really were his friends.

"Thanks guys," he said before he noticed that Monika was holding Meghan's hand. Derrick turned on "protective brother mode" and addressed Monika.

"You hurt her in any way, and I'll know," he told her in German. Monika put her hands up in mock surrender before she smiled at Derrick.

"We'll miss you Derrick," she said. Derrick smiled back.

"See you soon Skywalker," he said to his best buddy. Lukas grinned at him.

"May the Force be with you," Lukas replied. Ela hugged Lukas's arm and Derrick thought she called him a dork in Polish.

"Come on Obi-Wan," Tina said and grabbed his hand as the pair of them left the room.

August 17th, 2023

Specialist Derrick "Loki" Castellano

Derrick's Condo

Portland OR. USA

Derrick and Tina arrived at his condo about 2 hours after that small little team meeting. It was nice to be back here. Tina and Meghan hadn't really changed much in terms of the decor. His movie and band posters were still up and his gaming consoles were still next to the TV near his movie collection. Upon entering, Tina dropped her bag and embraced him almost at once.

"Well hi," he said looking into her soft brown eyes.

"I love you," she said and gave him a kiss.

"I love you too," Derrick answered.

"You seemed happy that Meghan and Monika were beginning to spend time together," Tina said.

"Yeah, I told Mon months ago that Meghan liked her. I even helped Duke Boy ask Ela out and told E that Jordan planned to take her out when they had some time off of their own. They call me the matchmaker around the base," Derrick said, closing the door behind Tina and locking it. They had been commissioned a Jeep, which they had arrived in, alongside Derrick's own car.

"Really, because I heard they called you 'Big Kahuna'" Tina teased. Derrick chuckled.

"Still not living that down am I? Doesn't help that I actually do know how to surf. Used to do it all the time back in the day. Hell, I still have my board in the garage. Might take it out one day," he said.

"I know you can, I saw the pictures at your parent's house. Nice hair Shaggy," Tina said and kissed him on the cheek.

"Like thanks," Derrick said as Shaggy. Tina giggled.

"Did you uh...see the one of me as a baby in my mom's arms on the couch where I was reaching towards little Megs?" Derrick asked. Tina nodded. Of course his mom showed her that picture. It happened to be his mother's favorite. He should have them come up to see him after what had happened to him. His dad was in the Army, he might be able to help and he knew his mom would help too. He was her baby after all.

"You were so cute," Tina said, pinching Derrick's cheek.

"Were?!" Derrick said in a mock angry tone before he lifted Tina into his arms. She giggled again and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"And you still are," she said, giving him another kiss. "Come on, let's cuddle on the couch. I have the whole week off before I have to start working. I know you wanted to show me the Dark Knight at some point."

"Oh yeah! That's right! The greatest comic book movie of all time! That dropped right before I went to Basic Training. Come on Miss Lane," Derrick said and carried her over to the couch. The pair of them spent the rest of the day on the couch together watching movies, cuddling and kissing every so often. Derrick felt right at home again. He was safe with Tina. Meghan and Lukas had promised that they would visit him whenever they could. This was going to be the best mission of all time.

Later that night, Derrick laid in his bed waiting for Tina to come join him. She came in looking outrageously sexy in her sleepwear. She climbed into bed and laid down next to him and started rubbing his chest. Derrick looked at her. He couldn't believe that after everything, she still wanted to be with him. He had spent the entire day with her without reliving his torture once. He grabbed her in a hug immediately and started to break down.

"It's ok sweetie. It's ok," she said.

"I nearly killed myself…" Derrick responded. "And you saw what happened to me...I'm broken…" Tina responded by kissing him again and she even started to rub his chest under his shirt. He could tell she was feeling his burns.

"You are NOT broken. You are resilient. He was the weak one, I'm...I'm so sorry this happened to you sweetie," she said. "We didn't know you survived and we are all so glad you did."

"You didn't do this. He did. Because I wouldn't say shit about you or Megs or anyone else. He got mad because I was stronger than he was," Derrick said, feeling confident now. He surprised himself when he did. He just said, out loud, that he wasn't weak. Tina smiled up at him.

"Yes, you were. It's one of the reasons why I love you," she said. "You don't sell out your friends or family, no matter how angry at them you might be."

"You were the person I kept thinking about the entire time there," Derrick responded. "Even though we fought…I thought you hated me..." Tina had Derrick look her in the face.

"I don't hate you. Not at all. So what we fought? It's bound to happen every so often. You thought we were over? You think one fight would end what we have...Oh!" she said, coming to a conclusion in her head. Derrick never had a relationship that lasted more than a few weeks. This one had technically lasted about 5 ish months counting the time he was missing but Tina hadn't stopped loving him the entire time.

"Face it tiger, you hit the jackpot," Tina said. Derrick smiled. She had just quoted Mary Jane Watson from Spider-Man. He loved this woman so fucking much. Tina continued rubbing his burn scars.

"Can I see up close?" she asked quietly. Derrick lifted his shirt so she could see his burns. She gently caressed them and asked

"Where does it hurt?" Now that he thought of it, they were stinging a bit so he pointed to one near his stomach. Tina kissed it. Derrick cocked an eyebrow and pointed to another spot on his chest at random. She kissed that too. Derrick tried pointing at his cheek and Tina yet again kissed it. He then pointed to his lips and Tina gave him such a long kiss he wasn't sure if she was ever going to stop.

"Anywhere else sweetie?" she said after several minutes. Derrick, who hadn't felt a woman's touch in about 4 months, decided to go for it. He pointed at his crotch.

"H-here…" he said weakly. Tina gave him a seductive smile. Uh oh. He was in trouble.

"I forgot to tell you about the sale going on in this room. All pants are actually supposed to be 100% off," she said and put her hand on his junk. Derrick frowned.

"Why would all pants be 100% off? That's a terrible way to run a business Tina," he said. Tina rolled her eyes but squeezed her hand and it caused Derrick to exhale a little sharply.

"Lose the pants cuite. Now. Tina's going to take care of you," she said.

"Who's Tina? She sounds hot," Derrick said but took off his pants. Tina grabbed for his dick but she found his boxers.

"You said pants," Derrick said grinning at her. She cocked an eyebrow at him and drummed her fingers on his crotch impatiently.

"Y-yes ma'am," Derrick said and removed his boxers. Tina licked her hand and then grabbed his dick at once and began stroking it slowly.

"There's a good boy," she said between kissing him and whispering rather naughty things into his ear.

"Oh god…" Derrick said in between kisses.

"You like that? You missed me didn't you? Huh?" Tina whispered in his ear and changed her speed. That was the understatement of the fucking century.

"I missed you so fucking much. I believe in Frost supremacy," Derrick said and began rubbing Tina's crotch. She immediately took her own pants off while continuing to stroke him. Derrick turned on his side to face her, reached under her shirt and grabbed one of her boobs with his hand while continuing to run his fingers against her vagina.

"And you think I didn't? What are you, some kind of clown?" she asked, as she kissed his neck.

"Yes, I'm your clown," he said, slipping his fingers inside her. Tina inhaled sharply.

"Mine," Tina whispered before kissing him again as she continued her rhythm as Derrick gently fingered her. Tina eventually stopped after several minutes of pleasure. Derrick looked confused.

"Why did you stop?" he asked. Tina smiled seductively again and cupped his face with her free hand.

"I just remembered you said it hurt, I actually think I need to kiss it and make it better," she said. If this is what he had to look forward to for the next 2 or 3 months, that was 100% fine with him.

Mission Report:

Derrick explained what happened to him and he was given time off to recover. Tina accompanied him and was assigned to watch him and help him recover.